NEWS UPDATE
November 6, 2012 (Friday)
Senate Approves Early Media Voting
By MARIO B. CASAYURAN The Manila Bulletin, page 2
The 24-member Senate approved on third and final reading on Monday a bill allowing media members to vote earlier than other regular voters in the May, 2013 mid-term elections.
The measure, Senate Bill 1198, was authored by Sen. Manuel Villar.
Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile said that the privilege is also granted to members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), the Philippine National Police (PNP) and other government officials and employees who have to report to for duty during election day as provided for by Republic Act 7166 on local absentee voting.
“If there is one sector of our free society whose eye witness reportage on the conduct of our electoral process is vital and indispensable, it is none other than the mass media of our country,”
Sen. Koko Pimentel, chairman of the Committee on Electoral Reforms and sponsor of the bill, Sen.
Aquilino Pimentel III, chairman of the Senate electoral reforms, said.
“This bill would allow media practitioners to vote on specified days earlier than election day so that even if on election day, they are assigned to cover election events away from their place of
registration as voters, they would nonetheless have the opportunity to cast their votes,” he added.
Last month, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) approved a petition filed by media personalities allowing media members to vote before election day.
Under Senate Bill 1198, only duly registered media members would be allowed to vote before election day.
Media members must also be accredited by Comelec as recommended by the media outfit to which they belong and may only vote on the days fixed by the Comelec in the city or municipality where their media outfit has established as its main or satellite office.
“The requirements should serve as a timely reminder that not all individuals who claim they are media practitioners will automatically enjoy the right to vote under this bill,” Pimentel said.
Pimentel said media members are limited to vote for the President, Vice President, senators, and party-list representatives.
“The limitation is purposely made to make it jibe with the limitations set forth in Executive Order No.
157, as amended, that grants the same privilege to other groups of people to vote earlier than on election day and to minimize confusion among voters concerned and the implementation of the bill once it becomes law,” he said.
He said the bill also includes the technical and support staff of the media outfit such as the crew members of a television outfit.
EU supports Asean approach to sea row
By Leila B. Salaverria
Philippine Daily Inquirer, page 1
VIENTIANE, Laos—In meetings on Monday with President Benigno Aquino III, leaders of the European Union (EU), Switzerland and Norway declared support for an Asean approach to the territorial disputes in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea).
Secretary Herminio Coloma of the Presidential Communications Operations Office told reporters that the European leaders indicated their support for a peaceful resolution of the territorial conflicts based on international law, which is the same as the Philippine position.
But any meeting with China, which is claiming nearly all of the West Philippine Sea, is not on Mr.
Aquino’s schedule, Coloma said.
Aside from the Philippines and China, Vietnam, Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei also have claims to parts of the sea.
Mr. Aquino is also expected to mention the matter when he addresses the Asia-Europe summit and is likely to discuss the territorial dispute during bilateral talks with the leader of Japan on Tuesday, Coloma said. Japan also has simmering tensions with China due to conflicting claims to East China Sea islets.
“There was an agreement that it is a matter of international interest considering that a significant amount of world trade passes through that body of water. And in particular, Switzerland and the EU, and to some extent also Norway, indicated their firm support for the Philippines in terms of our position that conflicts or disputes in that area are to be resolved peacefully and follow international law,” Coloma said.
“And in particular, there is firm support for an Asean-centric approach, which has always been the position of President Aquino considering that four out of the 10-member states of Asean have specific stakes in the West Philippine Sea,” he added.
China has taken the position that territorial disputes should be settled bilaterally.
President Aquino had trilateral meetings with Herman Van Rompuy, the president of the European Council, and Jose Manuel Barroso, president of the European Commission.
He also held bilateral talks with Norway Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg and Swiss Confederation President Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf.
Coloma said the EU officials told Mr. Aquino that concerns about the Philippine aviation industry were technical and not political.
Philippine carriers have been banned from the European Union following the poor assessment by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) of the country’s aviation safety measures.
“It was emphasized by the President of the European Commission… that these are technical issues—
technical issues involving safety standards and these are not political issues. And we acknowledge that we are addressing the technical concerns and that we are moving positively in the direction of addressing and resolving all of those concerns,” Coloma said.
The Philippines was assured that it would get “every measure of support” in meeting international safety standards, he said.
“Definitely, the present restrictions on our Philippine carriers would not promote the idea of increased tourist traffic between Europe and the Philippines. And so we would like to see an early resolution of the concerns of the ICAO and similar bodies like the US Federal Aviation
Administration,” Coloma said.
Crusade vs political dynasties launched
By Jocelyn R. Uy
Philippine Daily Inquirer, page 1
A little-known contractor who has convinced election officials he is not a “nuisance” candidate for senator has his eyes set on ending political dynasties.
Ricardo Penson, 60, on Monday launched in a news conference what he called Krusada Kontra Dynasty, or Kontra, and challenged fellow senatorial candidates to sign a pact that would end a few families’ dominance of the country’s political landscape.
The president and CEO of Ausphil Tollways Corp., a proponent of the Katipunan (C5)-La Mesa-San Jose del Monte-Norzagaray tollway project, urged like-minded groups, the Catholic Church and individuals to join his movement.
Penson said he was strongly against dynasts as they are involved in “unprincipled party-switching” or
“turncoatism” for convenience, reducing political parties to nothing more than a vehicle for the
ambitions of powerful political clans.
“Dynasties provide a clout to amass more wealth to secure enduring political power wherein such wealth coupled with traditional politics of patronage gives its members, no matter how unqualified, incontestable edge,” he said.
Penson was one of the five candidates allowed to participate in the Senate derby after they were able to convince the Commission on Elections (Comelec) in a hearing last month that they were not
“nuisance” candidates and they had the capacity to launch a nationwide campaign.
“As our crusade flourishes, we will be able to strengthen the belief that ordinary people can do what our lawmakers cannot do,” said Penson, whose mother is a second cousin of Davao del Norte Rep.
Antonio Lagdameo Jr.’s father.
It is time for Filipino voters to realize that there is no need for a lawmaker to share the small chambers of the Senate or Congress with a sister or a brother, he said.
“Let us not be party to a mechanism to provide legitimacy to a select few, an illusion of change every three years. If we allow them to prosper again, expect the present and future congresses to be mere rubber stamps to favor oligarchs and the corporate elite they serve,” he added.
In the covenant he signed and sent to the 31 other senatorial aspirants, Penson urged the candidates to commit to genuine democratic reform and vow to abandon personal motives in favor of the public good.
Dynasty candidates
The pact also exhorted all senatorial candidates to work for the enactment of a law prohibiting political dynasties, citing Article 2, Section 26 of the Constitution, which provides that “the State shall guarantee equal access to opportunities for public service and prohibit political dynasties as may be defined by law.”
The covenant also said that the signatories who failed to craft and pass an enabling law banning dynasties would mean their resignation from the Senate.
“Do away with political dynasties and we begin a future with positive and constructive steps to people empowerment,” said Penson.
The majority of senatorial contenders from the Liberal Party-led ruling coalition and the United Nationalist Alliance are considered part of political families.
Among them are President Aquino’s cousin Bam and his aunt Margarita “Tingting” Cojuangco; Vice President Jejomar Binay’s daughter, Nancy; Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile’s son, Jackie; Sen.
Jinggoy Estrada’s half-brother, JV; Aurora Rep. Juan Edgardo Angara, Senators Alan Peter Cayetano and Koko Pimentel, Cynthia Villar, Juan Miguel Zubiri, Zambales Rep. Mitos Magsaysay and former Sen. Jun Magsaysay.
Senate showdown on sin tax bill looms
By Cathy Yamsuan, Michael Lim Ubac Maricar Brizuela Philippine Daily Inquirer, page 1
Senators with varying positions on how much sin taxes should be raised appear headed for a showdown as the Senate begins debates on the controversial measure this afternoon.
In one corner rests Franklin Drilon, acting chair of the Senate ways and means committee, who is set to overhaul the committee report sponsored by resigned panel head Ralph Recto and work on raising sin taxes from tobacco and liquor to “at least” P24 billion.
In another is Recto, who said he was prepared to question all figures and data that Drilon and other senators favoring higher sin taxes would propose during the debates.
Then there’s Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago, whose bill seeks to generate P60 billion in additional revenue from tobacco and liquor products.
Recto was widely criticized for submitting a report that proposed incremental increases of between P15 billion and P19 billion in sin taxes over a period of several years.
The House of Representatives has passed its own version of the sin tax measure, which slashed in half the P60-billion original target revenue from sin taxes.
More realistic
Recto, however, insisted that his numbers were “more realistic and responsible” because jacking up
the taxes on sin products to what he perceived to be unreasonable levels would cause the collapse of the affected industries and result in job losses and subsequently lower tax collections.
The senator remained wary of the Department of Finance’s (DOF) revised endorsement of P40 billion in additional sin taxes, down from its original proposal of an additional P60-billion collection from tobacco and liquor.
Recto resigned as chair of the ways and means committee three weeks ago after complaining that the DOF, Department of Health (DOH) and Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) refused to support his committee report.
The senator said he had requested that his signature be removed from the committee report that Drilon planned to use during plenary debates.
“All the studies and efforts I made when I put the report together would go to waste if I do not defend my (original) position (although I admit) that my report has its flaws. That’s why I am prepared to submit my own amendments,” Recto said in an interview.
Not an ‘obstacle’
Recto said he would not be an “obstacle” to the Senate debates on the sin tax measure.
Some observers questioned the plan of Drilon to use the committee report submitted by Recto since the former favored the DOF’s endorsement of higher sin taxes and, reportedly, the sin tax bill filed by Santiago that targets P60 billion in additional revenue from tobacco and liquor products.
Drilon said he would use the committee report filed by Recto under the following premises:
The need to increase the taxes.
The sin tax bill is a health measure “more than a finance or tax measure” because it declares that smoking is a major cause of mortality in the country.
Excise tax is an effective tool in reducing smoking in the country.
DOH, PhilHealth funding
In a separate talk with reporters, Drilon said the Senate needed to approve a sin tax version that would raise the collection by a minimum of P24 billion because the 2013 budget of the DOH and the PhilHealth program for indigents was only P54 billion.
Drilon said the health sector would actually need P77.5 billion next year so it could go ahead with its plan to enroll additional members from 5.2 million of the poorest Filipino families in the PhilHealth program.
Farmers’ safety net
Drilon said the minimum P24 billion did not yet include the 15-percent increment in the budget allocation for safety net to protect workers in the tobacco industry as provided by law.
“We need more revenue for our health sector. The health sector budget is P54 billion under the 2013 budget. It really needs about P77.5 billion and therefore, there is a funding gap of P23 billion to P24 billion,” Drilon said.
“That is why we have to pass the sin tax bill in order that we can fill the financial gap of this sector.
We intend to pass the sin tax bill before the 2013 budget,” he added.
Drilon said approving a sin tax bill in which the collection was lower than P24 billion would hinder the enrollment of more poor Filipinos in PhilHealth.
Get act together
Malacañang wanted the Senate to get its act together and pass the sin tax bill.
“There is a budget gap that we need to fill. And we’re hoping that the revenue to be generated by the sin tax measure will be able to fill that gap,” deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said on Monday.
She said the executive department had no Plan B should Congress fail to pass the revenue measure.
“At this point, we’re not looking at other contingencies yet,” she said.
Warning of consequences, Valte said that some of the medical facilities may not be able to get the much-needed upgrade or repair without an assured revenue source. This could also affect funding for PhilHealth premiums, she said.
PhilHealth now gives 100-percent coverage for indigents and treatment for various stages of cancer falling under “Case Type Z benefits,” which are as follows: Standard risk acute lymphocyte
(lymphoblastic), leukemia (all cases) in children, early stage breast cancer, low to intermediate prostate cancer and end stage renal disease requiring kidney transplant (low risk).
Recto belied reports that the additional revenue from higher sin taxes had been factored in the 2013 national budget. Recto said he learned this during a joint hearing of several Senate committees on Monday morning.
Recto said the imposition of excise or uniform taxes on both local and foreign products would be disadvantageous to domestic business.
“I have already studied these issues. That’s why I have to defend these facts on the floor,” Recto said.
Tobacco farmers’ rally
As the debates on the sin tax measure heated up, more than 500 tobacco farmers from four
northern Luzon provinces picketed in front of the Senate building in Pasay City on Monday morning.
Carrying banners with the message “Local tobacco industry will die,” the farmers from Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, Abra and La Union hoped to hold dialogues with some senators whom they believed could help them in proposing a lower sin tax increase.
Ernesto Calindas, chair of the National Federation of Tobacco Farmers’ Associations and
Cooperatives Inc. said that his group had already met with Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile and that the senator had agreed to help them.
Calindas said the farmers would put up tents and stay on Senate grounds until their issues were given resolution.
Unfazed Bartolome keeps working
By Marlon Ramos
Philippine Daily Inquirer, page 5
MANILA, Philippines—Philippine National Police Director General Nicanor Bartolome remains unruffled by persistent reports President Aquino wants him to step down ahead of his mandatory retirement in March next year, the PNP spokesperson said Monday.
“There are no changes in (Bartolome’s) routine. He goes around conducting meetings and supervising police units,” Chief Supt. Generoso Cerbo Jr. said in a news briefing.
“The stand of the PNP chief is that he serves at the pleasure of the President. He will comply with what would serve the best interest of the country and the police organization,” Cerbo told reporters.
He added, however, that Bartolome was “ready to serve until he reaches the mandatory retirement age (of 56) on March 16, 2013.”
“Whatever stories are coming out in the media, he is not affected or bothered by those reports. He does not want to get distracted,” Cerbo said.
He also downplayed rumors that some police officials had warned that the President’s decision to have Bartolome retire early might result in “disenchantment” among senior police officers.
Last week, Interior Secretary Mar Roxas reiterated Mr. Aquino’s preference that Bartolome’s successor take the helm of the PNP at the soonest possible time to prepare for the May 2013 elections.
But Cerbo said, “I don’t think that will happen. We are not bothered. We have a very strong organization.”
As an institution, he said, the PNP “understands that such a transition was normal so it’s not really a big issue.”
“We all work as usual. We have well-defined roles for our personnel and our units. That’s why our quality of work is not affected,” he said.
Cerbo also defended the appointment of Deputy Director General Alan Purisima, touted as Bartolome’s successor, as head of Task Force Secure and Fair Elections.
Purisima’s designation broke the PNP tradition which normally assigns the PNP deputy chief for operations as head of the overall task force on election-related police operations.
“It’s the prerogative of our commanders and the PNP chief to appoint the commander of the police task force on the elections. There is nothing irregular or illegal (in Purisima’s designation),” he said.
Senate passes early voting bill for media
By Cathy Yamsuan
Philippine Daily Inquirer, page 5
MANILA, Philippines—The Senate approved on third and final reading a bill that will allow members of the media to vote earlier than other voters in the May 2013 elections.
The measure, authored by Sen. Manuel Villar, was sponsored on the floor by Senate electoral reforms chair Aquilino Pimentel III.
The Early Media Voting Act was approved in the House of Representatives in August last year.
The media members, however, would only be allowed to vote for the president, vice president, senators and party-list representatives.
“The limitation is purposely made to make it jibe with the limitations set forth in Executive Order No.
157, as amended, that grants the same privilege to other groups of people to vote earlier than election day and to minimize confusion among voters concerned and the implementation of the bill once it becomes law,” Pimentel explained.
Those given the early voting privilege include technical and support staff of media outfits.
Other sectors granted the same privilege include members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, Philippine National Police and other government officials and employees who have to report for duty on electionday, under Republic Act No. 7166 on local absentee voting.
The Senate bill limits the privilege to media members who registered with the Commission on Elections (Comelec) during the registration period.
Media members must also have Comelec accreditation as recommended by the media outfit that employs them. They could only vote on the days fixed by the Comelec in the city or municipality where their media outfit has established its main or satellite office.
House measure to punish bribe-givers, too
By Gil Cabacungan
Philippine Daily Inquirer, page 6
MANILA, Philippines—Congress will tackle this month a bill proposing to amend the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act to penalize not only government employees who accept bribes but also the private individuals who give the bribes.
Rep. Sherwin Tugna of the party-list Citizens Battle Against Corruption (Cibac) said it was about time the law was changed to also penalize corruption in the private sector.
“Corruption has always been associated with the government. People always see that corruption is only prevalent in government offices, agencies and departments. However, it is forgotten that graft and corruption are not limited to the government sector,” said Tugna.
He said the House committee on revision of laws was scheduled to meet on Nov. 21 to tackle the proposed bill.
“We expect that there will be resistance from the private sector, especially from the bids and awards committees and purchasing departments. But honest bidders, employers and business owners will be happy because this will level the playing field and promote a culture of honesty in the private sector,” Tugna said.
Tugna has filed House Bill No. 6610 seeking to amend Republic Act No. 3019 criminalizing graft and corruption in the private sector.
“This bill is based on research and studies made by the Development Academy of the Philippines and recommendations made by the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (Uncac). We also made reference to existing laws in Hong Kong and Singapore that punish bribery and corruption, even if the transaction is purely between private persons in their private capacities. In essence, this bill promotes a culture of honesty and reduction (if not total elimination) in the entire country by including transactions in the private sector,” said Tugna.
Tugna said his bill was meant to implement one of the goals of Uncac which mandates member countries to “take measures, in accordance with the fundamental principles of its domestic law, to prevent corruption involving the private sector, enhance accounting and auditing standards in the private sector, and, where appropriate, provide effective, proportionate and dissuasive civil, administrative or criminal penalties for failure to comply with such measures.”
The bill has a specific provision entitled “Corruption by Private Persons” which penalizes private persons involved in corrupt practices with imprisonment of six to 15 years and fines of between P500 and P1 million.
Tugna said his bill would met out a harsh penalty to public officers who would be required to pay a
fine equivalent from 30 percent to 60 percent of their annual income and one year imprisonment.
Aquino defends foreign trips, says Arroyo had more mileage
By Leila B. Salaverria
Philippine Daily Inquirer, page 11
VIENTIANE, Laos—President Benigno Aquino III defended his jet-setting ways, saying his travels were fewer than that of his predecessor, former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal- Arroyo.
Laos is the seventh country Mr. Aquino visited this year. He said this trip cost the government P8.9 million.
The President’s previous trips this year included attendance at the 60th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth’s enthronement in London, a visit to Washington for a meeting with President Barack Obama and a trip to Brunei for the wedding of Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah’s daughter.
“I’ll bet you that my travels are much fewer than that of my predecessor,” Mr. Aquino said in remarks during a meeting with the Filipino community in Vientiane.
Mr. Aquino said the numerous trips abroad had left him drained, but he said meeting Filipinos working abroad restored his energy.
“They did not include rest in our job description, and that’s OK. It’s a good thing that even if we don’t get any rest, the tiredness and fatigue of the whole delegation is wiped away when we get to meet and mingle with fellow Filipinos,” he said.
Many of the Filipinos, garbed in Filipiniana or semiformal attire, came hours early for the event.
Children from the Filipino community performed a traditional Lao dance, while a band regaled the President, as well as the Cabinet officials in attendance, with OPM hits.
The 550-member Filipino community in Laos is composed mostly of engineers, English teachers, consultants for international agencies, garments factory employees and office workers.
During his speech, Mr. Aquino commiserated with overseas Filipinos over their usual sacrifice of spending the Christmas holidays away from their loved ones.
He said he spent more than seven Christmases with his detained father in Fort Bonifacio when he was young, and two yuletide holidays in Boston when his family was in exile.
The President also waxed rhapsodic about the Filipino delicacy kutsinta (rice cake), describing how he longed for it so much in Boston. So when he finally returned to the country, he made it a point to have kutsinta and to eat three pieces each time.
“I’ve tried all kinds of kutsinta in the Philippines. They have many colors. The psychedelic colors are now gone. Normally, it’s only one color now,” he said, to the amusement of the Filipinos.
Arroyo still butt of Aquino jokes in Laos
By Leila B. Salaverria
Philippine Daily Inquirer, page 11
VIENTIANE, Laos—President Benigno Aquino III isn’t easing up attacks on former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in his meetings with overseas Filipinos.
As in Auckland, New Zealand, Mr. Aquino made several references to Arroyo, now a Pampanga representative under hospital arrest for plunder.
This time, Mr. Aquino joked that he had heard other people say the previous administration seemed to have used a different kind of calculator when estimating costs of public works and rice imports, and seemed to have had a faulty addition and subtraction button.
He made the quip as he lauded the P260 million purportedly saved when his administration constructed the newly opened Araneta-Quezon Avenue underpass in Quezon City. The previous administration had estimated the project to cost P694 million, he noted.
“As other people say, maybe they used a different kind of calculator and the addition button is automatic and frequently pushed,” he said.
He also said the calculator seemed to have had a subtraction problem since the previous
administration imported 2.5 million metric tons of rice for a 1.3 million shortage. The excess rice is now rotting in warehouses, he added.
He also recycled his “bulalo” joke about corruption, which he first mentioned in his speech in New
Zealand late last month.
He said that the previous administration had made the public works department a milking cow that it was as if they were trying to suck the marrow out of it.
Recently, ousted Chief Justice Renato Corona was not spared either, with Mr. Aquino hitting the former top magistrate for his excuses about failing to officially declare 98 percent of his wealth, walking out of his trial and feeling that he was exempted from the law because he headed the judiciary.
But the President steered clear of jokes about the health of the former President, who is presently detained for plunder at Veterans Memorial Medical Center because of her illnesses.
Arroyo’s allies have hit Mr. Aquino for joking about Arroyo’s use of a wheelchair, saying it was ungentlemanly and that the former President’s ill health was no laughing matter.
Critics said it was a “sick joke” and was “unpresidential.”
Mr. Aquino told close to 300 Filipinos who met him in Vientiane that the Philippines was now making strides, a task that he felt was “mission impossible” when he first assumed the presidency because of problems he inherited from the previous administration.
“Who would have known that I would have a solution?” he said.
“They were so thick-faced and so lacking in conscience that we can only say, ‘hay naku (oh well)’ to their anomalies left and right,” he said.
As an example, the President said billions were set aside to buy prefabricated bridges from foreign companies but the Arroyo administration did not know where to put these. The headache was passed on to his administration, he said.
The last contract was signed on June 28, 2010, two days before the Arroyo administration ended.
“One day before they left, they really milked it,” he said.
Phl pushes international solution to sea row
By Delon Porcalla (The Philippine Star) page 1
President Aquino watches a cultural presentation during a meeting with the Filipino community at the Mekong II Restaurant in Vientiane, Laos the other night.
| Zoom
VIENTIANE – The Philippines yesterday pushed its call for an international solution to overlapping claims in the West Philippine Sea at the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM), saying vital global shipping lanes were at stake.
President Aquino raised the issue in bilateral meetings with European Council President Herman Van Rompuy and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, as well as with Swiss President Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf and Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg in Laos.
“We noted the increasing importance of maritime security in what Manila calls the West Philippine Sea,” said Herminio Coloma, head of the presidential communications operations office.
“There was agreement that it was a matter of international interest, considering that a significant amount of world trade passes through that body of water,” he told reporters in the Laotian capital Vientiane.
“Switzerland and the EU and to some extent Norway indicated their firm support to the Philippines in terms of our position that conflicts and disputes in that area are to be resolved peacefully and following international laws.”
“They expressed support for an ASEAN-centric approach, which has always been the position of President Aquino, considering that four out of the 10 member-states of ASEAN have specific stakes in the West Philippine Sea,” Coloma said.
He said Aquino is also likely to raise the issue at a plenary session of the ASEM later yesterday and in bilateral discussions with the leaders of Japan and Italy.
More than 50 Asian and European leaders or their representatives are attending the ASEM summit, held every two years.
Any instability in the West Philippine Sea, home to global commercial shipping lanes, will affect Europe because it would lead to higher insurance premiums for their ships, Coloma added.
China claims nearly all of the West Philippine Sea, even waters near the coasts of neighboring countries.
The Philippines and Vietnam have accused Beijing of becoming increasingly aggressive in staking out its claims.
The Philippines has since April been engaged in a standoff with China over a disputed shoal.
Vietnam, Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei also have claims to parts of the sea.
Aquino has insisted in the past that solving the dispute needed a multilateral approach, but China has insisted on solving the problem bilaterally with individual countries involved.
Noy slams GMA's 'faulty calculator'
By Delon Porcalla (The Philippine Star) page 1
VIENTIANE (via PLDT) – First it was the wheelchair. Now, it’s the calculator.
In yet another Arroyo-bashing episode, President Aquino continued his tirades against his predecessor, whose defective calculator he said seemed to be on automatic addition mode – the reason why her administration was full of anomalies.
“Ibang klaseng calculator po yata ang ginamit nila, at automatic at maya’t maya ang pindot ng addition button (It seems they used a different kind of calculator, which is automatic with the addition button frequently pressed),” Aquino told some 200 Filipinos in the Mekong II restaurant shortly after his arrival last Sunday.
The President, who is on a two-day visit for the 9th Asia-Europe Meeting here, made the comparison between the previous nine-year administration of Arroyo and his more than two years in office, during which significant changes in government have already been made in such a short time.
He insinuated that Arroyo got her figures all wrong, and probably did not know basic arithmetic, citing the P264 million his administration had saved for the construction of the Araneta-Quezon Avenue underpass, and the bloated importation of rice.
“Based on my predecessor’s computation, the project would cost P694 million. However, Secretary Singson managed to complete the project 100 days ahead of schedule at the cost of P430 million only,” he said, referring to Public Works Secretary Rogelio Singson.
Arroyo was Aquino’s professor in Economics at the Ateneo de Manila University.
Apart from the P264-million savings, Aquino also proudly told the Filipino community that Singson of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) – an agency known for large-scale corruption – even managed to save P11.3 billion.
“This is what we call the ‘straight path’ – the benefits go directly to the people and not to the pockets of anybody,” he said, adding that these additional government funds can now be funneled to more sensible projects for the poor.
'Martial law victims to be compensated'
By Delon Porcalla (The Philippine Star) page 1
VIENTIANE (via PLDT) – President Aquino yesterday assured Swiss President Eveline Widmer- Schlumpf of the Philippines’ resolve to pass into law a bill seeking to provide compensation for human rights victims of the Marcos regime.
“The President said the government will do what is needed in getting the compensation bill
approved and paid out to its beneficiaries,” Secretary Herminio Coloma told reporters in a briefing at the International Media Center here.
Aquino and Schlumpf held bilateral talks, where the compensation bill, which is required for the release to human rights victims of at least $680 million in an escrow account at Philippine National Bank (PNB), was taken up.
Both leaders were attending the two-day 9th Asia-Europe Meeting here.
“He (Aquino) has a personal interest in resolving this, considering the situation of the human rights victims,” Coloma said, noting what the Aquino family underwent during the martial law era.
Coloma, who heads the Presidential Communications Operations Office, said both the Philippines and Switzerland agreed to work toward completing the compensation process.
The bill has been approved by the House and is now pending in the Senate committee on justice chaired by Sen. Francis Escudero, an ally of Aquino, but whose father served as Marcos’ agriculture minister.
Escudero said his panel is waiting for his fellow senators to sign the bill.
Once approved, the victims will receive compensation worth P10 billion, which would be taken from the ill-gotten wealth of the Marcoses that Swiss banks had turned over to the Philippine
government.
If the money is released, it would be the first time that funds stashed by a dictator in Swiss banks would be used to compensate human rights victims. Switzerland wants to use the case as a model for similar funds stashed away by other dictators in Swiss banks.
Apart from the compensation, human rights group Samahan ng Ex-Detainees Laban sa Detensyon at Aresto also wants martial law victims to be recognized as heroes and the public informed on how justice was denied to them for four decades.
During the 40th anniversary of martial law last Sept. 21, the Philippine Alliance of Human Rights Advocates (PAHRA) appealed to Aquino to support the passage of the bill giving compensation to almost 10,000 human rights victims.
Crusade vs dynasties launched
By Sheila Crisostomo (The Philippine Star) page 1
MANILA, Philippines - Candidates for senator were dared to sign a covenant committing themselves to eliminating political dynasties should they win.
Hurling the challenge was Krusada Kontra Dynasty (Kontra), a movement launched yesterday.
In convening Kontra, independent senatorial candidate Ricardo Penson said true democracy cannot be achieved without social and political equality.
“I urge and encourage other senatorial candidates to sign the same covenant with me,” he said.
“Through this covenant, we will commit to pursue anti-political dynasty legislation.”
Penson said political dynasty is “the root of our country’s democratic evils,” and putting a stop to it would be on top of his platform of government.
“Political dynasties are involved in unprincipled party switching or turn-coatism for expediency, further weakening our political parties (as) mere vehicles to the ambitions of powerful political families,” he said.
Penson said that political dynasties “provide a clout to amass more wealth to secure enduring political power wherein such wealth coupled with traditional politics of patronage gives its members, no matter how unqualified, uncontestable edge.”
“Dynasties continue hegemony of feudal politics and continued disenfranchisement of a vast marginalized majority in our country, making representation ever more elusive,” he said.
'Phl ready to work with next US leader'
By Aurea Calica (The Philippine Star) page 5
MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines expects defense cooperation with the United States to remain the same even after the elections, and says it is ready to work closely with whoever the American people will choose between incumbent President Barack Obama and Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney as the US’s chief executive.
According to Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office Secretary Ricky Carandang, the Aquino administration “has good relations” with both Republicans and Democrats.
Carandang did not comment on specific policies of the US on migration, the business process outsourcing industry, trade and other issues affecting the Philippines, but said “we would expect that the current thrust of US-Philippine defense cooperation would remain essentially unchanged regardless of whether Mr. Obama or Mr. Romney wins the election.”
Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said, “If you look at the history of American and Philippine relations, it is safe to assume that whoever wins, whether it be Republican or Democrat, we will continue the relationship and we will continue to work with them.”
Based on reports, many Filipinos who watched the second US presidential debate waited for both the candidates’ stance on immigration issues.
Romney said the US would have to stop illegal immigration as there were four million people waiting in line to get there legally.
“So I will not grant amnesty to those who have come here illegally. I won’t put in place magnets for people coming here illegally. So for instance, I would not give driver’s licenses to those that have come here illegally as the president would,” Romney was quoted as saying in reports.
JBC eyes point system for judiciary, Ombudsman bets
By Edu Punay (The Philippine Star) page 6
MANILA, Philippines - Aspirants for positions in the judiciary and the Office of the Ombudsman will face stiffer screening standards.
The Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) has drafted proposed guidelines for the selection process using a scoring system that puts premium on physical and mental fitness.
As proposed, the JBC would exclude nominees and applicants otherwise qualified in all criteria, but with poor health.
“While the grade of only 20 percent is allocated to good health, the JBC can disqualify applicants otherwise well-qualified who are proved to be physically or mentally incapable of discharging judicial functions,” read the proposed guidelines which consist of four tables.
Under current rules, the JBC conducts mental tests of applicants, but has not strictly imposed a disqualification rule.
Chief Justice Ma. Lourdes Sereno had reportedly scored low in the mental test, getting a rating of four on a scale of one to five, with five as the failing mark.
Under the proposed guidelines, the JBC will assess candidates based on seven criteria – good health (20 percent), integrity (20 percent), work experience (15 percent), work performance (15 percent), academic performance (10 percent), Bar rating (10 percent) and other accomplishments (10 percent).
The JBC will also consider the number of times an applicant took the Bar exams and give topnotchers additional points.
Scores of an aspirant in the seven criteria will be totaled and “only applicants with total scores of 70 percent and above shall be considered for nomination of the JBC.”
Candidates with “exceptional qualification” who will miss the mark may still be considered if any of the eight members of the JBC endorses him or her upon approval of the collegial body.
Those applying for posts in the Supreme Court, ombudsman and deputy ombudsman, will undergo screening based on these criteria prior to the JBC voting for the shortlist.
For other posts, this will be done in the first stage upon filing of nominations or applications.
Retired SC Justice Regino Hermosisima Jr., regular member and JBC executive committee chairman, had signed the proposed guidelines, which were already submitted to the JBC for collegial approval.
However, the proposed guidelines would not be used for the screening of applicants to the vacancy that Sereno’s appointment as chief justice had left since voting has already been set tomorrow.
Sereno chairs the JBC. Other members are Hermosisima, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, Senate justice committee chairman Sen. Francis Escudero, House of Representatives justice committee chairman Iloilo Rep. Niel Tupas Jr., lawyer Milagros Fernan-Cayosa from the Integrated Bar of the Philippines, lawyer Jose Mejia from academe, and retired Court of Appeals Justice Aurora Lagman from the private sector.
Dismissal of graft raps vs GMA questioned
By Edu Punay (The Philippine Star) page 6
MANILA, Philippines - The bid to indict former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on corruption charges for alleged misuse of P550 million in Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) funds in 2003 has been brought before the Supreme Court (SC).
Former solicitor general Frank Chavez opted to immediately question before the SC the recent decision of the Office of the Ombudsman to dismiss his complaint for plunder, malversation of public funds, and other charges.
In a 77-page petition for certiorari, Chavez said the Ombudsman “committed a reversible error in not
finding probable cause against respondents for various crimes charged in the complaint.”
He claimed the issues involved in the case are constitutional in nature and therefore subject to review of the SC.
Chavez filed the charges against Arroyo, former executive secretary Alberto Romulo, former PhilHealth head and former health secretary Francisco Duque and former OWWA board trustee Rosalinda Baldoz.
Petitioner argued that the Constitution or any statute does not authorize the president or the OWWA board of trustees to convert or commingle private funds (of OWWA) with public funds.
“There is probable cause to hail respondents to trial for the crime of plunder through the first predicate crime, as the diversion of the aforementioned amount, already illegal by itself in the first place, had absolutely nothing to do with the intended purposes of the OWWA Fund,” he insisted.
Chavez also argued that the purchase of vehicles and beautification of Philippine embassies in the Middle East do not redound to the direct and exclusive benefit of overseas Filipino workers, contrary to the finding of the Ombudsman.
