Alternative Energy

Commentary : Surviving the oil crisis

Alvin A. Mejia
Inquirer News Service

OIL is a basic commodity in modern society. It literally runs our lives. Come to think of it, it controls our lives through its price. With oil prices rising to new heights and as global demand grows faster than global oil production, it's about time we aggressively promoted alternative energy resources to break us free from the shackles of oil.

We are witnessing aggressive bullish movements in oil prices. The New York contract for light sweet crude oil closed at $66.80 per barrel last Aug. 12. Oil traded below the $50 per barrel mark a year earlier. Oil firms in the Philippines have continuously increased the prices of their petroleum products and we expect them to move together with the bullish world market. We shouldn't be surprised to see a domino effect on the prices of food, transportation and electricity soon.

In the midst of the current oil crisis, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo calls on every Filipino to conserve energy and keep in mind the survival of the nation. Government institutions are ordered to cut their energy consumption and the public is encouraged to use bicycles or walk to get to their destinations.

We agree that these are necessary measures to help us survive this particular wave of the impending energy crisis. But our position in this global trial could have been much better if had we been able to maximize the development of our renewable energy resources. Had we been keen on putting up the foundations to do so, we could have been a major player in the world of renewable energy generation. Which is actually part of the Philippine Energy Plan of the Department of Energy.

We aim to achieve energy independence and reach the 60-percent self-sufficiency level by the year 2010 and increase our renewable energy-based capacity by 100 percent in 10 years. The Philippines also aims to be the world's leader in geothermal energy as well as the largest wind power producer in the South East Asian region. Solar, hydro, biomass and wind energy resources are now aggressively being developed throughout the country and we need all the funding we can get to support the development of these projects.

Funding from the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) will provide a big boost to the efforts to realize these projects. This is one of the global cooperation schemes established by the Kyoto Protocol, which aims to mitigate the process of climate change and help developing countries attain sustainable development. Participating industrialized countries, which are major contributors of greenhouse gases (GHGs) that speed up the global warming process, have agreed to achieve a 5.2-percent reduction of their 1990s emission levels to be realized in the 2008-2012 commitment period.

Under the CDM framework, GHG emission-reduction activities such as the development of renewable energy projects can be implemented anywhere in the world by these industrialized countries. The CDM erases the geographical boundaries in terms of fulfilling GHG reduction commitments for the industrialized countries and allows the channeling of funds to developing countries where putting up these projects is more cost-efficient.

We have gone far in terms of establishing the Clean Development Mechanism here in the Philippines. Efforts toward capacity building are being done, projects are being constructed and institutional foundations are being laid down. However, the rules and regulations for the national approval process for the CDM authority have not been promulgated by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). We cannot fully establish the CDM in the Philippines without a framework of approval for projects that could come under the CDM. The absence of this framework brings uncertainty and impairs our national capacity to compete with other countries that are now leaving us behind.

The Philippines, like many other developing countries, is inclined toward developing small-scale renewable energy projects since there are not too many options open for us. The CDM defines small-scale projects as those that generate less than 15 megawatts of energy. These small-scale projects can finally bring power to those areas that are too far to be reached by the country's electricity grids since they are easier to set-up. However, it is difficult for the proponents of these small-scale projects to get funding from banks and ordinary investors because of their size and the low credit rating of the proponents. These projects need to be put under the CDM but uncertainty lurks, as the foundations for the mechanism have not been laid.

The CDM is a tool we can use to help our environment, attain sustainable development and achieve energy independence. We have the potential to be a major player in the world of CDM and renewable energy. We have to be creative in forming long-run survival strategies amid this oil crisis. We urge the promulgation of the national approval process for the CDM national authority. It is a matter of national survival.

Wider Wi-Fi

ePLDT expands wi-fi coverage abroad with new roaming deals

Erwin Lemuel Oliva eoliva@inq7.net
INQ7.net

FOLLOWING its latest investment in wireless fidelity (wi-fi) provider Airborne Access, ePLDT this week announced the signing of new wi-fi roaming deals to extend its coverage overseas.

ePLDT, an information and communications technology subsidiary of the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co., said the wi-fi roaming deals would allow its own subscribers to access wireless broadband services in Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, the United States, and Japan.

The deals are with Maxis Malaysia, Starhub, Hong Kong CSL, T-Mobile USA, and NTT Communications. Roaming arrangements with NTT, Korea Telecom, and True Thailand will follow.

The roaming deals will allow ePLDT subscribers to access at least 18,700 wi-fi hotspots in selected Southeast Asian countries and North America.

ePLDT is also a member of the Wireless Broadband Alliance formed in March 2003. Its mission has been to drive the adoption of wireless broadband technologies and services around the world by developing a common commercial, technical, and marketing framework for wireless network inter-operability.

The group operates over 35,000 wi-fi hotspots around the world.

Ray Espinosa, ePLDT President, said the company envisions the Philippines to become one of Asia's fastest-growing wifi markets by the end of 2005.

ePLDT has recently invested about 20 million pesos into Airborne Access, a Philippine firm that provides wireless fidelity (wi-fi) services.

The latest investment makes the PLDT subsidiary a majority stakeholder in the company, increasing its stake to 51 percent from 1.9 percent, according to Espinosa.

The new capital infusion would support Airborne Access' rollout of new wi-fi hotspots in the country. The company targets to have 300 wi-fi hotspots by end of 2005.

Airborne Access currently deploys an average of five to eight wi-fi hotspots a week.

ePLDT

Deja Vu

The Long View : 1983 and 2005

Manuel L. Quezon III
Inquirer News Service

IN 1983, on the anniversary of the Plaza Miranda bombing, Ninoy Aquino came home. The man who was hustled down the side stairs of the airport tube where his China Airlines flight had docked was a man far different from the ebullient senator of 1971.

He was a man purified of any suspicion of self-interested action; a proven patriot. He had returned not even to fight, but to try and make peace with the dictatorship and hopefully make it relax its grip. Ferdinand Marcos returned his offer of reconciliation with a bullet. Except that Marcos said it did not come from him, but from the communists.

In the presence of 2,000 soldiers sent to meet the exiled senator, Ninoy was taken down by three Philippine Constabulary officers; and before his feet touched the tarmac, he was shot in the back of the head. The nation was stunned, first into terror and then into rage.

From the first timid testing of the waters by the people who lined up to view Ninoy's remains at his old home at Times Street, and who followed his bier in the millions, it was apparent that 1983 would be a real annus horribilis for the Marcoses.

A few days after Ninoy's death, oppositionists formed JAJA-Justice for Aquino, Justice for All and declared:

"We demand the immediate resignation of President Marcos, the entire Cabinet, the Executive Committee, members of the Batasang Pambansa, and top generals of the military. A responsible transition government composed of men and women of unquestionable integrity should be established to pave the way for the realization of genuine democracy in this country."

These objectives would remain the aim of the opposition from then on. In no time, these objectives and sentiments catalyzed the formation of what came to be known as the cause-oriented groups and the partisans of the parliament of the streets.

The gap left by the refusal of the middle and professional classes to take part in sordid-not to mention, dangerous-political affairs was now closed. From one end of the political spectrum to the other was a solid band of opposition to the murderous dictatorship.

Marcos swiftly resorted to his old trick of divide and rule, but the more he sought to divide, the more convinced the opposition became that he was weakening and could not rule.

Writing after Edsa, Ma. Serena Diokno summed up this period as "a movement of unity and struggle-of oneness in opposition to the Marcos regime, its authoritarian apparatus, and its abuse of the Filipino people; of differences within a movement colored by various shades of political understanding, at times sadly marked by personal political ambition; and of unrelenting struggle against a dictatorship propped up by the government of the United States."

Indeed, it took some groups longer to get over their caution in dealing with others. But the Church was firmly in place in the battlefront. Jaime Cardinal Sin directed the operations from the time he officiated at Ninoy's funeral Mass, where he bestowed the martyr with the honors befitting a head of state.

In retrospect, this process seems to have been a continuous march, along city streets lined with buildings from where supporters rained yellow confetti, to the tune of ati-atihan drums and the wailing of police sirens. In reality, it was a series of skirmishes and crises, of exhilarating advance and painful retreat and regroupment.

It's defining events were summed up by Diokno as, "the early conflict between the Church's call for national reconciliation and the people's demand for the removal of Marcos, the agonizing period of deciding whether or not to take part in the parliamentary (Batasan) elections in May 1984, the failed Bayan congress... in May 1985, and the founding of the BANDILA..." Through it all, the quibbling among oppositionists would continue, without stop, but also without any harmful effects. The movement was unstoppable, even by the pettiness of some of those who comprised it.

It embarked on efforts learned from leftist teach-ins, forums, mass actions like marches and boycott campaigns against crony businesses; and the use of striking symbols and slogans with the color yellow. Its members continued to quarrel among themselves over means and even ends.

They quarreled about the ideal form of transitional government and its legal details, about the need or folly of including the US bases as an issue, and about the restructuring of political processes, if not society itself. Taking a cue from Ninoy's arrival statement, Cardinal Sin proposed, on Sept. 23, 1983, an eight-member national council composed of four representatives from within and outside the government. This was the opening salvo of the Church's effort to steer the irresistible forces of change into peaceful and orderly channels.

On Jan. 7 and 8, 1984, the Congress of the Filipino People (Kompil) was held, in an attempt to unify the opposition groups. It was composed of moderates, and attempted to answer two questions: should the "Marcos Resign" movement go on, and, if Marcos ever quit, who should be entrusted with running the government? By 1986, people had decided that the time for involvement had come precisely because the things the Left despised but which the moderates valued-order, decency, the safety of property-were in grave peril. They, who were leery of politics, had taken over it completely, to restore everything to the way it was, and put politics and power again in its subordinate place.

Where is today's Kompil? Or can such an assembly be repeated today? That is the question. But it's well to remember that apathy was a genuine worry to the committed then, as it is today. Then the leaders on both sides were as notorious as they seem to be today.

We Are The Problem

Commentary : The short life of ecclesiastical exhortations

Asuncion David Maramba
Inquirer News Service

"PERSONALLY, I'm not very happy with the reaction," Bishop Deogracias Iñiguez said. He "was convinced the President had not done enough in response to the July 9 statement of the CBCP," the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines ("Restoring Trust: A Plea for Moral Values in Philippine Politics" -- to refresh our short memories).

For the time being, let us leave President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to her conscience, which I trust will never leave her. What I was enthusiastic about was not just the call to Ms Arroyo but the call to you and me, a call that went beyond the usual "Let us pray" bit.

In that pastoral statement was expressed a very concrete proposal to do something: "We urge our people in our parish and religious communities, our religious organizations and movements, our Basic Ecclesial Communities to come and pray together, reason, decide and act together always to the end that the will of God prevail in the political order ... People ... should come together and dialogue in order to move the country out of its present impasse." The Inquirer editorial last July 12 noted its significance; so did Manuel L. Quezon III on July 14.

There is nothing trifling or easy about this call to action; to meet and examine whether Gloria still has the moral ground to govern. This is nothing less than a challenge on a virtually political undertaking most churchgoers regard as alien to churchgoing.

Nevertheless a group of friends met informally in response to the call "to come together." It was a small group of six, fed-up and quite desperate about the situation. It was brainstorming of the loosest kind. We flitted from one concern to another. Clearly the group was seeking direction and focus.

If the movement, for movement it is, ever gets off the ground, certain questions have to be answered: Who will set up the mechanics and formulate the guidelines for the meetings? What questions or points will be discussed in this "bill of particulars"? How long will the meetings be? Who will facilitate? What figures or data are needed? What will the objective and focus be? Perhaps some pattern or sequence similar to the favorite observe-judge-act can be adopted. Lest the discussion-dialogue degenerates to direction-less monologues or gripe sessions without arriving at "findings" or conclusions, such guidelines have to be drawn.

Another problem has to be cleared besides the who-how-what. If the pews do talk back, to whom will the conclusions and recommendations be submitted? To a collecting-coordinating-collating body? To the media? Will there be some body or person to guarantee that something will come of the effort?

I ask such questions because one wonders, for example, whatever happened to the "observations and suggestions" asked of parishioners during the last Priests' Congress. Were their papers taken seriously or thrown away, or were only the agreeable ones considered? Why go through an exercise that will be ignored anyway?

If seriously attempted, such gatherings can be done. The laity in every other parish is rich with organizing talents. The Catholic Church is the biggest network in the country with captive audiences every Sunday, over-achieving in devotions and charitable works but under-achieving in human development and education endeavors. For example, not a few have commented that while the Church insists on natural birth control, it has not taken advantage of its vast parish network to teach it.

If this exercise goes through, a good cross-section of the country can be covered. As such, its results would be more reliable than today's debased rallies that are a little more than a contest in numbers (read: "hakot," hauled-in) and so much "political noise," ill-disguised as prayers and healing.

But alas, not even two months after July 6, the exhortation, like a passing wind, now seems to have gone the way of such statements. Are fleeting life spans and natural deaths the fate of ecclesiastical exhortations, so easily forgotten by sender or receiver?

The Church, however, has not forgotten. Bishop Iñiguez, deploring the neglect, may be echoing the sentiments of the bishops who may be watching Ms Arroyo. But Ms Arroyo seems to be "skirting the truth." Will she be able to turn back the cycle of politicking, "rewarding," "avenging" or face-lifting?

And how about us? Will anything come out of the call for some concerted action on our part? If the effort of our small group will come to naught for lack of guidance or support, the least we can do is include ourselves in the examination of conscience. Ms Arroyo may be "deserving of the highest scrutiny" -- she is not yet absolved. Neither are all the lesser government officials down to the "barangay" [village] council chair. Neither are we.

"What kind of Christianity have we been living?" asked Father Tanseco, S.J., after noting that we, the only Christian country in Asia, have produced the two most corrupt Catholic presidents and the second most corrupt country in the region. Father Jaime Bulatao, S.J., called it split-level Christianity, one kind for inside the church and another, outside. We keep the two apart, like oil and water. Believe it. A priest, no less, asked of someone who was trying to live "whole": Can't he compartmentalize?

Are we also living the same political culture practiced and perpetrated by our politicians whom we roundly condemn? If we choose a candidate mainly for "connection" and if we put down our spoon in the middle of a meal and fall over each other to greet the mayor who has just walked in -- two hours late -- then we are part of the problem.

Asuncion David Maramba is a retired professor, book editor and occasional journalist. Comments to marda@info.com.ph; fax +632 8210659

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Our Way Out

Analysis : A coherent alternative

Amando Doronila
Inquirer News Service

THE "BLUEPRINT for a Viable Philippines" represents an attempt by the academic community (in particular, the University of the Philippines) to engage the nation in a serious discussion of policy alternatives amid the proliferation of quick-fix solutions to the current political crisis engulfing the government of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Since the crisis heightened in June-July, following the explosion of the notorious Garcillano tapes, the movement to topple the Arroyo government has taken several forms-including (1) the demand for her to summarily step down; (2) coup plots; (3) constitutional revision seeking to give the President a "graceful exit," and (4) impeachment.

Although proponents of these courses of action have sought the President's replacement, none of these groups has put forward policy alternatives that could elevate their movements above personalistic objectives. This failure to present policy alternatives constitutes gross irresponsibility. Political change leads to chaos if nothing is put in place to fill the vacuum left by abrupt leadership removal, replace demolished structures, and provide a policy framework for a successor government.

In this regard, I am reminded by a statesman's definition of politics "as a conflict of ideas" rather than the "sordid battle of personal hostilities and ignoble ambitions" -- a definition that captures the essence of the political conflict fostered by the current crisis.

The squalid state into which public discourse has sunk is epitomized by the fierce squabble over the authenticity of the tapes. The squabble has already drawn experts in the high technology of tape-tampering into the melee on credibility.

The "Blueprint for a Viable Philippines," regardless of its ideological orientation, is a timely academic intervention that shuttles politics to the arena of "conflict of ideas."

Among the four forms cited above-all seeking an end to the Arroyo regime before its allotted electoral term ends-only one so far has taken shape as a realistic prospect for regime change -- impeachment.

The President faces an impeachment complaint in the House of Representatives, which has already started the impeachment process. In view of this development, it would not be too early to consider policy alternatives that could serve as a political, social and economic roadmap for any successor regime-just in case the impeachment action succeeded.

Although the Blueprint did not refer to the impeachment complaint, it supplies the policy deficits of the regime change movements and a starting point for policy framework that can spare the nation from muddling through into the unknown. The resignation call is the most bankrupt in policy alternatives, and it does not even offer the minimum and basic requirement for an orderly regime change-a person to replace a widely reviled and very unpopular head of state.

The Blueprint offers what the coup proponents have been sadly wanting -- a viable program, although they took pains to draft a political manifesto that sought the formation of a "transitional revolutionary" council (in short, a junta composed of an odd mixture of rightists (represented by ex-generals), middle-class do-gooders, a medley of fragmented leftists, remnants of the discredited Joseph Estrada regime, and straggling supporters of election losers. The problem with this alternative is that it labels itself as a "transition revolutionary" junta. This description highlights the fact that before any group can form a "transition revolutionary" council, it must first of all launch a revolution -- and a successful one at that. Without winning a revolution, it is sheer nonsense to talk or dream of "revolutionary transition."

It might as well be that this movement was not taken seriously by the more discerning public and was dismissed as flights of romantic fancy of frustrated armchair revolutionaries.

It is for this reason why I consider as dangerous a political movement that is centered on just the replacement of reviled leaders, and why any carefully thought-out approaches for more fundamental change beyond constitutional cosmetic renovation deserve our serious consideration.

The Blueprint declares it "offers an alternative analysis of our national problems," and contrasts its analysis and recommendations with those offered by the present government and/or other conventional frameworks. In this respect, it is specific in drawing the contrast between its approaches and those of the conventional frameworks embraced by the Arroyo administration. It identifies at least six key policy issues to differentiate its program from the orthodoxy of the Arroyo program.

These issues include constitutional change, public debt relief, the fiscal crisis, industrialization, agricultural modernization and self-sufficiency, trade liberalization, employment, educational and public health service reforms, population control, and infrastructure development.

These issues provide the "conflict of ideas" in which sharp contrasts between the Blueprint's perspectives and the regime's liberal economic policies can be drawn.

The policy differentiation challenge is as well addressed to the institutional opposition, whose efforts, in its long-running battle to unseat the regime, have been directed at uncovering scandals that could trigger mass mobilization demanding the President's resignation. But the opposition has failed to present policy alternatives. It has, at the same time, failed to mobilize power movements of the scale that toppled the Ferdinand Marcos and Estrada regimes.

The opposition and regime adversaries need not adopt the Blueprint's ideological framework. The Blueprint, at least, attempts to present a coherent alternative.

Under Watch

At Large : Citizens' Impeachment Watch

Rina Jimenez-David
Inquirer News Service

EVEN as Congress debates the many complicated rules and convoluted processes for hearing the impeachment complaint filed against President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, citizens' groups have been formed to monitor the progress (or lack of it) made in determining the validity of the charges raised against Ms Arroyo and the appreciation of the evidence presented.

One of these groups is the Citizens' Impeachment Watch, which claims as its main reason for being the need to "generate the support of the middle class," of groups like professionals, business organizations, and even students, "to steer them toward political action." Founders of Citizens' Impeachment Watch say they are also determined to ensure that "the impeachment case against Ms Arroyo prospers to pave the way for truth and justice"; as well as to "guard the impeachment process by actively lobbying in both Houses of Congress to encourage the legislators to vote according to their conscience and make sure that the process is transparent and will not be soiled by partisan politics."

Citizens' Impeachment Watch, it seems, is born of the puzzling and frustrating indifference of the public to the controversies now swirling about the President. While public opinion polls indicate the majority of the citizenry believes President Arroyo cheated her way to victory in the 2004 polls, we have yet to see an explosion of spontaneous public anger as we did in 1986 and 2001.

Part of the reason is what Impeachment Watch says are the conflicts within the political opposition itself, with "each group ... pushing its own agenda and selling its own formula for political change." There is also widespread skepticism that an impeachment charge will ever prosper in the House of Representatives, what with the majority allied with the President's party.

* * *

"CAUGHT in the political crossfire are the so-called middle forces," says Citizens' Impeachment Watch. "Though silent at the moment, majority of them believe that Mrs. Arroyo has lost all moral authority to govern this nation because of allegations of systematic electoral fraud. Although they want Mrs. Arroyo to step down, the middle forces are wary of the discredited group of traditional oppositionists. They view these people as opportunists. They are also cold to the idea of extra-constitutional means for change because such a path might result [in] violence and chaos.

"The Citizens' Impeachment Watch is one avenue wherein the middle forces can exercise their democratic right to participate in the process of change. It can be one vehicle for the mobilization of the middle forces to act now and break their long silence."

Among the activities both ongoing and planned of Citizens' Impeachment Watch are: organizing and establishing links with the middle forces (business, academe, professionals), organizing symposia and fora around the country, lobbying in Congress through letter-writing campaigns and personal meetings with legislators during the impeachment process, putting up "impeachment watchboards" in strategic locations in various parts of the country "to let the public know the status of the impeachment case," including in schools and public markets, and building an online information network, possibly through a website, e-mail alerts and online petitions.

Some 50 people's organizations and non-government organizations compose the Citizens' Impeachment Watch, including the National Peace Conference (NPC), Pascres, Pilipina, the student group Akma, the labor group Piglas, and Bantay ICT.

* * *

EVER since it got caught up in "Gloriagate" -- the maelstrom swirling around the hearings on the "jueteng" illegal lottery, in which witnesses have linked people around the President to the illegal numbers game, the wiretapped conversations that indicate the President had conspired to cheat during the last elections, and now the filing of impeachment charges -- Congress has all but abandoned its main line of work, which is to introduce and study legislation.

One of the measures waylaid by recent events was the Responsible Parenthood and Population Management Act with Rep. Edcel Lagman as main sponsor, which was already reported out of committee and had been set for floor deliberations. This proposed law is actually but the latest version of measures that have been filed in past congresses seeking to enshrine in law a national population policy and guaranteeing reproductive rights to all citizens regardless of the current occupant in Malacañang.

But while Congress dithers on this issue, the province of Aurora has gone ahead and passed a provincial ordinance providing for the "Aurora Reproductive Health Care Code of 2005."

* * *

IT'S really no mystery why Aurora should be showing the way, since the incumbent governor is Bellaflor Angara-Castillo, who during her term as a representative in Congress led many initiatives, including sponsoring very controversial bills ranging from reproductive health rights, divorce, rights of sexual minorities and rights of battered women.

"It is so simply worded and easy to replicate," says Angara-Castillo of the Aurora ordinance, adding that other local governments could easily adapt the measure to their own realities and circumstances by adding or removing certain provisions.

Making the unanimous passage of this groundbreaking ordinance truly astounding is that half of the provincial board members do not even belong to the same party as the governor. So conscious was she about accusations of railroading that the governor kept away from the debates, leaving the steering to Vice Governor Annabel Tangson.

As the governor noted during the ordinance's launch: "With political will, it can be done!"

Glo To Defer VAT?

Arroyo advised: Defer VAT

Michael Lim Ubac Christine O. Avendaño
Inquirer News Service

AMID SURGING oil prices, an economic adviser has urged President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to defer the implementation of the 10-percent expanded valued-added tax should the Supreme Court lift the freeze order on the VAT law.

The tribunal is expected to lift the temporary restraining order this month.

Albay Representative Joey Salceda yesterday said that once the freeze order was lifted, "the administration will exhaust means to legally postpone the effects of the VAT reform law until global oil prices ease to $50 (per barrel) where we reckon it would be tolerable."

Implementing the VAT law will further raise the prices of fuel, electricity and a host of other products and services.

Salceda, one of the President's economic advisers, warned that at $67 per barrel of crude, the pump price of unleaded gasoline could easily exceed P40 a liter "even with mitigating measures."

Crude prices rose to $67.10 a barrel in New York Friday, up at least 60 percent since August 2004, prompting the Arroyo administration to urge the public to conserve energy.

But Rigoberto Tiglao, Presidential Management Staff chief, said last night that Salceda's proposal covered only fuel because of the oil crisis.

"No move on the executive('s) part," Tiglao said in a text message to the Inquirer, as he noted that the subject was still "moot and academic at this point since there's a temporary restraining order."

The Supreme Court suspended the implementation of the VAT law, the centerpiece of the President's economic reform agenda, on July 1 just hours after it took effect because of petitions seeking its nullification.

Tiglao said Salceda had offered his proposal only to Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla. It was "very, very preliminary," the PMS chief said.

But Salceda, the House of Representatives' economic expert, said he had already briefed the President on the consequences of pushing through with the VAT. "She has not yet texted me back. My personal guess? She would be open to it."

He said the administration should not be cowed by the threat of another downgrade from credit rating agencies. "We just have to make a case. Let's not be too afraid (of them)."

Three international rating agencies -- Standard & Poor's, Fitch Ratings and Moody's Investors Service -- downgraded their credit outlook on the Philippines to negative from stable partly because of the freeze order on the VAT law.

A credit downgrade raises the cost of borrowing funds abroad.

Suicidal

Salceda said that while economic managers were "keenly sensitive to the market signals of a suspension" of the VAT law, "it would be fiscal folly, nay suicidal, to insist on its implementation at this point even if there were no political crisis."

The President is facing a widespread clamor for her removal from office over allegations of poll fraud. Impeachment complaints have been filed against her in the House of Representatives.

A top investment analyst in a foreign bank operating in the country last week said that record crude prices were a bigger threat to Ms Arroyo's survival than the political scandals she was facing.

The VAT law covers previously exempted products and services such as petroleum products, electricity, coal, natural gas and other indigenous fuels, sea and air travel, and medical and legal services.

It also covers cotton, cotton seeds and non-food agricultural products, works of art, literary works and musical compositions, and increases the corporate income tax from 32 percent to 35 percent.

"Even for one who is the most rabid fiscal hawk in government, I can't be oblivious to the oil price spike and its impact on consumer welfare and the general economy," Salceda said.

The lawmaker said that at $67 (per barrel of crude oil) plus VAT, "the inherent contractionary impulses would be so magnified as to overwhelm most of its beneficial impact."

Low deficit

Salceda explained that doing away with the VAT this year was feasible.

He explained that the projected deficit for the first half of the year was P97 billion, but the government had trimmed it down to P67 billion.

"A P30 billion baon (buffer from the) first half deficit (in lieu of) the P28 billion proceeds from VAT law in 2005, this would allow us to meet targets," said Salceda.

He was referring to the projected P28 billion in revenue to be generated this year alone with the inclusion of the power and oil sectors in the VAT net.

"Imposing the oil and power VAT at this point would do more harm than good and even upset our fiscal goals as it would stoke consumer pessimism," he said.

Even if the VAT law were imposed, the government would not get the projected revenue because of its contractionary effect on the economy, Salceda said. "At a certain point, consumers do cope (with rising prices). So there will be less spending."

To lessen borrowings, Salceda said the administration was selling assets like the Philippine National Bank and postponing projects with no automatic loan backing.

"We would focus on overseas development assistance utilization to afford support to aggregate demand. It's also a good time to rebuild the Malampaya stake and award exploration contracts," he said.

Supreme Court of the Philippines

Department of Energy (DoE)

Cruz's Column

As I See It : What's wrong with Mike Defensor?

Neal Cruz opinion@inquirer.com.ph
Inquirer News Service

"WHAT'S happening to Mike?" a friend asked me last weekend. He was referring, of course, neither to Big Mike A nor Little Mikey, but to tiny Mike Defensor who is trying to look big in the eyes of President Macapagal-Arroyo. Mike Defensor it was who called a press conference last Friday to say that the "Hello Garci" tape presented by lawyer Alan Paguia was "not authentic." To prove his point, he presented a technical report by an American expert and a Filipino self-styled "audio expert."

"It is my opinion," reported the American "expert," one Barry Dickey, "based on the examination of the copy provided, that several anomalies exist which question the integrity of (the recordings)." Mike obviously expected to be hailed "a hero" for his efforts. Instead, he became a laughingstock. Even defenders of GMA (Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo) and, therefore, his allies, are laughing.

Rep. Prospero Pichay, one of GMA's staunchest defenders, dismissed Mike's report as "rubbish." "He (Mike) should be concentrating on the environment department's reforestation program instead of trying to prove himself a sound expert," Pichay twitted him, adding that the report has "no additional probative value." Paguia, reportedly the source of the tapes given to Dickey, had earlier admitted that he edited the tapes, Pichay said. The job of investigating the authenticity of the tapes belongs to the National Bureau of Investigation, not to Defensor, he added.

The NBI itself revealed that Mike's Filipino "audio expert" seems to be one of those "witnesses for sale," whose tribe has suddenly mushroomed here. According to an Inquirer story, the "expert," Jonathan Tiongco, had earlier presented himself as a witness to the NBI, but the NBI rejected him. Tiongco then gave his affidavit to reporters. When reporters asked him about the charges of murder against him, he replied that media should not look into that part of his life.

It was Interior Secretary Angelo Reyes who revealed that Tiongco was facing "numerous murder, estafa and extortion charges." Tiongco had earlier filed murder, kidnapping and graft charges against Reyes and anticrime crusader Teresita Ang See. Tiongco accused the latter of staging the kidnapping of Chinoys.

Tiongco had also presented himself to a senior Department of Justice official. "I sensed there was something wrong with him," the official said of Tiongco. "I called the NBI and they warned me against (believing) what he was saying."

Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez, another staunch defender of GMA, said he himself was "reluctant to believe" Tiongco.

This shadowy past of Tiongco Mike Defensor either did not know or, knowing, disregarded. And so Defensor still decided to use him. Result: Nakuryente siya. (He got it wrong.)

"Mike is like the bullfrogs in that old fable," my friend said. "He is inflating himself to look bigger than the other frogs in GMA's pond. One of these days, he will just burst from too much hot air."

Mike's caper does look like an act of desperation. It is incredible why he wasted time and money (taxpayers' money appropriated to his department?) to fly to the United States and hire an American sound technician to examine tapes that—their source himself, Paguia, admitted—were edited.

The tapes were taken by Paguia from an original that played at least three hours long—the tape supposedly now with former NBI Deputy Director Sammy Ong. Paguia said he edited it and provided a narration to make the listener understand the contents better. Therefore, any technician will find them "not authentic." Elementary. Any damn fool will know that. Except Mike.

The other tapes that Sen. Panfilo Lacson and former Sen. Francisco Tatad had sent to Australia and the United States for examination have been declared "authentic." To remove any doubt, it should be the Sammy Ong tape that should be authenticated not just by any doohickey "expert," but by the Federal Bureau of Investigation or Scotland Yard.

But is that still necessary? President Macapagal-Arroyo herself has confessed that she talked on the phone to a "Comelec official" while the votes were still being counted. For that, she has apologized. Her own lawyer admitted that the official was Commissioner Virgilio Garcillano. Some Comelec officials have admitted that they were invited for dinner to the home of the President in La Vista, Quezon City. It was during this dinner, held before the elections—during which GMA reportedly asked the help of the Comelec officials—that GMA's kumare and kabalen, Lilia Pineda, wife of suspected jueteng lord Bong Pineda, distributed envelopes with money in GMA's presence, according to Michaelangelo Zuce. All the persons concerned denied Zuce's claim.

Even without Zuce's testimony, the mere fact that GMA invited Comelec officials to dinner in her home and talked on the phone to a Comelec commissioner—never mind what they talked about—is already a grave impropriety that makes her unfit to be President and bolsters the suspicion that she and others cheated in the last elections.

She was a candidate and anybody knows that a candidate talking to Comelec officials during an election is highly improper and unethical in the same way that a judge should not talk to a litigant with a pending case in his sala.

By the way, it is really the practice of GMA to invite people to lunch or dinner to ask for their help. Recently, as part of her media blitz to improve her public image, she invited Pampango journalists for lunch at Malacañang, during which she asked for their help. For ethical reasons, some of the journalists did not want to go, but they were persuaded by Malacañang flunkies to attend. GMA probably knew that the affair was unethical because the journalists were let in not through the front entrance but through a side door.

Media's Fault?

Commentary : Media and elections

Violet B. Valdez
Inquirer News Service

(The following was adapted from a talk delivered at the International Conference on Politics in a Transition Period and the Role of the Media. The conference was held in Ulanbataar, Mongolia last month. The author is a faculty member of the Department of Communication of the Ateneo de Manila University.)

AT THE CENTER of the storm engulfing the administration of President Macapagal-Arroyo is the conduct of the national election which she officially won. Today, however, the integrity of that election is in question, and Ms Arroyo is accused of having acquired her seat through massive electoral fraud. The evidence is an audio tape which carries, allegedly, wiretapped telephone conversations between her and an election official. Among those discussed in the conversations was a plot to rig the elections. Neither the authenticity of the tape nor the voices in it have been officially established, but it continues to wreak havoc on an administration already beleaguered by mammoth problems.

Free and fair elections are key to a democracy. The ability of the citizenry to choose its government in an open, fair process is the hallmark of a democratic society. Thus, democratic societies enshrine institutions which protect and foster the integrity of elections, among them, the press.

The media play a crucial role in elections by being themselves: observers and recorders of events and issues, thus bringing public events into the public sphere—that abstract space in which citizens discuss and debate public issues. This information and opinion-formation role of the media implies the notion of the press as a watchdog, a role that underlies the ideology of popular and representative government because "it springs from the idea of the populace as sovereign entering into a social contract with a governing establishment that will serve popular interests."

The present controversy provides an opportunity to re-examine the conduct of the 2004 elections and the role of the media. Also, it draws attention to a compelling need to scrutinize the ways in which the press deals with elections. How did the media cover the elections? Did the journalists conduct themselves in keeping with professional standards?

Uncovering media coverage

A number of studies provide clues to the quality of the media coverage of the 2004 elections. A content analysis done by the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR) showed serious failings, gaps and flops in the election's coverage by major newspapers and TV newscasts. The CMFR found that the coverage tended toward the trivial and sensational and lacked in thoroughness and balance; it was also dubious. Celebrities, surveys and mudslinging dominated the news to the exclusion of reports on platforms, policy issues, development issues and elections at the local and Senate levels. News reports were often inaccurate, if not fabricated, and made frequent use of anonymous sources.

The skewed coverage and the trivialization of the elections did not escape voters, according to a study done by the Ateneo Institute of Philippine Culture (IPC). From data obtained from voters belonging to the poor segment of the population, the IPC found that the participants in the study thought they had inadequate information particularly about candidates running for national positions. One participant said that news revealed only "what the candidates did on a particular day of the campaign and not what they (wanted) to do, what they have already done, what they have accomplished or (wanted) to accomplish."

Bribes shape news

Professional conduct was far from exemplary, as can be gleaned from a report of the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ). Obtaining data from a sample of print and broadcast reporters and editors who covered the elections, the PCIJ's findings revealed that there were journalists who took bribes, that the acceptance of bribes had shaped election news, and that the concern for ratings or circulation was paramount when editors judged the newsworthiness of an election story or issue.

The report of a non-government observer of the elections, the National Democracy Institute, reflected the findings of the three studies. It observed various forms of anomalous conduct, including that of journalists or media outlets taking money in exchange for either positive or negative coverage of opponents—depending on the donor's interests, or news organizations' soliciting advertising from candidates and parties, or the partisan affiliation of many media outlets and executives, and "blurred (the) lines between objective journalism and press agentry, as those providing the commentary are usually representing those being covered."

Watchdog media, credible elections

The lack of integrity of the media coverage implicated the integrity of the elections because the media were an important source of information and source of influence in the choice of candidates. By a good margin, the news media, according to the IPC study, was the most important source of influence of low-income voters during the elections, followed by family, church and political party, in that order.

These reports reinforce the impression that some sectors of the Philippine press were complicit in the anomalies observed during the 2004 elections, that they failed to perform the fourth estate's role as a watchdog that monitors activities of public interest and fearlessly exposes abuses of power and authority. For as long as the Philippine press is unable to perform these roles, the country will suffer elections whose results neither echo the people's voice nor count the people's vote.

Garci Tapes

Posted by Yvonne Chua 
PCIJ

AN audio expert presented by Environment Secretary Michael Defensor at a press conference this morning belittled the three-hour "Hello, Garci" tapes that former National Bureau of Investigation deputy director Samuel Ong had bought from T/Sgt Vidal Doble of the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

Jim Sarthou said the tapes could not be the original or master copy because, he pointed out, these contained annotations.

"He (Sarthou) doesn't know what he's talking about," an ISAFP operative told PCIJ today.

In the world of local intelligence, the "master tape" is the version that has been purged of "basura (garbage)" or irrelevant information and annotated by the agent who did the wiretapping.

Conversations that remain in the "master tape" are continuous. "Hindi inii-splice (No splicing is done)," the source said.

The ISAFP operative said this is the common procedure followed in most agencies engaged in intelligence work, identifying some of these as the Presidential Security Group, National Bureau of Intelligence, the Defense Intelligence Security Group and the Philippine National Police Intelligence Group.

According the intelligence operative, Doble's unit — the Military Intelligence Group 21 or MIG21 — wiretapped then elections commissioner Virgilio Garcillano on orders of the ISAFP top brass who, in turn, had received their orders from the Palace. "No agent moves on his or her own in matters like this without an official order," he said.

At the MIG21, the wiretapped conversations are recorded on audio cassette tapes by two to three agents working round the clock.  The practice is to record everything, include inane conversations, even those about trips to the market.

The agent on duty is required to make notes, particularly the exact time the calls are received or made and, if possible, the parties who are on the phone. "This information is material when you later match the conversations to events that are happening on the ground," the ISAFP operative said.

"ASAP" assignments include the one on Garcillano.  "Tinapay na mainit yan (That's hot bread)," he said.

This means that once the conversations fill one tape, the agent on duty removes it from the recording device and immediately starts preparing what would later become the "master tape."

"We call that 'minamaster,'" the operative sad.

The raw conversations on the first tape are then poised to be transferred to another. "That's how crude and low-tech the ISAFP still is in doing electronic surveillance," the source said ruefully.

At this stage, the agent cleans up the tape by removing irrelevant or nonessential items such as the conversation on the trip to the market.  While several conversations do get purged, those that remain in what would be the master tape are " buo (whole)."

The agent also retains the ringing tone for incoming phones and the dialing sound for outgoing calls. The latter is important because it helps the intelligence body decode the telephone numbers, the ISAFP operative said.

The agent then annotates the tape, taking great care to time-stamp the conversations.

The source also stressed that conversations in the master tape follow the original chronological sequence.

Conversations recorded in one day could be annotated by several agents because these could take up several tapes, he added.

The ISAFP operative said that access to the room where the wiretapping is being done is restricted only to agents on duty. "We call that the exclusion area.  If you're not on duty, you can't go in," he says.

But for those permitted to enter, security is not as tight as most people think it is. Tapes are stored either in boxes or cabinets, with agents on duty having easy access to these. "We're not a department store; nobody checks bags," he said. "Everybody trusts each other. Parang pamilya (We're like a family)."

That explains how easy it was for Doble to retrieve the tapes.

Things, of course, have changed since the "Hello, Garci" tapes were leaked.

Impeachment Lives On

Posted by Alecks Pabico 
PCIJ

THAT was how a group of lawyers dismissed the motion filed by the lawyer of Pres. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to strike, in effect, to dismiss, all the impeachment complaints lodged against the Chief Executive, save for the first one filed by Atty. Oliver Lozano.

Pedro Ferrer, the president's legal counsel, went on the offensive yesterday while the House committee on justice went gaga over Rep. Simeon Datumanong's "unilateral" decision as chairman suspending the first impeachment hearing and conducting instead an executive session among its members to iron out ground rules regarding the participation of non-committee members. Ferrer has sought the dismissal of the said complaints based on the following grounds:

• that they are in violation of the one-year ban for filing an impeachment complaint against the same official;
• that the Supreme Court as the presidential electoral tribunal, and not Congress, has no jurisdiction on the matter of electoral fraud; and
• that the wiretapped conversations are inadmissible as evidence in court.

These are the same grounds raised in Arroyo's reply to the Lozano complaint filed by Ferrer on her behalf on July 18, seven days before Congress opened its second regular session on June 25.

"Its basis is constitutionally and legally untenable," claimed lawyer Neri Colmenares, spokesperson of Counsels for the Defense of Liberties (CODAL), one of the private complainants in the amended impeachment complaint endorsed by 41 congressmen and party-list representatives. "In the first place, the rules do not allow for the filing of a motion for dismissal."

As defined in the adopted rules of procedure, the impeachment process begins with an impeachment complaint filed and referred to the committee on justice, which then holds hearings to determine sufficiency in form and substance. Once these are determined, the committee furnishes concerned parties with written notices to file their answers. No motion to dismiss is supposed to be filed.

Ferrer's motion primarily argues that the impeachment complaints, including the amended Lozano complaint, violated the constitutional one-year bar on initiating impeachment proceedings.

It should be noted, however, that when the amended complaint was filed on July 25, the original Lozano complaint had yet to be referred to the justice committee. In fact, all three complaints (including the second complaint filed by another lawyer Jose Rizaldo Lopez on July 4) were referred by House Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr. to the committee on the same day (July 25).

"Therefore, nothing has yet been initiated. So the amended complaint cannot be considered as a second complaint in violation of the Constitution as the Ferrer motion alleges," argued Colmenares.

The aborted impeachment case against Supreme Court Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr. in 2003 should also  be instructive in this regard. In its ruling, the High Court further clarified what is meant by the term "initiating," which is actually the filing of a complaint and its subsequent referral to the justice committee (see Ernesto B. Francisco Jr., et. al. vs. the House of Representatives, et. al.).

This ruling also implies that there can be as many complaints but only one impeachment proceeding, (see Punzi Corner Blog's lecture on initiating impeachment proceedings) and which addresses the dilemma with the existence of three complaints that Datumanong spoke of in yesterday's aborted hearing.

Because the rules provide that an answer can only be filed once the justice committee finds substance in the complaint and the respondent is directed to file an answer, CODAL said that Arroyo's reply to the Lozano complaint is premature and similarly a "mere scrap of paper." Furthermore, no complaint had yet been referred to the justice committee at the time as Congress was still in recess.

In reply to the motion, Atty. Lozano gave an interesting take on the issue. The very fact that Arroyo answered the complaint, he said, means the president is actually admitting to the sufficiency in form and substance, including probable cause, of the complaint.

"Lozano may have a point there," said Colmenares, who however insisted they would rather abide by the impeachment rules. "Coupled with the president's apology and her lawyer's admission that it was Garcillano with whom the president talked to, the sufficiency in form and substance, including probable cause, has already been established. The impeachment case has to be elevated to the Senate."

In a press conference yesterday, Ferrer made a slip by acknowledging that it was former poll commissioner Virgilio Garcillano whom Arroyo had talked to. He however refused to give further comments after realizing his blunder.

Old vs. New

The Long View : Faith instead of fear

Manuel L. Quezon III
Inquirer News Service

MY objection to the solutions being peddled by many of our politicians is that they are anchored on fear of and loathing for the people. No solution, motivated by distrust and hatred -- more so, if it seeks to eliminate the participation (however superficial) of the many in government -- can prosper or should be allowed to prosper.

Take the proposals to replace a nationally elected presidency with a prime minister elected by fellow members of parliament. The mentality that seeks the change is anchored on the proposition that the public cannot be trusted with the task of choosing those who should govern the country. There is whining and groaning about the evils of "popularity," but these come from those who happen to be unpopular. In normal life, this would be known as sour grapes. In politics, it is a "win-win" solution.

The supposedly stupid majority, who happen to be the poor and the less-educated, are blamed for a series of disastrous choices: the worst one apparently having been Joseph Estrada, with Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo a close second. A third disaster, Fidel V. Ramos, is, of course, conveniently ignored because -- in fairness to him -- he was neither lazy, stupid, too greedy, nor too careless as compared to his successors. Never loved by his people, he at least enjoyed the public's sublime indifference, which is better than the active hostility aimed at his successors.

However, to focus on the manner by which Estrada threw away his mandate (by failing to justify his human weaknesses with at least a sustained effort to do the work he was hired to do), or on Ms Arroyo's having never been loved and now, on her being neither respected nor feared, but simply endured as the lesser of so many evils, is to ignore the bigger picture. What's that picture? It is of a people, wise enough to overwhelmingly reject Ramos, Estrada and Arroyo at the polls, though stumped over the choice of an alternative.

In 1992, close to three out of every four voters (71.4 percent) felt Ramos was not their idea of a president. In 1998, close to two out of every three voters felt Estrada was unqualified for the presidency, even though on his own, Estrada garnered as many votes as his four leading opponents combined. In 2004, six out of 10 voters decided they preferred someone else to Ms Arroyo. Since the quicker turnover in positions means it will be a rare occasion that a person of vast experience and ice-cold nerves, like Ramos, will show up, it's no wonder Filipinos have resorted to People Power semi-successfully once (January 2001) and disastrously-once, too (May 2001); and are now still agonizing over the possibility of resorting to it in the future.

The question should really be: If the people turned out right, why did they end up with such presidents, anyway? History seems to have proven the majority correct (granting, for the sake of argument and kindness to former President Ramos), two times out of three past national elections. They didn't want Estrada, and he turned out a dud; they didn't like Arroyo, and now she's fighting for her political survival. They didn't want Ramos either (he still smarts over the public's lack of enthusiasm toward him to this day). Where, then, is the stupidity of the electorate? Indeed, the public, across all socioeconomic lines, went through a period of supporting the incumbent, even if victory was achieved through a mere plurality. They gave presidents enough rope with which to hang themselves.

That the presidents have chosen to hang themselves is their fault, not of the public, certainly not the majority of the public that couldn't help it if the alternatives to those they clearly didn't want failed to sort things out among themselves. In any election, there is always a candidate who represents the clearest threat; it takes unity among the opponents of that threat to prevent the enemy from winning by default. Ramos, Estrada, Arroyo all won by default. Which is not to say theirs was ever much of a victory.

Last Monday, a "Blueprint for a Viable Philippines" was launched. I was unable to attend their early morning affair, but received a copy of the first draft of their policy paper. I believe the paper deserves the widest circulation and the most vigorous discussion. The "Blueprint" will shock many readers with the reasonableness, the cosmopolitan yet nationalist nature of its analysis and proposals. These are not characteristics usually identified with many of those involved in the drafting of the "Blueprint." However, those who drafted this policy paper have proven they have what is so desperately needed at the present time: open minds, reasonable but firm convictions, a willingness to discuss instead of dictate. I can't imagine a better demonstration of the weakness of the Ramos plan-a three in one, top-down, simplistic hard-sell-than the manner by which the "Blueprint" has been put together, and the way it's been offered to the public. The former is anchored on a disdain for the majority; the latter seeks to engage the majority.

My only misgiving about the "Blueprint" is that former President Estrada endorsed a "blueprint for a viable Philippines" on July 25, which suggests that the dangerous flirtation between the University of the Philippines intelligentsia and Estrada continues. Make no mistake: The proponents of the "Blueprint" would demolish the old elite's stranglehold on power in order to establish and entrench a new elite. But that is the way of the world; it is how nations progress. The old must give way to the new. As I've said, we must embrace the new, particularly if all the old has to offer is fear of ourselves.

More Flights

More carriers to use Cebu airport
Clarissa S. Batino
Inquirer News Service

HONG KONG airline Cathay Pacific will double its flights to twice daily to and from the Mactan International Airport starting Oct. 1 in anticipation of increased volume going to the Crown Colony once the Disney theme park opens in Hong Kong next month, the airport head said.

Philippine Airlines (PAL) and Qatar Airways will also introduce new flights from Cebu in the fourth quarter of the year, said Mactan airport general manager Adelberto Yap.

PAL will launch a direct flight to Guangzhou, China, in the fourth quarter and Qatar will increase its flights to twice daily to and from Cebu, Yap said.

"Qatar is the only airline servicing the Middle East route direct from Cebu and has a monopoly of the overseas workers from the Visayas and Mindanao," he said in an Inquirer interview.

Budget carrier South Phoenix Airlines is scheduled to begin flights from Malaysia to Cebu in mid-August, Yap also said.

South Phoenix, a Filipino-Malaysian joint venture, currently flies from Cebu to Zamboanga City in Mindanao and Sandakan in the Malaysian state of Sabah.

Cargo carrier Trans Global Air lines will also start carrying goods from Asia, primarily China, through the Cebu hub on Aug. 22.

Last month, South Korea's Asiana Airlines started four weekly week flights from Incheon to Cebu. Korean Airlines began Pusan -Cebu operations on Aug. 1.

Yap said the Mactan airport had completed a P123-million improvement of its runway and had just purchased nine brand-new X-ray machines.

The airport authority plans to acquire two P200-million movable air bridges to augment the capacity of the terminal, he added. It needs two more to support the growing passenger volume, which is expected to increase in the coming weeks when Asiana and Korean Air start mounting direct flights, he said.

The present four air bridges can no longer accommodate the increasing number of flights landing and taking off from Cebu, he said. The airport authority uses a bus to bring or fetch passengers to areas far from the terminal every time the four bridges are used, he said.

Early this year, airlines complained that the Mactan airport's rough runway surface was damaging the tires of their aircraft, Yap said. Some even threatened to pull out if the runway was not fixed, he said.

Yap said the airport authority would need about P2 billion to build a new passenger terminal, which he said would have to be built in three years to keep up with passenger volume. He said the government would likely take out bank loans for the purpose.

From about 2.5 million passengers it handled last year, the Cebu airport expects to handle five million passengers in five years, he said. With INQ7.net

Charter Sabotaged

At Large : Subverting the Constitution

Rina Jimenez-David
Inquirer News Service

IT'S really a shame -- no, a scandal -- that the best instincts for political and social reform that the framers of the 1987 Constitution brought to the creation of our basic law should have been twisted, mangled and corrupted by the very people sworn to uphold it.

The three-part Special Report by Jerry Esplanada, on election irregularities in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), specifically on the dubious conduct and counting of the votes for party-list groups, illustrates how national and local politicians, with the connivance of election officials, have twisted to their own advantage innovations in the Constitution that were meant to set our political system on the road to reform.

Ironically, one of the sources Esplanada relied on for this exposé was the "man of the hour," former Election Commissioner Virgilio Garcillano, now being sought for his testimony on alleged election irregularities in Mindanao, as captured in his phone-tapped conversations with, to use lawyerly language, "a person who sounds remarkably like President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo."

Unaware perhaps just how notorious he would become in the next few months, Garcillano told Esplanada that election anomalies take place in Mindanao "either because of money or pressure from politicians." On hindsight, the phrase can be construed as either a bland admission of guilt or at least complicity, or a symptom of system-wide rot, with payoffs and influence-peddling shrugged off as "part of the game."

Garcillano could at least be credited with honesty (or perhaps frankness would be the better term) in his explanation of several "puzzling" electoral results. More frank, at least, than Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairman Benjamin Abalos who these days seems content to pin the blame for all of the poll body's ills and sins on the "missing in action" Garcillano.

* * *

ONE of the more promising areas for political reform in the 1987 Constitution was the provision on the party-list system, which would open up membership in the House of Representatives to representatives of marginalized and underrepresented sectors. Under this provision, and as provided for in the party-list law, 20 percent of all seats in the House would be reserved for party-list representatives, who would be representing not themselves or a specific district, but rather their sector or multi-sector parties. As set forth in a recent Supreme Court decision, parties need to prove to the Comelec that they truly represent and are composed of marginalized and underrepresented sectors, some of which were specified in the Constitution.

Since the 1998 elections, party-list groups have come nowhere near the 50 or so seats to which they're entitled. One reason for this was that more than 100 accredited party-list groups were required to fight it out for a very small "universe" of voters, since only a few were aware of the party-list system.

Another reason was suggested in the special report, where Garcillano bemoans the "laxity" of the Comelec in accrediting party-list groups that were obviously unqualified under the Supreme Court's criteria. The so-called "Mindanao expert" of the Comelec also said politicians and political parties had been funding the campaigns of party-list groups, if not creating party-list groups of their own.

* * *

SO EVEN as they talked through one side of their mouths, piously declaring their support for the struggling genuine party-list groups and hailing the system as a promising innovation in politics, politicians were busy subverting the same system, taking advantage of the party-list potential for creating an even wider base of influence and power.

Given the "experimental" nature of the party-list system and the relative inexperience in electoral matters of the groups that chose to participate, one would have hoped the Comelec took a more pro-active stance in protecting party-list groups from being corrupted or co-opted, at least not this soon.

The Comelec, for one, was awfully remiss in educating the public about the party-list system, how to choose the parties, and even what these party-list groups were. Comelec officials were also amazingly cavalier about the counting of party-list votes, setting these aside for counting "later," after the votes for local and national posts were posted. Indeed, the final results of party-list contests in ARMM areas have yet to be determined, with the Comelec failing to act on several petitions regarding shocking "statistical anomalies" in the results. Even Garcillano expressed shock at the brazen cheating, with more votes for party-list groups counted than there were registered voters in these provinces.

* * *

ONE party-list nominee was told point-blank by a local Comelec official that if she wanted her party and herself to make it to the Congress, she would need to pay several millions for the number of votes she needed.

This then would make a plausible explanation for the "anomaly." With deals made left and right, somebody forgot to tally up the number of votes that had been padded onto the lists, thus the "excess."

Given that the Comelec has yet to embark on a serious investigation and formal hearing of the cases filed regarding the statistical wonders of the ARMM voting results, I can only wish it the best in the conduct of the ongoing elections for ARMM officials. I seriously doubt if ARMM residents would lend any credence to the results, given that they have first-hand experience with manufactured elections.

Before any move is made to amend the Constitution—which we have yet to fully implement, by the way -- let's start by cleaning up the electoral system, and making sure that the real will of the people is expressed and obeyed.

IPPs Fight

As I See It : There's enough business for two quarreling IPPs

Neal Cruz opinion@inquirer.com.ph
Inquirer News Service

LAST Friday, Aug. 5, we wrote here about an independent power producer (IPP) called Power One Corp. that, according to the congressman of Oriental Mindoro, has a capitalization of only P1.56 million and cash of P14,000 on hand. Nevertheless, this IPP landed a contract with the Oriental Mindoro Electric Cooperative (Ormeco) to build an P800-million power plant to provide electricity for the whole province. (The contract is being reviewed by the Energy Regulatory Commission for approval or rejection.)

Not true, "(w)e are fully capable of executing our power supply agreements," said Power One in a letter hand-delivered last Saturday and signed by its president, Facundo R. Yeneza. There was no statement as to how much capital the company has or how much is its cash on hand.

But the letter stated that Rep. Rodolfo Valencia and his lawyer Dante Manzo were referring to "outdated and incorrect information. We have corrected these during the mentioned public hearing in Calapan" (Oriental Mindoro).

To be fair to Power One, I will quote extensively from its letter:

"1. Power One through its project company, Mid-Islands Power Generation, is almost complete with our 9-megawatt Phase 1, which we will commission in 10 days. This P100-million phase is being completed from internal equity and with no bank loans. For the P250-million phase 2, we already have the generating equipment. Any accusation of financial or technical incapacity is belied by these facts."

(Question: Why did it go ahead with the project when the contract has not yet been approved by the ERC? Has it been assured that the contract would sail through the ERC with the greatest of ease? Why? What will happen to its investment if the contract is disapproved?)

"2. Power One's rate is lower than the rate of Mirant Philippines (which has a contract with Ormeco, which has still a number of years to run; for which reason, it is protesting the new contract with Power One) by at least 8 percent on base-load to base-load basis. Mirant's contract is only for 7.5 MW.

"3. The Power Supply Agreement between Power One and Ormeco had been certified by no less than the Department of Energy as compliant with the competitive selection process in its endorsement dated February 11, 2005. This compliance was re-certified by the Department of Energy in July 8, 2005."

(Note: There was no public bidding done prior to the awarding of the contract to Power One.)

"4. In fairness to our client Ormeco, we don't believe they ever intended to eliminate Mirant's 7.5-MW power facility. Power One was asked to install only 28 MW of the 35 MW that is needed by the province of Oriental Mindoro in preparation for the pullout of Napocor as part of the missionary subsidy reduction program. The Mirant contract, however, failed to comply with the conditions precedent for effectivity and failed to deliver half of the contracted energy in the last five years.

"5. Ormeco, we understand, has been asking Mirant to eliminate the onerous provisions in the contract to protect its member-consumers. Among these are the take-or-pay-provision which results in PPA charges similar to Mirant's Sual and Pagbilao contracts with Napocor. (Question: If there are "onerous" provisions, why did Ormeco sign the contract in the first place? Having signed it, it is duty-bound to follow the terms of the contract until its expiration.) Mirant is also demanding that Ormeco reinstate its commitment to buy 48 MW (of power) a year which is equivalent to 40 percent of the province's energy needs even if Mirant is committing to maintain only a 7.5 MW plant, which is 20 percent of the 35-MW installed capacity requirement of the province.

"6. Power One's core technical team has done 750-MW diesel power projects and has an average of 20 years experience. It is one of the most qualified in the country. Power One's former president was president of the IPP association, of which Mirant was a member.

"7. Power One is proud of the long-term, competitive solutions it is bringing to the province of Oriental Mindoro. To reduce power costs, Power One will be developing renewable energy in the province within three years and connect the island to the Luzon grid through a 69 KV submarine system by 2010. This is the correct solution (for) the province so that it will benefit from the open access market of Luzon.

"8. As the power market becomes deregulated and competitive, behemoth IPPs, (which) have been spoiled by their cash-guzzling onerous contracts with Napocor, must learn how to compete on price and service. Mirant must accept that, even for a company of their size, they cannot win them all and if they do a bad job they can lose a customer."

* * *

After examining the controversy, I don't understand why Mirant and Power One are quarreling when there is enough business in the province for both of them. Mirant's contract is for 40 percent of the province's electric requirements. The other 60 percent is being given to Power One. There is enough for both of them.

I think the reason is greed-on the part of both parties. Mirant is afraid another power supplier would get some of its business. Or, perhaps, it plans to supply the additional 60 percent itself. Power One, on the other hand, although it already has 60 percent, still plans to expand its capacity to 80 percent. Mirant therefore suspects Power One plans to take away 20 percent of its 40-percent share. Greed!

Another thing I don't understand is that there are hundreds of other islands in the Philippines needing electricity. So why doesn't one of them go to these islands instead of the two of them crowding Oriental Mindoro?

Case Closed

Separate Opinion : The Evelio Javier case

Isagani Cruz
Inquirer News Service

THE CURRENT controversy over the Garci tapes reminds me of the case of Evelio Javier vs. Commission on Elections, 144 SCRA 194, which was raffled to me shortly after the reorganization of the Supreme Court in 1986. The petitioner had complained of irregularities committed in the election for the Batasang Pambansa in Antique, but the case was intentionally ignored during martial law and was still undecided after Edsa I.

The records showed that Javier had failed to prevent the proclamation of the KBL candidate, Arturo Pacificador, and had gone to the Supreme Court for relief. While his petition was pending, Javier and some of his supporters were murdered in cold blood and in broad daylight. After studying the case, I recommended its dismissal, but Chief Justice Claudio Teehankee felt that the new Supreme Court should make a statement.

And so I wrote the decision on the merits, excerpts of which follow:

"The new Solicitor General has moved to dismiss this petition on the ground that as a result of supervening events it has become moot and academic. It is not as simple as that. Several lives have been lost in connection with this case, including that of the petitioner himself. The private respondent is now in hiding. The purity of suffrage has been defiled and the popular will scorned through a confabulation of those in authority. This Court cannot keep silent in the face of these terrible facts. The motion is denied.

"The abolition of the Batasang Pambansa and the disappearance of the office in dispute between the petitioner and the private respondent-both of whom have gone their separate ways-could be a convenient justification for dismissing this case. But there are larger issues that must be resolved now. The more important purpose is to manifest in the clearest possible terms that this Court will not disregard and in effect condone wrong on the simplistic and tolerant pretext that the case has become moot and academic.

"The Supreme Court is not only the highest arbiter of legal questions but also the conscience of the government. The citizen comes to us in quest of law but we must also give him justice. The two are not always the same. There are times when we cannot grant the latter because the issue has been settled and decision is no longer possible according to the law. But there are also times when although the dispute has disappeared, as in this case, it nevertheless cries out to be resolved. Justice demands that we act then, not only for the vindication of the outraged right, though gone, but also for the guidance of and as a restraint upon the future."

"Since this case began in 1984, many significant developments have taken place, not the least of which was the February revolution of 'people power' that dislodged the past regime and ended well nigh fourteen years of travail for this captive nation. The petitioner is gone, felled by a hail of bullets sprayed with deadly purpose by assassins whose motive is yet to be disclosed. The private respondent has disappeared with the 'pomp of power' he had before enjoyed. Even the Batasang Pambansa itself has been abolished, an 'iniquitous vestige of the previous regime' discontinued by the Freedom Constitution. It is so easy now, as has been suggested not without reason, to send the records of this case to the archives and say the case is finished and the book is closed.

"But not yet.

"Let us first say these meager words in tribute to a fallen hero who was struck down in the vigor of his youth because he dared to speak against tyranny. Where many kept a meekly silence for fear of retaliation, and still others feigned and fawned in hopes of safety and even reward, he was not afraid. Money did not tempt him. Threats did not daunt him. His was a singular and all-exacting obsession: the return of freedom to his country. And though he fought not in the barricades of war amid the sound and smoke of shot and shell, he was a soldier nonetheless, fighting valiantly for the freedom of his people, against the enemies of his race, unfortunately of his race too, who would impose upon the land a perpetual night of dark enslavement. He did not see the breaking of the dawn, sad to say, but in a very real sense Evelio B. Javier made that dawn draw nearer because he was, like Saul and Jonathan, 'swifter than eagles and stronger than lions.'

"... a new government has taken over in the wake of the February revolution. The despot has escaped and, with him, let us pray, all the oppressions and repressions of the past have also been banished forever. A new spirit is now upon our land. A new vision limns the horizon. Now we can look forward with new hope that under the Constitution of the future every Filipino shall be truly sovereign in his own country, able to express his will through the pristine ballot with only his conscience as his counsel.

"This is not an impossible dream. Indeed, it is an approachable goal. It can and will be won if we are able at last, after our long ordeal, to say never again to tyranny. If we can do this with courage and conviction, then and only then, and not until then, can we truly say that the case is finished and the book is closed."

Glo's Not Indispensable

Separate Opinion : Looking for a leader

Isagani Cruz
Inquirer News Service

AS an ordinary citizen observing the swirl of current events, I would say that the opposition to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is losing steam. Her foes are being routed by the propaganda countercharge mounted by their intended victim. They probably now realize that Ms Arroyo is not the pushover they had imagined her to be.

In the view of her critics, the ouster of President Arroyo was practically a done deal two weeks ago when former President Corazon Aquino publicly asked her to resign. That immediately created a snowball effect. One Opposition leader predicted that the chastened Gloria would be history in 72 hours. It is now going three weeks since that confident boast but Ms Arroyo is still in Malacañang.

What stopped that dangerous momentum on its tracks was another former President who came to La Gloria's rescue. This was Fidel V. Ramos who presided at the hastily convened conference she called to ward off the growing clamor for her resignation. She sat silently as Mr. Ramos regrouped her demoralized forces and commanded them to fight back. They obeyed, and the tide began to turn in her favor.

Now the anti-Gloria campaign is back to square one. The five committees of the House of Representatives have resumed their investigation of the Garci tapes but without the original moral indignation and inquisitiveness. It is not likely to go far without the principal witness, who has so far not surfaced despite the supposed determined search being conducted by the police and military authorities. Some say Virgilio Garcillano is already dead, like Bubby Dacer, who also knew too much.

The Senate investigation of the jueteng scandal also faces a blank wall. Evidence of the alleged involvement of the Arroyo family in the payola distributed by the gambling lords is mostly hearsay if not also generally unconvincing. Bong Pineda, whom the senators want to question, is out of the country and beyond their jurisdiction although they have ways to compel his return if they really want to. The probe is likely to meet the same fate as the investigation of Sen. Panfilo Lacson four years ago that was never resolved by the past Senate.

The surveys in Metro Manila showing Ms Arroyo's declining popularity among its residents have been dismissed by her supporters as not reflective of the people's will outside that region. Metro Manila is not the Philippines, Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita declared, arguing that the rest of the country is still for the President. Malacañang has also pooh-poohed the President's poor ratings and has pointedly asked who are paying for such surveys.

A recent study made by the research group of this paper revealed that the majority of the 79 provinces in the country are still for President Arroyo. At least the governors and mayors are, although it is not certain that they control their constituents. Assuming that they do, the national consensus still appears to be for the resignation of the embattled chief executive.

The other remedy is also problematic. Impeachment can succeed only if the vote requirements in the Constitution are satisfied. To date, the House of Representatives has not mustered the one-third vote of its members needed to impeach President Arroyo. The proponents have so far mustered only some 50 of the needed 79 votes. Even if the number is reached and the case goes to the Senate for trial and decision, the outlook is also dim for Ms Arroyo's foes. The vote needed to convict is two-thirds of the 24 members, of whom only eight are now in the opposition.

Things can change drastically if the evidence in the legislative investigations, and particularly in the impeachment trial if ever it is conducted, becomes irremediably damaging to President Arroyo. Some of her supporters may join her opponents. But even that is not certain if we go by our experience in the Estrada impeachment. Despite the shocking revelations at the trial of his misdeeds, he would have been absolved if the case had continued. Up to the last minute, his 12 allies in the Senate remained steadfast.

The trouble with those who want President Arroyo out of Malacañang is their lack of an effective leader. The "trapo" [traditional politicians] in the opposition will not do because the people do not trust them. The religious and military leaders, like Archbishop Oscar Cruz and Gen. Fortunato Abat, have moral but hardly any political following. The Hyatt Ten may have valid cause for complaint but most of us do not even remember their names. The people who want to oust President Arroyo want to be led, but there is no leader to lead them.

Somewhere among the 86 million Filipinos such a leader must be waiting to be called to bring us to the Promised Land after these many decades of fruitless search. The poet Thomas Gray mused: "Full many a gem of purest ray serene / the dark unfathomed caves of ocean bear, / full many a flow'r is born to blush unseen / and waste its sweetness in the desert air." Such is the leader who is yet to be discovered. Released from obscurity, such a leader can guide the nation, with its full support, to the true path of morality, freedom and democracy.

IPP Blues

As I See It : IPP with P14,000 to build P800-M power plant?

Neal Cruz opinion@inquirer.com.ph
Inquirer News Service

PRESIDENT Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo dared the opposition to impeach her. Don't march in the streets, she challenged, impeach me. She refused to answer directly accusations against her. "I will answer you in the proper forum [meaning, in the impeachment trial]; prove your case in court" was her mantra.

Now it is becoming clear why she prefers to be impeached. There may never be an impeachment trial. Pro-administration congressmen will block the impeachment bid because they have the numbers.

"We have an overwhelming majority in the House," boasted Speaker Jose de Venecia. And Malacañang itself has boasted that it has signed up 170 congressmen who pledge to crush the impeachment bid. Expect pork-barrel allocations to flood the districts (and pockets) of pro-administration congressmen. Expect the coffers of the National Treasury to be drained even more. Far from our taxes going back to us in the form of services, they go instead to the yawning pockets of congressmen.

That is why an impeachment trial is a very imperfect way of replacing abusive, corrupt and incompetent presidents. A president may be as guilty as hell, but he/she goes or stays not on the basis of guilt but on how many legislators are in his/her pocket.

The opposition is not disheartened, though. It believes there are still enough congressmen out there who will sign the impeachment complaint when the time comes. They just don't want to come out now so that administration operators will not twist their arms to support President Arroyo.

Yes, you congressmen were elected by the people. You represent them, not Ms Arroyo. Eight out of every 10 Filipinos don't want her as president anymore. Do as the people order you to do.

* * *

Some over-smart power plant operators apparently think Fidel V. Ramos is still president of the Philippines, or is its president again, from the way an independent power producer (IPP) is trying to smuggle a deal with the government. Ramos was notorious for signing so many onerous contracts with IPPs during his term that are now one of the main reasons for our very high electricity prices.

Oriental Mindoro province, with 400,000 electricity consumers, is serviced by one electric cooperative, Oriental Mindoro Electric Cooperative (Ormeco). It has a long-term contract with Mirant, a big international firm with other power plants all over the Philippines, to supply it with electricity. The contract still has many years to go.

However, Ormeco entered into a contract with a new IPP named Power One to supply it with electricity, long before its contract with Mirant expires. Luckily, before the contract becomes valid, it has to be approved by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC).

Under the agreement, Power One would have to put up a power plant costing at least P800 million to be able to supply electricity to Ormeco. During public hearings conducted by the ERC in Mindoro, however, it was found out that Power One has an authorized capital stock of only P1.56 million, with cash on hand of only P14,000! Furthermore, Power One has no track record to speak of in the energy industry. How can a company with P14,000 cash on hand build a power plant costing close to P1 billion?

Needless to say, all the local officials of Oriental Mindoro and the two congressmen of the province, oppose the contract. The City Council of Calapan (site of the proposed facility), represented by city legal officer Dante A. Manzo, has urged the ERC to dismiss the application of Ormeco to register its contract with Power One. Manzo questioned the "undue haste" with which Ormeco concluded the Energy Sale Agreement with Power One without the benefit of a competitive selection process in clear violation of guidelines set by the Department of Energy (DOE).

Evidently, the bilateral contract was fast-tracked without going through the processes mandated by the DOE and ERC for contracts of such nature.

Rep. Rodolfo Valencia, a former governor, cited the risk to the energy requirements of the province of entering into contracts with entities that may fail to deliver a vital service such as electricity. Why did Ormeco close such a controversial deal with Power One?

Valencia warned of negative repercussions for the population of Oriental Mindoro serviced by Ormeco should Power One fail to deliver. "Why must we needlessly risk the energy security of our province?" he asked. "It is unthinkable to depend on an entity that has not even put up a single power plant nor have the resources to do that."

Besides, if the contract with Mirant is unilaterally canceled, Mirant will have to sue Ormeco and the ERC for breach of contract and damages going into hundreds of millions of pesos.

Napocor's Boast

Napocor expects to break even this year

XFN-Asia

STATE-OWNED National Power Corp. (Napocor) said Wednesday it expected to finally break even this year, after losses going back to 1998, as it cuts costs and looks to higher revenue in the wake of tariff hikes.

The power producer registered a net loss of 29.9 billion pesos in 2004, a significant improvement from the previous year's 117.02 billion loss.

Napocor was earlier this year allowed to raise its electricity tariff by an average 0.0556 peso per kilowatt-hour.

That followed a rate hike of 0.98 peso per kWh approved by the Energy Regulatory Commission in September last year.

In a statement, Napocor said it expects its interest expenses to decline to 22.64 billion pesos this year from 30.25 billion pesos in 2004, after the national government early this year absorbed about 200 billion pesos out of Napocor's total debts of 500 billion pesos.

Napocor said it also expects to reduce its operating expenses due to stringent cost-cutting measures implemented this year.

"This includes the economic dispatch of its power plants as well as an improved generation mix that will see an increased utilization of the cheaper fuel types of hydro, geothermal and natural gas, and a reduced utilization of oil and coal, which are more expensive," it said.

The rate hikes and debt transfer were meant to attract bidders for the generation and transmission assets of Napocor.

Nieves Osorio, president of the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp (PSALM), the state agency tasked to sell Napocor's assets, said Napocor planned to borrow 200-400 million dollars in the second half of the year, possibly through a bond issue in the international market.

She declined to give details. With INQ7.net