Malaysia Kills Filipinos in Sabah

As clashes between Malaysian authorities and the armed followers of Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III continue, Malacanang Tuesday said what the Philippine government can do is to assist their families left behind.

"We have done everything possible, and we continue to do everything possible to peacefully end this (Sabah) standoff. Unfortunately, the position taken by the Kiram family is a position that leads down to violence," said Presidential Spokesman Edwin Lacierda in a press briefing.

"Ang ginagawa namin ngayon, itong mga naiwan sa Basulta (in Sulu) ay tinutulungan po natin 'yung mga pamilya," he said.

"In fact, the wife of Raja Muda (Agbimmudin) Kiram -- Haji Norkiza Kiram -- is in touch with the families. She is instrumental in helping us identify who are the people who went to Lahad Datu. And upon identification of the people who went to Lahad Datu, we are able to trace the families of those men who went to Lahad Datu. So, we are going to provide assistance to them and (the) DSWD (Dept. of Social Welfare and Development) is on top of that," he noted.

DSWD Secretary Corazon "Dinky" Juliano-Soliman earlier said social workers from Bonggao were added to assist the existing Pantawid Pamilya network of social workers in Simunul, Tandabanak, and Sibutu, all in Tawi-Tawi.

"In addition, the DSWD is working with the wife of Raja Muda Agbimmudin Kiram to help identify families whose husbands or sons are in Lahad Datu so that food and other assistance can be provided," she said.

Most Corrupt Gloria Arroyo

Former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and her son, Camarines Sur (2nd District) Rep. Diosdado Ignacio Arroyo, were charged with plunder before the Office of the Ombudsman Tuesday.

The charge was in connection with two aborted infrastructure projects in Camarines Sur province allegedly costing P676 million.

The former president is currently detained at the Veterans Memorial Medical Center in Quezon City for a separate plunder case in connection with alleged misuse of P366-million Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office confidential/intelligence funds during her incumbency.

She is seeking re-election as representative of the second district of Pampanga during the May 13, 2013 elections.

In a 17-page complaint, lawyers Robert Guevarra and Renecio Espiritu, Jr. accused Mrs. Arroyo of using public funds to boost her son's congressional candidacy in the second district of Camarines Sur during the May 10, 2010 elections.

The complaint said: "The shameless and unconscionable use of the people's money was done in order to create for then presidential son, Dato Arroyo, a political bailiwick in the province of Camarines Sur.

"Respondents, by their deliberate, brazen and wanton act, treated public funds as if it were private bank accounts to be dispensed as their royalesque caprice and frivolity see fit."

The complainants argued Mrs. Arroyo allotted millions of pesos for dam, irrigation and bridge projects in Camarines Sur as a "birthday gift" to her son in 2008, who ran and later won as congressman in the second district of Camarines Sur in 2010.

"These projects were rushed in time for respondent Dato Arroyo's re-election bid in 2010... Billions of pesos were spent and wasted as these projects turned out to be economically unviable and damaging to the lives of the residents and the ecosystem found in the affected communities," the complaint said.

The complainants cited the Libmanan-Cabusao Dam Project, which they claimed was "rushed with neither consultation with the affected communities nor adequate study about its adverse effects."

They also cited a study from the Ateneo de Naga University's Institute for Environmental Conservation and Research that said the construction of the dam "is not justified" since it may displace residents from Lupi and Sipocot towns, both in Camarines Sur.

The same study also said the dam may "destroy irreplaceable ecosystems and livelihoods" in Lupi and Sipocot towns.

The complainants also argued the dam project was suspended by the National Irrigation Administration "due to its social unacceptability."

They used as basis of their complaint the Skybridge Project linking four areas in Camarines Sur, which supposedly remains incomplete up to this day because the bridges "would have to be constructed on a very soft ground."

Safety of the 800,000 Filipinos in Sabah

Presidential Spokesman Edwin Lacierda said on Tuesday that President Benigno Aquino III has already asked Malaysian Prime Minister Najib for the safety of the 800,000 Filipinos in Sabah, in the wake of escalating armed conflict between Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram's followers and the Malaysian police security and armed forces.

The Malaysian government launched Tuesday air strikes on Kiram's group as security forces sought to end the three-week standoff.

Earlier reports quoted Prime Minister Najib Razak as saying that the Malaysian government had no choice but to quell militant invaders in Sabah.

What the Philippine government is concerned now, Lacierda said, is the safety of the 800,000 Filipinos residing in Sabah.

"The government is concerned for the 800,000 Filipinos in Sabah, and also for those men and women and children that the men who joined Lahad Datu -- the men who (were) left behind here in Basulta, in Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi," he said.

"That's the reason why also (Foreign Affairs) Usec. (Jose) Brillantes and the Ambassador to Malaysia Ed Malaya (were) on the ground in Sabah to make sure that the 800,000 Filipinos will not be affected," he said.

Malacanang said the Philippine government had done everything possible for a peaceful resolution in the Sabah standoff.

"For the past three weeks, we have done everything possible from sending emissaries, asking them (armed followers of Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III) to come back and we will talk, and all these pleas fell on deaf ears. Hindi po nagkulang ang pamahalaang Aquino tungkol sa pagprotekta sa kanila," Lacierda explained in a press briefing.

"We have done everything possible, and we continue to do everything possible to peacefully end this standoff.

Unfortunately, the position taken by the Kiram family is a position that leads down to violence," he said.

"The longer this invasion lasts, it is clear to the authorities that the invaders do not intend to leave Sabah," said Najib.

"The government must take action to safeguard the dignity and sovereignty of the country as required by the people," he added.

As this developed, Lacierda said the fate of the estimated 180 Filipinos in Lahad Datu is now in the hands of the Sultanate of Sulu who continue to make a defiant stand.

"The fate of the 180 people in Lahad Datu lies with those who continue to make a defiant stand. Our position has not changed since Saturday morning, and so it is with the Raja Muda Kiram and those followers in Lahad Datu," he said.

Economic gains from election spending

Former national treasurer Prof. Leonor Briones warned against uneven spread of economic gains from election spending.

She noted this activity is a boon to services but hardly benefits the Philippine agricultural sector where poverty is most rife.

"The agricultural sector is therefore just like a spectator amidst the election flurry," she said at State-run PTV 4's 'Hatol ng Bayan' program for the 2013 mid-term polls.

Briones linked the imbalance to mismatch in agricultural workers' skills and election-related labor demands which farmers and fisher folk are generally unable to meet.

"Many of them don't possess the skills required for poll-related work," she said.

Among target activities of election-fueled manpower mobilization are production and distribution of campaign paraphernalia, transaction with financial and other institutions, provision of transportation and accommodation as well as promotion of candidates through traditional and new media.

A sample selected statement of poll-related expenditures National Economic Development Authority-affiliated researchers sourced from Commission on Elections and presented in 2010 show media-related expenses accounted for some 71.26 percent and 73.29 percent of campaign expenditures incurred by presidential and senatorial candidates in 2004, respectively.

"Based on distribution of election expenditures, government services has the highest spending (27.4 percent) followed by manufacturing of election materials (26.6 percent)," the researchers also noted.

They said: "Advertising, to include radio, TV and recreational and cultural activities has an estimated combined share of 22.3 percent while labor recruitment and provision of personnel has a total share of 10.4 percent.

Aggregating, expenditures in the three main production sectors of the economy, services sector accounts for about 73.4 percent and the rest go to industry specifically manufacturing (26.6 percent)."

Briones said: "Campaign-related activities usually commence before elections as candidates and government prepare to woo voters."

The Dept. of Agriculture earlier reported Philippine agriculture expanded by nearly three percent in 2012, fueled by the 3.60 percent combined growth in the crops, livestock and poultry sub-sectors.

"At current prices, value of agricultural production amounted to PhP1.4 trillion, higher by 1.17 percent from the 2011 level," DA also said.

DA likewise reported agriculture accounted for 11 percent of Philippine GDP in 2011 when the country's economy grew nearly four percent.

Latest available data from the National Statistical Coordination Board, released last year, demonstrate poverty's grip on the agricultural sector, however.

The data show 2009 poverty incidence in the country's nine basic sectors was highest among farmers (36.7 percent) and fisher folk (41.4 percent).

Such rates even exceed the 26.5 percent poverty incidence NSCB reported for the entire Philippine population that year.

"Agriculture is the country's biggest sector but has the bulk of poor people nationwide," Briones noted.

NSCB data likewise show poverty incidence was highest among farmers and fisherfolk in 2006 and 2003.

For both reference years, NSCB reported corresponding incidence rates of 37.2 percent and 37 percent among farmers.

March 8 a special non-working day in Compostela Valley

President Benigno S. Aquino III has declared March 8 a special non-working day in Compostela Valley in celebration of its 15th Foundation Day.

The Chief Executive issued the declaration to give the people of Compostela Valley the full opportunity to celebrate and participate in the occassion.

The province, called Comval for short, used to be part of Davao del Norte until it was made independent in 1998 by virtue of Republic Act No. 8470.

The law was subsequently ratified through a plebiscite conducted in the 22 municipalities of the province

Team Patay, Team Buhay

The Supreme Court Tuesday stopped the Commission on Elections' order for the removal of the "Team Patay, Team Buhay" tarpaulin at the San Sebastian Cathedral in Bacolod City.

In a text message, SC Public Information Office Chief Atty. Theodore Te said during Tuesday's en banc session, the SC issued a temporary restraining order against the implementation of the Comelec's order.

The SC also directed the Comelec to file its comment within 10 days on the petition for certiorari and prohibition with application for injunction and TRO filed by Bacolod City Bishop Vicente Navarra.

The SC set the oral arguments on the case on March 19, 2013 at 2 p.m.

The tarpaulin lists down the names of senatorial candidates in the May 13, 2013 elections that the Bacolod City Diocese said should not get the public's votes because they favored the Reproductive Health Law.

The senatorial candidates tagged as members of "Team Patay" are Juan Edgardo "Sonny" Angara, Francis "Chiz" Escudero, Loren Legarda, Alan Peter Cayetano, Risa Hontiveros, Teddy Casiño and Jack Enrile.

Party-list groups Gabriela, Bayan Muna, Akbayan and Anak Pawis are also on the "Team Patay" list.

Those in the "Team Buhay" list are senatorial candidates Joseph Victor Ejercito-Estrada, Antonio "Sonny" Trillanes IV, Gregorio "Gringo" Honasan, Mitos Magsaysay, Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III and Cynthia Villar for opposing the RH Law.

In their petition, the Bacolod City Diocese said the Comelec order is unconstitutional since the tarpaulin merely represents the Church's exercise of freedom of expression.

Sultan of Sulu

The governors of the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) appealed Monday to the Sultan of Sulu and the Malaysian government to resolve the Sabah crisis in a more peaceful and honorable manner.

"We are appealing to our Sultan, Sultan Jamalul (Kiram) and (the) government of Malaysia if they could resolve this crisis into a more peaceful and honorable manner," Sulu Gov. Hadji Abdusakur Tan told a press conference at the Gateway in Cubao, Quezon City.

Tan admitted the ARMM governors received text messages from Malacanang, asking them to assist in resolving the Sabah situation which worsened last Friday when a firefight between Kiram's supporters and the Malaysian army broke out.

"They (are) asking for our help because the President (Aquino) knows that we know the culture of our countrymen in Sabah," Tan said.

The Sulu governor expressed concern that if the Filipinos living in Sabah will return in Sulu and other part of ARMM would bring problem.

"If our countrymen will return, it would create big problem. That's why we are appealing to our Sultan to consider the problem the crisis would bring in Mindanao. We have no food and shelter to provide for them if they will return," Tan said.

Tan said he was able to talk with Kiram's brother Sultan Esmael but refused to reveal the full details of their conversation.

Tawi-Tawi Gov. Hadji Saadikul Sahali said the tension in Sabah has resulted in the increase of the prices of commodities in the ARMM.

"There is already increase in the value of food stock. Commodities becoming very high unlike before the standoff," Sahali said.

Sahali said he has already alerted the Tawi-tawi municipal mayors for the return of the Filipinos from Sabah.

Maguindanao Gov. Hadji Esmael Mangundadatu believed the Philippine government will be able to resolve the Sabah crisis in a peaceful manner.

Sabah Conspiracy

President Benigno Aquino III Monday said cases are being readied against those behind the standoff in Sabah even as he warned them that they will not succeed.

"We are aware that there are those who conspired to bring us to this situation. Some of their identities are clear to us, while others continue to sulk in the shadows," the President said in a statement aired over People's Television 4 and government radio station Radyo ng Bayan.

"Meron tayong mga intelligence reports, meron ding mga taong masasabi nating 'persons of interest'. Pero 'yung intel report does not necessarily provide you with the evidence that is necessary for our courts," he said.

As such, the President said that cases are being built up against these conspirators.

"Ipagdiinan lang po natin, may sakit si Sultan Jamalul Kiram; kailangan niyang mag-dialysis. 'Yung dialysis tinutulungan siya ng PCSO (Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office). So, even in terms of attending to his own health, 'yung he needs assistance. I am told that renting a sufficiently large boat, to go to Sabah costs about P100,000. And there were two boats, at least, and one speedboat that was used by these group. So funds and then the food -- money siguro that were left behind. 'Yung mga seemingly concerted criticisms all point to a conspiracy," he said.

"To the people who are behind this, even now, I tell you: you will not succeed. All those who have wronged our country will be held accountable," he stressed.

President Aquino stressed that there is a provision in the Constitution that prohibits the formation of private armed groups.

"They (armed followers of Sulu Sultan Kiram) are, obviously, by any definition are armed group. They call themselves a particular claim. And meron daw yatang connivance allegedly by certain members of the past administration in the formation on this, which is a violation of the Constitution and various other laws of the land," he said.

The President said there is also a provision in the Revised Penal Code that cites inciting to war.

"When you have an armed group that goes into an area administered by a different nation, can that not be considered an act of war by some of our citizens? And the Revised Penal Code has specific law that penalizes people who incite others to war," he noted.

President Aquino said he already tasked the Dept. of Justice to investigate the matter.

"My call to the family of Sultan Jamalul Kiram has not changed: it is not reasonable to ask for understanding, if your weapons are pointed at the faces of those you are speaking with. We will be able to put an end to this trouble, if the people involved in it become reasonable, especially those who see themselves as true leaders," he stressed.

Sabah Issue Reaction

Sen. Francis Escudero Monday said the Sabah claim should not be used by his fellow candidates in the campaign for the May 13 mid-term elections.

"I would disagree to use it as an election issue both in the local or national campaign because it's a matter of foreign policy," Escudero said in the weekly Kapihan sa Diamond media forum.

Escudero, a re-electionist under Team PNoy, expressed fear that "it may result in war between two countries that's why any candidate should not intervene in whatever political reason on this issue."

He said he is supporting the position of President Benigno Aquino III when the Chief Executive urged the Sultan of Sulu followers to withdraw and discuss the Sabah claim in a legal and peaceful manner.

"So far, I agree with what the President did. He has no choice. He cannot support the way the Sultan of Sulu is using. They are armed," Escudero said.

Escudero said the position of President Aquino is supported by the international community.

"The position of the President on the issue has been recognized and supported by the international community. We cannot tolerate this mode trying to attract attention on a particular issue through armed struggle," Escudero said.

He explained that supporting armed struggle would worsen the situation of the Filipinos especially the more than 8,000 undocumented living in Sabah.

27th founding anniversary of the Presidential Security Group

President Benigno S. Aquino III led the awarding ceremonies marking the 27th founding anniversary of the Presidential Security Group at its headquarters in Malacañang Park, Manila on Monday.

Joining the President were Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin, PSG Commander Brigadier General Ramon Mateo Dizon, and other national and local government officials led by Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim.

Upon his arrival at the PSG Grandstand, President Aquino was accorded military honors by PSG troops.

The President led the presentation of plaques of recognition to the PSG personnel awardees for 2012 as well as citations to public and private individuals for their unwavering support and assistance to the PSG.

The Best PSG Personnel for 2012 are: Major Ian Noel P. Ignes, Organic Officer of the Year (Field Grade Category); Lieutenant Junior Grade (LTJG) John C. Lobaton, Organic Officer of the Year (Company Grade Category);Lieutenant Colonel Ray Claudio R. Abaya, Operational Control (OPCON) Officer of the Year (Field Grade Category); Lieutenant Crisanto A. Anas, OPCON Officer of the Year (Company Grade Category): Master Sergeant Jonard M. Delima, Organic Enlisted Personnel of the Year (Senior NCO Category);

Staff Sergeant Ricky J. Gonzales, Organic Enlisted Personnel of the Year (Junior NCO Category); Technical Sergeant Roland G. Macalma, OPCON Officer of the Year (Senior NCO Category), Sgt. Michael C. Cabanes, OPCON Enlisted Personnel of the Year (Junior (NCO Category) and Registered Nurse Myra G. Rocio, Civilian Employee of the Year.

The PSG also presented the Plaque of Recognition to Cabinet Secretary Jose Rene Almendras, Phividec Industrial Authority Administrator Leo Magno, Development Academy of the Philippines President and Chief Executive Officer Antonio D. Kalaw Jr. Tanduay Distillers Inc. President and Chief Executive Officer Wilson Young and Sonny Guevarra, of the Alcatel Philippines.

To signify their profound thanks to President Aquino, the PSG presented to the Chief Executive a memento which symbolizes the PSG's commitment to protect the President of the Republic of the Philippines.

After the ceremonies, the Chief Executive inspected the PSG War Room and C2 Situation Room.

The PSG traces its roots to March 1897 when it was created to protect General Emilio Aguinaldo, then President of the revolutionary government.

Since then, it has gone through several name changes under succeeding Presidents such as: Malacañang Guards (President Quezon), Presidential Guards (President Osmeña), Malacañang Secret Agents (President Quirino), Presidential Security Force (President Garcia), and Presidential Security Agency (President Diosdado Macapagal).