Kung sa ibang bansa tulad ng Korea ay obligado ang bawat mamamayan na magsilbi sa military, magkakaroon na rin ng ganitong sistema sa Pilipinas sa ilalim ng Citizen Service Corps na itinutulak ni dating Pangulo at ngayo’y Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Sa ilalim ng HB05350 na inakda ni Arroyo, palalawakin pa ang Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) program, na hindi na naging mandatory nang maging batas ang Republic Act (RA) 9163 o National Service Training Program (NSTP).

Nais ni Arroyo na sanayin na ang mga kabataan, hindi lamang para ihanda ang mga ito sa external at territorial defense kung ‘di para sa internal security threats at disaster management.

Sinabi ni Arroyo na ang kanyang panukala ay may layuning magtatag ng isang komprehensibong framework para sa training and mobilization ng ating mga kabataan at ito ay magpapatupad ng constitutional vision na mag-udyok sa kanila tungo sa mainstream ng national life sa pamamagitan ng pagbibigay sa kanila ng avenue para sa kanilang partisipasyon sa public at civic affairs, primarily, sa pamamagitan ng pagtatatag ng Citizen Service Training Course (CSTC).

Kapag naging batas na ito, mandatory na ang basic citizen service training course sa lahat ng college students, kasama na ang mga kumukuha ng vocational course sa private at public universities and colleges sa buong bansa.

Lahat ng nakatapos ng CSTC ay awtomatikong miyembro ng CSC at puwedeng ipatawag para idepensa ang estado, hindi lamang sa banta sa labas kung ‘di sa loob ng bansa at maging i-deploy sa panahon ng kalamidad.

Pamumunuan ng isang Chairman at 4 Commissioners ang CSC na siyang magde-deploy sa mga miyembro at kung mayroong susuway ay isasailalim ang mga ito sa court martial.

Parusang anim na buwang pagkakakulong naman at 380 oras na community service sa mga tatanggi na mai-deploy ang mga ito para sa internal security at peace and order sa panahon ng kalamidad.

Lahat ng mga nakatapos ng CSTC ay maaaring kumuha ng advance course para tumaas ang ranggo hanggang 2nd Lt., hindi lang sa military kung ‘di sa pambansang pulisya.

De-boteng tubig, kailangang VAT-exempt

Nais ni Nueva Ecija Rep. Estrellita Suansing na i-exempt ang mga bottled water sa value-added tax (VAT) para mapababa ang halaga ng mga ito at upang maipagpa-ibayo ang isang healthy lifestyles sa buong bansa.

Sinabi ni Suansing na ang panukalang VAT exemption ay ang maging daan upang mapababa ang halaga ng mga de-boteng tubig at magkaroon pa ng healthier alternative sa sugar sweetened beverages (SSB).

Kung ang presyo ng mga matatamis na inumin ay mura kaysa sa de-bote na tubig, mas gugustuhin pa ng publiko na bumili ng sugar sweetened beverages kaysa sa tubig at hindi lingid sa kaalaman ng publiko na ang mga matatamis na inumin ay malakas magpapasira sa kalusugan ng tao, ayon sa kanya.

Iginiit ni Suansing, chairperson ng House committee on Ecology, na mas mataas ang presyo ng tubig kaysa sa mga juice at mga soda sa mga pamilihan.

Ito umano ang dahilan kung bakit mag gugustuhan pang bumili ng mga konsiyumer ng drink juices at soda kaysa sa de-boteng tubig at ang kinokunsumo ng publiko na sugar sweetened beverages ay mas malakas magpapasira sa katawan kung kaya’t karaminhang mga sakit ng tao ay nai-a-attribute sa high sugar level sa dugo, dagdag pa ni Suansing.

Ang glucose daw ay isang importanteng fuel para sa lahat na mga cells sa katawan na nasa normal na level at kung mataas ang sugar level, ito ay dahan-dahang sisira sa ability ng cells sa loob ng pancreas na gagawa ng insulin at ang organ ay mag-o-overcompensate dito at ang insulin levels ay mananatiling nasa masyadong mataas na level.

Tinukoy ni Suansing ang isang medical review na nagsasabing sa lahat daw ng mga masasamang choices ng mga drinks para sa tao na may high blood level ay ang mga regular sodas, regular beer, fruity mixed drinks, dessert wine, sweetened tea, coffee at cream, chocolate drinks at energy drinks, at lahat nn mga ito ay mga sweetened beverages.

Inihain ni Suansing ang HB05386 na mag-a-amiyenda ng P.D. 1158, as amended, ang National Internal Revenue Code of 1997, para ma-exempt sa VAT ang mga bottled water.

Alvarez: visa requirement mga Filipinong tutungo sa US, dapat walain na

Dapat ikonsidera ng Estados Unidos na walain na ang par-re-require sa mga Filipinong turistang kumuha ng visa o ang visa requirement nito at kung hindi ay baka mapuwersa ring mag-impose ang Pilipinas ng kahalintulad na restriction sa mga American travelers patungo ditto sa ating bansa.

Ginawa ni House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez ang panawagang ito bilang suporta sa balak ni Pangulong Rodrigo Duterte sa i-compel ang mga American tourist na kumuha ng visa bago ang mga ito makapasok sa bansa.

Sinabi ng Speaker na kung hindi sila willing na bigyan tayo ng kahalintulad na privilege, maaari ding i-require natin ang kanilang mga citizen na papunta dito sa ating bansa na mag-apply ng visa atingmnga embahada.

Kinondina ni Alvarez, isang miyembro ng President’s delegation patungong Japan, ang kakulangan ng reciprocity sa pagitan ng ilipinas at Estados Unidos sa usapin ng travel.

Sa kasalukuyan, ayon sa Speaker, ang mga Filipino ay kailangang magbayad para sa tourist visa bago ang mga ito papayagang maka-pasok sa United States samantalang ang mga Amerikano ay malayang bumisita at mamasyal sa loob ng ating bansa na walang visa.

Nais umano niyang ipursige ang palano ng Pangulo dahil normally, mayroon tayong tinatawag na reciprocity na kung papayag ang iyong bansa, halimbawa, isang citizen ng isang partikular na bansa ay visa-free, dapat ganun din sa kabilang bansa.

Nagtataka umano siya kung bakit ito lang ang time na ang US citizens, habang dala-dala nila ang kanilang US passport, kung pumasok sila sa bansang Pilipinas, wala silang visa, samantalang ang mga Filipino ay nire-require na pumila ng kasing-aga ng alas tres ng umaga para lamang makapag-apply ng visa kaya kailangang dapat mayroong reciprocity.

Sinabi ni Alvarez na dapat i-assert ng Pilipinas ang sovereignty nito bilang isang bansa kung nais nating i-respeto rin tayo iba pang mga bansa.

Ang hirap daw kasi, nasanay ang mga Filipino na bine-baby ang Amerika na para bang hindi sila pwedeng magkamali at lahat ng gagawin nila ay tama, sabi pa ng Speaker.

Ayon sa kanya, nasa sa Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) na i-implement ang isang panibagong scheme para sa mga American tourists, sangayon na rin sa panukala ng Pangulo last week.

Pero, yung sa issue ng TNT sa kanila, problema na nila yon daw dahil tayo naman kung may nag-TNT sa atin, problema din natin yun, dagdag pa niya.

Sa pagpapakita ng Pangulo kamakailan lamang ng kanyang anti-US sentiment, pinahayag ng Pangulo na kinokonsidera niya ang pagpapatupad ng visa restriction sa mga American tourists sa Pilipinas.

Umangal ang pangulo na pinapahirapan ng US ang mga Filipino sa visa restriction kaya ito na umano ay pay back time.

Namimiligro ang mga prangkisa ng PAL at CebuPac

Nagbanta ang Kamara na irerebyu ang prangkisa ng Philippine Airlines (PAL) at Cebu Pacific dahil masyado umanong mahal ang ticket ng mga ito bukod sa madalas ma-delay ang mga biyahe.

Ginawa ni House majority leader Rodolfo Fariñas ang babala sa pagdinig ng House committee on transportation na pinamumunuan ni Catanduanes Rep. Cesar Sarmiento ukol sa reklamo ng mga pasahero sa masyadong mahal na ticket at delayed flights ng mga nabanggit na airline companies.

Ayon sa kanya, kada linggo, kliyente umano sila ng eroplano at ang downtime niya daw sa PAL seguro, weekly ang nasasayang mga minimum of two to five hours

Kaya sinabihan niya ang PAL na sabihan nila ang kanilang mga your corporate bosse na ire-review niya ang kanilang franchise.

Idinagdag pa niya na maaari nilang amiyendahan ang kanilang prangkisa anytime.

Sinabi niya sa mga kinatawan ng PAL at CebuPac sa pagdinig na you make a killing, and we are at your mercy at pinagsasamantalahan ninyo ang riding public.

Ayon sa mambabatas, ang prangkisa ng PAL at Cebu Pacific ay hindi nila karapatan kundi prebilehiyo lamang na ibinigay ng sambayanang Filipino.

Dahil sa Mahal na pasahe at delayed flight, prangkisa

ng PAL, Cebu Pacific sisilipin ng Kamara

SISILIPIN ng Kamara de Representantes ang prangkisa ng Philippine Airlines (PAL) at Cebu Pacific Airlines kapag hindi nito pinagbutihan ang pagbibigay ng serbisyo sa publiko.

Nagpahayag ng kanyang saloobin si House Majority Leader Rodolfo C. Fariñas (1st District, Ilocos Norte) at iba pang mambabatas sa ginanap na pagdinig ng House committee on Transportation sa pamumuno ni Rep. Cesar V. Sarmiento (Lone District, Catanduanes).

“Bawat linggo kliyente niyo kami, at ang downtime ko sa PAL siguro bawat linggo ay nasasayang mga dalawa hanggang limang oras. Tell your corporate bosses that I will review your franchise. We can amend your franchise anytime. You make a killing, and we are at your mercy. Pinagsasamantalahan ninyo ang riding public,” sabi ni Fariñas.

Ayon kay Farinas, muling susuriin ng Kongreso ang prangkisa ng dalawang kompanya kapag hindi nito natugunan ang mga reklamo sa napakamahal na airline fares at sa mahabang delayed flights.

Pinaalalahanan ng mambabatas ang PAL at Cebu Pacific Airlines na hindi karapatan ang kanilang prangkisa bilang isang public utility, kundi isang pribilehiyo na ibinigay sa kanila ng sambayanan sa pamamagitan ng kanilang kinatawan sa Kamara.

“Kaya kayo naka-operate dahil pinayagan kayo ng mga boss namin --- the sovereign Filipino people. Huwag niyo naman pagsamantalahan. Your enterprise is imbued with public interest. Wake up and shape up,” sabi pa ni Fariñas.

Ipinatawag ng Komite ang pagdinig base sa mga House Resolution 267 na inihain ni Rep. Ferjenel G. Biron, M. D. (4th District, Iloilo) at HR 723 ni Reps. Vicente S. E. Veloso (3rd District, Leyte) at Victoria Isabel G. Noel (Party-list, AN WARAY) sa labis na pananamantala sa pasahe ng PAL at Cebu Pacific.

Ayon kay Veloso tila inabandona ng Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) ang tungkuling i-regulate ang presyo ng pamasahe sa eroplano para magbenepisyo ang taumbayan.

Pinaalalahanan ni Veloso, si CAB Executive Director Carmelo Arcilla baka nilalabag na nito ang mga probisyon sa Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act kung ipipilit ang kanyang pananaw at itutuloy na baliwalain ang mandato sa ilalim ng Republic Act 776 na kumikilala sa CAB at sa Civil Aeronautics Administration. (eag/mip)

Tardy solons face penalty

Bagamat parating maganda ang attendance ng mga mambababatas sa plenaryo ng Kamara, tatlo sa mga house leaders ang sumusuporta sa balak ng Kapulungan na isara ang session hall at markahang absent ang mga lawmaker na dumarating na late para sa sesyon na nag-umpisa na ng alas kuwatro ng hapon kada Lunes hanggang Miyerkules.

Sa magkakahiwalay na panayam, sinalubong nina House Deputy Speaker at Batangas Rep Raneo Abu, Quezon City Rep Winston Castelo at Eastern Sama Rep Ben Evardone ang panukala ni House Majority Leader and Ilocos Norte Rep Rodolfo Farinas na bakal na ipatutupad sa ika-24 ng Hulyo 2017 o sa pagbubukas ng 17^th Congress ng Second Regular Session nito para maseguro ang mas produktibong Lower House.

Isinasagawa na ito ng House Committee on Rules sa maliitang scale ni majority floor leader bilang chairman nito at napatunayang ito ay gumagana effectively.

Minsan kailangan umano ay magkaroon ng role bilang magulang na may pamalo para maipairal ang disiplina sa loob ng institusyon.

Para kay Castelo naman na siyang namumuno ng house committee on

Castelo, who chairs the House committee on Metro Manila development, said the House leadership was right to be strict because starting the session on time would allow the House of Representatives to do more work.

While it is unprecedented feat that the House of Representatives mustered quorum every session since the First Regular Session started last July, Castelo lamented that there is usually no quorum if the presiding officer orders a roll call at four in the afternoon.

“I agree with our House Majority Leader. It is the responsibility of lawmakers to attend session on time. Drastic situation calls for drastic solution. Now is the time to be true to our oath,” Castelo, a member of the ruling Partido Demokratikong Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban), explained.

For his part, Evardone, who chairs the House committee on banks and financial intermediaries, said he supports the plan of the House leadership aimed at further improving the performance of the institution.

“I hope no problem with the proposal to close the entrance after four in the afternoon,” said Evardone, a member of the PDP-Laban.

On Saturday, Fariñas told reporters that “we will call the roll of members at exactly 4 p.m. Those who do not respond to the roll call will be marked absent, except those attending committee hearings as authorized by the rules committee or the majority leader.”

Fariñas, a stalwart of PDP-Laban, explained it is unfair for those who arrive on time if the House continues the practice of waiting for enough members to fill the plenary hall before the roll of members is called.

It is now a practice that sessions are opened promptly at 4 p.m. but immediately suspended to await the arrival of more members before the roll is called.

The Ilocos Norte lawmaker said the leadership is also considering starting sessions at 10 a.m. instead of 4 p.m.

Previous Congresses were plagued with perennial absenteeism of lawmakers, prompting legislature leaders to propose arresting absentee members and penalizing them with salary cuts, but none of these was adopted.

Lawmaker seeks NIA makeover

A lawmaker on Saturday called anew for a makeover of the National Irrigation Administration by instituting reforms to make the agency financially viable in providing free irrigation to farmers.

CamSur Rep. LRay Villafuerte noted that each year, the NIA has been requesting for higher and higher allocations under the national budget, and continues to receive humongous subsidies from the national government to maintain irrigation systems nationwide and fund its free irrigation program.

“The NIA despite being a state-owned firm, has been bleeding the government dry. It has even requested a higher budgetary allocation for next year as it has been doing so in the previous years, although its accomplishment rate is far from impressive,” Villafuerte said.

Villafuerte, vice chairperson of the House committee on appropriations, cited Bureau of Treasury reports showing that the NIA got P11.08 billion in subsidies in the first quarter —or more than five-fold the P2.06 billion acquired by the agency in the same quarter in 2016—that accounts for over half the P19.7 billion subsidies to government-owned and controlled corporations over that January-March 2017 period.

NIA officials earlier said the subsidies granted to it during the period were used to implement irrigation projects all over the country, as well as its free irrigation program.

In February alone, NIA received P8.957 billion or almost 90 percent of the subsidies to GOCCs granted in February, Villafuerte said.

The NIA has also proposed a P42-billion budget next year, which is 11 percent higher than this year’s allocation of P38 billion, he added.

At present, Villafuerte said 2.4 million hectares or 43 percent of farmlands in the country still lack irrigation, even though the NIA was given the “flexibility of a corporate vehicle and the administrative autonomy” to achieve its objectives under Republic Act 3601, which created the agency 53 years ago.

Villafuerte earlier filed House Bill 2133 asking the government to institutionalize free irrigation to farmers.

HB 2133 not only seeks to abolish irrigation fees and restructure the farmers’ unpaid fees, but also to revert the NIA to being a line agency under the Department of Agriculture (DA), Villafuerte said.

Villafuerte’s bill also aims to streamline the government’s irrigation development program and carry out its mandate of irrigating 100 percent of irrigable farmlands in the country within a four-year period.

He said his measure would provide the impetus for the NIA to overhaul its old system and arrest the sharp drop in farm product ivy.

“The proposed refocusing of NIA’s role and purpose further seeks to foster sustainable livelihood among its farmers through improvement in both farm productivity and increased income by abolishing existing laws prescribing the power and authority of the NIA to collect Irrigation Service Fees or other forms of charges for the use of irrigation systems,” Villafuerte said.

Solon waver on okay of Duterte tax reform bill

The approval of the Duterte administration’s tax reform package faces uncertainty in the House of Representatives as 47 solons are opposing the bill. They want it amended, fearing a rise in the prices of basic commodities.

The proposed bill, the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion Act (TRAIN), has been calendared for plenary deliberations this week. The bill has been co-authored by 102 lawmakers, the Department of Finance (DoF) said in a statement.

“With strong support from President Duterte and high officials of the land, with more than 100 co-authors, the support of more than 100 stakeholder groups, and millions of workers waiting for the reform, this is the time to move decisively,”DoF Undersecretary Karl Kendrick Chua said.

While they support many provisions of the tax package bill, Ako Bicol party-list Rep. Rodel Batocabe, president of the the Party List Coalition (PLC) composed of 47 representatives, said they want to scrap the provision lifting Expanded Value-Added Tax (EVAT) exemption on cooperatives.

“A compromise should be reached here because we feel that this will be detrimental to our sector,” said Batocabe, a lawyer, who will file an amendment today to restore the VAT exemption of cooperatives as an offshoot of the majority caucus last Wednesday called by Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez.

But Camarines Sur Rep. LRay Villafuerte, a stalwart of the Nacionalista Party (NP), said the tax package reform bill would help the new administration achieve high and inclusive growth under President Duterte’s 10-point socioeconomic agenda.

Villafuerte, who had sponsored the DoF’s budget for 2017 as vice chairman of the House committee on appropriations, noted that House Bill (HB) No. 5636 or TRAIN, which consolidated the DOF-backed HB No. 4774 with 54 other tax-related bills, would cut income tax rates for the benefit of low-income workers and help raise money for administration’s massive expenditure program.

In ensuring a steady revenue stream for Malacañang’s accelerated spending strategy, Villafuerte said the tax reform bill would help keep on track President Duterte’s vision to eradicate extreme poverty in one generation and make the Philippines a high-income or advanced economy by 2040.

Quezon City Rep. Winston Castelo, who chairs the House committee on Metro Manila development, also backed the restoration of cooperatives’ VAT exemption. “Let us restore the exemptions on coop and temper tax on fuel as this will create a domino effect on increase of basic good, thereby affecting majority of Filipinos who are poor,” said Castelo, a member of the ruling Partido Demokratikong Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan.

Negros Occidental Rep. Albee Benitez, head of the 42-strong Visayan bloc, seeks automatic suspension in the implementation of the proposed P6 tax on petroleum products to safeguard the consumers should the price of crude oil hover around $80 per barrel mark.
Benitez said protecting the consumers should be the foremost consideration of Congress after lawmakers were given until afternoon today to submit their individual amendments.

“We feel that this is an effective way to protect consumers from erratic prices of petroleum products. There should be a provision for automatic suspension in the implementation of the proposed tax on petroleum products,” said Benitez, explaining that oil price increases have domino effects on all prices of basic commodities.

At the same time, Benitez said he and his colleagues who come from sugar-producing provinces will move to slash the imposition of P10 per liter tax on sugar sweetened beverages (SSBs) to P5.

“We believe that the P10 proposal is too high and may kill the local sugar industry. We will propose this to slash by half,” said Benitez, adding that the proposal is anti-poor as the sugar industry is already burdened with the value-added tax and creditable withholding tax.
Benitez said Congress should not ignore the plight of the sugar industry, particularly the tens of thousands of marginalized sugar farmers who will be further burdened by the proposed tax.
Approval still possible

But Quirino Rep. Dakila Carlo Cua, who chairs the House committee on ways and means and principal author of TRAIN, reiterated that the measure will be approved on third and final reading before the sine die adjournment of the First Regular Session of the 17th Congress at the end of the month.

“We are confident in the leadership of our Speaker and our Majority Leader that with their spearheading the supermajority, almost 100 percent sure that it will be passed in lower chamber,” Cua told reporters.

The measure will exempt workers earning P250,000 and below for the years 2018 and 2019 from paying personal income taxes on top of the tax-free P82,000 worth of allowances and 13th month pay annually.

But the measure is also proposing P6 tax on petroleum products, P10 per liter tax on SSBs, ad valorem tax on brand new automobiles, and among others.

If passed into law, it is expected to generate P206.8 billion in revenues.

But Negros Oriental Rep. Arnulfo Teves urged the Bureau of Customs (BoC) to collect their P230 billion annual tax leakage instead of passing the TRAIN.

Cua said the DoF’s decision to spread out the proposed P6 a liter to increase oil excise tax into three tranches of P3, P2 and P1 in the first three years will lighten the burden on the riding public.

The measure imposes the following tax rates: Leaded premium gasoline, per liter of volume capacity, from P5.35 to P7 in 2017, P9 in 2018 and P10 in 2019; unleaded premium gasoline, per liter of volume capacity, from P4.35 to P7 in 2017, P9 in 2018 and P10 in 2019; aviation turbo jet fuel, per liter of volume capacity, from P3.67 to P7 in 2017, P9 in 2018 and P10 in 2019; kerosene, per liter of volume capacity, from P0.00 to P3 in 2017, P5 in 2018 and P6 in 2019.
Diesel fuel oil, and similar fuel oils having more or less the same generating power, per liter of volume capacity, from P0.00 to P3 in 2017, P5 in 2018 and P6 in 2019; liquefied petroleum gas, per liter, from P0.00 to P3 in 2017, P5 in 2018 and P6 in 2019; asphalts, per kilogram, from P0.56 to P3 in 2017, P5 in 2018 and P6 in 2019; bunker fuel oil, and on similar fuel oils having more or less the same generating power, per liter of volume capacity, from P0.00 to P3 in 2017, P5 in 2018 and P6 in 2019.

These tax rates shall also be increased by four percent every year thereafter effective January 1, 2020 through revenue regulations issued by the finance secretary.

The proposal will also restructure excise taxes on alcohol.

The measure also imposes an ad valorem tax on brand new automobiles based on the manufacturer’s or importer’s selling price, net of excise and VAT.

Carpio seesk UN intervention anew

House allies of President Duterte had backed his administration’s move to accept a “gentleman’s agreement” to prevent war or keep the situation in the South China Sea stable while China, the Philippines and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) work on a binding Code of Conduct (CoC) on the disputed territories.

Eastern Samar Rep. Ben Evardone and House Deputy Speaker and Batangas Rep. Raneo Abu agreed with newly-appointed Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano to pursue a strategy that would guarantee the peaceful conduct of addressing the conflict following the absence of legally-binding mechanism to enforce any deal on the dispute.

“Sec. Cayetano’s proposal is laudable to ensure peace and stability and development in the region. The adoption of code of conduct is very essential in ensuring freedom of navigation,” said Evardone, who chairs the House committee on banks and financial intermediaries.

The position of Mr. Duterte’s allies clashes with that of Supreme Court (SC) Associate Justice Antonio Carpio who urged Mr. Duterte to troop to the United Nations (UN) after China threatened to go to war when he asserted the Philippines’ claims in the South China Sea.In a statement, the senior High Court magistrate urged Duterte to take China’s threat before the UN General Assembly, noting that the UN Charter outlaws the use or threat of force to settle disputes between states.

Carpio made the statement after Mr. Duterte bared that his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping said that they will go to war if the Philippines extracts oil and gas in the Reed Bank.

Abu, for his part, said going to war will be detrimental to all nation-claimants, even as he explained that there is no better alternative than pursuing a peaceful solution to the conflict.

“Any proposal that would keep us from war and will make the situation stable is a welcome development. Let us take advantage of the friendly atmosphere right now and the good relationship of President Duterte with Chinese leaders,” said Abu, a stalwart of the Nacionalista Party (NP).

Cayetano made his observation last Friday after the Asean and China finished a draft framework for negotiating a COC, despite regional skepticism over Beijing’s commitment to rules that can restrain its maritime ambitions.

He said legally binding means there is a court or tribunal to which parties can turn to if another party reneges on the agreement.

The former senator admitted there is a need for a mechanism that would help resolve issues if some parties fail or refuse to comply with the code.

Binding code needed Southeast Asian nations with claims in the South China Sea have long wanted to sign China up to a legally binding and enforceable code. China claims most of the energy-rich South China Sea, through which about $5 trillion in sea-borne trade passes every year. Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam also have claims in the resource-rich waters, aside from China and the Philippines.

In July last year, the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague invalidated China’s claim to sovereignty over most of the South China Sea and the West Philippine Sea in a case filed against Beijing by the previous Aquino administration.

A COC is the key objective of a 2002 Declaration on Conduct, large parts of which China has ignored, particularly a commitment not to occupy or reclaim uninhabited features.
China has piled sand upon reefs and other land features to build seven islands in disputed parts of the Spratly archipelago. China has also been transforming three of the reefs into what experts believe could be forward operating bases.

China is also doing exploration work in areas that are well within the Philippines exclusive economic zone particularly at the Benham rise.

“We intend to drill oil there, if it’s yours, well, that’s your view, but my view is, I can drill the oil, if there is some inside the bowels of the earth because it is ours,” Duterte said in a speech at the National Convention of the Philippine Coast Guard Auxiliary in Davao City last Thursday.

“His response to me was: ‘We’re friends, we don’t want to quarrel with you, we want to maintain the presence of warm relationship, but if you force the issue, we’ll go to war,” Duterte said, recalling his conversation with Xi.

Carpio wants Unclos-based arbitration

Following Duterte’s statements, Carpio said that the President should bring China’s threat to another United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) arbitral tribunal, insisting that the Philippine Constitution “renounces war as an instrument of national policy.”

“(This is) to secure an order directing China to comply with the ruling of the UNCLOS arbitral tribunal that declared the Reed Bank part of Philippine exclusive economic zone,” Carpio said.
“The Philippines can also ask for damages for every day of delay that the Philippines is prevented by China from exploiting Philippine EEZ,” the senior High Court magistrate said.

Moreover, Carpio insisted that Reed Bank is vital to the country’s national interest as “it is the only replacement for Malampaya, which supplies 40 percent of the energy requirement of Luzon.”

Carpio said that the Philippines should develop Reed Bank as the Malampaya gas field will run out of gas in less than ten years.

“Unless the Philippines develops Reed Bank, Luzon will suffer 10 to 12 hours of brownouts daily 10 years from now. This will devastate the Philippine economy,” Carpio said.

Meanwhile, amid the growing tensions between the Philippines and China, Carpio called on Duterte to strengthen the alliance with the United States, who signed a mutual defense treaty with the Philippines.

Carpio said the Philippines should bolster it ties with the US as the UN Charter recognizes the right of states to mutual self-defense against armed aggression.

“The Philippines can ally with the United States because the United States does not claim the West Philippine Sea or any Philippine territory. The Philippines cannot ally with China because China wants to grab for itself the West Philippine Sea and the Spratlys,” Carpio said.

The SC justice added that China’s “blatant” threat of war comes as a signal for the country to strengthen its defenses and alliances.

“As long as China threatens the Philippines with war over the West Philippine Sea, the Philippines can never lower its guard in its dealings with China,” Carpio said.

Carpio added that only China, from all countries in the world, threatened a declaration of war against the Philippines over the latter’s claims in the disputed waters.

“The other claimant states in the Spratlys—Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei—recognize Philippine exclusive economic zone, including Reed Bank, in the West Philippine Sea,” Carpio said.

Carpio noted that Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei have no dispute with the Philippines over the Reed Bank.

However, Carpio said the only dispute of the Philippines with Vietnam and Malaysia is on high-tide elevation rocks and their 12 nautical mile territorial seas in the Spratlys, which are more than 100 nautical miles from Reed Bank.

Clarification needed — Gordon

A threat of a declaration of war, that’s how Sen. Richard Gordon described the supposed pronouncements of Xi in warning Mr. Duterte against insisting on drilling for oil in the South China Sea.

“I think we should be clarified. Congress must be clarified by the Chinese ambassador and the President of the Philippines, to tell us what was really said because we are not without our defences and therefore the foreign affairs minister, (Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano) should tell us what really happened,” Sen. Richard Gordon said in a radio interview.

“The President should have told him ‘you are in violation of all international law, our constitution states that the Philippines renounces war as an instrument of national policy and adhere to the internationally-accepted principles of international law’,” he said.

Both Gordon and Sen. Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan said the government should immediately lodge a complaint before the UN although the former expressed doubts of the veracity of such claims given the lack of any statements or pronouncements coming from China on this matter.

“I don’t know if the President (Duterte) interpreted rightly what was said because normally the Chinese President will not make such statements because that’s in effect a threat of a declaration of war,” he said.

“I really, really don’t believe right now that the President was accurate in saying that Xi Jin Ping would say that. I don’t think so. He might have misunderstood him. But if he said that, I will recommend that we go to the UN and make the manifestation, it will be China against the world,” Gordon said.

The senator said Duterte has been known to make retractions on his previous pronouncements and he will not be surprised if Malacanang will clarify this issue as well.
Pangilinan seeks protest

Pangilinan has put to task newly-designated Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Sec. Alan Peter Cayetano to take up the issue.

“Did China really threaten the Philippines with war after President Duterte asserted the Southeast Asian nation’s sovereignty over disputed territory in the West Philippine Sea? If so, then Foreign Affairs Secretary Cayetano should issue a diplomatic protest for this threat,” Pangilinan said Sunday.

Pangilinan made the call in the wake of reports on President Duterte’s recent revelations that China had threatened to use force against the Philippines if it will extract oil from Recto Bank, an area in the West Philippine Sea that has already been recognized last year by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague as part of the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
Recto or Reed Bank is being claimed by China as also part of its territory, supposedly.

Pangilinan, president of the opposition Liberal Party (LP) reiterated their support to resolution No. 158 filed by party mate, Sen. Bam Aquino in Oct. last year, calling on the Senate committees on foreign relations and economic affairs to conduct a hearing, in aid of legislation, on the foreign policy direction of the government.

“This is with the end view of protecting our national interest. The hearing should tackle not only this issue but also the detains of the $24 billion loans and investments recently sealed with China as well as the Duterte administration’s decision to reject aid from the European Union,” he said.
Gordon said China should not be a bully and must learn from its own history when it was bullied and occupied by world powers in the past.

“China should remember that Hitler and Genghis Khan went that way and where are they now? Do not bully your neighbours. You lose more than you gain,” he said.

China can avoid bullying and be a respected country, Gordon said adding that it loses influence in Asia when it is perceived as bullying its neighbours and only diminishes its respect and influence in the world.

“(But if it’s true) quite frankly, I don’t want to say this because I was not there (when Xi Jinping supposedly said it), if he really said that, then we go to the UN. We go to the international community,” he said.

Bill lowering criminal age set to be passed

The House Subcommittee on Correctional Reforms is set to approve next week a bill seeking to lower the minimum age of criminal liability to 12-years-old.

The panel, chaired by Misamis Occidental Rep. Henry Oaminal, is expected to pass the substitute bill, which seeks to expand the scope of the Juvenile Justice and Welfare System and strengthen the social reintegration programs for children in conflict with the law on May 23.

In February, the Oaminal panel shelved its approval of a substitute bill after its technical working group, led by Kabayan partylist Rep. Ron Salo, appealed for another week to thresh out the provisions of President Duterte’s priority measure.

Salo said during their TWG meetings, “Everyone is in agreement that Children in Conflict with the Law below 15 should be made accountable and responsible for their actions.”

“However, almost all the resource persons, and many other members of Congress who attended the meetings, are opposed to “branding” these CICLs as criminals,” he noted.

The TWG conducted three meetings to consolidate all the six measures and craft a substitute bill, considering the inputs of the authors, committee members, and resource persons.

The bills were authored by House Deputy Speaker and Cadiz Rep. Fredenil Castro, House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez, Tarlac Rep. Victor Yap, Navotas City Rep. Toby Tiangco, Antipolo City Rep. Romeo Acop, and Nueva Ecija Rep. Estrellita Suansing.

Salo said the TWG adopted the proposal made by House Deputy Speaker and Taguig City Rep. Pia Cayetano to rephrase the title “so as not to label the CICLs as criminals but still make them accountable and responsible to their actions.” (Charissa L. Atienza)

Duterte backed on peaceful sea row end

TWO House leaders yesterday supported the Duterte administration’s stand for China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to forge a “gentleman’s agreement” to prevent war or keep the situation in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) stable to ensure freedom of navigational passage.

Eastern Samar Rep. Ben Evardone and House Deputy Speaker and Batangas Rep. Raneo Abu agreed with newly-appointed Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano that the Philippines must pursue a strategy that would guarantee the peaceful resolution of the conflict in the WPS.

“Sec. Cayetano’s proposal is laudable to ensure peace and stability and development in the region. The adoption of a code of conduct is very essential in ensuring freedom of navigation,” said Evardone, who chairs the House committee on banks and financial intermediaries and a member of the ruling Partido Demokratikong Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban).

Abu said going to war will be detrimental to all nation-claimants, explaining there is no better alternative than pursuing peaceful solution.

“Any proposal that would keep us from war and will make the situation stable is a welcome development. Let us take advantage of the friendly atmosphere right now and the good relationship of President Duterte with Chinese leaders,” said Abu, a stalwart of the Nacionalista Party (NP).

Cayetano made his observation on Friday after the ASEAN and China finished a draft framework for negotiating a code of conduct (COC), despite regional skepticism over Beijing’s commitment to rules that can restrain its maritime ambitions.

He said legally binding means there is a court or tribunal to which parties can turn if one party reneges on the agreement.

The former senator admitted there is a need for a mechanism that would help resolve issues if a party fails or refuses to comply with the code.

Southeast Asian nations with claims in the South China Sea have long wanted to sign China up to a legally binding and enforceable code.

Army of trolls?

NOT trolls but hardline supporters.

Defending President Rodrigo Duterte from the accusation that he is maintaining on his payroll an army of trolls, Davao City Rep. Karlo Alexei Nograles said these supporters from the social media help the President to have a better image and spread the news about his projects.

Nograles commended President Duterte’s first year in office with the country finally gaining momentum in laying down the right mindset and infrastructure for peace, progress and honest governance.

The chairman of the House committee on appropriations said that never in the country’s history was there a leader who has commanded so much respect and reverence from his people except President Duterte.

Because of his multitude of hardline supporters, President Duterte is often of having a “troll army”.

“His legion of supporters are being unfairly tagged as trolls but in reality, these are ordinary people who are strong believers of the President. They are not paid hacks,” Nograles said.

Nograles noted that detractors are relentlessly trying to weaken the president’s popular support but are obviously failing in all fronts because of his exceptional success in demonstrating the commitment to pursue reforms which he promised to the people when he ran and won the presidency.

“Our people have every reason to celebrate the change promised in the May 9, 2016 elections. In his first year as president, no time was wasted to set our country’s course on the right track. The records will show major gains where past governments have failed and this is the reason why our people are very emotional when their Tatay Digong is being attacked,” the solon added.

Nograles cited the president’s huge success in dramatically shrinking the drug market because of the government’s aggressive campaign against drug offenders.

The President’s commitment to peace and development is also on track following his multi-pronged approach to end the country’s insurgency problem, Nograles added.

He noted that despite various challenges that have threatened to undermine the peace process, the president has shown so much sincerity and commitment in pursuing the peace talks.

And while the President’s critics are trying to create a ruckus over the President’s alleged hostility against the United States and the European Union, Nograles said that President Duterte’s biggest accomplishment is pursuing a truly independent foreign policy that will work for the best interests of the country and people.

“The greatest achievement of the President is his declaration of an independent foreign policy and following it through. At least we can truly say that our government is not subservient to any foreign power,” Nograles said.

‘2.4 M hectares of farmland still without irrigation’

The country would be self-sufficient in rice and other agricultural products if the irrigation program reaches these lands, he said in a statement.

MANILA, Philippines - Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Raymund Villafuerte lamented yesterday that 2.4 million hectares or 43 percent of farmlands remain without irrigation despite the huge sums the government is spending each year to irrigate agricultural areas.

The country would be self-sufficient in rice and other agricultural products if the irrigation program reaches these lands, he said in a statement.

He said the accomplishment rate of the National Irrigation Administration “is far from impressive” and yet NIA has been requesting for higher budgetary allocations and continues to receive large subsidies from the national government to maintain irrigation systems nationwide and to fund its free irrigation program.

“The NIA, despite being a state-owned firm, has been bleeding the government dry,” he added.

Villafuerte, vice chairman of the House committee on appropriations, cited Bureau of Treasury reports showing that the NIA received P11.1 billion in subsidies in the first quarter of this year.

The P11.1 billion is more than five-fold the P2.06 billion acquired by the agency in the same quarter in 2016 and accounts for over half the P19.7 billion subsidies to government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs) for the January-March 2017 period.

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In February alone, NIA received P8.957 billion or almost 90 percent of the subsidies to GOCCs granted in February.

Villafuerte has proposed the restructuring of NIA and the abolition of irrigation fees in House Bill 2133.

“The bill aims to streamline the government’s irrigation development program and carry out its mandate of irrigating 100 percent of irrigable farmlands in the country within a four-year period. It will provide the impetus for the NIA to overhaul its old system and arrest the sharp drop in farm productivity,” he said.

He said if irrigation reaches all agricultural lands in Camarines Sur, his province could easily jump to the No. 3 rank as rice producer from its current No. 4 ranking.

The NIA is among the four offices President Duterte has transferred to the supervision of Cabinet Secretary Leoncio Evasco Jr.

The three others are the National Food Authority (NFA), Philippine Coconut Authority, and Fertilizer and Pesticide Authority.

The Villafuerte bill also seeks to return NIA to the Department of Agriculture (DA). Other congressmen have also proposed the return of all these four agencies to Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol.

They said the four offices were taken out of the DA during the Aquino administration so that then presidential assistant for agriculture Francis Pangilinan would have a job of supervising them.

With Pangilinan having reclaimed his Senate seat in last year’s elections, it’s time the four agriculture-related agencies be reverted to the DA, they added.

CA likely to bypass Taguiwalo, Mariano, Ubial anew

Isabela Rep. Rodito Albano III, CA majority leader, said the concerned committees will have to decide on whether to make recommendations on the fitness of Mariano, Taguiwalo and Ubial to hold their Cabinet posts before Congress adjourns on June 2. Philstar.com / Rosette Adel, File

MANILA, Philippines - Due to lack of time and unresolved issues on its rules, the Commission on Appointments (CA) is expected to bypass the appointments of Social Welfare Secretary Judy Taguiwalo, Agrarian Reform Secretary Rafael Mariano and Health Secretary Paulyn Ubial, leaders of the bicameral body said yesterday.

The three Cabinet officials continue to face stiff opposition at the CA owing to allegations of corruption and incompetence, as well as being leaders of the Left in the case of Mariano and Taguiwalo.

Senate Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III, who chairs the CA committee on agrarian reform, also said the body is still tackling the resolution filed by Sen. Paolo Benigno Aquino IV seeking a review of the secret balloting rule.

Sotto said the confirmation hearings for the three Cabinet secretaries were “no longer possible” because the CA rules committee still has to resolve Aquino’s resolution. Sen. Gregorio Honasan, chairman of the health committee, said as much.

CA members, including Aquino, earlier agreed to the secret balloting rule but following the controversy over the rejection of Gina Lopez as environment secretary, the senator wants the rule reviewed, to the consternation of other lawmakers.

Headlines ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1

Sen. Panfilo Lacson said the CA has agreed to take up the promotions of senior military officials, and the appointments of the Cabinet officials will be tackled when Congress resumes session in July.

“The point is, nominees and appointees cannot dictate on the CA as what Secretary-designate Taguiwalo impliedly did last Wednesday when she bellyached about not being attended to,” Lacson said.

Senate President Aquilino Pimentel III said there should be no reason for the three Cabinet officials to worry about being bypassed.

“So what’s the problem? They just go back and get ad interim appointments – they just go back to the executive branch where they’re from,” Pimentel said in a telephone interview.

During the hearing of the CA committee on health, last week Ubial was accused of repeatedly lying before Congress, incompetence, wasting public funds and corruption by Kabayan party-list Rep. Harry Roque, one of the objectors to her appointment.

“This (deferment) is not deliberate. (The CA) is not dragging its feet. Because of the enormity of the responsibility on your shoulders, public interest demands the commission be allowed to deliberate further,” Honasan said shortly before suspending deliberations on her appointment.

Ubial was also scored for proposing to distribute condoms to high school students as a means to stop the spread of the human immunodeficiency virus, which causes AIDS.

Roque said he initially supported her appointment but after she had testified in hearings at the House of Representatives, and after receiving sworn statements on irregularities at the Department of Health, he believed she is unfit for the post.

“The appointee (Ubial) has a propensity to lie. She lied to the public when she declared that Zika virus is not endemic to the Philippines and there were no case yet of the viral infection in the country,” the lawmaker said.

He also alleged that Ubial flipped-flopped on the government’s P3-billion dengue vaccination program, and has been working on illegally diverting the funds for the program for the acquisition of pneumonia vaccines under suspicious circumstances.

He said Ubial has been justifying the acquisition of pneumonia vaccines using data from the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) that purportedly showed high demand.

Roque said the data was unreliable owing to the reports of fraudulent claims in PhilHealth. It was also suspicious that Ubial ordered nearly six million doses for the vaccine, or quadruple the annual average order of the DOH.

He also pointed out that instead of the price per dose going down as the orders go up, Ubial’s acquisition was at nearly P1,000 per vial compared to P800 per unit when the DOH ordered only one million doses last year.

There were other objectors to Ubial’s appointment lined up to speak before the panel, including ACTS-OFW party-list Rep. Aniceto Bertiz, but their presentation was scheduled for a later date.

Cartel? House to review Franchise of Lucio Tan, Gokongwei airlines for costly airfare, delays

House Majority Leader Rodolfo C. Fariñas is pushing for a review of the franchises of Lucio Tan’s Philippine Airlines and John Gokongwei’s Cebu Pacific for turning blind and deaf to complaints of costly airfare and delayed flights.

“Every week kliyente niyo kami, at ang downtime ko sa PAL siguro weekly nasasayang mga minimum of two to five hours. Tell your corporate bosses that I will review your franchise. We can amend your franchise anytime. You make a killing, and we are at your mercy. Pinagsasamantalahan ninyo ang riding public,” Fariñas said in a statement.

Fariñas reminded PAL and Cebu Pacific Airlines that their franchise as public utility is not a right, but a privilege granted to them by the Filipino people through their representatives in the House.

“Kaya kayo naka-operate dahil pinayagan kayo ng mga boss namin — the sovereign Filipino people. Huwag niyo naman pagsamantalahan. Your enterprise is imbued with public interest. Wake up and shape up,” said Fariñas..

Fariñas and other lawmakers aired the warning during the recent hearing of the committee on transportation chaired by Rep. Cesar V. Sarmiento.

The committee summoned representatives of concerned government agencies and the private airline firms to explain the root cause of the unreasonable prices of airline tickets and the perennial problem of flight delays, which have long inconvenienced the public.

The hearing was based on House Resolution 267 filed by Rep. Ferjenel G. Biron, M. D. (4th District, Iloilo) and HR 723 filed by Reps. Vicente S. E. Veloso (3rd District, Leyte) and Victoria Isabel G. Noel (Party-list, AN WARAY).

The committee called for an inquiry, in aid of legislation, on what they call as “excessive and opportunistic” airfares collected by major airlines, particularly the PAL and Cebu Pacific.

The costly airline fares issue was compounded by numerous complaints from lawmakers and their constituents about long delayed flights.

Veloso said the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) has abandoned its duty to regulate airline pricing intended to benefit the people.

Veloso, a former Court of Appeals (CA) Associate Justice, reminded CAB Executive Director Carmelo Arcilla that the official might be violating the provisions in the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act if he insists on his views and continues to neglect his mandate under Republic Act 776 which reorganized the CAB and the Civil Aeronautics Administration

Arcilla told the committee that since the issuance of Executive Order (EO) 219 during the Ramos administration, the airline industry was already deregulated.

Biron said there seems to be a cartel running the whole airline industry.

The authors of HRs 267 and 273 detailed their share of “horror stories” that they personally experienced, such as costly airfares, especially for same day purchase and flight bookings, and flights delayed from two hours to as long as five to six hours, without passengers being compensated with even snacks or water for the inconvenience they bore.

“Riding an airplane is meant to be convenient and time efficient. Recent developments, however, show that air travel is not how it was envisioned to be. Today, it has become a reality for everyone, everyone who can handle the possibility of inconvenience; everyone who can face the risk of long delays; and everyone who can afford the high price of tickets,” Sarmiento said.

Sarmiento reminded anew the airline companies that before anything else, a public transport is first and foremost a public service, and a business venture second.

He urged the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP), Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA), Mactan-Cebu International Airport Authority (MCIAA), Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP), and CAB to address the real reason behind the flight delays.

The committee members expressed disappointment with Arcilla’s response that the industry was already deregulated. They also rejected the statement of the airline firms’ representatives that various reasons affect their pricing.

Lawmmakers reminded Arcilla that a mere EO cannot tramp on a law, such as RA 776, which gave specific mandate to the agency to regulate and consider all market forces, which refers to both the airline companies (supply) and commuting public (demand), before entering into agreements with airlines on ticket price matters.

Meanwhile, a technical working group (TWG) chaired by committee vice chairman Rep. Edgar Mary Sarmiento (1st District, Samar) was created to tackle the airline fare pricing and delayed flights issues.

To Address Shortage of Teachers in Private Schools:

TAP LICENSED PROFESSIONALS AND CERTIFIED PRACTITIONERS TO TEACH IN PRIVATE SCHOOLS – RANKING SOLON

To address the worsening problem of supply of teachers in the private schools, I propose that private schools be given more flexibility in the hiring of new teachers, including part-time teachers from among the ranks of the experienced licensed professionals like engineers and architects, and certified practitioners, sports trainers and information technology specialists, and practicing musicians and artists.

Licensed professionals and certified practitioners with graduate education teaching units can boost the dwindling ranks of private school mentors.

Private schools all over the country are in crisis because many of their teachers are leaving, moving over to the public schools after they pass the licensure exam for teachers.

The private schools are an important part of the country's education sector. They need help finding new teachers who will stay on with them.

I will seek a meeting soon with the private schools so they can suggest specific ways and measures on how Congress can help them to specifically address their manpower problems. (END)

STATEMENT BY THE

HONORABLE SALVADOR B. BELARO, JR.

1-Ang Edukasyon Party-list

Assistant Majority Leader

House of Representatives

PRESS RELEASE

May 22, 2017

Office of Anakpawis Party-list Representative Ariel Casilao, 0998-985-2143

Email ad: anakpawis.info@gmail.com

Facebook: /anakpawis.partylist Twitter: @AnakpawisPL

URL: http://www.anakpawis.net/

Anakpawis, Makabayan push to ban poisonous, deadly Paraquat and Glyphosate

House of Representatives – Anakpawis Party-list Representative Ariel “Ka Ayik” Casilao and Makabayan Coalition lawmakers filed House Bill No. 5677 and 5678, Paraquat Use Prohibition and Glyphosate Use Prohibition, respectively. Paraquat is marketed by Syngenta, while Glyphosate by Monsanto. They were joined by leaders from Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP), Resist Agro-Chem TNCs and Masipag farmers-scientists group.

“The international community has banned the use of these agro-chemicals, and their use is certain to harm people and the environment, it is only wise for the country to decisively ban them,” Casilao said.

The bill stated “Glyphosate is widely used in herbicide-resistant genetically modified (GM) corn (or commonly known as Roundup Ready corn) in the country. Data from the Bureau of Plant Industry of the Dept of Agriculture states that in 2011, the country plants about 685,317 hectares of GM corn of which 96% (658,846 Ha) is able to resist the said herbicide. In a study made by the Magsasaka at Siyentipiko para sa Pag-unlad ng Agrikultura (MASIPAG) on the socio-economic impacts of genetically modified corn in the Philippines, farmers spray about 4 liters of Glyphosate per hectare twice every season. Thus in one season of GM corn farming in 2011 alone, GM corn farms in the country are being doused with almost 5.3 Million liters of Glyphosate. “

Countries banned the use of Paraquat were Sweden (1983), Finland (1986), Hungary (1991), Austria (1993), Denmark (1995) and Slovenia (1997). It is also banned in Kuwait (1985), Cambodia (2003), Ivory Coast (2004), Syria (2005), United Arab Emirates (2005), Sri Lanka (2010) and most recently in Vietnam (2017). Malaysia banned Paraquat in 2002 but this was reversed in 2006 to allow its restricted use in oil palm plantations. South Korea cancelled the re-registration of Paraquat in November 2011 and banned its sale starting 31 October 2012. In April 2012, China decided to halt all production and use of liquid Paraquat by 2016.

In addition; On February 8, 2017, the Vietnamese government officially announced an immediate ban on Syngenta’s Paraquat upon having weighed in on the different scientific evidences that showed clear harms of the pesticides both on humans and environment. Doctors from Bạch Mai Hospital in Hà Nội, Vietnam have reported at least one patient everyday hospitalized due to herbicide poisoning, popularly known as paraquat poisoning. The fatality rate after ingesting just 5ml of the chemical is 90 per cent, doctors said. Every year, about 1,000 people die of Paraquat poisoning across the country.

“For the protection of farmers, their livelihood and environment, the Duterte government should immediately ban these two substances, to avoid its catastrophic effects in the country”, Casilao concluded. ###

HARRY ROQUE CAUTIONS JUSTICE CARPIO: DON’T GIVE FALSE HOPES ON WEST PH SEA DISPUTE

Deputy Minority Leader and Kabayan Party-list Rep. Harry L. Roque on Monday cautioned Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio not to give any false hopes that the United Nations will be effective in resolving China’s threat to use force against the Philippines in the West Philippine Sea Dispute.

However, this realpolitik in international relations notwithstanding, Roque said it is still important that the Philippine government vigorously protest China’s building spree in the West Philippine Sea, in violation of the Arbitral ruling.

“I agree that China’s alleged threat, if true, is a violation of the United Nations Charter. But while we can certainly go to the UN to seek peaceful solutions pertaining to the West Philippine Sea dispute, but we also have to consider that fact that we will probably not get relief there as China will certainly veto any resolution we file in the UN General Assembly. Let us not give our people any false hopes that the UN can be effective in matters pertaining to China,” Roque said.

“All threats to international peace are within the cognizance of the UN Security Council. While theoretically we can go to the Security Council for China’s alleged threat to use force, which is illegal under the UN Charter, the reality is China, being a permanent member of the Security Council, has veto vote in the Council,” he explained.

The lawmaker said the President needs to coach his statements on the issue in careful, diplomatic terms, to avoid giving the impression to the international community that the Philippines is already waiving its sovereign rights over the West Philippine as already recognized by the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea (ITLOS).

Carpio on Saturday urged President Duterte to take China to the UN for threatening to go to war against the Philippines if the latter drills for oil in the Reed Bank.

The Reed Bank is an area in the West Philippine Sea that had already been declared by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague to be within the Philippines’ Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).

Aside from China, other permanent members of the UN Security include the United States, United Kingdom, France, and Russia. They are collectively known as the Permanent Five.

According to the UN, the five countries were given permanent status along with along with a special voting power known as the right to veto “because of their key roles in the establishment of the United Nations [and because they] would continue to play important roles in the maintenance of international peace and security.”

“If a permanent member does not fully agree with a proposed resolution but does not wish to cast a veto, it may choose to abstain, thus allowing the resolution to be adopted if it obtains the required number of nine favorable votes.”

The Security Council is composed of 15 countries including the Permanent Five.

22 May 2017

REP. RODOLFO C. FARIŃAS

Majority Leader and Chairperson of the Committee on Rules,

House of Representatives

ATTN: REP. DAKILA CARLO CUA

Chairperson

Committee on Ways and Means

Sir:

This representation would like to withdraw his co-authorship of House Bill 5636, mainly because said consolidated bill, we submit, is not in consonance with the intentions that we sought when we filed House Bill 333.

HB 333, one of the bills consolidated in HB 5636, mainly aimed to initiate a progressive system of taxation, by alleviating first the plight of our people who for the longest time have been overtaxed, yet gravely underpaid. This representation believes that a progressive taxation system would have the country’s oligarchs and the elite pay more so that our underpaid people would at least maximize the benefit of what already is subsistence income for them.

Yet, with the consolidated HB 5636, our underpaid yet already overtaxed majority would even be burdened by higher prices of basic goods and services. The so-called “complementary reforms” tied with the restructured income brackets, like the increase in excise taxes and the expansion of VAT bases, have ironically only made the poor pay more. Meanwhile, rich individuals and corporations expect expanded tax exemption schemes, with investment tax expenditures projected to increase year by year. Yet, these are the same taxpayers who are callous enough to pass on to consumers their respective corporate income taxes, like water concessionaires Maynilad and Manila Water.

Our people continue to aspire for a pro-people and genuine progressive system of taxation. Unfortunately, we submit that House Bill 5636 is not reflective of such an aspiration.

Truly yours,

Cayetano: PHL efforts to uphold socio-economic rights recognized at UNHRC

House Deputy Speaker Pia S. Cayetano delivered a privilege speech on Monday to highlight the country’s gains in promoting socio-economic rights which were reported to the 27th Universal Period Review of the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) last May 8.

At the same time, Cayetano, a member of the Philippine delegation to the UNHRC in Geneva, said Congress would have to consider the recommendations of member-states concerning legislative measures related to all aspects of human rights.

She said a number of member-countries noted the progress made by the Philippines in ensuring that socio-economic rights are enjoyed by the greater majority of Filipinos.

The Taguig City lawmaker said these gains include the country’s relentless campaign against human trafficking, ratification of the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture, and upholding the rights and welfare of vulnerable groups, especially women and children.

She added that member-states likewise acknowledged the country’s efforts to promote inclusive development, especially in improving people’s access to quality education, health, and other social services.

“There are around 265 recommendations formulated during the interactive dialogue with the other member-states, which include recommendations for legislative measures that Congress would have to consider. These will be examined by our delegation which will endorse concerns to the respective offices and branches of government for further actions to take,” she explained.

Cayetano said the Philippine delegation led by his brother, then senator and recently confirmed foreign affairs secretary Alan Peter Cayetano, reported the country’s gains in all fronts and real numbers “to dispel allegations and correct misinformation spread by critics against the Philippine government’s campaign on illegal drugs.”

The delegation also affirmed the country’s respect for human rights and its determined pursuit of a human and holistic approach to development and governance.

“Our colleagues in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, who, by their own first-hand experience, are quite aware of the gravity of our illegal drug problem, have expressed support for our fight to rid our part of the world of the scourge of illegal drugs,” she related. “China has called on other States to join the Philippines in the campaign, and Japan has offered assistance in drug treatment programs and facilities.”

In addition to the UNHRC meeting in Geneva, Cayetano also met with European parliamentarians in Brussels and Spain. “They (EU parliamentarians) appreciated receiving accurate information about the current situation in the Philippines which they only read about in international media. I discussed with them common interests especially in the field of health, education and culture,” she said.

“They all expressed interest in strengthening ties with the Philippines and look forward to working closely with the Philippine government.” #

House passes “Integrated Urban Agriculture” bill

The House special committee on food security has approved a substitute bill seeking to promote agricultural development in Metro Manila and other urban areas nationwide to help in the country’s attainment of self-sufficiency and sustainability in food production and food security.

To be known as the “Integrated Urban Agriculture Act,” the unnumbered substitute bill seeks to cover all urban spaces such as idle, government or private lots or buildings, and available land resources in state or private universities and colleges suitable for growing crops and raising poultry, livestock and aquaculture.

It substituted House Bills 2818, 4354, 4337 and 4422, and is authored by Reps. Estrellita Suansing (1st District, Nueva Ecija), Michael Romero (Party-list, 1-PACMAN), Harlin Neil Abayon III (Party-list, AANGAT TAYO), Orestes Salon (Party-list, AGRI), Gary Alejano (Party-list, MAGDALO) and Emmeline Aglipay-Villar (Party-list, DIWA).

The bill declares the attainment of self-sufficiency and sustainability in food production and food security as a primary State policies.

It further declares that the State shall endeavour to attain self-sufficiency in food production and climate-resilient communities in the metropolitan areas through the promotion of modern, appropriate, cost-effective, and environmentally safe agriculture technologies in order to ensure food security, promote a healthy citizenry, and advance and improve quality of life for urban dwellers that will ensure a healthy and sustainable environment, and food security in the country.

Under the bill, the owner of a building or land shall be granted a real property tax incentive and/or tax credit amounting to P10 for every square meter allotted to urban agriculture.

To guarantee that activities related to urban agriculture are closely supervised and properly coordinated, the measure mandates the creation of the Office of Urban Agriculture under the Department of Agriculture (DA).

The Office of Urban Agriculture shall have the following functions: (1) Ensure that the DA effectively encourages agricultural production in urban communities to combat hunger and food insecurity; (2) Ensure that the DA empowers communities in urban areas with large percentage of low income residents to eliminate shortages of affordable, fresh food products, increase the local production and sale of food, and create sustainable food systems; (3) Develop a unified strategy to link agricultural production and nutrition programs administered by the DA as a tool for economic development on urban communities; (4) Conduct systematic and regular reviews of the DA’s authority and policy making recommendations to Congress and the Secretary on new authority or regulation changes to assist urban communities to combat hunger, poor nutrition, and food security; (5) and Ensure that the programs established by the Act are implemented in a manner consistent with the goal of poverty reduction, food security, and healthy eating habits in urban communities.

The bill likewise seeks the establishment of an Urban Agriculture Council of the Philippines (UACP), under the DA, which shall have the following powers and duties: (1) Formulate implementing guidelines, programs, and operating principles consistent with government policies and the objectives of the Integrated Urban Agriculture Act; (2) Study and make recommendations regarding the impact of urban agriculture, vertical farming, and measures to promote sustainable living communities; (3) Monitor and carry out the implementation of the Integrated Urban Agriculture Act; and (4) and Submit and report to Congress its findings and recommendations.

Further, the measure mandates the integration of Urban Agriculture in the curriculum for elementary, secondary, and tertiary levels of both public and private academic institutions.

Urban Agriculture shall also form part of the required period of time spent by students in the National Service Training Program (NSTP) or the Citizens Military Training (CMT).

The bill further mandates the DA, in coordination with the proposed Urban Agriculture Council of the Philippines (UACP), to carry out a nationwide information and education campaign to ensure the public awareness of the program and encourage the public to take part in urban agriculture programs, projects, and activities. / ABR

HARRY ROQUE CAUTIONS JUSTICE CARPIO: DON’T GIVE FALSE HOPES ON WEST PH SEA DISPUTE

Carpio on Saturday urged President Duterte to take China to the UN for threatening to go to war against the Philippines if the latter drills for oil in the Reed Bank.

The Reed Bank is an area in the West Philippine Sea that had already been declared by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague to be within the Philippines’ Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).

Aside from China, other permanent members of the UN Security include the United States, United Kingdom, France, and Russia. They are collectively known as the Permanent Five.

The Security Council is composed of 15 countries including the Permanent Five.

Passage of TRAIN must go full throttle - Ranking Solon

Critics of the Duterte administration exaggerate their imagined adverse impact of the tax reform measures. What they fail and avoid to state is how the tax burden in the Comprehensive Tax Reform Package (CTRP) and Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) bill is shared by many more people instead of by just a few.

So instead of say, P100 being taxed on just one person, P10 would be taxed from 10 people. The burden is spread out, shared.

We, as citizens, share responsibility and paying taxes is one effective way of being good citizens.

Teachers will bear less of the burden because of the income tax relief of the CTRP.  The 763,000 public school teachers nationwide, the thousands more in the state universities and colleges, as well as regular TESDA and CHED personnel, represent perhaps the biggest chunk of fixed income taxpayers in our country today. 

If this taxable year of 2017 Congress is able to approve by June the CTRP, including the new and lower personal income tax rates, employers can quickly recompute the tax component of salary deductions, thereby giving private sector and government employees higher take-home pay. 

Filipino households would immediately feel the impact of CTRP as a major reform measure.

More money in their pockets, wallets and bank accounts means consumer spending and savings-both of which will have positive impact on the national economy.

The tax reform package should become law this year so its effects will start this year. (END)

House to push on expeditious resolution of cases and enhancement of cooperatives

House leaders today vowed to pursue important pending bills in their committees particularly those concerning the expeditious disposition of cases in the country and the enhancement of the role of cooperatives for the betterment of the lives of the people.

Rep. Reynaldo V. Umali (2nd District, Oriental Mindoro), chairman of the committee on justice, and Rep. Rico B. Geron (Party-list, AGAP), chairman of the committee on cooperatives development, made this commitment during the bi-monthly press briefing organized by the Office of the Speaker and the Press and Public Affairs Bureau (PPAB).

Umali reported the justice committee unanimously approved earlier today the report on the panel’s decision dismissing the impeachment complaint filed by Rep. Gary C. Alejano (Party-list, Magdalo) against President Rodrigo Duterte for insufficiency of substance.

“It has been a rather eventful period for the committee. We have just completed our work—at least at the committee level—on the impeachment proceedings (on the complaint against the President). And just this morning we already approved unanimously the report in 20 minutes. We started at exactly 9:30 AM and we completed the task in about 20 minutes,” said Umali.

Other than acting on the impeachment complaint, Umali said the justice committee has in its jurisdiction 200 bills so far in the 17th Congress. Eight of these were already approved on Third Reading, 28 bills were passed at the committee level, and another 39 bills are now pending before the different sub-committees which were created to hasten the disposition of all bills pending with the panel.

"We still have two regular sessions to go and we hope to accomplish everything by end of our term in 2019,” said Umali.

He cited that notably, the justice panel already concluded the inquiry in aid of legislation on the illegal drug trade. “”As you very well know, this has put our Bilibid Prison, which is the ‘premier’ state penitentiary on the spotlight. It exposed organized illegal drug trade as part of a larger criminal subculture that exists inside Bilibid, revealing not merely complicity but direct and active involvement of corrupt public officials. Definitely, it was a serious matter worth looking into by the committee for it raised questions about the efficacy of our penitentiaries in their primary objectives of reformation and incapacitation,” said Umali.

Clearly, huge reforms need to be made in the country’s correctional system, and the committee is making every effort to achieve this, Umali said. “We’re looking at every means by which correctional reforms can already be executed even at this early time,” he added.

Umali said the committee also approved the creation of about 70 additional salas and 150 judges at large as part of its effort to expedite the resolution of cases in the country.

He explained the judges at large can be deployed in vacant salas and can take over cases, unlike the pairing judges. “It’s so difficult because normally, pairing judges would always want to prioritize the cases pending before them and then would leave behind those that are assumed by reason of their becoming pairing judges in courts which also have an equal number of backlog cases to resolve,” said Umali, a lawyer.

As to the proposal to lower the age of criminal liability, which will be discussed in the hearing tomorrow, Umali said there are various options now being pursued, one of which is to enhance the existing law.

"This is something very new, siguro bukas mas maintindihan natin. I do not know the details yet. I was just briefly briefed by the ComSec and hopefully I get a better understanding of it," said Umali.

Umali vowed: “We assure our people of our commitment to promptly—the way we did it in the various controversial legislative matters pending before us—to institute legislative reforms and exercise congressional oversight in response to the relevant issues affecting our country's justice system today.”

Meanwhile, Geron said the cooperatives sector is at a crossroads and facing an issue that can have a significant impact on the future of the cooperative movement in the country. He was referring to the proposed Comprehensive Tax Reform Program, also known as Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN), which calls among others, for the removal of VAT exemptions previously enjoyed by cooperatives.

Geron explained there are two conflicting schools of thought on the issue: on one hand, the Department of Finance believes lifting of the VAT exemption of coops is necessary to plug tax leakages and improve revenue collection. There is also the view that coops should not rely on their viability and fiscal incentives but rather on sound fiscal management.

On the other hand, Geron said cooperatives insist that the Constitution itself seeks to promote the growth and viability of cooperatives as instrument for social justice and economic development.

“The cooperatives’ position is that this constitutional mandate be attained through the grant of tax exemption privileges. They agree that profit is not the primary purpose of cooperatives and merely incidental to its mission to serve its members. In general, however, the cooperative movement has expressed support for the objectives of the Tax Reform Package of the Duterte administration,” said Geron.

Geron said they expect the proposed amendments to the TRAIN bill to strike a compromise between the need for the government to raise revenues and ensure the long-term viability particularly of small and medium-scale cooperatives.

“Kami sa cooperatives sector ay talagang pinaglalaban namin diyan is manatili kung ano man privilege meron tayo sa cooperative. Being the partner of the government for economic and social development, a cooperative being a social enterprise. Ang compromise naming sinasabi ay that we are very supportive of the bill, lahat ng mga provision dun, bagama’t some of those ay maaaring tingin namin ay maganda pang i-enhance o i-improve like the Excise Tax pero particular kami doon sa provision that would repeal the tax exemption privilege of the cooperatives. The compromise is that kung aalisin yung provision to repeal the tax exemption of the cooperatives then the cooperative sector will be very supportive of this,”said Geron.

Aside from the VAT exemption issue, he said the committee is currently working on some 20 bills under its jurisdiction. Last May 10, he said the committee adopted House Resolution No. 256, which seeks to close an avenue for corruption in regard to the issuance of Certificate of Tax Exemption by the Bureau of Internal Revenue.

Moreover, among the most significant proposals pending before the committee are House Bills 565, 1275 and 2571 seeking to reorganize the Cooperatives Development Authority; bills to create a mandatory position of cooperative officer in every government unit; and House Bills 188, 259, 2285 and 2824 seeking to ensure the growth and viability of cooperatives. (30)/ RBB

Statement after the Subcommittee on Correctional Reforms approved the bill seeking to expand the scope of the Juvenile Justice and Welfare System Act and strengthen government’s social reintegration programs for Children In Conflict with the Law

Statement of Pia S. Cayetano

House Deputy Speaker

Representative, Taguig City 2nd District

23 May 2017

I am happy to report that we have approved the substitute bill on Juvenile Justice in connection with the bills that were filed lowering the age of criminal responsibility. The bill that the committee approved is one that recognizes that children are most vulnerable and, in the current situation, a lot of our children have been exploited, have been taken advantage of, and a lot of them have been introduced to the criminal world. And so what we tried to achieve with the bill is to address the fact that these children must still take responsibility for their acts, but at the same time, recognize that they are victims, and that they have been taken advantage of by society and those with criminal minds. They will not be subjected to criminal proceedings at a tender age. What the bill now proposes is that these children will be put into intervention programs and these are programs that are determined by the State to be effective. So we recognize parental responsibility but the State, through DSWD, makes a determination if the children should be left with their parents or if they should be taken away from their parents and put in these intervention programs, including Bahay Pag-asa.

So sa madaling salita po, ang ginawa po natin is under the current law, pinapalakas natin ito by giving the State that ability to take these children immediately and put them into programs. Kasi yan ho ang naging daing, yan ang naging problema ng ating law enforcers at barangay captains, na to the point na winagayway sa harap nila, ng mga bata, ang kanilang birth certificate, dahil alam nilang hindi sila pwedeng ikulong if they are under the age of fifteen. So ang inaaddres po natin ngayon is, hindi man namin kayo isu-subject sa criminal responsibility, you still are responsible for it. So we are sending the message that the State will not allow you to continue doing these criminal activities. Hindi pwede. Pero we also recognize that, ‘Sige bata ka, pagbibigyan ka, tutulungan kang ma-rehabilitate.’ So I am very happy that this is a balance between the need to protect and nurture the children, but at the same time, give them that sense of responsibility that they must be accountable for their actions. Hindi naman pwedeng lumulusot, hindi naman pwedeng ginagamit lang sila, at sasabihin nilang ‘Eh bata pa ako, di ko alam ang ginagawa ko.’ Hindi.

Children, kailangan responsible kayo sa mga action nyo at kayo ay ire-rehabilitate, mawawala din kayo sa piling ng parents nyo kung hindi rin nila kayo kayang turuan at bigyan ng magandang guidance. So that’s the gist of the bill. Marami pa hong detalye dyan. Binibigyan din ho natin ng napakataas na penalty yung mga taong nagbibigay ng masamang impluwensya sa mga batang ito, those people who influence, the ones who subject these children to this kind of criminal life. Sila po ay bibingyan ng penalty, practically parang doble yung penalty sa kung ano yung act na pnapagawa nila sa mga bata. There are more details and we would be happy to highlight these later on. But I just want to give you a verbal report para maintindihan nyo po ang outcome nitong halos isang taong din na tinrabaho. And I am so proud and happy to be a part of this final outcome, which is a collaborative work between members of Congress and the stakeholders who really worked to get a bill that would address those dual concerns: Number 1, yung pangalagaan at bigyan ng guidance at support itong mga bata, but also Number 2, which is the intention of the main proponents of the bill, and also of the administration, which is to hold these children, make sure that they are accountable for their action, because they have be accountable, and they have to know that it is not acceptable what they are doing. #

PASSAGE OF THE SUBSTITUTE BILL ON MACR AT THE SUBCOMMITTEE LEVEL 'A STEP CLOSER TO VICTORY FOR FILIPINO CHILDREN' -AKBAYAN

23 May 2017

This is a step closer to victory for fellow advocates of children's rights, and ultimately for the Filipino children themselves. The rejection of a lower minimum age of criminal responsibility is a clear sign that the House Justice subcommittee has heard the clamor of the advocates and communities.

Akbayan upholds its position that children in conflict with the law should be afforded the chance to lead a life full of hope and opportunities. We also hope that with the substitute bill, Congress can finally fulfill its mandate of providing sufficient funds and resources that will support comprehensive programs to help the future of our country.

Akbayan will not waver in its efforts to protect the rights of our children by convincing legislators and the public that our children belong to schools, not in jails.

House to defy Duterte’s wish on age of criminal liability

The House of Representatives will defy Malacañang on the desire of President Rodrigo Duterte to lower the age of criminal liability from 15 to nine years old, a House official said on Monday.

Rep. Reynaldo Umali of Oriental Mindoro, House committee on justice chairperson, said his panel may opt to may decide to “enhance” Republic Act 9344, the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act instead.

“I do not want to preempt what the committee will say but maybe [I can reveal that] as early as now, I was briefed by my committee secretary that there are various options now being pursued," Umali said at a news briefing.

“One of which, and this is something very new, perhaps tomorrow [Tuesday] we’ll understand it more thoroughly, we’ll just enhance the existing law,” Umali added.

But Umali could not tell yet which particular provisions will be amended.

Umali said, however, that the House justice panel may not give in to the desire of President Duterte to lower the age of criminal liability from the current 15 to nine years old to stop crime syndicates from using children to evade the law.

“That is the possibility. But I do not want to preempt the decision of the committee,” said Umali, a former key ally of the Aquino administration.

Duterte has blamed the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act and its author Senator Francis Pangilinan for producing “generations of criminals.”

RA 9344 raises the minimum age of crimimal responsibility from 9 to 15 years old.

The President said the current law has allowed children, regardless of the gravity of the offense, to go scot-free and be released on the same dau they were arrested.

Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez last year filed House Bill 2 that reverts back to nine the age of criminal liability, as the current law was “pampering youth offenders who.commit crimes knowing they can get away with it,” Alvarez said.

Report na nagbasura sa impeachment aprub na

Inaprubahan ngayong araw ng House committee on justice ang report nito kaugnay ng pagbasura sa impeachment complaint na inihain laban kay Pangulong Duterte.

Ayon sa chairman ng komite na si Oriental Mindoro Rep. Reynaldo Umali tumagal lamang ng 20 minuto para aprubahan nila ang committee report na nagsasabing insufficient in substance ang reklamong inihain ni Magdalo Rep. Gary Alejano.

“By unanimous vote, the committee report on resolution dismissing the verified complaint for impeachment and supplemental complaint affidavit filed by Rep. Gary Alejano against President Rodrigo Duterte, effectively putting a one year ban on any and all impeachment complaints that may be filed against the President, is hereby approved unanimously,” ani Umali.

Sa Mayo 9, 2018 maaari na muling sampahan ng impeachment complaint si Duterte.

Ayon kay Umali sa Miyerkules o Lunes maaaring talakayin ang kanilang committee report sa plenaryo at doon ay muling pagbobotohan. Kung makakukuha ng one-third o 98 boto na pabor sa impeachment complaint iaakyat ito sa Senado para sa pagsasagawa ng impeachment trial.

Nagpahayag ng pagka-kampante si House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez na tuluyan ng mababasura ang reklamo laban kay Duterte.

“No chance to revive or override it, it is already dead,” ani Alvarez.

Noong nakaraang linggo, ibinasura ng justice committee ang impeachment complaint dahil insufficient in substance ito.

Ang reklamo ni Alejano ay batay sa extra judicial killing, umano’y hindi idineklarang yaman ni Duterte at malamyang posisyon nito sa agawan ng teritoryo.

Magkapatid na Gatchalian pinayagan sumama sa biyahe ni DU30

Inaprubahan ng Sandiganbayan Fourth Division ang hiling ng magkapatid na sina Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian at Valenzuela Rep. Weslie Gatchalian na sumama sa biyahe ni Pangulong Duterte sa Russia.

Sa magkahiwalay na resolusyon, pinayagan ang dalawa na makaalis mula Mayo 22 hanggang 27.

Ang magkapatid ay pumayag na gamitin muli ang kanilang conditional arraignment noong Oktobre.

Hindi na rin nila kinuha ang P270,000 travel bond na ibinigay nito sa korte noong Oktobre para sa kanilang mas naunang biyahe kaya ito na rin ang gagamitin nilang travel bond sa biyaheng ito.

Kailangang ipakita ng korte ang kanilang pasaporte upang patunayan na wala silang ibang lugar na pinuntahan maliban sa Moscow, Russia, sa loob ng 10 araw pagbalik nila sa bansa.

Bukod dito pinayagan din ng korte ang hiling ni Rep. Gatchalian na pumunta sa Toronto, Canada sa Hunyo 4 hanggang 18.

Si Rep. Gatchalian ay nauna ng pinayagan ng korte na bumiyahe sa China, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Taiwan at Japan.

Nahaharap ang magkapatid sa mga kasong kriminal kaugnay ng anomalya umano sa pagbili ng Local Water Utility Administration sa Express Savings Bank Inc., na pagmamay-ari ng kanilang pamilya.