Latest update on ZTE scandal

Malacanang will stop the Department of Justice (DOJ) from pursuing its investigation of the cancelled national broadband network (NBN)-ZTE project since the Office of the Ombudsman is already conducting a probe of the matter.

Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita made this announcement during a press conference.

According to Ermita, the Ombudsman as an independent body, should be the proper forum to investigate the case.

Before the President's directive to the DOJ, Press Secretary and Presidential Spokesman Ignacio R. Bunye said that "if there is any clear evidence of wrongdoing, the appropriate forum would be the courts, particularly the Sandiganbayan or the Ombudsman."
Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez was reported to have created a panel to investigate several cases filed with her office concerning the NBN-ZTE deal.

Gutierrez was quoted to have said that the panel she created will begin holding public hearings on the ZTE contract next week.

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Philippine governors stay loyal with Arroyo

Amidst renewed moves to destabilize the government, the League of Provinces/Governors of the Philippines expressed their full support for President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

In a Manifesto of Support for the Chief Executive, the provincial chief executives also called for an end to the agitations by her detractors to unseat the President through unconstitutional means and to stop political bickerings for the sake of the country.

The manifesto was issued at the end of the 2nd General Assembly of the League of Provinces of the Philippines (LPP) held at the Villa Del Rey Convention Center in Cadlan, Pili, Camarines Sur.

LPP President and Misamis Occidental Governor Loreto Leo Ocampos said the manifesto expressed the governors' unwavering and wholehearted support to the Arroyo administration.

Thanking them for their support, the President said that together, the national and local governments are "making real progress in alleviating poverty."

With a better economy, "the rate of poverty is down, employment is up and education and healthcare services to the poor are vastly improved. These are the keys in lifting up the poor."

The League of Provinces of the Philippines (LPP), which has 80 members, aims to ventilate, articulate and crystallize issues affecting provincial and metropolitan government administration. It likewise serves to secure, through proper and legal means, solutions to problems confronting the localities.
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Mindanao Business Council wants federalism in the Philippines

Mindanao Business Council is pushing for federalism as soon as possible.

Said Council Chairman Vicente Lao in a press conference attended by different federalism advocates and leaders of the business group.
According to Lao, the present form of government has been very disadvantageous to the people in Mindanao as the money generated from Mindanao goes to other parts of the country and very less of such generated income goes back to Mindanao.

He also observed that a centralized government follows a patronage system of disbursing funds which makes Mindanao cities and provinces to lag behind in absorbing national projects and programs.

The council wants federalism as soon as possible as it can also be the tool to end insurgency that has been threatening the business sector.

Peace and order problems can hardly be understood and solved by the people in central Manila as these are more localized, thus, can only be effectively addressed locally, they stressed.

Meanwhile, Albay leaders and representatives from the private sector agreed, in a public forum , that federalism is a vehicle for change.

Albay Gov. Joey Salceda led the group of panelists at the PIA Kapihan sa Legazpi City attended by representatives from the media, academe, business and local government unit executives.

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Electronic Learning Program for agriculture and fisheries

The Departments of Agriculture (DA) and of Science and Technology (DOST) are teaming up with various groups to better educate farmers and fisherfolk on the new farm-related technologies via the Internet.

These two departments have launched with a group of state universities and colleges (SUCs) and nongovernment organizations (NGOs) the electronic-Learning Program for Agriculture and Fisheries.

It is aimed to modernize agricultural extension works by harnessing the digital revolution to bring new information and technologies closer to rural communities.

According to DA Secretary Arthur Yap, the program is one of the components of the Comprehensive Agriculture and Fisheries Integrated Management System (CAFIAMS), a program to allow small farmers, fisherfolk and agribusiness entrepreneurs through a DA-run electronic database system for information on new technologies to help them boost yields, optimize profits and eventually engage in online trading or marketing of their produce.

He explained that the e-Extension Program aims to institutionalize the e-Extension system of the agriculture and fisheries sector; integrate and harmonize agriculture and fisheries e-Extension initiatives of various institutions; and empower the stakeholders in agriculture and fisheries on the value of e-Extension services.

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Anti-smuggling Campaign in the Philippines

In the quest of plugging all revenue leaks and blocking all avenues for smuggling, the Bureau of Customs (BOC) signed a Memorandum of Agreement with the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) and the United Harbor Pilots' Association of the Philippines (UHPAP) for information sharing regarding domestic movement of imported goods and vessels in all ports that will boost the former's anti-smuggling campaign.

The MOA stipulates that the PPA and UHPAP immediately report to the BOC any information on smuggling that they may encounter in any port, especially private ports.

The PPA will require all vessels to submit cargo manifest and other documents prior to berthing. These documents will be used as reference for counter-checking by the BOC to check whether loaded cargo are smuggled, misdeclared or undervalued.

The UHPAP, which provide mandatory pilotage services to docking vessels, will also provide the BOC with a regular list of vessels that are maneuvered in ports. The BOC will be able to track the movement of all vessels and filter out the legitimate from the dubious vessels that claim to come from another domestic port but in fact come from foreign shores carrying smuggled goods.
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Information Technology Scholarship for Filipinos

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo recently unveiled a P350-million information technology scholarship program to train 40,000-50,000 people for employment in the Philippine Cyber Corridor.

The President announced the putting up of the scholarship program when she graced the 8th e-Services Global Sourcing Conference and Exhibition.

The two-day conference is organized annually by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).

The 50,000 prospective trainees will join the more than 100,000 IT professionals in the Philippines.

The President pointed out that this year's IT trainees would be easily absorb by the job market as her administration is intent on generating 10 million jobs "all over the economy," seven million jobs of which have already been created during the past seven years.

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Increase salary of Philippine state workers

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo recently urged Congress to pass a law that will provide an additional 10 percent increase in the salaries of state workers via a new Salary Standardization Law.

According to the President, the proposed creation of a new Salary Standardization Law will grant a series of pay increases to the 1.2 million government employees who "work tirelessly to serve the country."

The President said this proposed increase in pay will also benefit public school teachers whom she called the "backbone of our educational system."

State workers received a 10 percent pay increase in 2007, when the government was able to garner record revenue surpluses brought about by the implementation of the Expanded Value Added Tax (E-VAT) Law.

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Cases of Murdered Filipino Journalists

The National Press Club (NPC) will now be able to monitor cases involving the slay of media personalities.

This came after a recent memorandum of agreement (MOA) signed between the Department of Justice (DOJ)'s Task Force 211head Ricardo Blancaflor or the working group head tasked to look into extra-judicial killings and NPC President Roy Mabasa.

According to Blancaflor, through Task Force 211's "Bantay Katarungan" program, the NPC received the exclusive right to monitor cases of killing of newsmen and it is now the NPC's task to monitor the status of the above-mentioned cases.

He added that all assistance will be provided to the NPC to see it that the cases reach a successful conclusion.

Under the agreement, accredited volunteers will personally attend the scheduled hearings of cases being monitored, apprise themselves of the proceedings and record incidents that transpire in the cases they are assigned to.

Singing Improves Health

Hear this: Singing is good for your health
LIVING ALIVE By Dero Pedero

The Philippine Star 

It's no secret that music and singing relate to man's health and well-being. Historically and internationally, music forms a part of the healing systems and rituals of many cultures. It has been observed that singers tend to live longer lives. Could it be because they have stronger breathing mechanisms strengthened by habitually holding longer breaths? Or that they express their emotions more and thus release much internal angst and tension?

We are a lucky people because almost every Filipino can sing. Lately, there has been a surge in singing mainly because of the karaoke craze and the natural, irrepressible human desire to get up on stage and be a star. Many baby boomers find much satisfaction joining friends, setting up bands, and having soirees. singing songs from the '50s onwards. I believe that a song a day keeps the doctor away. And indeed, a singing nation is a healthy nation. Here are what some top singing devotees have to say:

Bayani Fernando

Chairman, Metro Manila Development Authority

Whenever I sing, I feel good. It is an emotional drain through which one can flush the stresses of the day. By nature, we have different emotions we want to express, and we can do this by singing. You can release negative emotions like anger, you can communicate your innermost feelings to others, and most of all, singing brings you in communion with yourself. I look forward to our singing sessions, which we hold at least twice a week. If I were not that busy, I would be a member of a band or musical group. Music keeps me young —   it is the elixir of youth!

Angelo Reyes

Secretary, Department of Energy

Before, to ask me to sing was really difficult. You had to physically carry me to the stage. However, when I reached the rank of general in the Armed Forces and I had a captive audience who seemed to applaud my singing for whatever reason, I started to enjoy singing. I learned that almost anybody can sing. What is important is that you can carry a tune, have a sense of timing, and that you can feel the song with the proper emotion. You must not only sing the melody; it is important to convey the message of the song. I do a lot of public speaking and appearances, and singing in public has helped me reinforce my confidence on stage. You can't sing well if at the time you are singing, you are unable to cast off your worries and emotional baggage. For people in high-pressure jobs almost nonstop, singing is extreme relief and supreme joy.

Joey Lina

President, Manila Hotel

Of all stress-relieving activities, I enjoy singing the most because through songs, I am able to express myself. Singing is expressing. Furthermore, it is thoroughly relaxing and makes me forget the worries that plague my day. There are times when singing brings me a real high, transporting me to another level of consciousness.

Marides Fernando

Mayor, Marikina City (and wife of MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando)

Ever since I have known BF, he loved to sing. He had a weekly night out with his singing buddies, which was his stress reliever for the week. If he didn't get a chance to sing enough that night, he would sing in my ear in bed. Now, we continue to sing as a family one night a week and we have a good time. There is something about singing that makes you focus on your performance, tone, words, and expression; makes you forget your many problems; and takes you, if only for a brief moment, to a place that's carefree, beautiful, and all that we were meant to be — happy.

Lenny de Jesus

Professorial lecturer at UP (and best remembered as the iron lady of Malacañang during the Estrada regime)

My basic stress relief practice is to meditate twice a day for at least 20 minutes each time. I have resumed my yoga practice and started playing the piano again. I have also taken up the flute and the guitar and, of course, sing for fun. Music has definitely not only de-stressed me; it has enabled me to discover much more joy in life. While playing music, I get lost in the wonder of the sounds that uplift my spirits.

Boy Camara

Singer/businessman

To manage stress, I keep a personal attitude that life is not a problem to be solved but a mystery to be lived. I meditate regularly and practice tai chi, which I now teach. I believe that everything can be meditation if you are totally into what you are doing right here, now. I always try to be total, not necessarily perfect. As much as I can, I live totally from moment to moment. And I try not to take myself too seriously! Singing is a great stress reliever for me. It is like opening and emptying oneself, then, a silent state happens.

Willie Nepomuceno

Comedian/entertainer

One evening, I had one of the greatest stress-relieving moments of my life singing one Beatle song after another with a live band. It brought back my youthful days, carefree and singing my heart out. I felt like some imaginary steam was being flushed out of my body system, like a cleansing process. Even simply listening to old music I grew up with gives me the kind of mental state one gets from yoga — relaxing and peaceful. Laughter, of course, is the universal medicine for stress. The real cure, I surmise, is the subject matter that we laugh about. Music and laughter, indeed, are the best stress relievers. And you don't pay any doctor!

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Filipino-Chinese Firm Bags P3.95 Billion Transco Deal

By Donnabelle Gatdula 
Philippine Star 

A consortium of Filipino and Chinese firms led by local infrastructure holding firm Monte Oro Grid Resources Corp. bagged yesterday the concession contract for power grid operator National Transmission Corp. (TransCo) with a bid of $3.95 billion.

Monte Oro had teamed up with Calaca High Power Corp. and State Grid of China for the bidding, the country's biggest privatization effort.

Controversy has shrouded Monte Oro in the wake of allegations by Sen. Jamby Madrigal of the group's discreet ties to President Arroyo's brother, Diosdado "Buboy" Macapagal Jr. and the Aboitiz group.

She also said it is Enrique Razon Jr., chair of International Container Services Inc. (ICTSI) and treasurer of the administration Team Unity in the May senatorial elections, who leads the Monte Oro group.

The consortium narrowly beat the $3.905-billion bid of the group of San Miguel Energy Corp. and partners Dutch firm TPG Aurora BV and Malaysia's TNB Prai Sdn Bhd.

The Monte Oro group must still get a franchise to operate the grid from Congress, where opponents of Mrs. Arroyo in the Senate are likely to give them a rough ride amid allegations the winning consortium has close links to her.

"They (Monte Oro) have enough political clout to get it through the lower house but will likely run into a long-running tele-novella in the Senate," said Alex Magno, director of the Development Bank of the Philippines.

The consortium has a year to get the franchise or ownership will revert to the government, which will continue to run the grid for the time being.

But Monte Oro's president expressed confidence, saying their offer would be funded through a combination of equity and borrowing.

"We have agreements with underwriters and we will begin to implement them," Walter Brown, who is also chairman of mining group Philex, said.

The government will get 25 percent of the purchase price once the franchise is awarded, with the remaining funds to be paid over 20 years.

"This is a move in the right direction," said Jose Ibazeta, head of the agency tasked with selling state-run energy assets.

The winning price tag is more than double the previous privatization record of $1.6 billion paid for Fort Bonifacio in 1995 and crowns a turnaround in what had previously been a notoriously stop-start energy privatization program.

The government has been trying since 2003 to privatize the management of TransCo to boost state finances and modernize its creaking power sector. Yesterday's auction was the fifth attempt and the second this year.

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