Benigno Aquino III | Prepys' Homepage

Aquino to visit China Sept. 3

August 14, 2013August 14, 2013 Ellen Leave a comment

By Tessa Jamandre,VERA Files

Presidet Aquino and Chinese President Hu Jintao in 2011.

President Aquino is going on a one-day trip to China on Sept. 3 in what is seen as an effort to end strained relations with China triggered by the standoff in Bajo de Masinloc in April last year.

The President has accepted China’s invitation to attend the 10th ASEAN-China Expo (CAEXPO) to be held in Nanning, capital of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, from Sept. 3 to 6, Malacañang and Department of Foreign Affairs sources said.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang will receive Aquino and the special envoys of the other nine ASEAN countries. Aquino will also attend a forum with Chinese businessmen.

The Philippines is the “country of honor” at this year’s Expo. It is a tradition that the president of that country attends the international trade fair.

Last year, when Myanmar was the country of honor, the Philippines was represented by Interior and Local Government Secretary Mar Roxas. He was received by then Vice President Xi Jinping, who is now president.

This year’s CAEXPO was originally set on Sept. 20-24 but was moved to accommodate Premier Li’s schedule.

Aquino first last visited China in 2011 where he met with outgoing Chinese President Hu Jintao on August 31 and former Premier Wen Jiabao September 1.

A bilateral meeting with President Xi was sought in the sidelines of APEC last year in Vladivostok, but it never took place. Since Xi became China’s president in March, he has met with all Asian leaders except Aquino.

Once robust relations between the Philippines and China took a dip with the arrest by a Philippine Navy warship of Chinese fishermen in eight fishing boats in Bajo de Masinloc known internationally as Scarborough Shoal which is also being claimed by China in April 2012.

The arrest triggered a 57-day standoff which was broken after back-channeling by Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV and behind-the-scene efforts of the United States.

At the height of the standoff, there were some 80 ships in the shoal 130 nautical miles from Zambales. Three Chinese ships control the area which has become inaccessible to Filipino fisherman.

The Philippines in January filed a suit with the United Nations Arbitral Tribunal, the only country to have haled the Asian superpower into a UN court, questioning the legality of China’s nine-dash-line map which covers the whole South China Sea and encroaches on the territories of other countries.

The Philippines and China, together with Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam have conflicting claims over islands in Spratlys in the South China Sea.

Of late, Aquino and Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario have noticeably toned down their anti-China rhetorics.

(VERA Files is put out by veteran journalists taking a deeper look at current issues. Vera is Latin for “true.”)

PNoy forgot the law he signed on PWD?

July 27, 2013July 27, 2013 Ellen Leave a comment

President Aquino delivering his fourth SONA. Thanks to Interaksyon.

Before we completely forget President Aquino’s forgettable 2013 State of the Nation address, there’s one item there that caught my attention different from the angle that the Chief Executive underscored.

At the beginning of his self-congratulatory address he cited the case of Niño Aguirre:

“Paano ba naman pong hindi lalakas ang aking loob, kung pati ang mga tulad ni Ginoong Niño Aguirre ay nakikihubog sa ating kinabukasan? Isipin po ninyo, hindi na nga makalakad dahil sa kapansanan, pilit pa rin niyang inakyat ang presintong nasa ikaapat na palapag ng gusali, para lang makaboto at makiambag sa tunay na pagbabago ng lipunan. Salamat, Ginoong Aguirre. “

(“ How can I not be encouraged, when even the likes of Mr. Niño Aguirre are helping shape our future? Just think: Though unable to walk, he climbed all the way to his fourth-floor precinct, just so that he could vote and contribute to true social transformation. Thank you, Mr. Aguirre.”)

Our reaction was Shouldn’t he have asked why the precinct for persons with disabilities was not located on the ground floor, easily accessible to PWDs, as mandated by law? Did his speechwriters know there is such a law, signed by Aquino himself last February 15?

PWDs un Tahanan Walang Hagdan. Photo by Mario Ignacio.

The law is Republic Act No. 10366 which authorizes “the Commission on Elections to establish precincts assigned to accessible polling places exclusively for persons with disabilities and senior citizens.”

RA 10366 states, “Accessible polling place refers to the venue where the Board of Election Inspectors (BEIs) conducts election-related proceedings and where the voters cast their votes. The accessible polling place shall he located at the ground floor, preferably near the entrance of the building, and is free of any physical barriers and provided with necessary services, including assistive devices.”

Comelec issued resolution 9640 requiring the establishment of Accessible Polling Precincts in voting centers so voters with disabilities can vote in a special area on the ground floor. It required that APPs to be “free of any physical barriers” and provide “the necessary mobility, communications, visual and other forms of assistance for the PWDs.”

VERA Files that monitored PWD voting last elections said “But weeks before the May 13 elections, Comelec decided on just having 2 APPs in Cavite.”

VERA Files reported that “there were small steps to compensate for the Comelec’s failure to carry out those much-publicized plans” like volunteers assisting PWDs.

Some elections officers also went out of their way to bring the election documents to the PWDs in the ground floor even if they are listed in precincts in upper floors.

That’s why we wondered by Comelec didn’t do that in the case of Aguirre (and why Aquino and his speechwriter didn’t take note of that.)

Comelec Spokesperson James Jimenez said Aguirre, who voted in Pembo Elementary School in Makati, registered April 23, 2009. “He did not update his registration records to indicate he is a PWD so that Comelec could have made the effort to assign to ground floor his polling place.”

There was a lively discussion in my Facebook wall when I pointed this out at last Monday. There were some who agreed the point I raised (Jo Utzurrum: Yeah! He sees it in a wrong context. Dapat pinagalitan nya ang Comelec immediately ) while other didn’t like it that the President was criticized (Lito Cano: Maka ignorant ka wagas, akala mo naman napaka talino mo…independent body kaya ang comelec paano nya papagalitan, mag appreciate naman kayo pag may time.)

Activist Carol P Araullo took it from a bigger perspective: “Maybe more telling, Ellen, is that the President uses such heroic efforts on the part of ordinary Filipinos to exercise their right to vote, an individual citizen hoping that such exercise will lead to the election of competent, deserving Filipinos dedicated to the public welfare…but the example of the PWD is used to cover up or fudge the highly undemocratic character of Philippine elections. “

Araullo further said: “Sino ba ang nananalo sa mga halalan? Wala namang pagpipilian pulos trapo dynasties, pretend non-trapos pero ambisyong sila naman ang humalili sa bulok na sistema na wala naman silang kakayanan o intensyon.na baguhin. Yung kwento tungkol sa PWD also completely covers up the highly questionable automated system that was utilized in the last elections. Enough said.”

Who is Aquino’s adviser on Sabah issue?

February 26, 2013February 26, 2013 Ellen Leave a comment

Aquino to Kiram III: “….desist from this hopeless cause.”

In his Facebook wall, Cotabato-based Fr. Eliseo Mercado of the Institute for Autonomy and Governance in Notre Dame University yesterday said, “After the President’s press statement on the Sabah issue, I am continued to be deluged with question,’Who is the adviser of the President on the Sabah issue?’

“Sagot ko: Ambot… baka ang Malaysian PM. From the tone and the content would show that he/she is either Malaysian or Malaysian-Philippine.”

In his statement, which came on the second week of the standoff in Lahad Datu, a seaside village in Sabah, President Aquino several times spoke of peace. Yet, the language he used reeks of arrogance that could only come from ignorance of the root of the issue.

He described the cause that the Sultan of Sulu Jamalul Kiram III and his younger brother Prince Rajah Mudah Agbimuddin Kiram, who is the leader of the group in Lahad Datu as a “hopeless cause.”

Addressing Kiram, Aquino said: “You are a leader of your clan, and every leader seeks the well-being of his constituents. These times require you to use your influence to prevail on our countrymen to desist from this hopeless cause.”

Does this mean the Aquino government has given up the Philippine government’s claim on Sabah?

In his statement, Aquino seemed not sure about the legitimacy of the Philippine claim which was initiated in the 1963 by President Diosdado Macapagal. He said: “This issue is complex: from the basis of our claim, to the question of the rightful heirs, and even involving the translation of documents from an era when our grandparents weren’t even born.”

Princess Jacel Kiram reads statement of her father, Jamalul Kiram III

Responding to the President’s statement Kiram III, though his daughter Princess Jacel Kiram said: “ Mr. President, what more proof do you want us to show that Sabah is ours?”

This standoff came about because the heirs of the Sultan of Sulu decided to do it their way after Malacañang snubbed Kiram’s request for a meeting.

Aquino revealed this in his statement: “Let me say to Sultan Jamalul Kiram III: I have just been made aware that a letter to me, from you, was sent through OPAPP in the very first weeks of my term, when we were organizing the government. Unfortunately, this letter was lost in the bureaucratic maze. Let me make clear that there was no intention to ignore your letter. Knowing this now, will you let your mistaken belief dictate your course of action?”

Aquino also said, “The avenue of peaceful and open dialogue is still available to us. Let us therefore sit down as brothers to address your grievances in a peaceful, calm manner according to our laws and according to correct processes when your people arrive home.”

Yet in the same statement he warned Kiram that his patience is running out:

“As President and chief executor of our laws, I have tasked an investigation into possible violations of laws by you, your followers, and collaborators engaged in this foolhardy act. May I remind you as well that as a citizen of the Republic, you are bound by the constitution and its laws.

“Among your possible violations is Article II Section 2 of the Constitution, which states that the Philippines renounces war as an instrument of national policy, the enabling law of which is Article 118 of the Revised Penal Code, which punishes those who “provoke or give occasion for a war…or expose Filipino citizens to reprisals on their persons or property.”[1] Thus, you are now fully aware of the consequences of your actions.”

“We have not yet reached the point of no return, but we are fast approaching that point.”

To which Kiram stood firm: “As far as we are concerned, we haven’t committed a crime.”

But he also talked about peace: “The sultan of Sulu’s action is a benevolent aspiration and not a violent reaction to fight.”

Will the real diplomats please take over?

Read President Aquino’s statement in full here: http://www.gov.ph/2013/02/26/statement-of-president-aquino-on-the-sabah-incident-february-26-2013/

Why is Aquino not helping Jun Lozada

February 7, 2013February 7, 2013 Ellen Leave a comment

Lozada’s friends wonder if Aquino’s attitude could have something to do with Lozada not consenting to his request in February 2008 for him (Aquino, who was then senator) to fetch the former in Hongkong, where he was told by then Environment Secretary Lito Atienza to hide so he could not testify in the Senate investigation of the NBN/ZTE deal.

It would have been a chance for Aquino, who had a lackluster record as senator, to shine.

President Cory Aquino spearheaded the “Mass for Truth and Accountability” in support of Jun Lozada in 2008.

While waiting for the arrest warrant issued by the Sandiganbayan Fourth Division to be served to Rodolfo “Jun” Lozada, the government’s star witness in the NBN/ZTE plunder case against Gloria Arroyo, members of the Association of Major Religious Superiors of the Philippines wrote Police Chief Alan Purisima requesting, among others,to make sure that “no untoward incident” would happen.

The nuns must be thinking of last month’s incident in Batangas when Fernando Morales , allegedly linked with Vic Siman who was among those killed in the Atimonan massacre, was killed while policemen were serving his arrest warrant for illegal possession of firearms.

Morales was in his underwear and was dragged out of his house at 1:30 a.m.

The arrest warrant for Lozada had nothing to do with NBN/ZTE. It’s for his alleged violation of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act for allegedly awarding the leasehold right of a 6,599 hectare land to his brother Jose Orlando Lozada when he was still president of the Philippine Forest Corporation, a government-owned corporation.

Jose Orlando availed of a board-approved program of the PFC.

A P30,000 bail each was set for the temporary liberty of Lozada and his brother. Lozada has returned to the sanctuary of the Religious again, just like when he was testifying on the $320 million telecommunications deal, one of the biggest scandals in the Arroyo administrations.

Last Wednesday, the nuns who support Lozada met with Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, Social Services Dinky Soliman and Education Secretary Armin Luistro.

It will be recalled that the La Salle Religious community, of which Luistro was a member, provided Lozada and his family sanctuary when Gloria Arroyo was in power. Luistro together with Soliman actively supported Lozada’s crusade against Arroyo. Press Secretary Edwin Lacierda was Lozada’s lawyer.

The nuns complained why Erwin Santos, who was Arroyo hatchet man against Lozada, continues to be president of PFC.

Sources said the cabinet members told the nuns that Lozada is “out of President Aquino’s hands.” The appointment of Santos is the responsibility of Cesar L.Villanueva, chairman of Governance Commission for Government-owned- and -controlled Corporations, they said.

The nuns, it seems, are not satisfied with the explanation because they are seeking an audience with the President.

Supporters of Aquino who marched with Lozada against Arroyo are puzzled with Aquino’s icy, even adverse, attitude towards the whistleblower. The President had intervened directly in the case of Grace Padaca, even paying with his own money for her bail. The DOJ removed from the list of accused in the Ampatuan massacre the name of Norie Unas, the chief of staff of former Maguindanao Governor Andal Ampatuan Sr., whom they used as star witness against Arroyo in the hastily- prepared electoral sabotage case.

It would have been a chance for Aquino, who had a lackluster record as senator, to shine.

Actually, it was not only Aquino that Lozada turned down. A number of politicians, businessmen, lawyers, and members of media offered but his decision was he would only go with the Religious.

Which was what he did when he surfaced after being waylaid by police authorities upon his arrival from Hongkong.

In the course of his testimony in the NBN/ZTE case, Lozada stepped on powerful toes who continue to wield clout even with the change of political leadership. That’s what he and his family are concerned about. They still remember Marlene Esperat, the star witness in the Fertilizer scam, who was gunned down in front of her children.

Lozada said he will abide by the law. He is not running from justice. He is just being careful.

Preparing media for the 2013 elections

December 2, 2012December 2, 2012 Ellen Leave a comment

In six months, we will have the midterm national elections.

The May 13, 2013 elections will be the first national, automated, and synchronized (including the Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao) elections under the Aquino administration.

VERA Files, a group composed of veteran journalists that produces in-depth articles on current issues and conducts training for journalists, last week held a training-seminar for 18 journalists from different parts of the country.

The training seminar was supported by the Embassy of Canada through the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives. Benoit Girouard, second secretary in the Foreign Policy and Diplomacy Section of the Canadian Embassy, stressed the importance of a free, honest, responsible and independent media in a democracy.

Since all the participants were working journalists (with two still studying but are writing for online media), the seminar focused on issues relevant to the 2013 elections. The speakers were all excellent. Comelec Commissioner Grace Padaca shared with the participants her own personal experience in elections as she gave an overview of the 2013 elections. Bro. Romulo Guillermo, Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting spoke on “Monitoring the 2013 Elections through the eyes of civil society.

Linda Luz Guerrero, vice president of Social Weather Stations, gave suggestions to the participants what to concerned about in dealing with elections surveys in her talk,” Understanding and Reporting Election Surveys.” Political Analyst Prospero de Vera III, a professor of public administration at the University of the Philippines gave tips on “Seeing through the Packaging and Spins” of candidates.

Vince Lazatin, executive director of Transparency and Accountability Network, spoke on campaign finance. Who are funding the candidates? That’s very important because that would affect how the candidates, when they are elected, make a stand on vital issues and vote on important legislations.

Rowena Guanzon, professor at the UP College of Law, in her talk about “Holding Local Government to Account” said it is important to know that law and that is Republic Act 7160 (Local Government Code).
It is also important for the reporter to know the City Charter.

Other laws that reporters who cover elections must read are: Batas Pambansa Blg. 881 Omnibus Election Code;R.A 7166 An Act Providing For Synchronized National and Local Elections and For Electoral Reforms; R.A 9006 An Act to Enhance the Holding of Free, Orderly, Honest, Peaceful and Credible Elections Through Fair Election Practices (Fair Elections Act);

R.A. 7941 An Act Providing for the Election of Party-List Representatives Through the Party-List System; and R.A 9189 An Act Providing for a System of Overseas Absentee Voting by Qualified Citizens of the Philippines Abroad.

Lynda Jumilla, ABS-CBN correspondent and this year’s Marshall McLuhan fellow shared with participants

They will be covering the 2012 elections

insights on “Watching Congress”. Earl Parreño, trustee of the Institute for Political and Electoral Reform spoke on “Deconstructing Clan Politics”;

Joy Aceron, program director of Political Democracy and Reforms spoke on election-related violence and former Comelec Commissioner Augusto Lagman, who is now president of Logic Management, shared with journalists his concerns about the automation of the 2013 elections.

Lagman shared the remarks he delivered at the Joint Congressional Oversight Committee hearing last Wednesday.

He said with only six months away from the May 2013 elections, there is still no assurance that the Comelec’s planned automation will work and some of the reasons he cited are:

- There are still critical issues about the system used in 2010 that have not been resolved and demonstrated publicly, especially the security measures that are mandated by law and/or required by the project’s terms of reference.

- There are technical enhancements that should have been incorporated into the software to prepare for the 2013 elections that, again, have not been demonstrated publicly.

- The startling news that on May 23, 2012, Dominion Voting Systems, the real owner of the election technology used by Smartmatic in 2010, terminates the Licensing Agreement with Smartmatic.

For this reason, the latter sued Dominion before the Delaware Chancery Court on Sept. 11, 2012. The case is pending and there is no definitive date as to when it can be resolved with finality.

Lagman asked: “How can ‘fixes’ and technical enhancements on the system continue, late as they are already are, if Smartmatic is not authorized by Dominion to do so? And how can Comelec use the ‘fixed’ and enhanced sustem is there is no Licensing Agreement covering it?

Lagman made two recommendations: One, Comelec should cancel the purchase contract for the Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS) machines and two, quickly study all the viable alternatives for the automation of the 2013 elections…. while there is still time.