Mindanao Daily
Founded 2006
mindanaoexaminer.com
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Zamboanga City, Philippines
Dec. 3-9, 2012
PROBE SOUGHT FOR MYSTERIOUS DEATH OF PINAY DH IN SAUDI
The family and relatives of a Filipino domestic helper who allegedly committed suicide in Saudi Arabia have appealed to Philippine authorities to immediately investigate her death and to bring her body home. The kin contacted the them that Umacob was deFilipino migrants’ rights ployed by a Manila-based group Migrante-Middle East Asmara International Placeto seek assistance about the ment Agency, Inc. “She never mentioned mysterious death of 27-year old Naomi Umacob, who went any serious problem on her to Saudi to work in Al-Hasa work or with her employer. in 2010. She was reported to Not until the third week of have died four months ago, but July this year that we can’t her body has not been returned contact her anymore, neither to her family in her native her phone nor on her town of Lupon in Davao Ori- Facebook,” Jonabel said. She said they only ental province. Umacob, a licensed teacher, was forced to learned about the Umacob’s work abroad to help her fam- death on November 20, addily. Migrante’s regional coor- ing the victim was supposed dinator John Leonard to fly home on July 22 based Monterona said the victim’s on a plane ticket shown by the niece Jonabel Segador told Department of Foreign Af-
fairs. It was also the day Umacob allegedly killed herself, Saudi police reported. “It was so painful. It was only recently that we were informed about her death – four months later after her supposed suicide. Police report said she committed suicide, but it’s so hard to believe it. The DFA-Mindanao had shown us her ticket that was dated July 22, 2012 which supposedly her flight back home. It’s hard to believe it,” Jonabel said. Umacob’s family pleaded to DFA regional office in Mindanao to seek a reinvestigation of her death, but got no reports from the Foreign Affairs department. “We want to know what
really happened to her. We strongly believe she was killed,” Jonabel told Migrante. Monterona said they also appealed to the DFA and the Philippine embassy in Saudi to probe the case and to arrange the repatriation of the body of Umacob. “We are calling the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Philippine embassy in Saudi Arabia to probe this case and if necessary arrange for reinvestigation as requested by the family,” Monterona said. Monterona said they have monitored at least 6 cases of mysterious deaths of overseas Filipino workers in the Middle East since early this year. “On previous years, we
Philippines to implement new policy on controversial Chinese e-Passports MANILA - Manila is to implement its new visa regulation for Chinese nationals using passports displaying a map that includes an area in the West Philippine Sea, where Beijing and the Philippines are asserting ownership, the Philippine News Agency reported. Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) spokesman Raul Hernandez said all concerned agencies such as Philippine diplomatic missions and the Bureau of Immigration will “simultaneously” carry out the new policy aimed at denigrating China’s latest attempt to bolster its territorial claim. Hernandez said visa and immigration stamps will be placed on a separate sheet of document given to Chinese visitors entering the Philip-
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pines. Manila’s action reinforces its protest against what it calls China’s excessive claim over almost the entire potentially oil-rich South China Sea including areas in the the West Philippine Sea. “This action is being undertaken to avoid the Philippines being misconstrued as legitimizing the 9-dash line every time a Philippine visa is stamped on such Chinese e-passport,” Hernandez said, referring to China’s U-shaped nine-dotted line claim that covers most of the sea and overlaps with Manila’s territories. The Philippines move came after Vietnam implemented a similar policy on the new Chinese passports, which Manila called “unac-
ceptable.” Chinese visitors need to apply for a visa to enter the Philippines. Under the new scheme, Philippine visas will be stamped on a visa form to be provided by the DFA’s embassies or consulates abroad to Chinese nationals, Hernandez explained. Immigration officers at Philippine airports, on the other hand, will affix entry stamps on the same document and not on the new Chinese passports, Hernandez said. The Philippines and China, along with Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan have long disputed ownership of the West Philippine Sea or also known as the South China Sea, a chain of islands, cays, reefs and atolls believed
Northern Mindanao
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to be rich in oil and gas. Last year, the Philippines and Vietnam separately accused Chinese vessels of intruding into their territories in and near the Spratlys off the West Philippine Sea and of disrupting their oil exploration activities. China claimed it has sovereignty in those areas on historical grounds. Chinese and Philippine government ships also figured in a standoff starting in April at Scarborough Shoal or Bajo de Masinloc, a sprawling offshore area north of the Spratlys and off the country’s northeastern province of Zambales that both countries claim. Manila has considered to elevate its disputes with China to a mediation body in the United Nations.
Manila
had monitored 8 to twelve OFWs whose deaths were not factually established. And their families doubted the circumstances of their death. The Aquino administration’s
promise of providing on-site protection to our OFWs especially Filipino domestic workers remains a promise and is only an empty campaign slogan,” he said.
Fishing ban sa sardinas ipinatupad na!
Pagadian City Coast (Mindanao Examiner Photo) ZAMBOANGA CITY - siguradong walang lalabag sa Pormal ng nagsimula ang morato-rium ng pamahalaan. Sinigurado naman ng commercial -fishing ban sa mga sardinas sa Western mga canning factories na may Mindanao at tatlong buwan sapat na stock ng sardinas ang ang moratorium na ipinag- publiko sa loob ng tatlong utos ng Bureau of Fishe-ries buwang -fishing ban. Ang iba naman ay and Aquatic Resources nag-sabing mag-aangkat ng (BFAR). Sinabi ng ahensya na ang mga isda sa Tsina upang kautusan ay upang mabigyan tuluy-tuloy ang kanilang ng sapat na panahon ang mga produksyon. Libu-libong mangsardinas na magparami sa natu-rang rehiyon. Nasa ga-gawa ang nakikinabang sa Zamboanga City ang mga sardines factories sa karamihan ng mga sardines Zamboanga. Ngunit sa kabila factories at tone-toneladang nito ay nanatiling kapareho isda ang konsumo ng mga ito. ng Zamboanga ang presyo ng Ngunit sinabi naman ng mga sardinas sa Kalakhang BFAR na hindi kasama ang Maynila at ibang bahagi ng maliliit na mangingisda sa bansa kahit na walang gastos naturang ban. “The ban only sa shipping ang mga factoapplies to commercial ries. Matagal ng hinihiling ng fi-shing. Small fishermen can continue their catch,” ani mga -taga-Zamboanga na babaan ng mga -canning facBFAR Director Asis Perez. Ayon pa kay Perez, tories ang presyo ng dala-wang barko ang ka-nilang paninda dito, nagpapatrulya ngayon sa ngunit dedma lamang ang Western Mindanao at Sulu mga Tsinoy na may-ari nito. Archipe-lago upang ma- (Mindanao Examiner)
Zamboanga Peninsula
The Mindanao Examiner 2 San Juan lawmaker warns unscrupulous traders
MANILA – San Juan Congressman JV Ejercito Estrada has warned manufacturers and traders against profiteering during the Christmas holi-
days, saying there is an appropriate penalty for the crime. He also urged the Department of Trade and Industry to keep a tight watch on the prices of food items usually associated with Christmas, in addition to basic commodities. He said the government must be prepared to strictly enforce RA 7581, otherwise known as the Price Act, this time of the year. “It is only on Christmas and New Year that even poor families splurge on ham, cheese, spaghetti, fruit cocktails, and other goodies for
Malaysian firms eager to invest in Mindanao ZAMBOANGA CITY - The Philippines said Malaysian firms are eager to put up investments in Mindanao. The Philippine Embassy in Kuala Lumpur and the Mindanao Development Authority recently held the Mindanao Business Networking Forum attended by some 150 participants. Officials said the forum - also attended by MDA head Luwalhati Antonino and Autonomous Region in Muslim M i n d a n a o Vi c e G o v e r nor Bainon Karon, and some 45 Mindanaobased businessmen and government officials generated significant interest among Malaysian businessmen and is expected to lead to sizable investments in the
southern region. Joining t h e m w e r e some 70 Malaysian investors and government o ff i c i a l s l e d b y M a l a y s i a n M i n i s t r y f o r Tr a d e and Industry Deputy Secretary General for Tr a d e M o h d R i d z a l Sheriff; Putrajaya Chamber of Commerce President and concurrently Malay Chamber of Commerce Deputy President Dato’ Hj Mohammed Alayuddin Hj Hasan; and Lembaga Ta b u n g H a j i C h a i r m a n Ta n S r i D a t o S r i ’ A b u M u s a M o h a m e d N o r. The forum was the first-ever international investment forum for Mindanao after the signing of the Framework Agreement between Manila and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.
noche buena and media noche,” he said, adding “these are Filipino traditions that manufacturers and traders, especially in the spirit of sharing and gift-giving, should not take advantage of.” Under the law, price manipulation carries a penalty of imprisonment from five to 15 years and a fine ranging from P5,000 to P2 million. The lawmaker appealed to businessmen to keep the prices of clothing and shoes stable, which he said families usually buy for their children as gifts. He said enough profit can be made anyway because of the increase in the movement of these goods. “I know the government does not impose a price ceiling on these items, but retail outlets should not take the occasion to gouge customers. It is the season of giving, but all we ask is for them to moderate the urge to make profit,” he said in a statement. He also noted that remittances from overseas Filipino workers usually pick up in anticipation of the holidays. He said there is a tendency for some unscrupulous traders to maximize profit during this period, to the prejudice of people. “This is unconscionable considering that the median disposable income in the country is only about P12,500 a month. Only in the months mentioned do families get their hands on extra money,” he said.
NO!
Ethnic Badjaos dive for coins tossed by residents at the breakwater of Paseo del Mar in Zamboanga City. (Mindanao Examiner Photo)
Health program for Mindanao tribesmen begins DAVAO CITY - The European Union has funded a P350-million health program that will benefit the indigenous peoples in the southern Philippines. The Indigenous Peoples Maternal, Neonatal, Child Health and Nutrition ProjectMindanao (IP MNCHN Project-Mindanao) said the landmark program will work on the provision of culturesensitive health services for the indigenous peoples with an end goal of improving access to and utilization of quality essential reproductive health service through a comprehensive and culturally acceptable implementation of the maternal, neonatal, child health and nutrition strategy. It said the Project Steering Committee as co-chaired by the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples and the Department of Health will oversee the overall direction and policy of the project.
“This is a crucial meeting as we need to establish a strong foundation for the project. The buck stops at the PSC level and it is very important that we arrive at a decision most sound and responsive to the needs of our Indigenous Peoples. We can only do so with all of us united amidst the complexity of our tasks and mandates as government agencies and peoples organizations,” IP MNCHN Project Director Dr. Lilibeth Malabanan said in a statement sent to the regional newspaper Mindanao Examiner. Sitting as members of the PSC are representatives from the Department of Social Welfare and Development, Department of Interior and Local Government, National Economic and Development Authority, Mindanao Development Authority, Philippine Commission on Women, nongovernmental and civil society organizations, indigenous
peoples organizations, United Nations Population Fun, and the EU delegation. “We are glad of this partnership with the European Union, the NCIP, and the UNFPA as this goes along with the Kalusugang Pangkalahatang program of the Department of Health. This showcase of partnership will definitely benefit our Indigenous Peoples of Mindanao and the country in general and will also help to achieve the Mindanao Development Goal’s,” Department of Health Director Bureau of International Health Cooperation Dr. Maylene Beltran said. The PSC approved the Overall Work Plan for the period 2012-2016 along with the project sites and the organizational structure. The initial project sites are Montevista in Compostela Valley province, Carmen town in North Cotabato, and in Kitaotao town in Bukidnon province.
No VIP treatment for Pagadian City mayor accused in investment scam PAGADIAN CITY - Manila said it would not give special treatment to Pagadian City Mayor Samuel Co who has been linked to investment scam in the southern Philippines. Co, a politcal ally of President Benigno Aquino and member of the administration’s Liberal Party, has denied all accusations against him and blamed his political opponents for linking him to the P12-billion scam perpetrated by Aman Futures. Malacanang said there will be no special treatment given to any personality regardless of party
JUST SAY
Dec. 3-9, 2012
affiliation. Aside from Co, his wife and 10 others have been charged with syndicated estafa for their alleged involvement in Ponzi scheme. Co is running for Congress in next year’s polls. The Philippine News Agency quoted Justice Secretary Leila de Lima as saying that based on documentary evidence, the mayor allegedly played a role in the scam. It also said that Maria Dona Coyme, one of the finance managers of Aman Futures, has implicated Co and wife Pricilla Ann Fernandez and that they had sought in-
vestors for the group. Co insisted he was not part of the scam, but a victim. “We expect the DOJ to perform its job of identifying personalities who may be cul-
pable for the scam,” said Presidential Spokesman Edwin Lacierda, adding the charges against Co were based “on the evidence gathered and that is the mandate of the DOJ.”
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Dec. 3-9, 2012
HIV-infected members to get more benefit from Philhealth The Philippine Health Insurance Corp. said it is now providing members and dependents with human immunodeficiency virus additional financial support, should they acquire tuberculosis and other ailments on account of their damaged immune system. “We will pay simultaneously for the anti-retroviral therapy as well as TB treatment of HIV-positive members and dependents. If they are hospitalized due to any other secondary illnesses, they will also be provided the regu-
lar inpatient benefits,” Philhealth president and chief executive officer Dr. Eduardo Banzon said in a statement sent to the Mindanao Examiner. “Owing to their impaired immune system, Filipinos living with HIV are extremely vulnerable to TB. Their bodies are unable to stop the TB bacteria from reproducing,” Banzon said. Banzon said people living with HIV are likewise more susceptible to other opportunistic diseases, such as
pneumonia, or even vicious fungal infections. “TB is particularly dangerous for people with HIV infection. Worldwide, TB is the leading cause of death among persons with HIV infection and almost one in four deaths among people with HIV infection is due to TB,” according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “TB bacteria can live in the body without making a person sick. This is called latent TB infection. In most
people who breathe in TB bacteria, and become infected, the body is able to fight the bacteria to stop it from growing. People with latent TB infection do not feel sick and do not have any symptoms. TB bacteria become active if the immune system can’t stop it from growing. When TB bacteria are multiplying in the body, this is called active TB disease,” the CDC explained. HIV causes the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, or AIDS. The disease that destroys the human
body’s immune system still does not have any known cure. However, anti-retroviral therapy has been known to slow down the advance of the disease. The Philippines reported the discovery of 2,466 new HIV infections from January to September this year, up 48 percent versus the 1,669 spotted over the same nine-month period in 2011. The National HIV and AIDS Registry, which began passive surveillance in 1984, now lists a cumulative 10,830
cases, of which 6,406 were detected from 2010 onward. Nine out of every 10 cases in the registry were infected through sexual contact. At least 2,761 Filipinos living with HIV are now undergoing anti-retroviral therapy, according to the registry. At present, Philhealth’s Outpatient HIV/AIDS Treatment Package pays P30,000 every year, or P7,500 per quarter, for the anti-retroviral therapy of members and dependents living with HIV.
Negros farmers demand full implementation of CARP, vow to march again Filipino farmers demanding land distribution under the government’s Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program said they will march to the street to press President Benigno Aquino to fulfil his promise to them. Aquino promised the farmers in Negros Occidental in June this year that he would speed up the land acquisition and distribution component of CARP and issue notices of coverage to private agricultural land ranging from 10 hectares to 25 hectares. The President also directed Agrarian Reform Secretary Virgilio de los Reyes to
carry out his order. At least 10,000 farmers, all under Task Force Mapalad, are expected to join the march. TFM-Negros president Alberto Jayme explained that Negros farmers welcomed the President’s vow but five months after that meeting “De los Reyes has apparently been working at cross-purposes with the President’s directive since his accomplishment rating has gone down to 8 percent in northern Negros Occidental and 5 percent in the southern section of the province.” Jayme said the farmers will be marching anew to re-
mind the President that “they want him to complete the distribution of land and fulfil his other promises.” He said the poor performance of De los Reyes “is an indication of his failure to make DAR personnel work with the zeal required by the President.” “It is apparent De los Reyes is not doing his best to dismantle all the snags in LAD and he is getting bogged down on the legal technicalities that have become the very reason for the delay in land distribution,” Jayme said in a statement sent to the Mindanao Examiner.
Dozens of species of birds added to ‘endangered’ list in Philippines
A photo of songster taken in Zamboanga City in the southern Philippines. The songster is a Philippine endemic that frequents the vines and tangles of the forest undergrowth, according to Birding Adventure Philippines. (Mindanao Examiner Photo) ZAMBOANGA – Some 39 ered either vulnerable or enbirds have been added to the dangered, according to the country’s list of threatened nongovernmental organizaspecies and are now consid- tion called Pilipinas
Ecowarriors. It said at least one – the Cebu flower pecker – has been tagged as critically endangered. The others have been identified based on their common names in the Philippines as the Streak reed-warbler, Blue-capped kingfisher, Silvery kingfisher, Philippine duck, Darter, Malaysian plover, Philippine leaf bird, Japanese white stork, Mcgregor’s cuckoo-shrike, scarlet-collared flower pecker, Pink-bellied imperial pigeon, Visayan broadbill, Spoon-billed sandpiper, Merlin, Little slaty flycatcher, Palawan flycatcher, Mindanao bleeding-heart, Tabon scrub fowl, Ashybreasted flycatcher. And the Bristle-thighed curlew, Ryuku scops owl, Palawan scops owl, Mantanari scops owl, Mindanao scops owl, Oriental scops owl, Java sparrow, Mindoro hornbill, Oriental honey buzzard, Tawi-Tawi brown dove, Ijima’s leaf-warbler, Sulu woodpecker, Bluewinged racket-tail, Creambellied fruit dove, Falcated wren-babbler, Crested serpent eagle, Flame-templed babbler, and the Whistling green-pigeon. The organization said Philippine wild birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians are categorized as threatened” once their habitats have suffered extreme depletion and their populations have shrunk to a level below which the species or subspecies will be completely wiped out. It said in compliance with existing international and national laws, the Philippines keeps a registry of wildlife species “of priority concern for protection and conservation. And the Protected Areas and Wildlife Bureau update the list regularly.
Jayme said CARP should be completed as promised by the President, but De los Reyes claimed that as early as July that the DAR would be unable to meet the targets that the department had set for the entire year. True enough, DAR Assistant Secretary Jose Grajeda admitted in a meeting with Negros farmers recently that it would be impossible to distribute 43,161 hectares of land in Negros Occidental that include the 2011 backlog of 16,233 hectares. DAR has said that 130,000 hectares of land in Negros Occidental are up for distribution, half of them within the next six months. Nationwide, the DAR’s target for LAD this year is 180,851 hectares. Jayme noted that nationwide, the DAR record from January 2012 to October 31, 2012 was only 18 percent,
worse than its batting average of 21.24 percent for the first seven months of the year. For this year, the target of De los Reyes is to distribute 180,851 hectares but his backlog along is a high 74,650 hectares. If De los Reyes wants to meet his target and clean up the slate for next year, he should subject a total of 255,501 hectares to LAD. However, the actual area distributed from January to October 31 was only 45,392 hectares, or only 18 percent of the target, including the backlog. Worse, for the first three quarters of this year, the accomplishment of De los Reyes in northern Negros Occidental was only 871 hectares, with another 229 considered as non-CARP areas, for a total of 1,099 hectares. Since the current target for that section of the province
is 17,483 hectares, the DAR’s official accomplishment rate is only 5 percent. With the backlog of 10,539 hectares added, or 28,022 hectares, the rate would only be a puny 3 percent. DAR’s performance in southern Negros Occidental is similarly dismal, with only 780 hectares distributed, or 8 percent, compared to the 2012 goal of 9,445 hectares. However, the backlog in southern Negros Occidental was 5,694 hectares, putting the total land area to be distributed at 15,139 hectares. All these figures show that instead of increasing LAD significantly after the meeting with President Aquino, the reverse happened, with De los Reyes and the provincial DAR office in Negros Occidental actually lagging behind their own targets.
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The Mindanao Examiner
Dec. 3-9, 2012
Palpak na serbisyo ng Globe Telecom sa Zamboanga City inireklamo ZAMBOANGA CITY – Dalawang katao ang dumulog sa Mindanao Examiner upang i-reklamo ang Globe Telecom sa Zamboanga City dahil sa umano’y kapalpakan ng serbisyo nito. Unang nagsumbong ang isang negosyanteng babae at ayon sa kanyang pahayag ay nag-apply umano ito ng tatlong linya sa ilalim ng promo na My Super Plan – Family Combo sa halagang P1799 bawat buwan para sa tatlong unit ng Blackberry 9220. Matapos na makapagsumite ng kanyang mga requirements, kabilang ang bank statement, proof of billing, income tax returns at business permit sa opisina ng Globe Telecom sa Barangay San Jose ay na-aprubahan agad ito. Pinagbabayad pa ng Globe Telecom ang negosyante ng karagdagang P120 para sa tatlong SIM
cards. At ng kukunin na umano ang mga cell phone units ay sinabi naman ng isang sales representative na nagpakilalang si Mike ay na dapat umano ay personal bank statement ng negosyante at sarili nitong income tax returns ang isumite sa Globe Telecom. Sinabi naman ng negosyante na siya ang mayari ng kumpanya at nasa business permit ang pangalan nito, ngunit dedma lamang ang Globe Telecom. “Approved na nga yun application ko at kumpleto lahat ng requirements ko kaya nga pinakukuha na ng Globe ang mga cell phone and then suddenly humingi na naman ng kung anuanong mga requirements gayun ako naman ang mayari ng kumpanya,” paliwanag pa ng negosyante. Sa inis naman ng reklamante ay kinuha na lamang nito ang alok ng ahente ng Smart Communi-
cations sa kaparehong family plan. Ito rin ang reklamo ng isa pang existing Globe subscriber na nagsabing nag-apply rin ito ng My Super Plan – Family Combo sa hotline at nag-email ng kanyang ID bilang pruweba ng kanyang identipikasyon. Ngunit laking gulat na lamang ng makatanggap ng abiso na kanselado ang kanyang application dahil sa hindi umano ito nagsumite ng proof of billing at kung anu-ano pang mga dokumento gayun matagal na itong subscriber ng Globe Telecom. Sa katunayan aniya ay tatlo ang existing lines nito sa Globe at lahat ng accounts ay updated ang mga bayad buwan-buwan kung kaya’t nagtataka ito kung bakit hindi inaprubahan ang kanyang bagong application.
“Bobo yata ang mga account representatives ng Globe Telecom at kahit existing subscriber ka na at may records na sila ng iyong mga previous transactions and so on ay ang dami pa nilang hinihingi kung anu-ano. Simple logic will tell them na they have all my records so why do they need to ask for the same thing?” Tanong pa nito.Maraming reklamo ang Globe Telecom sa Zamboanga City – mula sa kanilang mga palpak na serbisyo at sales promotion hanggang sa erratic signal nito na siyang pangunahing sakit sa ulo ng maraming mga subscribers. Ang Smart Communications naman ang may pinakamaraming subscribers sa Zamboanga City kasunod lamang ang Globe Telecom at pangatlo ang Sun Cellular. (Mindanao Examiner)
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‘His kind of people’ By Luis V. Teodoro
The Mindanao Examiner Media, Film and Television Productions Maritess Fernandez Publisher/Executive Producer (On Leave) Al Jacinto Editor-in-Chief/Producer (OIC) Gregorri Leaño Joanna Valerie Wee Video Editor Mindanao Examiner Productions Web Master REGIONAL PARTNERS Mindanao Daily Business Week NEWS/ADVERTISING OFFICES Mark Navales ARMM
Giovanni Solmerano Eastern Mindanao
Merlyn Manos Iligan City
Geonarri Solmerano Southern Mindanao
CONTRIBUTING EDITORS: Asa Madale Lanao Provinces Ely Dumaboc Zamboanga Sibugay/Zamboanga del Sur/Zamboanga del Norte John Shinn III California The Mindanao Examiner Newspaper/Business Week/Mindanao Daily is published weekly/daily in Zamboanga City and Cagayan de Oro City in Mindanao, Philippines. The Mindanao Examiner Television is broadcast in Skycable 54 in Zamboanga; Lupah Sug Cable in Sulu province and Basilan Cable in Basilan province. Our business and editorial offices are located at Units 15, 3rd Floor, Fair Land Bldg., Nuñez St., Zamboanga City Phone & fax: +63 62 9925480 Mobile: +63 9152756606 URL: mindanaoexaminer.com E-mail: mindanaoexaminer@gmail.com
THE PHILIPPINE Daily Inquirer described President Benigno S. Aquino III as “affable” during his speech at the 9th MediaNation “Summit” last Friday, November 23, in contrast to his “combative” stance in at least three events this year when he rebuked the media for their alleged inaccuracy, negativity, and focus on his love life. And why shouldn’t Mr. Aquino have been friendlier than usual? He has after all demonstrated time and again that he can’t stand ordinary journalists, whom he has even insulted during his press conferences. He was apparently at ease last Friday because he was addressing, not so much the smattering of media practitioners present, but the media owners and publishers, as well as the members of the “summit” sponsoring organization, Pagbabago@Pilipinas, who include, among others, non-communication academics; a clutch of business executives; an actor; a politician; and a trickle-down economist—in other words, a conservative bunch who share a common distrust of the press and the media who can afford to pay the $50,000 lecture fee of former Poland President Lech Walesa, and for that reason Mr. Aquino’s kind of people. The choice of the threeday “summit” topic, “Corruption in Media,” and the date on which it started, were particularly expressive of where these people are coming from. Corruption in media has often been cited as a leading cause of—in so many words, as the justification for—the killing of journalists. That apparently suited Mr. Aquino fine: he proceeded to praise the organizers for the theme they chose to focus on, on the very date when, three years ago, the worst attack on the press and media anywhere occurred in the Philippines. Apparently, it didn’t occur to any of the media big shots present that one of the leading causes of corruption in the media are the low salaries and
non-existent benefits their organizations offer many practitioners, some of whom have been casual employees for decades. Mr. Aquino did mention the killing of journalists in passing, but devoted not a single word to reminding his hosts and the nation that he was speaking at the so-called “media summit” on the third anniversary of the Ampatuan Massacre, during which 32 journalists and media workers were killed, allegedly by the private and privatized army of a local warlord. Of course Mr. Aquino could not have said anything about the Ampatuan Massacre, the date of which international press freedom watch groups have designated the International Day to End Impunity. The reason’s simple enough: he hasn’t done anything about it, whether by encouraging the revision of the rules of court that have been the main cause of the molasses-like progress of the trial of those accused of masterminding and carrying out the Massacre, or by dismantling the warlord armies that in over a hundred places in the Philippines have been involved not only in the killing of journalists but in extrajudicial killings and other human rights violations as well. If Mr. Aquino was in his element when referring to media corruption, he was even more voluble when he talked about conflict of interest in the media. Conflicts of interest are indeed among the most common problems in the journalism profession. But the primary reason for their persistence isn’t so much practitioner inability to define the limits of such practices as endorsing products like detergent and toothpaste (a problem more common among entertainment rather than news media practitioners), as the ownership system that has been in place in this country since Commonwealth days. Conflicts of interest occur when there is a clash between the public’s right to accurate,
impartial, and complete information and the individual practitioner’s and/or the media organization’s and owner’s self-interest. Because the corporate media are owned and controlled by various business and political interest groups, the consequence for the news media is a fundamental conflict of interest between the public need for reliable information, and media owners’ using the media to protect and/or enhance their political and business concerns. Few or none of the media owners and publishers who were listening to Mr. Aquino were likely to admit that the contradiction between private ownership of the media and their public service function is the mother of conflict of interest in the press and media. As for Mr. Aquino, it’s either he and his Palace media cohort have not thought about the problem enough, or they’re not prepared to make the owners of the media— who’re his natural allies, anyway—as uncomfortable as he has made ordinary journalists. But as far as preventing conflicts of interest at a less basic level is concerned, Mr. Aquino actually had a chance to demonstrate his commitment to better media practice during and after the 2010 campaign. The columnists and other media people who were part of his campaign then continued to write and report for their respective media organizations without so much as a hint to the public about their political entanglements, which created a conflict of interest with the public right to fair comment and to accurate and impartial reporting. Some of these media people whose support Mr. Aquino accepted with no regard for the ensuing conflict of interest their involvement in his campaign created have since been appointed to government posts, while others are continuing to support him, his policies and whatever it is he says or does, with the pub-
lic being none the wiser about their links to Mr. Aquino— who in 2010 could have very easily told them to take a leave of absence or to desist from commenting on the Presidential campaign, but didn’t. Someone should inform Mr. Aquino that the standards of media behavior, including those meant to prevent such conflicts of interest as the above instances, have been in place for decades, contrary to his claim that the press and media have no fixed standards. Those standards consist of well-established ethical principles, as well as professional standards practitioners are expected to observe. As every freshman communication student knows, there are literally thousands of resources, whether in print or online, on what these standards are. To be fair to Mr. Aquino, however, he did hint that the owners of the media should be able to pay journalists the salaries they deserve given the responsibilities they have to discharge. Overall, however, there was little in his speech that was of relevance to the real issues that confront the press and media as well as the public they serve, among them the absence of a Freedom of Information bill, the continuing use of criminal libel to silence critical journalists, and the perils to free expression posed by the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 and the continuing murder of journalists. All these—for the persistence of which Mr. Aquino should be held responsible— while he and his friends were talking about corruption in the media on, of all days, the International Day to End Impunity. (The author is a former dean of the University of the Philippines College of Mass Communication, where he teaches journalism. He is the deputy director of the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility. He writes a weekly column for the BusinessWorld.)
Dec. 3-9, 2012
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The Mindanao Examiner
Dec. 3-9, 2012
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The Mindanao Examiner
Dec. 3-9, 2012
Rising violence against women in RP alarms group Eight years after the passage of the Republic Act 9262 or Anti-Violence Against Women and their Children, violence against women continues to persist as one of the Philippines’ pervasive social problems. The Women and Children Protection Center of the Philippine National Police recorded 12,948 VAW cases during the first eight months of 2011 or 69.7%of which were violations of the Anti-VAWC law. The reported cases under RA 9262 increased from 218 in 2004 to 9,974 cases in 2010. Similarly, VAW cases in all categories (including rape, physical injuries and sexual harassment) increased an average of 26.9% annually from 2006 to 2010. The biggest annual increase (59.2%) was recorded in 2010 with 15,104 cases,
compared with 9,485 cases in 2009. “The data is very alarming. The figures are not even conclusive as they are based only from what were reported to the PNP. There should be a system to consolidate VAW information from all sources, and to disseminate such for proper appreciation and intervention,” Sis. Eva Arcos, General Secretary of the Associated Labor Unions National Committee on Women, said in a statement sent to the regional newspaper Mindanao Examiner. Arcos said many VAW victims still chose to keep their experiences to themselves to protect the family from shame. She also noted that even the National Demographic and Health Survey conducted by the National Statistics Office recognized that a greater
challenge now is the lack of concrete information on the extent of VAW in the country as many of these cases go unreported. “We must provide a listening, just and empowering environment to break the culture of silence. Mechanisms or structures must be in place to prevent and address VAW, with safety, healing and empowerment of victims and/or survivors and accountability of offenders as core goals. Information and education campaign on the law and its strict implementation, including effective operation of intervention structures like local-level women’s desks are critical. The use of social media and global solidarity campaigns can help give human face to the extent and gravity of VAW,” she said.
Aquino Human Rights Super Body Doubted Human rights group Karapatan has criticized the “super body” created by the Aquino government to investigate the killings, disappearances, torture and other rights violations in the Philippines. This, after Aquino included the Defense Secretary, the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, and director general of the Philippine National Police in the inter-agency committee which
will be formed through an Administrative Order. Cristina Palabay, Karapatan secretary general, said Justice Secretary Leila de Lima released President Benigno Aquino’s Administrative Order No. 35 creating the “super body” to look into the cases of grave rights violations. “How can this body have the credibility to investigate into the cases of violations
perpetuated by the AFP and the PNP, when they will be part of the investigation? Parang nakakaloko naman ito. We will only hear again their plethora of denials and lies.” “Unless the Aquino government shows genuine will for justice and human rights and abandon its counter-insurgency program Oplan Bayanihan, the superbody would mean nothing to victims and their kin,” Palabay said in a statement sent to the Mindanao Examiner. Palabay said the killings have continued under Aquino, with 114 victims of extrajudicial killings under his watch, and not one perpetrator has been put behind bars. “Oplan Bayanihan, that victimizes civilians in the course of counter-insurgency, has spawned these violations. What now is our assurance that the killings will be solved by this special team?” she asked. Karapatan also hit the super body’s supposed mandate to investigate state and non-state actors” involved in rights abuses, as another “ploy of the Aquino government to muddle the issue of the main responsibility of state security forces/actors in all of the violations.” “The cases of Leonardo Co and Fr. Fausto “Pops” Tentorio have long been pending before the DOJ. Up to now, DOJ has not shed light on these cases that will lead to the arrest and prosecution of the perpetrators and masterminds. What we need now are results, and for the government to go after the perpetrators of human rights violations. The victims and their families deserve no less than justice,” Palabay said.
Houses sit on stilts in Isabela City in Basilan province in the southern Philippines. Basilan is one of five provinces under the Muslim autonomous region. (Mindanao Examiner Photo)
Migrante umalma kay Senator Enrile
MANILA – Binatikos ng Migrante-Middle East si Senate President Juan Enrile matapos nitong sabihin na hindi siya pabor sa Reproductive Health bill sa kadahilanang ang overseas Filipino workers ang siyang pinakamalaking export ng bansa. Matatandaang sinabi ni Enrile sa isang news conference na: “Ang pinakamalaking export natin is OFW. Export iyan eh, kaya ako kontra ako sa RH dahil
diyan. Ang magpapalago ng bansa natin ay iyong excess population natin na sinanay natin na tumatanggap ng mga trabaho abroad that others don’t want to handle. We have to accept that. Korea started that way.” Sinabi naman ni John Leonard Monterona, ang regional coordinator ng Migrante, na tila hindi alam ni Enrile ang tunay na dahilan kung bakit napipilitan ang mga Pilipino na magtrabaho sa ibang bansa.
“To say that the Philippine economy will improve mainly due to intensified government labor export program and abundant human resources for export is not true at all just because it’s keeping the economy afloat. More so, Sen. Enrile failed to see that most OFWs who are engaged in a contractual employment returning to the country empty only to be reintegrated to the jobless population,” ani Monterona sa pahayag nito sa Mindanao Examiner.
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The Mindanao Examiner
Dec. 3-9, 2012
The Mindanao Examiner
Dec. 3-9, 2012
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Traffic violations in Zamboanga City continue unabated ZAMBOANGA CITY – Traffic violations remain unabated in Zamboanga City in the southern Philippines – from illegal parking to overloaded jeeps and mini-buses to abusive drivers. Despite the violations, traffic policemen and traffic enforcers from the local government failed to address the situation in Zamboanga. The Land Transportation Office in Western Mindanao said it would launch a massive campaign against overloaded passenger vehicles in Zamboanga City in an effort to curb the rampant violations of the law and
to protect the riding public from grave dangers. Many transport vehicles plying the east coast villages take passengers more than the capacity of their jeepney, but nothing has been done about it. Lawyer Aminola Abaton, LTO regional director, said earlier in November that he would order a crackdown on erring drivers violating the law. But nothing has been done so far. “We h a v e r e c e i v e d many complaints about this and I myself have witnessed how these jeepneys and buses violate the laws. Passengers who sit
on the roof or hang by the rear of the jeep risk grave dangers and these (practice) must be stopped,” he told the Mindanao Examiner. Abaton said they would also crackdown on unlicensed passenger jeepneys and tricycles in Zamboanga. He also appealed to the public to report traffic violators to the LTO by simply calling their Hotline Number at (062) 9924110. “We are appealing to all to help us in our campaign and you can report traffic violators by calling our hotline number,” he said. (Mindanao Examiner)
Army officer to face court martial over lapses in anti-NPA operation PAGADIAN – A Philippine Army officer is facing court martial for allegedly ordering troops fighting communist rebels in the southern province of Zamboanga del Norte
to back off, a military insider said. The source, who asked not to publish the name and rank of the officer, is being investigated in connection
with lapses in military offensive against the New People’s Army rebels in the province. It was not immediately known why the officer ordered the troops to pull out from an area where the soldiers were fighting the rebels. Security officials were mum about the leak and would not give any statement on the allegation against the officer. But another source said the officer had once escaped from rebels who intercepted them on a remote village in the province. The NPA is fighting for a separate state in the country. (Mindanao Examiner)
Photo of a public jeep plying the route of Santa Maria in Zamboanga City unloaded a passenger in the middle of a busy road along Nunez Extension despite the danger it poses to motorists and passengers alike. Another photo showing passengers hang on to an overloaded jeep in the City despite the grave danger and violation of the traffic laws. These are typical scenes in Zamboanga where traffic violations are rampant.(Mindanao Examiner Photo)
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Dec. 3-9, 2012
PAG-ABSWELTO SA MAG-UTOL NA REYES, INALMAHAN NG MEDIA! MANILA - Umalma ang grupong Alab ng Mamamahayag (ALAM) matapos panatilihin ang naunang resolusyong nagpapawalang bisa sa kaso ng pagpatay sa radio broadcaster at environmentalist na si Doc Gerry Ortega laban sa magkapatid na dating Palawan Governor Joel Reyes at Coron Mayor Mario Reyes. Ayon kay ALAM Chair- Appeals (CA) Special 5th Diman Jerry Yap, dapat vision kaso ni Ortega bago busisiing mabuti ng Court of ideklarang “null and void” ng
ang binuong investigating panel ng Department of Justice (DOJ) sa pangunguna ni Secretary Leila de Lima. Matatandaang muling nag-imbestiga sa krimen si De Lima kung saan idinawit ang mga dating suspek. Sa paliwanag ng abogado
ng mga Reyes na si Ferdinand Topacio, nagpapasalamat umano sila dahil nakakuha sila ng favorable ruling na nagsasabing ang second panel na binuo ni Leila de Lima upang imbestigahan muli ang Ortega murder ay walang bias.
British American Tobacco howls over sin tax provisions The British American Tobacco (BAT) continues to support moves to increase sin taxes in the Philippines, but it also raised some issues on the Senate version of the bill, which it said does not provide a level playing field to market players, according to a report by the Philippine News Agency. It said BAT Philippines Corporate and Regulatory Affairs chief Robert Eugenio stressed they are not questioning the Senate’s sin tax bill measure approved on November 20. The Senate’s version provides for P40 billion additional revenues in the first year of implementation once the bill has been made into law. Eugenio, however, said although the approved bill provides for higher tax rates it still follows the tiered system similar to the 1996 prices
and the tax rates are based on how much the companies paid this year. “Taken together those two provisions, in effect, they create a new annex, which is, the list of brands that are in 2012 and then all new brands since they have to be based on 1996 pricing levels,” he said. Based on these provisions, Eugenio said there will still be no level playing field because new entrants will still be taxed higher rates even if their retail price is lower than the higher priced brands. “From the very beginning we have emphasized that that is our goal, that that should be one of the pillars of the sin tax reform bill, the level playing field. So we hope that the bi-cam will be able to clarify that,” he said. The Bicameral committee has scheduled to tackle
the sin tax reform measure next week. Under Senate Bill 3299 cigarettes packed by hand, which is taxed this year of less than P7.56 will need to pay P6 per pack effective May 1, 2013. For those that are taxed this year between P7.56 but less than P12 they will be taxed P10 per pack while those that are paying P12 or more this year will pay P14 per pact next year. The bill said brands that will join the market from March 1, 2013 to Feb 28, 2015 will be collected “an excise tax in accordance with the net retail price (excluding the excise tax and the value-added tax) per pack...” The bill provides for a unitary rates by 2017 and Eugenio said the almost fouryear leeway until the tax becomes unitary provides “preferential treatments for exist-
ing brands.” Under the House version, tobacco products will be taxed based on two tiers those that have net retail price of below P11.50 and those above P11.50. “The beauty there is that for new brands, the net retail price threshold is P11.50. It is updated to current prices,” Eugenio said, noting that the House version has a “cleaner and clearer” rules. BAT, which produces Lucky Strike that are currently sold at 7/11 stores, reestablished its Philippine operations early this year and bids to expand once the sin tax issues has been resolved. Eugenio said that even if the Senate version will be adopted as the new basis for excise taxes BAT will remain the country. “We will have to find a way to work within the new system,” he added. (Joann Santiago)
Mindanao Leaders' Summit idaraos sa Sulu SULU - Isang malaking summit ukol sa Framework Agreement ang ilulunsad ngayong Martes ng Sulu provincial government upang ipabatid sa publiko ang
kahalagahan nito at ng peace process ng pamahalaang Aquino sa Mindanao. Ang agreement ay nilagdaan nitong Oktubre lamang sa pagitan ng peace
Ang mga governors ng ARMM - Sadikul Sahali ng Tawi-Tawi; Jum Akbar ng Basilan; Mamintal Adiong ng Lanao del Sur; Sakur Tan ng Sulu, at Esmael Mangudadatu ng Maguindanao. (Mindanao Examiner Photo - Mark Navales)
ARMM
panels ng pamahalaan at ng Moro Islamic Liberation Front at ito rin ang siyang bubuo sa Bangsamoro (substate) na siyang ipapalit sa Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao na kinabibilangan ng Basilan, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi, Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao at lungsod ng Marawi at Lamitan. Inaasahan na sa 2016 ay Bangsamoro na ang bubuo sa mga naturang lugar, at posibleng ilang mga Muslim communities pa ang mapapasama sa naturang rehiyon sa isasagawang referendum sa Mindanao. "Sinusuportahan natin ang peace process ng ating Pangulo kaya nga may summit tayo dito sa Sulu upang ipaalam sa publiko ang kahalagahan nitong peace talks at ng Framework Agreement. Sinusuportahan namin mga governors sa ARMM ang kapayapaan," ani Sulu Gov. Sakur Tan sa Mindanao
Northern Mindanao
Davao
Examiner. Inaasahan na daragsahin ng libo-libong Muslim ang nasabing summit na dadaluhan rin ng mga opisyal ng pamahalaan at ng ARMM. Patuloy pa rin ang peace talks ng pamahalaan sa MILF at tinatalakay ngayon ang wealth sharing, power sharing at iba pa, ngunit may mga grupo rin na ang gusto ay mahalintulad ang bansa sa Malaysia o Amerika na kung saan ay nahahati ito sa mga Federal States. Maaaring hatiin ang buong Pilipinas sa mga rehiyon nito at gawing federated states ang Region 1 hanggang sa Region 13, kabilang na ang ARMM o Bangsamoro at Cordillera regions. Ngunit tikom naman ang bibig ng Senado at Kongreso ukol sa panukala. (Mindanao Examiner)
Manila
Sa desisyon ng CA, hindi legal ang pagkakabuo ng panel kaya lahat ng gawin ng nasabing panel ay null and void, kaya kinatigan ang unang panel na pinapawalang-sala ang magkapatid na Reyes. Wala rin umanong bisa ang warrant of arrest na inilabas ng ikalawang panel sa re-investigation kaya Malaya nang makababalik sa bansa ang Reyes Brothers. Giit naman ni Yap, muling aapela ang mga mamamahayag sa nagging pasya ng CA dahil hindi lamang ang pagkamatay ni Ortega ang kaso dito kundi ang kaso ng media killings na hindi binibigyang pansin ng gobyerno. Kung palulusutin umano ng batas ang magkapatid na
Reyes sa ginawa nilang krimen dahil lamang sa ilang technicalities, lalo lamang lalakas ang loob ng mga pulitikong may mga private army. Inaakusahan ang magkapatid na Reyes bilang utak sa pagpaslang kay Doc Gerry sa isang ukay-ukay store sa Puerto Princesa City noong Enero 24, 2011. Natatakot din si Yap na kung makalulusot ang mga Reyes dahil sa mga koneksyon at sa galling ng kanilang mga abugado, baka makalusot din ang pamilya Ampatuan na isinabit sa brutal na pagpatay sa 58 katao, kabilang ang 32 mamamahayag. (Nenet Villafana)
Philippine economy grows by 7.1%
Presidential Spokesman Edwin Lacierda said the Philippine economy grew by 7.1% in the third quarter this year and bested other Southeast Asian economies. “Among our neighbors, the country’s GDP growth was higher than Indonesia’s 6.2%, Malaysia’s 5.2%, Vietnam’s 4.7%, Thailand’s 3.0%, and Singapore’s 0.3%. This impressive expansion from 3.2% in the same quarter last year, places the country’s 9-month growth rate at 6.5% and on track to surpass the 5-6% full year growth target set by the National Economic Development Authority,” Lacierda said in a statement sent to the Mindanao Examiner. He said the local economy has shown both resilience and resurgence despite the global economic slowdown. And this was made possible, Lacierda said, due to sustained confidence in the leadership of President Benigno Aquino.
He said the government also pushed to ensure the economic growth is felt by the broadest number of people. “Within the same 9month period, the Aquino administration has enrolled more than three million beneficiaries under the Conditional Cash Transfer program and has distributed P20 billion for this priority social investment,” Lacierda said, adding “on top of this, spending for public health has also increased resulting in an expansion of health care safety nets and improvements in hospitals and health centers all over the country.” He said the equitable and inclusive growth is a commitment of the Aquino administration that has prioritized the establishment of both social and physical infrastructure which continues to redound to a more robust economy for the benefit of all Filipinos.
Zamboanga Peninsula