Gov’t men found a party to telecom firm’s ‘looting’ – Malaya 12.15.2006

BY DENNIS GADIL

GOVERNMENT nominees in the Philcomsat Holdings Corp. (PHC) were a party to the alleged multi-million looting of the corporation due to their hefty allowances and salaries, a joint Senate probe learned yesterday.

"Millions of pesos are coming out of a company that is not in the pink of health. And the PCGG (Presidential Commission on Good Government) appears not to be in control of these (government) nominees," Sen. Richard Gordon said during the hearing on the dissipation of Philcomsat’s assets.

Gordon’s committee on government corporations and public enterprises and the committee on public accountability chaired by Sen. Joker Arroyo are conducting the inquiry.

Gordon said even the PCGG admitted that it loses control over government nominees once they assume positions in sequestered firms like the Philippine Communications Satellite Corp.
(Philcomsat) and sister firms PHC and Philippine Overseas Telecommunications Corp. (POTC).

PCGG chair Camilo Sabio told the joint Senate probe: "We could not control them. Once they’re installed, they’re on their own."

"Of course, the President could fire them," he added.

At least six government nominees to PHC, Philcomsat and POTC told senators that they receive up to P150,000 a month in salaries and P500,000 for "public relations and representation" allowance.

Philip Brodett, PHC director and vice president, said he uses his P500,000 yearly "PR and representation allowance" to dine and wine friends, officers of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), presidents of various companies and "newspaper people."

Brodett said lately he has been entertaining members of the media "since we have been in the news for quite some time."

"We told them about our position," he said.

Brodett, the highest-paid government nominee, draws a salary of P150,000 a month from PHC and Philcomsat.

He said he collected a 13th month bonus equivalent to three months salary or P450,000 in 2005.

He also got a housing loan from PHC worth P2 million.

He said was able to grow PHC from a P10 million company in 1996 to a P1 billion firm at present.

"Operationally, yes it’s making money," Brodett said.

He said aside from its regular revenue stream from money placements estimated to be worth P700 million, PHC also earns from a call center which is estimated to turn in a profit of P7 million this year.

Benito Araneta, PHC board chairman up to 2005, told the joint probe that he received a one-time "bonus" of $10,000 (roughly P550,000) as transportation allowance, which he used when he traveled abroad between 2004 and 2005.

Araneta has been accused of fast-tracking a "behest loan" for his cousin, businessman Antonio Araneta, worth P125 million from PHC and another P265 million from Philcomsat.

Brodett said the loan, with an interest of 9 percent, was backed by a property in Alabang, which Antonio Araneta valued at P11,000 per square meter. Brodett said the market was P20,000 per sq. m. or a total of P800 million.

Benito Araneta said the loan was actually the sale price of the property and was part of the "complicated" plan of his cousin’s Ansear company to merge with the PHC. He said Ansear needed the money to increase its capital and put it at par with the PHC in order "make the merger easy."

Gordon rebuked Benito Araneta for agreeing to the loan despite his blood relations to the borrower.

"Why would a government nominee deal with a cousin?" Gordon asked. "You gave out the loan even while the company was already struggling."

Benito Araneta told Gordon that he did not participate in the deliberations on the loan and pointed to the PCGG as the one which approved it.

Benito Araneta again earned the ire of Gordon when he said that he did not receive any summon nor invitation from the Senate committee.

"Please don’t insult the intelligence of this committee," Gordon shot back.

Gordon said the whole nation knew that Benito Araneta was the subject of a warrant of arrest for refusing to appear before the joint Senate probe.

Julio Jalandoni, Manuel Andal and Enrique Locsin also admitted receiving a P2 million housing loan and other perks as government nominees.

Roberto Abad denied receiving the bonus and other PHC perks aside from his monthly salary of P10,000.

Abad said: "If I can, I also want to get it."

Jalandoni, PHC director, said he was also given a P123,000 reimbursement by the PHC despite "rarely attending meetings."

He said he could not reject the President when he accepted the nomination despite his being busy.

He said he was drawing a P20,000 salary per month from PHC but complained of not being able to draw his allowance from Philcomsat since "they have no money."

Erap: The issue is Gloria’s legitimacy – Malaya 12.14.2006

PRESIDENT Joseph Estrada yesterday said the real issue at the core of the people’s anger is neither the Constituent Assembly nor Constitutional Convention but the "bogus" presidency of Gloria Arroyo.

"It is not Con-Ass or Con-Con that is the issue, but the serious question of her legitimacy, which is the reason the nation remains divided and why political strife continues to surface again and again, raising the people’s outrage," the deposed leader said in statement.

He said that "no illegitimate president who lied, cheated and stole the sacred vote of the Filipino people should be allowed to lead them, because an illegitimate president can never get the support of the people whose sovereign will she thwarted."

"That she cheated twice over has been proven by evidence. The ‘Hello Garci’ tapes where she was caught talking to an election commissioner to cheat opposition standard bearer Fernando Poe Jr. of his victory is evidence enough. The coup d’état she plotted along with the military and the elitist mob to topple my legitimate presidency, which admission to oust me a year before January 2001 was also caught on tape, is also concrete proof of her cheating, lying and stealing ways in grabbing power from a legitimately elected leader," Estrada said.

Estrada said the people cannot be fooled, even if two impeachment complaints failed, not because there was no evidence, but because Mrs. Arroyo had again bribed her allies in Congress to kill the impeachment complaints.

"The people’s anger is rooted on this legitimacy question. This is why we cannot progress as a nation; why we cannot move on; why the nation remains divided and why there is now a collective rage in the hearts of Filipinos," he said.

"The people do not deserve her for their leader. She was not their choice. She is a bogus president and must account for her lying, thieving and cheating ways.

"Let us remember this: The Filipino people are sovereign and cannot be ruled by a bogus president twice over."

Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay, United Opposition (UNO) president, described the failed attempt by the House Tuesday to constitute Congress into a Constituent Assembly to amend the 1987 Constitution as an "aborted Constitutional coup d’état."

Binay said "as long as Mrs. Arroyo is in Malacañang and her allies are the majority in Congress, they will not stop in their attempt to perpetuate themselves in power."

"There is only one motive behind the desperate moves of the administration and its allies in Congress: they want to stay in power indefinitely," he said.

To achieve this, Binay said, Arroyo and her allies "will soil the Constitution, disregard the law, undermine the institutions of governance, and use naked violence against critics."

"In short, they have no intention to leave Malacañang. And they will attempt to stay there no matter what the cost," he said.

Speaker Jose de Venecia and the House majority bloc on Monday shelved the Senate-less Con-Ass but would push for a Constitutional Convention in an apparent attempt to appease various sectors led by the Catholic Church.

PAGCOR, PCSO FUNDS FOR CON-CON?

Sen. Panfilo Lacson warned that proponents of a Constitutional Convention might be tempted to tap funds from the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office and Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. just like what it did during the People’s Initiative campaign.

"Alam naman natin na may nagamit na pera (ng gobyerno) para sa PI," he said.

Lacson said only Congress can appropriate funds for a Constitutional Convention.

Senate majority leader Francis Pangilinan called on the Supreme Court to act immediately on the petition of former Sen. John Osmeña against the Constituent Assembly to put an end to debates.

Osmeña asked the High Court to void Resolution 1450 which sought to enable the House to convene Congress into a Con-Ass without the participation of the Senate.

While the House appeared to have backtracked on Con-Ass, Pangilinan said magistrates should still issue a ruling with dispatch "amidst the outrage and confusion."

Pangilinan said a ruling "will guide future efforts at charter change to take the correct path as laid down by the Supreme Court."

PURIFIED VERSION

The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) called for a "purified" version of the Constitutional Convention as a mode to change the Constitution, "if ever it is really needed".

In a statement, CBCP president Archbishop Angel Lagdameo said that consistent with the previous stand of the bishops, the CBCP is calling for a Con-Con but one that is "purified from negative impact that accompanied the People’s Initiative and Constituent Assembly."

"May the work of the Con-Con, if and when it shall be opportunely convoked, be the work of statesmen, whose concern will not be to fit it to a pre-determined framework, but who will discern, discuss and debate on what will be the best for our country," said the Jaro prelate.

De Venecia Wednesday night said he has directed majority leader Prospero Nograles and House secretary general Roberto Nazareno to archive Resolutions 197 and 1450 which enabled the House to convene a Con-Ass without Senate participation.

"It means Con-Ass is officially dead," he said. – Dennis Gadil, Gerard Anthony Naval and Wendell Vigilia

Bicam shoots down funding for Con-Con – Malaya 12.13.2006

BY DENNIS GADIL

THE bicameral conference committee on the P1.126 trillion budget for 2007 yesterday shot down moves to realign funds for the proposed Constitutional Convention (Con-Con).

"The NEP (National Expenditure Program) did not provide for a Con-Con expense," Sen. Franklin Drilon, Senate contingent head and budget chair, said in an interview.

"Considering it (cost of Con-Con) could be substantial, if and when Congress would decide on the Con-Con, there would have to be a special budget for that," he said.

Drilon said Con-Con proponents could not squeeze the needed funding from the 2007 budget because there are funds to spare.

He said the bicameral conference panel is sticking to the "spending program" provided under the 2007 budget.
Drilon said the panel agreed to allocate more funds for typhoon-hit Bicol region for repairs of irrigation systems and school buildings.

Rep. Joey Salceda (Kampi, Albay), head of the House panel, said they agreed to approve the budget for 2007 before December 24.

Senate President Manuel Villar said funds for Con-Con could still be re-aligned from the budget.

"Makakahabol pa kung makakahabol. Ang problema lang kung gusto nating ihabol. Ang paniniwala namin kasi ang pagbabago sa Saligang Batas ay hindi isang bagay na matter of life and death," he said.

Villar said he and Speaker Jose de Venecia met Monday night to rush the passage of the 2007 budget before the year ends.

Budget Secretary Rolando Andaya Jr. gave the assurance that there would be enough funds to cover election for Con-Con delegates, which would cost about P5.5 billion, and for the holding of a plebiscite, which would cost about P2 billion.

He, however, said government would save a lot if election for delegates would be held along with the senatorial and local elections in May 2007.

He said charter change would not delay passage of the budget as the legislative branch could resort to "multi-tasking."

Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita, in a radio interview, said if Congress wanted to pass the budget it could do so regardless of the proposed amendments to the Constitution. – With Jocelyn Montemayor and Wendell Vigilia

‘Let people decide on Con-Con’ – Malaya 12.12.2006

BY DENNIS GADIL

A CONSTITUTIONAL expert and a former elections chairman yesterday proposed that a referendum on the holding of a Constitutional Convention (Con-Con) be held to coincide with the May 14 elections or with the barangay polls in October 2007.

"If you can’t decide, go ask the people," Fr. Joaquin Bernas, an expert on the Constitution, told senators in a hearing on House resolution passed in 2005 calling for charter change.

Bernas said while there are provisions that should be revisited in the Constitution, there was no "urgency" to effect changes. "I have some changes in mind, but they can wait," he said.

He also said changes to the Constitution should be done in "a calm manner and not in a period of turmoil."

Christian Monsod, former chairman of the Commission on Elections (Comelec), said the referendum could also be done during the barangay elections.

"We must be able to demonstrate that the electoral system is credible again. The people must be convinced that the electoral system is trustworthy. Let’s see if the people can begin again to trust the Comelec," Monsod said, adding the test case is the May 2007 elections.

He said charter change "should not be rushed."

He said there is a need to revamp the Comelec but it should not affect officials who were not involved in the alleged rigging of the May 2004 elections.

He also described efforts of the House of Representatives to amend the charter by its lonesome as a "waste of people’s money."

"Diagnosis is wrong, solution is wrong," he said.

Retired Supreme Court justice Vicente Mendoza said there might be no need for a referendum.

"The 2007 elections could serve as the referendum," Mendoza said.

He said candidates could campaign on the platform of charter change via Con-Con.

"If they win, it could only mean that the people support Con-Con," he said.

Former Cebu Gov. Pablo Garcia, invited as resource speaker, objected to a referendum, saying senators and congressmen are already the representatives and the voice of the people.

Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile agreed.

"The people voted us as their voice. (So) let us not skirt on our responsibility," he said.

He said there was no need for a referendum because the Senate, as the voice of the people, could readily determine if changes are needed or not.

Sen. Richard Gordon, chair of the Senate committee on constitutional amendments which called for the hearing, said it is still important to hear the voice of the people.

He said Congress could not decide alone on Con-Con because of the "poisoned" atmosphere.

Sen. Edgardo Angara said the referendum should also ask if the voters also approve of a Con-Ass.

The hearing was called by Gordon in the course of his committee’s deliberation on the House resolution calling for a Con-Ass.

Gordon’s panel considers the resolution a "live" proposal despite ano-ther House resolution passed last week which calls a Con-Ass without the participation of the Senate.

House move shameless, say senators – Malaya 12.07.2006

BY JP LOPEZ AND DENNIS GADIL

SENATORS who are nominally allies of President Arroyo yesterday joined their opposition colleagues in condemning the "railroading" by the House of a Constituent Assembly without the participation of senators.

Senators Pia Cayetano, Richard Gordon, Ralph Recto and Mar Roxas said the behavior of Malacañang allies at the House is a preview of things to come if the proposed shift to a unicameral parliament succeeds.

"In their shameless bid to perpetuate themselves in power, the House leadership is pushing the entire nation on the brink of a constitutional crisis and political turmoil," Cayetano said. "Who are the real ‘destabilizers’ now?"

"Their illegal and immoral scheme is bound to blow up in their faces soon and they will be ultimately answerable to the people," she said.

She said the railroading of Cha-cha train "should be the best argument for the retention of the bicameral legislative setup which ensures a system of checks and balances, as opposed to a unicameral parliament where a powerful political bloc can run roughshod over the opposition and bend its rules to serve vested interests."

Cayetano lauded the 25 congressmen led by minority members who stood against moves to amend the House rules to accommodate Cha-cha.

"The ‘Valiant 25’ represented the voice of the majority of our people who are opposed to changing the Constitution at this time in such a hurried and hodge-podge manner. They deserve all our support," she said.

"The rule requiring a bicameral vote for amending the charter was put up precisely to protect our people from any powerful political bloc that seeks to revise our fundamental law without the consent of both Houses," she added.

Cayetano said the House majority’s insistence on pushing Con-Ass was the "height of callousness," considering that millions of Filipinos are still reeling from the devastation brought by typhoon "Reming" in Bicol and Southern Tagalog.

Recto also said the move of the majority to ram through, "using numbers over reason," House Resolution 1450 which seeks the convening of Con-Ass "is indeed a fitting day to launch a sneak attack on democracy."

"That day is the 65th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor. And if the House juggernaut will succeed, then Dec. 7, 2006 will indeed be remembered as our Day of Infamy," Recto said.

"If not repelled, the House move will leave our system of government in smoldering ruins, and the rule of law in tatters. The Senate and - this I believe - a Supreme Court of upright men and women will not allow this transgression."

"And in the end, just like what happened 65 years ago, Filipinos will rise up to the challenge and defeat this Banzai-like charge on their democracy," Recto said.

Gordon said the House move was "shameless."

"I was really learning how they operate in the House. Talagang revelation ... Itong ginawa nila, hindi maganda," he said.

Gordon said the House violated its own resolution last year that the Senate was needed in the process that would lead to a Constituent Assembly.

He maintained both Houses must vote separately to allow charter change through a Constituent Assembly.

Roxas said senators would not allow congressmen to proceed with their illegal act and cited a resolution signed by 22 senators stating their position against a "unicameral" Constituent Assembly.

He said the revision of the rules was a "naked attempt" to prolong their (congressmen) stay in power.

Roxas warned of grave political backlash from the people if the House continues on its final "Cha-cha" push. "The people would want to continue to directly choose the leaders of the country."

Sen. Franklin Drilon said the House violated the Constitution when it "whimsically" changed its internal rules, which he pointed out was based on provisions of the charter.

He vowed to lead senators in contesting "at the appropriate time" the House action before the Supreme Court.

The right time, he said, is when the House goes to the Commission on Elections and requests the setting of a date for a plebiscite.

Once a motion is filed with the Comelec, and this has been determined to be meritorious, a plebiscite will be scheduled not earlier than 60 days from the filing of the request, Drilon said.

THIEVES IN THE NIGHT

Sen. Panfilo Lacson branded as "constitutional rape" the House move to change its internal rules to pave the way for the convening of the Constituent Assembly this week.

"What some congressmen did Tuesday night was nothing short of unconstitutional rape. This is one of those rare instances where words are no longer enough to describe the disgust over the latest % and the most brazen % attempt to ram Charter change down the people’s collective throats," he said.

He said Malacañang allies at the House "threw out the window... whatever sense of decency left in them. Like thieves in the night, they pounced upon the unsuspecting citizenry just as it was fast asleep."

Minority leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr. said "it was a shameless betrayal of the public trust that the people had bestowed on the majority members of the House."

"Pushed to its logical conclusion, the move will now pave the way for the approval of the nefarious plot of Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr. and his allies in the House to amend the Constitution so that there would be no elections in 2007, thereby extending their terms to benefit themselves and probably shift the form of government to parliamentary," Pimentel said.

ON LOSING SIDE

Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago said the President has "has been consistently, all the times" calling administration senators to support her government’s charter change bid.

"Whether it was People’s Initiative or now the Constituent Assembly, she has never been shy about making her views known % that she wants her administration senators to go," she added.

Santiago said she, Recto, Ramon "Bong" Revilla and Manuel "Lito" Lapid were planning on attending the Constituent Assembly but admitted they are having second thoughts.

"This is a legal issue. It has never been resolved by the Supreme Court. Naturally, we don’t want to be on the losing side of history," she said.

She said her pro-Charter change stance could change depending on how the President acts on her December 5 letter seeking postponement of the appointment of a permanent chief justice to replace Chief Justice Artemio Panganiban who retires today.

Revilla said he has yet to make up his mind whether to attend the Constituent Assembly.

"Up to this point, I have no commitments to anybody. I know what I want to do but I want to be very sure. On Monday, I will give you a definite answer," he said. "If I feel that my decision is right, no amount of convincing, not even by the President, could change my mind."

Majority leader Francis Pangilinan said senators could not be stopped from attending the House-convened Con-ass "but they have no official capacity to represent the Senate."

"At the very least, they’re there not representing the Senate but themselves," he said.

He said senators attending the Con-Ass would just be reduced into "mere cheerleaders" of De Venecia.

BRAZEN ACT

Senate President Manuel Villar described the House action as "brazen."

"Desidido. Talagang ipipilit iyan at iyon lamang ang paraan para maipilit iyan. Garapal," he said.

"To me, kahit na may senador na a-attend, hindi mo masasabi na nandoon ang Senado. Parang sinabi mong na may congressman, hindi nangangahulugan na nandoon iyong House of Representatives," he said.

Senators in an emergency caucus last night circulated a resolution reiterating their stand that the convening of the Con-ass should be participated in by the Senate with both Houses voting separately and any effort to convene the Con-ass without the Senate was unconstitutional.

Sandoval ploy to stay at House assailed – Malaya 12.07.2006

SEN. Jinggoy Estrada yesterday blasted Malabon-Navotas Rep. Federico Sandoval for blocking the passage of the bill that would break up the Malabon-Navotas congressional district and give Navotas cityhood status, by consigning the bicameral-approved version of the measure to the House committee on rules.

The bill turning Navotas into a new city, authored by Sandoval himself, was approved unanimously in both houses and was also upheld in the bicameral panel. Sandoval, however, apparently lost interest in the measure after the bicameral panel rejected his proposal to hold elections for the first Navotas congressman two months after the regular May 2007 elections.

Bicam panel members stuck to the original provision mandating that elections for the new congressional district of Navotas be held simultaneously with the 2007 elections.

Sandoval is on his third and final term as congressman of Malabon-Navotas.

Estrada said San-doval, instead of shepherding the ratification of the measure by the lower house, moved to send the measure back to the committee on rules where it remains stranded.

Estrada, who sat in the bicameral panel, said Sandoval was clearly plotting to run for Navotas congressman two months after his term expires as Malabon-Navotas representative.

"This appears to be his gambit. He is hoping to become congressman again within two months after the end of his third and final term. Clearly, this is an insidious, if not an immoral, attempt on his part to circumvent the constitutional prohibition," Estrada said.

Sandoval is said to be grooming his brother Alvin to take over his Malabon congressional seat while he himself will try to return to Congress via the newly created Navotas congressional district. – Dennis Gadil

For once bicam panel agrees… to throw out JoeCon – Malaya 12.06.2006

BY DENNIS GADIL

AFTER bickering on many trivial issues, the congressional bicameral body rushing ratification of the new automated elections law yesterday finally reached a "breakthrough" by agreeing to throw out "observer" Jose Concepcion Jr. from the body’s deliberations.

Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile, senior bicameral member, said Concepcion, chair of the National Citizen’s Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel), should not be participating in the discussions or sitting in on deliberations.

Enrile said his presence violates bicameral panel rules and protocol.

"Why do we have observers here? With respect to Mr. Concepcion, this is a bicameral session, not a committee hearing. Only members of Congress are supposed to be here," Enrile said.

Concepcion had been participating in bicameral discussions since these started last week, mostly by answering questions from panel members. It was his fourth time to attend the bicameral conference yesterday.

Sen. Richard Gordon, chair of the Senate committee on constitutional amendments and Senate contingent head, did not pose any objection to Enrile’s motion, along with Senators Ralph Recto and Sergio Osmeña, and Representatives Rolex Suplico, Alan Peter Cayetano, Arthur Defensor, and Rep. Teodoro Locsin Jr., head of the House contingent.

"So may I be excused?" Concepcion asked the body before sitting with the audience.

In an interview, Concepcion said he was invited as an observer.

"Senator Gordon invited me and, by extension, by the bicameral committee. This is my fourth time," he said.

Concepcion said he held no grudge against Enrile.

"No, no. I accept everything that they say. I just want to ensure that the votes of the Filipino people are protected," Concepcion said.

Concepcion said Namfrel was worried that since only 5 percent of the polling places are to be automated next year, this means that 95 percent of the votes could be rigged or tampered with unless safeguards are in place.

Before Concepcion’s expulsion from the bicameral session, senators and congressmen were debating on whether to allow the taking of photographs of election returns. After discussions, panel members agreed.

Osmeña said the acquisition of digital cameras should be shouldered by government as it is the obligation of the state to secure the votes of the opposition.

Enrile said the obligation should fall on political parties.

The bicameral body on Monday also agreed to withdraw the proposal to expand the allotted airtime for candidates running in the May 2007 polls.

"Tinanggal na namin yun, ayaw ng mga congressmen," Gordon said Monday.

The proposal to lengthen TV and radio exposure of candidates was strongly opposed by party-list lawmakers who fear this could put them at a disadvantage.

But Recto resurrected the debates on the proposal and pushed for its reconsideration.

The original proposal was to increase to 180 minutes from 60 to 120 minutes the allowable airtime for national candidates availing of political advertisement.

Joe’s Cha-cha train sweeps away House rules – Malaya 12.06.2206

BY WENDELL VIGILIA

THE House of Representatives late last night was poised to scrap its rules providing that proposed charter amendments be treated like ordinary bills in a bid to convene itself into a Constituent Assembly this week and come up with proposed amendments next week.

The proposal to change the rules was stymied the other night by the lack of an absolute majority of Cha-cha congressmen.

Last night, 160 congressmen answered the roll call. A vote of one-half plus one of the 232 total House membership or 117 votes is needed to amend House rules.

Apparently having enough warm bodies, the majority called for a division of the house.

Under the old rules, the proposed amendments would have undergone committee hearings and then first, second and third reading. There would have been no time to pass the proposed amendments before the scheduled Christmas recess starting Dec. 22.

Speaker Jose de Venecia, the proponent of the House convening into a Constituent Assembly without the participation of the Senate, has set a Dec. 16 deadline for passage of the amendments in time for a proposed plebiscite before Feb. 16, the last day for filing certificates of candidacy for the Senate.

Deputy majority leader Arthur Defensor (Kampi, Iloilo) kicked off last night’s debates with a motion to amend Rule 15, Section 105 of the House rules.

He said the resolution for a Constituent Assembly should not be treated like an ordinary bill since it involves proposals to change the Constitution.

Rep. Liza Maza of Gabriela tried to stop the deliberations by rising on a matter of personal and collective privilege on the custody issue of American serviceman Daniel Smith who was found RP ready to hand over Smith to US of raping Nicole, a Filipina, in Subic last Nov. 1, 2005.

Deputy Speaker for Mindanao Gerry Salapuddin, presiding chair, declared her out of order since privilege speeches are reserved for Mondays.

A sponsorship speech was delivered by Constantino Jaraula (Lakas, Cagayan de Oro), chair of the committee on constitutional amendments, with Luis Villafuerte (Kampi, Camarines Sur) and Douglas Cagas (NPC, Davao del Sur) supporting the motion.

Jaraula said that Sec. 105 was already obsolete and should be amended, saying that the Constitution clearly states that three-fourths of members of Congress are enough to craft the changes to the Charter. He said that it does not specifically mention the House and the Senate.

Villafuerte said there is no "express provision" in the Constitution on whether the voting should be done separately or jointly by both Houses and therefore "there is no obstacle."

"Clearly, expressly and categorically, the Constitution, upon three-fourths of vote of Congress, can be amended," he said.

On the interpellation of Rep. Teddy Casiño of Bayan Muna, Defensor said the changes to the Charter could be proposed through a "simple resolution" convening Congress as Con-Ass.

Rep. Roilo Golez (Ind., Parañaque) said the majority appears to be admitting its mistake of adopting Sec. 105 in the past Congresses where De Venecia was the Speaker.

"Ang Kamara de Representantes daw po committed errors in including Sec. 105 in the rules… Di ko po matatanggap ang pagkakamaling ito. Sino ba ang Speaker nuong 9th, 10th, 12th Congress at ngayong 13th Congress? It’s no other than our idol Speaker Jose de Venecia, a fountain of wisdom, who can’t commit a mistake," he said.

"I object to the indictment of the wisdom of Speaker JDV. I voted for him four times already. Parang sinabi nila na nagkamali ako sa pagboto. That’s why I’m defending you Mr. Speaker," he added, eliciting laughter.

Golez said the administration is "ramming Cha-cha down the throats of the people."

"Since I cannot find a precedent in respected parliaments anywhere in the world, therefore, the motion is out of this world. I therefore urge that the motion be rejected because it is out of order, out of turn and out of this world," he said.

Rep. Mario Aguja (Akbayan) insisted that the majority should file a resolution which would go to the committee on rules, citing a precedent in the 11th Congress when Rep. Salacnib Baterina (Lakas, Ilocos Sur) had to withdraw his motion to amend the rules on a point of order of then Rep. Sergio Apostol who pointed out the same thing.

"Mahiya po tayo sa sambayanang Pilipino. We can’t amend rules without making it a resolution," he said.

CON-ASS TRAIN

Sen. Ralph Recto called on De Venecia "not to let the Con-Ass train leave the station if no senators are on board as this would plunge the county into a constitutional crisis."

"Like a train, the Constituent Assembly should run on two rails so I hope our House leaders know the grave repercussions of their action," Recto said.

Recto predicted the Supreme Court would stop the "bullet Con-Ass train if it sees it to be recklessly running on just a single rail."

He said "consultations are happening on both sides of the aisle on the possibility of asking the Supreme Court to rule on the legality of a House convening itself as a Constituent Assembly without the Senate."

"There is bipartisan consensus on this matter," he said.

"The bottom-line is that the House will be challenged in court," he added.

COURSE OF ACTION

Senate leaders would call a caucus this week to discuss their course of action on the attempt of the House to convene a Senate-less Constituent Assembly.

"It is our stand that the House could not unilaterally convene into a Constituent Assembly without the Senate," Senate President Manuel Villar said.

Early this year, the Senate passed a resolution announcing that a Con-Ass must be participated in by both houses with each house voting separately.

Villar said the Senate is drafting a resolution that would reiterate the senators’ stand against Con-Ass.

Majority leader Francis Pangilinan said Senate legal officers are already working on the draft to be submitted to the senators for concurrence.

Pangilinan said the contents of the resolution and other issues related to the move of the House would also be finalized during the caucus.

"At an appropriate time, the Senate’s legal office will file its opposition before the Supreme Court," he said.

Sen. Mar Roxas said the move of the House is cause for grave concern and should merit an equivocal response from the Senate leadership.

"The actions of the House, preliminary as they are, constitute an opening salvo to a sequence of events that will unalterably destroy our system of government," he said. – With JP Lopez and Dennis Gadil

‘Poor’ candidates decry move to increase political ad time – Malaya 12.04.2006

Independent candidates and party-list groups are losing sleep over the move by the senators and congressmen crafting the latest automated elections law to increase the allotted airtime for television and radio for candidates in next year’s elections.

Bicameral leaders Sen. Richard Gordon and Rep. Teodoro Locsin Jr. said they are mulling to increase the allotted airtime for candidates from the current 120 minutes to 180 minutes.

But party-list groups led by Rep. Etta Rosales of Akbayan said the increase in allotted airtime would discriminate against small political parties and poor candidates who can not buy radio and TV airtime.

She said this would mean more cash for political advertising just to compete with their moneyed opponents.

"This is unfair to party-list groups. You know for a fact we don’t have the money to buy air time," Rosales, who sits in the bicameral panel, told senators and congressmen during last week’s final deliberations on the measure.

She added: "Even under the present set-up, we are already at a great disadvantage."

Party-list groups CIBAC and AN WARAY have also expressed reservations on increasing the media time for political advertisement. – Dennis Gadil

Nursing, caregiver jobs in Japan seen as a mirage – Malaya 12.02.2006

BY DENNIS GADIL

SENATE minority leader Aquilino Pimentel yesterday said Japan’s stringent policy on the entry of foreign professionals could mean that no Filipino nurses and caregivers would actually get hired as part of an economic partnership agreement between Manila and Tokyo.

"We are supposedly promised that a certain number of nurses and caregivers could go to Japan under the agreement. But now it looks like we won’t get anything but garbage," Pimentel said.

Pimentel said job prospects under the Japan-Philippine Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA) have become even bleaker as nursing groups in Japan are strongly objecting to the hiring of Filipino nurses.

He said the Japanese Nursing Association (JNA) has vowed to block the influx of Filipino nurses and caregivers for fear that this may cause a downgrading of employment standards, including a lowering of compensation.

"That seems to be the core of the problem of JPEPA. We are getting less than what we bargained for," he said.

Pimentel said Japanese nurses fear that the entry of their Filipino counterparts might create disadvantages for them, including stiffer competition for available nursing positions.

Under the JPEPA, Tokyo will allow Japanese hospitals to recruit Filipino nurses and caregivers but not more than 400 during the initial year of implementation of the accord, in exchange for the liberalized entry of Japanese goods into the Philippines, including industrial waste.

JPEPA will allow Filipino nurses to stay in Japan up to three years and caregivers up to four years.

Pimentel said the promise of high-paying jobs could become an illusion because Japan has yet to relax its stringent rules on the hiring of foreign workers in the medical and entertainment industry.

Aside from having to learn Nippongo, foreign medical workers are required to undergo training with reputable health institutions, locally or abroad, or seek accreditation from established hospitals.

"I understand the rationale for our nurses to undergo formal training in Nippongo, but we find the other requirements exclusivistic," Pimentel said.

He said the Philippine Nursing Association (PNA) is unhappy over Tokyo’s tight requirements, which would make it difficult for its members to penetrate the Japanese labor market.

In a position paper on the JPEPA, the PNA voiced fears that Filipino nurses may face of discrimination. They will likely be treated as second-class professionals or end up as nursing assistants.

Pimentel said if it turns out that the requirements imposed by Japan are difficult for Filipino health workers to comply with, the treaty sent by Malacañang on Nov. 20 to the Senate might not be ratified.

He asked the Arroyo government why it allowed Japan, under the JPEPA, to export toxic industrial waste. He said it was in violation of the 1989 Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movement of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal.

Pimentel said the government’s assurance that the dumping of Japanese toxic waste materials will not be allowed is belied by the text of the JPEPA itself.

Article 29 of the Basic Agreement of JPEPA provides that the following waste products will be granted a preferential tariff rate of zero percent: Ash and residues containing arsenic and mercury; ash and residues from incineration of municipal waste; waste pharmaceuticals; residual products of the chemical or allied industries; municipal waste including used sanitary napkins and used adult diapers; sewage sludge; clinical waste including used bandages and discarded syringes; and worn out clothes, among other things.