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NEWS UPDATE July 19, 2013 (Friday)
DOTC execs tagged in $30-M shakedown
By Rainier Allan Ronda (The Philippine Star)
One of their companies, Inekon, has been blacklisted by the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC), barred from bidding to supply trains for the Metro Rail Transit 3 (MRT 3).
The blacklist followed a meeting at the DOTC in July last year, during which, one of those present alleged, department officials asked the Inekon Group executives for $30 million if they wanted the supply contract.
Czech Ambassador Josef Rychtar, who accompanied the Inekon delegation to the DOTC, reportedly advised his compatriots not to engage in corruption.
The amount was allegedly whittled down to $2.5 million. When the Czechs still didn’t give in, their project proposal, first endorsed to the DOTC three years ago by the Czech government, was scuttled and the company blacklisted.
The DOTC was headed at the time by Manuel Roxas II, and the department officials who met with the Czechs were his recruits. They included Jose Perpetuo “Juju” Lotilla, Rene “Timmy” Limcaoco, Catherine Gonzales and Jaime “Jim” Feliciano. All of them are still at the DOTC. Gonzales, who came in as an assistant secretary, has since been promoted to undersecretary.
When Jesse Robredo died in a plane crash and Roxas left the DOTC to take over the Department of the Interior and Local Government, his recruits were left behind, and Inekon remained barred from the MRT-3 project.
Last April, Rychtar met with new DOTC Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya and related details of the July meeting. There was no action from the DOTC.
Late last month, news reports emerged, citing unnamed sources, that President Aquino’s eldest sister Ballsy, her husband Eldon Cruz, former DOTC head Pete Prado and Steve Psinakis, a son-in-law of the late Eugenio Lopez Sr. and consultant and adviser of First Philippine Holdings Corp. and Benpres Holdings Corp., had asked Inekon for $30 million to facilitate the contract.
An exasperated Rychtar then sent a letter to President Aquino, dated June 29 and received by Malacañang nearly two weeks ago, clearing the Cruz couple and Prado, and raising the same issues he had discussed with Abaya.
Rychtar followed this up with another meeting last Wednesday with Abaya.
I am so mad,” Rychtar told The STAR the other night. “In other countries, an investigation would have been conducted at once.”
2 He wondered why an administration that purports to focus on the fight against corruption and on taking the straight path or daang matuwid has been slow to act on the issue.
Worse, Rychtar said, “the innocent are the ones getting hurt” – referring in particular to Ballsy and Eldon Cruz.
The ambassador knows the Cruz couple personally and said the stories against them are “completely false.”
Rychtar said he was ready to talk and face probers if needed.
No commissions
In his letter to the President, a copy of which was obtained by The STAR, Rychtar wrote: “The Czech proposal for the MRT3 capacity expansion and modernization is a government-to-government deal which cannot contain any provisions for commissions.”
Over the past three years, according to the letter, the Czech Ministry of Trade and Foreign Affairs had transmitted more than 10 official letters to the Philippine government and submitted to the DOTC
“booklets of extensive technical plans and financial proposals in order to comply with Philippine Procurement Procedures.”
“We continue to wait patiently for a response from the DOTC,” the letter stated.
The one-page letter opened with a clarification to Aquino about the “inaccurate and nasty press reports pertaining to the MRT3 capacity expansion.”
“I wish to state that the allegations that members of your family were involved with discussions with Inekon on any projects in the Philippines are simply untrue and malicious,” Rychtar wrote the President.
“Neither Secretary Prado nor any member of your family has offered their assistance in any of the projects that my country is pursuing in the Philippines. Your family is well known not to involve themselves on governmental affairs, most especially in the area of procurement.”
Rychtar wrote that he held Eldon and Ballsy Cruz as well as Prado “in the highest esteem.”
The ambassador said he was writing the letter “on both a personal and official capacity” and was prepared to issue a public statement clearing Ballsy and Eldon Cruz, and to declare the Czech government’s “continued interest” in participating in the DOTC program.
“In early April 2013, I was able to secure a meeting with Secretary Emilio Abaya to report an incident between some officials of his department and myself, together with the top management of Inekon,”
Rychtar wrote. “While I still have yet to discern who are behind these terrible press releases, I had hoped that Secretary Abaya would have dealt with this issue in a swift and judicious manner before it reached this embarrassing and untenable state of affairs.”
Inekon is one of the top 100 corporations in the Czech Republic and is involved in railway projects in several European countries and the United States.
3 MRT3 has a fleet of 73 Czech-made modern and air-conditioned rail cars, which were built by another Czech company – CKD Doprovni System of Prague. The rail vehicles are articulated, eight-axle , three- section cars, designed for single-ended operations.
Each train can seat 80 passengers and can carry, under crush loading conditions, 394 commuters at any one time. The MRT3 trains carry 23,000 passengers per hour per direction daily.
Roxas: I will not tolerate wrongdoing
(The Philippine Star)
MANILA, Philippines - Interior and Local Government Secretary Manuel Roxas II stressed yesterday that he does not tolerate wrongdoing.
“I have not and will not tolerate any such thing,” Roxas texted The STAR.
Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya of the Department of Transportation and Communications did not return text messages the whole day yesterday, seeking comment on the Czech government’s complaint that DOTC officials, during a meeting in July 2012 when Roxas headed the department, demanded a commission from Czech railway firm Inekon in exchange for a train supply contract for the Metro Rail Transit 3.
Roxas also denied criticism that he retained control over the DOTC through officials he recruited and left in the department when he moved to his new post in August 2012.
“Secretary Abaya has full control and supervision over DOTC. He has hire and fire powers,” Roxas texted The STAR.
He also said accusers should file a formal complaint.
Traffic rerouting plan in place for Aquino SONA Monday
By Karen Boncocan INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines — A rerouting scheme has been prepared to counter possible traffic buildup along Commonwealth Avenue on Monday, the day of President Benigno Aquino III’s fourth State of the Nation Address.
An advisory from the House of Representatives public relations and information bureau (PRIB) said that by midnight of July 22, the leftmost northbound lanes of Commonwealth Avenue will be opened to motorists heading towards Fairview.
By 5 a.m. the area of the northbound lane between Ever Gotesco and the Commission on Audit will be closed to motorists.
At 6 a.m., the Batasan Road will be declared one-way traffic.
Philcoa and Fairview-bound vehicles coming from Filinvest 1 and 2, Sinagtala, and San Mateo Road will have to turn right using the Batasan-Litex Road.
Vehicles with SONA car passes will have access to the Sandiganbayan underpass headed towards
4 Commonwealth Avenue.
Vehicles of members of Congress with SONA car passes which will be coming from San Mateo Road may turn left going to the House of Representatives.
Motorists plying the northbound and southbound lanes of Commonwealth were also given this alternate route:
From EDSA-Congressional Avenue turn left to Mindanao Avenue, then right to Old Sauyo Road, left to Chestnut Street, right to Dahlia Street, left to Regalado Avenue Extension towards Commonwealth Avenue and vice versa.
Upon reaching the U-turn slot in front of Superstar KTV (formerly Metro Disco), motorists will use the southbound lanes of Commonwealth Avenue until they reach the U-turn slot at San Simon (Riverside) which comes right after COA.
Traffic will be normal beyond that point, the advisory read.
Four lanes on the southbound side of Commonwealth Avenue will be used for counter flow.
Motorists coming from Tivoli Royale and Capitol Estate I will be guided by police and traffic enforcers deployed in the area.
The House of Representatives has been busy this week preparing for the President’s address on Monday.
House Secretary General Marilyn Barua-Yap said that they were all set for the event and have finished coordination meetings with the Malacanang, the Senate, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA), the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), the Philippine National Police (PNP), the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), the Presidential Security Group (PSG), and the Department of Public Safety and Order.
Gazmin aide named Army division chief in Central Luzon
By Frances Mangosing INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Army in Central Luzon will have its new commander in a turnover rites at Fort Magsaysay in Nueva Ecija today, Friday.
Brigadier General Hernando Iriberri will be the new chief of the Army’s 7th Infantry Division, replacing Major General Gregorio Pio Catapang Jr., who led the division for nine months and was recently assigned to the top post of the Northern Luzon Command.
Prior to his new designation, Iriberri was the Brigade Commander of Army’s 503rd Brigade in Abra, from January to July 2013. He also served as Senior Military Assistant to Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin, from July 2010 to January 2013.
Iriberri is a member of Philippine Military Academy “Matikas” Class of 1983.
Expected to attend the ceremonies are Gazmin and Army Chief Lieutenant General Noel Coballes, according to a media advisory.
Housed at Fort Magsaysay, the biggest military camp in the Philippines, the 7th Infantry Division operates in the regions of Ilocos and Central Luzon.
Effectiveness of P351B Metro Manila flood control program being questioned
By Maila Ager INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines—A congressional inquiry into the “most ambitious and expensive” P351-billion
5 flood control program of government is being sought by an administration ally in the Senate.
Senator Ralph Recto said the Senate should look into the viability of the approved P351-billion overall master plan on flood management in the National Capital Region which is, by far, “the most ambitious and expensive flood control program ever crafted by the national government.”
“Questions continue to inundate our minds as to the effectiveness of this master plan, especially so when flood waters continue to debilitate almost the whole of Metro Manila nine months after this plan was approved,” Recto said in a statement on Friday.
“And before we are neck-deep in doubts if indeed we are wisely spending P351 billion in taxpayers’
money on this project, a congressional inquiry is in order with the end in view of ensuring a comprehensive and cost-efficient solution to the flooding problem in the metropolis,” he said.
In filing Senate Resolution No. 6, Recto took note of the flash floods that virtually crippled Metro Manila last month, submerging major roadways, clogged waterways, rendered intersections impassable and virtually paralyzed public transport, leaving thousands of commuters stranded.
“The flash floods of June have resulted in cancellation of classes, offices and shutting down of other workplaces, which has impacted negatively on productivity,” he said.
Recto explained that the P351-billion flood control master plan, which took 22 years to make, was approved by the national government last year. The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) is the lead implementing agency of the program.
“The master plan on flood management—the most expensive and ambitious at P351 billion—is considered the most urgent that an initial amount of P5 billion has been approved to jumpstart it,” he said.
Completion by 2035
The long-term plan, the senator said, would cover the infrastructure needs of 11 flood-prone areas in Metro Manila and nearby provinces and would see completion by 2035.
Recto said the initial seed money of P5 billion will bankroll the most urgent needs in terms of spending for the improvement of floodways and drainage systems and river capacities in Metro Manila, Central Luzon (Region III), and Calabarzon (Region IV-A).
He, however, noted the statements of the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) that unless the DPWH completes its 70 ongoing drainage projects in Metro Manila such as a flood interceptor in the Espana-Blumentritt area, the metropolis should brace for more floods.
“We need to provide immediate relief to the public against flash floods that threaten Metro Manila during heavy downpour of rain. If we are spending P351 billion in this project, we should know if it will be effective,” Recto said.
Overpumping
The senator then cited a University of Illinois study conducted by Dr. Kelvin Rodolfo, which showed that the overpumping of groundwater has caused Metro Manila and other highly populated areas to sink 20 mm to as much as 90 mm a year particularly in Bataan, Pampanga, Bulacan and Camanava (Caloocan, Malabon, Navotas and Valenzuela) area.
A separate local study, he said, indicated that 41.02 percent of the 273 esteros, creeks and tributaries in the NCR are now virtually “ghosts” or missing as many of these are actually buried under road networks or with establishments built on top of them decades ago.
“This is added to the fact that authorities like the DPWH and MMDA have singled out the clogged waterways and blocked drainages as the main culprits of the crippling flash floods,” the senator pointed out.
What worsens Metro Manila’s flood predicament, Recto said, is the presence of garbage-dumping informal settlers living near these waterways and drainages.
Malacañang has said that it was determined to relocate some 20,000 informal settlers living near waterways, and to file appropriate charges against those who will hinder this project.
6 Of the 100,000 informal settlers in Metro Manila, 60,000 live near waterways and of this number, some 20,000 are located near the government’s priority waterways whose mere presence put at risk the well- being of 2.2 million Metro Manila residents.
The eight priority waterways identified by the DPWH are San Juan River, Pasig River, Tullahan River, Maricaban Creek, Manggahan Floodway, Estero Tripa de Gallina, Estero de Maypajo, and Estero de Sunog Apog.
Drilon: No other contender for top Senate post
By Christina Mendez (The Philippine Star)
MANILA, Philippines - Administration ally Sen. Franklin Drilon will likely run unopposed as Senate president when the 16th Congress convenes on Monday.
Drilon said there was no other contender for the top Senate post.
“I confirm that no one has expressed interest in the Senate presidency post from among my colleagues,”
he said. “Nevertheless, I will wait until July 22 before making any formal announcement.”
Sen. Cynthia Villar, a member of the pro-administration coalition, said 18 senators are solid behind Drilon’s bid for the Senate presidency.
Drilon sought understanding from the media to just wait for the formal election on Monday.
“It ain’t over til the fat lady sings, as they say in American baseball,” he said.
Drilon said the new Senate minority bloc to be led by former Senate president Juan Ponce Enrile will be offered some committees in the next Congress.
“Whether they accept or not is a matter at their discretion,” he said. “You cannot force them to accept committees, but, yes, the minority will be offered committees that are consistent with the tradition of the Senate.”
Sen. Nancy Binay said the new minority bloc may refuse to head any committee.
“It is one of the options,” she said. “We will discuss again if we will be accepting any committees or not.”
In another interview, Villar said the five-member Nacionalista Party bloc is likely to get the preferred committees for the next Congress.
The NP bloc is comprised of Senators Pia and Alan Cayetano, Antonio Trillanes IV, Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
and Villar.
Villar confirmed that Alan Cayetano will likely be the new majority leader, while his sister, Pia, will retain chairmanship of the committee on youth, women and family relations.
Trillanes will get the committee on national defense, while Marcos will retain chairmanship of the
7 committee on local governments.
Drilon said discussion is continuing with his colleagues on committee assignments.
“It is not a new one that some senators will be bidding for the same committee because they believe that they have the expertise and this is their advocacy so it’s natural,” he said.
“We will continue to talk with our colleagues regarding committee chairmanships.”
Senate minority may not accept committees – Binay
By Hannah L. Torregoza Manila Bulletin
Manila, Philippines --- Senator Ma. Lourdes “Nancy” Binay revealed Wednesday night that the minority group is mulling not accepting any committees, although it vowed to actively participate during hearings.
Binay said this was agreed upon during a meeting by the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) which was attended by former Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, Senators Jinggoy Estrada, JV Ejercito, Vicente Sotto III, and Gregorio Honasan II.
It is up to the discretion of the Senate minority bloc if they refuse to accept any committees in the upcoming 16th Congress, said Senator Franklin Drilon, who is being groomed to be the next Senate President.
“The tradition in the Senate is that the minority are offered committees; whether or not they accept is up to their discretion,” Drilon said at a weekly forum in the Senate.
But Drilon said even if committee chairmanships have been assigned to the members of the majority, the minority members would also be given committees. “Because that’s how the Senate and the House of Representatives work. We see what is the agenda of particular senators, what their advocacy is, his or her background and see how the chairmanship can be best distributed for the sake of better public service,” Drilon said.
Every senator, he said, is free to express his or her preferred committee even members of the Senate minority.
He pointed out even former Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada had earlier expressed his preference to retain the Senate Committee on Labor, Employment, and Human Resources.
But if members of the minority decide not to chair any committees, Drilon said the majority bloc will accept their decision.
“That is the decision they would have to make. Though I admit that would be a challenge to the majority bloc in terms of additional workload for the senators,” he said.
Graft raps filed vs ex-DA chief
By Michael Punongbayan
8 (The Philippine Star)
MANILA, Philippines - Graft charges were ordered filed yesterday against former agriculture secretary Luis Ramon “Cito” Lorenzo Jr. and officials of the state-owned firm Quedan and Rural Credit Guarantee (Quedancor) over a swine program in 2004.
In a decision dated July 12, Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales said she found probable cause to indict Lorenzo for violation of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.
Aside from Lorenzo, ordered charged were Quedancor president and chief executive officer Nelson Buenaflor and the firm’s board members and representatives identified as Wilfredo Domo-ong, Romeo Lanciola, Nellie Ilas and Jesus Simon.
Also to be charged for causing undue injury to government are Quedancor regional assistant and vice president Rhomady Bernabe, Metro Livestock Inc. (MLI) general manager Joel Salazar, and MLI incorporators and directors Excel Salazar, Francis Edison Peña, Teresa Adille and Santiago Baldado.
Established in 2004, the Quedancor Swine Program (QSP) is a credit program aimed to support swine raisers in their swine fattening and breeding activities.
The program allowed farmer-borrowers to apply for a loan with Quedancor, which proceeds were not given in cash but in the form of input supplies like hogs, gilts, feeds, medicine and technical assistance.
The ombudsman said the lack of public bidding for the project resulted in losses to the government as Quedancor lacked recourse against the supplier for late deliveries or non-deliveries.
The anti-graft court said the supplier was not made to post performance bond or contractor}s surety bond as provided under the Government Procurement Reform Act.
The ombudsman described the procurement of swine inputs as a contract of sale between Quedancor and the private firm MLI, which should have been subjected to a bidding.
The Office of the Ombudsman cited a report by the Commission on Audit (COA) in 2005 that classified the QSP as a “loan in kind” where the borrowers were not free to choose the supplier they wanted, as they did not have control over the supposed monetary proceeds of the loan.
Graft investigators said MLI was allowed to participate in the QSP even if it allegedly failed to comply with the accreditation and eligibility requirements such as the two-year prior operation, and the necessary license from appropriate government agency such as the Livestock Development Division of the Bureau of Animal Industry.
Majority to push economic reforms, not ‘Cha-cha’ — Drilon
By Mario B. Casayuran
Manila, Philippines --- Instead of railroading Charter change (Cha-cha) in the first two years of the 16th Congress, the majority bloc in the 24-member Senate said yesterday it will push for the approval of economic measures to provide the environment of better investment climate which Cha-cha advocates seek to achieve.
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“I will propose to the majority that we prioritize the following bills. These bills are prioritized in order to improve our investment climate so that we can achieve an inclusive growth. We have to improve our policy framework,” Senator Franklin M. Drilon, a political ally of President Aquino, told Senate reporters during their regular “Kapihan sa Senado” press briefing.
Drilon, a former Senate president and former chairman of the Senate finance committee, said the President is not convinced that the country needs Charter change.
While former Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile is no longer aggressive as before in seeking amendments to what has been termed as “archaic” economic provisions of the 1987 Constitution, House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte wanted a congressional approval of his move to amend the Charter.
Sen. Cynthia Villar said that she is amenable to these economic-related bills as long as they are not against provisions in the 1987 Constitution.
Topping the constitutional provisions that need amendment is the one that mandates a 60-40 percent sharing in capital investments with foreigners’ investments limited to only 40 percent.
Cha-cha proponents maintain that Filipino businessmen have difficulty raising the bigger 60-percent capital investment.
The proposed laws that Drilon sees to be likely approved by the pro-administration Senate in the last half of the six-year tenure of Aquino are the rationalization of the fiscal inventive act; the amendments to the mining law; and the tax incentive, monitoring and transparency act, among others.
“These would monitor the incentives being enjoyed by the pioneer industries so that abuses can be checked,” he said.
The 16th Congress which begins work on Monday is also seen to pass amendments to the Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) law because, as Drilon explained: “Again, the criticism is that there appears to be many hindrances to the full implementation of the public-private partnership (PPP) sector in projects.”
“Remember that a good part of our infrastructure program would be open to PPP so we must strengthen the law,” he said.
Drilon stressed that the Senate is also bent on reviewing the removal of the restrictions on areas where investments could be made by foreigners consistent with the Philippine Constitution.
“We would also propose amendments to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) in order to strengthen our banking sector,” he said.
“On the judiciary, we realize that the constant plea of faster administration of justice can be addressed by certain legislations. We would propose amendments to the Sandiganbayan law, amendments to the Judiciary Act to assist in the effort to speed up the disposition of cases,’’ he added..
“Finally, we will support amendments to the Organic Act that principally will be the result of the peace agreement that we expected to be signed, hopefully before the year is over so that we can work on the ARMM (Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao) Organic Act, amendments as this will affect the form of government in the ARMM, to be ratified by the ARMM,’’ he said.
