Will thieving at DA never cease?

SEN. Mar Roxas has filed Senate Resolution No. 824, which will look into the transactions of the National Agribusiness Corp. (Nabcor) which a 2007 Commission on Audit report had found to be anomalous.

"The corrupt practices didn’t end with Joc Joc’s (Bolante) departure from the Department of Agriculture. The administration of President Arroyo continued its misuse of the people’s money and investigation showed it spread to Nabcor," he said.

Roxas noted the COA report said some P300 million was disbursed by the DA for acquisition of post-harvest facilities, but these could not be validated by the auditing agency.

On top of this, it was found that P95.167 million of post-harvest projects purchased by Nabcor were not used by farmers because they were inapplicable and outmoded.

The COA report also showed that P734.255 million was transferred from the DA to Nabcor, which in turn charged a 10 percent administrative fee when handing these to nongovernmental organizations and people’s organizations, thus reducing the amount benefiting these groups.

Aside from these, the DA got P225.22 million from the Agricultural Competitiveness Enhancement Fund and transferred this to Nabcor for the implementation of a "Competitive Food Processing and Cold Chain Operation" project, despite the latter’s insufficient capability and manpower.

"We can’t simply allow these fund transfers from the DA to Nabcor and other groups. We need accountability and transparency here," he said.

Sen. Richard Gordon castigated "morally upright people" for refusing to tell the truth or expose shenanigans in government.

"Of course, we do not expect murderers, thieves and robbers to admit to their crimes even when they are caught red-handed," he said.

Gordon added: "What we do not expect – and should not expect – is for morally upright people to keep quiet when they know of a crime – especially in the case of the fertilizer fund scam, when people ought to be speaking up."

Gordon said the lying may be traced to lack of confidence in the justice and law enforcement systems.

Gordon, chair of Blue Ribbon committee, has scored former agriculture undersecretary Jocelyn Bolante several times for not telling the truth and continuing to be evasive during the panel’s investigation on the fertilizer scam.

The panel has filed a case against Bolante for violations of Articles 150 (disobedience to legitimate summons) and 183 (false testimony) of the Revised Penal Code before the Department of Justice.

The Gordon panel expects to bring together other "key players" in the P728 million fertilizer project in its next hearing on Jan. 20. – Dennis Gadil

Pia: Itemize P14B for farm modernization

SEN. Pia Cayetano yesterday sought itemization of some P14 billion in lump sum appropriations in the budget of the Department of Agriculture intended for the Agricultural and Fisheries and Modernization program (AFMA).

Citing figures from the non-government Alternative Budget Initiative, Cayetano said the lump sums are P10.039 billion for the DA-OSEC "GMA (Ginintuang Masaganang Ani) Rice" program, P1.49 billion for the DA-OSEC "GMA Corn" program, P2.72 billion for the DA-OSEC "GMA High Value Crops" program, and P944 million for the "GMA Livestock" program.

Cayetano said there is also a P5 billion conditional cash transfer to the Department of Social Welfare and Development under the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program.

She said the absence of provisions specifying the mechanics for use of the funds could turn these into "pork barrel," subject to the administration’s wide discretion.

Cayetano said the release of the funds should be tied at least to conditions related to the attainment of basic health and education targets, such as the country’s commitments to the Millennium Development Goals.

She said public vigilance could play a crucial role in monitoring how the Arroyo administration will be spending billions of its discretionary funds under the proposed national budget for 2009.

Cayetano was one of two senators (the other was Aquilino Pimentel Jr.) who voted against the P1.415-trillion general appropriations bill for 2009. She objected to the inclusion of huge lump sum funds which she said would be left to the "high discretion and control of the President."

The budget bill is still under consideration by the bicameral conference committee but is expected to be ratified next month when Congress resumes session.

Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said the budget could be passed within two or three weeks next month.

He said operating on a re-enacted budget would pose no problems because it has been done in the past. – Dennis Gadil and Jocelyn Montemayor

Loren: Going for all the marbles in ’10

SEN. Loren Legarda will decide on her political plans for 2010 when she celebrates her 45th birthday on January 28 in her Malabon hometown.

Legarda said she considers as an early Christmas gift former President Joseph Estrada’s statement last Friday that she could be his running-mate should he decide to again seek the presidency in 2010 in case the opposition fails to field a single candidate.

Estrada, in a Christmas party for the media hosted by his son Sen. Jinggoy Estrada, described Legarda as "having both beauty and brains."

Legarda indicated that she might turn down the offer. "Been there, done that. Kung ako man ay tatakbo, tatakbuhan ko yung pinakatuktok na pwesto," she said.

She ran with Fernando Poe Jr. in 2004. They lost to Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and Noli de Castro.

Legarda said she respects Estrada’s opinion that those lagging in surveys should decide to be a running-mate or abandon their presidential aspirations.

A Pulse Asia survey in October said if Estrada decides not to run, 21 percent of respondents said Legarda could be a shoo-in for the presidency while 20 percent said it’s a toss-up between Sen. Manuel Villar and De Castro. Sen. Francis Escudero was third with 17 percent.

Legarda and Escudero belong to the Nationalist People’s Coalition founded by businessman Eduardo Cojuangco Jr., who ran for president in 1992 but lost to Fidel Ramos.

NPC sources said party leaders are eyeing an Escudero-Legarda or Legarda-Escudero ticket in 2010.

Sources said the party leadership is inclined to have Escudero as standard bearer.

They said in case Legarda refuses to slide down, they would apply the "Hillary Clinton" formula where she would get a powerful cabinet post in the event Escudero becomes president.

New York Sen. Hillary Clinton was appointed Secretary of State by her democratic rival US President-elect Barrack Obama.

The sources said NPC is also said to apply its "Joe Biden" formula, pairing Escudero with a more senior running-mate who could be perceived as having no ambition for the presidency. Biden, a veteran Democratic senator with deep experience in foreign policy, was Obama’s running-mate.

The sources said the possible "veteran choices" are Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile of the Partido ng Masang Pilipino (PMP) and Senate minority leader Aquilino "Nene" Pimentel Jr. of the PDP-Laban.

Younger vice presidential choices are also being considered, namely Senate pro tempore Jinggoy Estrada of PMP, Sen. Manuel Roxas of the Liberal Party and even Sen. Ramon "Bong" Revilla Jr. of Lakas.

Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez has said that under the Constitution, Estrada is barred from seeking another elective post as he was deemed to have served his term in full prior to his ouster as president in Edsa 2. – Dennis Gadil and Jocelyn Montemayor

Enrile acts to prevent re-enacted budget

SENATE President Juan Ponce Enrile yesterday moved to prevent a re-enacted national budget for next year with the failure of the bicameral panel to pass the appropriation measure Wednesday, the eve of Congress’ Christmas break.

"I’m thinking of proposing a provision that the budget shall retroact on the first day of the year so that there will be no question about the application of the budget from January 1 to 30, 2009," said Enrile, chairman of the Senate finance committee before he assumed the top Senate post last month.

Enrile said his proposal would erase suspicions or allegations of misappropriation by the government under a re-enacted budget.

He said the 2009 budget is practically approved in the bicameral level because the Senate and House contingents to the bicameral conference committee have already agreed on major points such as where the P50-million stimulus fund would be spent.

The Senate originally approved a P10 billion stimulus fund, sourced from debt payments. The Senate contingent led by Sen. Edgardo Angara, the new finance panel chair, and Sen. Loren Legarda moved to increase it to P50 million.

Enrile said the bicameral committee just needs to iron out the details of the proposed multi-billion stimulus fund.

Angara said the bicameral conference committee will resume meetings in the second week of January.

Congress resumes session on January 19.

Enrile said bulk of the stimulus fund would be allocated for research to bankroll studies on possible sources of fuels. — Dennis Gadil

Miriam doubts legality of teleconferencing plan

SEN. Miriam Defensor Santiago has assailed a Senate plan to allow detained Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV to join the chamber’s plenary deliberations and hearings via teleconferencing. She called it a violation of the Constitution.

Santiago, who filed an ethics case against Trillanes for disorderly behavior after leading two failed coup attempts against the administration, said the detained senator was seeking a privilege that not even presidents and queens have dared to demand.

The proposal "will deny due process to the state, represented by state prosecutors who have charged Trillanes with two counts of coup d’etat: one for the Oakwood incident, and the other for the Peninsula incident," said Santiago, referring to the two uprisings, one in 2003, the other in 2007, which Trillanes joined.

According to Santiago, Trillanes is naturally absent from the Senate plenary activities because he remains under "compulsory detention."

"If there is any move to allow Trillanes’ electronic participation, the principle of fair play dictates that there should be notice and hearing to the state prosecutors concerned," she said.

Santiago’s criticisms proved to be so strong that the Senate rules committee failed on Monday to obtain a consensus on the proposal.

Rules committee chair and majority leader Juan Miguel Zubiri said another hearing would be held to find a consensus.

Sen. Panfilo Lacson said that at least 14 senators have already signed a resolution giving Trillanes the opportunity to join the Senate via teleconference.

The new Senate majority which ousted Senate President Manuel Villar is pushing for teleconferencing rights for Trillanes, which would cost the chamber some P10 million.

Santiago did not mince words in her tirade against the pro-Trillanes proposal.

"By means of his two nationally-televised coup attempts, he has demonstrated his contempt for the existing governmental system and for the rule of law. If he had succeeded, he would have been hailed as a hero. But he failed, and is now a suspected criminal," she stressed.

"In effect, he is a political offender, who is defined as a criminal driven by ideology. It appears that the Trillanes ideology is to destroy the present government. Thus, he is now barred from seeking the privileges of the very same government he sought to destroy," she said.

Sen. Richard Gordon said Trillanes could have succeeded in toppling the Arroyo government in his two attempts, which could have led to the dissolution of the Congress, including the Senate.

"If he succeeded, there will be no Congress and now he wants to participate?" Gordon said.

Santiago even challenged Trillanes to refuse any privileges from the Senate "if he wishes to be a hero."

Santiago said she may be able to convince Sens. Lito Lapid, Sen. Ramon "Bong" Revilla Jr., Gordon and Zubiri to oppose the proposal.

Sen. Joker Arroyo has said that what the new Senate majority wants to do is unprecedented in legislative history. – Dennis Gadil

Senators say congressmen are out of their minds

SENATORS yesterday said some members of the House of Representatives are "out of their minds" if they think they can change the 1987 Constitution without the consent of Senate.

Sen. Francis Escudero, the new chair of the Senate committee on constitutional amendments, revision of codes and laws, said common sense alone suggests that any ordinary legislation requires separate and independent deliberation and voting of the two chambers of Congress.

"A legislation alone as mundane as renaming of streets or schools necessitates separate voting of the Senate and the House, how much more any move to amend or revise the Constitution?" he said. Escudero replaced Sen. Richard Gordon.

Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Villafuerte, proponent of the resolution calling for Congress to convene into a Constituent Assembly to propose amendments to the Constitution, Monday night insisted that the House can go it alone without the Senate if it musters the constitutional requirement of three-fourths vote or 197 signatories of all 261 members of Congress which includes the 23 senators.

Escudero said to entertain the move to change the Constitution at present would be "morally questionable, if not dissolute" especially with the persistence of proposals to extend term limits of incumbent officials.

He said if ever there is indeed a need to change the Constitution, it may be done after the elections in 2010, at a time when there shall exist a fresh and legitimate mandate for most, if not all elective officials.

Sen. Mar Roxas said changing the Charter without the Senate’s participation would be the "worst Christmas gift ever" of the Arroyo administration.

"Gulo lang ang aabutin kapag itinuloy itong pag-railroad sa Cha-Cha," he said citing a latest Social Weather Stations survey that showed 64 percent of Filipinos against Charter Change.

Sen. Francis Pangilinan also warned that a Senate-less Cha-cha would be tantamount to tempting the "people’s wrath."

"If the administration allies in the House will recklessly push for it, this may very well be the spark that will lead to a people’s uprising against this government. Don’t test the patience of our people battered by tremendous economic hardships," he said.

Minority leader Aquilino Pimentel said he is in favor of the suggestion of Cebu Rep. Antonio Cuenco and Quezon Rep. Lorenzo Tañada III for the Senate and House to hold dialogues to resolve the stalemate on amending the Charter.

He said the issue of whether the Senate and House should vote jointly or separately on amendments would be also settled through dialogues. – Dennis Gadil

Budget dep’t OKs advance bidding for P177B projects

THE budget department has agreed to bid out in advance some P177 billion worth of big-ticket projects earmarked for 2009 even as Congress has yet to formally ratify the P1.4-trillion proposed national budget for next year.

Sen. Edgardo Angara, chairman of the Senate finance committee which resumes budget floor debates today, said he has secured the commitment of the budget department to bid out and frontload the projects early to avoid delays.

He said the move would cut down the time lag between the bidding process and the actual initiation of the project.

"This means we can start building those projects now when we need them, not six months into 2009," he said.

Government projects are implemented only during the second and third quarters because of delays in the passage of the budget and the drawn-out bidding process.

Angara said the early bidding process and implementation of the infrastructure projects early in 2009 like roads, school buildings and bridges would jumpstart the economy through the creation of more jobs.

"We prepare for the long-term health of the economy, especially that of the countryside, leading to the opportunities for employment," he said.

He said the early bidding would also have an impact in the short term because this "offers a ready cushion for the crisis for our citizens by engaging in infrastructure spending."

"Both science and experience tell us that infrastructure spending is the best way to create jobs and stimulate consumption, especially in the rural areas where we need it the most," he said. "Public works puts money in the pockets of our citizens. This will provide us with a safety net for our people."

Angara said of the P177 billion earmarked for infrastructure spending under the 2009 budget, some 30 percent or P54 billion would be spent for direct labor.

He said this means some 540,000 new jobs next year based on the premise that for every P100,000 spent, one new job is created.

Angara said another P5.3 billion would be spent to create 607,000 new jobs in the housing sector.

He said the fresh jobs to be created would also replace the jobs that would be lost by returning Filipino workers who have lost jobs abroad because of the economic crisis.

Estimates show some 590,000 of the 5.1 million Filipinos working abroad will be out of jobs as the worldwide financial crisis wreaks havoc on the global economy in 2009. – Dennis Gadil

GMA denial not enough, says CBCP

Asks her to tell House allies to drop Cha-Cha moves

By Gerard Naval

DON’T just tell us, show us.

Jaro Archbishop Angel Lagdameo, president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, yesterday said it isn’t enough that President Arroyo deny she is behind renewed Charter Change moves.

What she should do instead, he said, is to tell her political allies in the House to stop pushing for constitutional amendments before the 2010 elections.

Lagdameo’s pronouncements came after he issued a statement, on behalf of the CBCP, opposing the renewed moves for Charter Change.

In the statement, Lagdameo said any move to amend the state laws must come only after the 2010 elections through Constitutional Convention (Con-Con).

"At least the people will have a wider participation by electing the members of the Constitutional Convention… not by a Con-Ass (Constituent Assembly)," Lagdameo said.

Lagdameo also welcomed the statement of El Shaddai leader Bro. Mike Velarde that he would mobilize his members to join anti-Cha-Cha protests.

Sen. Pia Cayetano cautioned her colleagues against playing into the administration’s Cha-Cha gambit, stressing the Senate’s opposition to Charter Change before 2010 should be firm and absolute.

"If Mrs. Arroyo is really sincere about not extending her rule beyond 2010, why won’t she publicly express opposition to efforts being pursued by her allies and her very own relatives at the House?" she asked.

Cayetano added: "Her continued silence indicates implicit approval for the sham con-ass initiative, and this is fueling public unrest from all sectors, including major religious groups which have chosen to break their silence."

She said senators should not discount the possibility that any Cha-Cha measure approved by both chambers before 2010 would be vulnerable to manipulation by Malacañang "to suit its own ends."

Cayetano hammered on the importance of total rejection as some of her colleagues have adopted conditional support to Charter Change.

Without naming names, she said some senators are supportive of amending the economic provisions of the Constitution while some are open to Cha-Cha as a prelude to shifting to federal form of government as originally espoused by minority leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr.

Pimentel has said he would want the debate on shifting to federalism to happen now while he is senator so that he could shepherd the transitory provisions to avoid giving term extension to President Arroyo.

Some senators are also calling for a constitutional convention like Sen. Richard Gordon over the House proposal of a constituent assembly to amend the Charter. – With Dennis Gadil