Ex-customs official charged with graft

By Edu Punay, Philstar

A former Customs police official faces criminal and administrative charges before the Office of the Ombudsman for failing the government’s lifestyle check.

Chief Inspector Isabelo Tibayan is now detailed at the office of presidential adviser for revenue enhancement Narciso Santiago Jr.

In a 16-page complaint, the Revenue Integrity Protection Service of the Department of Finance (DOF-RIPS) accused Tibayan, former intelligence and operations chief of Customs Enforcement and Security Service, of violating of Republic Act 3019 (Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act), perjury and falsification of public documents.

He was also charged administratively for violating Republic Act 6713 (Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees). The DOF-RIPS sought the dismissal from government service of Tibayan, filing of criminal case against him before the Sandiganbayan and forfeiture of his properties in favor of the government as provided under Republic Act 1317.
The Office of the Ombudsman was also asked to place the respondent under preventive suspension while he is being investigated.

Investigation of the DOF-RIPS showed that the personal income of Tibayan grew 25 times in the last 19 years of his government service. Intelligence officers Troy Francis Pizarro, Reynaldo Uson, Reynalito Lazaro and Melchor Piol discovered some questionable real properties and several luxury vehicles.

It was found that Tibayan owns a house and lot in Parañaque, a lot and a condominium in Muntinlupa and four agricultural lands in Lemery, Batangas. His real properties amount to P13,684,105, according to graft investigators. Tibayan’s vehicles include a Mitsubishi Safari, three Ford Expedition vehicles, two Honda cars and a Mitsubishi L300 vehicle.

“Such astronomical growth in respondent’s personal wealth – a 25-fold increase over a 19-year period or, roughly, increments exceeding a hundred percent per year – cannot be justified and/or explained by respondent’s salary from the BOC, which at best, is only P142,044 per annum, before taxes, as confirmed by his Service Record,” read the complaint. The perjury and falsification charges against Tibayan pertained to his alleged manipulation of his Statements of Assets Liabilities and Networth.

“The aforesaid pattern of falsification, perjury and sundry deceits committed by respondent in relation to his SALNs – themselves substantive criminal offenses – are but necessarily corollaries to his main pursuit and preoccupation, through the years, of accumulating unexplained wealth grossly disproportionate to his means during his tenure with the BOC,” read the complaint.

Roll back oil prices or face windfall tax

By Aurea Calica, Philstar

Calls for oil companies to roll back fuel prices mounted yesterday as Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile said these firms must be taxed for excess profits if they refuse to bring down prices.

The House of Representatives is also considering the imposition of a windfall profit tax on oil companies if they refuse to reduce pump prices. Oil prices fell below $90 a barrel on speculation that the spreading financial crisis would exacerbate a global economic slowdown and cut demand for crude oil. But until yesterday, oil companies could not commit to more price cuts. Enrile said the oil companies could not maintain the prices of fuel in the country on the basis of high crude prices.

“They have to scale down their retail price at this time. Otherwise, we will pass a law to see to it that we will get a portion of their huge profit if they are not going to scale down, because that means that if the cost of crude was down, then their margin will get bigger,” Enrile said. He warned he would sponsor a bill to impose an excess profit tax on oil companies. Enrile, chairman of the Senate finance committee, said the recent reimposition of the one-percent tariff on oil was not significant and should not be a reason to maintain high fuel prices.

“That is nothing, that is small. What is one percent of $83? It’s less than a dollar,” Enrile said.
He explained that only the government could pressure oil companies to bring down their prices, but lawmakers could file legislation to force them to give back their profits to the people. “We agree that business must make a profit, but not too much. A reasonable profit yes, but an excess profit can be subject to an excess profit tax… and then we will use that to help people that are suffering because of their refusal to scale down their retail price,” he said.

'Review or repeal law’

Enrile filed a bill to review or repeal the Oil Deregulation Law to prevent oil companies’ abuses.
He said he would also like to push for the anti-trust bill to prevent monopolies or cartels among industries, manipulation of prices of commodities, and price discrimination. He added that a lot of people would be “jailed” if this bill would be passed. He said a boycott of some oil firms would not make sense because it might affect all operations in the country.

But Sen. Francis Escudero, chairman of the Senate ways and means committee, said it would be better to revise or repeal the Oil Deregulation Law rather than impose a new tax on oil companies. “The problem is whatever tax, even on excess profit, will be hard to monitor. We might even give them a reason to further increase their prices,” Escudero said. “For me, the solution is to review or amend the Oil Deregulation Law to teach oil companies a lesson and provide more teeth for the government to sanction companies that do not follow right prices in the world market,” he said.

"Right now, the Department of Energy’s role is a barker and can not seem to guard public interest against the abuses of oil companies,” Escudero said. He said oil companies had been quick to increase their prices based on world market prices but are not as fast when prices are going down. He said it should not take months before oil companies could determine how much rollback must be done and that the DOE must make sure to break the cartel among oil companies. Under the current Oil Deregulation Law, companies could not be forced to scale down prices.

“There is a monopoly and oil companies connive with each other and so the government must have the right and the power to check on them. It should not be like the situation now where the government has to kneel or the President has to talk to oil companies for them to bring down prices,” Escudero said. Speaker Prospero Nograles said Congress would look at the possibility of imposing a windfall tax. “We join the senators’ call for oil companies to further reduce their selling prices,” he said.

Oil firms uncommitted

But oil companies have remained uncommitted on the prospects of another price rollback.
Shell companies in the Philippines country chairman Edgar Chua said most firms adopt a wait-and-see attitude on implementing a price rollback. Both major and new oil players said that the situation remains fluid, especially with the threat of a one- to five-percent import tariff.
Oil firms claimed that the ruling on the tariff on imported crude and refined petroleum products is flawed. Chua said that regulators forget to factor in the foreign exchange component in the trigger price for the level of the import oil tariff. Based on DOE circular 2008-01-0001, the trigger point or price for a one-percent tariff is $91.70 per barrel for Dubai crude and $113 for MOPS diesel. The trigger price for a two-percent tariff is $86.50 per barrel of Dubai crude and $100 for MOPS diesel. For a zero-tariff level, the trigger point is $103.50 per barrel for Dubai crude and $117 per barrel for diesel.

“What they forgot to include is the foreign exchange component,” Chua said at the sidelines of the Management Association of the Philippines (MAP) International CEO conference yesterday.
The recommendation for an amendment of Executive Order 691 must come from the DOE, which must be forwarded to the Department of Finance (DOF) and the National Economic and Development Authority. The DOF estimated that the one-percent tariff is roughly equivalent to P0.23 to P0.35 per liter for gasoline, and P0.46 per liter for diesel. The average price of Dubai crude for the month of September is $95.90 while the peso in the same period averaged P46.17.
For the month of October covering the period Oct. 1 to 6, Dubai price fell to $84.42 while the peso depreciated further to P47.19.

On Oct. 6 alone, Dubai weakened to $79.45 but the peso slumped further to P47.40. Chua admitted that their sales were lower by six to 10 percent compared to the same period last year.
It was Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp. that categorically admitted that they would lower the pump price in selected stations located near stations of new oil players. Unioil Petroleum lowered prices of its petroleum products by P3 per liter last month at a time when the rest of the field reduced prices by P1 per liter. People flocked to the Unioil stations but supply quickly ran dry.
There are speculations that prices could go down to $50 per barrel due to slumping demand brought about by the global financial crisis and economic slowdown.

‘Implement substantial rollback’

The Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) also demanded that local oil companies immediately implement “substantial rollback” in pump prices, saying that not doing so is “glaring proof” that the Oil Deregulation Law has failed. The group said the drastic drop in oil prices worldwide "undoubtedly” warrants a pump price reduction of at least P7 per liter for diesel, P2.30 for gasoline, and P8 for kerosene. Based on the study by Bayan, oil companies should have already “implemented a major reduction in pump prices” since Sept. 26. It pointed out the steadily declining prices of Dubai crude as its benchmark for computing the price rollback and even factored in the weakening Philippine peso. “Even if the peso continues to weaken, and even if oil tariffs are restored, a substantial rollback can still take place. Having no rollback at all is totally unacceptable for consumers. That would be a gross injustice,” said Renato Reyes Jr., Bayan secretary-general.

Reyes said local oil firms should all the more implement a price cut since world oil prices are dipping below the $88 per barrel mark. “The trend in oil prices is that of a steady decline. The immediate P7 rollback may even be a conservative estimate in the light of even bigger drops in world oil prices. The previous oil price hikes were pushed by speculation. When the reality of the global economic slowdown set in, oil prices have been pushed down,” he said. Reyes criticized the DOE for “refusing to acknowledge and failing to understand that even if world oil prices go down, the power to lower pump prices of oil lies with the ‘cartel’ in the local oil industry.” Bayan insisted that the Oil Deregulation Law must be immediately scrapped.

“Government appears to be able to compute a price rollback yet (it) is powerless in the face of the deregulation law. Then why does government continue to uphold such a law?” Reyes said.
“It’s not about who can give the best sound bite. It’s about changing the policy. All your sound bites on the rollback are useless if you end up defending the Oil Deregulation Law,” he added. – With Katherine Adraneda, Jess Diaz

Moro war is about injustice

By Fernando del Mundo
Philippine Daily Inquirer

COTABATO CITY—Dr. Abas Candao says friends wonder why in spite of the over 10 years he had spent in Saudi Arabia he never learned to speak fluent Arabic. It’s because, says the anesthesiologist, “I put people to sleep.”

Today, the 60-year-old Candao is attempting to awaken a nation from a nightmare rooted in centuries-old resentments that erupted into a full-blown Moro separatist war four decades ago. "They say it’s just poverty and you solve poverty and there’s going to be peace,” says Candao, chair and CEO of the Bangsamoro Development Agency (BDA), which is charged under a tottering peace accord with overseeing the post-conflict, multidonor rehabilitation of Mindanao. "I think a lot of international donors have already realized that this is wrong,” says the silver-haired physician. “The center of all these things is injustice. The people are being impoverished because of injustice. So we have to solve this. We cannot just let injustice happen before our eyes.”

Candao says this all began when Spain ceded the Philippines along with vast tracks of Moro ancestral lands to the United States for $20 million under the 1898 Treaty of Paris that ended the Spanish-American War. There’s the “brutality” of a government campaign to fill the region with Christian settlers and an “unjust public land law,” he says.

From Spain to the United States and later the Philippines, the strategy of colonial rule persisted, Candao says, speaking in a matter-of-fact tone without a trace of rancor or bitterness. Candao spoke to the Philippine Daily Inquirer at his austere office in a house of corrugated roof and thatched bamboo just before breaking fast a week before the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan. He looked tired in his black shirt with “Café Cappuccino” inscribed on it, white pants and white slippers.

3 strands in peace package

An offshoot of the 2002 agreement between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), the BDA is the project implementing body that will take charge of relief, rehabilitation and development. The 2002 accord was the second of three strands in a peace package. The first was the 1997 ceasefire. The third was a deal on an expanded Bangsamoro homeland that the Supreme Court stopped in August amid fears its creation would lead to dismemberment.

MILF commanders, enraged at the delay, attacked Christian settlements, provoking a military backlash that is now on its second month. More than half a million people have been forced to flee their homes as a result. Candao says the BDA was conceptualized in Saudi Arabia, where he worked from 1980 to 1990 in a Jeddah hospital, in meetings he had with late MILF chair Hashim Salamat, who used to call professionals to discuss the problems of Mindanao.
Salamat was one of the founders of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) led by Nur Misuari that challenged President Ferdinand Marcos after martial law was declared in 1972.
Salamat had then just returned from al-Azhar University in Cairo, the Islamic world’s equivalent of Harvard, where he earned his doctorate in Islamic theology that would later make him an aleem, about the same rank as a Catholic archbishop.

He broke away from Misuari in 1978 and six years later established the MILF. The MILF puts much greater emphasis on Islam than the MNLF, and most of its leaders are Islamic scholars from traditional aristocratic and religious backgrounds. Salamat died in July 2003.

Roadmap to development

“Granting we get what we want, whether violently or through peaceful means, after that, what?” Candao says. “I think it is very important that we have some sort of a roadmap, a guide that would show us what to do.” In 2000-2001, Candao talked to a group of Moro professionals who later formed the core of what is now the BDA, which is working on a comprehensive development plan for Mindanao. “If we succeed in initiating a government, this government is going to make use of this comprehensive Bangsamoro development plan. Otherwise, we will suffer the same fate as the former group who signed an agreement (in September 1996) with the government without really knowing what to do after that,” Candao says. “They had a long period of inactivity because they didn’t know what to do. So I said we don’t want to suffer the same fate.”

He says the MNLF, mainly composed of Tausugs, is “very exclusive.” The MNLF insurgency led to the formation of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) in 1990. But its critics say the ARMM, as with traditional politicians and warlords, did little to improve the lot of the Moros.
Most impoverished region
Official statistics show that the ARMM, of which Misuari was a former governor, remains the most impoverished region in the Philippines. It is also regarded as corrupt. The “Hello Garci” controversy, in which President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was alleged to have stolen the 2004 presidential election—a charge she denies—took place in the ARMM.

Candao says the MILF will not repeat the mistakes of the past. “After a government is set up, it’s going to be able to work because it will know what to do. Having a plan will minimize graft and corruption. It will be able to maximize the use of funds. We will know what funds to use for where, how much. “It will also show sincerity on the part of the MILF leaders if they can show that they are planning for peace, for development. Otherwise, they will just be thinking about wars,” Candao says.

The World Bank-administered Mindanao Trust Fund was formed in 2005 to help the BDA in a two-phased development program that began with “capacity building”—a buzzword for training workers who will carry out the rebuilding of the South when peace finally comes. Projects are “community driven,” monitored and reviewed by donors and the respected auditing firm of SyCip, Gorres and Velayo.

Empowering people

“They (donors) find it an effective way of empowering people, teaching them how to do things by themselves, learning, managing, how to decide by themselves, how to work together,” Candao says. He says that about a year ago, he was able to convince the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)—the world’s largest source of bilateral development assistance—to help the BDA.
“JICA wanted a socio-economic development plan, not a comprehensive national development plan, and I agreed,” he says.

“They saw no existing data at the barangay level, so that’s what they decided to come up (as) the basis of subsequent planning. They also did maps and review of existing data on municipal, provincial, regional level and a review of all existing plans and programs in the area.

Bangsamoro perspectives

“There have been existing plans before but their objectives and direction were different. This is from our point of view. The previous plans were done from the point of view of government,” he says. He says government plans have always been for the benefit of regions other than Mindanao—the growth corridors and even the formulation that it is a “breadbasket” of the rest of the country. Candao says the BDA is making plans “from the point of view of the Bangsamoro.” “How do we become economically, politically, culturally at par with the rest of the country and the rest of the world. And because of our peculiarity as Muslims, we would like to see to it that we are able to live as Muslims.

“We would like to see Halal systems subsisting in our areas. We would like to see Islamic banking. We would like to see Islamic business thrive in our area. These are all part of this plan,” says Candao, who wrote “Bangsamoro” in the space for “nation” in his resumé.

Where does the 12,000-strong MILF come in the comprehensive development plan?

“We have to think about them. They should be part of the plan,” he says. Asked what’s the plan for the MILF’s military wing, Candao replies: “None yet.” He says the MILF has the right to claim that the BDA is its development arm. “And so, that’s what we are. For as long as we are serving the people, no problem. We are their baby,” he says.

Loyalty to our people

“Our loyalty is to our people. We hope that what we set out to accomplish will be accomplished. We’re helping people to build a nation. “Our people have long suffered and the earlier we are able to help extricate our people from this quagmire, the better, of course. We are aiming to build enlightened communities, in other words, peace, progress for our people,” he says.
Candao laments President Arroyo’s decision to cancel the peace talks with the MILF, disband her negotiating panel and introduce a new precondition for the resumption of talks: disarmament, demobilization and rehabilitation (DDR).

“DDR should be there at the tail end, not the first thing to talk about” he says. “You don’t start by saying you part with your guns first. No. We talk about why there are fighting. They say it’s because of injustice. Then correct that injustice. And then when you remove the cause of this fighting then that’s the time to say you don’t have any use for these guns.”

In spite of these developments, Candao is upbeat. “You cannot lose hope. We must not lose hope,” he says. Acceptance of the deal on the expanded Moro homeland is a way forward—a chance for the government to show goodwill.

Growing corruption

Editorial, Philippine Daily Inquirer

The bad news is bad indeed. The Philippines continues to slip behind in Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index, an annual comparative listing of public perceptions about corruption in 180 countries (as of last count). The Index is highly subjective; it deals with perception, and therefore gives government propagandists elbow room for waffling. But the troubling thing is that the business community’s perception of the Philippines, first tracked last year, as the most corrupt major economy in Asia, as even more corrupt than Indonesia, seems to have already taken hold.

There are essentially two ways to understand the CPI list: through a country’s “score” (the farther away from 10 and the closer to 0, the worse it is), and through a country’s ranking (180 is the lowest rung).

At 141, the Philippines is in the bottom 40 countries. In 1995, the first year Transparency International’s “poll of polls” came out, it was at 36—out of 41 countries. In other words, from the very first CPI, the country has always brought up the rear. The only difference is that, in 1995, the rankings of the five original ASEAN member-countries had Indonesia last. (In fact, in 1995, Indonesia was at the bottom of the entire list, at 41.) Singapore was near the top, Malaysia was somewhere in the middle, and Thailand, the Philippines and Indonesia (in that order) were in the bottom part. That “pattern” has held steady since the start—until this year.

The Philippines’ score is 2.3 this year, the lowest ever. Indeed, since President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo assumed office in 2001, the country’s score has fluctuated between 2.5 and 2.6—until it fell this year. (A score of 2.3 puts the Philippines on the same level of perception as Cameroon, Iran and Yemen.)

The fact that the Philippines “achieved” its highest score during the height (or the depths, depending on your point of view) of the Estrada administration (3.6 in 1999) can be interpreted in two contrasting ways. Critics of the Arroyo administration and members of today’s opposition can read this as undeniable proof that (a) allegations of corruption in the previous administration were exaggerated or (b) the current administration is simply more corrupt than the one it succeeded.

Defenders of the Arroyo administration can read the Estrada record as incontrovertible proof that the CPI is an unreliable metric because it is based, precisely, on perception. They can argue that the first full year of the Estrada administration benefited from the goodwill of the last year of the Ramos administration, when the country hit a score of 3.5. By the same token, they can also argue that the low initial score registered under the Arroyo administration (2.6, in 2001) reflects the scale of the corruption under Estrada, which came to full light only after his ouster.
There may be something to all this; the CPI, according to Transparency International, is "determined by expert assessments and opinion surveys.” There is therefore a whole lot of wiggle room.

There is also a question about the objective meaning of the rankings. The chaotic state of affairs in oil-rich Nigeria, for instance, is a fact of life. Any Filipino who has done business there can attest to the rampant corruption that unfortunately marks life in that particular country. And yet Nigeria, in the 2008 CPI, is perceived as less corrupt than Vietnam, Indonesia or the Philippines.

Despite these caveats, however, the CPI can still prove useful to policymakers. The real bottom line is clear: It is the perception of the business community, both inside the country and especially outside, that corruption has worsened. That perception cements the country’s one-year-old reputation as the most corrupt of the original ASEAN 5 members.

Government officials may quibble, but mysterious cases like the inexplicable flight of successful-businessman-turned-fertilizer-fund-financier Joc-Joc Bolante or the curious involvement of then-Commission on Elections chairman Benjamin Abalos in the National Broadband Network deal or the what-were-they-thinking disbursements of cash bundles for governors and congressmen right inside Malacañang have a real impact on public perceptions of corruption. Reality shapes perception.

'Business-as-usual' defense budget

By Ramon J. Farolan
Philippine Daily Inquirer

For a soldier, some things are difficult to say but the truth is, our armed forces are undermanned and ill-equipped to fight the threats that face the nation. If the recent budget hearings on defense proposals offer any indication, it is that we have been simply carrying on with a "business as usual" attitude.

The defense budget that was presented to Congress last week amounted to P56.5 billion, representing the regular allocations for land, air and maritime forces, plus DND requirements. In addition, the budget provided for Special Purpose Funds (SPF), mainly pension and gratuity benefits. Also included was P5 billion for the Capability Upgrade Program (CUP). So far, much of the CUP has been used for communications equipment, force protection equipment (helmets and vests) and weapons systems upgrade, mostly small-ticket items.

The amount of P56.5 billion represents an increase of 10 percent or P5.4 billion over the appropriation for year 2008 of P51 billion. As against the various agency proposals of about P77.5 billion, the P56.5 billion was short by 27 percent, or P21 billion. If one considers the increase in oil prices, this variance becomes even more pronounced. As usual, the bulk of the P56.5 billion is for personal services (pay and allowances) amounting to 73.1 percent. The rest is for maintenance and operating expenses, plus a minimal amount for capital outlay.

As I mentioned earlier, this budget is a "business as usual" budget. There is absolutely no sense of urgency, no appreciation of the crisis we face and of the dangers that lie ahead. We are not providing the armed forces with the means to accomplish their mission. Over and above the budget that has been presented, the minimum AFP requirement that will allow intensified internal security operations against the two insurgencies (Muslim and NPA) is as follows:
The Army needs P13.4 billion, mainly for the activation of 12 infantry battalions and 140 civilian auxiliary companies, as well as the filling up of units already in place. It also seeks to bring up the equipment of all infantry battalions to a level of 100 percent.

The Air Force needs P12.1 billion, mainly for aircraft maintenance and aviation petroleum, oil and lubricants (POL) for current and additional aircraft. Procurement of new aircraft falls under a separate Capability Upgrade Program. My information is that bidding is now underway for 14 attack helicopters after an earlier bidding was scrapped for irregularities.

The Navy wants P12 billion for an Integrated Logistics Support System (ILSS) and Marine Multi-Purpose Vehicles (MPV), as well as POL and ammunition requirements. The total comes up to roughly P40 billion.

While it is true that we have limited resources, the almost daily scandals on the misuse of government funds-pork barrel, congressional insertions, "bukol" by corrupt government officials-also indicate that we have the resources to support increased defense requirements if we put our minds to it (italics added).

As I mentioned in an earlier column, peace comes from strength and resolve. This will entail sacrifice, fortitude and determination on our part. The AFP must be strengthened at all costs. It is no use talking about wiping out the insurgencies by 2010 if we cannot even supply the mandatory two basic loads of ammo for our soldiers, or if we cannot fund the additional Army and Marine battalions that are needed in the fight. Until we put our money where our mouth is, all talk about 2010 being a year of change and achievement sounds like political posturing more than anything else.

Bro Eddie cites need for RP to focus on genuine reforms

By Angie Chui

Brother Eddie Villanueva, president and spiritual advisor of the Jesus is Lord (JIL) movement, said yesterday it is more important to focus on national transformation and find genuine reforms for the country than to engage in partisan political activities. During a press conference to mark the JIL’s 30th anniversary dubbed "All Peoples Worship His Majesty," Villanueva addressed issues on corruption in government and "bankrupt" electoral process.

"We have looked for positive changes in the wrong places for too long now. And the act has led us only to ever mounting disappointments," he said. "It is hard to change those who do not wish to change. It is difficult to ask someone who does not want to tell the truth to stop telling lies. It is hard to stop corruption among those who do not fear God. This is the reason why any shot at national transformation, without personal regeneration, is impossible," he said, adding that he needs the people’s support in his crusade.

He said public action for national transformation is vital to see the country rise from the ruins.
Villanueva said the decision on whether or not he will run for President in 2010 is not his decision to make, but God’s. "The presidency does not have any ‘it’ to me. If the situation should arise and God would reveal to me that I should lead our beloved people to the ‘promised land,’ and I think the Filipino people are clamoring for genuine change and reforms, there is a possibility that I will entertain that challenge," he said.

Although he acknowledged that there are a lot of groups urging him to throw his hat into the race, he said he cannot be tempted to join the 2010 race, if not for God, to fight for God’s agenda.
"I am not saying yes or no… I am always at the disposal of my God, I do hope God will not command me to do so," he said.

Villanueva first ran for President in the 2004 elections but lost.

During the conference, he cited one of the Church’s recognized transformation leaders, Pampanga Gov. Among Ed Panlilio, who, he said, is a symbol of genuine reform in the country.
He said the People Power elections in Pampanga in 2004 -- where Panlilio, a former priest, triumphed over more powerful and wealthier adversaries -- should be seen as a model for the entire country.

Villanueva also recalled the statement made by former National Security Adviser Jose Almonte who said that what the Philippines needs is a genuine reformist president. The evangelist said with the worsening conditions of the country, it is extremely difficult for the Filipino to elect a genuine reformist president unless the People Power election in Pampanga could be duplicated nationwide. "We need divine intervention. With the kind of bankrupt, rotten electoral process we have, it requires a miracle from God to raise a genuine reformist national leader who has the passion, competence, and courage to perpetuate genuine change and reforms," he said.
Villanueva, however, acknowledged that there are other transformation leaders in the country who represent a clear message of hope to the people.

Among them, he said, were the Church’s anniversary guests Gov. Grace Padaca of Isabela, Gov. Raffy Nantes of Quezon, and Mayor Jesse Robredo of Naga City of the Kaya Natin! movement.
He said as early as now, Bangon Pilipinas leaders are keeping their eyes open for possible alliances with political parties that share their commitment, vision and standards. So far, he said, there have been representatives from at least four political parties who have approached their group.

Villanueva also disclosed that their group has received several feelers from aspiring candidates to seek their support come election time. He sai if they find a suitable candidate, they will not withhold their blessing. He, however, placed emphasis on the criteria for endorsing a candidate. Villanueva said for a candidate to be qualified, he would have to have the three Cs – competence, character, and courage. "It is utterly disgraceful to God that we claim to be the only Christian nation in Asia yet we are today tagged as the number one most corrupt country in the region. I don’t know why we are even silently taking all these perversions sitting down. This should have been a cause for national outrage long time ago. We must altogether rally behind national transformation now, if we are to see our beloved Philippines rise up from the ruins again," Villanueva said.

Bureau of Customs blamed for banned products

MANILA, Philippines—The Bureau of Customs (BOC) Sunday came under fire for the supposedly unregulated entry of Chinese food products into the country, amid a scare over milk products bought from China.

"These products should not have been allowed entry by the Bureau of Customs without import authority from the BFAD (Bureau of Food and Drugs)," Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago said on radio dzBB.

"The only job of the deputy commissioner and his customs investigation and intelligence service is confiscate all goods without the Philippine Certification of Safety Standard." That these products do not have English or Filipino translation of their Chinese labels showed the "incompetence" of the customs bureau, which approved their entry even without understanding the products' contents, Santiago said.

Corruption

Sen. Francis Pangilinan said the China milk scare, caused by fears that some of these products contain the industrial chemical melamine, should prompt the government to crack down on food smuggling.

"Potential harm is not confined to melamine-laced milk products but any unmonitored food product that enters the market," Pangilinan said in a statement.
Santiago said "the root of the problem is corruption in the BOC."

New agency

"All these products come in a van. You just pay P2,000 per van and they don't inspect its contents. We should have the head of the customs investigation and intel service and his men replaced," she said.

Sen. Pia S. Cayetano has called for the quick passage of Senate Bill No. 2645, which aims to reconstitute the BFAD into the Food, Drugs, Cosmetics and Devices Administration to beef up the country's "first line of defense" in consumer safety. The proposed agency, patterned after the US Food and Drugs Administration, will have complete testing laboratories in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao and field offices in every region and major ports of entry. Cayetano said the bill would also address the problem of the BFAD's lack of manpower and funds.

"How can we expect only 195 field inspectors to effectively monitor and regulate all year round an industry with almost 46,000 establishments?" she asked. Gil C. Cabacungan Jr.-Philippine Daily Inquirer