MAR ROXAS IS ALSO CORRUPT

Fire trucks overpriced

By Christine F. Herrera | Mar. 25, 2014 at 12:01am

Solons question PNoy, Mar on P1.3-b Austrian deal

OPPOSITION lawmakers on Monday accused President Benigno Aquino III and Local Governments Secretary Manuel Roxas II of authorizing the importation of 76 overpriced fire trucks for P20.14 million each, rather than the P7 million that the administration publicized in 2012, or P6 million each for locally manufactured units.

Abakada Rep. Jonathan dela Cruz, Bayan Muna Rep. Antonio Carlos Zarate and former Agham congressman Angelo Palmones also warned the President and Roxas against importing 300 more firetrucks from the same source, Rosenbauer of Austria.

Dela Cruz vowed to summon Roxas to a Question Hour in Congress to shed light on charges that the Rosenbauer fire trucks were priced even higher than those contracted by the previous Arroyo administration.

After President Aquino came to power in 2010, the Liberal Party led by Roxas questioned the loan concession that the Arroyo administration had signed with Rosenbauer in 2008 or 2009, saying that the contract price of each unit, at P16 million, was too high.

Local Governments Secretary Jesse Robredo, also a Liberal, had branded the loan contract “onerous,” prompting the Aquino administration to renegotiate the deal, government to government.

Robredo had publicly announced that the renegotiation was successful and that the Philippine government had managed to obtain a 40 percent grant from the Austrian government that supposedly lowered the price of each truck from P16 million to only P7 million.

Shortly before he died in a plane crash in August 2012, Robredo told the Manila Standard that the Philippine government had already signed the supply contract and boasted that a “lot of savings” had been generated because the units were priced at P7 million each.

But a 44-page supply contract signed Dec. 14, 2011 by Robredo and Ralpf Schmid, vice president for international sales at Rosenbauer, a copy of which was obtained by the Manila Standard, showed the total contract price was EU20.49 million or about P1.33 billion—which worked out to P17.52 million per truck.

The signing of the P1.33-billion loan agreement was held on the same day that President Aquino issued a “special authority” to proceed, Palace documents show.

“All prices mentioned in this contract (EU20.49 million or P1.33 billion) and payments to the benefit of the supplier (Rosenbauer) shall be made in euro,” the supply contract said.

But import duties and taxes and local transport were not part of the contract price, and these were to be paid by the buyer, in this case, the Philippine government.

Dela Cruz said this clause raised the grand total of the purchase to P1.53 billion or P20.14 million per truck.

The supply contract signing was witnessed by Bureau of Fire Protection Chief Supt. Samuel Perez and Austrian Embassy Commercial Attache Isabel Schmiedbauer.

“We demand that Congress summon Roxas to a Question Hour to explain why, despite the overpricing, the DILG plans to acquire 300 more fire trucks from the same source of the overpriced units,” Dela Cruz said.

“The Aquino administration should conduct a thorough due diligence check and postpone the purchase of 300 fire trucks until the overpricing issue of the 76 units delivered had been resolved,” Zarate added, noting that former Bayan Muna congressman Teddy Casino had already exposed this during the 15th Congress.

“The DILG, the BFP and the contractor should be made to explain first before proceeding with the purchase of 300 additional fire trucks. If there explanations are not satisfactory, if need be, these people should be penalized instead of proceeding with the total purchase,” Zarate said.

Palmones was among the first to question the government’s decision to prefer to import fire trucks in the 15th Congress when the country has a local manufacturer that sold a “tropicalized fire truck” invented by a Filipino entrepreneur at only P6 million to P9 million per unit.

“At the time of the contract signing, Robredo announced that the present value per unit of fire truck was at P7,077,494.34 or P537,889,57 million for the 76 units or 40.37 percent of the total loan amount valued at P1,332,093,100. How come the formula they used made the fire truck appreciate the value to P20.14 million? This is the first time I hear that the value of a fire truck can appreciate instead of depreciate its value over 17-and-a-half years,” Palmones said.

Palmones had filed a House resolution to give priority to local manufacturers but House leaders at the time, mostly members of the Liberal Party, archived the measure.

The Palace documents, particularly those presented and submitted to the President, showed that the Aquino government renegotiated the total contract price at an exchange rate of P65 to a euro.

But when the loan contract was signed on Jan. 12, 2012, or on the same day that the President gave it a go, the prevailing euro to peso exchange rate was pegged at P56.50.

“The President was well aware of the scandalous and anomalous overpricing and onerous loan agreement yet he still gave the go to proceed with the procurement at the expense of the taxpayers as the loan deal and the supply contracts were onerous and caused undue disadvantage to the government,” Dela Cruz said.

In 2012, the highest rate was at P57.68 to a euro on Feb. 24 and the average for the year was P54.28.

The peso weakened to P65 to a euro during the time of the Arroyo administration in 2009 then reached a maximum of P70.89 on Oct. 22, 2009.

In 2011, the highest per euro was at P63.82 in May and the average for the year was at P60.28.

In 2013, the highest was P61.34 on Dec. 30 and the average was P56.38.

“Is it possible that the Palace men may have made a mistake like a typographical error so instead of P56, it became P65 to a euro?” Dela Cruz asked.

“Last time we checked, the euro-peso exchange rate never reached P65 during the Aquino government since 2010 up until now. So where did President Aquino and the DILG get the exchange rate of P65? Because that mistake had cost the taxpayers several millions,” said Dela Cruz, a member of the independent minority bloc in the House, said.

The loan agreement became effective on April 16, 2012 when the prevailing exchange rate was at P56.16 to a euro, Palace documents showed.

The first four shipments were made from October 2012 to March 2013 and arrived in the country starting January 2013 up to May 2013 or before and during the election campaign period with 50 units worth P1 billion distributed to various provinces and fire stations all over the country, Palace documents showed.

The last two shipments, involving 26 units worth P523.64 million, were made starting June 2013 and ended in November 2013, with all six deliveries received and distributed nationwide by Roxas.

Dela Cruz said he could not help but notice that the purchase and distribution nationwide of 76 imported units had been made before, during and after the 2013 midterm senatorial elections under Roxas’ leadership while the next planned 300 units would be made at the onset of the 2016 presidential elections, when Roxas is expected to be the Liberal Party standard bearer.

After President Aquino gave the green light by issuing a special authority to proceed with the signing of the loan agreement, the country’s economic team all endorsed the deal. The Monetary Board approved the project on Feb. 16, 2012 that was affirmed by the Justice Department on March 1, 2012.

The Finance Department, led by Secretary Ceasar Purisima, was authorized to act as the “borrower” on behalf of the Philippine government and the Department of Budget and Management, headed by Secretary Florencio Abad, who was the President’s campaign manager in the 2010 presidential polls, approved the project’s Forward Obligation Authority.

Purisima and Abad were members of the LP and part of the Balay Group headed by Roxas against another faction in the Palace, the Samar Group, led by Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr.

Taxpayers will be paying the loan for 17.5 years, including the 3.5-year grace period at an interest rate of 1 percent per annum, but with a grant of supposedly 40 percent as a concession from the Austrian government.

The payment period for the principal payments comes in 28 equal semi-annual payments at P47.57 million while interest charges range from a low of P999,069 to a high of P66.66 million.

The Philippine government paid a total of P185.46 million in taxes and duties and P13.32 million in “project administration.” A total of P198.78 million was thus added to the total loan amount of P1.33 billion, bringing the grand total to P1.53 billion.

House to ask Roxas: Justify fire truck deal

By Christine F. Herrera | Mar. 27, 2014 at 12:01am

THE House will compel Interior Secretary Manuel Roxas to explain the “P200-million hidden charges” in the overpriced and anomalous purchase of 76 imported fire trucks priced at P21 million each, a lawmaker said Wednesday.

Abakada Rep. Jonathan dela Cruz, who filed House Resolution 990 that seeks to probe the “onerous” concessional loan deal with Austria, identified the hidden charges as project management costing taxpayers some P56.24 million, project administration amounting to P13.32 million, training and manuals worth P24.67 million, engineering and specification design costing P16.25 million, other accessories costing P24.7 million, and the undelivered spare parts amounting to P61.98 million or a total of P197.18 million.

“President Aquino will be stepping down in June 2016, yet the taxpayers will continue to bear the brunt of paying for these overpriced fire trucks for 17.5 years or even after he is long gone,” Dela Cruz said.

“Roxas owes it to the Filipino people to explain these overpricing and hidden-charges issues.”

Former Agham Rep. Angelo Palmones, the most vocal critic of the loan deal with Rosenbauer-Austria, demanded that Roxas account for the project’s status.

“We want to know what is this project management worth P56.24 million?” Palmones said.

“What is being managed here when the Philippines supposedly just bought the fire trucks that were also delivered? What is this project administration cost pegged at P13.32 million?”

The Manila Standard had tried to reach Roxas for comment since Sunday, to no avail. The Palace said Roxas would soon explain the P1.33-billion concession loan from Austria in a government-to-government contract.

The Palace spokesmen could not even explain why the exchange rate used in acquiring the  P1.33-billion concession loan was P65 to a euro.

The Palace documents, particularly those presented and submitted to the President, showed that the Aquino administration renegotiated the total contract price at an exchange rate of P65 to a euro.

But when the loan agreement was signed on Jan. 12, 2012, or on the same day that the President gave “special authority” to proceed with the signing, the prevailing exchange rate was P56.50 to one euro.

The price of the Rosenbauer fire trucks ballooned to P1.53 billion after the government shouldered taxes and duties costing P185.45 million and project administration at P13.32 million.

Palmones, president of the Agham party-list group, questioned the payment of engineering and specification design worth P16.25 million.

“The Rosenbauer fire trucks arrived without changes,” Palmones said.

“They were not even turned into tropicalized fire trucks that could fit in narrow alleys where most fires occur, particularly in congested Metro Manila.”

Palmones said the “trainings” that cost the taxpayers some P24.67 million only involved the training of the drivers of the fire trucks—not the entire fire-fighting team that could have learned how to operate the fire trucks.

“So the taxpayers spent P324,717 to train a driver,” Palmones said.

“Let’s cut that into half so we include the relievers, and that would still come to a hefty P162,358 per person.”

As to the P61.98 million worth of spare parts, Palmones said those that arrived with the units were the most basic ones, including screws that had no use once a fire truck sustained a major as what happened to a fire truck assigned to Las Piñas.

KIM HENARES; FORMER IMF EMPLOYEE, CORRUPT AND SERVING FOREIGN ELITE INTERESTS

Shotgun mentality

• Written by  Tribune Editorial
• Wednesday, 26 March 2014 00:00

Acontentious issue in the impeachment hearing of former Chief Justice Renato Corona was the House prosecutors’ demand that his dollar accounts be pried open for scrutiny since one of the allegations against the Supreme Court head was that he had withheld information on his wealth in his statement of assets, liabilities and networth (SALn).

Brought into the spotlight was the Foreign Currency Deposits Act (FCDA), which guarantees the confidentiality of dollar accounts signed during the term of former President Ferdinand Marcos.
It was a measure supposedly meant as an incentive to foreign investors.

The amended Anti-Money Laundering Act already provided a procedure for the government to compel banks to open deposits in local currency through a court order.
Now, Internal Revenue Commissioner Kim Henares the other day said the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) will seek the removal of the secrecy of bank deposits on suspected tax cheats which in effect would be the accounts of anybody whom the government fancies.
For somebody who frequents the shooting range similar to Noynoy, Henares may have developed a shotgun mentality of spraying a crowd with bullets to kill a criminal.
The allegation on Corona in being remiss on his SALn declarations was a good example of how selective political persecution can be introduced by giving the government excessive police powers.
Since the FCDA is a law, for instance, it was not the fault of Corona, nor probably most of the Cabinet members of Noynoy as well as Noynoy himself, to make use of it in securing their assets, legally acquired or otherwise.
The argument raised during the impeachment trial was that the FCDA and the bank secrecy law in general render the SALn law and the constitutional provisions on full disclosure of assets, liabilities and net worth useless since “corrupt public officials can open dollar accounts and co-mingle peso accounts with their relatives to justify the filing of SALn that are completely and totally inaccurate.”
The BIR wants to shortcut the process of removing the anomaly created by the FCDA by totally expunging the bank secrecy law and thus allow government to have access on bank accounts at its whim.
The bank secrecy law and even the FCDA, as they are, do not provide absolute confidentiality. The bank secrecy law is now subject to varied exemptions provided under the AMLA and the FCDA only bars the banks, not the depositors from disclosing information on dollar accounts.
Indeed the FCDA can be considered a major hurdle in efforts to fight corruption in government but a total repeal would create a backlash on businesses and even individuals that rely on the law to safeguard their assets in the country.
It was also proven during the impeachment trial that the powers the government currently has are already potent in extracting information about the assets of suspected corrupt officials.
Up to now, however, no proof has been established on the alleged hidden or undeclared wealth of Corona despite the continued persecution undertaken against him and his family.
The suggestion of Henares to totally remove the secrecy on bank deposits is not even necessary to comply with international norms as proven by the Financial Action Task Force on money laundering removing the country from its watch list after Congress passed reform measures to the AMLA.
Henares said the removal of the bank secrecy law is a step toward enhancing transparency which is a subject she should take up with Noynoy first since he is determined in his opaqueness by not endorsing the Freedom of Information bill.
The Henares proposal is even dangerous in its encompassing scope since it covers anybody whom she believes is not paying the right tax.
Using the current selective government campaign against targeted opposition members through the scripted Priority Development Assistance Fund scam, it will not be hard to imagine who Henares will go after once she gets her wish.
Dismantling the right to privacy comes to mind in the folly of Henares

MGA ANTIPATIKO SA MALACANANG

WORM’S EYEVIEW: Why discourage assembly or curtail autonomy?

By Manny Valdehuesa on March 24 2014 12:13 am

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY (MindaNews/23 March) — There will be “synchronized” Barangay Assembly meetings nationwide on Saturday, March 29.

It’s unclear how synchronized assemblies promote autonomy or local governance, but it is routine practice now although it has no palpable effect on governing efficiency or proficiency.

In any case, consider these thoughts as you prepare for this week’s assembly.

If you limit the way people exercise discretion, a right, or an entitlement, you dampen creativity
or initiative, encourage laziness or dependency, and discourage autonomy or resourcefulness.

This is what the President unwittingly did when he issued Proclamation No. 260 in September 2011. Through it he decreed that barangays assemble only twice yearly — once on the last Saturday of March and again on the second Sunday of October.

The proclamation attracted little or no attention; not even from Congress. No pork or perks or DAP, I guess. But it was a radical move. It ran counter to Sec. 397 of Republic Act 7160 (the Local Government Code) which states: “The Barangay Assembly shall meet at least twice a year….” which certainly means it may meet more than two times or as often as it wishes.

P-Noy amended the law and no one in Congress gave a hoot!

In his proclamation the phrase “AT LEAST” somehow transmogrified to mean “AT MOST”—which of course was wrong. Compounding the wrong, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) directed all the 42,000+ barangays of the nation to comply with it year after year. So it subsists to this day and no one seems concerned.

Limiting People Power

What happens now to the right of citizens to convene their Barangay Assembly—which, although admittedly still dysfunctional, is their parliament and legislative governing body?

Composed as it is of all voting residents, this Assembly has superior authority over all officials and units of the barangay government. After all, it’s literally a CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY! And it has right to convene at any time, as many times as it wishes. But the President says otherwise.

Through Proclamation No. 260 he drastically limits the community’s capability to meet and address local governance issues. Too bad for autonomy and the principle of subsidiarity.

Perhaps it doesn’t occur to the President, or no one tells him, that this Assembly is our local parliament, that it has power to straighten out policy or programs through initiative, as well as power to discipline any official through recall. Powerful!

It also doesn’t seem to strike the President that delimiting or reducing the frequency of barangay deliberations violates the need for free and open exchange of ideas at the grassroots. Does he know that this also constricts the democratic space and strengthens the hand of trapo oligarchs who seek to monopolize or manipulate local governance.

Awaken, Not Deaden, Citizen Initiative!

Someone should tell him that in issuing the Proclamation, he was in violation thrice over: 1) he unilaterally changed the law (Sec. 397 of R.A. 71600) without benefit of congressional action or concurrence; 2) he curtailed the right of citizens to exercise their sovereign right to assemble and engage in deliberative conversations as often as they wish; and 3) he hinders the formation of the popular will on how the local government should proceed with its business (usually expressed in resolutions or declarations after copious debate, discussion, or exchange).

All this was brought home to me during the aftermath of Typhoon Sendong in Cagayan de Oro over three years ago.

Because more than one-third of the city’s barangays were badly punished by Sendong, I thought that it would help the victims greatly if the survivors throughout the city could assemble and regroup. They could then take stock of the damage, the dead, and the missing. But as it happened, they were loath to assemble because they were told that they had already done so two months earlier (in October).

When the DILG Secretary visited the city, our movement suggested that he authorize the Barangay Assemblies to convene so the affected ones could do stock-taking and plan their recovery while the less affected ones could discuss how to marshal their resources to help victims.

To my consternation, the request was denied on the spot. They had already convened twice before Sendong, he said. I explained in vain that that was before and we were now in an emergency, that in any case the law does not limit the number of times a Barangay Assembly can meet, and that the bottom line should be to let the barangaynons decide because it’s their Assembly after all.

All I got for an answer was a look that said, “Mas marunong ka pa sa akin!” as he turned to leave. Beside him at the time was DSWD Secretary Dinky Soliman who could only shrug and flash her signature smile.

In any case, it struck me that the very agency charged with empowering people by promoting the spirit of autonomy or self-governance was preventing the exercise of initiative in victimized communities. I was clearly one of the affected people, and so was the Gising Barangay Movement, but we were ignored! It made me wonder if the attitude reflected the President’s, because it certainly didn’t lift my enthusiasm or that of the people around me.

(MindaViews is the opinion section of MindaViews. Manny Valdehuesa is former UNESCO regional director for Asia-Pacific, secretary-general of Southeast Asian Publishers Association, director at Development Academy of the Philippines, member of Philippine Mission to the United Nations, vice chair of Local Government Academy, member of the Cory Government’s Peace Panel, and PPI-UNICEF awardee for outstanding columnist. You may email him at  valdehuesa@gmail.com)

Read more http://www.mindanews.com/mindaviews/2014/03/24/worms-eyeview-why-discourage-assembly-or-curtail-autonomy/

Bangsamoro lands open, Danding Cojuangco, Henry Sy, Ayala and ABS_CBN Lopez, HAPPY about it

Bangsamoro agreement opens up Mindanao’s fertile lands

March 27, 2014 10:02 pm

by Joel M. Sy Egco Senior Reporter & Llanesca T. Panti

Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels shout “Allah akbar” (God is great) inside their camp in Sultan Kudarat during a rally in support of the peace agreement on Thursday. AFP PHOTO

Implementation of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) will open up “vast fertile lands” in Mindanao to development projects that will eventually boost the entire country’s economy, Presidential Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said on Thursday.

“Mindanao constitutes a very big part of the nation. Can you imagine a situation where we are able to open up the entire Philippines including places like Sulu, Tawi-Tawi, Maguindanao? Those of you [who] were at the Sajahatra Bangsamoro launch last year, we recalled that we saw vast stretches of very fertile land,” the Palace official told reporters hours before the formal signing of the CAB.

Coloma said cessation of hostilities and promise of enduring peace will foster growth in the regions covered by the new Bangsamoro political entity.

 “If we can only increase the productivity of Mindanao, if we can only increase significantly the gross domestic product of the regions covered by this agreement, that would be a tremendous boost to the entire country,” he pointed out.

Previously, the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) said Mindanao may even surpass the growth of Luzon under an environment of peace. Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan, also Neda director-general, said maximizing Mindanao’s economic potential through a Bangsamoro economic plan will provide a stronger boost for the entire economy.

According to Coloma, all Filipinos, not only the people of Mindanao, are stakeholders in the peace process because its long-term benefits will redound to the good of all.

“Not only those in Mindanao but all Filipinos are important stakeholders in establishing enduring peace through this Bangsamoro agreement,” the Palace official said.

“And we are determined to carry out all the necessary efforts to make this peace an enduring legacy way beyond June 30, 2016,” he added. On this date, a successor to President Benigno Aquino 3rd will have taken his or her oath to lead the country until 2012.

“It is important that we get the widest and deepest support of the entire nation, not only [that of] our brothers in Mindanao,” Coloma said.

The Makati Business Club, one of the country’s influential business groups, also on Thursday said effective implementation of the peace deal will unleash the full economic potential of Mindanao.

The group added that the CAB presents a “golden opportunity” for Mindanao, particularly in agriculture and agribusiness investments, tourism and natural-resource development.

It called on the private sector to support the economic development of Mindanao and help provide more livelihood opportunities for the people there.

”Indeed, it is only through coming together as a people that the greatest of challenges can be confidently faced and surpassed.

Let us build upon this landmark achievement to bring forth a generation of peace and inclusive development in Mindanao and in the other troubled areas of our country,” the MBC said.

Rep. Sherwin Gatchalian of Valenzuea City, the vice chairman of the House Committee on Housing and Urban Development, said foreign direct investments will pour into Mindanao once the armed conflict there ends.

“Foreign investors need a peaceful and business-friendly environment. The peace pact will guarantee that the Bangsamoro will be a fertile ground for much-needed investments,” Gatchalian pointed out.

Poverty incidence in 2012 the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, which will fall under the jurisdiction of the Bangsamoro, was pegged at 48.7 percent, making it the region with the highest poverty incidence in the country.

For Rep. Carlos Zarate of Bayan Muna party-list, the work is just getting started.

“In fact, the signing of this new agreement will embolden the Moro people to be more vigilant of their rights. While a new law is yet to be passed by Congress, we have to be on the lookout [for] attempts to place the future of the Bangsamoro in the hands of people who will profit greedily from further liberalization of our economy and privatization of our basic services,” Zarate, a lawyer, said.