FORMER MEMBERS of the New People’s Army (NPA), the armed wing of the communist movement, from Compostela Valley have formed livelihood associations to secure assistance from the government.

First Lieutenant Jhocell D. Asis, 71^st Infantry Battalion civil military operations officer, said in a statement that about 200 ex-NPA rebels have organized three groups that are now registered with the Department of Labor and Employment. Mr. Asis said by forming these livelihood groups, the former rebels have qualified to become beneficiaries of the Community Support Program, which is part of the military’s Development Support and Security Plan.

Last week, the Medium Scale Industries Coordinated Action Program Foundation, Inc. held   a consultation with the groups on what projects they plan to pursue and how they can access government assistance. Mr. Asis said some of the proposals were in agriculture and small-scale trading. “(Funding) will be awarded upon the completion and approval of livelihood proposals,” he said. — Carmelito Q. Francisco

THE Zamboanga Economic Zone and Freeport Authority (Zamboecozone) board has approved the final version of the feasibility study of the San Ramon Newport Project.

Christopher Lawrence S. Arnuco, Zamboecozone chairperson and administrator, said in a statement that they have also accepted the mode of procurement under a build-operate-transfer scheme, to be assisted and closely supervised by the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Center.

“The project is now with the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Center for them to prepare the presentation and defense before the Investment Coordination Committee (ICC) and the NEDA (National Economic and Development Authority) Board for President (Rodrigo R.) Duterte’s approval,” Mr. Arnuco said. The San Ramon Newport Project aims to improve the competitiveness of the Zamboecozone through a world-class facility that will link resources, markets, and other logistical activities that can contribute to the economic development of Zamboanga City and the rest of Mindanao. — Albert F. Arcilla

PHILIPPINE President Rodrigo R. Duterte has congratulated Russian President Vladimir Putin on the heels of his “fresh mandate to lead the Russian people,” the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said in a statement on Monday.

A report by Reuters said Mr. Putin “basked in a landslide re-election victory on Monday, after extending his rule over the world’s largest country for another six years at a time when his ties with the West are on a hostile trajectory.”

“President Duterte extends the warmest congratulations of the Filipino people to President Vladimir Putin on his reelection,” Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter S. Cayetano said in a statement issued shortly after arriving from Sydney where he attended the ASEAN-Australia Special Summit.

“As he resumes performance of his duties, President Duterte wishes President Putin more success in leading Russia to greater progress and in advancing the cause of peace and security in our region and in the larger international community,” Mr. Cayetano said.

He added: “We also look forward to working more closely together to strengthen ASEAN-Russia dialogue relations and to advance our common interests in multilateral fora including the United Nations.”

The elections in Russia, the DFA said, were observed by two senior officials of the Commission on Elections who were among several foreign delegations invited to observe the polls.

Mr. Duterte has described Mr. Putin as an “idol” of his in an interview with CNN. The two leaders met in bilateral talks at last year’s Asia-Pacific Economic Summit in Vietnam. — with Arjay L. Balinbin

By Minde Nyl R. Dela Cruz

THE House of Representatives passed on third and final reading a bill which seeks absolute divorce with a vote of 134-57-2 amid President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s rejection of the measure.

House Bill 7303, sponsored by Cavite Rep. Sol Aragones, Albay Rep. Edcel C. Lagman, and Gabriela Rep. Emmi De Jesus, grants dissolution of marriage for “irremediable failed marriages.”

The bill aims to “protect the children from the pain and stress resulting from their parents’ marital problems” and to “grant the divorced spouses the right to marry again.”

Caloocan Rep. Edgar R. Erice, who voted no, said: “Sa palagay ko, marami pang ibang mga batas na pwede tayong gawin upang protektahan ang mga naaapi sa loob ng kasal. Marami pa tayong mga batas na pwedeng gawin upang parusahan ‘yung mga nagkakamali na pumapaloob sa sakramento ng kasal. Marami pa po tayong pwedeng gawin para mapalakas ang pagsasama ng mga taong pumapaloob sa sakramento ng kasal.”

(I think we can craft other laws to protect those who are abused in marriage. We can do other laws to punish those who err while under the sacrament of marriage. We can do more to strengthen the relationship of the people under the sacrament of marriage.)

Cebu Rep. Raul V. Del Mar, who also voted in the negative, reiterated that divorce is against the Constitution.

“Divorce does not protect the state. Divorce harms and destroys the family,” Mr. Del Mar said, citing Section 2 of Article XV.

However, Ms. De Jesus reiterated that the bill is not a religious issue and will provide additional remedies to failing marriages.

Under the proposal, the court proceedings shall be inexpensive and affordable. Summary judicial proceedings shall also be granted on certain grounds, including de facto separation for five years, legal separation, bigamous marriage, if a spouse is imprisoned at least six years, and if one of the spouses has undergone sex reassignment surgery.

Senate President Aquilino Martin L. Pimentel III, for his part, said, “Dissolution of marriage is a new concept hence give us time to study it.”

By Minde Nyl R. Dela Cruz

THE House committee on local government is finalizing its substitute bill on the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) which the committee hopes to get approved before the sine die adjournment in June.

In a press briefing on Monday, Zamboanga Sibugay Rep. Wilter Wee Palma II, chairperson of the subcommittee tasked to review and harmonize the bills filed on BBL, said the committee is “still in the process of finalizing our substitute bill.”

“There are no problems with other issues or other provisions. We are just consolidating into one bill,” Mr. Palma said in a mix of English and Filipino, adding that the joint committee still has to meet with the mother committee to raise the contentious issues.

Among the contentious provisions of the BBL are the block grant and the definition of contiguous areas.

Mr. Palma noted that the question on whether BBL will counter Section 15, Article X of the 1987 Constitution, which formed the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) and the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) as claimed by the Philippine Constitution Association (PHILCONSA), is one of the constitutional issues that the committee is also trying to resolve.

Mr. Palma stressed that BBL’s goal is to abolish the ARMM which was created under Republic Act (RA) 6734 or the Organic Law of ARMM and expanded by RA 9054. He said “there is no more Organic Law to speak of if mapasa ang Bangsamoro Basic Law (is passed).”

The committee on local government, chaired by South Cotabato Rep. Pedro B. Acharon Jr., together with the committee on Muslim affairs and the special committee on peace, reconciliation, and unity, have completed 19 committee hearings and conducted 11 public hearings in different areas of Mindanao.

By Camille A. Aguinaldo

THE SENATE on Monday approved on third and final reading the bill creating the coconut industry trust fund, which would allow farmers to directly benefit from coco levy funds collected by the government during Ferdinand E. Marcos’s regime.

Senate Bill No. 1233 or the proposed Coconut Farmers and Industry Development Act was approved with 19 affirmative votes, one negative vote by Senator Ana Theresia N. Hontiveros-Baraquel and no abstention.

The coconut levy trust fund bill seeks to convert the coconut levy assets amounting between P80 billion and P100 billion into a trust fund for farmers and the coconut industry.

It was co-authored by Senators Cynthia A. Villar, Ralph G. Recto, Francis N. Pangilinan, Paolo Benigno A. Aquino IV and Hontiveros. It was identified by the Legislative Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) as among the priority bills of Congress.

The bill was originally sponsored and authored by Mr. Pangilinan, who said he voted for the measure’s approval with reservation given the major amendments introduced during the second reading.

The proposed measure adopted the amendment introduced by Mr. Recto, which would reconstitute the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) to reflect the proposed membership of the Trust Committee tasked to manage the coconut levy trust fund.

Membership in the PCA Board would be amended to include six representatives from the coconut farmers to be appointed by the President.

The bill initially called for the creation of a Trust Fund Committee composed of five government officials and six farmer representatives. This was later scrapped during the second reading.

“Despite all of these, I am still confident and hopeful, that this august chamber, and its representatives as a Senate Panel to the Bicameral Conference on the Coconut Farmers and Industry Development Bills, will see and appreciate the aspirations of our coconut farmers,” Mr. Pangilinan said.

According to the bill, the trust fund would be utilized for coconut farm improvements, to encourage self-sufficiency among farmers, programs for shared facilities, scholarship programs and initiatives for the empowerment of coconut farmers’ organizations and their cooperatives.

The trust fund would also be appropriated through the General Appropriations Act, which was also contrary to the original proposal for “an off-budget source of funds for programs and projects identified in the Coconut Farmers and Industry Development Plan.”

“The negative consequences of such a process is that, which I continue to hope would not happen, the funds will be appropriated for programs and projects that may not be identified in the Coconut Farmers and Industry Plan,” Mr. Pangilinan said.

For her part, Ms. Villar said the bill would require “the investment of the trust fund only in Philippine government securities to ensure the safety of the fund and for assured reasons.”

“We are confident that with safeguards and reforms in place, we can finally see the day when poverty incidence is no longer the highest among our coconut farms,” she said.

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