Maharlikan Times

MANILA, July 29 (PNA) -- The Office of the Ombudsman has cleared officials of the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) from the four administrative and criminal cases, including alleged plunder separately initiated by a provincial governor and a private businessman.

In a statement, the BCDA said the Ombudsman dismissed for insufficiency of evidence the charges of alleged violation of the Anti-Plunder Law, obstruction of justice and grave misconduct filed by Ilocos Sur Governor Luis Chavit Singson against more than 40 officials of the BCDA, the Poro Point Special Economic and Freeport Zone (PPSEFZ), and John Hay Poro Point Development Corp., as well as a former head of the Office of the Government Corporate Counsel (OGCC) and other personalities.

Based on its complaints, the validity of the joint venture contract entered into by BCDA for the development and management of Poro Point Seaport in San Fernando, La Union was questioned. The Ombudsman ruled that the BCDA diligently met all requirements for the law regarding transactions pertaining to the development of Poro Point Seaport, notably the contract with Bulk Handlers, Inc.

The Ombudsman cast aside what was described as “general and sweeping allegation that the Pre-Incorporation Agreement executed between BCDA and Bulk Handlers, Inc. that gave birth to the Poro Point Industrial Corp. (PICC) and transferred the material possession, control and management of the PPSEFZ to the latter was unlawful.”

Also, the Ombudsman brushed aside as “pure speculation” the complainant’s insinuation that the respondents conspired with one another to deprive the government of at least P38 million a month.

The anti-graft state prosecutor also junked for lack of merit charges of alleged violation of the anti-graft law and obstruction of justice lodged against Abaya and several other BCDA officials, along with then chief Government Corporate Counsel Agnes Devanadera and top executives of the PPSEFZ, one of BCDA’s subsidiaries.

In another ruling handed down last week, the Ombudsman also tossed out for lack of evidence the administrative and criminal complaints filed by businessman Armando de Rossi against BCDA president and chief executive officer (CEO) Narciso Abaya, general legal counsel Arnel Casanova and program manager for engineering and construction Eduardo Lena.

In her July 21, 2010 ruling, the Ombudsman said that Abaya, Casanova and Lena were “indisputably discharging their duties” as BCDA officials when they released P59.28 million to the Hazama-Taisei-Nippon Joint Venture (HTN-JV), a major contractor for the 93.7-kilometer Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX) built by BCDA. The Ombudsman also cleared five executives of HTN-JV who were cited as co-respondents.

The complaint filed by de Rossi purportedly on behalf of Italy-based CMC Asia Inc. stemmed from the complainant’s failure to collect the P59.28 million from HTN-JV in consultancy fees.

The BCDA released the amount to the HTN-JV following an OGCC opinion that the state-run company was not obliged to withhold it from the HTN-JV on account of CMCAI’s claim.

The Ombudsman upheld BCDA’s position that there was no legal basis for BCDA to retain the contested funds in favor of the CMCAI. The ruling also tagged as “a mere presumption” CMCAI’s allegation that there was a BCDA board resolution preventing the release of the amount to the HTN-JV.(PNA)

 By Rodel Rodis

Shortly after I arrived in Manila on June 29, I was contacted by a member of the inaugural committee who invited me to join a group of sectoral representatives from all over the country who were to take a collective oath – “Panata sa Pagbabago”- right after President Noynoy Aquino delivered his inaugural address. I quickly accepted the honor and a day later, I found myself right in front of the Quirino Grandstand, along with 19 other individuals, swearing an oath in front of the newly inducted president of the republic to commit ourselves to working for good governance in the Philippines.

 Among the 500,000 people in attendance at the Noynoy inauguration were 170 Filipinos from America who cheered as my name was announced and flashed on the giant screen and I was introduced as representing “US Pinoys”. It was a source of pride for our delegation because, through me, US Pinoys and, by extension, overseas Filipinos, were being recognized as a “sector” of the vital country deserving of representation the same as  farmers, soldiers, national minorities, the religious and labor. It was a breakthrough because US Pinoys had been stereotyped and unfairly accused by many Filipinos of “abandoning” the Philippines for greener pastures abroad.

When the inauguration ceremonies co-host, comedian Mae Paner (Juana Change), accepted our invitation to do a Noynoy fundraising tour in the US last March, she admitted that she had assumed that  US Pinoys didn’t care about the Philippines anymore because we just cared about ourselves and our new lives in America. In fact, the Juana Change Tour asked the question of Filipinos in the US: “May paki pa ba kayo sa Pilipinas?” (Do you still care about the Philippines?) Mae found the answer to her question to be somewhere between “Yes” and “Hell Yes!” But we should admit our own role in fostering the stereotypes about Filipinos in America. Ever since Filipinos started immigrating to America in 1906, we have always managed to deny and mask the institutionalized and personalized racism that we regularly encounter in the US. The early manongs (sacadas) sent photos of themselves dressed in snazzy suits and driving fancy cars while they were housed in cattle car barracks in the farms where they worked 10 hours of backbreaking labor for peanuts and prohibited by law from marrying whites or owning real property.

 Even today US Pinoys come home with precious balikbayan goodies for their relatives without ever disclosing what they really had to suffer through just to earn the money to remit along with other overseas Filipinos about $19 billion a year to the Philippines.  

When my "Wind of Change" article about our excitement about returning to Manila for the Noynoy inauguration appeared in the Philippine Daily Inquirer (online edition) last week, negative comments appeared.

One reader commented that we are “detached from reality…trying so hard to belong when you guys were never here to begin with”. His comments were echoed by another who agreed that we thought we were serving the country when we stayed away and now we’re coming back? “Well, if they bring dollars to construct two schools in the provinces, why not?” To these people, we’re not welcome but our dollars are, as long as we don’t ask for anything else. But we did. We also wanted the right to vote in Philippine elections and the right to be dual citizens which people in 99 other countries enjoy. We were affected by the corrupt leaders elected in the Philippines and we wanted to have a say in the elections. Since the fall of Marcos in 1986, we have been lobbying for these rights and we finally achieved a breakthrough in August of 2003 when the Philippine Congress passed the Overseas Absentee Voting Act and the Dual Citizenship Act which were then signed into law by former Pres. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

But, unfortunately, overseas voting act carried a “poison pill” provision requiring overseas voters to sign a covenant to return to the Philippines within three years or face penalties which included a jail term. And the Comelec passed a resolution that prohibited dual citizens from voting in Philippine elections. The result of these discouraging provisions was that very few overseas Filipinos registered to vote and fewer voted. The lackluster interest by overseas Filipinos to vote prompted many in the Congress to move to rescind the law. 

But Loida Nicolas-Lewis challenged the Comelec ruling and won a Supreme Court decision in April 2004 granting dual citizens the right to vote in Philippine elections without having to establish residency in the Philippines. The decision was too late to have an impact in the 2004 presidential elections but it had on the May 2010 presidential elections.

For the first time since the overseas absentee voting law was passed, Filipinos in the US created a national organization to support candidates for president and vice-president, the US Pinoys for Noynoy-Mar, which was formed in September of 2009. We set up an inter active website with Paypal capabilities, noymar2010.com; we conducted fund- raisers and raised $100,000; we sponsored simultaneously coordinated activities (Cory 77^th birthday mass in January, People Power anniversary celebrations in February, and the Juana Change Tour in April); and we held weekly telephone conference calls which could accommodate up to 99 members from throughout the US. And our efforts bore fruit when both Noynoy and Mar obtained more than 65% of the votes in the US. Although Mar didn’t win the VP race, Noynoy garnered more than 15 million total votes to win with the largest margin of victory in Philippine history.

But, as Greg Macabenta said, we helped Noynoy win, now we have to help him succeed. And that is why US Pinoys for Noynoy-Mar will be re-formed and transformed to US Pinoys for Good Governance with the new challenge of fighting for the interests of the Philippines in the US. Just as we successfully mobilized our community in 20005 to stop CalPers from pulling out all of its investments from the Philippines, just as we lobbied in that same year to prevent the Andean free tariff bill from passing which would cause the possible loss of 500,000 jobs in Mindanao dependent on the export of Philippine tuna to the US, so must we organize now to stop the Schumer bill that would heavily tax US call centers that outsource their services to foreign countries which may cause the loss of 50,000 jobs in the Philippines.

At the same time, with 4 million Filipinos in the US having relatives in every town, in every province of the Philippines, we have the resources to expose instances of malfeasance. As Pres. Noynoy Aquino said in his inaugural address, “Kung walang corrupt, walang mahirap” (if there is no corruption, there will be no poverty) is not just a  slogan for posters—it is the defining principle that will serve as the foundation of our administration.

Our foremost duty is to lift the nation from poverty through honest and effective governance.” As MichaelangeloBuonarotti said, “The risk for us is not that we set our aim too high and miss but that we set our goals too low and achieve our mark.” Aim high and fight for good governance in the Philippines. Those are our marching orders.

(Send comments to Rodel50@gmail.com<!--[if !supportNestedAnchors]--><!--[endif]-->or mail them to the Law Offices of RodelRodis at 2429 Ocean Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94127 or call (415) 334-7800).

Panganiban said Filipinos should strive harder.

“They should not be complacent and work hard, do the best they can to survive at the moment,” he told reporters during a book launch of the Kapit-Bisig Laban Sa Kahirapan (Linking Arms Against Poverty) or KALAHI project in Quezon City.

Panganiban said this after the United Nations' Millennium Development Goals (UNMDG) is helping the country address the poverty issue and putting it to a stop by 2015.

The UN Development Program (UNDP) has the same evaluation saying the Philippines has made "encouraging strides" and the probability that it will meet its targets remains high.

The NAPC chair cited many impoverished Filipino households having a hard time coping with life and making both ends meet.

One of those cases is an unidentified pregnant housewife who died at home in Tondo, Manila after refusing her family’s plea to take her to the hospital. She insisted on delivering her baby at home.

She died three hours later due to profuse bleeding after giving birth. The poor woman’s case is only one of the thousands of Filipino women who die in child birth due to poverty, lack of education, and inadequate access to health care services.

Panganiban, however, said the efforts of the Arroyo administration to achieve poverty reduction are on the right track.

“The Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program, the Food for School Program, the distribution of access cards to ensure the poor access to rice at P 18.25 a kilo, and the Comprehensive Livelihood and Emergency Employment Program are all steps toward the reduction of hunger, unemployment and poverty,” Panganiban said.

The NAPC chief noted that the growth in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and economy.

Panganiban noted that the Arroyo administration will end its term with a notable 7.3 percent GDP growth in the first quarter. He also said the GDP growth will affect the poor and marginalized sector.

“We hope that the next administration will continue NAPC’s advocacy to alleviate poverty,” Panganiban said.

He said the resurgence in economic activity has been attributed to the improvement in the global economy, increased business and consumer confidence, strong remittances, and election-related spending.

National Economic Development Authority (NEDA), in a 2007 report, believes the government is on track in meeting its goals in improving the lives of Filipinos.

Meanwhile, Panganiban said in his speech during the book launch: “We are at a point in our nation’s development when the complexities of national progress require that we counsel and learn from each other’s experiences to a much greater extent than in the past.”

“We have made significant advances under the KALAHI Program over the past decade – and along the way we have learned much,” Panganiban said.

The former team manager of Purefoods Hotdogs basketball team in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) said the KALAHI book ensures country’s next generation of leaders and policymakers will be able to draw useful insights from our experience.

“I can think of no more important – and no more generous -- contribution to the future of Filipino governance and social development than this,” he said.

NAPC, in cooperation with the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), launched the book, “Assessment of the KALAHI Prototype Projects (KPPs)”. (PNA)

A CRITICAL CHOICE: PACQUIAO SEEN TO WIN BY "SPLIT  DECISION" IN SARANGANI, SIGNALING A "NEW LIGHT" TO CONGRESS

by Granville Ampong, Philboxing.com

SPECIAL TO PHILBOXING.COM - Amid heated demands for him to bow out of the race, Emanuel D. Pacquiao  stays silent but broadens his base in the grassroots.  His calling, for one thing,  touches the hearts of the electoral voters than the incumbents. In fact, his foray into politics eloquently meets the challenge of revolution. Without heat, without cant, without despair, he lives in the vortex of the troubled present, swept awash by dissonances of change, radicalism but survives with the rarity of his faith and keeps his perception intact.

     That's what exactly the culture of politics that our "National Treasure" must tackle in his days of trials in politics and in the sphere of dignity, hope and vision.

     But, Pacquiao has an exemplary qualities of a leader. Even Monsignor Roger Fuentes vouches the unmatchable kindness and sincerity of a man borne out of simplicity and divine fortitude.

     "He is a very kind person, naturally intelligent and very religious; in fact, he defines kindness by his unconditional acts of helping the poor," says the cleric.

      In fact, "Pacquiao has brought healing to others who are sick and dying, " says Thelma de la Cruz, a fan who hails from Sarangani.

      On the other hand,  a seventy-six years old  Filipino immigrant who claims to have received a seventeen-pound turkey says, "I could live longer than I should as long as I could see my living hero." She says she first met Pacquiao when he gave out dressed turkeys to the less fortunate and fans at Temple Park in Los Angeles just before the Thanksgiving week of 2008. She says she grew up in Sarangani and left to US 10 years ago upon approval of her greencard under sponsorship of her youngest daughter.

      Regardless of social class disparity, Pacquiao continues to enthrall the public eye, even the high ranks and the extremists of the Philippines.

      Rightly so, he is the "saving grace" of the Queen, President Gloria "La Gloria" Macapagal-Arroyo, whose administration is marred by allegations of corruption and misgivings.

      In the Philippines, whenever he fights, crime drops to zero. New Peoples Army, Armed Islamic militants and peasants in the hinterlands pay homage to the might of  the Maharlikan king as he readies himself to fight in the ring at a given moments' notice. Radios on high volume live coverage in native tongue to  the ears of the less fortunate penetrate the thin air in the rural areas and in the remote sections - all with a throat-breaking anticipation. Huge attendance of the Catholic masses and other Christian church services all reduce into small groups, if not their schedules are changed to an afternoon celebration to honor Pacquiao's victory. Yes, traffic congestions in the crossroads of Metro Manila and in other major cities, such as Cebu, Dumaguete, Bacolod and Davao,  loosen down to at least sixty percent.  And there after all, one could see the mysterious conversion of someone having a recalcitrant bent...singing and dancing in jubilance because the old faith of a true Maharlikan has shown to their world a new light in the dawn of hope and moment of inspiration.

      Nonetheless, he is the pride and joy of the oppressed and repressed.

      Monsignor Fuentes must be right when he says, "Pacquaio must have the appointment of God to inspire the less inspired and uninspired and the less admired when he claims he heard a mysterious voice of God in his wakefulness at one moment during one of his early days in boxing."

      Once again, we will not experience the same magnitude of his might as was before but from now on in a much larger  scale than ever. His mighty influence upon  lives of the Filipinos, both private  and public, is beyond measure.

       Truly, we need not go beyond our historical experience to judge the man's heart.  His heart has brought light to both young and old in matters of gaining new perspective about life's challenges. The perspective of not giving up despite failures and pressures from the outside.  Anyone who has lost sight of the inspiration that the modern Maharlikan hero sheds to this generation and onward must have seen the crass hypocrisy of other politicians and lackeys who have become the masters of none and whose lips are laden with promise and hope.

      But, Pacquiao has done more than just what the Maharlikan nation expects. In fact, he has already exceeded his share of unselfish thread way more a public servant must do. 

      Yes, Pacquiao is the true remnant of the faithful and a catalyst for change in the lone district of Sarangani.

     What more could Pacquiao do when his simple endorsement to any candidate can even boost one's  acceptability in the hearts and minds of the voting public?

      And what more could he not do to bring change and improvements to the lives of the people he wants to serve?

     Many of our active participants in the electoral process may have not heard the call out in the midnight cry.  In fact, our  distinctive message is not often heard anymore because of our likelihood to pre-judge and relegate the best of our judgments to the back burner. 

      But, here is the present truth: Our society needs more than just legislations, which Pacquiao has more than what legislations can offer.

      Pacquiao is a new light who has a new message. A new, growing  movement must take place, which can help and strengthen by whatsoever the political will has to offer.

      Philippines has been in the state of vacuum, devoid in fact of inspiration since the declining period of  influence of Dr. Jose Rizal, whose 1896 military trial and execution made him a martyr of the Philippine Revolution.

      Nevertheless, Pacquiao, the modern thinking "tao" or man, sends the powerful message of faith across the archipelago, that which he embodies the true spirit of altruism and servanthood. He applies the biblical stand of stewardship and self-sacrifice as he brings to close the gap between the rich and poor at his own intimation.

      Soon Pacquiao will have to be tested, and the footmen in the campaigns trails and sorties will have their days anew.

      Even so , Pacquiao has a saving faith experience that will remain fastened to the Most High.

      He is the man who will go beyond the fellowship and love you find most at potlucks and picnics. He feels that he just cannot abdicate his responsibility of possessing a special gift for public service.

      His love for public service could bring out the best of Sarangani more than just papers and numbers in the Congress.

      Conversely, his  settling truth ranks the accolades  in matters of engaging  politics of achievements.

       Pacquiao himself is an epitome of a new revolution in the altar of achievements. And that's what the lone district of Sarangani needs as it responds to the pulse of the time.

       Yes, Pacquiao must be ready for a big change in Sarangani.

        And whether Pacquiao has the full backing of the local leaders of Sarangani, he has the hearts of the people whom he wants to serve.

       Just as in the same fashion Jocelyn Limkaichong of the first district of Oriental Negros has toppled the Paras dynasty that once ruled for over twenty years and just as when she had no mayors nor local incumbent leaders nor barangay captains to add up in her campaign sorties, Pacquiao will have to adopt the same strategy and have the beat of his feet and of his true henchmen be heard in the hinterlands to win the hearts and minds of the people in much the same way the grassroots must mobilize proactively to guard the sanctity of their conscience and of the rest of the voting public.

       "Vigilance is the key," says another immigrant who just came back to US from his vacation in Sarangani. He says he also joined the MunaTo Festival, a celebration of the rich cultural heritage of the province with the most number of native Blaan and Tboli residents, who love Pacquiao and regard him as the "Pearl of Sarangani".  MunaTo is a Blaan term for “first people".

       However, honesty of Pacquiao's leaders will have to be tested whether they are really for Pacquiao  and for the people or just for their deep pockets in anticipation of the huge campaign fund for this 2010 national elections.

        "Beware of those "fake defectors" and self-serving sycophants," says Ricky Torres who hails from the second district of South Cotabato where Pacquiao lost his congressional bid in 2007 by a margin of about 40,000 votes to Darlene Custodio.

         Torres said, "Pacquiao does not have the best political machinery, but he has the hearts of the people of Sarangani at this time."

         Torres just had his two months vacation with his family in South Cotabato and also spent a month in Sarangani where he claims to have a small farm of pigs and cows. He said Pacquiao has a chance to win his congressional bid in Sarangani, at least according to his friends and relatives who are residents in the said district. He further said Pacquiao is a hot prospect  to become a good congressman and the leaders there are better and faithful that what Pacquiao had in the first district of South Cotabato. "They are more God-fearing and simple in living," he opines. "Pacquiao should keep his candidacy and  I know he will win by split decision this time."

         This writer just hopes that when the political dusts settle in the late night of May 10, 2010, Pacquiao will come out in the tally victoriously.

Note: Granville Ampong writes also regularly as a broadsheet columnist for Nevada Examiner, California Examiner and as an investigative journalist for Manila-US Times. You may send your comment(s) to granvilleampong@aol.com.

Filipino, Philippines "Dancing Inmates" from Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center (CPDRC), a maximum security prison.

Image by FlamingText.com

 COUNTDOWN TO MAY 10, 2010

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