Category: aquino admin

china challenge

why indeed is communist china claiming ownership of panatag shoal (aka bajo de masinloc and scarborough shoal) in the west philippine sea when it is clearly within philippine territory?  says a chinese embassy spokesman:

“It is China that first discovered this island, gave it the name, incorporated it into its territory, and exercised jurisdiction over it…

“The Philippine territory is set by a series of international treaties, including the Treaty of Paris (1898), the Treaty of Washington (1900) and the Treaty with Great Britain (1930), none of which ever referred to Huangyan Island or included this island into its territory. Until 1997, the Philippine side has never disputed China’s jurisdiction of and development on Huangyan Island. On the other hand, the Philippines indicated on a number of occasions that Huangyan Island was beyond its territory.

“According to the international law, including United Nations Convention on theLaw of the Sea (UNCLOS), the Philippines’ claim of the jurisdiction rights and sovereignty rights over Huangyan Island with the arguments of ExclusiveEconomic Zone (EEZ) is groundless.

“UNCLOS allows coastal states to claim a 200-nautical-mile EEZ, but coastal states have no rights to infringe on the inherent territory and sovereignty of other countries. The Philippines asserts that Huangyan Island is closer to its territory, but in fact “geographical proximity” has long been dismissed by the international law and practice as the principle of the solution of territory ownership.”

the most taray rejoinder from our side (that i’ve found) comes, ironically enough, from the communist left, party chair jose maria sison himself, in an interview by renato reyes, posted on bayan.ph 

The UNCLOS is the strongest legal basis for the definition of the territorial sea and EEZ of the Philippine archipelago. Also, archaeological evidence shows that the islands, reefs and shoals at issue have been used by inhabitants of what is now the Philippines since prehistoric times. But the Philippine reactionary government muddles the issue and undermines its own position by making historical claims that date back only to a few decades ago when pseudo-admiral Cloma made formal claims to the Kalayaan group of islands.

Chinese historical claims since ancient times amount to an absurdity as this would be like Italy claiming as its sovereign possession all areas previously occupied by the Roman empire. The name China Sea was invented by European cartographers and should not lead anyone to think that the entire sea belongs to China. In the same vein, neither does the entire Indian Ocean belong to India.

the left, of course, is quick to distance itself from china — blatantly capitalist rather than communist, joma says — but at the same time, it would seem that joma is giving china the benefit of the doubt, the incursions are “alleged,” sabay suggest that the aquino admin is only hyping china as an imperialist aggressor to justify the further entrenchment of american military forces in the country.

what really intrigues me is the timing of the scarborough face-off, just when filipino and american military forces were gearing up for balikatan exercises in palawan and luzon, involving 4,500 U.S. troops.  if no such military exercises were in the offing, would china have protested so belligerently the philippine action vs the chinese fishermen, as though to say, don’t count us out?  if no such military exercises were in the offing, would the philippine government have been brave enough to accost the fishermen and risk the ire of china,  as though to say, we’ve got america behind us?

we’re caught between the devil and the deep blue sea, between a rock and hard place.  with economic policies that have kept us poor and undeveloped, dependent on foreign credit and foreign remittances and foreign goods, a basket case of a third world country that can’t stand on its own two feet, economically or militarily, it’s no wonder our sovereignty is always under challenge, our limits being tested, if not by the military presence of the U.S, then by chinese fishermen trespassing in, and chinese gunboats patrolling, our waters.

just our luck.  given our strategic location and supposedly-still-huge untapped natural wealth under the ground and the seas, rival powers america and china both want pieces, if not all, of us; they just have different ways of getting what they want.

the notion is that if/when push comes to shove, america will rise to the occasion and back us up against china, but in exchange for what more, i wonder.

unless, maybe, china gets to the aquino admin first.  quid pro quo: we back off but you approve this and/or that contract, or you get that pro-mining law passed, yikes!  whatever, sana the president stands tall.  but hey (at the risk of being facetious), baka naman all they want is an official apology for the luneta massacre, ano? — that should be easy, and relatively painless, um, maybe except for the president.

oops.  just saw this on the news: China and Russia launched today, sunday, joint naval exercises in the yellow sea that highlight warming ties between their militaries and growing cooperation in international affairs.  omg.  painit nang painit.  as if it weren’t hot enough.

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Mag-rally kaya ang Pilipinong manginisda sa Scarborough shoal?  by Ellen Tordesillas
China stand-off to affect business? by Boo Chanco
Thorny sovereignty issue by Carol Pagaduan Araullo
Understanding the Philippine Stand-off with China by Steven Rood
Wikileaks cables: Arroyo scandals affected Spratlys, Scarborough
Aquino and international law by Harry Roque
South China Sea represents ‘a new Persian Gulf?’ by Chito Sta. Romana
Fighting Spirit Award by Indolent Indio

esposo’s “revolutionary situation” #VAT

william m. esposo, philstar columnist and true-blue, i mean, -yellow, aquino supporter, is as annoyed about #noynoying as leftist (pa ba? more like red-turned-yellow) joel rocamora.  and esposo is now calling the youth activists (who coined “noynoying”) “ANAYchists,” as in termites, who undermine stability and peddle unrealistic solutions to the oil price hikes.

i think it’s a poor metaphor.  having to deal with termites where i live, i know they only feed on wood, and they are destructive but can be held at bay.

in fact, there’s nothing wooden about government (well, except the forests under the care of the state, which are mostly gone, converted into cash by a different exclusive breed of anay); and there’s nothing destructive about these youth activists who are really more like askal watchdogs whose barks are worse than their bites.  and it’s not as if, historically, government has not vigilantly, and successfully, held them at bay, as rocamora would know.

of course, the noise that squealing yelping high-alert watchdogs make when faced with suspicious smells and sounds (lalo na when something’s rotten sa kapaligiran) can be most irritating and can keep you awake at night, especially if you or your boss is in charge for another four years.  you must now realize that you guys promised too much, and so “noynoying” has gained traction.  kung walang corrupt, walang mahirap, you said, a promise to address corruption and poverty.  little did we not know that the fulfillment of the promise would hinge on chief justice corona’s and gloria arroyo’s persecution, i mean, prosecution, and conviction.  meanwhile the corruption everywhere else continues, nothing has changed, except maybe it’s gotten worse.

“noynoying” is a clever critique of the president’s do-nothing approach to the spiralling costs of everyday essentials due to the spiralling costs of oil products and electricity.  true, the president is in no position to influence the global ups and downs in the price of oil.  however, he IS in a position to undo gloria arroyo’s VAT on oil products and electricity, which, until gloria, were VAT-exempt, like food and other essentials.  and he IS in a position to ask congress as well to revisit and amend, nay, railroad amendments to, EPIRA, particularly with regard to provisions that allow power companies to pass on all kinds of costs to consumers.

instead, the aquino admin is on damage-control mode, but the defense is weak, we’ve heard it all before, ito na rin ang mga excuse ni gma noon.  but maybe esposo, and his president’s men, have forgotten, or weren’t paying attention:

To scrap the oil deregulation law is to subsidize the petrol needs of Filipinos. That’s something we cannot afford to do and to do it is to upset the fiscal position that we now have that’s generating rating upgrades and attracting foreign investors. To remove or reduce the VAT on petrol will result in the same worse scenario of wreaking havoc on our fiscal position. The ANAYchists simply want to provoke a revolutionary situation.

esposo might not be wrong about “a revolutionary situation,” bully for the youth activists.     but he is wrong about everything else.  “subsidize”?  we have always paid, we will continue to pay, hangga’t kaya — it’s not as if we have a choice — but please, without all the patong, that is, taxes upon taxes.  and what foreign investors?  given our high power rates mismo (no thanks to EPIRA and VAT) and poor infrastructure, among many other unattractive features, all we ever attract is “hot money” (pang-stockmarket lang) that goes out as quickly as it comes in, the foreigners and local elite laughing all the way to their banks, without any real positive effect on the economy on the ground.

as for credit rating upgrades — highly desired because it allows government to borrow more and more, again and again, from foreign creditors, borrowing and spending, beyond our means, and nothing much of significance to show for it except a ballooning foreign debt.  upgraded credit ratings are based on enhanced capacity to repay loans, that is, based on increased revenues.  yeah, right, at our expense, an imposition, no less, of an obscene 12% VAT on essential petroleum products and electricity (hitherto VAT-exempt, it bears repeating), on top of other taxes (it bears repeating).

this email addendum to When VAT on oil is “crooked road” (thanks, rudy coronel) explains further why arroyo then was, and aquino now is, loathe to give up VAT on oil.  after all, it’s like, you know, a la juan tamad: without having to lift a finger, cash comes rolling in, never mind where it’s coming from.

Petroleum products are perhaps the single biggest source of taxation in this country. This country consumes 300,000 barrels of oil per day. There are 159 liters to a barrel. Local oil prices are now about P60.00 per liter for premium gasoline; P45.00 per liter for diesel. While there are other oil grades in the marketplace, gasoline and diesel together comprise the biggest slice of the whole cake. From this alone, you can imagine how much Vat oil products contribute to the country’s coffers. Add to that the excise tax (about P4.50 per liter for gasoline, of course lower for other grades) and the customs duties due on imported crude and finished oils. This is the reason why P-Noy, and even GMA in her time, will be, and had always been, reluctant to give up the Vat on oil. The thing is we have the highest Vat in the region, and yet I’m sure, were it not for the continuing rise in the global prices of oil, we might wake up one day with another proposal to increase the Vat rate. Vat, kasi, is one of the easiest taxes to collect. But Vat, you will be surprised, do not exist in the US, where tax collection is relatively more efficient. Vat is common whenever and wherever there are problems in tax collection, like in these parts. The irony is, year in and year out, we are not unlike a golf ball stuck in a sand-trap, unable to rise up from our budget deficits. My take on this is, throughout our history we have tried, but vainly, to solve our budget woes by imposing newer and newer taxes. At least for once, why can’t we try another strategy: trim down our expenses and manage our budget more responsibly?

here’s an elected congressman who’s talking sense, too, no less than san juan rep jv ejercito, more power to him:

At the House of Representatives, San Juan Representative Joseph Victor Ejercito has filed House Bill No. 6014 exempting petroleum products from the 12-percent VAT to provide immediate relief to motorists.

Ejercito, chairman of the House committee on Metro Manila development, said classifying petroleum among the VAT-exempt products was a more efficient and effective alternative to the government’s subsidy program, the Pantawid Pasada Program, which gives public transport owners discounts on their fuel purchases.

“Neither the bus, jeepney and taxi operators nor drivers agrees it is the solution to the skyrocketing cost of gasoline, diesel, kerosene and LPG. It does not benefit the people at all,” he said.

On concerns of the government that removing the VAT would reduce tax collections, Ejercito claimed that the government’s share from the

P45-billion annual income of Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor), P31-billion income of Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) and P43-billion royalties from the Malampaya gas project would be “sufficient to replenish the lost revenues.”

Ejercito noted that the VAT was imposed in 2004 to boost revenues and lower the government’s dependence on borrowings that were pegged at 78.2 percent debt to the gross domestic product ratio. With the debt-to-GDP ratio falling to 55.4 percent, Ejercito said it was time to reconsider the VAT as it has already served its purpose.

so, again.  it is not true that gov’t is helpless on rising oil prices.  the president can drop VAT, which would bring down prices all around, give some measure of relief all around.  yes, this would reduce government’s resources but, like coronel and jv say, there are other sources, and there are other ways of raising revenue.

i would add: improved tax collections from the rich, the moneyed classes who are masters at, and get away with, undervaluing their assets and understating their incomes (as can be sensed from the corona trial); a rational debt policy — let’s not rush to pay obligations in advance just so we can borrow again — the nation is lubog na sa utang as it is.  and what about the pork barrel, and the presidential coffers — it’s time our government officials stopped enriching themselves while-in/through-their offices, augmenting their salaries with huge allowances and other emoluments, as though the money weren’t urgently needed elsewhere.

”yun nga lang, the president would have to rise to the challenge, demonstrate some creativity, perspicacity, and balls, so to speak.  and yes, william esposo, it would amount to a revolutionary situation of sorts, one that the masses would happily support, for sure, as in people power, remember?  revolution can be fun in the philippines.

 

miriam’s hell #cj trial

i am neither anti- nor pro-corona.  if he’s convicted, fine.  if he’s acquitted, fine.  i didn’t like him from the moment he accepted the midnight appointment, but that’s not a high crime, ‘no?

nothing will change, anyway, if corona is removed, except that whoever replaces him will be beholden to the president and his cohorts and not to gma.  and of course there’s the hacienda luisita ruling of the corona court; the cojuangcos would have a good chance of getting the whopping 10B in compensation they want that justice sereno recommends instead of 800M-something lang.  and yes, gma’s goose would be cooked, no matter how weak the evidence of election sabotage against her.

nothing will change either if corona’s not removed, except maybe he’ll inhibit or try very hard from then on to be impartial vis a vis gma cases lest he get impeached again next year.  and that, inhibiting and/or judiciously working at impartiality, would not be a bad thing.

so i am prepared to accept the verdict of the senate impeachment court.  i like it that presiding judge enrile, while bending backward to accommodate an ill-prepared complaint and prosecution, has drawn the line at subpoenaing members of the supreme court and challenging judicial privilege.  while there is much that needs reforming in the judiciary, weakening the institution and rendering it vulnerable/subject to the whims and caprices of the executive and legislative branches that are already too too too powerful would be disastrous for the country in the short-term and in the long run.

of course, there is every possibility that in the end, even if the corona camp were able to mount a credible defense, that the senator-judges would vote still according to their individual political agendas, usually connected to whoever’s in the palace.  pero kanya-kanya nang perception yan, and kanya-kanya ring diskarte, to vote or not to vote for them or their sons / daughters / spouses / siblings, in the next elections.

having said all that, in the spirit of disclosure, here’s my take on senator-judge miriam’s latest lecture that had vitaliano aguirre playing the fool.

i simply cannot find it in my value system to denigrate, condemn, or even criticize senator-judge miriam defensor santiago — as many many anti-corona peeps in social media are doing, waging a hate-miriam campaign, complete with down-dirty cussing ang isa — for lecturing the prosecution and using the words “gago” and “kagaguhan” to characterize how the prosecution has been handling the impeachment case.

neither can i find it in my value system to declare volunteer private prosecutor vitaliano aguirre a hero — as many of these anti-corona peeps are doing, complete with we-are-behind-you graphics – for daring to cover his ears during miriam’s lecture, and when called out, instead of apologizing (as his fellow prosecutors urged), daring to express in no uncertain terms, his contempt for the senator-judge, so to speak, for stridently lecturing the prosecution.

to me it’s clear that these hate-miriam love-aguirre people would be cheering miriam if miriam had been scolding the defense, and they would be angry instead with aguirre for covering his ears if he had been part of that defense.  to me it’s obvious that anti-corona anti-gma peeps are being unreasonable, i suspect out of a real if unspoken fear that corona might be acquitted, either because they have a stake in his conviction or because they have already judged him guilty, like the palace and their favorite media have.

miriam had reason, every time, to lecture the prosecution.  again and again she was provoked by the prosecution’s ineptness and panggagago.  whether or not we like her demeanor or her voice or her language or her scolding style, the prosecution deserved the scolding, every time.

this last, she was scolding the prosecution for dropping five of eight impeachment articles, and they had it coming to them.  to me they were like schoolboys who enrolled in 8 units but “dropped” (that’s the word tupaz used) 5 units kaysa ma-singko, kaysa bumagsak, dahil kulang sa requirements, and then had the gall to cover their ears when scolded by their elders.  kagaguhan indeed.

and no, gago does not mean “stupid.”  “tanga” is the equivalent of “stupid,” and there’s nothing stupid about the prosecutors.  in fact, it takes smarts, craftiness, guile, to be gago, that is, to break rules and brazenly try to get away with it — yan ang panggagago: iniisahan tayo, ginagawa tayong tanga, akala makakalusot sila.  kagaguhan is largely what the prosecution has been up to from the start, railroading, practically overnight, a badly crafted complaint that 188 signatory-reps didn’t even have time to read, and for which they had no evidence.

malaking kagaguhan din ang ginawa ni aguirre.  he was being gago, impertinent, pa-defiant, when he covered his ears in an insolent ploy to attract attention to himself and away from the senator-judge’s lecture.  in any courtroom, especially this one where the fate of a supreme court chief justice is being decided, it is kagaguhan for a prosecutor to consider himself equal to a judge.  the stakes must be so high, he was willing to play the audacious anti-hero, resort to dirty tricks to distract the public from the painful truths that miriam has been revealing about the prosecution.

so really, this front page item on the inquirer quoting cory’s spiritual adviser, that Miriam is ‘worthy of the fires of hell’?  for speaking the truth?  what the hell!  then that goes for me, too.

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No Plan B to fall on by Solita Collas-Monsod
The inane, the insane, the profane Manila Standard Today Editorial
Your Honors… by Alex Magno
The Aquino-LP agenda by Carol Pagaduan-Araullo

the president & people power #cj trial

am seriously disturbed by this part of the president’s tagumpay ng bayan speech last 16 feb in the first of “townhall meetings” to mark the 10-day run-up to the 26th EDSA anniversary on feb 25:

The impeachment trial of Mr. Corona in the Senate began on the 16th of January. I chose to observe the proceedings and to keep my silence; my faith in due process remains steadfast. But what has been happening now? Speculation and commentary have muddled the true issues; it is as if we are purposely being confused and misled so our interest in the proceedings would fade. Will Juan and Juana de la Cruz allow themselves to be shut out of this process? Will we allow a select few to decide the fate of all? [emphasis mine]

certainly sounds to me like a call for people power: due process is too confusing, oust corona now.  going by edsa history, it’s looking like he might try for another fake, um, okay, orchestrated, edsa a la gma in 2001.  but in contrast to gma who had the grace, delicadeza, whatever (feels weird saying something sort of positive about her) to keep her distance from the erap impeachment trial, this president is known, okay, said, to have been part of the impeach-corona project since the hacienda luisita ruling, and now that the trial isn’t delivering as quickly and surely as he hoped, this president is himself openly agitating the public, it would seem, not to wait for the senate impeachment court’s decision but to decide the fate of corona in the streets now na, or maybe on feb 25?

winnie monsod is disturbed too:

… the President (if the news reports are accurate) is not only practically inciting the people to take matters into their own hands, but is also showing a dismal ignorance about how the will of the people is to be served. As in “Would Juan de la Cruz allow himself to be left out of this process? Are we going to let only a few to decide for all of us?” Good grief. Doesn’t he realize that he is one of those “few,” as are all legislators and local executives, and that they were chosen by the people precisely to carry out their will? Or does he want every decision to be subject to ratification by the people? Ridiculous, right? The implication is that we can ignore, with impunity, the rule of law, the absence of which in this country has held back our growth and development.

Demagoguery is a dangerous tool—and can boomerang on the persons using it.

of course the prez’s spokesgirl abigail valte denies it:

Malacañang on Friday denied that President Benigno Aquino 3rd was calling on the youth to march to EDSA and stage another “People Power” uprising once Chief Justice Renato Corona is cleared by the Senate impeachment court.

…Valte said Mr. Aquino has also the right to voice out his opinion.

“All the President was asking for is to take a stand, be informed, know what is happening,” she said.

hmm.  but read about the aquino admin’s full throttle preparations for the People Power anniversary celeb next week.

Secretary Coloma said that the Edsa People Power Commission has been lining up several activities in 26 different venues all over the country for the celebration that will focus on the innate Filipino spirit of volunteerism, unity and concern in achieving national progress.

and jojo robles’ The anti-Corona road tour

Sources have intimated that a top political operator of the palace has started mobilizing heads of local government units who hold top positions in the Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines to stage rallies in favor of Aquino’s anti-Corona position. The point man of the palace’s political operative is reportedly a prominent mayor of a northern province who used to be a fair-haired boy of the Arroyo administration.

The initial salvo is supposed to be a rally that will be the culmination of the people power anniversary. The pro-administration shindig is supposed to have as participants the crowds that will be gathered by local officials from amongst their own constituents; and, as any mayor and governor knows, such crowds cost money.

ah, initial salvo lang ang feb 25 rally?  whatever, there’s a lot of mobilizing going on behind the scenes, including the information campaign that the 188 reps mounted a week or so ago to keep their respective constituents informed on the Senate trial developments, which of course the corona camp sees as part of a sinister ‘People Power’ plot vs Corona.

and then there’s the Left.  with akbayan partylist rep arlene kaka bag-ao and bayan muna partylist rep neri colmenares in the prosecution team, it would seem that the Left is united and squarely behind the aquino admin on this one.  how would they handle kaya a call for people power.

and what about hacienda luisita. corona has not minced words, the prez wants him out not just because of his gloria connection but because of his stand on hacienda luisita.   so i wonder what the Left’s stand is on the cojuangcos’ desired (and exorbitant) compensation of 10B? maybe they actually hope to be a restraining influence on the president?

let’s remember that the Left lost a lot of credibility in the time of edsa tres — when the masa, whom leftists claim to represent and champion in the halls of congress and in the countryside, rose up to protest the illegal ouster and ill treatment of the president they had voted into office.  the leftists were mostly on gloria’s side then.  now naman they’re on aquino’s side.  how progressive is that, really, aligning with the ruling elite — the oppressors mismo, witting or not, of the masa?

what would be progressive is if the Left were to take a stand for due process, no matter how long it takes, no matter who wins, because to ignore the rule of law na naman, as in edsa dos, would be as disastrous for nation and the interests of the masses as gma’s 9-year rule was.

yes, nakakapagod, nakakainis, nakakalito, nakakadismaya, ang nangyayari sa impeachment trial sa senado, thanks to a bumbling prosection, pero nandiyan na ‘yan, let due process take its course.  it is for the senate to speed things up without losing its balance, and it is for us to be patient, to learn what we can from this rare public event, and to see it through to the end.  let us finish what we started, just because it is the right thing to do.

besides, what if noynoy calls out his people and corona supporters rise up too?  the president does not have a franchise on people power, even if he thinks he does.