Aurora Police Nabs Marijuana Pusher in San Luis

SAN LUIS, Aurora, September 16, 2012-A 32-year-old marijuana pusher was arrested by operatives of the Aurora Philippine National Police and  Aurora Intelligence Police following a buy-bust operation at Sitio Hacienda, Brgy. Nonong Sr., San Luis town in the early morning of September 13, 2012.

Aurora OIC Provincial Director Police Supt. Jose Santiago Hidalgo identified the suspect as Marvin Reyes Y’ Mangahas,  Alias ka “Vino”, separated, a resident of said place.

Hidalgo said that elements of Provincial Anti-Illegal Drug Special Operations Task Force (PAIDSOTF), Provincial Intelligence Division led by SPO3 Harold R. Donato under the Supervision of PCI Nelson G. Buhong, PIB  and San Luis PS under PCI Reynante D Pitpitan, COP, PDEA Agent Froilan Bitong and Aurora Police Provincial Director apprehended Reyes on his own turf, after he sold one small pack of marijuana fruiting tops, weighing approximately 10 grams to an undercover agent who acted as poseur-buyer.

After further search, operatives recovered from Reyes seventeen (17) small plastic sachet of   Marijuana fruiting tops with estimated street value of P 1,700. 00 pesos and recovered dusted drug bust money a two pieces of fifty peso bill bearing SN# NV008628 and U929648.

Reyes is now facing charges for violation of Section 5 (sale of dangerous drugs) and Section 11 (possession), Article II of Republic Act 9165, or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.  He is presently detained at Aurora Provincial Jail Station. (Jason de Asis)

Drilon lauds CJ Sereno’s effort to fill up court vacancies

MANILA, September 16, 2012-Senator Franklin M. Drilon has been assured by Chief Justice Lourdes Sereno of the efforts being undertaken by the Supreme Court to fill up around 600 court vacancies.

In CJ Sereno’s letter to Drilon, she said the SC is committed, under the present leadership, to fill up all existing vacancies in the Judiciary within a reasonable time frame.

“I have been meeting with the members and staff of the Judicial Bar Council, as well as of the Office of the Court Administrator, to address, with all due attention, this matter of common concern,” Sereno said in the letter.

“This filling-up of vacant positions will go hand-in-hand with the judicial reform initiatives that are being undertaken,” said Sereno.

Drilon, also the Senate Finance Committee chairman, welcomed the new developments and likewise lauded the resolve shown by the newly-installed Chief Justice to firmly address the problems in the judicial system.

“The very slow pace of dispensing justice in our country continues to be a challenge to the Judiciary, and the very slow delivery of justice is attributed to the vast number of vacancies that are now in the judicial system notwithstanding adequate funds that have been provided to them,” said Drilon.

He noted that as of January 2012, there are almost 600 vacant positions in court, and said: “I challenge the Supreme Court to be more innovative and attentive to the filling up of vacancies because this affects the backlog of cases in the court.”

In 2013, the Judiciary will get P17.77 billion, including automatic appropriation, from P15.71 billion, or an increase of 13.08 percent, noted Drilon.

“The proposed 2013 budget will support the resolution of about 324,434 cases pending in the Supreme Court, Court of Appeals and Court of Tax Appeals, as well as to address the needed developments in the Judiciary,” said Drilon.

Of the proposed budget, Drilon said, P15.72 billion will go to the Supreme and Lower courts, an increase of 12.86 percent from P13.93 billion, while P1.32 billion will go to the Court of Appeals, P181.22 million higher than its present budget of P1.144 billion.

Also, P392.44 million will be for the country’s anti-graft court, the Sandiganbayan, P35.18 million higher than its 2012 budget of P357.26 million; P244.33 million to the Court of Tax Appeals, P31.41 million higher than its present budget of P212.92 million; and lastly, P90.94 million will go to the Presidential Electoral Tribunal, P16.42 million higher than its 2012 budget of P74.52 million.

Senate OKs new proposal to strengthen career executive system in gov’t

MANILA, September 16, 2012-The Senate has approved on third and final reading Senate Bill No. 3125 which seeks to strengthen the career executive service (CES) in the government and protect it from political interference.

The CES is comprised of the senior managers and executive officers of the Government, who constitute the “third level” in the Career Service System.

The primary purpose of the bill is to correct structural flaws in the system stemming from the overlapping functions of the Career Executive ServiceBoard (CESB) and the Civil Service Commission (CSC) through the transfer of the administrative supervision and management of CESB personnel under the CSC. The bill was authored by Senator Antonio “Sonny” F. Trillanes IV, who as Chair of the Committee on Civil Service and Government Reorganization also served as the principal sponsor of the bill.

“Also, through this measure, it is expected that the principles of merit and fitness will be the prevailing norm among our career executive officers. It is hoped that the improved Career Executive System… will provide checks and balances and insulate the Career Executive Service and the Career Executive System Board from political interference and encourage the professionalization of our government managers and executives,” Trillanes said.

Suspect in 2010 rape-slay of Fil-Swiss coed nabbed in NE

CABANATUAN CITY, Nueva Ecija,  September 15, 2012–The prime suspect in the brutal rape-slay one-and-half years ago of a 20-year-old Filipino-Swiss was arrested by operatives of the local police in Palayan City Friday.

          Police Superintendent Eli Depra, station commander, identified the suspect as Felix Lasala, alias Piting, 43, of Puerto Galera, Occidental Mindoro.

          Lasala is listed as Parañaque's fifth most wanted man with a P200,000 reward for his arrest.

          Lasala was arrested in his hide-out in Barangay Atate, Palayan by a 15-man arresting team personally led by Depra himself at 2 pm Friday. The suspect, who was unarmed, did not resist arrest.

          Lasala was tagged for the rape-slay of Glaudia Schnelli, 20, a graduating student at the Lyceum University in Manila on December 3,2010. Schnelli was found naked with multiple stab wounds in her home at Matias Street, Better Living Subdivision, Parañaque City.

The suspect has since gone on hiding.

Depra said Lasala has been employed with the Schnellis and reportedly developed a relationship with the victim's mother.

A warrant for the crime of rape with homicide has been issued on February 11, 2012 by Parañaque RTC Branch 257 Judge Rolando How for Lasala's arrest. No bail was recommended for his provisional liberty. 

Depra said before his arrest, the latter's presence in Palayan was tipped off by an informant who watched a segment of the TV program “Soco” hosted by veteran broadcaster Gus abelgas over ABS-CBN.

“Our informant told us that Lasala closely resembles somebody he has seen in Atate so we laid the dragnet for his arrest. It turned out that the guy  our informant has sighted was Lasala himself,” he said.

Depra said prior to his arrest, Lasala has been able to elude lawmen, including agents of the National Bureau of Investigation who combed his possible hide-outs in Bicol, Batangas, Marinduque and Camarines.

Depra said that under tactical interrogation, the suspect owned up to the killing. Lasala said that he blacked out after a heated confrontation with Schnelli who, he claimed, called him “useless.”

He said this prompted him to grab and knife and stabbed the girl repeatedly.

But Lasala denied raping Schnelli who, he said, he had been taking care of since she was five years old. He claimed the victim's body was covered only with a towel when recovered inside their home, which led Soco operatives to conclude she was raped.

“Sir, I did kill her but I did not rape her,” Depra quoted Lasala as telling him. (Manny Galvez)   

Legarda Joins in Celebrating National Teachers' Month

MANILA, September 15, 2012-In light of National Teachers’ Month 2012, Senator Loren Legarda today urged Filipinos to express their solidarity by campaigning for the passage of the proposed Magna Carta of Teachers and Non-Teaching Personnel Act.

“With the increasing rate of enrolment especially in public schools and massive educational reforms through the K-12 System, National Teachers’ Month should not be about rhetoric but about clear decisions and actions to provide better lives for our unsung heroes,” said Legarda, author of the proposed Magna Carta of Teachers and Non-Teaching Personnel Act or Senate Bill 10.

“This proposed Magna Carta ensures for our teachers and non-teaching personnel the security of tenure, timely payment of their salaries on a monthly basis regardless of semestral or summer vacations, annual salary adjustment to mitigate the effects of inflation, and gratuity benefits for those who retire before reaching the compulsory retirement age of 60,” she explained.

“Our teachers are the most reliable and dedicated public servants. They are being constantly called upon by officials of the local and national government to assist in various civic activities which contribute to the welfare of the community and the country, most notable of which is when they perform their functions during election period, and assist the National Statistics Office in gathering data even in the remotest places,” she stressed.

Legarda added that without appropriate legislative measures, more teachers may be persuaded to seek employment abroad.

“Despite the difficulties that continue to confront their profession, they remain fiercely loyal to their responsibility in molding the values and character of the new generations. It is only fitting that they be respected, protected, and given the privileges that they deserve,” Legarda concluded.

Legarda Expresses Alarm over Declining Tuna Stocks Due to Overfishing

MANILA, September 14, 2012-Senator Loren Legarda today expressed alarm over reported declining tuna stocks worldwide primarily due to overfishing.

Noting the Red List of Threatened Species of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), which revealed that five of the eight tuna species in the world have been considered threatened with extinction, Legarda said that the issue is relevant to the Philippine fishing industry as the country is the fourth largest producer of fresh chilled and canned tuna products in the world.

“Overfishing has been a great challenge to the country’s fishing industry. Aside from declining tuna stocks, we have also received reports earlier in the year regarding the decline in the supply of galunggong and dilis. We have to immediately address this concern because continued marine degradation and weak enforcement of our fisheries law will further deprive our citizens of their basic needs,” she stressed.

In this light, the Senator said that she is hopeful that the Philippine ratification of the Agreement with the International Center for Living Aquatic Resources Management (ICLARM) will produce significant improvements in the country’s fisheries and aquaculture sector.

She explained that the ICLARM has been working closely with a number of research institutions in the Philippines to increase fish production, improving resource management and equitable distribution of benefits in developing countries and protecting the environment.

“The presence of ICLARM in the country, through a duly established Office, ensures the continuity in its programs and joint initiatives with the Philippine government and other partner institutions for the development of the fisheries sector. However, our government has the greater responsibility to ensure that it faithfully and effectively implements the provisions of the Fisheries Code to balance the need for livelihood and food supply and the need to ensure continuous production of fish species for future yield and maintain ecological balance,” Legarda concluded.

RDC infra dev’t, Pampanga river basin committees meet with Sec. Singson

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga, Sept 13, 2012-Regional Development Council (RDC) committees on Infrastructure Development (SCID) and Pampanga River Basin Committees (PRBC) conducted a joint meeting with Public Works and Highways Secretary Rogelio Singson to discuss immediate and long-term solutions to perennial flooding in Central Luzon.

The meeting came in the aftermath of the continuous southwest monsoon rains last month which inundated many parts of Region 3 causing damage to many rice fields and infrastructures including a tail dike which protects the city of San Fernando and towns of Minalin and Sto. Tomas in Pampanga.

RDC Chair and City of San Fernando Oscar Rodriguez warned, “If (the tail dike problem is) not solved immediately, the situation would be a big setback to the transportation sector in the area. It may also put to waste investments in national road projects, particularly the rehabilitation of the McArthur Highway and the North Luzon and Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressways.”

For her part, Pampanga Governor Lilia Pineda said that the, “The provincial government of Pampanga will assist Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) for any action taken on the silted water flowing down the channel.”

Accordingly, Rodriguez presented the multi-sectoral resolution among the city government of San Fernando, Pampanga, Bacolor and Minalin, DPWH III, and private sector representatives recommending for the immediate and long-term solutions for the destroyed tail dike and
several river channels affecting the province.

In response, Singson acknowledged the need to immediately close the breached dikes. He also committed on the availability of the quick response fund o his Department to assist LGUs affected and involved in addressing the problem. He emphasized however, that in doing so, DPWH
and LGUs should work hand in hand.

Meanwhile, Bulacan Governor Wilhelmino Sy-Alvarado recommended the revival of the Pampanga River Control System (PRCS) or the creation of a similar agency responsible for the periodic maintenance and repair of the drainage channels and dike in the region.

Singson noted that, “A river basin approach requires a multi-stakeholder organization treatment since water has no boundaries and can involve several provinces in the process.”

The Public Works chief, who was appointed as water czar by the President, revealed that the development of natural-impounding areas or catchments such as the Candaba Swamp is one of the medium to long-term solutions the DPWH have been studying.

According to Singson, these impounding areas will control the release of water in the downstream to prevent further damages but will also utilize water for irrigation, livelihood and domestic use.

Singson said they will also give priority to the desilting of the Orani Channel in Bataan where water from Samal, Abucay, Hermosa, and Dinalupihan drain to Manila Bay.

He also said the need to continue the implementation of the Pampanga River Delta Project.

Singson affirmed that the national government will provide whatever available assistance it can extend to alleviate the flooding in the region. (Carlo Lorenzo J. Datu)

Legarda: Phil Making Significant Strides in Protecting Filipino Workers

MANILA, September 13, 2012-Senator Loren Legarda today said that the country is making significant strides in protecting Filipino workers through relevant policies such as the International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention 189, the Maritime Labour Convention,2006, the Kasambahay Bill and the Expanded Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act.

Legarda, Chair of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, said that the ILO Convention 189, or the Convention Concerning Decent Work for Domestic Workers, will benefit the 3.4 million Filipino domestic workers in the Philippines and abroad by ensuring that, first and foremost, domestic workers, like other workers, enjoy the same mantle of basic rights, such as reasonable hours of work, weekly rest, clear information on terms and conditions of employment, and freedom of association.

“The Philippine ratification of the ILO Convention 189 was formally registered last September 5. What makes the Philippines’ ratification more important is that, as the second country to ratify the convention, it will pave the way for the Convention’s entry into force after a year,” Legarda explained.

The Senator added that another important measure that would further strengthen the protection of domestic workers in the country is the Kasambahay Bill, which has been approved already by both the Senate (Senate Bill 78) and the House of Representatives (House Bill 6144).

The proposed legislation seeks to increase the minimum wage of household helpers and require all household working arrangements between employers and helpers to be duly documented.

Meanwhile, the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006 is the seafarers’ bill of rights. The right to a safe and secure workplace that complies with safety standards; right to fair terms of employment; right to decent working and living conditions on board ship; and right to health protection, medical care, welfare measures and other forms of social protection are clearly laid down as self-evident rights whose enforcement is demanded by the Convention.

The MLC, 2006 also covers basic rights such as freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining; the elimination of all forms of forced or compulsory labor; the effective abolition of child labor; and the elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation.

“We aim to provide better protection for our workers in the country and those working in other nations. We do not want them to be subjected to inhuman or degrading treatment and any form of abuse. Furthermore, we also want to prevent Filipinos from being victimized by syndicates whose aim is to earn at the expense of others. Thus, we are pushing for the approval of the Expanded Anti-Trafficking Act,” Legarda said.

Among the amendments to the present law are: the addition of a new section on acts that constitute attempted trafficking; the strengthening legal protection for victims in the form of custody and interim protection order; and, the establishment of a permanent secretariat within the inter-agency council for anti-trafficking.

“Trafficking today is heightened by the very processes of globalization that has facilitated our progress, like rapid information transfer and cheap travel. Thus, we need an effective legal framework if we are to achieve some degree of success. Our challenge is to harmonize our policies, build capacities of agencies, and strengthen enforcement and prosecution,” Legarda stressed.

“With the ratification of the ILO Convention 189 and the Maritime Labour Code, 2006, as well as the impending approval of the Kasambahay Bill and the Expanded Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act, the rights of Filipino workers will be better protected and their concerns will be better addressed,” Legarda concluded.

Drilon asks ARMM to slash personnel budget, put more funds to livelihood projects

MANILA, September 13, 2012-Senator Franklin M. Drilon has asked the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) to review its organizational structure after it was revealed that 74 percent of the P13.99 billion proposed budget for the region in 2013 is allotted to pay for the salaries and benefits of its about 27,000 workforce.

“Of the nearly P14 billion budget of the ARMM, 74 percent, or roughly P10 billion, is earmarked for the payment of salaries. That is more than double the national average of 32 percent,” said Drilon, “there is a lot of fat there.”

This does not include the P49.72 million lodged under the Miscellaneous Personnel Benefits Fund which corresponds to the unfilled positions in the ARMM, added Drilon.

Drilon expressed concern that the huge allocation for personnel may also go to the salary of ghost employees believed to be rampant in the region.

“Assuming that these are not ghost employees, would you think that a staffing pattern review is in order so that you can devote more funds to projects to provide better service rather than the ARMM being an employment agency?” asked Drilon.

For the Department of Education office in the ARMM alone, it was revealed that 95 percent of its P8.25 billion budget for 2013 will go to the salary of teachers, noted Drilon.

ARMM governor Mujiv Hataman agreed to Drilon’s proposal.

“Yes, Sir. Actually, we scrutinize at gusto talaga naming i-review yung staffing pattern ng ARMM kasi very abnormal ang situation, even 50 percent. Parang magbubuhos ka na lang ng pondo para sa sweldo halos wala ng ginagawa, wala ng panggasolina. Tinitingnan din namin yung mga ghost employees,” Hataman told Drilon.

JINGGOY SAYS COPS NEED TO OUTWIT CROOKS, PUSHES FOR AN EFFICIENT POLICE ACADEMY

MANILA, September 12, 2012-Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada says the mandate of the Philippine National Police (PNP) to prevent crimes and to ensure public safety requires them to act proactively and outwit the criminals.

 

This developed as the PNP recently explained that the increased number of incidents of crimes in the National Capital Region (NCR) is due to the fact that the crooks have simply become “smarter.” The National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) recorded 29,231 crime incidents in Metro Manila during the first half of 2012 – 57% higher than what is recorded during the same period of the previous year.

 

Sen. Estrada points out that an effective police training program equips the law enforcement authorities with potent tools, knowledge and principles to carry out their peacekeeping functions. The lawmaker also cites the high-profile case of the “kotong” cop showing that some members of the police may have joined the ranks of brazen criminals, instead of stopping them.

 

“I see the case of increased criminality not only a product of poverty, but also of ineffective police instruction and education. Some crooks do it for survival, while some continue to commit crime because they think they will not be caught and can get away with it.  Our cops must outwit the criminals, and not the other way around,” Sen. Estrada states. 

 

Meanwhile, Sen. Estrada is pushing for the strengthening of the police academies by placing them under the direct management, supervision and administration of the PNP.

 

Senate Bill 3218, authored by Sen. Estrada, seeks to amend the Republic Act 6975 or the Department of Interior and Local Government Act of 1990 to transfer the operations of the Philippine National Police Academy (PNPA), the Philippine National Training Institute (PNTI) and the National Police College (NPC) from the Philippine Public Safety College (PPSC) to the PNP.

 

Sen. Estrada says that the measure seeks to streamline the skills training, continued education and specialization of the police. Among the problems observed with the current system include:

 

·         There is a mismatch between the PNP training expectations and requirements and the actual services provided by the PPSC;

·         It allows lapses in coordination of programs and makes it difficult to develop a system of plan and budget for trainings internal to the PNP;

·         It results in unnecessary cost and waste of resources because PNP would conduct its own re-orientation and specialization programs, duplicating those already undertaken by PPSC.

 

Earlier, the Senate Committee on Education, Arts and Culture adopted the proposal of Sen. Estrada as an amendment of its committee report strengthening the PPSC, effectively removing police training under the PPSC. The report was then recalled by the Chairman, Sen. Edgardo Angara, for further amendments. The measure is now pending approval on second reading.

Legarda Alarmed Over High Rate of Unemployed Women; Urges DOLE and Philippine Commission on Women to Take Action

MANILA, September 12, 2012-Senator Loren Legarda expressed alarm over the high rate of unemployment among women in the country, and called for more gender-responsive development priorities that should be reflected in the 2013 budget.

“We must begin to evaluate the budget in a new light, taking into consideration our changing social landscape. According to statistics from an SWS survey last May, the percentage of unemployed women is 36.4% or 6.5 million, which is significantly higher than the percentage of unemployed men at 18.9% or 4.4 million. Taking into account the abilities unique among genders, the Department of Labor and Employment and the Philippine Commission on Women should begin addressing this situation especially now that we are planning next year’s budget,” she explained.

Legarda stated that there are two strategies that the government should strongly explore. The first is greater support for industries that women frequent, such as textiles, crafts, farming, and food-processing and helping women start their own businesses and cooperatives. The second is appropriate training that will build women’s opportunities in entering economic sectors such as telecommunications, tourism, leisure services, and traditionally male-dominated jobs.

  

“Women are a valuable yet vulnerable sector, and this alarming rate of unemployment is one of the key factors that fuels migration. Hundreds of thousands of Filipino women seek jobs abroad every year, and are then often subjected to exploitation. Away from loved ones and the government’s assistance, their yearning for better lives unfairly pushes them deeper into harm,” she remarked.

“We are at a crucial juncture in our growth as a nation, and we must consistently scrutinize our opportunities for progress, ensuring that development is equitable and gender-responsive,” Legarda concluded.

P4 billion lost to ghost pensioners in the past years, says Drilon

MANILA, September 12, 2012-At least P4.2 billion or more funds ended up in the pockets of ghost pensioners in the past years and would have continued to be lost to corruption each fiscal year had not the Philippine Veterans Affairs Office (PVAO) moved to clean its roster of pensioners, according to Senate Finance Committee chairman Franklin M. Drilon.

Drilon said that prior to the delisting and cleansing of pension list that PVAO undertook, the government’s budget for the payment of the pension of veterans would reach to P15 billion annually. But as a result of the clean up where ghost, fake and unqualified pensioner and deceased war veterans were delisted, the budget went down to P10.59 billion.

“The difference of about P4.2 billion saved on a yearly basis is made possible with the effort of PVAO to flesh out the fraudulent claims. Meaning, before the reforms, this P4.2 billion would be paid to non-existing veterans or fictitious claimants,” said Drilon.

“This has been corrected by shifting to bank system, by having the pension paid through the banks, instead of using the old system where pensioners get their benefits through cheques and the postal service,” added Drilon.

“By this simple transferring of disbursement from the postal system to banking system saved the government approximately around P4.2 billion,” stressed Drilon, “I commend the efforts they have undertaken to make sure that only the legitimate pensioners and veterans would be provided the benefits under the law.”

Under the 2013 budget, noted Drilon, the government has earmarked P10.59 billion to pay for 231,081 pension claims.

Still, Drilon said the government owes war veterans the amount of P3.5 billion to compensate for their total administrative disability benefits which were left unfunded in the past years. To address this, Drilon said the Committee will look into some items in the unprogrammed funds which can be cut to accommodate the P3.5 billion requirements.

Meanwhile, Drilon said the government is still studying the possibility of integrating the pension of uniformed personnel into the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) to address the looming military and police pension crisis.

“About 53 percent, or P40 billion, of the budget of the Defense Department is for the payment of pensions. There is hardly any fiscal space for capital outlay and modernization program,” stressed Drilon.

Based on the initial study, said Drilon, the budget for the pension of uniformed personnel would grow up to P92 billion in 2017 from P71.58 billion next year.

“We have to resolve this before it reaches to a point where our budget for pension is much higher than our budget for the salaries of active personnel,” ended Drilon.

DND eyes P75B budget for AFP modernization, but source of funds to be determined, says Drilon

MANILA, September 11, 2012-At least P75 billion is needed to upgrade and modernize the Armed Forces of the Philippines in order for the government to build a credible degree of defense at par with other neighboring countries.

But Senator Franklin M. Drilon has posed a challenged to the Department of National Defense (DND) to “think out of the box” as to where they can source out this huge amount of budget other than the General Appropriations Act (GAA).

At the hearing on their P120.32 billion proposed budget in 2013, Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin said the P15 billion annual budget for the Armed Force Modernization Program (AFPMP) will be sourced from the GAA.

However, Drilon said the DND may face a budgetary-related problem since the GAA has limitations like the budget deficit and obviously cannot provide in full the P75 billion requirements for the upgrade of the AFP in order to balance internal security and territorial security concerns.

Under the 2013 budget, only P5 billion is earmarked for the Armed Forces of the Philippines Modernization Program. The other P10 billion is lodged under the Unprogrammed Fund portion in the budget in which the release is subject to the availability of funds, noted Drilon.

“The release of this P10 billion will depend upon the level of deficit we will be incurring. If there is enough fiscal space, that can be funded, but if not, we have to look for other means to fund this equally important endeavor,” explained Drilon.

“I challenge Secretary Gazmin and the rest of AFP officials to look for funds similar to the system in the Bases Conversion Development Authority where the sales of military lands were used to fund the modernization program,” said Drilon.

“We are looking at how the excess lands in the military camp can be made more productive to fund the modernization program in order that we can strengthen our defense system,” told Drilon.  

“It is not only the sale of the military assets that can be the source of funds. Military assets are vast of lands which can be made productive and be the source of modernization program,” he added.

Drilon, cited for example, the over 30,000-hectare Hamindan camp in Panay and the 43,000-hectare Fort Magsaysay which need not be sold, but can be made productive.

KIKO TO JBC ON REFORMS AND RETOOLING: REVIEW PREVIOUS PERFORMANCE OF JBC UNDER CJ PANGANIBAN AND LEARN FROM IT

Senator Francis "Kiko" Pangilinan, former chairman of the Senate Committee on Justice and former ex-oficio member of the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC), says that a re-tooling of the process in filling up court vacancies by the JBC is hardly needed. "All that the JBC needs to do is to look at the process implemented by the council under the leadership of then-Chief Justice Artemio Panganiban."

"Under his leadership, the JBC was able to reduce the vacancy in the judiciary to 16 percent from a high of 32 percent," he explains.

According to Pangilinan, the JBC then was able to reduce court vacancies to half through an "aggressive recruitment effort and an even more aggressive interview process so that all vacancies will have the necessary list of nominees submitted to Malacanang and that there are no backlog of nominations pending in the JBC."

The current vacancy is now back to 25 percent. Pangilinan says that the process regressed under succeeding Chief Justices, causing the vacancy rate to balloon back to what he calls "unacceptable levels."

Chief Justice Ma. Lourdes Sereno has called for a workshop to review the JBC process.

"The workshop should review the minutes of previous JBC meetings held during CJ Panganiban's time," Pangilinan suggests. "Here they will discover that at one point the JBC interviewed up to 30 applicants daily for a period of four months, thereby speeding up the nomination process tremendously. If we in the JBC were able to reduce the vacancy rates from 32 percent to 16 percent then, there is no reason why the JBC cannot do it now. We slashed the vacancies in half. The JBC today should be able to accomplish this and more. The target should be to reduce the vacancy rate to single digits in a year's time. This will require an aggressive recruitment effort where the JBC goes to the provinces to urge lawyers to take on the challenge of public service."

"Chief Justice Sereno, who is young and energetic, should lead the charge and undertake an all encompassing search for the best and the brightest to join the judiciary and help in putting in place the reforms it so urgently needs," Pangilinan stresses.

Legarda Pushes for “World Interfaith Harmony Week”

MANILA, September 11, 2012-Senator Loren Legarda has filed a bill that aims to establish the first week of February as “World Interfaith Harmony Week” in the Philippines, following a 2010 United Nations resolution declaring the same.

“I filed Senate Bill 3276, or the World Interfaith Harmony Week Act, because I believe it will help ease any conflict or tension caused by differing religious beliefs in the country,” said Legarda.

“The rationale of the UN resolution is a need to find genuine understanding among people of different faiths and belief systems. This finds resonance in the Philippines, a country that will certainly benefit from dialogues among leaders and representatives of religious institutions. The harmony we are pushing for is democratic, and built on effective communication and mutual respect,” she explained.

The proposed measure will mandate all government agencies and instrumentalities to carry out the observance of activities designed to advance the message of harmony and goodwill in accordance with religious traditions and practices during the Interfaith Harmony Week.

“Gatherings and activities for World Interfaith Harmony Week have been held in various countries across the world with diverse backgrounds, including Pakistan, Indonesia, Italy, and Jordan. Even in our country, the National Ulama Conference of the Philippines (NUCP) staged a gathering in Zamboanga City in honor of inter-religious cooperation. Beginning in 2013, we can conduct nationwide immersion programs and educational discussions geared towards forging lasting friendships,” she remarked.

“Senate Bill 3276, as it concurs with the resolution of the UN General Assembly, will go a long way in promoting cooperation and understanding among all Filipinos, and will hopefully aid in establishing a country of empathy and a culture of peace,” Legarda concluded.