Category: senate

spinning the walkout & the waiver #cj trial

wikipedia: In labor disputes, a walkout is a labor strike, the act of employees collectively leaving the workplace as an act of protest.

free dictionary: walk out 1. To go on strike. 2. To leave suddenly, often as a signal of disapproval.

merriam-webster: WALK OUT  1: to leave suddenly often as an expression of disapproval 2: to go on strike

was just listening to atty tranquil salvador on dzmm.  he gets A for eyffort, but i don’t buy the illness excuse, that corona was feeling so sick he didn’t know what he was doing, and that he may have thought nakapagpaalam na siya nang maayos.

what happened, what we saw, was a walkout, consistent, of a piece, with the belligerent barako tenor of his 3-hour performance statement.

if it were true that he was feeling ill, he couldn’t have stood up so easily, stepped down from the witness stand without a pause, or walked out so quickly and steadily without help.  if he were truly feeling hypoglycaemic, it would have made more sense to remain seated, ask for a coke, then ask to be excused and helped out of the place rather than risk the indignity of a collapse while walking out.

if he were truly feeling ill, but he was sure he could manage to walk out with dignity, then the first thing he or his wife or daughter should have sent for was a coke, whatever, instead of heading straight toward an exit where his car was waiting, motor running (o baka naman may coke doon), to take him away who knows where, possibly the supreme court, for the next phase of the battle.

i daresay that the illness set in only when he realized that his ploy had failed and so nag-regroup, asked for a coke and then a wheelchair.

i daresay that if the chief justice had gotten away before the lockdown, it would be an entirely different story unfolding.

and so the spin that it wasn’t a walkout but force majeure, coming from some senator-judges, only betrays how their trapo minds work and, of course, how they’re going to vote.  why else would they be making excuses for him.

Senate Majority Floor Leader Vicente Sotto III said there was no walkout because Corona sought the court’s permission before leaving. His only fault, he said, was that he did not wait for Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, the presiding judge, to discharge him.

“You cannot call it walkout, although it was not the proper procedure,” Sotto said.

Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr. also believed there was no walkout because the Chief Justice returned to the session hall later in a wheelchair.

as for the conditional waiver: the spin is that it’s merely a diversionary tactic.  hmm.  read Corona’s challenge by rene azurin:

Regardless of how one feels about Mr. Corona and his alleged crimes, the words with which he ended his statement at the Senate last Tuesday accurately reflect what many Filipinos feel at this point: “…I beg you, ladies and gentlemen of the prosecution, not to engage me in argumentation about who is on trial here. We — you and me — are on trial here. Let’s stop all this posturing and show the Filipino nation what we’re made of…This is an invitation, a challenge for public accountability made only with the hope that we can all together give our nation one shining moment in public service.” Very well said.

The Filipino people have not hitherto been able to do any wholesale cleaning up of our messed-up government, mainly because the political and economic elite who run this country have been careful not to provide us (the powerless masses) with the means or the opportunity. Mr. Corona’s challenge opens the door a crack. If we are serious about wanting reform in this country, we should all add our collective voice to his and loudly insist on implementing what he has proposed.

senator judge drilon finds corona’s challenge ‘funny’ (as in, more fun-ny in the philippines?) while also warning that opening all government officials’ foreign currency deposits for scrutiny would be “disastrous to the banking system.”  the fear, i hear, is that government officials with unexplained wealth would be constrained to move their funds to “more hospitable jurisdictions” (as an fb friend puts it), which would be bad for the banks, baka magka-bank run pag na-tense rin ang ordinary depositors.

hmm.  but our banks are awash with cash: Philippine banks very liquid–BSP.  and if what my fb friend says is true, that “there are more prosperous business men and professionals than public officials in the banking system,” then it would seem that the banking system should be able to withstand the disaster drilon warns of.  a proper information campaign addressed to, and assuring, ordinary if rich depositors that they would not be affected would go a long way towards preventing bank runs.  it’s time the banking system took a stand against corruption, and for the legitimately private-citizen rich to stand by their banks.

the hitch, correct me if i’m wrong, is that under the bank secrecy law, we have no way of knowing who these crooked government officials are who would move unexplained wealth out of the country.  and even if we demanded a law that makes it mandatory for all government officials, appointive and elective, to waive privacy rights to their bank accounts upon assuming office, again, there would be nothing to prevent them from bankng unexplained wealth abroad.  hayyy.  paano na nga ba.

but first things first.  the latest from anc is that corona will attend the trial tomorrow and that he will submit an unconditional waiver, his way of proving that it is not he, but drilon & the reps, who have something to hide.

if true, then maybe he still has a chance of being acquitted.  although according to ellen tordesillas, the palace already had enough votes (16 of 23) to convict even before may 22.  we will know soon enough.

the walkout #cj trial

ang saya na sana.  it was good, in fairness, to hear his version of the stories that the yellow media had long been spinning, and his own powerpoint claiming just a handful of dollar accounts.  and when he signed that waiver, napa-wow ako, when he challenged drilon and the 188 reps who impeached him to waive theirs too, napahalakhak at palakpak ako, way to go!  but then he stood up and walked out, WTF, and all hell broke loose!

my take is, corona never intended to face cross-examination, he intended to walk out, as he did, once he was done with his statement.  if enrile had not ordered the lockdown that prevented him from leaving the building, i doubt that we would have seen him again.  but enrile was quick to the draw, and so corona was forced to plead illness, and play it sick, wheelchair and all, and tila nagkatotoo tuloy.  the melodrama continues.

but even if he were feeling all right, magugulat ako kung um-appear pa siya uli after that shocking show of disrespect for the senate impeachment court, which was like giving the finger to the senator-judges.  were he to return, it would be to a hostile court, for certain.

i was looking forward pa naman to hearing where the large dollar deposits on significant dates came from.  i guess we’ll never know.  ted te may be right, that corona will take the battle to the supreme court and ask for a restraining order against a senate vote.

the senate will not be stopped, of course, and more and more it looks like a corona conviction coming up.

senate draft bill creating a dept of culture

i wonder when we were going to be told about this, and why  neither u.p. nor the senate has seen fit to inform and consult with artists and cultural workers nationwide.

FIFTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE )
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES )
Second Regular Session )

S E N A T E
S. No. _________
Introduced by Senator Edgardo J. Angara
AN ACT CREATING THE DEPARTMENT OF CULTURE, DEFINING ITS POWERS AND FUNCTIONS, APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFORE, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress assembled:

SECTION 1. Short Title. This Act shall be known as the “Department of Culture Act of 2012.”

SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy. It is hereby declared the policy of the State:

a. To recognize that culture is a unifying, humanizing and modernizing agent of any society;

b. To use culture as a measure for the formulation of appropriate and significant political and economic policy that will better serve Filipinos;

c. To foster and accelerate the convergence of various – cultural offices and agencies;

d. To ensure that all Filipinos enjoy full cultural rights, take full advantage of their dynamic cultural experience, celebrate the country’s history and heritage and participate in the building of cultural communities;

e. To recognize that cultural education is the right of every citizen and therefore ensure that cultural literacy is inculcated in the development and education of all Filipinos;

f. To promote the national language of the country while enhancing the linguistic diversity of the Philippines; and

g. To create a centralized body which will develop and monitor the implementation of policy, legislation and strategic direction for the identification, conservation and promotion of cultural heritage

h. To recognize culture/ heritage as a right of every citizen;

i. To recognize, respect and promote the independence of the artist, and the integrity of artistic production, and of artistic works.

SEC. 3. Definition of Terms. As used in this Act, the following terms are defined as follows:

SEC. 4. Creation of the Department of Culture. There is hereby created the Department of Culture, hereinafter referred to as the Department, which shall carry out the above-declared policies and assume the powers and functions of the following national offices, agencies and departments in matters pertaining to the promotion, preservation and synthesis of national culture and heritage:

a. Department of Education
b. National Commission for Culture and the Arts
c. Department of Tourism
d. Department of Foreign Affairs
e. National Book Development Board

SEC. 5. Mandate. The Department shall be the primary policy, planning, coordinating, implementing, regulating and administrative entity of the executive branch of the Government that will promote, develop and instill pride in the country’s culture and heritage.

SEC. 6. Powers and Functions. The Department shall exercise the following powers and functions:

a. Formulate, recommend and implement national policies, plans, programs and guidelines for the development and promotion of national culture, language and heritage and provide wider and convenient access by the citizens to the same;

b. Initiate, harmonize and coordinate all culture-related plans and initiatives of government agencies to ensure overall consistency and harmony with cultural objectives in particular, and national objectives in general;

c. Represent the Philippine interest on matters pertaining to culture in international bodies;

d. Promote knowledge, information and resource sharing, database building and agency linkages among various government agencies;

e. Ensure the development and protection of Filipino culture and heritage and coordinate all relevant government entities;

f. Coordinate and support the generation, acquisition and accessibility of necessary resources as may be appropriate for the development and growth of cultural sectors, and programs;

g. Encourage and establish guidelines for the use of public-private partnerships in the implementation of cultural projects;

h. Assess, review and support historical and cultural research and development programs of the government, the Commission on Filipino Language, and other concerned institutions;

i. Coordinate with the Department of Trade and Industry in the promotion of trade and investment opportunities, the development and coordination of creative industries, and protection of investor interests in cultural development and promotion;

j. In coordination with concerned agencies, promote strategic partnership and alliances among and between local and international bodies and institutions concerned with research and development, education and training ;

k. Develop, institute and carry-out the training of cultural officers and attaches from different concerned offices and agencies of the National Government;

l. Coordinate and monitor all Sentro Rizal offices established or to be established;

m. Administer the qualification, selection and awarding of National Artist Awards and Gawad Manlilikha ng Bayan;

n. Administer the Fund as specified in Section ___ and, in coordination with the Department of Budget and Management, establish guidelines for the disbursement and management of the Fund, including the monitoring and evaluation system of projects funded under it.

SEC. 7. Composition. The Department of Culture shall be headed by a Secretary. The Department proper shall be composed of the Office of the Secretary, the offices of the Undersecretaries and the Assistant Secretaries.

SEC. 8. Secretary of Culture. The Secretary shall be appointed by the President.

The Secretary shall have the following functions:

a. Provide executive direction and supervision over the entire operations of the Department and its attached agencies;

b. Establish policies and standards for the effective, efficient and economical operation of the Department, in accordance with the programs of Government;

c. Rationalize delivery systems necessary for the effective attainment of the objectives of the Department, in accordance with the programs of Government;

d. Review and approve requests for financial and manpower resources of all operating offices of the Department;

e. Designate and appoint officers and employees of the Department, excluding the Undersecretaries, Assistant Secretaries, and Regional and Assistant Regional Directors, in accordance with the Civil Service laws, rules and regulations;

f. Sit as Chairman of the Board of the Cultural Center of the Philippines;

g. Coordinate with LGUs, other agencies and public and private interests groups, including non-government organizations (NGOs) and people’s organizations (POs) on Department policies and initiatives;

h. Advise the President on the promulgation of executive and administrative orders and regulatory and legislative proposals on matters pertaining to cultural development and preservation;

i. Formulate such rules and regulations and exercise such other powers as may be required to implement the objectives of this Act;

j. Perform such other tasks as may be provided by Law or assigned by the President from time to time.

SEC. 9. Undersecretaries and Bureaus. The Secretary shall be assisted by at least four (4) Undersecretaries, who shall be appointed by the President upon the recommendation of the Secretary. Each undersecretary shall head one (1) of the following bureaus:

a. Bureau of Arts and Artists Development
b. Bureau of Heritage Development
c. Bureau of Cultural Education and Information
d. Bureau of Creative Industries

SEC. 10. Assistant Secretaries. The Secretary shall be assisted by at least four (4) Assistant Secretaries who shall be career officers appointed by the President upon the recommendation of the Secretary.

SEC. 11. Qualifications. No person shall be appointed Secretary, Undersecretary or Assistant Secretary of the Department unless he/she is a citizen and resident of the Philippines of good moral character, and of proven integrity.

The Secretary of the Department, in particular, shall be a Filipino recognized as an efficient arts and culture manager, and/or an accomplished artist.

SEC. 12. Regional Offices. The Department shall be authorized to establish, operate, and maintain Regional Offices in each of the administrative regions of the country as the need arises. The regional office shall be headed by a Regional Director, who may be assisted by one (1) Assistant Regional Director. The Regional Offices shall have, within their respective administrative regions, the following functions:

a. Implement laws, policies, plans, programs, projects, rules and regulations of the Department;

b. Provide efficient and effective service to the people;

c. Coordinate with regional offices of other departments, offices, and agencies;

d. Coordinate with LGUs and NGOs that are concerned with culture and the arts;

e. Perform such other functions as may be provided by law or assigned by the Secretary.

SEC. 13. Creation of The National Academy of the Arts – There is hereby created a National Academy of the Arts, the primary function of which shall be to serve as an apolitical body that will advise the Department and the Secretary in all matters of culture and the arts. All members of the Academy shall be Filipinos respected for their achievements in arts and culture.

Members of the Academy shall receive reasonable per diems from the Department whenever their services or advice are solicited.

Members of the Academy shall be selected according to the Rules to be established by the Department. All members of the Academy shall be members for life.

Upon the creation of the Department, living national artists shall serve as the initial members of the Academy.

SEC. 14. Transfer of Agencies and Personnel.

a. The powers, functions, duties and responsibilities of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), so long as it is not contrary to this Act, is hereby absorbed by the Department, and all appropriations, records, equipment, property, and personnel of the NCCA shall be transferred to the Department;

b. The following agencies are hereby attached to the Department for policy and program coordination, and shall continue to operate and function in accordance with the charters, laws or orders creating them, insofar as they are not inconsistent with this Act:

1. National Historical Commission of the Philippines
2. National Archives of the Philippines
3. National Museum
4. National Library of the Philippines

c. The laws and rules on government reorganization as provided for in Republic Act No. 6656, otherwise known as the Reorganization Law, shall govern the reorganization process of the Department.

SEC. 15. National Endowment Fund for Culture and the Arts. The National Endowment Fund for Culture and the Arts, (NEFCA) created under Republic Act 7356 shall remain intact and shall be administered by the Department.

SEC. 16. Structure and Staffing Pattern. The Department shall determine its organizational structure and create new divisions or units as it may deem necessary, and shall appoint officers and employees of the Department in accordance with the Civil Service Law, rules, and regulations.

SEC. 17. Separation from Service. Employees separated from the service as a result of this reorganization shall, within ninety (90) days therefrom, receive the separation and retirement benefits to which they may be entitled under Executive Order No. 366. Provided that such separation pay and retirement benefits shall have priority of payment out of the savings of the department or agency.

SEC. 18. Appropriation. The amount needed for the initial implementation of this Act shall be taken from the current fiscal year’s appropriation of the NCCA through the Office of the President and all agencies herein absorbed by or attached to the Department. Thereafter, the amount needed for the operation and maintenance of the Department shall be included in the General Appropriations Act, provided that for the next fiscal year, the amount shall be One Billion Pesos (Php 1,000,000,000.00),

SEC. 19. Repealing Clause. All laws, decrees, executive orders, rules and regulations and other issuances or parts thereof that are inconsistent with this Act are hereby repealed, amended or modified accordingly.

SEC. 20. Separability Clause. If any provision of this Act shall be declared unconstitutional or invalid, the other provisions not otherwise affected shall remain in full force and effect.

SEC. 21. Effectivity Clause. This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days from its publication in at least two (2) papers of general circulation.

Approved.

those dollar accounts #cj trial

MANILA, Philippines – Day 37 of the impeachment trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona began with a bold assertion by defense lawyers he will face squarely charges he kept $10 million in secret accounts. By day’s end, however, the defense team appeared shell-shocked, after its hostile witness, Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales, shared with the court highlights of the chief magistrate’s dollar stash. Her source: a report by the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC).

Corona has $12 million in “fresh deposits” in various banks, Carpio-Morales said Monday. This is aside from the $10 million Carpio-Morales said Corona had maintained in 82 accounts in five banks and where he had made deposits and withdrawals “on very significant dates,” including the 2004 and 2010 elections, and on December 11, 2011, the day he was impeached by the House of Representatives.

i was fascinated by the huge amounts, and puzzled by the movement of funds, in and out, in and out, and i wondered “aloud” via facebook and twitter what that was all about, why move money around in different accounts that are all under his name anyway.  obviously it wasn’t to hide the money, because then he would have put it in the names of other people or aliases ala jose velarde.

no one had an answer on twitter, though one said it was indeed “very weird.”  but on facebook a friend seems to have figured it out:

he was trading his US dollars in the dollar trading market. Interest in FCDU deposits are extremely low. I wonder who was busy trading his accounts, or was he doing it himself on his spare time? … on just the transaction flows I estimate he lost about $2M over the years — which should reflect the general FC market trend of the same period. I hope some traders will be available to confirm these speculations.

now i want to know where those dollar deposits that coincided with “signfiicant events” came from.  unless the ombudsman’s testimony was indeed all a ‘lantern of lies,’ as the chief justice insists.

Morales noted that there were significant transactions made during significant dates, particularly in 2004 and 2007, which were election years, and during the week Corona was impeached. She said $418,193.32 in time deposit was withdrawn when Corona was impeached, and $417,978.80 was transferred to a regular trust fund.

“We will debunk all her bloated numbers. And once she is proven wrong, I urge her to immediately resign from her post for allowing herself to be used by this Administration and making a laughingstock of government auditing,” Corona said.

“bloated,” hmm.  so, less than bloated would be acceptable?  the lantern metaphor, though, is intriguing.  around here, lanterns are usually more decorative than illuminating.