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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.

17 localized holidays declared

PRESIDENT RODRIGO R. Duterte has signed 17 more Republic Acts (RA) declaring local special non-working holidays in various towns, cities and provinces around the country. Signed on Oct. 30 and Nov. 8, copies of the following laws with the corresponding place (in alphabetical order), date, and celebration were released by Malacañang on Nov. 15:

Barbecue stick town

VISITORS and residents of Taysan in Batangas hold a barbecue street party on Nov. 11 to cap off the week-long celebration of the 1st Tinindag Festival and the town’s 100th founding anniversary. Hundreds of families in the second-class municipality of over 98,000 residents are engaged in the home-based manufacture of barbecue sticks using the abundant local bamboo supply. “Stick-making is done in all Taysan’s 20 barangays, but bulk of production comes from Barangay Pinagbayanan, Barangay Guinhawa and Barangay Piña,” Leah Caguitla, 35, mother of six, who continued her parents’ stick-making business, said a in a statement released by the Department of Tourism (DoT). The town also produces nipa huts, furniture, baskets, and other bamboo handicrafts.

Malolos court denies Palparan appeal

THE APPEAL of retired military general Jovito S. Palparan, Jr. over his conviction for kidnapping and serious legal detention of two student activists in 2006 has been denied by a Malolos City court.
In an order dated Nov. 15, Judge Alexander P. Tamayo of Malolos City regional trial court (RTC) Branch 15 said there were no new issues raised in the appeal.
The judge wrote that Mr. Palparan “emphatically relied” on the alleged inconsistencies of the witnesses and the “purported questionable actuations” displayed by witnesses in reference to the kidnapping of the students.
“Thus, these asseverations which they posited in their Memorandum filed in the instant cases are rehash of their previous stand which had been passed upon and resolved extensively in the assailed decision,” the order read. The “voluntary surrender” alleged by Mr. Palparan in his Supplemental Motion also lacked merit, Mr. Tamayo ruled.
“(F)inding no additional and/or new points raised to outweigh the settled position of the court, the Motion for Reconsideration, as well as the Supplemental Motion, is denied for lack of merit.”
Based on the Revised Penal Code, the punishment for kidnapping with serious illegal detention is “reclusion perpetua to death,” which is an indivisible penalty.
Mr. Tamayo ruled that even if a mitigating circumstance is considered, “the lesser penalty to be imposed is reclusion perpetua.”
Mr. Palparan, tagged as “The Butcher,” along with Lt. Col. Felipe G. Anotado, Jr. and S/Sgt. Edgardo Osorio, were convicted last Sept. 17 for the abduction and serious illegal detention of University of the Philippines students Karen Empeño and Sherlyn Cadapan.
They have been sentenced to reclusion perpetua or 20-40 years of imprisonment.
The retired army general was transferred to the New Bilibid Prison on Oct. 4.
A warrant of arrest was issued against Mr. Palparan in 2011 but was only caught in 2014 after he went into hiding.
The two students were conducting research on the situation of farmers in Bulacan in 2006 when they were kidnapped. They have yet to be found. — Vann Marlo M. Villegas

Laid-off quarry, cement workers seek Naga gov’t help; judge inhibits in P4.5-B landslide case

ABOUT 200 employees of APO Cement Corp., a subsidiary of Cemex Holdings Philippines, Inc., held a rally Wednesday in front of the Naga City hall to seek government assistance following the company’s announcement of layoffs. Engr. Jenevy Patalinghug, 46, an employee representative of Cemex Holdings, said they want to know about the government’s supposed hazard reduction plan considering that more than 100 regular employees and more than 600 casual workers are subject to layoffs due to the quarrying ban imposed after landslides that killed more than 70 and displaced thousands. The quarry ban has affected Apo Land & Quarry Corporation (ALQC), the main raw material supplier of APO Cement. Naga Mayor Kristine Vanessa T. Chiong, for her part, said she has already sought help from different agencies to address the workers’ situation.
JUDGE
Meanwhile, the presiding judge of Branch 76 of the Regional Trial Court in Naga City has inhibited from the P4.5 billion class suit filed against ALQC, and government officials and agencies. Judge Dennis C. Larrobis said he decided to inhibit from the case to avoid the slightest suspicion of bias and prejudice. In a court order, Mr. Larrobis said, “…the undersigned opts to receive in sitting this case. This is in view of the innuendos of manifest partiality and allegations that the undersigned could not be able to decide the instant case fairly and impartiality because of the close association with Atty. [Benjamin] Cabrido.” Mr. Cabrido is one of the lawyers of the 39 Naga residents and two others who filed charges. Mr. Cabrido admitted that he and Mr. Larrobis belong to the same fraternity, but denied that they have close relations. — The Freeman

2nd Indonesian goods expo, business-matching set Nov. 23

THE INDONESIAN Consulate in Davao City is holding the 2nd Indonesia Manufactured Products Expo (IMPE) on Nov. 23 to 25 at Abreeza Mall as part of continuing efforts to boost trade relations.
Indonesian Consul for Information and Socio Cultural Affairs Endah R. Yuliarti Farry said more than 20 Indonesian companies will exhibit their products that are seen as suitable for the Philippine market, particularly Mindanao.
These include construction and building materials, houseware, batik and fashion products, food, beverages, health care, beauty products, and agricultural machinery.
The consulate is also organizing a one-on-one business matching with companies based in Davao City and other parts of Mindanao, as well as arts and cultural performances, tourism promotions, and an Indonesia “food corner.”
Ms. Farry also confirmed the participation of Mitsubishi Motors, which will showcase its Expander, a seven-seater multi-purpose vehicle designed and manufactured in Indonesia.
“This is the first time that an automotive company joins the IMPE. We will include and display the car in the expo,” Ms. Farry said during Wednesday’s Habi at Kape forum.
Attaché Ely Syafitri Handayani said they will collaborate with the Mitsubishi distributor in Davao City for the promotion of the Expander brand.
Ms. Farry noted that trade relations between the two countries has been growing, with total value at US$7 billion in 2017 from US$4 billion in 2015.
“Indonesia is looking forward to (further) increase trade and investment that benefit both countries,” she said, “We are brothers that weaved together with common goals to prosperity.” — Maya M. Padillo

Nograles brother seen to take over Davao district seat

REPRESENTATIVE Jericho B. Nograles of the PBA Party-list is being eyed to take over the Davao City District 1 seat vacated by his brother, Karlo B. Nograles, who has recently been appointed as by President Rodrigo R. Duterte as Cabinet secretary. “(It is just) a matter of formality,” Jericho Nograles told BusinessWorld yesterday when asked if House Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has already designated him as the district’s caretaker. He added, however, that he will unlikely take his brother’s previous position as chair of the House committee on appropriations. Karlo Nograles, in a separate interview Wednesday at the sidelines of the 17th Career Executive Service Conference, said, “Speaker Gloria Macapagal Arroyo will assume as caretaker of District 1 to avoid lack of representation for the district, but I am hoping the speaker will appoint somebody from Davao City.” He said the name of his brother Jericho came up as his possible replacement since he also comes from the same district. — Carmencita A. Carillo

Nov. 20 a holiday in ARMM, other Mindanao areas for Prophet Mohammad’s birthday

NOVEMBER 20, Tuesday, will be a holiday in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) and several provinces and cities for the celebration of the birth of Prophet Mohammad, or the Maulid un-Nabi. Based on Article 170 of Presidential Decree 1083, the other areas covered are: the provinces of Lanao del Norte, Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Zamboanga del Norte and Zamboanga del Sur; and the cities of Cotabato, Iligan, Pagadian, and Zamboanga. The law also provides that all Muslim government officials and employees in places other than those specified under Article 170 are excused from work on that day.
NOV. 19
Meanwhile, it will be a long weekend in the ARMM with the 19th also declared a holiday for the region’s 29th founding anniversary. The regional government, in a statement, said it is assuming that this would be the last ARMM anniversary celebration with the expected approval of the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) in the Jan. 2019 plebiscite. Under the BOL, a new Bangsamoro territory and government will replace the ARMM.

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