news The Manila Times SATURDAY BY RUBEN D. MANAHAN 4TH REPORTER


HE House of Representatives will summon officials of the Home Guaranty Corp. (HGC) following


the financial distress issue that allegedly rooted from mismanagement.


Valencia said that the committee will be summoning HGC President Gonzalo Bongolan and let him tes- tify under oath before the panel to allow him to explain his side about the financial position of the firm, which has also increased it’s payables by P22 billion.


Bongolan has been in the post since 2001.


The chairman of the House Com- mittee on Housing, Rodolfo Valen- cia on Friday said that he would ini- tiate a formal investigation into the allegations that officials of the said government-owned and-controlled corporation (GOCC) had bled the


agency dry. “We want them to explain why the company is losing,” Valencia said after reports stated that the firm has steadily increased its losses from P204 million in 2002 to P1.069 bil- lion by the end of 2008.


Aquino to meet UN chief, Asean leaders in New York


PRESIDENT Benigno Aquino 3rd is scheduled to meet with the head of the United Nations (UN) and several leaders of the Association of Southeast Nations (Asean) at the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York next week, the Department of Foreign Affairs said Friday. In a statement, the Foreign Affairs


department said that Mr. Aquino would have a meeting with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and the leaders of Vietnam, Malaysia and Thailand. “The President’s visit to the United


Nations in New York to address the General Assembly on September 24, provides him the opportunity to meet counterparts and other world leaders,” the Foreign Affairs department said. He will address the UN General


Assembly on September 24. For his first official visit to the


United States, Malacañang said on Friday that the President would only be spending P25 million. Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa said


the President’s total estimated cost for his US trip is a third of what his predecessor, former President Gloria Arroyo, had spent for similar overseas travel. “The President is serious about


cutting costs in this trip. He is taking a very lean delegation and flying commercial to the US and back, which is why this trip will cost much less than previous working trips,” Ochoa said. “That is why, in the interest of


transparency, we are releasing these figures so the Filipino people will know where their money is going and how it is being spent,” the executive secretary said in a statement. The Finance Office of the Office of the


President has released P22 million to cover the expenses of the entire trip, including hotel accommodations, meals and transportation within the US. The amount does not include the costs of the plane tickets to be purchased for the trip, which are estimated at P3 million.


$434-million grant He also said that besides attending the


UN General Assembly, President Aquino would be signing a $434-million compact grant from the Millennium Challenge Corp. to the country. President Aquino would also play a key


role at the Asean-US Leaders Meeting on September 24, as the Philippines is the organization’s country coordinator for the Asean-US dialogue. Moreover, the President is scheduled


to have bilateral discussions with President Nguyan Minh Triet of Vietnam, Prime Minister Dato’ Sri Mohd Najib Tun Abdul Razak of Malaysia and Prime


Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva of Thailand, among others. “The meetings with these leaders


are expected to bolster bilateral ties between their countries and the Philippines, as well as reiterate support and commitment to specific areas of cooperation in the Asean region,” the statement said. At the meeting with Secretary General


Ban, Mr. Aquino is expected to discuss the Philippine commitment and achievements to fulfill the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), express support for the UN’s peacekeeping missions and its initiatives to implement the outcomes of the successful 2010 Review Conference of the Nuclear Non- Proliferation Treaty (NPT) on May 3 to 28. He would also give his thanks to the


secretary general for “his support to the Philippines’ interfaith initiatives for peace and development.” The Philippines contributes signifi-


cantly to the UN’s peacekeeping operations. It is the third largest troop contributing country in Southeast Asia and 23rd worldwide. Philippine military and police personnel are deployed in most of the 16 UN peacekeeping missions such as in Golan Heights, Liberia and Haiti.


MDG targets According to the 4th Philippine Progress


Report on the MDGs, the Philippines is likely to meet the targets on food poverty, gender equality in education, child mortality, malaria morbidity, detection, treatment success and cure rates of tuberculosis cases and access to sanitary toilet facilities. Other MDG targets include income


poverty, nutrition, dietary energy requirement, access to safe drinking water, participation, cohort survival and completion rates in elementary education, maternal mortality, access to reproductive health services and prevalence of HIV and AIDS. Under the presidency of Philippine


Permanent Representative to the UN in New York Libran Cabactulan, the 2010 NPT review conference achieved historic milestones leading to a nuclear-free world with the adoption of 64 points on nuclear disarmament, nonproliferation and peaceful use of nuclear weapons. The Philippines is considered as a global leader in interfaith initiatives, having initiated resolutions and led discussions at the General Assembly on inter-religious and inter-cultural dialogue, understanding and coopera- tion for peace annually since 2004. BERNICE CAMILLE V. BAUZON AND CRIS G. ODRONIA


PHOTO BY: JESSIE LAURETA (From left) Taguig Mayor Laarni Cayetano, Pateros Mayor Jaime Medina, Las Piñas Mayor


Vergel Aguilar, Chairman Francis Tolentino of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority, Mayor Alfredo Lim of Manila and Mayor Guia Gomez of San Juan showed their unity during the landmark signing of the Memorandum of Agreement which will soon address the Metro’s perennial problem on flooding.


Privatization a long way for govt TV stations


THE two state-run TV stations, RPN 9 and IBC 13, are still on the long road to privatization given their compli- cated financial and legal impediments, Presidential Communications Opera- tions Office (PCOO) Secretary Herminio Coloma told the House committee on appropriations recently. During the budget deliberations, Coloma said he has yet to present his recommendations to President Benigno Aquino 3rd on what to do with the two government stations. “We are still studying the best options for the two stations. We have to study the financial and le- gal problems with regard the pri- vatization,” Coloma said told law- makers present during the hearing. However, Rep. Ben Evardone of


Eastern Samar and Rep. Rufus Rodriguez of the Second District of Cagayan de Oro reminded him to pro- tect the rights of the employees who will be affected by the privatization. Evardone expressed apprehen- sion that the employees might lose their jobs once the networks are pri- vatized. He cited reports that some of the networks’ retirees have not yet been paid their retirement benefits. Rodriguez said both stations do not receive subsidy from the govern- ment, and yet, the stations are obliged to pay the retirees. Coloma assured the lawmakers that he would address their con- cerns and relay the matter to the TV networks’ Board of Directors. The PCOO has administrative supervi-


sion over the networks, but the Board controls its operations. Coloma said NBN-PTV4, another


government television station, is in the upgrading and modernization stage and will need additional budget to address its perennial problems of signal quality and shortage of equipment. “With sufficient funds, NBN- PTV4 would be able to reorient and refocus on quality programs and would definitely attract private com- mercial advertisers,” Coloma said. Coloma said the NBN-PTV4 has acquired a new transmission system, but still has to address the shortage in its production equipment in or- der to cope with its daily operations. RUBEN D. MANAHAN 4TH


House housing committee mem- ber Amado Bagatsing (Manila) said that it is the high time that the Con- gress to review the firm’s charter, adding that the anomalies sur- rounding HGC is larger than that of the scam at the Home Development Mutual Fund.


September 18, 2010


A 3


House sets inquiry into ‘distressed’ GOCC T


“Matagal ng walang pera ‘yan [The organization’s coffers has long been depleted],” Bagatsing, said re- ferring to HGC. “We should revisit the charter of the HGC . . . whether they are ful- filling their mandate,” Bagatsing stressed as he echoed Valencia’s call for a full dress probe into the op- erations of the agency.


He also said that the firm is going to suffer more financial woes when the zero bonds it floated four or five years ago matures. “Kawawa naman ang gobyerno natin [woe to our gov- ernment],” Bagatsing said, adding that in the end, the government will be shouldering the payments to what


the HGC has guaranteed. In its 2008 report, the Com- mission on Audit (COA) earlier said that despite the losses, HGC still gave Early Separation Incen- tive Package (ESIP) to its employ- ees equivalent to two-month a year of service totaling P224.140 million. The COA said the grant- ing of ESIP should stop because it is not in accordance with Re- public Act (RA) 6656 and Execu- tive Order 336, which authorize only one-month salary for every year of service. The COA also noted that HGC


overstated its total assets by P3.191 billion when it recorded its assets at


United for a cause


their call amounts instead of the appraised values. COA noted that HGC incurred losses of P2.283 billion because of its disposal of overvalued assets. It also lost P2.035 billion because of its “disposal thru finance lease of a foreclosed overhauled property, subject of HGC guaranty, which was recorded at its call amount of P2.487 billion inclusive of all capi- talized expenses.” HGC, formerly known as Home Insurance Guaranty Corp., was created with the enactment of its new charter under RA 8763, or the Home Guaranty Corporation Act of 2000.


Philippines commemorates Galleon Trade


THE Philippines, Mexico and Spain will rekindle their historic ties with the commemoration of the Manila- Acapulco Galleon Trade starting Monday, September 20, culminat- ing in the celebration of the Dia del Galeon on October 8.


Sen. Edgardo Angara, chairman of the Dia del Galeon committee, said the commemoration would mark another tribute to history and culture that brought together Asia, Europe, and Latin America. “Scholars agree that the first real global trade dates here, forming the first direct and permanent trade link between Asia and Europe and the Americas. This makes Manila the birthplace of globalization,” he said, referring to the Manila- Acapulco Galleon Trade.


Angara added that the replica of a Spanish Galleon, “Andalucia,” which is currently berthed at the Shanghai Expo, would dock in Ma- nila and be a major centerpiece for the Philippine celebration of the first Día del Galeón Festival. Four Spaniards arrived last Sep- tember 14 to oversee the docking of Andalucia. The party, composed of Ignacio Fernandez Vial, Guadalupe Fernandez Morente, Joaquin Garrido Garcia and Jose Luis Rivera Perez, will go around Manila to find a suitable harbor for the Andalucia to dock.


Dia del Galeon will kick off on September 20 with Artes Talleres, a three-week interdisciplinary festival with lectures, workshops, demon- strations, exhibits and perform- ances with the theme, “Habitat, Heritage, History and Language: Continental Connectivity. Finally, the five-day educational trip Viaje del Galeon will be launched on October 8 and will ply the Manila to Cebu route with on- board activities and heritage tours upon docking, as well as interactive performances and Galleon Trade significant reenactments.


EFREN L. DANAO Supreme Court honors outstanding judges, clerk of court


THE Supreme Court (SC) on Friday awarded three outstanding judges and one outstanding clerk of court this year’s Judicial Excellence Awards (JEA) held at the Manila Hotel Cen- tennial Hall on Friday. Judge Victoria Isabel Alvarez


Paredes of Branch 124 of the Re- gional Trial Court of Caloocan City, received the Chief Justice Cayetano Arellano Award; Judge Iluminada


Cabato of Branch 59 of the Regional Trial Court of Baguio City got the Chief Justice Jose Abad Santos Award; and Judge Carmelita Manahan of Branch 16 of the Re- gional Trial Court of Manila was given the Chief Justice Ramon Avanceña Award.


The lone recipient of the Out- standing Clerk of Court of the Sec- ond Level Courts was lawyer Gail


Bacbac-Del Isen of Branch 3 of the Regional Trial Court of Baguio City for Branch Clerk of Court. Paredes, the Chief Justice Cayetano Arellano Awardee for Outstanding Regional Trial Court Judge, has been a JEA finalist in 2005 and 2006. In 2006, she was adjudged Most Outstanding Gender Sensitive Judge of the Philippines by the National Commission on Women, the Su-


Woman takes action against estranged husband


Dear PAO, I have been legally married for almost 8 years now yet my hus- band and I are physically sepa- rated. My husband has another family with 2 children.


I filed a criminal case for concubinage against him in Cavite but I don’t have the money to fi- nance my case, so I went back to Cagayan de Oro. My husband told me that for his failure to attend the preliminary hearing in the said case, he is now being hunted by the authorities. Now, I decided to just file a case to get financial support for my child who is already seven years old. I tried to communicate with my husband before filing the case but he just ignored it. I do not know where he is staying now but I know the address of his parents. Can I put the address of his par- ents? What can you advise me?


EJE


Dear EJE, We have to remind you that in a criminal case, accusation is not synonymous with guilt. The pros- ecution must prove through con- vincing evidence beyond reason- able doubt that the person being accused of is guilty of the said crime filed against him. This is consistent with the rights of the accused accorded by the Bill of Rights, that in all criminal pros-


ecution, one is presumed to be innocent until his guilt is proven beyond reasonable doubt. The role of the complaining witness then is essential to the prosecution because it is the com- plainant who will provide the prosecution the relevant evidence so that the same can positively prosecute the case. Thus, you must actively participate in the case that you have filed against your husband if you want to prove that he committed concubinage. Without your cooperation, the prosecution will not be able to prove your husband’s guilt and may result into the dismissal of the case or his acquittal from the said charge of concubinage. However, from the facts that


you have stated, it is safe to as- sume that you are no longer in- terested in pursuing the criminal case, which you filed against your husband because you are more


interested in filing a case to de- mand for support from him. The obligation to give support is in- cumbent on the father and the mother of the child, hence, as the mother of your child you are also obliged to provide support for your child if you have the means. Be that as it may, as a legitimate child, your child can demand support from his father regard- less if the latter already has an- other family. Under the law, sup- port comprises everything indis- pensable for sustenance, dwell- ing, clothing, medical attend- ance, education and transporta- tion, in keeping with the finan- cial capacity of the family (Arti- cle 194 of the Family Code of the Philippines).


Demand for support may either be judicial or extrajudicial. Judi- cial, if demand is made by way of filing a petition for support in court. Extrajudicial, if demand is


made without the court’s inter- vention. A Petition for Support may be filed in any of the family courts in the place where you re- side. As to the fact that you do not know the whereabouts of your husband, you may opt to use the address of your parents-in-law if they are willing to accept the sum- mons. If not, you have to resort to summons by publication. If summons against the father


of your son cannot be effected by personal or substituted service, summons may, by leave of court, effected by publication in a news- paper of general circulation in such places and for such time as the court may order, in which case a copy of the summons and the order of the court shall be sent by registered mail to his last known address or in any manner that the court may deem sufficient. (Sec- tion 15 Rule 14, The 1997 Rules on Civil Procedure) Summons is


a writ or process issued and served upon the defendant in a civil ac- tion for the purpose of securing his appearance therein. If summons had been served and the case proceeded to trial, you shall present proofs to the satisfaction of the court of the right of your son to receive sup- port and the amount of support that he needs based on his neces- sities. In the said case, it will be the court that shall determine the amount of support your son shall be entitled to base on the neces- sity of your son and the financial capacity of his father. We hope that we were able to address your query. Editor’s note: Dear PAO is a daily column of the Public Attorney’s Of- fice. Questions for Chief Acosta may be sent to dearpao@manilatimes.net or via text message (key in: Times dearpao and send to 2299).


preme Court, the Commission on Human Rights, the United Nations Development Fund for Women, and the United Nations Population Fund. Paredes’ average rate of case dis- posal from January 2009 to July 2010 stands at 30 cases a month. More significantly, the Court of Ap- peals and the High Tribunal have affirmed 95 percent of her decisions. ROMMEL C. LONTAYAO


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