A 6


■ AMNESTY FROM A1


Senate concurs with amnesty proclamation


Gregorio Honasan, the abstention vote. Sen. Teofisto Guingona 3rd, the chairman of the Senate Committee on Peace, Unification and Reconciliation, said that the grant of amnesty gives opportunity to those involved in the three incidents to return to the fold of the law and become productive members of society. A similar concurrence by the House


of Representatives, followed by publi- cation of Proclamation 75, will signal


■ VOTING FROM A1 Palea voting points to likely strike


closed at 5 p.m. in many PAL offices and work places in 14 provincial cities and call-center res- ervations at the PNB Building on Macapagal Av- enue in Pasay City (Metro Manila). In the call-center reservations, Palea added, there


was an 84-percent turnout, with 86 percent voting yes. In the provincial cities, some 80 percent of the members voted and 80 percent of them voted yes. “Not all the outlying stations [in the cities] have transmitted the results,” it said. The union, however, said that it was waiting


for the votes of a majority of Palea members, with balloting to end by midnight of Tuesday at Ter- minal 2 of the Manila International Airport, the international cargo terminal, the in-flight cater- ing department and the Mactan airport in Cebu. Still, Palea added that it was expecting the trend


in favor of a strike to continue. The union reported that the voting was orderly and peaceful. The Palea leadership will decide on its next move after tallying of all votes.


It is protesting the plan of flag-carrier Philip- pine Airlines to spin off part of its operations, a move that will result in the airline letting go some 3,500 of its 7,500 workforce.


Illegal move In a separate statement, Cielo Villaluna, PAL


spokesman, said that the flag-carrier wants to fi- nally resolve the issue of whether Palea has legal grounds to conduct a strike vote, much less en- gage in a work stoppage. “PAL appreciates President [Benigno] Aquino


3rd’s concern and desire to put closure to the PAL- Palea dispute. Like the President, PAL believes that the public deserves a quick resolution to this is- sue so as not to further cause anxiety to thou- sands of passengers who have already firmed up their holiday travel plans,” she added. Villaluna said that PAL lawyers are question- ing the legality and propriety of the strike vote. “It’s not a question of how many ‘yes’ or


‘no’ votes were cast by Palea members; the issue is whether there is a legal justification for such referendum. PAL believes there is none,” she added.


Villaluna said that it’s business as usual at the flag-carrier despite the ongoing strike vote. She assured PAL passengers, especially those flying in and out of the country dur- ing the coming holidays, that PAL is exert- ing all efforts to ensure that there will be no flight disruptions. Villaluna urged PAL passengers to come to the airport early—at least two hours before the in- tended departure time—to avoid long queues and other inconveniences.


the start of application for amnesty by more than 300 potential beneficiaries, including detained Sen. Antonio Trillanes 4th, former Brig. Gen. Danilo Lim and Col. Ariel Querubin. Guingona said the publication is only for one day in two newspapers of general circulation. Sen. Arroyo said that he supported


seven previous amnesty proclamations by four previous administrations, de- scribing all such proclamations as


news The Manila Times WEDNESDAY


“non-controversial with no debates.” He added that there were consulta- tions in those previous proclamations, resulting in their immediate approval. The senator intended that in the case of Proclamation 75, the Aquino administration did not listen to well- meaning critics who said that it should be amended.


Honasan said that he abstained to


avoid any conflict of interest because his name remained on a list of al- leged participants to the March 2006 Marines standoff. Reynaldo Robles, a lawyer for


Trillanes, was hoping that the detained senator would finally be able to attend his first Senate session in January 2010. He would not say if Trillanes could be freed before Christmas. “Sen. Trillanes has tempered his


D e cember 8, 2010


expectations because there have been delays. Waiting for a few more days or weeks would not matter to him,” Robles said.


He added that he saw no problem in the processing of Trillanes’ application for amnesty once the senator files one. “It was very evident that he was


involved in the Oakwood and Penin- sula Manila incidents,” Robles said. Sen. Francis Escudero said that


Trillanes could be released before Christ- mas, depending on the discretion of the courts handling the case against him. “Even if the application of Sen.


Trillanes has not been approved by the amnesty commission, he could apply for the equivalent of a furlough before the courts,” he explained. The concurrence of the Senate came after a morning hearing where


■ WITNESS FROM A1


Police victim considering witness protection program


cohort tried to summarily execute her, and is expected to leave the hospital in the next few days. Capistrano was a witness in a rob- bery-extortion case filed against two of the suspects, identified as Police Officer 1 Antennor Mariquit and Police Officer 2 Mario Natividad.


She said that agents for the Witness Protection Program from the Depart- ment of Justice approached her to offer their assistance. According to her, she is seriously con- sidering this option for fear of her life after her husband noted that armed men have been seen near their house. Senior Insp. Luis Perez, Pagsanjan police chief, said that Capistrano posi-


■ BOUNTY FROM A1


VACC starts raising cash for Sen. Lacson bounty


that would lead to the arrest of fugitive Sen. Panfilo “Ping” Lacson. VACC Chairman Dante Jimenez said that they decided to come up with the fund-raising effort not only to help fa- cilitate Lacson’s arrest, but also to teach government officials a lesson. “We are doing this for the victims who [ask] for justice, and at the same time to serve as [a] lesson to other gov- ernment officials [who] have a pending case in court that we will [not] allow them to get away with their crimes,” Jimenez said during an interview. Interior and Local Government Secre- tary Jesse Robredo recently rejected a pro- posal of Secretary Leila de Lima of the Department of Justice to offer a P2-mil- lion bounty to anyone who can pinpoint the fugitive lawmaker’s whereabouts. Robredo said that his refusal to offer a bounty means that he believes the Phil- ippine National Police can still find and


■ BUILDS FROM A1


CHINA BUILDS LIGHTHOUSE ON SPRATLYS


not to be named, said that they would like to see first the published article. “I think that should be resisted. That really goes against all under- standings,” said former ambassador to Japan Domingo Siazon who was the Foreign Affairs secretary in 1995 when the Philippines strongly protested the construction by China of military-type structures on Mischief Reef, 150 miles west of Palawan and 620 miles south- east of China.


The Philippines will have an oppor- tunity to raise the issue when senior of- ficials of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) and China meet at the joint working group level on De- cember 22 to 23 in Kunming City on the implementation of the 2002 Decla- ration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea.


Called “Zhubi Dao” by China and “Da Su Bi” by Vietnam, Subi Reef sur- rounds a huge lagoon. China had ear- lier constructed three-story buildings, wharfs and a helipad there. Other Spratlys claimants have up- graded their facilities. Vietnam has two buildings and an airstrip on Southwest Cay (Dao Song Tu Tay in Vietnamese) that overlooks the Philippines’ Parola island (Northeast Cay). Malaysia’s Pulau Layang-Layang or


Swallow Reef is now being marketed for tourism. Development of the resort, which included a bay for yachts and windmills to generate power, was com- pleted this year.


None of the nine islands occupied by the Philippines has a port facility, but it is part of the development plan of the Kalayaan local government for Pag-asa is- land. The airstrip on the Philippines’ Pag-


arrest the senator, who has managed to elude arrest since January this year. “If we would always give [a] bounty so that we could arrest someone . . . then we would be suggesting that our law- enforcement institutions, especially the Philippine National Police, are not [functioning],” he explained. The VACC chairman expressed sad-


ness over Robredo’s decision, saying that the group has no other choice but to initiate a fund-raising drive. Jimenez said that donation boxes


have been put up in various areas such as shopping centers, train stations and other places where people gather. The organization has also opened its


own bank account wherein people could deposit their donations. Lacson is facing arrest for the mur- der of publicist Salvador “Bubby” Dacer and Dacer’s driver Emmanuel Corbito nearly a decade ago.


asa island, the first landing facility to be built in the area, remains undeveloped. “We are very eco-friendly,” a military official wryly remarked.


160 islands at stake


The Philippines occupies nine of the 53 islands it claims in the mineral-rich Spratlys chain in the South China Sea, which China claims wholly. Vietnam, Ma- laysia, Brunei and Taiwan have also staked their claims on some of the 160 islands. Last month, an additional battalion of Philippine Marines was deployed to Palawan. The military is giving more at- tention to external mode or territorial defense now that the terrorist threat has been contained, or is diminishing and peace talks with the communist insur- gents are about to start.


Major Gen. Juancho Sabban, Armed


Forces Western Command chief, said that the force of choice for external defense is the Fleet Marine because it is highly mobile and can easily adapt to both land and sea environment. “You know China would not have in- truded into the Mischief Reef if they [the Philippine government] didn’t pull out the Marines there,” he said. He recalled that following the Peo-


ple Power revolution in 1986, the ad- ministration of President Corazon Aquino pulled out all the Marines from Palawan, which is nearest to the Sprat- lys, and sent them to Tawi-Tawi and Sulu because of their perceived loyalty to her predecessor, former strongman Ferdinand Marcos.


“So the Spratlys became vulnerable;


that’s when China came in,” Sabban added. Mischief Reef today is a far cry from what it was when stilt structures built by China were first discovered by the Philippines in 1995. China has replaced the stilt structures with four clusters of structures and a main building with parabolic antennas and has relocated machine guns. The discovery of the structures triggered a diplomatic standoff between the Phil- ippines and China and caused the Asean to engage China in talks on the code of conduct in the area that is described as a potential flashpoint in Asia-Pacific. To be continued


tively identified Natividad and Mariquit as her assailants. The two were arrested in follow-up operations and were immediately placed under the custody of the Laguna Provincial Police Office. Police also took the suspects’ white Mitsubishi Lancer and their issued firearms. A manhunt has been launched for the policemen’s companion, identified as Wilfredo Elorde alias Toto. Chief Supt. Samuel Pagdilao, the po- lice chief for Region IV-A, said that they have checked the records of the two po- licemen and confirmed that both are in- volved in a robbery-extortion case while one of them is involved in a rape case. The Laguna provincial police office


Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr. apologized for submitting a list of potential amnesty beneficiaries that included the name of Honasan. He, however, contended that Malacañang did not commit any er- ror because the names were taken from a list of respondents in the Ma- rines stand-off case that was pending before the Department of Justice. Escudero said that the Justice sec- retary is an alter ego of the President, so the secretary should immediately drop the case against the respondents. He added that the courts and the court-martial should also free all ac- cused in the other two incidents once they receive copies of the concurrence of the Senate and the House on the amnesty proclamation. Honasan said that the government


should not focus only on the am- nesty proclamation but also on the military justice system. “We should no longer allow the situ- ation where the chief of staff [of the mili- tary] will personally appoint the mem- bers of a court-martial, and then appear there as witness. This is prostitution of the military justice system,” he added. Honasan said that there should be a


vehicle for airing of grievances from the military men in the field so that these gripes could be addressed properly. Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri said that


he would have wanted to see a line in the concurring resolution where the applicants for amnesty would prom- ise not to be involved in future coups. “This is not an admission of guilt.


We merely do not want recidivists,” he explained.


said that the two policemen are also involved in a murder case. Police have filed complaints of frus- trated murder against Mariquit and Natividad, who also are facing admin- istrative investigations and possible dis- missal from the police service. Pagdilao said that he has ordered the Laguna provincial police to conduct thorough forensic examination of the crime scene and the white car because the two policemen have refused to talk during interrogations. “Duct tape nakita din doon at yung tsinelas na pagmamay-ari ng biktima at yung basyo nandoon din sa crime scene [There was duct tape taken from the car and the slippers of the victim, and the spent cartridges were found at the crime scene],” said Senior Supt. Gilbert Cruz, the director of the Laguna police force. The two policemen have also been subjected to paraffin tests and fingerprinting while their issued firearms were subjected to ballis- tics examinations. Both are out on bail.


■ PROGRAM FROM A1


PCSO tapped for funding govt foster- care program


The proposed foster care program is embodied in a consoli- dated bill, which the panel, headed by Rep. Aurora Enerio- Cerilles of Zamboanga del Sur, approved for floor deliberation. Consolidation were House Bills 322 of Rep. Susan Yap of Tarlac; House Bill 489 by Rep. Juan Edgardo Angara of Aurora; House Bill 1793 of Rep. Bernadette Herrera-Dy of Bagong Henerasyon party-list; House Bill 2278 by sibling Representatives Rufus Rodriguez of Cagayan de Oro City and Maximo Rodriguez Jr. of Abante Mindanao party- list; House Bill 3012 by Rep. Salvador Escudero 3rd of Sorsogon; and House Bill 3274 by Rep. Joseph Victor Ejercito of San Juan City (Metro Manila). The legislations was lauded by


nongovernment organizations (NGOs) involved in foster care for more than a decade, saying that they have longed for government assistance in providing foster care for abandoned and ne- glected children, and other children with special needs. NGO representatives said that the PCSO’s financial assistance would be a big boost in ensuring that funds from the government would help the country’s foster- care programs. They added that many foster-


care parents and homes do not get any financial assistance from the government and would often use their own money for operations. The lawmakers pressed for the proposed measure’s immediate approval, saying that this would formalize the foster-care program in the country. The bills were approved on third reading in the House of Representa- tives during the past Congresses. The Senate has reported out


foster-care bills as Committee Report 1 for the Fifteenth Congress. Those who attended the committee hearing were officials of the Department of Social Welfare and Development, National Bureau of Investigation, Public Attorney’s Office, Manila International Airport Authority, Council for the Welfare of Children, Inter-Country Adoption Board, Child Rights Network and Association of Child Caring Agencies of the Philippines.


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