The proposed department is the common subject of four separate bills in the House of Representatives and will have its core personnel coming from the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, a line agency under the Department of Agriculture

"It is envisioned to have adequate powers to see to it that laws and rules on fisheries are carried out, corals and other marine resources are protected and marine-aquaculture sites are developed," said Rep. Luis Villafuerte, author of one of the bills. The other authors are presidential son Rep. Dato Arroyo of Camarines Sur, Rep. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez of Leyte and Rep. Marcelino Teodoro of Marikina.

The new department will have access to official development assistance so it could finance big projects under its mandate such as the creation of fish sanctuaries, Villafuerte said.

To beef up its regulatory muscle, the proposed DFAR will take in agencies whose functions are related to its mandate like the Philippine Fisheries Development Authority, whose job is to provide fishermen with post-harvest facilities and services vital to handling and distribution of fishery products.

It will also have supervision over fishing vessels, a function that now lies with the Maritime Industry Authority, according to Villafuerte. But regulation of other vessels will remain with Marina, he clarified.

To unify the four bills seeking the creation of the fisheries department, Speaker Prospero Nograles has ordered the committees on government reorganization and on fisheries to come up with a final draft of a substitute proposal.

The final scope of powers and functions of the new department will be determined by the technical working group established for this purpose, according to Villafuerte. "The details are being hammered out in the technical working group."

A panel chaired by Rep. Erico Fabian has formed a technical group headed by Rep. Alfredo Maranon to flesh out the final bill.

Maranon's group said it is awaiting the output from the Agriculture Department and other stakeholders before it could firm up its final proposal.

Maranon said his group would speed up work on the proposal in the light of the stiffening global competition in the area of fisheries.

The fisheries sector accounts for 5 percent of the gross domestic product and, together with agriculture and forestry, provides livelihood to at least 10 million workers, according to official statistics.

Clarifying his proposal, Arroyo said the creation of DFAR will be a big factor in ensuring the protection of Philippine territorial waters and marine resoures as well as the rights of fisherfolk.

Teodoro, for his part, said the new department should have supervisory powers to take control over the production, capture, dispensation and promotion of fisheries and marine products.

The proposal came amid a plan to retrench hundreds of government employees under a rationalization plan initially targeting the bureaus of Customs and Internal Revenue. But President Arroyo put the rationalization plan on hold after the global financial crisis broke out early this year.

Kini human gilagdaan ni Presidente Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo ang Republic Act 3591 nga nagpadoble sa insurance sa gideposito nga gitanyag sa Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation (PDIC). Gituohan usab sa mga ekonomista nga kini nga lakang makapaaghat sa katawhan nga mosandig sa mga bangko aron kapanalipdan ang ilang mga kwarta sa panahon sa krisis. Ang balaod gipangahamanan nila ni Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, Juan Miguel Zubiri ug nga Kongresistang sila Jaime Lopez ug Matt Defensor sa Manila, Ferdinand Martin Romualdez sa Leyte ug Jose Carlos Lacson sa Negros Occidental. Mitambong usab sa paglagda sila Trade Secretary Peter Favila, Bangko Sentral Governor Amado Tetangco Jr. ug PDIC President Jose Nograles. (PIA)

Joint Resolution (JR) 24 urges President Arroyo to modify the existing Compensation and Position Classification System (CPCS) in government to make it more responsive to the economic needs of state personnel.

Quirino Rep. Junie Cua, chairman of the House budget panel, said the joint resolution would allow the Chief Executive to upgrade the present salary levels of government employees.

"It can help state employees mitigate the effects of inflation and improve their purchasing power," Cua said.

At least two government employees interviewed welcomed this fresh development as they expressed hopes the new salary system will go into effect as scheduled.

"We welcome any increase in our salaries since it would provide us some relief and alleviate our present situation. I hope Congress and the President will work for its immediate implementation," Gilbert Manalo, a House employee said.

Victoria Begas, a Grade 6 teacher from Commonwealth Elementary School, said the increase in salary would attract more people to join government.

Meanwhile, Anakpawis Rep. Rafael Mariano urged the House Committee on Labor and Employment to reopen the deliberations on House Bill 1722 calling for a P125-legislated wage hike for the private workforce.

Mariano assailed Malacañang for its continuing "no wage hike policy" in the private sector. "At this time of worsening economic crisis, it is far more just for the working class to demand a wage increase," Mariano said.

Malacañang has consistently turned down demands for a wage increase, saying the government's priority now was to ensure that employees would keep their jobs amid the global financial crisis.

JR 24 now goes to House plenary for approval. It also requires an approval by the Senate before it can be presented to the President for her action. Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile was the who filed the measure in the upper chamber.

Cua, one of the principal authors of the resolution in the House, said government workers "can expect significant salary increases" once the measure is approved by the President.

If approved, the initial implementation will be on July 1, 2009. The salary increase for some 1,124,392 government workers will be given in four tranches or four "gives" from 2009 to 2012.

Under the proposed modified CPCS, public school teachers will get an additional of P6, 500 a month within four years. This would mean a 54-percent increase in their monthly pay.

Director Myrna Chua of the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) said the government would need a total of P123.8 billion to fully implement the new salary system.

The amount is broken down as follows: P92.2 billion for 840,951 civilian personnel (sub-professionals, professionals, and executives) and P31.6 billion for 283,441 military and uninformed personnel.

JR 24 is authored by Cua, Speaker Prospero Nograles, Deputy Speaker Raul del Mar, and Reps. Juan Edgardo Angara (Aurora), Monico Puentevella (Bacolod City), Philip Pichay (Surigao del Sur), Antonio del Rosario (Capiz), Diosdado Arroyo (Camarines Sur), Arnulfo Go (Sultan Kudarat), Teofisto Guingona (Bukidnon), Luz Ilagan (Gabriela), Alfrancis Bichara (Albay), Del de Guzman (Marikina City).

Other authors include Reps. Danilo Suarez (Quezon), Ma. Carissa Coscoluella (Buhay Party-list), Ma. Rachel Arenas (Pangasinan), Ferdinand Martin Romualdez (Leyte), Aurelio Gonzales Jr. (Pampanga), Wilfredo Mark Enverga (Quezon), Cynthia Villar (Las Piñas City), Ma. Laarni Cayetano (Taguig-Pateros), Liza Maza (Gabriela), Satur Ocampo (Bayan Muna), Teodoro Casiño (Bayan Muna), Rafael Mariano

The 16-year-old son of former national trackster Renato Unso leaped 1.85 meters to beat Roderick Dacayon and Jovy Econar who did 1.80 meters. Dacayon won the silver due to lesser attempts.

In the boy' javelin throw, Junillo Cadotdot of Caraga threw 48.95 meters to beat Renzy Gemolada of Western Visayas who recorded 45.47 meters. Garry Santiago of NCR took the bronze in 43.63 meters.

Earlier, President Macapagal Arroyo underscored the importance of sports in nation-building during the opening of the 2009 Palarong Pambansa at the 10,000-seat Leyte Sports and Development Center.

Addressing the participants and spectators in Filipino, Arroyo cited organizers and other people for their tireless efforts to make the annual event a success.

"Congratulations to the province of Leyte. Ito na ang pinakamalaking event sa province ng Leyte sa nakaraan 25 years. Ang Palarong Pambansa ay programang proyoridad. Kaya nandito tayong lahat ngayon. Ito'y para ipakita kong gaano kahalaga ang sports sa atin bansa," said Arroyo.

Arroyo stressed that the Palaro plays a vital role in the country's sports development program.

"Itong mga kalidadad na ito ay dinivelop natin sa atin mga estudyante na nageensayo sa sports. Ito ay bahagi ng kumprehensibong programa na tumutulong na para magkaroon ang atin bansa na mga katangian na puedeng humarap sa challenges. Naway itong Palarong Pambansa ay ipairal ang teamwork," added Arroyo.

The ceremonies were originally set Monday, but were moved a day later to accommodate Arroyo who was accompanied by Vice President Noli de Castro, Transportation Secretary Leandro Mendoza, Education Secretary Jesli Lapus and Tesda chief Boboy Sijuco. She was joined Leyte Gov. Carlos Jericho Petilla, Rep. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez and other local officials.

Some 15,000 athletes and officials from 17 regions clad in their respective uniforms paraded around the sports complex.

Buyogan Festival of Buyogan Leyte, winner of the Sinulog Festival, also performed during the three-hour rites.

Arroyo was scheduled to hold a Cabinet meeting later in the day.

Lapus announced various innovations and the inclusion of new events in this year's edition, including boxing for elementary students, arnis for female athletes in secondary, and exhibition games in football by the national team.

The Network Opposed to Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (NO to BNPP) revealed the names of these legislators who signed Pangasinan Rep. Mark Cojuangco’s House Bill no. 4631 “mandating the immediate commissioning and commercial operation” of the mothballed Bataan Nuclear Power Plant.

At the same time, NO to BNPP urged the lawmaker to withdraw their support to BNPP bill saying that the nuclear power plant is dangerous to lives of the people living in the whole Central Luzon.

Etta Rosales, former party-list representative and now Freedom from Debt Coalition vice president, said that of the 184 lawmakers who have already endorsed the Cojuangco bill, 24 are from the National Capital Region, 75 from Luzon, 40 from Visayas, 38 from Mindanao and seven party-list representatives.

NO to BNPP also called on the lawmakers to seriously study the economic, financial and technical implications of reviving the power plant and its potential danger to the lives of the Filipino people today and for generations to come.

Rosales said her organization sent a letter to the members of the House Appropriations Committee who signed the BNPP bill, and attached initial studies and position papers by scientists and experts explaining the danger of the nuclear power plant. These studies were submitted to the Committee for distribution to the lawmakers.

Furthermore, the coalition of NGOs asked the House leadership, particularly Speaker Prospero Nograles and the Committee on Appropriations, to request for a copy of the 1990 report on the $9.5-million Technical Audit of BNPP commissioned by the Aquino government through the Presidential Committee on the Philippine Nuclear Power Plant (PC-PNPP).

The said technical audit was performed by 50 independent nuclear experts who were organized by the Nuclear Energy Services (NES).

Nicanor Perlas, former technical consultant on the PC-PNPP, said that the 28-volume audit report of the team of 50 nuclear experts showed very clearly that the BNPP can never be operated safely.

Perlas recalled that in September 1990, these experts submitted its audit report to the PC-PNPP and the Senate Ad Hoc Committee on BNPP.

Perlas said the team of nuclear experts found out that there are more than 40,000 field change notices (defects), four times higher than normal, indicating the gross failure of quality control protocols.

He also said that the 50-man panel of nuclear experts estimated a repair bill of $1.20 billion to $1.54 billion (year 1990 dollars). “Adding for a modest amount of inflation for 18 years, the repair bill, in today’s dollars, could easily exceed $3 billion,” perlas added.

Perlas added that repairing the BNPP would take a minimum of six-and-a-half-year and longer should a more comprehensive audit be done.

He stressed that there is no guarantee that the BNPP can be safely operated since the nuclear experts found that the Quality Assurance Program for BNPP was “so problematic” that plant quality and safety may never be established.

“Because of the pervasive defects of the BNPP, the nuclear audit recommended the mothballing of BNPP,” Perlas stressed.

Beau Baconguis, campaigns manager of Greenpeace Southeast Asia, also echoed the call for the solons to withdraw their endorsement of the bill.

Fr. Ben Moraleda of the Faith-based Congress against Immoral Debts (FCAID), for his part, said that the upcoming season of Lent is a good opportunity for the legislators to pause for a while and review the many documents given to them by the NO to BNPP.

Among the legislators identified by Rosales, citing data gathered from the House of Representatives Legislative Information System, endoring the revival of BNPP are House Speaker Prospero Nograles (First District, Davao City), Jose de Venecia Jr. (Fouth District, Pangasinan), Herminia Roman (First District, Bataan), Diosdado Ignacio Jose Maria Arroyo (First District, Camarines Sur), Juan Miguel Macapagal-Arroyo (Second District, Pampanga), Luis Villafuerte (Second District Camarines Sur), Monica Louise Prieto-Teodoro (First District, Tarlac), Cynthia Villar (Lone District, Las Piñas City), Ronaldo Zamora (Lone District, San Juan) and Eduardo Zialcita (First District, Parañaque)

The following are the solons identified by Rosales, citing the data gathered from the House of Representatives Legislative Information System, endoring the revival of BNPP:

From the National Capital Region, the 24 lawmakers who have endorsed the bill are: Bienvenido Abante Jr. (Sixth District, Manila), Maria Zenaida Angping (Third District, Manila), Amado Bagatsing (Fifth District, Manila), Rozzano Rufino Biazon (Lone District, Muntinlupa City), Ma. Theresa Bonoan-David (Fourth District, Manila), Mary Mitz Cajayon (Second District, Caloocan), Vincent Crisologo (First District, Quezon City), Nanette Castello-Daza (Fourth District, Quezon City), Del De Guzman (Second District, Marikina City), Matias Defensor Jr. (Third District, Quezon City).

Rexlon Gatchalian (Second District, Valenzuela), Angelito Gatlabayan (Second District, Antipolo City), Neptali Gonzales 2nd (Lone District, Mandaluyong), Magtanggol Gunigundo (Second District, Valenzuela), Jaime Lopez (Second District, Manila), Oscar Malapitan (First District, Caloocan), Roberto Puno (First District, Antipolo City), Roman Romulo (Lone District, Pasig City), Jose Antonio Roxas (Lone District, Pasay City), Mary Ann Susano (Second District, Quezon City).

Marcelino Teodoro (First District, Marikina City), Cynthia Villar (Lone District, Las Piñas City), Ronaldo Zamora (Lone District, San Juan) and Eduardo Zialcita (First District, Parañaque).

From Luzon, the 75 legislators who endorsed the bill are: Joseph Emilio Abaya (First District, Cavite), Ablan Roque Jr. (First District, Ilocos Norte), Victor Agbayani (Second District, Pangasinan), Giorgidi Aggabao (Fourth District, Isabela), Manuel Agyao (Lone District, Kalinga), Rodolfo Albano 3rd (First District, Isabela), Felix Alfelor Jr. (Fouth District, Camarines Sur), Juan Edgardo Angara (Lone District, Aurora), Rodolfo Antonino (Fourth District, Nueva Ecija), Maria Evita Arago (Third District, Laguna).

Ma. Rachel Arenas (Third District, Pangasinan), Diosdado Ignacio Jose Maria Arroyo (First District, Camarines Sur), Elpidio Barzaga (Second District, Cavite), Al Francis Bichara Jr. (Second District, Albay), Narciso Bravo Jr (First District, Masbate), Elias Bulut (Lone District, Apayao), Carmen Cari (Fifth District, Leyte), Arthur Celeste (First District Pangasinan), Solomon Chungalao (Lone District, Ifugao), Eufrocino Codilla Sr. (Fourth District, Leyte).

Mark Cojuangco (Fifth District, Pangasinan), Junie Cua (Lone District, Quirino), Samuel Dangwa (Lone District, Benguet), Jose de Venecia Jr. (Fouth District, Pangasinan), Carlo Oliver Diasnes (Lone District, Batanes), Antonio Diaz (Second District, Zambales), Mauricio Domogan (Lone District, Baguio), Thomas Dumpit Jr. (Second District, La Union), Faustino Dy 3rd (Third District, Isabela), Wilfrido Mark Enverga (First District, Quezon).

Eileen Ermita-Buhain (First District, Batangas), Salvador Escudero 3rd (First District Sorsogon), Danilo Ramon S. Fernandez (1st District, Laguna), Arnulfo Fuentebella (Third District, Camarines Sur), Aurelio Gonzales Jr. (Third District, Pampanga), Eduardo Nonato Joson (First District, Nueva Ecija), Antonio Kho (Second District, Masbate), Jeci Lapus (Third District, Tarlac), Juan Miguel Macapagal-Arroyo (2nd District, Pampanga), Ma. Milagros Magsaysay (1st District, Zambales).

Manuel Mamba (3rd District, Cagayan), Hermilando Mandanas (Second District, Batangas), Ferdinand Marcos Jr. (Second District, Ilocos Norte), Mark Llandro Mendoza (Fourth District, batangas), Reylina "Neneng" Nicolas (Fourth District, Bulacan), Victor Francisco Ortega (First District, La Union), Carlos Padilla (Lone District, Nueva Vizcaya), Pedro Pancho (Second District, Bulacan), Salvacion Ponce-Enrile (First District, Cagayan), Monica Louise Prieto-Teodoro (First District, Tarlac).

Jesus Crispin Remulla (Third District, Cavite), Carmencita Reyes (Lone District, Marinduque), Victoria Reyes (Third District, Batangas), Arturo Robes (Lone District, San Jose del Monte), Adelina Rodriguez-Zaldarriaga (Second District, Rizal), Herminia Roman (First District, Bataan), Edgar San Luis (Fourth District, Laguna), Joseph Santiago (Lone District, Catanduanes), Rizalina Seachon-Lanete (Third District, Masbate), Cecilia Seares-Luna (Lone District, Abra).

Lorna Silverio (Third District Bulacan), Eric Singson (Second District, Ilocos Sur), Ronald Singson (First District Ilocos Sur), Jose Solis (Second District, Sorsogon), Danilo Suarez (Third District, Quezon), Alfonso Umali Jr. (Second District, Oriental Mindoro), Czarina Umali (Third District, Nueva Ecija), Edwin Uy (Second District, Isabela), Rodolfo Valencia (First District, Oriental Mindoro), Florencio Vargas (Second District, Cagayan).

Luis Villafuerte (Second District Camarines Sur), Amelita Villarosa (Lone District, Occidental Mindoro), Liwayway Vinzons-Chato (Lone District, Camarines Norte), Joseph Violago (Second District, Nueva Ecijja), and Jose Yap (Second District, Tarlac).

From Visayas, the 40 pro-BNPP legislators are: Genaro Alvarez Jr. (Sixth District, Negros Occidental), Trinidad Apostol (Second District, Leyte), Ignacio Arroyo (Fifth District, Negros Occidental) , Ferjenel Biron (Fifth District, Iloilo), Roberto Cajes (Second District, Bohol), Edgardo Chatto (First District, Bohol), Glenn Chong (Lone District, Biliran), Teodulo Coquilla (Lone District, Eastern Samar), Paul Daza (First District, Northern Samar), Arthur Defensor (Third District, Iloilo).

Raul Del Mar (First District, Cebu City), Antonio del Rosario (First District, Capiz), Ramon Durano 6th (Fifth District, Cebu), Glenda Ecleo (Lone District, Dinagat Islands), Jeffrey Ferrer (Fourth District, Negros Occidental), Orlando Fua (Lone District, Siquijor), Pablo Garcia (Second District, Cebu), Janette Garin (First District Iloilo), Raul Gonzalez Jr. (Lone District, Iloilo City), Eduardo Gullas (First District, Cebu).

Adam Relson Jala (Third District, Bohol), Exequiel Javier (Lone District, Antique), Jose Carlos Lacson (Third District, Negros Occidental), Julio Ledesma 4th (First District, Negros Occidental), Eleandro Jesus Madrona (Lone District, Romblon), Alfredo Maranon 3rd ( 2nd District, Negros Occidental), Roger G. Mercado (Lone District, Southern Leyte), Florencio Miraflores (Lone District, Aklan), Joaquin Carlos Rahman Nava (Lone District, Guimaras), Emil Ong (Second District, Northern Samar).

Monico Puentevella (Lone District, Bacolod City), Ferdinand Martin Romualdez (First District, Leyte), Benhur Salimbangon (Fourth District, Cebu), Andres Salvacion Jr. (Third District, Leyte), Nerissa Corazon Soon-Ruiz (Sixth District, Cebu), Judy Syjuco (Second District, Iloilo), Sharee Ann Tan (Second District, Western Samar), Pryde Henry Teves (Third District, Negros Oriental), Niel Tupas Jr. (Fifth District, Iloilo), and Reynaldo Uy (First District, Western Samar).

From Mindanao, there are 38 lawmakers supportive of the bill. They are: Thelma Almario (Second District, Davao), Edelmiro Amante (Second District, Agusan del Norte), Jose Aquino 2nd (First District, Agusan Del Norte), Munir Arbison (Second District, Sulu), Pangalian Balindong (Second District, Lanao del Sur), Franklin Bautista (Second District, Davao del Sur), Vicente Belmonte Jr. (First District, Lanao del Norte), Marc Douglas Cagas 4th (First District, Davao del Sur), Antonio Cerilles (Second District, Zamboanga del Sur), Erwin Chiongbian (Lone District, Sarangani).

Simeon Datumanong (Lone District, Maguindanao), Nelson Dayanghirang (First District, Davao Oriental), Didagen Dilangalen (Lone District, Shariff Kabunsuan with Cotabato City), Abdullah Dimaporo (Second District, Lanao del Norte), Yevgeny Vicente Emano (Second District, Misamis Oriental), Erico Basilio Fabian (Second District, Zamboanga City), Florencio Garay (Second District, Surigao del Sur), Vincent Garcia (Second District, Davao City), Arnulfo Go (Second District, Sultan Kudarat), Dulce Ann Hofer (Second District, Zamboanga Sibugay).

Nur Jaafar (Lone District, Tawi-Tawi), Cesar Jalosjos (Third District, Zamboanga del Norte), Cecilia Jalosjos-Carreon (First District, Zamboanga del Norte), Antonio Lagdameo Jr. (Second District, Davao del Norte), Datu Pax Mangudadatu (First District, Sultan Kudarat), Francisco Matugas (First District, Surigao del Norte), Prospero Nograles (First District, Davao City), Arrel Olano (First District, Davao del Norte), Candido Pancrudo Jr. (First District Bukidnon), Philip Pichay (First District, Surigao del Sur).

Arthur Pingoy Jr. (Second District, South Cotabato), Rodolfo Rodrigo Plaza (Lone District, Agusan del Sur), Herminia Ramiro, (Second District, Misamis Occidental), Guillermo Romarate Jr. (Second District, Surigao del Norte), Pedro Romualdo (Lone District, Camiguin), Emmylou Talino-Mendoza (First District, North Cotabato), Isidro Ungab (Third District, Davao City), and Victor Yu (First District, Zamboanga del Sur).

Also supporting the bill are seven party list representatives. They are: Nicanor Briones (AGAP), Robert Raymund Estrella (Abono), Carol Jayne Lopez, (Yacap), Florencio "Bem" Noel, (Anwaray), Ernesto Pablo (Apec),Irwin Tieng (Buhay) and Edgar Valdez (Apec).

Ms. Jeannette Avorque, Information Officer of DOJ-PPA Region 8, informed that in order to prepare the newly recruited volunteers for the task ahead of them, the Tacloban City Parole and Probation Office conducted a Basic Training for Volunteer Probation Aides on February 19, 2009 at the Kanhuraw Convention Center, Tacloban City.

The newly-trained 67 volunteers will join the eighty-one Volunteer Probation Aides of Tacloban City PPO, fourteen of whom are supervising forty-one clients of the office or 17.5 % of 234, the total number of clients as of December 2008.

The other VPAs are called resource volunteers. They do not supervise clients but they offer their services and resources. A VPA can supervise a maximum of five clients, Ms. Avorque said.

The newly trained volunteers were oriented on the Criminal Justice System; Probation, Parole, Executive Clemency and other pertinent special laws; Code of Ethics; Volunteer Probation System in the Philippines; and Community Resource Development. The other topics which were discussed are "Dignity of Man," "Communication," "Interviewing Skills," and "Helping Process."

All the topics were handled by the entire staff of Tacloban City PPO led by Chief Carolina R. Corpin, who expressed her gratitude to the participants for heeding the call to render voluntary work for the benefit of the clients, which will ultimately benefit the community.

The training was realized in coordination with the City Government of Tacloban through Mayor Alfred Romualdez which provided financial assistance aside from the free use of venue and audio-visual equipment.

First District of Leyte Congressman Martin G. Romualdez congratulated TCPPO for the laudable undertaking through Ms. Betty Culas who graced the event in his behalf.

Barely 19 months in office -- though a neophyte in House of Representative –- Cong. FM has already implemented more than 300 projects worth more than P1.5 billion (July 1, 2007 to December 2008).
Many of these are infrastructure projects, a number of them are ongoing and the others are still on pre-construction stage.
The first tranche of his “pork barrel” for 2008 (P35 million) was allocated to 32 new projects, including the construction of several school buildings, financial assistance to the seven towns of his district and repair and rehabilitation of the district’s road network and bridges.

The second tranche of his Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) for 2008, which is another P35 million, was allocated to finance 56 new projects.

These include the P3.2 million that went to various scholarship programs of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, the national high schools of Marasbaras, Sagkahan, Leyte, Tanauan, Alangalang, San Joaquin, Sta. Fe, San Miguel, Tolosa, Batbatngon and Visayas State University.

On the health front, some P1 million worth of PhilHealth Cards were distributed district wide. Also, P1 million had been allotted to the health program of the Eastern Visayas Regional Medical Center –- the only referral hospital of all provincial, district and municipal hospitals in Region 8.

Farmers need not to be left out, especially those whose livelihood have been greatly affected by the floodings that hit Eastern Visayas early last year and typhoon Frank’s wrath mid of last year.
Cong. FM ordered the release of P2 million as livelihood assistance to the tillers.

Bulk of the funding was spent on infrastructure projects – construction and rehabilitation of drainage systems, multi-purpose buildings, barangay roads, classrooms and school buildings.

Tacloban as big winner

As Leyte’s capital, Tacloban City is not only the province’s hub but is also the gateway to Eastern Visayas (Region 8). Tacloban City alone is set to benefit from a windfall of 79 infrastructure projects worth P100 million.

Owing to the perennial flooding that besiege many Taclobanons, Cong. FM has already identified and approved the allocation of more than P40 million to fund various flood control projects all around the city.

Residents of Bgy. 109 and 109-A can soon heave a sigh of relief once the construction and rehabilitation of the P10 million drainage system in their area is completed.

Other barangays which will have their drainage system constructed or improved include Barangays 6, 6-A, 7, 15, 21, 21-A, 23, 30, 31, 33, 37-A, 40, 41, 51, 52, 55, 72, 79, 80, 84, and 92.

Other flood control projects are the construction of lined-canal with cover in Barangays 71 and 91.

More than P27 million will be spent either on the construction or improvement of 33 multi-purpose buildings all over Tacloban City.
The rest of the P100 million will be used for the construction, repair or rehabilitation of some 15 roads and multi-purpose road pavements.

Although a first termer, Cong. FM has already filed a total of 96 House bills and resolutions in the House of Representatives.

Of this, he principally authored 14 House bills/resolutions (eight local bills and six national) and co-authored 46 House bills and 36 House resolutions.

And as of Jan. 8, 2009, five of the House bills he co-authored have been enacted as laws (Republic Act).

These are: R.A. 9504 also known as An Act to Exempt from Taxation the Income of Minimum Wage Earners in the Philippines; R.A. 9505 -- An Act to include Single Parent, Widow or Widower in the Categories Entitled for Allowance or Personal Exemption for Individual Taxpayer Amending Sec. 35(A) of R.A. 8424, otherwise known as the National Internal Revenue Code of 1997, as amended.

R.A. 9500, An Act to Strengthen the University of the Philippines as the Premier State University and R.A. 9496 also known as An Act to Extend the Utilization Period of the Agricultural Competitiveness Enhancement Fund, Amending R.A. 8178, entitled “An Act Replacing Quantitative Import Restrictions of Agricultural Products Except Rice, with Tariffs, Creating the Agricultural Competitiveness Enhancement Fund, and for Other Purposes.”

The fifth law is R.A. 9497, An Act Creating the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines, Authorizing the Appropriation of Funds therefore, and for Other Purposes.

More of Cong. FM

Now that Cong. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez has laid out the groundwork for the more than P1.5-billion worth of various projects, his constituents will be seeing more of their solon visiting their district this year.

Cong. FM said that as much as he wanted to be in Tacloban –- where his district office is -- there are more pressing matters that he has to attend to in Manila regarding his legislative work.

“I maybe away (from Leyte) most of time but I see to it that every time I come home to them -- like a father to his children -- I have some goodies (in the form of projects) for them,” Cong. FM said.

He said that his constituents must also understand that his job as a lawmaker requires most of his time to be in Congress.

The hardworking solon explained his work does not end once he has filed a bill. He stressed that you have to go though a series of committee hearings and defend the bill –- from the first to third and final reading -- until it becomes a law. “Not only that, you also have to attend other hearings as well as committee membership meetings,” he added.

With only six months to go before he winds up his second year in Congress, according to Cong. FM, he is still in a learning process and admittedly there is a lot more to learn.

“I and my predecessors may be different in our approaches when it comes to serving Leytenos but what is important for me is to deliver the projects and services due my constituents,” Cong. FM averred.
Despite his being a first-termer, Cong. FM is among the few congressmen who had been able to expedite the release of considerable amount of funding for his projects.

He attributes this not only to his party affiliation but also to sheer hard work.

Mayor Alfred Romualdez will give priority to the setting up of the facility, the first of its kind in Eastern Visayas, said Jonathan Hijada, head of the city’s environment and natural resources office (ENRO).

Hijada said the mayor’s cousin, Rep. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, also had plans to put up a mini zoo at the wildlife rescue center.

The Wildlife Rescue Center and Mini-Zoo will rise from a 50-hectare lot which is part of the nearly 200-hectare Community-Based Forest Management Area (Cefna) in Barangay Salvacion.

The Cefna is a project of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and managed by the Paraclete Integrated Agro-Forest Development Association Inc., a people’s organization, Hijada said.

He said the center would take care of wildlife confiscated from illegal trading and the abandoned and donated animals.

The city government will sign a memorandum of agreement on the project with the DENR regional office and the people’s organization, Hijada said.

A draft of the MOA has been submitted to the city legal office for technical review.

Under the agreement, the city government will provide manpower, management and veterinary-related services to the wildlife center.

The ENRO will be the lead agency of the project but will work closely with the city veterinarians office, Hijada said.

He said the residents of Salvacion had also approved the project after this was presented to them in October last year after several dialogues.

They will be given priority in the hiring of workers for the project, Hijada said.

He said a joint team from his office and DENR had already assessed the proposed site, which had denuded areas and two waterfalls that would need rehabilitation.

“We will be developing as part of our strategy this 50-hectare [rescue center area] back into its natural condition,” Hijada said, adding that it become an eco-tourism site.

This year, the city has appropriated P664,000 for the proposed wildlife rescue center under its annual investment plan.

Leyte Congressman Ferdinand Martin Romualdez said President Arroyo’s call should be regarded as a step towards reconciliation while the world is being hounded by serious threats of economic instability.

“The President’s call is highly timely, let’s start reconciliation by ending destructive political bickering that we do not need now at this sorry state of worldwide economy,” Romualdez said in an interview.

House Deputy Minority Leader and Paranaque Rep. Roilo Golez vowed to oppose “vicious attacks” but stressed that there should be no ceasefire on important and pressing issues.

“For the legitimate political exchanges on vital national issues like graft and corruption, crimes, incompetence, arrogance and relevant congressional hearings, there should be no ceasefire while Congress is in session,” said Golez, spokesman of the opposition bloc at the House of Representatives.

In her appeal, President Arroyo called on to set aside political differences and instead work together on positive things that would bring developments to the lives of the people.

Romualdez, a stalwart of President Arroyo’s Kabalikat ng Malayang Pilipino (Kampi), expressed optimism that the Chief Executive’s critics would give her call a chance in the name of greater national interest.

“I am still optimistic that supporters and opponents of this administration would unite for one common cause, which is to foster unity, particularly during Christmas season and fight the slowdown brought by global economic woes,” he added.

Romualdez explained that poor people are the ones taking the serious blow of continued political bickering by national leaders.

“The objective is to protect the poor people who are usually taking the brunt whenever political tension arises,” the Leyte lawmaker said, adding it is the duty of every Filipino to move the nation to progress despite the very challenging times nowadays.

The President’s call to a end destructive politics came few days before Congress resumes session on Monday where the divisive impeachment complaint against President Arroyo is scheduled to be tacked by the House committee on justice.

At the same time, another controversy will be highlighted as the Senate will reopen its investigation into the alleged P728-million fertilizer fund scam following the return to the country of former Agriculture Undersecretary Jocelyn “Joc-joc” Bolante.

Despite the appeal for political ceasefire, President Arroyo reiterated her directive for government troops to ensure the defeat of the communist insurgency before the end of her term in 2010.

Romualdez made this pledge following JOW’s visit to the Leyte Provincial Jail (LPJ) where some 680 inmates at the Leyte Provincial Jail were given medical, dental and legal aid.

He said it was “symbolic for the judiciary to practice such human act of assistance, health and care.”

Chief Justice Reynato S. Puno said the JOW program, which is under the SC’s increasing access to justice by the poor program, is the high court’s response to the criticism of “slow velocity of justice in the country and one of the principal weapons used to grapple down this problem to the ground.”

“We have [coordinated with] the IBP (Integrated Bar of the Philippines ) so that our lawyers, the members of the Bar can give free legal advice to those who cannot afford the high cost of lawyers,” he said.

Puno said JOW also features a court-annexed mediation program where “we try to conciliate, mediate the differences of the litigants especially when they involve the poorer sectors of our society.”

An educational dimension has also been added with the deployment of the Philippine Judicial Academy (PHILJA)’s “highly competent corps of professors.”

The PHILJA professors are giving lecturers to barangay officials on the latter’s powers, duties and responsibilities under our different laws.

They will also provide lectures to indigenous peoples, a sector that needs a lot of upgrading on their rights and responsibilities under the Indigenous Peoples' Rights Act (IPRA).

Puno also bared plan to bring JOW to the other disadvantaged sectors in the society, such as farmers and fisherfolks and discuss with them their peculiar problems.

“So, this is an experiment where we see the highest officials of the Judiciary coming down from their ivory tower and giving a human face to our system of justice – showing compassion, giving heart to our justice system," he noted.

Puno reiterated this is a victory not just on the part of the judiciary but victory that must be shared by local government units –-provinces and cities as well as all stakeholders of justice system.

“We shall continue with our effort to bring this JOW Program to every nook and cranny so that we can diminish this critics that justice system does not respond to social justice [mandate] embedded from the 1935 Constitution to the 1987 Constitution,” he added. (PNA)

In a joint resolution, Representatives Luis Villafuerte, Martin Romualdez, and Aurelio Gonzales asked the lower chamber to check whether cosmetic companies are using harmful ingredients “that have been banned or restricted in other countries for being health hazards.”

The lawmakers were going by US National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health studies showing that “nearly 900 of the chemicals used in cosmetics are toxic and have been linked to deadly side effects.”

They noted harmful effects such as skin cancer, skin allergies, asthma, hormonal problems, reproductive disorders, and damage to a fetus.

Romualdez said the agency’s personal care and safety assessment findings showed that one-third of all products tested contained “at least one ingredient that fall under the classification of human carcinogen.”

“Seventy-one percent of the hair dye products evaluated had coal tar as an ingredient which is also carcinogenic,” he said in a joint statement.

Romualdez said 70 percent of the same batch of evaluated products was found to contain “ingredients tainted with impurities related to cancer and other health risks and complications.”

The Leyte representative asked the Bureau of Food and Drugs to undertake a review of the chemical components of beauty products being sold in the country.

As it is, the BFAD already has its hands full testing several products for possible melamine contamination, a chemical used by some Chinese milk manufacturers to mask the deficient protein content of their milk. Last week, the agency found that Greenfood Yili Fresh Milk and Mengniu Drink contained traces of the hazardous substance.

“In the Philippines, the Bureau of Food and Drugs (BFAD) does not require companies any mandatory testing for these personal care, skin care and cosmetic products for safety before they are sold in the market,” Romualdez said.

He said no government regulation compelled manufacturers to “subject their products to any type of testing or safety standards,” while continuing “to product and market their products using toxic ingredients.”

Romualdez said they were “free to make their own decisions and declarations on everything, from advertising claims to product quality even if several recent studies have shown them to cause health-damaging risks.”

A resolution filed by three lawmakers said the investigation aims to protect the public from health risks and complications, including cancer.

Filing House Resolution 760 were Reps. Luis Villafuerte (Camarines Sur), Ferdinand Martin Romualdez (Leyte) and Aurelio Gonzales (Pampanga).

An article on the House of Representatives website said Romualdez raised the possibility of toxic substances by citing studies of the US National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health.

He said nearly 900 of the chemicals used in cosmetics are toxic and have been linked to deadly side effects like skin cancer, skin allergies, asthma, interference with the endocrine (hormonal) system, impairment of reproduction, or damage a developing fetus.

Also, he said the Personal Care and Safety Assessment findings showed one-third of all products assessed contained at least one ingredient that fall under the classification of human carcinogen (cancer-causing); and that 71 percent of the hair dye products evaluated had coal tar as an ingredient which is also carcinogenic.

Likewise, 70 percent of the products reviewed were found to have ingredients tainted with impurities related to cancer and other health risks and complications, Romualdez said.

He said a partial list of some of the ingredients used in hundreds of different skincare, cosmetics, hair care, body care and personal care products that had been classified as toxic by studies, include mineral oil, paraffin and petrolatum; parabens; sodium laurel or laurly sulfate (SLS); propylene glycol; formaldehyde; phenol (carbolic acid); acrylamide; toluene; dioxane; artificial coloring; artificial fragrance; coal tar; talc; silica; phthalates; resorcinol; lead acetate; and nitrosamines.

Because of this, he asked the Bureau of Food and Drugs to review the chemical ingredients used in skincare, personal care, body care, hair care and cosmetic products and their corresponding side effects.

"In the Philippines, the Bureau of Food and Drugs (BFAD) does not require companies any mandatory testing for these personal care, skin care and cosmetic products for safety before they are sold in the market," he said.

Due to lack of government monitoring, manufacturers of these types of products do not subject their products to any type of testing or safety standards but continue to produce and market their products using toxic ingredients, he said.

He said these companies are free to make their own decisions and declarations on everything, from advertising claims to product quality even if several recent studies have shown them to cause health-damaging risks.

Romualdez added that the House would require BFAD to submit an action plan that should include safety nets against the use, marketing, selling, and trading of these risky chemical-based ingredients that pose serious health and safety concerns to the unsuspecting public. - GMANews.TV

Romualdez, however, urged the government to increase spending for infrastructure projects to create jobs.

“Let us unite and move as one in battling this worldwide economic instability. We can soften the impact of this turbulence with our flexible and resilient characters,” he said.

Romualdez expressed gratitude to overseas Filipino workers whose remittances have helped keep the economy afloat.

“If not for their remittances, we might face a contraction in domestic consumption,” he said of the expected $16 billion to $17 billion remittances expected this year.

He stressed the need for more infrastructure projects that will create more jobs and keep the local market active.

“We can boost our momentum for economic reforms despite high inflation and a global economic slowdown if more jobs are created by construction industry,” he said.

Meanwhile, Bayan Muna Rep. Teodoro “Teddy” Casiño urged the government to scale down its proposed P1.4 trillion 2009 budget.

“I suggest the Development and Budget Coordinating Council immediately buckle down to work in radically revising the 2009 budget’s macroeconomic projections. It is illogical for them to continue insisting that GDP (Gross Domestic Product) will grow by 6.1% to 7.1%, GNP (Gross National Product) by 6.9% to 7.8%, inflation at a mere 6% to 8% and pegging the peso-dollar exchange rate at P42-P45,” Casiño said.

“Sticking to these overly optimistic projections will bolster the suspicion that the budget is being artificially bloated to serve the administration’s political agenda for 2010,” he said.

House Bill 2707 amends Section 27 and 71 of Republic Act 6675 by lifting the restriction on the rights of beneficiaries to mortgage the lands awarded to them and allowing them to submit the certificate of land ownership as sufficient collateral for bank loans.

This is a step towards achieving genuine land reform, Arroyo, vice chairman of the House Committee on Agriculture and Food, said.

Other authors are Reps. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez (1st District, Leyte), Arnulfo Go (2nd District, Sultan Kudarat) and Aurelio Gonzales Jr. (3rd District, Pampanga).

Arroyo said the country's experience on the implementation of the agrarian reform law has shown that insufficient funding does not fully secure farmers' livelihood and productivity.

The government has tried to address the problem by making credit more accessible through micro financing and other schemes.

But it should be noted that credit extended to farmer-beneficiaries under these programs are short-term and limited and thus unable to sustain the farm workers' pressing credit requirements, Arroyo added.*

Nograles said the local government units had been losing P9.5 billion annually from 2000-2005 owing to the “loopholes brought about by non-transparency and inefficiency.”

He said it was incumbent for Congress to institute reforms in the country’s land administration system as proposed under House bill 2660.

The bill is co-authored by Reps. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez of Leyte, Arnulfo Go of Sultan Kudarat and Aurelio ‘‘Dong’’ Gonzales, Jr. of Pampanga.

The bill seeks to allow the transfer of managing the zoning and titling of lands to the local government units from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

Arroyo said some six million hectares of lands are up for titling.

Majority Leader Arthur Defensor said the proposed bill entitled, “An Act Instituting Reforms in the Land Administration System, Creating for this purpose, the Land Administration Authority, and for other purposes,” has been referred for appropriate action by plenary to the Committee on Land Use chaired by Zamboanga del Sur Rep. Antonio Cerilles.

Arroyo said the DENR has taken the lead in managing the almost 15.88 million hectares of the country’s forest lands, equivalent to 52.9 percent of the nation’s total land area.

The DENR’s Land Management Bureau is tasked to dispose of and issue titles covering six million hectares of untitled lands that had been released and now classified as alienable and disposable lands, Arroyo said.

While the land bureau has the mandate to assume the over-all administration, local governments exercise direct administration, preservation, utilization and allocation of land uses and resources within their respective territorial jurisdiction, Arroyo said.

A joint study conducted by the Bureau of Local Government Finance and the National Tax Research Centre of the Department of Finance revealed that from 2000 to 2005, LGUs lost P57 billion over the five-year period as a result of the tax loopholes. “Among the key reasons cited for this are inefficient collection system, understated values of assessed real properties compared to real market values and local economic development,” said Romualdez.

”There are loopholes that must be corrected in our land resource management and administration system," Nograles said as he endorsed the measure authored by Rep. Diosdado Arroyo and co-authored by Reps. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, Arnulfo Go and Aurelio Gonzales, Jr.

In endorsing HB 2660, Nograles said the measure should provide the necessary tools in promoting transparency and efficiency in governance by upgrading, systematizing and integrating the administration, management and operation of the country's land resources in both public and private lands.

Majority Leader Arthur Defensor said the proposed bill entitled, "An Act Instituting Reforms in the Land Administration System, Creating for this purposed, the Land Administration Authority, and for other purposes," has been referred for appropriate action by plenary to the Committee on Land Use chaired by Rep. Antonio Cerilles.

“Aside from the expected final reading approval of the proposed P1.415-trillion General Appropriations Act for 2009 on resumption of session on November 10, Speaker Nograles mobilized all the committee clusters coordinated by the Deputy Speakers to hasten their respective priorities,” Defensor said.

Arroyo said that the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has taken the lead in managing the almost 15.88 million hectares of the country's forestlands, equivalent to 52.9% of the nation's total land area.

The DENR, through the Land Management Bureau, is administratively tasked to disposed and issue titles covering some six million hectares of untitled lands that has been released and now classified as alienable and disposable lands.

On the other hand, both Arroyo and Romualdez noted that while the DENR has the specific mandate to assume the over-all administrations, LGUs exercise direct administration, preservation, utilization and allocation of land uses and resources within the respective territorial jurisdiction.

”LGUs have a huge stake in ensuring the effective and efficient management of land resources since a considerable portion of their local revenues are derived from real property taxes and other dues levied on lad-related transactions,” Arroyo said.

A joint study by the Bureau of Local Government Finance (BLGF) and the National Tax Research Centre (NTRC) of the Department of Finance revealed that from 2000 to 2005, LGUs lost some P9.5-billion annually as a result of deficient collection of local property taxes, the authors said.

”Among the key reasons cited for this are inefficient collection system, understated values of assessed real properties compared to real market values and local economic development," Romualdez said.

HB 2660 also aims to improve, rationalize and systematize the land records, titling, documentation and information systems into an open, updated, and reliable systems.

“The bill further hopes to improve the delivery of land related services to the general public and reduce delays in land documentation processing and releases,” Arroyo said.

He stressed the need to enhance and improve transparency in governance by reducing and eliminating the tedious bureaucratic, technically-oriented land titling and registration processes in the system.

Mayor Alfred S. Romualdez said in an interview yesterday that this would mean that the city government will no longer have to secure funds for the project.

The city government earlier agreed to shoulder the construction of terminal building and parking area at a cost of P350 million.

"The good news is that the national government will take care of the terminal. Right now, there’s no more need for local counterpart funds," said Mr. Romualdez.

Tacloban collects an average of P230 million in local taxes annually and would have needed to resort to a build-operate-transfer scheme to implement the project.

Mr. Romualdez said he and his cousin, Leyte Rep. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez (1st District), were confident the proposal will not face opposition in the Senate. "Everything looks okay. Let’s wait for the 2009 budget...I don’t see any problem here," he said.

Construction of the terminal is part of a P2.12-billion upgrading project aimed at improving the airport’s capacity to accommodate growing air traffic in the city. The project was originally proposed for funding by the Japan Bank for International Cooperation, but did not push through due to lack of local counterpart funds. — SQM

Romualdez earlier lamented the revelation of Bureau of Jail Management and Penology chief Director Rosendo Dial that jails in the metropolis are congested by almost 1,000 percent.

"I believe the jail system must reform even hardened criminals. That should be the purpose while they are paying for their crimes. Let's support construction of decent and humane houses for prisoners that would also address health concerns," the lawmaker had earlier said.

Belmonte vowed to construct a new facility for the 2,800 inmates of the Quezon City Jail.

QCJ warden Supt. Emilio Culang, Jr. said the mayor had promised to address jail decongestion by constructing one in Litex, Fairview.

Culang noted that inmates had to sleep at the basketball court due to lack of space inside the detention cells or brigades.

"Minsan, by schedule ang ginagawa para makatulog lahat," he said.

The jail warden also said that congested jails are prone to riots since inmates have a very minimal space to move in .

"Upuan lang halos ang pagitan at magkatinginan lang yan ay puwede nang pagmulan ng away," Culang said.

Belmonte also promised to increase the transportation allowance of jail personnel since the planned new jail is far from trial courts.

A statement posted on the Lower House website said the House Committee on Social Services under Lanao del Sur Rep. Faysah Dumarpa has reported out for plenary debate a consolidated bill on the matter.

The consolidated bill combines House Bill 1387 of Rep. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez (Leyte) and House Bill 1410 of Rep. Reno Lim (Albay).

The consolidated bill amends Section 40 of Republic Act No. 7277, and provides that "local government units shall promote the establishment of organizations of persons with disabilities (PWDs) in their respective territorial jurisdictions."

"National agencies and local government units may enter into joint ventures with organizations or associations of PWDs to explore livelihood opportunities and other undertakings that shall enhance the health, physical fitness and economic social well-being of PWDs," the amendment added.

The bill tasks LGUs to create a PDAO in every province, city and municipality to promote full participation of PWDs in learning, working and community life.

PDAOs will also ensure that the services provided in the Magna Carta for Disabled Persons are extended to PWDs by the agencies concerned.

Also, the bill calls for the creation of the Social Partnership Development Program to further assist and deliver empowerment processes. These will afford PWDs equal opportunities and promote their welfare.

The Social Development Program will be responsible for arranging and delivering activities for PWDs through business, public and private institutions, non-profit organizations and other partners interested in developing employment or self-employment opportunities for the PWDs. - GMANews.TV

Filed Under: Laws, Wages & Pensions, Legislation, Congress, State Budget & Taxes

Republic Act No. 9504 exempts minimum wage earners in the private sector and their counterparts in the public sector (casual employees) from paying income tax.

Minimum wage earners (or those paid the statutory minimum wage fixed by the regional wage boards) receive P382 daily in Metro Manila, and from P180 to P320 in other regions.

The law, which no longer requires minimum wage earners to file income tax returns, also increased the personal exemptions of other earners.

Other benefits—holiday, overtime, night shift differential and hazard pay—are exempted from income tax upon the effectivity of the law 15 days after its publication.

The President, who was visibly pleased with the new law, said it was part of government’s “immediate” help to Filipino families reeling from soaring prices of oil and rice.

A family of five living in Metro Manila should earn more than P10,000 a month to stay out of poverty, according to the National Statistics Coordination Board (NSCB). The amount is 16 percent more than the poverty line two years ago.

Personal exemptions up

The law increased the amount of personal exemption from P25,000 to P50,000 for all taxpayers regardless of status (single, married or head of the family), and the additional deduction for qualified dependents from P8,000 to P25,000.

Thus, a family of six, with two working spouses and four dependent children, will have a total of P200,000 in personal exemptions (from the current P96,000).

In case only one of the spouses is earning, he or she shall be allowed the standard personal exemption of P50,000.

The law defines a “dependent” as a “legitimate, illegitimate or legally adopted child” living with the taxpayer and not more than 21 years old, unmarried and not gainfully employed.

These provisions eliminated the old tax bracketing system under the 1997 National Revenue Code, as amended, which had specified tax exemption of P20,000, P25,000 and P32,000 for single, head of the family and married, respectively.

Senate’s principal author

The new law amended Sections 22, 24, 34, 35, 51 and 79 of Republic Act No. 8424 (National Revenue Code).

“The House focused on increasing exemptions, (while) my bill in the Senate essentially focused on exempting minimum wage earners,” said Sen. Manuel Roxas II, the principal author in the chamber. He and his co-author, Sen. Richard Gordon, attended the signing ceremony in Malacañang.

“The impact there will be to ease the burdens of minimum wage earners because it will give them hefty deductions,” Gordon said. He, nevertheless, encouraged workers to save and “become entrepreneurs.”

Other lawmakers who witnessed the signing were Senators Ramon Revilla Jr., Juan Ponce Enrile and Francis Escudero, House Speaker Prospero Nograles and Representatives Exequiel Javier of Antique and Martin Romualdez of Leyte.

Revenue impact

“The origin of this (act) was really intended for the minimum wage earners, but Congress decided to expand it to include middle-income earners, so we had to request them to assist us, to help us make sure that we arrive at a revenue-neutral situation,” said Finance Secretary Margarito Teves, who attended the signing.

Teves placed at P3.16 billion the foregone revenue from the tax exemption of minimum wage earners and at P11.1 billion the personal exemptions of medium-income earners—a total of P14.2 billion annually.

“That is now the challenge for us to generate the compensating revenues from those two sources (individuals and corporations) to arrive at a revenue-neutral situation,” said Teves, who acknowledged that the task would not be easy.

Consumption to go up

He said the government would have to convince individual taxpayers and corporations “to assist us. So we will probably review from time to time how we are implementing the law in terms of generating revenues.”

Teves expected domestic consumption to go up as low- and -middle income earners would have more money in their pockets.

“There will be a net addition in terms of money in circulation and that will help generate jobs, and the economy will also be on the road to some improvement,” he said.

Optional deductions

The Department of Finance hopes to recover the revenue losses from the imposition of optional standard deductions, Teves said.

The law also provides other taxpayers optional standard deductions in filing business or income tax returns.

For the self-employed and professionals, the law gives them an optional standard deduction of 40 percent of gross sales or gross receipts, and 40 percent of gross income for corporations.

Teves said the imposition of optional standard deductions simplified the filing of income tax returns for professional and medium, small and micro enterprises, thus increasing tax compliance.

The finance department expects to gain P15.03 billion from the optional standard deductions.

PERSONAL EXEMPTIONS

Before (in pesos) Now (in pesos)

Single 20,000 50,000

Head of Family 25,000 50,000

Married 32,000 50,000

Each Qualified Dependent

(Not exceeding 4) 8,000 25,000

Family of 6 (Two working spouses, 4 dependent children) 96,000 200,000

Under the new law, payments received by minimum wage earners for all holiday, night differential, hazard and overtime should be exempted from taxes.

It also increases personal exemptions for individual taxpayers to a flat rate of P50,000 from 20,000 for single employees, P25,000 for head of the family, and P32,000 for married workers.

Exemptions were also raised to P25,000 from P8,000 for each qualified dependent, with taxpayers allowed to declare up to four.

The law also provides additional deductions for qualified dependents. A family of six with two working spouses and four dependent children used to enjoy total exemptions of P96,000, but under the new law, will get P200,000 in exemptions.

The Department of Labor and Employment (Dole) 7 welcomed the development, saying the law will guarantee an increase in the workers’ take-home pay, especially that the P17 increase in the minimum wage took effect last Monday, June 16.

Regional Director Elias Cayanong told radio dyLA that the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB) was not mistaken in granting the P17 increase, given the adjustments in tax exemptions.

Dole 7 and the business sector, he added, will conduct a joint information drive for the uniform enforcement of the new wage increase, amid reports that several employers did not even implement the old P250 minimum wage.

Present during the signing ceremony in Manila were Sens. Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr., Juan Ponce Enrile, Francis Escudero, Richard Gordon and Manuel Roxas II, House Speaker Prospero Nogra-les and Reps. Exequiel Javier and Martin Romualdez.

The President, in a press release, said the new law is expected to help ease the impact of the continuing rise in oil and food prices.

Finance Secretary Margarito Teves said minimum wage earners have been exempted from withholding tax since January 2006, through Revenue Regulations 01-2006, but with the signing of RA 9504, it now “formalized this tax exemption order for about 500,000 minimum wage earners both in the private and public sector.”

Teves said the government stands to lose P3.16 billion annually in tax revenues with the income tax exemption of minimum wage earners and P11.09 billion with the new personal exemption levels.

Government, however, could recover these losses with the imposition of optional standard deductions in filing business income tax returns, which is expected to generate about P15.03 billion. (Sunnex/EOB)

Simultaneous flag raising and wreath laying rites will be held at the Aguinaldo Shrine in Cavite to be led by Vice President Noli de Castro; Barasoain Church in Malolos, Bulacan with Speaker Prospero Nograles; Mausoleo de los Veteranos de la Revolucion at the Manila North Cemetery with Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro; Bonifacio National Monument in Caloocan City with Chief Justice Reynato Puno; Pinaglabanan Memorial Shrine in San Juan City with Senate President Manuel Villar; Cebu City with Health Secretary Francisco Duque; Davao City with Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Jesus Dureza; and the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao with Agrarian Reform Secretary Nasser Pangandaman.

As instructed by the President, the Cabinet members would spread out across the country to deliver various services to the masses.

Presidential Management Staff director general Cerge Remonde said the government chose to do away with the usual parades this year and instead go for a different celebration ³to bring the administration closer to the people.²

The President will later host a cocktail reception for the diplomatic corps at 6 p.m. at Malacañang. The vin d¹honneur will feature a rigodon de honor, reviving a tradition of independence day celebrations dating back to the time of Governor general William Taft.

The formal dance will have 40 participants or 20 pairs, including Cabinet Secretaries Arthur Yap and Peter Favila, Reps. Dato Arroyo, Robi Puno and Martin Romualdez, Ambassadors Kristie Kenney and David Pine, and other government officials and social figures.

In her Independence Day message, the President emphasized that her administration has staunchly protected and strengthened the vibrant democracy that was restored during the 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution.

³Our political discourse is vibrant, our press is free, our Constitution shelters all who seek its protection and embrace the rule of law,² the President said.

³We have tackled our unfortunate legacy of political violence whether it is in the Philippines or abroad with foreign leaders and human rights organizations,² the President added.

Mrs. Arroyo said that the government has been successful in reducing cases of unexplained killings since the formation of the Melo Commission.

³Extrajudicial killings are down and prosecutions are up. We will not be satisfied until we are at zero, but we are making progress,² the President said.

The President also cited the government¹s efforts in protecting the people from the rise in the prices of oil and rice in the world market.

³We are delivering investments in three critical areas, what we call the three Es, namely: the economy, the environment and education. These issues are central to lifting our nation up and getting it ready for the next generation of leaders,² the President said.

She said the country is now in a vastly improved position to weather the global high prices than at any other time in recent memory.

Mrs. Arroyo also paid tribute to the Filipino workers here and overseas who have been widely accepted for their hard work and skills.

³With solidarity, sacrifice and singular purpose, our heroes brought forth a new nation. With the same love of country binding all Filipinos, we too shall achieve for the Philippines and all its people the blessings of freedom, justice and progress and our esteemed place among the great nations of the world,² the President said.

The President, who was escorted by First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo as she entered the hall where the gathering was held late Thursday to mark the country's110th Independence, wore a cream terno.

US Ambassador to the Philippines Kristie Kenney looked glittering in her blue gown, while actress Dawn Zulueta was stunning in a black evening dress. Senator Vicente Sotto wore a piña barong tagalog. Presidential Management Staff chief Cerge Remonde's barong was green and red.

In her message, President Arroyo said the skyrocketing price of oil and food is a global problem but can be hurdled if Filipinos unite. She also called on members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to work together towards becoming a unified economy.

"Now that ASEAN has taken tangible steps to be a true union, it must accept responsibility to advance the cause of economic and social justice within its membership,” she said. “Economic integration is an imperative ... amid the economic opportunities."

In his message, Papal Nuncio Joseph Edward Adams said sovereign nations are interconnected and are affecting one another and thus should work together.

This year's 20 pairs of rigodon dancers, meanwhile, included Cabinet officials, members of the diplomatic corps, spouses of lawmakers, and business leaders. The media, however, was barred from covering the dance.

The rigodon de honor is considered as the most elegant of ceremonial dances

Among the dancing partners were Trade Secretary Peter Favila and Kenney, Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap and singer-host and wife of Senator Bong Revilla Lani Mercado, Sotto and Mons Romulo-Tantoco, Representative Martin Romualdez and Zulueta, Nestor Jardin of the Cultural Center of the Philippines and columnist Tessa Prieto Valdez.

They practiced the dance once a week for three weeks, Sotto said, adding the President joined them in one of the rehearsals.

The rigodon de honor was last performed in Malacañang in 1981.

The late Anakpawis party-list Rep. Crispin “Ka Bel” Beltran was the poorest among the 238 congressman, with an asset of only P50,000. Beltran died before noontime yesterday at the FEU-Nicanor Reyes Medical Foundation Hospital after he fell from the roof of his house in San Jose del Monte, Bulacan.

The second richest lawmaker, Leyte Rep. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez declared an asset of P477.2 million. His cousin, Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., the only son of the late President Ferdinand Marcos, came at number 13, with an asset of P120.48 million.

Negros Occidental Rep. Julio Ledesma, the husband of actress Assunta de Rossi, was the third richest with an asset of P406.2 million.

The top 10 richest list includes:

* Judy Syjuco (Iloilo), P256.4 million;

* Edgar San Luis (Laguna), P200.65 million;

* Ferjenel Biron (Iloilo), P190.9 million;

* Rodolfo Valencia (Mindoro Oriental), P150.49 million;

* Aurelio Umali (Pampanga), P147.7 million;

* Ignacio “Iggy” Arroyo (Negros Occidental), P145.81 million;

* Paul Ruiz Daza (Northern Samar), P137.9 million.

Speaker Prospero Nograles came in 36th with a P67.479-million while former Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr. was in 37th place with P65.955 million.

Nograles has total assets of P107.779 million but this was diminished by his liability of P40.3 million while De Venecia has total assets of P67.461 million with a P1.5-million liability.

The son of the late House Speaker Ramon Mitra Jr., Palawan Rep. Abraham Kalil Mitra, is on the 71st place, with an asset of P39.6 million.

In 20th place is Pampanga Rep. Juan Miguel “Mikey” Arroyo, P96.747 million. His younger brother, Camarines Sur Rep. Diosdado Macapagal Arroyo, is in 29th place with an asset of P83.774 million.

The document itself was given to PIA by Gerry Malinao, GIOS Samar Chair and National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC) fishery sector representative recently.

House Bill number 3184 is introduced by Representatives of the 14th Congress namely: Diosdado M Arroyo, Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, Arnulfo Go, Aurelio Gonzales, Jr.. Roberto Puno and Wilfredo Mark Envirga.

The document stated that the bill seeks to create a Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (DFAR) which shall become the principal government agency responsible for securing the country's fishery and aquatic resources.

It cited that although the Department of Agriculture (DA) is currently performing functions relative to marine resources, a centralized agency specifically crafted for such purpose can better discharge this duty.

Then, the DFAR shall have the power to take control over the production, capture, dispensation and promotion of fisheries and marine products in the country.

The creation of DFAR will be a significant move to ensure the protection of water and marine resources and more importantly, the rights of local fish workers.

Presently, under DA, it is the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) that does all the functions.

BFAR, which will turn 61 in July was created under republic Act 855O, according to BFAR officials. BFAR said that the Philippines ranks 8th highest in fish production in the world, ranks 2nd in Asian region with China as the highest in seaweed production, and ranks 11th as the highest in aquaculture. With the impressive records and expanse of fishery and marine area in the country, BFAR officials believe that a bigger and more empowered institution like a department should manage the promotion of fisheries and marine products in the country. (PIA-Samar)

The President said that the focusing on the economy paved way to the achievement of a 7.3 economic growth rate. Thus, the President stressed that "we must not allow other 'agenda' to destruct us from our focus."

President Arroyo dropped by Tacloban City in the province of Leyte on her way to Dolores, Eastern Samar where she is scheduled to see for herself, how the government will be able to help the flood-stricken town of Dolores, Eastern Samar which have been reported to be mostly affected by the flooding brought about by the continuous heavy rains that prevailed in the Region for many days this month of February.

The provinces of Eastern Visayas were greatly affected by the incessant heavy rains which caused flooding and landslide; and brought damage to lives, infrastructure and agriculture. Eastern Samar has been reported to have been isolated from Tacloban because of the destruction to roads and bridges. At the VIP Lounge of the Daniel Z. Romualdez Airport in Tacloban City, the President had a brief interaction with the media. Aside from the media practitioners, hundreds of people from various municipalities of Leyte were at the airport to meet and show their support to the President.

Many of the local government leaders were also present: most of the Congressmen in Region 8 were there to meet the President, Leyte Congressmen Martin Romualdez, Ebbie Apostol, Andres Salvacion Jr.; Samar Congressmen Reynaldo Uy and Sharie Ann Tan; Southern Leyte Congressman Damian Mercado; and Biliran Congressman Glenn Chong, and Waray Party List Congressman Bembem Noel. Also present to meet the President were Tacloban City Mayor Alfred Romualdez, Leyte Governor Carlos Jericho Petilla, LMP Leyte President Roque Tiu and other local and regional government officials.

National Officials present were PA for Eastern Visayas Victor Domingo, PAGCOR Vice President Remedios L. Petilla, Commissioner Aurel Menzon, and Sec. Serge Apostol who came in with DPWH Secretary Hermogenes Ebdane, Jr.

Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III, and DSWD Secretary Esperanza Cabral came in with the President.

The President was scheduled to be with the media for 15 minutes only but this was extended as the President pleasantly accommodated the other questions from the local media. (PIA 8)

The number of delegates came as a surprise to some since the Philippines would figure little in the discussions at the annual gathering of world leaders and business executives.

The four-day Forum opened Wednesday at the Swiss ski resort of Davos.Some members of the delegation showed up when Arroyo addressed leaders of the Swiss-Asian Chamber of Commerce at the Savoy Hotel in Zurich.

Secretaries Alberto Romulo of foreign affairs and Peter Favila of trade shared the presidential table with Arroyo and leaders of the chamber.

Dr. De Leon named the congressmen as Hon. Reynaldo Uy of the first district of Samar; Hon. Sharie Ann Tan of the 2nd District of Samar; Hon. Carmen Cari of the 5th District of Leyte; Hon. Bembem Noel of the An Waray Party List; and Hon. Martin Romualdez of the first district of Leyte.

Governor Roger Espina of the province of Biliran also allocated a certain budget to the EVRMC. However, Dr. de Leon clarified that the EVRMC is not allowed to just disburse the funds from the various congressmen and governor. The Memorandum of Agreement is very definite that the allocation is only for the constituents of the respective congressmen, Dr. De Leon bared.

The patient, in order to be able to avail of the funds, must present an endorsement letter from the congressman which specifies up to what amount the patient is entitled

This should enlighten the patients who usually request to avail of their congressman's funds at the EVRMC, without showing any proof that they are authorized or entitled to the avail of the fund.Dr. De Leon called on the public who would like to avail of their congressmen's hospital allocation, to first secure a letter from the Congressman, addressed to the hospital. This will prevent misunderstanding and mix-up in the future, Dr. De Leon said.

Dr. De Leon also clarified that although EVRMC is a government hospital, there is still a counterpart of the patient. For Class C patients who are really impoverish, they are required to pay 25% of the total medical expenses. Class B or the middle income level patients, pay 50% of the total hospitalization expenses while Class A are those who are capable of paying and so they are supposed to pay 100 % of the total cost of hospitalization. (PIA 8)

Those in the crowd were Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago, Deputy Speaker Amelita Villarosa -- the wife of murder convict and former Occidental Mindoro congressman Jose Villarosa -- Representatives Danilo Suarez, Jose Carlos Lacson, Janette Garin, Emmylou Taliño-Mendoza, Ma. Carissa Coscolluela, Rachel Arenas, Teresa Bonoan-David, Albert Raymond Garcia, Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, Aurelio Gonzales Jr., William Mark Enverga, Rex Gatchalian and Ignacio "Iggy" Arroyo, the President’s brother-in-law.

Representative Arroyo downplayed the fuss over the President’s large delegation. "We have our own set of itineraries to meet. We would be meeting with certain leaders in the business industry, and other businessmen, so that at least they have a better understanding of how to invest in the Philippines,'' he said in an interview. He said it was the President's prerogative to bring legislators and other local government officials on her trip. "That's indicative of the kind of support the President has from Congress. That's why she brings congressmen and governors so that it would be easier to understand how to enact laws for investments to come,'' he said. "This is not a junket; we're working,'' he added.

The 20 representatives headed by committee chairman Quezon Rep. Danilo E. Suarez were given a tour of the terminal by Manila International Airport Authority General Manager Alfonso Cusi.

The committee members present include Vice Chairmen Teodoro Locsin and Ferdinand Martin Romualdez and Representatives Florencio Vargas, Lorna Silverio, Florencio Noel, Adelina Zaldarriaga, Amelita Villarosa, Rufino Biazon, Justin Chipeco, Aurelio Gonzales, Martin Romualdez, Albert Garcia, Satur Ocampo, Milagros Magsaysay, Reylina Nicolas, Pedro Pancho, Abigail Binay, Vincent Crisologo, Carissa Coscoluela, and Proceso Alcala.

The House Oversight Committee deals with all matters directly and principally relating to the coordination of executive development planning and congressional action, including those pursued through the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council, with the NAIA Terminal 3, being one of them.

Journalists invited to cover the event were only allowed to take photographs of the lawmakers at the check-in counters and were asked to leave the area afterwards because of supposed legalities.

After the tour, an impromptu committee hearing was held at the MIAA boardroom where Cusi was reportedly grilled.

In an interview with Suarez after the hearing, the congressman disclosed that they asked Cusi why the MIAA has spent more than $ 20 million in lawyers’ fees just to defend the Philippine government in arbitration cases in Washington D.C., United States and Singapore.

"We have two continuing arbitration cases in Washington and in Singapore and the MIAA has spent $ 20 million in lawyers’ fees. Are their funds unlimited?" Suarez asked. "So in our committee report, we will recommend to terminate the arbitration cases and come up with a solution to have this (terminal) opened," he added.

According to the committee chairman, they will try to sit down with both parties involved, the MIAA and the Philippine International Air Terminal Co., so that they can come up with a solution that will suit both parties so that the charges in the international court be dropped, and for the terminal to be made operational at the soonest possible time.

Suarez added that one solution can be for the government to operate the terminal for as long as it is profitable, but if not, "for a white knight to come into the picture and let them operate the terminal."

When asked what they saw inside the terminal, Suarez disclosed that they were shown the cracked flooring on the second level of the terminal. Airport officials claimed that the crack was caused by a mild earthquake that rocked the metropolis last November.

Suarez said the committee will include their findings on the supposed structural defect through the help of Gonzales and Alcala, who are both structural engineers.

“Just to give you an idea of the system here ... the President is shuttled very rapidly from one affair after the other. The congressmen are broken up in groups and leapfrog in alternate patterns,” Romualdez said in a text message from Madrid.

Romualdez said he spent his own money for the trip. Even as Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye defended the decision of at least 30 congressmen to join the European trip, three opposition lawmakers filed a resolution seeking an inquiry into what they called the “extravagant junket.”

Representatives Teodoro Casiño, Crispin Beltran and Liza Maza wanted the House committee on ethics to look into the matter, especially in the wake of the cash distribution among the President’s allies in Malacañang on Oct. 11.

“The unusual size of the House contingent, their questionable role on the trip and the unexplained expenses are too glaring to ignore,” they said in House Resolution No. 367. “An investigation is necessary to ensure that there is no wastage of public funds on unnecessary foreign travel.”

Casiño was not appeased by Speaker Jose de Venecia’s assurance on Monday that the House of Representatives shelled out not a single centavo to finance the trip of the congressmen.

He said De Venecia could not do a Pontius Pilate because he should not have allowed such a huge delegation to join the President in the first place.

“He can’t wash his hands of the issue,” the Bayan Muna lawmaker told the Philippine Daily Inquirer. “He had the responsibility to ensure that the delegation was not too big, especially because we have so many things to do in the House.”

Casiño cited the ongoing deliberations on the cheaper medicines bill, which is in danger of missing the Christmas break deadline for passage set by De Venecia.

Bunye, who is accompanying Ms Arroyo, said the Spanish government paid for the trip of the members of the official Philippine delegation, which included the First Family, five Cabinet members, three senators and House leaders Amelita Villarosa and Danilo Suarez.

Bunye said that of the congressmen who joined the trip, only two -- Villarosa and Suarez -- were included in the official list. The rest were “KKB” (kanya kanyang bayad -- on their own).

It’s cold out there

Senior Deputy Majority Leader Neptali Gonzales II Tuesday defended his colleagues, saying that joining the President’s European trip was not exactly a “junket” at this time of the year.

“It’s very cold there so where would these congressmen go?” he said. “Besides, being part of a state visit is always taxing because of the President’s schedule.”

Gonzales was optimistic that his colleagues would be back before the cheaper medicines bill was passed by the lower house. The landmark measure has yet to be put to a vote, partly because of lengthy concerns raised by Cebu Rep. Pablo Garcia.

Not part of the trip

Gonzales’ name was included in the list of congressmen who purportedly tagged along with Ms Arroyo in a text message that made the rounds of reporters Tuesday. The Inquirer learned that the message was composed by someone close to De Venecia.

But Gonzales apparently was not part of the trip as he was present at the regular session the other day and Tuesday. So was Deputy Speaker Simeon Datumanong, who was on the list released upon the authorization of De Venecia. Datumanong presided over the session on Monday.

Isabela Rep. Rodolfo Albano III told the Inquirer that he did not leave town, although his name was on the list of congressmen who went with Ms Arroyo on the European trip. Northern Samar Rep. Sharie Ann Tan said she skipped the trip because she wanted to take part in the House deliberations on the cheaper medicines bill. Tan was also reported to have joined the trip.

In the resolution, Casiño and company expressed their suspicion that the money spent for their colleagues’ European trip had been sourced from public funds. In a separate statement, he asked the House leadership to disclose the basis for choosing the members of the congressional delegation, their roles in the state visit, the cost of their trip and the source of the funds.

Palawan Rep. Abraham Mitra, chair of the house committee on agriculture, said all lawmakers who went with Ms Arroyo were given assignments to help in her various engagements with the host government and the Filipino community. Own money

In a text message to the Inquirer, Mitra said he spent his own money in going to Europe. He added that he didn’t join the chartered flight and had left one day earlier. Mitra said he went to Spain as chair of the House agriculture panel to witness the signing of memoranda of agreement on the feasibility study for biofuels, feasibility study for blue fin tuna development, swine generic improvement, meat laboratory upgrading and the rehabilitation of the country’s abaca industry.

He said there were also agreements covering a jathropa plantation in Palawan, the sustainable management of coastal resources, fisheries, microfinance and technology transfer and business packaging.

Mitra also denied reports that his mother, Cecile, went with him. “My mother is a stroke victim since 1979 and still limping up to now. She didn’t joint the trip,” he said.

They financed the trip

Administration representatives who went with the President to Europe moved to debunk insinuations that Malacañang or the House had spent for the lawmakers’ trip.

“We personally financed our expenses,” said Misamis Occidental Rep. Herminia Ramiro and Zambales Rep. Mitos Magsaysay in a joint statement to dismiss the insinuations of patronage. Tarlac Rep. Monica Louise Prieto-Teodoro said she paid for her own airfare and accommodations. No public funds were used for her trip.

Prieto-Teodoro left one day ahead and was not among those on board the chartered Philippine Airlines plane that flew the bulk of the presidential entourage. No business in Europe

Meanwhile, Senators Aquilino Pimentel Jr. and Jinggoy Estrada Tuesday criticized their colleagues for joining the President on her trip to Spain.

Senators Miriam Defensor-Santiago, Edgardo Angara and Juan Miguel Zubiri are part of Ms Arroyo’s huge entourage but Pimentel and Estrada said only Santiago had a reason for joining the President since she is chair of the Senate committee on foreign affairs.

Senate President Manuel Villar also said that the lawmakers should come clean on who financed their travel and expenses because it was not right that they spent public money on a junket. With a reports from Gil C. Cabacungan and Michael Lim Ubac

Bunye also explained that if the trip is a state visit a big portion of the costs is usually paid by the host countries. He said, in this case, King Juan Carlos I of Spain is among those who shouldered the delegation’s expenses.

Three senators, 34 congressmen, Cabinet members and 50 businessmen are billeted in Melia Castilla, a five-star hotel in Madrid. The report said the standard room rate in the hotel is 120 euros or almost P12,000 a day.

Mrs. Arroyo and her family, including her four grandchildren, are staying at Palacio Real de El Pardo.

For the administration congressmen and Cabinet members, shelling out a large amount of money for the trip was worth it since the trip is expected to yield more investments. The congressmen also said that the trip is an official business.

The congressmen, mostly members of Mrs. Arroyo’s Kabalikat ng Malayang Pilipino, drew criticisms from their colleagues who were left behind to work on pending bills at the House of Representatives.

Promote their districts

At least 30 congressmen who were invited to join President Arroyo in her state visit to Europe tagged along because they saw the trip as an opportunity to promote their respective districts, a high ranking government official said.

Deputy presidential spokeswoman Lorelie Fajardo noted that the trip would also give the congressmen a chance to meet with a big number of Filipino workers and leaders in Spain and United Kingdom.

When asked if Mrs. Arroyo knew that the congressmen had pending work to do, Fajardo said: "Alam naman po. Aware naman ang ating Pangulo (She knew. The President was aware about it)." Fajardo also denied that only administration congressmen are usually invited to accompany the President, adding that Nueva Ecija 1st district Rep. Eduardo Nonito Joson is welcome to join Mrs. Arroyo in her next trip abroad.

Joson was among those who criticized the trip. He alleged that Malacañang has paid for the congressmen’s expenses supposedly after they successfully dismissed the third impeachment complaint against Mrs. Arroyo.

"… kung mapapansin natin state visit naman ito, hindi ba? So, ibig sabihin talagang official function ng Presidente ito. Country to country. Diplomatic relations ito. So, talagang merong pondo available dapat ang Office of the President (… if you noticed the trip is a state visit, right? Meaning, this is an official function of the President. Country to country. This is a diplomatic relations. So, the Office of the President has available funds for this)," Joson said. Joson also said that it would be very hard to turn down an invitation to join the President in her trips abroad but he would decline this if Congress is in session to work on pending bills. Opposition lawmakers also described the trip as a "junket" and "by far the biggest delegation of House junketeers." They said the trip should be looked into, especially after the majority supposedly saved Mrs. Arroyo again from another impeachment attempt.

A text message that circulated Monday said at least $9,000 would have been spent for each congressman for the trip. The message said each congressman's roundtrip plane ticket amounts to at least $5,000.

Hotel accommodation and food allowances were set at $1,000. Each congressman, the message added, was given $3,000 in pocket money. But Fajardo insisted that the Office of the President did not shell out a single centavo for the congressmen. She said that as far as she knows the congressmen themselves paid for their own expenses.

"[Based on] my personal knowledge, hindi natin ginastusan o hindi nanggaling sa Office of the President ang pondong ginastos para sa biyahe ng ating mga mambabatas, (Based on my personal knowledge, the money for their trip did not come from the funds of the Office of the President)" she said.

She also said that usually sponsors and various organizations in a host country would shoulder the delegation’s food expenses.

Earlier, an ABS-CBN News source said the congressmen "paid for their own" for the European trip. Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye also said the congressmen paid for their own tickets.

List of "passengers"

Presidential son and Pampanga Rep. Juan Miguel "Mikey" Arroyo reportedly joined his mother’s trip.

Senators Miriam Defensor Santiago, Edgardo Angara and Juan Miguel Zubiri, along with some governors, were also invited to join Mrs. Arroyo. Representatives Victoria Reyes of Batangas, Rodolfo Antonino of Nueva Ecija, Nanette Castelo-Daza of Quezon City and Maria Zenaida Angping of Manila, were reportedly traveling with their spouses.

Deputy Majority Leader Neptali Gonzales II and Representatives Antonio Alvarez of Palawan and Rodolfo Albano Jr. of Isabela were invited to join the trip. They, however, did not go. Among those who joined the trip were Representatives Reylina Nicolas of Bulacan, Ma. Milagros Magsaysay of Zambales, Mary Ann Susano of Quezon City, Rizalina Seachon of Masbate, Herminia Ramiro of Misamis Occidental, Trinidad Apostol of Leyte, Ma. Rachel Arenas of Pangasinan; Antonio Cerilles of Zamboanga del Sur, Reynaldo Uy of Western Samar, Roger Mercado of Southern Leyte, Albert Garcia of Bataan, Monico Puentevella of Bacolod City, Abraham Mitra of Palawan, Arnulfo Go and Datu Pax Mangudadatu of Sultan Kudarat;

Monica Prieto Teodoro of Tarlac, Anna York Bondoc and Aurelio Gonzales of Pampanga, Ferdinand Martin Romualdez of Leyte, Danilo Suarez of Quezon province, Mark Mendoza of Batangas, Del de Guzman of Marikina, Carmen Cari of Leyte, Sharee Ann Tan of Western Samar, Maria Isabelle Climaco of Zamboanga City, and Carissa Coscolluela of the party-list group Buhay. With reports from Danny Buenafe, Europe News Bureau chief and The Philippine Star

Bunye said the "trip reaffirms the historic and cultural ties of Spain and the Philippines, and solidifies our dynamic bilateral relationship. Our country currently receives the bulk of Spanish development assistance to the region."

He noted that some of the country's strongest trade and business ties with Spain are in the tourism, renewable energy and environmental technology, construction and medical services sectors.

"There is also an opportunity to expand investment in these areas. Our information communications technology, infrastructure and logistics sectors also provide significant opportunities for Spanish businesses," he said.

The President, accompanied by First Gentleman Atty. Jose Miguel Arroyo, left for Europe Saturday night and is scheduled to arrive in Madrid at around 4 p.m. Sunday (11p.m. Manila time). Dressed in a somber business suit, the President was escorted through foyer guards of the Philippine Air Force (PAF) by Armed Forces Chief of Staff Gen. Hermogenes Esperon at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Centennial Terminal II; and sent off by Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita, Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez, Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro, and National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales, among others.

House Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr. also made an appearance at the departure lounge of the NAIA Centennial Terminal II where the PAF Band waited to send off the President with a marching tune for her 11:30 p.m. Philippines Air Lines (PAL) chartered flight to the European continent. The President was joined in her European trip by both legislative and executive-branch officials that include Press Secretary Ignacio R. Bunye, Trade and Industry Secretary Peter Favila, and Presidential Legal Counsel Sergio Apostol.

On the other hand, the legislators in the delegation include Senators Miguel Zubiri, Edgardo Angara and Miriam Santiago; and Congressmen Dato Arroyo (Camarines Sur), Martin Romualdez (Leyte), Nanette Daza and Mary Ann Susano (Quezon City), and Rachel Arenas (Pangasinan). Presidential daughter Evangeline "Luli" Arroyo is also part of the delegation.

It is the first time in 45 years that the Kingdom of Spain is honoring a Philippine President with full honors and courtesies. The last such state visit by a Philippine leader to Spain was made by President Arroyo's father - the late President Diosdado Macapagal - in 1962.

Acosta said that her staff at the Public Attorney’s Office is already coordinating closely with the staff of Rep. Romualdez so that the bill could be filed  before the House of Representatives shortly.

The measure would serve as an enabling law that will make as mandatory the release of prisoners by reason of their serious ailments, old age and terminally ill. It will be recalled that Romualdez previously assured Acosta in a recent talk at the House of Representatives of sponsoring the bill  before Congress.

Romualdez also pledged full support to the pro-poor programs and projects of the PAO under the stewardship of Acosta,  especially in the pursuit of the agency’s mission of free access to justice and free legal aid to indigents.

Romualdez  noted the miserable plight of prisoners, who often live in  overcrowded and congested detention facilities.

He pointed  out that the measure is in line with the government’s jail decongestion program as well as government  policy of releasing prisoners in their 70s. Only inmates who have been certified with good conduct time allowance (GCTA) and who are not inclined  to commit any crime would be covered by the proposed law.

Records showed that Malacañang is reviewing about 200 cases of prisoners in their 70s,  which have been recommended for pardon by the Board of Pardons and Parole.

The government has so far released 377 inmates in their 70s since 2004,  following Mrs. Arroyo’s issuance of Memorandum Circular No. 155.

Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita earlier  bared that the President has pardoned total of 399 inmates because of the policy.

About 145 prisoners, who were minors at the time of the commission of crime,  has been referred to the Department of Social Welfare and Development.

Gulf News by Claro Cortes III, Correspondent - Leyte Representative Ferdinand Martin Romualdez said the Bills support a presidential proclamation which grants amnesty to all Communist armed groups together with a benefit package amounting to 100,000 pesos (Dh7,692) for each reformed rebel.

Romualdez spoke at the hearing of the House Committee on Justice chaired by Rep Matias Defensor which is discussing the resolutions to concur the amnesty programme that Arroyo announced on September 6. House Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr, Defensor and House Minority Leader Ronaldo Zamora are the co-authors of concurrent resolution.

Romualdez said priority should be given to the amnesty proposal to ensure a return to normalcy for the families of the rebels.

New lease of life

He said the offer will give the rebels a new lease of life "by extinguishing their criminal liability for acts committed in pursuit of political beliefs, without prejudice to the grantee's civil liability for injuries or damages caused to private person".

"Congress must concur with dispatch to the amnesty proclamation issued by President Arroyo which is very essential to attain peace and reconciliation in the country. I hope our brothers and sisters in armed struggle will not ignore this very kind offering of the government," Romualdez said in a statement.

Bayan Muna Representative Teodoro Casino doubted whether the amnesty will succeed, saying the root causes of rebellion in the country are not being sincerely addressed by the government.

"I think it is a useless measure and will suffer the same fate as previous proclamations because it is not founded on addressing the causes of rebellion," said Casino.

The government will set aside up to 500 million pesos under the programme.

Communist rebels who decide to accept the offer willl surrender their weapons, presidential adviser on the peace process Jesus Dureza said.

Leyte Rep. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez said the resolutions concur with Presidential Proclamation 1377 which grants amnesty to all communist armed groups members with a P100,000 package of benefits to each rebel returnee.

Romualdez spoke at the hearing of the House committee on justice chaired by Rep. Matias Defensor which is deliberating on House Concurrent Resolution 9 and Joint Resolution 7 to concur with President’s amnesty program under Proclamation 1377 she issued last Sept. 6.

Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr., Defensor and House Minority Leader Ronaldo Zamora are the co-authors of concurrent resolution 9. Defensor also authored the joint resolution.

Romualdez said the highest priority should be given to the amnesty proposal to ensure a return to normalcy for the family of the rebels “by extinguishing their criminal liability for acts committed in pursuit of political beliefs, without prejudice to the grantee’s civil liability for injuries or damages caused to private person.”

“Congress must concur with dispatch to the amnesty proclamation issued by President Arroyo which is very essential to attain peace and reconciliation in the country. I hope our brothers and sisters in armed struggle will not ignore this very kind offering of the government,” noted Romualdez

Bayan Muna Rep. Teodoro Casiño doubted whether the amnesty will succeed, saying the root causes of rebellion in the country are not being sincerely addressed by the government.

“I think it is a useless measure and will suffer the same fate as previous proclamations because it is not founded on addressing the causes of rebellion,” said Casiño. Macon Ramos Araneta

In a press statement, Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Villafuerte said he filed House Bill No. 2625 – said the country's entertainment industry is “among the most heavily taxed in Asia, if not in the world."

Currently, a 30-percent amusement tax is levied on film producers on top of other taxes, including 5 percent withholding tax, 32 percent corporate income tax, and 10 percent value-added tax.

The congressman, however, did not specify in his statement the new proposed tax rate being pursued by the bill.

"The exorbitant taxes restrict artistic development and economic growth of the local movie industry, thereby deteriorating the quality of films in the country," Villafuerte said.

Villafuerte added that "the excessive taxation and film piracy are two of the major contributing factors to the sharp decline of number of films produced in the country."

The Film Academy of the Philippines cited a substantial decrease in the production of local movies from over 200 films in the 1970s to 1980s to an average of 82 films in 2000-2003 and 56 films in 2006.

Villafuerte sought the immediate passage of his bill as he noted that the local film industry is now on its brink of economic distress.

"The proposed act shall provide tax relief to local movie producers to help put the staggering local film industry back on its feet," Villafuerte said.

Co-authors of the bill are Reps. Jose Solis (Sorsgon), Ferdinand Martin Romualdez (Leyte) and Amado Bagatsing (Manila). - Fidel Jimenez, GMANews.TV

Disturbed by reports as such fireworks makers would not only endanger the lives of the minors but as well as the public, Leyte Representative Ferdinand Martin Romualdez urged the authorities to check the alleged illegal hiring of children on such very dangerous workplace.

Reports said mothers of some of the children confirmed that small-time fireworks makers are setting up clandestine factories in Marilao town in time for the Christmas and New Year season.

In a related development, An Waray party-list Representative Florencio Noel and Taguig Representative Lani Cayetano echoed Romualdez’s concerns, adding that government programs against poverty alleviation should be accelerated. (Sunnex)

Representatives Ferdinand Martin Romualdez of Leyte, Florencio Noel of incoming An Waray and Lani Cayetano of Taguig-Pateros said Internet cafes have been cashing on the unlimited daily supply of young customers who got hooked to violent Internet games.

Romualdez said City Governments responsible in giving business permit should set a condition that Internet cafe operators must implement a curfew on minor customers.

"There should be a limit in the operation of Internet cafés because precious times for studies are being wasted," he said.

Romualdez also said online games offered by Internet cafes do not contribute in making a student a better person.

"What values could we get from violent games? What will happen now to our students who are supposedly the country's next set of leaders?" asked Romualdez, who shared the sentiments of concerned parents on problems that emanate from violent online games.

Noel believes that games about attacking a military base, killing zombies, among others, only worsen attitude of the youth engaged in various crimes.

For her part, Cayetano received complaints from concerned parents that their children have become so "addicted" to Internet games, they have begun to skip classes.

Cayetano said some of the "addicted" grade schoolers and high school students would not graduate due to poor grades.

"Young internet café users have been practically spending their 'baon' and their whole day inside internet cafes harnessing their talents in killing-off their enemies," said Cayetano.

Romualdez also received reports that internet cafes inside shopping malls are taking in students even during class hours.

Noel, meanwhile, said violent Internet games tend to brainwash students. "This is the new form of brainwashing where hordes of young children are hooked into deadly Internet games with Internet café operators as their masters," said Noel. (Sunnex)

But the House record was marred by three congressmen who gained the dubious distinction of having the most number of absences: Julio “Jules” Ledesma of Negros Occidental, Fredenil Castro of Capiz and Victor Dominguez of Mountain Province.

Ledesma, Castro and Dominguez had seven absences in the first 10 session days of the 14th Congress, but they said they were on official trip during those days.

Since it opened last July 23, the House never “adjourned” for lack of warm bodies at the plenary, and it has recorded an average of 190 lawmakers in attendance on each session day.

Speaker Jose de Venecia said he was elated at the overwhelming attendance in the 14th Congress. “We have to credit that to the first-term lawmakers as well as the second-term and third-term members.” To conduct official business, the House must be able to muster a quorum of 50 percent plus one or 119 out of the 237 congressmen. The House holds only three regular session days per week, from Monday to Wednesday. Sessions are cancelled if these days fall on a national holiday.

Records of the plenary affairs bureau indicated that during the first 10 session days of the House, Ledesma was only present during the President’s State-of-the-Nation Address last July 23, and the session days on July 25 and Aug. 13.

Castro, for his part, said he informed the House secretariat that he was on official missions within the country for the first 10 session days, the reason for his failure to attend the regular sessions. Dominguez, on the other hand, was present on the first three session days but never reported for work from July 30 to Aug. 13.

Three other lawmakers incurred six absences during the first 10 session days of the House: Bienvenido Abante of Manila, Carmencita Reyes of Marinduque and Bobby Dimaporo of Lanao del Sur.

Apart from De Venecia, the 176 lawmakers who scored perfect attendance include Martin Romualdez of Leyte, House Majority Leader Arthur Defensor, House Deputy Majority Leader Neptali “Boyet” Gonzales II, Prospero Nograles (Davao City), Pablo Garcia (Cebu), Luis Villafuerte (Camarines Sur), Juan Miguel “Mikey” Arroyo (Pampanga), Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. (Ilocos Norte), Ferjenil Biron (Iloilo), Marcelino Teodoro (Marikina City), Joseph Emilio Abaya (Cavite), Alfonso Umali, (Oriental Mindoro); Eleandro Jesus Madrona (Romblon), Lani Cayetano (Taguig-Pateros), Rodolfo “Rodito” Albano III (Isabela), Ruffy Biazon (Muntinlupa City), Justin Marc Chipeco (Laguna), Roger Mercado (Southern Leyte), Abraham Mitra (Palawan), Florencio Miraflores (Aklan), Roilo Golez (Parañaque City), Matias “Mat” Defensor (Quezon City), Darlene Antonino-Custodio (South Cotabato), Satur Ocampo (Bayan Muna), Teodoro “Teddy” Casiño (Bayan Muna), Abegail Binay (Makati City), Liza Maza (Gabriela), and Teodoro Locsin (Makati City).

During the last session day of the previous 13th Congress, the House failed to pass vital pieces of legislation such as the Human Rights Compensation Act, University of the Philippines Charter and the Cheaper Medicines Bill for lack of quorum.

De Venecia shelved for the meantime the proposed “shame campaign” to put a stop to chronic absenteeism. The shame campaign calls for quarterly publication in national newspapers of the names of lawmakers who are frequently absent from sessions.

The punishment also includes a “no work, no pay” policy. The erring lawmaker will also lose his membership in various committees if he fails to attend committee hearings for three consecutive days.

Arroyo and Leyte Rep. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez (First District, Leyte) co-authored two house bills that were both sponsored by Rep. Luis Villafuerte (Second District, Camarines Sur). Arroyo, the youngest son of the President, said that if enacted the proposed measures would augment the income of low-salaried workers in the private and government sector, allowing them a higher take-home pay.

Arroyo said that House Bill 1140, titled “An Act to Exempt from Taxation the Income of Minimum Wage Earners in the Philippines and for Other Purposes” is much needed because prevailing revenue issued by the Department of Finance do not indicate outright exemptions for minimum wage workers. The finance department has estimated that 13 percent of the total minimum wage earners are still covered by a potential net income tax liability and about P400 million could constitute foregone revenues if zero withholding tax is imposed on them.

The Kampi lawmakers believed that “the estimated amount [P400 million] of foregone revenues is not a significant amount given the total actual or estimated revenues by the national government from internal revenue taxes and such exempt income can readily be absorbed either by tightening the collection of income taxes from higher income earning individuals or entities or the other tax revenues derived from other types of taxes.”

House Bill 1141, on the other hand, allows single parents, widows or widowers to be entitled to additional personal exemptions. The measure seeks to amend Section 35 of the NIRC of 1997, which grants P20,000 personal tax exemptions for single individual or married people, including those legally separated; P25,000 for head of family; and P32,000 for widow or widower, single parent with qualified dependents.- by Mar Arguelles

The raid resulted in the killing of 15 Marine soldiers and wounding of seven others. The military said soldiers doing clearing operations in the seized camp accounted for at least 42 dead Abu Sayyaf bandits.

Brigadier General Juancho Sabban, military Task Force Thunder commander and Western Mindanao Command (Wesmincom) deputy chief, said there was a lull in the fighting on Monday.

Sabban said howitzer rounds were fired at suspected locations of the retreating Abu Sayyaf. He did not identify the areas shelled but the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) said it was at the boundary of Unkaya Pukan, Sumisip, and Tipo-tipo towns.

"The purpose of the shelling is that when we are at a disadvantaged position and they are at an advantage, we'll have to soften (the) ground by shelling the area," said Sabban, on the pursued group composed of at least 50 to 40 Abu Sayyaf guerillas.

Sabban said they could not ensure that the enemy would not escape but assured that measures were already in place to contain them in the area. The pursued group was under the Abu Sayyaf Furuji Indama, who was among those slain in the assault.

Indama, along with brother Umaril--who was also slain last Saturday, was among those who beheaded 10 of 14 Marine soldiers killed during the July 10 clash with rebel elements in Al-Barka town, also in Basilan.

Sabban could not say if Isnilon Hapilon, the overall leader of the Abu Sayyaf in the province, was with the pursued group.

"We would like to correct reports that the Marines were sitting ducks. That's not true. We were able to overrun their camp. Our casualties were positioned in different parts of the camp. They were not ambushed; it was an assault targeting several houses and position. There was no such thing that they were sitting ducks. They (soldiers) were assaulting the Abu Sayyaf," said Sabban.

He said the troops saw at least 42 bandits killed inside the camp but the soldiers did not retrieve their bodies.

Sabban downplayed speculations that the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) reinforced the Abu Sayyaf during the fighting. Sabban said the operations were coordinated with the secessionist group, which maintains a camp near the area.

Congressmen, meanwhile, pressed for more benefits for the families of 15 Marine soldiers who died in the latest clash with members of the Abu Sayyaf last Saturday.

Representatives Ferdinand Martin Romualdez of Leyte, Marc Douglas Cagas IV of Davao del Sur, Joseph Emilio Abaya of Cavite and Rodolfo Plaza of Agusan del Sur hoped the military leadership would speedily reassess its plans to prevent more losses while ensuring the success of pursuit operations against the bandits.

"It's sad to hear the story about the fallen soldiers who sacrificed their lives for Filipinos. I hope the military leadership will find ways to lessen the number of casualties and for the government to help their families," said Romualdez.

Cagas said as a fitting tribute to the killed and wounded soldiers, the government should provide more benefits to their families. "Aside from awarding them with medals in recognition of their gallantry, we should provide more benefits to their families and scholarship grants to their children," said Cagas.

Abaya expressed his condolences to the families of the killed soldiers, saying the incident was "totally devastating." "The commanders probably acted in their best judgment. But we in Manila could hardly assess what really happened. It is very unfortunate that the Marines incurred very heavy casualties," he said.

Plaza said he is hoping that the ongoing war in Basilan and Sulu would result in the formal resumption of peace talks with legitimate rebel groups.

Cagas called on the International Monitoring Team (IMT) to verify reports that MILF rebels sneaked onto the battlefield from their designated areas to help the Abu Sayyaf.

Western Mindanao Command (Wesmincom) chief Eugenio Cedo said they cannot say if the MILF involved itself in Saturday's clashes. He said they already asked the MILF not to leave the area designated for them so they wouldn't get drawn into the clash.

Another congressman, Bohol Representaive Adam Jala, criticized the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) for mounting attacks in Mindanao while the military was engaging the Abu Sayyaf in Basilan and Sulu.

Jala said the CPP's move could either be part of a tactical alliance of one terrorist group with another terror organization or a diversionary tactic to ease the military pressure on the Abu Sayyaf in Basilan and Sulu. (VR/Sunnex)

Manolo Iñigo- I am not being unpatriotic but our dream of competing in next year’s Beijing Olympics --and in future Olympics -- is not within our capacity.

Unless we have a fast, hefty and tall team -- which I doubt very much because our players are not born genetically tall -- our chances are nil in future Olympic Games and other international cage tournaments such as the World Basketball Championship and in the Asian Games.

In the words of former POC president, retired Col. Julian Malonso: “Other countries, particularly Jordan, Iran and Lebanon, have improved tremendously while the Philippines has remained stagnant.”

The Philippines is only good in the lower-category tournaments like the Southeast Asian Games and the Seaba Club Champions Cup.

A huge budget of P70 million was spent for the five-month long preparation of the national team in the recent FIBA Asia men’s championship and all that we could manage was finish ninth in a field of 16.

* * *

I welcome wholeheartedly the filing of House Bill No. 1387, which aims to establish a Persons with Disabilities Affairs Office (PDAO) in every province, city and municipality in the Philippines. Without question, this landmark bill will benefit millions of Filipinos with disabilities.

According to youthful lawyer Rep. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez of Leyte, principal author of the bill and one of the new members of the 14th Congress, “there is no office that completely handles the affairs of those persons with disabilities.”

Under existing laws, disabled persons are provided with a package of services but these do not go far enough.

Romualdez said HB No. 1387 would complete these services if every local government has a PDAO. The bill also seeks to provide equal opportunities for the disabled, giving them the same rights in education, employment, physical fitness and health services as those enjoyed by persons without disabilities.

These handicapped persons need not suffer hardships and endure the loss of sight, speech and hearing or limb. They should lead a normal life, not a life of suffering and grief. Romualdez explained that the government could provide the funding for the establishment of PDAOs, especially in provinces and towns which do not have enough funds.

The move was initiated by newly-elected Representatives Martin Romualdez (Kampi, Leyte), Marcelino Teodoro (Lakas, Marikina), Roberto Puno (Kampi, Antipolo) and Rexlon Gatchalian (NPC, Valenzuela).

The lawmakers suggested that the Education department form a special task force of academicians, historians, editors and fresh university graduates to coordinate with publishers and printers to prevent to recurrence of errors in textbooks.

Romualdez, a lawyer, said the Department of Education, which releases the textbooks for grade school pupils, should coordinate with the publishers and printers to ensure that the books are free of errors before these are released.

The Education department has the biggest allocation among government line agencies. Much of the amount goes to the construction of school buildings and the procurement of educational materials, including textbooks.

The lawmakers were reacting to the findings of Antonio Calipjo-Go, academic supervisor of Marian School in Quezon City, that thousands of copies of grade school textbooks containing factual and grammatical errors remain in circulation.

Education Undersecretary Ramon Bacani claimed that one of the books printed before 2004 contained only “nine conceptual and 20 factual errors" as determined by “subject specialists from private and public schools and universities."

Education Secretary Jesli Lapus admitted that his department has come out with a list of “errata" to correct errors in some textbooks in “Sibika 1-3" and “HeKasi 4-5" that are used by Grades 1-3 and 4-5 pupils, respectively.

GMANews.TV earlier reported that the books classified the National Capital Region as a province, named ousted president Joseph Estrada the ninth president of the Philippines and translated the Strait of Magellan as “Kipot ni Magellan."

Lapus said the agency came out with the corrections to serve as a guide for teachers to correct the information in the textbooks.

The “errata" contains at least 300 corrections for an equal number of supposed errors in the textbooks.

Errors were also found in the pagination, wrong use of words, tenses and grammar, spelling, wrong answers to questions, incomplete explanation in some responses to questions and questions not related to a subject mater in the books.

The books were distributed in time for the opening of the school year.

Gatchalian said the government can save millions of pesos if the Education department buys books that are thoroughly reviewed and edited by highly-competent professionals.

Lapus earlier said the department will continue to monitor textbooks. He said the corrections were the result of a “second review" by the department of textbooks which were part of the agency’s 2005 procurement program but were distributed only this year. - GMANews.TV

The Anniversary Program was attended by no less than the UP Visayas Chancellor Dr. Glenn D, Aguilar, who said that as the University of the Philippines is about to turn 100; UP Cebu is 90 years having been established in 1918; UP Visayas based in Iloilo was created in 1947.

UP Tacloban was established on July 2, 1973, it is time that each campus should think about its service to the Region and make up its mind as to what relevant specialization it would pursue. As UP Tacloban turns 34, it should define its focus and its strategic development plan. The same goes for the other UP campus, Dr. Aguilar said.

Congressman Martin Romualdez was the guest of Honor during the Affair which is fitting because it was his father, then Governor Bejamin Romualdez who really did his best to make into reality the vision of having a UP Campus in the province of Leyte. Although he could not attend personally, Congressman Romualdez sent his representative to read his message for him.

The Anniversary Program saw the launching of the Centennial Logo, the presentation of the UPVTC Centennial Projects that include the Jade Anniversary Campaign, History and Memorabilia, 100 Digitized maps of Eastern Visayas, Pagmayoyo han Aton Bahandi Eastern Visayas Heritage Conservation and the UP Alumni Association Eastern Visayas Scholarship Project.

Aside from the Anniversary Program, other activities during the whole-day celebration include Open House on all offices, PaBingo, Food Festival, Parade around the downtown area, group performance and recognition of student organizations and cultural program.

The evening saw the Alumni Reunion and Fellowship and the Student Acquaintance Party.

To mark and to give meaning to the celebration, DepEd officials tentatively prepared a series of activities. For a start, a Wellness and Health Screening activities will be conducted at the DepEd compound on the morning of July 9. The health screening services will include FBS, BP, dental services and medical check-up, and milo and noodles nutri snacks. While the health services are being facilitated, the DepEd employees will likewise have a sports festival.

On the afternoon of the same day, DepEd plans to have a motorcade around the Government Center, after which those who participated in the motorcade will conduct tree planting. Another activity on the same afternoon will be the groundbreaking on the new Regional Planning Unit Site. At the end of the day, a Holy Mass will be celebrated at the DepEd gymnasium with Rev. Fr. Ronnie Mora as the main celebrant.

On July 10, the second day of the celebration, Rev. Fr. Mora will bless the new DepEd gymnasium in the presence of invited guests DepEd Undersecretary Teodosio C. Sangil, Jr.; Leyte Governor Jericho “Icot” L. Petilla; 1st District Congressman Ferdinand Martin Romualdez; Dir. Matugas; DepEd Asst. Dir. Alberto T. Esbarte; guests and the staff of DepEd.

After the blessing, a formal Anniversary Program will be held at the DepEd Gymnasium, wherein each of the honored guests will deliver an anniversary message, and a keynote address by Usec. Sangil.

All the guests will be invited to the Regional Teachers Training Center for the Anniversary Lunch, followed by a formal awarding ceremony for DepEd achievers.

As a conclusion to the weekly anniversary activities, DepEd tentatively scheduled a Legal Management Seminar-Workshop on July 11-14, to be sponsored by the Legal Officers Association of DepEd. (PIA-8)

This he said during a campaign sortie among farmers in the vast rice fields in Sta. Fe town recently.

“Sta. Fe is a potential growth area for high value crops. Its vast rice fields are already a proof that it can be the province’s rice granary. But not only the town of Sta. Fe but the whole First District as the vast lands can be cultivated, developed into a prominent agricultural center to yield rice, fruits and vegetable produce,” Atty. Romualdez said.

According to the lawyer-banker high value crops are the key. “If you grow and produce fruits, the next challenge would be processing; eventually, processing would open a lot of opportunities, job, and income.”

Farmers should face the new challenge on food production aspects that would be homegrown which they could depend on for their financial income.

This is also, according to Atty. Martin is part of the national challenge espoused by the national government on food security, food production and job generation under the Millennium Development Goals.

Sta. Fe town that sits on an 81.9 square kilometer land area and other towns in the fist district may be able to address this espousal of the national government.

Atty. Martin assures that he can make this national goal open with the support and cooperation of the small farmers in this town as well as in the district.

Atty. Martin was recently in a campaign sortie in Sta. Fe town, where he shortly joined farmers in harvesting rice in Brgy. Gutay.

He subsequently conducted a consultation with the farmers regarding their agricultural needs and how these could be addressed when elected as congressional representative of the first district of Leyte.

It is safe to say then that after the May 14 elections, Eastern Visayas is still dominated by the Lakas and Kampi allies.

The re-elected governors like Leyte Governor Carlos Jericho Petilla, Biliran Governor Roger Espina and Eastern Samar Governor Ben Evardone, belong to Lakas-CMD party. On the other hand, re-electionist Samar Governor Mila Tan belongs to Kampi

Newly elected Southern Leyte Governor Damian Mercado is also a member of the Lakas-CMD party.

For the congressional seats, re-elected Leyte 2nd District Congresswoman Ebie Apostol, 4th District Congressman Dodong Codilla, 5th district Congresswoman Carmen Cari and Samar first district Congressman Reynaldo Uy, belong to Lakas-CMD.

Southern Leyte’s re-electionist Congressman Roger Mercado belongs to Kampi; so do newly elected first district of Leyte Congressman Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, Samar first district Congressman Sharee Ann Tan and Northern Samar 2nd district congressman Emil Ong.

In Southern Leyte, 16 out of the 19 local chief executives elected belong to either the Lakas or Kampi parties.

The same scenario is replicated in the provinces of Leyte, Samar, Eastern Samar, Northern Samar and Biliran.

The same scenario is replicated in the other provinces of the country where 90% of those who won in the May 14, is from the Administration parties. (PIA 8)

Lawyer-banker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez scored a lopsided victory against two political rivals in Leyte's first district congressional race. His cousin, Alfred Romualdez, used to hold the 1st district congressional seat.

Alfred, son of outgoing Tacloban Mayor Alfredo "Bejo" Romualdez, easily won the Tacloban City mayoral post after getting twice the votes of his opponent, Dan Stephen Palami.

Alfred's wife, actress Cristina Gonzales, also topped the race for the 10-seat Tacloban City Sangguniang Panglunsod.

But Ferdinand Martin downplayed speculation that their running and winning in this year's election was just a prelude to the family's plan to dominate Leyte's politics again.

"We will take it one step at a time," he told the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

His elder brother, Philip, is reportedly eyeing the governorship, a post held by members of the Loreto-Petilla clan for the past 18 years now. Carlos Jericho Petilla won his reelection bid against Jimmy Yaokasin, governor/officer-in-charge during the term of President Corazon Aquino.

Prior to the entry of the young members of the Romualdez clan, the lone family member holding an elective position was outgoing Mayor Alfredo Romualdez who held the post for nine years.

Ferdinand Martin, whose entry to Leyte politics caused Malaca“ang to intervene by asking incumbent Rep. Remedios Petilla not to seek reelection, won by a wide margin against his opponents, Feliciano Clemencio, a former official of the Commission on Audit, and Danilo Chua.

Based on the tabulation of the Leyte board of election canvassers, Romualdez garnered 121,201 votes against Clemencio's 16,504 votes and Chua's 1,082 votes.

The first congressional district, composed of seven towns and Tacloban City, has 1,106 polling precincts and a total voting population of 220,924.

"I am humbled by the overwhelming support given to me by our people in the district. I know the expectations are high and I am willing to measure up to the expectations," Ferdinand Martin said during the proclamation at noon Saturday, witnessed by his supporters, battery of lawyers and his father, former governor Benjamin Romualdez.

And they won even without the family's main political and financial source, former first lady Imelda Romualdez Marcos, coming over to campaign for them.

First on the list is lawyer-banker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez who scored a lopsided victory against his two political rivals as congressional representative of Leyte's first district, a post once held by cousin Alfred, who also trounced his rival for the mayorship of Tacloban by a mile.Alfred's wife, actress Cristina Gonzales, who plunged to politics for the first time, topped the race for the ten-council seats of the city.

Ferdinand Martin downplayed speculations that their running and winning in this year's election was just a prelude for the family's plan to dominate again Leyte's politics.

"We will take it one step at a time," he told Leyte Samar Daily Express after he was proclaimed yesterday noon by the three members provincial board of canvassers chaired by Assistant Regional Director Jose Nick Mendros of the Commission on Elections.   

His elder brother Philip is reportedly eyeing the governorship, a post held for the past 18 years now by members of the Loreto-Petilla clan. Carlos Jericho Petilla won on his reelection bid against Jimmy Yaokasin, governor officer-in-charge during the time of President Corazon Aquino.

Prior to the entry of the young members of the Romualdez clan, the lone man standing within the family was outgoing City Mayor Alfredo "Bejo" Romualdez who was elected and served for nine years.

Ferdinand Martin, whose entry to Leyte politics caused Malacañang to intervene by asking incumbent Rep. Remedios Petilla not to seek reelection, won a wide margin against his rival, Feliciano Clemencio, a former official of the Commission on Audit.

Based on the tabulation of the Leyte board of election canvassers, Romualdez garnered 121,201 votes against Clemencio who obtained 16,504 votes. The other candidate, Danilo Chua, received 1,082 votes.

  The first congressional district, composed of seven towns and Tacloban City, has a total voting population of 220,924 spread on its 1,106 polling precincts.

"I am humbled by the overwhelming support given to me by our people in the district. I know the expectations are high and I am willing to measure up to the expectations," said the newly elected solon, whose proclamation yesterday noon was witnessed by his supporters, battery of lawyers and his father, former Governor Benjamin Romualdez.

For his part, Alfred Romualdez, son of outgoing City Mayor Alfredo Romualdez, easily won the mayoralty post with him getting 46,943 votes, more than twice the votes garnered by his political opponent, Dan Stephen Palami.

Palami obtained total votes of 22,802.

Alfred's wife, actress Cristina Gonzales topped the race for the 10 city council seats. She garnered about 48,732 votes, more than 7,000 votes compared to the second placer, Jerry Yaokasin.

All of them vowed to work hard that would benefit the people of their respective constituents.

Running under Kampi, the lawyer-banker son of former Leyte Gov. Benjamin “Kokoy” Romualdez was pulling away from independent candidate Fiel Clemencio in the race for a congressional seat in the first district of Leyte.

In a press statement, a supporter of Martin was quoted as saying the trend in the counting is in his favor.

The first district composed of Tacloban City and seven towns—Sta. Fe, San Miguel, Alang-Alang, Tanuan, Babatngon, Tolosa and Palo—has a little over 200,000 voters.

Forty-three percent of the voters come from this city.

If elected, the young Romualdez vowed to deliver the essential services the people in his district need and help bring back the old glory of the province.

Lawyer Feliciano Clemencio, who is also seeking the same congressional post in the May 14 elections, earlier asked the Comelec to disqualify banker-lawyer Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, a nephew of former First Lady Imelda Romualdez Marcos, on grounds that Romualdez lied in his certificate of candidacy (CoC).

In his complaint, Clemencio alleged that Romualdez stated in his CoC that he is a resident of Tacloban City and that he has been living in Leyte’s first district for 17 years and four months whereas records at the Bureau of Immigration show that Romualdez is a resident of Forbes Park in Makati City.

In his verified answer to Clemencio's petition, Romualdez argued that his place of residence is actually Tacloban considering that, among others, his father was a resident Tacloban City. He added that he has resided in the city since 1986 and has been a registered voter in Tacloban since 1989.

The Comelec ruled that Romualdez is resident of Tacloban City and that he is qualified to run for the House of Representatives.

The eight-page Comelec resolution, signed by Commissioners Florentino A. Tuason Jr., Rene V. Sarmiento, and Nicodemo T. Ferrer, bore the promulgation date of May 10, 2007.

It cited the case Romualdez-Marcos v. Commission on Elections and Cirilo Roy Montejo, 248 SCRA 300 (1995), wherein the Supreme Court ruled in favor of former first lady Imelda Romualdez Marcos.

Some candidates and their supporters feel they are already assured of victory on May 14. For them, it is all over but the voting and the counting of the ballots.

As early as February, lawyer Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, who is running for representative in the first district in a coalition with reelectionist Gov. Carlos Jericho Petilla, and former Rep. Alfred Romualdez Jr., who is seeking the Tacloban City mayoral seat, were said to have been assured by President Macapagal-Arroyo herself that they would win.

An Inquirer source close to the Romualdezes, who does not want to be named, said the President called a meeting with the Petillas and the Romualdezes, the contesting political clans, in the evening of Feb. 10 in Malacañang. She was to convince them to agree to a power sharing arrangement in which their representatives would run for positions they were expected to win.

“President GMA believes this is the only way for the administration to win in the May 14 polls [in Leyte],” the supporter added.

Governor Petilla is running under the Lakas-CMD party. His mother, incumbent Rep. “Matin” Petilla, serves as the party’s provincial coordinator. She opted not to run for any post.

Martin Romualdez is Kampi coordinator for the province.

The source said the President was able to convince Congresswoman Petilla not to seek reelection in May and to give way for Martin to run for Congress in the first district. In turn, Jericho Petilla could seek reelection as governor without opposition from any Romualdez.

This was the agreement between the Romualdezes and the Petillas that night and until this time, the Inquirer learned.

Congresswoman Petilla does not want to comment on the supposed sharing agreement. The Inquirer tried to reach Martin Romualdez through his supporters but they refused to give his contact number.

Before the Feb. 10 meeting, Congresswoman Petilla was reportedly busy in her campaign and had asked friends and supporters to support her and her son’s reelection to their respective positions.

The Romualdezes, on the other hand, were bent on pushing their bids for Congress and in the Tacloban mayoral race.

Sure winners?

The sharing arrangement relieved the Romualdezes, dismayed the Petillas, and alarmed many observers and critics who felt worried about the decisions made over and above the general electorate’s will.

For Martin and Alfred Romualdez, they feel relieved because they now have the assurance that, with the intervention of President Arroyo, a sure win is expected, the source said.

“The exclusion of [Congresswoman] Petilla in the congressional race in the first district of Leyte is considered an advantage for Martin, as he is now perceived as a sure winner,” another source, who requested anonymity, said.

Alfred was fielded in as Lakas-Kampi mayoral candidate for Tacloban. His opponent, Stephen Dan Palami of the Liberal Party, is running as an independent candidate.

“But even with Matin [Congresswoman Petilla] in the contest, Martin [Romualdez] will win as he is better than her. Besides, I believe that he can do more for the First District of Leyte,” a close Romualdez ally said.

But an insider of the Petilla camp disclosed that Matin [Petilla] was saddened by the move of Ms Arroyo, as she had really wanted to run for reelection.

“Of course, she was sad. But she can’t do anything as that was what the President wanted and expected her to do,” he said.

But the President’s move to choose Martin Romualdez over Matin Petilla was done in accordance with the expressed support of a greater number of mayors in the district who preferred to run under Kampi.

As early as December, seven of the eight mayors in the first district have pledged support for and loyalty to Martin Romualdez.

Last holdout

The last holdout, incumbent Mayor Roque Tiu of Tanauan town, who is seeking reelection, jumped to Martin’s bandwagon a week before the deadline of filing certificates of candidacy (CoCs) on March 29.

Whatever compelled the wannabes to switch party and loyalty affiliations to the Romualdezes is one reason that cannot be hidden. It is only because the clan has the money and the political machinery that can sustain them not only during the campaign but also on Election Day.

On the day Tiu was interviewed by the Inquirer, he said, “I am the only one who stayed [in the Petilla camp]. I am running under Jericho ‘Icot’ Petilla. I will never switch parties. I am staying no matter what.”

But on the last day of filing of the CoCs, Tiu lined up with Kampi.

“But no one can be sure as to who will win the May 14 polls in the district,” said lawyer Fiel Clemencio of the Puwersa ng Masang Pilipino (PMP) party, who is Martin’s opponent in the race.

“No one can be sure if indeed Martin would win the elections until the results … are out,” he added.

In the hearts of the Leyteños, First District congressional aspirant Atty. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez is already a shoo-into the post during his first try into the local political arena.

 “There are respectable candidates running for the congressional post but it turns out only Atty. Martin has a clear legislative agenda for the constituents he wishes to represent,” an observer commented during the last barangay visit of Atty. Martin to the northern barangays of Tacloban City .

For one, the young lawyer has hitched his legislative platform with the ultimate need of the people and the able support of the local leaders in the district.

This, he said, he has been doing since he launched his congressional bid and when he enjoined the support of local chief executives in the area to polish a different kind of leadership that is unified and pro-people.

Fortunately, he added, local leaders have seen a similar vision with him in making Leyte , the first district in particular, a throbbing hub again.

During these last days of the local campaign, Atty. Martin reiterated his call for a people’s agenda that provides for more economic activity, job opportunities, better health care, justice, and peace.He tells his fellow Leyteños during this last stretch of his campaign that his legislative plan would work toward achieving what has already been set by previous legislators in the District as well as augment the executive directives of the incumbents.

The young lawyer also said that he is one with the national challenge to provide food security, food production and job generation under the Millennium Development Goals.

Martin said that economy wise, a legislator is responsible for answering the question of how to get back to a full employment economy through sound economic legislative agenda.

He tells voters during his campaign that part of his plan is to developing programs to diversify the district’s economy and provide for training programs to help workers find jobs in the new economy.
 He has been reiterating this legislative platform of his during the last four weeks in campaigning in the different barangays of Leyte and in personally talking to village folks during his visits.

Atty. Martin said if a candidate joins a political race, he should see to it that he has a clear platform that should be informed to the people concerned as basis for their participation. “In a democracy, candidates are expected to make their platforms known to inform the people what they intend to do if elected to the office they aspire for,” Atty. Martin said.

The lawyer-banker from the powerful Romualdez clan explained that elections are not just about voting for a candidate, but also about enabling the voters to choose among various party platforms suited to address the needs and problems of the people.

“I have faith, that each and every Leyteño here in the first district will make the right choice and will make it known as they exercise their constitutionally given right on May 14.  Even as it is tough to stand up to the political games in our political scene here, at the end of the day, I have faith in my fellow Leyteño. They would see through the political muddle and, at the end of the day, will make the right, responsible, and informed choices provided under our Constitution,” Atty. Martin said.

And they won even without the family's main political and financial source, former first lady Imelda Romualdez Marcos, coming over to campaign for them.

First on the list is lawyer-banker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez who scored a lopsided victory against his two political rivals as congressional representative of Leyte's first district, a post once held by cousin Alfred, who also trounced his rival for the mayorship of Tacloban by a mile.Alfred's wife, actress Cristina Gonzales, who plunged to politics for the first time, topped the race for the ten-council seats of the city.

Ferdinand Martin downplayed speculations that their running and winning in this year's election was just a prelude for the family's plan to dominate again Leyte's politics.

"We will take it one step at a time," he told Leyte Samar Daily Express after he was proclaimed yesterday noon by the three members provincial board of canvassers chaired by Assistant Regional Director Jose Nick Mendros of the Commission on Elections.   

His elder brother Philip is reportedly eyeing the governorship, a post held for the past 18 years now by members of the Loreto-Petilla clan. Carlos Jericho Petilla won on his reelection bid against Jimmy Yaokasin, governor officer-in-charge during the time of President Corazon Aquino.

Prior to the entry of the young members of the Romualdez clan, the lone man standing within the family was outgoing City Mayor Alfredo "Bejo" Romualdez who was elected and served for nine years.
Ferdinand Martin, whose entry to Leyte politics caused Malacañang to intervene by asking incumbent Rep. Remedios Petilla not to seek reelection, won a wide margin against his rival, Feliciano Clemencio, a former official of the Commission on Audit.

Based on the tabulation of the Leyte board of election canvassers, Romualdez garnered 121,201 votes against Clemencio who obtained 16,504 votes. The other candidate, Danilo Chua, received 1,082 votes.
  The first congressional district, composed of seven towns and Tacloban City, has a total voting population of 220,924 spread on its 1,106 polling precincts.

"I am humbled by the overwhelming support given to me by our people in the district. I know the expectations are high and I am willing to measure up to the expectations," said the newly elected solon, whose proclamation yesterday noon was witnessed by his supporters, battery of lawyers and his father, former Governor Benjamin Romualdez.

For his part, Alfred Romualdez, son of outgoing City Mayor Alfredo Romualdez, easily won the mayoralty post with him getting 46,943 votes, more than twice the votes garnered by his political opponent, Dan Stephen Palami.

Palami obtained total votes of 22,802.

Alfred's wife, actress Cristina Gonzales topped the race for the 10 city council seats. She garnered about 48,732 votes, more than 7,000 votes compared to the second placer, Jerry Yaokasin.

All of them vowed to work hard that would benefit the people of their respective constituents.

In photo with the President are )from left) businessman Philip Romualdez, president, Chamber of Mines of the Philippines; Presidential Political Adviser Gabriel S. Claudio; KAMPI president Rep. Luis Villafuerte; Lawyer Martin Romualdez, chairman, Benguet Corporation, who will be the administration candidate for congressman of the 1st District; Rep. Remedios L. Petilla, who will run for governor; incumbent Leyte Governor Carlos Jericho L. Petilla, who is on the administration Senate line-up; Leyte 5th District Rep. Carmen L. Cari; and Lakas-CMD Secretary General Rep. Marcelino Libanan.

As some observers noted during yesterday’s town fiesta of Tolosa, the hometown of the Romualdezes, “Atty. Martin is a sincere man, who despite of any formidable opponent, makes it a point to get to know his constituents.”

It is known that even before he filed for his candidacy, the young lawyer has already been visible in barangay visits doing medical missions and social services. Observers say, this has been more so when he made it known to all the four corners of the First District that he intend to represent them in the House of Representatives in the next three years.

“He goes from house to house, listening to the people’s problems and addressing them to the best of his abilities. He is one man who doesn’t make promises. He just tells you straight what he can do and does it without much funfare,” a Tolosa resident disclosed.

Reputed to be a competent lawyer and banker, Atty. Martin’s discipline in the private sector is felt by those who are working closely with him.

 “What the people need now is genuine reform in education, health services and agriculture. The campaign stretch has given me much insight into the lives of many of our fellow Leyteños in the First District. The campaign gave me more than enough opportunity to provide solutions to our people’s grievances. What they need is a quick reaction and I try my best to give it to them,” Atty. Martin said.

It can be recalled that the congressional bet for Leyte ’s First District cites a people’s agenda that provides for more economic activity, job opportunities, better health care, justice, and peace, when elected as representative of the First District of Leyte.

He said he would call for affordable medicine and more accessible health services and vowed to push for more measures that would promote the “quality of life” of ordinary Filipinos.

“Health care and better income for the poor must be prioritized,” Atty. Martin tells his supporters during his campaign to the First District of Leyte villages.

Atty. Martin stressed that the government need to broaden access to quality health and medical services vis’ a vis’ with finding better source of income to increase daily earning sufficient to sustain a family or an individual.
 Martin said that economy wise, a legislator is responsible for answering the question of how to get back to a full employment economy through sound economic legislative agenda.

He tells voters during his campaign that part of his plan is to developing programs to diversify the district’s economy and provide for training programs to help workers find jobs in the new economy.
 “We have a lot of resources here which have not been maximized. We just need the right trigger to then and we can find our way to a better economy. We would work for a way to convince our workers to stay rather than opt to work somewhere else,” Atty. Martin said.

He proposes to develop employment programs for people who can’t find work in the private sector.
 On the part of education the young lawyer assures to aid public schools for more funds to implement the programs designed for a better and quality educational system by the national Department of Education (DepEd)

“I showed to the people in the district during my campaigns that this is a preview of my brand of public service and my style of leadership,” Atty. Martin said.

Without any doubt those who have witnessed how Atty. Martin works are impressed by his passion and commitment and this has only strengthens their belief that he deserves to be the first district’s next congressional representative. By M.B. BILLONES

However, he said, though it surely beat a sour note in their campaign effort, Mayor Caadan rather dismisses the tactic as an underground harassment to undermine his and his slate’s candidacy under the KAMPI banner led by by congressional bet Atty. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez.

The KAMPI bets report that their governance agenda exposed during their campaign sorties among the Tolosa villages are gaining much favorable responses as they are supported by no less than KAMPI’s district chairman, Atty Martin.Caadan otherwise stressed that what is rather needed by the constituents of Tolosa are not underground political maneuvers but rather firm assurance that proper and needed government service will be delivered by the right and qualified people they will be voting for in the coming May 14 polls.

Meanwhile, KAMPI’s mayoralty bet in Tolosa town disclosed he is setting aside his plan to file a libel case against a local commentator handling a political program, which reportedly put himself in bad light as regards his governance in Tolosa.

“Waray nala ako hito magpadayon. Mainly because nag-start na gud an kampanya ngan busy kita paglibot-libot hiton aton mga barangay. Nakikita ko nga mas kinahanglan nga tutukan ko lugod an akon molopyo kaysa magpasaka la anay hin kiha. Anayway, adto nga mga issues nga ira ginababatak ha akon waray man ngani kamatuoran,” Mayor Caadan said.

The mayor did not however particularly pointed out the “issue” raised against him through a local broadcast station that initially prompted him to file legal charges.

He otherwise called on his constituents to be vigilant in the exercise of their right of suffrage and use it to choose people to certain positions who are really out to serve the public and not for personal interests.

“Ha pagpili hin political leader, pili-on naton an mga lider nga may-ada kasing-kasing nga maaram umabat han tinuod nga inaabat han mga kablasanon. Pagpili hin tinuod nga makakabulig ngan maaram lumingi ha ira igkasi kablasanon,” mayor Caadan added.

On the other hand, Atty. Martin’s campaign has taken the trail back to Tolosa town during the past weeks where he was warmly welcomed by residents headed by Mayor Caadan himself.
Atty. Martin Romualdez assured the mayoralty, vice-mayoralty and council and council aspirants that he will deliver his promise to their town.

The young and energetic son of Leyte ’s former Governor and the country’s Ambassador to the United States Benjamin “Kokoy” Romualdez, Atty. Martin stressed in his house to house campaign that he does not want enemies but only friends as he fulfills his dream of serving the province.

Earlier, Martin said he wants to continue the legacy of his family especially his father Kokoy who was well-loved by the Leyteños during his time as governor of the province.

“We are here to serve. Our family loves Leyte so much. Our roots are here and we will do our best to help the province, the First District of Leyte and its people,” the young lawyer said.