Civilian teachers assert supremacy in PMA

Inquirer
Last updated 04:46am (Mla time) 06/10/2007

BAGUIO CITY, Philippines—Some civilian instructors teaching language, math and engineering courses to cadets of the Philippine Military Academy have been supporting a proposal to remove military officers from the institution’s teaching staff, the Inquirer learned this week.

 

The proposal was an offshoot of a budget review being conducted throughout the Armed Forces of the Philippines. The review is part of a reform and modernization plan implemented by former Defense Secretary Avelino Cruz Jr.

 

Maj. Gen. Leopoldo Maligalig, PMA superintendent, said the option to remove the corps of professors, which is composed of military officers, has been shelved, at least for the next three years.

 

Maligalig blamed the pay disparity between military and civilian instructors for the sentiment voiced out against the corps of professors.

 

Although PMA civilian instructors are often assumed to be members of the professorial corps, only military men assigned full time to the academy are officially accredited, a PMA official said.

 

There are over 70 civilian instructors working at PMA while at least 30 officers belong to the corps of professors.

 

Plans to remove the corps of professors emerged as early as 2002 due to the military reform agenda.

 

PMA civilian instructors, who were willing to discuss the plans in exchange for anonymity, said a position paper was sent to Cruz in August 2006 when it became clear the corps of professors was included among a list of departments to be removed.

 

The reform agenda also looked into the relevance of the Women’s Auxiliary Corps, as well as the military’s corps of veterinarians and dentists.

 

Cruz left the Cabinet in November 2006 without addressing the fate of the corps of professors.

 

Defense Secretary Hermogenes Ebdane Jr. has not discussed the issue since he assumed office, but Maligalig got a three-year extension for the professorial corps early this year when he appealed to the Department of National Defense.

 

“Bottom line, we need military instructors in PMA because it is a military school,” Maligalig said.

 

But one of the instructors, who helped draft the position paper, said the superintendent might not be aware of the work disparity they were complaining about.

 

“[Based on] records of teaching loads, [during the] second semester of Academic Year 2005-2006, the total teaching load of all members of the [professorial corps] is not even 5 percent of the teaching load in the [entire] academic group [of] PMA. So far, in all the years, civilian faculty of PMA takes the bulk of all teaching loads,” the document said.

 

“Several, if not most members of the [corps], are perennially on leave for military or civilian schooling. This gives the impression that they are not really a corps of ‘professors’ but a corps of ‘students,’” it said.

 

“To illustrate, a typical [corps of professors] member can be ‘on leave’ from PMA—with full pay—for a two-year [master’s degree course], a four-year doctorate degree course and the many years of military schooling required from military officers. So, a member of the corps of professors may be ‘on leave’ from PMA for an average of 10 years,” the paper said.

 

An Inquirer source said civilian teachers end up carrying the load vacated by the members of the corps, and yet, the latter “end up getting credit for our work.”

 

Almost all members of the professorial corps are department administrators, which also justified their relatively minor teaching load, the source said.

 

The pay scale differences aggravate the alleged work problems.

 

Incoming PMA instructors are paid P12,000 a month, which is equivalent to the pay of a master sergeant assigned to clerical work in the same department.

 

Majors who belong to the corps of professors are paid P35,000 a month.

 

Maligalig said the pay anomaly could be traced to the salary standardization policy in the country. Civilian instructors are ranked far lower than military personnel in the salary law.

 

He said PMA supplements the difference by tapping grants that offer civilian teachers additional allowances. Vincent Cabreza, Inquirer Northern Luzon

Oil exploration worries environmentalists

By Jhunnex Napallacan
Inquirer
Last updated 03:43am (Mla time) 06/09/2007

CEBU CITY — An oil exploration project by an Australian firm in the Cebu-Bohol Strait before the end of the month has alarmed a local environmental group, which calls it a calamity “worse than a typhoon” for fishermen.

 

Vessels and fishers must stay 8.5 kilometers away from the exploration ship for about a month. Diving and swimming are also prohibited within 10 km from it.

 

The Environmental Legal Assistance Center (Elac) has warned the government of possible harm to the fishermen and to marine life in the strait. But the Department of Energy downplayed the apprehension that hundreds of fishermen in some coastal towns in Bohol and Cebu would be displaced.

 

Antonio Labios, DOE-Visayas director, also assured the public that the seismic survey—the first phase of the oil exploration—would not damage marine species and corals. The survey will determine the profile of the seabed for possible deposits of oil or gas.

 

The Arroyo administration is pursuing oil exploration as one of its programs to make the country energy-independent and lessen fuel importation. The Visayan Sea, especially the Tañon Strait (between western Cebu and Negros), the Cebu-Bohol Strait and the Cebu-Leyte Strait were reported to have an abundance of untapped oil or gas resources.

 

Last year, the Philippine government, through the Japan Petroleum Exploration, conducted a seismic survey at the Tañon Strait. Actual drilling is expected to be made later this year pending the release of an environmental compliance certificate (ECC) from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

 

‘Certificate of non-coverage’

 

Australia-based NorAsian Energy Ltd. will undertake the oil exploration in accordance with a service contract granted by the government, through Energy Secretary Rafael Lotilla, in July 2005.

 

On May 24, Allan Arranguez, regional director of the Environment Management Bureau, issued to NorAsian a certificate of non-coverage—meaning the project did not need an ECC for the seismic activity. The certificate, however, stated that EMB would closely monitor the exploration ship’s operation to ensure compliance with Philippine environmental laws.

 

An ECC will only be needed during the actual drilling, Labios said.

 

Officials of NorAsian, DOE and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources had already consulted with Governors Gwendolyn Garcia of Cebu and Erico Aumentado of Bohol about the project, he said.

 

Labios said that agricultural offices in the towns of Argao, Dalaguete, Alcoy and Boljoon in southern Cebu, and in the towns of Panglao, Maribojoc and Loon in Bohol had been tasked with mounting an information drive among fishermen, which would be directly affected by the seismic survey.

 

The Philippine Coast Guard and the Maritime Industry Authority will coordinate with all passenger and cargo vessels regarding alternative routes for them to take so as to avoid the survey area. Actual seismic survey was expected to start June 16 or June 19.

 

Off-limit areas

 

According to documents distributed by NorAsian during its information drive on Monday, the MV Pacific Sword will be carrying out a 2D and 3D seismic survey in offshore Cebu Strait. It will travel at the speed of 5 knots while towing two 6-km cables 5 meters below.

 

Orange buoys equipped with flashing lights will be attached to the cables.

 

The vessel cannot immediately stop because of its restricted maneuverability.

 

It will also tow a marine noise source that emits sounds at regular intervals and submerge in water a device that emits sound energy with an intensity of 200 decibels.

 

“For safety reasons, all fishing vessels, passenger ferries and commercial vessels are requested to stay 8.5 kilometers away from the MV Pacific Sword to avoid damage to their vessels and fishing equipment,” NorAsian said. “Swimming and diving activities must not be conducted within 10 kilometers of the moving vessel.”

 

One of the documents stated that fishermen must voluntarily clear out their “payaos” or fish pens before the survey. They were given assurance that they would receive compensation for the dismantled pens.

 

Environment, livelihood

 

Raul Barbarona, Elac executive director, noted that there were no clear guidelines to ensure payment of compensation or protection of marine life.

 

Moreover, the affected communities will not have enough time to evaluate the effects of the seismic survey, which will start next week. He said consultations were started only on Monday.

 

Elac was also worried that the exploration project covers wide areas where fisherfolk are technically banned. If fishermen could not go to the strait for one month because of the seismic survey, then the government must give them alternative livelihood, but so far, there is no offer, Barbarona said.

 

The ship will emit a loud sound that could drive away the fish, including whales and dolphins, along the Bohol Marine Triangle in Panglao, he said.

 

The Elac director said he wanted to know if the steel cables towed by the vessel would not destroy the marine resources there.

 

“We view this as a calamity. In fact, if a typhoon is a calamity, this is even worse than a typhoon,” Barbarona said.

 

But Labios said “it is not as destructive as what they (environmentalists) think.”

 

The steel metal to be towed is not that long and could not reach the seabed and destroy corals and other marine species, he said.

 

A 200-decibel sound is not loud enough to drive away the fish, he said. “The sound of a dynamite used in fishing is even louder than that,” he added.

 

Labios said NorAsian was aware of the marine reservation in Panglao. Only a portion of Panglao seawater will be covered by the survey, which will focus on an area between Loon, Bohol and Argao, Cebu, he said.

Resort in falls where 2 died built without ECC

By Jhunnex Napallacan
Inquirer
Last updated 04:46am (Mla time) 06/10/2007

CEBU CITY, Philippines—The Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) in Central Visayas declared as illegal the development of the waterfalls in Carmen town, where two teenagers died in a landslide on Thursday afternoon.

 

Roger de Dios, MGB Central Visayas officer in charge, said the development was illegal because it was not referred to the MGB.

 

He said the government requires an environmental compliance certificate from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

 

Before the DENR issues the ECC, the MGB has to conduct a geo-hazard investigation survey first.

 

In the case of Mangitngit Falls, he said, none was referred to his office.

 

An ECC is essential before a local government unit (LGU) could issue a permit for any development, De Dios said.

 

However, he said the LGU would decide whether to prosecute the Mangitngit Falls developer.

 

De Dios urged the LGUs to report to the DENR if there are illegal developments on waterfalls in their respective places.

 

It was learned that Carmen Mayor Virginio Villamor’s son, Councilor Gerard Villamor, owned the piece of property where the waterfall is located. But the young Villamor blamed another person as the one responsible for the illegal development of the area.

 

Gerard said the area was bought by Gerard Integrated Resort Inc., but he said it’s their family that owned the corporation. He also refused to confirm if his father is part of the corporation.

 

While his corporation owned the area, Gerard said he allowed a certain Florentino Escoton to put up cottages and collect P10 each from those who come to the waterfalls.

 

Gerard said he agreed with Escoton’s proposal but required Escoton to take care of the area’s cleanliness.

 

“We did not earn any centavo from that,” Gerard said.

 

Gerard said a municipal councilor, in charge of a beauty pageant last year, also proposed to put up stairs in the area because of the photo session of the contestants of Miss Carmen 2006.

 

De Dios, in an interview yesterday, said he had sent investigators to the area after the tragedy.

 

He said the investigation, however, was to determine if the area is hazardous to the public.

 

Initially, he said, based on the photo published in newspapers, the area is very dangerous because of its vertical slope and the cottages were put up in weak areas.

Vets who give up RP citizenship to lose pensions — SC

By Leila Salaverria
Inquirer
Last updated 06:22pm (Mla time) 06/10/2007

MANILA, Philippines — The Supreme Court has ruled that Filipino military veterans who have renounced their Philippine citizenships have also forfeited their pensions.

 

The high tribunal upheld the constitutionality of Section 27 of Presidential Decree 1638, which states that retired members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines would stop receiving retirement benefits and would be removed from the list of retired AFP personnel once they change their nationalities.

 

PD 1638 provides for the establishment of a new retirement and separation system for military personnel.

 

But the high court said that should the retiree reacquire his Philippine citizenship, he would receive the pension and other benefits again.

 

It denied the petition of retired 2nd Lt. Salvador Parreño who wanted to continue getting his monthly P13,680 pension even after he migrated to Hawaii and became a naturalized American.

 

Parreño argued that Section 27 of PD 1638 was unconstitutional because it deprived him of his property. He added that it did not apply to him because it took effect when he was already in the AFP. He said the decree should only apply to those who entered the service after it took effect.

 

The Office of the Solicitor General agreed with Parreño and said Section 27 was unconstitutional because the obligation to retain his Filipino citizenship was oppressive, violated due process and discriminated against retirees who changed their nationality.

 

But in ruling that Section 27 was constitutional, the high court said there was “a substantial difference” between retirees who remained Filipino citizens and those who gave up their Philippine citizenships.

 

It pointed out that the constitutional right of the state to require its citizens to serve the military extends to those who have retired from the AFP.

 

“A retiree who had lost his Filipino citizenship already renounced his allegiance to the state. Thus, he may no longer be compelled by the state to render compulsory military service when the need arises,” it said in a June 7 decision.

 

The Supreme Court said Section 27 was not oppressive, discriminatory or contrary to public policy and affirmed the state’s right to impose a “reasonable condition” in national defense, since a retired member of the military is still part of the Citizen Armed Forces.

 

“To rule otherwise would be detrimental to the interest of the state,” it added.

 

The high court said PD 1638 applied to Parreño because the decree was applicable to those serving in the military at the time of its effectivity in 1979. Parreño retired in 1982 after serving for 32 years.

 

But should Parreño wish to get back his pension, he could regain his Filipino citizenship under the country’s dual citizenship law, said the Supreme Court.

 

“Petitioner will be entitled to receive his monthly pension should he reacquire his Filipino citizenship since he will again be entitled to the benefits and privileges of Filipino citizenship reckoned from the time of his reacquisition of Filipino citizenship,” the high court said.

Italian priest kidnapped in Zamboanga Sibugay

By Joel Guinto
INQUIRER.net
Last updated 03:37pm (Mla time) 06/10/2007

MANILA, Philippines — Armed men have kidnapped an Italian priest in the southern province of Zamboanga Sibugay on Sunday morning, a military official said.

 

Father John Carlo Bossi was snatched in Bulwan village, Payao town, where he served as parish priest, at around 9:35 a.m., said Colonel Godofredo Paderanga, civil military operations (CMO) officer of the Army’s 1st Infantry Battalion.

 

Paderanga could not give additional details on the abduction. He said troops from the Army’s 102nd Infantry Brigade have been dispatched to rescue Bossi, the second Italian priest to be abducted in the southern Philippines in six years.

 

“There is still no demand for ransom,” Paderanga said, adding the leader of the group that kidnapped Bossi was identified as a certain Commander Khidi.

 

He said troops were scouring the Baganyan peninsula, where the suspects were reported to have taken Bossi, Paderanga said.

 

In 2001, alleged members of the Pentagon kidnap gang held for several weeks Italian priest Giuseppe Pierantoni in Dimataling town, Zamboanga del Sur province.

Polls delayed release of Guimaras funds

By Nestor P. Burgos Jr.
Inquirer
Last updated 05:34am (Mla time) 06/10/2007

ILOILO CITY, Philippines—Ten months after a massive oil spill struck Guimaras Island, the government released only less than a third of the rehabilitation funds for the affected areas.

 

Presidential Assistant for Western Visayas Rafael Coscolluela, head of the regional Task Force Solar I Oil Spill, said the ban on public spending during the election period has delayed the release of the bulk of the P863 million fund.

 

Coscolluela said, in a press conference, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) released only P199.5 million or 30 percent of the fund.

 

He said the release of the bulk of the fund was “held in abeyance” because of the election period. The fund is part of the supplemental budget approved by Congress last year to finance rehabilitation programs and livelihood projects for affected residents and areas in Guimaras.

 

The released funds include P61.5 million for the Department of Agriculture (DA), P1 million for the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), P5 million for the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), P40 million for Guimaras local government units (LGU), P60 million for the University of the Philippines in the Visayas (UPV) and P32 million for other agencies.

 

The release of the remaining P663.5 million needs the endorsement of the National Disaster Coordinating Council to the Office of the President, which will direct the DBM to release the fund.

 

But Coscolluela said with the election over, there is no legal impediment for the release of the remaining fund.

 

The P863 million fund will be allocated to the DA (P100 million), DENR (P30 million), Department of Health (P22 million), DSWD (P247 million), LGU (P250 million), UPV (P50 million) and other agencies (P64 million).

Farmers’ group wants new land reform law

Inquirer
Last updated 04:50am (Mla time) 06/10/2007

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga, Philippines—Farmers who attended a recent national rural congress convened by Catholic bishops have called for the scrapping of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program and proposed the enactment of a “really comprehensive, genuine and just agrarian reform law.”

 

The Pambansang Katipunan ng Makabayang Magbubukid went against the position of other farmers’ groups to extend anew the CARP, which is due to end in 2008.

 

Approved through Republic Act No. 6657 in 1988, the program got a 10-year extension in 1998.

 

Including the 16 years spent in implementing Presidential Decree 27 under the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos, the agrarian reform program would have eaten up 36 years by 2008, according to PKMM secretary-general Pablo Rosales.

 

“Like its parent, PD 27, CARP is self-contradictory and self-limiting. Furthermore, it is encumbered by other laws, jurisprudence and pending bills,” the PKMM said in a manifesto presented on May 25 during the congress held at the University of the Philippines in Quezon City.

 

“The backward agricultural production, which is marked by inadequate to nonexistent government support and characterized by landlord-merchant-usurer rule, keeps the peasantry bound to impoverishment,” it said.

 

The basic problem with CARP and PD 27, the PKMM said, is the objective of redistributing lands to landless farmers that is negated by the high price of buying a small piece of land.

 

“This nature and method of land acquisition by the intended beneficiaries is compounded by high cost of farm production, on one hand, and the low prices of the peasants’ produce, on the other,” it said.

 

In reality, many beneficiaries either mortgaged or surrendered their ownership rights and become tenants anew, as sharecroppers of those who have the money and now control the land. The objective of turning sharecroppers to leaseholders was thus defeated, PKMM said.

 

As government implemented the CARP, it also countered it with several laws, jurisprudence and bills against the redistribution of farmlands, Rosales said.

 

These include the Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization Act (Afma) of 1998 that exempts vast tracts of land from land reform, land use conversion and land reclassification, the Special Purpose Asset Vehicle (SPAV) Act that was passed in 2003, the Mining Act of 1995 which was declared constitutional by the Supreme Court in 2004, and a Supreme Court ruling in 1990 declaring the land valuation under PD 27 to be unjust and not in accordance with market prices.

 

The PKMM proposed rural congresses to be the venues for the framing of a genuine agrarian reform program, which would be proposed to Congress for legislation.

 

The new program, Rosales said, would be “people-based and supported by churches.”

 

In 2006, the Department of Agrarian Reform reported a backlog of 772,000 hectares comprising of mostly contentious estates. Tonette Orejas, Inquirer Central Luzon

School official who exposed Maguindanao poll fraud shot dead

 

By Charlie Sease
Mindanao Bureau inquirer.net
Last updated 04:13pm (Mla time) 06/10/2007
PIKIT, North Cotabato — A public school official who exposed alleged poll irregularities in Pagalungan, Maguindanao, was shot dead here on Saturday night.

 

Chief Supt. Felizardo Serapio Jr., Central Mindanao police director, said his men were trying to establish the motive behind the killing of Maguindanao Schools District Supervisor Musa Dimasidsing who died of gunshot wounds in the face and chest.

 

“This has something to do with the (May 14) elections in Pagalungan,” said Pagalungan Vice Mayor Norodin Matalam, who contested his defeat to Uto Montawal in the mayoral race.

 

He claimed that the victim and other members of the Board of Election Inspectors were being forced to sign a petition stating that there were no poll irregularities and atrocities. Dimasidsing refused to sign the petition.

 

Matalam said his administration rival Montawal was proclaimed winner by the municipal board of canvassers even if 7,000 votes from seven villages had yet to be canvassed out of the more than 10,000 total registered voters.

 

The board chair Elisa Gasmin went missing immediately after proclaiming Montawal, said Matalam, the former Maguindanao governor.

 

He said Dimasidsing, the slain school official, was the one who “certified” earlier testimonies by Pagalungan teachers that there was “harassment and intimidation” in carrying out the town’s poll scam.

 

Four ballot boxes were snatched by armed men believed working for a politician in Pagalungan.

 

“How can the board proclaim Montawal winner when there are still certificates of election returns that have to be canvassed from the seven villages?” Matalam asked.

 

He said the killing of Dimasidsing was meant to stop him from presenting testimonies about the election anomalies in Pagalungan.

 

Police said Dimasidsing was shot in a madrasah (Islamic school). The incident happened during a brief power outage.

OVERHAULED FLYERS

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and United States Ambassador Kristie Kenney pour champagne on the nose of one of 10 Huey helicopters refurbished under a US government program for the Philippine Air Force’s anti-terrorism and humanitarian assistance missions. INQUIRER/ROGER MARGALLO

FIRST WIND FARM IN SOUTHEAST ASIA

A 25-MW wind turbine power plant of the Northwind Development Corp. in Barangay Baruyan, Bangui, Ilocos Norte was completed three years ago. Electricity produced by the project is contracted to the Ilocos Norte Electric Cooperative for 20 years. BOY CABRIDO inquirer.net

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JV TAKES A BRIDE. Ex-President Joseph Estrada waits with son San Juan Mayor JV Ejerctio for the teary-eyed bride Cindy Lotuaco at the altar of the St. John the Baptist Church in Pinaglabanan, San Juan on Saturday evening. EDWIN BACASMAS

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“THIS IS WAR,” declares reelected Cebu Gov. Gwen Garcia referring to the “battle” of her father, elected Rep. Pablo Garcia vs JDV. JIM GUIAO PUNZALAN

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THIS PHOTOGRAPH of Richard Daloia was sent by a reader. The sender said the site indicated that Daloia is now 47. He is from Rochester, New York, and “works in the entertainment industry.” Peoplefinders.com lists a “Sharmaine Gutierrez Daloia” as a “relative.”

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OVERHAULED FLYERS. President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and United States Ambassador Kristie Kenney pour champagne on the nose of one of 10 Huey helicopters refurbished under a US government program for the Philippine Air Force’s anti-terrorism and humanitarian assistance missions. INQUIRER/ROGER MARGALLO

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WHAT WAS SHE THINKING? President Arroyo pulls at her vintage dress—which looks too loose for comfort, which looks like a wardrobe malfunction—on her way to meet the prime minister of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Bouasone Bouphavanh (at right), at the Palace grounds on Friday. LYN RILLON

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THE Philippine tricolor appears to fly from the barrel of a gun of a security escort of American envoy Kristie Kenney who was in Jolo, Sulu, to turn cash rewards to four informants, all ex-Abu Sayyaf members. In fact, the flag is in front of the Sulu capitol building. EDWIN BACASMAS

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PABLO GARCIA: Cha-cha is just a ploy for De Venecia to become prime minister. It will plunge the country into another wave of instability and divisiveness. JIM GUIAO PUNZALAN

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