Category: Malaya

Aquino berating media is becoming boring

Ellen Leave a comment

Berating media has become a habit for Aquino.

Why am I not surprised that the Freedom of Information bill in the House of Representatives has been declared dead in the 15th Congress by press freedom advocates?

Simple: President Aquino does not support it.

Despite the fact that he was product of media hype, he does not understand the role of media in governance and in strengthening democracy. Although he said when he was campaigning for the presidency in 2010 that he was going to support the FOI bill, he never included it among his administration’s priority measures.

Look back to his statements the past two years:

In Oct. 2011, before Southeast Asian leaders, Aquino said: “You know, having a freedom of information act sounds so good and noble but at the same time—I think you’ll notice that here in this country—there’s a tendency of getting information and not really utilizing it for the proper purposes.”

He complained that, “There are so many people who will always look at the bottle half-empty, or sometimes the half-empty bottle even becomes the quarter, quarter-full bottle.”

Earlier, in Nov. 2010, while attending the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation in Yokohama, Japan Aquino made the same complaint about media in his meeting with the Filipino community:

“Ang nangyayari kasi, para makuha ang atensyon ng karamihan, kinakamot nila nang kinakamot ang isang katiting na galos. Kahit naman sino, natural lang na nawalan ng ganang magtrabaho kung puro kapalpakan lamang ang nababalitaan,” he said.

Last year, in a YouTube worldwide interview, to a question by a 7-year-old boy if he believed in Santa Claus, his answer was to lambast media:

“Do I believe in Santa Claus? Santa Claus perhaps is a personification of… (the) best in people, the idea of generosity. The idea of caring does come out, at least for Christians during this period, most particularly and most shall we say strongly.

“More than anything, we really have to shift, to those of us still left (from) the criticize-anything-and-everything phase to transforming ourselves into how we can assist our neighbor, our sister, our brother or whoever, somebody we don’t even know.”

Berating media has become a habit for Aquino.The poor boy (Joshua) must have been confused with the President’s answer.

Less than a week after that YouTube interview, Aquino was again into media-bashing. In addressing the 37th Top Level management Conference of the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas at the Clark Freeport Zone in Pampanga, he focused on the rotten tomatos in media:

“Kailangan din nating aminin na hindi perpekto ang media, at tulad ng anumang institusyon na may lakas at impluwensya, may mga bulok na kamatis din, na sa kasamaang palad ay naihahalo dito. Bilang mga kalasag ng taumbayan sa tuwid na daan, tungkulin ng KBP at ng buong media na bantayan ang sarili ninyong hanay laban sa mga dumudungis sa inyong larangan.

“Silang mga nangingikil kapalit ang mabangong headline sa diyaryo, silang nambabaluktot ng balita upang mapaboran ang iilan, silang naghahasik ng mga walang-basehang tsismis at kasinungalingan para lamang mailayo ang atensyon ng taumbayan sa katotohanan. Kung katapatan at malasakit sa bayan ang sukatan ng pagiging lingkod-bayan, masusing pagsiyasat sa mga detalye at kredibilidad naman ang sukatan sa inyong larangan… Ang nakakadismaya lang, tila nakakalimutan ng ilang taga-media ang kanilang pangunahing tungkulin: ang maghayag ng katotohanan, at hindi para manghula o magluto ng balita.”

Yesterday, in this year’s KBP conference, Aquino did it again, lambasting media for not writing enough about the good things about his accomplishments.

No one was surprised. It’s getting boring.

He is insisting on the inclusion of Right of Reply provision in the FOI bill. He really doesn’t understand the importance of media and how it works.

Stung by accusations that he purposely killed the FOI bill, Rep. Ben Evardone, chair of the House Committee on Public Information, said he will force a vote on Nov. 27. They will vote on four questions:

1. Do you want the inclusion of the Right of Reply in the FOI bill?

2. Do you want to exclude national security matters in the FOI bill?

3. Do you want the inclusion of private companies in the FOI?

4. What safeguards do you want to prevent possible abuses of the rights under FOI law?

The questions look like final nails in the coffin.

VFA does not say PH can be dumping site of US wastes

Ellen Leave a comment

MT Glenn Guardian and MT Glenn Enterprise, vessels of Glenn Defense Marine Asia in Subic Bay. Thanks to Subic Bay News for this photo.

The lawyers of Glenn Defense Marine Asia better look for a justification much more astounding than the Visiting Forces Agreement for the dumping of toxic waste in Philippine waters by their client, Malaysian firm Glenn Defense Marine Asia.

Senators Miriam Defensor-Santiago, chair of the Committee on Constitutional Amendments and acknowledged expert on international law, and Loren Legarda, chair of the Committee on Foreign Relations and co-chair of the Legislative Oversight Committee on the VFA, are calling for an investigation of the dumping in Subic Bay of Glenn Defense of toxic wastes from a US navy ship, Emory Land last month.

It has been reported that Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority Chair Roberto Garcia is investigating the incident and is asking Glenn Defense side on the illegal act.

Inquirer reported that Glenn Defense lawyers Kristoffer James Purisima and Bernard Joseph Malibiran of Villaraza Cruz Marcelo law firm invoked the VFA, not SBMA, as the body that has jurisdiction over their client. They did not deny the accusation of their client’s dumping of toxic wastes in Philippine waters.

“At the outset, it should be pointed out that our client provides marine husbandry and logistics support services (support vessels) solely and exclusively to US Navy vessels visiting the Philippines pursuant to the provisions of the VFA between the Republic of the Philippines and the United States,” the lawyers said.

They further said:” It is clear that vessels operating by or for the United States armed forces – such as the support vessels of our client – may enter the Philippines upon the approval of the government if the Philippines and the movement thereof shall be the subject to mutually acceptable implementing agreements.”

Purisima and Malibiran must have been scraping the bottom of the barrel to have forwarded that defense of their clients’ condemnable act.

The VFA, signed on Feb. 10, 1998 by Foreign Secretary Domingo Siazon and U.S. Ambassador Thomas Hubbard, took effect upon the ratification by the Senate on May 27, 1998.

A primer on the VFA by the U.S. Embassy states: “The VFA is essentially about the treatment of U.S. armed forces and defense personnel who would be visiting the Philippines take part in activities covered by the 1951 Mutual defense Treaty and approved by the Philippine Government.”

“The Agreement gives substance to the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty by serving as legal framework in promoting defense cooperation between the Philippines and the United States.”

The VFA was needed because after the Senate rejected an extension of the 1947 Military Bases Agreement in 1991, there was no legal coverage of U.S. personnel who would be coming to the Philippines for joint military exercises or other missions. Until the VFA took effect in May 1999, “Balikatan”, the joint PH-US military exercises were suspended.

The most sensitive issue was criminal jurisdiction. Like, who would have jurisdiction when military personnel violates Philippine laws while in the Philippines during an official mission?

Article II of the VFA is titled “Respect for Law.”

It says: “It is the duty of the United States personnel to respect the laws of the Republic of the Philippines and to abstain from any activity inconsistent with the spirit of this agreement, and, in particular, from any political activity in the Philippines. The Government of the United States shall take all measures within its authority to ensure that this is done.”

R.A. No. 6969, or the Toxic Substances and Hazardous and Nuclear Wastes Control Act, prohibits “the storage, importation, or bringing into Philippines territory, including its maritime economic zones, even in transit, either by means of land, air or sea transportation or otherwise keeping in storage any amount of hazardous and nuclear wastes in any part of the Philippines.

Santiago said Glenn Defense’s dumping of toxic wastes in Philippines waters is in violation of not just Philippine laws but also international agreements.

Santiago said Glenn Defense’s dumping of toxic wastes in Philippines waters is in violation of not just Philippine laws but also international agreements. She cited the Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships of 1978 (MARPOL).

“As a treaty, MARPOL is of universal application and enforcement. It must be stressed that the customary norms it embodies are generally accepted principles of international law, which our Constitution proclaims as part of the law of the land,” she said.
***
Statement of Greenpeace Oceans Campaigner Vince Cinches:

“This deliberate dumping of toxic substances is an additional assault to the already sorry situation of our marine ecosystem and may further affect the lives of people dependent on our seas.”

“It is also a complete disregard of existing international marine conservation treaties to which the Philippines is a signatory, specifically the Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter 1972, also known as the London Convention.”

“Unfortunately, this is another example of how the lax implementation of environmental laws is destroying our natural resources. A thorough investigation is necessary to find out who is accountable for this environmental crime.”

Veteran diplomat Lauro Baja on the ‘New China’

Ellen Leave a comment

Xi Jinping

The changing of the guards in China is ongoing at the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China which started yesterday.

Chinese President Hu Jintao will turn over leadership to Vice President Xi Jinping.

One of the Philippines’ seasoned diplomats, Lauro Baja, formerly the country’s permanent representative to the United Nations talked to some members of media and shared his thoughts on how the Philippines should deal with the “new China.”

Baja, who also served as Foreign Affairs undersecretary for policy, thinks despite the change in leadership, China “will not be able to veer away too much from what is existing now. “

But, he said, “there is now a new dynamic in China, the news is now more vocal, the social media is more vocal and there is a greater degree of nationalism among people in the streets. As a matter of fact they now think and they may be rightly so that they are now the center of the world. “

That reality, he said, must be taken into account by the Philippine policy makers in dealing with China now.

Given the overlapping territorial claims on China and the Philippines, Baja said “we must find ways to either resume dialogue or initiate dialogue on other approaches” because military action is not an option. “ In our dispute or claim, we have no military option and I don’t think parties are thinking of the military option.”

Lauro Baja

Baja laments the “fixation on developing a code of conduct in the South China Sea as an upgrade of the Declaration of the Code of Conduct on the South China Sea.”

“We are making the same objections as we did in the declaration and it is unrealistic to expect that a code could be concluded in the immediate future,” he said.

He pointed out that China has not budged from its view that there should not be an enforcement provision in case of violation and a dispute mechanism.

So how do we go from there?

Baja is not optimistic that the 10-member Association of Southeast Nations,which will have a summit meeting in Cambodia on Nov. 18- 20, would be able to conclude an ASEAN Regional Code of Conduct in the South China Sea and allow parties concerned including China to either accede or adhere to the declaration.

“Maybe that would be a creative approach. After all ASEAN’s Treaty of Amity and Cooperation has been acceded to by China so maybe there’s an example for a new innovative creative approach. But in the UNCLOS (United Nations Commission on the Law of the Sea) itself there are opportunities also for cooperative activities,” Baja said.

Despite the recriminations over the Panatag (Scarborough) shoal early this year, Baja believes the Chinese does not really consider the Philippines an enemy nor do we consider China one.

He said,”the only element which put a ‘fly on the ointment’ is the so-called in the PH-China relations is the perceived excessive dependence of the PH on the US and that’s a sore point to them.”

He related a conversation with recent Chinese visitor Fu Ying, vice minister in China’s foreign ministry who was formerly ambassador to the Philippines.

“ I told Fu Ying, because I know her I was undersecretary of foreign affairs then when she was ambassador here so we could talk frankly. I told her, the trouble with China is you talk to us thru the US why don’t you talk to us directly and we talk to you directly. And she said to me, ‘but you also talk to us thru the US.’

“ So again, that perception must be excised. We cannot deny that we are close to the US we are treaty allies, people-to-people exchanges are substantive but we cannot also deny that geography is immutable, we have a big neighbor to the north who is the second largest economy in the world and with a growing military and a growing international clout in international affairs so the challenge for Philippine diplomacy is to have a nuance approach to the competition, to the rivalry to the so-called boxing match as Pres. Ramos said between China and the US because whether we like it or not the security architecture of the region will be determined to a very large significant factor by the US-China relations.”

Related articles:

http://globalnation.inquirer.net/55590/china-bares-plan-to-be-a-naval-power

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/09/world/asia/hu-jintao-exiting-communist-leader-cautions-china.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

Concrete evidence, not snide remarks, needed to convict Gloria

Ellen Leave a comment

Penchant for unnecessary snide remarks

The day that President Aquino talks about his accomplishments without snide remarks at Gloria Arroyo, is the day I can say that he has matured as a leader of this country.

As of now, his penchant for snide remarks about people he doesn’t like gives the impression of being juvenile.

Reports from Vientiane, Laos , where Aquino is attending the Asia –Europe summit, said during his meeting with the Filipino community, he said people in the previous administration seem to be using a different kind of calculator when it comes to public works projects and rice imports.

“As other people say, maybe they used a different kind of calculator and the addition button is automatic and frequently pushed,” he said elaborating that the Arroyo administration imported 2.5 million metric tons of rice for a 1.3 million shortage , the end result of which is excess rice now rotting in warehouses.


Aquino resorts to snide remarks about the previous administration to underscore the reforms that he has claims he has instituted. He boasted about the P260 million purportedly saved in the construction of the Araneta-Quezon Avenue underpass in Quezon City which would have cost P694 million under Arroyo.

The Laos remark is milder in mockery compared to the jokes he cracked before the Filipino community in Auckland, New Zealand less than two weeks ago where, in trying to underscore his anti-corruption drive, he shared a text joke about corrupt persons using wheelchairs as get-away vehicle: “”Share ko ho lang sa inyo isang tawang-tawa ako sa narinig kong joke. Yung mga kababayan raw ho nating corrupt sa Pilipinas, kagagara ng kotse, kamamahal, katutulin. Pero pagka ginustong tumakas, ang ginagamit wheelchair .”

Many persons with disabilities using wheelchair found it in bad taste and he was widely criticized for it.

There is no debate about the corruption in the highest level of government during the Arroyo administration.

But instead of indulging in public mockery overseas, Aquino should do something about his legal team and file strong cases Arroyo. He has in his disposal the whole government machinery to build cases against Arroyo and her cohorts.

Rather than indulge in snide remarks, Aquino should work on being an effective chief executive and make government work.

Leadership-related events in US and China

Ellen Leave a comment

Obama and Romney in their second presidential debate last Oct 18.

This week, the two most powerful countries on earth are holding top leadership-related events.

Tuesday, Nov. 6 is Election Day in the United States of America.

The US continues to be a major influence to Filipinos, with many of us having relatives there. Media outfits and individuals are monitoring the race, a number of them taking sides.

Reports said the presidential race is tight between Barack Obama, a Democrat who is seeking a second term and Republican candidate Mitt Romney.

China, on Thursday, Nov. 8 will hold its 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in Beijing. Held every five years, the Chinese Embassy in Manila said there’s “a remarkable increase” of overseas journalists applying for accreditation for the event, compared to the number that covered the 17th Congress.

Unlike in the US, where no one can predict for sure whether Obama will continue for another four years in the White House or step down on January 2013, in China it is expected that Xi Jinping, 57, currently the vice president will succeed President Hu Jintao, 68, also referred as “paramount leader.”

Here’s excerpts from the media advisory of the Chinese Embassy :

“The congress is a very important meeting to be held at a critical time when China is building a moderately prosperous society in an all-round way, and deepening reform and opening up and accelerating the transformation of economic development pattern in difficult areas.

“The congress will hold high the banner of socialism with Chinese characteristics, be guided with the Deng Xiaoping Theory and the important thoughts of “Three Represents,” and thoroughly carry out the Scientific Outlook on Development.

“The congress will review the Party’s work over the past five years as well as what the Party has implemented since the 16th CPC National Congress.

“It will summarize the precious experience the Party has gained from the historical process of uniting and leading the people of all ethnic groups to carry on and advance the socialism with Chinese characteristics.

“The congress will thoroughly examine the current international and domestic situation and take into account of the new requirements for the country’s development and new expectations from the people.

“The congress will draw out the guidelines and policies that respond to the call of the times and fulfill the wishes of the people.”

For Filipinos who elect their leaders, almost like the Americans, the Chinese setup is somewhat complicated.

In a democratic setup that we have in the Philippines, there are three co-equal branches of government: the Executive headed by the President whom the people elect directly; Legislative composed of senators and representatives, whom the people also elect; and the Judiciary headed by the Supreme Court Justice appointed by the President but is independent from the two other branches.

Xi Jinping, China’s incoming president

In China, the three levers of power are The Party, The Army and the State.

Here’s a useful primer by Patrick Chovanec , a professor at Tsinghua University’s School of Economics and Management in Beijing on China’s Leadership transition:

“The National [Party] Congress (not to be confused with the annual National People’s Congress) has 2000 party delegates. It meets every 5 years and ‘elects’ the Party’s Central Committee of 300 members, but in reality simply ratifies members who have been put in place by the 24-man Politburo.

“The Politburo is in turn governed by the nine members of its Standing Committee. The members of this committee are ranked in order of influence 1-9, and are in essence the beating heart of the Chinese government. At present Hu Jintao occupies the number one slot and Wen Jiabao number three. Their expected replacements, Xi Jinping and Li Keqiang, come in at six and seven respectively.

“The expectation that Xi Jinping will succeed Hu Jintao seems to come from matters of both precedent and powerful influence. Xi Jinping holds the two posts that Hu himself held before becoming President, or more importantly before becoming the General Secretary of the Party’s Politiburo Central Committee. “

Xi is described by media as “princeling,” the child of a prominent Party official. Interior Secretary Mar Roxas, who represented President Aquino at the Asean-China Expo, met with him in Nanning, China last September.

Wen Jiabao will remain as Premier after he steps down from the Politburo standing committee until taken over by Li Keqiang in March.

It’s important for Filipino officials to monitor closely the leadership transition in the U.S. and China and keep a close watch on new personalities in the power hierarchy.

But there should be no illusion of a major change in their foreign policy attitude towards the Philippines. Whatever party would be in power in the United States, whoever would wield the most power in China, they would all prioritize their national interest in dealing with other countries.

That should also be our policy.