NEWS UPDATE
September 14, 2012 (Friday)
Taiwan Shuns ‘New’ Sea
But Philippines Sees No Friction With Affected Neighbors By ROY MABASA and GENALYN D. KABILING
Manila Bulletin, page 1
MANILA, Philippines — Taiwan does not recognize a unilateral move by the Philippines to rename the South China Sea as the West Philippine Sea, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
Taiwan’s Central News Agency (CNA) said the ministry issued a statement late Wednesday in
response to an administrative order signed by President Benigno S. Aquino III to officially rename the South China Sea.
In Administrative Order No. 29, the West Philippine Sea covers the Luzon Sea as well as the waters around, within, and adjacent to the Kalayaan Island Group and Bajo de Masinloc, also known as Scarborough Shoal.
The CNA reported that the ministry reaffirmed that whether from the perspective of history, geography or international law, the Spratly Islands, the Paracel Islands, the Macclesfield Bank and the Pratas Islands as well as their surrounding waters, sea beds and subsoil, are all inherent parts of the territory of the Republic of China.
The ministry reiterated that it upholds the basic principles of “safeguarding sovereignty, shelving disputes, peace and reciprocity, and joint exploration” and remains willing to work with other countries on exploring resources in the South China Sea, CNA said.
Anticipating sharp reactions from the countries involved in the maritime dispute, Malacañang moved quickly to justify the renaming of the vital waterway.
Presidential Spokesman Edwin Lacierda said yesterday the government merely “formalized” the renaming of the maritime areas on the country’s western side which was in accordance with its sovereign rights enshrined in local and international laws.
“How does one threaten other nations when what we’ve called the West Philippine Sea covers the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) which is provided under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea? So we see nothing wrong with what we claim as part of our sovereign rights under the UNCLOS (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea),” Lacierda said in a press briefing.
“We’ve been calling the EEZ as West Philippine Sea so that should not be an area whether should friction among nations, ASEAN. So we don’t see it as a cause of conflict among ASEAN or our other neighbors,” he said.
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has been directed to inform the UN and other concerned international organizations about the name change.
The National Mapping and Resource Information Authority (NAMRIA) has also been instructed to develop tamps to reflect the West Philippine Sea. To popularize the use of the new term,
government agencies and schools and universities have been encouraged to use West Philippine Sea in official documents, communications, books, among others.
Lacierda said AO 29 will not require a new law for the change to be reflected in the country’s official maps.
He clarified that the Philippine government is not claiming the entire South China Sea as West Philippine Sea.
Yesterday, DFA Spokesperson Raul Hernandez said the department will present at the appropriate time to the proper international agencies a copy of the presidential order with the official map reflecting the West Philippine Sea.
The 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone includes the Luzon Sea as well as the waters around, within and adjacent to the Kalayaan Island Group and Bajo de Masinloc (Scarborough Shoal)
The relevant international organizations who are tasked to work with the DFA and NAMRIA are the International Hydrographic Organization and the United Nations Conference on the Standardization of Geographical Names.
The President also ordered the Department of Education (DepEd), the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), and state universities and colleges (SUCs) to issue circulars requiring the use of the term “West Philippine Sea” in all relevant subjects, researches and instructional materials, such as, among others, text books, instructional materials, and audio-visual presentations.
All department, he said, subdivisions, agencies and instrumentalities of the Government are also mandated to “use and employ the name West Philippine Sea in all communications, messages and public documents, to popularize the use of such name in the general public, both domestically and internationally,”.
China has been claiming 90 percent of the West Philippine Sea based on its nine-dash line, while the Philippines its territory extends to the EEZ.
Measure To Split Camsur Gains In Senate
By HANNAH L. TORREGOZA Manila Bulletin,
MANILA, Philippines — The Senate Committee on Local Government has filed a committee report after reaching a “compromise agreement” on the measure seeking to split Camarines Sur, paving the way for the creation of a new province.
Sen. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr. confirmed that lawmakers have agreed to certain amendments to the measure, House Bill No. 4820 which was passed by the House of
Representatives in August last year and referred to his committee with Sen. Miriam Defensor- Santiago’s committee on Constitutional Amendments, Revision of Codes and Laws as the secondary committee.
Marcos said that even Camarines Sur Governor Luis Raymond Villafuerte Jr., who earlier opposed the measure, has agreed to some changes.
“I filed the committee report yesterday after reaching a compromise agreement. Instead of dividing two districts, only one would be carved out,” Marcos told reporters. “They all agreed including proponents of the measure especially congressmen of Camarines Sur nd also those who opposed the measure…They all agreed.”
He said lawmakers agreed to turn the fourth district of Camarines Sur into a province to be named as Nueva Camarines.
“That 4th district, iyan yung Nueva Camarines, will be made into a province. So unless they changed the name, but that is the name listed under the committee report,” he said.
Villafuerte, he said, expressed hope there would be enough time to hold a plebiscite.
“I believe it will pass in the Senate. If there are other details like filing of new officials, that can be discussed with the Commission on Elections (Comelec),” Marcos said.
Sen. Joker Arroyo, who hails from Naga City, had opposed the measure, saying dividing Camarines Sur would benefit only the people of the province’s fourth district which is under the jurisdiction of Rep. Arnulfo Fuentebella who is on his last term.
US Embassy Beefs Up Security
By ROY C. MABASA and GENALYN D. KABILING Manila Bulletin ,page 18
MANILA, Philippines — United States Ambassador Harry K. Thomas announced on Thursday that while the US Embassy in Manila is beefing up security following attacks on US missions in Libya and Egypt, it will be open for regular business.
"President (Barack) Obama yesterday directed an increase in security at diplomatic posts around the world, and this includes our embassy here in Manila," Thomas said in a statement issued yesterday.
"The US Embassy appreciates the strong cooperation and support that we receive from the Philippine National Police and security authorities in this regard, and we remain open for regular business."
Thomas expressed sadness over the deaths of US Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three of his colleagues in Libya.
"We echo President Obama’s and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's statements condemning the attack as a senseless act of violence," he said.
In a separate statement, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) expressed outrage over the death of Stevens.
"We are outraged by the horrific criminal and senseless act of violence in Benghazi which should be condemned by the international community," said DFA Spokesperson Raul Hernandez. "This was a serious violation of long standing norms of international law with deep historical roots that
diplomatic and consular agents are not to be harmed and that the diplomatic and consular premises are inviolable."
Hernandez said the Philippine embassies in Cairo and Tripoli are closely monitoring the situation and are in touch with the Filipino community leaders in the area.
Malacañang also denounced the attack on the US consulate in Libya.
“We condemn any violence on any person especially an ambassador in this case,” Presidential Spokesman Edwin Lacierda told reporters.
Obama vowed on Wednesday to ''bring to justice'' the Islamist gunmen responsible for a ferocious assault that killed Stevens and three other Americans - an attack that may have been organized in advance.
The attackers were part of a mob blaming America for a film they said insulted the Prophet Mohammad.
Obama said he had ordered an increase in security at US diplomatic posts around the globe following the assault.
The US consulate was overrun and torched in a military-style assault, the ambassador left lost and dying alone in the smoke while rescuers ran into a deadly ambush as they sought to save survivors.
The attackers used guns, mortars and grenades. US and Libyan officials said the attack may have been planned in advance.
The violence in the eastern city, a cradle of Libya's US-backed uprising against Muammar Gaddafi last year, came on the 11th anniversary of al Qaeda's attacks on the United States on Sept. 11, 2001.
Another assault was mounted on the US embassy in Cairo on Tuesday in which protesters, who included Islamists and teenage soccer fans, tore down and burned a US flag.
In Cairo, security forces late on Wednesday fired tear gas to disperse more stone-throwing demonstrators near the embassy.
Stevens, a 52-year-old California-born diplomat who spent a career operating in perilous places, became the first American ambassador killed in an attack since Adolph Dubs, the US envoy to Afghanistan, died in a 1979 kidnapping attempt.
A Libyan doctor pronounced him dead of smoke inhalation.
US information technology specialist Sean Smith and two other Americans who have not yet been identified also were killed.
Among the assailants, Libyans identified units of a heavily armed local Islamist group, Ansar al- Sharia, which sympathizes with al Qaeda and derides Libya's US-backed bid for democracy.
US government officials said the Benghazi attack may have been planned in advance, also adding that there were indications that Ansar al-Sharia - which translates as Supporters of Islamic Law - may have been involved.
They said some reporting from the region suggested that members of al Qaeda's north Africa-based affiliate, known as Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, may have been involved.
''It bears the hallmarks of an organized attack,'' one US official said. However, some US officials cautioned against assuming that the attacks were deliberately organized to coincide with the Sept.
11 anniversary.
Security personnel were separated from Stevens during the attack, US officials said, describing a chaotic scene of smoke, gunfire and confusion.
A US official said Washington had ordered the evacuation of all US personnel from Benghazi to Tripoli and was reducing staffing in the capital to emergency levels.
The US military is moving two Navy destroyers toward the Libyan coast, giving the Obama
administration flexibility for any future action against Libyan targets, according to a US official. The military also is dispatching a Marine Corps anti-terrorist security team to boost security in Libya.
“The United States condemns in the strongest terms this outrageous and shocking attack,'' Obama said, while insisting it would not threaten relations with Libya's new government. ''...
And make no mistake, we will work with the Libyan government to bring to justice the killers who attacked our people.''
Libyan leader Mohammed Magarief apologized to the United States over the attack.
The violence in Benghazi and Cairo threatened to spread to other Muslim countries. Police fired
teargas at angry demonstrators outside the US embassy in Tunisia and several hundred people gathered in front of the US embassy in Sudan.
In Morocco, a few dozen protesters burned American flags and chanted slogans near the US consulate in Casablanca.
The attacks could alter US attitudes towards the wave of revolutions across the Arab world that toppled secularist authoritarian leaders in Egypt, Libya and Tunisia and brought Islamists to power.
The violence also could have an impact on the closely contested US presidential race ahead of the Nov. 6 election.
Republican Mitt Romney, Obama's challenger, criticized the president's response to the crisis. He said the timing of a statement from the US embassy in Cairo denouncing ''efforts by misguided individuals to hurt the religious feelings of Muslims'' made Obama look weak as protesters were attacking US missions.
Romney said it was ''disgraceful'' to be seen to be apologizing for American values of free speech.
Obama's campaign accused Romney of trying to score political points at a time of national tragedy.
Obama said Romney has a tendency ''to shoot first and aim later.''
Ziad Abu Zaid, the duty doctor in the emergency room at Benghazi Medical Centre on Tuesday, said he had treated Stevens.
“He came in a state of cardiac arrest. I performed CPR for 45 minutes, but he died of asphyxiation due to smoke inhalation,” Zaid said.
US officials said Stevens, Smith and one security officer were trapped under fire in the burning consulate building.
The security officer made it outside and returned with help to search for the diplomats, officials said.
The searchers found Smith, who was already dead, but were unable to find Stevens amid repeated exchanges of gunfire between Libyan security forces and the attackers over the next several hours.
—with additional report from Reuters
Enrile Still Enjoys Palace Support
By GENALYN D. KABILING Manila Bulletin, page 1
MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang on Thursday said that it continues to support the leadership of Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile in the wake of attempts to oust him.
Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda yesterday declared that the Palace prefers Enrile to keep his post, citing the “healthy relationship” between the executive branch and the Senate.
Lacierda said the ruling party is “not involved’ in any efforts to oust Enrile from the Senate presidency. Enrile had earlier confirmed a plot to oust him as Senate president.
“We have a good working relationship with the Senate President as far as we know. This is not something that LP is involved with,” he said in a Palace press briefing.
Asked if Malacañang prefers Enrile staying on as Senate President, Lacierda said: “So far, yes. We have seen a very healthy relationship with the Senate.”
He said Enrile has supported the President’s legislative agenda except for the sin tax bill. “We are hoping the sin tax and the RH (Reproductive Health bill) would be resolved as soon as possible,” he
said.
When asked if the delayed passage of these priority bills would be a cause to push for Enrile’s ouster, Lacierda said: “No. Not to my knowledge.”
Enrile had earlier revealed an attempt to oust him as Senate President as early as last month. Some senators are reportedly displeased with how he has been running the affairs in the Senate.
The rumored attempt to unseat Enrile came amid the heated discussions on the Reproductive Health bill at the Senate.
Meanwhile, Lacierda said Malacañang is not assigning an officer-in-charge for the office of the undersecretary for peace and order at the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) following the resignation of Undersecretary Rico Puno.
Lacierda said the Palace is waiting for the Commission on Appointment’s confirmation hearing for incoming DILG Sec. Mar Roxas on Sept. 19.
Lacierda said once Roxas is confirmed, he can have a free hand on selecting his team at the DILG.
“Right now, there is no (DILG) undersecretary for peace and order,” he said.
Lacierda said they don’t see any problem with the vacancy of the post at DILG.
“There has been no effect on the vacancy of the post left by Usec. Puno, so we don’t see any problem. It’s just a matter of days before Sec. Mar Roxas comes in and appoints his
undersecretaries,” he said.
“In the meantime, Executive Secretary Ochoa is still there. It’s a matter of days, a few days subject to the confirmation hearing of Sec. Mar Roxas that he will take over and as soon as takes over, he will fill in the vacant slots,” he said.
Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa is the officer-in-charge of the DILG while Roxas awaits his CA confirmation. —with a report from Madel R. Sabater
ARMM Urged: Review Salary, Structure
By MARIO B. CASAYURAN Manila Bulletin, page 2
MANILA, Philippines — The Senate on Thursday asked the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) to review its organizational structure to shed its alleged tag as “one big employment center.’’
Sen. Franklin M. Drilon, chairman of the Senate finance committee, made the call after learning that 74 percent of the proposed 2013 P13.9 billion budget of the ARMM is allotted for salaries and benefits of its 27,000 workforce.
Of the nearly P14-billion budget of the ARMM, 74 percent or roughly P10 billion is earmarked for the payment of salaries. That is more than double the national average of 32 percent, he said.
“There is a lot of fat here,’’ he added.
“This does not include the P49.72 million lodged under the Miscellaneous Personnel Benefits Fund which corresponds to the unfilled positions in the ARMM,’’ Drilon said.
In a related development, the Drilon committee and the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee announced
that they would conduct a probe, in aid of legislation, into the alleged widespread corruption at the ARMM during the past administration, including the alleged use of “ghost employees’’ and business firms to milk ARMM of hundreds of millions of pesos of tax money.
Focus of the joint committee hearing is that the ARMM, from 2001 to 2010, collected but did not remit the insurance premiums from teachers and other ARMM employees as members of the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS), Philippine Health Insurance Corp. and PagIbig . These too many ghosts contributed to the corruption at the ARMM in the past, Drilon said.
Drilon expressed concern that the huge allocation for ARMM personnel might also go to the salary of ghost employees believed to be rampant in the region.
“Assuming that there are no ghost employees, would you think that a staffing pattern review is in order so that you can devote more funds to projects to provide better service rather than the ARMM being an employment agency?” asked Drilon.
For the Department of Education (DepEd) office in the ARMM alone, it was revealed that 95 percent of its P8.25-billion budget for 2013 would go to the salary of teachers, Drilon noted.
ARMM governor Mujiv Hataman agreed to Drilon’s proposal.
“Yes, Sir. Actually, we scrutinize at gusto talaga naming i-review yung staffing pattern ng ARMM kasi very abnormal ang situation, even 50 percent. Parang magbubuhos ka na lang ng pondo para sa sweldo halos wala ng ginagawa, wala ng panggasolina. Tinitingnan din namin yung mga ghost employees,” Hataman told Drilon. (Yes, the staffing pattern at the ARMM is abnormal. Even if the salaries of employees are 50 percent, still the ARMM has difficulty sourcing funds for gasoline, among others, after its budget for salaries go through a funnel.
US sues top NGO execs
P210-million aid unaccounted for By Nancy C. Carvajal
Philippine Daily Inquirer, page 1
The United States government has accused the founder and president of Visayan Forum Foundation Inc. (VFFI), a group that has won international accolades for its campaign against human trafficking, of failing to account for P210 million in US aid, the National Bureau of Investigation said.
Based on the complaint of the US Agency for International Development (USAID), the NBI has recommended the prosecution in the Department of Justice of VFFI president Ma. Cecilia Flores- Oebanda, according to NBI antifraud chief Rachel Marfil-Angeles.
The VFFI provides education, shelter and psychological help to victims of trafficking. It receives funds from international donors such as the USAID, the US Department of State, Bill Gates Foundation and Starbucks.
The NBI also recommended the filing of charges against VFFI directors, finance officers, bookkeepers and other employees.
Angeles said charges of falsification of documents were filed against the respondents on September 6, based on the complaint of Daniel Altman (special agent in charge of the [Europe and Asia] Office of the Inspector General-USAID), the testimony of two whistle-blowers and boxes of falsified documents seized in a raid on the VFFI office in Cubao, Quezon City.
The whistle-blowers said VFFI fabricated the receipts and contracts to justify the expenses charged against the P300 million donated by the USAID.
Fake receipts
Angeles said P210 million of the P300 million from the USAID remained unaccounted for. “However, what is clear at the moment, based on evidence, is that receipts for P41 million had been faked,”
said the NBI antifraud chief.
Angeles said the NBI probe had established that the order to manufacture the fake receipts came from the VFFI president.
“In a meeting, the bookkeepers, including the whistle-blower, were allegedly ordered by its president to fake receipts to fill in the gap of unsubstantiated expenses,” she said.
Laurence Arroyo, lawyer of the VFFI, denied the NBI findings and said that a former VFFI employee could be behind the falsification of documents.
“The VFFI did not manufacture fake receipts, and if ever there indeed was questionable receipts it must have been the work of the bookkeeper who has responsibility over these papers,” Arroyo said.
‘Ridiculous’
The lawyer also described as “ridiculous” the statement of the bookkeeper that it was Oebanda who instructed the finance personnel to manufacture fake receipts to meet USAID audit requirements.
“Kalokohan, Cecile as president approves expenses reports submitted to her by the bookkeeper and does not go over all the receipts of expenses submitted to her,” Arroyo said.
“If ever, there was an anomaly it was committed by the bookkeeper who we intend to cross- examine during the preliminary investigation,” he said.
‘Betrayed’
The VFFI lawyer said his client had expressed disappointment over what the USAID had done against her.
“She felt betrayed by the USAID which she said was her partner for six years and had even given her awards for her antihuman trafficking advocacy.” Arroyo said.
He said his client had filed a motion to quash the NBI search warrant used to raid the VFFI office on August 31.
According to Angeles, 32 boxes of various receipts were seized from the VFFI office during the raid.
Port project
Angeles described the whistle-blowers as a former bookkeeper of the foundation and an auditor hired by USAID to audit the funds funneled into VFFI for its “Port” project for 2005-2011.
In her narration to the NBI, the bookkeeper said that from March to April 2010, auditors from B.F.
Medina and Co. arrived in the VFFI office to conduct a field audit of the USAID funds.
The whistle-blower together with two bookkeepers, finance officer and another employee were allegedly summoned by Oebanda to her office and ordered to “fill the gap of the liquidation.”
The former VFFI bookkeeper said “they were instructed by Oebanda to fill the unliquidated cash advances with supporting receipts.”
Copy suppliers’ receipts
In her sworn statement, she said that in 2006, Oebanda instructed her staff to copy official receipts from different suppliers and vendors to be used for the liquidation of the US aid.
“Seventy percent of the disbursements of the USAID funds were not supported by documents, which prompted the fabrication and tampering of the receipts to support the liquidation,” the whistle- blower said.
She added that Oebanda had instructed that “the amount to be indicated in the official receipts would depend on the amount of cash advances needed to be liquidated.”
The whistle-blower said that if the receipts were complete, a liquidation report was accomplished and thereafter attached to the vouchers to indicate the amount taken from the funds.
Provisional receipts
She also alleged that Oebanda had ordered the purchase of provisional receipts from bookstores to cover minimal expenses for such items as sanitary napkins, soaps and other personal needs, and cell phone load.
“These provisional receipts form part of the liquidation reports attached to the vouchers,” she said.
Scotch tape
The former VFFI bookkeeper further said that receipts, which had been used in other audits, were being recycled to be used for future audits.
“The dates and the amounts indicated in the official receipts were altered by using scotch tape,” she
said.
Angeles said, “The tampering and the alterations were very obvious and scotch tape marks were visible based on our analysis.”
No beneficiaries
The other whistle-blower, an auditor, said an initial audit found that funds from the operational budget were disbursed without real beneficiaries, and lacked adequate supporting documents, transaction authorization and approval.
The auditor said purchases were made without obtaining the required three quotations from potential vendors. Also discovered was the lack of segregation of duties.
Report to DSWD
She noted that there were alterations on receipts and invoices; inconsistencies with data submitted to auditors and the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD); irregularities in the payroll system; and inefficient records retention.
The auditor added there were disbursements without supporting original receipts and invoices from suppliers and vendors.
The supporting documents for vouchers were photocopied documents. In some cases, VFFI stationery, cash vouchers and ordinary receipts that can be bought easily from bookstores were passed on as receipts.
The auditor added that alterations on supporting documentation (invoices and original receipts) for liquidation forms were made.
Liquid erasers
She noted that certain VFFI employees altered the dates of transactions using liquid erasers.
The employees altered the invoice by adding another number to the amount paid, she added.
For cash receipts, she said, the audit showed that certain employees intentionally cut the portion where the date was indicated to avoid detection.
No-shows in Santiago show Friday
By Cathy Yamsuan
Philippine Daily Inquirer, page 1
There may be no-shows in Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago’s scheduled blockbuster Friday and she says it may be all Malacañang’s fault.
None of the 11 members of the Senate committee on constitutional amendments and revision of codes and laws, which Santiago chairs, had confirmed attendance in its inquiry Friday on the activities of erstwhile Interior Undersecretary Rico E. Puno.
At least one Cabinet member, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, has declined the invitation to attend the hearing.
De Lima on Thursday said she had sent a letter of regrets to Santiago saying the inquiry conflicted with her schedule for the day. She told reporters that she had to attend two important meetings at the Palace and that she had not received authorization from President Benigno Aquino to participate in the Senate inquiry.
Santiago on Thursday said the boycott could indicate an attempt by the Palace to “sabotage” her effort to look into Puno’s alleged involvement in spurious activities, such as the illegal numbers racket “jueteng,” unauthorized logging and the questionable purchase of firearms for the government.
“If it happens, such a deliberate boycott will indicate that even my fellow senators who are members of my committee do not support my initiative. I will certainly raise a protest, but I’m thinking at the moment of what form my protest will take,” Santiago said in an e-mailed statement.
Quorum
Under Senate rules, the presence of two committee members constitutes a quorum for a hearing to
take place.
“If there is no quorum today, this can only mean that the senators have been ordered by Malacañang to stay away,” Santiago noted.
Members of the committee chaired by Santiago include Senators Edgardo Angara, Franklin Drilon, Panfilo Lacson, Manuel “Lito” Lapid, Antonio Trillanes IV, Manuel Villar, Francis Pangilinan,
Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III.
Senate President Pro Tempore Jose “Jinggoy” Estrada, Majority Leader Vicente Sotto and Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano are ex-officio members of the panel.
Santiago said many of the members said they would be out of town Friday.
Enrile’s warning
Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile on Wednesday said that Santiago needed a resolution, a proposed bill or give a privilege speech to serve as basis for her investigation.
Santiago, however, explained that as committee chaireperson, she could open an investigation without any of these three conditions Enrile cited. Enrile countered that only the Senate rules and blue ribbon committees could investigate motu proprio.
Lacson warned Santiago that her threat to subpoena Puno, who has resigned, to force his attendance and a plan to cite him in contempt if he defied this subpoena would need the participation of other senators.
Lacson said only Enrile as Senate President could sign a subpoena. Santiago would also need the approval of the majority of all senators to cite Puno in contempt, he added.
Santiago wants Puno to clarify the scope of his work as interior undersecretary since he was given supervision over the Philippine National Police.
Santiago said not only was the job description “irregular” as supervision of the PNP was a responsibility of the department secretary. She also said that Puno had failed miserably in eradicating jueteng and may be protecting its operators.
Puno has not confirmed his attendance in Friday’s hearing, Santiago’s office said. The senator’s staff sent invitations to all resource persons on Monday, September 10.
No excuse for absence
If Puno is absent, “then it will show that he is a craven coward, that all charges against him are probably true, and that he is thumbing his nose at the Filipino public,” Santiago said.
“Even if Puno will claim that he does not want to answer questions because he might incriminate himself, that is no excuse for being absent. He has to be present and invoke the privilege for every question. That is not a ground for an omnibus refusal to answer all questions or to be absent,” she added in her statement.
“The invitation specifically warns that if the committee deems as necessary the testimony of the resource person, if he is absent, then the committee will issue a subpoena, which is compulsory.”
If Enrile refuses to sign a subpoena to force Puno to attend, “in effect he will disapprove the committee recommendation, which is not normal,” she said.
Apart from Puno and De Lima, Santiago has also invited to the hearing Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa, incoming Interior Secretary Manuel Roxas, PNP Director General Nicanor Bartolome, retired Archbishop Oscar Cruz and Robredo’s widow, Leni, who has begged off, saying she is still in
mourning. With a report from Christine O. Avendaño
Lack of ‘extort’ witnesses disappoints De Lima
By Christine O. Avendaño Philippine Daily Inquirer.net
Justice Secretary Leila de Lima on Thursday expressed disappointment that no one in the
Department of Justice (DOJ) had responded to her appeal to provide information on the possible involvement of more people in an extortion attempt that happened right in the premises of the DOJ.
De Lima said she ordered the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to conduct an entrapment operation in the office of Senior Deputy State Prosecutor Severino Gana Jr. of the National Prosecution Service on August 31.
De Lima made the disclosure during her speech at yesterday’s Orientation Workshop on the Operational Processes of the Internal Affairs Unit of the National Prosecution Service at G Hotel in Pasay City.
The other day, De Lima filed charges of grave misconduct, dishonesty and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service against Gana, as well as his staff member Mutya de los Santos Santiago- Tobes and another DOJ employee, Louise Siquico Garcia, and placed them under 90-day preventive suspension.
She also asked the three to answer the charges against them in five days.
De Lima had alerted the NBI after she was informed by a certain Nuriza Abeja that Gana had reportedly asked her to pay Santiago-Tobes the amount of P300,000 for a favorable ruling in the adultery case filed against her by her husband.
Santiago-Tobes was charged by the NBI with robbery-extortion but she was able to post bail.
Abeja, in her complaint-affidavit, said it was Gana who had told her to pay the amount to Santiago- Tobes.
De Lima said Abeja’s statements were backed by “records of text messages and logs of phone calls made by the NPS employee to her.”
With this development, the justice secretary said more people could have been involved in the extortion scheme. She quoted Gana as telling Abeja that he could not pacify some people who had demanded that the money be immediately paid.
“Who are these people? That’s the biggest question,” she said.
De Lima reminded the prosecutors “not to weigh available evidence, but to seek it out, to build a case, to search for answers, to unearth the truth.”
She challenged them to “deliver to justice those who do not deserve to belong to the National Prosecution Service.”
De Lima said that she would rather “suffer the public humiliation” of “dozens” more entrapment operations within the DOJ “if at the end of the day, we can rid the ranks of the NPS of the
undesirables.”
“Because of recent events, I cannot help but doubt whether the people we are entrusting with the enforcement of the Codes of Conduct for the Prosecution Service and our good governance and anticorruption initiatives are, in fact, the right people to be investigating such nefarious activities within their very own ranks,” De Lima said in her speech.
No Senate quorum for probe on Puno?
By Christina Mendez The Philippine Star, page 1
MANILA, Philippines - Today’s Senate probe on the activities of resigned interior undersecretary Rico Puno remains uncertain, with committee on constitutional amendments chair Miriam Defensor- Santiago fearing a “sabotage” of the inquiry through a lack of quorum and the absence of Puno himself.
Trying to preempt a possible lack of quorum, Santiago yesterday accused Malacañang of engineering the likely snub.
Santiago said not a single senator is available for today’s hearing and that “many gave as an excuse that they would be out of town” when her staff contacted the members of her committee.
Santiago told the media that if there is no quorum today, this can only mean that the senators have been ordered by Malacañang to stay away from the probe.
“If it happens, such a deliberate boycott will indicate that even my fellow senators who are members of my committee do not support my initiative. I will certainly raise a protest, but I’m thinking at the moment of what form my protest will take,” Santiago said.
Puno himself has not yet confirmed his attendance.
Santiago noted that Puno told media a few days ago that he had not yet received his invitation, but Santiago’s staff said that all invitations had been sent last Sept. 10.
The invitation specifically warns that if the committee deems as necessary the testimony of the resource person and he is absent from the probe, then the committee will issue a subpoena, which makes attendance compulsory.
New Glock pistols
Malacañang said yesterday policemen should get their new Glock pistols soon since President Aquino did not have any question on the contract the PNP and a gun supplier signed last Sept. 10.
The contract will allow the purchase of 59,904 units of 9mm Glock 17 Generation 4 at a cost of P1.98 billion. “As far as we know, there’s no more problem on that,” presidential spokesman Edwin
Lacierda said.
Lacierda said the President himself clarified that he did not have a problem with the bidding process on the Glock pistols, only on the rifles.
Lacierda said it would now be up to Bartolome to sign the contract. The PNP chief has 15 days from Sept. 10 to approve or disapprove the signed contract of the gun deal between the PNP and Trust Trade of the Philippines.
Sarmiento maintained the deal was aboveboard and that the PNP BAC strictly followed all the procedures in the procurement of the pistols.
This hopes to completely fill the requirement for firearms for 148,000 policemen nationwide.
Sarmiento said they would check reports that a losing bidder on the gun procurement was behind the media blitz and insinuations of anomalies in the pistol deal.
“The most we can do is to consider to subject them to suspension or blacklisting proceedings because they have been trying to influence the decision of the BAC. Along that line, our legal luminaries are checking the possibilities,” he said.
Sarmiento said all bidders should have exhausted all legal avenues to be able to boost their chances of getting the deal instead of resorting to media attacks.
Contrary to allegations, Sarmiento said Customs Commissioner Ruffy Biazon has denied reports that 28,000 units of 9mm pistols imported by Trust Trade arrived in the country on Sept. 4, even before the contract was formally sealed.
“I have instructed the PNP Firearms and Explosives Office (FEO) to coordinate with the Customs and secure certification that no such importation arrived,” Sarmiento said.
The PNP, on the other hand, scrapped two batches of procurement for assault rifles worth P391 million last Aug. 31.
Aquino said he had personally discovered the overprice in the purchase of assault rifles over Google, which prompted him to instruct the late Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo to investigate the deal.
Meanwhile, Sarmiento told a news conference at the House of Representatives that Puno supervised the procurement of P1.4-billion worth of pistols and rifles for the PNP.
However, he claimed that the controversial official did not influence his committee.
Gun supplier airs side
Meanwhile, Reynaldo Espineli, general manager of R. Espineli Trading, explained his side over reports that his firm may have overpriced the planned procurement of 1,500 units of caliber 5.56 mm assault rifles under Public Bidding No. PNP 12-05G.
Espineli was baffled why the botched deal was the subject of an investigation when it did not push through because his firm was disqualified.
R. Espineli Trading is the exclusive distributor of Israel Weapons Industries (IWI) Ltd., which submitted the “single largest similar contract” to the PNP.
“I joined the public bidding because it was published in the papers,” he said, adding that since the deal did not push through, it did not cause any disadvantage to the government.
Seized PNP pistol
In a related development, the PNP leadership is coordinating with Indonesian authorities who seized a Beretta pistol with “Property Philippine National Police” markings from a recent encounter with a group of terrorists.
The PNP and Indonesian authorities are trying to trace the origin of the pistol seized after a raid in Solo City (or Surakarta City) in Central Java, Indonesia.
PNP spokesman Chief Superintendent Generoso Cerbo Jr. said they have to get the serial number of the firearm to be able to trace where it came from.
DBM allots P4.6 B for airports
By Aurea Calica
The Philippine Star, page 4
MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has allotted P4.6 billion to the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) to rehabilitate Terminal 1 of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport and three other projects under the administration’s public- private partnership (PPP) program.
“The release will support the improvement or creation of more gateways into the Philippines given the administration’s campaign to cement our position as a prime tourist and investment hub. “The projects identified under the fund release will directly support this initiative, primarily through the much-needed rehabilitation and development of key airports across the country,” Budget Secretary Florencio Abad said yesterday.
Abad said the amount will be charged against the DOTC’s budget for Project Development Funds for
Public-Private Partnership Transport Infrastructure Projects under this year’s General Appropriations Act.
A total of P1.64 billion will be used to rehabilitate NAIA 1 to restore its structural integrity and kick- start maintenance activities, which have been deferred for years.
The allocation will also be used to repair the terminal’s mechanical, electrical, plumbing and fire protection systems, as well as the retrofitting of its overall structure.
Another P2 billion was allotted for the New Legazpi (Daraga) Airport Development Project, including the detailed engineering of its runways and taxiways.
Meanwhile, P800 million will be used to support Tacloban airport’s growing traffic demand, including the development of the Tacloban airport terminal building and other ancillary facilities.
A total of P160 million will cover the development of an access point to Central Mindanao via North Cotabato through the Central Mindanao Airport.
“This administration intends to fulfill its commitment to improve conditions in many of our airports through fruitful engagements with the private sector. Through the PPP program, we can make project implementation much more efficient and reform-oriented, so that the gains we make through the initiative will be sustained in the long term,” Abad said.
President Aquino earlier said the government aims to attract 10 million tourists yearly by 2016, up from four million currently, with each visitor expected to generate one job domestically.
While the country offers some of the region’s most stunning beaches and tourist spots, visitors have often been turned off by its bad travel facilities.
In October last year, the interactive website “The Guide to Sleeping in Airports” rated NAIA Terminal 1 as the world’s worst.
The ranking was based on a survey of complaints regarding safety concerns and lack of comfortable seating, rude staff and poor facilities.
After the report came out, embarrassed leaders ordered a general cleanup and upgrade of the facility, including a renovation of 16 toilets that visitors had often complained of not having any running water.
Abad, meanwhile, expressed confidence in the DOTC’s new leadership.
“We welcome the appointment of Secretary (Joseph Emilio) Abaya and trust that under his
leadership, the DOTC will sustain the progress already made by Secretary (Mar) Roxas. This, together with the administration’s vigorous campaign for more transparent, accountable, and open
governance, will help speed up our PPP efforts and catalyze further economic growth in the country,” Abad said. - With Iris Gonzales
Security tightened around US embassy in Manila
By Cecille Suerte Felipe The Philippine Star, page 18
MANILA, Philippines - Security at the US embassy was tightened following the death of the US ambassador to Libya and three other Americans in an attack on the Benghazi consulate Tuesday night.
More policemen were deployed in the vicinity of the embassy along Roxas Boulevard in Manila while the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) intensified its maritime patrol within the area.
US embassy spokesperson Bettina Malone said US President Barack Obama ordered a tightening of security in US diplomatic missions worldwide following the assault on the US consulate in Libya.
“President Obama yesterday directed an increase in security at diplomatic posts around the world, and this includes our embassy here in Manila,” Malone said.
“The US embassy appreciates the strong cooperation and support that we receive from the Philippine National Police (PNP) and security authorities in this regard,” she said.
Flags in US diplomatic posts worldwide were flown at half-staff in honor of the ambassador, Christopher Stevens, and three others who died in the attack in the eastern Libyan town.
PCG commandant Vice Admiral Edmund Tan said he ordered increased visibility in the vicinity of Manila Bay. Three teams instead of only one were sent to alternately check the vicinity.
But PCG spokesman Lieutenant Commander Armand Balilo said the heightened security is part of their routine patrol. “We just gave more attention to the US embassy but there are no reports of threat against the embassy here in Manila,” he said.
The BRP Nueva Vizcaya is reportedly stationed 3.65 nautical miles southwest of San Nicholas Shoal.
Chief Petty Officer Wilson Duco of the PCG’s search and rescue unit said there was no report of intrusion in Manila Bay yesterday morning.
“We have Operation Plan that will respond to the security concerns of embassies, especially here in Metro Manila and the official residences of diplomats and their staff,” PNP spokesman Chief Superintendent Generoso Cerbo Jr. told a press briefing yesterday.
A senior military intelligence officer said the security situation in the country remains stable and they do not see any spillover of the attack.
But he said the intelligence community is not taking any chances and is stepping up its monitoring activities on groups who might take advantage of the security situation in Libya.
“The incident in Libya is a localized problem and we don’t see that it will have a security impact here in our country,” an anti-terror official said.
He said the beefing up of security around the US embassy in Manila is also part of standard operating procedure.
Meanwhile, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) condemned the attack, which it branded as “a serious violation of long-standing norms of international law with deep historical roots.”
“We are outraged by the horrific criminal and senseless act of violence in Benghazi which should be condemned by the international community,” the DFA said in a statement.
Bartolome can't say no to Noy - Lacson
By Christina Mendez The Philippine Star
MANILA, Philippines - Sen. Panfilo Lacson wondered yesterday if Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Nicanor Bartolome could say no to President Aquino, who has call for him to retire six months before schedule in March next year.
Lacson, a former police chief, said that it is the prerogative of the chief executive if he wants to remove a Cabinet member, an undersecretary or even a bureau chief as in the case of the outgoing PNP chief.
Responding to reports that Bartolome had refused to retire early and apparently turned down an offer to replace resigned Interior and Local Government Undersecretary Rico Puno, Lacson said it’s the PNP chief’s call.
“It’s his call. But the basic question, can you say no to the President when you are a Cabinet member, an undersecretary, a bureau chief? But you’re a member of the executive branch, in the bureaucracy, can you say no to the president?” the senator added.
Lacson, however, questioned the propriety of Bartolome or any other member of the government to question the President’s authority.
“Probably, in a nice or polite way, you can say no but you must have your own valid reason for saying no. But normally and usually, nobody says no to the president under the executive branch,”
Lacson said.
Lacson conceded, however, that the President and concerned government officials could discuss all matters.
He did not discount the possibility that Aquino would like incoming Interior Secretary Manuel Roxas II to have a free hand in appointing new officials of the department.
RH bill may be put to vote after 2013 budget approval
By Paolo Romero
The Philippine Star, page 8
MANILA, Philippines - The Reproductive Health (RH) bill may be put to a vote on second reading after the House of Representatives passes the proposed P2-trillion national budget for 2013, Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. said yesterday.
Belmonte said the chamber is working on a final version of the RH bill that would include amendments pushed by moderates in the ranks of those opposed to the measure.
The House has ended its debates on the measure and entered the period of amendments.
Lawmakers strongly opposed to the bill, however, managed to delay the proceedings.
“My hopes are that we can have a definite bill that can be voted on yes or no. As it is, there is no bill to talk of because it’s still subject to amendments and we don’t know how it looks because there are many amendments that have been considered by sponsors, and once they have all been put
together we will know that is the bill that will be presented before the body for yes or no,” he said.
“I’m trying to see to it that the period of amendments progresses so that there’s a definite bill being talked of, not just an RH bill where everybody is free to describe it the way he wants to describe it,”
he said.
The House leader said he hopes there would be a dialogue among stakeholders and lawmakers on the RH bill when Congress returns from a break next month.
The chamber is expected to approve the proposed budget by the second week of October.
Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman, principal author of the bill, earlier said the new version of the measure would have a limited application and target beneficiaries and other amendments that would soften opposition to it.
House Majority Leader Neptali Gonzales II said the compromise version would be presented later this month to Catholic bishops who are against the RH bill in its present form.
Gonzales, however, conceded that hardliners among Catholic bishops and lawmakers “will oppose the bill, whatever its form.”
Proponents of the measure last month already put in at least 10 amendments to address concerns
and criticisms of those opposed to the RH bill.
Noy still hopeful of meeting with Hu
By Delon Porcalla
The Philippine Star, page 8
MANILA, Philippines - President Aquino remains hopeful that he could still meet Chinese leader Hu Jintao after their tete-a-tete in Vladivostok, Russia was canceled.
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Aquino said he hopes the two of them would have a dialogue so they could have a heart-to-heart talk and share their thoughts in total honesty and openness.
“So that seems to be the way forward to settle all of these things,” he said.
Aquino hinted the meeting might take place in Cambodia during the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in November.
“I cannot say warmed up relationship already, but at least it’s less cold than what it was,” he said.
It’s an opportunity for the heads of state to have a frank exchange of ideas, Aquino said.
Speaking to reporters, presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda could not say if Hu would still be China’s leader when the ASEAN summit is held in November.
“We don’t know when the turnover of the new president of China...is I mean the new leadership of China.”
Lacierda refused to say if the meeting would still take place.
“Any other meetings that are planned I don’t know yet, except for the ASEAN, where there will be an opportunity for both the leaders of the Philippines and China to meet,” he said.
Last week’s meeting between Aquino and Hu at the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Russia failed to push through due to lack of common time for the two leaders.
Aquino told reporters Wednesday at Camp Aguinaldo that they wanted to sit down and discuss the Spratlys issue, but tight schedules prevented them from doing so.
Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario told reporters in a briefing in Russia last week that the Chinese leader could not accommodate or squeeze in Aquino on the available schedule the DFA had set for the purpose.
“We gave them the dates and the time when we would be open and we asked them to look at that and it didn’t jibe with theirs,” he said.
Congress urged to pass sin tax, RH bills
By Aurea Calica The Philippine Star, page 11
MANILA, Philippines - Malacañang called again yesterday on Congress to pass the sin tax and Reproductive Health (RH) bills and kept its distance from the reported move to oust Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile.
Speaking to reporters, presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said Malacañang continues to support Enrile, who has openly expressed opposition to the two bills.
For the most part, Enrile had been helpful except for the sin tax and RH bills, he added.
Lacierda said these issues would not drive the Palace to push for the removal of Enrile.
“No, not to my knowledge,” he said. “So we’re hoping that the sin tax and the RH would be (passed) as soon as possible.”
In an earlier statement, Health Secretary Enrique Ona said these bills were expected to result in savings for the government as the number of unwanted pregnancies and premature deaths would become lower.
Maternal deaths have been rising, he added.
The mortality rate for Filipino mothers had increased to 221 per 100,000 live births in 2011, from 162 per 100,000 live births in 2009, the Department of Health said.
Among the country’s UN Millennium Development Goals is the reduction of the maternal mortality rate to 52 per 100,000 live births. When enacted into law, the RH bill “will contribute to improving maternal and child health,” Ona said.
The sin tax bill is expected to discourage the consumption of tobacco and alcohol products, especially among the young and the poor.
The DOH estimated that a 10 percent increase in tobacco taxes would reduce by two million the number of smokers by 2016.
Earlier, Secretary Ricky Carandang of the Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office said the administration would strive to push for its version of the sin tax reform bill.
Malacañang was primarily concerned that a drastic amendment to the sin-tax reform bill would result in less additional funds for health care, he added.
Carandang said the belief that the sin-tax bill would adversely affect tobacco farmers was contrary to the information that the government has received.
“Our information is that the bill will not have a negative impact on our farmers,” he said.
“Some of the inconsistent information on both sides may be clarified if we’re able to discuss it some more.”
Lacierda said Enrile himself mentioned that the Liberal Party is not involved in the supposed coup against him.
“We have a good working relationship with the Senate President, as far as we know,” he said.
“So this is not something that the LP is involved with. We have no comment other than what the Senate President has already mentioned.”
