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Proposed executive order on mining deceptive – KMP

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Proposed executive order on mining deceptive – KMP
 
By INA ALLECO R. SILVERIO
Bulatlat.com

The militant peasant group Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) today assailed Malacañang’s draft executive order on the mining industry saying “the draft EO is deceptive.”

“The anti-people and anti-environment Mining Act of 1995 remains as the political backbone of Malacañang’s draft EO on the mining industry. This proposed EO is packed with trickery and deception,” said KMP spokesperson Antonio Flores.

Malacañang recently announced that it is intent on coming out with an executive order that will tighten regulations on mining, cut tax breaks for mining firms, and review resource contracts. The planned EO for mining , Malacañang said, aims to raise state revenues from the mining industry while limiting the negative impact of mining operations on the environment.

Review mining contracts for increased valuation

According to a report on Bloomberg News, President Benigno Aquino III is going to release an EO that will introduce competitive bidding for mining rights. The proposed EO was also said to include a wider ban on mining in some areas of the country, as well as a provision on increased economic valuations on projects before they are approved.

The eight-page document directly came from Malacañang and sent to various agencies for feedback. Bloomberg News managed to obtain a copy. The existence of the draft has already been confirmed by Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima.

Aquino’s proposals call for a review of all existing mining contracts to ensure that these are in line with the new policies, “provided however that the review shall not result in the impairment of contracts,” according to the document, which was accompanied by a letter from the Office of the President of the Philippines signed by Aquino’s executive secretary, Paquito Ochoa.

The letter, entitled Memorandum from the Executive Secretary, was addressed to Finance Secretary Purisima, Trade and Industry Secretary Gregory Domingo, as well as the head of the National Economic Development Authority and the secretaries of science and technology and agriculture.

In a previous interview with the media, Purisma said, the government’s shares in mining should be increased. This was, according to mining industry reports, connected to the move of 11 other countries to increase taxes or royalties on sales of resources such as gold and coal.

Among the mining firms with massive investments in the country are Xstrata Plc which has a stalled $5.9 billion project; and OceanaGold Corp., the Australian gold producer with mines in New Zealand and the Philippines. Oceana is operating a project reportedly worth $185 million in Didipio mine in Northern Luzon.
According to the draft EO, the move toward competitive public bidding for mining rights will depart from the current first come-first serve procedure. The Aquino administration wants to increase revenues from mining by revoking an income tax holiday for miners and reviewing mining fees, taxes and incentives.

There is also the plans to downstream mineral processing and ban direct shipping of raw or unprocessed strategic metallic ores three years after the proposed EO order takes effect.

In the meantime, the EO also states that some areas will not be allowed for mining such as prime agricultural lands and eco-tourism zones.

A move to legitimize large-scale mining

The KMP is not impressed by the proposed order, saying that its was designed to weaken local ordinances against large-scale mining.

KMP’s Flores said the creation of a so-called Mining Industry Development and Sustainability (MIDAS) Council was “another layer of bureaucracy to strengthen and legitimize large-scale and destructive mining.”.... MORE

SourceBulatlat.com

URL: http://bulatlat.com/main/2012/02/16/proposed-executive-order-on-mining-deceptive-kmp/

Bank Whodunit rubbish FRONTLINE Ninez Cacho-Olivares 02/22/2012

Bank Whodunit rubbish

FRONTLINE
Ninez Cacho-Olivares
02/22/2012
Two things regarding the fake as against the genuine bank documents catch attention, one of which is the marking of “PEP” or “politically exposed persons” on the prosecution’s copy of the alleged dollar deposits of Chief Justice Renato Corona, which is not found on the Phillippine Savings Bank (PSBank)’s original, as testified by the bank president, Pascual Garcia III, when the original and the prosecution’s copy were compared.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas admitted it had conducted a “random” and “regular” examination of the PSBank Katipunan branch sometime in November -December 2010, not the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) although the BSP officers had a BSP anti-money fraud specialist, Jerry Leal, also conducting an investigation, on account of the CJ’s raffle prize of P1 million, which means that the CJ’s account was being targeted. But the BSP claimed that no copies of the CJ’s bank records were done and that what was questioned in the records of the CJ was that of the absence of the notation “PEP” which the BSP said is a must.

Strange then that the prosecution’s copy submitted to the Senate had the marking of “PEP” which was not found in the original document. Intercalation perhaps done on the photocopy? And by either the branch or the AMLC?.... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20120222com2.html

Made in Jordan: Thousands of gunmen preparing to enter Syria?

Made in Jordan: Thousands of gunmen preparing to enter Syria?


Over 10,000 Libyans are reportedly being trained in a closed-off zone in Jordan, before being snuck into Syria to fight for the opposition. These men are allegedly paid around US$1,000 a month, funded by Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

­Jordan-based AlBawaba news website says most of the gunmen who are being trained are actually part of the Libyan armed opposition, who have not had the chance to lay down arms following the toppling of Muammar Gaddafi’s regime.

The allegations of funding from Riyadh and Doha were not attributed to anyone, but AlBawaba did draw attention to the fact that both Saudi Arabia and Qatar actively support the Syrian opposition..... MORE
SourceRT.com

URL: http://rt.com/news/jordan-syria-intelligence-training-859/

IAEA again fails to reach nuclear agreement with Iran

IAEA again fails to reach nuclear agreement with Iran


After two days of talks on Iran’s nuclear program, UN nuclear experts have left Tehran without reaching a deal, adding to growing tensions after an Iranian general warned of a pre-emptive strike against any nation that threatens Iran.

The International Atomic Energy Agency also said that Iran had barred its inspectors from visiting a key military site in Parchin, which it suspects could have been the site of high-explosives tests related to nuclear weapons. IAEA chief Yukiya Amano expressed his disappointment at the development. "We engaged in a constructive spirit, but no agreement was reached," he said. The high-level team of inspectors left Tehran late on Tuesday.

"Intensive efforts were made to reach agreement on a document facilitating the clarification of unresolved issues in connection with Iran's nuclear program, particularly those relating to possible military dimensions," a statement from the UN nuclear watchdog issued early on Wednesday read. “Unfortunately, agreement was not reached on this document.".... MORE

SourceRT.com

URL: http://rt.com/news/iaea-iran-nuclear-deal-905/

Weak-a-link: From Assange to its suspected informer

Weak-a-link: From Assange to its suspected informer


After being held in custody for an unprecedentedly long period of 19 months, Bradley Manning now faces trial. Accusations include aiding the enemy and giving out US military secrets to Wikileaks.

The Nobel Peace Prize nominee is finally on trial after 19 months of being held in custody. Accused of providing Wikileaks with US military secrets, he may be charged with 22 violations of military code, none of which however seem to have affected the country’s national security. From the theft of records to aiding the enemy, Bradley Manning could be sentenced to life imprisonment. What’s 19 months in custody in comparison to that, right?

After all, the 24-year-old junior soldier downloaded about 700,000 classified reports on US military affairs worldwide. At the time, however, no one was keeping count or found it suspicious. The access was free..... MORE

SourceRT.com

URL: http://rt.com/news/assange-wikileaks-manning-trial-887/

Anonymous accuses NSA of fear-mongering

Anonymous accuses NSA of fear-mongering


The loose-knit online collective Anonymous is going after another US government entity, but not with the hacks, attacks and other assaults on par with their usual Internet infiltrations.

Instead, Anonymous is saying that the National Security Agency (NSA) is guilty of propagating fear among America.

A popular Twitter account associated with the hacktivist group Anonymous is saying that the NSA is engaged in fear-mongering after a recent Wall Street Journal report alleged that government officials feel that the computer group could eventually disrupt power grids across the globe. According to sources close to the NSA, the Journal filed a report that reveals comments allegedly made by the agency’s director, Gen. Keith Alexander, during engagements at the White House and elsewhere..... MORE

SourceRT.com

URL: http://rt.com/usa/news/anonymous-nsa-fear-mongering-government-871/

The Bulatao report CROSSROADS Jonathan De la Cruz 02/22/2012

The Bulatao report

CROSSROADS
Jonathan De la Cruz
02/22/2012
Dive documents are supposed to be the complete psychiatric evaluation conducted on patient, Benigno Aquino III born on Feb. 8, 1960 with MRN 084 which we downloaded from the blog “goodmorningclass.wordpress.com.” We are excerpting significant entries in this evaluation report now commonly known as “The Bulatao Report” which was taken more than 30 years ago on Aug. 9, 1979 by Fr. Jaime Bulatao, S.J., who was then connected with the Ateneo de Manila University Central Guidance Department for the benefit of our readers and students of psychology and public policy.

Here goes:

Document 1:
Chief Complaint/Reason for Consult: Depression and Deep Melancholia; History of Present Illness: The patient is a 19 year old male who claims he is suffering from episodes of depression and melancholia each episode being 2 to 3 weeks in duration. His attacks always occur after his visits to his father who is now incarcerated in a military camp for political crimes; Past Surgical History: Patient denies any surgical history; admits to a fear he is being watched and followed;

Document 2 (Impression)

Physical: casual in manner and attire

Muscoloskeletal: low, slightly flaccid muscle tone which makes him older than his age Psychiatric
Speech — pompous, crisp with a vigor of articulation, emphatic accents, and frequent changes of pitch..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20120222com4.html

Bribe to enemies is ‘cost-cutting’ perk to Noynoy’s Pagcor allies By Fernan J. Angeles 02/22/2012

Bribe to enemies is ‘cost-cutting’ perk to Noynoy’s Pagcor allies

By Fernan J. Angeles 02/22/2012

While insinuating that the act of accepting discounts from different establishments by Chief Justice Renato Corona is improper and constitutes offenses of culpable violation of the anti-graft and corrupt practices act that warrants removal from office, Malacañang sets a different ethical standard in cases involving President Aquino’s political allies.

At the regular press briefing, presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said the President doesn’t see anything wrong in Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) chief Cristino Naguiat’s admission that a current bribery controversy involving one of the foreign partners of the gambling agency in the Entertainment City project along Manila Bay may have filtered down to his watch, defending the accommodations granted the Palace allies in the gaming firm as a cost-cutting benefit.

Malacañang, which has been developing a habit of defending political appointees dragged in controversies in essence doesn’t appear keen on slapping sanction on the government s gambling agency chief..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20120222hed3.html

House panel’s case vs Corona crumbles By Angie M. Rosales and Benjamin B. Pulta 02/22/2012

PROSECUTION WAILS: DUE PROCESS SHORTCUTS AS TECHNICALITES

House panel’s case vs Corona crumbles

By Angie M. Rosales and Benjamin B. Pulta 02/22/2012

Crumbling before the very eyes of the prosecutors and their private lawyers was their Article 3 case against Chief Justice Renato Corona on the 21st day of the impeachment trial, leaving the prosecution panel to wail that the due process shortcuts are mere technicalities, which drew the ire of the presiding judge.

The House prosecution panel’s alleged impeachable offenses committed by the Supreme Court Chief Justice have started to crumble with the the admissibility of evidence in its supposed strongest case now under fire and with its witness to back up Article 3 being denied by the presiding officer for being “irrelevant.”

Worse, the prosecution’s alleged evidence on Article 3 grounded on Corona’s alleged culpable violation of
the Constitution and betrayal of public trust was called “trash” by Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, the presiding judge of the Senate court as the information being offered pertained to the chief magistrate’s purported commmission of a bribery, which is not even mentioned in the so-called charge sheet..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20120222hed1.html

Special Cafgu ‘abducts’ 12 Mindanao journalists By Fernan J. Angeles and Mario J. Mallari 02/22/2012

Special Cafgu ‘abducts’ 12 Mindanao journalists

By Fernan J. Angeles and Mario J. Mallari 02/22/2012

Twelve journalists were not forcibly dragged into a dimly-lit secluded safehouse neither were they blind-folded or hogtied as a typical abduction would normally be but they were rendered stranded in a remote village where they had to stay overnight and miss the deadline for news that they covered in Bayog town, Zamboanga del Sur.

The journalists, who claimed to have been held in isolation in an area where they have nowhere else to go, are facing probe over what the government claimed as a case of faking their abduction and blaming it to the region-based militia men detailed to a province-based Canadian mining firm.

In an advisory sent by Malacañang’s Presidential Communications Operations Office to the Tribune, the government shrugged off the abduction report as claimed by the Zamboanga-based journalists who were reported to have been forcibly held by the TVI Resources Development Inc.’s paramilitary unit in Sitio Balabag in Barangay Depore of Bayog town, Zamboanga de Sur on Sunday..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/nation/20120222nat1.html

Graft investigators pursue perjury charges vs Rabusa By Benjamin B. Pulta 02/22/2012

Graft investigators pursue perjury charges vs Rabusa

By Benjamin B. Pulta 02/22/2012

Graft investigators are pursuing with renewed vigor the criminal charges for perjury initiated seven years ago by the Office of the Deputy Ombudsman against retired Col. George Rabusa before the Quezon City court.

The case was originally filed by the Military and Other Law Enforcement Offices before Quezon City MTC Branch 38 Judge Nadine Jessica Corazon Fama and had been languishing before newly appointed Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales took over the graft buster’s office.

In Criminal Cases 129841, 129842 and 129843, Rabusa was charged with making untruthful statements under oath in his Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Networth (SALn) for the years 2002 and 2003..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/metro/20120222met1.html

Binays award land titles to 523 families 02/22/2012

Binays award land titles to 523 families

02/22/2012
Vice President and Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) Chairman Jejomar Binay, together with Makati Mayor Jejomar Erwin Binay, will lead the distribution of free patents or titles to qualified residential land owners of the city today, Feb. 22, 8 a.m. at the University of Makati Main Theater.

Dubbed the “Handog Titulo” Program, it is a joint project of the city government of Makati, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the Office of the Vice President.

Mayor Binay said a total of 523 land titles, which cover an aggregate area of 53,630.22 square meters in eight barangays in the city’s two districts, will be given to the beneficiaries of the free patents distribution..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/metro/20120222met5.html

Malacanang junks Pistons appeal for tax exemption from VAT on oil products By Fernan J. Angeles 02/22/2012

Malacanang junks Pistons appeal for tax exemption from VAT on oil products

By Fernan J. Angeles 02/22/2012

In what appears to be a manifestation that he isnt a wimp leader as he was recently referred to, a tough and confrontational President Aquino literally yesterday shut the doors on calls for the government to seriously consider exempting the public transport system from the value-added tax (VAT) on oil and petroleum products.

Reacting to a query posed by Palace reporters to presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda, Malacaang turned down an appeal from a national public transport organization, which sought an exemption from the VAT on oil and other petroleum products.

Pinag-isang Samahan ng mga Tsuper at Opereytor Nationwide (Piston) president George San Mateo earlier had cited the need for President Aquino to immediately effect an Executive Order that would exempt the public transport sector from being covered by VAT, amid what has been a series of increases in the pump prices of oil and petroleum products resulting from the unpredictability of the global forces engaged in the production and sale of oil in the Middle East Asia..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/metro/20120222met3.html

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