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Senate chooses firm to design Taguig site

By Camille A. Aguinaldo
THE SENATE has chosen architectural firm AECOM to design the new Senate building to be constructed in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City.
AECOM won the Senate’s Global Conceptual Design Competition on Monday with a mere 0.36-point lead from the runner-up, besting four other firms, Leeser Architecture, Aidea Inc., Henning Larsen Architects and Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects.
The Senate and the Bases and Conversion Development Authority (BCDA) opened the competition last February to search for a design for the new Senate building that will “symbolize the Senate for what it stands for” and “take the Senate of the Philippines to the next 100 years.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8GiU_rrYO_A
A total of 40 architectural firms, 24 of which were foreign and 16 local, expressed interest to participate in the competition but only five were chosen to present their concept design proposals to senators.
Senator Panfilo M. Lacson, chair of the committee on accounts, said AECOM would undertake the “Detailed Architectural Design of the Project” upon the selection of the contractor by the Department of Public Works and Highways for the construction of the new Senate building.
He said the five firms were judged using a scoring system with three components: Technical Score (40%), People’s Choice (5%), and the Executive Ranking (55%).
“We like to extend our warmest congratulations to AECOM. There is no doubt that your conceptual design for the Senate’s permanent home best represents the honor, dignity, and legacy of this independent institution,” Mr. Lacson said.
He added that he was looking for a two-year timeline for the construction of the new Senate building in a parcel of land located at the Navy Village in Taguig City from January 2019 to December 2020.
He also hopes the Senate would open the third regular session of the 18th Congress in its new building in Taguig City.

Congress leaders see 3rd reading passage of BBL

By Charmaine A. Tadalan

PHILSTAR

THE proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) could be passed on third reading on Tuesday, House Majority Leader Rodolfo C. Fariñas said Monday.
“Once we meet with the President on these contentious issues, then tomorrow, if the President certifies this as urgent, after our meeting tonight, we will approve it on second and third reading tomorrow,” Mr. Fariñas told reporters on Monday.
The Majority Leader, who was headed to Malacañang for a meeting with President Rodrigo R. Duterte, said he will discuss the contentious portions and counterproposals on the draft bill.
“We would want to hear directly from the President kung ano ‘yung (what the) final position (will be) and the President will be meeting with us — the Speaker, myself and the Senate President and our counterparts,” Mr. Fariñas said.
He also said the Bangsamoro Transition Commission (BTC) has agreed to name the entity as the Autonomous Region of Bangsamoro (ARB), slightly different from the Senate version, Bangsamoro Autonomous Region (BAR).
The BTC has also agreed to exercise shared powers with the National Government on defense, coast guard and police forces.
“They (BTC) agreed that all the defense, police, coast guard will be retained… by the national government. Magkakaroon ng police region in Bangsamoro pero (but this is still) under the PNP (Philippine National Police),” Mr. Fariñas said, noting that members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) can be deployed as regional police but will remain within the authority of the PNP.
House leaders conducted earlier its second meeting with the BTC and the government to discuss amendments on House Bill 6475. The Senate version of the bill, meanwhile, is currently pending on second reading.
For his part, Senate President Vicente C. Sotto III remained confident that should the President certify the bill as urgent, the BBL can be passed by Wednesday, despite some 150 proposed amendments by Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph G. Recto.

DoF: Tax incentives remain under second tax reform package

By Arjay L. Balinbin, Reporter
The Department of Finance (DoF) clarified on Monday, May 28, that it is not the administration’s “thrust” to remove all the tax incentives of companies under the second package of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN 2).
“For the locators of the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA), at first, they thought that all incentives will be removed, but as Assistant Secretary Paola A. Alvarez explained, it is not the thrust of the government. We will still retain the incentives, but we will change how these are going to be administered. So, it is important that it is performance-based, time-bound, transparent, and targeted,” Finance Assistant Secretary Maria Teresa S. Habitan said in a press briefing at the Palace on Monday when asked about the main concerns of private stakeholders regarding the second package of TRAIN.
For her part, Ms. Alvarez said the TRAIN 2 gets “positive” feedback from the “chambers of commerce.”
“It is because most of them are small and medium enterprises (SMEs). They are the ones who will benefit [from TRAIN 2], because it aims to lower [their] income tax,” she explained
The DoF, according to Ms. Alvarez, is confident that the proposed TRAIN 2 will be passed within the year, noting that the finance department is “in healthy talks with lawmakers.”
The official also said the DoF will not support the proposal to suspend the higher excise tax on fuel under the tax reform law. She said the revenues from oil excise tax will be used to fund the implementation of the free college education program this year.
“DoF does not support repealing of higher excise tax on fuel because funds to be collected from it to be used for funding free public tertiary education,” Ms. Alvarez said.
“We cannot just suspend TRAIN provisions because if we do, we would have difficulty funding our programs,” she added.
She stressed that under the TRAIN law, “if oil prices reach $80 per barrel, the government can suspend the next tranche of increase in the excise prices of oil in the succeeding years.”
The DoF also clarified anew that TRAIN is not solely to blame on the country’s rising inflation rate, saying the tax reform law’s impact on inflation is “only 0.4 percentage points.”
Other contributing factors, according to Ms. Alvarez, include “rising global prices of oil, devaluation of the Philippine peso partly due to heavy importation, and there are more people spending due to their increased purchasing power.”
For her part, Ms. Habitan said that with higher oil prices, “4.2 poor Filipino families are given unconditional cash transfer.”

Malacañang bares new appointments

Duterte-Boao-041018
PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO

By Arjay L. Balinbin, Reporter
Malacañang announced on Monday President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s reappointment of Cheng Yong as his special envoy to the People’s Republic of China.
According to his appointment paper dated May 22, Mr. Yong has been appointed for a new term of six months.
Appointment papers released by Malacañang also on Monday afternoon include those of Amable R. Aguiluz V as special envoy to the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and Miguel M. Ayala to the Commonwealth of Australia.
Mr. Duterte also appointed Paul Mc. C. Villaluz as Director II of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration, Department of Labor and Employment; Mona U. Ampaso as Provincial Agrarian Reform Program Officer II of the Department of Agrarian Reform; Jofrey L. Cadunan as Member of the Philippine Halal Export Development and Promotion Board, Department of Trade and Industry; Shiela D. Dajalos-Aquino as Prosecutor III for Davao del Norte, National Prosecution Service; Rodolfo M. Encabo as Director IV of the Department of Social Welfare and Development; and Irene Joy J. Besido-Garcia as Member of the Board of Directors, Power Sector Assets and Liabilities management Corporation.

Senate aims to pass Dengvaxia fund bill before session ends

By Camille A. Aguinaldo
Senator Loren B. Legarda on Monday, May 28, said the Senate aims to pass on third and final reading the P1.16 billion supplemental budget for medical assistance to children vaccinated with Dengvaxia before the May session ends this week.
“The House will pass it on third reading and transmit to us because any matter of appropriations has to be transmitted from the Lower House. So before the end of session this week, we will have a supplemental budget,” she told reporters on the sidelines of the Senate hearing on the Dengvaxia fund bill.
The P1.16 billion amount came from the refund of Dengvaxia manufacturer Sanofi Pasteur over the unused anti-dengue vaccines as demanded by the Philippine government.
Senate bill Nos. 1794 and 1795 seek to allocate the refund for activities targeted at helping Dengvaxia vaccinees, such as medical assistance and monitoring.
The House appropriations committee has approved its counterpart version of the bill last week. Its version indicated that the fund may be used beyond 2019 until it has been emptied.
Ms. Legarda, on the other hand, preferred the fund to be spent over a fixed period of time.
“I prefer a fixed period so they are forced to spend the money at a set time,” she said.
For his part, Senate President Vicente C. Sotto III said the bill will unlikely pass in the Senate this week as he has yet to receive the certification of urgency from the President on the proposed measure.
“Show me the certification. If there is certification then we can pass it. If there is no certification, I doubt it (will be passed on third and final reading this week),” he told reporters.
If a bill is certified urgent by the President, Congress may both approve on second reading and third reading the proposed measure on the same day. The certification would bypass the three-day rule needed before a bill is approved on third reading after it hurdled second reading.
The Senate and the House of Representatives would adjourn its session on June 1.

Houses passes telecommuting bill

By Charmaine A. Tadalan
THE House of Representatives, voting 239-0, on Monday passed on third and final reading the bill promoting telecommuting as an option for employees in the private sector.
House Bill 7402, the proposed Telecommuting Act, defines telecommuting as a flexible work arrangement, allowing employees to stay in an alternative place and work through telecommunication and/or computer technologies.
The bill, principally authored by Rep. Luis Raymund F. Villafuerte, allows an employer to offer telecommuting alternatives voluntarily, given a mutual agreement with their employees.
Employers, however, must ensure that terms and conditions shall not be less than the minimum labor standards, including compensable work hours, overtime, rest days and other benefits. In particular, telecommuting employees should receive a rate of pay, rights to rest periods, volume of workload, and performance standards, among others, similar to that of employees required to report to the office.
Further, measures of the bill require employers to protect personal data of telecommuting employees and guarantee its confidentiality at all times.
If passed, a telecommuting program in select industries will be established by the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) for a period of not more than three years, from which the agency shall base a report it will submit to Congress.
Also among its authors are Reps. Alfred Vargas III, Sherwin Tugna, John Marvin Nieto, Edward Vera Perez Maceda, Dale Malapitan, Eric Martinez, Jose Antonio Sy-Alvarado, Manuel Monsour Del Rosario III, Manuel Jose Dalipe, Marlyn Primicias-Agabas, Gus Tambunting, Randolph Ting, Kaka Bag-ao, Raymond Democrito Mendoza, Tomasito Villarin and Lorna Silverio, among others.

Fire damages: P100M for LMB, still undetermined for historical records

A FIRE that started during the first hours of May 28 at the Land Management Bureau (LMB)office in Binondo, Manila quickly spread to its neighbors, including the Juan Luna Building that houses the National Archives of the Philippines. The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), the head agency of the LMB, said the incident caused P100 million in damages, destroying digitized back-up files from regional offices and recently-procured equipment such as drones and computers. “The LMB building in Binondo serves as the back-up of the regional offices… if there is a problem, it will be minimal. There’s nothing to worry about because our records are intact in the regional offices,” Undersecretary for Solid Waste Management and Local Government units Concerns Benny D. Antiporda said in a press conference Monday, May 28. A technical working group has been formed to address operational issues. Damages on historical records at the National Archives, on the other hand, has yet to be assessed as of press time. — Anna Gabriela A. Mogato with InterAksyon.com
>> See related story on What we could lose in the fire that hit the National Archives

Fuel prices up again this week

OIL COMPANIES will be raising the prices of petroleum products this week, the third straight week that they will be doing so after a slight decrease during the first week of May. Gasoline prices per liter (/L) will increase by P0.65, while diesel and kerosene will rise by P0.35 and P0.45, respectively. The increase will be implemented at 6:00 a.m. on Tuesday, May 29. Last week, oil companies raised the prices of gasoline, diesel and kerosene at P1.60, P1.15 and P1.00, respectively.
Separately on Monday, Phoenix Petroleum Philippines, Inc. said it is offering its high-performance fuels at discounted rates. From May 29 to 30, a discount of P5.00/L on gasoline and P2.00/L for diesel will be given to motorists at selected stations in Metro Manila. The discount will be available from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., the company said. — Victor V. Saulon

Calida says he will ‘defend’ himself in proper forum amid calls to resign

TWO SENATORS on Monday called for the resignation of Solicitor General Jose C. Calida following reports on government contracts his family’s security firm bagged since he has been in his position.
The resignation calls came on the same day Mr. Calida visited the Senate, which also coincided with the meeting of the Senate committee on rules regarding the Senate resolution on the Supreme Court’s quo warranto decision that ousted Chief Justice Maria Lourdes P.A. Sereno.
Sought for comment on the alleged government contracts, a visibly irked Mr. Calida told reporters: “I will defend myself in the proper forum, not here.”
Senators Francis N. Pangilinan and Risa N. Hontiveros-Baraquel, in separate statements, said Mr. Calida’s resignation in view of the accusations would be in line with the Duterte administration’s anti-corruption thrust.
“If DoT Secretary Wanda (Tulfo) Teo resigned because the DoT/PTV 4 favored her Tulfo brothers’ TV production company to the tune of P60 Million worth of government contracts then Solicitor General Jose Calida, the lawyer of the government, should resign as well,” Mr. Pangilinan said in a Facebook post.
“I challenge President Duterte to prove his anti-corruption rhetoric. I challenge him to not only fire Mr. Calida but also to file the necessary charges against him,” Ms. Baraquel said in a statement.
Malacañang, meanwhile, defended the appointed principal legal defender of the government, saying there was no conflict of interest in the awarded government contracts.
“If it’s not in his office, then I don’t see the conflict of interest; but I could be wrong. I’m sure this matter will be pronounced upon by our courts,” Presidential Spokesperson Harry L. Roque, Jr. said in a press briefing at the Palace.
“My reading of the Constitution and the Anti-Graft Law supports the conclusion made by the SolGen that there is no conflict of interest. He resigned all his corporate posts before he become SolGen and I don’t think mere ownership of stocks certificates is prohibited by the Constitution,” he added.
Mr. Roque also pointed out that Mr. Calida did not violate Republic Act No. 6713 or the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees since the government contracts in question did not require the approval of Mr. Calida’s office.
“You have to be part of management to be guilty of violating Section 13 and this is also mirrored in RA 6713. The prohibition is to directly or indirectly have any financial or material interest in any transaction requiring the approval of their office,” he said.
“As long as he did not secure contracts with the Office of the Solicitor General. Even if he enters into contract with the DoJ (Department of Justice), the DoJ is not under him,” he added.
Responding to the controversy, Mr. Calida’s office issued a statement late Friday dismissing the allegations against the solicitor general as “totally baseless and concocted.”
According to the statement, “there is no conflict of interest on the part of Solicitor General Jose C. Calida in the matter of the contracts between Vigilant Investigative and Security Agency, Inc. and its client agencies.”
“The Office of the Solicitor General, as a government agency, is not involved in the approval of the contracts between Vigilant and its clients,” the statement read.
On Mr. Calida’s 60% stake at Vigilant which was pointed out by the company’s General Information Sheet (GIS), it said “he has not divested his interest in said enterprise is of no moment since the requirement of the law is either to resign from the management of the enterprise and/or divest himself of his interest in it.”
“The allegation that there is conflict of interest is baseless,” the statement read further.
The statement also reinforced Mr. Roque’s claims made earlier, saying, “these attacks are because he won at his quo warranto petition and his enemies are getting back at him.”
Mr. Calida was the author of the quo warranto petition that the SC granted on a landmark ruling made on May 11, which voided the top magistrate’s appointment for not filing her SALNs as a requirement for the post.
SENATE MEETING
Senate leaders who were visited by the top government lawyer Monday, May 28, said Mr. Calida only discussed with them the bill on the charter of the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG).
“He was following up the bill updating the OSG law,” Senate President Vicente C. Sotto III told reporters.
Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel F. Zubiri also told the media: “Nothing secretive. We discussed only the issue of the Solgen bill. He asked me what the timelines were… He never mentioned anything about the quo warranto.”
The quo warranto petition was filed by the OSG.
When asked about the meeting on the Senate resolution, Mr. Zubiri, who also chairs the committee on rules, said the members agreed to present the Senate resolution to the plenary for debates.
“We agreed to calendar the resolution for plenary debates,” he said. — Camille A. Aguinaldo with a report from Arjay L. Balinbin

Marcos asks PET to dismiss Robredo’s voting threshold appeal

FORMER SENATOR Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos Jr. has asked the Supreme Court (SC), sitting as the Presidential Electoral Tribunal (PET), to dismiss Vice President Maria Leonor “Leni” G. Robredo’s appeal to use a 25% shading threshold in the ongoing election recount. The PET, in an April 10 resolution, ruled that they would only count as valid those ballots that were shaded 50% or more. Ms. Robredo has appealed the decision. Mr. Marcos asked the PET to uphold its resolution in a 13-page comment he personally submitted on Monday, in compliance with an order issued by the PET on April 24. He argued that there was no declaration by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) that the 25% threshold was to be adopted during judicial recounts and revision of ballots in election protests. Ms. Robredo’s lawyer, Romulo B. Macalintal, denounced Mr. Marcos’ statements in a press release. “It is not true that the Comelec set 50% threshold for the 2016 national and local elections,” he said. — Dane Angelo M. Enerio

The Philippine flag story


“On May 28, 1898, days after the return of General Emilio Aguinaldo from exile in Hong Kong, Filipino troops were once again engaged in a battle against Spanish forces in Alapan, Cavite. It was in this skirmish that the Philippine flag was first unfurled as the revolutionary standard. Sewn in Hong Kong by Filipino expatriates and brought to the country by Aguinaldo, the flag was a tri-color featuring red and blue with a white triangle framing three yellow stars and an anthropomorphic eight-rayed sun. Half a month later, on June 12, 1898, following the proclamation of independence from Spain, the same flag was waved at Aguinaldo’s residence in Kawit, Cavite, as the Marcha Nacional Filipina played.”
Source: malacanang.gov.ph/history-of-the-philippine-flag/

P50,000/ha loan out soon for Zamboanga City farmers

THE ZAMBOANGA City agriculturist office said a loan program offering P50,000 per hectare will soon be available to farmers to help boost production in corn, rice, and vegetables. City Agriculturist Diosdado N. Palacat said about 7,000 farmers could benefit from the financing project backed by national government fund. “We will be having a series of meeting with the farmers on how to implement the project,” he said. The loan is intended for the purchase of farm input such as seeds, fertilizers, and pesticides as well as for soil sampling. Mr. Palacat said a monthly payment scheme will be implemented. — Albert F. Arcilla

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