PNoy gov't doles out P4B, seeks P2B more

MANILA, Philippines - The Aquino government has already spent P4.127 billion of the P17.13-billion Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) budget allotted for 2011.

Despite this, Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Dinky Soliman faced the Senate finance oversight committee on Tuesday afternoon and said it still needs an additional P2 billion to cover over 2 million households for its Pantawid Pamilya program.

Senate Finance committee chair Franklin Drilon did not commit to supporting her request for additional funds, pending a certification from the Department of Budget and Management that there are enough funds.

As of May 31, the DSWD had already released P4.127 billion to 1.6 million households.

Soliman said the DSWD is short of funds because it started giving away cash before the programmed implementation in June.

She said the program has a high accomplishment rate in terms of health visits, education, and family development sessions, which are pre-conditions for the release of funds to beneficiaries.

Soliman also told the committee that it has an assessment mechanism, via a survey commissioned to see the effectiveness of the program.

The survey will be done by the Social Weather Stations (SWS) toward the latter part of 2011.

Both Drilon and Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile said they were satisfied with the explanation of Soliman.

Under the government's CCT program, the poorest of the poor gets P300 for each child (no more than 3 children and not older than 14 years old), while the mother or parent gets P500 every month on the condition that the children attend at least 85% of their school days, and submit to the government's health programs like vaccination.

Envoy assures US supports Phl on Spratly dispute

MANILA, Philippines - The United States today assured that it will give full support to the Philippines as tension escalates in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea).

"I assure you and all subjects, we the United States, are with the Philippines. The Philippines and the United States are strategic treaty allies. We are partners. We will continue to consult and work with each other on all issues including the South China Sea and Spratlys Islands,” US Ambassador to Manila Harry Thomas said in his speech in today's launching of the Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Program.

President Benigno Aquino III led the launching of the program in Makati City.

Thomas's assurance came following Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr.'s announcement that the Philippines may invoke its Mutual Defense Treaty with the US to reduce tension with China over the dispute in Spratly Islands.

“The relevant portion of that treaty is that the US has been our ally and they will come, and we expect na talagang kasama natin sila (they are with us) in any problem that will require their help,” Ochoa said.

“It’s a diplomatic problem, it’s a political and diplomatic issue, so we will solve it along those lines,” he said. “We don’t want to encourage anything that will exacerbate the issues there.”

Meanwhile, Ochoa called for caution in handling the conflict, emphasizing that the issues involve international law and are being addressed diplomatically.

The Philippines has protested several incidents involving China in the disputed territory, including the harassment of a Philippine-owned vessel by two Chinese Navy gunboats in the vicinity of Recto (Reed) Bank, 250 kilometers west of Palawan last March.

US senator urges Washington to act

A US senator, meanwhile, urged Washington to condemn China's alleged use of force and push for multilateral negotiations to resolve territorial disputes in the South China Sea.

Amid tensions between China and the Philippines, Vietnam fired live artillery rounds Monday off its central coast in naval drills staged after alleging that Chinese boats disrupted oil and gas exploration.

The United States irked China last year by asserting that Washington had a national security interest in the peaceful resolution of disputes in the South China Sea, resource-rich waters where China has competing claims with several nations and territories and rejects outside interference. It maintains that the disputes should be handled bilaterally.

Senator Jim Webb, a Democrat who chairs the Senate subcommittee overseeing American policy toward east Asia, said Vietnam and other countries were watching whether "we are going to back up those words with substantive action."

"That does not mean military confrontation, per se, but we have to make a clear signal," he told a Washington seminar organized by the Council on Foreign Relations.

Webb and Sen. James Inhofe, ranking Republican on the subcommittee, introduced a Senate resolution condemning China's actions. It supports continued operations by US forces to defend freedom of navigation in the South China Sea and urges the United States to facilitate a multilateral process to settle the territorial disputes.

The US diplomatic intervention last year was welcomed by countries in the region, most notably Vietnam, which has a historic rivalry with China, against which it fought a bloody border war in 1979.

The latest spat between the communist-led countries has prompted rare protests in Vietnam, which says Chinese boats cut a cable attached to a vessel conducting a seismic survey off its coast May 26 and hindered operations of another vessel June 9. For its part, China accuses Vietnam of illegally entering its waters and putting fishermen's lives at risk. It has not commented on Vietnam's naval drills.

Webb described China's actions as a clear interference in "proper activities by Vietnam."

US State Department spokesman Mark Toner said Friday that the recent incidents in the South China Sea had raised concerns about maritime security. He urged a collaborative diplomatic process to resolve the territorial disputes, saying that shows of force only served to raise tensions further. (With AP)

Philippine leader: graft-tainted projects stopped

KAWIT, Philippines (AP) — President Benigno Aquino III said Sunday his government has stopped several graft-tainted projects and cut bureaucratic perks, allowing it to raise extra money to feed the poor, equip troops and improve the country's image among investors.

But Aquino acknowledged in an Independence Day speech that formidable problems continue to plague the impoverished Southeast Asian nation, including shortages of jobs, schools, doctors and hospitals and a dependence on imported rice despite its vast farmlands.

More than a century after rising up against Spanish colonizers, Filipinos still have not been liberated from social ills like poverty because they have failed to eradicate corruption, Aquino said in Kawit town in Cavite province south of Manila where revolutionaries declared independence from Spain 113 years ago.

"If we want to liberate the country, we need to free the government and ourselves from greed," Aquino said on the balcony of a historic, flag-draped mansion.

Aquino said without elaborating that his administration had stopped graft-tainted projects in several government agencies, including the Department of Public Works and Highways and the Laguna Lake Development Authority. Officials have looked into alleged irregularities in a major dredging project at the Laguna Lake agency.

Presidential spokeswoman Abigail Valte said close to $23 million (1 billion pesos) worth of contracts were halted at the public works and highways department alone because they were not properly bidded out, lacked required documents or had other irregularities.

Slashing high salaries and perks of executives in government-owned corporations increased their revenues to $686 million (29.5 billion pesos), some of which was used to build 20,000 houses for soldiers and police and hire 10,000 additional nurses for rural clinics, Budget Secretary Florencio Abad said.

Aquino said the corporations have long been milked by executives appointed by officials paying off political debts.

More than 100 left-wing laborers and activists, however, accused Aquino of being a U.S. puppet and demanded higher wages. They attempted to march to the U.S. Embassy in Manila, carrying an effigy of Aquino hanging on strings held by an image of Uncle Sam on a U.S. aircraft carrier, but were blocked by riot police.

Aquino suggested that many of the anomalies took place during the administration of his predecessor, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, without naming her.

Aquino also cited a military corruption scandal linked to three former chiefs of staff, including Arroyo's former defense chief, Angelo Reyes, who has denied any wrongdoing. He committed suicide in February amid a Senate corruption investigation.

"The generals were gifted with truckloads of money while those who expose their bodies to bullets suffer in boots ridden with holes," Aquino said.

Long entrenched in Philippine society, corruption is an especially explosive issue in the inadequately equipped and underfunded military and has sparked several rebellions by disgruntled troops in the past 25 years.

Aquino is the son of democracy icons revered for battling dictator Ferdinand Marcos, who was toppled in a 1986 "People Power" revolt. He won a landslide election victory last year largely due to his name and a promise to fight graft and poverty, which afflicts a third of the country's 94 million people.

Palace urged: Consult before appointing ARMM OICs

MANILA, Philippines - Civil society groups from the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) are appealing to President Benigno Aquino III to hold a dialogue with different sectors in the region before appointing officers in charge (OICs).

They aired their call as Congress approved a bill to synchronize the ARMM polls with the national elections in 2013.

Officials of the groups said there are talks that some personalities are lobbying to be appointed as ARMM executives.

"Naririnig po namin na gumagapang ang mga traditional politicians sa Malacañang na humihingi ng positions sa ARMM," said Dr. Darwin Rasul of the Bangun Minority Rights Forum.

They hope the President will pick those who will truly represent the interest of the ARMM.

Meanwhile, Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile has dismissed claims that senators who voted in favor of deferring the ARMM elections received an additional P100 million pork barrel from Malacañang, on top of their yearly allocation of P200 million.

Last Monday, the senators voted 13-7 to postpone the ARMM polls. - ANC

For the first time, PNoy to lead Independence Day rites

For the first time, President Benigno Aquino III will lead the Independence Day celebrations on June 12, Sunday, beginning with a flag-raising ceremony in Kawit, Cavite.

The country’s 113th Independence Day celebration will be followed by a vin d’ honneur at Malacañang’s Rizal Hall at 10 a.m., also to be officiated by Aquino. Then at 4 p.m., the rites will center on the Independence Day festivities at the Quirino Grandstand.

Last week, the Palace directed the National Historical Commission of the Philippines to organize and implement this year’s Independence Day celebrations.

In preparation for Independence Day, the Palace commemorated National Flag Day late last month. The effort, however, was off to a bad start when the Office of the President displayed the Philippine flag on its official website with the red side up signifying a state of war.

Meanwhile, in an interview with GMA News TV’s “State of the Nation" newscast, the NHCP issued a reminder on Tuesday that the public cannot turn the flag into a fashion statement, and must treat it with respect. — PE/VS, GMA News

PH maintains ownership of Reed Bank in Spratlys

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines maintained its ownership of Reed Bank, amid a reported call of China to all claimants of the Spratly Islands to stop all forms of explorations in the South China Sea.

Malacañang said oil exploration should continue in non-disputed areas or areas owned by the Philippines, including Reed Bank.

"Number one, we will have to confer with the Department of Energy and with the Department of Foreign Affairs with respect to the disputed areas. With respect to the non-disputed areas, we have every reason to do our exploration there because it's ours. There should be no issue as to our sovereign right to explore our own natural resources," Presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda told reporters in Malacañang.  

The Philippines stood by its statements on the recent incidents in the South China Sea, even after a statement from the spokesperson of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, demanding that the Philippines "stop unilateral actions that damage China's sovereignty and interests at sea…and stop issuing irresponsible comments that are inconsistent with facts."

"Well, 'yun ang kanilang pananaw. Ang aming pananaw, ang sinabi po ni [Defense] Sec. Voltz Gazmin, it's a very responsible statement. We believe that we are asserting only what we claim is ours in our sovereign capacity…Dapat po walang question sa Western Palawan, sa Reed Bank, ito po ay atin, kasi ito ay 80 nautical miles po from Palawan in contrast to them which is about over 400 or a little less than 500 nautical miles from them. So obviously, ito po ay ating inaangkin noon pa and was never considered disputed," Lacierda said. Peaceful resolution of dispute, PNoy visit

Amid all these, the Philippines remains committed to having the issue resolved peacefully and diplomatically.

Lacierda said the situation is not worsening as all claimants remain committed to a peaceful resolution of the conflict. He said the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) continues to be in touch with Chinese Embassy officials in Manila.

"What we believe and what we strongly would like to see is the peaceful resolution in this area. China obviously has their claimed of the 9-dash line. We obviously dispute that so we would rather have a peaceful dialogue be undertaken by the various claimants on the South China Sea, not just between the Philippines and China, but also the other claimants of the area, for instance Vietnam and the other countries," Lacierda said.

The date for President Aquino's state visit to China has not yet been finalized but Aquino is expected to take up the Spratlys issue with his Chinese counterparts.

"Well, again, we don't have a firm schedule yet on China. The DFA would be handling that but definitely the President has been apprised of the situation and in the proper time, the President will relay to the Chinese officials, his counterpart, as to the conduct and attitude of the Philippines and the stand of the Philippines on that matter," Lacierda said.

Malacanang hits Catholic prelate

Malacañang on Friday issued a statement calling for the reprimand of a Catholic bishop who claimed that certain groups were already gearing up for President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III’s ouster.
 
Presidential Spokesman Edwin Lacierda hit Butuan Bishop Juan de Dios Pueblos, whom he described as someone apparently “ignorant of the virtues of charity, humility and prudence.”
 
“[He] fires from the hip, armed with a fanciful imagination and utterly without any effort to discern the truth,” Lacierda said.
 
Pueblos earlier lambasted Aquino in a radio interview, saying he doesn’t deserve to be President. Pueblos was also quoted as saying in a report that “there are groups that are actually preparing for his ouster.”
 
Pueblos is perceived as close to former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
 
Lacierda said Pueblos “deserves to be rebuked in the strongest terms for being a longstanding advocate of impunity,” which he said started when Pueblos opposed attempts by the CBCP “to discern the moral culpability of former President Arroyo” for “Hello Garci.”
 
The presidential spokesman also urged the prelate to refer to a doctrine which prohibits members of the Church to “set forth political solutions.”
 

Senate passes 4 Aquino priority bills during 1st regular session

Just like the House of Representatives, the Senate was able to pass four of the 23 priority bills of the Aquino administration before Congress adjourned session on Wednesday.

Out of the 2,871 bills filed at the Senate, the chamber was able to approve at least 14 bills on third and final reading, four of which were among the 23 priority bills presented by President Benigno Aquino III during the Legislative Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) last February.

"We have introduced, deliberated in committee and in plenary, and then approved on third reading amendatory bills that seek to either strengthen or further improve existing laws on labor, health, the environment, family relations, civil service and justice," Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile said during his closing remarks on the last day of the chamber's session on Wednesday.

Among Aquino's priority measures approved by the Senate was the GOCC Governance Act of 2011, which seeks to create a body that will govern government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs).

The GOCC Governance Act of 2011, authored by Sen. Franklin Drilon in the Senate, has been signed into law by the President.

Two other priority bills — Drilon's SB 4146 which seeks to postpone the August Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) elections and Sen. Sergio "Serge" Osmeña III's SB 2846 which seeks to extend the lifeline rate — are just awaiting Aquino’s signature for them to become laws.

On the other hand, SB 2701, which expands the exceptions from the night work prohibition of women employees, still needs to be ratified by both chambers of Congress.

SB 2701 was authored by Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada, and Senators Francis Pangilinan, Ramon Bong Revilla Jr., Lito Lapid, and Loren Legarda.

Other bills

The 10 other bills that have been approved by the Senate on third and final reading are:

SB 78 by Estrada, which seeks to increase the minimum wage of household helpers or kasambahaysand provide them with additional benefits.

SB 138 by Senators Antonio Trillanes IV, Drilon, and P. Cayetano which seeks to amend Presidential Decree 996 to require mandatory basic immunization services against Hepatitis-B for infants

SB 480 by Estrada which seeks to amend the Family Code of the Philippines to allow either spouse to mortgage or dispose of his or her exclusive property without the consent of other spouse

SB 1052 by Sen. Manny Villar which also seeks to amend the Family Code of the Philippines to allow a Filipino spouse of an alien spouse to remarry in the Philippines even if the marriage and divorce was obtained abroad

SB 2559 by Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri which seeks to grant Philippine citizenship to American import Marcus Douthit to allow him to play for the Smart Gilas Pilpinas Team in major Asian basketball tournaments

SB 2671 by Trillanes which seeks to strengthen the bureaucracy by professionalizing the ranks of government managers and executives.

SB 2726 by Sen. Francis Escudero which seeks to strike out vagrancy as a punishable crime under Article 202 of the Revised Penal Code.

SB 2748 by Trillanes which seeks the "expeditious and timely" release of the retirement pay, pension, and other benefits of government employees, except that from the GSIS, within 30 days after retirement.

SB 2802 by Estrada, and Senators Edgardo Angara and Miriam Defensor-Santiago which seeks to restructure daycares into early childhood education centers and craft a formal curriculum for pre-school pupilsto help them cope with elementary lessons.

SB 2808 by Senators Villar, Santiago, Escudero, Revilla, and Gregorio Honasan which seeks to increase the equivalent rate of each day served by prisoners in jail as subsidiary penalty.

First time

During its first few months, Congress was also able to enact the General Appropriations Act of 2011, giving a P1.645-trillion budget to the national government. The speedy passage of which allowed the President to sign it in the same year it was submitted—the first time in 11 years.

Enrile admitted, however, that they had some delays in their legislative work because they had to reorganize.

"We had to restudy the whole thing but that is normal. As we go along, in the next session, I’m sure we’ll be acting faster on many of these bills," he said.

The Senate was also supposed to serve as an impeachment court for the trial of former Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez, who resigned even before the Senate could begin the trial. - RSJ, GMA News