Planet Philippines (Calgary Edition) Nov. 1-15, 2011 Issue

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17 PHILIPPINES

NOVEMBER 1-15, 2011

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18 PHILIPPINES

OLDEST PROFESSION TURNS...

From page 14

rector’s office, where CATW-AP employees also worked.

Surviving temptations

There were times when they had no money to buy food.

“When you have nothing to feed your children, it’s tempting to turn to prostitution for fast money but because of our good foundation, we remained strong.

We survived without going back,” Gonzales said.

Even as they struggled to live, they still conducted educational seminars and scoured red light districts in Quezon City and elsewhere on the chance they might help other women trapped in prostitution.

Support from allied NGOs and their strong belief that “there is life after prostitution” kept them going, Gonzales said.

Eventually members learned skills from livelihood training seminars. Some even attended baking classes at Miriam College.

Initially, they thought of setting up a bakeshop.

But they settled for a canteen because the girls found it difficult to make bread, Gonzales said.

Canteen business

With their personal savings and

donations from CATW-AP and other supporters, the group earlier this year finally managed to open their 9-square-meter canteen.

Their profit and donations help them pursue their mission, support their families and send themselves and their children to school.

Gina has five children who are all studying. Her eldest is now in college.

Rem, 25, said: “Before, I could not even imagine myself going back to school. It seemed impossible.”

She is now pursuing a bachelor degree in cooperatives at Polytechnic University of the Philippines. Her sister, 20-yearold Rose (also not her real name) and also a survivor from prostitution, is now a fourth year high school student at Miriam College for adult education.

The two sisters want to take up courses on social development so they can better assist victims of sex trafficking.

Continuing the fight

With diplomas and newly acquired skills, some members have left BKCI to focus on their own lives. But others have remained because “we need to continue fighting for the rights of other victims of prostitution and be their

Survivors of prostitution need to learn new skills like these women from a slum area who are learning how to crochet. voice while they are still in the women simply give cash and their cell phones or, worse, give trade,” Gonzales said.

Gonzales is the only founder cops sexual favors in exchange for their freedom. left in the organization.

Gina said: “When cops like Carrying thermos, packets of instant coffee and bread, BKCI the apprehended woman, she is members still pound the streets of forced to have sex with them.”

Nowadays, “kotong” (bribe) red light districts.

Over coffee, they would talk ranges from P3,000 to P4,500, and with prostitution victims about transactions begin even before laws protecting women’s rights they reach the precinct, she said. and other issues.

“Most of them are not aware ‘Prostituted women’ of their rights. When authorities BKCI and CATW-AP are lobtake them to the precinct, they as- bying for the passage of the antisume that cases are already filed prostitution bill, which shifts against them even without any criminal liabilities from prostitutinquest,” Gonzales said. ed persons to customers, pimps, Afraid to stay behind bars, brothel and nightclub owners and

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law enforcement officers.

The measure has been pending in Congress for 11 years.

Gonzales resents calling women in prostitution sex workers or prostitutes. “We call them ‘prostituted women’ because prostitution is not a job but a violation of human rights.”

Women in this field are often looked at as sinners and home wreckers. “But we are not criminals … We are actually victims,” Gonzales said.

“Some are victims of rape or incest. Some are girls from rural areas who were fooled by illegal recruiters … We are victims of different circumstances, but we all fell into prostitution,” she said.

Gonzales said her group did not force women to leave their trade.

“They have to reach the point when they no longer want to be there.”

“We have healed our wounds,” Gonzales said. “We may not be able to forgive those who abused us, those who raped us. But to be able to heal, to go back to the community and freely express ourselves and fight for our rights, we feel blessed.”

Said Gina: “I am most fulfilled because I am no longer on the streets.” (Philippine Daily Inquirer) n

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19 PHILIPPINES

NOVEMBER 1-15, 2011

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20 PHILIPPINES

BY SATUR C. OCAMPO

President Benigno Aquino III delivers the State-of-the-Nation Address before a joint session of the Senate and House of Representatives.

HAT POLITICAL dynasties continue to dominate Congress isn’t hard news anymore. A news report on an Asian Institute of Management Policy Center study showing this has been relegated to the inside, rather than the front, page of a major daily.

Nonetheless, it’s worth looking deeper into that study, which tends to indicate that legislators belonging to political dynasties represent areas with lower percapita incomes and higher poverty levels although this needs further validation.

More significantly, the AIMPC study reveals that an increasing number of political dynasties are gaining seats in Congress. This fact points up the glaring failure to realize the 1987 Constitution’s declared state policy “to guarantee equal access to opportunities for public service, and prohibit political dynasties as may be defined by law.”

It’s also useful to correlate the AIMPC study with those made earlier, as these confirm that political dynasties have held sway in our national life for much too long — over 100 years!

Their persistent dominance in Philippine politics also explains why attempts towards democratic electoral reforms and social legislation to uplift the lives of the poor have been difficult to pass in Congress.

Politics of the elite

First, consider these findings of the AIMPC study: 1. At least 115, or 68 percent, of the members of the 15th Congress (the House of Representatives) elected in 2010 have relatives who have been members of the 12th, 13th, 14th and 15th congresses, or local officials who were elected in 2001, 2004, 2007 and 2010.

A bigger number — 144 — are related to other members of Congress or local officials elected in 2001, 2004 and 2007.

2. Based on their statements of assets, liabilities and net worth, legislators belonging to political dynasties appear to be richer (average net worth: P52 million) than those not belonging to dynasties (average net worth: P42 million).

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behaviors in government over a period of 18 years, spanning the presidencies of Manuel Roxas, Elpidio Quirino, Ramon Magsaysay, Carlos Garcia, and Diosdado Macapagal in The Modern Principalia, The Historical Evolution of the Philippine Ruling Elite.

In an update of his book in 2005, Simbulan ruefully concludes that his findings 40 years ago “still ring true today.” He observes: “In every province in the whole country, the ruling elite families — the so-called political dynasties — are still very much in evidence and they continue to lord it over not only the political life but also the economic and social life of the common people.”

Another study in 2004 by four journalists of the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism — Sheila Coronel, Yvonne Chua, Luz Rimban and Booma Cruz — depicts how “political families have dominated Congress for 100 years.”

Sources of wealth

3. Members of political dynasties also dominate membership in the major political parties: 76 percent of the Lakas-Kampi; 57 percent of the Liberal Party; 74 percent of the Nationalist People’s Coalition; and 81 percent of the Nacionalista Party.

4. Seventy-seven percent (77 percent) of the legislators aged 2640 belong to political dynasties; 64 percent of those aged 41-55 are also from political dynasties.

Is there a direct link between political dynasties and the incidence of mass poverty? Roland Mendoza, AIMPC executive director, emphasizes that notwithstanding the initial finding that wealthier legislators tend to represent poorer constituencies, further study and analysis are needed to conclusively determine this.

However, the earliest study, done in 1965 by Dr. Dante C. Simbulan, established that the elite in Philippine politics and government have historically exploited the poverty and ignorance of the masses to win political power, and wield that power for their personal benefit.

The persistent dominance of political dynasties in Philippine politics partly explains why attempts towards democratic electoral reforms and social legislation to uplift the lives of the poor have been difficult to pass in Congress.

Political dynasties dominate elections in the Philippines, where money, personality and political clout rule.

How dynasties evolved

This political elite came from the propertied and educated class, who had been given local administrative roles since the latter part of the Spanish colonial rule.

Constituting the principalia that became surrogate-accomplices of the Spaniards, they performed

similar services under the American colonial administration, and have taken the dominant role in Philippine politics since the Commonwealth years and throughout the post-World War II Republic.

Dr. Simbulan chronicles their evolution; he documents their economic interests, lifestyles, and

Titled The Rulemakers, How the Wealthy and Well-born Dominate Congress, the study however points out that while the legislature has always been the bastion of the wealthy, there have been changes. It explains: “The sources of (the legislators’) wealth are more diverse, so that Congress can no longer be described as a ‘landlord-dominated’ legislature. The caciques of old have been replaced by real-estate developers, bankers, stockbrokers, and assorted professionals and businesspeople… Still, the reality is that a congress of multimillionaires makes laws for a poor country.”

The study also takes note of another change: the entry of the party-list representatives from the “marginalized and underrepresented” sectors (who are constitutionally allotted 20 percent of the total number of seats in the House). It devotes a section, titled “In search of alternatives,” mainly to the entry of leftist political parties and the “laying of the groundwork for political and electoral reforms.”

But after 10 years of the partylist system, no reform legislation that can at least reduce the dominance of the political dynasties has gained headway, for obvious reasons.

Worse, political dynasties began appropriating for themselves some party-list seats in 2007, then more in 2010 — courtesy of the Commission on Elections. (The Philippine Star) n

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BY PEPPER MARCELO

010 MARKED a record year for OFW remittances. Filipinos working overseas sent home more than US$18.76 billion last year, according to Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). “The 2010 level slightly exceeded the BSP’s forecast of $18.7 billion,” said BSP Governor Amando Tetangco Jr. The previous record was US$17.38 billion in 2009.

In December 2010 alone, Filipinos sent home US$1.694 billion, a new monthly record. All told, last year’s remittances accounted for 10 percent of the country’s entire gross domestic product (GDP).

Who benefits most

But for all what the remittances have done for the country and the financial sector, the OFWs and their families have been largely neglected for the longest time. It is no secret that the government and private financial sector, particularly the remittance companies, are the ones that have benefited the most from OFW transactions.

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MAKING REMITTANCES WORK FOR OFWS

OFWs are now able to efficiently send home money at a reduced cost due to improved global remittance networks and services.

“The major driving factors that helped accelerate the growth in remittances were the diversity of the destinations and skills of overseas Filipinos combined with the expanding network of bank and non-bank service providers both here and abroad to capture a larger share of the global remittance market,” explained Tetangco.

Data from the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) showed that approved job orders in 2010 increased 15 percent to 624,045 while land-based workers classified as new hires with processed contracts awaiting deployment went up 16.6 percent to 423,271 last year.

Countries where most of the money transfers came from included the US, Canada, Saudi Arabia, Japan, United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Italy, Germany, and Norway.

Tetangco said OFWs were able to efficiently send home more remittances at a reduced cost due to improved global remittance networks, such as web-based services, automated teller machines (ATMs), and reloadable cash cards.

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To its credit, the government has begun taking concrete steps to ensure that OFWs and their families profit as well from their own money. Among these measures are instructional and training programs for OFWs and their families on entrepreneurship, financial literacy, and investment, as well the provision of credit facilities and marketing and technical services to aspiring entrepreneurs..

At the forefront of this government initiative are the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) and the National Livelihood Support Fund (NLSF). These two agencies help OFWs gain access to entrepreneurial development opportunities, capital, and education and training programs to OWWA members.

Loan program

Recently, OWWA allotted Php1 billion for a loan program for OFWs who want to put up their own businesses in the country. The loans, to be managed by state-run banks, have flexible terms and very low interest rates.

“The guidelines on who would qualify to avail of the program are now being finalized for the approval of the OWWA board of trustees,” said OWWA chief Carmelita Dimzon.

In addition, the government provides assistance to OFWs and their families in availing housing financing through the Home Development Mutual Fund (HDMF), or the Pag-IBIG Fund. The Social

It is no secret that the government and private financial sector, particularly the remittance companies, are the ones that have benefited the most from OFW transactions. The OFWs and their families have been largely neglected for the longest time.

More and more OFWs and their families are learning how to achieve financial literacy to shield them during rainy days. sive to OFWs that would provide cheaper remittance rates, credit and other banking services to migrant workers and their families.

“An OFW Bank will provide an alternative yet viable economic financial and remittance institution for our kababayan at the local and international levels,” Binay said.

In a letter to President Benigno Aquino III, Binay said the establishment of an OFW Bank would spare the OFWs from paying exorbitant The government provides assistance remittance rates being charged by to OFWs and their families in availing intermediaries and money brokers. housing financing through the Pag“The bank will provide fair IBIG Fund. competition towards the reducSecurity System (SSS), for its part, tion of remittance/transaction offers a voluntary tax-free provi- costs and provide a productive dent fund called the Flexi-Fund outlet for our overseas Filipinos’ that enables OFWs to save money savings as bank investors and while working abroad. shareholders,” he wrote.

“The government is strengthenBinay proposed that the OFW ing the reintegration program pur- Bank be initially funded and unposely to encourage returning OFWs derwritten by a government fito just stay and put up enterprises nancial institution before it is sold that would also generate employ- to and controlled by OFW invesment for our people,” she said. tors and stockholders after a period of time.

Bank for OFWs Alongside, Vice-President Jejo- Livelihood projects mar Binay, the presidential advisAt the same time, local banks er on OFW concerns, is pushing have developed programs to assist for the creation of a bank exclu- OFWs to invest in livelihood and

entrepreneurial projects at home.

The Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI), in partnership with OWWA, set up a course on holistic financial literacy and values education.

The BPInoy Learning Program seeks to help overseas Filipinos and their families become financially independent by imparting to them valuable and practical knowledge and skills on budgeting, financial discipline, investing and saving.

Not enough

OFW advocacy groups, such as Migrante International, however, are not impressed by these initiatives.

They claim that it is difficult to create a sustainable livelihood program in the face of numerous fees being charged to OFWs such as deployment fees, and payments to process passports, employment papers, NBI and medical clearances, and other administrative fees.

“Doon sa usapin sa remittances, wala ako makitang kongkreto talagang programa ng gobyerno at saka ng mga bangko,” says Migrante chairman Garry Martinez.

He also argues that heavilypublicized, bank-sponsored entrepreneurial programs are nothing new. “Yung ginagawa ng bangko ng remittance programs ginagawa rin yun ng NGOs, ng simbahan, ng mga concerned citizens, ng mga estudyante na gusto lang nila tumulong pag bakasyon. Sa tingin ko, walang kaibahan yung programang ito.”

Scrap fee and taxes

In their view, what is needed is to scrap all excessive government fees, taxes and charges being paid

by OFWs, such as the mandatory US$25 Welfare Fund and mandatory PAG-IBIG contribution.

They emphasize that remittances should not be seen as the solution to the country’s problems. If more attention was paid to pursuing effective reforms to improve the country’s economic condition, they say, Filipinos would not have to seek better employment opportunities abroad.

“Kung ang gobyerno hindi magbubukas ng mata at hindi gagamitin itong remittance na ito sa mas maganda pa, palagay ko, walang kahihinatnan ang ekonomiya ng Pilipinas,” says Martinez. n

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BY PEPPER MARCELO

Jean

EOPLE CALL them “cougars” – women over 40 that remain desirable and sexy even in middle age. Former President Joseph Estrada puts it more colorfully in street lingo: May asim pa. With exercise, diet, and the wonders of cosmetic surgery (read: botox, liposuction, boob job, noselift, facelift), women are now are able to mature with style, elegance and oomph. (Author’s note: This is not to imply that all the women featured in this piece have resorted to the cosmetic procedures.) The marvelous makeover must be well worth every peso (lots of ‘em to be sure), the physical ache and medical risk. Suddenly the gallivanting husband comes home early and takes a renewed interest in the wife. And for the separadas, hooking up with younger men now isn’t as difficult and distasteful as it used to be.

Planet Philippines goes cougar-hunting in the glittery world of showbiz in search of celebrities who live by the mantra “50 is the new 40.”

Zsa Zsa cover of the December 2001 issue of the men’s magazine FHM. Of her numerous male admirers, she says, “Even naman before, they’ve always been there. That’s why I always say, ‘Where the boys are, someone waits for me.’”

In the following piece Planet Philippines goes cougar-hunting in the glittery world of showbiz in search of celebrities who live by the mantra “50 is the new 40.”

To avoid a catfight, we have listed in alphabetical order our top ten female cougars.

Gretchen Barretto

“La Greta,” as she’s known for her diva status and sassy attitude, is undisputedly one of the most beautiful faces in local showbiz. For three decades she has been a fixture on film and television, the ramp, and, much to her chagrin (says she), the gossip pages.

A fashion icon and a certified bon vivant, courtesy of longtime partner, tycoon Tonyboy Cojuangco, she has graced the cover of every glossy magazine in town. Whether in a luxuriant Inno Sotto gown or in faded denim pants, La Greta is the embodiment of style and class.

Dina Bonnevie Gretchen

Now a grandmother (!) at 50, the former

Dina Regal Baby still makes heads turns with her sultry persona and voluptuous figure. Introduced in 1980 in the film Underage, she cemented her nymphet image in her breakout movie Katorse, also in 1980. She has had two failed marriages – first to Vic Sotto, with whom she has two children, and later to a businessman, which lasted only a few years. Miss D was 39 and a mother of two teenagers when she agreed to strip for the

Pops Fernandez

The erstwhile Concert Queen is deceptively quiet about her love life after her failed marriage to singer Martin Nievera, who bore her two sons, and brief romance with actor Jomari Yllana. Turning 45 in December, she says she’d rather have another child than a new husband. In 2006 she caused a stir when she appeared on the cover of FHM. Asked why she did it, she replied, “I wanted to do so something I’ve never done before, and agree to do it before I cannot do it anymore. It’s something I can do now so I might as well do it now.”

Jean Garcia

Pops

Housewives may hate her for her kontrabida roles in teleseryes but the men are in awe of her alluring and scintillating beauty.

Behind the virginal smile and delicate demeanor is sex appeal personified. Obliging the macho crowd, she consented to bare skin on the cover of FHM (October 2008 issue), the first and only time that she allowed the adoring macho horde to have a peek at her physical assets. But the 42-year-

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NOVEMBER 1-15, 2011

old temptress says her proudest achievement is her two children - aspiring actress Jennica (with estranged husband, actor Jigo Garcia) and Kotaro (with a Japanese businessman). Happily single for three years now, her last publicly known boyfriend was actor Polo Ravales, who is 13 years her junior.

Cherie Gil

There is no more apt description for this alluring, versatile actress than the moniker “Sexy Kontrabida.” Sexy and mean, the 48-year-old mother of three is known for uttering the famous movie line, “You are nothing but a second-rate, trying hard copy cat!” Confidence, sophistication and class are what make a woman sexy, she says. And when does she feel most sexy? “When I am perfectly groomed and wearing my sexiest underwear, yet no one can see. Oh, and when I am wearing great four-inch heels.” In June 2008, she and her husband of 20 years, Israeli violinist Roni Rogoff, parted ways.

Dawn

Eula

Cherie

For the separadas, hooking up with younger men now isn’t as difficult and distasteful as it used to be.

Zsa Zsa Padilla

Years ago her partner, Dolphy, used to say she was his natural Viagra. Going by the Comedy King’s reputation as a connoisseur of women, the accolade speaks volume about Zsa Zsa’s animal appeal and magnetic personality.

Asked what’s the sexiest item in her closet, she teased, “Uh, probably a lace camisole that I don’t wear underwear with, hahaha.

You get the picture.” The 47-yearold mother of three isn’t ashamed to admit that “a little part” of her body is no longer original (though she would not say which). She is one of our most seductive chanteuses in the mold of Carmen Soriano in the ‘60s and Didith Reyes in the ‘70s.

Lorna Tolentino

Even at 49, the acclaimed actress remains luminous and beguiling. Beginning as a child actress in 1969, LT metamorphosed into a lovely and scintillating beauty, which landed her in “bold” flicks in the ‘70s. After she married action star Rudy Fernandez in 1983 and later bore him two sons, LT shed her sex siren image and built a solid reputation as a top-caliber dramatic actress. Even with her husband’s approval, she declined an offer to appear on FHM, “kasi pinagdaanan ko na ang pa-sexy-sexy.” Still reeling from Rudy’s death in 2008, she can’t say if she’ll fall in love again.

Eula Valdez

Like fellow cougar Jean Garcia, Eula is an alumna of FMA, a popular character actress, separated with two children, and involved

Lorna with a man 13 years her junior. It was in 2008 that she hooked up with ramp model Rocky Salumbides. Their May-December affair set tongues wagging but the couple has managed to survive the nasty whispers and mischievous stares. The 43-year old enchantress, says FHM, has an appeal that can put many women half her age to shame. “Her doe-shaped eyes and the interesting curve of her mouth emanate the mysterious allure of a woman who has been there and done that.”

Regine Velasquez

Asia’s Songbird is known not only for her powerful voice but also for her alluring charm and magnetic beauty. She has not posed for any men’s magazine or appeared in a sexy role but audiences are well aware of her physi-

Regine

SUDOKU RULES: Place a number from 1-9 in each empty cell. Each row, column and 3x3 block bounded by bold line (9 blocks) contains all the numbers from 1-9

SOLUTION ON PAGE 29

cal assets (thanks to those plunging necklines and body-hugging outfits). Just ask the fans who voted her No. 7 in FHM’s Sexiest Women for 2010. Surprisingly for a single and attractive celebrity,

she had only one boyfriend - singer Ariel Rivera - before her husband, Oge Alcasid. At 41, she is set to deliver her first ever baby in November. One hopes that motherhood would not turn the cougar into a lioness.

Dawn Zulueta

This 42-year-old doe-eyed mestiza is demure by showbiz standards when it comes to flaunting her physical assets.

Ex-boyfriend Richard Gomez, who knows a thing or two about women, can attest to her stunning beauty and sex appeal. Entertainment columnist Ricky Lo writes: “She can look expensive without even trying to. Even if unadorned with expensive jewelry and accessories, she manages to look classy.” When not in front of the camera - which has become less frequent after her marriage to businessman-politician Anton Lagdameo – Dawn dotes on her two children, five-year-old Jacobo and two-year-old Ayisha. n

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CELEBR TY

JOHN LLOYD-SHAINA AFFAIR ON THE ROCKS

HAVE CLAUDINE & RAYMART FINALLY SPLIT?

RAYMART & CLAUDINE IS it for good this time for Claudine Barretto and husband Raymart Santiago?

There have been rumors for more than two years now that their marriage is on the verge of collapse but the couple has continued to deny the speculations.

But on Oct. 25 the issue blew up when the couple’s money in the bank went “missing.” Here’s how entertainment columnist Ricky Lo narrated the incident: “When Claudine arrived home from a taping last Tuesday (Oct. 25), she found Raymart’s cars (several of them) missing at the garage. She got very worried.

Woman’s intuition, you know.

Since she and Raymart were having trouble, Claudine suspected ‘something.’ She called her lawyer and they went to the bank to withdraw P5M from her and Raymart’s joint account (presumably ‘and/or’).

“The bank branch manager told them to wait while he prepared a manager’s check because, they were told, the amount was too big. After waiting for 30 to 40 minutes, Claudine and her lawyer asked why it was taking the branch manager long to issue the check, only to be informed that the account had ‘zero balance.’

That’s when Claudine broke down, which was caught on camera by a 24 Oras news reporter.”

“Who could have withdrawn the money? When contacted by Funfare, Claudine neither answered the calls nor called or texted back. ‘She’s incommunicado, crying and crying,’ said somebody close to Claudine.”

Claudine and Raymart married five years ago but have been separated for two months now, adds Lo.

IS CRISTINE THE NEW BOX-OFFICE QUEEN?

CRISTINE Reyes is again being pitted against Pop Star Princess Sarah Geronimo. The two had a tiff after Rayver Cruz shifted his romantic attention from Sarah to Cristine.

This time, the issue stems from the success of No Other Woman, Cristine’s first film under Star Cinema, which broke box office records.

There are talks that Cristine and her co-star Anne Curtis will be crowned the new Box Office Queens, unseating Sarah, who starred in the 2009 hit film You Changed My Life.

But the sexy young actress shrugs off the perceived rivalry with Sarah. “Alam mo hindi ko naman kini-claim [ang box office title]. Bahala na ang tao at si Lord ang magbigay sa akin,” Cristine said.

According to Star Magic, No Other Woman is now the highest grossing Filipino movie of all time.

ABS-CBN’s movie outfit said the film earned almost P220 million in ticket sales as of its third week of showing. You Changed My Life,

CRISTINE starring Sarah and John Lloyd Cruz, previously held the top spot with P209 million.

Meanwhile, the TV series Reputasyon, where Cristine and her boyfriend Rayver appear, is being given an extended run as a result of its high ratings.

“Due to public demand po na-extend ang ‘Reputasyon.’ Kaya hanggang next year po ay mapapanood niyo ang ‘Reputasyon’ hanggang January. Dapat kasi hanggang November na lang po,” Cristine proudly said.

SHAINA & JOHN LLOYD FIRST, he said his relationship with Shaina Magdayao was “boring.”

Now John Lloyd Cruz says it is on the rocks. Unconfirmed reports say their latest rift led them to call it quits.

“To be honest, hindi maganda ang bagay bagay ngayon. ‘Yon lang ang masasabi ko. Ang mga bagay ngayon, they are not looking good,” John Lloyd said in an interview during his contract signing with ABSCBN last Oct. 24.

He added: “Kung paano siya maaayos o magtatapos hindi ko pa alam. Medyo komplikado at mahi-

rap na process ito kaya I can only hope for the best hindi lang para sa akin but para sa aming dalawa, so we can be better people individually.”

The actor made it clear, however, that their problem has nothing to do with any of his ex-girlfriends, particularly Ruffa Gutierrez.

Shaina said that after the concert of her sister, Vina Morales, last Oct. 15, Ruffa sent a text message to John Lloyd. Shaina said she texted Ruffa back, “Please leave us alone.”

Ruffa reacted via Twitter. Here are some of her tweets: “... Huwag ka naman mainsecure! There’s nothing I can do if my legs are longer than yours. . .”, “No cure for the insecure!

Kalurks ka girl!!! Seriously. Be real!”

John Lloyd declined to give further details about the issue. “I’d rather na tumahimik muna ako until sana ay maayos namin o mabigyan ng closure kung anuman. At this point, the best thing for me to do is to keep quiet.”

In a separate interview, Shaina denied that she has issues with any of the former lovers of her boyfriend.

She was reacting to reports that she got irked when John Lloyd was reportedly seen talking to Ruffa and Liz Uy during the recent birthday celebration of Bea Alonzo.

KC, PIOLO MEND THEIR HEARTS

“SEPARATED” sweethearts KC Concepcion and Piolo Pascual are together again — but only for a concert last Oct. 28 in Manhattan, New York City.

It will be recalled that KC hurriedly left for Europe early last month amid reports that she had broken up with Piolo.

In an interview before her departure, KC said that she’s going abroad to find herself again.

“Kailangan ko lang ng oras para sa sarili ko,” she said.

Without giving details, KC said that a lot of things happened to her life and that she’s going to Europe to take a break.

Asked then if Piolo knew about her trip, she replied, “Hindi ko alam.” Since then, nothing was heard from the couple. Even KC’s mom, Sharon Cuneta, who

PIOLO & KC had been very vocal about her support for her daughter, has remained quiet on the matter.

Piolo said he was looking forward to spending quality time in the US with KC, who flew in from Paris.

After New York, KC and Piolo will perform in Chicago, Los Angeles, Las Vegas and San Diego.

Will they return to Manila together or separately? Abangan!

“Hindi sila naglapit ni Ruffa. Parang unfair nga for him na binibigyan na naman siya ng ganung impression. . . He was beside me the whole time,” she said. “With Liz naman, I have no problems with Liz. Before pa kami naging kami [ni John Lloyd], nakilala ko naman na si Liz. Wala akong problema sa tao.”

Shaina left for the US last Oct. 26 for an undisclosed reason.

KRIS

KRIS IS TOP TV ENDORSER

TWO Kapamilya stars topped the list of celebrities endorsing various products on television.

Based on data from Nielsen, Kris Aquino and John Lloyd Cruz are the first and second most popular celebrity endorsers from January to June 2011.

“Maybe because we’re star struck naman ever since. Historically, behavior na natin yan ever since,” explained Eric Barrera, Nielsen Media Director for Client Service, in a press briefing.

Kris leads the list with the number of endorsed brands at 10, followed by John Lloyd with eight.

The third spot is shared by five showbiz celebrities, each promoting 7 brands. They are husband and wife Zoren Legaspi and Carmina Villaruel, Ryan Agoncillo, Sarah Geronimo and Vic Sotto.

They were followed by four other personalities with six endorsements each: Anne Curtis, Marie Lozano, Michael V, and Sharon Cuneta.

Judy Ann Santos and Kim Chiu share the fifth spot with five endorsements each.

Tied at sixth place with four endorsements each are Derek Ramsey, Dingdong Dantes, KC Concepcion, Kim Atienza, Manny Pacquiao and Marian Rivera.

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25 PHILIPPINES

NOVEMBER 1-15, 2011

CELEBRITYFILES

BEA FINALLY OPENS UP ON ZANJOE

BIANCA BARES RELATIONSHIP WITH CAGER

TELEVISION host Bianca Gonzalez publicly revealed for the first time that she and professional basketball player JC Intal are officially a couple.

Speaking to The Buzz, Bianca said it is only now that she publicly spoke about their relationship because this was the only time that someone asked her about it in an interview.

“Yes. Hindi kasi ako artista na parang laging nasa presscon or laging nag-ge-guest sa talk show,” she said. “Ako ang nagi-interview. So finally now na tinanong ako, wala naman akong dine-deny. Nasa Twitter nga lagi.

First time ko matanong, so oo there’s nothing naman to deny.”

Intal was part of the Ateneo Blue Eagles team that won the UAAP basketball championship in 2002. He is now playing for Barangay Ginebra Kings in the Philippine Basketball Association.

He was formerly involved with actress Carla Abellana.

Meanwhile, Bianca clarified that everything is okay between

BIANCA her mutual friends, Toni Gonzaga and Mariel Rodriguez.

The rumoured Toni-Mariel feud surfaced again after Mariel’s husband, action star Robin Padilla, said that he is happy about his wife’s decision to move to TV5 because now she would no longer come home in tears and in need of a psychiatrist as what happened when she was still cohosting with Toni the noontime show Happy, Yipee, Yehey! Mariel moved to TV5 last month to become Willie Revillame’s co-host in Wil Time Big Time.

But Bianca shrugged off Robin’s remark. “Okey sila (Toni at Mariel), okey talaga sila, everything is okay talaga,” she insisted.

In fact, she added, Mariel visited them during a taping of PBB Unlimited last Oct. 16.

IT took seven months for Bea Alonzo to admit in public what everybody has been talking about.

In a recent press conference to mark her 24th birthday and her 10th anniversary in showbiz, Bea said she and Zanjoe Marudo have been a couple since March this year.

“Hindi siya pinlano, nangyari sa bahay ko, after dinner yon. Hindi siya sinet-up. Hindi nga niya ako tinanong, ako na yata ang nagsabi na (handa na ako, tayo na),” Bea told members of entertainment media.

It was on March 16 that she said she formally accepted Zanjoe’s love.

She added the actor-model was shocked and took time to react to

BEA & ZANJOE

what she told him.

Bea said she feels that it’s already time to speak up about her relationship with Zanjoe. “I’m already 24, it helps na mayroon ka na ding maturity at feeling ko, I’m entitled na with this.”

Asked what she loves most about Zanjoe, Bea: “Hindi siya pretentious, he says what he feels. Hindi niya yayakapin ang mga di niya kayang yakapin. Yun ang pinakagusto ko sa kanya. Hindi niya sinasabi na dapat ganito tayo in front of other people, dapat kung ano lang talaga kayo.”

To celebrate their 7th monthsary last October, the couple went on a trip to Korea.

MARICEL DENIES MALTREATMENT RAPS MARICEL Soriano has finally broken her silence about allegations that she maltreated her former housemaids, May Cachuela and Camille Acojeda.

Cachuela and Acojeda have accused Soriano of physically and verbally abusing them.

They have filed charges of physical injuries and grave threats against the veteran actress.

In her counter-affidavit, Maricel denied the accusations, saying, “I

did not commit any act that would constitute the crimes of grave threats, unjust vexation, slander, oral defamation and physical injuries.”

She belied the allegation that she threatened her maids with a gun. “Allegation that I attempted to reach my gun is utterly false considering that I did not keep any gun in my house,” she claimed.

She also refuted a report that she locked her former employees in

their room by explaining that their door doesn’t even have a lock.

According to the actress, the allegation is a form of extortion.

“This complaint is clearly a form of harassment and an attempt to extort money from me,” she said.

She also claimed that she once caught Cachuela rummaging through the contents of her wallet.

Maricel did not attend the two previous hearings on the case.

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26

PHILIPPINES

Our courts are clogged with hundreds of thousands of pending cases that take 10, 20 or even more years to resolve.

WANTED:

A NEW FILIPINO! (STRONG SENSE OF URGENCY)

If there is one trait that we as Filipinos badly need, it is a strong sense of urgency. We need to adopt a sense of urgency, a bias for action, as a defining Filipino trait, for it would address many of the ills that pervade in the country.

Back to basics

BY DAVID L. BALANGUE

N THE corporate world, a company that is moribund, a laggard, and unable to deal with competition and manages to just coast along is bound to eventually collapse. In such a situation, the company could survive by undertaking a complete or significant makeover, re-engineering itself by whatever means possible to cope with competition.

Oftentimes, this will be a painful process, with layoffs, sacrifices, and anxiety on the part of everyone concerned. These are unavoidable, but for the company to succeed, it has to take the bitter pills that would rid itself of its ills. Any change, a major change at that, is uncomfortable to say the least, but just as a cancer patient needs to undergo painful treatment, including chemotherapy, it needs to be done. The painful process is needed to put the patient on a healthy track.

We as a nation and as Filipinos have many good traits but also a lot of bad ones. We could opt to coast along and still move up but such upward movement may only be primarily due to the rising tide. For us to make substantive improvements, we need

to go through the painful process of transforming ourselves, getting rid of bad traits and adopting new ones that are founded on the basic positive virtues of hard work, honesty, integrity, fairness, accountability, passion for excellence and sense of urgency.

We need to go back to the basics and adopt these virtues that would hopefully identify us as a nation. To promote these virtues, the government and the people should embrace these virtues and reward those who exemplify

The lack of a sense of urgency has made us accept getting stuck for hours in traffic or waiting long for services. them so that they will serve as role models for others to follow. These would be defining moments in our history as a Filipino nation.

If there is one trait that we as Filipinos badly need, it is a strong sense of urgency. We need to adopt a sense of urgency, a bias for action, as a defining Filipino trait, for it would address many of the ills that pervade in the country.

This lack of urgency results in the courts being clogged with hundreds of thousands of pending cases that take 10, 20 or even more years to resolve. And these cases keep piling up. Consequently, in many instances, the perpetrators remain free and continue with their ill ways. And we Filipinos seem to have accepted this as a fact of life and it has become part of the culture that now defines our nation.

This lack of, or at best inadequate, sense of urgency has made us accept long delays in completion of projects, getting stuck for hours in traffic, waiting long for services, and dealing with problems that take years and years to solve. This acceptance of delays has made us scale down our standards of expectations and accountability.

This has to change. We Filipinos should demand high levels of performance and excellence and not accept mediocrity.

Sense of urgency

What is sense of urgency?

Sense of urgency should be defined as being results-oriented but not measured simply in terms of the period of time it takes to get results, but also observing due

We should not accept, among other things, long delays in in the evaluation, approval and completion of vital infrastructure projects.

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process and having excellent results or outputs. It is not taking shortcuts that result in sloppy work or products.

Applied to our judicial system, it is characterized by speedy resolution of cases while totally observing due process. Due process has almost always been used as a pretext or excuse for delays. This is wrong.

Due process could be achieved even without delays. We simply need to look at the process to identify causes of the delays, correct them, and then put in the necessary passionate effort to get our desired results.

Inculcating as a culture the right sense of urgency as defined above will require other virtues that should define our character as Filipinos and serve as the foundations for our sense of urgency and being results-oriented.

These virtues include striving to be the best we can be as individuals by improving and developing the skills needed to carry out our tasks: hard work, industriousness, integrity, honesty, fairness, transparency and accountability by not taking shortcuts and accepting responsibility for the outcome of our work, and a passion for excellence in putting our very best effort toward a quality output.

No to sloppy work, delays

With this sense of urgency defining our culture, character and behavior, we should not accept sloppy work and long delays in the resolution of problems. We should be demanding of our government, our co-workers, our family members and relatives and friends of timely and quality results in every facet of our activities.

We should not accept, among other things, long delays in the resolution of the Maguindanao massacre and the prosecution of corrupt officials, or the long lines and waiting time to get rides in very crowded LRT/MRT trains, and the long delays in the evaluation, approval and completion of vital infrastructure projects.

The P-Noy administration should play a key role in this transformation. P-Noy should provide us a vision of the Filipino that this country needs. He should provide us the path, leadership and inspiration that will make the vision a reality. P-Noy’s moral ascendancy makes him the ideal leader to lead us in the journey.

But to achieve this, he needs to act with a strong sense of urgency. In this regard, he will have to transform himself and serve as our role model in this initiative.

(Philippine Daily Inquirer) (The author is a former chairman and country managing partner of SGV & Co., chairman of the Coalition Against Corruption, and founder of the Tita Cory Movement.) n

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NOVEMBER 1-15, 2011

found the Philippines to have unique geological and oceanographic features, having a diversity of habitats that makes it an “area of refuge” for marine species. This proved their hypothesis that the Philippines is a “center of origin” where species evolve.

Urgent measures

Volunteer divers plant giant clam species to help enhance marine biodiversity in Subic Bay.

The Philippines has unique geological and oceanographic features, making it an “area of refuge” for marine species.

PH’S MARINE RESOURCES ENDANGERED Filipinos must understand that the Philippine epicenter of marine biodiversity is the marine equivalent of the Amazon rainforest. But in the current state, it’s overexploited. Over half a century of destructive practices have caused heavy degradation to our coasts and seas.

BY CHECHE V. MORAL

EARL FARMERS take much pride in saying pearls are the most environment-friendly gems: They grow only in the cleanest and nutrient-rich waters.

It’s no accident, then, that pearl farmers are some of the staunchest proponents of marine conservation and protection. Their livelihood depends on it.

Jewelmer, the homegrown jeweler known worldwide for the golden South Sea pearl, is one such entity. Marine conservation for this company goes beyond corporate social responsibility program; it’s a way of life.

Jacques Branellec, managing director and co-founder of Jewelmer, invoked karma in his speech at a recent symposium on marine conservation in Manila.

“It applies both to your personal life and interaction with nature,” he said. “There’s no action or inaction that doesn’t generate a

at the Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, underscoring the urgent need for “conservation at the Philippine Epicenter of Marine Biodiversity.”

In 2001, Filipinos harvested 1.8 million tons of seafood worth P67.4 billion.

Carpenter was the co-author of a 2005 study that proved the Philippine Islands is “The center of the center of marine shore fish biodiversity.”

That’s not a typo error: The second “center” refers to the coral triangle, the eco-region spanning Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines that has the richest number of marine species in the world.

Further studies conducted by Carpenter and other scientists proved that the Philippines is the center of that center, having the highest number of species endemic to the country.

The result was a surprise. Owing to its geographic location, it was expected that eastern Indonesia would be center of the center by virtue of its proximity to the Equator. One scientist, according to Carpenter, set out to disprove the findings only to end up proving it right.

Carpenter and his team of scientists set out to answer why this is so. In summary, they have

reaction from nature.”

Scientific paper

The symposium at Hotel Intercontinental in Makati drew environmentalists, academics and bureaucrats. It presented the scientific paper of Dr. Kent E. Carpenter, a professor of biological sciences

Authorities view dead turtles confiscated in Palawan from Vietnamese fishermen.

Such findings only underscore the need for more urgent measures to protect the country’s marine areas: If remained unprotected, many marine species—some possibly undiscovered by scientists—could face extinction.

Dr. Theresa Mundita S. Lim, director of Protected Areas and Wildlife Bureau of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, also appealed to the community to join hands with the government in its efforts to protect marine wildlife.

In 2001, Lim said, Filipinos harvested 1.8 million tons of seafood worth P67.4 billion. Marine resources gave jobs to about one million Filipinos.

“But over half a century of destructive practices have caused heavy degradation to our coasts and seas,” said Lim. She added that a World Resources Institute study released this year named the Philippines one of the nine countries with “high to very high exposure to coral reef threats and dependency but low to medium adaptive capacity.”

Which means, “without immediate action to address local threats, we will gradually lose a major component of our natural life support system: our seas.”

Call to action

The symposium was presented by Jewelmer with Save Palawan Seas Foundation Inc., which is co-founded by the same people behind Jewelmer: Branellec and Jewelmer president Manuel Cojuangco.

Filipinos must understand that the Philippine epicenter of marine biodiversity is the marine equivalent of the Amazon rainforest, according to Carpenter. But in the current state, it’s overexploited.

Individuals are encouraged to do their part by signing up at projectseventhousand.org, an interactive social networking site where one can pledge to certain tasks in helping save the environment. Launched in July, it aims to get 7,000 pledges. As of now, it has gathered only 242.

“The Philippines is very privileged, but is also endangered,” Branellec said, adding it may take up to 50 years to change people’s attitudes toward the environment.

But “we can’t give up,” Carpenter said. “We have to go out and do our part.” And to Filipinos, he added, “This is your unique natural heritage.” (Philippine Daily Inquirer) n

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28 PHILIPPINES

PNOY: ALL-OUT JUSTICE, NOT ALL-OUT WAR P

RESIDENT Benigno Aquino III said the government will pursue allout justice against lawless elements, even if it means that some members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) will be affected.

In a press conference in Malacañang, Aquino said it is tempting to pursue an all-out war against the Muslim secessionists especially since the government side lost 19 soldiers in attacks in Basilan last Oct. 18.

“We will not pursue an all-out war but an all-out justice, which is more sober and fair and based on rules,” he said.

He said he has already ordered the soldiers to hunt down these criminal elements, led by Ibrahim Malat Sulayman and the Asnawis, some of whom are supposedly protected by MILF soldiers.

Asked if the government is willing to engage the MILF in the process, he reiterated: “We’ve already set a message that we’re not out to get them.

But if they participate, there will be no exception.”

He said security officials have already been given freedom to conduct the operations.

In fact, the MILF is also given the opportunity to help the government in the battle, he said.

“They can be active or they can choose to stand aside. What is important is that communication lines are clear,” he stressed, even as he reiterated that investigations are still ongoing as to why the Al-Barka attacks

happened.

He understands that there are those who may be demoralized with the government’s stance, but he can’t do anything but to swallow the criticisms.

He expressed belief that MILF’s intentions for peace are clear, even if some members are not supportive of the idea.

In a separate interview with dzMM, MILF Vice Chairman for Political Affairs Ghadzali Jaafar said the group has long accepted the challenge from the government to help in running after the lawless elements.

He said this is contained in the ceasefire agreement and through the Ad Hoc Joint Action Group (AHJAG), which seeks to isolate lawless elements that take refuge in or near MILF territories.

He said the MILF has been following the AHJAG religiously and will continue to do so for as long as the military coordinates with them, contrary to what it did in Al-Barka.

“We will help the AFP, even if we leave [a territory] so they can pin them down, for as long as we coordinate,” he said.

Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, a former defense secretary, said the government should suspend the peace talks if the MILF will not surren-

AQUINO VOWS TO GET KILLERS OF ITALIAN PRIEST PRESIDENT Benigno Aquino III vowed the government would get the killers of Italian priest Fr. Fausto Tentorio even if they belonged to groups linked with the military.

The President acknowledged that “one theory” being looked into by authorities was the possibility that paramilitary groups were behind the murder of Tentorio in North Cotabato on Oct. 17.

Speaking to reporters after attending the 110th anniversary of the Philippine Coast Guard at its headquarters in South Harbor in Manila, Mr. Aquino said his officials had informed him about the “specifics of what happened” as well as a “backgrounder” on Tentorio.

The President said that the political leaders in the area were ex-

ploring leads to the killing.

He vowed his government would go after Tentorio’s killers.

“Regardless of who did the crime, they will have to pay. That has been the direction of this administration from the start—you do the crime, you will be in jail,” the President said.

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said she had directed the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to conduct “an immediate preliminary probe” of the murder.

De Lima said she also instructed Undersecretary Francisco Baraan, chair of the Department of Justice (DOJ) special task force on extrajudicial killings, to closely coordinate with the NBI and the Philippine National Police and monitor the progress of the inquiry. n

der their fighters behind the killing of the troops.

“What peace talks are we talking about when they are engaging us in combat?” he said.

Other legislators added their voice to the growing clamor for the President to abort the peace talks and take tougher action against the MILF. “It’s time for (Mr. Aquino) to do an Erap,” said Sen. Panfilo Lacson, chair of the Senate committee on national defense, referring to the war launched in 2000 by deposed President Joseph Estrada against the MILF. Government troops then overran the group’s main headquarters in Camp Abubakar.

Estrada’s son, Sen. Jinggoy Estrada, called for the resignation of Presidential Peace Adviser Teresita Deles for supposedly dismissing the Basilan incident as an “isolated case.”

“Deles should open her eyes that such an incident is a blatant disregard of the ongoing peace talks with the MILF,” he said.

But Bayan Muna Rep. Teddy Casiño supported the President’s decision.

“We hope that he remains steadfast and not to be swayed by the military line of thinking in dealing with rebels with legitimate causes, both with the MILF and the NDF,” Casiño said.

Meanwhile, Army troops dispatched in an “all-out justice” drive for the dead 19 soldiers seized an encampment of at least 100 outlaws led by former MILF commander Waning Abdusalam in Payao, Zamboanga Sibugay province.

The ongoing air and ground assault has prompted the evacuation of some 20,000 residents in Zamboanga Sibugay and Basilan province, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) said. n

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COUP RUMORS DISMISSED

NO loyalty check, just an information drive.

Malacañang and the Armed Forces of the Philippines sought to squelch rumors that troops with ties to former President and now Pampanga Representative Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo were plotting against the Aquino administration following the October 18 massacre of 19 soldiers.

In a radio interview, presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda dismissed suggestions that Malacañang was countering opposition moves to agitate soldiers in the wake of the worst setback in years at the hands of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

Lacierda denied the Palace had identified the group behind the plot or that a loyalty check was being conducted in the military.

“What is important, however, is to inform our soldiers: This is the state of our AFP. This is what the President said, these are the directives he made,” Lacierda said.

Senator Gregorio Honasan likewise dismissed rumors of a destabilization plot.

“My ears are on the ground and I have not heard of anything like that,” said Honasan, a former Army colonel who was involved in several coup attempts against the late President Corazon Aquino.

“The only group who would agitate or spread rumors about a destabilization plot are those affected or might be affected by anticorruption efforts of the P-Noy (Aquino) administration,” Senator Panfilo Lacson said, referring to officers with links to Arroyo.

Senator Antonio Trillanes IV said that Lacson’s statement was “consistent with the information we have gathered.”

The two senators, both gradu-

LACIERDA ates of the Philippine Military Academy, declined to reveal the sources of their information.

But Honasan insisted that “from the top of the chain of command down the line, the (AFP) remains solid, unlike in previous administrations where there was polarization.”

Major General Francisco Cruz, AFP deputy chief of staff for intelligence, said talk about troop demoralization purportedly over the government’s decision against an all-out war with the MILF was “wishful thinking.”

“There’s no need to conduct a loyalty check,” Cruz said. Getting killed in combat, he said, “is part and parcel of the job.”

General Eduardo Oban Jr., AFP chief of staff, said troops were focused on the assault against Moro outlaws in Zamboanga Sibugay, Lanao del Norte and Basilan provinces.

“I’d like to tell you that morale is high. I was assured by the commanders on the ground that everybody in the area … is really after the success of the operations,” Oban said.

He also shrugged off speculation that Arroyo allies were moving to destabilize the government. n

26 TROOPS KILLED IN SEPARATE CLASHES WITH MILF TWENTY-THREE soldiers and three policemen were killed in separate clashes with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in Basilan and Zamboanga Sibugay within three days.

In the latest incident, seven government troops were killed and eight others were injured in separate ambush incidents in Zamboanga Sibugay last Oct. 20, the military said.

The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) immediately admitted that its forces staged the ambush in Alicia and Kabasalan towns in retaliation for previous military actions there.

The first incident took place in Barangay Gulayon in Alicia town in which four soldiers were killed. Five others

were wounded.

In the second incident, soldiers traveling on a road in Ipil town, also in Zamboanga Sibugay, were fired at.

One soldier was wounded in the incident.

Another ambush occurred in Kabasalan, where another soldier was injured.

Three policemen were killed when they were ambushed by armed men while patrolling Barangay Simbol in Kabasalan.

MILF spokesperson Von Al Haq said MILF rebels staged the series of ambush in Zamboanga Sibugay because the military has been pounding rebel positions in Payao town.

On Tuesday, 19 soldiers were killed when they clashed with MILF rebels in Al Barka, Basilan while on a mission to get MILF commander Dan Laksaw Asnawi.

In a two-hour command conference in Camp Aguinaldo following the attacks, President Aquino took the military to task for the recent military setbacks in the fight against Muslim and communist insurgents.

He expressed dissatisfaction with the series of events that happened starting with the Taganito (mining attack in Surigao del Norte on Oct. 3).

He ordered them to review the organizational setup in “very critical areas” like Jolo island and Basilan. n

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29 PHILIPPINES

NOVEMBER 1-15, 2011

NEWSROUND-UP

GMA SEEKS PERMISSION TO TRAVEL ABROAD IN a personal letter, former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has appealed that she be allowed to seek medical treatment abroad on the promise that she would return.

She has written a personal letter to Justice Secretary Leila de Lima but has yet to receive a reply, her spokesperson, Elena Bautista-Horn, told the Philippine Daily Inquirer. According to a source, the letter has been forwarded to President Benigno Aquino III for his personal evaluation.

The Arroyo camp is hoping that her written promise will serve to convince authorities that she will return to face charges of plunder and electoral sabotage, both nonbailable offenses.

“The return date is fixed … on the approved travel authority issued by the House of Representatives,” Horn said in a text message.

Arroyo, now a representative of

GLORIA ARROYO the second district of Pampanga, obtained on Oct. 19 permission to travel to Singapore, Spain, Germany, Italy and the United States from Oct. 22 to December. The travel authority was signed by Artemio Adasa Jr., deputy

secretary general of the House’s legislative operations department.

She plans to seek treatment for “hypoparathyroidism,” a condition caused by lack of calcium production in the body, which has aggravated her neck and spine problems. She is to be accompanied by her husband, Jose Miguel “Mike” Arroyo, her security aide, and a private nurse.

Arroyo is prepared to leave as soon as she obtains her allow-departure order (ADO) from the Department of Justice (DOJ), according to Horn.

But the DOJ on Oct. 27 included her in the watch list order as one of the accused in the electoral sabotage

“The creation of the joint DOJ-Comelec panel through a strange duck of an executive order, the so-called Joint Order No. 001-2011, fuses the Comelec – a constitutionally-independent body – with the DOJ, which is a political agent of the executive branch.

This is legally impermissible. Whoever conceived of that joint order must have been smoking a joint,” Topacio said.

Already the subject of five plunder suits, Arroyo has been recommended to be charged with electoral sabotage by the joint fact-finding panel of the DOJ and Comelec “for giving direct instructions” to rig the results of the 2007 midterm elections in Maguindanao.

Former Comelec Chairman Benjamin Abalos, retired Election Commissioner Nicodemo Ferrer, and former Justice Secretary Alberto Agra are among the 36 personalities recommended to be charged with electoral sabotage, a nonbailable offense punishable by life imprisonment.

The DOJ-Comelec panel said “the tampering of the election results in the province of Maguindanao through the preparation of manufactured election returns (ERs)” constituted “a conspiracy.”

It said the fabricated ERs “became the basis of the canvass, thereby resulting in the increase of votes, on a large scale and in substantial numbers, to the prejudice of other candidates.”

On Aug. 3, Juan Miguel Zubiri resigned as senator after admitting that he might have unwittingly benefited from the election irregularities in Maguindanao.

In recommending the filing of a case against Arroyo, the fact-finding panel used the sworn statement of former Maguindanao Administrator Norie Unas as basis. n

De Lima also said one of her main considerations in issuing an ADO was that the preliminary inquiry would not be delayed by the absence of the respondents.

But Mike Arroyo’s lawyer, Ferdinand Topacio, assailed the DOJ for including his client in the watch list order. “[This] impairs his right to travel to accompany his wife, … who is seeking urgent medical treatment abroad. [It] is most cruel and inhuman, and evinces a lack of compassion and common human decency in the leaders of the present administration,” Topacio said in a statement. n

GRAFT RAPS VS MIKE ARROYO, POLICE OFFICERS OVER CHOPPER DEAL

ARROYOS SUMMONED TO POLL FRAUD PROBE FORMER President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and husband Jose Miguel “Mike” Arroyo were formally invited last Oct. 25 to appear before a special panel of justice and elections officials tasked to conduct preliminary investigation into allegations of cheating in the 2007 elections.

Two subpoenas for Rep. Arroyo were delivered to her office at the House of Representatives at around noontime, one for each election sabotage complaint filed separately by a fact-finding panel and by Sen. Aquilino Pimentel III. Her spouse Mike Arroyo, on the other hand, received his summon in his office in LTA Building in Makati City.

He was still called to the preliminary investigation even if he was not among those recommended charged by the fact-finding team because he was named respondent in Pimentel’s complaint.

The former first couple and several others are facing charges of electoral sabotage.

Secretary Leila de Lima said the start of the preliminary investigation has signaled the “formal beginning of the process of accountability.”

“This is the correct formal process we have to abide by. This is the rule of law. Therefore, we should do it seriously with earnestness so that at the end of the day, we will know who should be held accountable in court after these proceedings,” she told reporters in an interview.

But the camp of the Arroyos was quick to challenge the joint probe.

Mr. Arroyo’s lawyer Ferdinand Topacio has questioned the legality of the joint DOJ-Comelec investigation, saying it has cast doubts on the independence of the poll body.

cases being investigated by a joint panel of the DOJ and the Commission on Elections (Comelec).

The order will be in effect for 60 days unless revoked or extended by the DOJ. Chief State Counsel Ricardo Paras III approved the watch list order against Arroyo, her husband and other respondents following the recommendation of the DOJ-Comelec panel looking into the alleged fraud in the 2007 senatorial elections.

De Lima said that she was still studying Arroyo’s request for an ADO and that she would make her decision public soon.

MIKE ARROYO THREE senators have filed a complaint against former First Gentleman Jose Miguel “Mike” Arroyo and some Philippine National Police (PNP) officials before the Office of the Ombudsman for allegedly conspiring when second-hand helicopters were sold as brand new to the PNP in 2009.

In a three-page letter to Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales, Senators Teofisto Guingona III, Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III, and Panfilo Lacson referred for preliminary investigation the findings of the Senate blue ribbon committee.

The senators said Mr. Arroyo and his co-accused violated the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices

Act and the Government Procurement Reform Act. Among the other respondents were former Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno, who was then chairman of the National Police Commission; former PNP chief Jesus Versoza; and members of the PNP negotiation, bids and awards, and inspection and acceptance, and oversight committees.

Guingona, who chairs the Senate blue ribbon committee, also asked the Ombudsman to investigate Mike Arroyo’s brother Negros Occidental Rep. Ignacio “Iggy” Arroyo for criminal liability for supposedly covering up for the former first gentleman.

The senators also asked that Lionair president Archibald Po, Lionair marketing manage Editha Solano-Juguan, pilots Domingo Lazo, Claudio Gaspar, and former Arroyo-owned LTA bookkeeper Rowena de Rosario be considered as witnesses.

Earlier, Guingona released the Senate blue ribbon committee’s findings which said that Arroyo had conspired the 18 other respondents in order to sell two of his choppers as

brand new to the PNP in 2009.

In 2009, the PNP bought two Robinson R44 Raven 1 helicopters from the Manila Aerospace Trading Corporation (MAPTRA) at a higher price.

The choppers were supplied to MAPTRA by Lionair, which was supposedly acting on Mr. Arroyo’s orders.

During previous Senate hearings, several witnesses - including Po - had testified that Mike Arroyo was the real owner of two of the three choppers bought by the PNP as brand new in 2009. He has denied the allegation.

The PNP Criminal Investigation and Detection Group had also earlier filed plunder charges against 17 people, including Mike Arroyo, in connection with the chopper mess.

Mr. Arroyo insisted that there was no evidence or testimony that he talked to the police or used undue advantage or influence for the PNP to purchase the helicopters.

He said he is prepared to dispute the findings in the proper forum. n

EX-PNP CHIEF, 20 OFFICERS CHARGED OVER RUBBER BOATS TWENTY-ONE persons, including top retired and active officials of the Philippine National Police, have been charged with graft in connection with the PNP’s purchase in 2009 of defective rubber boats and outboard motors that were incompatible with each other.

The PNP’s Criminal Investigation and Detection Group said it charged former PNP chief Jesus Versoza, 15 other police officials, two civilian employees and three suppliers involved in the P131.5 million contract.

The 21 face charges of violating the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act and falsifying documents before the Office of the Ombudsman. The charges were filed on Oct. 6, but the CIDG announced it only on Oct. 15.

The complaint stemmed from the negotiated PNP procurement of 75 rubber boats and 18 spare out-

board motors intended for the use of the PNP Maritime Group in the aftermath Tropical Storm Ondoy in 2009.

CIDG Director Samuel D. Pagdilao Jr. said the CIDG, which was tasked to probe the anomaly first exposed by Interior Secretary Jesse M. Robredo, found “defects and functional incompatibility” in the 75 Zodiac FC 470 Futura commando rubber boats that were delivered that year.

Charged in the 73-page complaint were Verzosa, Deputy Director General Benjamin Belarmino Jr., retired Deputy Director General Jefferson Soriano, retired Director Luizo C. Ticman, retired Director Romeo Hilomen, Director George Piano, Chief Supt. Herold Ubalde, Chief Supt.

Luis Saligumba, Senior Supt. Job Nolan Antonio, Superintendents Edgar Pataan, Joel Garcia, Ermiliando

Villafuerte, Roman Loreto and Henry Duque; Chief Inspector Ronald Lee, SPO3 Maria Linda Padojinog, and civilian employees Ruben Gonggona and Marife Dungca.n

SUDOKU ANSWER FROM PAGE 23

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