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DAP backers buck calls for PNoy’s second term

August 20, 2014August 20, 2014 Ed Lingao Leave a comment

By Julius D. Mariveles

LOCAL GOVERNMENT officials in Negros Occidental who were the first to issue a statement of support for President Benigno S. Aquino III over the controversial Disbursement Acceleration Program are now bucking calls for a second term for the Chief Executive.

“It would be like turning his back on his mother,” Murcia town Mayor Andrew Montelibano said, as he pointed out that Freedom Constitution drafted during the term of then President Corazon C. Aquino specifically prohibits extensions beyond a six-year term. Montelibano was one of 37 officials in the vote-rich province who were the first to issue a statement supporting Aquino three days before he delivered his State of the Nation Address last month amid the controversial Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP).

But while they were enthusiastic in backing Aquino over the DAP, they are not keen on supporting calls for the President to linger six more years in Malacañang.

Even the Yellow Army in Negros is not yet marching out in support of Aquino over this issue.

“I want him to have a second term if allowed by the Constitution but I am not in favor of amending it,” lawyer Joel Dojillo told the PCIJ. Dojillo, one of the early volunteers during the campaign for Aquino’s presidency in 2010, said he is not disillusioned amid the issues against the chief executive but would not comment when asked if he thinks Aquino deserves a second term.

Montelibano’s cousin, EB Maglona town mayor David Albert Lacson, said the Constitution is clear on the term limits for a president although Congress can change that provision.

Lacson, president of the local chapter of the League of Municipalities of the Philippines, said Aquino is doing a “good job” but “it’s difficult to talk about extending his term because there are other priorities that we should face.” The LMP-Negros Occidental chapter is also set to meet this week to discuss the issue, he added.

LOCAL OFFICIALS in Negros Occidental backed Aquino on the DAP but bucked calls for another term for the Chief Executive | Malacañang Photo Bureau

Fourth District Cong. Jeffrey Ferrer, meanwhile, said talks about Aquino’s second terms remain “speculative” since there is no proposal yet submitted to Congress to amend the Constitutional provision on term limits. Ferrer, a member of the United Negros Alliance, said he is open to changing the economic provisions but not those related to term limits. “It will not be acceptable to the public,” he added.

Ferrer ran and won against the candidate handpicked by Aquino’s uncle, Marcos crony and businessman Eduardo Cojuangco, Jr., in the fourth district where Cojuangco has been based since his return to the country in the 1990s.

Former Negros Occidental Gov. Rafael Coscolluela, on the other hand, said he is not in favor of a second term for Aquino as he added that he is against plans to change the Constitution if only to allow Aquino to seek the presidency again. Coscolluela, who was appointed as one of the officers-in-charge in the province by former President Aquino after People Power I, is one of the Negros Federalists who is campaigning for a shift to a federal form of government from a presidential one.

Another Aquino campaigner, now Bacolod Mayor Monico Puentevella, sent the PCIJ this answer: “No…all of the above!” when asked if he is backing the term extension move and the Charter change. Puentevella, a close ally of then President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, campaigned for Aquino during the last elections and has as his candidates for councilors several members of the ruling Liberal Party.

Bago City Mayor Ramon Torres, meanwhile, said Aquino is “okay as President” but for him to seek a term extension “all depends on the provisions of the Constitution, which prohibits it.”

Section 4, Article 7 of the Constitution says that the President of the Philippines “shall not be eligible for any re-election.”

The July statement of support of local government officials in the province was led by the Governor Alfredo Marañon, Jr. who was able to gather 21 mayors, 11 board members, and two local business leaders in backing Aquino following the decision of the Supreme Court declaring some portions of the DAP as unconstitutional.

Marañon ran and won against a candidate supported by Liberal Party Negros Occidental chairman, Third District Cong. Abelardo Benitez. The governor, however, also campaigned for Aquino during the 2010 elections. Aquino also mentioned Marañon in his recent SONA.

“We are expressing our full support to His Excellency, President Benigno S. Aquino III, in his resolve to appeal the decision of the Supreme Court declaring the DAP as unconstitutional. With due respect to the High Court, we believe that their decision on the DAP failed to take into account the realities of the budget process. The decision will expectedly hinder the country’s growth as it will compel the government to undergo the same lengthy process before it can make use of public savings to address the urgent needs,” the joint statement reads in part.

Aquino sisters wanted Abad out; Hyatt 10 came to his rescue

August 7, 2014August 7, 2014 Ellen Leave a comment

The Aquino sisters attend the birthday party of Vice President Jojo Binay.

From our always reliable source : A few days after the Supreme Court declared parts of the Disbursement Accelerated Program or DAP unconstitutional last July 1, the three presidential sisters- Ballsy Cruz, Pinky Abellada, and Kris Aquino (Viel Dee didn’t join them) talked with the President to let go of Budget Secretary Florencio “Butch” Abad.

As we all know by now, DAP– the issue that has shaken the otherwise Teflon presidency of Benigno Aquino III–was the brainchild of Abad.

The Supreme Court’s vote was unanimous (13-0) stunning Malacañang who had thought it would be 7-6 in their favor.

At the time his sisters talked to him about Abad, Aquino had not issued any statement on DAP yet. The source said the President appeared convinced by his sisters.

Abad’s comrades in the cabinet were alarmed and they took action.

Social Services Secretary Dinky Soliman; Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima; Teresita Quintos Deles, presidential adviser on the Peace Process, and Mely Nicolas, chairperson of the Commission on Filipinos Overseas (the core group of the 2005 Hyatt 10) went to Aquino and appealed for Abad’s retention.

But it was a loaded appeal because they told the President if he let go of Abad, they will all resign.

(ABS=CBN has a report that Deles denies forcing the President to retain Abad. http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/08/08/14/hyatt-10-deny-forcing-pnoy-retain-abad)

The President gave in. On July 11, during the cabinet meeting on the 2015 budget, he announced that Abad will stay. “To accept his resignation is to assign to him a wrong. And I can’t accept the notion that doing right by our people is a wrong,” he said to the applause of members of his cabinet except Vice President Jejomar Binay, who is part of the cabinet as chairman of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council.

The next day, July 12, Abad released a statement disclosing that he tendered his resignation July 10. On the President’s rejection of his resignation, Abad said: “Although I was wholly prepared to relinquish my post, I am grateful for the President’s expression of his continuing trust and confidence in my leadership of the Department. I have thus chosen to defer to his better judgment and stay.”

The presidential sisters attempt to influence the President’s decision on Abad brought to fore once again the great divide in Aquino’s political family.

It is known that the Aquino sisters are lukewarm to the Mar Roxas faction, where Abad belongs. In the 2010 elections, the sisters were with the Noy-Bi (Aquino-Binay) faction.

That’s why it’s not surprising that Kris Aquino likes the idea of his brother endorsing Binay in the 2016 presidential election to the horror of Liberal Party stalwarts, who, up to now, pin their hopes on Roxas.

That was another masterstroke that Binay did last Monday: announcing that he has received information that the ruling Liberal Party was considering adopting him to be its standard bearer in the 2016 elections. (The other masterstroke of Binay was infiltrating the Liberal Party campaign in 2010. In the same building where LP had their headquarters, there was a room distributing Noy-Bi campaign materials.)

Senate President Franklin Drilon, LP vice- chairman vehemently denied Binay’s claim. LP issued a statement underscoring that the party is against “corruption, patronage and self-serving ambition.” The unwritten message:Binay is the epitome of what they are fighting against.

But Kris Aquino said she and her sisters are open to Binay succeeding her brother: “Kami ng mga sister ko naman pinag-uusapan namin yan. Sinasabi namin puwede naman talagang magkaroon ng unity at puwedeng kung ano kasi hindi naman kami magkaaway. At kung ipagpapatuloy naman niya lahat ng nasimulan ni Noy, why not?(My sisters and I discussed this. We said it’s possible to have unity and we are not really fighting. If he (Binay) would continue what Noy has started, why not?),” she said in her TV show.

In a separate TV interview, she said:”I don’t make a secret of the fact that one of my closest friends is his (Binay’s) daughter Anne, and we pray together.”

The eldest sister, Ballsy agreed with Kris: “You know, he never said anything bad about my family at pati na rin sa ibang partido, kaya ako ay natutuwa na ganoon ang pakiramdam niya. Kung yun din naman ang kanyang hangarin, na maipagpatuloy ang mga nasimulan ni Noy , e di magaling. (…I’m happy that that’s how he feels. If that his desire, to continue what Noy has started, good.)”

I think if Roxas decides to push through with his presidential bid despite low popularity ratings, Aquino will be compelled to endorse him but he will not prevent his sisters, relatives and members of his cabinet like Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa to support Binay.

Under the Binay presidency, Aquino will be amply protected. He will not suffer the fate of Joseph Estrada and Gloria Arroyo.

Aquino will have his cake and eat it too. Some people are damn lucky.

Survey says House, Senate, SC trust ratings all below majority

August 4, 2014August 4, 2014 Ed Lingao Leave a comment

Supreme Court most trusted, more distrust for House and Senate

By Julius D. Mariveles

THE SUPREME COURT, the Senate, and the House of Representatives have all failed to score majority approval and trust ratings, according to the results of the latest “Ulat ng Bayan” of Pulse Asia Research, a creditable national pollster.

This is the unfortunate result of a nationwide survey on the performance and trust ratings of key government institutions that Pulse Asia conducted from June 24 to July 2, 2014, among a sample of 1,200 representative adults 18 years old and above.

The Supreme Court got a 49 percent performance rating, or higher than the scores of the Senate and House of Representatives of 33 percent and 34 percent, respectively.

The High Court was also the most trusted, with a 42 percent approval rating. In contrast, the House of Representatives was the least trusted with 29 percent, while the Senate got 31 percent.

The nationwide survey, the results of which were released this August, had a margin of error of plus or minus three percent and a confidence level of 95 percent, Pulse Asia said in a news release.

It added that the subnational estimates for each of the geographic areas have a plus or minus six percent margin of error, also at 95 percent confidence level.

The same survey showed that disapproval and distrust are “more pronounced” for the House and the Senate.

In the disapproval ratings, the high court got 13 percent compared to the House’s 21 percent and the Senate’s 23 percent.

The Senate got the highest distrust level at 20 percent compared to the House’s 19 percent and the Supreme Court’s 10 percent (Please see Tables 1 to 2).

Pulse Asia also noted that while the assessment of the Supreme Court’s work and trustworthiness remained unchanged between two survey periods – March 14 and June 14 – the two chambers of Congress “experienced significant changes in their respective ratings – at the national level and across selected survey sub-groupings.”

Between March and June 2014, the Senate experienced a significant drop in its national approval score with minus eight percentage points and an increase in its overall disapproval rating of plus nine percentage points.

There was also a noted decline in the level of appreciation for the Senate’s work in Metro Manila by minus 14 percentage points, in Mindanao by minus 15 percentage points, and in Classes ABC and D by minus nine to minus 19 percentage points (Please see Table 3).

DECLINE IN THE FACE OF PDAF SCAM

Trust ratings in the Senate and the House of Representatives also dropped amidst the controversy over the Priority Development Assistance (PDAF) or pork barrel scam.

The Senate’s ratings dropped by minus 14 percentage points in the Visayas, minus 15 in Mindanao, minus 18 in Metro Manila, and minus 15 to 18 percentage points in Classes ABC and E. Meanwhile, the Lower House’s trust ratings dropped by minus 15 percentage points in Class E and minus 16 percentage points in Metro Manila.

Pulse Asia pointed out that fewer Filipinos expressed trust in the Senate and House of Representatives in June 2014 than six months ago while the distrust in the Supreme Court eased between December 2013 and June 2014 (Please see Table 4).

Among the issues according to Pulse Asia that “preoccupied” Filipinos before and during the conduct of the field interviews for the survey were the following:

The filing of charges of plunder and violation and anti-graft laws against some senators and the indictment of Janet Lim Napoles and some members of the legislative staffs of Senators Juan Ponce Enrile, Jinggoy Estrada, and Bong Revilla. The surrenders of Revilla and Estrada following the issuance of arrest warrants against them; and the “not guilty” pleas entered by the Sandiganbayan in their behalf;
The Office of the Ombudsman’s denial of the petition for immunity of Napoles and several other government officials;
The petition of the Office of the Ombudsman before the Sandiganbayan for the creation of two special courts to handle cases related to the pork barrel scam;
The decision issued by the Supreme Court declaring several acts under the Disbursement Acceleration Program as unconstitutional;
The statement of support for President Aquino made by House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte, Jr. and other pro-administration lawmakers in response to calls for the President’s impeachment and the resignation of Budget Sec. Florencio Abad coming from some opposition lawmakers and militant groups;
The creation by the Office of the Ombudsman of a panel that will investigate the realignments in the national budget made by the administration under the DAP;
The Sandiganbayan’s order to suspend former President and incumbent Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo for 90 days in connection with her alleged involvement in the NBN-ZTE deal;
The continued tension between the Philippines and China over the disputed territories in the West Philippine Sea;
The President’s call for the Philippine National Police to swiftly resolve crime incidents after the recent series of killings involving several high-profile individuals;
The confirmation of the appointments of Justice Sec. Leila De Lima, Social Welfare Sec. Corazon J. Soliman, and Environment Sec. Ramon J.P. Paje after being in office for four years;
The celebration of the 116^th Philippine Independence Day on June 12 with President Aquino leading the rites in Naga City;
The controversial decision of President Aquino to reject the nomination of Nora Aunor as National Artist for Film;
The continued failure of the Bureau of Internal Revenue and the Bureau of Customs to meet their collection targets for the month of May 2014;
The decline in power rates charged by the Manila Electric Company in June 2014;
The increase in oil prices due to the continued crisis in Iraq;
The hike in the prices of rice, garlic, and sugar reportedly due to lower supply levels; and
The DBM’s budget proposal totaling P2.06 trillion for the year 2015.

Antidote to DAP-inspired abuses: FOI

August 1, 2014August 1, 2014 Ellen Leave a comment

By Ellen T. Tordesillas

Budget Secretary Florencio “Butch” Abad submits 2015 budget to Congress.

The P2.6 trillion 2015 budget submitted by Malacanang to Congress will institutionalize the practices in the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) which the Supreme Court had declared unconstitutional.

In the 2015 budget proposal, “savings” is now defined as portions of allocations that “have not been released or obligated” due to “discontinuance or abandonment of a program, activity or project for justifiable causes, at any time during the validity of the appropriations.”

With this definition, President Aquino and Budget Secretary Florencio Abad can hijack funds allocated to projects under the 2015 General Appropriations Act as what they did with DAP the past three years.

The new definition of “savings” differed from what was in the 2011, 2012 and 2013 GAA which referred to funds that are “still available after the completion, or final discontinuance, or abandonment of the work, activity or purpose for which the appropriation is authorized.”

Both chambers of Congress are dominated by Aquino’s allies so it’s expected that the new definition of savings would be adopted. Aquino and Abad can then juggle the funds just like they did with DAP and not fear of being charged with violation of the law.

Malacañang’s new definition of savings undermines the power of Congress over the purse as stated in the Constitution and perverts the system of checks and balance which is the essence of democracy.

The Center for National Budget, a private organization dedicated to empowering Filipinos with knowledge of the budget said “The DAP perpetuates a dysfunctional, illegal and unconstitutional budget practices and mechanisms, allows the concentration of extraordinary powers to a few individuals way beyond that the Constitution contemplates and stipulates.”

“Disallowing the DAP is a step forward for transparency and accountability,” the CNB further said.
Malacañang’s claim of transparency and accountability has been rendered hollow by this attempt to legalize and passing on as beneficial what has been exposed as a sinister practice.

Lawyer Joel Butuyan of Roque and Butuyan Law Office sees danger in the institutionalization of DAP practice.
In his Facebook post, Butuyan said, ““My beef with the Aquino administration’s attempt to institutionalize the DAP is that it represents a shortsighted view of what’s good for the country. The DAP gives the President enormous discretion in spending the people’s money. By wanting the Supreme Court to engrave in stone this Presidential discretionary power, the Aquino administration any president — good, bad, evil, witch, gremlin, e.t., mangkukulam, kapre, maligno — now and forevermore wants any to enjoy this power. To plagiarize Conrad De Quiroz, there lies the rub.

“The Aquino administration is only myopically looking at what glorious good it can do during its two remaining years in office, if allowed unfettered use of DAP powers. It is not thinking what horrendous damage it can do to the country under subsequent Presidents with black achy breaky hearts.”

Rep. Neri Colmenares of the Bayan Muna partylist group said if Malacañang’s new definition of savings is adopted in the General Appropriations Act for 2014, then savings “may be redefined reviewed or adjusted on a yearly basis.”

This will open the floodgates to tampering of the approved budget. That would be supremely ironic for a president who made the fight against corruption his administration’s battle cry.

Butuyan said, “The Aquino administration fails to realize that a lot of the reforms it is doing are character-dependent reforms. Anti-corruption campaign, infrastructure projects, stringent tax and customs collection etc. are all character-dependent reforms. The success and impact of these reforms depend entirely on the character of the sitting President. A kupal and kapalmuks President gets elected to power and he/she can completely reverse course and bring back the cabaret dancing old days of “what are we in power for?”

With constitutional check and- balance compromised, the burden now has to be shouldered by a vigilant public. This is where the Freedom of Information law is crucial.

Butuyan said, ““If the President wants his character-dependent reforms to continue beyond the years and decades of his term, he must arm the people with the power to scrutinize every nook and cranny of governmental action. Allow the glare of public scrutiny to illuminate even the deep recesses of government.”

With only two years left of the Aquino presidency, Malacañang finally included in its list of priority measures PNoy’s campaign promise of a Freedom of Information law.

Butuyan said: “If Aquino wants to have a lasting legacy, the passage of the FOI will be the history-defining landmark of his Presidency. The FOI law will have the impact of an EDSA revolution. With the passage of the FOI law, the people will no longer have to necessarily embark on a revolution to make government accountable. The people will only have to avail of the FOI mechanism in order to demand information, demand documents, and make the government accountable for its actions.”

Past experiences tell us that the applause should be held until the President Aquino signs the FOI law. His media bashings betrayed a lack of appreciation of the role of press freedom in good governance and in a vibrant democracy.

Butuyan further said, “ If the President does not work mighty hard for the passage of the FOI law, it is clear that he only wants bragging rights, an ego trip — ‘This is how clean and good I was during my term, and this is how bad we are now” —- and not legacy.

“Move heaven and earth to pass the FOI law, Mr. President. You have to move it, move it . . . . you have to move it, move it . “

Aquino pays tribute to Abad’s creative genius

July 27, 2014July 27, 2014 Ellen Leave a comment

The speech of President Aquino during 75th anniversary of the Department of Budget and Management on April 25, 2011 has become relevant amid the controversy generated by the Disbursement Accelerated Program or DAP, the brainchild of Budget Secretary Florencio “Butch” Abad that got unqualified support from President Aquino.

This is what Aquino said:

“Paano ho ba natin uumpisahan ito? With your permission, Butch: Si Butch ho kasi, campaign manager ko in two occasions already. And ‘yung kanyang marketing ploy po … para mapakita sa inyo kung gaano ka-creative iyong ating kalihim: Sabi niya kailangang pagusapan ho. Eh wala naman ho kaming pondo. Alam niyo, simula noong napasok ako sa gubyerno, ang litanya ho sa akin,’walang pera.’ Ngayon nalang po na Secretary si Butch Abad, ‘pag natanong ko, ‘Butch, may pera ba tayo?’ Mayroon. Basta sinabi niya, mayroon tayo niyan.

“ Aba, iba nga talaga tono ngayon. So noong araw noong tayo’y nasa oposisyon at walang pera, nagisip siya ng paraan, paano ba ako ipakikilala sa taumbayan? So ang ginawa po niya, mayroon pong isang sikat na artistang mangangawit, at awa ng Diyos po ay naging laman kami ng mga ilang tabloid at diyaryo na hindi bababa ng walong buwan. Ako po’y nagtataka, dahil minsan ko lang ho nakilala sa buong buhay ko itong itinutukoy na singer, ay kinalabasan lahat raw ho ng concert pinanood ko, parang nagkakaigihan kami. Basta, walong buwan ho tumatakbo iyan, at ako’y nagtataka na talaga, paano pahahabain ang istorya na walang laman? At noong natapos po—hindi pa ho ako tumatakbo noong panahon na iyon—natuklasan ko kung paano ‘yung pamamaraan. ‘Di umano’y, at wala po akong kinalaman doon, nagpapadala ng bulaklak ang mga … kaibigan nalang … ni Secretary Abad doon sa babaeng kinaukulan. At tinanggap naman po. At kada bigay niya ng bulaklak, dagdag nanaman ng istorya doon sa aming paguugnayan na hindi naman po nangyari talaga.

President Aquino and Budget Secretary Florencio Abad
“Sabi ko, ‘Butch, ang galing mo gumawa ng fiction, dapat naging manunulat ka nalang.’ (“Butch has been my campaign manager on two occasions already. To show you how creative he is… before, when I was in the opposition and without money, he thought up a way to make me known to the people. What he did was, there was this famous singer-actress who made it possible for me to be in the newspapers for about eight months. I was surprised, because I had met this woman only once and Butch Abad made it appear like I attended all her concerts and that we had a thing going. For eight months, that story ran, and I was wondering how a story with nothing to it could run that long. Later I learned that friends of Butch Abad had been sending the woman flowers, which she always accepted. And every time flowers were sent, the story about our affair kept going even if nothing really happened.

“I said, Butch, you’re so good at inventing fiction, you should have been a writer.”)

The Senate hearing last week showed that Abad’s genius is not limited to inventing fiction. He is ruthless master operator.

The Supreme Court has declared DAP unconstitutional.

So what does Abad do to save himself and Aquino? Drag in everybody including the President’s mother, the late President Cory Aquino.

In his statement at the Senate hearing, Abad said, “Under the leadership of then-President Cory Aquino, the use of savings took the form of the imposition of reserves, where allocations were withheld because of a fiscal deficit; the practice was thus named the Reserve Control Account. This way of using savings continued on in the Ramos and Estrada administrations.”

Former President Joseph Estrada’s budget secretary Benjamin Diokno slammed Abad and Sen. Franklin Drilon saying they were “misleading the people.”

Granting that past administrations had their version of the unconstitutional DAP, practice does not make a wrong thing right. Besides, people voted for Aquino because he promised “reforms”, not a continuation past practices.

President Cory Aquino’s Executive Secretary Joker Arroyo scored PNoy for allowing Abad to do use his mother’s name in vain:“They’re saying that Cory did DAP during her term just to emphasize that they did no wrong. They’re dragging the good name of Cory..I want to ask President Noynoy, what has happened to you to even allow that?

The Senate hearing on DAP was a showcase of the program’s destructive effect. With majority of senators being DAP beneficiaries topped by Franklin Drilon with P100 million, they were either docile in questioning or they served as advisers and lawyers for Malacañang.

Lawyer Harry Roque, counsel for petitioners against DAP, lamented: “it is sad that the Senate abdicated its oversight functions and opted to be a spin doctor for Malacañang. A subservient Senate is a threat to democracy,”