Legarda Pushes for Provision on Heritage Sites Conservation under 2015 Budget

MANILA-Senator Loren Legarda, Vice Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Finance, is proposing to include in the 2015 National Budget a provision that will ensure the protection of heritage sites and structures all over the country.

Citing the destruction of many historical structures—among the most recent include the Art Deco Michel Apartments, the Army and Navy Club and the Admiral Hotel in Manila, the Bancal Bridge in Zambales Province, and the Dampol Bridge in Nueva Vizcaya—Legarda said that Congress must act now to protect the country’s built heritage.

“We wish to propose a special provision that would prevent the use of public funds for infrastructure projects that will destroy or alter built heritage, open spaces, and cultural landscapes regardless of whether or not these were previously declared by the National Commission on Culture and the Arts (NCCA), the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP), or the National Museum,” she stressed.

The Senator said that renovation of built heritage and infrastructure projects on heritage sites will only be allowed after due consultation with the public and stakeholders, which consultation shall be administered by the NCCA. She said that there might be instances when such infrastructure projects may be necessary especially if the heritage structure may put at risk public safety.

Moreover, Legarda also proposed a special provision for the preservation and restoration of existing Gabaldon school buildings as part of the preservation of the country’s cultural heritage.

Gabaldon school buildings were designed by American architect William Parsons and funded through Act No. 1801 authored by Philippine Assemblyman Isauro Gabaldon. They have high ceilings, spacious corridors and rooms that are divided by wooden collapsible partitions with wide windows made up of capiz shells.

“I am confident that our agencies tasked to protect our culture and heritage are committed to their duty. That is why we continue to empower them by providing them with sufficient budget and manpower. These special provisions aim to give further support to our cultural agencies to effectively carry out their mandate,” said Legarda.

Drilon asks gov’t to intensify info campaign on Ebola

MANILA-Senate President Franklin M. Drilon today underscored the urgent need to address the growing misinformation and misunderstanding about Ebola.

Drilon said the flak received by acting Health Secretary Janette L. Garin when she went to Caballo Island highlights the need to step up information campaigns about Ebola.

“There is undeniably a growing misunderstanding about the disease which creates unnecessary panic and anxiety among our people. I myself have a very limited knowledge about the virus and so do my colleagues,” said Drilon, adding that many Filipinos are unaware of the on the nature and symptoms of Ebola, hence the panic and fear.

“That is why the government must immediately intensify its information dissemination campaign in order to allay fears and prevent the spread of speculations and rumours which only confuse the public,” Drilon stressed.

“At this time when Ebola is a threat, I appeal to everyone to allow the experts to speak and educate the public. Let us avoid creating undue fear and panic. Let us be united in maintaining our country’s Ebola- free status,” Drilon emphasized.

The Senate leader also said he believes that Garin, as the chairperson of the Inter-agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases in the Philippine, was only performing her duties when she went to Caballo Island to ensure that the Filipino United Nation Peacekeepers are afforded the proper medical care.

“Peacekeepers were checked and nobody was symptomatic when the inspection was conducted,” noted Drilon.

“As a health professional, Garin is fully aware of her actions. Let us not go overboard. I believe she will avoid actions that will endanger the public,” he added.

Drilon also said that he was informed by DOH that the wearing of personal protective equipment (PPEs) is only required when in close contact with a person who is displaying the symptoms of Ebola. PPEs are also in limited supply around the world, hence the DOH is ensuring that PPEs are used properly only when needed. 

NOLCOM Christmas Park Opens for Viewing

CAMP AQUINO, Tarlac City – Northern Luzon Command opened a new attraction with the lighting of NOLCOM Christmas Park located inside Camp Aquino, San Miguel, Tarlac City on November 18, 2014 at exactly 6:00 pm.  This is an additional attraction for the Yuletide Season after Camp Aquino captured attention from the public when the AFP NOLCOM Belen entry for Belenismo sa Tarlak 2014 Festival was unveiled and lighted last November 4 at NOLCOM main gate. The Christmas Park is open to the public for viewing.

The NOLCOM Christmas Park include a Belen, giant Christmas Tree and Christmas lanterns, to include the entries of the Lantern Making Contest participated by the different NOLCOM offices. These Christmas lanterns are made of recyclable materials which were crafted by the soldiers with their own initiative and creativity.

“We did this not only for our own benefit, but also to join the Filipino people in the time honored Filipino Tradition of celebrating Christmas and add festivity in the celebration of this season.” LtGen Trinidad explained. He further added that, “Although we only have limited resources, we still give much importance in sharing the spirit of Christmas and to be united in pursuing the peace and development of our nation.”

Cabanatuan trike driver tears P20 bill, is arrested, charged

CABANATUAN CITY – A 36-year-old tricycle driver has been arrested by police and is facing charges and a possible prison term here after tearing a P20 bill paid to him by a lady employee of the Department of Justice.

         Police Superintendent Joselito Villarosa, Cabanatuan police chief, identified the tricycle driver as Alexander Sunga of Purok 3, Barangay San Juan Accfa.

         Villarosa said Sunga was arrested by local police after he angrily tore the P20 bill, with serial No. JT935015, paid as transportation fare by Elizabeth Pangilinan Diesta, 54, administrative assistant of the DOJ here.

        The bill-tearing incident, Diesta said, happened Monday morning.

        Tearing of central bank notes and coins is prohibited under Presidential Decree 247 signed on July 18,1973 by then-President Ferdinand Marcos.  Aside from tearing, it also prohibits and penalizes defacement, mutilation, burning or destruction of notes and coins which are issued by the Central Bank for circulation as medium of exchange.

          The law said utilizing them for other purposes does not speak well of the due respect and dignity befitting the currency and unfavorably reflect on the discipline of the people and create a bad image for the country.

          Any person found to violate the Decree shall be slapped with conviction, a fine of not more than P20,000 and/or by a maximum imprisonment of five years.

          Police said that Sunga apparently was disgusted with the amount given him by Diesta and was demanding for more.

         Tricycle drivers in this city have often been the butt of complaints of passengers due to overcharging and refusing to convey them among other complaints.

        This city has been hailed as the country’s tricycle capital with an estimated 14,000 tricycle units plying this city’s route daily.

        A criminal complaint for violations of PD 247 (Tearing of Currency Notes) and unjust vexation was forwarded to the Cabanatuan City Prosecutor’s Office. – Manny Galvez

Legarda Urges TESDA to Create Culture-Based Vocational Courses

MANILA-Senator Loren Legarda today urged the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) to create culture-based vocational courses as part of efforts to support indigenous peoples (IPs) and promote Philippine culture.

Legarda, Chair of the Senate Committee on Cultural Communities, made the statement at the opening of the Conference on Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) for Indigenous People of the ASEAN held today at Bayleaf Hotel in Intramuros, Manila.

“Through TESDA’s TVET, we can provide our IPs better employment and livelihood opportunities. But while we empower our IPs through skills development and enhancement for employment in mainstream industries, I urge the creation of culture-based vocational courses,” she said during her keynote speech.

“Many of the crafts of our IPs are sought after in other countries, but the supply, especially of handmade products, cannot keep up with the demand because a handwoven cloth made of abaca or handmade basket made of nito would take weeks or months to complete. This economic opportunity is what we must present to our IPs. We need not take our IPs out of their communities, which they strive to preserve as part of their heritage. We can provide the needed livelihood support to them by promoting their culture through traditional skills training program,” she added.

Legarda said that TESDA can partner with local government units, especially those with Schools of Living Traditions (SLTs), and cultural agencies in creating culture-based courses.

“We have to develop interest in traditional skills like hand weaving, embroidery, tabungaw-making, basket-weaving, pottery, and likewise present the economic opportunities that can be derived from acquiring or improving on such skills,” she stressed.

The Senator also said that stronger support for IPs is needed especially with the emergence of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC).

“ASEAN’s bold vision of achieving the free flow of goods, services, investment, and skilled labor in the region may help us achieve higher productivity and economic diversification. But we have to consider a lot of things—our indigenous communities are among our concerns. Aside from protecting their traditional and intellectual property, IPs should be socially and economically empowered," she said.

“Basic services, including access to education and healthcare, should be provided to them. Most indigenous communities are located in isolated and disadvantaged areas. We must create a system that would enhance delivery of basic, social, technical and legal services,” said Legarda, who has filed Senate Bill No. 2209 that will create resource centers for IPs, which shall serve as access centers to enhance delivery of these services.

Budget needs rearview mirror

MANILA-The 5,947-page national budget package may be as thick as an encyclopedia set, but it has one fault : It doesn’t tell what happened to funds appropriated in the previous national budget.

Senate President Pro-Tempore cited this weakness of the current budgeting system in pushing for “the installation of the rearview mirror on the national budget.”

Recto bewailed that despite the “fine print of nine budget documents”, nowhere is there a section which says that the projects and programs authorized in the past budget have been implemented or not.

“You can go through the almost 6,000 pages line by line but you won’t find anything which says that the projects lovingly enumerated in the previous year’s budget have been completed,” Recto said.

“Wade through the thicket of numbers and there’s nothing there which says if 61,510 teachers were indeed hired last year, if the plan to recruit 9,000 pushed through, if the roads catalogued in the DPWH budget were indeed built,” Recto said.

To cure this defect, Recto proposed a “new budget accountability” form which reports on the status of projects funded by the immediate General Appropriations Act.

He said this can be done by using the GAA format, “but it will now be returned to us with annotations showing line-by-line if the projects were indeed implemented.”

“If a line-item in the 2015 GAA says that P100 million is appropriated for this road in Cebu, then what we want is for the government to submit in 2016 the same GAA with a status report opposite the said line-item,” Recto said.

 “If the GAA authorizes the recruitment of, say, 10,000 new policemen and 50,000 new teachers, then what we want is for the executive to later indicate in that GAA a note stating the actual number of policemen and teachers hired,” he added.

Recto said his proposal is easy to implement. “We are not reinventing the wheel or imposing a new administrative budget.”

“We are not even creating a new book. Just the old GAA, but this time, there’s a note opposite line-item indicating if it’s completed, still under construction, or the funds have been impounded,” he said.

“Formatting wise, hindi mahirap, kasi sabi nga nila isang Excel column lang ang idadagdag,” he said.

“Ang status na gusto natin ay hindi kilometric ang haba. One-liner lang or one brief sentence pwede na. Pag tapos na ang isang project, eh di sulatan nila ng “implemented”.

Recto asked the executive branch to embrace his idea as it would lead to more transparent budgeting.

His proposal, Recto said, will lead to the disaggregation of multi-billion lump-sum funds.

“Kung halimbawa block fund ang Calamity Fund, sa proposal ko itemized na sa post-budget reporting kung saan ito napunta,” Recto explained.

Recto lamented that at present it is impossible for taxpayers to check if a specific project authorized in the GAA has indeed been implemented.

He blamed the “data vacuum” in the “budget accountability phase” to the discontinuation of the same format used from budget preparation to budget authorization to budget execution.

“The National Expenditure Program evolves into the General Appropriations Bill and the latter morphs into the GAA which in turn is used as budget release document,” Recto said.

“But what is supposed to be the seamless progression of using one reference format stops at post-implementation because there is no way we will be able to know if a project has been implemented.”

He said this can be solved by using the same GAA as report card of fund utilization.

“The annotated GAA can be one easy-to-read document which show where the money went,” he said. 

Recto : Higher tax cap on 13th month pay merely recovers what was lost to inflation

MANILA-The senator who introduced the amendment to raise to P82,000 the tax exemption cap for 13^th month pay and other bonuses says the amount merely restores the value of the peso which has been lost to inflation since 1994.

Sen. Ralph Recto, principal author of the bill increasing the no-tax zone on bonuses, said the peso has lost two-thirds of its value over the past 20 years.

“One peso in 1994 is worth 36 centavos today. Adjusted to inflation, the P30,000 then should be P82,300 today. That is why we peg the new cap at P82,000,” Recto said.

The P30,000 cap entered the tax code in 1994 when, Recto recalled, “the minimum jeepney fare was P1.50, rice was P13 a kilo, bread was sold for P7 a loaf, gasoline was priced at P8.50 a liter, a can of sardines was P6.”

He said the P30,000 was set so that it could cover the highest salary in the government then which that of the President who was then receiving P25,000 a month.

“The idea was that when all government employees get their 13^th month pay, it will be in full and without tax deduction.”

Recto said the hike in the tax exempt cap should not be viewed as a revenue loss for the government but as “income gained by the workingman.”

“And even if his 13th month pay is tax-exempt upon receipt, it will be taxable when spent, so tax not withheld at source will later be captured in the form of sales tax at points of sale,” the senator explained.

Another good point of the bill passed by the Senate on Second Reading on Tuesday is that the tax cap on the 13^th month pay and other benefits will now be indexed to inflation.

“There is now automatic adjustment every three years,” he said.

“This means the adjustment is a mandatory executive action. No need to run to Congress for a law setting a higher threshold,” Recto said. 

Ecija judge facing dismissal, disbarment anew for invoking ‘obsolete law’ in poll protest

CABANATUAN CITY – A Regional Trial Court (RTC) judge, who was dismissed and disbarred by the Supreme Court in 2010 for dishonesty and falsification of public documents but later escaped with a mere one-year suspension, is facing disbarment anew for grave misconduct and gross ignorance of the law for issuing a ruling based on an obsolete provision of law.

Cabanatuan RTC Branch 30 Presiding Judge Virgilio Caballero has been slapped an administrative complaint before the SC in a 28-page administrative complaint for grave misconduct, manifest partiality, gross ignorance of the law and willful violations of the Code of Judicial Conduct and Code of Professional Responsibility in the discharge of his official duty as member of the judiciary.  

Caballero is the same judge who was charged with an administrative complaint in 2009 and found guilty of dishonesty and falsification of an official document by the Supreme Court which in 2010 dismissed him as a judge and disbarred him.

He filed a motion for reconsideration with the High Court which reduced his penalty to one-year suspension from service and practice of law. 

The latest complaint was filed by Aliaga, Nueva Ecija Mayor Elizabeth Vargas who sought to turn the said complaint as a disciplinary action against Caballero. Vargas is locked in a legal battle with her rival, businessman Reynaldo Ordanes for the mayorship of Aliaga.

Vargas, a four-term mayor and wife of former three-term mayor Marcial, was proclaimed winner by the municipal board of canvassers last year, garnering 11,477 votes to Ordanes’ 11,413 or a difference of 64 votes. 

But Ordanes, brother of Quezon City assessor Rodolfo, filed an election protest before the court, claiming massive fraud. He questioned the results in 13 of 58 clustered precincts.

Vargas sought the dismissal of the protest on the ground of insufficiency of form and substance, saying the protest does not contain a detailed specifications of fraud nor any competent evidence that would justify the revision of ballots.

Last May 28, Caballero promulgated a decision proclaiming Ordanes the winner by 11 votes after deducting 72 votes from Vargas’ total. On June 19, he issued an order granting Ordanes’ petition for the issuance of a writ of execution pending appeal until further notice.

The Commission on Elections, sitting En Banc, has issued a Temporary Restraining Order enjoining Caballero from implementing his June 19 order.

In her complaint, Vargas noted that Caballero, in his decision deducted 72 votes from her on the ground that the shades of ballots failed to comply with the threshold limit  and by this, should have been considered stray and not counted in her favor.

Vargas claimed that Caballero based his ruling on an old law which has already been amended. She added that Caballero also did not credit in her favor an additional 21 votes which represent the increase in her votes in the contested precincts based on physical count over the election returns.

Vargas cited that the Commission on Elections’s Second Division, in a July 15,2014 resolution said that after examining the records of the case, it found that Caballero “appears to erroneously rely upon the 2010 Rules of Procedure in election protests.”

In the same resolution, the poll body said assuming the disputed ruling is still applicable, Caballero also committed an error when he himself examined and appreciated the ballots  when the same ruling provides that “any issue as to whether or not a certain mark or shade is within the threshold shall be determined by using the PCOS machine and not by human determination.”

Vargas said Caballero is liable for gross ignorance of the law when he displayed “utter lack of familiarity with the rules, thereby eroding the public’s confidence in the competence of the courts.”

“Because of respondent Judge Caballero’s gross ignorance of the law, he applied an outdated, obsolete and already amended rule which in effect caused the disenfranchisement of 72 voters from Aliaga, Nueva Ecija,” the complaint stated. “Had respondent Judge Caballero not been so grossly ignorant of the law, he should have applied Comelec Resolution 9765 in its May 28,2014 decision,” the complaint said.

It added that Caballero also violated Canons 5,6 and 10 of the Code of Professional Responsibility which provide that a lawyer shall keep himself abreast of legal developments and participate in continuing legal education programs.

The complaint also cited the previous administrative complaint against Caballero which, it further noted, was not reversed but was actually affirmed wherein the High Court even warned that “subsequent misconducts on his part will be dealt with more severely.”

           It described Caballero as a “recidivist” whose infractions show that “he had not learned his lessons and heeded the warnings|” of the Supreme Court. (Manny Galvez) 

Bill passed to give martial law victims more time to file claims; ethnic origin to be included in national census

MANILA-The Senate passed on third and final reading a joint resolution seeking to extend the deadline for the filing of claims by martial law victims by six months.

 

    Senator Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III, chair of the Senate Committee on Justice and Human Rights and sponsor of Senate Joint Resolution No. 10,otherwise known as “Joint Resolution Extending the Period For Filing Of Claims For Reparation Of Human Rights Violations Victims under Republic Act No. 10368, said that the approval of the joint resolution would give martial law victims more time to file their claims for repatriation and compensation. RA 10368 is known as the Human Rights Victims Reparation and Recognition Act of 2013.

 

     Aside from Pimentel, the measure was co-authored by Senators Chiz Escudero and Teofisto “TG” Guingona III.

 

     “The Human Rights Victims Claims Board (HRVCB) has encountered an unprecedented number of claims from human rights victims. Due to the sheer number of the applications, compounded by the board’s undermanned staff, the Board may not be able to accomplish its duties within the period prescribed by law,” Pimentel told colleagues during his sponsorship speech.

 

     “So as not to duly prejudice our aggrieved countrymen for whom RA 10368 was primarily enacted, and to accord the HRVCB sufficient period to discharge its statutory duty, the HRVCB should be allowed to extend the period to accept human rights victims’ claims for another six months from November 10, 2014 or until May 11, 2015,” he added.

 

    According to the Philippine Alliance of Human Rights Advocates (PAHRA), a coalition of human rights groups, the HRVCB had received only around 29,000 claims as of October this year. PAHRA chairman Max de Mesa said the board expected about 55,000 to 90,000 more applications to be processed.

 

    "There are, in fact, more than 7,000 undocumented human rights victims from the cursory research conducted by our group, apart from the more than 9,000 Hawaii class suit claimants, De Mesa said.

 

“The extension, more than the filing of claim, ensures that all human rights victims will be given access to a means of gaining redress for the sufferings and sacrifices that they endured during the Martial Law,” he added.

 

Pimentel, whose father, former Senate President Aquilino “Nene” Pimentel, Jr. was jailed for opposing former President Ferdinand Marcos during the martial law era, said in a radio interview early November that martial law victims could continue to file their claims for compensation once Senate Joint Resolution 10 and its counterpart, House Joint Resolution 16 would be enacted into law.                                                                            Akbayan party-list Rep. Ibarra Gutierrez, one of the authors of  House Joint Resolution No. 16, said the resolution would have a retroactive effect. The House of Representatives had passed Joint Resolution 16 on final reading before Congress adjourned last October.

 

Pimentel said he already asked the HRVCB to continue accepting claims even after the filing period as prescribed under the Human Rights Victims Reparation and Recognition Act of 2013 had elapsed.

 

“I asked the Board to continue receiving claims. We will approve the resolution by mid-November that would give chance to all human rights victims to file their claims for another six months,” Pimentel said.

           

    Meanwhile, the Senate also passed on third and final reading a bill which seeks to include the ethnic origin in the national survey conducted by the Philippine Statistics Authority.

 

Senator Loren Legarda, who authored and sponsored Senate Bill No. 2426 or the Ethic Origin Act of 2014, said the government had no adequate information on the population of the different ethnic groups in the Philippines.

 

“The population data on the indigenous peoples (IPs) and indigenous cultural communities (ICCs) vary depending on the group handling the research or using the data. This reality compels us even more to obtain the accurate data. The Episcopal Commission on Tribal Filipinos (ECTF) estimates our IP/ICC population to be between 6.5 and 7.5 million, while the International Labour Organization (ILO) estimates it to between 12 and 15 million. This reality compels us even more to obtain the accurate data," Legarda said in her sponsorship speech.

 

Under the proposed measure, she said, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), in coordination with the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP), would employ enumerators or deploy NCIP employees to gather data on Ethnic Origin during the conduct of the national survey and national census.

 

Such information, Legarda said, would contribute to the effective implementation of the Indigenous People’s Rights Act (IPRA). (Pilar S. Macrohon)

Dismissed cop’s bullet-riddled body found in NE

CABANATUAN CITY, Nueva Ecija – A 42-year-old former police sergeant who was dismissed from the service eight years ago was found dead in Guimba, Nueva Ecija over the weekend, his head riddled with a single bullet wound, the Philippine National Police said.

          Senior Superintendent Crizaldo Nieves, PNP provincial director, identified the slain former lawman as Jonathan De Guzman, alias Spider, of Barangay Manacsac, Guimba.

          He carried the rank of Senior Police Officer 2 (SPO2) when still in the service.

          De Guzman’s body was found by a police team led by Senior Inspector Nestor Fabro while lying along a shoulder in an irrigation road in Sitio Dalaydalayan, Manacsac, Guimba. A single bullet wound from a calibre 45 revolver was lodged in his head.

          De Guzman was a former member of the PNP’s Special Action Force who was removed from the service on February 17,2006. The reason for his dismissal was not known even to police.      

Nieves said that De Guzman’s body was found by barangay tanod Richard Doro who reported the sighting to police.

PO2 Jaycee Toribio, officer-on-case of the Guimba police, said the motive for De Guzman’s killing was still unknown. (Manny Galvez)

NOLCOM Exercised Maximum Tolerance on Rallying Militants

CAMP AQUINO, Tarlac City – About 300 militants marched on from Hacienda Luisita and also staged a short rally in-front of Camp Servillano Aquino gate on Sunday of November 16, 2014 at around 2:00 pm demanding justice for the seven (7) protesters who lost their lives during the incident that happened on November 16, 2004 in Hacienda Luisita.

The protesters vandalized with paints the front walls of St. Michael’s People’s Park and destroyed the Northern Luzon Command (NOLCOM) metal signage at the façade of the gate.

The personnel of NOLCOM exercised maximum tolerance despite the unlawful, violent and provocative behavior of the protesters.

The NOLCOM Commander, Lieutenant General Felicito Virgilio M Trinidad Jr. said, “We maintained the maximum tolerance on the rallyists to keep the safety of civilian communities living adjacent Camp Aquino and to ensure that peace and order prevail.  The local police personnel as well were there to see to it that the rallyists will not go out of control to flagrantly violate the laws.”

After several years that these militant groups have been actively celebrating the Hacienda Luisita incident every November 16, it had been particularly noted that this year’s commemoration of the incident has been unruly.

“I am not against peaceful rallies because it is part of their freedom of expression, but acting violently in rallies will not resolve anything, and will cause bigger problems. They were provoking us to respond negatively but all we want is peace and order…we are imploring them to bring their concerns to due process and not in this unlawful manner. Anyway, an independent investigation is in progress and NOLCOM remains committed to the adherence to human rights and due process of law.” LtGen Trinidad explained. 

Senators pay tribute to former Senator Juan Flavier

MANILA-Senators today paid tribute to former Senator and Health Secretary Juan Flavier, “who was described as a giant of a man” despite his diminutive size.

“Although he was the first one to make a joke of his height, Johnny was a giant of a man. His monumental achievements made him stand out from the rest. But what made him more extraordinary was his strong compassion for those who have less in life, his sense of duty, and commitment to make a difference,” Senate President Franklin Drilon said in his eulogy. 

“He will always be remembered for passionately and courageously advocating for a reproductive health law despite strong opposition from different sectors. That law was finally passed two years ago, and we dedicate it to his memory. The passage of the Reproductive Health Law is a fitting tribute to him,” Drilon added.

Senators received the remains of Flavier at 9:30 a.m. Monday, November 17, and hosted lunch for his family, relatives, senators and guests at the Recto-Laurel Rooms after the necrological services. Flavier succumbed to pneumonia last October 30 at age 79.

            For her part, Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago said she would chat with the former health secretary when she was bored or tired. “I was confident I was sharing time with an honest man. He was the most honest senator,” she said.

            “Hardly had the dust settled from the campaign, when I rose in a privilege speech to denounce pork barrel kickbacks, which in that simpler time consisted of 10 percent of the public funds involved. I denounce the system, expecting that my colleagues would leap to their feet and confirm my narrative,” Santiago said in her eulogy.

“But, foolish me, after my speech there was no interpellation and no comment from anybody. Nobody spoke. Except for one man - Sen. Juan Flavier. With an offended expression, he rose to affirm my accusation of corruption in the Senate. If Sen. Flavier did not have the courage and the purity of heart to support my story of corruption, I would have made no impact. Because of Sen. Flavier's comment, the media picked up the story,” she added.

            “He had no air. His ways were simple. He was always for the common man,” Senator Serge Osmena recalled.

            Senator Gregorio Honasan II said he had “lethal exposure to the viral Flavier humor,” when Flavier was in Congress.

            Flavier laid the foundations for tobacco health warning and reproductive health laws, Senator Pia Cayetano added.

“He was a father to me but as a legislator, we complemented each other. We shared a common passion for healthcare, Cayetano said.

            “At the start of the 13th Congress, I asked him if he would continue to chair the Committee on Health, he said, "It's your turn. I will support you. With the former secretary of health at my side, I faced the challenges with a positive outlook. I sponsored my first bill on the expanded vaccination program” she added.

            Legarda recalled how Flavier mentored her when she was a neophyte senator and described him as the Senate’s quorum maker. “Siya po ang pulitiko na hindi kailangang umikot sa buong Pilipinas para manalong topnotcher,” Legarda said.

            Legarda said she sought Flavier’s advice on what to do with her first privilege speech. He told to talk about something distinct, something that the rest of the Senators know nothing or very little about.

“And so I remember I spoke about the delineation of our forests and filed it as one of my first bills in 1998. Manong Johnny will always be remembered for bringing healthcare to the unempowered and to the marginalized, for being kind, for being generous, for being noble. He has touched us all and his memory shall forever be etched in our minds and in our hearts,” Legarda said.

            Meanwhile, the Senate is scheduled to adopt a resolution in the afternoon expressing sympathy and condolence to Flavier’s family.

            Resolution 1014, introduced by Drilon, cited Flavier’s perfect attendance in sessions during the 10^th to Congresses as well as the landmark laws he authored and sponsored.

“The death of the illustrious doctor and senator is a great loss not only to his bereaved family but also to the millions of Filipinos whom he loved and served so well,” the resolution stated.

Flavier, a Tondo native who was raised in the Mountain Province, was a shoeshine boy, newspaper boy, waiter, tutor until he earned his Medicine degree from the University of the Philippines in 1960 and Master’s degree in Public Health from John Hopkins University in 1969.

He placed fifth in the 1995 senatorial elections as “people acknowledged his outstanding work as a Cabinet member.” In his re-election in 2001, he ranked second for his “excellent performance as a senator during his first term.”

Flavier served as chairman of the Senate Committees on Health and Demography, Education, Arts and Culture, Cultural Communities and was the longest serving Senate President Pro-Tempore since the 8^th Congress when he was elected for the position in August 2002 (12^th Congress) and in July 26, 2004 (13^th Congress).

“The hardworking Senator Flavier registered a perfect attendance during the sessions and authored or co-authored landmark laws which promoted public health care and disease prevention and improved the quality of life of the people,” the resolution stated. (Apple Buenaventura)