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Japan development NGO to source silk from growers in Benguet

THE Philippine Fiber Development Authority (PhilFIDA) said it will sign today a silk sourcing agreement with a Japanese environmental development NGO, the Organization for Industrial Spiritual and Cultural Advancement (OISCA).
According to PhilFIDA Executive Director Kennedy T. Costales, the deal will be funded by Japan’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
“They agreed that we can go ahead with the processing of the cocoons into raw silk in PhilFIDA’s Wangal, La Trinidad, Benguet Sericulture facility and they will buy all the raw silk produced,” Mr. Costales said in a mobile message.
“We hope to sign the memorandum of agreement (MoA) on Friday,” he said, noting that some of the terms are being adjusted to increase the benefits for silk farmers.
In a statement, Mr. Costales said: “We have to go the extra mile in helping our farmers and their respective families by producing the raw silk themselves and by fully utilizing the Filature, Cocoon Dryer and Raw Silk Production facilities of PhilFIDA located in Wangal, La Trinidad, Benguet. The operating costs, which include labor, power and water bills, maintenance, etc. will just be deducted from the raw silk proceeds,” Mr. Costales said.
According to Mr. Costales, the aim of the program is to reduce the burden on farmers in producing silk, and double their income via entrepreneurship or the organization of cooperatives. — Reicelene Joy N. Ignacio

An investment-friendly land ownership framework

The proposed amendments to the economic provisions of the New Federal Constitution are most critical to our aim of attracting more inflows of foreign capital to the Philippines. One of the most controversial and hotly debated issues is the long-standing matter of land ownership.
The draft Federal Constitution of the Consultative Committee stipulates that all lands of the public domain, waters, minerals, coals, petroleum and other mineral oils, all forces of energy, fisheries, forests or timber, wildlife, flora and fauna and other natural resources are owned by the state and shall not be alienated except lands of public domain provided as alienable. Moreover, agricultural and reclaimed lands may be further classified by law according to the uses which they may be devoted to such as residential, commercial or industrial. It goes on by saying that “Save in cases as provided by Federal law or in cases of hereditary succession, no private lands shall be transferred or conveyed except to individuals, corporations or associations qualified to acquire or hold lands of the public domain.”
Except for a few rewordings here and there, it is still clear that land ownership even under the proposed new Constitution is only open to Filipino citizens or Filipino corporations and associations that comply with the nationality requirements. Jurisprudential reasoning for this is that available alienable public lands are slowly decreasing because of huge population growth, not to mention the problems of equitable diffusion of land ownership. If big corporations or families own most of our lands, then societal instability becomes a real risk.
In the midst of a Foreign Investment Act’s Negative List (FINL) which enumerates ownership of private lands to be limited to 40% foreign equity, we are slowly realizing the painful reality of this legal prohibition in our fundamental law of the land. This frustrates the growth of foreign direct investment to the Philippines. Amongst the ASEAN economies, we are even behind Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia. And while other countries in the region may have some form of restrictions, the negative impacts are cushioned by a fair, consistent and transparent regulatory and enforcement framework — one that is wanting in our country.
landscape
INTERNATIONAL TREND AND CLAMOR
The Joint Foreign Chamber of the Philippines appreciated the 11th FINL but it also said that the changes have not been substantial enough to really excite foreign investors. In its statement, it urged the government, particularly the Congress, to pass laws that shall relax restrictions on foreign ownership in the Philippine Constitution. Citing the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the Joint Foreign Chambers said that with the current state of play, the Philippines shall continue to be regarded as one of the most restrictive nations in terms of foreign direct investments.
Moreover, the World Bank and United Nations Conference on Trade and Development considered our ban on foreign ownership of natural resources such as land to be a very big constraint to the full development of our economy. Without huge foreign investments, our ability to compete in a “commercial world without borders” is impaired. Economic analysts see this phenomenon as misplaced nationalism that denies our nation, one brimming with educated, skilled, young, good natured and positive population, many opportunities to enrich themselves culturally, socially and financially. Imagine tracts of land devoted to a mix of sustainable agriculture, factories, industrial and commercial estates, export processing plants, ports and wharves or even eco-tourism sites. These possibilities can become a reality by partnering with credible, reputable and financially stable international corporations, organizations or entities.
WAY FORWARD
Yes, there may be threats of exploitation or abuse, but these can be curbed by a proper governmental and enforcement infrastructure that is fully resourced and empowered because of more funds precisely raised through foreign capital to build up such infrastructure.
The key to all of this is striking a good, healthy balance between local and international interests. The positives clearly outweigh the negatives in this space. The Constitution, as a living document, should adjust to the imperatives of the times. It must recognize that an isolationist economic policy is extremely ineffective in an open, borderless and interdependent community of nations. To put it simply — It’s a small world. after all.
 
Ariel F. Nepomuceno is a management consultant on strategy and investment.

Let’s get rid of the Bar Ops

For starters, this is not about the Bar Exams.
That remains a considerably valuable rite of passage that not only tests the legal knowledge of the examinee but more importantly the ability to utilize such while under tremendous stress.
It separates the layman who thinks he knows the law from the legal professional who actually knows it and can apply it under pressure.
For more on the Bar exam, do read the article from Nov. 4, 2016, “Taking the Bar,” on bworldonline.com.
The Bar Operations, however, which pertains both to the organization within a law school and the function the latter ostensibly has (e.g., collate notes, arrange the logistics for the examinees), is another thing.
Just last weekend, observe a random Bar Operation from any of the “top” established law schools, you’d see the assembly of equipment, people, bags, food, transportation, etc., of such quantity akin to a typhoon rescue or military operation.
To be emphasized is that these resources are not for the Bar examinees but just for the Bar Operations students and staff helping the examinees.
For the examinees themselves, that will still be a different set of expenses.
In fairness, one can understand the organizing and originating principle for the Bar Operations and that is legal education remains – unfortunately – unduly Bar oriented. It is also a matter of fellowship or raising school esprit de corps.
However, through time it has ballooned into this huge monstrosity that, considering the need to develop more focus on legal studies as a truly disciplined academic field rather than a craft, considering the national economic situation, considering that the law profession must lead in the display of virtue (amongst which are restraint and temperance), then the Bar Operations either has outlived its usefulness or is in dire need of pruning.
None of the activities in the Bar Operations theoretically adds to the students’ legal training, knowledge, or even ethics. Even if there were, these should be taking place in the classroom.
Besides, the examinees themselves are theoretically ready already anyway to take the Bar exam from the moment they graduate.
And the Bar exam is just that: just another exam.
Assuming they went to a competent law school, law graduates would already have gone through four years of far harder exams without the pomp and extravagant use of resources that is the modern day Bar Operations.
And as one legal education expert points out: “this is more reason to strengthen the 4th year review so that Bar examinees are truly confident to take the Bar exam when they step out of law school even without the pre-Bar review and the placebo of Bar Ops.”
“Placebo” is the perfect word to describe it. Many previous Bar examinees went through the exams without the Bar Ops. I drove myself to the Bar exam venue, brought my own lunch and supplies, spent Saturday calming myself down, went to anticipated Mass with family and loved ones, and basically just ignored the tips. Somehow, I managed to survive.
Another law expert exclaimed: “Bar Ops make a carnival of what should be a purely academic exercise. This becomes a competition of arrogance and affluence among law schools.”
Consider that these Bar Operations are normally housed in hotels, employing hundreds of student manpower hours, food and drinks provided, all costing hundreds of thousands of pesos (perhaps millions for the so-called ‘elite’ law schools).
This is ridiculous.
There are ways to stop this nonsense without running afoul of constitutional provisions on assembly, education, and expression.
One is police power legislation to stop or discourage such extravagant use of resources (akin to controlling election spending).
Thus, measures can be made as to funds capping, outright prohibition on university spending (and collecting fees from students), and disallowing use of university premises and resources for Bar Operations purposes. Private law schools can also stop this by way of contract.
There is also this dark side to the Bar Ops, which is the last minute “tips.”
Think about that: what are these tips and where are they from? Are we encouraging law schools to get undue advantages? The ethical questions these alone raises should put into doubt the merit of the Bar Ops.
Again, retain the Bar exam.
Make the exam more rigorous so that only the truly qualified pass.
Raise the quality of legal education so that law students are not only good at passing the Bar exams but can truly serve society well as educated lawyers.
Let’s continually refine the PhilSat so that only those possessed of the qualities to survive law schools geared toward producing true legal professionals are allowed to enter.
Let’s have the legal profession, legal education, and undergrad programs coordinate properly so that prospective law students possess the communication, logic, reasoning, and other basic education skills even before they enter law school.
Let’s use time, money, and resources as prudently and wisely as possible.
And we can start by discouraging Bar Operations.
 
Jemy Gatdula is a senior fellow of the Philippine Council for Foreign Relations and a Philippine Judicial Academy law lecturer for constitutional philosophy and jurisprudence.
jemygatdula@yahoo.com
www.jemygatdula.blogspot.com
facebook.com/jemy.gatdula
Twitter @jemygatdula

The dimensions of impunity

Those Filipinos aware of the record-breaking looting of the public treasury by the Marcos kleptocracy are hailing the Sandiganbayan’s conviction of Imelda Marcos on seven counts of graft. They had already lost hope that any of the billions diverted to Swiss bank accounts, real estate, and jewelry and art collections in Bern, Paris and other world capitals will ever be recovered, or that any form of legal retribution against the thieves is forthcoming, but have been heartened by the graft court’s decision 27 years after charges were filed against the Marcos family matriarch.
Imelda Marcos is of course the former First Lady, currently a congresswoman, and in line to replace, through the 2019 elections and in the manner of the dynasties that are ruining this country, her daughter Imee as governor of Ilocos Norte.
The anti-corruption court’s 15th division sentenced the late unlamented Ferdinand Marcos’s 89-year widow to imprisonment of from six to eleven years for each count of graft that it declared her guilty of. If the sentence is ever carried out, she will spend at least 42 years in prison — an eventuality that, unless she lives to be 131 years old, seems unlikely. But there are reasons other than her age which make it doubtful that she will ever serve that sentence.
As alleged by the complaint against her in 1992, she was found to have made a total of $200-million bank transfers to seven Swiss foundations of her own creation during her incumbency as Metro Manila Governor, a post her dictator-husband tailor-made for her.
But like most of the killers and all of the masterminds in the killing of journalists; the policemen and their vigilante surrogates responsible for the tens of thousands of extrajudicial killings of suspected drug pushers and users; the military goons and their paramilitary junior partners responsible for the murder of Lumad leaders, farmers, workers, human rights defenders, people’s lawyers, judges, political activists, and reformist local officials; the convicted but pardoned plunderers still lording it over in government; the drug lords and their well-placed accomplices in the Bureau of Customs who regularly smuggle billions of pesos worth of drugs into the country; the bureaucrat capitalists and government criminals whose access to pricey lawyers enables them to escape prosecution; and the handful of wealthy and well-connected denizens of this country who have murdered and robbed their way to the top of the bureaucracy — like them, it’s almost certain that she won’t spend a single day or night in any of the country’s hellish prisons for the poor.
If she’s ever arrested at all, it’s more than likely that she’ll be held in some airconditioned, amenity-filled government facility, or in the comfort of a high-end hospital suite. But even that may not happen. It’s not just because, her conviction not being final, she can still file a motion for reconsideration before the Sandiganbayan. Or because she can also file an appeal before the Supreme Court, the current composition and mindset of which does not encourage faith in the so-called justice system.
Already afoot are attempts to keep her out of prison. Only hours after the decision was promulgated last Nov. 9, her ally Senator Cynthia Villar, who is running for senator with Imee Marcos, was already saying that Imelda Marcos’s advanced age should be a militating factor against her arrest, with the PNP later echoing the same sentiment. In this country of “humanitarian” considerations only for the big bureaucrats accused of such crimes as plunder and corruption, it is almost certain that she will escape imprisonment on the basis of that hoary excuse.
We have seen some of that in the recent past. There is the outstanding example of former Marcos partner and functionary Juan Ponce Enrile, who is free on bail in consideration of his age, but who’s apparently strong enough to appear in media interviews as well as energetic enough to once again run for the Senate.
Like Manila mayor and former president Joseph Estrada, who is a convicted plunderer, Imelda Marcos can also be pardoned, should, by some miracle, her conviction hold. Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo has declared that Malacañang respects the decision, but as the entire country should know by now, no word from the Palace is really worth much. President Rodrigo Duterte has time and again shown that he can modify or even contradict whatever his minions say. He is himself also known for saying one thing today and another tomorrow, as well as for doing something he said he wouldn’t do — and for not doing something he said he would.
What these evasions and excuses are all about is impunity: the exemption from punishment of wealthy, powerful and well-connected wrongdoers, which is part of the very culture — the way of doing things — of this benighted country. It is not uniquely characteristic of the current regime, but has been part of Philippine reality for decades.
Already in current use in the areas of conflict on the planet, and descriptive of how it has become the rule for the killers of journalists in various countries, the phrase “culture of impunity” was first used in 2003 by the New York-based press freedom watch group Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) to describe how the killers of journalists in the Philippines and the masterminds behind them have been escaping punishment since the Marcos period.
But the phrase doesn’t apply only to the fact that it has become normal for the killers of journalists to escape punishment in what passes for democratic rule in the Philippines. It applies as well to the legions of wrongdoers and criminals in the pay of the powerful who have made getting justice in this country elusive, problematic and even dangerous, as the cases of the lawyers and human rights defenders who have been threatened, harassed and murdered for defending the poor and marginalized have again and again demonstrated.
While none of the military and police personnel, paramilitaries, dynasts, warlords, local tyrants and land-grabbers responsible for even the most heinous, most brutal and most inhuman crimes have been punished or even prosecuted, the leaders and advocates of, and the poor and the marginalized themselves — peasants, workers, indigenous people — are often accused of and charged with the most outrageously manufactured crimes, among them murder, illegal possession of firearms, kidnapping, etc. as substitutes for their real “offense”: that of defending the rights of the poor as well as their own right to life, due process, and justice.
The term “double standard” has been used to label it, but doesn’t quite describe what’s been happening in this country since the killers of Andres Bonifacio and Antonio Luna got away with murder over a century ago. What it is, is exactly that — a culture of impunity that, in the case of the Marcoses and their ilk, exempts them from accountability for any crime, anomaly, or plain offense against the civilized standards of behavior that should guide a truly human society.
The only consolation — the booby prize — the conviction of Imelda Marcos has made possible is its contributing to the imperative of combating the Marcos family’s attempts to prettify the outrage that was martial law. It should help convince even the most uninformed — but let’s not hold our breath waiting for it — that it was a period of violence, plunder and unprecedented theft of the country’s resources, as well as a premeditated conspiracy against the future.
It’s not much of a prize, and the most that can be expected in the present circumstances. But nothing is forever, and if history is any guide, these too should pass, and the day of reckoning — impunity’s end — break even in these sorry isles.
 
Luis V. Teodoro is on Facebook and Twitter (@luisteodoro). The views expressed in Vantage Point are his own and do not represent the views of the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility.
www.luisteodoro.com

Reflections on wisdom and quality

By definition, a hero is “the consummate person, ripe and perfect; accurate in judgment, mature in taste, attentive in listening, wise in sayings, shrewd in deeds, the center of all perfection.”
Baltasar Gracian, a Spanish Jesuit, wrote a book of stratagems for reaching excellence in a competitive world. A Pocket Mirror for Heroes reflects the person as he really is and who he ought to be. It provides an image of ethical and moral reflection.
We live in a world of deceit and danger. To survive our daily challenges, one should proceed with caution; learn how to adapt to circumstances and to take nothing for granted.
Life is difficult but one should not get stuck in quicksand. Rather, one should move forward, savor the seasons and the perfection and beauty of the universe.
According to Gracian, extremes meet. The seed of wisdom is desengaño. There is no equivalent in English. It implies an awakening to truth, moral clear-sightedness that is tempered by skepticism.
It is not enough to be gifted, wise or graceful. One must know how to manage that talent and adapt it to the age in which one lives. One should show or conceal it depending on the situation. One should learn how to distinguish a quality from its shadow.
People and things are “both what they are and what they seem.” There are two kinds of reality — the inner and the outer. The inner qualities — wisdom, courage, wit — should be combined with the outer qualities — quickness, elegance, variety, grace and a charming manner.
Among the hero’s strategies for reaching distinction are:

• Conceal your intentions

• Hide your depths

• Understanding is the origin of greatness

• A sublime intellect breeds excellent taste

• Being the best

• Excellence from being first

• A heroic occupation

• Know your highest gift

• Measure your luck

• Know when to retire

• Affectation is the dead weight of greatness

• Win favors

• Grace enhances courage and prudence

Wisdom is important in our lives. We should measure life as though we had both a short and a long time to live.
“The age of maturity is destined to contemplation for the soul acquires strength as the body loses it, and the superior part of us grows, stronger,” Gracian emphasized. “In maturity, we can look back prudently and see fully what we merely glimpsed during our youth.
“Seeing makes us knowledgeable, contemplation makes us wise.”
As people move from childhood to middle age and old age, they collect all sorts of things — material possessions, emotional baggage and people. They accumulate stuff until they reach saturation level and spill over.
It is easy to become dependent on the things we own to the point that we would feel helpless without them.
There is a big difference between needs and desires. Human nature is such that our caprices and whimsical wishes exceed our real needs.
Oscar Wilde once wrote, “We live in an age that reads too much to be wise and thinks too much to be beautiful… we live in an age when unnecessary things are our only necessities.”
The perceptive comments from his play “The Portrait of Dorian Gray” were written in another era, but they apply accurately to life in the 21st century.
It is important to be discerning and to practice restraint. In order to seek a level of balance, one should try to be objective and detached.
When one hoards things and heavy feelings, one clutters not only physical space but mental and emotional space too. Weighed down by material possessions, one cannot move freely or think.
One is unable to savor new experiences and expand the perspective.
One can be trapped in a time warp.
On a practical level, where does one draw the line between collectibles and non-collectibles?
Artworks — paintings, antiques, medals, weapons, rare books and maps, vintage furniture, heirloom jewelry, silver and costumes, crystals, old stamps and coins, objets d’art, family photographs are worth keeping for posterity.
However, it is not necessary to hoard all the souvenirs from trips, plaques and obsolete electronic gadgets. Non-priority objects should be discarded regularly.
There is only so much quality space in one’s life.
Moving into a new house or office is the perfect opportunity to remove clutter. Space constraints would force one to downsize, and to be discriminating. One should sort, sift and select sparingly.
Some people become addicted to the high of novelty. There is the thrill of indulging in excess. Quantity over quality. Other people buy to affirm the ego. Bragging rights to impress the audience.
People derive pleasure from buying something new. Once the novelty wears off, it is no longer fun.
How does one dispose of the sentimental stuff efficiently and without pain?
The process of selection is painstaking.
One must learn to release the past and let go of the things that are no longer needed. Like barnacles that stunt growth and movement, the unnecessary thing should be cut drastically.
It is a matter of will.
 
Maria Victoria Rufino is an artist, writer and businesswoman. She is president and executive producer of Maverick Productions.
mavrufino@gmail.com

Duterte: China ‘in possession’ of South China Sea

PRESIDENT Rodrigo R. Duterte on Thursday said he opposes the conduct of military drills in the disputed waters of the South China Sea, adding that the area is in the “possession” of the People’s Republic of China.
Mr. Duterte made the remarks in Singapore amid a conference there by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, and ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s first State Visit to country on Nov. 20 and 21.
In another development, two US aircraft carriers with around 150 fighter jets are scheduled to conduct “complex” warfare drills in the Philippine Sea northeast of the archipelago, the US Navy said on Thursday.
In a televised press conference in Singapore, Mr. Duterte was asked if it was wise to hold military drills in the South China Sea.
“No, because I said China is already in possession. It’s now in their hands. So why do you have to create frictions, strong fri[ctions], [or] a military activity that will prompt a response from China?” the Philippine president said.
He added that he does not mind other countries going to war, “except that the Philippines is just beside those [artificial] islands.”
“And if there’s a shooting there, my country will be the first to suffer. That’s my only national interest there. Nothing else,” Mr. Duterte said.
Also on Thursday, the US Seventh Fleet said in a statement that the Japan-based USS Ronald Reagan and the USS John C Stennis deployed from the US West coast are scheduled to carry out air, surface and anti-submarine warfare operations in the Philippine Sea.
“Bringing two carrier strike groups together provides unparalleled naval combat power,” US Seventh Fleet commander Vice Admiral Phil Sawyer said.
XI’S STATE VISIT
On Mr. Xi’s state visit next week, Budget Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno said on Wednesday that the visit “will put pressure on the speed [of ] the implementation” of China’s projects in the Philippines.
The first basket includes the Chico River Pump Irrigation Project, New Centennial Water Source-Kaliwa Dam Project, the Philippine National Railways’ South Long Haul Project, and the Davao-Samal Bridge Construction Project, among others.
The second basket has the Ambal-Simuay River and Rio Grande de Mindanao River Flood Control Projects, Pasig-Marikina River and Manggahan Floodway Bridges Construction Project, Subic-Clark Railway Project, Safe Philippines Project Phase 1, and the Rehabilitation of the Agus-Pulangi Hydroelectric Power Plants Project.
“You see a few of them have already been groundbreaking: the bridge in Intramuros-Binondo, the other one will be the Long Haul [project] that will not be done this year, maybe next year. There has been information from NEDA (National Economic and Development Authority) on this…. I think we have already 3 billion dollars out of 9 billion already specified,” Mr. Diokno said.
On Thursday, Presidential Spokesperson Salvador S. Panelo said Malacañang “welcomes the formal announcement of Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on the designation of the Philippines as the new Country Coordinator for the ASEAN-China Dialogue Relations. Our country will assume the said role until year 2021.”
For his part, Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro L. Locsin, Jr. defended Mr. Duterte’s absence in some of the meetings at the ASEAN gathering.
Mr. Locsin said in part: “I’ve seen different leaders stand up and leave including the chairman. And it doesn’t reflect badly. Then the Secretary or their Ministers of foreign affairs sit down. Right now, I won’t mention again, but a major power wasn’t there and the minister of foreign affairs sat in and he arrived. This morning I sat down and then I get a tap on my shoulder and it was the President and he says ‘I’m here.’”
Mr. Duterte himself explained his absence, saying, “Why? What’s wrong with my nap? You know, I don’t eat. I don’t eat breakfast, and I’m sure you ladies do know that. We don’t eat breakfast.”
He said his rest was “[s]till not good enough. But enough to sustain the endurance for the last day’s [events].”
Mr. Locsin, for his part, asked about Chinese weather stations in the South China Sea, said, “You know, that has not been cleared. I’d like to get Secretary of Defense to tell me. You guys claimed there is a weather station out there. I suggest you guys fly there. Why not?”
“I don’t think there are claims of ownerships, there are claims of sovereignty. They are weather stations,” the Philippines’ top diplomat also said, adding: “I would stand up in the UN (United Nations) and I would assert what are our rights, what was the nature of the Hague tribunal decision under UNCLOS to which both China and Philippines subscribe.”— reports by Arjay L. Balinbin, Reuters, Camille A. Aguinaldo, and Elijah Joseph C. Tubayan

Imelda Marcos cites health for skipping graft conviction

By Charmaine A. Tadalan, Reporter
ILOCOS Norte-2nd district Rep. Imelda R. Marcos has cited “multiple organ infirmities” as the reason for her absence in her conviction at the Sandiganbayan for graft last Friday.
In her motion for leave of court to avail of post conviction remedies, dated Nov. 12, Mrs. Marcos explained her failure to attend the promulgation of her graft case was “unintentional” and was due to health concerns.
“On the said date and even before, the accused was suffering from multiple organ infirmities and was under strict orders from her physician to refrain for heart and brain attack and recurrence of seizure,” the motion read.
The Sandiganbayan fifth division on Nov. 9 found Mrs. Marcos guilty of seven counts of graft in connection with the $200 million in public funds transferred to Swiss foundations during the martial-law regime.
Mrs. Marcos, however, was seen joining the birthday party of her daughter Ilocos Norte Gov. Imee R. Marcos the night following the anti-graft court’s decision.
The motion further explained that Mrs. Marcos’s lawyer Robert A.C. Sison likewise could not attend due to “high blood pressure.”
Mr. Sison “was advised to rest for 3 days and was therefore unable to attend the scheduled hearing.”
Mrs. Marcos asked the court to be given leave to avail of remedies to challenge the decision as well as defer the issuance of the warrant of arrest or suspend its implementation.
She also prayed that her bail be reinstated after the court decided to forfeit it over her absence.

Balangiga bells back to PHL

By Camille A. Aguinaldo, Reporter
THE UNITED STATES has formally turned over the Balangiga bells to the Philippines in a ceremony held at Warren Air Force Base in Wyoming, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said on Thursday.
Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro L. Locsin, Jr. said the return of the bells may indicate that President Rodrigo R. Duterte would later visit the United States.
“I reminded everyone that, by the way, when this was raised, I said he (Mr. Duterte) won’t go there until the Balangiga bells are returned. Well, they’re coming back. So he will have to go there to the United States. I would think that if that’s the condition he made,” Mr. Locsin said at a televised press briefing in Singapore on the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit, adding that he raised the matter to the President on Wednesday evening.
“I said, ‘You know, Sir, that now we’re getting the bells and in the context of conversations with (former US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki) Haley,’ so he smiled. He says yes,” Mr. Locsin also said.
The ceremony last Wednesday was attended by US Defense Secretary James Mattis and Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Manuel G. Romualdez.
In a video message provided by the DFA, Mr. Romualdez said the Balangiga bells are expected to be repatriated to the Philippines before the end of the year. He added that the other bell located at a US Army museum in South Korea will also be returned.
In a statement, the DFA said, “The Philippine government and the Filipinos appreciate this gesture.”
For his part, Mr Mattis said during the ceremony, “In returning the Bells of Balangiga to our ally and our friend — the Philippines — we pick up our generation’s responsibility to deepen the respect between our peoples — linking western people of the great state of Wyoming with people in eastern Philippines, not far from a town named for General MacArthur.”
“We return these bells with consideration of our present, but also with utmost respect for our past, one of shared sacrifice as co-equal brothers in arms. For we in the US military do not forget those who stood by our side when the chips were down,” he added.
The Balangiga Bells were taken as war booty in 1901 by members of the US Army in Eastern Samar during the Philippine-American War.

House OK’s bill on incentives for acclaimed filmmakers

By Charmaine A. Tadalan, Reporter
THE bill granting incentives to Filipino filmmakers granted honors in international film festivals has hurdled the House of Representatives on third and final reading.
With 162 affirmative votes and zero negative, the chamber approved House Bill 7823, Film Industry Incentives Act, which seeks to support the local film industry and further promote Filipino culture.
Among the incentives filmmakers or production entities may be entitled to are P5 million for the production of an award-winning full-length feature or documentary film, and P3 million for short features or documentary film.
The measure also provided that P2 million may be granted to a film director, main artist, screenplay, or technical support filmmaker personnel, who received the highest international awards in their categories.
And P1 million was also pegged for supporting artists or technicians who have garnered the highest award in their respective categories.
The bill also stated the first incentive covers Filipino filmmakers or production entities that worked within a maximum of P10 million in their production budget for a 90 to 120-minute long film.
The second incentive, meanwhile, will be granted to films or documentaries that are under 90 minutes long and cost P5 million.
Moreover, the budget for the proposed measure will be sourced from the budget to be allocated to the Film Development Council of the Philippines.

SC upholding CHEd order excluding Filipino from curriculum slammed

By Vann Marlo M. Villegas
GOVERNMENT officials slammed the Supreme Court (SC) decision which declared as constitutional the Commission on Higher Education’s (CHEd) order excluding Filipino as a core subject in college.
In a statement, Senate President Vicente C. Sotto III said, “We can see these days among the youth the lack of grasp of the Filipino language and by removing this as a core subject in college or any other school level, I fear this would deteriorate even further. The Filipino language is part of our identity as a people and as such we should strive to preserve and strengthen this at all times.”
He also said the SC ruling is “against the spirit” of Section 6, Article 14 of the Constitution which states that “the Government shall take steps to initiate and sustain the use of Filipino as a medium of official communication and as language of instruction in the educational system.”
For his part, Commission on Elections spokesperson James B. Jimenez said the Philippines’ would “lose its soul” with the exclusion of Filipino among the core subjects.
“The elimination of Filipino as a core curriculum subject is a mistake. Some will argue that there is no economic benefit to teaching it in college, but what does it profit a nation to gain the whole world but lose its soul?” he said in a Twitter post.
In a decision dated Oct. 9, the SC declared as constitutional and lifted the temporary restraining order issued on April 21, 2015 against CHEd Memorandum Order (CMO) No. 20, series of 2013 which excluded Filipino, Panitikan, and Philippine Constitution among the core subjects in the general education curriculum in college.
The petition against the CHEd order said it violates Section 6, Article 14 of the Constitution. But the SC said “these constitutional provisions are only policies that may be ‘used by the judiciary as aids or as guides in the exercise of its power of judicial review, and by the legislature in its enactment of laws.”’
It also added that CMO No. 20 “only provides for the minimum standards for the GE component of all degree programs.”
The high court also said the assailed CHEd memorandum does not violate any existing laws such as Republic Act (RA) No. 7104 or the Commission on the Filipino Language Act, RA No. 7356 or the Law Creating the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, and the Education Act of 1982.
“It must be noted that nothing in these laws requires that Filipino and Panitikan must be included as subjects in the tertiary level. Further, as already established, it is within the authority of the CHEd to determine the GE distribution requirements,” the decision read.
In the same decision, the SC also declared K to 12 Law as constitutional.
In a Nov. 13 statement, CHEd Commissioner J. Prospero E. De Vera III said the commission respects the decision of the SC and will wait for its final decision on the issue, citing news reports that the groups opposed to the court ruling may file their motions for reconsideration.
He also stated that the incumbent commissioners were not yet in office when the order was issued on June 28, 2013 “and therefore were not privy to the context and discussions that were the basis” of the CHED memorandum.
“The Commission will continue to uphold the rule of law, study the issues raised by education stakeholders and await the final decision of the Supreme Court,” he said.

PAO chief: Duterte recommended upgrade to murder in Dengvaxia charges

PUBLIC Attorneys’ Office (PAO) Chief Persida V. Rueda-Acosta said it was President Rodrigo R. Duterte who recommended to upgrade to murder the complaints in connection with deaths attributed to the controversial Dengvaxia vaccine.
She told reporters after a hearing Thursday on the second batch of eight complaints that a “confidential meeting” was held in February where they presented the pieces of evidence found by PAO. Among those present in the meeting were members of the the Volunteer Against Crime and Corruption, former justice secretary Vitaliano N. Aguirre II and PAO forensic chief Erwin P. Erfe.
“(H)indi ordinary reckless imprudence resulting (in) multiple homicide lang ito. Ito talaga ay murder. Tama po ang payo sa akin ng isa nating pinakamataas na opisyal ng pamahalaan. Murder itong kaso dapat dito (This is not an ordinary reckless imprudence resulting in multiple homicide complaint case. This is murder. The advice one of the highest goverment officials to me is right. This case is murder),” she said.
Asked which government official told her, Ms. Acosta said: “Si Pangulong Duterte. Sabi niya sa akin dapat murder, e wala pa naman kaming kopya nung mga dokumento (President Duterte told me. He said that murder should have been filed, but we do not have the documents yet).”
“(W)ala pa kaming complete documents nung natanggap ko ‘yon. Naisampa na namin ‘yung first batch, reckless imprudence lang ‘yung ebidensyang hawak namin. (We don’t have the complete documents when we received that. We have filed the first batch, we only have evidence for reckless imprudence),” she added.
Ms. Acosta previously said that PAO is reviewing to upgrade the Dengvaxia complaints from reckless imprudence resulting in multiple homicide to murder, as the Department of Health still pushed for the implementation of the mass Dengvaxia vaccination despite knowledge of its possible “serious adverse effects.”
However, she said they will put on hold the motion to upgrade the cases to murder as they still have to wait for the prosecution’s resolution on the first batch of nine complaints, of which preliminary investigation ended last Oct. 30.
Two additional complaints over the Dengvaxia mess were filed before the Department of Justice, bringing the total number of pending cases to 29.
Health Secretary Francisco T. Duque III is included in the new complaints.
Former health secretary Janette P. Loreto Garin and 36 others are facing 29 complaints over reckless imprudence resulting in homicide and violation of the Anti-Torture Act and The Consumer Act of the Philippines due to the deaths allegedly because of Dengvaxia.
Included in the complaints are government officials involved in the implementation of the mass Dengvaxia vaccination, manufacturer Sanofi Pasteur Inc. and distributor Zuellig Pharma Corporation. — Vann Marlo M. Villegas

Senator wants special units for police recruits to be shielded from corruption

By Camille A. Aguinaldo, Reporter
SENATOR Panfilo M. Lacson on Thursday said he wants a special unit under the regional police districts to supervise newly recruited police officers in order to tackle corruption issues hounding the Philippine National Police (PNP).
“My suggestion is to create a special unit that will only address the supervision of new trainees. I think they are considering that. Even on the regional level, they have a unit that will do nothing except to focus on it,” Mr. Lacson said at the Kapihan sa Senado media forum.
In past Senate hearings, Mr. Lacson said they found there was nothing in the training of aspiring police officers. He said the issue of corruption is espoused by the police officers tasked to supervise the trainees.
“Once they are deployed in the field as OJT (on-the-job trainees), the PNP lets whoever manage them….What happens is, if the appointed SPO1, SPO2 are delinquent cops, they are using the OJT in extortion,” said Mr. Lacson, who is also a former PNP chief.
“If you are the new recruit, you would think that it’s okay to be a delinquent police, so there is a wrong notion that what they are doing is right…so the standard of integrity is declining,” he added.
Aside from this proposal, Mr. Lacson, who chairs the Senate committee on public order and dangerous drugs, said he will also push for the passage of the bill transferring police training from the Philippine Public Safety College to the PNP. Senate Bill 1898 amends Republic Act No. 6975 or the Department of Interior and Local Government Act of 1990. It was approved on third reading by both chambers of Congress in August.
If enacted into law, the PNP Academy — which trains commissioned officers — will be under the direct supervision and control of the PNP chief while supervision and control of the National Police Training Institute — which trains noncommissioned officers — will be determined in the revised organizational structure of the said unit.
“The soonest possible time, if we reconcile whatever disagreeing provisions, the training will be transferred….I was hoping that the House of Representatives will just adopt the Senate version for the speedy enrollment of the bill. This year, it can be passed,” Mr. Lacson said.

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