A 6


news The Manila Times TUESDAY August 10, 2010


Church to excommunicate practitioners of abortion


BY JOMAR CANLAS REPORTER T HE Catholic Church on Monday


warned that those who commit abortion will be declared


“excommunicado.” Archbishop Oscar Cruz of Lin-


gayen-Dagupan said in a statement that since abortion is a mortal sin, those who commit the act will be excommunicated, which practically boots out an individual from the


■ PAGCOR FROM A1 President studying $10-billion offer for sale of Pagcor to SMC


President Aquino described as interesting the $10-billion offer from Ramon Ang, San Miguel Corp. vice chairman, to buy Pagcor. “I think I stated to you before,


we have a problem, there are so many allegations with regard to Pagcor. We have to ensure that if we intend to sell something, it is the best price that we can get,” the President said in a chance inter- view during the celebration of the 43rd foundation day of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) at the Department of Foreign Affairs in Metro Manila. Mr. Aquino earlier said that he


was thinking of selling Pagcor, which has jurisdiction on all casinos in the country, after assessing its assets and existing contracts.


The President had said that the


privatization of Pagcor is the most practical solution to professionalizing the firm and ending alleged corruption in one of the government’s biggest revenue earners. Pagcor operates 13 casinos in major cities across the country, 28 satellite casinos, 24 VIP clubs and four arcades. Malacañang spokesman Edwin


Lacierda said that they have not received any formal proposal from Ang.


He added that they would look


at the proposal first since there are “many concerns that have to be studied.” Among these, Lacierda said, is whether the $10-billion offer of Ang to buy Pagcor is a “fair evaluation” of the gaming agency. But he added that they are “thankful” for Ang’s “bullishness” on the Philippine economy under the Aquino administration. Lacierda said that the newly


appointed Pagcor chairman, Cristino Naguiat, would study all the existing contracts of Pagcor to establish the best price for the gaming corporation. Ang said that he intended to


make a formal bid to acquire Pagcor once it was formally put on the auction block for privatiza- tion, a newspaper reported on Monday.


He added that he intended to go


into partnership with Malaysian magnates Robert Kuok, Ananda Krishnan and Francis Yeoh, according to the report. “They are all my friends and


they are interested in Pagcor,” Ang was quoted as saying. He said that he intended to go


■ DEAL FROM A1


after Pagcor independently of San Miguel Corp., one of Southeast Asia’s leading conglomerates. But a spokesman for Pagcor, Jay


Santiago, said that privatization would not happen anytime soon. “It is not as simple as it


sounds. Eventually, there will be privatization, but that is too far off,” Santiago told Agence France-Presse. “[But] we agree that $10 billion is a good benchmark. If and when we do go through that process, at least we know we will not be getting anything below $10 billion,” he said. Pagcor reported a net income of P29.62 billion, or about $640 million in 2008.


Finance department position The Department of Finance on


Monday also said it needs to work out the issues regarding Pagcor’s regulatory and commercial functions before it can privatize the agency. “The Department of Finance


[DOF] welcomes investor interest in the privatization of Pagcor. The DOF will ensure that when Pagcor is privatized, it is done in a transparent, competitive manner which will maximize its value to the government and ensure a level playing field in the gaming industry in the future,” Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima said in a statement. But before the state-run corporation can be sold, the national government has to make a “careful analysis of several important issues,” such as separating Pagcor’s regulatory function—which would remain with the government—and the commercial operations, which can be privatized. “Government must also ensure


that Pagcor’s potential to generate tourism, investment, and employment are maximized, while the social costs of gam- bling are minimized. Sweeping changes have taken place in gaming in our neighboring countries such as Macau and Singapore, and the government must ensure that the Philippines can compete internationally,” Purisima said. Pagcor is also reviewing its finances and licenses issued in the past to give a clearer picture of its financial and opera- ting position. The government is hard-


to the old practice of the govern- ment operating casinos. “The present set-up wherein


Pagcor serves as both the licensor and operator of casinos is anoma- lous. There is a clear conflict of interests here,” he added. Drilon, the chairman of the


Senate Committee on Finance, also proposed that the income gener- ated from the licensing of the casinos should go directly to the government’s general fund “just like ordinary taxes collected.” “This system will eliminate


leakages in government income from the casino operations,” he said.


House views


But some members of the House of Representatives had mixed views on the offer of Ang to privatize Pagcor. Rep. Albert Benitez of Negros Occidental warned that Ang’s proposal might not be fair to the government. “What he [Ang] is basically


■ A security guard at the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. tries to wave off photographers on Monday. AFP PHOTO


pressed to keep its budget deficit from widening further without raising or implementing new tax measures. In addition to higher borrowing—which Budget Secretary Butch Abad said would lean towards higher peso loans than foreign currency-denomi- nated ones—the Finance department is bent on raising funds through the privatization of assets.


But so far the government was only able to generate P2 billion out of the original target of P30 billion from the state asset sales this year.


For, against privatization Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile


and Sen. Franklin Drilon also on Monday expressed full support for the proposed privatization of the casinos operated by Pagcor. They said that privatization should be carried out through bidding but that it should not prevent Pagcor from exer- cising its licensing and regula- tory functions.


“It will be more manageable if the government is not involved in the winning or


losing in the business. It regulates, gets its taxes and gets its share from the outcome of the operation,” Enrile said. He added that he has a draft bill amending the Pagcor Charter, patterned after the Reno (Ne- vada) model. “Create a regulatory body,


and leave or spin over the assets of Pagcor in exchange for shares of stock. Let the shares of stock be sold and make Pagcor the regulatory body,” Enrile said. He added that the privatization


of Pagcor casinos could not be done through an executive order. “It has to be done by law,” Enrile said.


Without mentioning Ang’s proposal, Drilon said that the government can now start bidding out casino operations provided this is done in an open and transparent manner. He added that under its


charter, Pagcor is allowed to sell its casinos. Drilon, however, said that the


Pagcor charter must be amended so that future administrations would no longer be able to revert


saying is that they’ll pay govern- ment the 15-year estimated earning of Pagcor for $10 billion. This begs the questions: Is the $10 billion for 15 years only?” said Benitez, a former chief executive officer of the Pagcor-accredited Bingo Bonanza. He added that the public should be made to understand the specifics of Ang’s privatization proposal, and that Congress will have to give its nod to the deal. “While the power of regulation


is an executive function, the grant of regulatory powers, however, is legislative in nature,” Benitez said. He clarified that he was not against the privatization of Pagcor. Rep. Roilo Golez of Parañaque City (Metro Manila) said that Ang’s proposal “merits consideration.” “This [Ang’s offer] could be the mother of all mega deals and would really prop up the govern- ment’s economic development program,” he added. Golez said that the $10-billion


offer would wipe out the country’s budgetary deficit with more to spare. “That kind of liquidity and fund


that would liberate us from the World Bank-IMF [International Monetary Fund] clutches,” he added.


CRIS G. ODRONIA, LIKHA CUEVAS- MIEL, EFREN L. DANAO, RUBEN D. MANAHAN 4TH AND MARY ANN JOCSON WITH REPORT FROM AFP


Catholic Church.


“Excommunication means that the person concerned is separated from the spiritual benefits enjoyed by all members of the church. Fur- thermore, the same person could not


take [Holy] Communion,” he added. The former president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) said that the penalty of excommunication does not need an official declaration or decree from the Church.


He added that there are only two sins where the penalty is excommu- nication—committing abortion and physically hurting the Pope. Bishop Dinualdo Gutierrez of Marbel said that abortion is a “crime” in the eyes of the Church. He added that a person cannot


respond to a tragedy with another tragedy, and in the case of abortion, the act can never be the answer to a problem. “Abortion is murder. It kills de- liberately the fetus, a human per- son, who has the inviolable right to live. Abortion is a mortal sin,” Gutierrez said. The two Church officials were re- acting to calls for legalization of abortion, especially in cases where a pregnancy threatens the life of the woman or if the conception of a fe- tus originated from rape or incest.


■ REJECT FROM A1 Poll officials reject seats


Region IV is Calabarzon, which is composed of the provinces of Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon. According to Comelec Commis- sioner Rene Sarmiento, Elnas and Icaro asked for reconsideration of their new assignments supposedly because they would be busy with the coming barangay polls in October this year. The vacancies in the committee arose from the Office of the Om- budsman suspending all members of the panel, including Comelec Executive Director Jose Tolentino Jr., over the allegedly graft-tainted Bal- lot Secrecy Folder deal.


The folders were supposed to be used in the May 10 elections also this year.


With Elnas and Icaro rejecting


their appointments, only Law De- partment Director Ferdinand Rafanan will be left alone in Bids and Awards Committee as chairman. The Ombudsman also suspended


lawyers Maria Lea Alarkon Allen Francis Abaya, Maria Norina Casingal and Martin Niedo and Antonio Santella over the alleged folder scam. Rafanan replaced Alarkon as


BAC chairman. “They have their reasons not to accept the position that is why they are asking for reconsideration, but of course we cannot deny that the BAC is a controversial [place to be in] right now after the suspension order of the Office of the Ombuds- man,” Sarmiento said of the refusal of Elnas and Icaro to take their seats in the Bids and Awards Committee.


Pacquiao calls for setting of priorities


“WE have to move on.” This was the comment of Rep.


Manny Pacquaio of Sarangani on Monday during a session at the House of Representatives. Pacquiao said that the Fifteenth Congress needs to tackle pending issues before the chamber but that this urgency is being delayed in the aftermath of “unparliamentary re- marks” made recently by a militant lawmaker against former President Gloria Arroyo, now a lawmaker rep- resenting the Second District of her home province of Pampanga. He added that the tirades should


have been brought before the proper forum. “Kung kailangan magsalita ng hindi magandang words, dapat in proper quo- rum. Masyado tayong naantala o nade- delay sa ating mga pag-uusapan. Sa tingin ko, we have to move on [If we have to say bad words, we should do so be- fore a proper forum. We are being de- layed because we discuss what should have been said by the militant law- maker in a proper venue. I think we have to move on],” the Filipino box- ing icon said.


Earlier on Monday, some mem- bers of the minority bloc in the House of Representatives said that they are set to file a complaint against Rep. Walden Bello of Akbayan party- list for his unparliamentary remarks when he berated the former presi- dent during his privileged speech. House Minority Leader Edcel Lagman of Albay said that around 12 members of the minority bloc in the chamber signified their intention to file their complaints once the House Committe on Ethics is constituted. He mentioned the names of Mark Cagas (Davao del Sur), Jose Aquino 2nd (Agusan del Norte, second dis- trict), Aurelio Gonzales (Pampanga, third district), Ignacio Arroyo (Negros Occidental), Simeon Datumanong (Maguindanao, sec- ond disrtrict), Mitos Magsaysay (Zambales, first district), Lani Mercado- Revilla (Cavite), Phillip Pichay (Surigao del Sur), Elmer Panotes (Camarines Norte, second district), Martin Romuladez (Leyte, first district) and Danilo Suarez and Amelita Villarosa (Occidental Mindoro). Initially, only six members of the minority bloc said that they would be filing their complaints against Bello. It is believed that the chairman- ship of the House Committee on Ethics would be given to Rep. Orlando Fua of Siquijor. According to Magsaysay, if they


would not file their complaints against Bello, there would be simi- lar incidents that might happen. RUBEN D. MANAHAN 4TH AND MARYANN JOCSON


Peace now or risk dealing with ‘more radical’ rebels, MILF warns Aquino


administration] are really address- ing the problems of the Bangsamoro people [local Muslims],” Murad, 62, told reporters at a rebel camp out- side the southern city of Cotabato in troubled Mindanao. “He has six years to resolve the problem. If he is really sincere, we can’t go wrong in solving the prob- lem in his time,” he said.


The supposedly 12,000-strong MILF has been waging an insur- gency to carve out a separate Islamic state in the mostly Catholic Philip- pines’ southern island of Mindanao, the base of the MILF and two other


Muslim rebel groups that are also seeking to establish an independent Islamic state in the region. The rebellion has killed over


150,000 people over the past three decades, as well as stunted the growth of mineral-rich Mindanao. Mr. Aquino’s predecessor, Gloria


Arroyo, failed to sign a peace agree- ment with the MILF during the nine years she was in power. She stepped down on June 30, as mandated by the Constitution.


Large-scale fighting erupted in


2008 when rogue MILF command- ers launched attacks in response to


the Supreme Court outlawing a pro- posed deal that would have given them control over vast tracts of land. Over 750,000 people were dis- placed at the height of the fighting, triggering a humanitarian crisis. About 400 civilians and fighters from both sides were also killed. The government and the rebels agreed to a ceasefire in 2009 but the MILF opted to stall peace talks until Mrs. Arroyo stepped down. In his first State of the Nation


Address to a joint session of Con- gress in July, the President an- nounced that talks with the MILF


would resume after Ramadan, which ends in the Philippines in mid-September. “We will only achieve lasting peace if all stakeholders engage in an honest dialogue,” Mr. Aquino said then. Murad’s appearance at Camp Darapanan on Monday was the first for the international media in about a year.


Darapanan is a sprawling agricul- tural enclave in Mindanao, which the government acknowledges is also the MILF’s political base. A battle-scarred mujahedeen who


the Philippine military said fought the Soviets during the Afghan inva- sion, Murad took over the helm of the MILF in 2003 and has since en- gaged the government in peace talks. He also warned that any further


delay in the peace negotiations could have dire consequences, de- scribing a recent military announce- ment of a deadline to crush the Muslim insurgency within three years as “threatening.”


“There are no major violations in the [current] ceasefire. But it is ex- pected to change dramatically [if] the peace talks continue to hang in


the balance,” Murad said. “If we are ready for peace, we are also ready for war,” he added. Murad questioned the US mili- tary presence in Mindanao, where a rotating number of about 500 American forces have been train- ing their Filipino counterparts to combat al-Qaeda-linked militants since 2002. “We don’t find their presence a necessity here. It only complicates the situation,” he said.


“There is no agenda for US troops to stay in the South,” he added.


AFP


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16