JPE: Villar did insertion and that’s all for now

BY DENNIS GADIL

THE Senate finance committee investigating the double entry on the C-5 road extension project yesterday determined that Senate President Manuel Villar authored the insertion of another P200 million for the project.

But the committee has not established whether there was an intent to profit on the part of anybody, panel chair Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile said in a media briefing.

Enrile added: "The committee does not fish for evidence. You make an allegation, you have to prove it. He who alleges has the burden of proof."

Enrile’s panel opened its probe on the double insertion on the road project that was exposed by Sen. Panfilo Lacson in a privileged speech.

Enrile said it was established that Villar and his family own properties along the C-5 road extension project but it was not clear if they purchased the properties before or after the road project was conceptualized or approved.

"When he (Villar) acquired this, we do not know, whether he acquired this after C-5 was planned or under construction or even before that, or only recently, that has not been established," said Enrile.

Enrile also said a double entry cannot be avoided because of human error.

He cited the double entry of P1.5 million in a small road project for Guimaras province in 2000 national budget during the term of Joseph Estrada.

He said under the 2000 budget, the road project for San Miguel-Constancia-Igcawayan-Cabano Road, San Lorenzo in Guimaras got a double funding of P1.5 million or a total of P3 million.

The double entry in the 2000 budget was confirmed by Benjamin Diokno, Estrada’s budget secretary, one of the guests.

But Enrile said he will not stop Lacson or Sen. Jamby Madrigal from delivering more privilege speeches on the matter.

"It’s their right. Let the people judge," he said.

Enrile said he will assess the information and would decide if another hearing is warranted.

He said Villar will have to ultimately explain his side on the double entry controversy on the session floor or during the next hearing.

Lacson said they have enough evidence to prove Villar’s conflict of interest.

He said their next venue is the Senate ethics committee chaired by Pia Cayetano, also an ally of Villar in the majority bloc.

Lacson said their last stop could be the Ombudsman.

The Senate finance committee also decided to publish all the amendments of all senators in the 2008 national budget.

The decision was arrived at after Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago, committee vice chair, challenged her colleagues to make public the amendments they made in the 2008 budget.

Santiago said: "I appeal to our colleagues to come out and tell the public how many earmarks and what was it for. And if your conscience goes that deep tell us what the kickback was," Santiago said.

Lacson answered Santiago’s challenge, saying he did not have any insertions in the budget.

What he had, he said, was a realignment of P20 million for DOST for research and development.

In the House committee on appropriations sub-committee hearing in the proposed P1.7 billion budget for 2009 of the Metro Manila Development Authority, the agency’s general manager Robert Nacianceno said that Caloocan Rep. Oscar Malapitan (First District) was able to secure P7 million for flood control, P5 million more than the P2 million allocated to all 26 Metro Manila districts.

Malapitan could not be reached for comment.

Nacianceno said Malapitan’s district received the allocation in the national budget for 2008 and in the P1.145 trillion proposed General Appropriations Act for 2009.

But Nacianceno could not explain the discrepancy and pointed to the Department of Budget and Management.

Appropriations sub-committee chair Ruffy Biazon of Muntinlupa said he was baffled why one district "rises above the rest." – With JP Lopez, Jocelyn Montemayor and Wendell Vigilia

Probe to stay clear of conflict of interest

BY DENNIS GADIL

A SENATE investigation on the allegations of Sen. Panfilo Lacson of a double budget funding entry on the C-5 extension project opens today but it would not touch on the properties of Senate President Manuel Villar, which could have benefited from the project.

"Hindi na sa amin ‘yun. They should file a case, bring it to the court, or dapat sa ethics," said Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile, finance committee chair.

Enrile said allegations of conflict of interest against Villar are not within the mandate of his committee.

He said his panel will not summon Villar.

"Kung gusto niyang pumunta, that’s his call. I will take his statement based on his oath as senator," he said.

Enrile said he would call the secretaries of the budget and of the public works and highways departments to shed light on the double entry controversy.

"The DPWH implements; the DBM disburses the amount. They should know about this," he said.

He said the Senate panel also wants to know if the first P200 million had indeed been disbursed for the road project.

Enrile said he is assuming full responsibility if indeed it is found during the investigation that he as Senate finance chair was remiss in his duties in the double entry issue.

Lacson, in a privilege speech, bared the double entry in the 2008 budget, which has two separate fundings for a single road extension project for the same amount for a total of P400 million.

The C-5 road extension project seeks to connect the South Luzon Expressway (SLEX) to C-5 road and up to Coastal Road.

Villar has already admitted pushing for the additional P200 million but stressed it was only a recommendation.

Enrile has said it was Villar who authored the amendment.

Lacson has said that the second P200 million appropriation was meant to line the pockets of some politicians.

Joker sees admin win in 2010 with opposition ‘disintegration’

BY DENNIS GADIL

SEN. Joker Arroyo yesterday said the administration’s standard bearer in 2010 is likely to win, with the irreversible disintegration of the "star-studded" presidential aspirants from the opposition.

Arroyo said the opposition is now beyond repair and is deeply divided into many factions with Sen. Panfilo Lacson dealing the final blow.

"With all the words said, exchange of words, it is very difficult for the opposition to reconcile. Harsh words were said which make it so difficult for them to be together again," Arroyo said.

"The presidential timbers are hopelessly divided. Divided now between Senators Lacson, (Mar) Roxas, (Loren) Legarda versus Sen. (Manuel Villar) and possibly President Erap," he said.

Lacson, Roxas, Legarda and Sen. Jamby Madrigal have joined forces in criticizing Villar for the P200 million double entry in this year’s budget for the C-5 extension project.

Villar’s allies include Senate President pro tempore Jinggoy Estrada and Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano who is secretary general of Nacionalista Party of which Villar is president.

Arroyo said at the outset, the opposition was almost sure of capturing the presidency in 2010, but not anymore.

"If they were together you can imagine that group. Villar and Nacionalista. Roxas and LP. Loren Legarda and Chiz Escudero NPC, then Partido ng Masang Pilipino of President Erap and the one of Jojo Binay which is UNO. Now, it’s finished," Arroyo said.

Lacson, in a statement, took exception to Arroyo’s allegation that he caused the rift in the opposition.

Lacson said the Senate was split as early as 2007 when some winning opposition senators decided to align with the pro-administration bloc to capture the Senate presidency with Villar at the helm.

"It was the clique of now Senate President Manuel Villar Jr. who, in a bid to ensure his hold on the Senate top spot, abandoned the real opposition, and not the other way around," he said.

Lacson also took a dig at Arroyo for engaging in diversionary tactics to throw the public off the real issue behind the P200-million mess, which is "corruption, plain and simple."

"This is not about politics. This is not about presidentiables. This is not about 2010, but this is about corruption," he said.

He also said Arroyo’s attempt to defend the double entry, armed with lack of personal knowledge on the issue, miserably failed.

Ramon Casiple, election analyst and executive director of the Institute for Political and Electoral Reform (IPER), said the rift between Lacson and Villar could be the beginning of the unofficial countdown towards the 2010 national elections.

"Whether he (Lacson) likes it or not, the angle of politics cannot be simply ignored because it is a question of timing," Casiple said, noting that Lacson’s exposé came soon after Villar announced his plan to run for president.

Casiple advised Villar and Lacson to face the issue squarely.

"They should both be gentleman enough to face the issue. If one has the accusations, he should stand by it and prove it. If the other one is denying it, then let him face the music and be given the chance to defend himself. That would be better instead of just muddling up the issue with various other accusations being made left and right," he stressed. – With Gerard Naval

Gordon junks Comelec plan to buy more OMR machines

SEN. Richard Gordon on Thursday rejected as ridiculous the proposal of the Commission on Elections to use 85 percent of its budget for a fully automated election in 2010 in buying more Optical Mark Reader (OMR) voting machines which is slower than the Direct Recording Electronic (DRE) machines.

"Comelec itself has said that OMR is prone to tampering and is much slower than DRE. Going heavy on OMR in 2010 will defeat our objective of having fast and clean elections," Gordon said.

He ordered the Comelec to revise its budget proposal for poll automation and reconfigure its purchase plans for automated counting machines. "Every step of the way we have to coax the Comelec to stay the course and not be afraid of the cost, because it is up to Congress really to produce the money. That is why they have to come back and come up with the real budget for a fast and very accurate system which cannot be tampered with," he said.

"There seems to be an attempt by certain unscrupulous people in Comelec to prevent the automation of elections by making it appear as not feasible," he said, adding that it was ridiculous of the Comelec to submit such budget proposal.

Gordon, chair of the Joint Congressional Oversight Committee on Automated Election System, was surprised to learn during a hearing by the joint panel on poll automation that Comelec was planning to use 85 percent of its proposed P9.7 billion budget for the 2010 polls on OMR machines and only 15 percent for the DRE or touch screen voting machines.

The DREs would be used in Metro Manila, Cebu and Metro Davao.

OMR requires voters to fill up a paper ballot which is then counted by a special machine as opposed to the DRE which allows voters to use a touch screen or touch pad.

The Comelec had earlier announced that it had prepared five different budget proposals for full election automation, with the highest costing P61 billion and the lowest P3.4 billion. – Dennis Gadil

Joker tells Ping to stick to P200M double entry

BY DENNIS GADIL

SEN. Joker Arroyo yesterday accused Sen. Panfilo Lacson of obscuring the issue on the P200 million double entry controversy by reviving his tiff with Senate President Manuel Villar when they were still congressmen.

"He has deliberately cluttered the issues, from the original issue of double entry to corruption in the halls of Congress to Congressman Arroyo’s attack against Mr. Villar while we were both in the House of Representatives," Arroyo said in a privilege speech.

Arroyo said Lacson should stick to the core issue on the double entry in this year’s budget for the C-5 road extension in Parañaque and prove that it was tainted with corruption.

"It would be idiocy to bite the poisoned bait. We should zero in on what he started – the double entry. Sen. Lacson should not run away from that."

Lacson, Arroyo said, was side-stepping the issue "by diverting the battle to another stage – the attack of Congressman Arroyo on then Speaker Villar."

Arroyo said Lacson must be able to prove that "there was an anomaly and that there was corruption and that the Senate was a party to the corruption."

Arroyo also insisted that the double entry allegation was false and a dud, demonstrating through a power-point presentation that the first P200 million initiated by Malacañang was actually for a flyover in Sucat that would link the Parañaque portion of the C-5 project to Las Piñas.

He said the second P200 million inserted by the Senate was supposed to go to the construction of a second flyover that would link the Parañaque portion of the road project to Coastal Road in Las Piñas.

Arroyo said the first P200 million has already been disbursed while the second amount was not.

"The double entry is not a double entry," he said.

Arroyo said Lacson was opposing progress in Cavite, where he’s from, by claiming that there was double entry and, therefore, corruption in the road project.

He said congressmen and mayors of Cavite are supporting the road project as against the "lonely voice" of Lacson.

Arroyo stressed Lacson’s claim of alleged double entry "insults the intelligence" of the senators.

"We must be careful with our words. Be prudent but not careless," he said.

Arroyo also slammed Lacson for violating the time-honored tradition that once a resolution is referred to the committees, the proponent could no longer deliver speeches related to the same resolution nor buttress his position on the same subject.

"If that were allowed, a sponsor could unduly make use of both the plenary and the committee as a forum for the same subject and thereby give him an undue advantage," he said.

"Once referred to the committee, you lay off your hands (and) give a chance to the committees to operate."

Lacson took the floor to rebut Arroyo and insisted the 2008 budget made no mention about a Coastal Road flyover that would be constructed under the C-5 extension road project.

"Definitely, this is a double entry," Lacson said.

Lacson delivered his second privilege speech Monday throwing more accusations against Villar for allegedly sponsoring legislation when he was still House Speaker that directly benefited his housing interests.

Lacson also said Villar’s companies obtained billions of loans from the government.

He said the same allegations were hurled by the Makati Rep. Arroyo against Villar when both were congressmen. Arroyo’s attacks against Villar were as an off-shoot of their bitter rivalry for the speakership, which was won by the latter.

CREDIBILITY PROBLEM

Lacson said Sen. Arroyo now has a credibility problem because he is now one of Villar’s most "rabid" defenders in the "road-to-nowhere" double-entry mess.

"Villar was demolished by Joker’s own words. A two-face Joker will always have a credibility problem wherever he goes," he said in a statement.

In his privilege speech Monday night, Lacson said no less than Arroyo twitted Villar over that conflict of interest when they were both in the House of Representatives 10 years ago.

"Don’t you find some similarities in the situation in 1998 and the situation this year 2008? The only difference is that Sen. Joker Arroyo is almost rabidly defending Sen. Villar in this case, whereas in 1998 he was the one who stood on the floor on a question of personal and collective privilege lambasting him on the floor ... for practically the same offense, for practically the same actions taken by the Senate President now and House Speaker in 1998," he said.

Arroyo delivered a privilege speech on Aug. 17, 1998 as Makati congressman, questioning then Speaker Villar’s dealings with government agencies to benefit his business interests.

Villar, he noted, chose "not to answer" Arroyo’s questions on whether the then House Speaker violated the anti-graft and corrupt practices act’s provision that it will be unlawful for any member of Congress during the term for which he has been elected to "acquire or receive any personal or pecuniary interest in any specific business enterprise which will be favored or benefited by any law or resolution authored by him, previously approved and adopted by Congress during the same term."

The charges Arroyo lined up against Villar at the time included:

• Then Speaker Villar and low-cost housing companies he owns or controls got financial accommodation from government banks or financial institutions such as Pag-IBIG and the National Home Mortgage Finance Corp. (NHMFC);

• Then Rep. Villar, from 1992 to 1998, did not divest himself of his interest in, or sever his connections with the companies. Even up to now, he has not severed his ties with those firms.

• Villar’s Capitol Bank, where his wife Cynthia is chief executive officer, received loans, financial accommodations and guarantees from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas from 1992 to 1998 while he was a representative, an act that is constitutionally forbidden.

• Rep. Villar, in his bid for the Speakership, prepared a propaganda kit where he said he incorporated in the landmark comprehensive and integrated shelter finance act, R.A. 7835, the re-capitalization of the NHMFC and amendment to the agri-aqua law to including housing. Yet, he did not divest himself of his interests in the companies that benefited from it.

• Manuela Corp., a housing and realty firm owned by the family of Villar’s wife, applied for and was granted a loan of P1 billion from the Social Security System and another P2 billion loan from Government Service Insurance System. This, according to then Rep. Arroyo, was an "indirect financial accommodation."

• While all lands covered by the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program cannot be used for residential, industrial and other uses unless a clearance conversion or exemption for a particular property is first issued by DAR, then Speaker Villar’s companies have developed 5,950 hectares or almost 60 million square meters of CARP lands without appropriate DAR issuances that would authorize such lands to be used for residential purposes.

CHATTERBOX

Lacson also said he is no longer wasting his time dealing with "squid tactic" allegations from Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano, particularly on double-entry mess. Cayetano is secretary general of the Nacionalista Party of which Villar is the president.

POLITICAL GAME

Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Oscar Cruz said he does not find anything unusual with the current disagreement between Villar and Lacson.

"As with the ongoing Senate discussion, changes of political alignments, political parties are but incarnation of the maxim that in politics there are no permanent friends, only permanent interests," Cruz said. Lacson and Villar ran under the Genuine Opposition ticket in 2007.

Cruz, a former CBCP president, said there is no doubt in his mind that the current Senate row is all part of the political game leading all the way to the 2010 elections. – With Gerard Naval

China milk banned

BY GERARD NAVAL

THE Bureau of Food and Drugs yesterday imposed a temporary ban on all milk products from China.

The ban will be in effect until the agency completes laboratory tests to determine the presence of melamine in the dairy products.

BFAD director Leticia Gutierrez said the ban will stay until tests assure products’ safety and fitness for human consumption.

Indonesia, Taiwan, Japan, Singapore and Malaysia have imposed bans on Chinese dairy products. African governments have also stopped importing Chinese dairy products.

Milk tainted with melamine, an industrial chemical, traced to China’s Sanlu Group has affected some 52,000 Chinese children. The number is expected to rise further, according to the World Health Organization.

BFAD advised consumers against buying infant formula milk from China. It said importation of China-made milk for infants is not legally allowed and any infant milk being sold would likely have been smuggled into the country.

Gutierrez said BFAD is conducting nationwide random inspections on all China-made milk products aside from laboratory tests.

Trade and Industry Secretary Peter Favila has instructed all regional and provincial offices to assist the Department of Health in monitoring the presence of the contaminated milk.

Trade undersecretary Zenaida Maglaya said she has asked supermarket owners to voluntarily withdraw from shelves imported milk until the BFAD tests are completed.

Maglaya advised consumers to buy only branded milk products.

Sen. Pia Cayetano, chair of the Senate health committee, said local establishments which import or use milk from China must voluntarily turn over samples of their products to BFAD for inspection and clearance. – With Dennis Gadil and Irma Isip

23 runaway OFWs arrive home from Jordan

TWENTY-THREE overseas Filipino workers, plus a seven-month-old boy, arrived home Monday from Jordan with Senate president Manuel Villar who paid for their plane tickets and overstaying fees worth about half a million pesos.

The OFWs, all but one of them women, had run away from their Jordanian employers complaining of physical abuse, low pay or non-payment of wages.

While admitting that the expense is now beginning to drill holes in his pocket, Villar said seeing an OFW reunited with her family is priceless. He said he will also scour the globe just to bring home more distressed OFWs.

Villar, who has announced plans of running for president in 2010, said he is now looking at Bahrain, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia as his next stop in his OFW repatriation effort. Both Kuwait and Saudi Arabia have large concentrations of OFWs and Villar said he has been told that OFW runaways in Saudi Arabia only sleep in the streets or under bridges.

"This advocacy (of mine) is permanent and not just for politics. Tuloy-tuloy na ito win or lose at marami pa akong iuuwi nating mga kababayan," Villar said at the airport yesterday.

Villar hailed the drafting of a memorandum of understanding on labor cooperation by Philippine embassy officials and the Jordanian government that will fix minimum age requirement for domestic helpers at 30 and blacklist Jordanian recruiters and employers who have a record of maltreating OFWs.

"Fixing the age requirement is important as many of the runaways who sought refuge in our Amman embassy are underage. There are 13-year-olds who easily passed as 24-year-olds," Villar said, adding that the labor center in Jordan currently houses 116 runaway OFWs, only 12 of whom are documented.

He said he will set up a separate foundation that would solely work on the repatriation of abused OFWs, especially the minors, those who are ill, and those unable to come home for lack of fare money. "We must reform the system, not only through legislation but through actual implementation of programs or laws," he said.

He also said that the next time government decides to impose a deployment ban, it should first look into the root cause of the problem. "Mag-explore muna ng mga solutions bago mag-ban. Mukha tayong katawa-tawa sa ban na di mo naman kayang i-implement," Villar said, referring to the continued entry of six to 12 OFWs a day into Jordan by indirect routes despite the government-imposed ban.

The same number of distressed OFWs also arrives at the Philippine embassy or at the labor center operated by the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration in Amman complaining of abuse or low wages.

The OFWs who arrived home yesterday with Villar were Nasria Abdulsamad with her baby boy, Lorna Almanzor, Bebina Bakundo, Norhuda Balayman, Cherry Batulan, Rosalie Cabrera, Myra Datulimba, Gloria de la Cruz, Baiqueen Guiapal, Norhaya Kamanga, Linda Manasal, Wilma Maneja, Samina Mensag, Alma Nobleza, Digna Ramos, Alma Domingo Rifani, Leah Jen Raul, Johaira Salendab, Fe Padua, Lorna Zoleta, Andrea Santocildes, Myrna de Ocampo and Pedro Sandoval, the oldest and the only male in the batch. – Dennis Gadil

RP exploring trade opportunities in Jordan

AMMAN, Jordan – Filipino embassy and labor officials in Jordan are exploring business opportunities for Philippine-made shoes, bags and even joint ventures in land development to some six million Jordanians to soften up the country’s image as merely a top supplier of housemaids.

Philippine Ambassador to Jordan Julius Torres said they are now conducting bilateral and trade negotiations with the Jordanian government on which products could be sold to the Kingdom and vice-versa. "It’s in the exploration stage," Torres said.

He said the Philippines could also tap Jordan as a source of cheaper alternative medicines. He said initial information obtained showed that Jordanian alternative medicines are of higher quality that those from India but they will look into the matter further.

Torres said the embassy is also linking up with wealthy Jordanians for possible joint ventures in the property development sector in the Philippines. He said some rich Jordanians could also serve as property brokers for their friends in some oil-rich Gulf states. – Dennis Gadil

Jordan-RP pact to benefit OFWs at end-of-job stage

AMMAN, Jordan – Philippine officials here are finalizing a landmark agreement with the Jordanian government that would end abuse of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in the Kingdom.

Philippine Ambassador to Jordan Julius Torres said over the weekend that the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) would possibly cut down the cases of abuse against OFWs here. He said the MOU would fix the minimum age requirement for domestic helpers at 30 years old for starters to keep minors out.

Torres said the MOU will also include introduction of a system of blacklisting Jordanian recruiters and employers who have maltreated OFWs in the past; prohibition against Jordanian employers or recruiters confiscation of the passport of the OFW upon arrival; and requirement of Jordanian employers to attend a briefing to familiarize themselves with the maid’s culture to avoid cultural clashes.

Torres said they have already sought dialogues with their Sri Lankan and Indonesian counterparts to get data on Jordanian employers who maltreated Sri Lankan or Indon workers. He said the passports of OFWs could be entrusted to the Philippine embassy for safekeeping instead of the Jordanian employers holding on to them.

Torres said negotiations on the MOU is already on its advanced stage and the agreement could be submitted for signing to the Jordanian government in October during the international migrant forum to be hosted by the country.

Once fully implemented, Torres said the MOU could lead to the lifting of the Philippine government’s ban on the deployment of workers to Jordan imposed in January after a rise in the number of runaway OFWs complaining of maltreatement or rape. "The ban just increased the number of illegal recruiters. If I had been here, I would not have recommended it," said Torres who had just been posted in Jordan recently.

Torres said the labor center in Jordan is at present already sheltering 116 runaway OFWs who fled their bosses due to abuse. Of this number, only 12 have documents and entered Jordan through legal channels.

Senate president Manuel Villar, who was in Jordan to personally fetch some 23 distressed OFWs who ran away from their Jordanian employers, supported the MOU but stressed that it should be adopted in all countries where there are many Filipino workers. "Mas maganda kung sa lahat ng mga bansa na may OFW mayroon nito," he said.

Villar said government should choose at least five host-countries with a large concentration of Filipino workers to test-case the MOU and from there spread out to smaller countries by adding more manpower and resources.

Villar arrived Saturday night here and met with his Senate counterpart Jordanian Senate president Zeid Rifai Sunday to follow up on the MOU and on the plight of OFWs in the Kingdom. Villar said they discussed the general features of the MOU but left ticklish issues to the labor and embassy officials here for fine-tuning with their Jordanian counterparts.

He also made a sidetrip to Bahrain Saturday afternoon and met with 64 other distressed OFWs at the embassy’s welfare center who all want to come home. The latest batch Villar is bringing home from Jordan includes 10 are minors – the youngest being 15 – who entered Jordan with fake passports. He said he would initially work on bringing 10 of the 64 in Bahrain. "Marami pa akong iuuwi. Tuloy-tuloy na ito. They (his detractors) could criticize me but I don’t care."

Villar is currently under siege by some of his peers in the Senate for a controversial road project. – Dennis Gadil

Big 3 roll back oil prices by P1

BY JOHN LOURENZE POQUIZ

THE Big 3 oil companies reduced prices of diesel, kerosene, and gasoline by P1 a liter starting 12:01 a.m. today.

The price cuts of Pilipinas Shell, Petron Corp. and Chevron followed those announced earlier in the week by the small players following the continued drop of world crude prices to below $100 per barrel.

Eastern Petroleum, which announced a price rollback of 50 centavos per liter on diesel and gasoline last Wednesday, effected another 50-centavo cut at midnight.

"If the trend of decline in world crude prices continues, we can have further rollbacks for the weeks to come," said Petron spokeswoman Virginia Ruivivar.

On Wednesday, Dubai crude briefly fell to $92 per barrel, down by $55 or 37 percent, the lowest after it reached the all-time trading record of $ 147.27 on July 11.

Since August, gasoline and diesel prices have decreased by P9.50 per liter and P7.50 per liter.

With the latest price reductions, pump prices of premium unleaded gasoline now range between P51.25 and P52.85 a liter, diesel P48.95 and P51.09 a liter, and kerosene P53.36 and P56.80 a liter.

As of September 12, the Dubai crude average was pegged at $100.21 per barrel, which is lower than the August average of $112.86 per barrel.

Mean of Platts Singapore (MOPS) unleaded prices as of September 12 have gone down by $6.51 to $110.43 per barrel, from August average of $115.49 per barrel.

MOPS diesel during the period was pegged at $122.83 per barrel, $12.43 lower compared to the August average of $135.26 per barrel.

On Tuesday, Consumer and Oil Price Watch chairman Raul Conception projected that oil prices are likely to hold steady for the remainder of the year.

"There will be no price hikes if Dubai will be lower than $100 to $110 a barrel levels. This already took into consideration the peso depreciation. Between October and December, there will be no more escalating oil prices and we may even expect more rollbacks," Concepcion said.

Transport groups said a fare rollback will happen only if diesel prices drop to P45 per litter.

"Even if we want to have a fare rollback, we cannot. The oil price cuts the oil companies are implementing now are not enough," said Orlando Marquez, chairman of the Transport Alliance Coalition.

Senate majority leader Francis Pangilinan asked the public to boycott the Big 3 for delayed reduction in their prices.

"Bistado na sila. Nung nagtataas sila ng presyo, ang dahilan nila ay ang biglaang pagtaas ng presyo ng langis sa pandaigdigang merkado. Bakit ngayong biglaan at nakagugulat din ang pagbaba ng presyo sa pandaigdigang merkado, hindi nila magawang magbaba din ng biglaan?" Pangilinan said.

He added: "If the small players can instantly lower prices to adhere to the world market, why can’t they? They should stop making excuses and just do what is right."

Pangilinan said there was "obvious collusion" among giant oil companies to delay lowering oil prices amid the plummeting of international costs. – With Dennis Gadil

Gloria sees swift recovery from impact of US crisis

BY JOCELYN MONTEMAYOR

PRESIDENT Arroyo yesterday acknowledged the impact of the global economic crisis on the country but said she expects the Philippines to recover in time for Christmas season.

Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. filed for bankruptcy Monday, the same day another Wall Street giant, Merrill Lynch, was sold. The developments prompted central banks worldwide to mobilize to reassure financial markets.

Lehman’s collapse sent Philippine stocks plummeting 4.5 percent to a new 18-month low.

Arroyo, at the 56th anniversary celebration of Zamboanga del Sur in Pagadian City, said the country survives global problems because Filipinos are optimists and natural born fighters and because of her government’s tough choices that led to reforms in the tax system and attracted more investments.

These, she said, help "protect the people from high oil and food prices."

She said her government has also put in place programs which cushion the impact of rising prices of fuel and food, like finance and livelihood assistance for those in the transport, student and senior citizens sectors.

She said named the subsidies to poor families funded by extra earnings from the value-added tax.

During the visit, Arroyo distributed some P80 million in checks for infrastructure and agriculture programs, including P1 million each for the scholarship program for college students and financial aid to senior citizens in Zamboanga del Sur, and P10 million for the improvement of the OB-Gyn section of the Zamboanga del Sur Medical Center.

At the Philippine Midyear Economic Briefing at the Shangri-la Hotel in Makati City, Arroyo said Filipinos are like fighters who do not quit when they are knocked down.

She said her economic team focused its energy on managing inflationary pressures, providing safety nets to those who were hit hardest, and in delivering "the growth that will continue to generate jobs and the tough revenues that we need to fuel our investments in the future."

Arroyo said the depth of the financial market turbulence in the US require "strong, decisive and targeted actions internally."

These include continued focus on reigning in inflation, bringing down the prices of the most essential commodities, increasing targeted investments on the poor as well as strengthening the banking system to "improve our fiscal health, encourage investments in our most promising growth sectors and expand our potential sectors."

She said the country would also continue to strive for food self-sufficiency, for less energy dependence, and for greater self-reliance by "taking control of our destiny…(and) become even more globally competitive."

Senators called on government regulators to double check if there were government financial institution or even private Filipino businesses exposed to the collapse of investment house Lehman Brothers, saying knowing the extent of contagion would make it easy for government to launch a response.

State pension funds Government Service and Insurance System and Social Security System have denied having exposure to Lehman.

Sen. Francis Escudero, chair of the Senate ways and means committee, and Loren Legarda, economic affairs, said the government should not just take the word of the SSS and GSIS.

Reports said total private and government exposure to Lehman was at $33 million.

Legarda said the Insurance Commission should look into the government and financial institutions and even private companies to assess their susceptibility to Lehman’s collapse.

Legarda said the examples of Banco de Oro and Metrobank should be followed after the two banks immediately set aside funds to counter the effects.

Bayan Muna Rep. Teddy Casiño asked Malacañang to reevaluate its projections in the proposed P1.4 trillion 2009 national budget in the light of possible economic fallout from Lehman’s collapse.

"In the budget’s first hearing, our economic managers, particularly NEDA director general Ralph Recto, kept insisting that the rosy growth figures they used as a basis for the 2009 budget was valid given the second quarter upturn in the US economy. But with the latest meltdowns in Wall Street, that can’t be true anymore," he said.

Casiño said even the Asian Development Bank has predicted lower growth rates for the rest of the year, a trend that the lawmaker said is unlikely to change in 2009.

Makati City Rep. Teodoro Locsin said the troubles of the foreign lending institutions might actually present an opportunity for the government to improve its financial standing particularly if lending firms opt to liquidate their loan portfolios.

"If there is a fire sale, we can buy back our debt papers cheap," Locsin said. – With Dennis Gadil and Peter Tabingo

Oust-Villar rumors spawn more rumors

A rumored plot to oust Senate President Manuel Villar for allegedly authoring a double appropriation in the 2008 national budget fizzled out yesterday even before it could gather steam.

Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile, said to be the choice of the plotters, said he was not approached and was not aware of any plot to remove Villar.

"But it’s always a possibility," he told Senate reporters.

"Why should I be offered, who am I?" he added. He said he would rather remain as a "private civilian" in the Senate.

The same afternoon, Enrile named Villar as the author of the double appropriation.

He stressed he will vote again for Villar should another voting take place.

Enrile said senators behind the alleged plot have never stopped since last year.

He did not name names.

Sen. Joker Arroyo said the plotters could always try but succeeding is another thing.

He said that since he voted for Villar, he will still vote for him.

Senate minority leader Aquilino Pimentel hinted that a brewing coup was gathering steam but doubted if the movers had the numbers.

He stressed he was not approached and said he only heard about it from another colleague Monday.

Before the session started yesterday, rumors were swirling that Villar was minutes away of being ousted as Senate president.

The name of Enrile always cropped up as his possible successor.

The rumors gained credibility after Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago, who only last week defended Villar from Lacson’s expose, issued a statement calling for the hunting down of the "criminal solon" behind the double entry controversy.

Santiago, who is aligned with Villar, also expressed support to the proposed investigation of Lacson and seven other senators.

But later on the session floor, Santiago said the double entry could have taken place in the bicameral panel when the senators were not looking.

She said there could be syndicate behind the double insertion.

Sen. Richard Gordon said he was certain that Lacson’s expose has "badly damaged a member of the Senate."

"I won’t be surprised kung may mapuruhan dito that could result to a revamp," Gordon said.

Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano said their group was confident that Villar would keep his post amid the controversy facing him.

He said it was clear that the double entry expose was in aid of the fight for the Senate presidency and the 2010 presidential elections.

Lacson stressed that his expose was not about the Senate presidency nor the presidential elections in 2010. – Dennis Gadil

Blue Ribbon prepares own report on Lozada

THE Senate tri-panel investigating the national broadband deal with China’s ZTE Corp. is set to come out with its findings on the abduction of its star witness Rodolfo "Jun" Lozada which may be different from the Court of Appeals (CA) ruling.

Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano, Senate Blue Ribbon chair, stressed the Senate is not bound by the CA ruling and would recommend the prosecution of those responsible for Lozada’s abduction if needed.

The Court of Appeals has ruled that Lozada was not abducted and neither were his constitutional rights violated when he was escorted by airport security upon his arrival at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport last Feb. 5 from Hong Kong.

Associate Justice Celia Librea-Leagogo said Lozada’s wife Violeta and his brother Arturo, in their writ of amparo, failed to prove that he was taken against his will, or that his basic constitutional rights were violated.

Lozada had alleged he was picked up and forcibly taken by police in collusion with airport authorities to prevent him from testifying in the Senate’s NBN-ZTE inquiry.

The court said it was Lozada who requested Environment Secretary Joselito Atienza for security escorts to evade arrest by Senate security personnel for his non-appearance at the NBN-ZTE hearing.

The Association of Major Religious Superiors of the Philippines (AMRSP) assailed the decision.

"Of course, the CA will not admit the truth kasi to admit that Jun Lozada was abducted by government people would be admitting that the government is a danger to its very own people," AMRSP chairperson Sr. Mary John Mananzan said.

AMRSP gave shelter to Lozada and his family at a time when he feared for his life.

Mananzan said they were not surprised with the CA’s decision as it has already gained a reputation of being politicized.

"Extra-judicial killings and forced disappearances are being perpetrated by the government, including the case of Mr. Lozada, even if the CA denies that," she said.

Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez said that the kidnapping charge filed by Lozada with the Department of Justice is as good as dead.

"Lozada’s complaint for kidnapping has weakened because of the CA decision, which is quite extensive. He filed the case here, using the same evidence. What kind of evidence would he use before us? Should we tell the justices (that they) don’t know how to appreciate evidence?" said Gonzalez.

Jose Manuel Diokno, counsel for Lozada in the kidnapping case, said the decision of the CA on the amparo case is not binding on the case lodged at the DOJ.

"The DOJ has to evaluate the evidence independently, it cannot rest on the CA decision," Diokno said.

Diokno said the proceedings at the CA and DOJ are different, and the evidence presented before these bodies should be evaluated based on their merits.

He said the crucial issue in the kidnapping case was the claim of respondents that their actions were part of a legitimate operation to protect Lozada and escort him out of NAIA-2, but this was not substantiated by government authorities.

Lozada, in an interview, said he does not regret the sacrifice that he made, and now he is bracing himself for another possible defeat in the kidnapping case that he filed at the DOJ.

"When we filed the case here we know it’s was good as dead. I am sure pag-pipyestahan nila ako dito. Pero di ko pinagsisisihan ang paglabas ko. Talo man nila ako dito sa korte ng tao, meron pa namang Diyos na maghuhusga sa lahat," he said.

PNP chief Avelino Razon Jr. said he is "very much" vindicated by the decision.

"It was clearly shown that there were no threats whatsoever on the life of Jun Lozada nor was there any case of kidnapping or frustrated murder."

Razon said he will not file counter charges against Lozada.

"We have shown that we were true to our mission of serving and protecting Mr. Jun Lozada and that incident was not actually kidnapping or frustrated murder," he said. – Dennis Gadil, Gerard Naval, Jocelyn Montemayor, Evangeline de Vera and Victor Reyes

Joker: Everybody's to blame, including Ping

BY DENNIS GADIL

ADMINISTRATION Sen. Joker Arroyo yesterday told Sen. Panfilo Lacson to stop playing the hero in the alleged double entry of a P200 million road project in the 2008 national budget because he and all the senators were guilty of negligence.

"Ngayon sasabihin nila, nalusutan. All right, but be careful next time. Huwag kang pa hero-hero pagkatapos ng katangahan," Arroyo said over radio dzBB.

Lacson, Loren Legarda, Jamby Madrigal and Mar Roxas made up the Senate panel in the bicameral conference committee when the 2008 national budget was under scrutiny.

Arroyo said the Senate must accept responsibility for Lacson's new discovery of a total of P4.126 billion in congressional insertions in the 2008 national budget.

"Four billion pesos? You mean to say four billion pesos hindi nila napuna? Naaprubahan 'yan. Ano'ng katangahan 'yun? Tapos ngayon pa hero-hero. No way," Arroyo said.

"Tatlong opportunities, tatlong okasyon na tinignan 'yun, wala silang sinasabi," he said.

Arroyo said the first opportunity was during the bicameral deliberations, the second was when it was approved and signed in the bicameral panel, and third was during the national budget's ratification.

He said all the senators who voted for the 2008 national budget could not escape responsibility because they had many opportunities to stop the alleged congressional insertions.

"Lahat kami may responsibility. Lahat kami pumirma."

Arroyo was one of the four vice chairmen of the finance committee who voted for the national budget.

Arroyo said what happened in the C-5/ Carlos P. Garcia road extension project was actually an amendment made by the Senate to the House-approved, Malacañang-proposed national budget.

He said the correct term was double appropriation and not double entry.

"The double appropriation was an amendment. Insertions are in effect an amendment," Arroyo said.

He said the Constitution has empowered the Senate to effect amendments in the national budget submitted by the Malacañang and approved by the House of Representatives.

Arroyo maintained that the road extension project was reflected in separate pages and under different names to differentiate the first P200 million initiative of Malacañang and the second P200 million outlay as the initiative of the Senate.

Lacson said Sen. Arroyo should not be quick to blame the members of the budget bicameral panel for the double entry scandal.

"Panggulo si Joker. Totoo 'yun na napalusutan. Sino'ng mag-aakalang may maghuhudas sa amin?" he said.

He also said Arroyo should not compare the P200 million to a molehill.

"It's a big molehill na hindi pwede akyatin ng taong bayan," he said.

Lacson said his exposé today would rebut the assertion of the Department of Public Works and Highways that the road project has two components, including a flyover infrastructure, which necessitated the additional P200 million.

He said the assertion of the DPWH contradicts the admission of Budget Secretary Rolando Andaya that there was indeed a double entry and that no funds would be released.

Lacson insisted that the real motive was to cash in on the additional P200 million funding had it not been exposed by him.