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ASHINGTON, D.C.: The United States Senate voted on Thursday (Friday in Manila) to delay


news The Manila Times SATURDAY D e cember 11, 2010


deliberations on a measure designed to give young illegal immigrants a path to legal status while a recent survey in California indicated that Asian-Americans support similar measures.


The US Senate was originally scheduled to have a showdown vote on the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors


■ DEFENDER FROM A1 Miriam defends Palace over High Court setback


Malacañang criticized the High Court decision as a political one but Santiago ascribed this to the absence of a constitutionalist among the President’s legal advisers.


“Most Supreme Court decisions turn on a constitutional issue, and logic dictates that President Aquino should have a topnotch constitu- tionalist in his staff. Of his lawyers [at present], I would merely say that their doctrinal foundations are hor- ribly inadequate,” the senator said. At the same time, Santiago


warned that the Philippines would become a “failed state” should Malacanang’s allies in the House of Representatives succeed in filing an impeachment complaint against Chief Justice Renato Corona. Corona is one of the 10 High


Court justices who ruled that EO 1 was unconstitutional and five other justices dissented.


Santiago said that impeaching a chief justice by imputing “political motives” behind a decision clipping the President’s powers would be fatal to the tripartite system of government. “The executive and legislative branches are political in nature. But the judicial branch is non-political. If the chief justice is removed for political reasons, then that would be a signal that even the judicial branch has also become political. That would be the end of our democracy as we know it today,” she explained.


■ WINNER FROM A1


NOBEL PEACE CEREMONY HAILS ABSENT WINNER


of Chinese leadership in Beijing. The writer and former university professor was at the forefront of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests. He was jailed in December 2009


for 11 years on subversion charges after co-authoring “Charter 08,” a manifesto that spread quickly on the Internet calling for political reform and greater rights in China. “I have long been aware that when an independent intellectual stands up to an autocratic state, step one toward freedom is often a step into prison,” Liu said shortly after his sentence was handed down on Christmas Day. “Now I am taking that step, and true freedom is that much nearer,” he added. Beijing was enraged by the Norwe- gian Nobel Committee’s pick this year,


■ RITES FROM A1 Philippines defends decision on Oslo


“Attending the Nobel is not compulsory and our non-attend- ance does not connote anything because this is not the first time we did not attend the ceremony,” the Department of Foreign Affairs also said in a statement. For his part, Foreign Affairs


spokesman Ed Malaya said that the Philippines could not send anyone to attend the event in Oslo because the invitation was for ambassadors only.


“The invitation is for ambassador


only. And we do not think the sub- stitute would be proper,” Malaya said in an interview at Malacañang. He added that the Philippines will not be able to attend the Nobel peace prize ceremonies be- cause Buensuceso has a “schedul- ing problem.” Malaya said that Buensuceso will


have to go to Denmark for consular mission with the Filipino commu- nity there.


“It is simply that, she has


scheduling problem and we hope that there will be no unnecessary implication from our non-attend- ance at the ceremony at this time,” he said. Malaya added that the Philip- pine absence at Oslo had noth- ing to do with Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo’s receiving the Nobel peace prize. “Ambassador Buensuceso’s trip to Denmark has long been arranged even before the identity of the re- cipient for this year‘s Nobel peace prize was known. We do not think there is any connection,” he said. Malaya also denied that the Phil- ippines is boycotting the event. “I think the word boycott is very strong,” he said.


He also stressed the Philippines’ commitment to human rights. “Compared to many other coun-


tries, there has been no imposition of the death penalty in this country since 2001. We have abolished the capital punishment way back in


2006 and we are a union voice for the abolition of capital punishment worldwide,” Malaya said. The Philippines is among 20 countries, including China, to have refused Norway’s invitation to Fri- day’s ceremony awarding the Nobel Peace Prize to Liu. Most have close ties to China, do


not want to anger Beijing or have a tendency to take a hard line against their own dissidents. Those who have said that they are


staying away from Oslo are Afghani- stan, Algeria, China, Colombia, Cuba, Egypt, Iraq, Iran, Kazakhstan, Morocco, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Tunisia, Venezuela and Vietnam.


Ukraine and Serbia, which earlier refused the invitation to Oslo, will send representatives to the Nobel peace prize awarding rites. But Lundestad said: “We believe that Argentina will not coming, or at least will not be represented by the ambassador.”


which was announced in October. The Chinese authorities labeled the laureate a “criminal” and placed his wife Liu Xia under house arrest. And the Chinese authorities’ fury has mounted in the run-up to Friday’s ceremony, threatening “consequences” for countries that come out in support of Liu and lambasting the Nobel Committee as “clowns.”


“The Chinese people and the


overwhelming majority of countries and people in the world oppose what they do,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said in Beijing a day before the event. Nobel Institute Director Geir Lundestad, meanwhile, pointed out Thursday that 45 embassies had accepted invitations to the event, while 19, including China,


Unlike Santiago, Sen. Joker


Arroyo was less kind to Malacañang. Senator Arroyo also on Friday


chided the Palace for acting as if the government could not gather evi- dence to prosecute former Presi- dent Gloria Arroyo except thru the Truth Commission.


This helplessness is ridiculously absurd!” he said. Senator Arroyo pointed out that


Mr. Aquino has control over the ex- ecutive branch, and this includes the Department of Justice that has a nationwide prosecutorial arm and investigative agencies such as the Philippine National Police and the National Bureau of Investigation. “All executive branch agencies will readily produce all the docu- ments requested to pin down Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo,” he said. Senator Arroyo noted that the President dominates the House of Representatives and the Senate. “With these massive and com- bined forces that would do the President’s biddings, the President’s subalterns still confess to their in- ability to put down Gloria Maca- pagal-Arroyo. Only the Truth Com- mission with its inherent investiga- tive limitations can do the job. Why oh why?” he asked. A lawmaker also on Friday re- minded Malacañang that the Truth Commission must not be used en- tirely against perceived grafters.


“The Truth Commission must not be about vendetta. It should be the people’s mechanism to hear all sides, to clearly see facts behind the allegations and close old books of disagreements so that we could all move on and focus on other matters of national interest. This is only our first step to make our officials accountable,” Rep. Jack Enrile of Cagayan said. “I, too, am saddened with the decision [of the High Tribunal]. But looking deeper into the details, the Supreme Court has a valid point that Malacañang should highly con- sider. Instead of just nagging around and start finger-pointing again, it should get back to the table and have [itself] strengthened if not [for it to] look for other possible legal remedies,” he added.


Enrile said that the Malacañang should not have formed the com- mission if it was just a move to de- liver on its anti-corruption promises during the election campaign. He suggested that the government come up with better coordination, planning and management to curb corruption, thereby raising account- ability among public servants. House Minority Leader Edcel Lagman also on Friday dared the President to immediately file cases against corrupt government officials instead of insisting on establishing the Truth Commission.


Russia, Saudi Arabia and Iran, had initially declined.


Serbia, Ukraine to join On Thursday, however, Serbia and


Ukraine, under pressure both at home and abroad, reversed their decision to boycott and said that they were sending representatives. According to Lundestad, the Phil- ippines had also relented and would attend, although there was no con- firmation from Manila. But the Phil- ippine government reiterated Friday that it would not be sending a rep- resentative to the awarding (see re- lated story in front page). Despite Beijing’s best efforts, world leaders and foreign parliaments con- tinue to laud Liu’s achievements. On Thursday, Mexico’s upper par- liamentary chamber, the Senate, called on Beijing to free Liu and let him travel to Oslo to collect his prize, in a motion that was unani- mously approved.


UN Secretary General Ban Ki- moon, meanwhile defended, him- self Thursday against charges by human rights groups that he had


Lagman said that the Office of the Ombudsman and the Department of Justice are the only existing insti- tutions mandated by the Constitu- tion to investigate and prosecute those who have committed venali- ties in the government.


“If the President is earnest in his


avowed crusade, [then] he should not have wasted six months in fan- fare and sloganeering,” he added. “From Day One of his administra- tion, he should have immediately marshaled the awesome resources of government against suspected culprits by filing [the] appropri- ate complaints before the Depart- ment of Justice and the Office of the Ombudsman.”


Lagman said that “the functions of these existing agencies need not be duplicated by the ‘Truth Com- mission,’ even as the commission itself is expected to secure assistance of both the Justice department and the Ombudsman.”


“The DOJ and the Ombudsman need not wait for the recommenda- tions of the commission, which can drag its investigations up to the ex- piration of its existence on Decem- ber 31, 2012, while both agencies can now act with dispatch and alac- rity over complaints filed or to be filed before them,” he added. WITH REPORTS FROM RUBEN D. MANAHAN 4TH AND LLANESCA T. PANTI


not raised Liu’s case with China’s President Hu Jintao on a visit to Beijing last month.


Without directly mentioning the


controversy, Ban said: “Often, we choose to speak out, loudly and publicly. Other times, a less public diplomacy may be the better path.” At home, Chinese media have largely shied away from covering this year’s Nobel Peace Prize, while Beijing has cracked down on dissi- dents and worked hard to block its critics from traveling to Oslo. A number of Chinese dissidents living in exile have nonetheless made the trip.


In addition to placing an empty chair on the podium to represent Liu, he will be remembered with a photograph and one of his texts read by Norwegian actress Liv Ullmann. He will receive his gold medal, Nobel diploma and prize money of $1.5 million at a later date. The laureates of the Nobel prizes for chemistry, physics, literature and economics will collect their awards at a separate ceremony in Stock- holm later Friday.


US Senate delays action on youth immigrant bill W


tally of 216 to 198, Senate Demo- crats decided to no longer pursue its own version.


Instead, they plan to take up the


House’s version sometime later to save the lower chamber from re-vot- ing on the matter.


(Dream) Act on Thursday. But after the House of Representatives on Wednesday (Thursday in Manila) approved its version of the bill by a


If passed, the measure would pro- vide a path to citizenship for undocu- mented immigrant children who were brought to the United States before turning 16 years old, have lived continuously in the country for at least five years and graduated from high school or gained an equivalency degree if they joined the military or attended college for two years.


Senate Republicans, however, made it clear that they would block any legislation during the lame- duck session until the chamber ap- proves bills to extend the Bush-era tax cuts and to fund the government. It’s still unclear whether Senate Democrats can muster enough votes to overcome Republicans’ filibuster. Most Republicans opposed the measure as they considered it a “mass amnesty,” arguing it would allow even criminals and terrorists to gain legal status. Republicans also worry about the long-term effect the bill would have on the country’s budget, even


though the non-partisan Congres- sional Budget Office estimated the bill would cut billions of dollars in federal deficit over the next 10 years. Separately, results of a recent poll conducted by the University of Southern California College and the Los Angeles Times showed that Asian- American voters tend to favor pro- immigrant policies such as reduc- tions in family reunion backlogs (82 percent) and legalizing undocu- mented children (76 percent). Asian Pacific American Legal Center President and Executive Di- rector Stewart Kwoh expressed support for such policies—the


‘Bare’ necessities


Dream Act, in particular—saying saying that Asian-Americans, whom he described as “a commu- nity of immigrants,” also approve these measures. “We support policies like the Dream Act and family reunification because we want to give everyone in our community a chance to achieve the American dream,” he said. The poll was conducted immedi- ately after the November 2010 mid- term elections and included an oversample of Asian-American vot- ers, including those who speak Can- tonese, Chinese Mandarin, Korean, Filipino or Vietnamese.


XINHUA


PHOTO BY JESSIE LAURETA


Masked students of the University of the Philippines in Manila raise posters opposing budget cuts following their traditional Oblation Run on Friday.


■ STRIKE FROM A1 Majority of PAL union “The 86-percent vote is overwhelm-


ingly given the fact that we had just 24 hours to inform members of the holding of the strike ballot,” Gerry Rivera, Palea president, said. He added that the successful strike


vote conducted among its members brings the union closer to holding an actual strike. According to the Labor Code, before


any legal strike can proceed, a notice of strike must be filed and then a strike vote conducted in which a simple majority of members must agree. Rivera added that all that remains


now is for Palea to file the results of the strike vote at the National Conciliation and Mediation Board (NCMB), which has jurisdiction of the dispute, and then wait for the lapse of the mandated seven-day notification or cooling off period. The NCMB is an attached agency of the Department of Labor and Employment. “We understand that a strike at PAL


may inconvenience the public. But we also believe that the vast majority of the public are workers and their families who will benefit from Palea’s fight for job security and labor rights,” Rivera said. The strike vote was announced to


Palea members last Monday just after a notice was filed at the NCMB. The actual strike vote was conducted the whole day of December 7. Palea is protesting PAL’s plan to spin


AFP


Russia, which signed trade agreements with China last month worth $8.5 billion, has officially pleaded prior engagements for its absence.


Other countries like Pakistan and Sri Lanka have economic and defense ties with China, while Iraq, Iran and Saudi Arabia supply it with oil.


Iran also relies on Chinese sup- port in the United Nations Security Council to fight sanctions against its nuclear program, and will not have forgotten the Peace Prize awarded to one of its own dissidents, Shirin Ebadi, in 2003.


Most of the 65 countries with embassies in Oslo will be repre- sented, including Western powers from the European Union and the United States, as well as Japan, which has a territorial dispute with China.


Emerging economic powers which are potential rivals rather than partners of China will also be there, including Brazil, lndia, Indonesia, South Africa and South Korea.


WITH REPORTS FROM AFP AND BERNICE CAMILLE V. BAUZON


off part of its operations, a move that will result in letting go some 3,500 of its 7,500 workforce. In a briefing, Jaime Bautista, PAL


president and chief operating officer, assured its passengers that all PAL flights are normal and continue to operate according to published schedules. “We have in place a contingency


program, if it in case the strike happened,” he said. Bautista added that PAL engaged professional service providers,


■ FALL FROM A1


Filipino Muslim militants’ Indon mentor falls in Java


mujahedeen war against the Soviets in the late 1980s and became a leading figure in Southeast Asia’s Jemaah Islamiah (JI) terror network when he returned home.


He reportedly sent Islamic mili- tants to fight Christians in Sulawesi from 1998 to 2001 and served less than half of a seven-year prison sen- tence handed down in 2004 for the bombing of a shopping mall in Ja- karta three years earlier. In recent years, he reportedly split from JI and joined another radical group called Jamaah Ansharut-


Tauhid, set up by extremist cleric Abu Bakar Bashir.


Bashir is in custody along with dozens of other militants linked to the Aceh cell, which was allegedly planning attacks against Westerners and security forces and assassinations of political leaders. Security analysts say that despite going through a deradicalization program in prison, he remains a key coordinator for Islamist militants in Indonesia, who are bent on creat- ing a caliphate across much of Southeast Asia.


AFP


including inflight catering companies, to augment workers not joining the strike and deploy all available manpower, including supervisors and managers who are more than capable of manning critical frontline posts. He said that PAL will also endorse


affected passengers to its sister airline, AirPhilexpress, as well as to 134 international airline partners. Bautista said that employees who


participated in the recent Palea strike vote are ground workers mostly assigned at the ground-handling, catering and call center offices. “While their jobs are important, these


workers play support to flight operations. They are not directly engaged in flying or maintaining the aircraft. The pilots, cabin crew and mechanics/maintenance workers of Lufthansa Technik Philippines are not part of the planned work stoppage,” he added. The PAL-Palea labor dispute is being


reviewed by Malacañang. Bautista said that legal avenues can


still be exhausted in resolving the management-labor differences. “The notice of strike that they filed is


already decided. If they will strike next week, it’s illegal,” he added. Palea said that their planned strike is not illegal since there is no labor dispute pending. “The strike vote stems from the labor


dispute docketed as NCMB-NCR NS-11- 128-10. That dispute has not been resolved nor been assumed,” Rivera said. He reiterated the clarification that the issue pending at the Office of the President is PAL’s outsourcing plan which has been affirmed by Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz, while the strike vote arose from a separate though related complaint of indi- vidual bargaining by PAL manage- ment that constitutes unfair labor practice and union busting.


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