PIA Dispatch - Tuesday, January 13, 2009

PGMA declares all-out war on prohibited drugs; takes over as anti-drugs Czar

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today took over the helm of the country’s fight against illegal drugs by declaring herself as the anti-drugs czar.

“I will temporarily act as the Czar, or overseer of the war against illegal drugs,” announced the President as she ordered an “all-out war, an unyielding and unrelenting war against illegal drugs and their devil merchants.”

In her opening speech before the start of the Cabinet meeting in Malacanang this morning (Tuesday, Jan. 13), the President continued:

“Then I will turn over the job to the tandem of Tito Sotto and Jionex Santiago,” referring to Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB) head Tito Sotto and former armed forces chief of staff Dionisio Santiago, head of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA).

The President also proposed a “trinity against illegal drugs” as she called on local government units (LGUs) to declare themselves as “drug-free zones.”

“The war shall be waged from three fronts, a Trinity Against Illegal Drugs. Law enforcement is the first component; judicial action is second; (and) policy making will make up the third front of this all-out war…” the President said.

The third of the trinity – policy making – shall be “a comprehensive policy consisting of prevention, enforcement, rehabilitation and after-care.”

The President declared the all-out war because “governments that delay action against illegal drugs, or regard it as a routine police matter, do so at their own peril.”

“A country awash with illegal drugs is a country compromised, its law-and-order institutions tainted and corrupted. It is in this context that the government should map out its all-out war (against illegal drugs).”

Noting that “no other criminal activity does a better and faster job of tearing apart the social and security fabric of a nation than the trade of illegal drugs,” President Arroyo called on the Filipino people “not to allow this menace to spread its tentacles, ruin our youth, and gnaw on the integrity of our law-enforcement institutions and our judicial systems.”

“The case of the so-called ‘Alabang Boys’ should jolt us into action – not with temporizing and tentativeness but with resoluteness and the grit of a government fighting a just and moral war,” the President stressed.

The Chief Executive – who also called on all sectors of society to intensify their anti-drug campaigns -- committed to reward with development projects any LGU that can declare itself a drug-free zone “to sustain their efforts and ensure a brighter future for our children and communities.”


Palace says Gonzalez has been vigilant in Alabang Boys case

Malacanang today said Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez has been “vigilant” in the so-called ‘Alabang Boys’ case.

In an interview over Radio Mindanao Network (RMN) this morning, Press Secretary Jesus G. Dureza stressed that Secretary Gonzalez showed vigilance by not ordering the release of the controversial ‘Alabang Boys.’

“Tingnan naman natin ang kanyang ginawa nang hindi pagpipirma ng order. It’s a very clear indication, hindi ba? He did not order the release kaya’t hindi siya nalusutan doon.

“It’s an indication that he (Justice Secretary Gonzales) had been vigilant in his job,” stressed Dureza when asked why Secretary Gonzalez was not included in the order of the President for Department of Justice (DOJ) personnel implicated in the ‘Alabang Boys’ case to go on leave.

Dureza, who was interviewed before the Cabinet meeting in Malacanang this morning (Tuesday, Jan. 13), was also asked about the Palace’s stand on DOJ prosecutors threatening to stop work for a week in support of their colleagues.

“Well, iyong mga ganoong mga aksiyon, part of democratic rights kung ano ang gawin nila,” said the Press Secretary who, however, stressed that “napakahalaga na hindi ma-disrupt iyong public service at nakatalaga naman sila sa mga posisyon o sa gobyerno.”

“Ang kanilang main function is to serve the public and they should not, in any way, by their action, iyong mga plano nila, idi-deny sa mga taumbayan ang availability ng kanilang serbisyo because that is why they are there in the first place -- to do public service,” added Dureza.

As to the prosecutors’ call for the President to also include the operatives of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) in her Leave of Absence (LOA) order to DOJ personnel, Secretary Dureza reiterated Malacanang’s stand, thus:

“Iyong order ng ating Pangulo, at ngayon na-implementa na… ang sadya ng ganoong pag-o-official leave (ay dahil) kasi sila iyong iniimbestiga kung mayroon man pagbabasehan o wala. (It) is to allow the investigation to be above board, hindi ba, impartial na walang gamitan ng posisyon.

“So, anybody who is under a cloud of controversy involving bribery charges ay siyang pina-leave of absence, para iyong imbestigasyon will be fair, impartial, above board, and (so that) those who are being investigated will not be able to use their positions to, one way or the other, parang disrupt or adversely affect the impartiality of an investigation.”

In the Cabinet meeting later in the morning, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo declared herself temporarily as the country’s anti-drugs war and recommended a “trinity” which includes prosecution in the fight against illegal drugs and their traders whom she dubbed as “devil merchants.”


Statement of Press Secretary Jesus Dureza Re: Tale that Palace is behind Supreme Court Chief Justice impeachment

That is a malicious and irresponsible accusation.

The Palace wants strengthened and stabilized institutions like the Supreme Court.

False accusations like those undermine not only the judiciary. They undermine the Presidency as well.

They pit the two institutions unduly against each other, thus, weakening our basic democratic foundations.

Let’s all help to build, not destroy.


Palace Statement Thru: Deputy Spokesperson Lorelei Fajardo Re: Erap’s mother

The palace offers its most sincere condolences and prayers to the Ejercito family.

Doña Mary was a good and loving matriarch and her passing is a great loss.

Let us give the Ejercito family the time to grieve and honor her memory peacefully.


RP to allow entry only of Palestinians cleared by Israel

MANILA (PNA) — The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) will consider the entry to the Philippines of Palestinian spouses of Filipinos but the arrangement would have to be allowed by the Israeli government, DFA Undersecretary Esteban Conejos Jr. said today.

In a press conference, Conejos said Palestinians wanting to exit the Gaza Strip in Palestine in order to join their Filipino wives and children to Manila will have to be scrutinized first in all aspects of security.

Without insinuating the possibility that the Palestinians could be possible security risks, Conejos said that a background check of each and every possible entrant will be conducted before a travel document could be issued.”

Israel surely knows their background,” said Conejos, and would be in the position to determine the viability of any possible entry to the Philippines.

According to Conejos, there are at least 20 Palestinian-Filipino families in the autonomous government of the Palestine Authority.

Of the 20 sets of families of more than 100 members, 13 have indicated they want to go home to the Philippines. Seven families opted to stay in Palestine unless the Palestinian husband is allowed to join them on the onward journey to the Philippines, according to the DFA.

Evacuation plans for Filipinos caught in the crossfire between Israel and the extremist Hamas community in the Palestine Authority started before Christmas. Conejos said that the United Nations-linked International Organization for Migration (IOM) has agreed to partner with the Philippines on the evacuation project by shouldering the expenses of families returning to Manila.

In addition, the DFA is also coordinating with nationals of other countries caught in the crossfire, noting that the primordial consideration is the physical safety of people.

Conejos told reporters that members of families who have earlier returned have personally expressed to him their gratitude for their safe repatriation to Manila.”

They brought gifts of gratitude and told me they were delighted to know that “we are that important to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo,” Conejos quoted his visitors as saying.

Meanwhile, only 44 Filipino seamen remain as captives of Somali pirates, reported Conejos, as he publicly assured the seamen’s families that the government continues to work for their safe release.

Since April last year, 208 Filipinos in 17 separate maritime vessels were hostaged by the pirates in Somalia, the coast of Yemen and the Gulf of Aden. A total of 164 hostages have been released, while only three vessels are held. (PNA)


DBM issues guidelines to arm anti-graft drive

The Department of Budget and Management today issued guidelines for internal control systems of government agencies to ensure that public funds are spent well and organizational goals are accomplished.

Speaking during the launching of the National Guidelines on Internal Control Systems (NGICS) at the Isla Ballroom of the EDSA Shangri-la Hotel in Mandaluyong City, Budget and Management Secretary Rolando G. Andaya, Jr. said that the NGICS responds to the Philippine commitment to the UN Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of risk management and internal control.

“With the help of the NGICS, heads of departments and agencies will find it easy to redesign, install, implement and monitor their respective internal control systems taking into consideration the requirements of their organization and operations,” Andaya explained.

The NGICS was formulated by the DBM and the Office of the President’s Internal Audit Office, with assistance from the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAid), through its Technical Assistance Facility, the Philippines-Australia Partnership for Economic Governance Reforms (PEGR). A Reference Panel (DepEd, DOH, DOF, DILG, DOJ, DOTC, DPWH, NEDA and DAP) and Resource Agencies (COA and PAGC) provided inputs to the document.

The NGICS is now being pilot-tested in the DPWH. The DepEd and 21 other departments/agencies will soon be provided assistance in strengthening their respective internal control system.

“We will upload the NGICS in the DBM and PEGR websites to facilitate wider and easier access to the document,” the Budget Chief said.


DILG to frontload high-impact projects for 2009

Secretary Ronaldo Puno of the Department of the Interior and Local Government has ordered the “frontloading” of the DILG’s job-generating projects and other anti-poverty initiatives in the first quarter of 2009 as part of Malacanang’s economic resiliency program geared to insulate Filipinos from the effects of the worldwide financial slowdown.

Acting on orders of President Arroyo, Puno directed DILG officials to identify which of the Department’s high-impact “social protection” projects could be immediately implemented in the first few months of 2009 to help create and preserve jobs and empower local government units (LGUs) to efficiently deliver basic services to the people.

These projects, Puno said, include the DILG’s Project OYSTER, which provides jobs and emergency economic assistance for marginalized workers and out-of-school youths (OSYs) through the barangays. OYSTER stands for “Out-of-School Youths Servicing Towards Economic Recovery.”

“I have ordered DILG officials to pinpoint which of our projects that will have a direct impact on poor families can be implemented at once in the first few months of 2009 so that we can help create jobs and add to the national government efforts to pump prime the economy in the midst of the global economic slowdown,” Puno said.

As the Cabinet secretary in-charge of generating pro-poor government projects in the provinces of Rizal and Quezon, Puno said the DILG has also lined up a series of initiatives to create jobs and provide microfinancing to poor families in these areas in the first quarter of 2009.

Among these projects is the “Dagdag Puhunan Para sa Kabuhayan ng Pamilya, which aims to provide additional funds to existing livelihood programs of LGUs in Rizal and Quezon, according to DILG Undersecretary for Local Government Austere Panadero.

Panadero, who is overseeing the implementation of the project, said some 2,000 poor families in 63 barangays in Quezon and 37 barangays in Rizal are expected to benefit from this program, which has an initial allocation of P5 million that will be sub-alloted to LGUs.

To provide jobs for OSYs, the DILG will also be implementing a road cleaning and drainage maintenance project in Rizal and Quezon similar to the “OYSTER” program.

This project, Panadero said, is expected to provide jobs for a period of six months to 13,780 OSYs in 37 barangays in Rizal and 171 barangays in Quezon.

Panadero said another DILG “value-added” project—the Localization of Millennium Development Goals (MDG) initiative—is also ready to carry out P107.83 million-worth of projects in the first quarter of 2009 to help generate jobs and provide “social protection” to poor families as soon as the LGU beneficiaries complete the submission of documents for the release of funds for their respective projects.

These projects include the construction of a daycare center, hospital, public market; the establishment of a water system; implementation of an integrated agricultural project and the procurement of heavy equipment in various LGUs across the country.

The DILG’s Localization of MDG project aims to capacitate LGUs in effectively implementing programs in their respective localities that conform with the Millennium Development Goals of eradicating poverty.

The United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals are the world's time-bound and quantified targets for addressing extreme poverty and worst forms of human deprivation in its many dimensions—income poverty, hunger, disease, lack of adequate shelter, and exclusion—while promoting gender equality, education, and environment sustainability.


15 corn postharvest centers up

The Department of Agriculture is helping establish 15 corn postharvest processing and trading centers across the country in 2009 through the National Agribusiness Corp. (Nabcor) as part of DA initiatives to raise rural incomes and increase corn production by establishing market linkages and reducing postproduction losses for corn farmers.

These corn centers, which are expected to be completed this February, are being set up in partnership with local government units or multipurpose cooperatives in the areas, according to Assistant Secretary Dennis Araullo, the national coordinator of the Ginintuang Masaganang Ani (GMA) Corn Program.

Araullo said the corn centers are strategically located within the GMA Corn Program cluster areas or within GMA Corn Program new areas of at least 1,000 hectares, and are accessible to transportation, communications and market centers.

Seven of these centers are located in Luzon; two in the Visayas; and six in Mindanao .

These are in Rosales in Pangasinan, which has a total corn area of 41,558 hectares; Paracelis in Mt. Province , 6,466 ha; Bantay in Ilocos Sur, 11,797 ha.; Maddela in Quirino, 22,988 ha; Jones in Isabela, 255,870 ha; Sta. Marcela in Apayao, 7,994 ha; and Polangui in Albay, 17,311 ha.;

In the Visayas, these corn facilities are in Sagay City in Negros Occidental with 55,642 hectares of corn fields; Sara in Iloilo with 39,510 ha.;

In Mindanao, these facilities are in Ramon Magsaysay in Zamboanga del Sur with 88,209 hectares of corn lands; Liloy in Zamboanga del Norte, 49,975 ha.; Alamada, North Cotabato, 127,343 ha.; Tupi, South Cotabato, 141,163 ha.; Talakag in Bukidnon, 185,089 ha.; and Bayugan City in Agusan del Sur, 36,940 ha.

So far, Nabcor and its joint venture partners are now operating four corn centers located in Kabacan and Banga in North Cotabato; Malungon, Saranggani; and Sergio Osmeña, Zamboanga del Norte.

Araullo said the DA and Nabcor will continue investing in these facilities in 2009, with 15 priority sites being targeted.

These priority sites are in Kabankalan, Negros Occidental; Kapatagan, Lanao del Norte; Pangantucan, Bukidnon; Claveria, Misamis Oriental; Tabuk, Kalinga; Sablayan, Mindoro; Bayambang, Pangasinan; Maayon, Capiz; Mexico, Pampanga; and Dumalinao, Zamboanga del Sur.

Another five locations are also being considered in Narra and Brooke’s Point in Palawan ; Ipil, Zamboanga Sibugay; Tigaon, Camarines Sur; and Gamu, Isabela.

Araullo noted that investing in corn centers is part of the policy overhaul being carried out by the DA, which focuses funding on hard or “big-ticket” projects covering irrigation maintenance, postharvest facilities, farm-to-market roads (FMRs) and rural extension work, in lieu of “soft” projects like fertilizer support to farmers.

The corn postharvest processing and trading center project, Araullo said, is among the priority initiatives of the DA because corn is the second most important crop in the Philippines, where 20% of its arable is planted to the grain.

He said the domestic corn sector can take advantage of the steadily increasing demand for the commodity due to the growth of the local livestock industry and the shift to corn as a biofuel feedstock. (DA PRESS OFFICE)