Chiz: Re-think move to inhibit 3 justices

BY DENNIS GADIL

SEN. Francis "Chiz" Escudero yesterday advised senators to rethink a proposal to ask three associate justices of the Supreme Court to inhibit from deliberations on the Senate’s motion for reconsideration on the issue of executive privilege.

Escudero, a lawyer, told a media forum that SC justices are also human and could be offended if subjected to an inhibition petition.

He said ultimately it is the Supreme Court as a collegial body that would decide on any petition to inhibit one or two magistrates.

He stressed that if a petition to inhibit is actually filed, the proponents should make sure that the move would get a favorable ruling from the tribunal.

Escudero also frowned on the plan of majority leader Francis Pangilinan to go solo in moving for the inhibition of Associate Justices Arturo Brion, Renato Corona and Presbitero Velasco.

"We should act and plan accordingly, not as individual senators, not as majority but as an institution and a collective group," he said.

Pangilinan had stressed the grounds set forth in the motion for inhibition "are valid and material."

"Justice Arturo Brion was not yet appointed when the petition of Commission Higher Education Romulo Neri invoking executive privilege was heard. Justice Renato Corona’s wife, in a paid advertisement, was reported to have publicly expressed support for President Gloria Arroyo. Mrs. Corona is also reported to be a presidential appointee. Justice Presbitero Velasco is said to be petitioner Neri’s golf buddy," he said.

Religious superiors to protect, sustain Lozada

BY GERARD NAVAL

THE Association of Major Religious Superiors in the Philippines (AMRSP) yesterday said it would not abandon ZTE star witness Rodolfo "Jun" Lozada even if the Senate withdraws the latter's security detail.

"He (Lozada) is still under our sanctuary program. We are still very willing to protect him and to sustain his needs. Hindi na namin iuurong ito," AMRSP executive secretary Sr. Estrella Castalone told Radio Veritas.

Castalone said the sanctuary fund has P2.8 million, raised over four months since it began to finance the legal expenses of witnesses in the botched broadband deal.

She said there is another fund which is directly dedicated for Lozada's expenditures while he is under the protection of the Senate.

Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile last Sunday proposed the withdrawal of the security detail for Lozada after it was revealed that the Senate has spent P2 million for the security of Lozada and ZTE consultant Dante Madriaga. Enrile said there is no more real threat to Lozada's life.

Castalone said Enrile seems to be unmindful of the dilemma being faced by witnesses.

"Gusto ko i-quote si Senator (Alan Peter) Cayetano: 'Ano ang halaga ng isang buhay?' Karapatan at mahalaga ang buhay ng isang tao para sa kanyang kaligtasan," the nun said.

She said AMRSP is willing to provide security to the "new" witness of Iloilo Vice Gov. Rolex Suplico as the sanctuary fund is not solely for Lozada.

"Kung gusto niya na mag-request sa amin, tutulungan namin siya. Pero ang first requisite ay the person himself would have to request us. Gaya ng ginawa ni Jun, lumapit siya sa amin at humingi ng tulong," the nun said.

Senate minority leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr. sought an investigation into the Senate expenses for the security arrangements of Lozada and Madriaga, citing concerns over possible misuse of Senate funds.

Lozada and Madriaga both testified on the irregularities including kickbacks in the $329-million NBN-ZTE broadband deal.

Pimentel said the Senate accounts committee headed by majority leader Francis Pangilinan should look into the expenses

Pimentel said the expenses reported by the Senate for the two witnesses could have been padded. - With Dennis Gadil

Oil firms asked to freeze price increases

BY DENNIS GADIL

SENATORS yesterday appealed to giant oil companies to hold off any planned price adjustment in the coming weeks to give relief to the public who have to bear annual school opening woes like tuition fee increase and soaring prices of school supplies.

Gasoline, diesel and kerosene prices have risen 11 times since the start of the year for a total of P7 a liter for gasoline and P6.50 for diesel and kerosene.

The cost of unleaded gasoline is now at the record high of P51.07 a liter.

Oil executives have said they have to recover some P7 billion in losses because of skyrocketing world crude prices, which is now pegged at $115.46 per barrel as per Dubai crude market.

Senate President Manuel Villar said prices of school supplies and even tuition normally go up during the start of the school year, but this time the hikes could be higher because of the skyrocketing oil prices.

He said the recently issued salary increase and the 50-centavo increase in fare announced by the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board yesterday would drive the prices of basic commodities to further go up.

For one, he said, private schools and universities will have to factor in the P20 wage hike ordered by wage board last Friday in the monthly payroll of their teaching personnel and workers by reflecting it their cost of operations like tuition. The wage order takes effect next month.

"I appeal to oil companies to help keep our children in school by moderating their profit margin in the coming weeks or until the school opening season," Villar said.

Villar has been calling for price transparency among local oil players in relation to their price-fixing and loss recovery formula.

He said oil companies could not always pass on all their losses to the consumers.

TRIPLE WHAMMY

Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano said the weekly adjustments in oil prices are a "triple whammy" on consumers.

A price freeze, he said, would help ease the pressure on prices of basic products and services going up during the school year opening.

"Because oil price hikes result to higher transportation cost (and to) higher energy cost, higher prices of basic commodities and other prices also have to be upwardly adjusted including wages," he said.

"Schools will then have to raise tuition fees or save on other items which would affect quality of education," he added.

Cayetano took government to task for what he said was its lack of serious effort to rein what he called the greed of oil companies while going all out against a dominant power retailer like the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco).

"Why isn’t the government (being) aggressive in checking the abuses oil companies and making their books more transparent?" he asked.

Cayetano, chairs the Senate blue ribbon committee, said he is baffled over the oil companies’ glowing sales figures and claims of losses which they recover by increasing prices.

OIL PRICE CAP

Pangasinan Rep. Jose de Venecia proposed at a major energy forum in Moscow that the world’s oil producers put a cap on soaring oil prices.

"The danger is real that high oil prices could cause overburdened economies to collapse, setting off a series of debt-service defaults that could trigger a global financial crisis," he said at the Asian Integrated Energy Market forum organized by the Asian Parliamentary Assembly.

His proposal was included in the communiqué at the end of the two-day forum presided by the vice president of the Russian Duma (parliament), Valeriy Yasev, one of Russia’s foremost oil experts.

De Venecia said the six oil-rich states of the Gulf Cooperation Council might be moved to put a cap on oil prices as a "gesture of solidarity" with the oil-poor countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America.

The Council is made up of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

Nene: Shift to federal will not allow GMA extension

SENATE minority leader Aquilino "Nene" Pimentel yesterday stressed his proposed federal system of government will not allow any extension to the term of President Arroyo.

"That will not happen because it is clear in my proposal that the term of the incumbent president will not be extended. Even my term as senator will be terminated in 2010," he said.

Pimentel made the clarification in the light of speculations that a federal system will allow the President to stay in power either by running for re-election or by extending her term as a "hold-over" or "transitional" president.

Pimentel is the principal author of Joint Resolution 10 calling for the convening of Congress into a Constituent Assembly to initiate amendments to the 1987 Constitution and lay the ground for a federal system.

He said the joint resolution is explicit in barring the incumbent president from benefiting in whatever changes to the Constitution.

Article 19 of the proposed federal Constitution provides: "Unless the incumbent president is removed from office, dies or resigns, the incumbent shall serve until 2010, the year her Constitutional term of office ends. She is however not qualified to run again under the Constitution."

Pimentel also said under his proposal, both the president and vice president will serve for a term of six years and be voted as a team, which means that a vote for a presidential candidate would be automatically be counted as a vote for his running-mate.

The resolution calls for the election of six senators in each of the 11 component federal states that are envisioned to be created.

In addition, nine other senators will be elected to represent Filipinos overseas. This will considerably expand the membership of the Senate which has 24 members.

On the other hand, congressmen will be elected by district but limited to a maximum of 350.

The resolution provides that the senators will serve for six years while the congressmen will serve for three years. The senators will be limited to two terms and congressmen, four terms.

At least 15 senators have expressed support for Pimentel’s proposal, including Senate President Manuel Villar, majority leader Francis Pangilinan, Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada, Edgardo Angara, Rodolfo Biazon, Pia Cayetano, Juan Ponce Enrile, Francis Escudero, Gregorio Honasan, Panfilo Lacson, Ramon Revilla Jr. and Juan Miguel Zubiri. – Dennis Gadil

Senate throws out report clearing Hanjin, officials

BY DENNIS GADIL

THE joint Senate probe on the Hanjin controversy yesterday threw out the report of the PNP task force Tagovill absolving the Korean shipping firm and Misamis Oriental local officials from charges and counter-charges of bribery and extortion.

"The major people involved were not asked. They (task force) prematurely closed the issue," Sen. Pia Cayetano, chair of the committee on the environment, said after the hearing.

The other committee is the Blue Ribbon chaired by Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano.

She said the task force did not even bother to get the side of Hanjin project manager Guk Hyun Choi.

Choi, she said, was the person mentioned by Tagoloan Mayor Paulino Emano in a television interview who told him that he stood to get P400 million if he allowed the construction of the $2-billion shipyard project despite the lack of environmental compliance certificate.

Emano, in an affidavit he submitted to the task force last week, denied he was bribed. He said he was misquoted.

Cayetano said Emano should explain to the joint panel why he immediately lifted his ban against Hanjin when President Arroyo visited Cagayan de Oro City last April 30

Emano said she told the President about the bribe but she "ignored" him.

Cayetano said the task force report has many "gaps and lapses."

"Were they under pressure to come up with the report?" Cayetano said.

Emano, Villanueva Mayor Juliette Uy and Hanjin president Shim Jeong Sup were no-shows.

Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano took issue with the police’s apparent disinterest in pursuing the bribery issue.

"Just because somebody said there was no bribery doesn’t mean there was no bribery," he said.

Cayetano siblings lead probe of Korean firm

BY DENNIS GADIL

THE Cayetano siblings have joined hands in investigating alleged bribery by Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction Co Ltd. of South Korea to determine President Arroyo’s culpability.

"Parang this is the second time from the ZTE (bribery scandal) na may nagsumbong kay Presidente at imbes na pa-imbestigahan niya yung kompanya, e mas lalong napabilis ang implementation," Blue Ribbon chair Alan Peter Cayetano said in an interview.

Former Planning Secretary Romulo Neri had informed the President about the P200 million offer of then Comelec chair Benjamin Abalos in exchange for approving the $329-million NBN-ZTE broadband project.

But Neri, during a Senate probe, clammed up when asked about the response of President Arroyo and invoked executive privilege.

Cayetano said the probe, to be spearheaded by the committee on environment chaired by his sister Pia, will also look into the environmental laws violated by Hanjin in putting up their projects in Subic.

He said there was obviously a rush in implementing the Hanjin projects despite the lack of environmental permits and clearances.

Cayetano said the PNP Task Force Tagovill which investigated the alleged bribe attempt and the Korean Chamber of Commerce have confirmed attendance.

He, however, said that Tagoloan Mayor Paulino Emano and Villanueva Mayor Juliette Uy, who allegedly cried bribery by Hanjin, have declined the Senate invitations.

Emano last May 1 was caught on television saying he told the President about the P400 million bribe offer to him and Uy but Arroyo "ignored" him.

The two mayors last week backtracked and signed an affidavit that said no bribery-extortion took place.

Hanjin president Jeong Sup Chim has confirmed his attendance in today’s hearing.

Environment Secretary Jose Atienza, Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority administrator Armand Arreza, PNP chief Avelino Razon, and Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno have yet to confirm their attendance.

Sen. Pia Cayetano has said she was outraged "that Hanjin offered such favor to the local official to allow them to continue construction even without first securing a municipal building permit and environmental compliance certificate (ECC), among others."

"These are basic requirements under the law, regardless of whether you’re a local or foreign investor," she said

Hanjin has gotten the ire of environmentalists for constructing two condominiums at the protected Subic forest reserve without an ECC. The construction began last January.

Hanjin applied for an ECC only last March. The SBMA granted the ECC last July. By then, Hanjin had already built eight floors of the first, a 22-story condominium, and four floors of the second, a 12-story structure.

Hanjin is planning to operate a $2 billion shipyard that would extend from Tagoloan to Villanueva in Misamis Oriental. Its training center alone would occupy eight hectares, while the planned shipyard would be on a 70-hectare property in Tagoloan and on a 400-hectare property in Villanueva.

Power for Gloria to set oil prices sought

BY DENNIS GADIL

SEN. Francis Escudero yesterday sought more powers for President Arroyo to enable her to look into the oil price increases imposed by petroleum companies and protect the basic sectors.

Escudero said the oil deregulation law has become biased for big oil players which can easily raise oil prices without having to seek government's consent.

"In contrast however, small people like the transport sector who bear the brunt of reckless soaring of oil prices have to court, seek and plea for the government's consent for fare hike to cope with the escalating oil price," he said.

Escudero, chairman of the Senate ways and means committee, said the oil deregulation law must be amended to grant the President price-setting powers to address the impact of "any considerable increases in oil prices."

He said the presidential power will only be on a "standby" basis or used only if there is a questionable upward movement in oil prices.

Gasoline rose to as high as P50 a liter over the weekend in the ninth increase for this year.

Oil firms said they are eyeing a recovery amount of P7 a liter to stop losses due to skyrocketing world crude prices.

Escudero has filed Senate Resolution 217 which seeks to amend Republic Act 8479 or the oil deregulation law.

Escudero said when the law was enacted almost 10 years ago, the energy department was given enough powers and prerogatives to monitor the prices of oil commodities to ensure reasonable pricing on the basis of prevailing inventory and market price.

Despite such powers and prerogatives, he said, price increases were implemented faster than the public can cope with, as opposed to a decrease in oil prices by oil companies and retailers.

Escudero said government should be protecting the small people who have little or no access to equal opportunities.

He said if the call to amend or repeal the oil deregulation law will be continuously ignored, the government will prove to be a disempowering institution to its people.

"Shouldn't it be that those who have less in life should have more in law? If we can't give tangibles to the poor, then we should at least give them their day under our laws," he said.

Chiz: Re-think move to inhibit 3 justices

BY DENNIS GADIL

SEN. Francis "Chiz" Escudero yesterday advised senators to rethink a proposal to ask three associate justices of the Supreme Court to inhibit from deliberations on the Senate’s motion for reconsideration on the issue of executive privilege.

Escudero, a lawyer, told a media forum that SC justices are also human and could be offended if subjected to an inhibition petition.

He said ultimately it is the Supreme Court as a collegial body that would decide on any petition to inhibit one or two magistrates.

He stressed that if a petition to inhibit is actually filed, the proponents should make sure that the move would get a favorable ruling from the tribunal.

Escudero also frowned on the plan of majority leader Francis Pangilinan to go solo in moving for the inhibition of Associate Justices Arturo Brion, Renato Corona and Presbitero Velasco.

"We should act and plan accordingly, not as individual senators, not as majority but as an institution and a collective group," he said.

Pangilinan had stressed the grounds set forth in the motion for inhibition "are valid and material."

"Justice Arturo Brion was not yet appointed when the petition of Commission Higher Education Romulo Neri invoking executive privilege was heard. Justice Renato Corona’s wife, in a paid advertisement, was reported to have publicly expressed support for President Gloria Arroyo. Mrs. Corona is also reported to be a presidential appointee. Justice Presbitero Velasco is said to be petitioner Neri’s golf buddy," he said.

Pimentel wants full accounting of CARP funds before extension

SENATE minority leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr. yesterday said there should be a full accounting of the agrarian reform funds under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) before the law that created CARP is extended beyond June 10.

"There must be a full accounting of the tens of billions of pesos spent for CARP since it was first implemented in 1988 in view of allegations about corruption and misuse of money," Pimentel said. "We do not see that yet because every time the CARP is in danger of extinction, they just come back to say we need more money to keep CARP alive."

Pimentel said it is not even clear where the government will get the P162 billion that the Department of Agrarian Reform says is needed to continue and complete the CARP. He said there is also a need to redefine "just compensation" for private agricultural lands that are compulsorily covered by CARP or voluntarily sold to the government for redistribution to farmer-beneficiaries. "Of what use is the extension of the CARP law if there is no funding? The funding issue is very important and that is anchored on what the term just compensation means."

Pimentel said among the CARP funds that have not been liquidated are its P28-billion share in recovered Marcos bank deposits from Switzerland. He added that the administration has yet to fully respond to the allegations by farmers’ organizations that part of the recovered Marcos bank deposits had been diverted to President Arroyo’s campaign kitty in 2004.

Pimentel said it was revealed during the CBCP-Legislators’ forum that the Supreme Court in two cases had ordered the payment of a total of P1.122 million to two landowners as just compensation for lands placed under CARP. "This is terrible. With that kind of money being paid to big landowners, how can you sustain the CARP?" he said.

Pimentel said there is an emerging consensus among legislators to pass the law to extend the CARP but the Senate cannot act speedily on the bill because "there is a lot of information that still missing."

The Lower House has already passed a consolidation of 13 bills providing for a five-year extension of CARP with a funding of P100 billion.

Some 50 members of the militant Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP), marching in UP Diliman yesterday, said they are against the extension of CARP for being a fake agrarian reform project and urged the Catholic Bishops Conference to look more deeply into the issue of its extension which it supports.

KMP, which is pushing House Bill 3059 or the Genuine Agrarian Reform Bill, claimed "pseudo-farmers groups and opportunist groups are in collusion with Malacañang and have gone all out to have CARP railroaded because this program is one of their main milking cows."

"Naniniwala kami may ilang pseudo farmer groups ang partner ng DAR para itulak ang extension para mapanatili na maka-kulimbat sila ng pera at lalong majustify ang pananatili ng CARP," KMP deputy secretary general Willy Marbella said.

KMP chairman and Anak-pawis concurrent president Rafael Mariano said, "Kinakai-langan din natin balikan, sa ilalim ng CARP malalaking lupain ang na-convert at napalitan ng pananim kung kaya sa pag-papalawig pa nito, tiyak na madadagdagan pa ang mga kaso ng conversions."

KMP said in Southern Tagalog alone 1,302, 375.37 hectares are already under land use conversion and 172,967.30 hectares have already been converted. Landlords and big real estate companies used the CARP to evict peasants and convert the land. "Sana makita ng mga obispo ang nasa likuran ng pagtutulak sa CARP extension at pakinggan ang mga hinaing ng mga magsasaka sa ibaba," Mariano said.

The Council of Agricultural Producers said in a statement that CARP should not be extended, blaming it for the current rice shortage, decrying "the disturbance and divisiveness" it brought about, the fragmentation of lands, and the abandonment and underutilization of the lands by supposed beneficiaries which led to unpro-ductivity. – Dennis Gadil and Randy Nobleza

GMA scraps bidding for imported rice

Says NFA will resort to government-to-government deals

BY REGINA BENGCO

PRESIDENT Arroyo yesterday decided to scrap rice procurement through bidding and will opt for other modes such as government-to-government contracts and buying locally to maintain a 30-day buffer stock until the end of the year.

Arroyo announced her decision during an informal media interview in Camarines Sur.

Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap confirmed the new policy.

"I think the important thing to note is we will enter the July 1 lean months with more than 30 days buffer stock. That's the most important thing that we've managed to contract, the 10 percent gap. So whatever we're going to be buying in the coming months, we have flexibilities and it is to maintain the buffer stocks up to December, because that July 1 stock will be depleted if we don't add to it," Yap said.

Yap, in an ambush interview in Malacañang, said the options that can be considered under the Government Procurement Act (R.A. 9184) are government-to-government contracts or an executive agreement and a negotiated contract in case of a failed bidding.

He said the private sector could also import and the National Food Authority could buy locally. He said he has ordered the NFA to buy the last remaining harvest for the summer crop.

He said he has invited the wholesalers and traders to join the May 9 private sector tenders for 163,000 metric tons of rice.

He said government can both buy from local farmers and do the government-to-government deal to buy 400,000 metric tons needed to maintain the 30-day buffer stock throughout the year.

"At this time when we see that the world is going through these very constricted supply phase, we just want to be sure. That's why yung importation rin natin paniguradong inventory na iyon," he said, adding that government raised its buffer stock level from 15 to 30 days.

Government scrapped Mondays' tender for 675,000 tons of rice because Vietnam's state-owned Vinafood II, the sole bidder at the tender, failed to supply a bank guarantee. Instead of the tender, an auction for 163,000 tons for the private sector was set for Friday.

Yap said government-to-government deals can help ease world prices because public tenders, such as what the Philippines has been conducting, drives up prices because the winner also turns to other suppliers.

"We have reason to believe that when transactions are made at least outside the glare of big public tenders, there is every reason to believe that prices can be negotiated lower than international benchmark prices," he said.

BETTER OFFERS

Yap said the Philippines is pushing for government-to-government deals to safeguard the transparency of the procurement and "because we want to ensure that the Philippines gets better offers."

Asked on the Philippines' position on the proposed creation of an Organization of Rice-Exporting Countries (OREC), Yap said what is important is to support greater trade flows into the world market "because when trade flows are being controlled, that's when speculation comes in and prices get affected."

Thailand, the world's biggest rice exporter, yesterday backed off on its unpopular "OPEC-style" rice cartel proposal, with Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama saying if Thailand was going to set up a rice cartel to fix the price, "that would worsen food security."

Thailand's rice exports account for a third of the world's total.

The cartel would have been composed of Thailand, China, India, Pakistan, Cambodia, Myanmar and Vietnam.

DRIVE INTENSIFIED

President Arroyo, in her opening statement at yesterday's Cabinet meeting, said government will intensify its campaign against price gouging.

In Camarines Sur earlier in the morning, Arroyo announced the earmarking of P15 million for the construction of additional irrigation canals in Albay to boost food production in the province.

She said special attention should be given to government farm-to-market road projects as well as the planned P200 million construction of two dams in Albay province to increase rice production.

ADMISSION URGED

Sen. Manuel Roxas II said the failed bid in Monday's tender should serve as a fair warning to government to consider long-term solutions to the rice problem.

"First, admit that there is a problem. Secondly, come up with a concrete plan that includes both short-term and long-term solutions to solve the problem. Ang problema, sa unang hakbang pa lang ay hindi na tayo nagpakatotoo," he said.

He said maintaining a business-as-usual attitude despite the rice, food, oil and energy crises will plunge more families in the throes of hunger.

Roxas also proposed that all conversions of irrigated land be stopped.

FARMERS' RALLY

At the agriculture department's office in Quezon City, about a hundred farmers from Southern Tagalog staged a rally lambasting the Arroyo government's import policies.

The farmers were from Bantay Bigas (People's Network for Food Security), Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP), and Katipunan ng mga Samahang Magbubukid sa Timog Katagalugan (KASAMA-TK). - With Dennis Gadil and Randy Nobleza

Palace seeks to shield Sokor firm from probe

MALACAÑANG yesterday appealed to the Senate not to inject politics on the alleged P400 million offer of Hanjin Heavy Industries of South Korea to mayors of Tagoloan and Villanueva towns in Misamis Oriental in exchange for environmental and business permits for its $2.3 billion shipyard project.

Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye said the management of Hanjin has informed the government, through Trade Secretary Peter Favila, that "they are inclined to stay despite these initial problems with the local government."

Bunye said the political opposition should understand that Hanjin’s investment amounts to billions of dollars and a pull-out of its investments would be disastrous.

He said it is "reasonable to expect" that other potential big-ticket investors are watching how the Arroyo government would deal with the Hanjin problem.

Bunye appealed to the Senate to let the Department of Interior and Local Government and Misamis Oriental Gov. Oscar Moreno conduct the investigation.

He said Moreno’s presence should add more credibility to the investigation because he is both a former lawmaker and an investment banker and understands the importance of Hanjin’s investments.

Hanjin has alleged that some Misamis Oriental mayors tried to extort money from it but Tagoloan Mayor Paulino Emano last week told President Arroyo that the shipping firm offered him P400 million to allow the shipyard project to push through despite the lack of an environmental permit.

On Sunday, some opposition lawmakers called on the Senate environment committee to similarly conduct an investigation on the Hanjin case.

The environment committee, chaired by Sen. Pia Cayetano, is also investigating the construction by Hanjin of two high-rise condominiums in the rainforest of Subic Bay Freeport. Hanjin said the condominiums are for the use of their staff in their $1.6 billion shipyard in Subic.

‘SAME BANANA’

Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Oscar Cruz said the Hanjin scandal has all the ingredients of the equally controversial national broadband network project.

"There is a distinct possibility that the two are the same. To presume otherwise is possible but quite difficult. Same characters, same script, same banana," said the former president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines.

Cruz said it is not surprising that efforts were made to minimize the "noise" on the new controversy hounding the administration.

"It is a general rule that transparency in government is an unknown and unwelcome imperative whenever it indulges in lying, cheating and stealing," the prelate said.

MISBEHAVIOR

Cayetano said Malacañang should not be afraid to lose Hanjin Corp. as an investor, especially if they have been violating environmental laws.

"Dalawang okasyon na ito – sa Subic at Misamis Oriental. So kung ako naman ang Presidente, huwag naman tayong takot na takot na maalisan ng investor," Cayetano said.

She added: "We will be fair, but if they do not want to follow our laws, they should leave,"

Cayetano said the President, instead of tolerating misbehavior by foreign companies, should be firm in enforcing the laws.

AFRAID OF PROBE

Sen. Panfilo Lacson said Mala-cañang’s slip may be showing, raising

the spectacle of Hanjin pulling out its investments.

Lacson said Hanjin should simply comply with the requirements in its Philippine projects, instead of pulling out.

"A Senate investigation on corruption scares Malacañang. Period," he said.

Lacson said President Arroyo’s delayed action when told by Emano about the supposed bribe smacked of Malacañang benefiting from the "arrangement."

On the other hand, he noted that Korean firms like Hanjin normally follow procedures.

"It is a shame because our own government encourages them to violate our own laws, and it gives special treatment to rich investors," he said. – Regina Bengco, Gerard Naval and Dennis Gadil

Chiz: Re-think move to inhibit 3 justices

BY DENNIS GADIL

SEN. Francis "Chiz" Escudero yesterday advised senators to rethink a proposal to ask three associate justices of the Supreme Court to inhibit from deliberations on the Senate’s motion for reconsideration on the issue of executive privilege.

Escudero, a lawyer, told a media forum that SC justices are also human and could be offended if subjected to an inhibition petition.

He said ultimately it is the Supreme Court as a collegial body that would decide on any petition to inhibit one or two magistrates.

He stressed that if a petition to inhibit is actually filed, the proponents should make sure that the move would get a favorable ruling from the tribunal.

Escudero also frowned on the plan of majority leader Francis Pangilinan to go solo in moving for the inhibition of Associate Justices Arturo Brion, Renato Corona and Presbitero Velasco.

"We should act and plan accordingly, not as individual senators, not as majority but as an institution and a collective group," he said.

Pangilinan had stressed the grounds set forth in the motion for inhibition "are valid and material."

"Justice Arturo Brion was not yet appointed when the petition of Commission Higher Education Romulo Neri invoking executive privilege was heard. Justice Renato Corona’s wife, in a paid advertisement, was reported to have publicly expressed support for President Gloria Arroyo. Mrs. Corona is also reported to be a presidential appointee. Justice Presbitero Velasco is said to be petitioner Neri’s golf buddy," he said.