BIOFUELS ACT: WILL IT LESSEN FOREIGN FIRMS’ GRIP ON THE LOCAL ENERGY SECTOR?

At first glance, the Biofuels Act seems like a promising start on the road towards national energy independence and weaning away from dependence on imported energy sources.

By Arnold Padilla

IBON Features– The search for indigenous energy sources is a vital one for the Philippines , given its dependence on imported oil. In the wake of recent record-high oil price levels, the Arroyo government has been actively promoting the search for alternative energy sources.

In her 2005 State of the Nation Address, President Gloria Arroyo had asked Congress to pass legislation on renewable and indigenous energy. She also actively promoted the Alternative Fuels Program of her Medium-Term Philippine Development Plan (MTPDP) 2004-2010 as one of the long-term solutions to high oil prices.

The passage of the Biofuels Act seems to be one answer to this search for indigenous energy sources. It calls for the use of “biofuels” such as bioethanol, biodiesel, and other fuels made from biomass (i.e. any organic matter which is renewable).

Bioethanol refers to ethanol produced from feedstock and other biomass suitably denatured for use as motor fuel while biodiesel refers to fatty acid methyl ester derived from vegetable oils or animal fats technically proven and approved by the Department of Energy (DoE) for use in diesel engines.

The law prescribes that a minimum 1% biodiesel be blended into all diesel engine fuels within three months of the implementation of the law, while bioethanol should comprise 5% of the annual total volume of gasoline fuel actually sold and distributed by all oil companies in the country within two years of the Act’s effectivity. Further, the Department of Energy is mandated by the Act to determine the feasibility of bioethanol increasing to a minimum of 10% of the total volume of gasoline fuel within four years and 2% for biodiesel within two years from the effectivity of the law.

Indigenous materials would be used to produce biofuels locally. Coconut would be used as feedstock for biodiesel. To ensure the program’s sustainability, the DOE is also studying other possible biodiesel feedstocks such as Jathropa Curcas or tuba-tuba. For bioethanol production, government aims to utilize sugar cane, corn, cassava, and nipa.

Thus, at first glance, the Biofuels Act seems like a promising start on the road towards national energy independence and weaning away from dependence on imported energy sources. But a closer look reveals how the law ultimately promotes foreign control over the country’s natural resources that is already the present state of the country’s oil industry.

Foreign Investors Cash In

It is expensive to set up an ethanol plant; one estimate pegged the cost at P2 billion for a plant with a capacity of 100,000 liters daily. The Act’s principal author, Miguel Zubiri, has said that the country needs to set up at least 25 ethanol plants in order for the Philippines to meet the prescribed ethanol-gasoline mix.

This high expense is why foreign corporations are behind most of the ethanol projects launched in the wake of the law.

For example, Saudi Aramco, 40% owner of Petron Corporation, expressed its plan to build an ethanol distillery or a jathropa processing plant in Mindanao as part of its commitment to invest $300 million in new investments from 2007 to 2010 to expand its refinery.

Meanwhile, the country’s first ethanol plant– the P2.28-billion San Carlos Bioenergy Inc. (SCBI) in San Carlos City, Negros Occidental with a production capacity of 27.3 million liters per year– was built by Bronzeoak Philippines, a local unit of British firm Bronzeoak Ltd. (60% ownership), together with the National Development Corporation.

Japanese firms are also very active in investing in biofuels; conglomerate Marubeni was reported as among the companies in ‘exploratory stage of venturing into ethanol projects.’ For coco-biodiesel production, Toyo Engineering Corporation (TEC) intends to develop 600,000 hectares of coconut lands with an investment range of P0.10 to P1 million per hectare.

Most recently, Filipino and Chinese companies recently forged memorandums of agreement to develop bioethanol plants.

All these pave the way for the foreign control over the country’s natural resources, like what has been prevailing in the oil industry. In fact, past Philippine governments have systematically placed the country’s energy resources in the hands of foreign business interests, at the expense of Filipino consumers and the national economy. Examples include former president Marcos’ integrated energy program in the 1970s and the Ramos government’s program to liberalize the local energy sector.

Governments have failed to exert substantial control over the country’s energy resources because of the foreign firms’ tight grip over the sector. One result of this is the endless rounds of oil price hikes that local consumers continue to suffer from.

Although local oil firms are quick to blame high global oil prices for the hikes, in fact exorbitant and unreasonable oil prices may be traced to the global cartel of the largest transnational corporations that manipulate international prices and domesti c p ump prices through transfer pricing.

Minimal Effects on Pump Prices

It should also be noted that the Biofuels Act by itself will not have any consequential impact on high and escalating local pump prices.

During the Senate deliberation on the biofuels bill, Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla admitted that even a mandatory 10% biodiesel blend with regular diesel may result in a price reduction of only P0.50 per liter– already a small amount that may even be easily offset by frequent oil price hikes under deregulation.

DOE projects that the full implementation of the 10% bioethanol program would displace 536 million liters of imported gasoline (which is equivalent to around P15.33 million in foreign exchange savings) while a 5% biodiesel blend would reduce diesel importation by 271 million liters per year (worth around P5.99 billion).

These amounts become insignificant when the high volume of gasoline and diesel imports and increasing global prices are considered. Based on 2005 import figures, this would displace only some 34% of gasoline and 10% of diesel importation.

Nationalize the Industry

The commanding position oil TNCs enjoy in the local oil industry enables them to dictate not only the prices of petroleum products but also the exploitation and control of the country’s oil reserves and other energy resources. And such will also happen to biofuels if government allows the nascent sector to fall under the monopoly control of transnational corporations.

Biofuels development is taking place in the context of a privatized and profit-oriented energy sector. However effective and responsible state control of the energy sector is the only way to ensure that the national interest is protected and that the development of energy resources is integrated with the thrusts and priorities of economic development. Otherwise, as is happening today, the legitimate need to develop alternative energy sources with an eye towards energy independence will be exploited as just another profit-making venture by big private interests.

Real public ownership, control and regulation of the country’s energy sector are vital for this to be truly oriented towards the needs of Filipino consumers. This includes responsible state control over resources such as biofuels. This underscores yet another challenge: to ensure that the government in place is one that is fully and genuinely accountable to the people.

German exec hurt in Ermita ambush

By Tina Santos
Inquirer
Last updated 05:18am (Mla time) 06/07/2007

MANILA, Philippines – A 63-year-old German businessman was seriously hurt after he was ambushed by motorcycle-riding suspects in Manila at 8:30 a.m. yesterday as he was about to get out of his car.

 

Michael Johannes Heinen, chair of Propeller Foundation-Maritime Science and Technology Resources (Profound Master), a seamen training center, was still confined as of press time at the Philippine General Hospital for gunshot wounds.

 

Investigation showed that the victim, a resident of Generic Condomium on E. Rodriguez Avenue, Quezon City, had just parked his vehicle on Escoda Street in Ermita when two men got off a motorcycle and walked towards him. One of the suspects approached Heinen, who was still seated in his car, and shot him, hitting him in the shoulder and armpit.

 

Police said the victim has been in the country since 1994 as chair of Profound Masters Inc., which conducts seminars for seamen.

 

Investigators are looking into the possibility that the attack may have something to do with the victim’s business.

 

An investigator who asked not to be named because he was not authorized to talk to media said they learned that the victim was the star witness in Iloilo Rep. Rolex Suplico’s expose regarding alleged anomalies surrounding the P800 million loan for the Philippine Merchant Marine Academy in San Narciso, Zambales.

 

“That’s another angle we’re now looking at,” police said. With Joanne Gonzales

Rizal town’s new facility turns Metro garbage to fuel

By DJ Yap
Inquirer
Last updated 04:54am (Mla time) 06/07/2007

MANILA, Philippines – For this sleepy town east of Manila, garbage is power.

 

The municipality of Rodriguez, Rizal has jumpstarted an ambitious P1.5 billion project to extract methane gas from the Rodriguez landfill and churn out electricity enough to power 15,000 homes.

 

In what could be the first of its kind in Asia, the “Rodriguez Landfill Methane Recovery and Electricity Generation Project” is projected to produce 15 megawatts of power over a period of 10 years starting January 2008.

 

For Rodriguez Mayor-elect Pedro Cuerpo, the project is not just an environment-friendly solution to the energy crisis, it is also sweet vindication.

 

“Nobody wanted the garbage (from Metro Manila) except us. Now, it’s the garbage that others did not want which can help steer our town to progress,” he said at a press conference yesterday in Makati City.

 

At the height of the garbage crisis in 2001, Cuerpo drew strong opposition from various sectors for opening the town to nearly 30 percent of Metro Manila’s 10,000 ton-a-day solid wastes.

 

“My fellow mayors said I was crazy, but I knew there was a proper abandonment program for the landfill and I just had to find it,” the mayor added. Even the town priest would criticize him in his sermons, Cuerpo said.

 

Three days ago, the mayor signed a tripartite agreement with major stakeholders for the project, including representatives from the Rizal provincial government and Swims International, which operates the landfill.

 

Under the build, own and operate program, the Montalban Methane Power Corp. (MMPC) will invest P1.5 billion in the project intended to capture landfill gas from the 14-hectare facility to produce electricity.

 

Under the agreement, 90 percent of the gross revenues from the project will go to MMPC, while the remaining 10 percent will be split among the developers, Rodriguez town and Rizal province.

 

The town stands to gain millions from the agreement, Cuerpo said, adding that the income will be used to improve public service.
MMPC president Peregrino Fernandez Jr. said the project would put the Philippines at the forefront of waste-to-energy production in Asia.

 

“We are a step ahead of China, which has yet to build its methane power plant at a landfill in Shanghai,” he added.

RA 9439 missed the nail’s head

Inquirer
Last updated 02:52am (Mla time) 06/07/2007

Republic Act 9439 (the Hospital Detention Law) somehow provides temporary relief for poor patients who could be illegally detained in hospitals because of unpaid bills. But it failed to address the very reason poor patients are forced to go to charity wards in private hospitals.

 

People these days can hardly rely on public health services because even public hospitals now charge patients (who are mostly indigent) many fees: emergency room fee, out-patient department fee, operating room fee, etc. Moreover, many public hospitals are forced to admit patients twice or thrice their actual capacity. Overcrowded rooms and beds force many poor patients to go to the charity wards of private hospitals.

 

The government missed the nail’s head when it criticized and pledged to punish private hospitals that “detain” patients. There is truth in the claim of the Private Hospitals Association of the Philippines (PHAP) that only one in every 10 patients who sign a promissory note actually returns to settle his debt to the hospital.

 

With RA 9439, what President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo did was tantamount to merely “bandaging the wound instead of diagnosing the cause.” It placed the blame on private hospitals instead of establishing an accessible health care system — by allotting sufficient funds for public hospitals and facilities.

 

In fact, for 2007, the health care system has been given only 0.1 percent or a little over P11.5 billion out of the national budget of P1.126 trillion. This means each of the 80 million Filipinos has been allotted only P144.53 in medical services and medicines for the entire year! That is, if they get any medical treatment and medicine at all. Meanwhile, debt servicing continues to get a large slab of the pie with P318.18 billion or 28 percent of the budget.

 

As long as the government remains indifferent to the people’s needs, it is apt for Filipinos to strive to gain access to quality health care services.

 

The newly elected officials, on the other hand, should heed the call for the government to respond to people’s needs and welfare.

 

ELEANOR JARA, MD, executive director, MERRY MIA, MD, director, Health Education Training and Services Council for Health and Development (CHD), 19 Scout Borromeo St., South Triangle, Quezon City

No hospital holidays in 2 months

By Edson C. Tandoc Jr.
Inquirer
Last updated 07:19am (Mla time) 06/07/2007

MANILA, Philippines — There will be no “hospital holidays,” at least for the next two months.

 

Hospital owners on Wednesday said they would cancel a scheduled series of “hospital holidays” to protest a new law that would stop them from detaining patients with unpaid bills after Health Secretary Francisco Duque III promised to consider their concerns in the writing of the law’s implementing rules.

 

“We will wait for the implementing rules and regulations,” said Edlane Ulama, executive secretary of the Private Hospitals Association of the Philippines (PHAP) following a dialogue between doctors, hospital owners and Duque in Mandaluyong Wednesday.

 

The PHAP earlier threatened to stage from June 22 to 23 a hospital holiday, a form of boycott during which member hospitals will not be accepting or servicing patients, except those in the emergency and intensive care unit.

 

The Hospital Detention Law, or RA 9439, authored by Sen. Pia Cayetano, bans medical institutions from preventing patients with unpaid bills from leaving the hospital or refusing them medical certificates for as long as the patients issue promissory notes.

 

The law will not be fully implemented until the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) are completed.

 

Some doctors at the Tuesday meeting with Duque jokingly said that the DOH could just delay the completion of the IRR to give the PHAP time to campaign for the repeal of the Cayetano law which purportedly aims to protect poor patients.

 

They said some incoming senators like Loren Legarda and Francis Escudero have already promised to back such a move.

 

Duque said the DOH would be coming out with the IRR “within six to eight weeks.”

 

The PHAP, which says it has a membership of more than 300 active hospitals, has opposed the law, arguing that hospitals could incur huge losses if poor patients are allowed to leave without paying their bills.

 

Duque said stakeholders like the Philippine Medical Association, the Philippine Hospitals Association and the PHAP would be heard in the technical working committee drafting the IRR.

Pastor held by cops tells court warrant was illegal

By Marlon Ramos
Southern Luzon Bureau inquirer.net
Last updated 02:53am (Mla time) 06/07/2007

BACOOR, Cavite—Ten days after unidentified armed men seized him a few meters outside their church in Biñan, Laguna, a Protestant pastor on Wednesday asked the regional trial court here to immediately order his release from jail, saying the issuance of the warrant for his arrest had no legal basis.

 

In his petition to conduct a preliminary investigation, Berlin Guerrero argued that the issuance of the warrant for a murder case issued 18 years ago was illegal since the prosecutor’s office failed to hold any preliminary hearing regarding the case.

 

Relatives, colleagues and friends of Guerrero were present at the 8:30 a.m. hearing yesterday to show their support for Guerrero.

 

The pastor was taken by armed men shortly after attending a worship service on May 27.

 

After almost a day of being held incommunicado, Guerrero called up his wife and told her that he was being held at the Cavite police headquarters in Camp Pantaleon Garcia in Imus town in Cavite.

 

“We’re confident that Pastor Berlin would be released soon because we have enough [pieces of evidence] to show the court that my husband is a good man,” Guerrero’s wife Mylene told the Inquirer.

 

Represented by lawyers Emilio Capulong and Evelyn Dominguez, Guerrero also asked Judge Matias Garcia of Branch 19 of the Bacoor RTC to annul the warrant of arrest.

 

During the hearing, which lasted for just a few minutes, Garcia ordered the prosecution panel to file its comment on Guerrero’s motion in five days.

 

Garcia also postponed Guerrero’s arraignment on Friday pending the results of the motion filed by the pastor’s lawyers.

 

Guerrero, 42, said he was happy that the court gave him an opportunity to defend himself.

 

“I now have the chance to prove that these age-old cases against me were just trumped-up charges,” he said from his cell at Camp Pantaleon Garcia.

 

Capulong said that aside from its failure to do a preliminary hearing, the prosecutor’s office also did not have witnesses to prove their allegations against Guerrero.

 

“What the prosecutors have are invisible witnesses. If they have no witnesses or [pieces of] evidence against the pastor, it’s just right for the court to quash the warrant,” Capulong told the Inquirer.

 

Capulong said the torture that Guerrero’s captors allegedly used to extract information from his client was a clear ground for the court to deem the arrest illegal.

 

A copy of the warrant showed that Guerrero allegedly killed a certain Noli Yatco in Cavite in 1990.

 

Cavite police chief Senior Supt. Fidel Posadas admitted that he did not have any idea regarding the murder charge.

 

Guerrero also had an arrest warrant for a case of inciting to sedition in Biñan.

 

He said he could not remember being charged with any murder case in Cavite.

 

In a statement e-mailed to media organizations after his May 27 “arrest,” Guerrero said he was accused of being the secretary of the provincial committee of the Communist Party of the Philippines in Cavite.

 

“This lie they tried to extract from me by means of physical, mental and psychological torture and projecting me in public as a “hand-gun and grenade carrying rebel,” Guerrero said.

 

He said he was brought to a place he did not know and that he was still handcuffed when men took turns interrogating and beating his head with their fists and blunt objects.

 

“All throughout, layers of plastic bags covered my head. My torturers would tighten the bag until I could no longer breathe. I passed out two times and urinated in my pants,” he said in his account.

 

Guerrero said the men opened his computer and forced him to give the password, got his e-mail password, erased all of his church, school and personal files, and replaced it with documents that belonged to the so-called underground Left.

Girl tagged as guerrilla died in crossfire–CHR

By Jeffrey M. Tupas
Mindanao Bureau inquirer.net
Last updated 02:46am (Mla time) 06/07/2007

DAVAO CITY—The Commission on Human Rights has cleared the military of charges of murder and human rights violations for the death of Grecil Buya, the 9-year-old girl who was tagged by the military as a communist rebel immediately after her death during an armed encounter on March 31 in New Bataan in Compostela Valley Province.

 

The decision, signed by CHR-Southern Mindanao director Alberto Sipaco, said the allegation that the 67th Infantry Battalion murdered and violated the rights of Grecil lacked merit.

 

After her death, Grecil’s parents, Gregorio Galacio and Virginia, filed a murder complaint at the CHR against elements of 67th IB led by 2nd Lt. Francis John Gabawa.

 

“The complainant failed to provide substantial evidence … the respondents were able to deny the allegations through counter-affidavits and countervailing evidence,” Sipaco said in his decision, adding that the military did not commit human rights violations against Grecil because the girl was killed in a crossfire.

 

“The murder allegation may not find merit as there is no clear and convincing evidence that the victim was summarily executed. Neither was there a showing, substantial or otherwise, as to the existence of gross neglect as regards the protection of noncombants, more specifically children, on the part of the military,” he said.

 

But the commission contradicted the statement of the military that Grecil was a child combatant, stressing that “the claim cannot be taken as gospel truth in the face of evidence to the contrary.”

 

Sipaco also said that the only main question in the case was whether or not Gabawa and his men shot Grecil. The CHR decision however failed to point out who really shot the girl who was supposed to be on her third grade this school year.

 

In his counter-affidavit, Gabawa said it was the NPA who first shot at them and that they only “retaliated with the first burst of gunfire.”

 

“The bullets that hit Grecil possibly came from the other side, not from the government forces for there was a cluster of lumber blocking or covering the place where the girl’s body was found,” Gabawa said.

 

The decision also stated that the death of Grecil, or any noncombatant, during legitimate encounters cannot be considered a violation of human rights, citing a case of alleged human rights violations in Luzon in 1998 where civilians were caught in a legitimate encounter between communist guerillas and government soldiers.

 

“The warring parties know the consequences of their actions but they cannot be held liable for the death of those caught in the crossfire in the absence of substantial evidence that there was gross negligence as regards the protection of noncombatants,” the decision said.

 

The CHR decision was criticized by several groups who said they were dismayed by the resolution, which they believed was CHR’s way of passing the burden of proof to the victim and her family.

 

The Kabiba Alliance for Children’s Concern in Mindanao also called the decision as something that “vindicated the human rights violators.”

 

“Grecil as non-NPA combatant is a valid fact while CHR’s conclusion as to the cause of her death that she died in a crossfire of a legitimate encounter is actually inconclusive because CHR did not actually employ scientific and defensible probing methods like the conduct of autopsy,” said Honey May Suazo, Kabiba executive director.

 

“Civil society organizations working for children’s rights are also discontented with the conduct of CHR investigation for it deliberately ignored the basic findings and recommendations of the National Interfaith Psycho-social First Aid Mission (NIPFAM) which include findings on the strafing of Galacio’s house and recommendation for autopsy to ensure impartial and scientifically-grounded investigation,” she said.

 

John Birondo, advocacy officer of Children’s Rehabilitation Center (CRC), called the decision absurd.

10 senators proclaimed

(UPDATE) 10 senators proclaimed
By Erwin Oliva
INQUIRER.net
Last updated 07:47pm (Mla time) 06/06/2007

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) proclaimed 10 winners of the senatorial race Wednesday evening after three weeks of vote counting marred by allegations of widespread cheating, with the opposition set to retain its majority in the 24-seat chamber.

 

The winners of the two remaining contested seats will be announced later, after final results are tallied from the southern Philippines, where the opposition and administration trade accusations of vote-rigging.

 

Loren Legarda, a former senator, topped the list of winners, which also include six of her party mates in the Genuine Opposition (GO). Only two came from the administration TEAM Unity — incumbent Senators Edgardo Angara and Joker Arroyo.

 

Two independent candidates, Francis Pangilinan and Gregorio “Gringo” Honasan, a former Army colonel freed on bail while fighting allegations of involvement in several coup plots, also won seats.

 

Nearly all ballots from 300,000 precincts have been canvassed and poll officials say the just over one million votes left to count will make little difference to the top 10.

 

But Antonio Trillanes IV and Aquilino Pimentel III, who occupy the 11th and the 12th slots, would only be proclaimed after the last of the final votes were tallied, officials said.

 

Trillanes, in detention for the 2003 mutiny, has so far garnered 10,977,680 votes, while Pimentel has 10,656,050.

 

Tabulation of the results from the southern provinces of Basilan, Surigao del Norte and Lanao del Sur, has been suspended because of opposition allegations that ballots were “manufactured” to show administration candidates winning.

 

The opposition now appears set to dominate the 24-seat Senate. Of the 12 Senate seats not contested, allies of Arroyo hold seven while the opposition have the rest.

 

Arroyo campaign spokesman Reli German said the new Senate would likely make it harder for Arroyo to pass some key legislation, although he did not elaborate.

 

“It just might frustrate some legislative programs, but eventually we believe that the elected senators will go beyond their personal agendas and sentiments against president Arroyo,” German said.

 

But Arroyo’s allies say they won most of the 220 districts in 81 provinces represented in the House of Representatives.

 

That means the opposition will not be able to muster enough House votes to pass a third impeachment complaint against Arroyo on allegations of corruption and rigging the 2004 election. Two earlier attempts were blocked by Arroyo’s allies.

 

Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said the House majority will be key for the administration.

 

“We consider the House support a big thing because important laws like the budget emanate from it,” Ermita said on Radio DZXL.

 

The 10 Senate race winners are:

 

1. Loren Legarda — 18,069,466 votes
2. Francis Escudero — 17,858,416
3. Panfilo Lacson — 15,261,999
4. Manuel Villar — 15,004,714
5. Francis Pangilinan — 14,229,449
6. Benigno Aquino III — 14,052,166
7. Edgardo Angara — 12,187,255
8. Alan Peter Cayetano — 11,560,083
9. Joker Arroyo — 11,381,206
10. Gregorio Honasan — 11,343,606.

 

Legarda arrived with a big group of supporters at around 6:45 p.m., followed by Honasan and Senator Juan Ponce Enrile.

 

Legarda was heard jokingly tell Honasan that it was unfair for him to have won the elections without spending much on the campaign. Honasan just smiled back at Legarda who was shaking people’s hand and posing with people she met.

 

Former president Corazon Aquino, who arrived early wearing a yellow dress, said she had been confident about her son Benigno III’s chances of victory, noting that pre-election polls consistently showed him in the top 10.

 

“Ninoy [Aquino’s late husband, the former senator Benigno III] always wanted our children to serve the country. It doesn’t have to be in public office,” she said.

 

However, she noted that the May elections and the canvassing were conducted “in slow motion,” and called for faster, cleaner elections, like that in France.

 

“I hope there will come a day that we will be able to know the results of the elections after a day and won’t worry about possible cheating,” she said.

 

Lacson said the entry of more opposition senators would mean a more “independent” Senate.

 

“Even in the choice of the Senate leadership, this is one time in a very, very long time that the Palace won’t be able to dictate the Senate leadership, and the officers of the Senate, and chairs of the committees,” Lacson said.

 

Angara admitted he felt sad that only a few of his party mates made it into the winning circle.

 

“Nonetheless, I can work with anyone in the Senate. What I pray is that we can become a working Senate, and work together and not only engaged in debates and privilege speeches,” he added.

 

Angara who stressed that the Palace is not dictating on the Senate, believes that fellow TEAM Unity candidate Miguel Zubiri will still make it to the magic circle with votes from three more Mindanao provinces still to be counted.

 

Escudero, who was accompanied by his wife, said that they are wary about the fate of Trillanes and Pimentel.

 

Escudero said GO lawyers are looking into the issue of dealing with the remaining votes that has yet to be counted. “Our lawyers are taking care of them,” he said.

 

Cayetano said he felt “overwhelmed” by his victory despite legal efforts to stop his
bid in the Senate.

 

He vowed to champion reforms in the elections laws and plug loopholes which he found as he went through several legal cases including one involving a petition to declare namesake Joselito Cayetano a nuisance candidate and another on a case questioning his citizenship.

 

The opposition senator admitted that his experience during this election has been stressful “every step of the way.”

 

Cayetano said the fielding of Joselito Cayetano had indeed affected his votes.

 

Aquino III said he will work on the budget process.

 

Crowds of Comelec employees and supporters greeted each senatorial-elect who entered the PICC building. Some even posed with the winning candidates.

 

Last to arrive were Francis Pangilinan and Manuel Villar who was mobbed by fans, Comelec employees, and the media.

 

Only Arroyo did not attend his proclamation.

Palace accepts people’s decision — Ermita

By Michael Lim Ubac
Inquirer
Last updated 07:57pm (Mla time) 06/06/2007

MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang has finally bowed to the “people’s mandate,” but braces for more skirmishes with an unfriendly Senate.

 

Hours before the poll body proclaimed 10 of the 12 newly-elected senators, Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said the Arroyo administration was recognizing the overwhelming victory in the May 14 senatorial race of critics of President gl,oria.

 

“The mandate has been given by the people. There’s nothing that the Palace can say about it,” said Ermita during his regular press briefing at the Palace.

 

“This is the behavior of the voters, we have to respect them,” added Ermita, who said he looks forward to working with the new Senate.

 

He said, however, that the bloc of seven to eight pro-administration senators would be a force to reckon with in the upper chamber.

 

“They are very dependable political allies. They know they can stand their ground,” he said, even naming incumbent Senators Richard Gordon, Juan Ponce Enrile and re-elected Senators Edgardo Angara and Joker Arroyo as “veteran parliamentarians … who are very supportive” of the President.

 

Besides the four, the administration can count on Senators Manuel “Lito” Lapid, Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. and Miriam Defensor-Santiago.

 

Rumors have circulated that Senator-elect Gregorio Honasan had made a pact with President Arroyo, even as both sides denied this.

 

Ermita, however, said: “I didn’t hear Senator Honasan saying he will use the Senate as a (forum) for destabilization. I don’t think any responsible political leader will say that.”

 

He said the Palace could not prevent the new Senate from conducting inquiries into government policies and actions.

 

To counter this, Malacañang will adhere to Memorandum Circular 108 issued by President Arroyo to protect members of the executive from inquisitorial inquiries.

 

Ermita said they would ask the Senate committees conducting such inquiries to give questions in advance, and would cooperate if the inquiries were done “in aid of legislation.”

 

The memo was issued to replace Executive Order 464 which had been struck down by the Supreme Court as unconstitutional.

 

Another option will be to court the senators’ support, he said, pointing out that reconciliation had always been offered by the Palace to its critics. He hoped that the Palace could work things out with those he now described as “dedicated public servants,” “patriotic” and “statesmen.”

 

“I will repeat this, that I don’t believe that just because they are opposition they will do something for the sake of highlighting their being opposition. Because members of Senate are statesmen, and for that matter in the lower house.

 

“The question is always — can their actions benefit the greater majority? I think that’s the bottom line. Those who came from the lower house now going to the Senate — I happen to know a few them — they are very dedicated public servants.”

 

Ermita repeated that Antonio Trillanes, if he gets elected, was not off the hook.

 

“Firstly, there’s a case he is facing and that’s a fact. Everyone knows that. So at this time let us not make statements that will prove his real purpose in case he becomes a public servant through this election. Maybe, it will be helpful if we wait for the final outcome — he gets elected, or not get elected.”

 

He said Trillanes, who is facing a court martial for leading a mutiny in July 2003, should be cautious about his pronouncements.

 

“But the important thing is on the assumption that given the present figures that he get elected, maybe it will be good if an elected official will think about things that will ensure peace to the nation rather than talk about encouraging them (soldiers to destabilize the government).”

 

“My call is let’s help in stabilizing the situation rather than trying to make statements that may destabilize and will not be good for the country,” he said.

 

Ermita also said it was unfair for some quarters to blame Malacañang for the defeat of most members of the TEAM Unity slate.

 

“They were the ones who went around the country. They know they can only depend on the administration to a certain extent. The administration did its best to help boost the candidacy of” its senatorial candidates, he said.

 

Losing TU bets could “try again” in 2010.

 

“It’s not for me to say where we went wrong. Many of us know the factors to win an election. If this don’t happen, we can try again sometimes and confront that situation to win.”

 

As to the choice of candidates, he said there was “no sure fire formula, the results speak for itself … becomes part of something to be studied for future political exercise,” he stressed.

Honasan puts military reform on the back burner

By Erwin Oliva
INQUIRER.net
Last updated 00:15am (Mla time) 06/07/2007

MANILA, Philippines — Newly proclaimed Senator Gregorio Honasan is putting his military reform agenda on the back burner as he vows to focus instead on sports, local governance and public order and safety.

 

“I have been victimized by my own efforts to pursue my reform agenda in the military. So I will lay low from that and focus on sports, public order and safety, local governments,” he said shortly after he was officially proclaimed winner in the senatorial race Wednesday evening.

 

Honasan, a former Army colonel freed on bail while fighting allegations of involvement in several coup plots, garnered 11,343,606 votes.

 

“I’m out on bail and eventually I feel I will be vindicated and I will be proven innocent and have nothing to worry about except my work at the Senate,” he told INQUIRER.net.

 

And now that the election is over, Honasan said he just “want to start working.”

 

“My first effort would be to go around and ask my fellow senators how we can speed up the lawmaking process because it is very slow,” he said.

 

At the same time, Honasan said he would “revalidate” issues he encountered during the campaign period.

 

“I’m taking my time to find out from my supporters if these problems are real, and report to the Senate,” said the former Army colonel who has advocated far-reaching military and social reforms.

 

Last year, Honasan went into hiding for several months after he was implicated in the 2003 Oakwood mutiny and an alleged coup plot in February 2006.

 

After his sensational arrest, he was detained for five months before he was allowed to post bail in April, in the homestretch of the campaign.

 

Like Honasan, winning Genuine Opposition senatorial candidate former Navy junior officer Antonio Trillanes IV is also facing a rebellion case before the Makati Regional Trial Court for the 2003 Oakwood mutiny.

 

But unlike Honasan, Trillanes was not allowed to post bail. He is detained in a Marine brig at Fort Bonifacio in Taguig City.

 

Trillanes has so far garnered 10,977,680 votes and occupied the 11th slot in the ongoing national canvass. Election officials said he could only be proclaimed winner after the last of the final votes were tallied.

 

“I hope he would make it,” Honasan said. “But that’s a matter of procedure. We need young blood in the Senate.”