In mob Noy trusts EDITORIAL 09/27/2011

In mob Noy trusts

EDITORIAL

Click to enlarge

09/27/2011
If he has not realized it yet, Noynoy and his yellow Palace cohorts’ efforts to divide the government with their arrogance have become so successful that the government is now on a straight path to a standstill.

The imperious attitude at the Palace is one where whatever comes out of it, an edict or a mere idea, should be deemed infallible and those complaining against these are given the right to cry out to their hearts content and to walk away after with no Palace concern.

The Senate and the judiciary are certainly the most recent victims of the Palace conceit.

The Senate recently issued a resolution recommending that Noy use his presidential privileges to order the suspension of the increases in toll rates and the fares of the mass rail transit systems.

The Palace ignored the resolution, replying that increases in the fares of the Light Rail Transit (LRT) and the Metro Rail Transit (MRT) systems will benefit the poor in the long run. Twisted logic it is, but since it came from what the Palace believes is Mt. Olympus, it must therefore be the right logic. This was how Noynoy’s mouthpieces presumably understand their statements..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110927com1.html

Promising president FRONTLINE Ninez Cacho-Olivares 09/27/2011

Promising president

FRONTLINE

Ninez Cacho-Olivares

09/27/2011
Noynoy Aquino really goes big with his promises — despite already common knowledge that while he continues to give out promises, he somehow hardly delivers on his pledges — even before he ascended to Malacañang.

In Tokyo last Sunday, Noynoy told a group of overseas Filipino workers that when he leaves Malacañang in 2016, he will have left the Filipinos with a “much different Philippines” as his legacy, as he pledged to “catapult the country to unprecedented progress where Filipinos will no longer seek jobs abroad and instead work in the country with pride and contentment.”

He was quoted as saying to the crowd: “I have a simple goal. Create more jobs so you will no longer go abroad. What we want is a situation where you go abroad to work because it is your choice, not because you can’t find a job (in the Philippines). As long as you are one with me, you are my bosses, there’s no doubt that the Filipino race will triumph because of industry and talent. Our goals are within our reach.”

Noynoy even went as far as saying that “Before, they (governments and investors) would just snub us. Now, they would race to call on us because they know that we are rising with dignity and we ourselves are eager to effect changes.”.... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110927com2.html

Uncertainty as Zimbabwe deadline for foreign handover looms focus 09/27/2011

Uncertainty as Zimbabwe deadline for foreign handover looms

focus

09/27/2011
HARARE — Foreign companies operating in Zimbabwe have until Sunday to hand in plans to sell majority stakes to local blacks, under a law that has alarmed investors, who are uncertain how the rules will work.
The government’s order for the transfer of 51-percent ownership has been called the final phase of “economic emancipation,” after controversial land reforms targeting white-owned farms a decade ago. But analysts are skeptical.
“There is no way the locals and the government have the money to buy shares in the companies. Everybody knows that,” Anthony Hawkins, a University of Zimbabwe economics professor, told AFP.
The indigenization drive could hurt the economy in the same way as the land reforms, which sparked an economic nose-dive after supporters of President Robert Mugabe violently seized white-owned farms, he warned..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110927com3.html

Unmask the cohorts NO HOLDS BARRED Armida Siguion-Reyna 09/27/2011

Unmask the cohorts

NO HOLDS BARRED

Armida Siguion-Reyna

09/27/2011
Media revelations on just how much the Arroyo administration stole boggle the mind. The thieves got away with it when they were entrenched, but did they really think the lid would stay tight on their pilferage? Fat chance, that.

As early as July 3, 2009, I wrote, here in this same space, that: “For at least 50 foreign trips and state visits, Mrs. Arroyo spent over P2 billion traipsing the globe from 2002-2007, P408.6 million in 2008, and P436 million for this year only half-way over.

“We remember when she flew to China while her husband was recovering from a heart procedure, and that was to witness the signing of the ZTE-NBN memorandum of agreement. That she went to the US during Typhoon ‘Frank’ in June of 2008 and a shipload of 600-plus passengers sank, hundreds of others killed in floods and landslides. We recall how once she had her entire family with her for a state visit to China, grandchildren and yayas included, how usually congressmen and spouses would be in the ‘official’ entourage to the US, Europe and to here and there, a senator or two. And still the usual staff that accompanies a head-of-state, the security men, and the media people.

“All the hangers-on say they paid out of their own pocket. We merely have their word and how good is their word, given the lying they’ve done? Lalaki ba nang ganyan kalaki ang gastos kung ang mga miron ay talagang nagkanya-kanyang bayad ng hotel at pamasahe?”.... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110927com4.html

Poverty in the USA AN OUTSIDERS VIEW Ken Fuller 09/27/2011

Poverty in the USA

AN OUTSIDERS VIEW

Ken Fuller

09/27/2011
In 2010, a further 2.6 million Americans descended into poverty, bringing the total to 46.2 million, a peak not previously reached in the 52 years since the Census Bureau started compiling such statistics. The impoverished represent 15.1 percent of the population, a level last seen in 1993.

Those in “deep poverty,” defined as existing on less than half the amount determining the official poverty line, increased to 20.5 million. At 16.4 million, child poverty is the highest since 1962. And, as might be expected, those who are not white stand a greater chance of being poor, the poverty-rates being 27 percent for blacks, 26 percent for Hispanics, and 12.1 percent for Asians, compared to 9.9 percent for whites – but they’re all on the increase.

Needless to say, unemployment is largely responsible for this state of affairs, and last year a staggering 48 million people between the ages of 18 and 64 did not work a single week — an increase of 3 million in 2009. But things are also bad on the wages front, and average earnings for a full-time male worker, adjusted for inflation, were slightly lower than they were in 1973. Yes, 1973.

If you’re poor, things are bad even when times are “good.” For example, the report in the New York Times on Sept. 13 cited a researcher at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities who pointed out that “the period from 2001 to 2007 was the first recovery on record where the level of poverty was deeper, and median income of working-age people was lower, at the end than at the beginning.”.... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110927com5.html

Where villains are heroes INSIDE CONGRESS charlie manalo 09/27/2011

Where villains are heroes

INSIDE CONGRESS

charlie manalo

09/27/2011
In its grand effort to mask its incompetency, the Aquino administration has embarked on an unrelenting crusade to pin down the previous administration for alleged anomalies it had committed during its incumbency.

Precisely, there is nothing wrong with that. In fact, the Aquino administration, for all its bravado, deserves a 21-gun salute. But only if it had been fair and objective in its quest for truth and justice.

For its opening salvo, it had launched an offensive against the previous administration using the infamous Pajero issue it allegedly donated to some members of the Catholic Church, which of course backfired on the administration.

Having lost miserably on the Pajero battle, Sen. Ping Lacson then opened fire, accusing the former First Gentleman Jose Miguel “Mike” Arroyo of effecting the sale of his family-owned second hand choppers passed off as brand new to the Philippine National Police..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110927com6.html

Noynoy gives ‘failed’ ARMM P40-B budget By Angie M. Rosales 09/27/2011

DESPITE PALACE CLAIMS OF MUSLIM REGION’S CORRUPTION

Noynoy gives ‘failed’ ARMM P40-B budget

By Angie M. Rosales 09/27/2011

Government’s attempt, after two decades of devolving some of the Executive’s power by instituting the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) and with the current Malacañang tenant constantly saying that the ARMM has been proven to be a failure despite the infusion of almost P124 billion from the national budget in the last 20 years, money in the tens of billions will still be splashed by the current administration to the ARMM.

This admission was made yesterday by Sen. Franklin Drilon, the chairman of the Senate finance committee, as he disclosed that the Aquino government has provided nearly P40 billion in total allocation to ARMM, the highest in the history for the region.

“Our computation is that apart from the P12.4 billion presented under the NEP (national expenditure program), the ARMM also gets from the other national government agencies under the budget of DA (Department of Agriculture), and others, an amount equivalent to P11.5 billion. ARMM also gets an internal revenue allotment of P14.2 billion. There is the PDAF (Priority Development Assistance Fund) or the allocation of the legislators for ARMM amuonting to P560 million. All in all, the NEP would call for an allocation of P38.7 billion to the ARMM,” Drilon said, citing the current budget at only P11.8 billion.
.... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20110927hed1.html

‘Pedring’ intensifies, thousands evacuated from path of typhoon By Mario J. Mallari 09/27/2011

‘Pedring’ intensifies, thousands evacuated from path of typhoon

By Mario J. Mallari 09/27/2011

Tropical storm “Pedring” yesterday intensified into a typhoon, prompting government weather forecasters to place several areas under storm signals, particularly in Bicol Region where more than 50,000 residents have already been evacuated as part of the preemptive actions by government authorities.

“Pedring” is expected to make landfall this morning along the vulnerable eastern edge of Luzon, then dump heavy rains hundreds of kilometers inland to areas including the National Capital Region.

Rafaelito Alejandro, Office of Civil Defense-Bicol director, said as of 1 p.m. yesterday a total of 7,491 families in Albay province, composed of 51,669 people have been evacuated to safer grounds due to the threat posed by the typhoon.

He said OCD-Bicol and other allied government agencies are continuously monitoring situation in flood- and landslide-prone areas in the region..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20110927hed3.html

Stock market bleeds amid debt crisis in Europe By Danessa O. Rivera 09/27/2011

Stock market bleeds amid debt crisis in Europe

By Danessa O. Rivera 09/27/2011

The local stock market, which has been used to the familiar ground of breaking records since the start of the year, suffered a blood bath yesterday as the Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) dropped a steep 164.74 points to close at 3,721.22, the lowest level for the year and erasing its gains since January.

The sharp drop in the bourse index, however, merely mirrored a downtrend in Asia where most markets tumbled amid the worsening debt crisis in Europe.

Anxious Asian traders fear European leaders will not be able to find a solution to the region’s debt crisis.

Accord Capital Equities Corp. analyst Justino Calaycay said the PSEi failed to keep a marginal gain at the market’s opening as a regional slump dragged shares lower amid elevated risks as an acceptable solution to the Greece crisis remained elusive..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20110927hed2.html

MILF body drops Kato from ranks By Mario J. Mallari 09/27/2011

MILF body drops Kato from ranks

By Mario J. Mallari 09/27/2011

Efforts by the Council of Ulamas to bring back renegade commander Ameril Umbra Kato back to the folds of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and patch up differences with MILF Chairman Al Haj Murad has failed, prompting the MILF-Central Committee to officially drop Kato from its ranks.

MILF vice chairman for political affairs Ghadzali Jaafar said the two-week deadline given by the Ulamas to Kato to meet with Murad and return to the MILF ranks ended yesterday with negative results.

“He ignored the appeal of the ulamas for him to go back to the folds of the MILF and he stood firm and insisted on staying out of the MILF…officially, as far as the MILF is concerned, he is no longer an MILF (member),” Jaafar said.

Last Sept. 12, the Council of Ulama talked with Kato and tried to convince him to return to the MILF and patch up differences with Murad. The ulamas gave Kato two weeks to make a decision. However, the efforts proved futile..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/nation/20110927nat1.html

Solon demands disclosure of Aquino trade, economic deals with China, US, Japan 09/27/2011

Solon demands disclosure of Aquino trade, economic deals with China, US, Japan

09/27/2011
Anakpawis Rep. Rafael Mariano yesterday asked Malacañang to disclose to the public the various trade agreements and deals entered into by President Aquino during his recent visits to China, United States and from his ongoing trip to Japan.

In a statement, Mariano took note that in all of his trips, Aquino was accompanied by his economic advisers and local businessmen and that in his last three trips, the President and his official entourage have spent at least P70 million,

“The President is making rounds to top global economies to tell the world about his administration’s domestic and foreign policy thrusts, anti-corruption and good governance agenda. But in real terms, Aquino is announcing to the world that ‘the Philippines is open for business’ and enticing foreign investors to set up businesses in the country. Our local agriculture, domestic natural resources and Filipino workforce are at stake in all of the trade deals that the President entered into,” Mariano said..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/nation/20110927nat4.html

Pichay loses appeal before CA By Benjamin B. Pulta 09/27/2011

Pichay loses appeal before CA

By Benjamin B. Pulta 09/27/2011

A ruling by the Court of Appeals (CA) has turned down the appeal of embattled Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA) chairman and former Surigao del Sur Rep. Prospero Pichay who is questioning his suspension by the Ombudsman.

In a four-page ruling, the appellate tribunal’s Second Division said Pichay’s motion for reconsideration is moot and academic because then acting Ombudsman Orlando Casimiro had already dismissed Pichay. The Office of the Ombudsman placed Pichay under a six-month preventive suspension for misusing LWUA funds in acquiring a troubled thrift bank in 2008.

The CA said ruling on the Ombudsman’s preventive suspension order against Pichay is “inconsequential” and does “not serve any useful purpose,” according to the appellate court.

“It bears to note that the Office of the Ombudsman has already adjudged petitioner guilty of the administrative charges against him and ordered his dismissal from the service, which decision is immediately executory even pending appeal,” according to the CA decision written by then CA Associate Justice Estela Perlas-Bernabe, who was recently promoted to the Supreme Court..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/metro/20110927met1.html

MMDA seeks court consent to order ad agencies to remove billboards By Pat C. Santos 09/27/2011

MMDA seeks court consent to order ad agencies to remove billboards

By Pat C. Santos 09/27/2011

Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Francis Tolentino sought the consent of the court yesterday after it filed an urgent motion before Makati Regional Trial Court Branch 133 to order the advertising agencies to remove the billboards along Edsa and other national roads in the metropolis view of the possible onslaught of Typhoon “Pedring.”

On Sept. 1, Judge Elpidio Calis granted the petition of the Outdoor Advertising Association of the Philippines’ (OAAP) for a temporary restraining order (TRO) against the MMDA’s anti-billboard campaign.
The TRO ordered the MMDA to stop the enforcement of its Memorandum Circular No. 10 Series of 2011 to regulate the display of advertising billboards along major roads and open spaces. The TRO lapsed on Sept. 22.

The motion was filed in deference to the current status quo agreed upon by MMDA and OAAP during the last court hearing held on Sept. 21..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/metro/20110927met2.html

Priorities DIE HARD III Herman Tiu Laurel 09/26/2011

Priorities

DIE HARD III

Herman Tiu Laurel

09/26/2011
Upon Aquino III’s return from his visit to the US of A, numerous local mainstream newspapers emblazoned the growing critical outspokenness of even the most conservative sectors in Philippine society. The Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industries (PCCI); the Philippine Steelmakers Association (PSA); the Philippine Exporters Confederation (PhilExport); UP National Engineering Center; the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP), including the Associated Labor Union; and, ironically a group that advocated privatization of the power industry, the Foundation for Economic Freedom (FEF), spoke out on one major issue: The Philippines’ highest power cost in Asia. In a joint statement, they bewailed the fact that “there appears to be no specific and strong action program or roadmap coming from the executive department” to address the current power rate crisis.

TUCP Party-list Rep. Democrito Mendoza, not always the most assertive labor leader, worked up the courage to state: “We ask the Aquino administration to bring power rates down” — this, as the chief operating officer of PhilExport, citing figures from the Department of Energy (DoE) on RP’s power rates at 24 US cents per kilowatthour compared to Thailand and Malaysia’s eight and seven US cents per kwh, respectively, added that it is “the biggest disincentive to the entry of new foreign direct investors to our shores.”

More pointedly, the ALU’s Gerard Seno demanded that Aquino III “make the necessary bold policy interventions… including the suspension and review of all pending power rate increase petitions in the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC),” with Mendoza calling for the scrapping of the 15.8-percent “Performance-Based Rate” (PBR) formula and the restoration of the 12-percent Return on Rate Base (RoRB) price setting mechanism by the ERC, adding that high power rates eat up as much as 11 percent of workers’ income.

Power company director Jojo Borja of Iligan Light, who has been helping us in our fight against the ERC and Meralco (Manila Electric Co.) with documented evidence of the latter’s overpricing, called me to highlight these headlines with enthusiasm, while expressing frustration over the wishy-washy stance of many so-called business leaders. Raul Concepcion, for instance, whom he has sought out for help against the ERC and power companies’ abuses and provided with all the hard evidence, given the former’s leadership of the Oil Price Watch, a supposed consumer protection watchdog that often publishes comments on electricity rates, has sadly only given lip service. This is precisely why Borja stresses that consumers themselves must keep up the pressure.

Still, we should all be happy that the aforementioned groups are now speaking out more boldly, even as they are still short of taking legal and demonstrative actions such as pickets and rallies — maybe even “planking” at Meralco to force the issue further.

As vital as the power price crisis issue is, the other headline that came out of Aquino III’s US trip was his “buko” (coco water) discovery, as if it were a new and fantastic development from his tête-à-tête with Obama.

Readers of this column know that for the past two years, we have promoted the coconut industry as a definitive economic lifesaver for the country. From the development of coco water, to coconut milk as replacement for imported dairy that will save us $1 billion in imports regularly, to coconut fiber textiles against soil erosion, to soil conditioners for many desert regions such as those in China, to high tech coco-chemicals for pharmaceutical and nutraceutical purposes, as well as for fuels and explosives, our coconuts can work wonders.

We have long reported that after commercial beverage brands Gatorade and Powerade were exposed as frauds, their manufacturers PepsiCo and Coca-Cola Co. shifted to coconut water as the base for these sports drinks.

It is enough, however, for the Aquino III government to finally realize the importance and potential of the coconut industry as a game changer for the economy. It is, after all, a sector that it had nary a care for when it appointed a small-time Quezon province lawyer who is ignorant of the coconut industry to head the Philippine Coconut Authority.

Among the coconut’s many applications, which we have enumerated in previous columns, there is also a product from it that will not only help the economy but those infirmed in old age with dementia, particularly Alzheimer’s. Scientific tests reveal that “monolaurin” from virgin coconut oil (VCO) reverses this scourge of the world’s aging population.

But one does not need to be at risk for Alzheimer’s to understand that unless government wakes up to its perilous neglect of the coconut sector, the once 500-million strong coconut tree population that has been reduced to 300 million today may soon no longer provide the miracles it is touted for. From being the top coconut products producer, the Philippines has now been overtaken by Indonesia, with India fast catching up.

The government of Aquino III has been going around in circles with its Public-Private Partnership (PPP) projects (that have been delayed for another year) and its expensive Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) program, with all sorts of rationalizations from foreign case studies (such as from Mexico, now reeling in macro-economic decay and drug-induced anarchy) citing upticks in child nutrition based on doleouts that do not increase a country’s economic viability.

In the power and coconut industry sectors, Aquino III can resort to ready-made high impact projects that can turn around the economy in both the near and medium term. With drastic power rate cuts, the people’s economic hardship will be reduced in as short as a few months’ time. With a crash diversification program for the coconut industry, a bountiful harvest will be reaped in two to three years. Aquino III should therefore set these two as his government’s priorities over and above the prevailing programs that have been proven to be serious duds.

(Tune in to Sulo ng Pilipino/Radyo OpinYon, Monday to Friday, 5 to 6 p.m. on 1098AM; Talk News TV with HTL, Saturday, 8:15 to 9 p.m., with replay at 11 p.m., on GNN, Destiny Cable Channel 8 on “ERC-Meralco Conspiracies”; visit http://newkatipunero.blogspot.com for our articles plus TV and radio archives)


(Reprinted with permission from Mr. Herman Tiu-Laurel)

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110926com5.html

Red flag is up EDITORIAL 09/26/2011

Red flag is up

EDITORIAL

Click to enlarge

09/26/2011
The business and labor sectors went out united and in full force last Friday to protest the astronomical cost of electricity which the Philippines has the unenviable distinction of having the highest in the world. Pro-market Noy through his Palace pawns merely shrugged off the pleas and directed the protestors to the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC), an agency which as far back as memory can recall has not made any lasting contribution to the lowering of power rates.

Instead, the supposed regulator is currently reviewing a string of applications for further increases in electricity bills from the power sector that appears emboldened by the stance made known by Noynoy to all and sundry that his administration will not stand in the way of price setting.

Appeals for the government to intervene in the rising costs of fuel and road tolls, for instance, failed to get the sympathy of Noynoy who merely said that government not intervening in the pricing of basic commodities and services will benefit the country in the long run.

The plain truth, however, is that price increases make living for Noynoy more convenient with the 12 percent value added tax (VAT) in place. Without much effort, the VAT assures his administration of extra revenues for every price increase..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110926com1.html

Not the boss at all FRONTLINE Ninez Cacho-Olivares 09/26/2011

Not the boss at all

FRONTLINE

Ninez Cacho-Olivares

09/26/2011
Noynoy says the people are his boss, but from all indications, buttressed by his anti-people statements, never does he listen to the voice of the people or do anything for them, despite their being in miserable straits.

And it is not just the common tao that is seeking relief, but even business and labor, given the high cost of electricity, gasoline, food, rent and all the essential goods and services combined.

The Filipino people have been asking for lower prices, whether in transportation or in electricity and gasoline, and various suggestions have been put forth by the public, such as, but not limited to, suspending the 12 percent eVAT on these oil products as well as electricity. Subsidy for transportation instead has been announced by the Palace to be cut off, as Malacañang claims that the subsidy is costing the government too much, apart from that stupid justification from the Palace that it is unfair to the non-Metro Manila taxpayers to keep on subsidizing the Light Rail and Metro Rail transits’ riders.

Even business is groaning over the high cost of electricity which makes it more difficult for business to prosper, not to mention putting off other investors who may have thought of investing in the country..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110926com2.html

Population control, US and Aquino governments’ hidden agenda – Gabriela

Population control, US and Aquino governments’ hidden agenda – Gabriela

“Population control defeats the rights-based, health-based, pro-poor characteristics of the RH Bill. As we call for the removal of population control provisions in the RH bill, the retention of pro-poor provisions lifted from Gabriela’s Comprehensive RH bill is non-negotiable.” – GWP Rep. Luz Ilagan
By INA ALLECO R. SILVERIO
Bulatlat.com
MANILA — Maternal and child health care or population control?

In the escalating debate over the proposed reproductive health law, Gabriela Women’s Party Representatives Luz Ilagan and Emmi de Jesus said President Benigno Aquino III is engaging in double-talk. Aquino has previously declared his support for the RH bill, but, the Gabriela lawmakers said, instead of increasing allocations for public health services, the administration has in fact slashed it.

This has prompted some quarters to conclude that Aquino’s support for healthcare for women and mothers is fake, and his interest lies more on the RH bill as a population control measure.

“Aquino is saying one thing yet doing the opposite. How can he claim support for programs on reproductive health or even responsible parenthood when he has cut the budget for health?,” said Ilagan.

Ilagan was referring to statements made by Aquino, September 22, when he appeared at the annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (WB) in Washington DC in the United States. Aquino said he supports the RH bill because it will help educate parents about birth spacing and responsible parenthood. Aquino also said the proposal was never meant to be solely a means to promote contraceptives.

“For all of his supportive words, Aquino has done the opposite – he has immobilized the government agencies and institutions tasked to provide health services by implementing budget cuts. Responsible parents must first have access to services to raise a healthy family,” Ilagan said.

The Gabriela solon explained that in the 2012 budget, five of the 12 Metro Manila-based special hospitals, and 18 of the 54 local hospitals nationwide did not t receive an increase in their allotment for maintenance and operating expenses. The Department of Budget and Management cut the DOH’s proposed budget from P80,143,863,00 (US$ 186,381,076) to P42,771,536,000 (US$994,686.883)) The government hospitals’ presentations also showed the negligible help that patients get from PhilHealth. At the Philippine Children Medical Center, for instance, PhilHealth accounts only for 14 percent of the total bill of PCMC patients for the year 2010. Majority of the expenses were shouldered by the patients, with 27 percent of the rest of the expenses covered by promissory notes.

The budget for “Health Facilities Enhancement program” which, based on Aquino’s budget message, is geared toward the improvement of maternal health, and the well-being of infants was slashed from P7.1 billion (US$162,790,697) in 2011, to P5.1 billion (US$116,27,907) in 2012.

“President Aquino should put his money where his mouth is and demonstrate his sincerity in upholding women and children’s rights to healthcare.”

US population control scheme in the guise of health projects?
President Aquino’s alacrity in supporting the RH bill, even as he allotted a minuscule budget to health services, has already prompted questions. Some quarters have said that Aquino’s stance on the RH bill is heavily influenced by groups that promote population control because these agencies are already giving financial and logistical support for population control programs in the guise of health projects.
The allegations of several anti-RH bill senators such as Sen. Tito Sotto that the RH bill is the handiwork of political and economic forces that want to impose population control over the Philippines appears to have some truth to it.

According to reports, he US Agency for International Development (USAID) mission in the Philippines has, since 2007, been implementing the PRISM Project, or the Private Sector Mobilization for Family Health (PRISM) Project.

The USAID is the United States federal government agency primarily responsible for administering foreign aid. It was established by former US president John F. Kennedy in 1961 via an executive order to implement development assistance programs in the areas authorized by the Congress in the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961. As an independent federal agency, it receives overall foreign policy guidance from the United States Secretary of State. USAID’s stated goals include providing “economic, development and humanitarian assistance around the world in support of the foreign policy goals of the United States.” It operates in Sub-Saharan Africa; Asia and the Near East, Latin America and the Caribbean, Europe, and Eurasia.

In the Philippines, the Prism Project is already in its second phase and, according to the USAID, it “ expands private sector provision of health services on maternal and child health (MCH), and family planning (FP), through workplace initiatives, market development and private practice initiatives.” Specifically, Prism2 is also said to provide financial and logistical support to the Department of Health, Department of Labor and Employment, local government units (LGUs) and other national and local partners when it comes to the delivery of FP/MCH products and services. The project is being implemented in 78 provinces/independent cities nationwide from 2009 to 2014.

The USAID implements Prism2 also by coordinating with companies and cooperatives to increase employees or cooperative members’ access to family health information and services.

The USAID is also implementing a whole slew of projects that are aimed supposedly to improving the quality of health of Filipinos, specifically mothers and children. Through its Health Policy Development Program (HPDP), the USAID continues to involve itself in the development of what are supposed to be “appropriate policies and build a systematic policy change process” in the DOH. The focus of the USAID’s involvement is in developing contraceptive self-reliance/FP/MCH.

When it comes to health care financing, the USAID backs the DOH as it implements schemes to ensure “sustainability of essential health services, including expansion of the National Health Insurance Program (NHIP), multi-year financing of the costs of priority health programs, and ensuring equitable and efficient distribution of health resources across the country.”

In a word, the schemes comprise “privatization.”

According to the USAID website, its health policy development program runs an operations research project in Compostela Valley. There, the agency is testing “an integrated approach for preventing mother and child deaths through information and social mobilization.”

When it comes to its dealings with local government units, the USAID has its Strengthening Local Governance for Health (HealthGov) Project and the Sustainable Health Improvements through Empowerment and Local Development (SHIELD) Project. Here, the US agency involves itself in LGUs’ operations when it comes to establishing or maintaining health systems, on matters of financing, and in health service provision. The two projects are at the core of the the US agency’s health program areas — maternal and child health, family planning, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and emerging infectious diseases in areas in the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) thru the Shield Project) and non-ARMM areas (through HealthGov).
HealthGov is said to focus on maternal and child health. Through the project, the USAID develops technical assistance products such as a tool to access the health department’s MCH grants by local governments. The project also supports advocacy for increased funding support and improved programs on MCH and other health issues.

As for the Shield Project, it is the means by which the USAID involves itself in local communities in coordination with local governments. The project sends Community Health Action Teams (CHATs), which supposedly assist health service providers in caring for mothers and newborns, including early detection and referral of mothers and newborns with complications.

In the meantime, it’s not just health programs that the USAID mission to the Philippines is involved in. It also works closely with the US Department of Defense through the Joint US Military Assistance Group (JUSMAG) in pushing for peace and security programs.

“This well-established civilian-military cooperation has enhanced the effectiveness of US foreign assistance, spread the benefits of assistance more widely, and fostered goodwill towards America among the Philippine people,” the USAID described the JUSMAG in its website.

Wikileaks on RH bill

Former US ambassador to the Philippines Kristie Kenney in a cable exposed by Wikileaks has also commented on the RH bill, saying that there were ““Landmark appropriations and draft legislation reflect increasing commitment within the Philippine Government to further expand and sustain programs started forty years ago with US. Government’s assistance through USAID.

Kenney said in a cable, sent from Manila to Washington, DC in July 2008 that the US”continues to be the largest donor in the Philippine population sector supporting efforts to improve local government service delivery and increase private sector contributions to family health outcomes.”.... MORE

Source:  Bulatlat.com


URL: http://bulatlat.com/main/2011/09/26/population-control-us-and-aquino-governments%E2%80%99-hidden-agenda-%E2%80%93-gabriela/

Gabriela calls on CBCP to take action on rape of 17-year old girl by Agusan priest

Gabriela calls on CBCP to take action on rape of 17-year old girl by Agusan priest

 “We see very good signs that Leah will be able to recover from the horrors she went through; but we are certain that she can only be made truly whole again if justice is given her.” – Gabriela
By INA ALLECO R. SILVERIO
Bulatlat.com

MANILA — Supporters of the 17-year old rape victim “Leah” from Agusan del Sur sought the help of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines against the parish priest who allegedly committed the crime. With the support of the Gabriela progressive women’s organization, Leah ‘s plight was made officially known to the CBCP leadership through a letter addressed to CBCP President Rev Bishop Jose Palma.

In the missive, the women’s group related Leah’s sufferings at the hands of former Tubay parish priest Fr. Raul Cabonce. Leah has since filed cases of child abuse, act of lasciviousness and rape against the priest last August 25 at the Butuan Regional Trial Court. Leah said Cabonce repeatedly molested and evetually raped her when she was under his supposed care in St. Anne Parish in Tubay.

The said letter, signed by Gabriela secretary-general Lana Linaban, and co-signed by Mo. Mary John Mananzan, Chairperson of the Association of Major Religious Superiors of Women in the Philippines, and Carmencita Karagdag of the Ecumenical Women’s Forum. The women leaders expressed hope that the CBCP will aid in alleviating Leah’s suffering by taking action on her case and ensuring that justice will be rendered against her tormentor.

“Knowing well that your pastoral action and intervention can make a lot of difference for Leah and other victims’ journey towards justice, we appeal for your immediate action. In the name of integrity of justice, we ask you to intercede,” it read..... MORE

Source:  Bulatlat.com

URL: http://bulatlat.com/main/2011/09/26/population-control-us-and-aquino-governments%E2%80%99-hidden-agenda-%E2%80%93-gabriela/

LRay ups the ante C.R.O.S.S.R.O.A.D.S Jonathan De la Cruz 09/26/2011

LRay ups the ante

C.R.O.S.S.R.O.A.D.S

Jonathan De la Cruz

09/26/2011
Camarines Sur Gov. Luis Raymund (LRay) Villafuerte has been in the news lately battling it out with his father, Rep. Luis Sr., and three of the four other members of the province’s congressional delegation, including Deputy Speaker Noli Fuentebella, on the matter of creating a new province out of Bicol’s biggest province. The debate which CamSur folks had hoped would essentially be civil and above aboard has become so heated it has in fact deteriorated into a highly personal “war,” if we may call it such, between LRay and the other leaders. Lately, the youthful governor has upped the ante by filing a plunder case against the Fuentebella family, which is very, very sad and unfortunate indeed. Not only because LRay and the other leaders have been allies for years but because it detracts from a sober and proper discussion of the merits of the proposed measure creating the province of Nueva Camarines..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110926com4.html

Senate to Palace: Explain junking of resolution vs fare hikes By Angie M. Rosales 09/26/2011

Senate to Palace: Explain junking of resolution vs fare hikes

By Angie M. Rosales 09/26/2011

The Palace should explain President Aquino’s decision to ignore a resolution in the Senate urging him to exercise his prerogative to suspend the implementation of impending price increases in the transport sector, opposition Sen. Joker Arroyo said yesterday.

“You cannot (just) disregard (the position taken by) 13 senators. That is the majority of the Senate. They cannot just treat it like that, for Malacanang to dismiss outright our resolution,” Sen. Joker Arroyo said.

“What’s the merit of the resolution of the Senate? The resolution is a polite way of telling the Executive that they should reconsider this (plan). What’s wrong with that kind of resolution? Malacañang should explain where we erred,” the senator said.

Arroyo was referring to Senate resolution 602, initiated by him along with Senators Manuel Villar Jr. and a known strong Aquino ally, Sen. Ralph Recto, and ably supported by nine other colleagues that included the three key leaders of the upper chamber, Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada and Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20110926hed2.html