SENATE NOW WILL FOCUS ON RH BILL / GOVT TO GO FULL BLAST VS CORRUPTION
MANILA, MAY 2, 2011 (STAR) By Marvin Sy - Now that the impeachment trial of Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez is out of the picture, the Senate can focus on passing laws, including the reproductive health (RH) bill. Sen. Pia Cayetano, chair of the Senate committees on health and demography, and youth, women and family relations, said all sides must be heard on issues concerning the bill.
Cayetano called on leaders of the Catholic Church not to use threats and disinformation to push forward their campaign against the bill.
Some bishops have threatened to excommunicate Catholic government leaders supporting the bill.
"No religion can dictate what it wants, otherwise we would become a church-state," Cayetano said.
Cayetano maintained that the bill would not force any method of contraception on the public.
"The beliefs of Catholics would be respected and that will always be reflected (in the law). If they are not allowed to use any kind of contraceptive then no one will force them to use it," she said.
She said, however, that the government has the obligation to make contraception methods available to other people whose religions do not forbid it.
Cayetano also responded to the arguments of critics of the bill about having to use their taxes to pay for contraceptives which they have no intention of using and promoting.
She pointed out that the funding for the RH program of the Department of Health would cover a wide range of programs, including the establishment of health centers and lying-in clinics, salaries of doctors and midwives, as well as purchase of equipment and contraceptives.
"So just because you don't use a particular service that doesn't mean that this should not be included in the expenditures of the national government for the general welfare," she said.
Sen. Panfilo Lacson said he still does not know how the bill would progress in the Senate because Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile and Senate Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III have expressed opposition to the measure.
"I don't know, but these people, even if they are the leaders of the Senate, (if a) majority of the senators want to sponsor it on the floor, I think they will give in," he said.
Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV advised supporters and critics of the RH bill to study the bill carefully before voicing their opinions about the measure.
"The public are unwittingly supporting the RH bill because they (are) being led to believe that the measure would control population growth and allow access to contraceptives," he said.
"But the thing is, contraceptives can be accessed freely now and the DOH, in fact, has been distributing contraceptives even without the RH bill. Also, there is no provision in the RH bill that would help control the population," he added.
Trillanes is also concerned about the provision of sex education to grade five students.
"Only the parents know when their kids are ready to be educated about sex and it's definitely not when they are in Grade 5. Are we ready for a scenario wherein kids would one day approach their parents and say, mom, we were taught how to put on condoms in school today," Trillanes said.
Labor group Partido ng Manggagawa said that if women would be allowed to vote on the measure, "it would definitely (get) a 100 percent vote of support."
"The RH bill will guarantee women's right to their own bodies," said Judy Ann Miranda, secretary general of the group. – With Sheila Crisostomo
Government to go full blast against corruption (The Philippine Star) Updated May 02, 2011 12:00 AM Comments (15) View comments
MANILA, Philippines - President Aquino said yesterday that his administration can now go full blast in its campaign against corruption, and make the necessary indictments as soon as he finds a replacement for resigned Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez.
"We're closer to actually filing charges where appropriate. Can I just say that it's hard to point to specific individuals at this point in time? There's still a process that has to be followed," he said.
While the President has been very vocal against perceived sins of the previous administration, particularly his predecessor Gloria Arroyo who is now a congresswoman from Pampanga, he refused to name a specific person who he deems liable, either for plunder or graft.
"We will make the appropriate announcements on the cases that are ready for filing at the soonest possible time. The concentration has to be in finding the Ombudsman," he told Palace reporters in an informal interview at the Heroes Hall.
Aquino said he has yet to get a list of candidates for the next Ombudsman from the nine-man Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) that screens applicants for the judiciary and the Office of the Ombudsman.
He said cases that should have been filed against officials of the previous administration could have been the task of the Truth Commission – which the Supreme Court has declared unconstitutional – but that all of the evidence it accumulated was still "intact."
President Aquino said the criteria for the next Ombudsman should be someone who is exactly the opposite of Gutierrez, who sat on high-profile cases of the past administration and brokered a deal in the P300-million plunder case of retired Major Gen. Carlos Garcia.
Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte, in an interview over state-run radio dzRB, gave an assurance that the new Ombudsman to be chosen by the President will serve the best interest of the people.
"While the President has not expressed his preference, whoever he will appoint as Ombudsman needs to be someone who has been persistent in the fight against corruption, with considerable integrity and competence to execute the job," said Valte.
Now that Gutierrez has resigned, Valte said the impeachment trial will no longer proceed, and it is up to those accusing her to bring their case against Gutierrez to the court.
"Once they charge Gutierrez in court, it would be up to the court to decide," she said.
She noted that the preliminary investigation will be the job of the Office of the Ombudsman and the Department of Justice and if any prospective case passes the level of the preliminary investigation, then a case could be filed at the Sandigangbayan.
Charges against Merci readied
Militant groups are now readying criminal charges to be filed against Gutierrez after she retires on Friday.
Bayan Muna Rep. Neri Colmenares said one of the groups preparing charges against the outgoing Ombudsman is Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP), a farmers' organization.
"It must be clearly stated that even though she resigned, we will still hold Merci accountable. As it is, she can be charged with various violations of the Anti-Graft Law and obstruction of justice for her deliberate inaction on the fertilizer scam," he said.
Colmenares said KMP will file the charges because the fertilizer scam deprived farmers of at least P728 million that was supposed to go to them before the 2004 elections.
"The remorseless Ombudsman did not even say sorry to the farmers. Worse, she made it appear that we even owe her a debt of gratitude by leaving office three days before her Senate trial," he added.
Colmenares was part of the 11-member House team tasked to prosecute Gutierrez in her trial.
With the Ombudsman's resignation, senators said they would now have to archive the impeachment charges filed by the House, which are topped by Gutierrez's alleged inaction on the fertilizer scam.
Colmenares said Bayan Muna would share its evidence and witnesses with KMP so it could file a strong case against Gutierrez.
He called on "insider witnesses" and volunteer lawyers to help in the case.
Earlier, he claimed that Gutierrez would have been convicted had she not resigned and had her trial pushed through, given the strength of the witnesses and evidence the House team has gathered.
The witnesses reportedly included high-ranking underlings of Gutierrez who were willing to attest to her alleged inaction on the fertilizer scam.
Colmenares urged President Aquino to appoint a new Ombudsman who is not the Chief Executive's friend, party-mate, classmate, or relative.
Eastern Samar Rep. Ben Evardone, on the other hand, said the President should find a replacement for Gutierrez who is in the mold of the late Sen. Jose Diokno.
"The next Ombudsman should be someone like the late Sen. Diokno, one who should stand for what is right, legal and moral, one devoid of partisanship and cronyism. His or her independence and integrity must be unquestionable," he said.
Ombudsman: Plunder case was resolved
Meanwhile, the Office of the Ombudsman debunked allegations that it slept on the plunder case filed by former Solicitor General Francisco Chavez against Arroyo and three others in connection with the alleged misuse of Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) funds.
In fact, the anti-graft agency said it resolved the case as early as October 2007 as evidenced by how its Central Records Division (CRD) sent copies of an Investigation Report by the Field Investigation Office (FIO) to all parties concerned, including Chavez.
The 18-page report said graft investigators did not find enough evidence to conclude that Arroyo, former executive secretary Alberto Romulo, former OWWA administrator Virgilo Angelo, and former PhilHealth president Francisco Duque III misappropriated funds.
In his complaint filed before the Office, Chavez said Executive Order 182, issued on Feb. 14, 2003, allowed the transfer of more than P530 million in OWWA funds to PhilHealth.
He also alleged that Romulo sought the release of $293,500 to finance the "preparatory activities" of the RP post in Kuwait as well as the "purchase of vehicles" and "stockpiling" of the posts in Lebanon, Jordan, Oman, Bahrain, Egypt and Iran in support of the US-led war in Iraq.
He further accused Romulo of requesting for the release of P5 million as operating expenses of the Philippine Humanitarian Assistance Group to Iraq.
Chavez said Arroyo granted both requests and, from her marginal note, stated that they be sourced from OWWA funds.
However, investigation conducted by the Ombudsman's FIO revealed that there was no actual transfer of the Overseas Filipino workers' (OFWs) Medicare funds from the OWWA to PhilHealth, as attested to by the Commission on Audit (COA) resident auditor for OWWA.
"The P2,658,790.80 stand-by fund released for the RP posts in the Middle East was duly supported by documents, the unspent portion of which was returned to OWWA, in compliance with the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between said agency and the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE)," graft investigators said.
Chavez recently filed a plunder case against Arroyo and her former officials before the Department of Justice based on the same accusations, claiming that the Office of the Ombudsman did not act on his complaint. – Delon Porcalla, Jess Diaz, Michael Punongbayan
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