MALACAÑANG TO PRESENT IIRC REPORT NEXT WEEK PRESIDENT Benigno Aquino 3rd on Saturday said that the Palace may make public the plan dealing with the Luneta hostage tragedy next week. He also said that they are still clarifying some of the issues in the Incident Investigation and Review Committee’s (IIRC) report but the government according to him has adopted most of the recommendations of the committee.
Aquino firm on couple’s right to choices
PRESIDENT Benigno Aquino 3rd said he remains firm about making couples know the choices available to them in planning their family size. “The State has an obligation to educate all of its citizens as to their choices. The State is not empowered by any law to dictate upon any cou- ple as to how they should plan their family,” President Aquino said dur- ing a nationwide distribution of Phil-Health cards to indigent fami- lies held Saturday morning at the President Corazon C. Aquino High School in Baseco Compound. He added that despite having
yet to see the new Reproductive Health (RH) Bill pending in the House of Representatives, his de- cision would stand.
During a dialogue with a few
bishops, Aquino said it has been agreed that another meeting will be set with the church leaders on the issue. The details are also being worked out and he intends to meet with as many bishops as possible. “Giving choices to couples has
always been my position during my campaign for the presidency,” he added.
The Senate on, Friday called out
the “hysterical reaction” of the Catholics Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) on a threat of excommunicating Aquino and other lawmakers supporting the bill. Senators Fraklin Drilon and Pia
Cayetano also called CBCP Presi- dent Bishop Nereo Odchimar state- ment as “exceptionally uncalled for,” adding that their threats will not help bring a rational conclusion the controversy. Odchimar have earlier denied the CBCP reports on excommunication against Mr. Aquino, saying that he pointed out the penalty of excom- munication only to those who ad- vocated and pushed for abortion. Contrary to this claim, the transcript of Odchimar’s interview over Radio Veritas revealed that the Catholic Church pondered the possibility of excommunication against Mr. Aquino. MARIA NIKKA U. GARRIGA
news The Sunday Times SUNDAY BY LLANESCA T. PANTI REPORTER
A 3
Oc tober 3, 2010
be enacted into law during this Fifteenth Congress, the principal author of the bill said Saturday.
House Minority Leader Edcel Lagman cited that prospects of the bill being passes just got better with President Benigno Aquino 3rd mak- ing a statement that he is for volun- tary family planning and informed choice and majority of the lawmak- ers who supported the measure in the Fourteenth Congress are still in the House. “At least 132 members of the 14th Congress co-authored the bill. Those whose terms have expired were replaced by their allies who are also in favor of the RH bill. At it stands, there are around 50 con- gressmen who expressed their de- sire to co-author and support the RH bill. We have very good pros- pect [of passing the bill],” Lagman said during the Kapihan sa Sulo forum on Saturday. Lagman’s House Bill 96, or RH bill provides universal access to natural and artificial family plan- ning methods, including contra- ceptives, which the Catholic Church strongly opposes. The Catholic clergy is considered highly influential in the country
Lagman sees Congress to pass RH Bill T
Rodriguez said.
HERE is a good chance that the controversial Reproductive Health (RH) bill would finally
“Under the RH bill, the govern- ment will spend millions for con- traceptives and condoms. I think there is a better way to spend our money,” Rodriguez added.
Presidential Order Rep. Mitos Magsaysay of the First
because around 80 percent of Fili- pinos are Catholics.
The House minority leader, how-
ever, argued that his initiative is not only about the contraceptives, but also includes emergency obstetric care, maternal health, deployment of midwives, age appropriate repro- ductive health education and pre- vention of sexually transmitted dis- eases, among others.
“This is not about pills and con- doms only. This is not about sex or religion. This is about health, rights and sustainable development,” Lagman pointed out.
Long overdue The Albay lawmaker stressed that
the passage of the law is long over- due, considering that the Philip- pines is still registering 160 mater- nal deaths per 100,000 child births which he described as light years away from the United Nations Mil- lennium Development Goal target of reducing it to 52 maternal deaths per 100,000 child births by 2015. Pouring the chunk of the govern- ment’s resources to education, em-
District of Zambales, for her part, warned that President Aquino could use the billion-peso outlay for “fam- ily health and family planning” in the Department of Health’s budget for 2011 for contraceptives by virtue of a presidential order.
“The belief that you need an RH
■ A child eats some rice porridge, as other children queue for food during a feeding program on Saturday by the local government in the Baseco slum area in Manila . The Philippines has among the highest population growth rates in the world, at 2.2 percent annually. AFP PHOTO
ployment, food security, agriculture and the environment, Lagman said, won’t be sufficient if the population continues to grow.
“I respect that the Church has the duty to save the souls of the peo- ple, but it should not hamper the state from saving the lives of its people. There is no development agenda can prosper without ad- dressing the population growth,” Lagman pointed out. Such views, however, do not sit
well with Rep. Rufus Rodriguez of Cagayan de Oro. Rodriguez countered that the bill violates the Article 2 Section 12
of the Constitution, which states that the State should recognize the sanctity of family life and protect and strengthen the family as a ba- sic autonomous social institution. The same provision also man- dates the State is to equally pro- tect the life of the mother and the life of the unborn from conception and grant the natural and primary right and duty of parents in the rearing of the youth for civic effi- ciency and the development of moral character.
“It is not for the state to impose on parents how many children they would want to have,”
law for government clinics to start giving out condoms and pills is a myth. It can be quietly done through appropriation. If Congress cannot give birth to an RH law, then Noynoy can father an illegitimate offspring through administrative conception,” Magsaysay said. “With money authorized by Con- gress in the national budget, Noynoy can just order the Health department to stock clinics with contraceptives and you have the de facto implementation of the RH law,” she added. Such possibility, Magsaysay said, is not remote because the produc- tion and distribution of pills and condoms in the country are not banned, regulated or restrictive. “The big question now is will he restrain himself from exercising his executive prerogatives and let Con- gress frame the policy?” Magsaysay said in closing.
Sandiganbayan convicts Customs official over P1.4-million estafa
THE Sandiganbayan sentenced an official of the Bureau of Customs to 26 years in prison for deceiving a private individual to pay P1.4 million for a confiscated sports utility vehicle and running off with the money. In a 21-page decision, the anti-graft
court’s Fifth Division convicted lawyer Jorge Monroy, director of Financial Services of the Customs bureau, guilty for committing estafa and violating the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act. In July 2000, Monroy offered Juliet Co to buy confiscated vehicles and claimed
that being the director, he could buy the vehicles at cheaper prices and pad them before selling in the market since “he signs the release papers.” Co issued a check amounting to P150,000 as down payment for a Toyota Land Cruiser. After three days, Monroy told Co that the papers had been processed. Co paid the remaining P1.25 million, which Monroy himself received and counted. However, the car was not released because the document lacked one more signatory.
When Co returned, the vehicle was
still not released. Monroy gave the buyer an acknowledgment letter and a guarantee letter, saying that if the vehicle was not released on July 27, 2000, Monroy would return the money.
Failed to prevent The Custom official failed to present
the vehicle still. After Co made several calls, Monroy told her that “kahit umiyak ka ng bato diyan, hindi na maibabalik ang pera mo. [Cry hard as you may but I cannot
return your money].” Monroy told Co that someone from
his office ran off with the money and could not be located anymore. During the trial, Assistant Special
Prosecutor Froilan Dayco indicted Monroy for never intending to transfer the vehicle to Co. The Sandiganbayan ruled that Monroy caused injury to Co for the P1.4 million, “which allegedly was immediately unlawfully taken away by someone who was not even part of the transaction.” “It was that false representation to
sell the vehicle at a cheaper price coupled with Monroy’s statement made to complainant Co that the [vehicle] will not be released without his signature, that more than induced Co to part with her money . . . necessarily resulting in damage to Co in the said amount of P1.4 million,” the Decision read. The anti-graft court sentenced
Monroy to a maximum of 26 years in prison, perpetual disqualification from holding public office and to return to Co the amount of P1.4 million. JOHN CONSTANTINE G. CORDON
Minority lawmakers eye significant realignment of proposed 2011 budget
A SIGNIFICANT realignment of the P1.645-trillion proposed 2011 budget will be sought by the minor- ity bloc of the House of Representa- tives because of striking budget lapses under President Benigno Aquino 3rd’s National Expenditure program, a lawmaker said Saturday. House Minority Floor Leader Edcel Lagman identified the budget miscal- culations as follows: a zero budget for the capital outlay of State Universi- ties and Colleges and Judiciary, as well as rural electrification and the support services under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law. The Albay lawmaker also cited the President’s meager P27-million alloca- tion for the legal assistance for over- seas Filipino workers (OFWs), which is by a mile behind the P100 million
mandated by the Migrant Workers Act. “Given the budget lapses and the constitutional provision that the Congress cannot exceed the Presi- dent’s proposed budget, there should be realignment of funds to fund these mandatory programs. There will be agencies whose budget will be reduced because there’s no- where we can source the funding for this mandatory projects unless we reduce our budget for debt services,” Lagman said during the Kapihan sa Sulo news forum held Saturday.
Lion’s share
Under President Aquino’s proposed budget, the Department of Educa- tion will get the lion’s share of the allocation with P207.3 billion, fol- lowed by Public Works and High-
ways (P110.6 billion), National Defense (P104.7 billion), Interior and Local Government (P88.2 bil- lion), Agriculture (37.7 billion), So- cial Welfare and Development (P34.3 billion), Health (P33.3 bil- lion), Transportation and Commu- nication (P32.3 billion), Agrarian Reform (P16.7 billion) and the Ju- diciary (P14.3 billion).
The minority leader underscored that while he understands that the President wants to maintain a low fiscal deficit, the government should not be afraid to spend if it is for ba- sic services, poverty alleviation and pump priming the economy. “It is OK to have a budget deficit as long as it is manageable. That is why I asked the President to submit a supplemental budget so that the
Congress won’t find it difficult to realign the budget, but they did not do it,” Lagman pointed out. While Lagman refused to specify the agencies who will suffer the budget reduction so as not to preempt the budget deliberations at the plenary on October 4, he hinted his desire to trim the P21-billion budget for the Condi- tional Cash Transfer Program, a devel- opment and poverty-reduction strategy launched in 2008 which provides cash assistance to extremely poor house- holds to allow the family members to meet certain human development goals such as health, nutrition and education provided that they com- ply with certain conditions. The conditions include: children 3
to 5 years old must attend Day Care/ pre-school at least 85 percent of the
Father of illegitimate child urged to pay for college expenses Dear PAO,
My husband has an illegitimate child and the latter is going to col- lege in June. The mother of the child wants us to shoulder the expenses. We asked the mother to divide the expenses since she is a teacher but she refused. She warned us that she might file a case against my hus- band. As of now, my husband is on vacation and has no income. Can the mother of the child file a case against my husband directly to POEA so that my husband cannot go back to his job abroad as a sea- farer? Can she file a case to PRC to revoke the license of my husband? Can she demand the entire expenses of her son from my husband? Very truly yours, Mrs. Aquarius
Dear Mrs. Aquarius, The crux of your inquiry is the demand for financial support of the mother of the illegitimate child of your husband. At this point, we deem it necessary to discuss the na- ture of support. Support is a man- datory and essential obligation, which cannot be renounced, trans- mitted or compensated, as such ob- ligation is necessary for the exist- ence, survival and well being of the individual ought to be supported. The Supreme Court has even said
legitimate children of the latter; x x x”
Now, you are in a quandary whether the child’s mother may de- mand the whole expenses for the child’s education. The above-quoted law used the
that support is the most sacred and important of all obligations im- posed by law and it is imposed with overwhelming reality. The others may sometimes fail but this one should never fail unless for a valid cause. (Persons and Family Relations Law, Fourth Edition, 2004. p. 730, Melencio S. Sta. Maria Jr.) Indubitably, your husband ac-
knowledging the child as his own has an obligation to give him sup- port in accordance with Article 195 (4) of the Family Code which pro- vides, to wit: “Art. 195. Subject to the provi- sions of the succeeding articles, the following are obliged to support each other to the whole extent set forth in the preceding article: x x x
(4) Parents and their illegitimate children and the legitimate and il-
word “parents” indicating that both parents of the illegitimate child should support the latter. In connec- tion with this, Article 200 of the same Code instructs us that when the ob- ligation to give support falls upon two or more persons, the payment of the same shall be divided between them in proportion to the resources of each. Furthermore, Article 201 pro- vides that the amount of support shall be in proportion to the re- sources or means of the giver and to the necessities of the recipient. Apparently, the child’s mother
may not ask the whole expenses for the child’s education considering the fact that she also has the obliga- tion to defray the expenses of the child and she can never renounce such obligation. As to your query, if the child’s mother can file a complaint against your husband before the Philippine Overseas Employment Administra- tion (POEA) and/or before the Pro- fessional Regulation Commission (PRC), we have perused and studied the Standard Terms and Conditions
Governing the Employment of Fili- pino Seafarers on Board Ocean Go- ing Vessels as well as the New Rules of Procedure in Administrative Inves- tigations in the PRC and the Profes- sional Regulatory Boards for this purpose. We have noticed that fail- ure to give financial support is not one of the grounds to charge a sea- farer administratively before the POEA. Thus, there will be no basis for the child’s mother to file an ad- ministrative complaint against your husband before the POEA. On the contrary, there is a possibility that your husband may be charged ad- ministratively by the child’s mother before the PRC on the ground of immoral or dishonorable conduct in order to plead for the revocation of the license of your husband. We hope that we were able to en- lighten you on the matter. Please take note however, that all the information contained herein are based on our appreciation of the facts you provided us with. A different legal opinion may be given if other facts not included in your query will be discussed.
Editor’s note: Dear PAO is a daily col- umn of the Public Attorney’s Office. Questions for Chief Acosta may be sent to
dearpao@manilatimes.net or via text message (key in:Times dearpao (YOUR QUESTIONS> and send to 2299.
N O T I C E Notice is hereby given that ENERGY DEVELOPMENT
CORPORATION with office address at Energy Center, Merritt Road, Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City, is applying for registration with the BOARD OF INVESTMENTS (BOI) as Renewable Energy Developer of the following projects under the Re- newable Energy (R.E.) Act of 2008 (R.A.9513).
Project Bacon-Manito
Geothermal Project Southern Negros Geothermal Project
Capacity
Mr. Apo Geothermal Project 106 MW (Power Plant) Tongonan Geothermal Project
700 MWe (Steamfield)/588.4 MW (Power Plant)
150 MWe (Steamfield) 192.5 Mwe (Steamfield)
Any person with valid objection/s on the above-mentioned project may file his/her objection in writing, under oath, with the BOI within three (3) days from the date of this publication.
DOMINGO I. BAGAPORO Director
Project Evaluation and Registration Department
MT – Oct. 3, 2010
time, children 6 to 14 years old must attend school at least 85 percent of the time, children 0 to 5 years old must get regular health check-up and vaccinations, children 6 to14 years old must undergo deworming sessions every six months, parents must attend responsible parenthood sessions and pregnant women must get pre- and post-natal care and be attended to during childbirth by a skilled/trained birth attendant.
Poorest of poor
“I am just not sure if sure if such amount of money, including the P400 million loan we secured from the Asian Development Bank for the program, will be absorbed by the poorest of the poor in a year. And this is only for the poorest of the
poor. How about the poor? Why not put in on education and health pro- grams instead,” Lagman said. “If the [President] wants the budget cut, why is the 2011 budget [P1.645 trillion] higher than 2010’s P1.4 trillion?” he pointed out. But for majority bloc member and
Rep. Rufus Rodriguez of Cagayan de Oro, President Aquino’s decision to implement austerity policy on budget proposal is just the right thing to do considering that the country’s budget deficit is expected to reach P300 billion. “The President is just lading by example, as shown by the P180-mil- lion budget cut in the allocation for the Office of the President and his decision to reduce his traveling ex- penses,” Rodriguez said.
LLANESCA T. PANTI
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