These were the event’s
guiding tone set up in which three (3) international cave experts and
local top executives are expected to impart their expertise on the
“don’t and do’s” and the “how’s” of mixing up the process of
environment conservation and promotion of tourism during this year’s
hosting of PSS Cave Congress in this locality.
Event director Jason
Garrido, of the Philippine Cave Guide Association, Inc. (PCGA),
informed that at least three international cavers and conservationists
had just confirmed readiness to visit
Philippines for
this caving event, which will last for five days.
They were Elery
Hamilton Smith, a task force chairman of the International Union for
the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in
Australia;
Dave Smith, a Biodiversity Programme Manager, Department of
Conservation in New Zealand; another expert from the Spellbound Tours
in New Zealand.
Other local experts
expected to welcome and deliver messages of supports were the regional
directors of DOT, DENR,
Province of
Leyte,
and the host town Basey Mayor Didi Estorninos.
Conservation and
tourism
Meanwhile, with the
theme, “Finding the balance between conservation and tourism,” the
Philippine Speleological Society Cave Congress on May 11-15, 2009 will
be hosted by the PCGA, together with the Nature Unlimited Leyte
Outdoor Club Inc., a local outdoor club based in Leyte, and in
cooperation with the Eastern Visayas Department of Tourism and the
Municipality of Basey, the host-venue of the event.
DOT regional director
Karina Tiopes who helped facilitates the sending out of invitations
said “caves are a viable attraction for tourism and the economic
benefits it brings effects the whole value chain. But without a solid
cave management plan that takes into account the relationship between
conservation and tourism, there is always the possibility that we end
up destroying the every thing we are promoting in the first place.”
”The establishing of
protected areas and cave management programs, by themselves, are not
enough to ensure our caves protection and conservation. Proper
management of caves demands specific expertise. Education of personnel
and communities as well as inter-agency cooperation and streamlining
of existing policies are essential for a successful cave management
program,” she added.
The “reunions” of
local cavers
As of today, the event
secretariat said that the expected numbers of participants, both
foreign and domestic, is around 300. They also said each participant
has to pay P600 as their registration fee and has to bring their own
provision of food and camping gear.
As to the local
cavers, the Centro Outdoors Sports Unlimited based in Catbalogan Samar
who previously hosted a series of local version (focus only in the
Visayas caves) of the caving congress, signified support to the PSS
event. They will be heading their affiliate caving clubs from UEP,
Catarman, Laoang, Catbalogan, Borongan and in Palo, Leyte, to join the
event.
Activities during the
event were divided into four (4) categories namely Basic Caving Skills
for the beginners; Cave Guiding, Cave Surveying, and Single Rope
Techniques for the experienced and expert participants. “Each
participant has to choose only one category to attend,” Garrido said
in his invitation posted in their website designed exclusively for
this event.
After the event,
the participants would be able to learn about cave ecosystem,
navigation and principles of cave surveying; camping equipment
familiarization, national laws such the NIPAS and Cave Act, and would
be able to learn self-rescue and emergency procedures.
MGen. Arthur Tabaquero’s response to the open letter of Atty. Kathrina Castillo
March 17, 2009
Atty. Kathrina R. Castillo
Head Legal Services Committee
KATUNGOD-SB-KARAPATAN
Tacloban City
Dear Madame Castillo,
This has reference to your
open letter addressed to the members of the Armed Forces of the
Philippines, which appeared in the internet last March 11, 2009 at
Samar News.com. [see
article]
Every Monday, the 8th
Infantry Division, Philippine Army is inviting guests to grace our
Monday flag raising ceremony. This is our way of bringing the military
closer to the people and to effectively work hand in hand with our
civilian counterparts in the government and non-government sectors of
society. This occasion gives us the opportunity of informing the
people on the present thrust, plans and programs of the 8th Infantry
Division, Philippine Army and at the same time, to have an open
discussion on how to better serve the people based upon our respective
mission and vision. Among the guests that we have already invited are
Local Government Officials, Directors of Line Government Agencies,
NGOs, POs and members of the Religious and Education Sectors, to name
a few.
It is our honor to invite
you as one of our guests during our Monday Flag Raising being the
former Secretary-General of KATUNGOD-SB-KARAPATAN and presently the
head of its legal services committee, because I believe that we are
both cavaliers of peace. As a matter of fact, just recently, Atty.
Paquito M. Nacino, the Director of the Commission on Human Rights,
Region 8, was our guest and we discussed on how we can work hand in
hand, to sustain our advocacy for human rights and how to protect
children involved in armed conflict. Moreover, we have also invited
two prominent religious leaders namely Archbishops Emmanuel C. Trance
and Isabelo C. Abarquez and conferred with them on how we can protect
the youth and the uneducated few from being deceptively recruited into
the rank and file of the New Peoples Army. This is the primary reason
that we have thought of inviting you also as one of our guests so we
can have an open discussion on how we can effectively serve the people
that we, members of the AFP, have sworn to protect.
Firstly, let me touch on the
issue of human rights which you have mentioned. Since my assumption of
command as Commander of the 8th Infantry (Storm Troopers) Division,
Philippine Army last June 4, 2008, I had emphasized to all my men of
my cardinal rule: TO RESPECT THE HUMAN RIGHTS OF THE PEOPLE AND
PROTECT THEM AT ALL TIMES. It is enshrined in the Philippine
Constitution to which we took our individual oaths when we entered the
military service to adhere to the constitutional mandate that civilian
authority is supreme over the military and that the Armed Forces of
the Philippines is the sole protector of the people. It is however
very sad to note that the good image of the military has been
tarnished by unscrupulous and mostly unfounded complaints of alleged
extra-judicial killings, forced disappearances, illegal arrests and
detention, torture, etc. I do not deny that the military of
yesteryears had its shortcomings during the martial law era. But the
Armed Forces of the Philippines as of the present is now more
professional and we firmly believe that our insurgency problem cannot
be solved solely through the barrel of a gun. That is why, we are
trying to cut the roots of the poisonous tree by addressing the causes
of insurgency through poverty alleviation, introduction of the
alternative learning system to the uneducated and eradicate injustice.
Be that as it may, as the sole protector of the people, we have both
the social and moral mandate to maintain peace and order as the
cornerstone to development. Insurgency is the stumbling block to
development and we are mandated to reduce our insurgency problem at an
inconsequential level in order to achieve lasting peace and
development in our Region.
You have alleged that the
military is trying to cover up mistakes by concocting stories and
fabricating lies in order to give our actions a simulation of legality
or legitimacy. I won’t make an argument on this because we would just
endlessly toss the ball on each other as we hold on to our individual
convictions. The untruthful allegations lodged against the military
can only be addressed in the proper legal forum. I still believe in
the sanctity and impartiality of our judicial system as part of our
democratic way of life. As a human rights lawyer, you very well know
that we could not condemn a man, no matter how notorious a criminal he
may be, until he is given his day in court.
On the second issue, you
made mention of the military always challenging your Alliance to
conduct an investigation on cases allegedly committed by the New
Peoples Army. You said that your mandate emanates from CARHRIHL and
the Philippine Constitution, and as such, you are investigating cases
of human rights violations committed only by the agents of the state.
With utmost respect, all human beings are afforded human rights which
are enshrined not only in the fundamental laws of the land but also in
the divine and moral laws of God. Even “agents” of the state as you
call us, are human beings too and therefore should be afforded equal
protection and basic human rights. We are fully aware that as members
of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, civilians may look at us with
a tinge of “superiority” but we are trying to correct this
misconception. As members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, we
are on call 24 hours a day. We sacrifice a lot to be away from our
families, so that the citizenry can sleep in peace and be with their
families. We conduct combat operations, to protect the people from the
evils of terrorism and in the process, we are willing to sacrifice
even our own lives for the sake of freedom and democracy which both of
us aspiring for.
On the third issue, you
claimed that since time immemorial, the military had been condemning
your alliance for not condemning the killings of members of the AFP
made by the New Peoples Army. You cited that according to the
provisions of the International Humanitarian Law, a member of any
armed group actively participating in an armed conflict is considered
as an active and legitimate target of their armed counterpart. So this
is not within the ambit of your advocacy because it would tantamount
to condemning killings made in a legitimate encounter. But let me cite
to you a recent case. Last February 8, 2009, a certain Pfc Hospecio S.
Timola Jr., a member of the 62nd infantry Battalion, was shot to death
by two NPA rebels on board a motorcycle while he was jogging at Brgy.
Calutan, Gen. McArthur, Eastern Samar. This is not considered a
legitimate encounter because the soldier was unarmed. Truly you cannot
say that this is beyond the ambit of your advocacy yet, has your
alliance condemned this barbaric act of the NPA against your Armed
Forces?
On the issue of Oplan Bantay
Laya II, you made mention that we maligned and discredited your
alliance and that we made futile attempts to discredit your
documentation of human rights abuses. Let me stress that one guidance
of the Commanding General of the Philippine Army, Lieutenant General
Victor S Ibrado AFP is that in any armed undertaking, THERE SHOULD BE
NO COVER UP. The public must know the truth and we must give them
facts. I believe that in most instances, you become the unwitting
victim of this CPP/NPA’s deception and lies on what is actually
happening on the ground, especially in hinterland barangays. Based on
CPP/NPA documents in our possession, it is stated that a major part of
their strategy is to mobilize their mass base supporters to file cases
against the military whether the case is factual, fictitious or
imaginary in order to derail the conduct of military tactical and
civil-military operations in guerilla zones and bases. In so doing, it
pains me to say, that you and I are both victims of the nature of
insurgency that is besetting our country today.
Communism here in the
Philippines was conceived in mischief. Today, it is tossing and
floundering in a sea of inequity and falsehood. It is a promise with
no future. It is running on the engines of greed through criminal
activities, atrocities, lies and extortion perpetrated by the New
Peoples Army. Would you believe that the Internal Revenue Allotment at
the barangay level is now being taxed by the NPA? Is this not an
indirect human rights violation committed against the poor barangay
residents?
Again, may we reiterate the
privilege of inviting you as our honored guest in Brgy. Maulong,
Catbalogan, Samar so we can have an academic discussion on the issues
you have raised. Any Monday flag raising in the whole month of April
2009 is open to you. We look forward for your favorable response to
this humble invitation.
Very truly yours,
ARTHUR
I TABAQUERO
MGEN
AFP
Commander, 8ID, PA
An Open Letter to the members of the
Armed Forces of the Philippines
March 11, 2009
Last February 9, 2009
I received a letter-invitation from LTC Roldan A. Radaza, writing in
behalf of the Commanding General of the 8th Infantry (Storm Troopers)
Division, Philippine Army to be your Guest of Honor and Speaker in
your Awarding Ceremony last February 16, 2009. Since I have a hearing
at that date, I never had the chance to attend and to deliver my
speech. This open letter is addressed to all of you as a substitute of
the very rare opportunity given to me.
You are a member of
the Philippine Army duty-bound to look after the good, safety, and
welfare of the people. “Civilian authority is supreme over the
military” this is supposed to be your guiding principle. You have to
set aside your own interest for the interest of the people; even if
your life is on the line in protecting the people still you must not
arrogate with the guns you are carrying. You must bow down to the
people who are the reason why you have a job and why you have the
necessary compensation. You are considered as lucky and brave enough
to take on this duty upon your shoulders.
As your speaker, I am
a human rights lawyer and a human rights activist who have been the
Secretary-General of KATUNGOD–SB–KARAPATAN since 2006 until the end of
2008. I have been in the forefront of this broadest and most militant
human rights alliance in the Region. I know you know me by name and
some by face. I also know you have your perceptions and
misconceptions.
Regardless of what you
are thinking and what is instilled in your thoughts about me, allow me
to take my part as your invited guest speaker and guest of honor.
First on the issue of
human rights. I know you have taken a course on this matter in your
training and upon enlistment. But I am not sure if this concept of
human rights goes down in your thoughts or just goes down to the
drain. I am saying this because your spokesperson seems not to
understand. Human rights is not just a concept, this is a hard-earned
victory of the people of the world. Human rights came into being when
the people started to assert and victoriously assert their rights
against the powerful hand and machinery of the State.
Being an agent of the
State, sad to say, you are viewed differently from a civilian. The
civilian populace is guaranteed with rights and protection which he
can set up against the State in order to advance and promote these
rights. These guarantees are guaranteed by law to civilians and the
reason why there exist the Police and the Military.
When you are
conducting military operations, you are not allowed to stay within the
Barangay, use the Barangay Hall or
Day Care Center
as your temporary shelter. This is not allowed under the Comprehensive
Agreement for the Respect of Human Rights and International
Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL). Under the same Law, which by the way was
signed and agreed upon by the Government of the Republic of the
Philippines (GRP) and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines
(NDFP) as part of the peace talks, it is reiterated that the civilian
populace must be respected and protected at all times. Even if this
Agreement exists, so as the International Human Rights standards, our
Constitution, and other laws of the Philippines, it is utterly
disappointing that we (our Office) are receiving more and more
complaints against you from the people specially those in the
hinterlands. Cases of extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearance,
forcible evacuations because of massive militarization, bombing,
hamletting, illegal arrests and detentions, mauling and torture,
harassments and interrogations, destruction and divestment of
properties, to name a few. You don’t seem to respect the people whom
you are duty-bound to protect and defend. To make things worse,
instead of admitting your mistakes and taking actions for reparation
and indemnification, you tend to cover up your mistakes by concocting
stories and fabricating lies in order to give a simulation of legality
or legitimacy of your unforgiveable actions. Let me cite a few
example, to wit: (1) the Palo Massacre; long have you been misleading
the people that it was a legitimate encounter. All of us know, just
like looking on crystal-clear water, it was a glaring massacre of
farmers including a seven month pregnant woman, (2) the Villaba
Massacre; you still perpetrated the same lies by tagging it as an
encounter but the facts remained untainted that it was a massacre
killing a couple with their 11-year old son, (3) the triple killing in
Pinanag-an, Maydolong, Eastern Samar; you alleged that those three
were member of the New People’s Army vilifying our Alliance’s claim
that those were farmers. These three (3) were claimed by the Municipal
Mayor backed up by their families. If they were really combatants, do
you think the Mayor will be going to the Commission on Human Rights
and accompanying the families to lodge a case if they were indeed
combatants?, and (4) the killing of Nonito Labong; he was the former
SK Chairperson of Barangay Bay-ang, San Jorge, Samar who was
mercilessly peppered with bullet and his remains was burned. You
readily claimed that he was a member of the New People’s Army to
legitimize his brutal murder. And the list goes on… These cases were
glaring indication that you are not observing the existing protocols
on human rights and you are not respecting the primary and basic human
right of the people: the Right to Life.
Second, on the issue
of always challenging our
Alliance
to conduct an investigation on cases which you allege committed by the
New People’s Army. Let me set it straight, we are working within the
bounds of existing laws, the International Human Rights Standard (the
International Convention on Civil and Political Rights and the
International Convention on Socio-Economic and Cultural Rights), the
CARHRIHL, and the Philippine Constitution. We are a Human Rights
Watchdog. Our mandate emanates from these and as such, we are
investigating cases of human rights abuses committed only by agents of
the state. In case you don’t know how is this so, let me give you a
short history. Human rights advocacy and human rights struggle came
into being because of the fact that it is established that the State,
with all its component and machineries ready at its disposal,
possesses an iron-clad fist when not monitored can be used against the
people who have nothing compared to the powers of the State. This is
the reason why all Constitution of all countries has the so-called
Bill of Rights in order to regulate the powers of the State when it
comes to dealing with the people, the civilian populace. You and your
actions, being agents of the State, are always monitored by Human
Rights Watchdogs and the Commission on Human Rights. All eyes are on
you especially in the discharge of your duties.
You have this attitude
of presenting a case of human rights violation allegedly committed by
the New People’s Army and yet not extend any effort to formally
endorse the same except through malicious pronouncements over the
radio and the media. You condemn us first without giving us the
benefit to know the facts or turning over to us the victims and their
families. You must know the fact that we investigate a case when
referred to us by the victim or family of the victim. We don’t have
the superhuman instinct of knowing all cases committed in any part of
the Region unless it is referred by our provincial counterparts and
the victims themselves.
Third, in condemning
killings of members of the Armed Forces. Since time immemorial you
have been condemning us, the Alliance, of not condemning the killings
of your comrades in arms made by the New People’s Army. I cannot
however fathom the logic of this. If you know the Rules and the Laws,
I bet you will not be dwelling on this line of questioning. This is
highly ignorant of you, I tell you. This would tantamount to
condemning killings made in a legitimate encounter. We don’t do that
kind of advocacy. I know and you equally know for a fact that upon
swearing in as a member of the Armed Forces you know the risks to your
life because there is a war and that you have a definite enemy that is
equally armed: you know that your life and security is on the line. In
International Humanitarian Law, a member of any armed group actively
participating in an armed conflict is considered as an active and
legitimate target of their armed counterpart. This is the Law of War
and this is not within our mandate. The degree of assertion of human
rights on your part is not as broad as those of a civilian. Even in
cases of a hor’s de combat on your part is not within our mandate to
investigate. We have different agencies and institutions which are
mandated to investigate: we have the courts, the Joint Monitoring
Committee, and the Commission on Human Rights. If you will be pushing
us further to investigate cases of human rights abuses allegedly
perpetrated by the New People’s Army, it is as good as you saying that
the Communist Party of the Philippines have a status of belligerency
and that they are also existing as a separate state separate and
distinct to the Government of the Republic of the Philippines. Even
if this is the case, on your part, we still cannot do your “challenged
investigation” because of the fact that we are operating under the
context of the Philippine Government because this is the duly
constituted authority, unless this is not the case today.
Lastly, let me remind
you that human rights is an inherent right which emanates not from a
grant by any State but emanates from the fact that we are human
beings. Said rights can only be limited with due process of law. They
cannot be denied arbitrarily.
All this brouhaha is
all part of Oplan Bantay Laya II which you religiously obey from
orders of your higher-ups. This propaganda is all made in order to
malign and discredit our Alliance. You continued your futile attempt
to discredit our documentation of human rights abuses which directly
points to you as the number one violator of the basic and sacred human
rights of the people. Sad to say, you are not winning but rather
putting yourself in constant scrutiny. A mistake can never be cured by
web-like mistakes.
As a parting message,
I would like to remind you once again that the people can never be
silenced by the use of violence and force. For as long as the basic
needs of the people, genuine agrarian reform and national
industrialization are not realized, the struggle continues. And even
if you are able to kill, silence, and neutralize hundreds of people
still million more will rise to continue the struggle.
You are a part of this
struggle for genuine liberation and democracy. Be aware of the real
reasons and serve your real masters: the people.
For Human Rights in the Region,
Atty. Kathrina R. Castillo
Head, Legal Services Committee
09272776270
Vice-Gov. Redaja’s
letter to SP members
By CHITO DELA TORRE
March
9, 2009
The provincial
legislative body of Samar meets every Thursday for its regular
session. Except for non-working holidays, this august body of
honorable members convenes on the average four times – meaning, for
four Thursdays – each month. That has been the normal case until the
last Thursday onto November 10, 2008 when the suspension of Governor
Milagrosa T. Tan was served, to take effect for 90 days.
During the suspension
period, the seat of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan’s presiding officer
was temporarily vacated, effective upon the day when Vice-governor
Jesus B. Redaja assumed as acting governor after taking his oath of
office as the temporary chief executive of the
province of
Samar.
In his stead was sworn in Board Member Nancy Rosales.
Some things changed at
the SP during such suspension period. Perhaps for “undefined
motives”.
Two days into his last
day as acting governor, Redaja vacated the top post in the province.
The last two days, to him, being “insignificant”. For his first day
on his return to the legislative body at the Capitol’s session hall,
he sent out a letter, dated February 12, 2009, addressed to the
honorable members of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan.
Right in the opening
statement of that letter, he lamented what he found out: the SP met
only four times since he left that body.
“During the entire
90-day period of my incumbency as Acting Governor of the Province, the
Sangguniang Panlalawigan has only convened four (4) times. Even until
the last week of my short term as Acting Governor of this Province,
this has manifested the Board’s seemingly undefined motives of not
being convened for reasons I dare not openly state for this may cause
senseless arguments.”
There. The elegance
and eloquence of JBR suavely put it. He has advised against stirring
up “senseless arguments”.
JBR’s letter has meant
to many Samarnons as a fresh eye-opener to the members of the
ordinance-enacting body of the province. The vice-governor did what
was consequentially right. He has the right and authority to do and
say what his 12 February 2009 letter contained even if it somewhat
sounded didactic. He is the boss in the provincial legislature. A
father in that home of lawmakers, one who must wield discipline when
needed, or just express that point even through laments, he has also
seemed to be in that letter.
For everyone’s
information, reference and guidance, here’s the rest of that letter
that was addressed to the Honorable Members of the Sangguniang
Panlalawigan:
“First and foremost,
all of us in the Sangguniang Panlalawigan have a duty to the Province
and to its people who have put their trust in us. Maybe most of us
are only conscious of our responsibility towards our people shortly
after the election. From then on, most of us must have been swayed
with the winds of politics and the lures of the powers that be that we
allow ourselves to distance from our sense of patriotism and
responsibility and dance to the tune of whoever holds the baton and
the reins of power so that we too, can enjoy for a while the perks and
the privileges given us.
“Be that as it may,
and as it has been in this system for quite sometime, let us however
keep a little dignity within us. Our Province has been wanting of the
real governance that should cater to the many needs of the people, and
not to the needs of only a few. Let us open our eyes to the truth
that we should play a great role, as a legislative body, in the
Province’s development for the welfare of our people. Let us listen
to the cries and complaints of the poor and the destitute, the
helpless and the homeless, the undeserved and the underprivileged that
are all wanting of the basic services that our local government is
duty-bound to deliver.
“Must we become a part
of this Province’s history when people would on to the mouths of every
generation that our term as elected officials has done nothing much
for Samar and its people? Can we be proud enough that our names would
be etched in the governance book of
Samar and yet we have been a party to its fate as being one of the
poorest Provinces for several years but then we have done nothing to
alleviate its condition? Can we walk around this Province and meet
the eyes of every Samareño questioning within them if the people they
have voted for have really worked for the welfare of every individual?
“My fellow colleagues
in this Sangguniang Panlalawigan, it is my prayer that we all be
conscious of what being an honorable member means in this August
Body. Let us work on what we are being paid for and on what we were
voted for. Let us not be dictated by selfish and political motives
bur rather let us move because we are expected by the people to do our
respective responsibilities and duties as members of this Honorable
Sanggunian.
“Time has given us
enough to face the great challenges that lie before us. We are
individuals in this Sanggunian but we are expected by the people to
bring out within us a Board that works together aggressively, not as
competitors but collaborators who are supportive of the welfare and
development of the Province that has long been waiting for real and
effective governance.
“Ladies and
gentlemen, let us show our people a sense of urgency in what we are
supposed to do as members of this Sangguniang Panlalawigan. Failure
to prepare is preparing to fail. Tomorrow is always ahead of us, and
we might regret by then if we have not done anything today when that
tomorrow comes.”
NDF-EV condemns
abduction and demands immediate release of NDFP peace consultant
Eduardo Sarmiento
A Press Statement by National Democratic Front of the Philippines - Eastern Visayas
March
3, 2009
The National
Democratic Front-Eastern Visayas today strongly condemned the
abduction and detention by government forces of Eduardo Sarmiento,
NDFP consultant in Eastern Visayas in the peace negotiations with the
Government of the Republic of the Philippines. The NDF-EV also called
on the GRP to immediately release Sarmiento because he is accorded
protection and lenient treatment under the terms of the Joint
Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees, as well as the
Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International
Humanitarian Law. Sarmiento was abducted on Feb. 24 in Manila
[see
news] while he
was attending consultations, and the military has said that he will be
brought to an undisclosed location in
Samar to face trial.
“NDFP peace consultant
Eduardo Sarmiento was abducted and detained in violation of the JASIG
and the CARHRIHL, by government forces who moreover had no warrants
for his arrest and merely planted a grenade and fabricated alleged
crimes after he was taken into custody,” said Fr. Santiago Salas,
NDF-EV spokesperson. “We have reason to believe that he was also
tortured because he was kept hidden for some days before his arrest
was announced. He remains incommunicado and denied access to legal
counsel, medical check-up and visits by his family. The NDFP peace
consultant is also in frail health after decades of self-sacrifice and
arduous struggle in service to the people, contrary to malicious
statements by the military that he was in Manila for “rest and
recreation” in an attempt to equate him with the corrupt generals and
officials of the Arroyo government.”
The NDF-EV
spokesperson also said that Sarmiento's arrest was an act of treachery
by the GRP. “GRP peace adviser Gen. Avelino Razon has been posturing
recently about the resumption of peace negotiations between the NDFP
and the GRP. But the continuing attacks on the peace consultants of
the NDFP such as Sarmiento show that the GRP is not an honorable party
to the peace negotiations. This is another addition to the GRP's
vicious record of violating human rights and international
humanitarian law. While government spokesmen pretend to be for peace,
the military and police forces engage in all-out war through Oplan
Bantay Laya by brutally attacking civilian communities and unarmed
activists, and torturing and killing NDFP leaders and members, or
illegally arresting and misportraying them as common criminals. The
prospects for peace are very dim indeed as long as the devious and
desperate Arroyo regime remains in power.”
Fr. Salas clarified
that the Arroyo government's Oplan Bantay Laya is a complete failure
in Region 8, and there is nothing more than arrogant government
posturing over the arrest, which the military exploited to also vilify
Sarmiento as a common criminal. “Not a single guerrilla front has been
dismantled by Oplan Bantay Laya; it remains a complete failure in
Eastern Visayas. The Arroyo regime is battered by the global and
domestic crises, daily grows more isolated from the people, and is
therefore unable to stop the surging revolutionary movement.”
The NDF-EV stressed
that the GRP should show sincerity rather than pay lip service to the
peace negotiations. “We remind the GRP of its obligations under the
JASIG and the CARHRIHL: stop treating Eduardo Sarmiento like a
criminal and immediately release him. He should be allowed to see his
legal counsel and to receive medical attention and visits from his
family. He should not be accused of common crimes and tried as a
criminal because these alleged offenses are in the context of the
armed conflict between the NDFP and GRP. Eduardo Sarmiento is entitled
to immediate release by the GRP as a gesture of respect for the JASIG
and the CARHRIHL, there is no reason to detain him.”
Fr. Salas also said
that the GRP will be held responsible if any harm befalls Sarmiento in
its custody. “The GRP's unprincipled and dishonorable conduct has
worsened the effects of war not only on the participants but on the
civilian populace as well. It is high time that the GRP delivers its
obligations to show its willingness for peace talks. The obliviousness
and arrogance of the GRP under the Arroyo regime only strengthens the
people's resolve to do away with it to pave the way for the resumption
of the peace process.”
Reference: Roy Santos, NDF-EV Media Liaison Officer
Omnibus
Reply: in response to the never-ending politically incorrect challenge
A Press Statement by
the KATUNGOD-SB-KARAPATAN
February 26, 2009
Since the first part
of this month, the military has been consistent in throwing malicious
issues against the alliance. This is in response to their never-ending
politically incorrect and highly malicious propaganda.
First, on the
challenge of the military (through Major Tocalo and Capt. Egos)
[see
news] for
the Alliance to conduct an investigation regarding the alleged human
rights violation of the New People’s Army. We have long been answering
this. First point, we investigate cases which are personally referred
to us by the relatives of the victim or the victim themselves. This is
to ascertain the authenticity of the reports and at the same time to
personally talk to the victims and their family. In the case of the Paranas killing, we are challenging the Army since they are the ones
who are most eager for us to conduct a investigation to refer to us
the bereaved family member so that we could investigate the incident.
Second point, and the most important point, we are a human rights
watchdog; we investigate cases perpetrated by agents of the State. We
are monitoring the adherence of the State to the principles of
International Human Rights and human rights which they are duty-bound
to observe and follow. In the case of the killing of one enlisted
military personnel we are not in the position to conduct an
investigation. For the information of the military, this challenge is
out of ignorance and malice. A member of an armed group is a
legitimate target of their equally armed enemy. This is based on the
Rules of War. Whatever you are doing, you are an active target by your
enemy. Each member of the military should have known this as a fact, I
don’t know in the case of Major Tocalo. What is not allowed is killing
a member of an armed group in a situation where he is not capacitated
to fight as in the case of a hor’s de combat (sick and wounded).
Second, on the
allegation of the military that we are crying human rights violation
in case were a member of the New People’s Army is killed and we are
complacent in case a member of the Armed Forces is killed, we are
condemning this statement in the highest possible term. We never tag
cases of those killings while in the course of a legitimate encounter.
We would be very ignorant if this will be the case. In cases were a
member of the Armed Forces or the New People’s Army is killed, we are
not in the position to condemn this killing and tag it as summary
execution or extrajudicial killing. This is because members of armed
group are legitimate target of their equally armed counterpart/enemy.
This is well within the Rules of War. A member of the armed group is
well aware that their life is always in the line since they have a
clear and legitimate enemy.
This propaganda
espoused by the military is aimed at nothing more that discrediting
the long line of extrajudicial killings under their bloody hands. All
cases of extrajudicial killings which we have reported, documented,
and condemned are all killings of civilians. We have verified these
reports and have reported this to the Commission on Human Rights.
These long line of cases include the killing of Atty. Fedilito Dacut,
Atty. Norman Bocar, Rev. Edison Lapuz, Samuel Bandilla, Pax Diaz,
Prof. Jose Ma. Cui, Nonito Labong, the Labrador Couple and their 13
year old son Anthony, the victims of Palo Massacre to name a few of
those numbering to 109 individuals killed: victims of extrajudicial
killing and summary execution.
The military should
stop this non-sense once and for all. This only shows that they are
looking down to the people of Eastern Visayas as ignorant and who
knows nothing about human rights.
We are calling on to
the people of Eastern Visayas to be vigilant and to scrutinize the
malicious statements espoused by the military to dissuade us from
seeking justice and calling on for the prosecution of the military men
responsible for these killings. Let us unite and be one in our quest
for justice. Let us work together in achieving peace based on justice.
For Human Rights in
the Region,
Atty. Kathrina R. Castillo
Secretary – General
09272776270
An RH advocate’s
stand on House Bill No. 5043
A Statement of the
FPOP-Samar and the WARAYA
January 28, 2009
We, the staff,
council officers, members and volunteers of the Family Planning
Organization of the Philippines-Samar Chapter and the Waray-Waray
Youth Advocates are expressing our support for House Bill 5043, which
is more commonly known as the Reproductive Health (RH) Bill.
We believe that this
bill comprehensively addresses a wide scope of issues that include
gender equality, women and youth empowerment, human rights and health.
Hence, its passage in the House of Congress will be a step towards
ensuring every Filipino’s rights to information, choice and a quality
way of life.
We wish to correct
the claims of pro-life groups that RH Bill promotes abortion. Nowhere
in the bill was there a provision that expresses support for abortion.
Rather, it seeks to prevent it by curbing its lead cause which are
unwanted pregnancies by making health services and information on
natural and modern family planning methods more accessible to the
masses.
However, we do not
reject the idea of post-abortion treatments because we believe that
women suffering from complications due to abortion are still entitled
to their health rights. They should not be subjected to moral
judgments but should be regarded with compassion and understanding
because of certain factors that drove them to such an option.
In the second place,
the bill awakens us to the fact that there is more to Sexual and
Reproductive Health Rights than just plain libido and that information
about “the birds and the bees” do not affect procreating couples only.
It is a legitimate medical, social, economic and political concern
that can affect all of us.
We see this in the
high maternal mortality rate in our country in which, most of the
maternal deaths are caused by induced abortion due to reasons like not
having enough resources to raise another child, already having more
than enough children and the pregnancy occurring soon after the birth
of the last child. Behind this scenario is an even grimmer reality
that some of the unwanted pregnancies – that often lead to abortions,
induced or not – are results of forced sex. We also see it in every
teenage pregnancy, birth death, in every family sinking further into
financial expenses with every unplanned pregnancy and even in our
twisted patriarchal society that sees the number of children as a
measure of one’s manhood.
All these problems
have the same roots: lack of information and education on reproductive
health rights and responsibilities. It is about time that we stop
thinking about the subject of sex as vulgar, immoral or indecent. We
have to consider that given the proper venue and equipped with correct
data, sex can also be a basis for an intelligent and relevant
discussion. It can also serve as a foundation for a well-informed and
empowered citizenry, which we believe is the key to every individual’s
physical, social, emotional and spiritual development. It is by having
this state of well-being that people can make responsible decisions
about themselves and their family.
Knowing how important
this bill is and being fully aware of its implication on our society,
we are therefore saddened about the way it is being treated in public
discussions – how its significance is becoming limited to such
derogatory labels as ”abortion bill,” “anti-family,” “anti-poor” and
“anti-life.” Instead of engaging in intelligent and factual arguments
and discussions it was summed up by a five-letter word – DEATH which
stands for Divorce, Euthanasia, Abortion, Total population control and
Homosexuality.
These claims only
reaffirm long-established biases and prejudices that only limit our
perspective of social realities. The RH Bill’s emphasis is not simply
on propagation but on the manner and circumstance whereby each life is
brought to the world, that each individual will have a chance at a
better life if he or she has access to the government’s services and
the nation’s resources. This can only be guaranteed by proper
population management, not total population control, and its success
is anchored on informed choices, not contraceptive use alone as some
detractors might claim and definitely not on empty threats uttered
from the pulpit, which has been the Church’s recourse lately.
We therefore appeal
to the bill’s detractors with a single message: READ BEFORE YOU JUDGE!
If you do, you might just find out that there is really nothing to
argue about. The bill is also pro-poor, pro-family and most
importantly, pro-“quality” life. Its impact on our society are far
greater than the half-truths and misconceptions that you keep throwing
in its path. By focusing on the bill’s potential mistakes, we are
depriving ourselves of its many advantages and are only limiting
ourselves in the process.
We are for House Bill
5043!
Read it! Support it! Uphold it!
Statement of the Press
Photographers of the Philippines
(PPP) - Iloilo Chapter
The Press
Photographers of the Philippines (PPP) Iloilo Chapter condemns in the
strongest term possible the callousness and insensitivity of retired
Chief Insp. Dionisio Duco, chief security of the Iloilo City Mayor’s
Office, and several policemen in physically removing internationally
acclaimed photojournalist Joe Haresh Tanodra, also President of PPP
Aklan-Boracay chapter, and Ricky Alejo of Pinoy Parazzi from the
Iloilo Freedom Grandstand while covering the festivities.
Even if Mr. Tanodra
and Mr. Alejo had failed to secure accreditation from the festival
organizers to cover events at the Iloilo Freedom Grandstand, this does
not justify the harsh treatment they suffered from the hands of Duco
and his men, an act that befits only criminals and those who are
threats to national security.
The physical removal
of Mr. Tanodra from Iloilo Freedom Grandstand is a blatant display of
contempt and disrespect to the Fourth Estate which has been an
indispensable partner of the Iloilo Dinagyang Foundation and the
Iloilo City Government in promoting Dinagyang and other tourism events
in this part of the Philippines.
This sends a wrong
signal that the press can be bullied by anyone with power and
authority from top guns to the lowly chief security officer like the
brute Mr. Duco, that they can be hogtied and thrown out like pigs, or
worse, can be slaughtered like the scores of journalists killed in the
Philippines since the restoration of democracy in 1986.
While keeping order at
the Iloilo Freedom Grandstand is a must during the holding of the
Dinagyang festival, the role of security personnel is not above the
role of the press in covering it. Having an orderly conduct of the
Dinagyang may be a welcome sight, but such tourism spectacle can never
achieve its ends without the reporters writing about it and without
photojournalists capturing its colors and grandeur.
Dinagyang may be the
best tourism event in the
Philippines,
but if the likes of Mr. Duco are allowed to spoil the spirit of the
festivities, then festival organizers – the Iloilo Dinagyang
Foundation and the Iloilo City Government – there is really nothing to
be proud about it.
We therefore call on
Mayor Jerry Treñas and Chief Supt. Isagani Cuevas to mete necessary
disciplinary actions on Mr. Duco and the policemen involved in this
unfortunate incident, without prejudice to our right to file
appropriate legal actions not only on the harm that Mr. Tanodra has
suffered but also on the damages incurred on his camera.
Signed this 25th day
of January 2009 in Iloilo City, Philippines.
A. CHRIS
FERNANDEZ
President
PPP
Iloilo Chapter
|
PHOTOJOURNALIST
OUT, PRETTY LADY STAYS. Retired policeman Dionisio Duco, chief
security of Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas in white shirt, and
several policeman talked to international photojournalist Joe
Haresh Tanodra to get out of the Judging Area No. 1 in front of
the Iloilo Freedom Grandstand a public area during the staging
of the Dinagyang Festival, for the simple reason that his
accreditation indicates that he should be in Judging Area No. 2
but not taking into consideration that a pretty lady who is not
a member of the press is also busy taking photos and yet allowed
to stay in her post. Tanodra was later dragged out physically by
the men out of the area. (JESSIE CASABAR / PNS) |
Inspiring note on
agrarian reform
By CHITO DELA TORRE
January
11, 2009
It’s nice to know that
up to this point in time, there still are people in Leyte and Samar
who wish to avail themselves of the good returns from the now
extended-to-June agrarian reform program. They are offering their
lands for acquisition under this government program and for payment by
the Land Bank of the Philippines via the voluntary offer to sell (VOS)
scheme. This is a welcome response to the resolution jointly passed
by the Senate and the House of Representatives that extends the
program to accommodate more VOS offers.
+ + + + + + + + + +
A letter reaching me
says that its senders wish to consult me about their agricultural
lands in Basey. Samar where I am now concentrating on helping develop
a plan for the Samar Settlement area of which more than 10,000
hectares are said to be found inside the territory of Basey, north of
the town proper. I opened the letter only this week and I
immediately wondered if the lands of the letter writers are located
somewhere in this area. If these are on the outskirts of barrios
Mabini, Old San Agustin, Cogon, Cancaiyas, Villa Aurora and Balante,
towards the poblacion of Basey. If they are, then, the proper
official of the Department of Agrarian Reform to consult is municipal
agrarian reform officer Norma C. Gutierrez who holds office at the two
storey residential home of Augusto “Romeo” Padua at Lawaan, Basey,
along Bungansakit street. The letter writers did not indicate,
though, where their lands are located.
+ + + + + + + +
+ +
I had other mails
opened also just this week. Although some of them were postmarked as
early as July, I had not bothered myself about them, all from private
persons. I didn't those letters to take my time away from my work.
During the past months, I was too busy with my field work and data
gathering for the Settlement. With the help of God the Almighty,
despite security threats and failing health (they say it’s normal for
one getting older - a friend in Malaysia has suggested that I retire
from government service this mid-July so that I can join him in the
foreign land of his choice), I was able to almost reach my quota until
December 22, except that most of the Basaynon individuals that I was
able to document as applicants for free land title to lands inside the
Settlement do not come from the barrios that I have mentioned above.
Two major reasons
prevented many Basaynons from applying for the land title. One: the
continuing threat of presence of members of the New People’s Army whom
they have known to have somehow managed to exercise some control on
certain movements and activities in those areas. Two: non-Basaynons
have kept coming down to the Basey side of the Settlement, to farm,
and to claim ownership of the lands which they began showing interest
in when Basaynons started showing fear for the roaming armed NPA
members. (The area nearest to the outskirt towards the poblacion that
had been intruded by the non-Basaynons is known to local farmers as
Kamalig, which is nearer to sitio Guinpongduan of Cogon, or
thereabouts.)
The killing last year
of a former sangguniang bayan member right at the time when he was
visiting his big farm (restored to him from being a "communal farm" of
the NPA, by then 62nd Infantry Battalion commander Lt. Col. Jonathan
Ponce) to attend to a survey team, excited fear to own lands in the
interior parts of Basey even among Basaynons who have preferential
right to those lands.
Accounts to this
effect had been expressed in various occasions, including in
pulong-pulongs called by those from the government, the latest
transpiring during the last few weeks of November.
+ + + + + + + +
+ +
Greetings of a
happiest birthday to Francisco “Gorbie” Maraya, Jr. from Joschie and
his closest friends. Gorbie turned 30 last January 9. This
trustworthy account specialist of San Miguel Corporation who is now on
his newest assignment in Kalibo, Aklan of Panay province, was formerly
a varsity tennis player of Leyte Normal University and sangguniang
Kabataan official of Brgy. 5,
Tacloban
City.
Happy fifth
wedding anniversary, too, to you and your pretty wife, Shirley “Ging”
Maraya, nee Nicolas, the sales information assistant for Eastern
Visayas of San Miguel Corp.. (They exchanged vows on the 9th of
January in 2003.) - Greetings from Well-wishers Forever.
Press Statement of the City Government
of Catbalogan on cityhood issue
December 22, 2008
This is to formally
inform the public that on November 14, the Supreme Court (SC) released
a decision declaring the cityhood of 16 LGUs including Catbalogan as
unconstitutional. In view of this ill-timed and unfortunate news, we
wish to reassure our fellow Catbaloganons that the City Government is
doing everything in its power to properly address this problem and
with God’s grace, Catbalogan, shall and will remain as a component
city.
Upon receiving this
news, the first step we made was to meet with the other affected LGUs.
Last November 17, Vice Mayor Van Torrevillas, Councilor Art Gabon and
I met with other concerned Mayors and their legal counsels, to discuss
the next proper course of action. We were joined by Congresswoman
Carmen Cari and other Congressmen, at the Speaker’s Lounge of the
House of Representatives for this meeting.
During our stay in
Manila, we had also consulted with other key persons including
Solicitor General Agnes Devanadera on November 18, House Speaker
Prospero Nograles on November 19 and Senate President Juan Ponce
Enrile on November 22.
It was during the
meeting with Solicitor General Devanadera that we were advised to
prepare a briefer specifying our justifications on why our cityhood
statuses should be retained. I promptly instructed my department and
office heads to prepare and come up with a detailed outline/summary on
the possible impact and effect, should the rewind from a city into a
municipality become final and executory.
We provided
statistics, facts and updated data on the number of new
offices/departments, number of new plantillas, promotions, positions
that were filled up, contracts entered into by the City Government,
status of the various implemented and on-going programs and projects,
adopted city ordinances, collection of Real Property Tax (RPT),
potential investments and other similar data.
We also explained that
reverting back to a municipality will lead to the deterioration of the
social and health services. Performance of the existing offices will
be adversely affected while the newly created agencies or offices will
be dissolved, further affecting the quality and delivery of basic
services. The resulting lay-off of workers will also deprive 100
families or 800 individuals of a decent source of living and quality
way of life.
This briefer was
submitted to the Solicitor General, to Congress, to our Legal Counsel
and to the Office of Atty. Estelito Mendoza last November 26 in
support of our Motion for Reconsideration. Alongside this, the
Congress, both houses, were supposed to file a Motion for Intervention
and Reconsideration to support our claims. The legal details, updates
and defenses of our motion are all being handled by Atty. Estelito
Mendoza as our over-all legal representative.
Our present situation
comes as a result of the legal maneuvers made by the League of Cities
of the Philippines (LCP) starting with the petitions for prohibition
filed in the dates March 27, 2007, May 4, 2007 and June 14, 2007. With
the City of Iloilo and the City of Calbayog at the forefront of this
legal campaign, the LCP and other member cities as
petitioners-in-intervention have sought that the court either block
the respondent municipalities from conducting plebiscites or compel
the COMELEC not to proclaim the plebiscite results. They also appealed
that the cityhood laws be struck down as unconstitutional.
The prayer for the
issuance for a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) was not granted by
the court which prompted the COMELEC to proceed with the plebiscite
last June 16, 2007. Catbalogan’s conversion into a component city was
ratified at that same day.
In view of this, my
administration stands firm in its conviction that our cityhood was
obtained lawfully. We went through the required processes and have
overcome all the difficulties and obstacles that were thrown in its
path. Most importantly, it emanated from the people of Catbalogan with
a resounding majority of 25,426 votes cast in its favor. These
justifications increased our confidence in the constitutionality of
our cityhood and our strength to defend it before the Supreme Court.
As things stand now,
Catbalogan remains and still is a city. No more less than the Chief
Justice of the Supreme Court, Hon. Reynato S. Puno, clearly and
categorically declared that the decision of the Supreme Court is not
yet final and executory. Just recently, on December 10, we filed our
Motion for Reconsideration (MR) before the SC.
Pending the resolution
of the MR, the City of
Catbalogan shall continue to receive the same IRA allocation and other
privileges with other cities. All created offices/departments of the
city shall remain to exist and function as such.
We earnestly ask the
public to display the same faith and courage in this most trying time
in our City’s history. Never lose hope for the law is on our side. GOD
be with us!
We are also
thankful for the outpouring of support and concern that we received
when the news first broke out. We especially want to thank the
individuals who helped in preparing the briefer which was an important
part of the documents submitted for the Motion for Reconsideration.
They are: DR. DEBORAH MARCO, ATTY. AILEEN FORTEZA, ATTY. CARLOS DAIZ,
ATTY. GERARDO TEVES, ATTY. ERNESTO ARCALES, EDGARDO T. GUYA, DOLORES
Q. TENEDERO, LAIMINH MABULAY, ROXANNE D. LAURETA, AARON PLANAS, ADOR
HURTADO, ARBEE MON, LYNOR ABOTOG, JASMINE MACASPAG, CHEREL TAMAYO,
CARLOTA RODRIGUEZ, ERLINDA ABUGUIN, ALFIE LEE, RECHELLE OCENAR,
MERCEDES PACAYRA and all concerned DEPARTMENT HEADS.
|
Mayor
Tekwa Uy, Vice-mayor Van Torrevillas, Councilor Art Gabon and
Atty. Gerry Teves alternately answer queries from the media
during a Press Conference cum Forum on the Catbalogan cityhood
issue at the SSU audio-visual room on December 22. |
A Santa Claus for
Tacloban HUC
By CHITO DELA TORRE
December
26, 2008
Former Leyte governor
Benjamin ‘Kokoy’ Romualdez, last December 18, was noticeably not the
serious type that Leyteños and Samareños knew him during the
approximately two decades that he was in power. He was the jolly good
fellow when he entered his precinct on plebiscite day at Panalaron
Elementary School in Tacloban City. The young lady chairperson in
that precinct found the grey, no, white haired elder brod of former
3-term Tacloban mayor Bejo Romualdez and younger sibling of former
Philippine Republic first lady Imelda Romualdez Marcos.
Kokoy walked his way
into the premises of the school in the afternoon when voting was about
to close.
Those who might have
noticed and recognized him could have been elated to see him quite
alone. Yes, because he was not quite alone. His bodyguards were at
some distance.
Kokoy joked a lot, as
though he were in his teens. Yes, he seemed to want to make happy
those who were surprised to see him.
For instance, he
seemed to be invoking for guidance on what to vote for, to which the
riposte of the precinct 600-B chief was that it was all for him to
decide. Then he seemed to plead for some clarification on the two
sides of the issue on highly urbanized city which was the main subject
in that plebiscite that was exclusively for Tacloban voters. “Sir,
tapos na an kampanya....” When also jokingly advised to go out of
the voting center and ask in the neighborhood outside for answers to
his queries, and then return to the precinct to vote, he asked “Kun
yes, ano man? Kun no, ano man?” (He wanted some guidance on what a
yes or no vote would matter.
He also pretended to
have tired walking the nearly 50 meters distance to his precinct from
the school gate, that he asked to be allowed to rest first. “Lagas na
gud man ako.” The beautiful chairperson and her members and the
watchers inside the school room smiled, but it was obvious they were
also repressing their urge to laugh. Their faces sparkled when he
enthused that were he still a teenager, he would be courting the chair
lady.
Minutes later, the
school principal appeared at the precinct. She said there was no
advance information that the former governor would be visiting her
school.
After the brief talk
with the principal, Kokoy left. A tear of joy cascaded from the head
marm’s eye, creating a vision that it was Santa Claus who had come to
her school. She was sure the Christmas spirit had been here much
earlier. Kokoy told his staff to scribble on his executive book all
that the help that she wished of him for her school that goes
underwater during heavy rains and which, because being just an old
school for the poor and the poorest yet growing yearly in number of
enrolees, couldn’t provide much needed learning facilities (textbooks,
computers, and improved classroom looks). Kokoy, the erstwhile
strongman of Leyte, still had more jokes coming as he listened to her
plea. After saying he’d tell his son - Leyte First District
Representative Martin Romualdez, and his nephew - city mayor Alfred
Romualdez to help the school soonest, he remarked, “Dapat it’ ak misis
it’ imo aroan, kay under the saya la ako”. This was followed by a
prolonged laughter.
Kokoy’s brief visit to
his precinct (assigned for barangay Libertad) surely cheered up
everyone in the school and the 600-B (also 600-A) precinct chair (who
also wished Kokoy could also help Kapangian school where she teaches
and which also needs every conceivable help as Tacloban approaches its
new status as a highly urbanized city) who never expected Santa Claus
would be in Panalaron that early part of the Christmas Season.
+ + + + + + + + + +
Two other Santa Claus
figures were cheering up the poor people in
Samar.
Acting governor Jesus
B. Redaja had let the poor communities feel that the provincial
government cares for them. His emphasis has been on agriculture.
While looking after the needs of the working force inside the
provincial capitol in Catbalogan, the seat of the provincial
government of
Samar, he continues to give his heart to every Samarnon who
expects the best public service that he could muster for them. One
special thing: Gov. Redaja has restored the subscriptions of the Samar
Provincial Library. PARCCOM-Samar landowner representative Serge
Gabral (of Calbiga) is among those who admire Jess for that. The
provincial library can now have more new, fresh and updated reading
materials for its clientele.
Suspended governor
Mila Tan was in Basey to give cheers to barangay officials while
spending Christmas moments with her favorite leader in the town, Alud,
the ABC president, last December 23 evening. I was among those who
waited for her arrival, after I arranged for my schedule in barrio
Villa Aurora for Dec. 24. Fearing however that I would miss the last
trip from Eastern Samar to Tacloban, I left at
6 p.m., missing Mila.
+ + + + + + + + + +
For the good tidings
that they brought to their own people this part of the year, may I say
to Kokoy Romualdez, Jess Redaja, and Mila Tan, MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A
HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU ALL! May you do more wonderful things for
everyone, even if it’s not Christmas time, with God’s blessings.
+ + + + + + + + + +
Master Romeo Sanchez,
founder of Modern Aikido, and his self-defense instructors and
students will celebrate Christmas with a party on December 28 at about
6 p.m. at the Trojan Central gym in Apitong, Tacloban, together with
invited guests. Merry Christmas to you, too!
+ + + + + + + +
+ +
To all
www.samarnews.com users, and very especially to Engr. Ray P. Gaspay,
MERRY, MERRY CHRISTMAS!
To Massey and Alma,
and all in the Leyte Samar Daily Express family, as well as
advertisers, news sources, subscribers and the general readership, may
the spirit of Christmas continue to reign in your hearts and may God
through Jesus Christ shower you with more blessings!
Thanks a million for
caring for Eastern Visayas and its population.
You’re all great!
You inspire everyone.
That’s an
invaluable gift from you all.
Fixing the corrupt, past and present
By CHITO DELA TORRE
December 16, 2008
Chairman Ricardo
Saludo of the Civil Service Commission did it well reading for
Ombudsman Ma. Merceditas Gutierrez the concrete things ever done by
the Office of the Ombudsman in fighting corruption in the Philippines
during last Tuesday morning’s Celebration of the International
Anti-Corruption Day.
The lady Ombudsman
started to lose her voice as she read the introductory part of her
office’s accomplishment and what the other government agencies and
Philippine sectors had done in response to the Ombudsman’s crusade to
curb and punish corruption. She requested Chairman Saludo to continue
the reading and the latter cheerfully obliged.
The CSC chief managed
to insert adlibs on the Commission’s newest anti-corruption campaign
program known as “Fix the Fixer”. His brainchild newest idea of
ensuring the drastic reduction of corrupt practices particularly in
the abominable practice of extortion and bribery, which result in
bureaucratic red tape (delays) and also losses in government income as
well as in erosion of faith in government service, was launched by him
towards the closing of the International Anti-Corruption Day and
launching of the National Summit on United Nations Convention Against
Corruption (UNCAC) campaign, last December 9 morning at Pasig City.
The launch actually came before the organizers and those who were
present at the “summit” sang “Pilipinas Kong Mahal”.
Through Saludo’s baby,
every citizen is encouraged to immediately report any occasion of
fixing, so that the fixer could be fixed in due time. He gave
telephone and cellular phone numbers which the general public can use
in reporting the opprobrious corrupt act. Said the Civil Service
chairman, the report will immediately be investigated. He had advised
that the important things to be reported should include the name of
the fixer the office and location where the fixing act is being
committed, and the date and time of the act.
The Ombudsman report
which became the highlight of last Tuesday’s most significant and most
relevant event gave a very clear view - via a PowerPoint presentation
which backed up the report as being read - of the many things that the
Ombudsman had done, has been and is doing. These included officials
being dismissed or suspended.
OMB Gutierrez said in
her opening that her office and she herself were already being
criticized even before critics could know what the Ombudsman was
doing. Those detractors ought not to be believed, she insisted.
Chairman Saludo
remarked in his reading of the OMB report that the Ombudsman has made
a remarkable accomplishment. Where once the case efficiency rate was
very low, lately, he said, he has observed it has come to the vicinity
of 87 percent.
Both Gutierrez and
Saludo were hopeful that with the revealing report and the next steps
or actions that the Ombudsman and the Civil Service Commission would
be undertaking, coupled by the active participation of the civil
society, all government agencies up to the local government unit level
(provincial, city and municipal), and the education and religious
sectors, the Philippines can have a much better chance of reforming
its public service.
OMB Gutierrez,
however, deplored that notwithstanding the international significance
of the day’s event, she had not seen the heads of offices in
attendance. Well, the huge Ultra where the convention was held in
Pasig City still had many empty seats when explored by the television
camera of National Broadcasting Network.
She also talked at
length about the Government Service Insurance System, concluding,
wisely, however, that those working in the GSIS can help the Ombudsman
and the government’s crusade against corruption.
The minuscule
representation of the more than one hundred government agencies,
bureaus and offices, gave her an inspiringly prolonged applause.
+ + + + + + + + + +
Quite coincidentally,
the event came out on TV while I was reviewing my reading materials on
anti-corruption at this time of the year when I was feeling low due to
deplorable events that had been happening one after another, and also
serially, right in the areas where I thought genuine “reform” could be
fostered and demonstrated effectively.
After Saludo’s brief
remarks about his “Fix the Fixer” drive, I wondered if he and the OMB
could resuscitate instances of corruption of not long ago that had
been obliterated by the simple expedient of barrio people not acting
fast on a road that irresponsible officials regarded as “complete” or
“just all right” even if was washed out and restored to its sloven,
watery and muddy state. I also wondered if the CSC and the OMB have
enough axes to grind when office superiors coddle, instead of at least
initiating an investigation, subordinates who have committed acts of
dishonesty, misfeasance, or nonfeasance, or malfeasance. These acts
unbecoming of a public servant did stink, and they still stink even as
noses around me are nosing for a white Christmas.
+ + + + + + + + + +
To the Ombudsman and
the Civil Service Commission, I wish you good luck, and may God the
Almighty bless and guide your ways always. Congratulations for the
wonderful things you are doing to tailor a good name for Philippine
public service and public administration! Mabuhi kamo! I’m with you.
Last eye openers on
Tacloban’s HUC bid
The debate that never
was on the “HUC-hood” of Tacloban left many Taclobanons guessing as to
the real intention behind the novel bid of asking the voters of the
city to accept the proposition to make Tacloban highly urbanized after
55 years since it became a component city of the province of Leyte.
Many looked forward to
that debate that was called for by the Commission on Elections, with
the Knights of Columbus and the tri-media ready as sponsors. City
mayor Alfred Romualdez didn’t show up - for a good reason.
Not a better reason to
those who were ready to face the mayor and rebut the “yes to HUC”
propositions.
In the
post-debate-schedule television episode of a public affairs program
hosted by city councilor Bob Abellanosa in the TV network that he
himself manages, the “no to HUC” advocates were left without recourse
but to heavily criticize the no-show-up manifestation and to take
advantage of their exclusivity in that TV program.
Bob concluded his
dialogue with his fellow anti-HUC councilors with a bitter note,
transliterating the acronym “HUC” to mean “highly urbanized
cowardice”. Bob must have extracted that from the preceding views in
his TV program where businessman-councilor Wilson Uy and
lawyer-councilor Pedro Panis took turns in alluding to the failure of
the mayor in the debate as an act of cowardice.
Vice-mayor Arvin
Antoni appeared more appealing and persuasive in sharing his thoughts
with the TV audiences. He was in his usual professional self as he
dealt with the heavy reasons why the people of Tacloban should reject
the HUC and vote no come plebiscite day on December 18.
Atty. Panis talked at
length about the purchase by the city government of about 400 hectares
in a barrio north of the city proper for an exorbitant and
unconscionable price (P16.5 million! - did I hear him right?).
+ + + + + + + + + +
For what they said on
TV this week, I take liberty to describe the three guests - Antoni,
Panis and Uy - as the “The Three Wise Men of Tacloban City circa
2008”. Counting in Bob would make the threesome group the “Four
Musketeers of HUC”.
+ + + + + + + + + +
Perhaps the “good
reason” adverted to here is the fact that quite many Taclobanons now
are aware why the Romualdez administration (Uncle Bejo admitted in
barangay meetings that the HUC-hood was his idea) is” evading” (the
Four Musketeers used the word “evasive”, but in the present context
here, I think the appropriate terminology would simply be “ignoring”)
a face-to-face debate with the main debater of the “reject HUC” bid.
(In an earlier forum with law students, it was city lawyer Sergio
Sumayod talking for the main proponents of “accept HUC” bid.
Originally, it was the mayor who was expected to talk for the
affirmative side. On the negative side, Atty. Arvin Antoni was
speaking softly - no, not argumentatively, not even in a hostile
manner as he never raised his voice) - as if to ensure that his
listeners [and later on, the audiences that watched the TV mileage on
that forum] understood his point. There is no further point to face
detractors in a debate - some could be saying - because anyway, day
and night, barker vehicles go around downtown and the outskirts to
exhort Taclobanons to vote “yes” to HUC. Besides, they could also be
saying, the city administration has had spent huge sums of money
already for its “yes” campaign, and several tarpaulins proclaim one or
more reasons why Taclobanons should vote “yes”. Some printed
materials had already been circulated to reinforce the information
drive.
+ + + + + + + + + +
I will have my own
vote on the HUC plebiscite. If I will vote “yes”, it’d be because I
believe that maybe with Tacloban transformed into a highly urbanized
city, Taclobanons can have much better hopes for socio-economic and
political progress. If I will vote “no”, it ‘d be because I would not
want Tacloban to be made a laughing stock among denizens of genuinely
highly urbanized cities that could stand on their own, when still
after 3 years of being HUC, Tacloban’s “now HUC-attributable
problems” would worsen.
+ + + + + + + + + +
Yes, it is correct
there’s no provision in the Local Government Code of 1991 that a HUC
could be receiving more benefits from the national government. On the
contrary, a HUC Tacloban would be left entirely on its own, deciding
independently of the provincial government, and getting a bigger
internal revenue allotment of which the biggest part will be entirely
for its own use.
Yet, there also are no
provisions in the same law that specifically bar HUC leaders from
asking (the askers are to called political beggars) assistance from
the national government.
Yes, a HUC Tacloban
would become a congressional unit of its own, thus, it will elect its
own representative to the House of Representatives.
But it will have no
governor, like Ormoc City, and thus it will de denied of any help from
the provincial government of Leyte, and why should it deserve one when
it will no longer participate in the election of provincial officials
even if the Provincial Capitol will still be a micromillimeter away
from the political territory of Tacloban?, and then it will suffer the
odious fate of perpetually waiting for congressional mercy for bills
that its elected representative may be introducing to be enacted into
laws, as do congressmen from all the districts in the Eastern Visayas
region.
Nonetheless,
Tacloban could behave, as it should even now, ever ready to assume a
higher role without punishing its traditionally impoverished
communities.
The phenomenon of
globalization and sin
Rev. EUTIQUIO ‘EULY’ B. BELIZAR, JR., SThD
December
11, 2008
I saw a picture of a
McDonald restaurant (‘McDo resto’, young people say) in China many
years ago. In fact, I used to have snacks in one as a student priest
in Rome (they were inexpensive, pretty much affordable to those of us
who subsisted on meager scholarship allowances and Mass stipends). You
see them in Metro Manila and in many of our urban centers. Go anywhere
in the big cities of the world, chances are, you will see ‘McDo restos’
and their familiarity gives you the illusion you are home. While in
one in Rome I asked a fellow priest during the semestral break where
he was going for the summer. He answered matter-of-factly: “To Iceland
to see my auntie.” I asked, incredulous, “Are there Filipinos in
Iceland?” “Of course,” he said, eyeing me like I came from the
boondocks (true: boondocks of Samar). McDonald restaurants everywhere.
Filipinos everywhere on earth. That in brief is what we call
globalization. Its root being ‘globe’ (world), globalization refers to
the reality in which any human activity, operation, presence or
institution reaches the different corners of the world.
Now here’s the catch.
If McDo restaurants are global, so are their
carbohydrates-and-fat-rich menus. If Filipinos are now global, so are
our ‘crab mentality’, ‘destructive regionalism’, ‘Filipino time’,
‘intrigue’ tactics etc. Isaiah in our first reading denounces
Israel’s
sins but also those of the whole known world as embodied in the
wayward human practices of his time. All this is a statement that just
as a neutral or even virtuous human activity or behavior could be done
anywhere in the world by most human beings, so are our human sins too.
Take greed for profit and the deceptions behind the ‘melamine’ scare
which started in
China.
Milk and milk products packaged by certain Chinese companies have been
found contaminated with this substance which is responsible for kidney
stones and even death in babies. The wonder is, its reach is now
global. Almost all countries have warned its citizens against buying
contaminated products from China and are carefully testing other
products as well for other defects.
Jesus in his time did
not go global. He was confined within
Palestine.
But he had a global outlook. For instance, in the gospel of Matthew he
excoriates sinful people in the sinful cities of Chorazin and Behsaida
(Mt 11:20-24). They are both located near the Sea of Galilee, Jewish
enclaves. He compares them to the sinful Gentile cities of Tyre and
Sidon in Phoenicia and holds the Galilean cities more reprehensible.
Now, that is certainly daring and prophetic to tell your own people
their true faults rather than deceive them with praise releases. The
point is that Jesus is indeed aware of how sin and iniquity is true
not only in one part of the globe but also in others, that it could be
less or more serious in some rather than in other places. Most of all,
it is equally abhorrent the whole world over.
Call it negative
human solidarity. Warays call it ‘tapon’ (contamination that spreads).
Bible experts are one in saying that Jesus’ denunciation of these
sinful global cities is meant to ‘shock’ them to conversion. Is their
hard-headed, hard-hearted reaction a mirror of ours? That, too, is
proof of the ‘global’ manifestation of sin. On the other hand, is the
repentance of Niniveh reflected in our personal lives, our families,
communities and society? That likewise points to the global dimension
of conversion.
Old Gaisano store
still a favorite; ah, yes, traffic congestion again, ahead
By CHITO DELA TORRE
December
5, 2008
Gaisano Tacloban will
remain at the Tacloban Shopping Center. It will continue to operate.
It won’t
close. It won’t close just because Gaisano Central is now open. In fact, it has more
better items for sale now. Some of its newest items are not available
in other stores in the city. Its ambience is more inviting these
days. It will continue with additional improvements.
These are the popular
beliefs of the regular customers of the old Gaisano. These customers,
although having already gone once or twice, or more, to Gaisano
Central, which is only about 150 meters away to the southeast along
the same street (Justice Romualdez) where Gaisano Tacloban stands,
keep going to their old favorite mini-mall department store. On
evenings, I see them – many of them my friends and relatives – there
walking up and down the two staircases and shopping in Gaisano
Tacloban’s
39 display sections, buying everything that their available money can
buy: grocery merchandise, beauty items, Christmas season picks,
clothing and textile, snack items, drinks and cigarettes, compact and
digital video discs, photographic films, shoes, bags, belts, hats,
school and office supplies, toys, baby’s
items, kitchenware, electrical items, carpentry and masonry tools,
sports items, plastic flowers and plants, ornamental accessories,
housing and bedroom furnishings, toiletries, and many more.
There is no escalator, not even elevator, at the old favorite
store, but they keep going there, from as early as when it opens,
until it closes. During the last
midnight sale, the
store was almost fully congested. The congestion is actually a normal
sight and event even on regular business hours and days. That’s the old Gaisano – truly, a favorite place to go, shop and buy at, by my
three lovely girlie granddaughters, and my family, and, yes!, your own
family!
+ + + + + + + + + +
Tacloban’s
traffic officers should make a fast implementable study and take
action on the congestion problem that developed at Justice Romualdez,
between the southeastern side of M.H. del Pilar and towards the main
road artery’s
corners at Sen. Enage-Salazar streets since the Gaisano Central opened
business. The congestion is remarkable starting at 5 p.m. No, the
Gaisano Central is not its direct cause. If it is, it will be insanity
to remove the mall or close it to the public. Crazy.
Of course, it is
understandable that there are two traffic lights systems between these
two street intersections which keeps traffic stalled for brief
moments. Vehicles disgorging passengers at the Central’s
front roadside are almost a bumper-to-bumper headache every 5 seconds
as they also pick up passengers from among those coming out of the
mall. On late afternoons, the Romualdez roadside of that section near
the Bank of Philippine Islands gets blocked by barbecue stands (about
five, an observer remarked, have been added to the location?) and the
pedestrian lane hardly gets cleared of pedestrians.
This snarl may require rerouting.
+ + + + + +
+ + + +
The traffic light,
many are saying, and I also say so, extremely needs resetting, and
correcting, at the corners of Romualdez and M. H. Del Pilar, Enage and
Salazar streets. Why?
1. They post red
(stop) light and puts a stop to both pedestrians and vehicles;
2. When the green (go)
turn-right/turn-left arrow lights are on for vehicles but the
pedestrian green (walk) lights are on at the same time, vehicles turn
right, or left, even when pedestrians are already crossing, thus
pedestrians stop in the middle of the road to give way to those
vehicles; and
3. There is not enough
time for vehicles to run on green (go) signal at the same time that
there is not enough time for pedestrians to complete their crossing
walk.
Clearly, the traffic lights systems are now obviously
defective in communicating to both vehicles and pedestrians.
+ + + + + +
+ + + +
Ms. Estelita
Deloria Balneg, retired district schools supervisor of Catarman,
Northern Samar, will celebrate her 88th birthday come December 14.
Expected to join her many well-wishers at the Balneg residence in
Catarman, apart from her sibling, nephews, and other kins, are her
close first cousins who are living between 100 and 1,000 kilometers
away to the north in Luzon, south to Samar, Leyte and Mindanao, and
east to Taft in Eastern Samar. Among them are Atty. Amado Baclea-an
Deloria, former Commissioner of the Housing and Land Use Regulatory
Board, his younger brother Leopoldo who works at the Supreme Court of
the Philippines, and his younger sister Ana, as well as Nida who works
at the Samar Provincial Hospital. The birthday celebrant frequented
Basey, the hometown of her mom, Eleuteria Deloria, until she retired
from the Department of Education, Culture and Sports more than two
decades ago. She was very close to my own mother. When all shall be
around her in Catarman on Dec. 14 (two Sundays from now), it will be a
great, very memorable grand reunion. I am sure, some of the children
of Pedro Llego Deloria, who are in Catarman now or are near Catarman,
will be going there, to partake of the blessings of the day with the
oldest living scion of the very big Deloria clan. My greetings in
advance: Happy birthday, Mana Esteling! May you live much longer, and
may God the Almighty continue to shower His blessings on you!
Tacloban HUC forum
goes to the barangay
By CHITO DELA TORRE
November
26, 2008
A highly urbanized
city will not solve the problems of
Tacloban
City and its people. It’s only a way to alleviate problems.
The city’s problems
today are attributes of a HUC and not of a component city.
These were clarified
by mayor Alfred S. Romualdez when he drove in to the unnamed interior
road that divides Barangay 5 and Barangay 5-A where people from these
two and other urban villages converged for a “Yes” campaign on the HUC
this past Monday evening.
Alfred arrived with
his pretty wife, city councilor Kristina Gonzales Romualdez. His
arrival prompted his father Alfredo, the immediate past mayor of
Tacloban, to cut short his pro-HUC talk which was minced with jokes
and anecdotes. (In one anecdote, the ex-mayor said Erap (former
President Joseph Ejercito Estrada) had said that he had been an
“ex-mayor, ex-senator, ex-Vice-President, and ex-President”, and then
he became an “ex-convict”, but now is an “expert”. The loud and
prolonged applause and laughter showed that the audiences were
intently listening to the past mayor.)
Uncle Bejo told his
audiences that he would dwell only on three points or reasons why
Tacloban should now be a highly urbanized city: political, financial,
and social. He also parried issues raised by the “No” proponents.
Saying that it’s now time that Tacloban detach itself from the Leyte
provincial government, Tacloban will no longer need to wait for a long
period of time for its ordinances to pass review by the provincial
government through the sangguniang panlalawigan.
From that forum,
interrupted by a sudden drizzle during the talk of Alfred which forced
some in the audiences who were outside of the tents (set up at the
“half court” of the forum venue hours earlier by city government
personnel) to run for shelter, the nearly 300 listeners also learned
that:
1. There are now 33
HUCs in the country;
2. Tacloban is lower
in rank than that of Ormoc City’s which is an “independent component
city”;
3. Tacloban now has
217,000 population while Puerto Princesa in Palawan only had 207,000
population when it was granted its HUC status;
4. there will be no
motorized cabs for hire phase out, and no squatters eviction;
5. taxation has
nothing to do with HUC-hood, because it is already mandated in law
that taxes will be raised by no more than 10 percent every five years;
6. as a HUC, Tacloban
will no longer be known as “Tacloban City, Leyte” but only as
“Tacloban City”, with a “right of representation” of its own, apart
from the First District of Leyte, in the House of Representatives; and
7. as a HUC, Tacloban
will already have a “director” or chief superintendent for the rank of
its highest police officer, unlike today that the rank of the city
police chief is only that of “superintendent” whereas in Ormoc City
the police chief is ranked “director”.
The former mayor
pointed out that at least three politicos who are opposed to HUC-hood
are ventilating negative issues only for “personal reasons”. One of
them, whose name he mentioned, has even tried to “corner” the City
Hall media after putting up his own media outfit subsequent to
quitting a big media station but now might face estafa charges for
delivering earnings to his previous business outfit.
A lady who spoke
before Bejo enumerated situations which presently make Tacloban a
regional center - like the most number of colleges and universities,
hospitals and banks in the region. Alfred, said he and the
Taclobanons could not prevent the influx of population, otherwise, he
would be made to answer for human rights violation.
Kristina, before
presenting Alfred and introducing him as “pinakamabait at pinakaguwapo
na mayor”, told of the massive development that resulted when her city
became a HUC. Alfred, on his turn, joked that he realized that after
ten years of marriage he is still handsome.
The mixed audiences
came to know, too, that it was Bejo who conceived the idea of making
Tacloban a HUC; that the Romualdezes “gave” a lot to Robinsons, for
this giant business firm to put up its own business in Marasbaras;
that the owner of Robinsons is also the owner of Cebu Pacific; and
that the former governor of Leyte, Benjamin “Kokoy” Romualdez,
obtained a loan from World Bank to widen and improve further the water
system at Pastrana, Leyte.
Councilor Pax Pacanan,
who spoke after Alfred, reiterated what had already been said by the
speakers before him, that the Tacloban having been a “component city”
of Leyte for already 55 years but facing problems so enormous that
only a higher rank, that of HUC, could respond to competently,
Taclobanons should vote in favor of the HUC-hood come December 18, as
from there, the city could start growing with huge investments coming
in. He also took that occasion to thank his audiences for their
electoral votes for him in the past elections that sent him to the
alderman’s hall. Pax, a close and highly reliable friend of yours
truly and many others, has been an active contributor to the
development of Tacloban since his younger days in this city (until the
Katig-uban Samareños ha Leyte or KASALE became a booming
cooperative). He comes from a prominent family in his hometown of
Motiong, Samar.
Those seated under the
tents shouted “Yes” to HUC six times during that forum.
By RICKY J. BAUTISTA