May - July 2005
Vol. 2, No. 3
Official Newsletter of the
House of Representatives
Republic of the Philippines
ISSN 1656-507X
PARTIES URGE CHARTER REFORM
Reject coups, Call for complete Comelec overhaul
S
2nd Regular Session
ALL SET
By Melissa M. Reyes
A
FTER a string of
economic
reforms
accomplished in the First
Regular session despite a
difficult year, the 236-strong
House membership is prepared
to tackle an even more critical
period, this time with political
reforms expected to be put in
place once the Second Regular
Session of the 13th Congress
opens on July 25.
“When the First Regular
Session opened last year, we
focused on improving the
country’s fiscal position,”
Speaker Jose de Venecia said.
Continued on page 3
PARTNERS
for a
SLUM-FREE
p.2
RP
An END to
SMUGGLING?
p.3
HIGHEST FRENCH DECORATION. Speaker Jose de Venecia is conferred the Officier Legion d’ Honneur, France’s
highest honor, by Minister of Industry Francois Loos in Paris last month for being one of Asia’s peacemakers and
for his landmark initiatives such as the global inter-faith dialogue approved by the United Nations to mediate
ethnic and politico-religious conflicts, and for wide-ranging Philippine socio-economic reforms that he helped
create. De Venecia’s conferment with France’s highest honor instituted by Napoleon was witnessed by (from left)
Philippine Ambassador to France Hector Villaroel, Reps. Monico Puentevella, Juan Miguel Zubiri, Janette Garin,
and Rolex Suplico (partly hidden).
Tapes played, Tatad named source
House inquiry to resume August 3
By Diony P. Tubianosa
T
HE FILIPINO people are not
to be denied the right to know
the truth.
For the first time in the
nation’s political history, the ruling
majority coalition in the House of
Representatives voted with the
opposition bloc to let the nation
listen to the alleged wiretapped
conversations between an official
of the Commission on Elections
(Comelec) and prominent names
in Philippine politics, including
President Gloria Macapagal
Arroyo.
Continued on page 2
EVENTEEN of the country’s
political parties and party-list
groups have called for an
“immediate revision” of the 1987
Constitution “as the proper and
correct starting point to reestablish the harmony and
stability of the nation.”
In a statement following a
three-hour meeting, senior party
leaders also urged a revamp of the
Commission on Elections
(Comelec) “so that the integrity of
elections by which the sovereign
will is made known shall be put
beyond question and suspicion.”
The party leaders sitting in the
standing committee of the
Philippine Political Parties
Conference chaired by Speaker
Jose de Venecia agreed to oppose
coups, rebellions, insurrections
and subversion and any form of
violence “as solutions to the
political problems of the country.”
“We therefore support the
Constitution and the Rule of Law,”
the leaders said in a joint
statement.
“We believe that the best
resolution of the present crisis is
provided by the present
constitution…We pledge our
concerted effort for reforms in our
entire political, social and
economic condition so as to
modernize
our
national
community,” they said.
Continued on page 2
Tobias Engay
REFORMING
EDUCATION:
Where to
start? p.4
FRESH
MANDATE
for CSFI
leaders p.6
REVIVING
the rivers
p.7
INTERVIEW:
Sparking
a chain of
events p.8
CHARTER REFORM NOW. The heads and senior leaders of 17 Philippine political parties and party-list groups unanimously agreed to call for immediate Charter
reform and a complete overhaul of the Commission on Elections as starting points for re-establishing the “harmony and stability” of the nation. Speaker Jose de
Venecia chaired the meeting of the standing committee at the Manila Hotel. Photo shows the party heads and leaders during the signing of their joint statement,
a copy of which was sent to President Macapagal-Arroyo, less than two weeks before she delivers her State-of-the-Nation Address on July 25. Seated are (from
left) Rep. Robert “Ace” Barbers, Lakas-CMD;former Secretary Heherson Alvarez, Lakas-CMD; Rep. Luis Villafuerte, Kabalikat ng Malayang Pilipino (Kampi); Sen.
Edgardo Angara, Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino (LDP); Speaker de Venecia, Lakas-CMD; Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile, Partido ng Masang Pilipino (PMP); Manila
Mayor Lito Atienza, Liberal Party (LP); and former Justice Rodolfo Palattao, KKK Laban. Standing are (from left) Rep. Roque Ablan, Lakas-CMD-KBL; Ms. Zita dela
Cruz, Veterans Freedom Party; Maximo Dalog, LDP; Rep. Miguel Romero, LDP; Rep. Jesli Lapus, Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC); Rep. Rolando Andaya, LP;
Rep. Edcel Lagman, Aksyon Demokratiko; Rep. Teodoro Locsin, PDP-Laban; Rep. Juan Miguel Zubiri, Lakas-CMD; Quezon City Mayor Sonny Belmonte, Lakas-CMD;
Rep. Rene Velarde, Buhay; Secretary Norberto Gonzales, Partidong Demokratiko-Sosyalista ng Pilipinas (PDSP); Rep. Eulogio Magsaysay, Alliance of Volunteer
Educators (AVE); Rep. Jorge Paterno, Butil; Rep. Juan Bondoc, Nacionalista Party; and Rep. Rodante Marcoleta, Alagad.
2
May - July 2005
Continued from page 1
Speaker Jose de Venecia
himself ordered the use of the
Plenary Hall of the House to ensure
maximum transparency in the
conduct of the five-committee
inquir y on the controversial
recordings.
Media devoted live coverage
since the start of the hearing—
presided over by Rep. Gilbert
Remulla (2nd Dist., Cavite), chair
of the Committee on Public
Information—which unearthed
vital information not previously
known to the nation: former Sen.
Francisco Tatad was the source of
the audiotapes from which lawyer
Alan Paguia produced the spliced
tapes first released to the media in
June. Tatad and Paguia are both
Charter reform
Continued from page 1
Two major opposition
figures—Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile,
chairman of former President
associated with deposed President
Joseph Estrada.
The 32-minute Paguia tapes
and Tatad’s three-hour source tapes
were played in full—and aired live.
“A breakthrough,” Remulla called
the playing of the audiotapes. “We
caused a chain of events with our
hearings…we did accomplish so
much.” (See p. 8 for full text of
interview).
The hearings are scheduled to
resume on August 3.
Tatad himself appeared at the
hearings but two other vital
resource persons—former NBI
deputy director Samuel Ong and
former Comelec commissioner
Virgilio Garcillano failed to appear
in the joint hearings.
The inquir y is jointly
conducted by the Committee on
Public Information chaired by Rep.
Joseph Estrada’s Partido ng Masang
Pilipino, and Sen. Edgardo Angara
of the LDP—argued that charter
reform will usher in other reforms
“so that we can all create the kind
of society we want.”
House-Gawad Kalinga
project envisions
slum-free Philippines
By Abigail M. Macabeo
WITH the vision to achieve a slumfree Philippines, the House of
Representatives and the GawadKalinga have teamed up for a project
to build affordable and decent
homes for the country’s homeless.
The First Kalinga Pilipinas
Congressional District Housing
Program aims to build low-cost
homes using Gawad Kalinga’s tested
methods, as initiated by Speaker
Jose de Venecia and Rep. Eduardo
Zialcita, chairman of the House
Committee on Housing and
Urban Development.
Gawad Kalinga, a nongovernment organization known for
helping the poor build their homes
guided by their vision of a slum-free
Philippines, will lead the private
sector in this multi-sectoral project.
Under the program, every
House Member is encouraged to
provide P10 million every year for
three years to jumpstart the
construction of housing units in
identified sites per district from the
PDAF or DPWH Hard
Infrastructure Allocation Fund, or
a combination of both.
“We hope that in three years,
we should be able to build 200-500
units per district,” Rep. Zialcita
estimated.
At
least
50
Congressmen have signified their
commitment to the project while
others cite existing joint-venture
projects with GK.
GK Executive Director
Antonio Meloto explained during
the orientation last June how this
fund will multiply four times with
the House fund ser ving as
triggering factor to tap multisectoral cooperation. Labor is free
because it will come from the
family-beneficiaries and volunteers.
The land will be donated either by
the local government units or by
private individuals and entities.
Just like a GK shelter project,
the First Kalinga Pilipinas will
inspire members of the community
to join in a collective effort. The
poor will feel empowered when
they contribute labor for the
construction of their houses and
share in the process of building a
new community, GK’s Maria
Montelibano noted.
A memorandum of agreement
is expected to be signed by the last
week of July between the House of
Representatives, Housing and
Urban Development Coordinating
Council, Department of Social
Welfare and Development, GK and
CREBA
Social
Housing
Foundation Inc.
Under the project, the
HUDCC will oversee and monitor
the implementation of the project,
while the DSWD will be
responsible for the community and
social preparation in the identified
housing sites. The necessar y
technical support will be provided
by CSHFI.
Tobias Engay
Tapes played
IN PLENARY. Chairmen of the five committees in joint hearings over the wiretapped tapes: (from left) Reps.
Belma Cabilao, Amado Espino, Gilbert Remulla, Teodoro Locsin Jr., and Simeon Kintanar.
Remulla as lead panel; the
Committee on Public Order and
Safety led by Rep. Amado Espino,
Jr.; the Committee on National
Defense and Security headed by
Rep. Belma Cabilao; the
Committee on Information
Communications Technology
headed by Rep. Simeon Kintanar;
and the Committee on Suffrage
and Electoral Reforms chaired by
Rep. Teodoro Locsin Jr.
The joint inquiry, in aid of
legislation, took its course
following a privilege speech
delivered by Minority Leader Rep.
Francis Escudero of Sorsogon.
Also questioned during the
month-long intermittent hearings
were Presidential Spokesman
Ignacio Bunye, NBI Director
Reynaldo Wycoco and Sgt. Vidal
Doble of the Philippine Air Force..
Meanwhile, two impeachment
complaints have been separately
filed in the House, one endorsed
by Rep. Rodante Marcoleta (Party
List, Alagad) and the other by Rep.
Antonio Alvarez (1st Dist.,
Palawan).
De Venecia, president of the
ruling Lakas-CMD, in presiding
over the meeting, said Charter
reform would “put an end to this
system of divided government.”
The Speaker later presented
the 12-point statement to President
Macapagal-Arroyo, who was
reportedly in favor of cutting short
her term to accelerate charter
reform as her “biggest legacy to the
country.”
The statement was signed by
de Venecia and Quezon City Mayor
Feliciano Belmonte, Lakas
executive vice president; Manila
Mayor Lito Atienza, chairman of
the Liberal Party; Sen. Angara,
LDP president; Sen. Enrile, PMP
chairman; Rep. Jesli Lapus of the
Nationalist People’s Coalition;
Rep. Teodoro Locsin Jr., of PDPLaban; National Security Adviser
Norberto Gonzalez of the PDSP;
Rep. Edcel Lagman of Aksyon
Demokratiko; former Rep. Rimpy
Bondoc of the Nacionalista Party;
Rep. Luis Villafuerte of Kampi;
Justice R. Palattao of the KKKLaban; and party-list Reps. Rodante
Marcoleta (Alagad), Rene Velarde
(Buhay), Eulogio Magsaysay (AVE),
George Paterno representing Rep.
Leonila Chavez (Butil), and Roger
Rosel representing Rep. Ernesto
Pablo (Apec).
Also in attendance were Lakas
Rep. Robert “Ace” Barbers, who
headed the preparatory workshop
committees, Rep. Roque Ablan Jr.,
Rep. Juan Miguel Zubiri and former
Sen. Heherson Alvarez; Rep. Victor
Sumulong of Kampi, and former
Rep. Miguel Romero and Gov.
Maximo Dalog of the LDP
De Venecia said Charter
reform would be a top priority of
the House when the 13th Congress
opens its Second Regular Session
on July 25, calling it the “mother
of all reforms” to put Philippine
economic recovery on a sustained
trajectory.
The party heads assigned top
priority to other wide-ranging
reforms, including public financing
for political parties to limit the
inf luence of “big money” on
national politics, the setting up of
a professional and higher-paid civil
service, and creating jobs and social
wealth.
The parties recognized the
urgency of pushing debt reduction
and debt-to-equity conversion as
proposed by the Philippines
through Speaker de Venecia to help
more than 100 debt-ridden nations
worldwide to achieve the UN
Millennium Development Goals
(MDGs) of halving poverty by
2015.
“We urge the Administration
to redouble its diplomatic efforts
to bring the Philippine proposal for
finalization before the United
Nations, Paris Club, and the IMFWorld Bank,” the parties said.
They also urged the
government to follow up on its
efforts to open up the mining
industry, develop the information
technology sector and modernize
agriculture.
De Venecia said the House of
Representatives
would
simultaneously tackle the
impeachment complaint filed
against President MacapagalArroyo.
PHILIPPINE POLITICAL PARTIES CONFERENCE 2005
Statement of the Standing Committee of the Philippine Political Parties Conference
July 12, 2005, Manila Hotel
I. We believe that the best resolution of the present crisis is
provided by the present Constitution.
II. We therefore support the Constitution and the Rule of Law, and
oppose coups, rebellions, insurrections, subversions or any form of
violence as solutions to the political problems of the country.
III. We urge the immediate revision of the Constitution as the proper
and correct starting point to re-establish the harmony and stability of
the nation, and to address our social backwardness and slow
economic progress.
IV. We pledge our concerted effort for reforms in our entire political,
social and economic condition so as to modernize our national
community.
V. To these ends, and as an earnest of our sincere desire and
conviction, we call for the complete overhaul of the Commission on
Elections, so that the integrity of elections by which the sovereign
will is made known shall be put beyond question and suspicion.
VI. Crises often serve to bring clarity and urgency to basic questions
of what must be done. Like many other citizens, we have come to
conclude that our political problem is systemic.
The divided government produced unavoidably by the checks
and balances of the presidential system simply does not work in the
context of our present-day politics.
To put an end to this system of divided government, we join
our voices to those calling for a constitutional change from the
presidential to the parliamentary federal system.
VII. Such a basic shift will require corresponding changes in other
aspects of the political system which we bind ourselves to undertake.
VIII. We need to modernize our political parties-to make them
efficient channels of popular expression, and effective instruments of
representative and responsive government.
To limit the influence of ‘big money’ on national politics, we will
support public financing for mainstream political parties, in the
context of electoral reforms that will outlaw promiscuous partyswitching.
IX. Democratic practice comes down to the machinery of
government. We must set up a professional and higher-paid civil
service that can aspire to bureaucratic meritocracy. We undertake to
work together to pass a Civil Service Code that will make merit and
fitness the foundations of a strong and upright bureaucracy.
X. We urge the Administration to take urgent steps to generate jobs
and create social wealth. Reinvigorating the tourism industry is the
easiest stimulant-through ‘open skies’ for Koreans, Taiwanese and
Chinese travelers into Northern Luzon, Clark Field, Cebu, Boracay,
Bohol, and Palawan.
Government should also follow up on its efforts to open up the
mining industry, develop the information- technology sector, and
modernize agriculture.
XI. A number of European institutions have expressed interest in the
Philippine proposal for a major debt- reduction and debt-to-equity
conversion initiative in crucial development projects to defeat mass
poverty in 100 debt-ridden countries and dramatically advance the
U.N. Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
The Paris Club, with its core group of the G-8 richest countries
has formed a Technical Team to study the Philippine proposal. The
Italian Government has favorably endorsed this initiative. We urge
the Administration to redouble its diplomatic efforts to bring the
Philippine proposal for finalization before the United Nations, Paris
Club, and the IMF-World Bank.
XII. We acknowledge the preparatory work of the seven Workshop
Committees of the Conference in arriving at this consensus as
incorporated in this Statement and the Workshop Outputs.
May - July 2005
3
Paris Club creates technical panel to study
JDV’s debt-for-equity program
T
HE PHILIPPINES has
achieved “significant progress”
and a likely breakthrough in its
proposal for a large-scale debt-forequity in new development projects
to help heavily indebted nations
achieve the UN goal of halving
world poverty in 10 years.
Speaker Jose de Venecia
informed President MacapagalArroyo of this development in a
letter following his recent fivenation swing through Europe to
present and campaign for the
proposal.
Paris Club president JeanPierre Jouyet created a “Technical
Committee” to further study the
proposal, and senior British
Treasury officials assured de
Venecia that Great Britain would
join the Paris Club technical panel
in assessing the proposal’s
workability, the Speaker said.
Pres. Macapagal-Arroyo and
Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto
Romulo have endorsed the debtrelief proposal for consideration
by the UN General Assembly and
the G-8 nations, de Venecia said.
De Venecia further said the
Italian government of Prime
Minister Silvio Berlusconi has
endorsed
the
Philippine
proposal—a breakthrough since
Italy is a member of the G-8, the
world’s richest industrialized
nations, that forms the core of the
Paris Club.
A letter to de Venecia by the
Italian ambassador to the
Philippines Umberto Colesanti
said Berlusconi agrees with the
Philippine proposal’s objectives to
use debt conversion to fund the
fight against poverty and pursue
the UN Millennium Development
Goals (MDGs).
“I have little doubt that our
proposal has stirred interest and,
even more significantly, triggered
a process of evaluation to
determine whether it is workable
and how its mechanics would
work out in specific development
THE HOUSE Public Relations
and Information Department
(PRID) released the House of
Representatives Directory, 2005
Edition, a limited-copy publication
which
features
contact
information of House Members as
well as various offices of the Lower
Chamber. Also due for
distribution is the House of
projects,” de Venecia wrote Ms.
Arroyo.
De Venecia sent his letter to
the President before receiving the
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Award
as “Champion of OFW
Remittances” for conceiving and
implementing the dollarremittance program, which has
earned for the Philippines $100
billon since its implementation in
1967.
Dollar remittances from
overseas Filipino workers now top
$8 billion a year, and de Venecia’s
program has become a model for
countries with large overseas
workforce such as Turkey, India,
Pakistan and Bangladesh.
De Venecia informed the
President that the debt conversion
proposal, if approved, would
provide debt relief to the
Philippines and some 100 heavily
indebted and medium-income
nations of Asia, Africa, and Latin
America representing more than
two billion peoples.
The debt-for-equity program
seeks to convert 50% of the
current debt ser vice and/or
principal amount into equities for
the lending nations and
institutions and invested in a
series of wealth-creating social
projects.
The program would free
public funds for investment in
debt-for-equity projects, which de
Venecia has identified as
reforestation, mass housing,
hospitals and health care, schools
and classrooms, irrigation and
post-harvest facilities, clean water,
eco-tourism and reclamation, and
mining and other wealth-creating
projects.
“ The countr y’s annual
foreign debt service is a staggering
$4.5 billion. Under this program,
half of this amount—$2.25 billion
or about P112.5 billion, which is
huge in our era of budget deficits—
could be made available for a
menu of specific Philippine
of dollars in bad debt of 18 heavily
indebted African nations.
De Venecia also conferred with
the leaders of the French Senate and
the head of the French National
Assembly, Jean-Louis Debre; the
head of the Vienna-based OPEC
Fund, Suleiman Jasir Al-Herbish;
the Austrian Parliament president,
Dr. Andreas Kohl and the acting
Austrian Finance Minister Rudolf
Edlinger; Ukrainian President
Viktor Yushchenko and Ukraine’s
Speaker of Parliament Volodymyr
Lytvyn and its Deputy Prime
Minister Mykola Tomenko; and the
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance
Minister of the Netherlands, Gerrit
Zalm.
De Venecia also presented the
proposal in his address at the
Parliamentary Assembly of the
Council of Europe (PACE)
composed of 45 nations. The
British MP Alan Meale and
Canadian Senator Lorna Milne
gave a ringing endorsement of the
proposal at a hearing of the
Assembly’s
Economic
Committee.
TOP BSP AWARD FOR JDV. Speaker Jose de Venecia receives from Bangko
Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Gov. Amando Tetangco Jr. the BSP Special Award
for Outstanding Service as “Champion of OFW Remittances” for conceiving
and implementing the dollar-remittance program in 1967, which, to date,
has earned for the Philippines roughly $100 billion in remittances—now
topping $8 billion a year—and which killed the large-scale dollar black market.
Anti-smuggling bill passed
By Diony P. Tubianosa
TO HELP CURE the country’s
fiscal deficit and combat outright
technical smuggling that deprive
government of more than P85billion in annual duties and taxes,
2nd Regular Session
Continued from page 1
Continued on page 8
development projects,” de Venecia
said.
The Speaker said the
development projects would
advance the President’s 10-point
legacy program, and the 12-point
wealth-creation program he has
authored, keep the Philippines on
course toward attaining the
MDGs, and strengthen the
government’s battle against
poverty, ignorance and disease.
“Our debt relief program
presents a workable idea, with a
reasonable chance of success, to
help poor and middle-income
nations lift their peoples from
grinding poverty,” he said.
The Speaker had a series of
meetings with top financial and
political officials in Europe aside
from his talks with Mr. Jouyet of
the Paris Club.
Among them were the British
Treasury’s Mark Bowman, head of
its International Poverty Reduction,
and Joseph Thornton of its
International Poverty Reduction
Team. Both helped package the
British proposal to cancel billions
Three laws were enacted as a
precursor to the package of fiscal
reform measures that have become
indispensable to the country’s
economic recovery, namely: the
Excise Taxes on Cigarettes and
Alcoholic Beverages, Attrition Act
of 2005, and the Expanded Value
the House approved on final
reading the Anti-Smuggling Act of
2005.
Speaker Jose de Venecia
pointed out that the proposed Act
is a major ingredient of President
Macapagal Arroyo’s economic and
fiscal reform package designed to
boost the government’s antipoverty program.
“I commend the authors of
House Bill 4069 which supports
President Arroyo’s program to
Added Tax Act.
As Congress opens its Second
Regular Session, the body is
expected to face thorny, but
essential, political issues including
Charter reforms, and a call for the
revamp of the Commission on
Elections.
Meanwhile, the wiretapping
inquiry resumes on August 3 and
a stronger wiretapping law is
expected in the end.
Topping the list is public
monitoring of how Congress will
handle the two impeachment
complaints filed in the House.
It’s back to urgent business for
the House, in order to live up to its
mandate of instituting needed
legislative reforms, de Venecia said.
Continued on page 6
House body
okays P125
wage increase
By Abigail M. Macabeo
WORKERS’ hopes for higher
minimum wages advanced with the
Committee on Labor’s approval of
Committee Report 162, providing
a P125 across-the-board increase in
the daily basic wage for private
sector workers.
The increase would partially
restore the lost purchasing power
in real value of the workers’ wages
over the last decade and close the
gap between the income of
minimum wage earners and the
daily-cost-of-living, according to
Rep. Roseller Barinaga (2nd Dist.,
Zamboanga del Norte), author of
HB 345, one of the measures
consolidated in the report.
“Although the proposed P125
hike is still insufficient, it is
substantial enough to raise the
quality of life of 16 million workers
and their dependents,” Barinaga
said.
Anakpawis Reps. Crispin
Beltran and Rafael Mariano, Bayan
Muna Reps. Satur Ocampo,
Teodoro Casiño, and Joel Virador,
and Gabriela Rep. Liza Maza,
believe that “it is necessary to enact
a legislation that would strengthen
and give life to the constitutional
right of workers to living wage.”
Any wage increase should be
expressly provided in valid
collective bargaining agreements to
be considered as in compliance
with the legislative measure.
According to the proposed measure
the employer is mandated to pay
the difference if the increase is less
than that prescribed under the
measure.
The measure also provides
that any person or entity found
violating the proposed law shall be
punished with a fine of P25,000
to P100,000 or imprisonment of
two to four years.
ISSN 1656-507X
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Editor: Dep. Sec. Gen. Emmanuel A. Albano
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4
May - July 2005
May - July 2005
5
Reforming the Philippine educational system
Much has been said about the unabated decline in
the general state of Philippine education, public and
private. Leading Philippine universities have fallen in
the rankings of Asian institutions of higher learning while
the basic skills of graduates in the elementary, high
school and college levels have been found wanting.
The Arroyo administration has placed education on top of
its development agenda, reflecting the standard wisdom that
providing good education is the way out of endemic poverty
R
eforming the Philippine
Educational System is
essential if we want to transform
our society and provide our
nation the strong pillars for our
future. To start with, here are
some of the points we need to
ponder upon:
We should fully implement
the mandate of the 1987
Constitution, specifically Article
XIV, Section 5.5 which states
that “The State shall assign
the highest budgetary priority
to education and ensure that
teaching will attract and
retain its rightful share of the
best available talents through
adequate remuneration and
other means of job
satisfaction and fulfillment.”
As it is, 30% of our budget
goes to pay the interest of our
debts and at most 15% goes to
the education sector. This
percentage (15%) is not an
adequate translation of the
Constitutional mandate.
Compared to our ASEAN
neighbors, our investment in
education as a percentage of
the gross national product
(GDP) is only 1.3%—lower than
the Asian average of 3.3%. If
F
irst, we should start with the
teachers. We should churn
out better quality teachers
because they will be the ones to
hone the children.
I also agree with the
position of former DepEd
Secretary (Florencio) Abad. He
is assessing all the elementary
and secondary schools in the
country by giving out diagnostic
tests, not only to the students
but also to the teachers.
From there, we could see
the profile of the elementary
schools or the quality of the
teachers in a certain area. Only
then can we adjust the kind of
procedures or teaching
approach needed, and see
where the weaknesses lie with
the teachers and students,
whether it’s in the field of math,
science or reading.
In my province, I saw that
most of the students had below
passing grades. If 75% were the
passing grade, they would be
getting, on the average, 41% to
48%. When we looked at the
profile of the teachers, it was the
REP. EULOGIO R. MAGSAYSAY
(Party List, AVE)
we want to advance our
education system, we should
allocate budget according to
what is stated in our
Constitution. Additional
investment to education can be
used to bridge the gap in
educational resources (shortage
in classrooms, desk and chairs
and books) and in increasing
the salaries of teachers.
At the same time, we need
to take into consideration
effecting reforms in our system.
Results of NEAT and NSAT and
same—they performed very
badly in written English.
I concluded, if the teachers’
foundation is very weak, what
could we expect from the
students? This is the reason I
insist that we should provide
teacher-enhancement programs
and be a bit stricter in recruiting
teachers.
It becomes difficult when
teachers are not well-equipped
intellectually or psychologically.
Siyempre, ideally we should
have 40:1, but as we know, in
this country, it is 80, 90:1.
So may handicap na agad
yung mga bata in terms of trying
to get good quality education. I
don’t think natututukan pa ng
mga teachers yung mga
estudyante with these ratios.
So, for me, firstly, we
should start with the teachers,
get a profile of the place—
identify the weak and strong
points—and from there assess
the kinds of program or
curricula we should give a
particular area. Kasi hindi
pwede yung one program for
international performance
evaluation where we
participated in reveal that the
achievement levels of our
Grade 6 and 4th year high
school students are comparable
only to Grade 4 and 2nd year
students of other countries. This
should not be the case. We
need to re-study our curriculum.
Curriculum should be declogged of unnecessary
subjects and focus should be on
math, science and English.
These are foundation subjects
for lifelong learning necessary
for further self-development and
work.
The teaching force, with its
noble duty of molding the young
minds, should be provided for
with utmost recognition. They
are teachers and their primary
role is to teach. As such, they
should be freed from extracurricular responsibilities so they
can concentrate on teaching.
We need to make sure that they
are properly trained for them to
effectively inculcate knowledge
to our youth. The present pool of
teachers should undergo inservice training to upgrade
teaching competence
REP. MA. MILAGROS H. MAGSAYSAY
(First Dist., Zambales, LAKAS)
the entire country.
Dapat maging subjective
yung program based on the
kind of place we have in a
particular area.
For example, the curricula
for Luzon would be different
from the Visayas. We should
tailor-fit the program to the
place and see if the program fits
or not.
On teachers leaving to
Figures to consider
• Budget of the Department of Education (2005) – P111
billion, of which 88.1% goes to personnel salaries
• Enrolment in public and private schools (2003-4):
•
•
•
•
Elementary – 12.9 million
High School – 6.2 million
Teacher-Pupil ratio in public elementary schools – 1:36
Teacher-Student ratio in public high schools – 1:42
Public school classrooms needed to accommodate increasing
enrolment – 18,000
High school tuition fees: Free in public schools while
annual tuition ranges from P64,000 to P94,000 in a
leading Metro Manila private school
(Facts from official sources)
specifically in math, science and
English subjects. They should
also be well compensated.
We also need to free our
educational system from the
bondage of politics. The leaders
of any administration should
have the political will to
implement the mandate of the
Constitution. Politicians should
leave education to educators
and not put pressure that derails
the implementation of reform
programs that are aimed to
improve the quality of education.
We should establish wellplanned, well-thought out
medium and long-term plans for
education and there should be
continuity in the implementation
of these plans despite changes
in administration.
It is only through education
that our country can develop—
there is no other way. Let us
invest in education and break
the endless cycle of poverty and
provide our people with more
prospects. Interview by Abigail
teach abroad: We should give
them economic incentives for
them to stay. If only we could
upgrade the salary grade, which
is long overdue, then maybe,
the quality teachers that we
want might have second
thoughts about leaving.
Thus, I have filed House
Bill 3123, entitled, “An Act to
Upgrade the Salary Grade
Level of Public School Teachers
from Salary Grade 10 to Salary
Grade 20, Amending Republic
Act 6728, and Providing Funds
Thereof.”
Mas maganda na rin siguro
kung consistent ang policies ng
DepEd. Sometimes it’s very
difficult to implement a program,
lalo na kung nagbabago ang
secretary of education.
It would be nice if the
education secretary can stay for
six years, para kung anuman
ang vision or program niya, he
could follow it through up to the
implementation stage.
Sometimes, it happens that
depending on who the
Secretary is, nagbabago yung
programa, nagbabago din ang
thrust.
Just like writing a lesson
plan, we should have a program
na kung di man mapagkasunduan, yun din ang susunding
programa for the next five or 10
years, whether or not we
change the Secretary, para may
continuity.
Believing in the important
continuity of programs, I have
filed HB 2643, entitled, “An Act
Establishing a Program for the
Acquisition of School Sites and
the Construction, Maintenance,
Rehabilitation, and Repair of
School Buildings in the Public
Elementary and Secondary
Schools Nationwide,
Appropriating Funds Therefor
and For Other Purposes.”
To assist students, I have
also filed HB 2642, entitled, “An
Act Creating a National Student
Loan Board to Implement a
National Student Loan Program
for the Poor, Defining its
Implementing, Guidelines,
Rules and Regulations and
Appropriating Funds Therefor.”
M. Macabeo
Interview by Jacqueline R. Juliano
among 84 million Filipinos. While education is the most favored
sector in the national budget, money never seems enough,
considering the increasing number of enrollees in the public school
system each year and the backlog of classrooms needed to be
built and maintained. Corruption has also been documented as
entrenched in all levels of the public school system while some
private schools have been accused of commercialism and
profiteering, at the expense of quality.
How do we reform our educational system? Where
do we start?
I
n reforming our educational
system, we are faced with
many problems, the biggest of
which is still funding. We do
not have enough money for all
our needs. The education
department’s budget is number
one in annual appropriations,
but what we allocate is still
small compared to the budget
allocations of other countries.
Malaysia, for example,
allocates 5% to 6% of its GDP
to its educational needs, while
Singapore spends from 7% to
8%. We, on the other hand,
apportion only 2% to 3%.
Much of our budget goes to
pay for our debt service. That
leaves so little for providing our
people improvements and
reform in our educational
system. Now, if we look at the
educational budget itself, we
will see that the biggest
chunk—around 90%—goes to
pay for teachers’ salaries; the
10% left is barely enough to
pay for classroom construction
and repair, and acquisition of
school supplies, books and
equipment. Given this
scenario, and faced with the
problem of very little money to
F
irst, we should look at the
problem of shortage of
teachers nationwide.
Department of Education
(DepEd) records show that for
CY 2003-2004 there are 330,
087 public elementary teachers
attending to 12,065,686 pupils
or a teacher pupil ratio of 1:36
pupils.
In the regional level, the
disparity in the assignment of
teachers is more glaring. In
the NCR, teacher-pupil ratio is
1:44; in Region IV-A
(CALABARZON) the ratio is
1:43; in the ARMM it is 1:42; in
Region XII it is 1:40 and in
Region VII it is 1:39. However,
in other regions, most
specifically in areas in the
northern Philippines, the
teacher-pupil ratio is
satisfactory. In the CAR, the
ratio is 1:29; in Region I, the
ratio stands at 1:30; for Region
II the ratio is 1:32; Region VI it
is 1:32 and for Region VIII the
ratio is 1:32.
pay for all the improvements
needed to reform our
educational system, we have to
maximize our educational
budget. We have to re-align
our priorities in view of our
limited funds.
I suggest that we all focus
our priorities based on a
universal premise—that the
most productive years of
children are those between zero
and six years old. These are the
years when children are at the
peak of their absorptive learning
capacity, when they are most
malleable and teachable. That
is the key to educational
reform—we have to put our
resources and institute reforms
at those ages and bring quality
education at a younger age. We
should put more emphasis on
those formative years and
upgrade the early educational
system. I want our children to
have a fighting chance and
obtain a solid foundation at an
early age.
Developed countries are
now putting more and more
emphasis on the early years
because they believe that this
is where the government can
be more effective. Here in the
Philippines, most poor families
now send their kids to day care
in order to learn at an early age
in an environment that
resembles a school.
However, our Day Care
Centers are placed under the
DSWD which performs social
services. Therefore, this means
that there is no teacher
adequately trained in education
The disparity in the
assignment of teachers is more
pronounced in the lower
echelons among school
divisions in the region, then
among the district schools and
ultimately schools within the
barangay. The disparity is
brought about by the Magna
Carta of School Teachers
wherein the teacher’s consent
is needed before she can be
transferred to other schools.
It is just unfortunate that
there is no similar law that will
protect the interests of the
students. In the absence of a
Magna Carta for pupils,
provision of quality education is
almost nil in remote barrios
wherein multi-grade instruction
is practiced within a class
wherein 80 or more pupils are
under one teacher.
For the secondary level,
there are 118,639 teachers
who are nationally paid to
teach 5,025,956 students
yielding a national ratio of 1:42.
the 1:36 teacher-pupil ratio by
the DepEd in the elementary
level and the 1:42 ratio in the
secondary level is unrealistic, a
mere illusion. No division
superintendent or local official
especially in far-flung areas will
accept said figure. Most Local
Government Units (LGUs) are
funding the salaries of teacher
aides in order to bridge the gap
in the number of teachers.
The lack of school
teachers is aggravated by the
appointment of teachers to
ancillary positions. DepEd
data further shows that for the
elementary level alone there
are 51,285 teachers that are
assigned load on teaching and
ancillary services while for part
time ancillary-part time
teachers, it is 26,380. There
are 2,733 teachers that are on
full-time ancillary services who
act as canteen manager,
librarian, teacher-nurse,
guidance counselor, property
custodian and others.
REP. EDMUNDO O. REYES, JR.
(Lone Dist., Marinduque,
LAKAS-CMD)
Chairman, Committee on
Basic Education and Culture
in the centers that they handle.
I believe that we need to put
the DepEd in charge of the Day
Care Centers. We are happy to
note that President Arroyo, in
her last SONA, has certified as
urgent a measure to add an
additional year in preelementary education or
preparatory school. This is a
great first step if we can push
this and institutionalized prep
school an additional year of
schooling.
It is my vision, as Basic
Education Committee
Chairman, to add two years of
schooling before Grade 1. This
way, children will have a longer
preparatory period, giving them
more opportunities to learn
even before they start grade
school. This is the advantage
private schools have over our
public schools. The reason
private school kids are so
advanced is that they start
attending pre-school at age
three. My own children started
at four years of age. All Filipino
children should be like that,
too, given the opportunity.
However, the reality is that
the DepEd wants to eliminate
REP. HERMINIO G. TEVES
(3rd Dist., Negros Oriental,
KAMPI)
For the secondary level,
there are 17,406 teachers who
are given teaching and ancillary
service loads while there are
12,296 teachers who are on
part time teaching and part time
ancillary load and, lastly, there
are 974 teachers rendering full
time ancillary services.
Since the 11th Congress, I
non-readers only in 3rd grade.
That’s how far behind our
average public school pupils
are. If the government really
wants to reform the system with
such a lean budget, we should
concentrate more on and
address the most crucial and
critical years of our children
and leave high school
education increasingly in the
hands of private schools. We
can free up the budget from
high school and re-align it to
improve the early educational
system all the way up to the
time our pupils graduate from
elementary school. Rather than
building more classrooms and
hiring teachers for high
schools, the government can
simply expand the voucher
system or Educational Service
Contracting Scheme whereby
private schools are given
government funds to pay for
tuition and fees of students.
Remember the saying,
“Everything I needed to know
about life, I learned in
kindergarten”? The Philippines
will do well to believe it during
these trying times. Interview
by Melissa M. Reyes
have been calling on the DepEd
to make a physical count of
teachers assigned to ancillary
services. There should be a
reconciliation of the number of
teachers in the region and
locate the assignment of more
than 4,000 teachers that were
assigned to non-teaching
positions. In the report
submitted by all school divisions
of the Region, the result is
frustrating for it was able to
account for only approximately
500 teachers.
In line with my advocacy for
transparency, especially for
members of Congress and local
government executives, I
recommended to former
Secretary Florencio Abad of the
DepEd to make a publication of
names and assignments of
teachers by School Divisions at
the region to account for the
total of 330,084 elementary
teachers and 118,639
secondary teachers. Interview
by Michelle M. Sapnu
6
May - July 2005
Fresh mandate for
Board of Trustees
By Christian F.D.
Pamintuan
GINA P. DE VENECIA
received a new mandate
as chairperson and
president of the
Congressional Spouses
Foundation, Inc.(CSFI),
alongside other officers
elected during polls
held March 15. In the
full roster of officers are:
President & Chairperson
Gina de Venecia
Officer for Administration
and Operations
Louie Locsin
Secretary
Trina Biazon
Assistant Secretary
Beibie Kintanar
Auditor
Mary Ann Cua
Assistant Auditor
Lin Olaño
PRO
Shirley Plaza
Minia Roman
Kathy Santiago
LIAISON
Government Institution
Sigrid Datumanong
Non-Government
Organization
Frank Baraquel
Business & Industry
Bing Dadivas
LEGAL COUNSEL
Marivic Guingona
COORDINATORS
Luzon
Olga Dangwa
Visayas
Luz Vicencio
Mindanao
Glen Barinaga
Belle Pingoy
NCR
Louie Locsin
Trina Biazon
Region 9
Glenn Barinaga
Region 10
Marivic Guingona
Region 11
Lin Olaño
Region 1
Vicky Ablan
Region 12
Belle Pingoy
Region 2
Mary Ann Cua
CAR
Olga Dangwa
Region 3
Minia Roman
CARAGA
Shirley Plaza
Region 4
Georgia Remulla
ARMM
Sigrid Datumanong
Region 5
Kathy Santiago
PARTY LIST
Frank Baraquel (+)
Region 6
Bing Dadivas
The CSFI mourned
the passing away of Police
Superintendent Francisco
“Frank” Baraquel, spouse
of Rep. Ana Theresia
“Risa”
HontiverosBaraquel, last May.
Region 7
Beibie Kintanar
Region 8
Luz Vicencio
MEET THE CSFI BOARD. First row (from left) Beibie Kintanar, Vicky Ablan, Lin
Olaño, Trina Biazon, Gina de Venecia, Sigrid Datumanong, Kathy Santiago, and
Mary Ann Cua. Second row (from left) Olga Dangwa, Shirley Plaza, Louie Locsin,
Bing Dadivas, Georgia Remulla, Minia Roman, and Frank Baraquel (+)
Protection from “lemon” cars needed
By Melissa M. Reyes
INSPIRED by the “Lemon Law”
of the United States against selling
poorly-made vehicles, Compostela
Valley Rep. “Manuel “Way Kurat”
Zamora has filed House Bill 3517
to protect and provide relief to
local consumers who have bought
“lemon” cars and want to avail
themselves of the warranties on
the defective vehicles.
Zamora’s bill also provides
penalties, holding manufacturers,
distributors or dealers liable and
pay a minimum of P100,000 in
damages.
Bacolod Rep. Monico O.
Puentevella has filed a similar bill,
HB 4160. Alagad Party List Rep.
Rodante Marcoleta has filed
House Resolution 318 on the
same subject. The measures are
now under deliberation by the
Committees on Transportation,
and Trade and Industry.
According to the US Lemon
Law, the manufacturer should pay
a purchaser for legal fees and costs
when it breaches the written
warranty. The same law provides
Anti-smuggling bill
Continued from page 3
revive the country’s economy by
plugging the loopholes in our
present Tariff and Customs Code
and curb smuggling,” de Venecia
said as he endorsed it for Senate
green light.
The authors stressed the
proposed Act will cut down the
occurrence of smuggling by
providing in the law key systematic
solutions which will make it easier
to detect such crime.
Among the principal authors
lauded by de Venecia were Reps.
Jesli Lapus (also Chairman of the
Ways and Means Committee),
relief including replacement of a
newly-bought car or full refund if
the car is found to defective
enough to impair its value or
safety.
Zamora said the Philippines
has no specific law dealing with
“lemon” cars and Congress should
provide one by amending the
Consumers Act of the Philippines
(RA 7394) to add a provision
tackling “lemon” cars.
He said the DOH is tasked to
protect consumers from defective
food, drugs, cosmetics, devices and
substances, and the DA from
defects in agriculture-related
products. Except for these, there
is no specific provision in the law
on motor vehicles, particularly
“lemon” cars.
Zamora said the DOTC—not
the DTI—should handle such cases
because it has the know-how on
such products. He said in Japan,
the Ministry of Transportation
and Communication regulates
the vehicles, not the Ministry of
Trade and Industry.
Also, the DTI should be
compelled to coordinate with the
transportation department of the
government of the importing car
company for a list of models being
recalled to ensure that consumers
do not fall prey to the company’s
self-serving statements, he said.
Zamora also noted that
“lemon” car victims have no forum
for redress. They may complain to
the Bureau of Consumer
Protection under the DTI, but the
process could be tedious and
winded.
Rep. Rodante D. Marcoleta
said he had to file civil charges
against the company to either have
his defective car replaced or give
him a refund.
He had complained to the
company president, asked for a
deferment on his car payments
with the bank, and sought help
from the DTI and LTO—all to no
avail. Zamora and Marcoleta
agreed they should summon to
Congress all parties concerned to
explain their action—or inaction.
“The matter may seem of little
significance, but many accidents
have been caused by ‘lemon’ cars,”
Zamora said.
Eric Singson, Juan Edgardo
Angara, Danton Bueser, Gerardo
Espina, Jr., Monico Puentevella
and Lorenzo Tañada III.
Chairman Lapus revealed
that the proposed law requires the
“advance transmission of inward
foreign manifests, and their
publication, to allow the Bureau
of Customs (BOC) and the
industry association to examine
correctness of the valuation of the
imported articles.”
Lapus said the bill “provides
for stiffer penalties, both fine and
imprisonment, for outright and
technical smuggling, and for other
violations of the provisions of the
Tariff and Customs Code of the
Philippines, as amended.”
Angara pointed out the new
requirement to use a “Revision
Order” as one of the value data
base instruments in detecting
under-valuation of imported
ar ticles and the stricter
supervision of customs-bonded
warehouses.
The authors, likewise,
stressed the participation of the
private sector in the deliberation
on valuation issues through the
Valuation and Classification
Review Committee and allowing
the industry sector to finance the
Bureau of Customs purchase of
undervalued articles.
Lapus likewise pointed out
Press Fund raised to P5M
By Isagani C. Yambot Jr.
THE P3-MILLION Press Freedom
Fund, intended to protect
members of media and indemnify
murdered journalists, has been
increased to P5 million during
recent launching rites led by
Speaker Jose de Venecia and
President Arroyo in Malacanang.
The P3-million media fund,
which was proposed last year as a
start-up operational capital, came
from congressmen’s contributions
and de Venecia’s Priority
Development Assistance Fund
(PDAF).
The increased fund shall be
allotted as follows: P2 million as
reward money for informers leading
to the arrest of killers; P2 million
for the Philippine National Police’s
operational fund; and P1 million for
the DOJ’s witness protection
program and to indemnify victims’
families.
In an earlier forum, de
Venecia had invited media
organizations including the
Pangasinan Press and Radio Club,
National Press Club and the
Manila Overseas Press Club to sit
down with House members and
give their recommendations on
providing protection to journalists.
He said the House would
willingly pass the needed legislation
to stop or, at least, curb the spate
of killings of media members,
which situation has worsened,
particularly in the last year and in
recent months.
“ The killings are a direct
assault and threat to press freedom
in the country,” de Venecia said.
“You know they want to frighten
you from exposing corruption and
misbehavior (especially) in the
provinces.”
He said the murders of mostly
community journalists would
embolden others to attack
journalists in Metro Manila.
“If they can get away with
(killing community journalists),
they can shift … (and) go after
Metro Manila journalists,” he said
during the launching ceremonies
in Malacanang.
De Venecia called on both the
media and local government
officials to be “very responsible and
not abusive.” He urged media to
be “ver y responsible in their
criticism” of local government
officials, who have their image to
protect, too.
“Balance and moderation,
those are the keys,” de Venecia
said.
Newest House member
REP. RAMON “RED” DURANO VI won in a
special election to fill up the post vacated in the
5th District of Cebu by his brother, Joseph Ace
Durano, who was named Tourism Secretary. The
newest House Member took the oath of office
before Speaker Jose de Venecia in the presence
of Deputy Speaker for the Visayas Raul Del Mar,
former Cebu Rep. Ramon Durano, Majority
Leader Rep. Prospero Nograles and members of
his family during the plenary break. He is expected to make his official
appearance in the House when session resumes on July 25.
that the bill provides that articles
which have been misclassified,
undervalued or misdeclared by
more than 30% between the
declared and actual value, weight,
measurement, or quality, shall
constitute prima facie evidence of
fraud.
The authors also revealed that
instead of sale, property under
customs custody shall be exported
if it has export potential; or to be
designated for official use of the
BOC against smuggling and other
fraudulent act against customs
revenue; or to be designated for
official use of other government
agencies; or for charitable
purposes through the DSWD or
DOH; or to be destroyed when the
authorized modes of disposal are
inapplicable.
May - July 2005
7
Bringing back life to the rivers
By Melissa M. Reyes
WATER IS LIFE, Las
Pinas Rep. Cynthia A.
Villar declared. But
many rivers in our
country’s major cities
have become seriously polluted as these
have been used as dumping sites for human
and industrial wastes.
In Metro Manila, all of the river systems
are considered biologically dead— they
cannot sustain aquatic life. Las Pinas has
not been spared.
Thus, from Day One of her
congressional term starting in the 12 th
Congress in July 2002, Villar vowed to fight
the threat to the rivers in her district.
Las Pinas has two major river systems:
Las Pinas (12.6 kms) and Zapote (18.3 kms).
The two are linked and share 25.1
kilometers of tributaries.
Sadly, pollution has killed marine life
in those rivers and tributaries. Alarmed,
Villar launched on Dec. 13, 2002 the Sagip
Ilog River Rehabilitation Program with the
DENR-NCR and Couples for Christ-Oikos
Gawad Kalinga.
That day, which was the 53rd birthday
of her husband, Sen. Manny Villar, the
senator donated a backhoe on a barge, a
speedboat and a dump truck as his
contributions to the program.
The target: widening and dredging of
six kilometers per year over nine years. “We
could shorten this target to five years if we
purchase an additional two backhoes,” Rep.
Villar said.
Committed to help speed up the
cleaning process, Senator Villar donated
another barge, backhoe and speedboat. To
date, a total of 15 kilometers have been
dredged, making the dredging program
almost 30% complete.
Support structures built include the C5 Extension Wharf, with a project office
and training center, the Naga Road Wharf,
with an equipment station, and the Wire
Mesh Strainer at Zapote River, which filters
waste debris.
BOOK DONATION. The National
Research Council of the Philippines
donated 20 sets of encyclopedias
and other reading materials to the
various public elementary and
secondary levels in the Lone
District of Camiguin through its
Hon. Representative Jurdin Jesus
M. Romualdo (inset). Shown above
are the staff of Hon. Romualdo
receiving the donations from Dr.
Paciente A. Cordero, Jr., Executive
Director of National Research
Council of the Philippines and Dr.
Alicia C. Mercado, Chief Scientific
Documents & Information Division.
Houses remain
standing along the
riverbanks, but
Rep. Villar happily
noted that the
nearly
1,000
families living there
are responding well
to the program.
“They now apply
waste segregation
procedures and
avoid throwing
garbage into the
riverbeds,” she said.
The ecological Sen.Manny and Cynthia Villar at work in the rivers of Las Pinas
solid
waste
management seminars have been a big help 5,500 bamboos have been planted along the
in raising public awareness on the riverbanks. The bamboos’ root network
importance of keeping the rivers clean. Ever makes it ideal for this purpose.
since the program started, volunteer couples
To add another educational dimension,
of the Couples for Christ-Oikos Gawad the Las Pinas Bamboo Garden or
Kalinga have been conducting seminars Bambusetum, was inaugurated last June 3. The
regularly on Values Formation and Waste Bambusetum, a joint project with the DENR,
Management every Saturday.
features 22 (out of the known 32) species of
At least 210 communities are currently bamboo.
involved: 153 in Las Pinas, 43 in Bacoor,
Rep. Villar’s office and the DENR are
Cavite, and 14 in Parañaque, about 153 searching for the other species to complete
River Watch Teams have been organized and the “live bamboo museum,” which stretches
more than 2,000 individuals have along the riverbank from the C-5 Extension
volunteered.
on Wharf to the edge of the Golden Haven
Besides the community training with Memorial Park or a total of 1,250 square
Couples for Christ-Oiko, other community meters. The bamboo garden offers a better
activities include Pagtatanim Para sa appreciation of the significant functional and
Kinabukasan with the DENR-NCR; Zero aesthetic uses of the many varieties of the
Waste Management Training with Zero bamboo.
Waste Recycling Movement of the
“We hope our experience in Las Pinas
Philippines Inc. and training of 20 Las Pinas ser ves as an inspiration to other
barangays and principals and presidents of communities,” Rep. Villar said. The problem
PTA Presidents and Teachers’ Associations with the river systems seems formidable, but
in all of the 27 public schools in Las Pinas. we all have to begin somewhere, and Rep.
To prevent soil erosion, more than Villar is doing just that.
RA 9337: Amendments to the National
Internal Revenue Code
By Raymond G. Pasiliao
PRESIDENT
G l o r i a
MacapagalArroyo signed
into law Republic
Act No. 9337 or
the Expanded Value-Added Tax
Act on May 24, 2005, which
amends Sections 27, 28, 34, 106
to 114, 116, 119, 121, 148, 151, 233,
236 and 237 of the National
Internal Revenue Code (NIRC) of
1997. The new legislative measure
is anticipated to raise P80 to P100
billion in revenues per year to help
fund
the
government’s
development and pro-poor
programs and projects.
Contrary to popular belief, RA
9337 does not only amend the
NIRC provisions on the Value
Added Tax. The new law also
introduces changes related to the
taxes on corporations, banks and
non-bank financial intermediaries,
electric utility franchises,
petroleum products, mineral
products, and domestic airlines,
among others.
Among the key features of RA
9337 are the following:
1. The new law removes the
VAT exemption of previously
exempt sectors of the economy.
The previously exempt
transactions that are now subject
to VAT are medical, dental,
hospital and veterinary services
rendered by professionals; legal
services; non-food agricultural
products; marine and forest
products; cotton and cotton seeds;
coal and natural gas; petroleum
products; passenger cargo vessels of
more than 5,000 tons; sale by the
artist of works of art, literary works,
musical compositions and similar
creations, or services performed for
the production of such works; and
generation, transmission and
distribution of electricity including
that of electric cooperatives.
2. The new law increases the
threshold of exempt transactions
on the sale of residential houses
and lots and the lease of
residential units.
RA 9337 now exempts sales of
residential lots valued up to P1.5
million from the VAT, up from the
previous value of P1 million.
Likewise, sales of residential houses
and lots are now exempt up to the
value of P2.5 millios, from the
previous value of P1 million
provided in the old NIRC.
The new law also increases the
threshold of exempt transactions
on the lease of residential units,
from a monthly rental not
exceeding P8,000 provided in the
old NIRC to P10,000.
3. The new law increases the
number of transactions subject to
Zero Percent (0%) Rate.
RA 9337 has broadened the
coverage of transactions subject to
Zero Percent (0%) Rate.
The new transactions subject to
zero percent rate are:
• Sale of goods, supplies and
fuel to persons engaged in
international or air transport
operations;
• Services rendered to a
person outside the Philippines,
whether or not engaged in business;
• Services rendered to persons
engaged in international shipping or
air transport operations;
• Transport of passengers and
cargo by air or sea to a foreign
country; and
• Sale of power or fuel
generated through renewable
sources of energy.
4. The new law gives the
Philippine President authority to
raise the tax rate from 10% to
12% effective January 2006.
For the year 2005, the VAT
rate will remain at 10%. Effective
January 2006, however, the new
law gives “standby” authority to
the Philippine President, upon the
recommendation of the Secretary
of Finance, to raise the valueadded tax rate to 12% after any of
the following conditions are
satisfied: a) VAT collection as a
percentage of GDP of the previous
year exceeds two and four-fifth
percent (2-4/5%); or b) national
government deficit as a percentage
of GDP of the previous year
exceeds one and one-half percent
(1-1/2%).
5. The new law increases the
income tax of domestic
corporations, resident foreign
corporations, and non-resident
foreign corporations.
RA 9337 provides that except
as otherwise provided in the
NIRC, an income tax of 35% will
now be imposed on the taxable
income of domestic corporations,
resident foreign corporations, and
non-resident
foreign
corporations, up from the
previous rate of 32%. Effective
January 1, 2009, however, the rate
of income tax will be lowered to
30%.
6. The new law removes the
franchise tax on electric utilities.
The old NIRC imposed a 2%
tax on the gross receipts of gas,
water, and electric utilities derived
from the business covered by the
law granting the franchise. RA
9337 removes this 2% franchise
tax on electric utilities.
7. The new law imposes a
new schedule for the maturity
period of lending activities.
RA 9336 provides for a
simpler method in computing the
tax imposed on banks and nonbank financial intermediaries for
their gross receipts on interest,
commissions and discounts from
lending activities, as well as their
income from financial leasing.
Whereas the NIRC provided
for a three-tiered mechanism in
determining the tax rate on
interest, commissions and
discounts, the new law simplifies
Continued on page 8
8
May - July 2005
! Interview
with Rep. Gilbert C. Remulla
‘Wiretapping law needs a lot of tweaking’
Internal Revenue Code
Continued from page 7
the formula by providing for only
two categories. Thus, RA 9337
imposes a 5% tax where the
remaining maturity period of the
instruments is five years or less,
and a tax of 1% where the
maturity period is more than five
years.
8. The new law removes the
excise tax on diesel fuel oil.
Under the NIRC, diesel fuel
Gene Peñas
AFTER the
joint committee
hearings on the
wiretapping
issue drew to a
temporary close on July 13, The
Forum caught up with Rep. Gilbert
C. Remulla (2nd Dist., Cavite), who
presided over the joint meetings as
Chairman of the Committee on
Public Information. The hearings
will resume August 3.
People have positively
noticed your evenhanded
conduct as presiding officer of a
multi-committee body handling
a very delicate and controversial
matter. What was your
approach to the entire process?
Listen to everybody and be
very firm. Study the rules well
and make sure we have to keep
moving forward. We have to
forge ahead despite all the
objections, all the questions. It’s
always in my mind that we have
to forge ahead no matter what.
To do this, we had to set aside
some matters for the meantime
and the others we try to answer
as prudently and as quickly as
possible.
What were the most
difficult points you had to deal
with?
There were many tough calls.
The first week was really difficult.
There were a lot of questions.
The first hearing, the first
executive session was relatively
difficult. Every week proved to be
a challenge. Every week there was
always a challenge that had to be
overcome.
What was the most
contentious issue?
Playing the tapes definitely.
Whether it was the first one or
the second one, those were the
ones that were very difficult.
There were also
observations that the hearing
raised more questions than
answers. Do you agree with
that?
Yes. And the questions that
cropped up could be answered
by Samuel Ong or [Comelec]
Commissioner Garcillano.
Unfortunately they cannot be
found. Will they ever show up? I
am crossing my fingers. I don’t
know. I don’t even want to
fathom a guess.
Hopefully when we find
Garcillano and Ong then we will
be able to answer the remaining
questions. And then we have to
write our committee report and
make our suggestions on what
should be done.
Do you agree that there
should be a top-to-bottom
revamp of the Commission on
Elections as a first step in the
right direction?
We will be revisiting the
Omnibus Election Code. As
legislators, that is the first thing
we should look at. Then try to
provide more transparency in
the Commission through the
Omnibus Election Code.
Delicadeza-wise, perhaps it would
be good for the members of the
Comelec to determine for
themselves if they are still
relevant at this point in time to
the Commission.
Aside from revisiting the
Omnibus Election Code, what
other legislative actions will be
taken?
The anti-wiretapping law [RA
4200] needs revisiting. After all,
it is a 40-year old law. It may need
a lot of tweaking to make it more
relevant to the technologies
today. We will also look at some
provisions of laws that have to
deal with freedom of the press
and expression considering that
the NBI and DOJ have been
threatening media outlets.
What were the most
important accomplishments of
the nine hearings you had
conducted so far?
That we were able to play the
audiotapes and that we were able
to make sure there were no legal
impediments to it. We were able
to educate people on who we are
as congressmen. Media covered
it live. It was open to the public.
Isn’t that what democracy in the
Philippines is all about?
I think having been able to
play [the tapes] and knowing they
exist—without being too legalistic
about it—it’s a breakthrough. We
caused a chain of events with our
hearings. Whether it be the
admission of the President that
she talked to a Comelec official
or other things, we did
accomplish so much.
oil and similar fuel oils having
more or less the same generating
power are imposed an excise tax
of P1.63 per liter of volume
capacity. The new law removes the
excise tax on these oil products.
Moreover, bunker fuel oil and
similar fuel oils having more or
less the same generating power
will now enjoy the same tax rate
of zero (P0.00), when they were
previously charged with an excise
tax of thirty centavos (P0.30) per
liter of volume capacity.
9. The new law removes the
excise tax on locally extracted
natural gas and liquefied natural
gas.
The NIRC provided that
locally extracted natural gas and
liquefied natural gas shall be taxed
at the rate of 2% based on the
actual market value of the gross
output at the time of removal. The
new law now provides that locally
extracted natural gas and liquefied
natural gas shall no longer be
subject to the excise tax.
10. The new law provides for
liability of domestic airlines on the
corporate income tax.
Domestic airlines, i.e.
Philippine Airlines, Cebu Air,
Aboitiz Air, Pacific Airways, and Air
Philippines, and other domestic
airlines will now be subject to the
corporate income tax. Moreover,
domestic airlines are mandated to
register for value-added tax and to
account for the VAT on its sale of
goods, property or services.
To mitigate the effects of the
new imposition, the franchise tax
of domestic airlines has been
abolished.
IN PRINT
Continued from page 3
Representatives Accomplishment Report
2004-2005, covering the First Regular
Session of the 13th Congress. For inHouse readers, PRID prepared the
latest edition of Community, the
magazine for the House workforce.
All were printed by the House
Printing and Reproduction Service.
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