PIA Dispatch - Sunday, January 11, 2009

Palace wants election system modernized in time for 2010 elections

Malacanang wants the country’s electoral system modernized in time for the 2010 elections, and has proposed an P11.9-billion supplemental budget for its implementation.

This was revealed by Press Secretary Jesus G. Dureza over Radyo ng Bayan’s “Pilipinas, Pilipinas” at past noon today (Sunday, Jan. 11).

Modernizing the electoral process is “one of the legacy agenda” of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, stressed Dureza.

The Press Secretary revealed that the executive department has submitted a supplemental budget of P11.9 billion and hopes that Congress would approve it along with the proposed 2009 budget.

“We are confident that Congress will approve this. Sana masimulan na na natin. We still have time to put into place a modern electoral system by 2010,” said Dureza.


Malacañang welcomes call by opposition senators to focus on economy first before politics

Malacañang today welcomed the call of some opposition senators to continue focusing on strengthening the country's economy instead of the 2010 national elections to ensure that Filipinos remain insulated from the effects of the global financial crisis.

In an interview aired over state-run dzRB this afternoon, Press Secretary Jesus Dureza said “we welcome the statements coming in chorus from them” even as he stressed that “the palace has been saying that all along.”

This call from the senators is timely because the "effort to prepare for the (impending) economic situation is beyond politics – it should be above the fray, so to speak,” he added.

"Salamat naman at nanggagaling ito sa kanila dahil matagal nang nanawagan ang Palasyo niyan. Ang ating Pangulo (President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo) ay (patuloy) na naka-tutok sa trabaho ng governance at sa mga reporma para maharap natin ng matatag ang problema ng ekonomiya," Dureza said.

Earlier, Senator Manuel Roxas II called on President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo "to lead the nation in doing whatever is necessary to help Filipinos who are losing their jobs here and abroad" by granting tax rebates and other "salary-saving" measures.

Senator Panfilo Lacson, on the other hand, called for the immediate passing of the P1.4-trillion 2009 National Budget "that would also serve as an economic stimulus."

Dureza expressed hope that other political leaders would follow suit and join the senators in their call.

"We welcome this… at sana naman, yung ibang political leaders ay tatalima sa panawagan na ‘to," said Dureza.

Among the Arroyo administration’s earlier tax reform initiatives are the tax exemption for employees earning less than P200,000 a year, and the decrease in corporate tax from 35 to 30 percent.


Malacañang brands as 'unfair speculation' fears re appoint of SC justices

Malacañang today branded as "unfair speculation" the unfounded fears aired by some quarters that President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo would appoint her allies to the Supreme Court (SC) for them to support Charter change.

In a radio interview this afternoon, Press Secretary Jesus Dureza said those who think that way are "just paranoid about the issue."

He pointed out that what these critics are harping at is next to impossible as there is a procedure to be followed in appointing Supreme Court associate justices."

Masyado naman unfair speculation yung sinasabi na yan. The President appoints members of the judiciary under her constitutional powers, taking into account the competence of the nominee, and that the person who will be appointed will serve as a member of the highest tribunal of the land," Dureza said.

"There is a process under the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) na merong sinasalang na mga nominees. They are processed and screened by a Constitutional body and then a short list is given to the President; then the President makes the final decision based on that list by the Judicial Bar Council," he added.

Dureza said it was also "unfair" to the nominees in the JBC's short list. "Because of these unfounded fears, a cloud of doubt is cast over their integrity."

"We should refrain from those speculations because we weaken the integrity of the judicial system," Dureza said.

Seven Supreme Court associate justices are retiring this year upon reaching the mandatory retirement age of 70.

The retiring associate justices are Ruben T. Reyes, Adolfo S. Azcuna, Dante O. Tinga, Consuelo Ynares-Santiago, Leonardo P. Quisumbing, Minita Chico-Nazario and Alicia A. Martinez.


PGMA orders alleged bribe takers in "Alabang Boys" case to go on leave

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today ordered Justice Secretary Raul Gonzales to require to go on leave of absence (LOA) all officials and prosecutors of the Department of Justice (DOJ) who have been alleged to have received bribes in the controversial “Alabang Boys” drug case.

In a statement this afternoon (Sunday, Jan. 11) from the “Malacanang sa Sugbo” in Cebu, the Chief Executive said:

“Today, I instructed Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez to require leave of absence of all officials and prosecutors of the Department of Justice alleged to have received bribes in exchange for the release of suspected drug dealers from certain rich and influential families.”

“No one should be spared,” stressed President Arroyo in her 10-paragraph statement where she branded illegal drugs as “society’s cancer.”

The President is in Cebu to inaugurate tomorrow (Monday, Jan. 12) several infrastructure projects, among them the dredging of the Hagnaya Channel in San Remigio town.

“The full force of the government’s powers to act against those that betray public trust should be applied swiftly and unequivocally, more so in this case which involves illegal drugs -- society’s cancer -- on the one hand, and supposed pillars of the justice system on the other.”

The President added, “We should not allow a breach in our determined war against the menace of illegal drugs and against narco-politics on a broader level -- we are witness to the tragedy that befell countries that have taken a pause on their war on illegal drugs.”

“From a public realm, I state this: Our war on drugs should be vigilant and unrelenting. It should not be compromised.

“From a personal realm, I state this: I am a mother who is bothered by an alleged conspiracy to let loose on our streets anew pushers of illegal drugs. What if they lurk on my street?”

President Arroyo stressed further: “We cannot overstate… that illegal drugs wreck lives.”

“They do not just destroy lives, they gnaw at the core foundation of a nation’s most precious asset -- its young people.”

Because “illegal drugs sap the strength of its young victims, their vitality, their joy and their enthusiasm,” the President lamented that “directly and with extreme prejudice, they also sap the strength of the nation.”


PGMA inaugurates newly concreted Cebu road Monday

CEBU -- President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will inaugurate on Monday (Jan. 12) the newly concreted P45.74-million Toledo-Pinamungahan-Aloguinsan-Mantalongon Road in this province.
Upon her arrival at the municipal hall of Aloguinsan town, President Arroyo will be welcomed by Cebu Rep. Pablo Garcia (2nd dist.), Aloguinsan Mayor Cynthia Moreno and Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) 3rd district engineer James Dellosa.

Immediately thereafter, the Chief Executive will lead the inaugural drive-through of the newly completed road project that connects the four towns of Toledo, Pinamungahan, Aloguinsan and Mantalongon.

DPWH Secretary Hermogenes Ebdane will brief the President on the road project that was started on October 4, 2007 and completed in December last year.

The project was funded under the 2007 General Appropriations Act (GAA) in line with the government’s front-loading program to keep the domestic economy afloat.

The government has been front-loading infrastructure and social spending to counteract the impact of the global financial crisis.

Undertaken by the DPWH, the project covers the concreting and widening of the 2.08-kilometer roadway.

The national government has appropriated billions of pesos for infrastructure projects that are designed not only to decongest traffic but, more importantly, to spread out economic activity to the countryside.


PGMA to check on completed dredging of Hagnaya Channel in Northern Cebu Monday

CEBU -- President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s super regions economic development plan to develop central Philippines as the country’s tourism hub has gotten another big boost with the completion of the P36.252-million dredging of the Hagnaya Channel in the municipality of San Remigio town in the north-west tip of this island.

The President, who is here for a two-day visit, will be given a briefing on the Hagnaya Channel dredging project at the Hagnaya Port when she visits San Remigio on Monday (Jan 12).

Sea vessels from the Hagnaya Port pass through the Hagnaya Channel to reach scenic Bantayan Island, a major tourist destination famous for its fine white sand and crystal blue waters.

The dredging project -- which also includes the installation of lighted markers for safer navigation -- was implemented by the Cebu Ports Authority (CPA) and the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) upon the instruction of the President to ensure the safe passage of vessels, specifically during low tide.

Before the dredging project was completed, the shallow Hagnaya Channel made trips to the Bantayan Island unpleasant and dangerous to travelers. Vessels also could not cross the channel during low tide so passengers had to disembark from their vessels and transfer to smaller boats to reach the port.

Previous dredging attempts did not succeed in deepening the entire Hagnaya Channel but the latest attempt that started on January 21, 2008 and completed last October 14 finally succeeded to achieve the five-meter draft depth required by roll-on-roll-off (RoRo) vessels.

The P2.5 million worth of solar-powered lighted markers that indicate the dredged area have also made it safer to navigate the Hagnaya Channel during low tide.

Enroute to Hagnaya Port, the President will conduct an aerial inspection of the P30.4 million Antonio Y. Depio Highway project.

The 2,793.36-meter-long project covers the Layang-Victoria-Kinawahan section of the highway.

DA eyeing sustainable fish management program to save Visayas reef

The Department of Agriculture (DA) plans to carry out this year a sustainable fish harvest program to help save the Danajon Bank, the only documented double barrier reef in Southeast Asia , by making it one of the pilot sites of a United States-funded project on coastal and fisheries resources management.

The project, according to the DA’s Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), is funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) under its Fisheries for Improved Sustainable Harvest (FISH) project.

In a report to DA Secretary Arthur Yap, BFAR Director Malcolm Sarmiento Jr. said FISH is a seven-year technical assistance project funded by the USAID and implemented in partnership with the DA, BFAR, other national government agencies, local government units and nongovernment organizations.

Local officials and FISH experts will work together to establish a sound foundation for the management of fisheries and coastal resources to save the Danajon Bank, which has deteriorated as a result of overfishing and pollution, he said.

Besides the Danajon Bank, Sarmiento said the other pilot areas for the FISH project are Calamianes Islands in Palawan, and the provinces of Surigao del Sur and Tawi-Tawi in Mindanao .

The Danajon Bank covers parts of the provinces of Bohol, Southern Leyte and Cebu .

It cuts across 16 municipalities and two cities in the four provinces in the Visayas.

These municipalities are Tubigon, Clarin, Inabanga, Buenavista, Getafe, Bien Unido, Trinidad, Ubay, Pres. Carlos P. Garcia and Talibon in Bohol; Lapu-Lapu City and Cordova in Cebu; Matalom, Bato, Hilongos and Hindang in Leyte; and Maasin in Southern Leyte.

Danajon Bank, which comprises two sets of large coral reefs that formed offshore on a submarine ridge, is considered a very rare geological formation.

The Bank was believed formed over a period of 6,000 years owing to a combination of favorable tidal currents and coral growth in the area.

Danajon’s double barrier reef is a larger and better-defined structure than other known double barrier reefs in the world.

On top of this initiative, the DA is also spearheading a fish-tagging project focused on determining the migration patterns of small pelagic fishes with the end view of crafting a regional plan to guarantee the sustainability of these marine resources.

The Philippines is implementing the fish tagging project in tandem with its Southeast Asian neighbors Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia , Thailand , Indonesia , Malaysia (Peninsula, Sabah and Sarawak), Vietnam and Myanmar.

The project is an offshoot of a regional study of the Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Council or SEAFDEC titled Information Collection for Sustainable Pelagic Fisheries in the South China Sea to determine the relationship of small pelagic stocks in Southeast Asian countries, including its biology and population.

It involves the insertion of special number-coded yellow tags at the base of the dorsal fins of individual fishes. The fishes are released back into the sea and their tags will hopefully be returned to the nearest fishery agency by the fishermen who catch them.

The tagging will enable the researchers to determine the migratory path of these species that would eventually lead to the development of a regional management plan for small pelagic fisheries in the region in order to ensure the sustainability of the said fishery resource.

Researchers from the Philippines and the six other countries will simultaneously tag five (5) commercially important species of round scads and mackerel in the South China and Andaman Seas for a period of three years.

Locally known as galunggong (round scad), alumahan (Indian mackerel) and hasa-hasa (Indo-Pacific mackerel), these fish along with tunsoy, tawiles and matangbaka constitute about 50% of the country’s total marine catch.

Studies show, however, that the small pelagic fishery in the Southeast Asian Region including the Philippines and other countries bordering the South China Sea have been subjected to high levels of exploitation. (DA-Press Office)


DA to push more benefits for PNP in 2009

Secretary Ronaldo Puno of the Department of the Interior and Local Government has assured the Philippine National Police he will work on more housing, medical and educational benefits for the PNP rank and file in 2009 even as he called on the police to step up the implementation of its major programs so it can win back the people’s full trust and build up its capacity as a premier law-enforcement agency.

In his New Year message to the men and women of the PNP, Puno said the DILG will also ensure that the country’s national police force will get enough logistics and resources this year for it to efficiently carry out its main task of protecting the people.

Puno said the additional procurement of vehicles and firearms this year for the PNP will complement its latest acquisition of 271 patrol jeeps, 215 light transport vehicles, 150 motorcycles and 28 Scene-of-the-Crime-Operation (SOCO) vans.

“We will do all we can to provide for the necessities of your everyday life, including the provision of adequate pay and allowances,” Puno told PNP officers and men in a Camp Crame event. “We will continue to work for more housing for policemen, and we will examine ways to improve medical and education assistance for all of you.”

Puno said he has directed the National Police Commission (Napolcom) and other DILG agencies to study ways on how to implement these benefits for policemen this year.

While the DILG is working to increase benefits for police personnel, he said the PNP should, in return, intensify efforts to win back the trust and confidence of the people in the organization and “lead the national effort to make our democratic ideals become part and parcel of our everyday lives “.

“Every member of the community must be able to see you as a protective Kuya (elder brother) or a disciplining father who keeps order in the neighborhood you serve,” Puno said.

Puno said that he hopes that by the end of 2009, the PNP will have regained the trust and confidence of the public, and not just half of the population as recent surveys reveal, through the implementation of its key programs meant to make hoes and streets safe for Filipinos.

Crucial to this objective, he said, is the implementation of the Integrated Transformation Program, which is spearheaded by PNP chief Director General Jesus Verzosa.

The ITP, which is integral to the Arroyo administration’s international commitment to democratic governance and justice reforms, aims to help strengthen the PNP’s capability to maintain public order and safety as well as enhance the welfare of members of the police force over a 10-year period starting 2005.

This PNP program was first conceptualized in 2003 and then developed through a comprehensive study funded by the government and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).

It covers 10 major areas that should undergo reforms to transform the PNP into a capable, effective and credible police force.

These areas are: national policy and institutions development; police operations, facilities development, human resources development, administrative and financial management, strategic planning and performance management, information and communication technology, demonstration of excellence through development of key practices, public information and advocacy, and reform management.