June 2006
Vol. 3, No. 2
RECIPIENT
OF THE
ANVIL AWARD
OF
EXCELLENCE
2006
Official Newsletter of the
House of Representatives
Republic of the Philippines
ISSN 1656-507X
ASSAULT
ON
BUDGET
House decries Senate’s P64-B cut
T
“Final hope”
Majority not
giving up on
Charter reform
L
EADERS of the House
majority are convinced
Charter reform towards a
parliamentar y form of
government will still push
through.
Speaker Jose de Venecia
said all indications point to an
overwhelming majority in
favor of a transition to a
HE SENATE’S mangling of
the House-crafted trillionpeso national budget by P64
billion
wiped
out
the
government’s capital outlay and
funds for its anti-poverty program
aimed at creating thousands of
jobs and activating rural entrepreneurship, Speaker Jose de
Venecia said in remarks at the
adjournment of the second
regular session of the 13th
Congress.
It was “deplorable” that the
upper chamber “should sacrifice
these programs with such lack of
sensitivity,” said de Venecia.
His view was later echoed by
senior House leaders, among them
Deputy Speakers Raul del Mar and
Eric Singson, Majority Leader
Prospero Nograles, Senior Deputy
Majority Leader Arthur Defensor,
and Reps. Aurelio Umali, Isidoro
Real Jr., Conrado Estrella III,
Leovigildo Banaag, Generoso
Tulagan, Arthur Celeste and
Roque Ablan Jr.
The House panel at the
bicameral budget talks refused to
concede to Senate demands to do
away with “pro-people” and antipoverty programs long identified
in the pipeline to build
infrastructure, create jobs, rebuild
areas devastated by conflict and
disaster, and encourage rural
entrepreneurship.
Continued on page 2
Continued on page 2
$80M
for RP
from
Japan p.3
DEATH NO MORE. Speaker Jose de Venecia, with new Apostolic Nuncio to the Philippines, H.E. Most Rev. Fernando
Filoni, who paid the Speaker and the House membership a courtesy call during a plenary break, holds the copy of the
conference committee report on the abolition of the death penalty in the country following its ratification by the
House of Representatives last June 6. Also shown are (from left) Deputy Speaker Raul del Mar with Reps. Eduardo
Veloso, Augusto Baculio (partly hidden) Luis Villafuerte, Edcel Lagman (principal author and sponsor), Simeon
Kintanar and Constantino Jaraula.
Automated elections see
faster, accurate count
Regaining
ENGLISH
competency
p.4
BILLBOARDS
to end
GRAFT
p.6
Help for
grieving
moms
p.6
A bridge
for
CATBALOGAN
p.7
Interview with
Rep. Robert
Ace BARBERS
p.8
By Melissa M. Reyes
A
SSURANCES of faster
tabulation and less tampering
got approval for House Bill 5352,
seeking to amend Republic Act
8436, the law on automated
elections, with an overwhelming
vote of 164.
JAPAN RESTORES GRANTS.
Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro
Koizumi (right) receives at his
Tokyo office visiting Philippine
Speaker Jose de Venecia on the
final day of the latter’s six-day
official visit to Japan. Describing
his trip as successful, de Venecia
paved the way for the restoration
of $80 million (about P4 billion)
in Japanese grants to the
Philippines and $600-800 million
in loans to strengthen the
Philippines’
anti-poverty
campaign. De Venecia led a House
of Representatives delegation to
Japan. (Story on page 3)
As proposed, automated
elections shall be used immediately
in the next elections upon its
passage, in the NCR, ARMM and
three other regions determined by
the Commission on Elections, and
subsequently
implemented
nationwide.
The automated system
provides
security
against
unauthorized access; accurate
recording and reading of votes,
results tabulation, canvassing and
transmission; error recovery in case
of device failure; paper audit trail;
Continued on page 7
Death penalty
gets the axe
By Ronald M. Ytem
T
HE HOUSE voted to
scrap the death penalty by
an overwhelming 120 to 20
votes, with one abstention.
Speaker Jose de Venecia
said it was a “courageous
decision” anchored on the
belief in the sanctity of human
life and in the value of justice,
“not as an act of retribution but
as a tough penalty for those
sentenced
to
life
imprisonment.”
Rep. Edcel C. Lagman (1st
Dist., Albay), principal author
of HB 4826, or the act
prohibiting the imposition of
the death penalty, said the
death sentence is ineffective in
deterring crime but instead has
a “brutalizing effect” that
incites violence among
criminals and even the public,
shown in the “enraged clamor”
to hang rapist Leo Echegaray in
1999.
Lagman accepted an
amendment introduced by
Rep. Luis Asistio (2 nd Dist.,
Caloocan City) and Rep. Luis
Villafuerte
(2 nd
Dist.,
Camarines Sur) commuting all
death sentences to restrictive
life imprisonment, instead of
reclusion perpetua which entitles
the convict to pardon after 30
years.
Villafuerte noted that
those sentenced to life
imprisonment, unless granted
clemency or parole by the
President, can rot in prison for
the remainder of his or her life.
Rep. Salacnib F. Baterina
(1st Dist., Ilocos Sur) called the
death penalty “vengeful and
barbaric.” He argued that the
removal of the death penalty
adheres to the Constitution.
Many of those who voted
for the abolition repeatedly
observed that the death penalty
does not actually deter crime
and is “anti-poor.” Rep.
Loretta Ann P. Rosales (PartyList, Akbayan) painted the
Continued on page 2
2
June 2006
Assault on budget
Continued from page 1
A cut of P510 billion would
have been forgivable but not the
government’s capital spending
program and funds intended to
improve people’s lives in the
country’s poorest regions, the
House leaders said.
The Speaker welcomed Sen.
Manuel B. Villar’s imminent rise
to the Senate presidency and gave
assurances the House “will
continue to reach out to the other
chamber” in the hope of
improving inter-chamber relations
and reviving the bicameral
conference in early August on the
proposed Charter amendments.
De Venecia received a warm
ovation at the end of his 30minute address that expressed
deepening frustration of the
House over the Senate’s
continuing failure to act on
hundreds of legislation, both of
national and local application,
already approved by the bigger 236member chamber on third and
final reading.
House OKs 840 bills, await
Senate action
At the close of the second
regular session June 8, de Venecia
called attention to the “utter futility
and wastefulness” of a bicameral
setup, noting that the House
approved and sent to the Senate
840 bills since the start of the 13th
Congress in July 2004. Of these, a
significant 824 remain pending in
the Senate while only 12 became
law, 8 are pending in the bicameral
conference committee, and
another 8 are awaiting action in
Malacanang.
De Venecia recalled the
House’s achievements in pushing
major political and fiscal reforms
through the passage of unpopular
yet vital tax reform measures like
the EVAT and the “sin taxes” to
save the country from financial
instability.
He said the House leadership
was much maligned in the passage
of the tax measures, especially by
extremists who stood to gain much
from fomenting instability, yet the
House did what was necessary
rather than follow political
expediency.
He proudly cited the passage
of the Anti-Terrorism Act,
Investments Incentive Code, Land
Registration Program, Bio-ethanol
Fuel Act to cut dependence on oil,
Omnibus Housing and Urban
Development Act to address the
countr y’s 4.5-million housing
backlog, Billion Trees Act to save
denuded forests, Anti-Smuggling
Act to earn more customs revenues,
Frontline Service Information Act
to improve government service, the
extension of the Rental Reform
Act, and the law providing special
protection to minors in conflict
with the law. These bills were
among the 5,537 House bills filed
and 840 bills passed on third
reading this far.
Majority not giving up on
Charter reform
Continued from page 1
parliamentar y system and a
unicameral legislature, despite the
Senate-House deadlock on the
issue, citing the approval of public
opinion polls, the endorsement of
the 1.7-million strong Union of
Local Authorities of the
Philippines and the nine million
signatures gathered under the
People’s Initiative.
In his remarks on June 8, the
last day of the second regular
session, de Venecia described the
nation’s “final hope” in
overturning a “discredited political
culture” and expressed optimism
that the Senate under the new
leadership of Sen. Manuel B. Villar,
will continue to dialogue and
possibly come to an agreement with
the House. Bicameral talks with
the Senate are slated to resume in
late July or early August, he said.
Majority Leader Rep.
Prospero Nograles commented
that under a parliamentary system,
many senators would be
formidable candidates for the post
of Prime Minister.
De Venecia admitted that the
House’s call for a Constituent
Assembly to amend the 1987
Constitution “has fallen on barren
ground.”
The House majority coalition,
de Venecia said, will shift its
support to the People’s Initiative
to amend the Charter. Since its
launch early this year, the initiative
has gathered nine million
signatures on the effor ts of
hundreds of non-government
organizations and the entire
Union of Local Authorities of the
Philippines (ULAP).
De Venecia said the nine
million signatories to the people’s
initiative have become a “moral
force that no one can and must
ignore.”
“More and more Filipinos see
the futility of politics as currently
practiced in the country—and they
are coming to realize that Charter
reform is the best way to reform
this discredited political culture,”
de Venecia said.
He said the People’s Initiative
could face challenges in the
Supreme Court. “It is our hope
that the Supreme Court—in its
great wisdom—shall give due
recognition to the overwhelming
sovereign will of the Filipino
people as expressed in the
signatures on the petition.”
The People’s Initiative seeks
to shift the countr y from a
presidential bicameral system to a
parliamentar y system and a
unicameral parliament.
Death penalty gets the axe
Continued from page 1
death penalty as a “retrogression”
to public vengeance, providing no
opportunity for the convict to
reform and contribute to society’s
good. Her strong support for the
bill reflected the sentiment of the
so-called left-leaning party-list
representatives.
An early supporter of the
death penalty, Rep. Roilo S. Golez
(2nd Dist., Parañaque), said he was
swayed by Rosales’ convincing
arguments to change his stand.
But Rep. Robert Ace S.
Barbers (2 nd Dist., Surigao del
Norte) stood pat on his support
for the retention of the death
penalty. “We cry for the human
rights of convicts, but how about
the human rights of the victims
and their families?” he asked. (See
page 8 for related interview.)
Rep. Rozzano Rufino B.
Biazon (Lone Dist., Muntinlupa),
whose district encompasses the
national penitentiary, also opposed
the measure, saying he chooses to
see “concrete penal reforms” before
lifting the death penalty. He said
drug dealers thrive and operate
while in prison, “living the lives of
kings.”
Common among those who
voted “No” was a strong belief that
heinous crimes like terrorism, drug
trading and murder deserve death.
Rep. Roque R. Ablan Jr. (1st Dist.,
Ilocos Norte) observed that because
the Philippines is the lone country
in Asia that does not execute those
who have been meted the death
penalty, criminals from mainland
China, Taiwan, Singapore and
Malaysia come to the country to
cook cocaine and shabu because
“they will not be executed here.”
Lagman countered that
abolition does not endorse
impunity. “Criminals would still
be punished, albeit with life
imprisonment, consistent with the
proposal to consider restorative or
rehabilitative justice,” he said.
RENEWABLE ENERGY IS KEY. Speaker Jose de Venecia (2nd from left) and
House energy committee chairman Rep. Alipio “Tikbong” Badelles (2nd from
right) lead launching rites of the exhibit “Climate Change and Renewable
Energy: Synergies for Development” at the House north lobby. The expo
aims to create awareness on the causes and impacts of climate change in
the Philippines and generate support for the passage of the renewable
energy bill. Also present were Reps. Constantino Jaraula, Salacnib Baterina,
Exequiel Javier, Henedina Abad, Juan Miguel Zubiri, among others. WWFPhilippines led the exhibit sponsors, in cooperation with the House
Committee on Energy, KLIMA Climate Change Center-Manila Observatory,
GEF-UNDP-DOE CBRED Project, Renewable Energy Coalition, USAID-Energy
and Clean Air Project, PNOC-EDC, SOLARCO, HEDCOR, SIBAT, BronzeoakPhilippines and Northwind.
JDV asks China to build
1M houses, classrooms
SPEAKER Jose de Venecia
proposed that China establish
factories to build one million houses
and address simultaneously the
Philippines’ perennial classroom
shortage by building 100,000 new
schoolhouses nationwide “so that
development can reach the great
masses of our people.”
At the same time, de Venecia
sought to increase China’s tourist
arrivals, expand its participation in
the railways modernization
program, boost farm production of
Chinese-bred hybrid rice and corn
varieties, and create a large Chinese
industrial park in Clark to house
its manufacturing plants and small
and medium companies.
De Venecia said his proposals
embody the major components of
President Gloria MacapagalArroyo’s 10-point legacy program
and will go a long way in advancing
the country’s anti-poverty program.
Trade and Industry Secretary
Peter Favila and NEDA SecretaryGeneral Romulo Neri described
the immediate Chinese response to
de Venecia’s proposal as “extremely
positive and enthusiastic.”
De Venecia spoke at the
opening of the first-ever
Philippines-China Economic
Partnership Forum at the Manila
Hotel, where some 400 Filipino
business and government leaders
joined a huge Chinese delegation
that
included
high-level
commercial and business missions.
The forum seeks to transform
Chinese-Philippine economic
cooperation into a partnership for
which de Venecia earned plaudits
from Minister of Commerce Bo
Xilai, head of the Chinese
delegation, for promoting “a great
vision and a practical and
pragmatic partnership” between
the two countries.
Later in the day, President
Arroyo, former President Fidel
Ramos and Speaker de Venecia
witnessed the signing of the 10point framework agreement for an
economic partnership between
China and the Philippines.
Minister Bo Xilai signed for China,
while Favila and Neri signed for the
Philippines.
Graphic Arts: Christian Ferdinand D. Pamintuan
Production and Circulation Supervisor: Cynthia A.
Bagaforo
ISSN 1656-507X
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AND DESIGN SERVICE, Public Relations and
Information Department, House of Representatives,
with offices at Constitution Hills, Quezon City and
Telephone Nos. 9315335 and 9315001 local 7651 or
7552.
Editor: Dep. Sec. Gen. Emmanuel A. Albano
Managing Editor: Dir. Ferdinand M. Bolislis
Assistant Editor: Melissa M. Reyes
Design & Layout Editor: Waldemar T. Alvarez
Assistant Managing Editor: Virginia B. Rizardo
Writers: Diony P. Tubianosa, Abigail M. Macabeo,
Raymond G. Pasiliao, Michelle M. Sapnu, Jacqueline
Rey-Juliano, Isagani C. Yambot Jr., Ronald M. Ytem,
Ceferino M. Acosta III
Photography: Tobias F. Engay, Jeremias E. Ereño,
Perfecto C. Camero, Marceliano C. Achanzar,
Genaro C. Peñas
Administrative and Circulation Staff: Maricar S.
Magbitang, Vanessa T. Valdez, Fedes Maria C. Cruz,
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Exec. Dir. Ma. Bernadette de la Cuesta, Dir. Myrna
Belmonte, Dir. Ferdinand Bolislis
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COPYRIGHT NOTICE
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“No copyright shall subsist in any work
of the Government of the Philippines.
However, prior approval of the
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the work is created shall be necessary
for exploitation of such work for profit.”
June 2006
$80M in Japan grants
confirmed
3
amending Section 1 of RA 4103,
or the “Indeterminate Sentence
Law,” to make elderly prisoners
eligible for parole. The bill has
been approved in principle.
Marcos said there is “reasonable
probability” that elderly prisoners
once released would no longer
violate the law. RMY
‘Batasan 5’ freed,
charged anew
THE JAPANESE government
confirmed through Philippine
Speaker Jose de Venecia it would
restore $80-million (about P4
billion) in grants to the Philippines
to help in its anti-poverty programs.
Japanese Prime Minister
Junichiro Koizumi made the
confirmation to the Philippine
delegation headed by de Venecia,
composed of Deputy Speaker Raul
del Mar and Reps. Junie Cua, Jack
Duavit, Salacnib Baterina and
Antonio Diaz, capping a successful
five-day official visit.
“This successful visit opens
the way for the restoration of the
P4-billion Japanese grants and yen
packages vital to Philippine
economic development,” de
Venecia said.
Earlier, the Japanese Emperor
and Empress at the Imperial Palace
received de Venecia and wife Gina
for a 40-minute private audience—
the second in nine years the
Emperor had granted to the de
Venecias.
Japanese Finance Minister
Sadakazu Tanigaki informed de
Venecia that “the way is now open
for the restoration” of the grants
and commercial yen packages of
$600 to $800 million following the
Philippine
government’s
settlement of some P70 million due
to Japanese companies.
Parole for elderly
inmates
PRISONERS 75
years old and
above need not
be
further
detained and
should
be
r e l e a s e d
Marcos
posthaste,
considering their advanced age and
mounting mental, physical and
emotional incapacity. “While these
prisoners are not without fault and
have caused their own detention,
further confinement would only be
heartless and inhumane,” said Rep.
Imee R. Marcos (2nd Dist., Ilocos
Norte).
More
than
500
septuagenarians, generally in poor
health are in overcrowded jails,
some in maximum security cells at
the New Bilibid Prison in
Muntinlupa City, which has
inadequate medical supplies and
laboratories.
Marcos has filed HB 331
FIVE party-list lawmakers faced new
rebellion charges before the Makati
City Regional Court, shortly after
they were freed from the protective
custody of the House last May 8.
Department of Justice (DoJ)
prosecutors accused Reps. Satur
Ocampo, Teodoro Casino, Joel
Virador, Rafael Mariano and Liza
Maza of conspiring with rightists
in a failed plot to overthrow the
President. As of press time,
however, the Supreme Court
temporarily stopped the DoJ from
proceeding with the prosecution of
the five legislators on rebellion
charges.
The lawmakers sought
protective House custody offered
by House leaders last February 26
in the wake of rebellion charges
hurled against them by the DoJ in
an initial amended complaint,
narrowly avoiding police arrest.
Speaker Jose de Venecia said he
offered all courtesies to the five as
their “big brother” during their 70day confinement.
The representatives denied
any involvement in such a plot.
Virador said there is nothing new
in what DoJ prosecutors claimed
to be “new information,” saying the
affidavits and witnesses to be
presented under the new complaint
were sourced from the same 392
documents presented in the
previous charge that has been
junked. AMM
Unesco chief backs
JDV’s debt-for-equity
swap
U N E S C O
director-general
K o i c h i r o
Matsuura, who
received
the
Congressional
Medal
of
Matsuura
Ach i e v e m e n t ,
the House’s highest decoration,
expressed support for Speaker Jose
de Venecia’s debt-for-equity
program heavily-indebted countries
could use to fund their education,
culture and science projects.
Philippine and foreign
educators from 90 countries and
about 100 guests from the United
Nations attending the leaders’
forum of the 31 st Unesco
Intercultural Congress at the
Manila Hotel were present during
the awarding ceremony.
De Venecia said Matsuura’s
support is “crucial and timely,”
boosting the program conceived
last year. De Venecia proposed to
the UN to convert half of the
foreign debt of some 100 debtsaddled nations into equity for
projects aligned with the UN
Millennium Development Goals.
Matsuura is one of the highest
UN officials to endorse the project,
following UN secretary-general
Kofi Annan’s endorsement
September last year.
Citizens urged to join
reforestation programs
AN INNOVATIVE
bill
proposes
to
enlist citizens in
the huge task of
re for e st a t i o n .
Rep. Rodolfo Q.
Agbayani
Agbayani (Lone
Dist., Nueva Vizcaya) said
traditional approaches like treeplanting programs and contract
reforestation are no longer enough
and that government alone cannot
rehabilitate the country’s denuded
forests.
“Unless an effective and
massive reforestation program is
adopted, our forest cover would go
down to a near nil level of 6.6
percent by 2010,” he said.
Agbayani proposes a national
program similar to the “Tree for
Legacy” program, successfully
implemented in Nueva Vizcaya,
which converted participants into
forest guards/managers, reduced
forest fires, squatting, timber
poaching and charcoal-making. It
produced
natural
forest
regeneration, livelihood and
employment reducing poverty,
improved potable and irrigation
water supply and enhanced
environment education. As
proposed, trees planted within
private and public forest lands shall
belong to owners or grantees of a
Certificate of Tree Ownership
(CTO) or Usufruct (COU), giving
them right to harvest, sell and
utilize trees and crops, except those
for environmental protection or
“mother trees.”
Town and city governments
shall
monitor
program
implementation, help identify
planting sites, and screen and
endorse qualified participants.
Sangguniang Barangays shall validate
the identity of participants and
arbitrate in conflicts. AMM
Compensating victims
of reckless drivers
M O T O R
vehicles involved
in
accidents
resulting
in
deaths or injuries
to pedestrians
and commuters
Rep. Marcoleta
could
be
impounded until their owners,
operators or drivers post an
adequate cash bond to compensate
their victims who win a civil or
criminal suit.
Alagad Rep.
Rodante D. Marcoleta proposed in
HB 4892 a cash bond of not less
than P500,000 as security to satisfy
court judgment or the vehicle in
the accident held in custody
pending the outcome of the case.
The bill is for victims, who are
mostly the “carless” urban poor, to
ensure they don’t get an “empty
victory” and the award reasonably
enjoyed. More often, protracted
appeals delay payment of damages
or could no longer be enforced as
the offender or the vehicle owner/
operator has no more assets with
which to satisfy court judgment,
making it a “paper judgment” for
the victim, who has to shoulder
hospital and medical bills.
Marcoleta’s bill, approved on
the committee level, incorporates
provisions of HB 1861 filed by
Reps. Orlando A. Fua Jr. (Lone
Dist., Siquijor) and Mario J. Aguja
(Akbayan). RMY
Gender-equal
punishment for
infidelity
MARITAL
infidelity may
soon replace the
crimes
of
adulter y and
concubinage,
with
either
Abayon
spouse suffering
equal punishment, correcting a
long-term bias against erring female
offenders. As proposed, marital
infidelity is “committed by any
married person who has carnal
knowledge of a person not his or
her spouse, and by the person who
has carnal knowledge of the married
person, knowing him or her to be
married, even if the marriage be
subsequently declared void.”
Proposed penalties are prision
correccional (six months and one day
to six years) in its minimum and
medium period (six months and
one day to four years and two
months); for keeping a paramour
in a conjugal dwelling the
maximum penalty (four years, two
months and one day to six years)
and cohabiting with a paramour in
any other place the medium period
(two months and one day to four
years and two months).
The bill consolidates several
measures filed by Reps. Harlin
Cast. Abayon (HB 810), Imee R.
Marcos (HB 334), Liza L. Maza (HB
1017) and Emmanuel Joel J.
Villanueva (HB 2238). Under
existing laws, the wife, for a single
act of adultery, is meted a heavier
penalty in contrast to the
husband’s indiscretions, which are
not considered felonious “unless
attended by the qualifying
circumstances provided under
Article 334.” A committee report
is being finalized on the substitute
bill consolidating the four
proposals. AMM
Managing hazardous
wastes
Syjuco
Baculio
THE
UNCONTROLLED
importation of dangerous
chemicals, radioactive and medical
wastes and poisonous substances
has raised growing concern for a
more comprehensive waste
management to protect health and
the environment.
The Philippines, tagged as the
toxic waste “dumping capital” of
the world, led Rep. Judy J. Syjuco
(2 nd Dist., Iloilo) to file the
“Philippine Hazardous and
Radioactive Wastes Management
Act,” seeking to ban the entry of
all toxic wastes.
The bill proposes to develop
and implement comprehensive
and integrated national and local
hazardous and radioactive waste
management programs on
pollution prevention and
recover y, guidelines for the
generation,
collection,
segregation, transport, recovery,
storage, treatment and disposal of
hazardous wastes, while enforcing
accountability and responsible
care programs.
Rep., Augusto H. Baculio (2nd
Dist., Misamis Oriental) said
chemical wastes do not stay in one
place, but flow, are transported
and inflict devastating damage on
humans and their surroundings.
“Therefore, there is great need for
a more comprehensive legislation
on hazardous and radioactive
waste management,” he said. MMS
Social workers need
help
SOCIAL workers
who make a
career of helping
others such as
abandoned
children,
rehabilit ating
Malanyaon
drug addicts,
assisting school dropouts, battered
women, the elderly, homeless, poor
and disabled almost 24 hours daily,
may actually need help themselves
in terms of adequate professional
support.
House Bill 4536, or the
Magna Carta for Social Workers
and Social Welfare and
Development Workers, aims to
address their problem by
incorporating proposals from four
other bills separately authored by
Reps. Corazon N. Malanyaon (1st
Dist., Davao Oriental), Rodriguez
D. Dadivas (1st Dist., Capiz),
Roseller L. Barinaga (2nd Dist.,
Zamboanga del Norte) and Joel
Mayo Z. Almario (2nd Dist.,
Davao Oriental). The authors
argued that social workers “need
Continued on page 8
4
June 2006
June 2006
5
ENGLISH PROFICIENCY
How do we
regain our
English
communication
skills?
Nearly the whole world today seems to
speak, think and write English. Almost half
a billion people speak it as their native
tongue while a billion consider it a second
language. One-third of all books published
are in English. To get ahead in global
business, the abilities to speak and write
English are essential.
The Philippines once held the status of being
the third-largest English-speaking country in the
world. But no longer. A Social Weather Station
(SWS) survey, jointly commissioned by US and
Philippine business groups, show that only 65
percent of Filipinos today claim to understand
written and spoken English while 35 percent claim
to actually speak the language. The SWS figures
indicate a declining trend in English proficiency
among Filipinos, compared to numbers polled in
the past. Those who totally cannot understand
English doubled to 14 percent this year, against 7
percent in 1993.
Meanwhile, the country’s bourgeoning call
center industry, generating $2.3 billion in
revenues and employing 200,000 Filipinos, have
voiced fears of stagnancy because the pool of
Filipinos conversant in business English has been
dwindling.
Sensing the crisis in English proficiency three
years ago, the Arroyo administration made a
major shift by returning English as the main
language of instruction in schools. This reversed a
20-year-old policy favoring Filipino as the
medium. At the same time, the SWS survey
indicated a growing awareness among 68
percent of its respondents that English
communication skills point the way to a better
job.
How can public policy be tailored to
achieve a dramatic turnaround in our
English skills? Six Members of the House
make their stand.
Rep. EDUARDO R. GULLAS
(1st Dist., Cebu)
A
spring cannot go higher than
its source. We must first
focus on affording skills training for
our teachers. Unless well-trained,
they can’t properly educate our
youth.
Our 113 SUCs must boldly
spearhead its emphasis on
English as a medium of instruction
and serve as hubs for English
language mastery in their
hometowns, cities and provinces,
and establish a benchmark for a
global standard of proficiency for
students.
House Bill 2894, “Enhancing
the Use of English as a Medium
of Instruction Act,” must be
approved. English, Filipino and
the regional dialect should be
inculcated in the young from
preparatory to Grade II; and
English and Filipino from Grade III
to VI elementary, high school,
tertiary and technical/vocational
school. The hours teaching in
English should be equal to
Filipino.
English has always been our
strength. We must arrest its
decline. A 1998 survey was very
discouraging. Countries which
used to be non-English speaking
have overtaken us. Decreasing
numbers of Filipinos are being
employed
abroad.
Other
nationalities can already compete
with us on the English language
angle. China, Japan and our
neighbors have crash English
language programs for their youth.
Exposure is a key element to
language mastery. If a Filipino
stays with an Italian family, within
months he will learn Italian.
In 1974, the DepEd adopted
a bilingual system where the
medium of instruction in English,
science and mathematics would
be in English and the Makabayan
subjects like social studies, values
and health, home economics and
others would be in Filipino. The
system aims to teach pupils to
master two foreign languages.
That system considerably
lessened the exposure of students
to English.
It would be difficult for, say, a
Cebuano, Ilocano, Pangasinense
or Waray in the lower grades to
learn English and Filipino
simultaneously. It would be more
possible for a Tagalog pupil
because he already speaks
Filipino at home.
I served as dean in the
University of Visayas College of
Law before joining public service.
I checked the examination
booklets of first year law students.
They could hardly write straight
sentences with correct syntax
because of DepEd’s bilingual
system.
I was a product of both the
public and private school systems.
Our language of instruction then
was English. Today, schools like
the Pamantasan ng Maynila and
many private schools here and in
the provinces are going back to
English as the medium of
instruction.
I was in Nairobi, Kenya for the
International Parliamentary Union
conference. Going home, we flew
to Dubai where many Filipinos
work
as
engineers
and
technicians. They said their
English proficiency helped them a
lot and said, had they depended
on the Filipino language alone,
they wouldn’t have been
employed there.
English proficiency is not just
for working abroad. It is to prepare
Filipinos, not just as Filipino
citizens, but as citizens of the
world.
My father founded the
University of the Visayas, which is
an accredited Level 3 institution.
We mandated English as the
medium of instruction. Our
students excel. They are facile,
articulate and confident. They can
compete with the best of the
best.
Interview by Ronald M.
Ytem
Rep. JOSE CARLOS V. LACSON
(3rd Dist., Negros Occidental)
T
he Philippines, with 87.8
million people, is the third
largest English-speaking country
in the world after India (1079.4
million) and the United States
(295.6 million); as large as the UK
(60.4 million) and Canada (32.8
million) combined (Australia hails
at 20.1 million). The very reason
why foreign companies go to the
Philippines to outsource their
labor and workforce demands is
because we have good command
of the English language. We have
a high literacy rate and we use the
English language as a medium of
instruction in all school levels
aside from the fact that wages are
considerably low in our country.
The English language has
become popular for business,
commerce
and
internet
communications throughout the
world. The language has become
a standard not because it has
been approved by any standard
organization but because it is
widely used and recognized.
To regain our proficiency
level, we need to go back to
basics. We need to start early
training, learning and tutorial at the
preschool level. The four skills in
learning English, which are
reading, listening, speaking and
writing, need to be amplified and
service providers need to be
updated with their teaching
methodologies and
professionalized.
Filipinos need to maximize
the availability of radio, television,
newspapers, books, and journals
as part of instructional materials
in learning the English language.
Practice makes perfect, too. The
use of the English language in our
daily conversation is a way by
which we can hone proficiency in
the language. Interview by
Jacqueline R. Juliano
Rep. LUIS R. VILLAFUERTE
(2nd Dist., Camarines Sur)
W
e must regain our pole
position
in
English
proficiency to keep our country
vibrant and put in place the
necessary underpinnings of a
more robust and progressive
Philippines, and also for five
compelling reasons.
First,
in this age of
globalization, a country wired to
the world’s lingua franca
indisputably enjoys enormous
advantage in global trading and
markets. A case in point is the
$200-billion—and still growing
fast—service in business process
outsourcing, which primarily
thrives on good English.
Second,
a
standard,
unabridged English dictionary
contains more than one million
words compared to the two other
“knowledge” languages: German,
with a lexicon of 185,000; and
French, with 100,000.
Third,
Filipinos
can
effortlessly adapt to the English
language because of its close
affinity in phonology and
morphology with the nine major
Philippine dialects. The English
alphabet is generally identical in
letter symbols and letter sounds
with the alphabet of the Philippine
dialects. Where the English
alphabetic code is only generally
phoneme-based, all Philippine
languages and dialects are purely
phonetic.
Fourth, English is indisputably
the primary access tool to
knowledge, information and
quality education, having the
largest storehouse of curricular
materials in print, IT and other
pedagogical media. Thus, the
Filipino’s learning curve could
easily be fast-tracked, unlike other
Asians, who first have to study
their lessons from English source
books then translate the same into
their native language; and,
Fifth, English has evolved over
3,000 years from an admixture of
the world’s 50 ancient, renaissance
and modern languages.
We can always revisit and
review our language program. I
strongly recommend that the
House look at the big screen and
consider the following networking
fundamentals. We must prescribe
by law:
One, English as the medium
of instruction in all curricular
subjects, except Filipino subjects,
on all levels of basic education;
Two, a course academic
achievement standard and
intermediate academic goals and
prescribe corresponding Required
Minimum
Academic
Competencies (RMAC) for every
curricular area, subject and ladder
grade in basic education, against
which mentors and learners shall
hone and measure up; and,
Three, two-level kindergarten
grades, by converting all existing
(and about to be established)
barangay day care centers to
Kindergarten 1 for 4-year-olds and
placing the centers’ Education
Component under DepEd’s
general supervision; and establish
school-based Kindergarten 2
sections in all public elementary
schools for 5-year-olds as an
integral component of basic
education, amending, thereof, the
basic education law. Interview by
Abigail M. Macabeo
Rep. JOSEPH A. SANTIAGO
(Lone Dist., Catanduanes)
T
he basic premise, I believe,
upon which our country will be
able to regain our proficiency level
as the third-largest Englishspeaking country in the world, is
to anchor such by encouraging
families to talk with their children
in English. The English language
should be spoken as if it is one’s
native language.
Parents need to monitor their
children until such time that they
become comfortable with it or until
it reaches the point that the
English language is already
spoken of ordinarily by them.
Parents, therefore, should
always communicate with their
children in English whenever they
can and wherever they are.
In this way, parents would be
able to instill in their children the
love for the English language.
Interview by Melissa M. Reyes
Rep. HENEDINA R. ABAD
(Lone Dist., Batanes)
W
e really need to be strategic,
focused yet wholistic in our
approach.
First, we need to ask—what
do we need to do to make sure
that our children develop their oral
and comprehension skills during
their early years in basic
education?
One approach, which I think
is backed up by research and
experience, is to make sure that
our children receive initial
instruction in school using the
native language (or local dialect).
This may sound controversial, but
there is considerable evidence,
which shows that limited or nonEnglish speaking language
learners are generally more likely
to become better readers of
English if their initial instruction in
school is in their native language.
This is the philosophy of the First
Language Program of the
Department of Education. I think,
this is the best way to start if we
need to regain our ability to be
fluent in English.
We cannot expect our
children to learn and master a
material using a language that is
incomprehensible to them. This
results to poor learning
achievements because many
children will not learn how to read
or write well in English since this
is not the language they think nor
function in. Therefore, it is
necessary that the child’s
introduction to learning should be
in his/her native language to
facilitate reading and writing. This
will facilitate the development of
their cognitive maturity, which will
lead to more effective learning in
English and Filipino.
If we simply reduce to making
English as our medium of
instructions, there is the danger
that this may lead to mediocre
levels of achievement for our
children. English is not our native
language—this means that this is
not the language that we think in
nor function in.
We need to develop the
cognitive abilities of our learners
—and this is best done by first
using the language they are most
comfortable with. With enhanced
cognitive abilities, learning English
or any other language for that
matter will be easier.
English as a subject should
be taught well, that is, students
should be equipped with the skills
for both oral and written English.
Therefore, programs should be
implemented to ensure that
teachers have the adequate
competencies to develop in their
students the skill for oral as well
as written English. Interview by
Isagani C. Yambot Jr.
Rep. ROBERTO C. CAJES
(2nd Dist., Bohol)
W
e should take a wholistic
approach to this matter.
From my personal point of
view, we can improve and raise
our proficiency level in English by
taking these steps;
1. Since the decline in
English proficiency among
Filipinos is not merely a language
problem but an education
problem, we must provide
sufficient investment and better
management of the educational
system in the country. We must
increase the salaries of teachers
so that the teaching profession
would once again be an attractive
profession among the youth,
especially the intellectuals. With
a good-paying job, we can hire the
intellectuals and the youth into
going into the teaching profession.
2. We
must
conduct
trainings in English proficiency for
teachers both in public and
private-learning institutions.
These trainings would help
improve teachers’ proficiency in
English.
3. The medium of instruction
in schools should be strictly in
English except in some subjects
where the Filipino language is
required. English language as a
medium of instruction in
classrooms would help the
students think, write and speak
better in English.
4. The DepEd should create
a monitoring and evaluation
board, which would ensure the
high level of competence and
proficiency of teachers, the use of
English in schools, and in carrying
out programs which would raise
the teachers’ and students’
standards and proficiency in the
English language.
5. Business dealings and
transactions, both in private
enterprises and government
should be done in English.
6. Both the government and
private sectors should join hands
in instituting reforms and
programs which would help
improve our English language
proficiency.
These six steps should be the
basics in our attempt to regain our
“lost” international recognition as
the third-largest English-speaking
country in the world. Interview by
Michelle M. Sapnu
6
June 2006
INA Foundation Inc.
Help for grieving mothers
By Ronald M. Ytem
THE DEATH of
a child is the
most painful
experience of a
mother. It is also
most unnatural.
For, isn’t the parent supposed
to bury the child, and not the
other way around?
Drawing strength from the
deep wound created by the
untimely deaths of their children,
Gina de Venecia, wife of House
Speaker Jose de Venecia, and
radio-television personality Ali
Sotto, formed the Inang Naulila sa
Anak (INA) Foundation Inc. The
INA Healing Center project inside
the Department of Social Welfare
and Development (DSWD)
compound in Batasan Hills,
Quezon City is a sprawling twostor y building and will be
completed sometime August
2006.
The very first of its kind in
the country and in the Southeast
Asian region, INA aims to provide
grief counseling and a haven for
mournful mothers who have lost
their children.
De Venecia’s youngest
daughter, Kristina Casimira
(“KC”), 16, died in a fire in their
house in Dasmariñas Village,
Makati City last December 2004.
The year before, also in December,
Sotto’s son, Miko, 21, fell from his
9th floor condominium window in
Mandaluyong City.
Dr. Honey Carandang, “one
of the best grief therapists in the
world,” according to de Venecia, is
one of the foundation’s leading
advisers. INA is supported by the
DSWD, represented by asst.
secretary Alicia Bala.
The idea was conceived last
March 16, 2005 when 15 mothers
orphaned by their children
gathered for the first time to talk
about their fate. INA took shape
and substance during that meeting.
It will be a place of therapy where
mothers will be with people who
understand their pain, and experts
who will help them recover from
the harrowing despair of losing
their beloved children.
“Only when we share our
painful experiences do we acquire
Government Agencies that
Provide Frontline Services to
Provide the Public Information on
How to Access Such Services from
their Respective Offices,” is the
response to repor ts that
corruption still per vades in
government.
The
billboards
and
handbooks or primers must
contain the following: steps or
procedures to obtain a service,
person/s responsible for each step,
maximum time to complete the
process, documents to be
presented and amount of fees, if
necessary; and procedures for
filing a complaint in case of
violation or neglect.
Information materials should
be printed or disseminated in the
language commonly used in the
HOUSE GOES HI-TECH. Speaker Jose de Venecia (left) with Rep. Simeon
Kintanar, House information and communications technology committee
chair, leads inauguration ceremonies of the House’s own ICT e-Learning
Center to help officials and staff gain higher computer and software skills.
the compassion to help others in
similar sorrow,” de Venecia said.
“Instead of drowning ourselves in
grief, we go out of our small worlds
and try to help others.”
INA is currently recruiting
members within Metro Manila and
the provinces. Interested parties
may contact Grace or Ed at their
Makati office at Tel. Nos. 813-6257.
Marcos victims
closer to P8-B claim
Fighting corruption
with billboards
FINDING it difficult to get a
government permit or license?
Intimidated by bureaucrats or
fixers? Are you paying the right
fees to local government? Clear,
incontrovertible information
written in billboards, handbooks
and primers could probably solve
these problems.
Rep. Emmanuel Joel J.
Villanueva’s (Party-list, CIBAC)
House Bill 3309, the “Frontline
Ser vice Information Act,”
approved by the House and now
pending in the Senate, is gaining
adherents with help from Sen. Pia
S. Cayetano.
Frontline services refer to
services rendered by a government
agency involving direct interaction
and delivery of public service,
including receiving and processing
applications, issuing any privilege,
right, permit, reward, license,
concession or modification, and
renewal or extension.
Villanueva said HB 3009,
“An
Act
Requiring
all
FOUNTAIN OF HOPE. President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and Speaker Jose
de Venecia lead inaugural rites for the future site of the INA Foundation
building, marked by a fountain, at the DSWD complex in Constitution Hills,
Quezon City. Also in photo are (from left) Rep. Amelita Villarosa, CSFI
President Gina de Venecia, media celebrity Ali Sotto (behind President
Arroyo), INA therapist Dr. Honey Carandang (to President Arroyo’s left) and
lawyer Lorna Kapunan.
agency’s area, and in English. The
billboards must be updated
regularly, maintained in good,
readable condition, and located at
the agency entrance.
Denying a service request
shall be fully explained in writing,
stating the name of the person
making the denial, grounds for
denial, with permission or
clearance from the highest
authority with jurisdiction over
the agency concerned. Under
unusual circumstances, the
maximum time expressed in the
billboards or handbooks to access
to government services may be
extended.
Public officials or employees
who violate or willfully neglect any
provision of the Act shall be
suspended from service for one
month for the first offense, six
months for the second and
dismissal for the third.
Despite RA 6713, declaring
State policy to promote a high
standard of ethics in public service,
in 2003 alone, at least 20 percent
of the national budget, or P160.8
billion, was lost to corruption.
A 1999 Asia Foundation
study said roughly 22 percent of
respondents said a government
official asked for money to speed
up transactions. A Transparency
International study showed that
every P2,000 tax collectible netted
only P1,000 for the government
with P500 going to corruption and
collusion, and the remainder
going through collection
“defects.” Ronald M. Ytem
HUMAN rights victims of the
Marcos regime may soon obtain
justice, with approval by an
overwhelming vote of 140 on third
reading of House Bill 3315, which
provides for their compensation
amounting to P8 billion, tax-free,
from former President Marcos’
estate.
The 9,539 victims who won a
class suit in the Hawaii District
Court in 1995 will have priority in
compensation with the funds to be
sourced from the P35-billion
Marcos deposits granted to the
government by Swiss courts,
adjudged by the Philippine
Supreme Court to be “ill-gotten
wealth.”
Rep. Loretta Ann P. Rosales
(Party-List, Akbayan) said the bill
makes leaders realize that if they
commit human rights violations,
they must be accountable. Rep.
Satur C. Ocampo (Party-List, Bayan
Muna) said the main objective is
for government to acknowledge its
responsibility for the previous
government’s violation of the
victims’ rights.
However, Reps. Jesus Crispin
C. Remulla (3rd Dist., Cavite) and
Joaquin V. Paras (1st Dist, Negros
Oriental) said the money should be
channelled to the agrarian reform
program which, they said, is in crisis.
Rosales said the money is not
being taken away from the agrarian
program. “When the money was
transferred in escrow to the
Philippine coffers, there was a tacit
agreement that due process show
that the money is ill-gotten and that
a share should go to the human
rights victims. Congress is merely
complying with this agreement.”
Rep. Teodoro A. Casino
(Party-List, Bayan Muna) said the
bill is not about money. “This is
about justice. We cannot pay for
lives lost. It is unfortunate and
shameful that a foreign court had
to tell us that the victims should
demand compensation for what
happened to them.” Melissa M.
Reyes
The FORUM BAGS ANVIL. The FORUM, official House of Representatives
newsletter, bagged an Anvil award for its clean, sober and factual reports.
Speaker de Venecia won a separate Anvil award for his advocacy of the debtfor-equity program, proposing to convert half of the heavily-indebted
countries’ debts into equity in sustainable development projects identified
with the UN’s Millennium Development Goals. Emmanuel A. Albano (2nd from
right), The FORUM editorial board chairman and Deputy Secretary-General
for public relations and information, accepted the award on behalf of The
FORUM editors and staff during the PRSP’s 41st National Anvil Awards Night
at the Manila Hotel last April 20.
June 2006
7
White elephant no more
By Melissa M. Reyes
WHEN he
returned to
the House of
Representatives
in 2004, after
a hiatus from Congress for six
years, Rep. Catalino V. Figueroa
(2 nd Dist., Western Samar)
couldn’t wait to tackle the many
unfinished or barely completed
projects in Western Samar while
he was away.
One such project was the
Antiao Bridge in Catbalogan.
Although completed in 2001, it
was impassable—it wasn’t
connected to land. For years, it
stood in the middle of the sea, a
specter of neglect.
“It was a white elephant,”
Figueroa said, “so old it looked
like it was built in the 1920s and
could collapse anytime.” Although
just a little more than 50 meters
in length, it was a vital link for
thousands of barangay residents in
the second district.
They could not travel to
Calbayog City in the first district—
in fact, to the whole of Samar
because it was an artery—a part of
the Pan-Philippine Highway
connecting the whole island to the
rest of the country.
With Antiao Bridge, one can
go northwards to Gandara,
Western Samar and Allen in
Northern Samar, cross the sea to
San Bernardino Strait, then
Matnog, Sorsogon and onwards to
Manila. Or southwards to Tacloban
City, Southern Leyte, cross the sea
to Surigao Strait and reach
Mindanao.
Right after being proclaimed
winner in 2004—even before
t aking his oath as Western
Samar’s
2 nd
district
representative—he immediately
gave the contractors an
ultimatum: “I am now the
congressman. Tatapusin ninyo ba
yan o hindi?” He boldly made the
demand because he knew the
contractors have been paid. It was
also a campaign promise—that
when he returns to Congress, he
would fix the bridge.
He talked to ever ybody
involved—the contractors for the
bridge, road widening, desilting
and seawalls repair, the district
engineer, municipal officials, and
all the people affected by the
infrastructure.
Fixing the bridge was a
challenge, st ar ting with the
financial hurdle. “Nagpa-assess
kami sa DPWH, and were told we
would need a hefty sum,” he said,
the most costly being the
approaches on both ends of the
bridge, or more than P3 million
each. Undeterred, he started
rehabilitation work, sometimes
even using his own money. He
desilted the creek under the
bridge, which was dirty and
clogged, it flooded the nearby
barangays during rainy months
because of the silt build-up.
By 2005, the infrastructure
was completed. Today, buses ferry
Catbalogan’s residents, their
visitors and tourists, over Antiao
MUCH-AWAITED LINK. View from the Antiao
Bridge, Barangay Mercedes, approach going
southwards to the southern towns of
Tacloban City, Samar
Bridge—just one of the many
promises fulfilled for constituents.
Other projects Figueroa
completed in the last two years or
contributed part of his PDAF to
include multi-purpose buildings
with covered courts (P1.5 million
each), roads rehabilitation and
repair, seawalls, rock causeways,
drainage canals, new government
office buildings in Zumarraga
now halfway complete, and spring
water development projects.
Upon returning to Congress,
he immediately filed bills seeking
Republic Act 9344
The Juvenile and Welfare Act of 2006
By Raymond G. Pasiliao
SIX years ago,
one
million
c h i l d r e n
worldwide were
deprived of their
liberty and more
than 30,000 children were in jails
nationwide, provincial jails
included. In the first quarter of
2003 alone, 4,544 children—441
girls—had been imprisoned.
In Southern Mindanao, more
than half of 10 child prisoners were
sexually and psychologically
abused, majority of them females,
while held by authorities, including
the barangay and police, a 1992
study said.
These reports compelled the
need for a separate justice system
for juvenile delinquents. That law
is now Republic Act 9344, or The
Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act of
2006.
Under the prevailingly
punitive character of the justice
system, juvenile delinquents, now
“children in conflict with the law
(CICL),” were meted adult
punishments like death penalty
and life imprisonment, and
languished in overcrowded jails
with adult rapists, murderers, drug
addicts and dealers.
Thus, RA 9344 laid down the
basic principles in administering
juvenile justice and welfare.
Following are the rights of CICL:
• No torture or other cruel,
inhuman,
degrading
treatment or punishment;
• No capital punishment or
life imprisonment sentence;
• Not to be deprived of
liberty, with detention or
prison as the last resort, which
should be for the shortest
period;
• Humanity and respect,
considering his/her needs due
his or her age;
• The right to legal access and
other appropriate assistance;
• The right to bail and
recognizance; and
• The right to privacy in all
stages of the proceedings.
A most significant provision is
Section 6, which sets the minimum
age of criminal responsibility. A
child 15 years old or under shall
be exempt from criminal liability,
but subjected to an intervention
program. Likewise, with a child
above 15 years old but below,
unless he or she acted with
discernment.
To take a CICL into custody,
the law officer must: properly
identify himself/herself with
proper identification; explain in
simple language why the CICL is
being taken into custody; and
explain the offense committed.
Respect for the child’s dignity
means no vulgar or profane
language, harassment or sexual
abuse. The law officer should not
display or use any firearm, weapon,
handcuff or other instruments of
force or restraint unless all other
methods of control are
exhausted.
No later than eight hours
after custody, the CICL shall
be turned over to the social
welfare and development
office or other accredited
NGOs and notify the child’s
parents/guardians and
Public Attorney’s Office of
the child’s apprehension.
The law prohibits
branding or labeling youth
offenders, attaching to
them derogatory names,
discriminatory remarks
and practices, particularly
as to class or ethnicity.
The law prohibits
threats, curses, beating,
stripping,
solitary
confinement, inhuman
and cruel punishment
like head shaving,
pouring irritating,
harmful substances on the child’s
body, forcing the child to wear signs
to embarrass, humiliate and
degrade, and compel them to
perform involuntary servitude.
Violations are punishable by
a fine of P20,000 to P50,000 or
imprisonment of eight to 10 years,
or both. A public official shall
suffer perpetual absolute
disqualification from public office.
The law establishes the
Juvenile Justice and Welfare
Council attached to the justice
department headed by the DSWD.
It shall develop a comprehensive
three-to-five-year national juvenile
intervention program with
government agencies, NGOs and
youth organizations’ participation.
to convert into national roads the
junction-provincial roads of Sta.
Rita, Villareal, San Sebastian,
Pinabacdao, and Lokilokon-San
Jose de Buan. All have passed the
House and awaiting Senate
approval.
Education being his forte (he
was a schoolteacher in Samar),
Figueroa has constructed many 1or-2-classroom schoolbuildings.
He has also filed a bill seeking
cityhood for Catbalogan. It is
now with the Local Governments
Senate Committee.
The law’s emphasis is
diversion. Instead of jail, as much
as possible, the CICL shall perform
community
service
for
rehabilitation, treatment, training,
counseling or therapy, instilling
respect for the rights and freedom
of others, and reintegration into
the family and community.
Automated elections
Continued from page 1
electronic display immediately
showing results; access for disabled
and illiterate voters; and data
retention.
Candidates and citizens’ arm
or their representatives may
examine the equipment to be
used no later than five days before
the elections.
Partido ng Manggagawa Rep.
Renato B. Magtubo said
automated elections will “partly
restore trust in our political
institutions.” Rep. Isidoro E. Real
Jr. (1st Dist., Zamboanga del Sur),
political veteran since 1947, said
automation will greatly minimize
fraud and deceit in the present
“antiquated” system.
But Reps. Joaquin V. Paras (1st
Dist., Negros Oriental) and
Antonio H. Cerilles (2 nd Dist.,
Zamboanga del Sur) doubt
automation will ensure clean
elections, citing cheating during
the US’ George Bush-Al Gore
election despite a highlyautomated system.
Rep. Benigno S. Aquino III
(2nd Dist., Tarlac), who voted no,
said automation has the converse
potential for more efficient
cheating. The “I love you” virus
and abundance of hackers could
use the system for more foolproof
ways to cheat, he said.
8
June 2006
„ Interview
more harmful than the loophole
in the system that they wish to
plug.
with Rep. Robert Ace S. Barbers
Justice on a human scale
THE NEW
clamor for the
repeal of the
death penalty
law is wellmeaning, but ignores the growing crime
problem vis-à-vis the reality of limited
law enforcement resources, says Rep.
Robert Ace S. Barbers (2nd Dist.,
Surigao del Norte).
In a country that must deal yearly
with a huge budget deficit, lawmakers
must work to reduce serious crime
without prohibitive expenditures or
political stalemates.
The top item on the agenda is to
satisfy crime-reduction with an eye on
the budgetary and political imperatives
on the one hand, and its impact on
the most dangerous offender on the
other. This is the core of Barbers’
beliefs—inherited from his father, the
late Sen. Robert Barbers, who made a
name as a crime-buster—one of the best
in the country and in Southeast Asia.
His views:
Why are you for the death
penalty?
First, I am convinced that the
death penalty is a clear deterrent
to crime. A law of this kind,
perhaps, creates some fear in the
minds of the criminals before
they’d attempt to commit anything
Social workers
Continued from page 3
a law to protect them in the
practice of their profession, make
them more responsive and betterequipped in delivering social
services, uphold their rights and
give them due remuneration for
their workload, such as overtime
pay.”
Among the proposals are the
following: except in emergency
situations, social workers have the
unlawful and heinous. Second, I
believe the death-penalty law
should be carried out to its
fullest—before anyone can raise the
criticism that the law does not
serve the purpose for which it was
enacted. It is sometimes foolishly
argued that it is better to set free
10 guilty convicts than convict one
innocent man. If the killing of an
innocent man through human
error is the argument for
abolishing the death penalty, then
why do we still allow the
manufacture, sale and use of guns
and other weapons of war that
have claimed—and continue to
claim—millions of lives and
threaten us all?
There is a view that the reimposition of the death penalty
did not actually lower the crime
rate. What’s your comment?
There is a direct relation
between the death penalty and
crime. The statistics will reveal
this. That’s the reason I argued
that it would be unfair to say that
it is ineffective in deterring crime
if the government has not even
fully implemented the law. A quick
look at the history of the death
penalty law in the Philippines
reveals to us that the death penalty
right to a written notice when
reassigned; married couples, who
are social welfare workers, shall be
assigned to the same municipality
whenever possible; they must get
hazard pay, subsistence allowance,
longevity pay and health and
medical maintenance insurance.
The bill proposes to professionalize
appointments at the LGU level to
prevent LGU heads from
interfering with the workers’
assignments. ICYJr.
was repealed with the adoption of
the 1987 Constitution. It was reimposed in 1995 by the 9 th
Congress, after some gruesome
crimes that made popular the
definition of crime as heinous.
But even after the enactment of
this law, the number of those
actually put to death was very
minimal. It was probably 10 or
even less. My point is that for us
to have a full measure of the
impact of the law, it should be fully
implemented. While human error
may possibly lead to the wrongful
conviction of an innocent person,
it cannot be the excuse to dispense
with the penalty. The solution of
anti-death proponents is clearly
Extra funds for AFP,
PNP
GOVERNMENT royalties and
taxes from the Malampaya Natural
Gas Project and revenues from
firearms permits and licenses could
be tapped for additional funding
for programs to modernize the
Armed Forces and the Philippine
National Police. Rep. Danilo E.
Suarez (3rd Dist., Quezon) said the
annual appropriations for both
But there is bipartisan
support in Congress for
abolishing the death penalty. Are
you intimidated?
No I’m not. Those are their
views, and I respect them. There
are different schools of thought
that we all must explore at the
point of decision. I am just gravely
concerned that there is an
increased pressure for lifting the
death penalty at a time journalists
and activists are being killed
indiscriminately, and when
innocent people are being killed
in bank robberies, and others.
This is why we are seeking the full
implementation of the death
penalty law and its provisions.
Why not rehabilitative
justice for convicts?
I’m not closing my mind to
the arguments of the anti-death
penalty advocates. If there are
other proposals on the table, then
I’m willing to listen to their
suggestions. I’m seriously
considering, in fact proposing,
amendments to the law.
Catholic, but that should not be
the basis for arguing the law should
not be implemented. It is often
argued that the death penalty is
anti-religion. This is grossly flawed.
In our time, the logic is clear why a
criminal must be put to death. It is
to atone for his sins—it is justice on
a human scale.
There is an argument that
the death penalty is anti-poor.
What is your view?
No. There’s always a
presumption of regularity in the
justice system. If you say a penalty
is anti-poor, then you’re telling us
that the whole justice system is
anti-poor. Before the justice system
could convict anyone, the entire
case must pass through a tedious
trial, where evidence reigns
supreme. The decision made by
the lower courts is reviewed over
and over by the appellate courts
and finally by the magisterial
Supreme Court, composed of 15
of our best legal minds, to ensure
that the decision is fair and
impartial—and to make sure that
the occurrence of human error
decision is absent.
We are a predominantly
Christian country—and the
Church is against the death
penalty.
Yes, we are predominantly
Surveys in the Philippines 15
years ago showed majority
support for the death penalty.
What is the current thinking?
I firmly believe that there’s a
silent majority that favors the
death penalty.
agencies
and
the
AFP
Modernization Act (RA 7898),
which
provides
annual
appropriation to the AFP
Modernization Act Trust Fund, are
not enough.
In House Bill 4335, Suarez
proposes to amend Executive Order
256, which will revise the PNP’s fees
and charges and grant the agency the
“discretion” and “prerogative” to
retain 20 percent of its revenue
collections for the PNP’s direct and
operational expenses. The PNP
needs to improve its quick response,
forensic laboratory and assistance
programs like scholarships for
children of slain or incapacitated
police personnel.
Another Suarez bill (HB 4336)
proposes to allocate the
government’s share on taxes,
royalties and charges collected from
the Malampaya project for the AFP
program which requires “massive”
funding to upgrade its technology
and equipment, and build and
improve its facilities. MMR
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OR UNAUTHORIZED USE
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TEL. NOS. 9315335 and 9315001 LOCAL 7651 OR 7552
For updates, visit
www.congress.gov.ph