10 days to go; voter registration hours extended

MANILA, Philippines—With only 10 days before the deadline for registration of new voters in the May elections, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) announced it had extended registration hours amid fears 1 million Filipinos may not be able to cast ballots.

Starting Thursday until Oct. 30, Comelec field offices will be open from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. from Monday to Saturday to enlist new voters.

On Oct. 31, the last day of registration, Comelec offices will be open until midnight.

Last week, the Comelec allowed registration on Sundays but only in typhoon-affected areas of Luzon.

Voters’ registration in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao will run daily Mondays to Sundays from Oct. 19 to Oct. 31.

Wary of disenfranchising over a million new voters, Senators Richard Gordon, Alan Peter Cayetano and Francis Pangilinan urged the Comelec to end bottlenecks at registration centers.

At a budget hearing on Tuesday, Comelec Chair Jose Melo admitted that only 2.8 million of the 4 million new voters had registered so far.

“I’m seriously appalled that there seems to be a lack of a system in trying to speed up the registration process,” Gordon said.

Pangilinan proposed extending the registration hours from 7 p.m. to midnight.

“We have received a lot of reports that in many areas around the country, people are asked to return and to come back simply because they have a priority listing number (for the day),” Pangilinan said.

Estimates could be higher

Cayetano insisted that the number of new registrations, many of whom are first time voters, could be higher than earlier estimated by Comelec.

Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) chair Henrietta de Villa said last week that her group was optimistic it would be able to get the three million target registrants by Oct. 31 on top of the 2.8 million people who had registered.

Cayetano predicted that only about 200,000 people could register at the rate that the registration process was going on.

“So possibly 1 million would be disenfranchised. They would be cheated out of the opportunity to vote,” the senator said.

In Taguig City, only 70 to as high as 200 per day are allowed to register, he said, calling the attention of Comelec officials to the presence of a “VIP line” for supporters of Taguig Mayor Freddie Tiñga.

Cayetano said that other people were asked to come back after two or three days.

Last minute

“We expect around 500,000 people will come to register in the next 10 days,” Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez told reporters.

“We are aware that a lot of Filipinos choose to register at the last minute. So in order to accommodate them and to address the growing crowds at our field offices as we near the registration deadline, the Comelec en banc has ordered the extension of office hours in all registration centers nationwide. Registration is also extended until Sundays in calamity areas of Luzon,” Jimenez said.

62 additional machines

Jimenez also announced that the Comelec has deployed 62 additional data-capturing machines at Comelec field offices in 17 cities in Metro Manila.

“The reason why we are moving a little slowly is because there’s only one or two machines (per office) in some places which could record about 200 per day. But with the additional machines the number will jump,” he said.

Voters’ validation has been suspended “until further notice” so that Comelec could focus exclusively on the registration, Jimenez said.

He said that the Comelec’s latest updated tally in July stood at about 45 million registered voters.

“It’s somewhat smaller than what a lot of people expect. The reason for that is we have also been delisting ... We have already delisted several millions,” Jimenez said.

Remove biometrics

To speed up the process, Cayetano asked if the Comelec could remove the biometrics component of the registration process which captures information unique to individuals, including fingerprints, signatures and photos.

Of the 45.6 million voters, only 35 million of the old registrants have biometrics registration. The new registrants have biometrics.

“You can vote anyway even without the biometrics. Let them do the biometrics after the elections,” Cayetano said, explaining that the “thumb mark is not needed for the (automated) machine.”

Comelec Commissioner Rene Sarmiento found this “problematic,” pointing out that the law provides “a mandatory biometrics registration.”

By Dona Pazzibugan, Michael Lim Ubac
Philippine Daily Inquirer

Source: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20091022-231560/10-days-to-go-voter-registration-hours-extended

Sec. Durano lobbies for Pinoy ‘hero’

The Department of Tourism is urging Filipinos to vote for Efren Peñaflorida as “CNN Hero of the Year” through the Internet. Peñaflorida recently made the elite list of top 10 finalists for this year’s CNN Hero of the Year for his Kariton Klasrum (Pushcart Classroom) initiative, which has been bringing education to poor children in the streets for 12 years.

“The time to celebrate Philippine heroism has been long overdue. This is our chance to share to the world the Filipino sense of selflessness, and to honor the little acts of kindness that we, his kababayans [compatriots], can very well take inspiration from,” Tourism Secretary Ace Durano said Tuesday.

“People like Efren remind us that our country is blessed not only with natural resources, but with true wonders such as individuals who dedicate their lives to heroic work,” Durano added.

Tourism officials said that Peñaflorida qualified to best some 9,000 nominees across the world, because he has brought the hope of education to children who would otherwise be loitering on the streets and joining urban gangs.

Eduardo Jarque Jr., Tourism undersecretary for planning and promotions, said, “Just as how Efren is bringing hope to the children of slum areas, let us also bring inspiration to people within and beyond our geographical borders by supporting one of our real-life heroes.”

How to vote

Filipinos from all over the world can vote for Peñaflorida by joining the online poll until November 18, 2009, through the web link http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/cnn.heroes. His story can be accessed by online readers at http://edition.cnn.com/2009/LIVING/wayoflife/03/05/heroes.efren.penaflorida/index.html.

The CNN Hero of the Year is a search for “people driven to exceptional achievement in service to others.” This year’s search has six categories: Championing Children, Community Crusader, Defending the Planet, Medical Marvel, Protecting the Powerless and Young Marvel.

Peñaflorida is a nominee under the Championing Children category.

By Rommel C. Lontayao, Reporter

Source:

http://www.manilatimes.net/index.php/top-stories/4391-sec-durano-lobbies-for-pinoy-hero

Northern Luzon cut off from Manila, thousands need rescue

DAGUPAN, Pangasinan - Widespread flooding and landslides have isolated major population centers in northern Luzon, including Baguio, delaying outside help and forcing officials to rely on local resources to rescue and evacuate tens of thousands, many of whom were caught by surprise by the rapidly rising water.

"Sarado na po (They are closed)," Pangasinan Governor Amado Espino Jr. said in an interview on dzBB radio, referring to roads linking Pangasinan to Metro Manila. A provincial government spokesman said this morning that military choppers were leaving Manila for Pangasinan to help in the rescue effort.

"Pati mga rubber boats namin nagkabutas na," said Butch Velasco, the provincial spokesman. He said with daylight this morning, help from neighboring provinces was on the way. However, all of the provinces around Pangasinan were also badly affected, hampering their ability to assist each other.

With the roads to Pangasinan closed, all of the other Ilocos Region provinces of La Union, Ilocos Sur and Ilocos Norte are isolated from Manila.

The Cagayan Valley Region, which comprises the provinces of Nueva Vizcaya, Quirino, Isabela and Cagayan, has also been isolated from the rest of Luzon due to massive landslides along Makarlika Highway in the Caraballo Mountains.

According to Chief Supt. Roberto Damian, regional police director for Cagayan Valley, a big portion of the two-lane highway near Putlan Bridge leading to Dalton Pass on the side of Carranglan, Nueva Ecija has been washed out and may take days or weeks to repair.

The entire Cagayan Valley is isolated from other regions, said Damian, who added that the
link between the Cagayan and Ilocos Norte via Pagudpud has also been closed by landslides.

Roads to Baguio closed

Cordillera police regional director Senior Superintendent Fidel Posadas said Baguio City was also cut off from other parts of Luzon as three main roads leading to it were closed.

Posadas said these included Kennon Road, Naguilian Road and Marcos Highway. He said the Department of Public Works and Highways had been working overtime to clear the roads.

"Sarado ang three major thoroughfares pababa sa Baguio (The three major thoroughfares from Baguio are closed)," he said on dzBB radio.

The rest of the Cordilleras - Mountain Provinces, Ifugao, Abra, Apayao and Kalinga - were also isolated from other provinces, Posadas said.

Presidential Management Staff head Hermogenes Esperon Jr., who was on his way to his home province of Pangasinan, said buses and cargo trucks had trouble navigating through the floods.

"Ang problema paglusot from south to north papuntang Rosales. May bus din dito, cargo truck(The problem is heading for Rosales town in Pangasinan. There are some buses and cargo trucks stuck here)," he said.

But Esperon said at least four 6x6 military trucks carrying relief goods so far managed to get through the flooded roads.

Bus firms have suspended trips north, while passenger buses and cargo trucks have either turned back south or gotten stranded in the relentless rain and rising water.

Caught by surprise

Ironically, despite the worst disaster in recent memory here, only Storm Signal No. 1 was hoisted over the region, making some residents believe the storm would be relatively mild. But the warning system only predicts wind velocity and not rainfall.

With flood waters entering homes with the suddenness familiar to many Ondoy victims in Metro Manila, local authorities had little time to prepare for rescue and evacuation. The safest and driest place in Dagupan, Pangasinan's largest city, seems to be the indoor sports stadium here, the Fernandez Sports Complex (formerly known as Dagupan Astrodome), where nearly 400 evacuees were taken by local authorities.

But electricity is out in much of the city, including this venue. While the evacuees were given rice, there are no cooking facilities. "Kelangan din dito tubig kasi walang mainom (ang) mga bata. meron kagabi pero isang galon lang," said Sally Berot, 22, who is here with her husband and three small children.

She said they were able to bring most of their kids' clothes but these were soaked in the rain. Knee-high waters had entered their home in Barangay Malued when they decided to leave.

The sports stadium is teeming with children, including several infants, from 84 families that evacuated four barangays Malued, Pantal, Lasip-Brande and Poblacion Oeste in Dagupan.

Transfer to higher ground

An estimated 25,000 people now in evacuation centers in Pangasinan will be transferred to the elevated western part of this province, the provincial government said Friday morning.

Butch Velasco, provincial information officer, said the evacuation will be conducted later in the day after rescue operations in several low-lying areas.

Meanwhile, the 1,000 people widely reported to be stranded in SM Rosales are now being rescued by the Philippine Coast Guard, according to Lt. Col. Anyano Orap-Orap of the Philippine Army. Flood waters had risen rapidly in Rosales, sealing off their escape from the mall.

As of posting time, rescue teams from the SBMA (Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority) maritime group and Sual town are conducting rescue operations in Mangaldan, San Fabian, San Jacinto, Manaoag, Calasiao, Sta. Barbara and Mapandan municipalities.

A total of 30 towns and cities have been submerged with three to 10 feet of floodwaters since Pepeng made its third landfall on Thursday.

The affected areas are Aguilar, Basista, Urbiztondo, Bayambang, Calasiao, Mapandana, Sta. Barbara, Dagupan City, Manaoag, Mangaldan, San Fabian, San Jacinto, Alcala, Bautista, Binaloan, Laoac, Pozorrubio, Sison, Urdaneta City, Villasis, Asingan, Bulangao, Natividad, Rosales, San Manuel, San Nicolas, San Quintin, Sta. Maria, Tayug and Umingan.

Among the most affected areas are Natividad, Tayug, Asingan and Mangaldan with all the villages there heavily flooded.

Stubborn refusal to evacuate

Yet even as the massive evacuation was being undertaken, two municipal mayors have complained of the "hard-headedness" of some of their constituents.

In separate radio interviews, Mayors Nonato Abrenica Jr. (Villasis) and Ricardo Revita (Rosales) said they asked residents to leave their homes but many stubbornly refused.

"Ang problema may matigas ang ulo, may naiwan. Medyo matigas ang ulo, di nakinig sa atin(The problem is that many people were hardheaded and refused to heed my calls to evacuate their homes)," Abrenica said in an interview on dzBB radio.

The mayor said he ordered the police to conduct a forced evacuation but by then it was too late as water from nearby dams already flooded the town. As of early Friday, about 70 percent of the town was flooded.

"Sabi ko forced evacuation pero biglang dumating ang tubig (I ordered a forced evacuation but by then it was too late because the water came in too fast)," he said.

Abrenica said he was stranded on the town hall’s second floor, as the ground floor was already flooded.

Returning evacuees

In Rosales town, Mayor Revita said many residents evacuated at first, but returned to their homes after getting relief goods.

Revita said he heard many cries for help Thursday night but could not do anything about it as the town had only one working rubber boat.

"Nang nakuha ang relief (goods) nila nagbalikan sila sa bahay-bahay nila. Nang tumaas ang tubig wala na kaming magawa di sila maka-cross (When they got their relief goods, they went back to their homes. When the water rose, we could not do anything anymore)," he said.

"Nasabihan namin, di kami nagkulang sa tao. Ang advisory sa barangay captains ilikas ang tao along riverbanks of Agno. Umikot pa ako tatlong beses, lahat na nakasalubong ko sinabihan ko (We did our part. I told the village chiefs to tell those living near the riverbanks of Agno River to leave. I went around the area thrice, I told them personally to evacuate)," he added.

As of posting time, provincial administrator Rafael Baraan said the San Roque Dam is releasing 3,900 cubic meters per second, down from the 6,000 per cubic meter Thursday night.

Pangasinan Governor Espino said he has been pushing for preventive evacuation in areas near the Agno River since Sunday when it was announced that Pepeng might return to the country.

-JOHANNA CAMILLE SISANTE, GMANews.TV

10/09/2009 | 09:37 AM

The Manila Floods: Why Wasn't the City Prepared?

By ISHAAN THAROOR Tuesday, Sep. 29, 2009

A man takes a break from cleaning a house that was swamped by Tropical Storm Ketsana in Marikina City, east of Manila, on Sept. 28, 2009. The flooding has killed at least 246 people

Erik de Castro / Reuters

In Manila, millions of residents now live in a world of mud. Torrential rain over the weekend triggered the worst flooding the Philippines' capital has seen in over four decades, submerging more than 80% of the city, killing at least 246 people and displacing hundreds of thousands more. By Tuesday, the water had receded in many places, but it left behind ruined homes and swept-away neighborhoods, and according to health officials, it disabled the majority of Manila's medical facilities. Debris, sewage and abandoned vehicles that were tossed around by gushing currents now litter the notoriously polluted capital; aid workers warn of water-borne diseases. The government has placed the area around Manila under a "state of public calamity."

Yet many in the country are pointing fingers at its politicians for failing to predict the scale of the disaster or lessen the damage it caused. Manila, they say, was always bound to face such catastrophe, and more should have been done to help its millions of residents prepare. A recently published study by the Economy and Environment Program for Southeast Asia (EEPSA), a research group based in Singapore, ranked metropolitan Manila as one of the provinces in Southeast Asia most vulnerable to flooding. The capital region is perched on a marshy isthmus that is crisscrossed with streams and rivers. An ever-growing population — Manila is now a sprawling mega-city of some 12 million people, larger still when factoring in the day-worker population — and the lack of infrastructure to accommodate it left swaths of the city exposed. "What we are seeing is a phenomenon that will affect many major cities in Asia," says Neeraj Jain, country specialist for the Philippines at the Asian Development Bank (ADB), which is headquartered in Manila. "Urbanization has been so rapid, yet the planning processes have lagged."In an appeal for assistance, Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo described Tropical Storm Ketsana, which hit Manila on Sept. 26, as a "once-in-a-lifetime typhoon." A month's worth of rain deluged the city in the space of 12 hours. "The system is overwhelmed, local government units are overwhelmed," said Anthony Golez of the state's National Disaster Coordinating Council at a press conference on Sept. 28.(See pictures of the storm.)

Last weekend's flood was in large part the result of the capital's poor drainage and sanitation systems, which have been neglected by several successive administrations in power. As Ketsana rained down upon Manila, sewers that were clogged up by plastic bags and other refuse led to roads becoming rivers and gardens lagoons. Video images of desperate people riding floating pontoons of garbage down inundated streets were a sign not just of the consequences of the flood, but also its causes. Many impoverished Manila residents live in makeshift settlements by rivers and creeks — the source of their drinking water — that overflowed and carried off their homes. "People have always been living on the edge," says Carlos Celdran, a popular Manila historian and performing artist. "It's amazing the city has actually managed to make it this far."

The Spanish seized Manila from its Muslim rulers in the 16th century and set it up as their colonial seat in Asia. The city was a flourishing, elegant entrepôt for centuries, but in recent times civic planning has been more haphazard as the population has boomed. Lambert Ramirez, executive director of the National Institute for Policy Studies, a Manila-based think tank, says much of the blame for poor urban management ought to be leveled at the government. "There's no coordinated policy for cleaning up garbage. There's no political will to get even simple things done," he says. Ramirez spoke to TIME while salvaging appliances and valuables from his own flooded home.

Jain of the ADB says the leadership in Manila, faced with elections in the coming months, is indeed thinking of long-term solutions to its infrastructure woes. Plans have been afoot to improve sanitation and also relieve the population burden in metro Manila by shifting certain businesses and government offices to areas outside the dense capital region. But the challenge facing the Philippines and other poor Asian countries is one of resources. Most Southeast Asia nations budget around 2% or 3% of their GDP for infrastructure development. To fend off such disasters in the future, Jain says that figure ought to be closer to 5% or 6%. It's a deficit that few governments can afford to make up overnight.

But given the looming specter of climate change, they may have to find a way sooner rather than later. The prospect of another typhoon this week underscores environmentalists' concern that shifts in global temperatures may mean increasingly extreme weather patterns for coastal cities like Manila. "[Ketsana] was a startling, unique event," says Herminia Francisco of the EEPSA in Singapore. "But then I think this is going to happen more and more frequently in the future."

For today, as international aid pours in from organizations like the Red Cross and the World Food Program, Manila residents are slowly retrieving their homes and livelihoods from the mud. Thousands of volunteers have donated food and rushed to help those who were worse affected. "Filipinos are used to crisis," says Celdran. "We've gone through a lot over the years, but we've managed. We're a resilient people."

Read the article here: http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1926646,00.html

'GMA used P800-million emergency fund for foreign trips'

'GMA used P800-million emergency fund for foreign trips'
By Jess Diaz (The Philippine Star) Updated August 15, 2009 12:00 AM

MANILA, Philippines - President Arroyo used up the government’s P800-million contingency fund for emergencies like calamities for her frequent foreign trips, Bukidnon Rep. Teofisto Guingona III revealed yesterday.

“She exhausted not only Malacañang’s travel

funds but also the P800-million appropriation for emergencies in the 2008 national budget,” he told radio station dzMM.

He said he based his revelation on a Commission on Audit

(COA) report submitted to Speaker Prospero Nograles this week.

“I have a copy of the report. An assistant commissioner of COA even briefed us on their shocking findings,” he said.

Guingona said the COA findings show that the 2008 contingency fund was not enough for foreign travels and Mrs. Arroyo had to augment it by P120 million.

“The augmentation was also exhausted,” he added.

Guingona also said the President overspent for her foreign travels between 2003 and 2007 by P1.6 billion.

She has only P1.1 billion under the annual budgets but she spent P2.7 billion over that period, he said.

He said the House of Representatives should have discovered the excess spending during the budget hearings.

“But the House is dominated by the President’s allies, so they just turn a blind eye,” he said.

He accused the President of violating the annual budget law “because she could not augment what Congress had approved and authorized her to spend.”

He said he would demand during the forthcoming budget hearings details on how and when Malacañang’s travel funds and the appropriation for contingencies were used.

Mrs. Arroyo’s latest foreign travel was her weeklong working visit to the United States two weeks ago.

It has become controversial largely due to at least two expensive dinners the President and her entourage of more than 50 enjoyed in posh restaurants in Washington and New York City.

Sen. Francis Escudero has criticized Mrs. Arroyo’s frequent travels abroad, saying she has spent more than P3 billion in taxpayers’ money for them.

Before her latest US visit, she “circumnavigated” the globe by flying to Tokyo, then to Los Angeles, Colombia, Brazil, Dubai, and Hong Kong before returning to Manila, he said.

According to former Senate president Ernesto Maceda, Mrs. Arroyo has spent a total of P5.5 billion for more than 50 foreign trips she has made since 2001.

In a recent television interview, Maceda said appropriations in the annual budgets for the President’s trips totaled P3.3 billion.

“In addition to these, there are contingency funds that could be used for foreign travel. Mrs. Arroyo has realigned a total of P2.2 billion of these funds for her foreign trips,” he said.

He said he got his data from the Department of Budget and Management and the Senate finance committee, of which he was chairman for five years.

He added that Escudero’s P3-billion figure apparently did not include realignments from the contingency funds.

Meanwhile, Quezon Rep. Danilo Suarez confirmed yesterday that President Arroyo and her large entourage had another expensive dinner in New York City other than the controversial $20,000 meal at the posh Le Cirque French restaurant.

“Yes, there was a second dinner in New York. But I was not there. I had other engagements,” he said.

He could not say where it was exactly or how much the presidential entourage paid.

Text messages purportedly coming from a staff member of the Philippine embassy in Washington claim that Mrs. Arroyo’s party enjoyed two dinners at Le Cirque.

The embassy supposedly paid for the New York City dinners, including the controversial meal on Aug. 2, for which Press Secretary Cerge Remonde claimed Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez shelled out $20,000.

The messages also claim it was the embassy that paid for a $3,500-a-night suite for the President and 60 $950-a-night rooms for her congressional companions at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, where former First Lady Imelda Romualdez Marcos used to stay.

Suarez and Rep. Romualdez are among Mrs. Arroyo’s favorite congressional companions whenever she travels abroad.

On Thursday, Suarez claimed that he was the one who paid $15,000 for steaks and lobsters at a Washington DC restaurant last July 30.

COA audit pushed

For a left-wing lawmaker, the Commission on Audit should form a special audit team to review the “lavish” spending of President Arroyo in her US trip.

Bayan Muna Rep. Teddy Casiño personally went to the office of COA chairman Reynaldo Villar, and handed him a two-page letter containing his request. He said he merely wanted the “whole truth about the controversies surrounding the US trip.”

He also invoked Republic Act 6713, or the Code of Conduct for Public Officials, which may have been violated by government officials who had partaken of the expensive meals in New York and Washington.

“Like most of our countrymen, I wonder, what other lavish expenses were made by the Philippine delegation?” he asked. Casiño finds the meal expenses “irregular, unnecessary, excessive, extravagant or unconscionable even if bills were footed by a private entity.”

Casiño, fellow Bayan Muna Rep. Satur Ocampo and Gabriela Rep. Liza Maza filed House Resolution 1315 that seeks to direct the House committee on good government to conduct an inquiry on the matter.

Casiño said it is well “within the jurisdiction of COA to determine, through a special audit, if public funds were irregularly used and if laws and policies were violated.”

Anakpawis Rep. Joel Maglunsod said Malacañang must present to the public a detailed accounting of all expenses of the President’s state and working travels abroad, including her latest trip to the US.

“The people deserve to know how much the President spent for her foreign travels,” he said.

“The expensive dinner at Le Cirque and the meal at Bobby Van’s Steak House in Washington are just the tip of the iceberg. Mrs. Arroyo and her entourage are definitely spending more than what they should during their junkets,” Maglunsod added.

“Whether the meals were paid for by private individuals or government officials, Mrs. Arroyo has a lot of explaining to do about her expenses during her trips and her swelling wealth,” he said.

“It is evident that Mrs. Arroyo and other public officials joining working and state visits violated Republic Act 6713 or the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees,” Maglunsod said.

No excuse

“The report that the consulate in New York has been asked to foot the bill is disturbing, and if true, exposes the sham behind Malacañang’s claim that taxpayer’s money was not spent for the Le Cirque dinner,” Makati City Mayor and opposition leader Jejomar Binay said. – With Delon Porcalla, Christina Mendez, Jose Rodel Clapano

gmanews.tv | Live from the Palace: A new transparency

Live from the Palace: A new

transparency

ALAN C. ROBLES

08/12/2009 | 02:31 PM

HUMOR ME: A new column that takes a satirical look at the Philippines’ real state of the nation.

TV anchor: Hello to all our viewers out there. We're coming live from the Palace, where the administration is about to announce what it says will be a dramatic newshift in its stance towards the media. It has promised that today it will fully answer and explain everything that the public and the press have been asking about. And let me tell you, it's going to be a change from the usual policy of not answering anything at all... Wait, here comes the spokesperson now, let's focus the camera on him...

Spokesperson: Good afternoon, everybody, we've all asked you to attend this gathering because we have an important announcement to make. In light of all the unfair criticisms and destructive remarks being made against this administration, we have decided to adopt a new media policy that, we feel, will totally address all these questions that have been raised for so many years. So let's start, first question?

Reporter No. 1: That's good to hear sir. Can you start by telling us if there's any truth to the charges that the President and cronies ran up a huge dinner bill abroad in Ristorante Costa Plente?

Spokesperson: It's a communist plot. Next question please.

Reporter No 1: Wait, don't you want to add details to your reply?

Spokesperson: Oh, yes, right. It's CLEARLY a communist plot. Is that detailed enough? Next question.

Reporter No 2: What about all these stories that the President plans to stay forever in power, that the president goes around the Palace touching the walls saying “hehehe, you're mine forever?"

Spokesperson: A communist plot.

Reporter No 2: Anything else?

Spokesman: A dastardly communist plot clearly bent on undermining the fabric of our democratic republic. Next question.

Reporter No 3: Can you comment on allegations that the President's family as well as members of the Cabinet have all become so rich that they play Monopoly with real property?

Spokesperson: What can I say, it's a communist plot. A disgusting, diabolical communist plot.

Reporter No 3: It's a communist plot that they've become rich?

Spokesperson: Who knows how these filthy communists work? Their agitation propaganda is really insidious.

Reporter No 4: What can you say about rumors that only textmates of the President will qualify for the National Artist award?

Spokesperson: You know what I'm going to say, right?

Correspondent: Uh, it's a communist plot?

Spokesperson: You see it too! Next question.

Reporter No 5: What can you say about government's efforts to deal with the destruction wrought by the consecutive typhoons.

Spokesperson: At last a question that allows me to demonstrate the work this government is doing in the face of the massive damage wrought by a clearly communist plot.

Reporter No 5: Are you saying the typhoon was caused by communists?

Spokesperson: I'm not pointing fingers but I think the evidence is overwhelming. Next question.

Reporter No 6: Excuse me sir, is the aircon working? Why is it so hot in the room?

Spokesperson: It's a communist plot!

Reporter No 6: No, no, we're just saying there seems to be a problem with the aircon.

Spokesperson: And I'm saying it's all a communist plot! It's clear that the communists have poisoned all your minds! You're all communists! All of you!

Reporter No 5: Are you OK sir?

Spokesperson: (starts raving) Papa Ferdie! Papa Ferdie! There are communists in the room! They're under my bed! Help! Storm troopers! Seal the Palace! The red menace attacks! Arggh!

Reporter No 6: His brain exploded! That's incredible!

Reporter No 1: Why?

Reporter No 6: I didn't think he had a brain.

TV Anchor: And that wraps up the administration's press con. - GMANews.TV

Foggy financial history of Gloria Arroyo

Foggy financial history of Gloria Arroyo

Multimillion pesos of net growth in stocks, real assets, cash on hand (or in bank), and other personal properties could not be accounted for in the statements of assets and liabilities and net worth (SALNs) that President Gloria Arroyo filed from 1992 to 2008.

With expert help from tax analysts and fund managers, the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism mapped President Arroyo’s financial history in the last 17 years she served as senator, then vice president, and finally, President.

The findings:

1992: Mrs. Arroyo declared a P243,936 car loan but acquired no new car. The value of her cars (P800,000) remained the same from 1991. She reported that a residential lot in Antipolo booked at P94,000 but with fair market value of P1.75 million was a “gift purchased” since 1986. Mrs. Arroyo used the term, “pro-divided,” for her pricey house and lot in Baguio City.

1994: The sources of Mrs. Arroyo’s net cash inflow of P595,572 could not be accounted for. The amount includes car loan payment of P533,791, additional P57,411 cash in bank, and P4,347 more in law books.

1995: Mrs. Arroyo declared variable fair market values for the house and lot in Baguio City that she acquired in 1977 for P350,000. In 1991, she said the “pro-divided” property’s fair market value was P14.9 million. In 1992-94, she said it dipped to P4.9 million. In 1995, she raised it to P27 million, for a 450-percent increase in value in just one year. In 1996-2008, she said the property’s value had risen to P67.9 million.

1995: Mrs. Arroyo sold two pieces of property—a residential lot in Las Piñas that she acquired in 1989 for P86,715, but which she said had fair market value that year of P922,500; and an island in Cagayan that she said she acquired in 1970 for P8,000 but did not quote any fair market value.

1995: Mrs. Arroyo bought two pieces of real estate—an agricultural lot in Bulacan for P1.17 million, and a commercial lot in Tayabas, Quezon, for P1 million, but reported no sales or cash inflow amounting to P2.27 million. In addition, she paid P238,010 in car loan, and reported P100,468 more cash on hand/in bank and P500,000 more in stocks. But she reported a P580 decline in the value of her jewelry (P950,580 in 1994, down to P950,000 in 1995).

1995: Mrs. Arroyo’s property purchases and net cash inflow totaled P3.95 million. If she sold the Las Piñas lot at fair market value of P922,500, she should have disposed the island in Cagayan at multiple times its acquisition value of P8,000 to account for her big net cash inflow.

1996: Mrs. Arroyo reported no property sale or cash inflows to account for P2,538,000 in new acquisitions—P1,458,910 worth of additional stocks (P5.8 million in 1996 from P4.4 million in 1995); P180,000 more for race horses (P420,000 from P240,000 in 1995); P148,742 additional cash on hand/in bank (P704,540 from P555,798); P650,000 more in appliances/furniture and office equipment; and P100,000 more in law books.

1997: Mrs. Arroyo bought an agricultural lot in Nasugbu, Batangas, for P550,000 and declared its fair market value at P1.5 million for a 200-percent increase in the same year.

1997: There are no property sales or cash inflows to account for Mrs. Arroyo’s new acquisitions of P5,107,964, and payment of P341.434 in car loan. Apart from the purchase of the Nasugbu lot, her net cash inflow consisted of P2.2 million more cash on hand/in bank (P2,860,711 in 1997, from only P704,540 in 1996); P180,000 more in race horses; P250,000 more worth of jewelry; P150,000 more in appliances and furniture; P900,000 more in law books; P141,090 more in stocks; P399,000 more in cars; and P1.27 million she spent for improvements on her lot in Nasugbu, Batangas; her house and lot in Baguio; and a condominium unit in Ayala.

1997: For the first time, Mrs. Arroyo declared “inherited properties in the process of transfer,” following the death of her father, former President Diosdado Macapagal. In 1997, she booked this item at P5.4 million. She continued to enroll it among her “personal and other properties” until 2008, or for 11 years’ running.

A tax analyst could not figure out why: “It is noteworthy that ‘Inherited Properties in process of transfer’ appears on the personal property column. Properties that are subject to registration are normally real property and shares of stock.”

“These assets started appearing starting 1997 [up to 2008],” the analyst said. “It cannot be land [since it appears in the personal property side]—if it is not land, what is taking them so long to put it in their name?”

1998: There are no sales or cash inflows to account for acquisitions of P10.4 million, including P207,508 improvements on the Ayala condominium; P3.03 million more cash on hand and in bank; P800,000 more in jewelry; P1 million more in law books; P5 million more in stocks; and P1.08 million more in cars.

1999: Mrs. Arroyo’s cash on hand/in bank declined by P2.07 million. But she reported acquiring P500,000 more in jewelry; P3 million more of stocks; and reported “inherited properties in process of transfer, Diosdado Macapagal Sr. and Evangelina M. Macapapagal” at a bigger value of P7.43 million.

2000: Mrs. Arroyo sold her Ayala condominium that she said had fair market value of P23.4 million, and which she reportedly acquired for P619,625 in 1980. Minus the 6-percent capital gains tax on fair market value, her net proceeds would be P12,604,695. Her cash on hand/in bank, however, went up by P32.6 million. Minus the money she raised from the Ayala condominium, Mrs. Arroyo’s net cash inflow of P19.95 million could not be accounted for.

2001: President Arroyo stopped listing three companies she reported in her statements of assets and liabilities from 1992 to 2000 in which her husband, Mike Arroyo, had business interests or financial connections. These are the LTA Inc. (real estate) and LTA Realty (real estate agent), both based in Makati City, and JJ Agricultural Corp. (agricultural family business) based in Bacolod City. From 1992 to 1999, President Arroyo said her husband was also involved in Aviatica Travel (travel agent) and the Arroyo Law Office.

2001: In the next seven years or 2007, President Arroyo enroled not a single company in which she or her husband had any business interests or financial connections.

2001: Mrs. Arroyo’s stocks suddenly went missing. It was last booked at P7.5 million in 2000. In the next four years, or until 2005, President Arroyo declared zero stocks. This would return in a huge way in 2006—already worth P55 million.

2001: President Arroyo’s cash on hand/in bank went up by P 17.95 million (up P54.3 million, from just P36.4 million in 2000). Her “inherited properties in process of transfer” declined in value to P1.4 million, from P5.4 million in 2000.

2001: President Arroyo reduced by half the value of jewelry (P1.2 million) and kept this figure unchanged in the next two years. In 2004, she said her jewelry nearly tripled in value to P3.4 million, a figure that would remain static in her next five annual statements of assets and liabilities.

2001: The horses (last booked at P600,000) suddenly disappeared from her statement of assets and liabilities. If she had given the horses to her sons, without any cash exchange, then she did not raise additional money at all but should have paid donor’s taxes. If she sold the horses, she would have raised P600,000 at least to make up for the increase in her cash assets, but should have also paid capital gains taxes. Whether or not her husband disposed of his shareholdings in the three companies his wife had listed in prior years is unclear from the president’s statements of assets and liabilities. If he did, the proceeds should have been reflected in the president’s succeeding statements, and her husband should have paid capital gains taxes.

2005: President Arroyo bought a piece of raw land in Coron, Palawan supposedly for P2.05 million, but did not indicate its fair market value.

2006: Mrs. Arroyo’s personal assets went up by P 9,303,564.41, her stocks surged all too suddenly to P55.7 million, but her cash on hand/in bank made a big dip of P44,254,143, and her notes payable rose to P2.14 million. In 2005, she reported having cash on hand/in bank of P55,483,015, and the next year, reported this to have thinned to P11.23 million.

2007: President Arroyo’s assets went up by P 7.72 million. She purchased a fishpond in Malolos, Bulacan at book value of P507,800 and again did not indicate its fair market value. Her stocks increased by P7.2 million, even as she did not at this time enroll any companies in which she or her husband had any shareholdings. Her cash on hand/in bank declined by just P37,981, or from P11,228,872 million in 2006 to P11,266,853.

2008: President Arroyo reported record net growth in cash and assets of P45.06 million. This included P26.18 million in additional cash on hand/in bank (P37.45 million, or thrice more than the P11.27 million she declared in 2007); and additional stocks of P51.88 million (P110.47 million in 2008, from P62.91 million in 2007). Mrs. Arroyo also reported taking out a P33-million loan (notes payable) but did not say from which bank or entity.

2008: Mrs. Arroyo sold her agricultural lot in San Rafael, Bulacan, signing with the First Gentleman the deed of sale on December 23, 2008. President Arroyo said she acquired the 2.9-hectare agricultural lot in 1995 for P1.2 million, but said its fair market value by 2007 was only P4.7 million. This is based on her statements of assets and liabilities. In the deed of sale, the President’s husband said he bought the land in 1996 for only P100,000. The Arroyos sold the lot for P41.5 million, or nearly 10 times more than the declared fair market value of the lot nestled in the foothills of the Sierra Madre.

By Malou Mangahas
The Manila Times
Posted 08/10/2009