PIA Dispatch - Thursday, March 19, 2009

PGMA orders biggest manhunt vs big-time drug dealers
 
Find them.
 
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo gave the tall order to a newly-formed inter-agency task force to track down suspects in the shabu smuggling incident in Subic Bay last year.
 
Dangerous Drugs Board Chair Vicente Sotto III said the President organized the inter-agency “Task Force Double AA” to intensify the manhunt for Anton Ang and five co-horts.
 
Sotto admitted lapses such as poor coordination among relevant authorities helped Ang to escape his arresting officers.
 
He said the task force will be doing a regional and international coordination in its search for Ang and company.
 
The task force consists of Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, Philippine National Police Anti-Illegal Drugs Special Task Force, Office of the Solicitor General, Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority, Presidential Anti-Smuggling Group, National Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Immigration.
 
The chief executive was irked with the escape of Ang who was intercepted with a cargo of methamphetamine hydrocholoride in his vehicles last year.
 
Government chemists assessed Ang’s cargo, which weighed close to a ton, would fetch a fortune once peddled in the streets.
 
Ang’s whereabout remains unknown although authorities received reports that he could have fled to China or Taiwan.
 
Sotto identified the other wanted suspects as Estrella Olino, Harry Yao, Enrique Ong, Rolando Labandejo and Robert Li.
 
Olino is Ang’s wife. Labandejo is Ang’s driver at the time of his apprehension.
 
Drug charges against Li were reported to be dismissed but Sotto said government has legal basis to revive and sustain the case.
 
Sotto added they will get into a deep research for new ways of shabu detection after the President expressed her desire to equip the country’s entry points with better detection system for the illegal drugs.
 
 
PGMA ipinag-utos ang malawakang pagtugis sa mga bigtime drug dealers
 
Hanapin sila.
 
Ibinaba ng Pangulong Gloria Macapagal Arroyo ang direktiba sa isang bagong buong inter-agency task force para tugisin ang mga pangunahing suspek sa pagpupuslit ng shabu sa Subic Bay noong nakaraang taon.
 
Ayon kay Dangerous Drugs Board Chair Vicente Sotto III, binuo ng Pangulo ang Task Force Double AA para palakasin ang paghahanap kina Anton Ang at limang iba pa.
 
Inamin ni Sotto na mga kawalan ng maayos na koordinasyon ang isa sa mga dahilan kung bakit natakasan ni Ang ang mga maykapangyarihan.
 
Kabila ng mga magiging trabaho ng task force ay ang pagsasagawa ng mga koordinasyon sa mga kaalyadong organisasyon nito sa loob at sa labas ng bansa.
 
Ang task force ay binubuo ng Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, Philippine National Police Anti-Illegal Drugs Special Task Force, Office of the Solicitor General, Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority, Presidential Anti-Smuggling Group, National Bureau of Investigation at ang Bureau of Immigration
 
Matatandaang nagalit ang chief executive nang makatakas si Ang na nasabat ng mga awtoridad na dalang cargo ng shabu sa kanyang mga sasakyan noong 2008.
 
Sa pagtaya ng mga kemika ng pamahalaan sa cargo ni Ang, tiyak na tatabo ng limpak-limpak na salapi ang sinumang magbebenta nito sa kalye.
 
Hanggan ngayon hindi matukoy ang kinaroroonan ni Ang bagamat nakatanggap ang mga awtoridad ng mga ulat na maaring nagkukubli sa Tsina o sa Taiwan.
 
Ang iba pang pinaghahanap ng pamahalaan ay sina Estrella Olino, Harry Yao, Enrique Ong, Rolando Labandejo at Robert Li.
 
Si Olino ay ang asawa ni Ang samantalang si Labandejo naman ang kanyang driver noong masabat sa Subic.
 
May mga ulat na nadismiss na ang kaso laban kay Li subalit sinabi ni Sotto na may legal na basehan ang pamahalaan para buhayin ang kaso.
 
Idinagdag pa ni Sotto na magsasaliksik din sila para makatuklas ng mga bagong pamamamaraan para matukoy ang mga shabung ipapasok sa bansa.
 
Ang gagawing pananaliksik ay batay sa kagustuhan ng Pangulo na armasan ng mga bagong sistema ang lahat ng pasukan ng bansa para mahuli ang mga papasok na shabu at iba pang iligal na droga.


Strengthened finance-sector cooperation binds RP-Indonesian 60th year

Manila - Like peas in the same pod, the Philippines and Indonesia are together in good times and bad times, on to this year's 60th
anniversary of their diplomatic relations serendipitously heralded today with a comforting news that they are the only two in Southeast Asia that will not suffer from the contraction of the global financial crisis.

As Southeast Asia's biggest economy, Indonesia will perform the best while Singapore would be the weakest as the crisis penetrates the region, according to the results of a survey by Reuters which was released in Bangkok.

The Reuters poll showed that Indonesia and the Philippines will be the only "economies in the region to record growth this year."

The 60th year celebrations began today with an economic forum, "Policies and Collaboration between Manila and Jakarta in Response to the Global Financial Crisis," which Indonesian Ambassador Irzan Tandjung described as a prelude "to strengthening our mutually beneficial cooperation on the financial sector to overcome the impact" of the current crisis.

Philippine Finance Undersecretary Gil Beltran and Dr. Ceppie Kurniadi Sumadilaga, representing Dr. Anggito Abimanyu, head of the Fiscal Policy Board of Indonesia's Department of Finance, presented papers on their respective governments' coping mechanism -- mainly with economic stimulus packages.

Indonesia prepared a package worth 73.3 trillion rupiahs (about US$ 6.15
billion), according to Zaenal Arifin, minister-counselor of the Indonesian embassy in Manila, reacting to information that Jakarta's export bulk will be smaller as commodities prices fall.

The Philippines' own economic resiliency program is worth P330 billion, announced by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in late February.

The International Labor Organization has earlier predicted that the crisis could lead up to 113 million unemployed in Asia alone, while other sources counted 200,000 Filipinos being out of the labor loop as such giants as Intel, Panasonic and Holcim closed local production; and as many as
250,000 Indonesians losing their overseas jobs and returning home without better prospects.

Indonesia "is poised to expand by 4.0 per cent this year and 5.1 per cent in 2010 as exports contribute only about a third of GDP (gross domestic product), making it much less dependent on trade than its neighbors," the results showed.

"For the Philippines, the poll forecast growth of just 2.3 per cent this year, lower than a 3.3 per cent estimate in a similar poll in December and below government expectations for at least 3.7 per cent, as a global recession chokes exports and slows remittance inflows."

Tandjung's remarks at the forum quoted State Secretary Hillary Clinton's references to "no country can do this alone" but "to work together" during her recent visit to Jakarta.

The envoy said strengthened cooperation in the financial sector would be Indonesia "spirit of commemorating the 60th year."

Along this theme, Indonesia's Anggito said, Jakarta-Manila should work closely on economic surveillance through existing mechanisms such as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the ASEAN Plus Three (APT).

Among others, Indonesia's fiscal performance in 2008 "remained strong" as it responded to the oil price hike by raising regulated fuel prices by an average of 28.7 per cent in late May.

According to Anggito, part of the savings that came out of this move was "used to finance a cash transfer program to offset higher oil and food costs for Indonesia's poor."

Of particular significance to the Philippines is how Indonesia has worked on its Millennium Development Goals (MDG) poverty indicators.

It targets to halve, by 2015, the proportion of people earning less than US$ 1 a day. It has reached that poverty target, Anggito indicated, but "the challenge for the country is to achieve the same target (US$ 1) using the higher-range national poverty line and the US$ 2 per day per person (PPP).

Some progress notwithstanding, malnutrition "remains a significant public health problem." Net enrollment in junior high school education is behind target, as well as "off track in reversing forestry loss and access to improved sanitation facilities."

With this candid revelation of his country's state of the economy, Anggito did not alienate as he spoke to his mainly Filipino audience, led by Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Esteban Conejos Jr.

It was a familiar portraiture indeed as the two long-time Southeast Asian allies poked through the commonness of their 60 years of diplomacy.

The next forum will be on regional security, the major agenda of President Barack Obama's recent calls to both President Arroyo and Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudyohono. (PNA)


Palace says government rules in extradition shall apply
 
Government has rules in handling extradition cases.
 
Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Anthony Golez assured that the legal guidelines will prevail and not the wishes of those who will be extradited.
 
Golez is reacting to a suggestion attributed to Senator Panfilo Lacson to place former police officers Glen Dumlao and Cesar Mancao in the hands of media instead of government to guarantee their safety.
 
Dumlao and Mancao are subjects of extradition arising from their alleged involvement in the 2000 abduction and killing of publicist Salvador “Bubby” Dacer and his driver Emmanuel Corbito.
 
Both were officers of the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Task Force (PAOCTF) headed by Lacson who was the Philippine National Police chief at the time.
 
The senator consistently denied involvement.
 
Apart from Dumlao and Mancao, 20 others were charged in the Dacer-Corbito double murder case.
 
Golez admitted that the palace is bewildered on why the senator is making statements prior to the return of both officers.
 
He urged the public to refrain from passing judgments and instead wait for two to say their pieces on the Dacer-Corbito case.
 
For his part, Senator Gregorio Honasan advised Lacson to submit himself to the rule of law.
 
Honasan said the court is Lacson’s best way to prove his innocence in the Dacer – Corbito case.
 
Meanwhile, Dumlao’s homecoming may take awhile.
 
The Department of Justice reported that Dumlao has filed petition for habeas corpus and cancelled his plane trip back to the Philippines based on the information forwarded by the National Bureau of Investigation.
 
The petition stemmed from Dumlao’s continuing detention at a police facility in Los Angeles, California. 
 
Dumlao is supposed to return home this Sunday.
 

Pamahalaan tiniyak na ang mga kaukulang patakaran sa extradition ang iiral
 
May mga patakarang sinusunod ang pamahalaan pagdating sa mga kaso ng extradition.
 
Tiniyak ni Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Anthony Golez na mananaig ang mga legal na patakaran sa extradition at hindi ang mga kagustuhan mga sasailalim sa extradition
 
Ito ang reaksyon ni Dr. Golez sa isang panukala nagmula di umano kay Senador Panfilo Lacson na dapat ihabilin sa media sa halip na sa pamahalaan ang mga dating pulis na sina Glen Dumlao at Cesar Mancao para matiyak ang kanilang kaligtasan.
 
Isinasailalim sa extradition sina Dumlao at Mancao bunga ng kanilang pagkakasangkot sa pagdukot at pagpatay kina publicist Salvador “Bubby” Dacer at sa kanyang driver na si Emmanuel Corbito.
 
Ang dalawa ay parehong opisyal sa Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Task Force (PAOCTF) na pinanguhan ni Lacson noong ito pa ang hepe ng Philippine National Police.
 
Paulit-ulit namang itinanggi ng senador na may kinalaman siya sa kaso.
 
Bukod kina Dumlao at Mancao, 20 pa ang kinasuhan sa Dacer-Corbito double murder case.
 
Inamin din ni Golez na nagtataka ang palasyo kung bakit maraming nang sinasabi ang senador kahit hindi pa nakakauwi sa Pilipinas sina Dumlao at Mancao.
 
Dahil nananawagan siya sa publiko na iwasang maghusga at sa halip antayin muna ang mga sasabihin ng dalawa hinggil sa Dacer-Corbito case.
 
Pinayuhan naman ni Senador Gregorio Honasan si Lacson na isuko ang sarili sa proseso ng batas.
 
Sinabi ni Honasan na ang hukuman ang pinakamahusay na paraan para patunayan ni Lacson ang kanyang pagka-inosente sa Dacer – Corbito case.
 
Samantala, mukhang maantala ang pagbabalik ni Dumlao sa bansa.
 
Iniulat ng Department of Justice na nagpetisyon si Dumlao para sa habeas corpus at kinansela ang kanyang plane trip pabalik sa Pilipinas batay sa impormasyong kanilang natanggap.
 
Nag-ugat ang petisyon sa patuloy na pagkakadetine ni Dumlao sa isang pasilidad ng pulisya sa Los Angeles, California. 
 
Dumlao ay nakatakdang sanang umuwi itong darating na linggo.


Malacanang debunks speculations linking Nicole's recantation and PGMA-Obama phone talk

Manila (PND) -- Malacanang today debunked speculations linking rape victim Nicole's recantation and the recent telephone talk between US President Barack Obama and President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Speculations have it that Nicole’s recantation where she casts doubt on whether she was really raped by convicted US marine Lance Cpl. Daniel Smith in Subic two years ago forms part of a new sweetheart deal designed to derail the growing clamor for the abrogation of the US-RP Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA).

In a radio interview Thursday morning, Press Secretary Cerge Remonde debunked the speculations as untrue and utterly baseless. He pointed out that records show Nicole signed her recantation sworn affidavit on March 12 while the two Presidents' phone conversation took place on March 14.

Remonde appealed to critics of the President to stop and desist from riding on unfounded speculations on the Nicole and VFA issues and "let Nicole to move on with her personal life."

He stressed that the VFA is far more important to both the Philippines and the US than the Nicole-Smith case.

The Press Secretary noted that although the government is sensitive about the rights of Filipinos which ought to give due attention, it seems baseless speculations are getting out of hand.

Remonde downplayed the possible negative impact of the Smith-Nicole rape case on RP-US relations, "at least not as much as what leftist groups hope it to be."


Palace looking into all possibilities for the release of abducted Red Cross workers

Manila (PND) -- Malacanang said today that the government is looking into all the possibilities to resolve the three-month old kidnapping of three workers of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) by the Abu Sayyaf.

Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Lorelei Fajardo said in a radio interview that one of these possibilities is withdrawal of government troops encircling the location of the captors and their victims.

But she made it clear that it is up to the Local Crisis Management Committee to start the negotiations between the two camps “para makalaya kahit na iyong isa man lang sa mga bihag, katulad ng sinabi po ng grupo ng Abu Sayyaf.”

She wanted to emphasize, however “that while we want to ensure the safety of the kidnapped victims, it should be made clear that we condemn the terroristic act.”

Andreas Notter of Switzerland, Eugenio Vagri of Italy and Mary Jean Lacaba of the Philippines were taken at gunpoint on Jan. 15 while on the way to Jolo Airport.


PGMA inaugurates flood forecasting facility, calls for volunteerism among Filipinos

City of San Fernando, Pampanga – President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo inaugurated yesterday the upgraded Pampanga River Basin Flood Forecasting and Warning System at the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) Region 3 Center in Maimpis of this city even as she called on all Filipinos for volunteerism and belt tightening amid the global financial crisis.

PGMA was joined by Japanese Ambassador Makoto Katsura, DOST Secretary Estrella Alabastro, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Chief Representative Norio Matsuda, DOST-Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) Administrator Prisco Nilo and other NGA and LGU heads in the province during the inauguration ceremony. 

The state-of-the-art Flood Forecasting and Warning System (FFWS) is equipped with automatic monitoring stations that observe the intensity and heights of the Pampanga River and its tributaries in real time thus giving a timely and reliable flood warnings in the provinces of Pampanga, Nueva Ecija and Bulacan.

It is consists of 10 gauging stations in Nueva Ecija which are located in Zaragoza (La Paz), Mayapyap and Sapang Buho (Palayan City), Peñaranda and Palali (General Tinio), Gabaldon and Calaanan (Bongabon), 6 in Pampanga (Porac, Mexico, Sasmuan, Arayat, Candaba and Sulipan) and 2 in Bulacan (San Rafael and Ipo Dam).

In the event of an impending weather disturbance such as a typhoon, the observed data together with the forecast rainfall from the DOST-PAGASA Weather and Flood Forecasting Center in Quezon City are analyzed to come up with forecast flow or water level in the river which serves as basis for the issuance of flood warnings.

The early warning system is one of the adaptation measures of the government to address the impacts of climate change considering the projection of increased frequency of intense rainfall events in the country in the months to come and is also an effective measure that complements the structural flood mitigation program of the Philippine Government.

In an interview with the President shortly after the inauguration, PGMA reiterated her directive to all government agencies to reduce their respective Maintenance, Overhead and Operating Expense (MOOE) budgets by 1.5 percent which will be used in part to finance the Comprehensive Emergency Employment Program (CLEEP) that aims to cushion the country from the financial crisis experienced worldwide.

 “The government must pour all savings and revenue into programs that help the poor and the middle-class. Thus with regard to savings from MOOE which will amount to 7 Billion total, in my Executive Order regarding that, I said that savings must be allocated to emergency employment for the next six months” the President said.

PGMA also announced that as part of the belt tightening measure and job creation, the Independence Day celebration on June 12 will be designed to host a big job fair for the estimated 39 thousand workers who lost their job because of the financial crisis, instead of the usual parade and revelry. 

Prompted to make an early wish for her birthday which will be on April 5, President Arroyo wished for continuance in the developments in her home province of Pampanga and in the Luzon Urban Beltway which she said contributes greatly to reducing the impact of the global crisis because of the earnings it receives from the industrial zones in the region.

She also wished that the country will continue to be resilient to the economic crisis and hoped that the Filipino people, especially the businessmen and the youth, imbibe volunteerism which PGMA said will be instrumental to eradicating poverty.

“All of us should learn to help and realize our part in nation building that we should think not only of ourselves but also of other people, especially our poor fellowmen,” President Arroyo capped. (PIA-Region 3)


Gov't's CLEEP saves the day for unemployed poor 

Butuan City – The Comprehensive Livelihood and Emergency Employment Program (CLEEP) currently being zealously implemented by various departments of the government is “hitting the heart” of the poor, especially the unemployed.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has tapped multi-sectoral agencies to create viable sources of livelihood particularly in tourism, agriculture and environment sectors, among others in response to the prevailing global financial crisis, with a total budget of P330 billion.

About 112,000 jobs were initially projected to be created on a nationwide level under the CLEEP.

Specifically, the program aims to provide livelihood opportunities to laid off overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and other unemployed sectors in agriculture, such as farmers and fisherfolk.

In Northeastern Mindanao (Caraga region) alone, since the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and other agencies of the government that have been implementing the CLEEP program since last month, close to 3,820 skilled and non-skilled people have already gained employment.

“The work given to me is an answered prayer for my starving family,” said Joel R. Pilo, 40 years old, a resident of this city. A father to three children, he was among the almost 2,000 applicants that lined up during the job fair at the DPWH regional office here.

Northern Mindanao DPWH Regional Director Dr. Evelyn T. Barroso said that Pilo is one of the 414 newly hired workers set to be deployed in field government infrastructure projects.

The DPWH Caraga is set to hire some 15,000 skilled and non-skilled workers before the end of the year.

On the other hand, 23-year-old Donato Grado, who was hired as Technical Assistant in Adfil Construction Corp. during the DPWH job fair, said: “The salary package is very compensating with complete benefits enough to support the daily needs of our families.”

Meanwhile, to provide local employment as well as sustain the demand abroad, the government launched the Nurses Assigned in Rural Service (NARS) program.

The DOLE-Caraga region announced this during a press conference here today, March 18.

At least 355 registered nurses in the region stand to benefit from this project, the DOLE said.

It was gathered that 355 nurses will initially be hired throughout the region. Fifty will be assigned in Agusan del Norte; 70 in Agusan del Sur; 105 in Surigao del Norte; 95 in Surigao del Sur; and 35 for the province of Dinagat Islands.

NARS is a joint undertaking of the DOLE, Department of Health (DOH), and the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) – Board of Nursing.

The program also aims to address the glut in inexperienced nurses and increase accessibility of health care services for the marginalized and poor sector.

Nurses will be deployed in rural areas to initiate primary health, school nutrition, maternal health programs, first-line diagnosis etc., inform about community water sanitation practices and do health surveillance; and immunize children and mothers. The nurses will also serve as roving nurses for rural schools.

The program is expected to not only provide jobs to nurses but also training which is necessary for employment abroad.

Project beneficiaries will be provided with an initial Php 8,000 allowance from the national government and another Php 2,000 from the local government units.

The DENR, on the other hand, is providing employment to hundreds of Filipinos living in upland areas in remote mountainous communities while helping them preserve the environment through the CLEEP via the Upland Development Program (UDP).

“The Upland Development Program and the Bantay Gubat Project form part of President Arroyo’s endeavor to provide green-collar jobs to society’s most vulnerable sectors by giving them access to short-term employment opportunities, which, in turn, will give them economic resiliency to respond to the anticipated adverse impacts of the ongoing worldwide economic downturn,” DENR Secretary Jose “Lito” Atienza said.

Caraga region reported the opening of about 3,552 slots available for the establishment of nurseries and plant fruit-bearing and forest trees, development of individual upland farms through agro forestry, reforestation of grassland areas, reforestation of degraded areas, implementation of assisted natural regeneration in appropriate areas, conduct of enrichment plantings in sparsely-wooded grasslands, mangroves and tidal flats, revegetation of streambanks, development of forest parks and tree plantation projects.

The Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), however, topped the UDP-component list with 7,733 hectares (has) followed by Regions 5 and 10 with 4,841 has (4,601has upland, 240 has mangrove) and 4,246 has (4,126 has upland, 120 has mangrove), respectively.

Atienza explained the DENR-CLEEP takes a four-pronged approach to creating emergency work in the uplands as it addresses forest protection and rehabilitation of watersheds and mangrove areas, while opening up job opportunities for income generation and food and crop production.

All environment and energy projects of the government under the CLEEP were packaged to create “Green Collar Jobs.”

In addition to thousands of jobs under UDP, the Bantay Gubat (BG) project will hire a total of 4,389 persons to conduct foot patrol in the forested areas of the region. All UDP and BG jobs will be under the supervision of the DENR.

For the BG component, the CAR, likewise, has the biggest share in the BK pie with 8,898 has, followed by Region 4B (7,434), Region 2 (7,404) and Region 3 (4,650).

Each BG will be allotted an area of 342 hectares to monitor, bringing to a total of 6.2 million hectares of forest lands placed under the BG project.

President Arroyo cited that hiring of green collar job workers would help pump-prime the economy under the country’s Economic Resiliency Plan (ERP).

Other employment packages included in CLEEP are jatropha planting and the replanting of coconut farms to ensure stable and sustainable biofuel feedstock; LPG retrofitting of tricycles and public utility vehicles (PUVs) and barangay electrification using solar panels or connecting them to hydroelectric powered grids. (PNA)