Crunch time for lawmakers
By Aurea Calica (The Philippine Star) Updated January 03, 2010 12:00 AM
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MANILA, Philippines - With only nine days left in this session, it’s crunch time as lawmakers rush to pass the
remaining legislation before the start of the campaign period for the May elections.
Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile said yesterday senators would try to pass pending bills before the
chamber finally adjourns the third regular session of the 14th Congress.
Congress will resume session on Jan. 18 when legislators return from the Christmas break, and will
adjourn again on Feb. 5 as the campaign period officially kicks off on Feb. 9.
Enrile said Congress passed the proposed budget for 2010 before the Christmas break to make sure there
would not be a re-enacted budget.
He allayed fears that Malacañang could still tinker with the budget, saying it was already being printed and
would be sent to President Arroyo for signing this week.
“Any disbursement will have to be based on this law, that is why Congress passed this,” Enrile said over
radio station dwIZ.
He said the printing of the enrolled copy of the appropriations bill was taking time but he stressed that
government officials would have no opportunity to deliberately delay the signing of the budget since
Congress already adopted it.
Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr. warned it would be advantageous for President Arroyo to have a
re-enacted budget even just for a few months.
Pimentel said allocations for the projects that had been completed under a re-enacted budget would end up
as the President’s “pork barrel.”
“She can use it wherever she wants, they can always prolong the time for printing,” Pimentel said.
Speaker Prospero Nograles earlier said the 2010 appropriations bill is still being printed and will be sent to
President Arroyo on Jan. 7 or 8.
Nograles pointed out that under the Constitution, until the President signs the new budget or allows it to
lapse into law, the previous year’s outlay is considered automatically re-enacted.
The Senate and the House of Representatives rushed the approval of this year’s spending bill last Dec. 18
before going on their month-long Christmas break to avoid a re-enactment of the 2009 budget.
Aside from the budget, Enrile said the Senate was able to pass many bills on second reading and those that
should be adopted in a day could be certified urgent by Malacañang.
Among the bills passed on second reading were the Freedom of Information Act, the Magna Carta for
Persons with Disabilities, and the Expanded Senior Citizens’ Act.
Enrile said he would also push for the passage of the bill amending the National Telecommunications
Commission law to further protect consumers from telecom companies, particularly in charging its
subscribers.
He said the bill addressing cybercrimes must also be passed in the light of the proliferation of pornographic
and illegal activities in cellular phones, computers and on the Internet.
Pimentel also expressed hopes that Congress would adopt the bill allowing elections to be held in the
Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) a month ahead of the national elections in May to prevent
cheating and avoid violence.
Enrile though sees no need for early elections in the ARMM but left it up to the discretion of his colleagues to
act on the proposal.
Malacañang has agreed to the proposal of the Commission on Elections to hold elections in the ARMM
ahead and said it would certify the measure as urgent if needed.
There is a similar proposal in the Senate (Bill 2072) while counterpart bills were filed by Camiguin Rep.
Pedro Romualdo and Cagayan de Oro City Rep. Rufus Rodriguez in the House of Representatives.
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Revelry kills 6
By Sheila Crisostomo (The Philippine Star) Updated January 02, 2010 12:00 AM
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MANILA, Philippines - At least six people were killed, some 340 individuals suffered firecracker-related
injuries and 22 others were hit by stray bullets during the New Year revelry.
A five-year-old son of a fireworks store owner in Surigao was among those killed when an explosion hit the
store and caused a fire.
The explosion occurred around 7 p.m. on New Year’s Eve at the Adens-Guibone firecracker store located
near the Gingoog City public market. Joros Guibone, his mother Jocelyn, and store helper Mark Rito Eballe
were killed.
The victims were inside the store when the boy’s father Adonis and uncle Ramon tested a firecracker,
setting off a chain reaction, police said.
The boy was sleeping inside the store and his mother rushed into the flames in a failed bid to save him,
police said.
A 14-year-old boy was also among the casualties in Pampanga.
Initial reports said that Jeff Concepcion of Villasol Subdivision, Barangay Anunas in Angeles City was hit by
an exploding kwitis on the neck and was declared dead on arrival at the Angeles University Foundation
Medical Center.
Two people, including a 50-year-old polio victim, died while five others, including a reporter, were injured
following a fireworks explosion that razed several stalls in the Science City of Muñoz in Nueva Ecija on New
Year’s Eve.
Senior Superintendent Ricardo Marquez, provincial police director, identified the two fatalities as Diosdado
Santos, 50, and Angelito Nuque, 50, both of Poblacion West.
Santos, a polio victim, died from suffocation while Nuque died at the Paulino J. Garcia Memorial Research
and Medical Center in Cabanatuan City while being treated for third-degree burns.
Marquez said a firecracker explosion took place at 5:10 pm Thursday along Tobias St., Poblacion West when
a whistling sound followed by a burst of fireworks exploded at stall no. 21.
At least 25 firecrackers were lined up at the scene located in front of the municipal compound that also
houses the police station.
Police Superintendent Fernando Galang, Muñoz police chief, said a team from the provincial special reaction
team was inspecting the scene when the firecrackers exploded. The blasts also hit parked vehicles as thick
black smoke billowed.
A team from the Muñoz, San Jose City and Talavera Bureau of Fire Protection put out the fire after 15 minutes.
Elsewhere in Nueva Ecija, 39 persons were also injured in the New Year revelry, 16 were youngsters aged
18 and below.
Of those injured, 15 were from Cabanatuan City, six each in San Jose City and in Gapan City, three in Muñoz,
two each in Gabaldon and Palayan City and one each in General Tinio, Lupao and Rizal.
The victims were identified as John Wayne Eugenio, 5; Julius Caezar Sebastian, 7; Mark Alvin Matias, 12;
Joel Sarmiento, 23; Angel Javier, 7; John Bin Alcantara, 11; Neryz Gil, 22; Jervy Lising, 6; Maricris Ladignon,
27; Flor Villaflor Talindan, 20; Kevin Carlo Capule, 8; Ulysses Calija, 12; Elmer Conca Pablo, 19; Rizlyn
Valino, 20; and Alexander Gan, 51, all of Cabanatuan City; Jerald Morete, 30; Diosdado Sylvestre, 58; Lolita
Sylvestre, 43; all of Munoz; Joel Yu BiadoMelvin Esteban, 24 (Rizal); John Caulali, 7 (Lupao); and EricBote
(General Tinio).
A fisherman from Sinait, Ilocos Sur lost his right hand on New Year’s Eve when the dynamite he lighted
exploded before he could throw it.
Police identified the victim as Bernard Libed of barangay Macabiag.
In San Manuel, Pangasinan, about P200,000 worth of firecrackers being sold in several stalls exploded eight
hours before the New Year.
An unidentified customer who was smoking while buying firecrackers was said to have caused the
explosion.
In Dagupan City, an unidentified suspect threw firecrackers at the automated teller machine (ATM) of the
Banco de Oro branch along A. B. Fernandez Avenue around 3 a.m. yesterday.
The ATM was extensively damaged but the suspect took no money.
Injuries lower than last year
The Department of Health (DOH) yesterday said the new figures bring to 597 the number of injuries related
to fireworks and indiscriminate firing since Dec. 21.
One incident of poisoning from watusi ingestion was also recorded earlier.
Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said that overall, the number of this year’s casualties is 15 percent
lower than the previous year’s when some 702 cases - 683 from fireworks, 17 from stray bullets and two
from watusi - were registered.
Duque attributed the decrease to the “scare tactics” employed by the DOH when it launched the “Kontra
Paputok” campaign early in December.
“I think the decrease is due to the more cautious use of firecrackers. Our scare tactics were effective. We
have shown the public some gory images of mangled limbs and the various surgical instruments used in
amputating limbs,” he noted in a press briefing at the East Avenue Medical Center in Quezon City.
Duque also credited the concerts, street parties and public display of fireworks in open areas that have been
organized in some part of the country for the decreased injuries.
One of the victims in Metro Manila was four-year-old John Kerby Masirin, of Project 6, Quezon City, who was
rushed to the East Avenue Medical Center.
Another victim is Ivan Asansan, 10, of Aghan Road, Quezon City, who picked up early yesterday morning a
pla-pla that did not explode last night.
The boy lighted the firecracker but it exploded before he was able to throw it away. His right ring finger was
severely mangled while his palm suffered deep cuts.
Records of the DOH’s National Epidemiology Center (NEC) listed the youngest victim as a two-month-old
baby boy who was accidentally hit by a piccolo thrown by his elder brother. The oldest is a 75-year-old man.
Of the 597 patients, 353 were active users of firecrackers. A total of 39 of them have suffered amputation
while 78 sustained eye injuries.
The figures were based on reports submitted by 43 of the 50 sentinel hospitals being monitored by DOH.
According to NEC director Dr. Eric Tayag, piccolo was the “single most frequently used firecracker”
accounting for 208 or 36 percent of the 597 cases.
“Piccolo was extremely used all over the country. We would have seen higher cases had piccolo not been
banned,” Tayag added.
The seemingly safe piccolo was designed for children and is not included in the list of illegal firecrackers
under Republic Act 7183 or the Act Regulating the Sale, Manufacture, Distribution and Use of Firecrackers
and Other Pyrotechnic Devices.
Last Dec. 30, the Philippine National Police (PNP) had banned the sale, manufacturing and use of piccolo at
the request of the DOH.
PNP spokesman Chief Superintendent Leonardo Espina said that they have arrested 58 individuals for
selling piccolo.
Indiscriminate firing still rampant
Espina added that four civilians were also nabbed for indiscriminate firing but there were no police or
soldiers reported to have illegally discharged their firearms.
The Bureau of Fire Protection, on the other hand, reported that there were 23 fire incidents in Metro Manila,
three of them caused by exploding firecrackers.
Duque said despite the downward trend this year, the DOH could not consider its anti-firecrackers campaign
a success.
The PNP has noted a significant decrease in firecracker-related incidents but admitted that there are still a
lot of stubborn individuals who indiscriminately fired their firearms at the height of the New Year revelry.
The National Capital Regional Police Office (NCRPO) recorded at least 22 stray bullet injuries, 12 coming
from the Manila Police District, nine from the Northern Police District, three from the Quezon City Police
District and one from the Eastern Police District.
The good news, according to NCRPO chief Director Roberto Rosales, is that not a single policeman from
the 15,000-strong NCRPO fired their guns during the revelry.
“It’s a good sign that our policemen heeded our call not to fire their handguns during the New Year,”
Rosales said.
He said all the five police districts are gathering evidence against those who discharged their firearms
during the New Year celebration for the filing of cases against them.
He said slugs recovered at the crime scene would be brought to the PNP crime laboratory for cross-
matching to identify the suspects.
Zero casualties in Davao
In Laoag City, a 64-year old woman was injured by a stray bullet while watching the revelry from the stairs of
her home.
Six people were also injured from stray bullets in Zamboanga City despite the advocacy and strict
implementation of a gun ban.
But if authorities were having a hard time monitoring casualties and victims of firecrackers and stray bullet
incidents, Davao City again enjoyed another New Year revelry with zero-casualty as a result of its strict
implementation of a local ordinance banning the use and sale of firecrackers and pyrotechnic materials.
The local ordinance, which has been implemented for the past eight years, has effectively prohibited the
sale, use and even mere possession of firecrackers and other pyrotechnic materials not only during
Christmas holidays but all year round.
Mayor Rodrigo Duterte has ordered the arrest and the payment of corresponding fines for those found to
have violated the ban.
According to Dr. Ricky Audan of the Davao Medical Center, no one was brought to the hospital’s emergency
room for firecracker injuries during the New Year’s Eve celebration.
“It has been like this for the past years,” Audan said.
There were no records of accidents and emergency cases in the other hospitals in Davao City and a check
with the city’s 911 Central Emergency Response Center indicated there were no calls for emergency
assistance during the celebration midnight Thursday.
“What we got were only calls by concerned citizens reporting violators, after which we dispatched the police
teams who apprehended them,” an operator at the 911 center said.
Several people were reportedly arrested for violating the firecrackers ban and have to stay detained until
office hours on Monday for the proper inquest proceedings.
Soldier injured in bombing
Meanwhile, a soldier guarding the Jolo cathedral in the island province of Sulu was slightly wounded
following a grenade explosion shortly before the nation welcomed the New Year, a military spokesman said.
Lt. Col. Romeo Brawner, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) public affairs office chief, identified the
wounded marine as Cpl. Dennis Hernandez, who sustained shrapnel wounds in the blast.
Hernandez was immediately brought to the Camp Bautista Trauma Hospital for treatment.
Brawner said the perpetrators of the attack are still unknown to authorities, although several bomb attacks in
the province have been linked to the Abu Sayyaf Group, which is believed to have ties with al-Qaeda.
Maj. Gen. Ben Dolorfino, Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom) commander, said the explosion
occurred in front of a commercial store located at the corner of Ariolas and Boyon streets, Barangay Walled
City at about 11:20 p.m.
The site of the blast was adjacent to the cathedral where soldiers were deployed to secure churchgoers
attending the New Year Mass and the people who were out in the streets to celebrate. - With Edith Regalado,
Celso Amo, Eva Visperas, Reinir Padua, Dino Balabo, Roel Pareño, Charlie Lagasca, Cecille Suerte Felipe,
Non Alquitran, Cesar Ramirez, Ric Sapnu, Manny Galvez, Teddy Molina, Ben Serrano, Nestor Etolle, James
Mananghaya, Jaime Laude, Roel Pareño
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GMA banned by allies from impounding 'pork'
By Jess Diaz (The Philippine Star) Updated January 04, 2010 12:00 AM
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MANILA, Philippines - They want to have their cake, or to put it more correctly, “pork,” and eat it too.
After diverting P65 billion in debt payments for this year to their pork barrel, President Arroyo’s congressional
allies have voted to ban her from “impounding,” or “hijacking,” as some of them put it, those diverted funds.
In its report on the final version of the proposed P1.541-trillion national budget, the Senate-House
conference committee included a special provision entitled, “Prohibition against impoundment of
appropriations.”
Senate finance committee chairman Edgardo Angara and his House counterpart Quirino Rep. Junie Cua,
both staunch allies of Mrs. Arroyo, jointly chaired the conference panel.
The special provision provides that “the President shall release all budgetary allocations provided for in the
GAA (General Appropriations Act)” except in two instances.
The first is, “When the President submits a proposal to Congress to impound or permanently withhold the
release of a particular appropriation item and Congress does not act on the proposal within 45 calendar
days from its submission to the Senate President and Speaker of the House of Representatives, unless
during the said period, the Congress denies or rejects the proposal by a vote of a simple majority of the
quorum.”
The 45-day period would not include periodic vacations of lawmakers.
The second instance is, “When the President temporarily defers the release of a particular appropriations
item upon prior written notice to Congress, through the Senate president and the Speaker of the House of
Representatives, which deferment shall subsist unless Congress stops or rejects the deferment in a
concurrent resolution adopted by a simple majority of the quorum.”
As far as veteran lawmakers could remember, this was the first time such an anti-impoundment provision
was included in the proposed annual budget law.
If President Arroyo does not veto or reject the prohibition, it will cover her since she will use the 2010 budget
until June 30 this year, when her term expires.
It will also apply to President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III, President Manuel Villar, President Gilberto
Teodoro Jr., or whoever would be elected Mrs. Arroyo’s successor, since he will inherit half of this year’s
budget.
A member of the Angara-Cua conference committee told The STAR that Mrs. Arroyo should feel slighted by
the decision of her allies to prohibit her from hijacking funds now that she is leaving office in less than six
months.
“Are they conveying the message that she has been impounding funds for her political and personal
purposes?” asked a lawmaker who did not want to be named.
On the other hand, a congressman-supporter of presidential survey leader Senator Aquino said the special
provision is directed more against Mrs. Arroyo’s successor than against her.
“Angara, Cua and members of their panel, together with a majority of senators and congressmen have no
quarrel with the President. She has been releasing their pork barrel funds. There is no reason for them to
prohibit her from impounding appropriations. It is the diehard members of the opposition who have reason
to do that,” he said.
“If Noynoy wins on May 10, and most likely he will based on surveys, Mrs. Arroyo’s allies will be in the
opposition. President Noynoy will think twice before releasing all those billions in additional pork barrel
funds they have hidden all over the budget. They now want to handcuff him from impounding those funds,”
he said.
The President has been releasing the pork barrel funds of senators and congressmen, except those of
militant party-list representatives led by Satur Ocampo of Bayan Muna and some opposition senators.
Two senators – Panfilo Lacson and Jamby Madrigal – have not been availing themselves of P200 million in
annual pork barrel allocations. In the proposed 2010 budget, Lacson and Madrigal made sure that their
combined P400 million was deducted from the outlay.
Thus, the Senate version of Mrs. Arroyo’s budget proposal was P400 million lower. The reduction was
reflected in the Angara-Cua conference committee report.
The report, together with its approval on Dec. 18 by the Senate and the House, was defective, according to
Sen. Francis Escudero, since only Angara signed it for the eight senators who sat in the conference panel.
A majority of the eight and a majority of the 17 congressmen-conferees should have signed it for the
document and its ratification to be valid, Escudero said.
On the part of the House, Cua and 11 other members affixed their signatures on the report.
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