BARANGAYAN ’09 IN OLONGAPO

The Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) in Olongapo City initiated a series of consultations and seminars for the officials of the 17 barangays aimed at improving and strengthening their capabilities for a more effective delivery of frontline services to their constituents.

Dubbed as Barangayan ‘09, the project was in coordination with Mayor James “Bong” Gordon, Jr. and the Liga ng mga Barangay.

According to DILG City Director Eliseo De Guzman, “Barangayan assures and insures improved and productive outputs from the concerned barangay officials and consequently, these actions will be beneficial to the people in the barangay.”

Topics discussed include “Hierarchy and Relationships in the Barangay Government; Barangay Development Planning; Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) Budgeting; Katarungang Pambarangay; and the Basic Barangay Based Institutions.”

The final output of Barangayan is the submission of a Comprehensive Barangay Profile (CBP) of every barangay, the best of which will be duly recognized.

This CBP was launched to develop a comprehensive profile that provides the general characteristics of a certain locality, its demography, social, cultural and economic dimensions, its potential as well as its weaknesses.

Gordon said, “This document will be the primary source of information on the community and will be very useful to potential entrepreneurs as a basis in profitable business opportunity for the barangays.”

“More importantly, this profile will provide the city factual basis for planning and decision-making in expediting the deliverance of public service,” the mayor concluded.

All 17 barangays complied and submitted their first CBP which was evaluated by the Validation Committee composed of the DILG City Director, Coordinators from the City Planning and Development Office, the City Health Office and the City Social Welfare and Development Office on May 27, 2009 at Driftwood Beach, Barangay Barretto.

The winners of the search are guaranteed cash incentives from the city government and trophies and plaques of recognition from the DILG. Winners will be announced sometime July.

PAO/chay

Olongapo hosts ESEA confab for local governments

Olongapo City, in coordination with the Local Government Development Foundation and the Konrad Adenaeur Stiftung Foundation, will play host to the 16th East & Southeast Asia Network (ESEA NET) for Better Local Governments Conference from November 19 to 21 at the Subic Bay Exhibition and Convention Center.

With the theme, “Cities in Search for Ideal Communities”, the event will see participation from ESEA member countries and non-governmental organizations in Southeast Asia, with Olongapo as the lone member-city in the Philippines.

Other member cities are Battambang, Cambodia; Phitsanulok, Thailand; Gumi, South Korea; Ha Long, Vietnam; Kuantan, Malaysia and Semarang, Indonesia.

More than 200 delegates are expected to attend, including representatives form the Japan Council of Local Authorities for International Relations (CLAIR), Khmer Helping Education National Governance, Advisory Council on Urban Development of Indonesia, and the United Cities and Local Governments Asia and the Pacific (UCLG-ASPAC),

Also represented are the Indonesia Municipal Association, University of Malaysia, Thailand Environmental Institute, Vietnam Alliance Minerals, Ltd., Haiphong Administration of Tourism (Vietnam), as well as municipal and city mayors of the Philippines.

It will be the 6th time that the Philippines is hosting the ESEA Conference, the last of which was in 2003 at the Hyatt Regency in Manila.

Olongapo Mayor James “Bong” Gordon, Jr. said the conference would be another opportunity for the city to put its best foot forward and showcase the best practices his administration has been implementing.

“It will be a productive occasion as it would allow network member-cities to exchange information in local government management,” Gordon said.

Malls, other public places to serve as polling centers

Manila Bulletin

Shopping malls and other similar public places would serve as polling centers in the future where voters can cast their votes as easy as withdrawing cash form an Automated Teller Machine (ATM).

In a forum over the weekend, Sen. Richard J. Gordon said voters will no longer have to troop to the provinces to vote.

“In the future, one only has to go to the mall, find an automated polling machine, and cast his or her vote. The idea is they can vote only once. If they do that in other machines, they will immediately be barred to vote again,” said Gordon, author of the automated elections law.

Gordon expressed confidence that the experience in the autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) can be replicated in the next elections in 2010.

The automated elections in ARMM were successful despite the unstable security situation, inadequate communication and transportation infrastructure, as well as the prevalence of illiteracy and widespread poverty in the region.

Gordon noted that despite the lack of time for massive voter education, the voters in Maguindanao generally described their voting experience as “easy and amazing.”

Vince Dizon, spokesman for Smartmatic-Sahi, the company which provided the technology used in the ARMM polls, said the success of the pilot test in Maguindanao proved that the country is ready for full automation come 2010 and beyond.

In the ARMM automated elections, more than 2,000 teachers in Maguindanao had a first-hand experience in using the Direct Recording Electronic (DRE) machines in the voting and counting process.

“It was Sen. Gordon’s efforts in the Joint Congressional Oversight Committee on election automation that pushed the Comelec to ensure automation of the ARMM elections. We owe it to him that we were able to successfully pilot test the technologies in preparation for the 2010 national elections,” Dizon, who was at the same forum, said.

Giyerang MILF vs gobyerno: ‘LQ lang yan’ – Gordon

Naniniwala si Senator Richard Gordon na tulad ng isang mag-asawa ay nagkakaroon lamang ng tampuhan o lovers’ quarrel (LQ) ang pamahalaan at rebeldeng grupong Moro Islamix Liberation Front (MILF) at sa di kalaunan ay manunumbalik ang kapayapaan saq Mindanao at magpapatuloy ang usaping pangkapayapaan.

Ayon kay Gordon, nagawang magtampo ng MILF matapos na mabigong ,aitupad ang pinasok na pamahalaan na Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain (MOA-AD).

“The peace process is just like a marriage – we have to continue the dialogue, we have to continue trying to fix our shortcomings, we have to continue strengthening the peace. And peace is strengthened when you see it being beneficial to the public, if there is education, if there’s economic development; if there’s security, consistency and transparency in everything that will happen when the peace process starts,” ani Gordon

Iginiit ni Gordon na ang paglagda at pagpasok sa naturang kasunduan ay lubhang madali subalit ang pinakamahirap ay ang pagpapatupad nito.

“We properly lay the groundwork for peace by explaining to those who still are not able to understand it, there’s got to be considerable amount of patience and hard work to try and tell the people who will be affected what the law of the land would be,” dagdag ni Gordon.

Binigyang-diin pa ni Gordon na dapat ay magkaisa ang bawat isa anuman ang relihiyon at pinagmulan sapagkat tayo ay pare-parehong Filipino naman.

Subic drug haul opens old wounds for city councilor

OLONGAPO CITY – The seizure last week of more than 700 kilograms of shabu (methamphetamine hydrochloride) inside the Subic Bay Freeport opened old wounds for Councilor John de los Reyes, whose 10-year-old sister was murdered by a drug addict here 26 years ago.

On Monday, De los Reyes, who belongs to the Gordon political clan and a member of the political party Ang Kapatiran, assailed officials of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority, saying it was their responsibility to prevent drug smuggling inside the freeport.

“Judging from the quantity and the manner in which these contrabands were smuggled, these smugglers are well connected,” said De los Reyes.

“As a councilor of SBMA’s host city and as a victim of a crime involving my 10-year-old sister who was murdered by a man under the influence of illegal drugs, I demand accountability and prosecution of all those involved. Heads must roll this time,” he said.

Murder

De los Reyes’ sister, Maricris, was murdered inside the bedroom of their grandmother, former Mayor Amelia Gordon, on April 29, 1982, in the family’s ancestral home in Barangay West Bajac Bajac.

It is the same village where Anton Ang, the Chinese-Filipino businessman said to be behind the illegal drugs shipment in the Freeport last week, lived.

“[Maricris] was murdered by our houseboy [who was] under the influence of drugs. It was very spontaneous. He went inside the room of my grandma where my sister and her yaya (nanny) happened to be sleeping. He raped the yaya and killed her after. Then, he turned on my sister who witnessed what he did,” De los Reyes told the Inquirer.

“It is deplorable that these things happen with impunity,” he said.

“For the sake of our children, to respect the memory of my sister and those like her who were victimized by drug addicts, the government should have an uncompromising anti-illegal drugs agenda,” he said.

De los Reyes said SBMA Administrator Armand Arreza must defend the honor of his office amid the discovery of illegal drugs in the freeport.

“If he can’t, then delicadeza knocks loudly on his door,” said De los Reyes.

Arreza, in an earlier interview, said he was concerned that international drug syndicates have started using the Subic freeport as a “consolidation point” for shabu.

He, however, said he did not believe the entire shipment was meant for the Philippine underground market alone.

Isolated case

“Some, if not most of this shipment, we suspect, will be taken out of the country. [The shipment] would have been immediately taken out of the freeport entirely if the smugglers did not intend to bring it somewhere else,” Arreza said.

When asked if Ang was a familiar presence in the freeport, Arreza said: “I don’t know. I don’t know him. I have never met him.”

Arreza, in a statement, said the seizure was an “isolated case.” By Robert Gonzaga - Inquirer Northern Luzon Bureau

‘Condos beyond treetops’

Gordon: ‘Travesty’ of environmental zoning

The construction of two high-rise condominium buildings by Korean shipbuilder Hanjin Heavy Industries & Construction Ltd. in the Subic rainforest came under fire yesterday from Sen. Richard Gordon, a former administrator of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA).

A “shocked” Gordon said the buildings were only the latest “travesty” done to the former US naval base since he was replaced by Felicito Payumo as SBMA administrator during the Estrada administration. The SBMA is the government agency that manages the Subic Bay Freeport.

“I would not have accommodated it,” the senator said, adding that he would have convinced the Koreans to build the condominiums for their company staff in Olongapo City—”so they could mix with the populace”—or in neighboring Bataan province.

The site of the Hanjin condominium buildings is within the Subic Watershed Forest Reserve, a check by the Philippine Daily Inquirer, parent company of INQUIRER.net, showed.

Covering 10,000 hectares and cared for by the US Navy until its pullout in 1992, the site was classified as protected by virtue of Proclamation No. 926, which then President Corazon Aquino issued on June 15, 1992.

The reserve, located on the Morong, Bataan, side of the free port, was declared protected for “purposes of protecting, maintaining, or improving its water yield and providing a restraining mechanism for inappropriate forest exploitation and disruptive land use.”

An official of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources in Bataan said the proclamation had been amended, shrinking the reserve to 8,000 ha.

While the original proclamation had assigned executive control and administration of the area to the environment secretary, the SBMA has actually been managing it, the official said.

Gordon said the three-ha area where the 10-story and 20-story condominium buildings were put up had already been cleared of trees when Subic was still a US naval base.

He said an ammunitions and explosives testing area, warehouses and bunkhouses used to stand in that area.

“There were no trees anymore. Maybe 18 or 19 trees were cut, but these were small ones,” Gordon said, correcting the impression that the buildings were put up in the middle of the forest.

He said the structures only appeared to be in the middle of the rainforest because the photo run by the Inquirer was taken “as you enter the naval magazine.”

“What I disagree with is that [a building went too high], beyond the treetops. They allowed the Koreans to go beyond 10 stories. Nakakainis iyon (That’s annoying),” Gordon said.

He said he himself was shocked to see the structures, which cannot be seen from the ground because of the tree cover and can only be seen from the sea or from the air.

Environmental zoning

According to Gordon, whom then President Joseph Estrada replaced with Payumo as SBMA administrator, his successor did away with the Americans’ careful environmental zoning and planning, which he himself had strictly followed.

He said that if environmentalists were up in arms against the Hanjin condominiums, they should also assail the eight-story structure that was allowed to be built “very close to the forest” during Payumo’s term.

He pointed out that there was no “brouhaha” raised when that structure was built.

“I’m glad the Inquirer reported this, so everybody will see how Subic has been opened up to the rapaciousness of some,” Gordon said.

“There were areas that were not supposed to be occupied, yet they were occupied. Subic now is very different from the one left by the Americans and the one I left after my term,” he said.

‘Mere political appointee’

Gordon defended SBMA administrator Armand Arreza and laid the blame on SBMA environmental manager Amethya dela Llana Koval (not Amethyia de la Llana Kovak, as earlier reported) who, he said, was not qualified to hold the post but was a political appointee of Payumo.

He said Arreza had only followed the revised zoning plans made during Payumo’s term.

“I asked him why he (Arreza) approved it. He said they accommodated Hanjin because it was Subic’s biggest investor. He said he was not told by the staff that there was something wrong,” Gordon said.

In 2005, Hanjin’s P1.65-billion shipyard was the biggest single investment in the country.

The senator said Koval should be sacked: “She has no business holding that office.”

Not in core zone

Koval had earlier told the Inquirer that Hanjin obtained an environmental clearance certificate (ECC) for the two condominium buildings “last year.”

The SBMA was empowered to issue ECCs when then Environment Secretary Michael Defensor and SBMA officials signed a memorandum of agreement recognizing its “self-regulatory power” over the free port.

Koval said the Hanjin site was not within the “core zone,” the heart of the protected forests.

“The core zone is strictly no-touch,” she said, adding that the other areas were allowed for “sustainable use and recreation.”

“It’s among the built-up areas or sites that were previously used by the US Navy,” she said.

Arreza said the built-up areas had been “zoned for light industries with low-intensity use.”

“There were pockets of development there long before Hanjin came,” he said.

Double standard in housing

In Zambales, officials are seeing a double standard in Hanjin’s housing policy.

“There’s an imbalance, a discrimination,” Zambales Gov. Amor Deloso said after seeing a photograph of the high-rises in the Inquirer on Saturday.

Arreza earlier said the cost of building the high-rises was some $20 million. But in a press statement issued Saturday night, the SBMA put the figure at P455.6 million or $13 million.

In contrast, said former Zambales Vice Gov. Ramon Lacbain II, the Agusuhin resettlement project for the families displaced by the Korean shipyard turned out badly.

Lacbain heads Task Force Hanjin, which Deloso formed to oversee the social and employment aspects shipyard.

Agusuhin

Sitio Agusuhin, located on the hilly and rocky slopes of Barangay Cawag, was where the Subic local government transferred some 400 families from Sitio Quarry.

Portions of Quarry are now occupied by the 400-ha Hanjin shipyard just off the coast of Redondo Bay.

Hanjin funded the families’ relocation, donating P18 million to the local government for the construction of basic facilities like schools, day-care centers, chapels, water systems and electricity.

But Task Force Hanjin reports showed that most of the facilities were left unfinished, and a school building collapsed in August 2006 before the 300 students could use it.

A team from the Department of Public Works and Highways reported in August 2007 that structures worth P3 million had been built on the site.

Nagyantoc

Another relocation project for 280 families living in a portion of Sitio Nagyantoc that will be occupied by Hanjin’s expansion has been proceeding at a snail’s pace. Only 100 houses had been built at the 9.4-ha relocation site, also in Nagyantoc, as of last week.

The SBMA, which has jurisdiction over the former base lands in Subic, is having the units built at P90,000 each with funds from the land rental paid by Hanjin, Lacbain said.

“Hanjin put our fellow Filipinos in Agusuhin in a pitiful situation,” he said. “It showed that it has the capability to build beautiful condominiums. But why did it not at least offer a safe and livable place for those in Agusuhin? Why is it that it’s easy to part with money when their own Koreans are involved, and [not when it concerns] Filipinos?”

Hanjin president Shim Jong Sup did not reply to a request for comment.

But in September 2007, Hanjin asked the SBMA to set aside at least 40 ha for a planned workers’ village for its 15,000 Filipino employees.

Arreza confirmed this Saturday, saying President Macapagal-Arroyo had issued a proclamation assigning 40 ha of public land for the housing needs of Hanjin’s Filipino workers.

Rejoinder

Reached for comment on the phone, Payumo said Gordon was “shooting from his mouth without verifying the facts.”

“It was not during my term that the SBMA board approved [Hanjin’s] housing project. You can check with the SBMA ecology center and it would show that it was approved last year,” he said.

Payumo’s term ended in 2005.

According to Payumo, talks on Hanjin’s shipyard project began during his term but it was during the term of his successor, Francisco Licuanan, that the SBMA board approved it.

Payumo also said Gordon was “responsible for the cutting of trees.”

He was referring to that part of the Subic forests that was cleared to make space for at least 21 luxury villas built for the use of the heads of state who attended the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit held at the free port in 1996.

“He did not only order the cutting of trees there. The villas were [also] put up as mortgage. When the developer failed to pay the banks, and the banks foreclosed on the loan, the Home Guarantee Fund assumed the payments for several hundred millions. The government shouldered the liabilities,” Payumo said.
By Tonette Orejas, Dona Pazzibugan - Philippine Daily Inquirer

What’s happening at Subic? – Gordon

SEN. Dick Gordon is not satisfied with the assurance of Malacañang and the Labor department that enough safety features are installed at the facilities of Korean shipbuilder Hanjin Heavy Industry at Subic Bay.

Gordon asked the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority for a “full report” on the explosion last Friday inside Hanjin’s shipyard at the Redondo Peninsula which killed two workers and injured four others.

Ironically, the incident happened just a day after an inspection team from the SBMA and the Department of Labor and Employment gave a passing mark to the company’s health and safety standards.

“I have called on the SBMA to report on deaths and injuries at the Hanjin shipyard site, not just for this explosion but prior incidents as well so we can see whether the proper health and safety procedures are being followed to protect the Filipino workforce on the Rendondo Pensinsula; that right safety equipment and clothing are being used and that workers have been properly trained to avoid hazards and work safely; and that proper monitoring of health and safety issues is being carried out and that SBMA is doing its job of protecting Filipino workers.”

Palace spokesman Ignacio Bunye said they are still awaiting the result of the investigation being conducted by the SBMA and the Philippine National Police but quickly added that given the scale of Hanjin’s operations, “unfortunate accidents like this happen every now and then.”

Quoting a report from the local chapter of the Philippine National Red Cross, the lawmaker identified the fatalities as welders Mario Laxamana, 29, of Subic, Zambales, and Jeremias Adamos, 30, of Morong, Bataan.

By: Paul M. Gutierrez - Journal Online

20% Discount on RPTs extended

Olongapo City Taxpayers had been requesting the city to extend the 20% discount on payment of Real Property Taxes which ended January 2, 2008

The long holidays last December 2007 and the delay of remittances from abroad were reasons cited by taxpayers for not being able to pay their RPTs in advance as they usually do.

To address their constituents request, the city council passed an ordinance sponsored by Councilor Edwin Piano, extending until February 15, 2008 the 20% discount on advance payment of Real Property Taxes (RPTs). City Treasurer Marcel Andawi on his report to the Sanggunian estimated that around P12million collection will be realized on the first month of the year because of this program which was approved by City Mayor James Gordon, Jr.

Olongapo Inter-dept Basketball

The Olongapo City Inter-Department Basketball tournament started Saturday with the City Mayor James Gordon, Jr tossing the ceremonial ball. also in the photo are SBMA Director Ted Del Rosario, Engr Bernabe, Kgd Cortez and Cerezo.

Olongapo goes after bold shows

Olongapo goes after bold shows, but civic groups want action vs prostitution

OLONGAPO CITY - The local government here formed a composite team to enforce a 12-year-old ordinance prohibiting indecent acts in public places, but civic groups called for tough action against the city’s rampant prostitution.

Last November 12, Olongapo City Mayor James Gordon Jr signed Executive Order 67 forming a team of local government offices and the local police chief to check on entertainment businesses and enforce City Ordinance No. 28, Series of 1995, that prohibited indecent acts in public places.

The issuance of Executive Order 67 came on the heels of an Anti-Prostitution ordinance passed by the City Council on October 18 and was signed into law by Gordon three weeks later. The law aims to eliminate prostitution and penalize perpetrators and patrons of prostitution in the city.

But cause-oriented groups said that the city should put up a task force against prostitution, instead of a team to enforce an ordinance that was enacted 12 years ago.

Alma Bulawen, executive director of Buklod, welcomed Executive Order 67 but urged authorities to do more by stamping out prostitution.

Buklod - a non-government organization that helps former prostitutes, together with the Peoples Recovery, Empowerment and Development Assistance (PREDA) Foundation, Social Action Center, San Lorenzo Ruiz Lay Leaders and the Youth With a Mission (YWAM) – urged local legislators to add more teeth to the Anti-Prostitution ordinance.

Bulawen, an admitted former prostitute in the late 1980s, said that many clubs and videoke bars here offer sex for sale to their customers.

It was during the 1980s that Olongapo City was branded as “Sin City," where American military personnel frequented Magsaysay Drive, the city’s red light district, for rest and recreation. To the locals, rest and recreation for US personnel meant alcohol and sex.

Bulawen added that the Task Force, headed by the Ferdie Margata, city administrator, should also include members of the civic organizations.

Magrata for his part said that prior to the issuance of this Exec. Order 67, they have been receiving reports from civic oriented organizations, some parents and some students “na may mga reported lewd show and bold shows sa Olongapo. These are to be validated."

“The prostitution problem is not with the shows but with the VIP rooms. We don’t know what is happening inside those VIP rooms. Even the internet café have private rooms, that is why we closed some of them," Magrata

According to the city business permit and licensing division, there are 70 to 80 registered businesses engaged in entertainment, with another 40 to 50 illegally operating.

But Magrata said that the mandate of the Task Force is against lewd and indecent shows. As such, they plan to organize the establishments and set up criteria as to determine what is the threshold of a lewd show from a regular show.

“In the absence of any specific parameters kung ano talaga ang lewd shows, we are going to put up our own standards that they should not violate," Magrata said. - John Bayarong,
GMANews.TV

ABC Officers Inducted

Association of Barangay Captains in Olongapo City took their oath before Olongapo City Mayor James Gordon, Jr. at the Rizal Triangle Multi-Purpose Center this morning.

Elected officers are: Capt. Carlito A. Baloy as President, Vice – President: Benjamin A. Franco and Audie S. Sundiam for Auditor.

The Board Members are Filipina E. Tablan, Edgardo R. Gingco, Ricardo N. Federico, Edgardo DC. Danugrao, Jr., Amalia N. Corum, Eduardo P. Gloria, Jimmy B. Pasag, Rodrigo B. Del Rosario

Full list of Barangay Officials including contact numbers in this link

BAGUMBAYAN MANIFESTO

Volunteers for a New Philippines

A Covenant for a New Philippines

MV Doulos Opening Ceremony

Doulos was built in 1914, only two years after the Titanic. Today, Doulos is the World's Oldest Active Ocean-Going Passenger Vessel. She is operated by non-profit charity organization GBA meaning Good Books for All.

Onboard is the World's Largest Floating Book Fair. Doulos is the unique platform for an international community service and cultural exchange project. 350 volunteers from over 50 nations serve onboard, bringing knowledge, help and hope to the nations.

SBMA Chairman Commodore Feliciano G. Salonga assisted by Doulos skipper Capt McDonald and Olongapo City Mayor James "Bong" Gordon, Jr with Zambales Vice Governor Anne Marie Gordon seen here cutting the ribbon to signal the official opening of MV Doulos in Subic Bay.

City Councilors Gina Perez, Rodel Cerezo, Vice Mayor Cynthia Cajudo, Councilor Jong Cortez, Gie Baloy and Ed Piano joins Capt McDonald and his wife during the opening ceremony.

Appointment of 23-year-old to SBMA board hit

Appointment of 23-year-old to SBMA board hit


By Tonette Orejas - Inquirer Central Luzon Desk

Sen. Richard Gordon and Zambales Gov. Amor Deloso are protesting the appointment of a 23-year-old scion of the Magsaysay family by President Macapagal-Arroyo to the board of the state-owned Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority.

In separate interviews recently, Gordon and Deloso said Jesus Vicente "Jobo" Magsaysay II, 23, never held a job prior to his appointment as SBMA director.

But Magsaysay said in a phone interview with the Philippine Daily Inquirer that his SBMA stint has so far been the second job he held in his life. The first was as political affairs officer in his mother's congressional office. "I ran the office and I took that job seriously," he said.

Gordon said in a Dec. 15 interview that Republic Act 7227, or the Bases Conversion Law that also created the SBMA, was not followed again in Magsaysay’s appointment.

"The workers of the (former Subic Naval Base) have been totally excluded," said Gordon, the first chair of the SBMA and former mayor of Olongapo City, where much of the former base workers live.

He said former employees of the United States military in the base's ship repair, public works and naval centers should have representatives in the SBMA board to ensure the "continuity of the vision."

The law gave bases conversion agencies, chiefly the Bases Conversion Development Authority, the task of managing programs and projects to convert Subic, Clark, Camp John Hay and several former American baselands into productive uses and make the former workers of the US bases as well as other sectors part of the progress in these new economic zones.

"I was really disturbed by it," he said of Magsaysay's appointment, adding that he learned about this from Deloso.

Governor Deloso said in a Dec. 19 interview that he was "upset" by Magsaysay’s appointment.

"I don't know what the boy would contribute to the SBMA when he has not done any job in his life," Deloso said.

SBMA Chair Feliciano Salonga on Wednesday confirmed that Magsaysay joined the 14-member board as private sector representative of Zambales.

Magsaysay replaced his father, Jesus Vicente Magsaysay, husband of Zambales Rep. Milagros Magsaysay.

Magsaysay's father and grandfather, former Gov. Vicente Magsaysay, lost in their gubernatorial and senatorial bids, respectively, in the May 14 elections.

"[Magsaysay] was appointed by our President. She wrote us a letter for Jobo to join the board," Salonga said in a phone interview.

He said the young Magsaysay attended two board meetings this December.

Magsaysay said he finished AB Political Science at the Ateneo de Manila University, where he is also taking his master in public management.

"I'm young but I'm capable of doing the job. As a director, I think I can do moral decision-making. Wala akong bahid na anything na marumi (I have not been smeared by any wrongdoing)," he told the INQUIRER.

"I am really a hard worker. Ang learning curve ko mabilis na matuto (I have a fast learning curve). I have been observing how (other directors) are answering. Inaaral ko talaga (I'm really trying to learn)," he said.

Magsaysay said he should not be perceived as someone riding on the name of his family.

"I want to excel. I will ask my elders for advice but the decision-making will be mine," he said.

Age, according to him, should "never be an issue" because "there are many young people in government agencies and in Congress."

"My grandfather became governor when he was 26," he said.

His mother, Representative Magsaysay said the opinions of her son's detractors should "not be the yardstick by which to measure my son's capability."

"Who are they to judge him?" she asked.

"He's sobrang level-headed. Marunong siyang sumabay ke nasa mataas ka o mababa. Nenerbiyosin sila sa kanya because he's qualified (My son is extremely level-headed. He knows how to deal with people from all walks of life. They’re scared of him because he's qualified]," the congresswoman said of her son, the eldest in a brood of six.

Her son, she added, was "not bobo (dumb)."

Salonga called Magsaysay "our young David." "He's in a learning mode, absorbing much of the issues. I'm guiding him in the issues because his parents are friends to me," the SBMA chair said.

As director, Magsaysay gets P10,000 in honorarium per meeting (two or three are held monthly), free housing within the freeport and gas allowance.

"I'm bias in favor of Ateneo graduates because they turn out to be useful to us," Salonga said.

The position of the late Jose Calimlim as senior deputy administrator has not been filled up yet. Calimlim, 62, died on Nov. 30 after a lingering illness.

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Readers' Comments

Tinatawagan ko ang lahat ng mamayan ng lalawigan ng Zamables at ng Lunsod ng olongapoupang mapawalang bisa ang appointment ng isang napaka batang board member sa SBMA, dahil sobra na ang paghahangad ng kapangyarihan ng mga Magsaysay sa loob ng SBMA, Reader Comments, at 12/27/2007 7:54 PM

"I worked for my mother's congressional election", that was my very first job. "An Ateneo graduate of Potical Science".Huh? Who would ever appoint a person with limited knowledge? An ordinary person will never be appointed as a member. 10,000 pesos per meeting, free housing, and many more that we ordinary does'nt know. Why dont we give this spot to a person who has the experience and knowledge about the real worker issues?This person appointment is very disturbing. A mother will always tell you that their son is a hard worker and capable of doing things. Selecting a young member is not a problem. A person name and school name should'nt be associated with the process.
By Zambales dude, at 12/28/2007 2:49 AM

My personal issue here is qualification. I have no doubt that this person's (Magsaysay) relatives and friends will attest to everyone that he is qualified. I am also not in a position to question his qualifications. My only concern or issue is "Is this the only person qualified to do this job?" Let's be fair! Either way, I'm sure nothing will happen. It's just how politics is run in our country. Very sad!
By Anonymous, at 12/28/2007 6:03 AM

Give this young man a chance.. kung batang Gordon siguro yan di kayo magre react. Me pinag aralan naman pala eh.. mahirap naman kung sa kanto kanto lang hinugot yan. Hirap sa inyo gusto niyo isang lahi lang ang mag hahari sa Olongapo eh. Wag na tayong maging ipokrito.. bagong taon na .. magbago na tayo.
By Badong, at 12/28/2007 11:57 AM

" Ang appointmet ng isang batang Magsaysay sa board ng SBMA ay lantarang pagpapatunay ng koneksyon ni GMA sa pamilyang Magsaysay... ipinakikita lang nito na gustong pangalagaan ni GMA ang interes at negosyo ng mga Magsaysay sa loob ng SBMA.. kung talagang sincero siyang linisin ang isyu ng smuggling sa SBMA bakit hindi niya alam ito... ang taong bayan dito sa Zambales at Olongapo ay alam ang lantarang negosyong ito ng Magsaysay.. bakit kung sino-sino pa ang itinuturo nila? malinaw na personal na interes ni GMA ag pinoprotektahan niya at galamay niya dito ang mga Magsaysay.Isang Mulat na mamayan ng Olongapo
By Anonymous, at 12/28/2007 12:55 PM

Dapat naman po kasi yong mga former base workers na binabangit ni gordon ay magsalita kung okay nga ba sa kanila ang desisyon ng presidente... baka naman wala na talagang former base workers kaya walang kumikibo, mayron ba ngayong representative na galing sa sektor ng manggagawa?
By olongapo observer po, at 12/28/2007 1:35 PM

"Give this young man a chance". this typical reaction is really unimpressive. Would you ever see a Juan de la cruz a having such kind of position at his age? Would they ever pick a guy from Columban,RMTU,Virgen or Gordon college who understand the real issues of the region? Hundreds of hungry job hunter from this institutions are trying their luck to find a job...
By zambales dude, at 12/28/2007 10:52 PM

MENSAHE PARA SA MGA KABABAYAN SA ZAMBALESMga Kalalawigan at kababayan, nais kong ipaabot sa inyo ang aking pagbati ng MALIBAGONG BAGONG TAON SA INYONG LAHAT!!!Una sa lahat, kinagagalak kong Batiin ang Pamunuuan ni Governor Atty. Amor D. Deloso at Vice Gov. Anne Gordon sa matagumpay na pagkapanalo nitong nakaraang halalan,minsan pa'y muling ipinakita ng zambalenos ang tapang at talino ,upang labanan ang mga mapaghari at mapag samantalang mga pamilya "M". Tunay ang suporta ng mahihirap upang linisin ang salot at dumi ng kapitolyo na syang nag nanakaw sa KABANGYARIHAN para bayan, lalo na ang panloloko sa mga proyekto, na kung saan panay espalto sa kalsada, ngunit walang progreso sa kabuhay ng masang zambaleno.Ilan taon na ba ? na walang kaunlaran ang zambales, o isang pamilya lang ang uumuunlad?nakaka awa ang isang pobreng gustong mabago ang kabuhayan, mabuti na lang at nariyan ang DELOSO, ang DELOSO na nagmula sa wala( Mahirap na pamilya), nag aral at lumaban sa mga "M"ayayamang politiko, ina ngat ng mahihirap.Naalaala ko pa nga, ng MT.Pinatubo, sya rin ang Governor noon, kung wala sya, marahil ay walang Zambales, pagkatapos ng mga sakunang yun, 'kinasuhan pa sya AT ikinulong ng "M"ayayamang politiko. Salamat sa mga kababayan ko, nagising tayo sa isang pangungut.Sanay suportahan natin ang Ama ng ZAmbaleno, ngayun wala pang isang taon, napaka laki na ng nagagawa nya, kasama ang mga bokal,nariyan ang dating Bise Gov.Ramon Lacbain II, lumalaban sa kahirapan ng zamb.at sa nawawalang 18 Milyon na para sa mga taga subic. Sana'y lalong lumiwanag ang nagdilim na lalawigan,kung tayo'y kapit bisig sa pag tulong at pasamasama,lalo na ang mga nasa America, Europa, at iba pang nasa ibang bansa, tumulong tayo sa ating mga kababayan,pag tatayo ng mga negosyo upang lalong magkaroong ng hanap buhay ang masang zambaleno.MABUHAY PO TAYO. AGYAM TAY KEN APO DIOS!.....---SOUTH KOREA WITH LOVE
By Anonymous, at 12/28/2007 11:09 PM

Political Pro.. The sitting leaders should formally act on this matter for Malacanang and SBMA to have on its records the point of view of the local leaders, this discussion is good for the leaders to know the pulse of its constituency and its now up for the leaders . . . the Provincial Board, Sangguniang Pambayan and the City Council to have their positions clearly stated on the matter. It this discussion is not suffecient for them to react, then the stake-holders (NGOs, POs - Business Groups, Worker's Groups, ABC, etc) should prompt them to by writing their own resolutions and have it submitted to their respective sanggunians. Now if ever there will be no reaction from stake holders, then its either the appointment if okay with the constituency or the people have turned into the "Idon't care attitude"
By Political Pro, at 12/29/2007 7:26 AM

This is how blatant show of abuse of authority by GMA and the callousness of the Magsaysays. They are making a big joke of SBMA. Ginagawang gatasan at hanapbuhay ng mga Magsaysay ang gobyerno.

Libre Bahay,40K a month plus reps, free kuryente,gasolina plus mga gagawing katarantaduhan sa customs ng tatay at lolo nya. Wala na talagang hiya itong mga Magsaysay. Gordon should howl. Binababoy yung pinagtiyagaan nyang buuin. Otro itong si Salonga, SIPSIP.

By Anonymous, at

12/30/2007 12:31 AM

Totoy", inupo sa SBMA ni GMA

Tinuligsa ni Sen. Richard Gordon ang pagtalaga ni Pangulong Arroyo ng isang "Totoy" para maupo bilang board member ng Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA).Ayon kay Gordon, labag sa charter ng SBMA ang pag-upo ng isang bata at walang karanasan sa trabaho para maging board member ng tanggapang ito.

"Tambay lang yata yung bata, mapapahiya tayo niyan sa dayuhang businessman," wika ng senador.Sa impormasyong nakuha ni Gordon, itinalaga ni Pangulong Arroyo sa board ng SBMA ang 23-anyos na si Victor Magsaysay noon pang Hulyo subalit ngayong Disyembre lamang nakaupo."Itinago yung appointment at saka lang lumabas nung magkagipitan na sa impeachment ni Mrs. Arroyo," kuwento pa ng senador.

Si Victor ay apo umano ni Vicente Magsaysay, natalong senatorial candidate ng Team Unity at dating gobernador ng Zambales.

By Totoy", inupo sa SBMA ni GMA, at

12/30/2007 12:59 AM

LETS BE CONSTRUCTIVE ABOUT THIS ISSUE LETS DO AWAY WITH POLITICAL AFFILIATONS AND GIVE THE KIDDO A CHANCE TO PROVE HIMSELF AND HAVE HIS PERFORMANCE PROPERLY EVALUATED WITHOUT BIASED IF HE DID GOOD LET IT BE! AND IF NOT THEN LET THE AXE FALL AND KICK THE TODDLER OUT OF HIS CRIB! AND BRING HER BACK UNDER HER MOTHERS SKIRT!!!
By Anonymous, at 12/30/2007 12:52 PM

Let me comment on the comments of this Boy Director:1. "...learning curve ko mabilis na matuto..." - Yeah, that's the way to do it, there's nothing like a PAID TRAINING (at 30 thou a month). Nasa Board para matuto at pag-aralan: "learning mode, absorbing much of the issues"...2. "...They’re scared of him because he's qualified." - Coming from an elected congresswoman. So that means those people ("detractors") must be less qualified than this dude. Hmmmm...3. "...Magsaysay said he should not be perceived as someone riding on the name of his family." - Duh, taking up PolSci and adding SBMA Director to his biodata with a surname like yours, tell me dude, who are you kidding?:)
By Louie of Riyadh, KSA, at 12/30/2007 3:58 PM

Flash Gordon to the rescue

FROM THE STANDS By Domini M. Torrevillas

The Glorietta bombing last Friday, October 19, showed us that in times of disaster and crisis, Dick Gordon of the Philippine National Red Cross (PNRC) is someone you can rely on to always be there for you.

It was just like Gordon rushing to the scene like the MV Asuncion sinking in 1987, the earthquake in Central Colleges in Cabanatuan in 1990, and the Mt. Pinatubo eruption in 1991.

Dick and PNRC volunteers were the first response teams to arrive at the Glorietta shortly after the blast at 1:20 p.m. Deployed were six ambulances with 20 staff and volunteers of medical and rescue teams from different PNRC chapters to provide search, rescue and medical assistance to the victims. While the law enforcement authorities had to secure and collect evidence from the carnage site, Gordon and the PNRC teams, amidst the ensuing chaos and confusion, immediately addressed the concerns of both the victims and their loved ones by coordinating information bulletins with the hospitals and funeral homes.

Ten of the injured were treated by the PNRC team on-site while Welfare Desks were installed immediately near Ground Zero and at the Makati Medical Center and Ospital ng Makati to assist those trying to locate their loved ones who might have been inside the mall at the time of the explosion. A good number of those missing or unaccounted for were successfully located by the teams.

When the rest gave up hope and called it a day that early evening, Dick Gordon returned and stayed behind to comfort relatives still waiting at the blast site for news about their missing relatives. The scene was like that of the Zambales fishermen in 2005 who were lost at sea for 19 days and given up for dead until Sen. Gordon tapped the US Navy to track via an Orion plane the whereabouts of the men to be picked up the Philippine Navy along the coast of Palawan.

At the Glorietta 4 Friday evening, Norlita Tan, looking distraught, approached the PNRC Welfare Desk to seek help in locating her husband, Renier, who had been with her inside the mall shortly before the explosion. She just had her eyeglasses repaired at an optical shop at Glorietta 4, leaving her husband to pass time by himself strolling around the area. Little did she know that that would be the last time she would see him alive.

Gordon sought clearance from law enforcement agencies and the mall management who had secured the area and were now on clearing operations before he deployed the PNRC search-and-rescue team back to the site to search for Norlita's husband.

Utilizing search cameras and an audio probe, the team found a wallet belonging to the reported missing Maureen De Leon among the debris, near where the bodies of her companions, Gee-Ann de Gracia and Carlo Niño Vigamo, were found earlier that afternoon.

Gordon inspected the wallet and found the telephone number of Gerardo De Leon, father of Maureen. On the phone, De Leon told Dick that Maureen was not home. Dick advised him to proceed to the site since Maureen was not on the list of victims taken to hospitals and funeral homes. Dick also tried to track Maureen through her employer, Tots Romualdez, who was his classmate and who also joined in the vigil for news.

At that time Norlita was waiting at the site for word about her husband, with Dick and PNRC people never leaving her side, offering comfort and encouragement in that time of uncertainty. Gerardo and his wife Mercedes also received the same kind of support and comfort while they were at the site for hours on end waiting for their daughter, Maureen, to be found. Both Norlita and the De Leons believed that Renier and Maureen were still inside the building.

Dick once again deployed the PNRC search-and-rescue team back on site this time, armed with hooligan tools, a portable chain saw, K7 circular cutters and hydraulic rescue rams, a spreader, and cutters to break through piles of concrete and steel at the pinpointed target area.

Barely an hour later, at around 2 a.m., of Saturday, October 20, the PNRC team found the lifeless body of Reinier Tan buried in debris at the foot of the escalator at the atrium of Glorietta 2. With some difficulty, Dick told Norlita that Renier had been found.

Maureen's body was found at 10:30 that evening — 33 hours after the explosion — by the joint search and rescue teams of PNRC and Makati City. Upon being informed of the discovery, Dick excused himself and returned to the blast scene, leaving his wife Kate with their friends to watch the New Minstrels show.

"Even if we can't provide relief to the family members by finding their missing relatives alive, at least we provide closure to their search. This is all part of the efforts of the Red Cross to alleviate human suffering," Dick said. "We are relentless in our search. We don't give up until we find them simply because their respective families do not have plans of giving up themselves."

Those still seeking missing relatives may contact the Social Services Group of PNRC though 5270000

Gordon offers compromise formula on barangay election

Senator Richard Gordon, chairman of the committee on constitutional amendments and revision of laws, yesterday said he will attempt to persuade his legislative colleagues to strike a middle ground on the proposal of the House of Representatives to postpone the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections from Oct. 29 this year to the second Monday of October 2009.

Gordon presented his compromise formula to shorten the deferment of the twin elections by only one year to enable the Commission on Elections to automate in preparation for the 2010 national and local elections.

His proposal deviates from the supposedly unanimous stand taken by the senators in a recent caucus opposing any delay in the village and youth council polls.

“The Automated Electoral System Act of 2007 says the elections should be automated. And I’ll see to it that this is implemented for the barangay and SK elections even on a pilot basis,” Gordon told a public hearing.

The senator from Olongapo City broached his suggestion as barangay chairmen and councilmen came in droves to the Senate to express their support for the poll deferment.

The village officials, numbering over a thousand, were herded by Jose Marty Lim, president of the League of Barangays.

But representatives of the Department of the Interior and Local Government and Commission on Elections said if they will have their way, the polls should be held as scheduled because the activities have gone into high gear and hundreds of millions of pesos have already been spent for them.

Richard Nalupta, chairman of the National Youth Commission, said they favor the deferment to give Congress time to enact a law that would reform the SK.

Nalupta said the reforms include the adjustment in the age bracket for the youth from 15 to 17 to 15 to 21 years of age. He said the proposed law also contains an anti-dynasty provision which will disqualify close relatives of incumbent governors and mayors from running for SK positions.

Gordon said the provision of the AES law should be enforced in the barangay and SK elections wherein automated voting and counting of votes will be implemented on an experimental basis in two selected provinces and two cities each in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.

But Comelec executive director for operations Jose Tolentino could not make a commitment whether the poll body can set in place an automatic system between now and May 2008 which is the new date proposed by Gordon for the twin elections.

Tolentino said what the Comelec has in mind is to automate the election in the Automous Region in Muslim Mindanao scheduled in August 2008.

Nalupta admitted that if the SK elections are postponed by two years, this will put to waste the P138-million spent by the government for the recent registration of six million new youth voters. Fel V. Maragay

The presidentiables

By Jun Ledesma - Sunbursts

SENATOR Richard "Dick" Gordon is not keeping secret his ambition to be the next president of the Philippines. And why should he? Given the names, qualifications and winnability of those who desire to be on top of the political totem pole Gordon has all the necessary attributes for the post.

Let's look at each of the so-called presidentiables.

Manny Villar. Now Senate president, he wants to picture himself as the boy from the palengke of Tondo to the millionaires' row of Alabang, to Congress and then the Senate presidency.

He was pictured as the "masipag and matiyaga."

He made good in real estate although some quarters are saying that his successful political career is what propped his business.

Villar's however does not have a macro perspective of the country in that his interest is so confined in Metro Manila where his businesses and political constituents are. He has very little vision for Mindanao. His knowledge of the region is confined within what he reads in the newspapers given the fact that he comes to Mindanao only during election season.

Mar Roxas. His only asset is his name and Korina Sanchez. The fact that he is not married up to this time elicits some negative impressions. Born with a silver spoon in the mouth he wants to package himself as a rich boy to "Mr. Palengke."

Of course that's all suave advertising. Of all the presidentiables I think he is the weakling. He is a populist politician but limp as a leader.

Ping Lacson. Everybody thought he is the reason why FPJ lost. True to form, he is engrossed with investigation rather than legislation. In a nation enamored with leaders who can face and exterminate deadly gangs like "Kuratong Baleleng" and Bacchanalian womanizers, Ping has the popularity of his former boss and idol Joseph Estrada.

He is however haunted by the ghost of Bubby Dacer, the fugitives, and the crack at the FBI eavesdropping records in Philippine politics.

Dick Gordon. A Red Cross volunteer. He turned the Subic wasteland (after the US pullout) into a vibrant economic estate almost single-handedly. The only senator who shows up unexpectedly in every tragedy - natural disasters and war - wherever and whenever.

Next to GMA, he is the most well traveled political leader. But unlike GMA his travels are confined within the Philippines. No wonder why he has better grasp of the problems and prospects in Mindanao more than the rest of the senators combined.

I am most impressed by Senator Gordon's straightforwardness and pragmatic solutions on the complex problems of Mindanao. In an intimate exchange of ideas when we had a rare opportunity to speak with Gordon, I realized the whale of difference between him and Senator Villar.

Years back when he was Tourism Secretary, Gordon was laughed at when he commented that he will make Sulu and Tawi Tawi tourist destinations.

I too laughed at his sick optimism. But having listened to him, the idea is not at all impossible to achieve.

Last election, I attended a press forum of Senator Villar. I want to assess as to how well is he grounded on the problems besetting Mindanao and what are some of the legislative agenda he would initiate to correct the iniquitous inequality in the dispersal of government development fund and services that had always placed Mindanao in the last priority. Villar's response was short and evasive.

He said that investors are evading Mindanao because of the peace and order condition in the region. What is needed is to modernize the military so that the peace and order problems can be addressed. Period. I asked Gordon exactly the same question. His response was out of the (politicians) box.

If he has his way, he will send the navy ships to Jolo and Basilan to ferry all their products to Manila where the market is. He cited that at this time of the year, mangosteen and lanzones are bought by middlemen at P5.00 per kilo. These are sold at premium price in Manila for not less that P60 per kilo. Despite the abundance of fish in the Jolo sea, the fishermen only catch what they need for the day. If they are provided vessels that could transport their harvests to the markets, like Manila or Metro Cebu, eventually Jolowanos will live a life of bonanza!

Senator Gordon's vision for Mindanao starts with simple programs that immediately address the problem. And his solutions are diametrically opposed to Villar's imperial Manila-oriented ideas. Manny wants to buy more military hardware to that it can effectively fight the rebels.

Dick wants to use the naval ships transport goods from Mindanao to the prime markets in Metro Manila so that the rebels, farmers and fisher folks will realize a bigger profits from their harvests. Now who can argue with that.

PASG clears Arroyos on smuggling ‘links’ sans probe

Without having subjected them to an investigation as it probably deems it was no longer needed, the Presidential Anti-Smuggling Group (PASG) yesterday cleared the First Family outright from reports of being involved in smuggling, a persisting national problem that the government is said to be trying to curb.

During an interview with reporters, PASG chief Antonio Villar refuted allegations made by opposition Sen. Panfilo “Ping” Lacson the other day that some protectors of smugglers are enjoying close ties with the members of President Arroyo’s family.

Villar said some smugglers are merely using the name of the President and the members of her family to be able to undertake their illegal activities and that there is no evidence to show the First Family is protecting smugglers.

On Monday, Lacson scoffed at the government’s publicized destruction of seized luxury cars at the Subic Freeport in Zambales, saying it would have been better if Mrs. Arroyo cleaned her own backyard of the biggest vehicle smugglers in the country.

“Car smuggling has worsened at Subic and Clark since the President took office. The destruction of the smuggled vehicles, albeit graphic, was just all for show. What she has to do is crack down on her cronies responsible for this,” Lacson said.

“She might not know it but the biggest smuggler is in her close circle of friends. I have checked all the records regarding smuggling at Subic and Clark (in Pampanga) and only one name has emerged, one that is very close to the President,” the senator said, proceeding to name one “alias Romy” as the one he was referring to.

Lacson said “alias Romy” was a veritable “untouchable” to the Bureau of Customs (BoC) due to his connection to Malacañang.

Villar said he knew the person Lacson referred to as “alias Romy,” but stressed the PAGC has yet to get evidence to pin him down on alleged involvement in smuggling.

He again said that person may have just been name-dropping and was using the First Family to get away with his smuggling activity.

“We know him (alias Romy) but the problem is, we have no evidence against him. We are tracing his warehouse already. A lot of smugglers are using the name of the President and her family for their illegal activity. This is just a pure case of name-dropping,” Villar said.

The PASG chief furthermore dared Lacson to bare the identity or identities of the purported smugglers at Subic and Clark and to present evidence of his claims.

“I urge our good senator (Lacson) to name names and submit evidence so we can have some basis. It is hard to comment on anything without the proper evidence,” Villar said.

Also last Monday, Lacson’s colleague, Sen. Richard Gordon, said smuggling was thriving in Subic and Clark due largely to personalities that enjoy close links with Mrs. Arroyo.

Gordon alleged that one of the biggest smugglers operating in Subic was a congressman who was “very, very close to the President.”

At the same time, Villar also expressed frustration over the BoC’s alleged non-cooperation in the PASG’s probe of the bureau’s officials and employees.

He said the BoC has refused to heed the PASG’s request for it to provide the anti-smuggling body documents it needed in the investigation such as the list of seized smuggled cargoes and items.

“It is just unfortunate that the BoC is not cooperating. We asked for the documents a month ago and until now the BoC is not responding to our request,” Villar said.

In a press conference in Malacañang last Sunday, the PASG bared it was investigating more than a hundred officials and employees of the BoC on suspicion of conniving with smugglers of luxury vehicles into the country.

Villar, however, refused to immediately name the BoC officials and personnel but said if their involvement in smuggling activities were proved, they will be charged with violating the Customs’ Code, the anti-fraud law and slapped with administrative and criminal cases.

He said since January the PASG has seized P300-million worth of smuggled items. He said the government loses P50-60 billion annually due to smuggling.

He said reports reaching his office say corrupt BoC officials are paid P5,000 for every 20-foot container van and P10,000 for every 40-foot container van that they allow through Customs unchecked.

In displaying its “seriousness” in its anti-smuggling campaign, the government has been bandying through the media its purported successes and efforts to curb the illegal activity, the most recent of which is its publicized destruction of seized smuggled cars at the Subic Freeport in Subic, Zambales last week.

The Palace said the destruction of several “hot” cars was being done so that unscrupulous Customs or government officials would no longer be able to get their hands on them to personally use or profit from illegally selling them.

On Thursday last week, 32 cars were lined up for destruction but after 18 cars were crushed by backhoes at the Customs warehouse at Subic, the government ordered a sudden halt to the activity.

The order came apparently after a consignee of the 14 spared luxury vehicles — which included a Lamborghini, a Ferrari, two Porsches and a BMW – sought a reconsideration of the decision to forfeit the cars because the vehicles were allegedly legitimately brought into the country as supported by the necessary papers and that their taxes had been paid.

Lacson said he would push for a Senate inquiry into the smuggling activities at Subic and Clark.

Sherwin C. Olaes - Daily tribune

FOREBODINGS & ENTHUSIASMS

By Rene Q. Bas - Manila Times
Omnia in bonum…

One of the many things ordinary people dislike about the Arroyo administration is its perceived refusal to do the most basic things that will make a difference.

This perceived refusal contributes to the unpopularity of the President. xxx

xxx

It is biblically guaranteed that to do right is always rewarded. The often-quoted words are those of St. Paul who said in effect: Omnia in bonum… Everything turns out good for those who love. “Those who love” is a code for “those who do God’s will.” And the Almighty God of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, serious believers of these religions know, is the author of the Natural Law. He wrote it in the human heart.

With this guarantee, the Catholic, which the President is, should feel free always to do what is right—no matter who gets hurt. As she said in her last State of the Nation address she is governing and not engaged in a popularity contest.

Now in the luxury-cars smuggling scandal God has given her a new opportunity to do what is right. Our sources at Customs verify the Inquirer’s story that the smugglers at Subic are people close to the President.

Sen. Dick Gordon, an expert on Subic affairs (he was the first official to envision the Subic Freeport before there was talk of the American Navy’s departure), also confirms the story. He is an independent-minded but positive person who will help the GMA administration succeed in those of its programs s that are sure to benefit the people and the Republic. But he opposes whatever will harm the nation.

The President should do the right thing now and give Customs boss Napoleon L. Morales the go-signal to expose—and order Secretary Raul M. Gonzalez throw the book at—the culprits.

Vehicle smugglers close to Arroyo, say senators

By Gil C. Cabacungan Jr. - Inquirer

MANILA, Philippines -- Apparently unimpressed by the destruction of smuggled cars on orders of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo at the Subic Freeport last week, some senators have said it would have been better if the Chief Executive had swept her own backyard to rid the country of its biggest vehicle smugglers.

“She might not know it but the biggest smuggler is in her close circle of friends,” said Senator Panfilo Lacson. “I have checked all the records regarding smuggling at Subic and Clark and only one name has emerged, one that is very close to the President.’’

Lacson said this smuggler, whom he refused to identify, was “untouchable” to the Bureau of Customs (BOC) due to his Malacañang connection.

“Car smuggling has worsened at Subic and Clark since the President [took] office. The destruction of the smuggled vehicles, albeit graphic, was just all for show. What she has to do is crack down on her cronies responsible for this,’’ Lacson said.

Senator Richard Gordon, the founding chair of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority, said that smuggling had gotten worse at Subic and Clark largely because of people close to Arroyo.

Gordon said one of the biggest smugglers operating out of the former American naval base was a “congressman’’ who was “very, very close to the President.’’

“This guy is not just into smuggling cars, he’s also into smuggling other commodities like fuel, alcohol and cigarettes,’’ Gordon said.

Lacson said the inadvertent inclusion of 14 luxury cars in the list of vehicles to be destroyed last week was part of the top smuggler’s plan to control car smuggling at Subic.

“A syndicate is responsible for including even legitimate importers in the vehicle destruction,’’ Lacson said. “The President might have unwittingly been used to help the top smuggler monopolize the entire Subic smuggling ring.’’

Fourteen of 32 vehicles slated for destruction were spared on Thursday while 18 cars, not all of them luxury editions, were destroyed by backhoes at the customs warehouse at Subic.

The consignee of the 14 mostly luxury cars, Hidemitsu Trading Co., filed a motion for reconsideration of the decision to forfeit the cars, saying the vehicles were brought into the country with the proper papers and the taxes were paid.

The cars included a Lamborghini, a Ferrari, two Porsches and a BMW.

Lacson said he would push for a Senate investigation of the smuggling at Subic and Clark.

At the BoC, Commissioner Napoleon Morales Monday said he welcomed Presidential Anti-Smuggling Group chair Antonio Villar Jr.’s exposé of customs officials and employees involved in smuggling.

“I have no problem with that. If he really has evidence against them, then he should show it,” Morales told the Philippine Daily Inquirer in a phone interview.

Morales said Villar and others pointing to bureau insiders as coddlers of smugglers “should back their allegations with solid evidence.”

Morales said his own office was implementing reforms to weed out those involved not only in smuggling but other irregularities.

“Our officials and employees have sworn duties and responsibilities. If they violate them they are held accountable since they are public servants. That’s why we’ve been emphasizing accountability in all our transactions,” Morales said.

He said the BoC’s intensified “Run After The Smugglers” (Rats) program also covered customs officials and employees.

Villar, in a press conference at Malacañang on Sunday, had said the PASG was in the process of “validating” its list of suspected protectors of smugglers from the BoC. He said their number, including BoC examiners, could go over 100 nationwide.

Since January, Villar said, the PASG has seized P300-million worth of smuggled items. He said the government loses P50-60 billion annually due to smuggling.

He said reports reaching his office say corrupt BoC officials are paid P5,000 for every 20-foot container van and P10,000 for every 40-foot container van that they allow through customs unchecked.