SECRETARY OF NATIONAL DEFENSE GILBERTO TEODORO THANKS U.S. HOUSE
VETERANS COMMITTEE CHAIR FOR PASSAGE OF FILVETS BENEFITS
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Philippine Secretary of National Defense Gilberto Teodoro called on the Chairman of the U.S. House
Committee on Veterans Affairs, Representative Bob Filner (D - CA), at the Congressman’s office in Capitol Hill.
During the office call Secretary Teodoro expressed to Congressman Filner the Filipino people’s appreciation
and gratitude for the Congressman’s tireless efforts and relentless support to the Filipino WWII Veterans.
Secretary Teodoro and Representative Filner also discussed varied security concerns that affect both
countries and ways to further strengthen our strategic partnership in order to address these security concerns.
They also vowed to continue working on further enhancing RP-US relations.
Representative Filner is a Co-Chair of the Philippines-U.S. Friendship Caucus in the U.S. House of
Representatives.
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KEY U.S. SENATE LEADER CITES CRUCIAL ROLE OF THE PHILIPPINES IN REGIONAL
STABILITY
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At a meeting today at the Russell Senate Office Building in Washington D.C. between Philippine Secretary of
National Defense Gilberto C. Teodoro, Jr and U.S. Senator James Webb, current Chairman of the
Subcommittee for East Asia and the Pacific of the U.S. Senate’s Foreign Relations Committee, Senator Webb
expressed his appreciation for the Philippine Government’s peace and development efforts in Mindanao.
Secretary Teodoro took this opportunity to update Senator Webb on the spectrum of roles that the Armed
Forces of the Philippines performs in crucial tasks such as combating terrorism, assisting the national
government in its development efforts in impoverished areas of the country and in working in partnership with
strategic allies such as the United States and other regional parties in establishing regional security in East
Asia. Both officials have agreed to continue to work hard in pursuing our two countries’ common interest of
promoting regional stability in the Asia-Pacific region. END.
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Palace cites conditions for supporting tax on text
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Malacañang today cited three conditions for the administration to support a proposal to tax text messages.
In a press briefing, Deputy Spokespersons Anthony Golez and Gary Olivar, echoing Executive Secretary
Eduardo Ermita, said the tax should not be passed on to users. Also, they added, it must be made clear how
the tax is implemented and who should shoulder it; and, finally, the tax must be utilized for specific purposes
such as education, healthcare or computerization.
The proposed measure, now at the committee level of the House of Representatives, still has to pass through
debates and periods of amendments in the plenary session.
Asked if they would request an advance copy of said measure, Golez said the Palace will just go through the
usual procedure and wait for the final draft that Congress will give.
Unfortunately, according to Golez, candidates in next year’s elections are now using the proposal to advance
their political interests. He said, however that people will see through them.
Olivar stressed that text messaging or short message service (SMS) is the most popular form of
communication for Filipinos, especially overseas-based workers.
“We must not pass on the tax burden to the consumers and the Palace will make sure of this,” Golez said.
He pointed out that Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile’s stance on the text tax issue “is not (meant) to protect
the telcos but to make sure that the tax is not passed on to the consumers.”
“He is just consistent with his protection for consumers even when he previously investigated the missing
load issue in the Senate hearings,” he said.
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Emulate PGMA’s action in land reform, Palace execs tell critics
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Malacañang today advised critics of the government to emulate President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who
placed her husband’s vast estate under the land reform program, instead of using her as a “punching bag” to
advance their agenda in next year’s polls.
In a press briefing, Presidential Economic Spokesperson Gary Olivar said the land reform program is part of
the 10-point agenda of the President and her administration.
According to Olivar, the President, by distributing the land owned by her husband, Jose Miguel Arroyo,
demonstrates that she is serious about implementing the law and doesn’t matter if her family gets hurt in the
process.
Deputy Spokesperson Anthony Golez said the President’s critics continue to throw baseless accusations
against her but none of them ever reach the Court.
Olivar reminded the public that it was President Arroyo who signed into law the Comprehensive Agrarian
Reform Program (CARP) Extension with Reforms or CARPER.
He said President Arroyo did so in August this year as a tribute to the Father of Land Reform, former President
Diosdado P. Macapagal, who 46 years ago signed Republic Act 3844 or The Agricultural Land Reform Code.
Along with the CARPER signing, the President sent a strong signal that she meant business when she
distributed 10,853 hectares of agricultural lands to agrarian reform beneficiaries throughout the country.
The land reform law, the consolidated version of House Bill 4077 and Senate Bill 2666, extends CARP for five
more years and takes effect retroactively on July 1 this year.
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PGMA inspects typhoon-affected areas in Pampanga
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GUAGUA, Pampanga – President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today inspected storm-affected areas and
assessed the government’s flood mitigation projects in the province.
Upon arrival here, the Regional Disaster Coordinating Council (RDCC) informed President Arroyo that 153
barangays in Region III were affected by typhoons Maring and Labuyo.
The Chief Executive ordered the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to fast track anti-flood
projects, especially the pumping systems to prevent future floods in the areas.
The President then proceeded to the Mt. Pinatubo Emergency Target Management Office (MPETMO), which is
under the supervision of the DPWH district office in San Fernando City.
The President personally checked the implementation of the pumping systems being installed in the
municipalities of Guagua, Lubao and Sasmuan and in the City of San Fernando.
The pumps are part of the Mt. Pinatubo urgent mitigation project aimed at resolving the flooding problems in
the province.
The President, together with Social Welfare and Development Secretary Esperanza Cabral, personally talked
to affected residents of Barangay San Isidro near the La Consolacion Parish where the flood water reached
knee-level.
The President then rode on a truck and visited barangays San Juan, San Pablo, San Pedro, Sto. Cristo, and
Sto. Nińo. She led the distribution of relief goods to affected residents.
In a report, the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) said that 125 barangays in Apalit, Guagua,
Sasmuan, Floridablanca, Masantol, Lubao, Bacolor, Mexico, and Arayat were affected by floodings brought by
these two typhoons.
The Gugu creek in Bacolor was breached at the Tenajero portion and the Pulo Cabalatian bridge was also
damaged.
In Floridablanca, the 100-meter Gutad-Anon portion of earth dike collapsed. Other earth dikes that collapsed
were the 150-meter Caulaman Rirver-San Pedro portion, the 150-meter Porac River-Benedicto portion, the
200-meter Pasig Paguiruan portion of slope protection, and the 100-meter Valdez portion.
The Candaba San Miguel Road and the Baliuag to Candaba to Sta. Ana Road were not passable to all types of
vehicles since last night as flood waters reached two-feet deep.
To augment the relief operations in the area, the NDCC facilitated the release of 850 sacks of rice distributed
as follows: 300 in Botolan, Zambales; 400 in the 4th district of Pampanga; 100 in 2nd district of Pampanga;
and 50 to Guagua Pampanga.
It, likewise, released 50,000 empty sacks to the 4th district of Pampanga and Guagua for sandbagging
operations.
The Office of the Civil Defense Regional Office also reported that a total of 26,211 families or 115,482
individuals were affected in the whole province.
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DEFENSE SECRETARY TEODORO PUSHES FOR PROMPT PROCESSING OF FILVETS
BENEFITS; RECEIVES US$ 1M IN HOSPITAL EQUIPMENT FOR VETERANS
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In a meeting with U.S. Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric K. Shinseki at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
(DVA) in Washington D.C., Philippine Secretary of National Defense Gilberto Teodoro received from Secretary
Shinseki a commitment to speed up the processing of claims of Filipino WWII veterans under the $198-million
lump sum package provided for in the US Stimulus Package.
As of September 1, 2009, the DVA said that of the total 31,876 claims it has received, 8,900 applications has
been processed. Out of the total number of applications processed, over US$77 million has been awarded to
eligible Filipino Veterans broken down as follows: 3,138 Filipino veterans with US citizenship received
US$15,000 each, while 3,414 non-US citizen Filipino veterans received US$ 9,000 each.
Secretary Teodoro conveyed the Philippine government’s appreciation for continuing US support for the
veterans’ war claims. Secretary Shinseki reaffirmed Washington’s commitment to facilitate record verification
procedures and the payment of claims.
Secretary Shinseki also told Secretary Teodoro the DVA plans to embark on an extensive outreach program for
WW II Veterans throughout the Philippines to meet the deadline for the submission of documentary
requirements of claims set February 16, 2010, a year after the signing of the Stimulus Bill.
During the meeting, Secretary Teodoro also thanked Shinseki for the DVA’s grant-in-aid to the Veterans
Memorial Medical Center (VMMC) amounting to US$5.5M since 2003, inclusive of the MRI equipment
amounting to US$1M, the delivery of which will be completed by next year.
Secretary Shinseki also accepted Secretary Teodoro’s offer for the conduct of a joint DND-DVA assessment of
Veterans Memorial Medical Center’s existing capabilities under the Philippine Defense Reform program in
order to institutionalize best practices in providing medical care and services and transform the VMMC into a
model medical institution in the Philippines. END.
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SECRETARY TEODORO MEETS WITH KEY US LEGISLATORS
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While in Washington D.C. to meet with his U.S. counterpart Secretary Robert Gates, Philippine Secretary of
National Defense Gilberto C. Teodoro, Jr. took the opportunity to meet today with key leaders of the US
Congress. In separate meetings on the Hill, Secretary Teodoro conferred with Senator Daniel K. Inouye (D-HI)
and Representative Bob Filner (D-CA) to thank them for their crucial role in the passage of the Filipino veterans
provision contained in the Stimulus Package. Secretary Teodoro also met with U.S. Senator Jim Webb (D-VA)
in Washington D.C. to discuss Philippines-United States defense cooperation and the two countries’ strategic
interests in the Asia Pacific region. Ambassador Willy C. Gaa accompanied Secretary Teodoro in these
meetings.
Senator Inouye, Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, told Secretary Teodoro that the recognition
by the United States of Filipino veterans of World War II and the grant of corresponding benefits had long been
overdue. He said, “I have long felt that the US has shortchanged the Philippines….We’re going to make up for
that.” Secretary Teodoro assured Senator Inouye that the Senator’s model of championing the cause of the
Filipino WWII veterans was sufficient and that what should be done now is to work together to implementing
the law. On Senator Inouye’s concern about Mindanao and the peace process, Secretary Teodoro said that the
Abu Sayyaf is less a problem now and that direct conflict with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) is
suspended, at least temporarily. The Secretary said that in order for the peace process to move forward, there
is a need to establish ground rules and not to depend on old agreements as templates. Senator Inouye
expressed his intention to visit the Philippines in December this year.
In the succeeding meeting, Secretary Teodoro told Rep. Filner that the Philippines and the United States
should now build on the success of the Filipino veterans campaign and bring the relationship to something
beyond it. He said that one area of cooperation is Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR), a non-
traditional security initiative that increasingly becomes more important as a result of climate change and
natural disasters that know no borders. Rep. Filner acknowledged Secretary Teodoro’s comments and said
that the impacts of climate change have put pressures on affected people and made them struggle where to
live. Rep. Filner told Secretary Teodoro that he is bringing to the Philippines a trade mission from San Diego in
November 2009. During his visit, he will also take this opportunity to meet with Filipino veterans groups. Aside
from being the Chairman of the House Committee on Veterans Affairs, Rep. Filner is also Chair of the
Philippines-United States Friendship Caucus in the House of Representatives.
At the meeting with Senator Webb, Secretary Teodoro expressed his appreciation for US assistance in
building schools and infrastructure in areas prone to conflict particularly in Mindanao. He added that despite
recent clashes with the Abu Sayyaf, the Philippine government in general has significantly weakened this
terrorist group. The Secretary said, “There is not much outside support for the Abu Sayyaf, especially from Al-
Qaeda and the Jemaah Islamiyah.” Senator Webb is Chairman of the Senate Subcommittee for East Asia and
the Pacific and Member of the Committee on Armed Services.
Senator Webb thanked Secretary Teodoro for his visit and expressed the desire to visit the Philippines soon.
He said that “we do not show up enough in Southeast Asia.” Senator Webb also expressed his interest and
concern in maritime disputes in East Asia, particularly in the South China Sea. Secretary Teodoro
acknowledged Sen. Webb’s concerns and pointed out that the main focus of the Philippines is internal
security and force build up as well as enhancing the Coast South Watch in partnership with the United States
and other countries.
Asked to comment on the significance of these meetings on the Hill, Ambassador Gaa stated that Secretary
Teodoro has shown the seriousness of the Philippines in engaging the legislative branch of the US
government. “His visit on the Hill highlighted the gratitude of the Philippine defense and military sector for the
efforts made by the champions of the Filipino veterans in the US Congress,” the Ambassador said. “Under the
Obama administration, there has been renewed interest and drive by the U.S. government to engage more
closely the East Asian region. The North Korean nuclear issue, U.S.-China relations, the threat of Jemaah
Islamiyah, regional cooperation on disaster relief and humanitarian assistance, are among some of the
issues on which the Philippines has been working closely with its regional partners, ASEAN and the U.S.
government. Thus, it was an excellent opportunity for Secretary Teodoro to discuss with key US legislators the
latest developments in the region that affect Philippine and U.S. interests, particularly in the areas of regional
security and stability,” Ambassador Gaa added. END
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