Dreamy Thailand, June 2004
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Tuesday, July 20, 2004
Congress passes ‘mediocre’ laws worth P227 million each
By Jose Torres Jr.
abs-cbnNEWS.com
FOR SIX months last year, Congress passed 19 “meaningless and mediocre” laws worth P227 million pesos each on the average.
A “rapid assessment” of the performance of the 12th Congress from June to November 2003 revealed that the 19 laws passed by Congress, except for a health bill on smoking, were “of little significance to the protection and promotion of human rights.”
Done by the Philippine Human Rights Information Center (PhilRights) and the Forum on Democratic Options (FDO), a group of basic sector federations, human rights advocates and peoples’ organizations, the study discovered that, on the average, Congress spends P18.4 million daily. Thus, during the period covered by the study, Congress spent, on the average, P2.35 billion.
The General Appropriations Act allocated for Congress – Senate, House of Representatives, House and Senate Electoral Tribunal and Commission on Appointments – P4.49 billion in 2003.
Removing the allocation for the House and Senate Electoral Tribunals and the Commission on Appointments, the budget left for legislation in 2003 was P4.3 billion. The cost, therefore, of the 19 laws passed from June 1, 2003 to the end of November would be on the average P227 million each.
‘Mediocre laws’
Ironically, these expensive laws were described as “mediocre in comparison with other legislative measures that are pending,” Dr. Nymia Simbulan, PhilRights executive director, said.
“They appear to reflect the level and nature of the consensus of the House [of Representatives] and the Senate,” she added.
Two laws, Republic Act 9210 and RA 9217, granted two local non-working holidays – Naga City Day and Roxas Memorial Day in the province of Capiz – “legislations that would have the same effect as a city and provincial ordinance, respectively,” Simbulan said.
Fourteen of these laws were administrative in nature.
· Six laws creating six additional district engineering offices of the Department of Public Works and Highways;
· Six franchise laws (Meralco, Consolidated Broadcasting System, People’s Broadcasting Service, Newsounds Broadcasting Network, Air Philippines, Panay Telephone Corporation);
· One law creating an additional congressional district of Sulu; and
· One law increasing allowances of judges.
The three other laws concerned tourism (permanent citizenship to Filipinos who acquire foreign citizenship), taxes (excise tax on automobiles) and a minor health law against smoking.
“Considering the laws from June 1 to the end of November 2003 were mediocre, this is clearly a waste of people’s money,” Simbulan said.
‘Shocking’
“Shocking.” This was the reaction of Dr. Aurora Parong, executive director of the Task Force Detainees of the Philippines (TFDP). “Human rights bills do not even pass the committee level,” Parong said.
The bill for the criminalization of torture has not been given attention by Congress. The Automatic Debt Appropriation Act remains in place even as the huge debt burden serves as obstacle to higher budget allocations for health, education and housing. The bill to compensate victims of human rights violations during the martial law years remains un-enacted into law.
“It is shocking to know that Congress has an average expenditure of P18.4 million per day in 2003 even as about 27 million Filipinos do not have food on their tables three times a day,” she added.
If a family of six needs P600 a day for food, housing, education, health and other basic needs, the family needs about P219,000 a year. The cost of one single law passed last year can, therefore, feed, house and assure the basic needs of 1,036 families for a year.
“This is not to say that we should not have a Congress to make laws,” Parong said. “This is just to say that we do not deserve a Congress that spends so much and does too little. We deserve a better Congress,” she added.
Whose to blame?
The PhilRights/FDO study blamed both houses of Congress of enacting the 19 laws that had little significance to the lives of Filipinos.
For the past six months, the House of Representatives filed 526 bills and 233 resolutions while the Senate filed 124 bills and 78 resolutions. Together, 248 legislators filed 961 legislative measures, or an average of 3.87 measures for every legislator. If counted from the start of the 12th Congress, there would be a total of 11,416 measures produced, or an average of 46 legislative measures per lawmaker.
Taken separately as distinct chambers, however, the Senate had a higher average in bills production with an average of 5.6 bills from the total 124 bills filed in the last six months against the House’s average of 2.3 bills from its total of 526 bills.
These numbers, however, do not reflect quality, the study said. They include bills and resolutions that were filed by one or more legislators, bills that the committee filed to consolidate, substitute or revise bills deliberated by both houses of Congress.
The study found out that the origin of most of the 19 “mediocre” measures is the House of Representatives, with only one emanating from the Senate. The representatives, however, can say that they had passed and transmitted to the Senate 967 bills for concurrence and the 18 House measures were the Senate’s choice.
The senators, however, can argue that if Congress hadn’t sent low quality bills, the Senate wouldn’t have picked them up.
By Jose Torres Jr.
abs-cbnNEWS.com
FOR SIX months last year, Congress passed 19 “meaningless and mediocre” laws worth P227 million pesos each on the average.
A “rapid assessment” of the performance of the 12th Congress from June to November 2003 revealed that the 19 laws passed by Congress, except for a health bill on smoking, were “of little significance to the protection and promotion of human rights.”
Done by the Philippine Human Rights Information Center (PhilRights) and the Forum on Democratic Options (FDO), a group of basic sector federations, human rights advocates and peoples’ organizations, the study discovered that, on the average, Congress spends P18.4 million daily. Thus, during the period covered by the study, Congress spent, on the average, P2.35 billion.
The General Appropriations Act allocated for Congress – Senate, House of Representatives, House and Senate Electoral Tribunal and Commission on Appointments – P4.49 billion in 2003.
Removing the allocation for the House and Senate Electoral Tribunals and the Commission on Appointments, the budget left for legislation in 2003 was P4.3 billion. The cost, therefore, of the 19 laws passed from June 1, 2003 to the end of November would be on the average P227 million each.
‘Mediocre laws’
Ironically, these expensive laws were described as “mediocre in comparison with other legislative measures that are pending,” Dr. Nymia Simbulan, PhilRights executive director, said.
“They appear to reflect the level and nature of the consensus of the House [of Representatives] and the Senate,” she added.
Two laws, Republic Act 9210 and RA 9217, granted two local non-working holidays – Naga City Day and Roxas Memorial Day in the province of Capiz – “legislations that would have the same effect as a city and provincial ordinance, respectively,” Simbulan said.
Fourteen of these laws were administrative in nature.
· Six laws creating six additional district engineering offices of the Department of Public Works and Highways;
· Six franchise laws (Meralco, Consolidated Broadcasting System, People’s Broadcasting Service, Newsounds Broadcasting Network, Air Philippines, Panay Telephone Corporation);
· One law creating an additional congressional district of Sulu; and
· One law increasing allowances of judges.
The three other laws concerned tourism (permanent citizenship to Filipinos who acquire foreign citizenship), taxes (excise tax on automobiles) and a minor health law against smoking.
“Considering the laws from June 1 to the end of November 2003 were mediocre, this is clearly a waste of people’s money,” Simbulan said.
‘Shocking’
“Shocking.” This was the reaction of Dr. Aurora Parong, executive director of the Task Force Detainees of the Philippines (TFDP). “Human rights bills do not even pass the committee level,” Parong said.
The bill for the criminalization of torture has not been given attention by Congress. The Automatic Debt Appropriation Act remains in place even as the huge debt burden serves as obstacle to higher budget allocations for health, education and housing. The bill to compensate victims of human rights violations during the martial law years remains un-enacted into law.
“It is shocking to know that Congress has an average expenditure of P18.4 million per day in 2003 even as about 27 million Filipinos do not have food on their tables three times a day,” she added.
If a family of six needs P600 a day for food, housing, education, health and other basic needs, the family needs about P219,000 a year. The cost of one single law passed last year can, therefore, feed, house and assure the basic needs of 1,036 families for a year.
“This is not to say that we should not have a Congress to make laws,” Parong said. “This is just to say that we do not deserve a Congress that spends so much and does too little. We deserve a better Congress,” she added.
Whose to blame?
The PhilRights/FDO study blamed both houses of Congress of enacting the 19 laws that had little significance to the lives of Filipinos.
For the past six months, the House of Representatives filed 526 bills and 233 resolutions while the Senate filed 124 bills and 78 resolutions. Together, 248 legislators filed 961 legislative measures, or an average of 3.87 measures for every legislator. If counted from the start of the 12th Congress, there would be a total of 11,416 measures produced, or an average of 46 legislative measures per lawmaker.
Taken separately as distinct chambers, however, the Senate had a higher average in bills production with an average of 5.6 bills from the total 124 bills filed in the last six months against the House’s average of 2.3 bills from its total of 526 bills.
These numbers, however, do not reflect quality, the study said. They include bills and resolutions that were filed by one or more legislators, bills that the committee filed to consolidate, substitute or revise bills deliberated by both houses of Congress.
The study found out that the origin of most of the 19 “mediocre” measures is the House of Representatives, with only one emanating from the Senate. The representatives, however, can say that they had passed and transmitted to the Senate 967 bills for concurrence and the 18 House measures were the Senate’s choice.
The senators, however, can argue that if Congress hadn’t sent low quality bills, the Senate wouldn’t have picked them up.
posted by Joe Torres @ 8:35 PM
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Saturday, July 17, 2004
ANGELO SAFE, WILL BE HOME SOON, LEBANESE NEGOTIATOR SAYS
By JOSE TORRES JR.
abs-cbnNEWS.com
Angelo de la Cruz is safe and may be home soon, a Lebanese businessman who claimed to have helped facilitate negotiations with the Iraqi kidnappers told abs-cbnNEWS.com Wednesday night.
“Any moment now he will be released. What time, we don’t know,” said Joseph Bechara, a Lebanese businessman who has been living in the Philippines for 25 years.
Bechara arrived in Manila on Tuesday after getting the assurance from his “contacts” that de la Cruz is safe and is about to be released.
“We have been successful. We got the promise that [de la Cruz] would not be touched, that he would not be harmed. For the release, it could be any moment now,” Bechara said.
Reports received by ABS-CBN earlier from unnamed "Filipino negotiators" said de la Cruz was in "safe hands" in Iraq.
The report came shortly after Foreign Affairs Secretary Delia Albert said the government has began pulling its troops out of Iraq.
"The foreign ministry is coordinating the pullout of the humanitarian contingent with the ministry of defense," Albert said. "As of [Wednesday], our head count is down from 51 to 43," she added.
Vice President Noli de Castro said in a televised statement later Wednesday said the government "has spoken through the foreign office and negotiations are ongoing with the Iraqi [militants] with the help of other friends from the Middle East" who are mediating for de la Cruz's release.
Lebanese imam mediates for de la Cruz's release
Sheikh Maher Hammoud, imam of Al Quods mosque in Sidon, Lebanon, played an important role in the extension of the deadline set by de la Cruz's kidnappers last week, Bechara said.
He said Hammoud, one of the founders of the Lebanese Sunni movement, convinced the kidnappers to extend the deadline of de la Cruz’s scheduled execution.
Hammoud made contact with the Muslim Scholars Committee of Iraq three hours before de la Cruz's scheduled beheading last Saturday (early Sunday in Manila), Bechara said. The contact resulted to the extension of the kidnappers' deadline.
“We made contact with the militants three hours before the deadline [on Saturday],” Bechara said. “I was with Sheikh Maher when he talked with the militants. We got the extension right there and then,” he added.
“They talked about a lot of things. But [the militants’] only concern was for the Filipinos to pullout from [Iraq] and that they would be out before August 20,” Bechara said when asked what the kidnappers' demands were.
De la Cruz’s release was delayed because the kidnappers waited for an official statement from the Philippine government to withdraw its troops in Iraq.
No more risk of execution
An official of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DOF) said early Wednesday that de la Cruz is “safe and there is no more risk of him being executed” after the government announced that it has started to withdraw Filipino troops in Iraq. The kidnappers have threatened to kill de la Cruz unless the government withdraws the dozens of peacekeepers it has in Iraq by July 20, one month ahead of schedule.
DOF Secretary Delia Albert on Wednesday said Filipino troops in Baghdad had fallen to 43 from 51. The Philippine Air Force also announced that it has put two transport planes on standby to begin an evacuation of troops if it is ordered.
Asked if this amounted to a withdrawal, a military spokesman, however, said no order to pull out had yet been received.
Statements by DOF officials, however, have been consistently vague since the deputy foreign secretary said Monday that Manila would pull out as soon as possible, but gave no date -- suggesting a deliberate policy.
Albert's deputy did not clarify whether Manila plans to pull out its troops by July 20. Officials in Manila have also declined to make clear if the troops would leave much earlier than their scheduled August 20 departure.
Withdrawal of troops questioned
Foreign governments, meanwhile, criticized the Philippines' alleged capitulation to kidnappers in Iraq.
Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer telephoned the Filipino ambassador to Australia saying that while he sympathized with Manila over its hostage crisis, giving in to the kidnappers would only strengthen their hand.
"He strongly urged the Philippines not to give into the demands of terrorists because we will all pay a price if they do," a spokesman for Downer told the Australian Associated Press news agency.
"If countries cave in to terrorists' demands then that only encourages the terrorists to become more strident and more aggressive toward other countries, as well as that country itself," Downer told reporters in his home town Adelaide.
Australia has some 800 military personnel in Iraq.
In Poland, which also has troops in Iraq, a Foreign Ministry spokesman said: "This move only encourages terrorists to increase such actions, since they bring about desired effects. It enforces their belief that such actions are worthwhile.
"The pullout by the Philippine government definitely increases danger for all other peace-keeping troops in Iraq. But I cannot say what Poland would do if we found ourselves in such an unfortunate situation," Boguslaw Majewski told Reuters.
The reports about Manila's plan to pull out its troops came after news a Bulgarian hostage in Iraq had been executed and another threatened with death.
Bulgaria said Wednesday it would not withdraw its 470 troops in Iraq despite the hostage crisis. With reports from Reuters
By JOSE TORRES JR.
abs-cbnNEWS.com
Angelo de la Cruz is safe and may be home soon, a Lebanese businessman who claimed to have helped facilitate negotiations with the Iraqi kidnappers told abs-cbnNEWS.com Wednesday night.
“Any moment now he will be released. What time, we don’t know,” said Joseph Bechara, a Lebanese businessman who has been living in the Philippines for 25 years.
Bechara arrived in Manila on Tuesday after getting the assurance from his “contacts” that de la Cruz is safe and is about to be released.
“We have been successful. We got the promise that [de la Cruz] would not be touched, that he would not be harmed. For the release, it could be any moment now,” Bechara said.
Reports received by ABS-CBN earlier from unnamed "Filipino negotiators" said de la Cruz was in "safe hands" in Iraq.
The report came shortly after Foreign Affairs Secretary Delia Albert said the government has began pulling its troops out of Iraq.
"The foreign ministry is coordinating the pullout of the humanitarian contingent with the ministry of defense," Albert said. "As of [Wednesday], our head count is down from 51 to 43," she added.
Vice President Noli de Castro said in a televised statement later Wednesday said the government "has spoken through the foreign office and negotiations are ongoing with the Iraqi [militants] with the help of other friends from the Middle East" who are mediating for de la Cruz's release.
Lebanese imam mediates for de la Cruz's release
Sheikh Maher Hammoud, imam of Al Quods mosque in Sidon, Lebanon, played an important role in the extension of the deadline set by de la Cruz's kidnappers last week, Bechara said.
He said Hammoud, one of the founders of the Lebanese Sunni movement, convinced the kidnappers to extend the deadline of de la Cruz’s scheduled execution.
Hammoud made contact with the Muslim Scholars Committee of Iraq three hours before de la Cruz's scheduled beheading last Saturday (early Sunday in Manila), Bechara said. The contact resulted to the extension of the kidnappers' deadline.
“We made contact with the militants three hours before the deadline [on Saturday],” Bechara said. “I was with Sheikh Maher when he talked with the militants. We got the extension right there and then,” he added.
“They talked about a lot of things. But [the militants’] only concern was for the Filipinos to pullout from [Iraq] and that they would be out before August 20,” Bechara said when asked what the kidnappers' demands were.
De la Cruz’s release was delayed because the kidnappers waited for an official statement from the Philippine government to withdraw its troops in Iraq.
No more risk of execution
An official of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DOF) said early Wednesday that de la Cruz is “safe and there is no more risk of him being executed” after the government announced that it has started to withdraw Filipino troops in Iraq. The kidnappers have threatened to kill de la Cruz unless the government withdraws the dozens of peacekeepers it has in Iraq by July 20, one month ahead of schedule.
DOF Secretary Delia Albert on Wednesday said Filipino troops in Baghdad had fallen to 43 from 51. The Philippine Air Force also announced that it has put two transport planes on standby to begin an evacuation of troops if it is ordered.
Asked if this amounted to a withdrawal, a military spokesman, however, said no order to pull out had yet been received.
Statements by DOF officials, however, have been consistently vague since the deputy foreign secretary said Monday that Manila would pull out as soon as possible, but gave no date -- suggesting a deliberate policy.
Albert's deputy did not clarify whether Manila plans to pull out its troops by July 20. Officials in Manila have also declined to make clear if the troops would leave much earlier than their scheduled August 20 departure.
Withdrawal of troops questioned
Foreign governments, meanwhile, criticized the Philippines' alleged capitulation to kidnappers in Iraq.
Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer telephoned the Filipino ambassador to Australia saying that while he sympathized with Manila over its hostage crisis, giving in to the kidnappers would only strengthen their hand.
"He strongly urged the Philippines not to give into the demands of terrorists because we will all pay a price if they do," a spokesman for Downer told the Australian Associated Press news agency.
"If countries cave in to terrorists' demands then that only encourages the terrorists to become more strident and more aggressive toward other countries, as well as that country itself," Downer told reporters in his home town Adelaide.
Australia has some 800 military personnel in Iraq.
In Poland, which also has troops in Iraq, a Foreign Ministry spokesman said: "This move only encourages terrorists to increase such actions, since they bring about desired effects. It enforces their belief that such actions are worthwhile.
"The pullout by the Philippine government definitely increases danger for all other peace-keeping troops in Iraq. But I cannot say what Poland would do if we found ourselves in such an unfortunate situation," Boguslaw Majewski told Reuters.
The reports about Manila's plan to pull out its troops came after news a Bulgarian hostage in Iraq had been executed and another threatened with death.
Bulgaria said Wednesday it would not withdraw its 470 troops in Iraq despite the hostage crisis. With reports from Reuters
posted by Joe Torres @ 1:09 PM
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Wednesday, July 07, 2004
Friday, July 02, 2004
Thursday, July 01, 2004
Jose Torres Jr. (right) and David Llorito, TODAY newspaper's research head, show their plaque of recognition during the Jaime V. Ongpin Awards for Excellence in Journalism. Llorito received the award for his article "Land row grips Los Baños science, technology agencies," which was published in the Manila Times on July 2003. Torres' series of articles on "The making of a Mindanao mafia" were carried by TODAY in April 2003. Photo by ROY DOMINGO
posted by Joe Torres @ 11:53 PM
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TORRES BAGS THIRD PRIZE IN JVO AWARDS
abs-cbnNEWS.com
ABS-CBN News website senior editor Jose Torres Jr. bagged the third prize Wednesday (July 1, 2004) in the prestigious Jaime V. Ongpin (JVO) Awards for Excellence in Journalism for his work titled "The Making of A Mindanao Mafia." Torres won the JVO award in the explanatory report category.
The special report of Torres appeared in the i Magazine of the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) from January to March 2003 and in Today newspaper on April 9, 2003.
Margarita de Pano won the first prize in the explanatory category for her story "Cancer of the Poor" which was published in Newsbreak on July 7, 2003.
Pano received a plaque and P70,000 in prize money. She also received the Australian Ambassador's Award, an Australian visitor's program that enables the winner to experience Australia first hand.
Second prize for the same category went to the PCIJ for its special report "Who was responsible for the IMPSA deal?" published in the Philippine Staron January 15, 2003 and in Today on January 15-16, 2003.
The JVO awards had been solely for investigative reports from 1989 to 2000. This is the third year that the explanatory report as a separate category has been recognized.
The first prize for the investigative report category went to Tess Bacalla of the PCIJ for her report "BIR officials amass unexplained wealth" published in BusinessWorld, Cebu Daily News, Malaya, Manila Standard, The Manila Times and Sun Star Daily on May 12-14, 2003 and in Abante Tonite on May 13-14, 2003.
Bacalla received a cash prize of P70,000 and a plaque.
Gemma B. Bagayaua of Newsbreak won second prize for her report "Barbers cut?" published on October 13, 2003, as well as the third prize for "Tony's fortune" published on April 14, 2003 in the investigative report category.
abs-cbnNEWS.com
ABS-CBN News website senior editor Jose Torres Jr. bagged the third prize Wednesday (July 1, 2004) in the prestigious Jaime V. Ongpin (JVO) Awards for Excellence in Journalism for his work titled "The Making of A Mindanao Mafia." Torres won the JVO award in the explanatory report category.
The special report of Torres appeared in the i Magazine of the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) from January to March 2003 and in Today newspaper on April 9, 2003.
Margarita de Pano won the first prize in the explanatory category for her story "Cancer of the Poor" which was published in Newsbreak on July 7, 2003.
Pano received a plaque and P70,000 in prize money. She also received the Australian Ambassador's Award, an Australian visitor's program that enables the winner to experience Australia first hand.
Second prize for the same category went to the PCIJ for its special report "Who was responsible for the IMPSA deal?" published in the Philippine Staron January 15, 2003 and in Today on January 15-16, 2003.
The JVO awards had been solely for investigative reports from 1989 to 2000. This is the third year that the explanatory report as a separate category has been recognized.
The first prize for the investigative report category went to Tess Bacalla of the PCIJ for her report "BIR officials amass unexplained wealth" published in BusinessWorld, Cebu Daily News, Malaya, Manila Standard, The Manila Times and Sun Star Daily on May 12-14, 2003 and in Abante Tonite on May 13-14, 2003.
Bacalla received a cash prize of P70,000 and a plaque.
Gemma B. Bagayaua of Newsbreak won second prize for her report "Barbers cut?" published on October 13, 2003, as well as the third prize for "Tony's fortune" published on April 14, 2003 in the investigative report category.
posted by Joe Torres @ 5:10 PM
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