Philippine National Budget

Is Malacanang ready if Congress fails to enact on time the proposed P1.4 trillion 2009 national budget it has passed? You bet.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has personally told Palace reporters "it would be 'desirable' if Congress could approve the proposed 2009 national budget by December".

She however added that her administration has "lived for many years without the budget being signed in December."

It may be recalled that Congress has failed to enact the proposed outlay, forcing the government to operate under a reenacted budget for the first quarter in the last two years.

The 2009 proposed budget is about 15 percent higher than the P1.227-trillion budget for this year.

She said the proposed budget would address not only the world food and fuel crises but also the funding requirements of the government's priority programs -- environment, education and economy.

Roads, bridges and other public works, along with the farm sector, schools, social welfare and the government's health insurance program, would be the major recipients of the 2009 general appropriations.

Cebu Pacific Airline Strengthens Office in Visayas

In a press conference held Friday, Cebu Pacific (CEB) announced that it will further expand its Cebu hub operations with 3 new non-stop domestic services using its brand new ATR 72-500 aircraft.

From Cebu , CEB will fly to:Dipolog thrice weekly starting October 3;Ozamiz thrice weekly starting November 10 and Surigao four-times weekly starting November 13

The airline will also fly daily from Manila to Busuanga starting October 6, 2008.

RG T. Orense, Corporate Communications Manager said, the new routes are introduced with a promotional one-way all-inclusive fare of P688, except for Manila-Busuanga which starts at P988. The seat sale will run from August 29 to September 1, 2008 and is valid for travel from the start date until December 17, 2008.

The CEB team included PR consultant Charles Lim, Len Belmonte and Viv Singson of the CEB Media and Corporate Communications Department.

CEB is also offering a promotional one-way all-inclusive fare of P688 for its flights from Cebu to Cagayan de Oro, Bacolod , Iloilo , Butuan and Tacloban.

Meanwhile, one-way all-inclusive promo fares for Cebu flights to Manila , Zamboanga, Davao , Puerto Princesa, General Santos, Boracay (Caticlan), and Clark is at P988.

The seat sale fares are up to 57% lower than the fares currently offered by other airlines for these routes. After the seat sale, CEB's all-in year-round fares are still up to 27% lower than other carriers.

Lance Gokongwei, CEB President and CEO, said, "These new services will further stimulate tourism and trade in Cebu . Our low fares will allow more people of varied economic backgrounds to travel across Visayas and Mindanao as we continue to make air travel more convenient and affordable for everyone."

Increase Salary for Day Care Workers

Rep. Edgar Chatto has filed a bible bill in recognition of the selfless service of the Day Care workers whose essential yet non-permanent job merely gratified with honorarium is vulnerable to political changes.

His proposed Magna Carta for Social Workers secures their welfare thru institutionalized employment that grants reasonable compensation.

Better pay for a job well done is one motivation of the measure, said Chatto, assailing the existing Day Care Law or Republic Act 6972 which mandates a measly P500 monthly allowance.

The Chatto bill gives premium to the Day Care service because of its impact on the formative stage of the preschool children in the barangays.

More welfare incentives for Day Care teachers can encourage them in guiding the preschool children who, in the first six years of their lives, develop their cognitive, personal and social language skills.

Chatto's measure wants Day Care workers who are efficient to tend to the needs of the kids inside their preschool rooms five days a week.

Working parents can thus leave their children to the watch of Day Care teachers who are expected to perform well.

The First District solon has been supportive to the programs for the kids in their informal education, explaining why many social workers generously regard him as Day Care children's "honorary roommate."

In this year's provincial assembly of Day Care workers, guest Chatto challenged them to sustain the virtues that have endeared them to the children.

He said that to be effective, a Day Care worker should be trusted, patient, loving, caring and understanding.

According to the congressman, it is most vital to ensure that proper guidance taught should be learned.

In proposing the Magna Carta for Social Workers, the lawmaker acknowledged the need of the Day Care workers themselves to be well-motivated to serve.

The bill admits that the current Day Care service pay is "zero" against the cost of the enduring crisis typified by the spiraling prices of commodities that devalue the earning of the average citizen.

New Breed of Philippine Lawyers and Judges

By Fred Amora

The Bohol Standard

The government now creates a 'new breed' of values-oriented, iron-willed judges and prosecutors!

Where temptations of all sorts crawl, the government is now developing a new breed of values-oriented, iron-willed judges and prosecutors.

Judges from Region 7 had a three-day gab, Aug. 27-29, 2008 on the concern regarding extra-judicial killings and disappearances held at the Metro Center Hotel this city.

The activity was also attended by lawyers from the Public Attorney's Office, Commission on Human Rights, Department of Justice Prosecutors, police, the military and representatives from the group Karapatan.

Simultaneously, newly-appointed assistant prosecutors and those who are only two years in the government prosecution service were also treated with a five-day orientation-seminar (Monday-Friday, Aug 25-29, 2008), by a team from the Department of Justice, as part of a countrywide program aimed to equip them in such challenging job in an equally tempting times.

About 32 participants from the four provinces of Central Visayas (Bohol, Cebu, Oriental Negros and Siquijor) ushered by Regional State Prosecutor Francisco Gubalane attended the DOJ activity held at the Bohol Plaza Resort, Dayo Hill, Mayacabac, Dauis, Bohol.

RSP Gubalane said prosecution job is hard, particularly when a case finds no witnesses.

"We engage in a frontal fight and the risk is high," Gubalane said.

Prosecutors also score the attitude of the community not to get involved to stand as witness to a crime.

"People tend to forget that the community is part in the delivery of justice, aside from law enforcement, prosecution and the judiciary. Most people, as long as the commission of a crime does not affect them, do not want to get involved," they said.

Drainage and Soil in Thailand

Thailand is drained largely by two river systems: the Chao Phraya in the west and the Mekong in the east. Three major rivers in the northern mountains—from west to east, the Ping and its tributary the Wang, the Yom, and the Nan—flow generally south through narrow valleys and onto the plains and then merge to form the Chao Phraya, Thailand's major river. The delta floodplain of the Chao Phraya is braided into numerous small channels and is joined by other rivers—notably the Pa Sak—as the river flows toward its mouth in the Gulf of Thailand. The flooding of the flat delta in the wet season is an asset to rice cultivation, although higher ground on the extreme eastern and western edges of the plain requires irrigation. The entire delta was once part of the Gulf of Thailand, but over time the sediments carried down from the north have filled it in. Such silting is a continuing obstruction to river navigation, but it also extends the river's mouth into the gulf by several feet each year.

The rivers of the Khorat Plateau flow generally southeastward and empty into the Mekong. Monsoon rains over the degraded forest cover of the region produce rapid runoff; flooding occurs almost yearly at Ubon Ratchathani at the junction of the plateau's two major rivers, the Mun and the Chi. Swampy land and lakes are common close to the Mekong, in contrast to the aridity of much of the rest of the region. A high groundwater table there contains mostly brackish, unpotable water. The Mekong itself is either studded with islands or broken up by impassable rapids.

The southeast and the peninsula are drained by short streams and rivers. In the southeast the rivers in the north flow into the Chao Phraya delta, while those in the west and south run directly into the sea, where they have built up small alluvial basins and deltas along the coast; the mouths of the rivers along the southern coast consist of tidal flats and mangrove swamps. Nearly all the rivers on the peninsula drain into the Gulf of Thailand. The Phet River is one of several that has been dammed for irrigation.

The great deposits of alluvial soils in the river valleys are the most fertile in Thailand. These are replenished annually with sediment washed down by rivers swollen with the annual monsoon rains. Chief among these areas is the delta floodplain of the Chao Phraya, but the relatively flat basins in the northern mountains, scattered lands along the Mun and Chi rivers on the Khorat Plateau, and much of the coast also have rich alluvial soils. Soils elsewhere tend to be relatively infertile, highly leached laterites. Near the Mekong, a high salt content in some soils limits crop production, although salt deposits there are mined commercially. - Britannica Encyclopedia

The nail that sticks out gets hammered

By Juan Mercado

"The nail that sticks out gets hammered," the old proverb says.  And a corrupt oligarchy, in this country, pounds down to sleaze-level any official of integrity. They stick out.

Cagayan governor Grace Padaca and Naga city mayor Jesse Robredo, for example, had to run   gauntlets of smears and harassment to serve - and win, much later, recognition like the Magsaysay Award for public service. 

Today, this pounding is most relentless in President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's home turf.  In Pampanga, officials wage what the Inquirer aptly calls a "shameful and shameless" 3-R campaign.  

"Recount, Recall and Requiem" is the template for a furious drive to oust their 26th provincial governor:  Eddie Panlilio. Why? 

Because this priest-turned-reluctant-candidate dented Malacanang's patina of political invincibility. With citizen backing and a shoe-string budget, he  trashed, in  the last elections, provincial board member Lilia Pineda  and  Governor Mark Lapid   Both  preen  as  the  President's  moneyed allies.  

"Among Ed" fractured an unwritten rule: "Never touch the politicians' wallet." Chief Justice Hilario Davide, for example, led the Supreme Court to rule on the notorious coconut levy. That saw Eduardo Cojuangco unleash the congressional "Brat Pack" in a bitter attempt to impeach Davide. Only furious protests, by citizens and church groups, beat back Cojuangco's legislative gunslingers. .

Through efficient collection,  Panlilio  boosted government income  from  Pampanga's  number two political  feeding trough: quarry  taxes. (Jueteng is number one). A month in office, Panlilio surpassed the  P29.1 million  collected by  Mark  Lapid  in 2006. 

One can follow "smell of money" in the Provincial Treasurer's report on the collection track record: Governor Bren Guiao (1993-1994) P3.82 million.  The Mount Pinatubo eruption increased lahar in quarries.  Govenors Lito and son Mark Lapid collected P121.02 million, over the next 12 years. In contrast,  Panlilio  doubled  Lapid's collection  to P230 million  - in  just three years.

This record stood a corrupt elite on it's head.  More significant, it gave startled citizens a glimpse of the massive amounts that leached into politicians' wallets.  

"Few things are harder to put up with than the annoyance of a good example," Mark Twain notes. With a robust  P143-million development fund, Panlilio helped nine  understaffed and poorly equipped district hospitals - including , alas, the Diosdado  Macapagal Provincial Hospital. He shared with towns Capitol's  P37-million special education fund.. He periodically split   quarry revenues with towns and barangays.

Candor can turn the "annoyance factor" ballistic.  In October 2007, the President met with 200 officials of the Union of Local Authorities in Malacanang. Brown envelopes were handed out.  Panlilio confirmed he found P500,000 stuffed into his envelope received from a Palace staffer.  He deposited the shekels with the provincial treasurer. 

A furious controversy erupted.  Ironically, it swirled, not around "bribery" but on Panlilio's alleged indiscretion. "No one blushed," noted Cebu Daily News. "Even more telling, no one returned an envelope" - except Panlilio.  

Instead of hailing Panlilio, Pampanga officials clipped his powers. The provincial board granted mayors greater police powers over the quarry. It stripped P 45 million from the quarry reform fund in his budget. 

"Who will rid me of this meddlesome priest?"  King Henry II fumed against Thomas Becket.  The archbishop of Canterbury, in 1170, stood firm against the monarch's abuses.  Henry's men cut Becket down at the altar. This became the theme of TS Eliot's work: "Murder In The Cathedral."

Today, a "3-R" campaign would rid Pampanga of this meddlesome priest. The third "R" stands for the first word in Requiem aeternam dona eiis Domini.  ("Eternal rest give unto him, O Lord")   Panlilio says little of this threat.  But he dons a flak-jacket in more exposed situations.  Men have killed for less, he knows.

The other two "Rs" stand for "recount" and "recall." The Supreme Court stopped the recount until it resolves an issue of abuse. Officials seek to gather 100,000 signatures - 10 percent of the province's voting population, to force a recall election of Pampanga's 137 priests, only 15 signed up.  

"This petition has partisanship written all over it," the Inquirer said. "But the brazenness is still breathtaking. Simply put, their "campaign" is both shameful and shameless. In Filipino, "nakakahiya, walang hiya!"

"Instead of recall, people should call for reform," said Pampanga's Bishop Pablo David.   Majority of the province's clergy support Panlilio.  "This is not about a person. It's about a whole moral crusade for good governance."

This is  a country starved for officials of integrity "who stick out."  Alongside Cagayan's Governor  Grace Podaca and Naga  City mayor Jesse Robredo, stands Pannlilio.  They provide proof to a dispirited people  that  integrity still exists. "Example is the school of mankind," Edmund Burke wrote. "And men will learn at no other."  

Malacanang meticulously distances itself from the "3-R" campaign. But would  Pampanga  officials   pound  "Among Ed" down to their sleaze level,  if  the kabalen in Malacanang  didn't wink?, "The voice may be that  of Jacob. But the hand is that of Esau." 

American Soldiers Join Combat in Mindanao?

A team from the Presidential Commission on the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFACom) is flying to Sulu and Zamboanga City to investigate reports that American forces have joined local troops in combat operations.

"This group headed by Undersecretary Edilberto Adan will proceed to Zamboanga and Sulu to investigate the allegations,'' Brigadier General Jorge Segovia, acting chief of the Armed Forces command center, said at the Sulo Hotel press forum.

He declined further comment so as not to preempt the results of VFACom investigation.

An American soldier was reported hurt when Abu Sayyaf rebels attacked Philippine Marines in a logistics run in Patikul, Sulu, on August 30, but the military denied this. Four Marines were killed in the ambush.

"No US personnel was involved,'' Colonel Ernesto Torres, AFP public information officer, told reporters after the forum.

Zamboanga City Mayor Mannix Dalipe yesterday also wondered why the US forces had been allowed by the government to overstay in the city.

Segovia said he doubted that US forces had taken part in local combat, saying that the VFA prohibits this.

"They're more into humanitarian missions. But as far as engaging in combat, they're not involved,'' he said after the forum.

Besides, he added: "As a soldier and officer, I want the conflict to be fought by us. The military would not allow anybody to lead local operations.''

Panglao Island Water Crisis: Old Problem

If Panglao Island was an Academy, its officialdom passed the Pre-Finals Test last Friday.

Keeping their cool, though privately peeved by the political intramurals in Panglao politics, the prime movers Governor Rico Aumentado and First District Congressman Edgar Chatto convened the Panglao officials before scores of private stockholders, long agitated by the stalemate over the potable water issue in the island Paradise.

The backdrop was grim as the result so damaging if no decision was made Friday. It would have be prejudicial to the efforts to buttress Panglao's claim as successor to the famed Boracay and the P 4-Billion international airport project would have seemed to outsiders like a daunting task - given the fact that people could not even resolve the water issue.The clock was ticking - and time waits for no one.

So it was perhaps the fear of a business disaster and public relation nightmare - that Panglao officials led by Mayor Benedicto Alcala and Vice Mayor Pedro Fuertes finally buried the hatchet under the glare of media, the Provincial Officaldom and tourism stakeholders.

They blinked amidst this pressure - and the Sangguniang Bayan of Panglao was post haste assembled and decided the Panglao Potable Water Project will now go on with Competitive Bidding rather than Open Access execution at the soonest possible time.

Why it would take the iron fist of the provincial brass and an peeved public opinion to address a basic concern an issue in Panglao is an indictment against the parochial politics of destruction and nihilism of the island officials. The successful Friday consultation also proved, however, that they are not beyond redemption.

But after the press photo opportunity, the Final Test of implementation is still to be carried out.

Let's do the competitive bidding with utter transparency and meritrocacy in mind and filter out the bogus, fly-by-night pretenders. 

No other day must be lost hereafter - otherwise the sin of procrastination and sloth will be added to the previous list of parochialism, politicking and fighting for vested self interest. The people of Panglao and Bohol have had enough.

The time for final redemption of Panglao is about to begin.

THE SUBJECT OF WATER

With the inevitable progression of Panglao as a tourism magnet - with or without an international airport - the demand for water will indeed be tremendous. All the more we should act like paranoids in being jealous of and zealous over the protection of our water resources. A main natural resource of Bohol .

There is Imperial Cebu to watch out for, though we remain friendly neighbors in the Central Visayas. They need water badly and attempted to do a Bohol-Cebu Water Supply Project while eyeing with a covetous glare the lusty Inabanga River.

When Mactan needed white sand, they pirated barge-loads from Panglao and other Bohol coastlines in the darkness of the night. When they went on an industrial boom, we lost the islands of Tambulian and Malingao off Clarin town to quarrying for Cebu's needs. Water be next?

Bohol has to preserve the remaining water supply it has. We haven't even started the golf courses which will undeniably come into being in Bohol and uptown Tagbilaran City is just starting to grow exponentially.

We have poor yield of rice in Bohol because of inefficient, possibly graft-ridden dams, built on interest-bearing loans of a Japanese bank to be paid by the entire nation. There seems to be not enough water in the dams or the latter is used inefficiently - in both counts, government is largely to blame. 

The so-called Bohol Integrated Irrigation System supposedly covering 10,260 appears to be a monument of failure - considering the area being covered. Exoneration by our biased judicial system of some officials involved in some dam mess does not erase this fact - and an angry public knows.

After spending billions to construct them, the Malinao Dam in Pilar (supposed to service 4,960 hectares), the Bayongan Dam (San Miguel) for 4,140 hectares and Capayas Dam (Ubay) for 1,160 hectares may soon need additional millions of pesos in borrowed money to "rehabilitate" them.

Today, we are reckless with water usage because we have water in wanton abandon. And because there are eco-tourism projects like the Rajah Sikatuna Protected Landscape Project that still tries to conserve water and soil. But for much further can we erode our water supply until the need becomes acute?Do we see a provincial Water Management Program good for the next ten years? If there is, do the people know there is one? - Editorial Bohol Chronicle

Rey Boom Bautista Will Fight in America?

After a successful and impressive defense of the belt he already tucked in for several years, WBO Intercontinental superbantamweight king Rey "BoomBoom" Bautista may see action underneath a scheduled Manny Pacquiao-Oscar de la Hoya fight on December 6, in MGM Grand Hotel in Nevada, USA.

In the "Night of Champions" card at the Waterfront Lahug, Cebu City, Saturday last week, Bautista demolished the ambitious Mexican challenger Eden "Anestecista" Marquez in the second round of the 12-round mainer to retain the title.

In a post fight interview, Bautista said he is looking forward to an undercard fight of the $100 million Pacquiao - Dela Hoya battle.

Bautista, who hails from Candijay, Bohol, hinted that fighting under the hugely popular epic clash of the world's most popular boxers was promised to him by his manager, Michael Aldeguer.

Bautista is now unbeaten in his latest three fights, after his devastating first round loss to Daniel Ponce de Leon in Arco Arena, Sacramento, California last year.

Unlike in most of his previous fights, the 22-year old Bautista who now totes a 26-1, with 19 stoppages, refused to trade blows in the first round with Marquez.

Keeping himself busy to avoid Marquez' strong and powerful punches, Bautista severally used his lateral movements running around the ring that caught some boxing fans by surprise.

The demolition came in the next round, when Bautista started strong and began fighting aggressively throwing wild punches to the face and breadbasket of the Mexican fighter who was already in trouble midway in the second.

Receiving barrage of punches from the Bohol-raised, the Mexican, for the second time around, was sent back to the floor with 1:08 seconds of the said round as international referee Bruce McTavish called it a halt.

In a post-fight interview, Bautista said the opening round was his experimental move and opted not to fight aggressively.

"Ingon man akong trainer nga magbantay lang sa, di lang sa gyud ta mosud og sayo kay wa ta kahibawo sa iyang style. Kusog man gud siya. (Heeding the advice of my trainer, I opted not to fight aggressively in the first round, but we should be careful because he is a powerful puncher,)" according to Bautista. The loss dropped Marquez' record to 16-4-3, with 12 knockouts. 

Save Balicasag Island from Environmental Destruction

The move to save Balicasag Island as a prime dive spot perceives expansion to preserve a wider area comprising what is called as the Bohol Marine Triangle (BMT).

A stakeholders' consultation workshop enters its second day today at the Bohol Plaza Resort where the various coastal concerns of the towns of Panglao, Dauis and Baclayon will be on focus.

Gov. Erico Aumentado, Rep. Edgar Chatto and BM Ae Damalerio representing Vice Gov. Julius Herrera opened the workshop yesterday attended by Panglao Mayor Benedicto Alcala, Dauis Mayor Luciano Bongalos and Baclayon mayor Alvin Uy, together with their respective vice mayors, town kagawads and baragay chairs.

Gov. Aumentado challenged the LGUs to be responsive to the need to preserve the marine resources in the area which were noticed to retain damages.

He vowed full support to the joint effort of the towns in addressing the alarm on marine destruction.

For his part, Rep. Chatto said he sees the BMT as the "people or stakeholders of the tourism activities in the area, and not the BMT as an office, thus everyone residing in the area has to contribute for the preservation of the marine resources."

The two-day workshop aims to establish a harmonized implementation of various policies governing activities within the seawaters of the three municipalities where Bohol's second tourism signature destination   (diving and dolphin watching) are situated, according to Provincial Tourism Council Chairman Peter Dejaresco who delivered the statement of purpose of the workshop bearing the theme "Harmonization Towards Enhancing Local Initiatives for the Protection of the BMT."

Panglao Mayor Alcala vowed commitment to the move. However, he admitted there was "no success story of the BMT, so to speak, under the stewardship of a group, prior the newly created Padayon BMT.

Dauis Mayor Bongalos and Baclayon Mayor Uy, outgoing and incoming Padayon BMT executives, likewise vowed support for the undertaking which called for an immediate "rescue operation" considering the underwater destructions noted in the area.