Martes, Oktubre 21, 2008

Talks swirl: Bolante deported very soon

JOCELYN "Joc Joc" Bolante, tagged as the mastermind in the P728 million fertilizer fund scandal in 2004, will be deported anytime soon, lawyer Harry Roque said yesterday.

But he did not say where he got the information.

Bolante is detained at the Kenosha County Detention Center in Wisconsin.

Roque admitted he does not know the exact date of the deportation and said it is up to the Department of Homeland Security to make the announcement.

Roque said he has received text messages that Bolante’s family has arrived but it has yet to be confirmed.

He said they will remain vigilant for Bolante’s possible arrival.

"The Arroyo government wants to hide the truth from the Filipino people once Joc Joc gets back and we could not allow that," Roque said.

The United States Court of Appeals Seventh Circuit has denied the petition for review of Bolante over his asylum claim saying Bolante’s fear of persecution was objectively unreasonable.

Sen. Mar Roxas pressed the Senate to convene itself into a Committee of the Whole for the sole purpose of hearing the impending testimony of Bolante.

"We owe it not only to the farmer-beneficiaries whose names were used to get hold of the fertilizer funds, but to the entire country to give closure to this issue by ensuring that Mr.. Bolante is given the chance to testify in consideration of the people’s right to be informed of matters of public concern," Roxas said in Senate Resolution 702.

He said the fertilizer scam could "never be fully closed without the testimony of its brains and implementor, Joc Joc Bolante."

He said the government should be open to the public on the deportation of Joc Joc Bolante and there should be no hidden plans of keeping him from facing the courts.

Sen. Edgardo Angara, chair of the agriculture and food panel, had thumbed down the idea of re-investigating the fertilizer fund scam saying that the panel, under then Sen. Ramon Magsaysay Jr. had thoroughly carried out and concluded the probe and even recommended the prosecution of Bolante for possible plunder case. – Ashzel Hachero and Dennis Gadil

Oil firms see further rollbacks

BY JOCELYN MONTEMAYOR

PRESIDENT Arroyo yesterday indirectly told oil companies, particularly the big firms, to reduce their pump prices by thanking them for "future rollbacks."

Arroyo spoke at the launching of the "TODA-Bigay" joint program of the Department of Energy and Pilipinas-Shell Corp. at the SM Mall of Asia.

Shell was represented in the event by country chairman Ed Chua.

"Siyempre si Mr Ed Chua… Maraming salamat sa mga biyayang binibigay ninyo… at salamat sa mga susunod pang price rollback," she said.

Chua, in an interview, said Shell is eyeing a rollback possibly before November 1.

"If the trend continues, there should be further reductions to be expected. We review our prices weekly. I think we can look forward to further reduction but we cannot say how much," Chua said.

Vice President Noli de Castro asked the big oil companies to roll back prices by at least P2 like the independent players.

De Castro said if the small players who are merely trading oil and have no refinery can afford to cut prices by at least P2, the big firms which import in bulk have more reason to reduce prices.

"These businessmen cannot claim they are always incurring business losses. They must exercise their corporate social responsibility and not just think of profit. I believe that one of the main causes of the present global economic crisis is the greed of those giant companies," De Castro said.

Senate majority leader Francis Pangilinan asked the Big 3 – Pilipinas Shell, Petron Corp. and Chevron — to effect a "one-time, big-time" rollback to reflect the further softening of the world crude prices.

Militant transport groups are demanding a P7 one-time price reduction.

Consumer watchdogs have estimated that oil firms could withstand a rollback of P7 to P8 per liter of unleaded gasoline.

As of October 17, the Dubai crude average was pegged at $74 per barrel, which is lower than the August average of $112.86 per barrel.

Mean of Platts Singapore (MOPS) unleaded prices as of October 17 have gone down by $26.49 to $89 per barrel, from August average of $115.49 per barrel.

MOPS diesel during the period was pegged at $94 per barrel, $49.26 lower compared to the August average of $135.26 per barrel.

Arroyo, at the TODA-Bigay launching, distributed "Pepeng Pasada" cards to tricycle drivers, which would enable them to avail of a P1 per liter discount on fuel, and a P2 discount on T2 motor oil in 600 Shell stations nationwide from October 20 to December 31 this year.

At least 1,000 members of TODA (tricycle operators-drivers association) are expected to benefit from the cards.

Arroyo also gave out Philippine Health Insurance cards to the TODA members, a P1 million check for rice assistance to the TODA members, and P2 million worth of scholarships grants from the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority and student loans for the college children of the TODA members.

She also announced a reduction of emission testing rates for tricycles.

Arroyo acknowledged the importance of the tricycles especially in the provinces and in parts of Metro Manila with narrow side streets.

She said she rode a tricycle when she was a senator years back, which is why she "understands" the importance of a tricycle. – With John Lourenze Poquiz and Dennis Gadil

Huwebes, Oktubre 16, 2008

Palace will not appeal High Court ruling on MOA

THE government will not appeal the Supreme Court decision declaring unconstitutional the memorandum of agreement on ancestral domain it drafted with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said yesterday.

He said the government, through the Solicitor General, will instead file a manifestation explaining that the government is already addressing some of the "observations" made by the tribunal in Tuesday’s decision, like the conduct of public consultations.

"A new paradigm shift had been issued and the two important things about the paradigm shift in negotiations with the MILF are focus of the negotiations on dialogue with communities and not only with the armed groups. The negotiation should be undertaken in the context of disarmament, disbandment and reintegration of forces," he said.

The government announced the new shift in policy in dealing with armed rebel groups late in August after deciding to abandon the MOA.

Ermita shrugged off the statements of MILF officials that they would bring the issue before international bodies.

He said President Arroyo has informed the international community, including the United Nations and the Organization of Islamic Countries, of her government’s decision on the MOA and the shift in paradigm.

The Supreme Court, voting 8-7 Tuesday, said the government peace negotiating panel that crafted the MOA with the MILF violated the Constitution when it initialed the agreement that would have ceded a portion of the country’s territory to the secessionist group.

The agreement proposes the creation of a Muslim homeland in the South to be governed by the Bangsamoro Juridical Entity which can enter into economic agreements and trade relations with other countries.

President Arroyo said the high court’s ruling did not change her government’s decision not to sign the agreement.

She expressed hope no one would take "undue advantage of the verdict that would lead to the deterioration of the situation."

After the oathtaking of the new officers of the Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines in Malacañang, Arroyo thanked Iligan City Mayor Lawrence Cruz and Vice Mayor Henry Lim.

Iligan City questioned the agreement before the Supreme Court together with North Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, and Zamboanga del Norte provinces and Zamboanga and Isabela (Basilan) cities.

Parts of these areas, and other areas outside the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao, were proposed to be included in the Bangsamoro homeland.

Hermogenes Esperon, presidential adviser on the peace process, belied the Supreme Court’s finding that he committed grave abuse of discretion when he failed to carry out the consultation process, as mandated by law, in areas that would be directly affected by the creation of the Muslim homeland.

"I must say that in our record at the office of the presidential adviser on the peace process from 2005 to 2007, there were 140 consultations with various sectors and organizations, including, if I may add, one that lasted for six hours in Zamboanga City. So there were indeed consultations. But it is different from saying that what the people would air or suggest should be taken hook-line-and-sinker by the panel itself," he said.

He added: "If ever we could be faulted, it is only because we wanted to achieve, attain for us concrete results which could lead to lasting peace in Mindanao."

Esperon, along with Rodolfo Garcia, chair of the now disbanded government panel, was supposed to sign the agreement August 5 in Kuala Lumpur.

Esperon said they agreed to the inclusion of at least 700 barangays in the Muslim homeland because the MILF was willing to subject the issue to a plebiscite.

"Processes that would go in the plebiscite itself would call for consultations. First, Congress would be coming out with an enabling law to authorize the plebiscite itself, there would be consultations. In the end when we conduct the plebiscite itself, then that is another form of consultation," he said.

Secretary Ronaldo Puno said he was "happy" with the tribunal’s ruling "because its central message was on the necessity of consulting local government units, or something which the DILG had already been doing in Mindanao upon the instruction of President Arroyo herself."

He also said the government was not worried about the MILF’s plan to bring the issue before international bodies because the group has no "legal leg to stand on."

Sen. Rodolfo Biazon called for the immediate resumption of peace talks but said no foreign country should be allowed to broker the negotiations.

Biazon said choosing or allowing Malaysia to broker the peace talks was a mistake.

"We cannot disregard that there are conflicts of interest between Malaysia and the Philippines in the form of the unresolved Sabah question and the conflict of claims in the Spratlys. If Malaysia continues to be the broker of the peace process, the Philippines will be at a disadvantage on both counts," he said.

Senate majority leader Francis Pangilinan said Malacañang should declare a ceasefire in Mindanao to ease the tension created by the Supreme Court ruling.

"The government needs to own up to its mistake in entering into that unconstitutional agreement, and to do this, it needs to spare the people in Mindanao from possible repercussions of the SC decision with the MILF. It needs to declare a ceasefire right away," he said.

Sen. Loren Legarda said the government and all parties in strife-torn Mindanao must continue the search for lasting peace based on social justice by pushing for another round of peace negotiations.

"Just because the Supreme Court had declared the MILF-GRP memorandum of agreement to be unconstitutional doesn’t mean that we now have to close the door on peace initiatives," she said. – Jocelyn Montemayor, Victor Reyes and Dennis Gadil

Miyerkules, Oktubre 15, 2008

MILF fears new attacks by hard-line fighters


BY VICTOR REYES

THE Moro Islamic Liberation Front yesterday said the Supreme Court’s ruling declaring the memorandum of agreement on ancestral domain unconstitutional might spark new attacks by its fighters, especially those who do not believe in negotiating peace with the government.

Mohagher Iqbal, MILF chief negotiator, said the ruling "further gave those who are opposed to the peace process the ammunition."

Iqbal said the court should have not acted on the case because it is a "political decision."

He also said the high court’s decision is not binding on the MILF. "We will assert the MOA-AD not in the domestic level but we will assert on the international level."

"We will still hold the government accountable for bad attitude in negotiation, for not signing (the MOA-AD) because the government is the party to the negotiation and we have initialed it. We are going to insist on this, we are going to pursue the government on this," he said.

Ghadzali Jaafar, MILF vice chairman for political affairs, said the agreement could "serve as evidence" against President Arroyo "that she violated the Philippine Constitution."

He said the ruling also means the Supreme Court "does not want a peaceful solution to the Mindanao conflict."

"This reinforced their thinking that the government could not be trusted," he added.

Iqbal said the MILF leadership would not encourage fresh attacks against government troops "but the MILF is losing the moral authority to restrain them."

"We (MILF leadership) have been saying we should talk to the Philippine government because it is a reliable partner in the peace process. But after more than 10 years, we came to a point that seemed to bolster what the anti-negotiation group are saying — that the government could not be trusted," Iqbal said.

The MILF has earlier said the attacks staged by some rogue commanders in Central Mindanao in July and August were triggered by their frustration over delays in the peace process.

Iqbal said the tribunal’s ruling reinforces Malacañang’s decision not to sign the agreement, and means the problem in Mindanao will remain.

Army chief Lt. Gen. Victor Ibrado said they are prepared for a possible escalation of fighting with the secessionists as a result of the SC ruling.

At least 4,000 Army soldiers are involved in the offensive launched August against three rogue MILF commanders who staged the attacks in Central Mindanao areas.

Senators lauded the Supreme Court’s ruling.

Sen. Manuel Roxas II, an intervenor in the petitions, said the decision prevented the dismemberment of the country and affirmed Mindanaoans’ complaint that Malacañang abused its power in pushing the ancestral domain agreement with the MILF.

Roxas called on Malacañang to fire all those involved in crafting the agreement, including the government peace negotiators.

Sen. Francis Escudero said the SC ruling "nailed the coffin of what was from the beginning an ill-penned accord."

He said those behind the agreement should immediately resign for "trying to bungle our Constitution."

Senate President Manny Villar said: "This ruling emphasizes the need for transparency and full consultation with all stakeholders in any negotiation participated in by government. Let this ruling serve as guidance for negotiations in the future, that we should be protective of our sovereignty and not to allow our territorial integrity be jeopardized."

Senate majority leader Francis Pangilinan called for public vigilance as he said a motion for reconsideration could still overturn the decision.

Former Senate President Frank Drilon, another intervenor, said: "For the Arroyo administration, this obnoxious episode should serve as a bitter lesson against the recklessness of constitutional adventurism and the necessity of pursuing policy with outmost transparency and public consultation." – With Dennis Gadil


Martes, Oktubre 14, 2008

Ping: P1.2B wasted when C-5 re-routed to pass Villar properties

BY DENNIS GADIL

ABOUT P1.2 billion of taxpayers’ money went to waste for right of way (ROW) for the C-5 project as the original route was changed to traverse the properties of Senate President Manuel Villar, Sen. Panfilo Lacson said yesterday.

Lacson told the budget hearing of the Department of Public Works and Highways that payments were made even after the change.

Lacson also questioned what he called the large disparity in the land valuation of the Villar properties and those owned by the family of Rep. Rodolfo "Ompong" Plaza, whose properties are also located in the vicinity of the road project.

The Plaza family, which hails from Agusan province, has kept has properties in Parañaque City.

Lacson said the Villar lots fetched right of way compensation of P15,000 to P30,000 per square meter while the Plaza properties were valued at P4,000 per sq. m.

Lacson has said that Villar was guilty of conflict of interest in pushing for the C-5 road extension project and he can prove it before the ethics committee.

He also accused Villar of sponsoring a law while the latter was still a congressman from Las Piñas. The law mandated the infusion of billions in government money into two housing finance institutions with which Villar’s companies did business.

Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile, Senate finance chief, told Public Works Secretary Hermogenes Ebdane to enlighten his panel on why the original route of the road extension project was realigned or changed.

Ebdane said the Department of Public Works and Highways would still insist on the release of the second P200 million allocated for the C-5 project despite allegations of double entry and corruption by Lacson.

He maintained there was nothing anomalous in the second allocation and said it should be released for its intended appropriation.

"Anything in addition is welcome. Wala kaming anomalyang nakikita insofar as the allocation is concerned. As far as we are concerned, we are more than happy that an additional amount is allocated," he added.

Ebdane said what is illegal is having two different amounts for one specific project.

He said the DPWH will likely use the additional P200 million for the construction of a flyover that would link the Parañaque portion of the extended C-5 road to Coastal Road in Las Piñas City.

The Coastal flyover would be the second flyover component of the C-5 road extension project seeking to connect the South Luzon Expressway (SLEX) to the cities of Parañaque City and Las Piñas. The first flyover will be located along Sucat road, Parañaque near the SM City Sucat property.

Lunes, Oktubre 13, 2008

Impeach rap vs GMA filed today

BY ASHZEL HACHERO

JOSE "Joey" de Venecia III and civil society groups will file today the fourth impeachment complaint against President Arroyo before the House of Representatives.

UP Law Professor Harry Roque said they would be at the Batasan complex in Quezon City early in the morning.

"Last year, lawyer Roel Pulido filed an impeachment case endorsed by Laguna Rep. Edgar San Luis, an ally of the Arroyo administration. We are preventing Pulido or any stalwart to block this complaint against the President since there can only be one impeachment complaint per year," Roque said.

Aside from Pulido, lawyer Oliver Lozano filed an impeachment complaint in 2005 and 2006. The House dismissed the three complaints one after the other for lack of substance.

The petitioners were scheduled to file the complaint at 7 p.m. last Saturday but the Office of the House Secretary General was closed.

House secretary general Marilyn Yap, who was supposed to receive the complaint, flew to Switzerland on short notice.

The one-year bar to impeaching the President expired Saturday.

Joining De Venecia Jr. and Roque are Iloilo Vice Gov. Rolex Suplico; Edita Burgos, Concepcion Empeno and Erlinda Cadapan who are mothers of missing activists; former Transportation assistant secretary Josefina Lichauco; actor Rez Cortez; Black and White Movement conveners Leah Navarro and Linggoy Alcuaz; and Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas chair Danilo Ramos.

The 97-page complaint accuses Arroyo of culpable violation of the Constitution, betrayal of public trust, and graft and corruption.

The allegations are anchored on the anomalous ZTE broadband deal; the government’s aborted memorandum of agreement with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front over ancestral domain; and the multi-billion swine, fertilizer and seeds scam in the Department of Agriculture; the multi-billion peso NorthRail project; and the controversial Joint Maritime Seismic Understanding regarding the exploration of oil and other resources at the South China Sea.

Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile warned the "impeachers" not to use the $503 million NorthRail and NBN-ZTE broadband project as their case could boomerang on former Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr.

The NorthRail, considered the government’s flagship project, will connect Caloocan City and Bulacan province. The overall cost is nearly P1 billion per kilometer.

Enrile said it is a fact that De Venecia was behind the controversial award of the railways project to the China National Machinery and Equipment Group as he was asked by the former Speaker to stop questioning the railway project.

He said De Venecia’s fingerprints could again be found in the broadband network deal as he arranged a meeting with the stakeholders that included his son Joey.

Enrile advised the impeachers to expect strong resistance at the House since it is dominated by President Arroyo’s allies. "Impeachment is a political case, a question of numbers." – With Dennis Gadil

Biyernes, Oktubre 10, 2008

JPEPA ratified


BY DENNIS GADIL

THE Senate, by a vote of 16-4, ratified before midnight Wednesday the controversial Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA) that will, among others, allow Filipino nurses and caregivers to work in Japan.

Those who voted "yes" were Miriam Santiago, the treaty sponsor; Edgardo Angara, Rodolfo Biazon, Alan Peter Cayetano, Jinggoy Estrada, Juan Ponce Enrile, Gregorio Honasan, Panfilo Lacson, Loren Legarda, Ramon Revilla Jr, Manuel Roxas II, Juan Miguel Zubiri, Manny Villar Jr., Francis Pangilinan, Richard Gordon and Lito Lapid.

Those opposed to the ratification were Aquilino Pimentel Jr., Jamby Madrigal, Francis Escudero, and Benigno Aquino III. There was no abstention.

The treaty was signed by President Arroyo and then Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi in Helsinki in September 2006.

Santiago admitted the treaty was flawed.

Santiago said one such flaw is that government failed to secure all the exemptions that the country sought in the supplemental agreement to ensure that the country’s interests are protected.

She said only one exemption was secured by government negotiators and accepted by Japan when the two parties made an exchange of notes to facilitate passage of JPEPA.

Santiago said the only proposed exemption that was accepted by Japan was JPEPA will observe all existing Philippine constitutional provisions, laws, and rules and regulations concerning investment activities.

"After months of locking horns, our negotiators were able to get only one of the three exemptions that are necessary to make the JPEPA airtight in protecting Philippine interests. For now, the exemption obtained will enable JPEPA to pass Supreme Court scrutiny," she said in a media briefing.

Santiago said the Japanese panel rejected her other proposals, which are: JPEPA should observe any future laws, including those passed by Congress, local governments, and administrative agencies; and that JPEPA will observe any act of Congress or any Supreme Court decision limiting the President’s delegated power to set tariffs applicable to RP-Japan trade.

"My second proposal was temporarily shelved, with a commitment by Japan that in the near future, it shall accept negotiations to amend JPEPA’s," she said.

She added: "This third proposal was also shelved, with the Japanese commitment that it will be considered during future negotiations for amendment."

The supplemental agreement was made by an exchange of notes between Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo and his Japanese counterpart Masahiko Koumura.

But Santiago said she is confident that if questioned in the Supreme Court, the JPEPA will pass the test of constitutionality because it has been modified by the August exchange of notes between the two governments.

She said there were actually two exchanges.

The first exchange of notes was on the Japanese commitment not to export hazardous wastes to the Philippines.

The second was on the observance by JPEPA of all Philippine constitutional provisions that require Philippine citizenship in certain investment activities.

Santiago also said the much-vaunted access of Filipino nurses to the Japanese labor market would still take time to materialize.

"The Japanese ambassador told me that they expect the trained nurses to enter the country when the examinations in Japan are given. So you don’t immediately expect an influx of Filipino nurses in Tokyo, that will be scheduled when the Japanese examinations are given," she said.

Santiago had warned that if the Supreme Court declares JPEPA unconstitutional, under international law, Japan would have the right to seek damages before an international tribunal.

Pangilinan said although he voted for ratification he would file a resolution by next year requesting the Office of the President to renegotiate JPEPA in order to amend it, by incorporating the three Santiago proposals.

Aquino said the country is giving away too much just to hammer out an economic deal with Japan.

"The disadvantages far outweigh the treaty’s projected hoped-for benefits. In fact, we gave away practically everything and instead settled for maintaining the status quo as our sole benefit," Aquino said in his speech rejecting the JPEPA.

Aquino said one glaring unequal benefit is that Japan has reserved 197 tariff lines while the Philippines excluded only two, leaving the rest of our agricultural products open to competition from Japan.

"It is clear that with this treaty, Japan gains, whereas the most that we can hope for, after sacrificing a lot more, we will merely maintain that which we already have," he said.

Aquino noted that benefits to be reaped by the country are already in place as provided under the country’s existing trade deals with Japan.

Escudero said the JPEPA was another example of a badly negotiated treaty.

Escudero said by entering into the treaty, rarely can there be justice or equity in a free trade or low tariff agreement between a well-developed and industrialized country like Japan and a poor and developing country like the Philippines.

He said this was apparent in the last bilateral trade agreement the Philippines entered into involving the 1946 Parity Agreement and is, 62 years after, even more glaring with JPEPA.

Escudero said being a poorly and badly negotiated treaty, the government gave up almost everything and got almost nothing and absolutely failed to pursue the best interests of the country as well as the aspirations of the people.

President Arroyo said the ratification of JPEPA would open a bigger market for the agriculture, food and aquaculture industry and at the same time help the country face up to the global economic crisis.

Arroyo, during the opening ceremony of the Agrilink-Foodlink-Aqualink at the World Trade Center, thanked the Senate through Angara for ratifying the JPEPA.

She said the ratification came at a time when the country is strengthening its trade and exports to other country following the financial turmoil in the US.

Arroyo said the US is "no longer the top export market" for Philippine products but China.

She said that with ratification "Japan will open up" while the Philippine government also strengthens its trade relations with European countries like France.

But the National Statistics Office showed that for the first semester of the year, the US remains the top market for Philippine exports accounting for $7.971 billion followed by Japan with $7.341 billion and China with $5.117 billion, followed by Singapore with $4.749 billion.

In July 2008 alone, $4.866 million worth of products had been exported to the US followed by Japan ($4.677 million), China ($3.475 million) and Hong Kong with ($2.971 million).

Trade officials and business leaders said the ratification puts the Philippines back in the game of free trade agreements.

Thomas Aquino, senior undersecretary of the Trade department told reporters, that JPEPA will double the growth rate of RP exports to Japan to 20 percent annually and will open an estimated P300 billion worth of pipeline investments, ranging from automotive parts to garments that have been pre-identified before the deal was finally sealed. – With Jocelyn Montemayor and Irma Isip


Biyernes, Oktubre 03, 2008

Melamine test results out today… hopefully

BY GERARD NAVAL

RESULTS of laboratory tests for melamine contamination might be available today, Health Secretary Francisco Duque said yesterday.

He said the Bureau of Food and Drugs is speeding up the tests to appease the public amid the scare of melamine-contaminated milk from China.

"Best effort … we will try to come out with the result tomorrow (Friday)," he said.

Duque said has told BFAD to come out with a list of products contaminated with the industrial chemical and a separate list of those tested negative.

BFAD on Friday last week came out with an "initial" list of 54 milk and milk products, including popular brands that it said were being tested for melamine, although these products did not originate from China. The following day, it removed four of the products from the list, saying their manufacturers had told BFAD their products and raw materials are sourced from New Zealand and not China.

Some 54,000 Chinese have fallen ill from the contaminated milk, with four infants dying after developing kidney stones.

Duque, at the sidelines of a Senate hearing on the health department’s budget, said the melamine reference standard which the government ordered from Singapore for the laboratory tests arrived Monday, or three days earlier than expected.

BFAD director Leticia Gutierrez, in a circular, encouraged the public to have products they are consuming tested by "recognized laboratories."

Trade Secretary Peter Favila said BFAD is looking at around 15 private laboratories to help in the testing because the agency has insufficient manpower.

The list of laboratories will soon be made public by BFAD, said Favila, a member of the six-agency team formed to handle the melamine issue. The team is headed by Duque.

Favila said some companies are asking for the government’s help as their sales were going down even if their products are not using raw materials from China.

In South Korea, authorities said they have found trace amounts of melamine in milk products imported from New Zealand that were used in baby formula.

Seoul banned their import, said the Korea Food and Drug Administration.

In a statement, it said the product, lactoferrin, was produced by Tatua Cooperative Diary Company of New Zealand.

South Korea was banning all other products made by the company pending further tests, it said.

No trace of the chemical has been found in 19 baby formula products tested, presumably because the additive makes up less than 0.1 percent of the final product, the agency said.

No comment was immediately available from Tauta, which on Monday had suspended exports of lactoferrin because of the melamine find. The company was also checking where its product had been exported to and trying to trace the source of the melamine contamination.

"There’s quite a lot of sensitivity around melamine even at low levels," chief executive Paul McGilvary told the NZ Press Association at the time.

He said the New Zealand Food Safety Authority had found fewer than four parts per million of melamine in the Tatua product, and found there was no contamination of the company’s milk supply.

South Korea has banned the imports of Chinese milk powder and rice cookies produced in China. It has also recalled tainted products from store shelves. – With Dennis Gadil, Jocelyn Montemayor and Reuter

Huwebes, Oktubre 02, 2008

Asean seen calling emergency meet

BY JOCELYN MONTEMAYOR

BUDGET Secretary Rolando Andaya Jr. yesterday said economic managers of member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations may call an emergency meeting if the US Congress fails to pass the $700 billion bailout plan proposed by President George W. Bush.

But Andaya, in a radio interview, said economic managers believe that the bailout plan would eventually be approved.

The US Congress will meet again Thursday (Manila time) to come up with some revisions to the bailout proposal where the US government would use the $700 billion to buy toxic assets of beleaguered banks.

Andaya appealed to the public not to panic. He said he is confident the existing economic policies would help cushion the impact a possible rejection of the bailout plan will have.

He cited the stable banking system, a high savings rate and remittances from overseas Filipino workers.

Trade Secretary Peter Favila said the economic managers had drawn up measures to support the economy during a meeting Tuesday night. But Favila said the economic managers would rather keep the details to themselves until they have informed President Arroyo.

Favila assured the public that what they are "prepared to put in place is meant to shield the Philippine economy from further external shocks," referring to a possible rejection of the US bailout.

Planning Secretary Ralph Recto warned that a recession in the US would slow down the Philippines’ growth especially in exports, and possibly widen the fiscal deficit next year.

"We expect growth to slow down this year, possibly to about 5 percent and more or less we have the same growth next year as well," he said, adding that an early passage of the 2009 budget would enable the government to spend more, especially on infrastructure, which would help the economy.

President Arroyo, in opening the MassKara festival in Bacolod City, warned against complacency despite recent economic gains and stabilization of prices of food and fuel in the world market.

She said the government continues to monitor the global situation as she acknowledged that "there are hard times again" that the government must face to avert the effects of a global economic slowdown.

Senate majority leader Francis Pangilinan said government should rid itself of corruption to be able to survive the economic turbulence brought about by the US financial crisis.

"The world is changing so rapidly around us that we must look for capable public sector leaders who are adept at change and reforms, who think outside the box and represent a new way of thinking and acting to ensure the survival of our nation," he said.

"We must plug the leaks that prevent the Bureau of Internal Revenue and the Bureau of Customs from collecting over P100 billion annually due to inefficiency and corruption," he said.

Party list Rep. Teddy Casiño (Bayan Muna) renewed his call for Congress to "radically" revise the P1.145 trillion proposed budget for 2009 following the decision of economic managers to downgrade the growth forecast this year as a result of the financial crisis in the United States.

The revised economic growth projection is 4.4 to 4.9 percent, from the 5.5 percent to 6.4 percent assumption of the Development Budget Coordination Committee three months ago.

From an initial projection of 6.1 percent to 6.9 percent, the GDP in 2009 may grow by only 4.1 percent to 5.1 percent, Casiño said.

Casiño also noted that the latest revised ADB projection for the 2009 GDP growth, released September 16, was down to only 4.7 percent.

"Sticking to the P1.4 trillion national budget will most likely bloat the budget deficit which is already projected at P40 billion. Government will then be forced to borrow more money, which would be very expensive given the global credit crunch," he said.

Casino said in view of these economic realities, "the logical step would be to reduce the proposed 2009 budget and realign items like debt servicing, military expenditures, intelligence funds and vague lump sum allocations to economic and social services as well as infrastructure." – With Dennis Gadil and Wendell Vigilia

Miyerkules, Oktubre 01, 2008

Ping to Manny: See you at ethics panel

BY DENNIS GADIL

SEN. Panfilo Lacson yesterday said Senate President Manuel Villar is liable for conflict of interest in pushing for the C-5 road extension project.

Lacson has accused Villar of sponsoring a law while the latter was still a congressman from Las Piñas that mandated the infusion of billions in government money into two housing finance institutions with which his companies did business.

He said now that the investigation of the Senate finance committee on the double entry mess has unmasked Villar as the one who pushed for the additional P200 million for the road extension under the 2008 budget, the battleground shifts to the ethics committee where evidence can be presented.

But Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago thinks otherwise.

"I disagree that this (conflict of interest issue) is a proper matter for the jurisdiction of the ethics committee because our Senate rules provide that ethics committee exercises jurisdiction only if the language or behavior is so-called un-parliamentary, that is to say that the behavior in this case is offensive to a senator or derogates the Senate as an institution," she said.

Villar, in an interview, expressed relief that the Senate finance committee found no wrongdoing about the insertion in the 2008 budget.

"Wala tayong mali na ginawa doon. Yun pa naman ang aking unang sinasabi na wala talagang anomalya diyan," he said.

Villar said he hoped his colleagues would no longer bring the matter to the ethics panel chaired by Pia Cayetano.

Malacañang chided Senate minority leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr. and former budget secretary Benjamin Diokno for saying that the Executive branch would benefit from the P200 million insertion.

"The Executive doesn’t know why the P200 million insertion was made… The DBM is not even a member of the bicameral conference committee," Budget Secretary Rolando G. Andaya Jr. said.

"We will hold the amount in question until the Senate or DPWH can provide us with information explaining to us sufficiently what this additional amount is for," he added, reiterating that the DBM has not released the second P200 million allocation after it discovered the double entry.

Press Secretary Jesus Dureza said critics should rise above partisan considerations and refrain from making speculative statements.

"The Palace made it clear from the outset that it will not allow any illegal release of any fund, much less benefit from it."

Reps. Eduardo Zialcita (Lakas, Parañaque City) and Joel Villanueva (PL-Citizens Battle Against Corruption) urged Malacañang to release the second P200 million so that the C-5 Road extension project that would link South Luzon Expressway to Sucat Road would be finished.

They said it would be unfair to commuters, motorists and the transport sector if the project implementation is held hostage by controversies relative to the allegations of double insertion.

"DBM is duty-bound to implement the national budget. It cannot be selective in its implementation. The money to complete the project should be released without delay. There’s no reason why the funds should be put on hold," said Zialcita, vice president for recruitment of Lakas-CMD.

Villanueva said public interest should be the prevailing consideration particularly as the project has a big potential impact on the traffic condition in southern Metro Manila cities and municipalities.

"After SLEX, Coastal Road and the old Quirino Highway, which are all congested with traffic, the C-5 extension is only main road in and out of Parañaque, Las Piñas and Cavite," he said. – With Jocelyn Montemayor and Peter J.G. Tabingo

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