Estrada: ‘Yes, I will run’




Agence France-Presse
First Posted 13:50:00 10/14/2009
source: Inquirer.net

MANILA, Philippines—Former president Joseph Estrada, ousted in a popular uprising in 2001 and later convicted of graft, said on Wednesday he would run again for president in next year's elections.

"Yes, I will run," Estrada, 72, told Agence France-Presse, when asked to confirm press reports of his decision.

The former movie action star said he had chosen Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay as his vice presidential candidate.

Estrada said he would make a formal announcement of his decision at the Sto. Nino church in the impoverished Manila district of Tondo on Wednesday next week.

Tondo was the setting of many of his past movies, in which he gained massive national popularity by playing tough guy roles as defenders of the poor and downtrodden.

Estrada represents the United Opposition, a coalition of two influential parties that have been critical of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's rule. Binay is UNO’s chairman.

However there are two strong opposition contenders representing other parties in next year's elections: Senator Benigno Aquino III, the son of the late democracy icon Corazon Aquino, and billionaire property developer Senator Manuel Villar.

Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro will represent Arroyo's ruling Lakas-Kampi-CMD coalition.

Estrada said he was confident of victory in the May 2010 polls.

"I will not run for the presidency if I'm not sure I'll win," he said.

Estrada said his edge would be his experience, having climbed the political ladder first as a town mayor, a senator and a vice president before a landslide victory as the country's 13th president in 1998.

Estrada's term, however, was cut short by a military-backed popular revolt in 2001, amid accusations he amassed wealth from illegal gambling kickbacks and shady deals amounting to about 80 million dollars.

He was convicted of large-scale graft and sentenced to life in jail in 2007.

But Arroyo, who played a key role in deposing him when she served as his vice president, pardoned him six weeks later.

Ignoring peril puts RP economy at risk—UNDP

Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 07:08:00 10/14/2009

PARO, BHUTAN — The Philippines will immediately lose the economic gains it has made if it ignores disaster preparedness and management, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) said Tuesday.

“Climate change is going to be a huge issue as well as the frequency of disasters in the Philippines,” said Ajay Chhibber, director of UNDP Asia and the Pacific, as he expressed concern about the devastation that “Ondoy” and “Pepeng” brought to the country.

“More resilience need to be built” in the Philippines, he said.

Chhibber said the country “has made very good economic progress” despite the global economic crisis.

But with the recent calamities, he cautioned that “many people have just escaped poverty and one disaster could throw them back. This is where I think more should be done.”

The UNDP official addressed a four-day conference on democracy organized by the UNDP and the Bhutan government which gathered some 200 delegates from all over Asia.

Bhutan, the landlocked Himalayan kingdom wedged between the politically dominant countries of China and India, has entered a new era of democracy, starting with its first national parliamentary elections which was completed in March 2008. King Jigme Singye Wangchuck ratified Bhutan’s first Constitution in July 2008.

Though it is still taking baby steps toward democracy, Bhutan can serve as a “role model” even for older democracies like the Philippines, especially in how the small nation is preserving nature. Edson C. Tandoc Jr

‘An inconvenient truth: Time to elect green president’
By Philip Tubeza
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 05:52:00 10/09/2009

MANILA, Philippines — Wanted: a green president who will address an inconvenient truth.

Filipinos should learn their lesson from the recent disastrous flooding and vote for someone who is “truly in favor of environmental protection” in the May 2010 presidential election, former President Fidel Ramos said Thursday.

Warning that the country faced far worse effects of climate change, Ramos told an eco-tourism conference in Makati City that voters should choose someone knowledgeable about sustainable development—or economic development that does not destroy the environment.

“Who are we going to vote for in 2010? Don’t ask me. It’s too early. But certainly, we should vote for someone, from the top to the local positions, who is truly, and indeed truly, in favor of environmental protection and sustainable development,” Ramos said.

“That is the challenge for all of us Filipinos,” he told the audience that included diplomats, former Cabinet secretaries and business leaders.

With the ravages of Tropical Storm “Ondoy” (international codename: Ketsana) and Typhoon “Pepeng” (Parma), Ramos said he expected “sustainable development” to be one of the key issues in the coming elections.

“The world has gained so much insight about global warming, the environment’s limited carrying capacity, and our own people’s unpreparedness even as our country gears up for elections in 2010, when sustainable development will be a key issue,” Ramos said.
To emphasize his zeal for the environment, the former President urged Filipinos to “wear something green” every day. He then pulled up his barong Tagalog to show a green golf shirt underneath.

Nation at crossroads

“The task at hand is urgent and imperative. We stand at the crossroads where as a nation we have to make important choices in order to create a better future for the next generation of Filipinos,” Ramos said.

“We all have stories to tell about how Tropical Storm ‘Ondoy’ and Typhoon ‘Pepeng’ affected our lives and our properties. We all know someone who was caught in the flood and we also know someone else who heroically helped strangers survive and overcome,” he said.

“While we speak, massive rehab operations continue to be undertaken in Metro Manila and northern Luzon to return hundreds of thousands of victims back to normalcy,” Ramos added.

Environmentalist Jose Ma. Lorenzo “Lori” Tan of the World Wide Fund for Nature-Philippines repeated warnings former US Vice President Al Gore outlined in his documentary “An Inconvenient Truth” and ticked off the possible effects of global warming in the Philippines.

‘Bora will split in 2’

“Tropical cyclones are expected to become more intense (and) we’re seeing this already. Climate changes are happening faster than ever before. They have begun and will continue,” Tan said.

He showed a simulation of what would happen to areas in the Philippines if sea water levels rise by 12 meters due to the melting of the polar ice caps.

It shows cities like Laoag, Davao, Aparri, Pagadian, Zamboanga, Cebu, Tacloban hit by flooding if sea water levels rise by 12 meters along with more than half of Metro Manila with Manila Bay spilling into Central Luzon.

“Central Luzon is a floodplain and the waters could hit up to Gapan ... Boracay will be split in two and we’re also going to lose Caticlan,” Tan said, referring to the resort’s airport.

Around one billion people around the world in the next 40 to 50 years will be forced to migrate if climate change worsens, he said. Of this number, 400 million will be from Asia, with 15 million coming from the Philippines.

“Forced migration suddenly becomes very real. Globally, a billion people internally displaced by climate change,” Tan said, adding that the government should prepare for all of these.

Review land use plans

At a similar forum at the Ateneo School of Government on Tuesday by the Philippine Institute of Environmental Planners, green activists said that the next president should review land use plans of Metro Manila.

Liza Pulumbarit, the institute president, said that these plans include recommendations for flooding in the Marikina Valley, decongestion of the metropolis and regional development.

“The plans are already there dating to 20 to 30 years back. There would be a need for the new leadership to look at this plans again and see what we can pick up,” Pulumbarit told the Inquirer. “For all we know, they might have been overtaken by certain events.”

Urban planner Nathaniel Von Einsiedel said that a 10-year master plan was drawn in 1975 to mitigate the floods in the Marikina Valley. Einsiedel said that some recommendations, like the construction of the Manggahan floodway and the Napindan station, were followed.

But other items like the construction of a Marikina Dam and the Parañaque spillway were shelved for being “too expensive.” With a report from Alcuin Papa

Santiago asks: Where’s Secretary Puno?
By Tarra Quismundo, Christine Avendaño
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 08:58:00 10/06/2009

MANILA, Philippines—Where is Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno?

Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago wants to know since, she said, Puno was noticeably absent during the height of Tropical Storm “Ondoy’s” onslaught of the metropolis the other week.

“I want to know where he was during the flood,” said Santiago yesterday, adding that she heard he was abroad “ostensibly because his wife is ill.”

In a text message to the Inquirer, Interior Assistant Secretary Brian Yamsuan said Puno was in Virginia in the United States because his wife Pinky was undergoing major surgery.

Puno will be back in the country on Oct. 12, Yamsuan said.

Santiago made the remark when she was asked if she thought Puno should be held liable along with some mayors for the poor response to the calamity caused by the successive storms to hit Metro Manila.

Santiago said Puno apparently did not get President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s permission to leave the country since the latter herself had asked during a televised briefing last week who had given the DILG secretary the authority to travel abroad at a time of calamity.

Not an act of God but a sin...
By Alcuin Papa
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 03:19:00 10/02/2009

MANILA, Philippines — The flood disaster that struck Metro Manila over the weekend was not an act of God but a sin of omission by government and private real estate developers, according to urban planner Felino “Jun” Palafox.

The green architect said that a land use plan that took floods into consideration was drawn up as far back as 1977, titled “Metro Manila Transport, Land Use and Development Planning Project,” sponsored by the World Bank.

Palafox said that the study had already noted the possibility of heavy flooding in at least three sites of urban growth in the Philippine capital—the Marikina Valley and its northern and southern parts.

“When I saw the damage caused by the floods recently, I realized that these were the same areas that had already been identified,” he told the Inquirer.

“Urban development is spreading into areas which are, in their present state, unsuitable for development—either because they are low-lying and liable to flooding, or because development is without adequate facilities for the treatment and disposal of sewage (the norm in Manila) and so will continue to contribute to the severe pollution of areas such as Laguna de Bay,” the study said.

But what did government do to mitigate the flooding and other problems identified by the 1977 study?

Nothing, according to Palafox.

Need for spillway

“This is not an act of God, as what people have already said. This is a sin of omission on the part of government and leadership. Practically all the measures outlined in the study could have addressed the flooding we are seeing these days,” he said.

For one, there was little infrastructure to prevent flooding. Palafox cited the need to construct a spillway in Parañaque to drain excess water from Laguna Lake to Manila Bay.

“The Manggahan floodway was constructed to drain floodwater from the mountains flowing through the Marikina River into the Laguna Lake. But what happens when the Laguna Lake is overflowing? That is why there was a need for the Parañaque spillway to direct excess water from the lake into the Manila Bay,” he said.

But he said the government never constructed the spillway. “I don’t know why,” said Palafox, who earned a degree on urban planning from Harvard. “But you don’t need an engineer to understand this.”

Palafox also said that the study proposed desilting the Pasig and Marikina Rivers to accommodate more water. “What should have been done was to use the silt and mud collected from the river to construct ‘green islands’ just like in Holland.”

The green islands should have been constructed at the mouths of the rivers and could be used for “recreational purposes” like parks, arboretums and sports arenas. “You let these islands settle, say after 15 years. Then you can use them for industrial purposes like oil depots.”

Erase parts of capital

If he were to redesign Metro Manila, Palafox said he would take a “big eraser” and wipe out parts of Metro Manila in the east, north and south, where development did not conform to standards, particularly the construction of housing below the flood lines.
“Government knows what the flood lines are. Why did developers of subdivisions allow construction of housing projects below the flood lines?” he asked.

Palafox said corruption might have come into play because it would take the approval of 32 agencies to sign papers for land development and 12 agencies just to do one building.

He recalled that he did some development in the portion of the Nile near Khartoum in Sudan where the construction was done well above the flood lines.

Also, there is a chronic lack of foresight in the land development with developers looking only beyond 25 years of flood history.

“The international standard is to look at the flood history of the past 500 years, like the Khartoum project,” he said.

If he had his way, Palafox said he would have planned out Metro Manila according to plans by American architect Daniel Burnham in 1905.

According to Palafox, Burnham envisioned a Manila designed the same way as Paris, built near the Seine River, and Venice with its waterways.

“In Venice, you work on the first floor and live on the second floor,” he said.

Other recommendations in the plan included the construction of catch basins under buildings that could collect rainwater for recycling or for flowing into rivers.

Also, Palafox recommended the building of houses on stilts to go above the flood lines, just like the Badjaos.

In addition to the lack of foresight, there was also a chronic oversight by government over the years on the issue of garbage and illegal logging.

“The pressures for development in areas unsuitable for development exist and will continue to exist, and without action, high and unnecessary environmental, social and economic costs will be incurred,” the study said.

Source: Inquirer

Gov't, private developers liable for flood damage'

'Gov't, private developers liable for flood damage'

Urban planner and architect Felino Palafox Jr.

MANILA - Government agencies and private developers are jointly liable for the massive loss of life and property in several Metro Manila cities for practicing poor urban planning and allowing commercial and residential structures to be built in flood-prone areas, according to "green" architect and urban planner Felino Palafox Jr.

Palafox said a 1977 World Bank-funded study identified Marikina Valley, the western shores of Laguna de Bay, and the Manila Bay coastal area as among development areas that should prepare for flooding, earthquakes and possible changes in topography.

The Metro Manila Transport, Land Use and Development Planning Project (Metroplan), which was finalized by Hong Kong-based consulting firm Freeman Fox and Associates, has been used as a blueprint by urban planning developers and various government agencies and urban planners. Unfortunately, he said corruption and lack of planning has led to the shelving of some of the plan's recommendations.

"You see the irony here. National government agencies are aware that there is a flooding level of so many meters, then another national government agency would approve subdivision plans for only nine-meter high houses. There are about 32 signatures to obtain just to do a development project. It's like an obstacle course," he said in an ANC interview last Tuesday.

Proposed Parañaque spillway (in red) to flush out the excess water to the Laguna Bay and South China Sea

He said the Metroplan addressed flood-mapping in Metro Manila, specifically after the massive typhoon in 1970. He said the Metroplan included the construction of the Manggahan Floodway, which would divert floodwaters from reaching Metro Manila by diverting the water to the Laguna Lake.

"There was supposed to be a Parañaque spillway to flush out the excess water to the Laguna Bay and South China Sea, but this was never done. It was part of the recommendation," he said.

Palafox said the study recommended the monitoring of the Marikina Riverbank so that the water would not reach 90 meters. Likewise, no structure should have been allowed within 9 meters from the riverbank, he added.

The architect said he is currently working with Marikina Mayor Marides Fernando on several development projects in the city. He said that in Marikina, structures should be built above 17 meters which is above the maximum flood level of the city.

This is the reason why SM Marikina, which he helped design, was built on stilts, with the lower level of the mall used only for parking and all the shops on higher levels.

"In Marikina, instead of nine-meter high buildings you go upward and build a boulevard with dikes. All subdivisions should go medium-rise or high-rise and there should no longer be individual houses. It should be mixed use. You live upstairs, you work in the middle and you shop downstairs, just like Paris," he said.

Manila like Paris

1970's study already showed low-lying areas in Metro Manila are prone to flooding - Palafox

Palafox said that in 1905, American architect Daniel Burnham envisioned building Manila like the city of Paris. "He said it should be designed like Paris beside the River Seine, like Manila beside Pasig River. He said the esteros of Manila could be like the canals of Venice. We were alright until the 1940s when the Americans left and then we adopted wrong models of urban planning," he said.

As an architect, he said he often tells potential clients that they should practice due diligence and look at the 100-year flood history of a potential development area before starting construction. He lamented, however, that some short-sighted clients would only look at the 25-year flood history of an area since the planned structures are not built to last.

"We are always reacting to crisis. It bothered me when I saw these reports and pictures and people are saying it's an act of God. It's not. It's us not following the plans and proposals. If you are an urban planner, an environmental planner, these have been planned as early as 1905," he said.

He said that to address the problem of flooding, the government should consider "vertical urbanism" and build more high-rises instead of "horizontal urbanism."

He criticized the lack of coordination among government agencies and cited the EDSA corridor as a prime example of how urban planning has failed in the Philippines.

"I did a study in Harvard on the EDSA corridor on how not to do a city. You have high-transit stations surrounded by low-gated communities and low-density military camps. How do you make people walk to it?" he said.

He said that to address the problem of climate change and future flooding in the Philippines, urban planners should start redesigning cities in the country by looking at the lessons of the past and seeing what other countries are doing.

"In a crisis like this, it's an opportunity to be creative and learn. Technology can address these problems," he said. With a report from Ron Gagalac, ABS-CBN News

Source: Yahoo News

Distributor: Gov't ill-maintained rubber boats
By Dennis Carcamo (philstar.com) Updated September 30, 2009 01:31 PM

MANILA, Philippines – Some government agencies have ill-maintained the rubber boats they have procured for rescue operations during natural calamities such as massive flooding due to typhoons, a private distributor of the vessel said today (Sept. 30).

Senen Arabaca, president of Geneve SA Phils. Inc., one of the largest suppliers of rubber boats in the country, said government personnel should have properly stored these equipment to prevent them from being attacked by termites.

"They should know how to maintain them. These rubber boats should be placed on shelves whether inflated or not," Arabaca said.

He added that rubber boats must be stored in a cool place to prevent the material from getting brittle. When not in use, Arabaca said the vessels should be inflated at least once a month to check for holes that need plugging.

Geneve SA Phils. is the exclusive distributor of rubber boats made by Zodiac Enterprises, a manufacturing company based in France.

Arabaca said the 500 rubber boats he sold to different government agencies, if maintained properly, would have a lifespan of 20 years. He, however, declined to name the agencies.

Araba said the the government's latest purchase from his firm was way back in 2000.

He cited that aside from narrow roads and several obstacles in areas hit by massive flooding brought by typhoon “Ondoy,” rescuers also lacked the number of rubber boats to reach people trapped in their homes.

At the height of the flooding last Saturday, Araba lent two of his rubber boats for use in rescue and relief operations.

A rubber boat with military specifications will cost P1.8 million each, while those for commercial use can go between P600,000 and P100,000.

At present, there are only three to four rubber boat suppliers in the country.

Source: Philstar

2009 State of the Nation Address

Posted July 27, 2009 19:08:00(Mla Time)

Source: INQUIRER.net

Thank you, Ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon. Before I begin my report to the nation, please join me first in a moment of prayer for President Cory Aquino.

Senate President Enrile, Speaker Nograles, Senators, Representatives, Vice President de Castro, former President Ramos, Chief Justice Puno, Ambassadors friends:

The past twelve months have been a year for the history books. Financial meltdown in the West spread throughout the world.

Tens of millions lost their jobs; billions across the globe have been hurt – the poor always harder than the rich. No one was spared.
It has affected us already.

But the story of the Philippines in 2008 is that the country weathered a succession of global crises in fuel, in food, then in finance and finally, economy in a global recession, never losing focus and with economic fundamentals intact.

A few days ago, Moody’s upgraded our credit rating, citing the resilience of our economy. The state of our nation is a strong economy. Good news for our people, bad news for our critics.

I did not become President to be popular. To work, to lead, to protect and preserve our country, our people, that is why I became President.

When my father left the Presidency, we were second to Japan. I want our Republic to be ready for the first world in 20 years.

Towards that vision, we made key reforms. Our economic plan centers on putting people first. Higit sa lahat, ang layunin ng ating patakaran ay tulungan ang masisipag na karaniwang Pilipino.

New tax revenues were put in place to help pay for better healthcare, more roads, and a strong education system. Housing policies were designed to lift up our poorer citizens so they can live and raise a family with dignity. Ang ating mga puhunan sa agrikultura ay naglalayong kilalanin ang ating mga magsasaka bilang backbone ng ating bansa, at bigyan sila ng mga modernong kagamitan to feed our nation and feed their own family.

Had we listened to the critics of those policies, had we not braced ourselves for the crisis that came, had we taken the easy road much preferred by politicians eyeing elections, this country would be flat on its back.

It would take twice the effort just to get it back again on its feet – to where we are now because we took the responsibility and paid the political price of doing the right thing. For standing with me and doing the right thing, thank you, Congress.

The strong, bitter and unpopular revenue measures of the past few years have spared our country the worst of the global financial shocks. They gave us the resources to stimulate the economy.

Nabigyan nila ang pinakamalaking pagtaas ng IRA ng mga LGU na P40 billion itong taon, imparting strength throughout the country at every level of government.

Compared to the past we have built more and better infrastructure, including those started by others but left unfinished. The Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway is a prime example of building better roads. It creates wealth as the flagship of the Subic-Clark corridor.

We have built airports of international standard, upgraded domestic airports, built seaports and the roll on/roll off transport system. I ask Congress for a Philippine Transport Security Authority Law.

Some say that after this SONA, it will be all politics. Sorry, but there’s more work.

Sa telecommunications naman, inatasan ko ang Telecommunications Commission na kumilos na tungkol sa mga sumbong na dropped calls at mga nawawalang load sa cellphone. We need to amend the Commonwealth-era Public Service Law. And we need to do it now.

Kung noong nakaraan, lumakas ang electronics, today we are creating wealth by developing the BPO and tourism sectors as additional engines of growth. Electronics and other manufactured exports rise and fall in accordance with the state of the world economy. But BPO remains resilient. With earnings of $6 billion and employment of 600,000, the BPO phenomenon speaks eloquently of our competitiveness and productivity. Let us have a Department of ICT.

In the last four years tourism almost doubled. It is now a $5 billion industry.

Our reforms gave us the resources to protect our people, our financial system and our economy from the worst of shocks that the best in the west failed to anticipate.

They gave us the resources to extend welfare support and enhance spending power.

For helping me raise government salaries through Joint Resolution 4, thank you, Congress.

Cash handouts give the most immediate relief and produce the widest stimulating effect. Nakikinabang ang 700,000 na pinakamahihirap na pamilya sa programang Pantawid Pamilya.

We prioritize projects with the same stimulus effects plus long-term contributions to progress.

Sa pagpapamahagi ng milyun-milyong ektaryang lupa, 700,000 na katutubo at mahigit isang milyong benepisyaryo ng CARP ay taas-noong may-ari na ng sariling lupa. Hinihiling ko sa Kongreso na ipasa agad ang pagpapalawig ng CARP, at dapat ma-condone ang P42 billion na land reform liabilities dahil 18% lamang ang nabayaran mula 1972.

Napapanahon, it’s timely because it will unfreeze the rural property market. Ang mahal kong ama ang nag-emancipate ng mga magsasaka. Ii-mancipate naman natin ngayon ang titulo.

Nakinabang ang pitong milyong entrepreneurs sa P165 billion na microfinance loans.
Nakinabang ang sandaan libo sa emergency employment ng ating economic resiliency plan. Kasama natin ngayon ang isa sa kanila, si Gigi Gabiola. Dating household service worker sa Dubai, ngayon siya ay nagtatrabaho sa DOLE. Good luck, Gigi.

Nakinabang ang isang milyong pamilya sa programang pabahay at palupa, mula Pag-Ibig, NHA, community mortgage program, certificates of lot award, at saka iyong loan condonation.
Our average inflation is the lowest since 1966. Last June, it dropped to 1.5%. Paano?

Proper policies lowered interest rates, which lowered costs to business and consumers.

Dahil sa ating mga reporma, nakaya nating ibenta ang bigas NFA sa P18.25 per kilo kahit tumaas ang presyo sa labas mula P17.50 hanggang P30 dahil sa kakulangan ng supply sa mundo. Habang, sa unang pagkakataon, nagawa nating itaas ang pamimili ng palay sa mga magsasaka, P17 mula sa P11.

Dahil sa ating mga reporma, nakaya nating mamuhunan sa pagkain – anticipating an unexpected global food crisis. Nakagawa tayo ng libu-libong kilometro ng farm-to-market roads at, kasama ng pribadong sector, natubigan ang dalawang milyong ektarya. Mga Badjao gaya ni Tarnati Dannawi ay tinuruan ng modernong mariculture. Umabot na sa P 180,000 ang kinita niya mula noong nakaraang taon. Congratulations, Tarnati. We will help more fisherfolk shift to fish farming with a budget of P1 billion.

Dahil dumarami na naman daw ang pamilyang nagugutom, mamumuhunan tayo ng panibago sa ating hunger mitigation program na sa nakaraan ay napatunayang mabisa. Tulungan ninyo ako dito, Kongreso.

Mula pa noong 2001, nanawagan na tayo ng mas murang gamot. Nagbebenta tayo ng gamot na kalahating presyo sa libu-libong Botika ng Bayan at Botika ng Barangay sa maraming dako ng bansa.

Our efforts prodded the pharmaceutical companies to come up with low-cost generics and brands like RiteMed. I supported the tough version of the House of the Cheaper Medicine law. I supported it over the weak version of my critics. The result: the drug companies volunteered to bring down drug prices, slashing by half the prices of 16 drugs. Thank you, Congressmen Cua, Alvarez, Biron, Locsin.

Pursuant to law, we are placing other drugs under a maximum retail price. To those who want to be President, this advice: If you really want something done, just do it. Do it hard, do it well. Don’t pussyfoot. Don’t pander. And don’t say bad words in public.

Sa health insurance, sakop na ang 86% ang ating populasyon.
Sa Rent Control Law ng 2005 hanggang 2008, di pwedeng lumampas ng 10% ang pagtaas ng upa taun-taon. Ayon sa kakapirma nating batas may isang taong moratorium, tapos hanggang 7% lamang ang maaaring pagtaas. Salamat, Kongreso.

Noong isang taon, nabiyayaan ng tig-P500 ang mahigit pitong milyong tahanan bilang Pantawid Koryente sa mga small electricity users.

Yung presyo ng koryente, ang EPIRA natin ang pangmatagalang sagot. EPIRA dismantled monopoly. Ngunit minana natin ang power purchase agreements, kaya hindi pa natin makamtan yung buong intended effect. Pero happy na rin tayo, dahil isang taon na lamang iyan. The next generation will benefit from low prices from our EPIRA.

Samantala, umabot na sa halos lahat ng barangay ang elektrisidad. We increased indigenous energy from 48% to 58%. Nakatipid tayo sa dollars tapos na-reduce pa iyong oil consumption. The huge reduction in fossil fuel is the biggest proof of energy independence and environmental responsibility. Further reduction will come with the implementation of the Renewable Energy Act, and the Biofuels Act.

The next generation will also benefit from our lower public debt to GDP ratio. It declined from 78% in 2000 to 55% in 2008. We cut in half the debt of government corporations from 15% to 7%. Likewise foreign debt from 73% to 32%. Kung meron man tayong malaking kaaway na tinalo, walang iba kundi ang utang, iyong foreign debt.

Those in the past administrations conjured the demon of foreign debt. We exorcised it.

The market grows economies. A free market, not a free-for-all.
To that end, we improved our banking system to complement its inherent conservatism. The Bangko Sentral has been prudent. Thank you, Governor Tetangco, for being so effective. The BSP will be even more effective if Congress will amend its Charter.

We worked on the Special Purpose Vehicle Act, reducing non-performing loans from 18% to 4% and improving loan-deposit ratios.

Our new Securitization Law did not encourage the recklessness that brought down giant banks and insurance companies elsewhere and laid their economies to waste. In fact, it monitors and regulates the new-fangled financial schemes. Thank you, Congress.

We will work to increase tax effort through improved collections and new sin taxes to further our capacity to reduce poverty and pursue growth. Revenue enhancement must come from the Department of Finance plugging leaks and catching tax and customs cheats. I call on tax paying citizens and tax paying businesses, help the BIR and stop those tax cheats.

Taxes should come from alcohol and tobacco and not from books. Tax hazards to lungs and livers, do not tax minds. Ang kita mula sa buwis sa alak at sigarilyo ay dapat gamitin sa kalusugan at edukasyon. Pondohan ang Philhealth premiums ng pinakamahihirap. Pondohan ang mas maraming classroom at computers.

Pardon my partiality for the teaching profession. I was a teacher.
Kaya namuhunan tayo ng malaki sa edukasyon at skills training.
Ang magandang edukasyon ay susi sa mas magandang buhay, the great equalizer that allows every young Filipino a chance to realize their dreams.

Nagtayo tayo ng 95,000 na silid-aralan, nagdagdag ng 60,000 na guro, naglaan ng P1.5 billion para sa teacher training, especially for 100,000 English teachers.

Isa sa pinakamahirap sa Millennium Development Goals ay iyong Edukasyon para sa Lahat pagdating ng 2015. Ibig sabihin, lahat ng nasa tamang edad ay dapat nasa primary school. Halos walang bansang makakatupad nito. Ngunit nagsisikap pa rin tayo. Nagtayo tayo ng mga paaralan sa higit sanlibong barangay na dati walang eskwelahan upang makatipid ng gastos sa pasahe ang mga bata. Tinanggal natin ang miscellaneous fees para sa primary school. Hindi na kailangan mag-uniporme ang mga estudyante sa public school.

In private high schools, we finance half of the students.
We have provided college and post-graduate education for over 600,000 scholars. One of them, Mylene Amerol-Macumbal, finished Accounting at MSU-IIT, then she went to law school, and placed second in the last bar exams – the first Muslim woman bar topnotcher. Congratulations!

In technical education and skills training, we have invested three times that of three previous administrations combined. Narito si Jennifer Silbor, isa sa sampung milyong trainee. Natuto siya ng medical transcription. Now, as an independent contractor and lecturer for transcriptions in Davao, kumikita siya ng P18,000 bawat buwan. Good job, Jennifer.

The Presidential Task Force on Education headed by Jesuit educator Father Bienvenido Nebres has come out with the Main Education Highway towards a Knowledge-Based Economy. It envisions seamless education from basic to vocational school or college.

It seeks to mainstream early childhood development in basic education. Our children are our most cherished possession. In their early years we must make sure they get a healthy start in life. They must receive the right food for a healthy body, the right education for a bright and inquiring mind – and the equal opportunity for a meaningful job.

For college admission, the Task Force recommends mandatory Scholastic Aptitude Tests. It also recommends that higher private education institutions should be harmonized with state universities and colleges, and that CHED should oversee local universities and colleges. For professions seeking international recognition –
engineering, architecture, accountancy, pharmacy and physical therapy – it recommends radical reform: 10 years of basic education, two years of pre-university, before three years of university.

Our educational system should make the Filipino fit not just for whatever jobs happen to be on offer today, but also for whatever economic challenge life will throw in their way.

Sa hirap at ginhawa, pinapatatag ang ating bansa ng ating overseas Filipinos. Iyong padala nilang $16 billion noong isang taon ay record. Itong taon, mas mataas pa.

I know that this is not a sacrifice joyfully borne. This is work where it can be found – in faraway places, among strangers with different cultures. It is lonely work, it is hard work.

Kaya nagsisikap tayong lumikha dito sa atin ng mga trabahong maganda ang sahod, so that overseas work will just be a career choice, not the only option for a hard-working Filipino.

Meanwhile, we should make their sacrifices worthwhile. Dapat gumawa tayo ng mas epektibong proteksyon at pagpapalawak ng halaga ng kanilang pinagsikapang suweldo. That means stronger consumer protection for Overseas Filipino Workers investing in property and products back home. Para sa kanila, pinapakilos natin ang Investors Protection Task Force.

Hindi ako nag-aatubiling bisitahin ang ating taong bayan at kanilang mga host sa buong mundo – mula Hapon…hanggang Brazil, mula Europa at Middle East hanggang sa American Midwest, nakikinig sa kanilang mga problema at pangangailangan, inaalam kung paano sila matutulungan ng ating pamahalaan – by working out better policies on migrant labor, or by saving lives and restoring liberty.

Pagpunta ko sa Saudi, pinatawad ni Haring Abdullah ang pitong daang OFW na nasa preso. Pinuno nila ang isang buong eroplano at umuwi kasama ko.

Mula sa ating State Visit sa Espanya, it has become our biggest European donor. At si Haring Juan Carlos ay nakikipag-usap sa ibang mga bansa para sa ating mga namomoblemang OFW. Ganoon din si Sheikh Khalifa, ang Prime Minister ng Bahrain.

Pagpunta ko sa Kuwait, Emir Al-Sabah commuted death sentences. We thank all our leaders, our world leaders, for showing compassion to our overseas foreign workers. Salamat.

Our vigorous international engagement has helped bring in foreign investment. Net foreign direct investments multiplied 15 times during our administration. Kasama ng ating mga Together with our OFWs, they more than doubled our foreign exchange reserves.
Pinalakas ang ating piso at naiwasan ang lubhang pagtaas ng presyo.

They upgraded our credit because while the reserves of our peers have shrunk this past year, ours reserves grew by $3 billion.
Our international engagement has also corrected historical injustice.

The day we visited Washington, Senator Daniel Inouye successfully sponsored benefits for our veterans as part of America’s stimulus package.

I have accepted the invitation of President Obama to be the first Southeast Asian leader to meet him at the White House, later this week.

That he sought us out testifies to our strong and deep ties.
High on our agenda will be peace and security issues. Terrorism: how to meet it, how to end it, how to address its roots in injustice or prejudice – and first and always how to protect lives.

We will discuss nuclear non-proliferation. The Philippines will chair the review of the nuclear weapons non-proliferation Treaty in New York in May 2010. The success of the talks will be a major diplomatic achievement for us.

There is a range of other issues we will discuss, including the global challenge of climate change, especially the threat to countries with long coastlines. And there is the global recession, its worse impact on poor people, and the options that can spare them from the worst.

In 2008 up to the first quarter of 2009 we stood among only a few economies in Asia-Pacific that did not shrink. Compare this to 2001, when some of my current critics were driven out by people power.

Asia was surging but our country was on the brink of bankruptcy.
Since then, our economy posted uninterrupted growth for 33 quarters; more than doubled its size from $76 billion to $186 billion. The average GDP growth from 2001 to the first quarter of 2009 is the highest in 43 years.

Bumaba ang bilang ng mga nagsasabing mahirap sila sa 47% mula 59%. Maski lumaki ang ating populasyon, nabawasan ng dalawang milyon ang bilang ng mahihirap. GNP per capita rose from a Third World $967 to $2,000. Lumikha tayo ng walong milyong trabaho, an average of a million a year, much, much more than at any other time.

In sum:
1. We have a strong economy and a strong fiscal position to withstand global shocks.
2. We built new modern infrastructure and completed unfinished ones.
3. The economy is more fair to the poor than ever before.
4. We are building a sound base for the next generation.
5. International authorities have taken notice that we are safer from environmental degradation and man-made disasters.

As a country in the path of typhoons and in the Pacific Rim of Fire, we must be prepared as the latest technology permits to anticipate natural calamities when that is possible; to extend immediate and effective relief when it is not. The mapping of flood- and landslide-prone areas is almost complete. Early warning, forecasting and monitoring systems have been improved, with weather tracking facilities in Subic, Tagaytay, Mactan, Mindanao, Pampanga.

We have worked on flood control infrastructure like those for Pinatubo, Agno, Laoag, and Abucay, which will pump the run off waters from Quezon City and Tondo flooding Sampaloc. This will help relieve hundreds of hectares in this old city of its age old woe.
Patuloy naman iyong sa Camanava, dagdag sa Pinatubo, Iloilo, Pasig-Marikina, Bicol River Basin, at mga river basin ng Mindanao.

The victims of typhoon Frank in Panay should receive their long-overdue assistance package. I ask Congress to pass the SNITS Law.

Namana natin ang pinakamatagal na rebelyon ng Komunista sa buong mundo. Si Leah de la Cruz isa sa labindalawang libong rebel returnee. Sixteen pa lang siya nang sumali sa NPA. Naging kasapi sa regional White Area Committee, napromote sa Leyte Party Committee Secretary. Nahuli noong 2006. She is now involved in an LGU-supported handicraft livelihood training of former rebels. We love you, Leah!

There is now a good prospect for peace talks with both the Communist Party of the Philippines and the MILF, with whom we are now on ceasefire. We inherited an age-old conflict in Mindanao, exacerbated by a politically popular but near-sighted policy of massive retaliation. This only provoked the other side to continue the war.

In these two internal conflicts, ang tanong ay hindi, “Sino ang mananalo?” kundi, bakit pa ba kailangang mag-laban ang kapwa Pilipino tungkol sa mga isyu na alam naman nating lahat na di malulutas sa dahas, at mareresolba lang sa paraang demokratiko?

There is nothing more that I would wish for than peace in Mindanao. It will be a blessing for all its people, Muslim, Christian and lumads. It will show other religiously divided communities that there can be common ground on which to live together in peace, harmony and cooperation that respects each other’s religious beliefs.

At sa lahat ng dako ng bansa, kailangan nating protektahan ang ating mga mamamayan kontra sa krimen’ – in their homes, in their neighborhoods, in their communities. How shall crime be fought? With the five pillars of justice, including crime fighters. We call on Congress to fund more policemen on the streets.

Real government is about looking beyond the vested to the national interest, setting up the necessary conditions to enable the next, more enabled and more empowered generation to achieve a country as prosperous, a people as content, as ours deserve to be.

The noisiest critics of constitutional reform tirelessly and shamelessly attempted Cha-Cha when they thought they could take advantage of a shift in the form of government. Now that they feel they cannot benefit from it, they oppose it.

As the seeds of fundamental political reform are planted, let us address the highest exercise of democracy, voting!

In 2001, I said we would finance fully automated elections. We got it, thanks to Congress.

At the end of this speech I shall step down from this stage, but not from the Presidency. My term does not end until next year. Until then, I will fight for the ordinary Filipino. The nation comes first. There is much to do as head of state – to the very last day.

A year is a long time. Patuloy ang pamumuhunan sa tinatawag na three E’s ng ekonomiya, environment at edukasyon. There are many perils that we must still guard against.

A man-made calamity is already upon us, global in scale. As I said earlier, so far we have been spared its worst effects but we cannot be complacent. We only know that we have generated more resources on which to draw, and thereby created options we could take. Thank God we did not let our critics stop us.

As the campaign unfolds and the candidates take to the airwaves, I ask them to talk more about how they will build up the nation rather than tear down their opponents. Give the electorate real choices and not just sweet talk.

Meanwhile, I will keep a steady hand on the tiller, keeping the ship of state away from the shallows some prefer, and steering it straight on the course we set in 2001.

Ang ating taong bayan ay masipag at maka-Diyos. These qualities are epitomized in someone like Manny Pacquiao….Manny trained tirelessly, by the book, with iron discipline, with the certain knowledge that he had to fight himself, his weaknesses first, before he could beat his opponent. That was the way to clinch his victories and his ultimate title: ang pinakadakilang boksingero sa kasaysayan. Mabuhay ka, Manny!

However much a President wishes it, a national problem cannot be knocked out with a single punch. She must work with the problem as much as against it, turn it into a solution if she can.

There isn’t a day I do not work at my job or a waking moment when I do not think through a work-related problem. Even my critics cannot begrudge the long hours I put in. Our people deserve-a-government that works just as hard as they do.

A President must be on the job 24/7, ready for any contingency, any crisis, anywhere, anytime.

Everything right can be undone by even a single wrong. Every step forward must be taken in the teeth of political pressures and economic constraints that could push you two steps back-if-you flinch and falter. I have not flinched, I have not faltered. Hindi ako umaatras sa hamon.

And I have never done any of the things that have scared my worst critics so much. They are frightened by their own shadows.

In the face of attempted coups, I issued emergency proclamations just in case. But I was able to resolve these military crises with the ordinary powers of my office. My critics call it dictatorship. I call it determination. We know it as strong government.

But I never declared martial law, though they are running scared as if I did. In truth, what they are really afraid of is their weakness in the face of this self-imagined threat.

I say to them: do not tell us what we all know, that democracy can be threatened. Tell us what you will do when it is attacked.
I know what to do:

As I have shown, I will defend democracy with arms when it is threatened by violence; with firmness when it is weakened by division; with law and order when it is subverted by anarchy; and always, I will try to sustain it by wise policies of economic progress, so that a democracy means not just an empty liberty but a full life for all.

I never expressed the desire to extend myself beyond my term. Many of those who accuse me of it tried to cling like nails to their posts.
I am accused of misgovernance. Many of those who accuse me of it left me the problem of their misgovernance to solve. And we did it.
I am falsely accused, without proof, of using my position for personal profit. Many who accuse me have lifestyles and spending habits that make them walking proofs of that crime.

We can read their frustrations. They had the chance to serve this good country and they blew it by serving themselves.
Those who live in glass houses should cast no stones. Those who should be in jail should not threaten it, especially if they have been there.

Our administration, with the highest average rate of growth, recording multiple increases in investments, with the largest job creation in history, and which gets a credit upgrade at the height of a world recession, must be doing something right, even if some of those cocooned in corporate privilege refuse to recognize it.

Governance, however, is not about looking back and getting even. It is about looking forward and giving more – to the people who gave us the greatest, hardest gift of all: the care of a country.

From Bonifacio at Balintawak to Cory Aquino at EDSA and up to today, we have struggled to bring power to the people, and this country to the eminence it deserves.

Today the Philippines is weathering well the storm that is raging around the world. It is growing stronger with the challenge. When the weather clears, as it will, there is no telling how much farther forward it can go. Believe in it. I believe.

We can and we must march forward with hope, optimism and determination. We must come together, work together and walk together toward the future.

Bagamat malaking hamon ang nasa ating harapan, nasa kamay natin ang malaking kakayahan. Halina’t pagtulungan nating tiyakin ang karapat-dapat na kinabukasan ng ating Inang Bayan.

And to the people of our good country, for allowing me to serve as your President, maraming salamat.

Mabuhay ang Pilipinas.

Source: Office of the Press Secretary

Lapid on Enrile vote: Nothing I can do
By Maila Ager
INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines -- (UPDATE) Senator Lito Lapid has admitted to voting for Senator Juan Ponce-Enrile as Senate President because there was nothing he could do.

Lapid was counted as among the 14 senators, who voted for Enrile to replace incumbent Manny Villar.

But in an interview Tuesday, Lapid clarified that he did not vote for Enrile thinking that there was no longer need for a vote since Villar had stepped down from his post.

In a separate radio interview, Lapid said he is joining the Senate minority.

"Nakaboto na ako, pero sasama na rin ako sa minority [I have voted, but I will join the minority]," Lapid said.

“Wala na akong magagawa, on record na yun [There was nothing I could do. That’s on record]. E magkakagulo lang pag nag-manifest pa ako [There will only be confusion if I issue a manifestation],” he said.

“Nag-resign na e [He has resigned]. Wala nang pagtatalunan [We have no more arguments on that]. Ba’t pagbobotohan wala nang kalaban [Why do we have to vote on it when there’s no one else]?” he said.

With Villar’s resignation, Lapid thought that Enrile would “automatically” assume the Senate presidency.

“Walang pagbobotohan kasi automatic na nag-resign si Villar so automatic ding [na-elect] si Senator Enrile [There is nothing to vote for since Villar’s resignation was automatic, naturally, so was Enrile’s assumption of the post automatic],” he pointed out.

But despite this, Lapid said he would not withdraw his vote for Enrile and even promised to give his full support to the new Senate president.

“Idol ko yan…Susuportahan ko yan [He’s my idol…I will support him],” he further said.

Senator Richard Gordon, who voted for Enrile, confirmed that Lapid was never part of the anti-Villar group.

“He [Lapid] just announced his vote on the floor,” Gordon said over the phone.

Source: INQ

Why Filipinos should support Gov. Ed Panlilio

09/11/08

Posted under Uncategorized

By Harvey Keh

For the past two weeks our group, Kaya Natin! A Movement for Genuine Change and Ethical Leadership released a stand supporting Pampanga Gov. Eddie Panlilio on the recall petition filed against him by his political opponents in Pampanga.

Since that time, several political leaders led by Vice-Governor Yeng Guiao and Candaba Mayor Jerry Pelayo have come out in media telling us to stay away from this issue since we are not from Pampanga.

In an interview over a national radio program wherein Vice-Governor Guiao and I were interviewed one after the other, Vice-Governor Guiao said that it is wrong for people outside Pampanga to meddle in issues such as this which should only concern the people of Pampanga.
As such, I have taken the initiative to explain why Filipinos from all over the Philippines and the world should support Gov. Panlilio. While I agree with Vice-Governor Guiao and Mayor Pelayo that at the end of the day, it will be the Kapampangans who will decide the fate of Gov. Panlilio, I do not agree with them that discussion and concern about this issue should be limited within the confines of Pampanga.

As we very well know, what happened in Pampanga during the 2007 Elections was a testament to the will of the Filipino people for good governance triumphing over traditional politics of guns, goons and gold.

With his victory over well-entrenched politicians Mark Lapid and Lilia Pineda, Gov. Panlilio and the people of Pampanga became symbols of hope for every Filipino who longs for ethical and morally upright leaders that will efficiently deliver basic services and address the needs of the poor and powerless in our society.

Thus, while Gov. Panlilio remains as the governor of only one province, his electoral victory coupled with his continued fight against illegal gambling and corruption in Pampanga has made him a symbol of new politics in our country.

It is with these reasons that politicians with vested interests are trying their best to oust him so that they can resume their money-making ventures at the expense of the welfare of the Filipino people.

While Gov. Panlilio has his own shortcomings as governor, I believe that compared to his predecessors he has done much more towards promoting transparency and accountability in the provincial capitol as evidenced by his remarkable 1000% increase in yearly quarry collections.

I distinctly recall during one forum I attended, a foreigner who works at a international institution here in the Philippines told me that the main problem of our country is that we cannot seem to get good people to consider running for public office and to become part of government.

Now, we were already blessed with someone like Gov. Panlilio who despite much hesitation to take a leave from the priesthood has decided to answer the call for well-meaning people to serve in government. The least that we can all do now is to support and help him so that other good people can be encouraged to also consider to serve in our government.

We have to remember that if Gov. Panlilio is recalled and removed from his position as governor of Pampanga, it will not only be a blow to good governance in Pampanga but more importantly, it will be a big step backward towards the fulfillment of every Filipino’s dream of having more government leaders who will effectively and ethically serve our nation. As the old adage goes, the only way for evil to prevail is if good men do nothing.

Click this link to send your letters of support to Gov. Panlilio through Kaya Natin.