By Arjay L. Balinbin

THE PHILIPPINE government and the People’s Republic of China are set to discuss the contentious issues concerning the South China Sea on Tuesday, Feb. 13, Presidential Spokesperson Herminio Harry L. Roque, Jr. said.

“Now contentious issues concerning the South China Sea are discussed in what is known as the Bilateral Consultation Mechanism (BCM) on the South China Sea. [T]he second meeting of this Philippine-China BCM on the South China Sea will be held here in Manila tomorrow, Feb. 13, 2018,” Mr. Roque announced in a press briefing at the Palace on Monday, Feb. 12.

The spokesman highlighted that the administration of President Rodrigo R. Duterte has been “consistently protesting” China’s military buildup in the area, saying “we are not being soft on China, [because] there are ongoing bilateral talks as far as contentious South China Sea issues are concerned.”

Mr. Roque likewise explained that the BCM was established based on the joint statement issued after President Duterte’s landmark visit to China in October, 2016.

“The purpose of this BCM is to discuss issues of concern to either side and cooperation in the South China Sea, and identify mutually acceptable approaches towards addressing this issue,” he added.

The BCM, according to Mr. Roque, “is conducted at the level of Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Undersecretary and Chinese Vice Foreign Minister and is to be held once every 6 months.”

“We were busy last December, and hence it was postponed for this month of February. The Chinese delegation will be led by Vice Foreign Minister Kong Xuanyou, while the Philippine delegation will be led by DFA Undersecretary for Policy Enrique A. Manalo.”

Asked why the government is now giving an emphasis to this matter, Mr. Roque said: “Well, it’s really not an emphasis. It’s just a matter of informing the public that a mechanism has been in existence, and in response to claims that we are not doing anything. We are doing what the government has deemed best to be done.”

FORMER COMMISSION on Elections (Comelec) chair Andres D. Bautista, who is currently abroad, is facing an arrest order from the Senate for contempt following his failure to attend anew the inquiry regarding his alleged questionable bank transactions despite a previously issued subpoena.

Senator Francis G. Escudero yesterday said Mr. Bautista’s explanation for his absence was not acceptable.

“I have requested the Senate to issue a warrant for Chairman Bautista so he can be arrested anytime when he arrives in the country. The committee is compelled to do this after his obvious defiance of the Senate orders,” Mr. Escudero, chair of the committee on banks, financial institutions and currencies, said in a statement.

During Monday’s hearing, Mr. Bautista sent a letter addressed to Mr. Escudero and Senate President Aquilino L. Pimentel III stating that he has been abroad since Nov. 21, 2017 seeking professional opportunities and medical help.

He also asked the Senate panel to recall its Jan. 23 subpoena since he did not receive any invitation to attend the legislative inquiry.

“I understand from news reports that a subpoena has been issued because of my non-appearance in the hearing. In this regard, I respectfully ask that the subpoena be recalled since I never received the invitation,” Mr. Bautista said in his letter.

Mr. Bautista also said that he would answer in writing any of the questions that the Senate panel may have.

In an interview with reporters, Mr. Escudero labelled Mr. Bautista’s excuses in the letter as “a ruse.”

“If he has nothing to hide, then he should not be afraid,” the senator said.

Mr. Escudero also told reporters that there are discrepancies regarding the travel information on Mr. Bautista, citing Bureau of Immigration (BI) records indicating that the former polls chief was out of the country from Oct. 27 to Nov. 1 last year, but none on a Nov. 21 departure.

“There is no record in the BI about his alleged departure last Nov. 21 as stated in his letter… I don’t know who is saying the truth,” he said in Filipino.

Mr. Bautista’s siblings, Susan B. Afan and Martin D. Bautista, were also invited by the Senate panel but both likewise failed to show up.

Ms. Afan, through a letter, asked to be excluded from the committee hearing, maintaining that she has no knowledge of the Anti-Money Laundering Law (AMLA).

“If they don’t want to attend, they can execute a waiver… They can tell the committee that they will not issue a waiver, they can invoke whatever rights they have under the laws and we will respect that. But they cannot do that through letters alone and hide behind it,” Mr. Escudero said.

Mr. Bautista’s estranged wife, Patricia P. Bautista, who appeared in Monday’s hearing, urged her husband to answer the allegations.

“Like anybody else, we would like to know the truth about these documents. And this is the best venue for that and like Senator Chiz (Escudero) said, out of respect of the Senate, please appear,” she told reporters.

Mr. Bautista’s alleged unexplained wealth surfaced last year after Ms. Bautista accused him of committing corrupt practices and amassing nearly P1 billion in real estate and cash stashed in banks.

The former Comelec chief was impeached on October 11, 2017, the same day that he tendered his resignation and announced that he would step down by the end of the year. — Camille A. Aguinaldo

THE BASES Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) and the Japan Overseas Infrastructure Investment Corp. (JOIN) yesterday signed an agreement with Singapore consultancy firm Surbana Jurong for complementary planning of the New Clark City.

Under the agreement, signed in Cebu on Feb. 12, Surbana Jurong will assist BCDA and JOIN in drafting the development management framework, design standard guidelines and environmental guidelines to complement the master plan of New Clark City.

“Surbana Jurong will also help in utilizing public-private partnerships to entice investors to New Clark City. It will also advise in the implementation plan of pioneer developers in New Clark City such as Filinvest Land, Inc.’s mixed-use industrial real estate developments, and MTD Capital Berhad’s National Government Administrative Center,” BCDA said in a statement.

“It will also establish the framework of a smart city concept that will have fully integrated infrastructure and utilities for power, water, sewerage, information and communication technology (ICT), security, and traffic management,” it added.

BCDA said the collaboration “marks the full implementation” of the plan of New Clark City project, based on the Master Development Plan developed by BCDA and JOIN, in partnership with urban planning and engineering firms AECOM, Nippon Koei, and Philkoei International Incorporated.

The New Clark City in Tarlac will feature mixed-use real estate developments for housing, a national government administrative center, and an agro-industrial park, among others. Phase 1 of the project is expected to be completed in 2022.

Surbana Jurong is a wholly owned company of Temasek Holdings Singapore formed through the merger of renowned urban planning and affordable housing leader Surbana International Consultants, and industrialization corporation Jurong International. It has 50 years of experience in the development of Singapore’s urban landscape.

The agreement signing was led by BCDA President and Chief Executive Officer Vivencio Dizon, JOIN President and Chief Executive Officer Takuma Hatano, and Surbana Jurong Group Chief Executive Officer Wong Heang Fine. — Patrizia Paola C. Marcelo

By Arjay L. Balinbin

THE importation of 250,000 metric tons (MT) of rice has been approved, Cabinet Secretary and National Food Authority (NFA) Council Chairman Leoncio B. Evasco, Jr. announced on Monday, Feb. 12.

“The standby authority to import 250,000 MT is approved and considering the timing of the harvest season, the importation should arrive after the said harvest season, Mr. Evasco told reporters in a press briefing at Malacañang after the council’s meeting.

Adding: “The mode of importation for the 250,000 MT Standby Authority will be Government-to-Private Importation or Open Tender Procurement based on the same Terms of Reference as in the previous Government to Private Procurement of 2017.”

The NFA Council chair likewise said “the NFA will continue the implementation of the Minimum Access Volume (MAV) Rice Importation Program of which 221,457 MT of rice have already been delivered and 507,017.60 MT is expected to arrive by the end of February and August 2018.”

Mr. Evasco assured the public that “there is no rice shortage and this importation is only as to NFA’s buffer stock.”

“In this manner, the NFA Council has issued a directive on the reassessment of the inventory of the NFA, including its procurement and distribution strategies,” he added.

As for the increase in rice price in the market, Mr. Evasco said hoarders are to blame and that the NFA should proactively look into the condition of warehouses.

“The NFA Council is on top of this situation. We will ensure the continued supply of affordable rice and continue to champion for the best interest of the Filipino People,” he also said.

The NFA Council is the governing board of the NFA, which is tasked to assess the practicality and timeliness of allowing the rice to come in to the country.

By Minde Nyl R. Dela Cruz

FORMER President Benigno S.C. Aquino III and other former Cabinet officials of his administration face another complaint over the Dengvaxia controversy after the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC), Vanguard of the Philippine Constitution, Inc. (VPCI), and former Department of Health (DoH) consultant Francisco S. Cruz filed a joint complaint-affidavit on Monday, Feb. 12, before the Department of Justice (DoJ).

Lawyers Manuelito R. Luna and Eligio P. Mallari of VACC and VPCI, respectively, and Mr. Cruz accused Mr. Aquino of graft, technical malversation, and criminal negligence for the mass immunization program implemented during his administration.

Other respondents include former budget secretary Florencio B. Abad, former health secretary Janette L. Garin, Philippine Children’s Medical Center (PCMC) director Julius Lecciones, former and incumbent officials of the DoH, and the directors and officers of Zuellig Pharma and Sanofi Pasteur.

The complainants said Messrs. Aquino, Abad, Lecciones, Ms. Garin, and other DoH officials exerted “undue pressure” on the members of the procuring entity to favor Zuellig and Sanofi.

The complainants added that the respondents should have known by phase III of the clinical trials “that the efficacy as well as safety of the subject vaccine could not as yet be determined with pinpoint accuracy; hence, they should have desisted from proceeding to implement the Dengue Immunization Program of the DOH on a mass scale.”

“Bluntly, the respondents had failed to comply with WHO (World Health Organization) standards on the licensing and post-licensing monitoring of Dengvaxia as well as failed to promptly disclose any adverse events associated with the mass vaccination, contrary to law and existing regulations,” the complaint further read.

Messrs. Luna, Mallari, and Cruz noted in their complaint that the doses of Dengvaxia, worth P3.5 million, “has no appropriation cover.”

The complainants also said Mr. Aquino and Ms. Garin’s “efforts to further the candidacy of Liberal Party presidential bet [Manuel A. Roxas II]” and Sanofi’s “undue interest over the implementation of the Dengue Immunization Program of the DOH” were at the “expense of innocent children.”

The complainants based their affidavit on the testimonies of resource persons invited by the House committees on health and on good government and the Senate blue-ribbon Committee.

Sought for comment, Mr. Abad said he has not yet seen the complaint but added that “if the issues relate to procurement and proper observance of accounting and budgetary rules, we are confident that insofar as the role played by the DBM, everything was aboveboard and according to rules and laws.”

For her part, Ms. Garin said she is “ready to face any of the charges because my conscience is clear.”

“It’s better to transfer the venue of the debate in court and stop the hysteria being generated by misleading questions and conclusions. Public health has been threatened and our people do not deserve this. The proper forum can delineate facts, scrutinize experts and allow the truth to prevail,” Ms. Garin added.

The mass immunization program, administered to 830,000 nine- to 11-year-olds and meant to protect against dengue, was stopped December last year after Sanofi disclosed that the vaccine may yield more symptoms for inoculated patients who have not had dengue before.

The University of the Philippines-Philippine General Hospital (UP-PGH) has identified 29 deaths which may be linked to Dengvaxia and found that three out of 14 bodies initially autopsied died because of dengue.

By Minde Nyl R. Dela Cruz

CHIEF JUSTICE Maria Lourdes P.A. Sereno may have been given “special treatment” by the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) when she applied for her current position in 2012, Deputy Speaker Gwendolyn F. Garcia said during the House justice committee’s continuation of the impeachment proceedings on Monday, Feb. 12.

“It is quite clear that there seems to have been a special treatment given to the submissions of Justice Sereno vis-a-vis other justices who had in fact complied with what was required,” Ms. Garcia said.

This comes after JBC executive director Annaliza Ty-Capacite confirmed that of the six sitting associate justices, five were able to submit the required 10 years of statements of assets, liabilities, and net worth (SALNs) when they applied for the position of chief justice.

The JBC requires such applicants to submit all previous SALNs, but this rule was relaxed to the substantial 10 years’ statements as agreed by the JBC en banc, JBC regular member Maria Milagros N. Fernan-Cayosa explained.

The four justices are Arturo D. Brion, who submitted 10 SALNs; Antonio T. Carpio, 14 SALNs; Teresita J. Leonardo-De Castro, 15 SALNs; and Presbitero J. Velasco Jr., 19 SALNs.

Former Associate Justice Roberto A. Abad, who only joined the Court in 2009 and was in government service from 1980 to 1986, cannot satisfy the 10 years’ SALN.

“He could not comply (with) the 10 years because he was not in government service for 10 years, as simple as that,” Associate Justice Diosdado M. Peralta noted, but added that Mr. Abad was able to supply these SALNs when he applied.

Ms. Sereno, meanwhile, was only able to submit three SALNs, for the years 2009, 2010, and 2011.

Ms. Capacite said Ms. Sereno made it to the shortlist after she submitted a letter, explaining she “could not locate” her previous SALNs. She said that an “attempt” to submit SALN was deemed “sufficient” by the JBC en banc, as defined by ex-officio member Senator Francis Joseph G. Escudero.

“It was defined by Senator Escudero that at least (there was) an attempt to comply (with) that particular requirement…an attempt. He said that with respect to requirements that can stand alone, there is no reason why they should not comply. But with respect to…all previous SALNs (being) required, an attempt to comply is sufficient, (this) is the parameter suggested….” Ms. Capacite said.

Mr. Peralta said he was not even aware of the existence of a letter by Ms. Sereno to that effect.

Deputy Majority Leader Juan Pablo Bondoc pointed that the late Chief Justice Renato Antonio C. Corona, Ms. Sereno’s predecessor, was impeached on the grounds that he failed to disclose his foreign deposits in his SALN.

“Bakit po kayo, minarapat po ninyo sa [JBC] en banc na isipin, pwede na kaya ’yung limang SALN? Eh si Chief Justice Corona nga ho nag-submit ng SALN, may kakulangan nga lang daw kaya siya natanggal (How did you come to the conclusion in the JBC en banc that five SALNs would suffice? Chief Justice Corona submitted his SALN, but there were lacking details which was why he was ousted),” Mr. Bondoc said.

“It is now very clear that of the six justices (who) had applied for the position of chief justice, five justices complied. Only one did not comply with the SALN requirement, and that is Justice Sereno, who, ultimately became the chief justice over and above the other five who had faithfully complied with the SALN requirement,” Ms. Garcia said.

Leyte Rep. Vicente S.E. Veloso, senior vice-chairperson of the justice committee, noted that based on Article 11, Section 2 of the 1987 Constitution, only five officials may be impeached, including the “President, the Vice-President, the Members of the Supreme Court, the Members of the Constitutional Commissions, and the Ombudsman.”

Mr. Veloso noted that an impeachable official was “validly appointed” and thus argued that a person “who was illegally appointed” cannot be removed from office.

“So looking at what you have been saying here, it will now appear that the appointment of the chief justice was void from the very beginning. Because of her failure to comply with all the requirements as published,” Mr. Veloso said.

Ms. Sereno’s camp, meanwhile, maintained that she complied with the JBC requirement and noted that the chief justice was in private practice before she was appointed associate justice in 2010.

“The fact that the JBC shortlisted the Chief Justice means its members, including Associate Justice Diosdado Peralta who was then the acting chair, found her documentary submissions complete and compliant with the rules,” lawyer Jojo Lacanilao, one of Sereno’s spokespersons, said.

Mr. Lacanilao added that Mr. Peralta signed the endorsement letter containing Ms. Sereno’s name that was sent to the Malacañang.

“Mahirap pong sabihin na hindi niya (Mr. Peralta) alam na nangyari ’yun. Meron pong kasulatan na isinumite sa Malacañang at siya po ay nakapirma roon (It’s difficult to say that he doesn’t know this happened. There was a letter that was submitted to Malacañang and he was a signatory),” Mr. Lacanilao said.

This was the 15th hearing of the House of Representatives since October last year based on the impeachment complaint filed by lawyer Lorenzo G. Gadon.

Ms. Sereno is accused, among others, of corruption, culpable violation of the Constitution, betrayal of public trust, and other high crimes.

SENATOR PANFILO M. Lacson on Monday said the committee on games and amusement, which he chairs, may invite alleged illegal gambling lord Rodolfo “Bong” Pineda in the next hearing on the ongoing inquiry on the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO).

Mr. Pineda, who is married to Pampanga Governor Lilia G. Pineda, was repeatedly mentioned in the two previous Senate hearings as allegedly running jueteng, an illegal numbers game, in the guise of PCSO-accredited small town lotteries (STLs) and using dummies to operate.

“We might really consider calling him (referring to Mr. Pineda) in the next hearing. Since he operates in so many provinces and at the same time there are allegations on him having guerrilla operations,” Mr. Lacson said.

During Monday’s hearing, Antonio Bago, a former provincial director of an STL owned by Mr. Pineda, revealed that the alleged gambling lord owned STLs in 11 areas in 2010, including Pampanga.

The other sites were Nueva Ecija; Bulacan; Bataan; Zambales; Olongapo City, Zambales; Santiago City, Isabela; Camarines Sur; Sorsogon and Leyte.

“Congressman (Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Raymund) Villafuerte is right. AACs (auhorized agent corporations or STL) are using their permits to play jueteng,” Mr. Bago said.

Mr. Villafuerte also cited intelligence reports that Mr. Pineda was also operating in Sorsogon and other parts of the country.

Mr. Bago also testified how STL was operated during his time as an STL provincial director. He explained that three of the four STL tickets without a hit are used for jueteng games. When there is a hit, only one in the four tickets is forwarded to PCSO.

He added that STL operators would also manipulate the numbers in the lottery, depending on the reports from the ground. “They are fooling everyone,” he said.

Gaming consultant Charlie “Atong” Ang then asked the Senate panel to invite Mr. Pineda in the next hearing.

Mr. Lacson told PCSO officials: “You are being controlled by one person, not the other way around.”

In an interview with reporters, Remeliza M. Gabuyo, PCSO assistant general manager for branch operations, admitted that the agency still needs to resolve the flaws in monitoring STL operations.

“We have fought illegal groups, we have remitted to government but a lot has to fixed in the operations, admittedly. We are really addressing the problems,” she said. — Camille A. Aguinaldo