***two stories***
Story no. 1
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Camille P. Balagtas
People's TONIGHT
August 14, 2002
DRILON CALLS FOR THE ABOLITION OF PRESIDENTIAL ANTIGRAFT
COMMISSION
LAW BANS DepEd from acting as collecting agents of loan sharks
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"Abolish PAGC."
This was the call made by Senate President Franklin Drilon who
proposed the immediate abolition of the controversial President
Antigraft commission.
In a press conference yesterday, Drilon openly expressed his
disapproval of the said agency saying "it is just a
duplication of the Office of the Ombudsman" and is therefore
useless.
Drilon explained that the PAGC is a useless agency because only
the Office of the Ombudsman holds the legal authority to
prosecute unscrupulous officials.
He described of PAGC as a useless agency because its function is
purely recommendatory.
"Nuong nasa serbisyo tayo sa Justice Dept. bilang Kalihim ay
pinagdebatehan na namin ito at talagang tinangihan ko dahil
duplicate lamang ang function nito sa Ombudsman na siyang legal
at may tanging karapatan magsagawa ng tamang imbestigasyon sa
tiwaling opisyal," Drilon said.
Drilon argued that since PAGC's function is also to refer the
matter to the office of the ombudsman and has no power to
litigate, the agency is basically useless in it's existence.
The Senate President said Secretary Roco's case must have been
referred directly to the Ombudsman and not the PAGC.
"The discipline of any public servant or government employee
can only be done by the Ombudsman. The only agency authorized to
support its investigation is the Civil Service Commission."
Drilon explained.
Roco also expressed support for Sec. Roco's reaction to resign
from his post as Chief of the Department Education.
"Sec. Roco's matter of staying in his post depends on the
trust and confidence of the Chief Executive. And we cannot blamed
him of his perception."
He added: " Ang kanyang damdamin ay mahalaga para maging
epektibo sa kanyang trabaho. Kung sa palagay niya ay wala ng
kumpiyansa at tiwala sa kanya ang ating presidente, talagang
napakahirap gampanan ng epektibo ang kanyang trabaho. Ganyan din
ang naging paniniwala ko nuong ako ay nasa Cabinete ng mga
nakaraang administrasyon." Drilon said.
On a related development, Senator Rodolfo Biazon warned President
Arroyo on the Roco issue and proposed that an expeditious
judicial resolution is called for to erase the impression of the
people that this might just be a political demolition job.
"President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's option is to clear or
prosecute Roco depending on the result of an investigation by the
Presidential Anti-Graft Commission, an investigative body
empowered to make recommendation to the President."
Biazon cautioned that the prevailing Philippine political
atmosphere is highly charged with politicking by virtue of the
forthcoming 2004 elections.
"If the accusations against Roco are left unresolved, all
our institution will be affected," he muse
Meanwhile, the collection of service fees, the casus belli of
Education Secretary Roco's resignation, has been banned by
Congress under this year's General Appropriations Act, according
to Sen. Ralph Recto.
Service fees are those paid by a private lender to a government
agency for facilitating the deduction through payroll of an
employee's payment for a loan he had taken from a lender.
Recto said Section 34 of Rep. Act.9162 makes its
"unlawful" for a government agency to collect any form
of service fees for the payment of any obligation through salary
deduction.
Congress insisted on this provision to stop agencies "from
acting as collecting agents for private lenders and loan
sharks," Recto explained. "The government has no
business running after private debts."
The said section of the budget law also ensured that the minimum
take-home pay of a government employee, after deductions, should
not be lower than P3,000 a month.
Deduction refer to GSIS, Pag-ibig and PhilHealth contributions
and BIR withholding tax, and amortization for loans in effect at
the time RA 9162's enactment," Recto said.
Recto bared there was a powerful lobby from "insurance
companies and private lenders" to delete Sec. 34 from the
final version of RA 9162 "but this did not succeed.
Congress inserted the provision after a House probe in 1999
revealed that the country's public school teachers owe at least
P5 billion to private lending firms.
"This debt trap was facilitated in part by the ease by which
payments are made on these loans through institutional
arrangements lenders have made with government agencies," he
said.
Teachers, already made vulnerable by their low pay, fell prey to
the aggressive marketing of lenders, even if the interest on loan
were usurious, Recto said..///camille p. balagtas
Story No. 2
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Camille P. Balagtas
People's TONIGHT
August 14, 2002
BARBERS ON FVR's DETRACTORS: PRESENT YOUR PROOF
================================================
Senator Robert Z. Barbers today challenged black propagandists
attacking former President Fidel V. Ramos to present sufficient
evidence to prove their allegations that his administration
entered into anomalous contracts with Independent Power Producers
(IPPs), which resulted to the Power Purchase Adjustment (PPA).
Barbers said he could not understand why the brains behind this
demoliton job against the former Chief Executive keeps on
implicating him concerning the said issue when Mr. Ramos has
already promised to present himself in any investigatin by any
concerned Senate committee.
The Mindanao solon added that the said black propagandists are
taking advantage of the silence and diplomacy of the former
President and misleading the public on the contested PPA at the
expense of the integrity of another person.
"President Ramos is being demolished by his detractors and
being hit unfairly below the belt without apparent reason. Hindi
naman siya tatakbo na sa pulitika," Barbers said.
The former Interior and Local Governmetn Secretary stressed that
if the former President's attackers have evidence that will
substantiate the reported irregularities in the IPP deals,
"it should be presented in the proper forum so that the
former President can answer the allegations against him."
It will be recalled that because of the severe energy crisis from
1988 to 1993, Congress passed Republic Act 7648. Under this law,
the Chief Executive was granted the power to enter into
negotiated contracts but only for construction, repair,
rehabilitation and maintenance of power projects.
Thus, the National Power Corporation (NAPOCOR) entered into
several long-term power supply contracts, ranging from 10 to 20
years, with IPPs.
Under these contract, Napocor was obliged to guarantee payment
for power at 70% to 85% of rated capacity whether or not the
power was utilized, at an average price of $76 per megawatt hour,
far more expensive than Napocor's generated power at $57 per
megawatt hour.
"We cannot therefore blame President Ramos for these
contracts just because it ws entered into during his
Presidency," he said. ///Camille p. balagtas