PHL delegates backing out from WYD

MANILA, July 12, 2011―Just twenty-eight days before departure, quite a number of Philippine delegates to the World Youth Day are backing out from joining the event in Madrid, Spain, mostly for financial reasons.

An undisclosed number of delegates who are part of the official Episcopal Commission on Youth delegation of 436 pilgrims are canceling their trips due to monetary concerns.

ECY Executive Secretary, Fr. Conegundo Garganta said even those who have been given visa have decided not to proceed to the WYD because they cannot afford the airfare.

Each delegate will have to shell out an estimated USD 1,800 or Php 78,000 for a two-way trip to Madrid, Spain, aside from the WYD registration fee and other related expenses.

Fr. Garganta, however declined to give the exact number of delegates backing out.

He said some delegates have been phoning the ECY office informing them of their intention to back out but have not officially cancelled their participation.

Exchange students back out from WYD

Despite seemingly disheartening news, there are WYD pilgrims not joining the event for “better reasons.”

According to Milarie Babia, sub-group leader of Institucion Teresiana (IT) youth, there are 12 delegates from their sub-group who chose not to participate in the WYD because they will be sent as exchange students to Barcelona, Spain late this year.

“...They will be sent as exchange students for the ‘alternative learning program’ of their school, St. Pedro Poveda College,” she explained.

The alternative learning program is an annual exchange program of St. Pedro Poveda College where students are sent to schools outside the country to learn the country's culture and to exchange learnings with students there.

Fewer delegates this year

The number of delegates for this year’s WYD is just a little more than half the 800 delegates the ECY was able to send to the last WYD in Sydney, Australia in 2008.

Money is a major concern for most delegates, according to Maria Victoria Tacderas, senior staff of the ECY-NSYA.

“There are some [who] reach[ed] the last phase of the application and still back out because they can’t reach the minimum monetary requirement to sustain their trip,” she explained.

Tacderas also said that the distance of Spain from the Philippines also determines the monetary requirement that each delegate should meet. (Jandel Posion)

SUV scandal is Church ‘biggest wound’

MANILA, July 12, 2011—The Aquino administration has made a history in the Roman Catholic Church.

A senior prelate said the fund mess at state-owned lottery maybe the “biggest wound” inflicted by the government to the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP).

In his 45-year experience as a member of the bishops’ collegial body, retired Archbishop Oscar Cruz said the recent issue has dipped the image and credibility of the Church.

“There’s no other bigger than that. It caught the national attention for over two weeks already. And there’s even a hearing tomorrow. Therefore, this is not yet over,” Cruz said.

In fact, he said, in the history of the Catholic Church in the Philippines, this would be the first time that bishops will be investigated at the Senate.

“My time, I was a resource person in the crusade against jueteng (an illegal numbers game),” said Cruz.

In the past, he noted, the controversies that hounded the CBCP only involved individual bishops that were accused of having children as well as sexual harassment cases.

The CBCP yesterday apologized to the public after some of its members were accused of receiving sports utility vehicles (SUVs) from the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) during the Arroyo administration.

Cruz, however, warned that the issue could turn into a nightmare and might end up to the discovery of more irregularities even at the current PCSO administration.

“I don’t think this will be the end of it. My only fear is that this could boomerang,” said Cruz but did not elaborate.

At least seven prelates have been implicated in the PCSO fund mess being probed by the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee.

Church leaders that were named as among the recipients of SUVs from the PCSO were Pueblos (Montero Sport), Bontoc-Lagawe Bishop Rodolfo Beltran (Nissan Pathfinder); Abra Bishop Leopoldo Jaucian (Mitsubishi Strada); Cotabato Archbishop Orlando Quevedo (Toyota Grandia Hi-Ace); Basilan Bishop Martin Jumoad (Mitsubishi Strada); Zamboanga Archbishop Romulo Valles (Toyota Grandia Hi-Ace); and Nueva Segovia Archbishop Ernesto Salgado (Isuzu Crosswind).

The said bishops will appear at the Senate probe on Wednesday except Salgado, who is reportedly out of the country.

They also have expressed their readiness to give back to PCSO the vehicles. (CBCPNews)

Farmers question P-Noy’s directive to appeal SC decision on Luisita

MANILA, July 12, 2011—Luisita farmers questioned the sincerity of President Aquino’s instruction to the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) to appeal the Supreme Court’s decision over the disputed 6,453 hectare sugar estate of the Cojuangcos in Tarlac.

"It’s a Trojan horse! A mere press release,” said Unyon ng mga Manggagawa sa Agrikultura (UMA) secretary-general Rodel Mesa, on President Benigno C. Aquino III directive to appeal the SC decision to conduct a referendum in order to arrive at a decision of what to do in the disputed hacienda.

UMA, together with other farmers’ and farm-workers’ groups, the Alyansa ng mga Manggagawa sa Asyenda Luisita (AMBALA) and the United Luisita Workers’ Union (ULWU) had staged a walkout during the dialogue with DAR officials July 11, saying they sensed a dose of insincerity with the filing of the motion for reconsideration (MR) against the controversial decision by the High Tribunal last July 5th.

“It contains nothing concrete. It is just a press release and what President Benigno Simeon Aquino III really wants is a victory courtesy of a referendum accompanied by guns, goons and gold,” Mesa said in a statement.

The farm-workers’ leader said it is “unsafe” to rely with an MR penned by Malacañang for it is only a ‘cover-up’.

“The MR only means one thing: it is to convince the public that Mr. Aquino has nothing to do with the latest decision of the Supreme Court and the hard line stance of his family on [the issue of] Luisita,” Mesa explained.

Mesa said that the farm-workers and their supporters would continue their struggle for the equal and free distribution of the disputed hacienda.

Meanwhile, the Alyansa ng mga Magbubukid sa Gitnang Luson (AMGL) assails Jose “Peping” Cojuangco Jr.’s statement that it was the Leftists and “outsiders” who made the situation worse.

"Actually, the Cojuangco-Aquinos are the real outsiders of Hacienda Luisita as they have never stepped on the mud, dropped sweat and labored on the land. Felix Nacpil, the late Federico Laza, Boy Dizon, the Laderas, the ancestors of Rene Galang, Lito Bais, Rodel Mesa and many others are the original developers of the land. The Cojuangco-Aquinos are also the ones who deploy forces of the military such as the army’s 70th Infantry Battalion to terrorize the farm-workers. They are the troublemakers, menace against the farm-workers who developed the hacienda,” said AMGL president Jose Canlas in an email sent to this reporter.

Canlas stressed that it is their “right and duty to support the farmers of Hacienda Luisita, as their struggle for genuine land reform is also ours.”

“They [AMBALA members] are our members and we have the responsibility to reinforce their struggle [for the equal distribution of Luisita lands],” he said.

Canlas also reiterated that the 6,000-hectare disputed lands are acquired using public funds, under an agreement that it has to be distributed after 10 years, thereby making the farm-workers the legitimate owners of the controversial hacienda.

“It is very clear that the Cojuangcos used public funds to acquire Hacienda Luisita in 1957 with the condition that it would be distributed to the farm-workers in 10 years. But they are now claiming the lands their own, clinging on control and repressing farmers’ struggle for genuine land reform. Peping Cojuangco sounded like a cold-blooded landlord, blaming others for the mess; he could not hide his backward mentality and opposition of land reform. The Cojuangcos are always in amnesia about how they acquired the land,” Canlas explained.

“And if you’re going further back, in history, the hacienda is used to be owned by the Spanish agro-corporation Tabacaleras [and] should have been distributed to the farmworkers as they were compelled by the presence of the Hukbalahap in the 1950s. Then president Ramon Magsaysay facilitated the transfer of control to the Cojuangcos, represented by president Aquino’s grandfather Jose “Don Pepe” Cojuangco,” he added. (Noel Sales Barcelona)

Retired Ilagan prelate dies

MANILA, July 12, 2011―One of the outspoken bishops who denounced the Marcos dictatorship at the height of Martial Law has passed away.

Ilagan Bishop Emeritus Miguel Gatan Purugganan died on Thursday, July 7, 2011 at the age of 80.

The National Democratic Front of the Philippines paid tribute to the late prelate for his contributions during the height of Martial Law in the country.

"Bishop Purugganan stood up bravely as one of the magnificent seven Catholic bishops who denounced martial law and the Marcos dictatorship from the very start," the NDFP statement posted on their website said.

The bishop, added the NDFP, "courageously set up the nationwide Basic Christian Communities - Community Organizing, which organized and mobilized the oppressed and exploited masses to stand up for their rights and collectively advance their interests and fight for the fundamental national and democratic aspirations of the people."

Purugganan became the second bishop of Ilagan when Bishop Francisco Raval Cruces was appointed Archbishop of Zamboanga. He served the diocese from 1974 to 1999.

He sat as chairman of the Episcopal Commission on Lay Apostolate of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines and was a member of the CBCP Permanent Council.

He was also a member of the Episcopal Commission on Social Action, Episcopal Commission on Canon Law, national president of the Basic Christian Communities and consultant of the Episcopal Commission on Seminaries.

Purugganan was born on November 19, 1931 in Cabagan, Isabela and was ordained to the priesthood at age 25 on March 3, 1957.

He was vice chancellor and prefect of discipline of San Jose Seminary and was secretary to Bishop Teodulfo Domingo during the Second Vatican Council in Rome.

As a priest, Purugganan was assigned as Assistant Pastor of St. Paul the Apostle parish, rector of San Jacinto Seminary and later on became vicar general of then Diocese of Tuguegarao.

He was chairman of the Our Lady of the Pillar College in Cayauan, St. Ferdinand College and Isabela Diocesan Schools System.

The prelate’s remains lie in state at the St. Ferdinand Cathedral in Upi, Gamu, Isabela. The interment will take place on Friday, July 15, 2011 at 9:00 am. (Melo M. Acuna)

1 NPA killed in Aurora says top army official

DIPACULAO, Aurora, July 12, 2011-One member of the New People’s Army (NPA) was killed in the recent encounter with the government troops here Sunday morning, the 48^th Infantry Battalion, Philippine Army said.

48^th IB army Chief Ltc Kurt Decapia A Decapia reported that unidentified man was killed at the vicinity of Barangay Diarabasin after the army troops of 48^th Infantry Battalion (IB) and Bravo CAA Coy of the 70^th IB led by Captain Jerson B Igloria in the recent clashed to more or less fourteen (14) New People’s Army (NPA) with two Amazons who are members of Sentro De Grabidad Nueva Ecija-Aurora under Benjamine Peralta,  Alias Ka Onil/Otoy.

“It’s around 7 in the morning (July 10, 2011), the army platoon composed of 48^th IB and Bravo CAA Coy, 70IB Philippine Army led by Captain Jerson B Igloria (INF) PA were conducting Bayanihan Patrol in the encountered site when our soldiers were fired by the rebels then the government retaliated fired against them,” Decapia said, explaining that the firefight resulted to the death of one (1) rebel and undetermined wounded casualties on the NPA as shown in the several thick blood stained found along their route of withdrawal in northeast direction while no reported casualty in the government side.

After of 30 minutes of the firefight the NPA rebels reportedly withdrew in the northeast direction and left the body of their comrade.

“The Army recovered one (1) body count of the NPA, one (1) M653 rifle bearing serial number RP 150497, 1 claymore mines with detonating device, 2 blasting cops, 1 DVD player and four handbooks,” Decapia said while the police under Aurora Provincial Director Police Senior Superintendent Jojo Gumban established twelve checkpoints along the possible exit of the rebels.

The army and the police call to the people of Aurora for the possible identity of the rebel who brought to Portera Funeral Homes in this town wearing white T-shirt and long gray pants. The unidentified male suffered gunshot wounds in the chest, right arms, right foot and the right side of the body.

Earlier, the NPA rebels were reported conducting extortion activities in the area that prompted the army to conduct operation in a statement by Decapia.

As of this writing, the army and the police are still conducting hot pursuit operation versus the armed rebels. Clearing operation in the area of encountered site was still going on. (Jason de Asis)

Pangilinan meets NDFP jalandoni and JOMA Sison

SENATE OFFICE, Manila, June 12, 2011-Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan meets the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) Negotiating Panel Chairperson Luis Jalandoni and NDFP Chief Political Consultant Professor Jose Maria Sison at their headquarters in Utrecht, the Netherlands last July 7, 2011 in the hope that the kinks that have led to the postponement of the talks could be ironed out and that the peace talks could proceed after hitting a snag on the JASIG issue.

“Nagkaroon ng aberya. We took the initiative to go there after conferring with our government representatives,” said Pangilinan.

Pangilinan presented his proposals for solving socio-economic and political problems to Luis Jalandoni and to Jose Maria Sison where the former said in a statement that they will seriously study Pangilinan’s proposal.

“Jalandoni agreed that there is an urgent need for peace negotiations to move forward as the Philippines faces mounting problems and the Filipino people are crying out louder now for genuine reforms to be instituted under the leadership of PNoy,” Pangilinan said, explaining that no progressive nation became prosperous while facing armed conflict.

“The peace initiatives during the Ramos presidency created a window of opportunity for development in Mindanao. We would not have developed cities such as General Santos, Cagayan De Oro, and Davao City if it weren’t for this ceasefire agreement,” Pangilinan said, manifesting that his relationship with the NDF has been decades long.

“I was a student activist during the Marcos dictatorship and thus I fully understand the causes they are fighting for,” Pangilinan said.

The Communist Party of the Philippines-NDF-NPA insurgency is considered as one of the longest running insurgencies in existence started in 1969.

“Personally I want my children to see peace in our country happen in our lifetime. It took the Irish Republican Army (IRA) 90 years from the time of its creation to agree to peaceful means of resolving the armed conflict in Northern Ireland. We should be able to follow their lead and forge our own historic date of peace and unity sometime in the near future,” Pangilinan said in his statement.

  

“Since the restoration of democracy in 1986, the government has been talking peace with the NDF. That’s 25 years of on and off peace negotiations. Surely we can do better than this? If this is all we can offer, then it’s a shame. Our efforts thus and the results we have achieved are unacceptable. We deserve more. We deserve better, and the Aquino government has the unique and golden opportunity to finally make things right and forge a comprehensive peace settlement with the CPP-NPA-NDF.” (Jason de Asis)

P-Noy requested to declare Cabanatuan a highly urbanized city

The Cabanatuan City hall

CABANATUAN CITY, Nueva Ecija, July 12, 2010-The Sangguniang Panlunsod (SP) has passed a resolution requesting President Aquino III to issue a proclamation declaring this city as a highly urbanized city (HUC), opening up a head-on collision with the camp of Nueva Ecija Gov. Aurelio Umali who is strongly opposing the move.

During its regular Monday session, the SP chaired by Vice Mayor Jolly Garcia, passed the resolution stating that the city has met all the necessary requirements for conversion, including income, to be forwarded to the Chief Executive.

Eleven of the city councilors are mostly allies of Cabanatuan City Mayor Julius Cesar Vergara who signed the resolution except Councilor Jess Diaz who was absent.

Councilor Ariel Severino said that the copies of the resolution will formally come out today (Tuesday). After the issuance of a presidential proclamation, a plebiscite will be held among Cabanatuenos to ratify the proclamation.  

The council also passed a resolution requesting Umali’s wife, third district Rep. Czarina Umali to sponsor a bill in the House of Representatives declaring Cabanatuan as a lone congressional district.

The passage of the twin resolutions came nine months after Umali and Vergara parted ways over the HUC issue which the former vehemently opposed. Umali said Cabanatuan is not yet ready and ill-prepared to become HUC, adding its conversion would cripple the delivery of basic services to Cabanatuenos.

Vergara has argued that the HUC conversion of Cabanatuan is long overdue, saying its full development could not take off while under the provincial government.

It is the second attempt to convert the city into HUC. In 1995, Vergara’s predecessor, then-mayor Manolette Liwag pushed for HUC conversion which was subsequently proclaimed by then-President Fidel Ramos.

However, the move lost badly during the plebiscite, largely due to the opposition made by the Josons. 

If it becomes HUC, Cabanatuan would be politically independent from the provincial government and voters from Cabanatuan will no longer vote for governor, a move seen as detrimental to Umali who counts on this city as one of his bailiwicks.

Also, all taxes collected in the city would no longer be remitted to the province and all resolutions and ordinances passed by the city council would no longer be reviewed by the Sangguniang Panlalawigan.          

Umali said a HUC status would remove the powers of the provincial government and the SP to check possible abuses of city officials. He said city officials may abuse their powers and this could trigger corruption in “high places.”

“If you are a HUC and you are the mayor who also happens to own a utility, then that's a frightening scenario,” Umali said, apparently referring to Vergara whose family owns the Cabanatuan Electric Corp. (Celcor).

He said since the provincial government and SP no longer wield control over the city government and city officials, there will no longer be a higher authority to check on possible abuses and legislate ordinances that would bear down on these abuses.

“If, for example, there is an increase in the power rates of Celcor, who is there to check on the  abuse if there is any of the Celcor?,” he said.

Umali said it would be erroneous on the part of the Vergara camp to say that those objecting to HUC are playing politics, which, the mayor, said, has been dominating the province over the past 60 years.

“My I ask the mayor's camp, who was engaged in petty politics for the past 60 years? I was the one who stood up against such kind of politics. And when I rose up against that kind of politics, it was only then when he took the cue and followed my lead,” he said, adding that ever since he fought partisan politics, he pushed hard for political reforms which are now clearly seen and felt in the province.

“Converting Cabanatuan into a HUC and making it a separate political subdivision from Nueva Ecija is delivering the wrong message to the people, tantamount to saying Cabanatuenos are no longer Novo Ecijanos which is exactly not the case in point,” the governor said.

He said that when Cabanatuan becomes HUC, we are creating the wrong impression that the city is an independent republic. “Are we now saying the people of Cabanatuan are no longer the people of Nueva Ecija? What happens to me who is from Cabanatuan? Will I be deprived of my identity?” he asked. (Jason de Asis)

A time of pain, a time of grace

A Pastoral Statement of  Bishop  Odchimar,  D.D.

Our Dear People of God,

Our Mother Church has been deeply wounded by the controversies in the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office that have erupted in the past two weeks. Some members of the Church believe in the innocence of the bishops involved in the issue, while others do not. There is no doubt that everywhere in the Church there is great sorrow. We your pastors are one with you. As shepherds struggling to love you like Jesus the Good Shepherd, we are sorry for the pain and sadness that these events have brought upon you.

We are saddened that many of you, especially the youth, the poor, our Basic Ecclesial Communities, have been confused because of the apparent inconsistency of our actions with our pastoral preaching.

As we express our sadness, we also ask you to be slow in judgment and to conscientiously seek the whole truth behind the controversy. Let us seek the truth always in charity.

We assure you that the bishops concerned are ready to accept responsibility for their action and to face the consequences if it would be proven unlawful, anomalous, and unconstitutional. We assure you that their action was done without malice. Out of their sincere desire to help their people, they failed to consider the pitfalls to which these grants could possibly lead them. They have also expressed their readiness to do everything that is necessary to heal this wound so that we can all move forward in hope.

We also assure you, our beloved people, that we shall re-examine the manner of our collaboration with government agencies for purposes of helping the poor, making sure that pastoral sensibilities are respected and the highest ethical standards are observed. We shall examine our values in the light of our vocation to be disciples of Jesus Christ. We commit ourselves to the long journey of personal and social transformation required of all disciples of the Lord. We plead with you to walk with us in this path of constant renewal.

We express again our deep sorrow for the pain that the recent events have brought to you our beloved people. The good Lord knows our love for you. The words of the psalmist come to our mind: “My sacrifice, a contrite spirit. A humbled, contrite heart you will not spurn” (Ps.51). As the same Psalmist addresses the Lord, we take his words as our own to encourage and challenge us: “Indeed you love truth in the heart; then in the secret of my heart teach me wisdom.”

For the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines,

+NEREO P. ODCHIMAR, D.D.
Bishop of Tandag
President, Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines
July 11, 2011

CBCP apologizes over PCSO fund mess

MANILA, July 11, 2011—The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) apologized Monday as the Church is stung over allegations that some prelates received vehicles from a state-run lottery agency.

In a pastoral statement, the CBCP said the bishops involved in the controversy are willing to be investigated and accept responsibility for their action.

“… We are sorry for the pain and sadness that these events have brought upon you,” read part of the statement read by outgoing CBCP President Nereo Odchimar in a press conference.

“We assure you that the bishops concerned are ready to accept responsibility for their action and to face the consequences if it would be proven unlawful, anomalous, and unconstitutional,” it said.

The Catholic hierarchy has been reeling under heat after the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) accused at least seven prelates of accepting vehicles from the agency.

The PCSO alleged that the vehicles were used by the past administration for political patronage at the time when calls for resignation had been hounding former President Gloria Arroyo.

The CBCP, however, maintained that the seven bishops’ request for vehicles from the PCSO “was done without malice.”

“Out of their sincere desire to help their people, they failed to consider the pitfalls to which these grants could possibly lead them,” Odchimar said.

The bishops also asked the public “to be slow in judgment” and to “conscientiously” seek the truth behind the scandal. “Let us seek the truth always in charity,” said Odchimar.

The pastoral statement titled “A Time of Pain, A Time of Grace,” was made after the CBCP’s three-day 103rd plenary assembly which ended Monday noon.

Among those present in the meeting were Archbishop Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales of Manila, retired Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal, and former CBCP head Archbishop Angel Lagdameo of Jaro.

Five of the seven bishops involved in the controversy were also present. They were: Cotabato Archbishop Orlando Quevedo, Abra Bishop Leopoldo Jaucian, Basilan Bishop Martin Jumoad, Bontoc-Lagawe Bishop Rodolfo Beltran and Butuan Bishop Juan de Dios Pueblos.

The other accused, Archbishops Romulo Valles of Zamboanga and Ernesto Salgado of Nueva Segovia, did not attend the meeting. Salgado is reportedly in the US for an appointment.

The bishops admitted the issue “deeply wounded” the Church causing confusion among the Catholics “because of the apparent inconsistency of our actions with our pastoral preaching.”

“Some members of the Church believe in the innocence of the bishops involved in the issue, while others do not. There is no doubt that everywhere in the Church there is great sorrow,” they said.

The bishops then vowed it would “re-examine” the manner of their collaboration with government agencies for purposes of helping the poor “making sure that pastoral sensibilities are respected and the highest ethical standards are observed.”

“We express again our deep sorrow for the pain that the recent events have brought to you our beloved people. The good Lord knows our love for you,” they said. (CBCPNews)

Angara supports K+12 as the 1st step in education reform

SENATE OFFICE, Manila, July 11, 2011-Senator Edgardo J. Angara, chair of the Senate Committee on Education, Culture and Arts manifested full support in the recent call of Department of Education (DepEd) Secretary Armin Luistro for increased legislative and budgetary support for the education sector, explaining that he is in favour of K+12 of the government as the 1^st step in educational reform.

Angara agreed in the statement of Luistro that resource gaps have been the major obstacle in pursuing reforms, particularly in implementing the K+12 Basic Education Plan by 2013.

“I agree in the forms of textbooks, classrooms and school buildings have resulted in for instance, larger class sizes that make learning more challenging for both teachers and students,” Angara said, saying that the officially approved class size in the Philippines is 60 students compared with Malaysia’s 31.7, Thailand’s 22.9, and South Korea’s 34.7.

The Senator said that investing in roads and bridges is vital to our overall development – but so are investments in our human capital, adding that the country has the lowest per head investment in education among our economic peers in Southeast Asia.

He noted that the first major step we could take towards reform is the K+12 plan, but that is not enough; thus, to equip young Filipino pupils with the skills and overall readiness that will help them get into and stay in school, Angara sponsored the Early Years Act and Kindergarten Education Act.

Angara also supports adding to more years to basic education to decongest a curriculum which tries to cram 12-years worth of learning into 10, as well as bring the country's standards on par with international norms, such as the Washington Accord for engineering professionals and Bologna Accord for European industries.

“Simultaneously, it is imperative that we come up with a better financing system and unburden families from huge education costs especially in higher learning. Compared to our Asian neighbors, almost 85 percent of education costs in the Philippines is shouldered by the parents. In Japan and Korea, families cover less than 20 percent,” Angara said where he is also pushing for the passage of the Congressional Oversight Committee for Education or EDCOM.

“I challenge my colleagues in Congress to be united in working for a comprehensive review of our education system and started to move on towards its genuine reform so that our Filipino graduates will be internationally competitive,” Angara said. (Jason de Asis) 

‘We won’t swim in loans,’ Umali allies say of P1-B loan facility

PALAYAN CITY July 11, 2011-Allies of Nueva Ecija Gov. Aurelio Umali yesterday defended him from criticisms over the provincial government’s application for a P1-billion credit facility with a local bank, with one of them saying the province won’t be “swimming in loans.”

Vice Gov. Jose Gay Padiernos told newsmen that the P1-billion Omnibus Credit Facility (OCF) granted the provincial government by the Development Bank of the Philippines will be used to bankroll flagship and big-ticket projects of the provincial government, including a P100-million world-class water sports complex and theme park, sub-station, mango processing plant,  and cold storage facility among others.

He said the loan is “no big deal” as there are many other provincial governments which incur even bigger, gargantuan loans, citing Bulacan which applied for a staggering P2.1 billion loan.

Padiernos was reacting to concerns raised regarding the loan package which, some local observers pointed out, could plunge the province into financial problems, on top of a P280-million loan it secured for construction of 325 additional classrooms.

Earlier, the SP passed a resolution granting Umali authority to negotiate and secure a OCF worth P1 billion to finance “various infrastructure and development projects” in the province. The Board of the Directors of the DBP subsequently approved the loan facility which has a maximum 9 percent interest per annum payable for 15 years.

Padiernos said the loan package had undergone thorough scrutiny by the 14-man Sangguniang Panlalawigan. “We don’t just borrow loans. We study it very carefully before we approve it,” he said.

Padiernos said with regards to the P280-million loan, the resolution granted to Umali only ratified the loan agreement the provincial government entered into with the DBP which was not approved during his first term due to differences with the previous SP.

He said the Umali administration is acquiring loans because it has shown its solid credit rating, having even paid P1.1 billion in loans during the previous administration. “To me personally, being a businessman by profession, the mere fact that you are granted loans only means you are bankable,” he said.

Senior Board Member Estrellita Suansing also defended the loan facility, saying with the SP providing the necessary checks and balances, the loans would be judiciously spent. “I can assure you we won’t be swimming in loans. When there are loans, for sure there will be projects,” she said.

Suansing cited as an example the proposed Aulo water sports complex and theme park which, she said, would even be an improved version of the world-famous CamSur water sports complex and a similar tourist facility in Clark. She added that the project will trigger a tourism boom in the province and boost the local economy.

Padiernos added that the provincial government is not solely relying on loans to bankroll its projects. He said the Umali administration was able to secure P200 million worth of grant from the Agencia Espanola de Cooperacion International of the Spanish government for disaster risk reduction projects. (Jason de Asis)

MAKABAYAN welcomes CBCP probe on PCSO mess; urges P-Noy to act swiftly over the issue

MANILA, July 10, 2011—The Makabayang Koalisyon ng mga Mamamayan (MAKABAYAN) welcomes the parallel investigation that the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) is doing, in connection with the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) ‘intelligence’ fund mess.

In a statement, Dr. Ed Clemente of the MAKABAYAN-Quezon City said that they are expecting transparency and consistency over the probes being conducted by the Philippine senate, the Office of the Ombudsman and by the CBCP, and that the investigations would yield a positive result in terms of resolving the issue of using the PCSO money as payola, in guise of intelligence fund.

“Poor Filipinos who need most of the supposedly charity money [from the PCSO] were the main to suffer because [these] public funds were being corrupted by some government officials,” says Clemente.

Clemente also said that President Benigno C. Aquino III should act swiftly, in prosecuting and incarcerating government officials involved in the money laundering in the PCSO, particularly former President and now Pampanga Representative Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who, according to former PCSO General Manager Rosario “Rose” Uriarte, is the one who signed the papers to immediately disburse the P325 million to be used as ‘intelligence funds.’

“We don't want to hear broken promises again. PNoy must be decisive enough to act and start breaking his silence over issues of corruption by the past administration,” Clemente stressed.

Clemente also said that he wonders why the Palace keeps on “doing nothing” in prosecuting the former chief executive and her cohorts, as the PCSO mess is just an “addendum to the corruption issues being attributed to the past administration.”

During the Senate investigation, it was revealed that the intelligence funds were released in tranche, with P75 million, P90 million, and P160 million in the years 2008, 2009 and 2010 respectively.

Senate Blue Ribbon Committee Teofisto “TG” Guingona III was ‘amazed’ with the big increase in the intelligence fund released in 2010, the year when the former president vied for a congressional seat.

“Bakit napakalaki [ng itinaas ng intelligence fund] at bakit ginawa noong panahon ng eleksiyon [ang paglalabas ng pondo]?” the senator said in a statement.

The senator also said that Mrs. Arroyo should explain her involvement with the mess.

Meanwhile, MAKABAYAN said that they will be watching over the developments of the ongoing parallel investigations on this issue and other cases of corruption and human rights violations allegedly committed by the past regime. (Noel Sales Barcelona)

Why did Odchimar refuse a second term as president?

MANILA, July 10, 2011—After two years, Tandag Bishop Nereo Odchimar has decided to vacate the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) highest post in December.

Filling his shoes is 61-year old Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma, the current vice president of the bishops’ collegial body.

In electing Palma as the CBCP president, the bishops broke a long-time practice in the Catholic hierarchy.

By tradition, Odchimar is supposed to assume the presidency for two terms or a cumulative of four years.

Before the CBCP election on Monday, however, Odchimar expressed to the body his desire not to be nominated anymore.

The reason? Poor health.

More than being an administrative position, the post has required Odchimar to make travels to represent the CBCP in both local and international meetings.

From Tandag in Surigao del Sur, Odchimar had to take a ‘difficult travel’ to Davao City for four hours to take an airplane to Manila where the physical office of the CBCP President is.

“Bishop Odchimar asked not to be nominated anymore for health reasons and (because of) the difficulty of travelling from Tandag to Manila for necessary trips,” said Msgr. Juanito Figura, outgoing CBCP secretary general.

During the election at the Pope Pius XII Catholic Center in Manila on Saturday, the CBCP also named Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop SocratesVillegas as its vice president.

Dumaguete Bishop John Du was named treasurer; while Msgr. Joselito Asis, who is currently the CBCP assistant secretary general, will take Figura’s post.

Like Odchimar, Figura also decided to step down from the post. He is leaving the CBCP after completing eight years of service.

On Sunday, the prelates also elected the regional representatives for the CBCP Permanent Council.

Elected were Archbishop Sergio Utleg, Bishops Virgilio David, Arturo Bastes, Francisco de Leon, Reynaldo Evangelista for Luzon; Bishops Leonardo Medroso and Patricio Buzon for Visayas; and Bishops Antonieto Cabajog and Guillermo Afable for Mindanao. (CBCPNews)