‘The worrisome part of this is that most of the sources of disinformation is being perpetrated by government officials on taxpayers’ money,’ veteran journalist Ellen Tordesillas tells a Senate panel probing the proliferation of fake news

By FRANCO G. REGALA

CLARKFIELD, Pampanga – Customs Commissioner Isidro Lapena on Tuesday turned over P108-M worth of seized illegal drugs shipments to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) here.

MAJOR SEIZURE — Customs Commissioner Isidro Lapeña turns over 18 kilos of seized illegal drugs to Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) Central Luzon Regional Director Joseph Ladip at Clark Freeport in Pampanga yesterday. Others in photo are officials of the Bureau of Customs, PDEA, and the Clark International Airport Corporation. (Franco G. Regala)

Lapeña led the turnover of the three packages containing 18 kilos of shabu (methamphetamine hydrochloride) that were shipped from Los Angeles, California, USA last Friday, January 26, to PDEA regional director Joseph Ladip.

The packages were contained in six suspicious cargoes which were subjected to interdiction by joint elements of PDEA3, PDEA-NCR, PDEA-Special Enforcement Service K-9 unit and the Bureau of Customs (BOC)-Clark.

In a press conference, Lapeña said that coordination between PDEA, BoC and the Clark International Airport Corporation (CIAC) was the key in achieving the objective of intercepting the shipment, and eventually control the delivery of the illegal drugs to the consignees.

“Galing ito (shabu) sa (These came from) Southern California and they were put on hold because they have suspicious analogous declarations with the shipments seized last January 23,” said Lapena, adding that the boxes were declared to contained either statues, sculptures, figurines or religious items.

“Malaking tulong yung close coordination with the CIAC and the efforts of all agencies concerned to halt transfer and delivery of the illegal drugs to the consignees,” he added.

Lapena said the shipments may be identical or similar with the modus of the alleged drug cartel that had earlier sent shabu to the country using religious items as decoy.

Citing intelligence reports, CIAC President Alex Caguiran said drug syndicates in California have contacts in Cavite.

According to Ladip, they have been monitoring illegal shipment from abroad since last month that was why this latest attempt to smuggle illegal drugs into the country was foiled.

After the packages were intercepted, Ladip explained that initial documentation and proper labeling of the confiscated illegal substance was made by a Customs officer, and eventually a simultaneous controlled deliver was planned for the arrest of the consignees.

“After the discovery of the illegal drugs in Clark, joint anti-narcotics operatives of PDEA3 and PDEA-NCR conducted controlled delivery operation in Cavite (residences of the consignees) but unfortunately no person was arrested because the consignees could not be located.

He said the consignees will be charged for violation of the Customs modernization and tariffs act and the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act once they have been identified.

“We are more strict now as much as possible especially those items coming from abroad,” said Lapeña.

MANILA, Philippines — With chili-spiced or flavored “lava ice cream” in demand and awestruck tourists packing onto viewing decks, the erupting Mayon Volcano is sparking a local business boom in an impoverished region where tens of thousands of others have fled for their lives.

Albay has built its image around the picture-perfect, cone-shaped Mayon, whose periodic activity offers both boundless opportunity as well as enduring misery.

Since Mayon began shooting out lava two weeks ago, restaurants and hotels just outside a nine-kilometer “danger zone” – some complete with volcano branding – have enjoyed an off-season tourism bonanza. 

“We are thankful because we have many guests but it also makes me guilty because so many people are affected,” Purita Araojo, front desk officer at Vista Al Mayon Pensionne, told AFP.

Nearly 90,000 people living around the volcano have fled to overcrowded relief camps where authorities have warned of a worsening sanitation crisis.

The largely farming region is still bracing for a potentially explosive eruption, though experts are convinced everyone is now out of reach of the 8,070-foot Mayon’s threat.

With its 52nd eruption in about 400 years, Mayon is the most active of 22 volcanoes in a country that is itself part of the Pacific “Ring of Fire” of islands formed by volcanic activity.

‘Beautiful lady’

But its rumblings are also a spark of inspiration for tourism-oriented businesses, which have fashioned spicy menus while prominently displaying volcano photos and logos.

A bestseller at a local restaurant is the “Mayon Hot Lava” – Mayon-shaped ice cream scoops topped with bits of sili (chili) and spicy syrup.

High-end hotels provide live TV streaming of Mayon’s eruption, while out-of-town journalists and tourists are also corralled into “volcano-view” rooms with windows looking out onto the slowly unfolding disaster. 

Albay saw a 10-percent growth in tourist arrivals this month from a year earlier, the local tourism office said, as travel agencies and tour guide services cashed in on what is normally a slow period after Christmas.

The forlorn top of the old church belfry of Cagsawa – jutting out of the grass more than two centuries after Mayon buried 1,200 of its residents alive in a catastrophic 1814 eruption – is the most popular draw.

Family and friends pose for wacky shots beside it, many making it appear as if they are leaning on the smoldering volcano in the background, or cupping its red-hot crater.

At times, however, low-lying rain clouds spoil the photography, forcing tourist guides to turn to storytelling.

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RETIRED Supreme Court justice Adolf Azcuna on Tuesday said the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) draft was “constitutional,” as the Senate sub-committee on the BBL continued its public consultations on the measure.

Azcuna was one of four legal luminaries invited to the fifth public hearing on the BBL, which seeks to abolish the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao and replace it with the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region that will have more powers.

Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri, chairman of the Senate sub-committee on BBL, asked Azcuna, member of the 1971 Constitutional Convention and the 1986 Constitutional Commission, for his thoughts on the BBL.

“If we create this parliament, is there a risk of being unconstitutional vis-a-vis the 1987 Constitution?” Zubiri asked.

Azcuna said: “I was pleasantly surprised when I went over the four Senate bills, one of them authored by yourself, which I have a copy, precisely to look at possible constitutional infirmities.”

“I could not find any. I used to find a lot in the earlier versions. So, to me this has passed the test insofar as constitutionality is concerned,” Azcuna said.

“For instance, it mentions that everything is within the framework of the Constitution. It also mentions that the territory of the Bangsamoro shall be part of the territory of the territory of the Philippines. Those are very critical factors which were not contained in the previous versions,” he added.

Senate President Aquilino Pimentel 3rd as well as Senators Paolo Benigno Aquino 4th, Risa Hontiveros and Zubiri have filed their own versions of the BBL. The last three were based on the draft BBL crafted by the 21-member Bangsamoro Transition Commission (BTC) appointed by President Rodrigo Duterte.

The proposed BBL, according to its proponents, seeks genuine autonomy to address political marginalization and historical injustices committed against the Moros. This is part of the 2014 peace accord between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

Asked whether he was satisfied with the pacing of the hearings on the BBL amid the President’s recent call for Congress to prioritize Charter change, Commissioner Firdausi Ismail Abbas, one of the BTC members, said: “We are impressed.”

“Like the President, we will also make adjustments, as we heard him say, ‘I’m always been pro-BBL.’ Actually we are inspired by the political will of the members of the sub-committee and of the Committee on Local Government. We are confident and optimistic it will be passed on time,” Abbas said in a chance interview.

“I don’t think there should be any difficulty. I think that would not be a hindrance nor will it bar accommodation of the BBL into the federal form of government. This BBL could be a model for all the other regional states and government which would be created through federalism,” he added.

Zubiri, in an interview, said public hearings on BBL and Charter change to shift to a federal form of government could be done simultaneously.

“The issue on federalism would take a lot of time. The President has just created a commission and we must respect that. It will take about six months for them to come up with a detailed report and after that six months we still have to agree on what mode we will take: Con-Con (Constitutional Convention) or Con-Ass (Constituent Assembly),” he said.

He added: “So, we are of the opinion that we can pass BBL before amendments to the Constitution. And at the same time, after we pass the BBL and we’ll have Charter change amendments, they can incorporate the Bangsamoro area, this Bangsamoro Autonomous Region.”

The Senate sub-committee on the BBL will conduct its last two public hearings in Sulu and Tawi-Tawi on February 8 and in Basilan and Zamboanga City on February 9.

After having their houses destroyed by the recent fire in Barangay Pasil in Cebu City, at least 300 individuals including some fire victims or an estimated 60 to 70 households will be displaced by the planned river widening and development project of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).

Genevieve Alcoseba, Division for the Welfare of the Urban Poor (DWUP) operations chief, said that the 60 to 70 households in the barangay would not be allowed to build permanent structures at the riverbanks because of the planned DPWH project.

The decision was made after a coordination meeting with DPWH, Barangay Pasil Council and Division for the Welfare of the Urban Poor (DWUP) last Jan. 9.

Alcoseba said that the affected residents would be relocated, with the relocation to be funded by the DPWH.

When asked about how many affected, Alcoseba said she could not an exact number because the validation of the families involved were still ongoing.
Lea Japson, Department of Social Welfare and Services (DSWS) head, said that the DSWS formula for an estimate while the verification of families is ongoing is 5 individuals for a household.

This means that there are an estimate of 350 individuals for 70 households.Lourdes, 46, a Pasil resident, said she was worried about relocating especially from an area far from Pasil.

“We don’t want to leave Pasil, my husband’s livelihood is fishing, my two sons are just porters in Carbon and I sell food here,” she said in Cebuano.
Alcoseba, however, said that DWUP had not yet finalized the relocation site for the affected households.

“We haven’t decided yet where the relocation sites will be, but the bigger the better, since it will be occupied by a great number of households,” said Alcoseba.

Meanwhile, an estimated 3,000 fire victims of Barangay Pasil would also be affected by the reblocking and subdivision plan of Block 5 and 6 in Barangay Pasil.

Alcoseba said that they would strictly implement the reblocking of the area.

“Along with the implementation will be the set backing of houses that will be constructed, especially the ones facing the pathways — may it be the inner pathways or the bigger pathways that are up to 4 meters (in width). We made them understand that we will strictly implement this (reblocking), so that pathways that are encroached by residents’ houses will be cleared and restored,” said Alcoseba in Cebuano.

She also sought the barangay’s support in building their infrastructure.

She advised residents not to build houses with the second and third floor which encroach on the pathways.

She also wants to show the Slum Improvement and Resettlement (SIR) occupants that there is clarity and order in pathways upon implementing the subdivision plan.

“This is what Mayor Tommy wants, to re-block them, so that they may claim their rightful lots, and if something happens in the future like a fire, we can prevent it from getting bigger because we can easily have access to the area,” said Alcoseba in Cebuano.

She also advised the barangay officials to be stricter in clearing the pathways of the barangay — clear structures like mini-computer shops and sari-sari stores encroaching on the road, and pedicabs parked along the pathways,

“Well, the barangay is very cooperative, and we can see that they like the program. They also asked for our timeline,” said Alcoseba.

She said that the area in Barangay Pasil that was hit by fire last January 14 is under a housing program of the city government and occupied by the program beneficiaries.

However, the DWUP team is still profiling the residents to validate and finalize the awardee of the housing program with a concrete data since some recorded official beneficiaries and the actual occupants of the residences did not match.

She said that we are still gathering more data so that we could have a clearer picture of the number of beneficiaries and we could have a solid data base of the beneficiaries.

MANILA, Philippines — State-run Social Security System (SSS) is seeking to implement by April the proposed increase in the contribution rate of members to raise its collections and improve the viability of the fund.

In an interview, SSS president and chief executive officer Emmanuel Dooc said the state fund is asking President Duterte to issue an executive order raising the SSS contribution rates and enabling the state fund to implement the hike by April this year.

“Our prayer is to get this approved by the President and for us to also get it approved by the (Social Security) Commission so we can implement it starting April,” Dooc told reporters.

Earlier, Dooc said the SSS is seeking to increase its member contributions by three-percentage points to 14 percent from 11 percent of the monthly salary credit.

The SSS also wants to increase the minimum salary credit of members to P4,000 from P1,000 and the maximum salary credit to P20,000 from P16,000.

If implemented by April, Dooc said the contribution increase would generate P45 billion in additional collection until the end of the year.

It would also prolong the state pension fund’s life until 2044.

According to Dooc, the SSS sent last week a letter signed by him and Social Security Commission chairman Amado Valdez to Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez requesting for an endorsement of the proposed increase to President Duterte.

“He is actively reviewing it because I was asked to pass some additional details in relation to that. And he is again calling us to a meeting to discuss it before probably he endorses it to the President,” Dooc said.

Dooc said the state fund has resorted to seeking the President’s approval by way of an executive order as the proposed amendments to the SSS charter – which would empower the SSC to increase rates – may take  time in Congress.  

“I feel that it will be a faster way and that was suggested to us by none other than the Secretary of Finance,” he said.

The SSS reported a net income of P9 billion in 2017, 71.85 percent lower than the P32 billion   in 2016.

Dooc attributed the decline to the P32 billion additional benefits it disbursed to members last year after the P1,000 hike in the monthly benefits of SSS pensioners.

By Genalyn D. Kabiling and Chito A. Chavez

Former Customs Commissioner Nicanor E. Faeldon was transferred to the Pasay City Jail on orders of the Senate which had earlier cited him in contempt over his refusal to appear before its hearing of the P6.4-billion illegal drugs shipment from China.

He arrived at the jail facility clad in his statement black shirt, with “Truth is Justice” mark.

Although he was appointed last month by President Duterte as deputy administrator of the Office of Civil Defense (OCD), Malacañang said it is not inclined to intervene and secure Faeldon’s release from jail.

DEFIANT – Former Customs Commissioner Nicanor Faeldon (right) raises his right fist in defiance as he is escorted by the police to the Pasay City Jail Tuesday after he was cited in contempt by the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee. (Ali Vicoy)

Faeldon could still perform his duties related to OCD even though he is in jail, according to Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque.

“He is appointed to OCD, which is a policy-making body, so our position is he can perform his tasks wherever he may be, even in jail,” Roque said during a press conference in Marawi City.

Asked if the Palace would intervene in Faeldon’s case, Roque said: “We have never intervened in the legislative process. I don’t think the President will begin now.”

Faeldon has been transferred to the Pasay City jail after trading barbs with Senator Richard Gordon, chair of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee probing the drug shipment and alleged corruption in the Bureau of Customs.

The former Customs chief has been detained at the Senate since September after he voluntarily surrendered to the Upper Chamber on contempt charges.

He was taken to the Pasay City Jail at 12:05 p.m. Tuesday, the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) said.

Senior Inspector Xavier Solda, BJMP spokesman, said Faeldon was immediately given a copy of the rules and regulations of the facility which was explained to him and his counsel.

Solda said the BJMP expects Faeldon to strictly adhere to the jail regulations, stressing that no special treatment will be accorded to him.

Even with his status, Faeldon will stay with the other 997 inmates at the Pasay City Jail which has an 830 percent congestion rate.

“For now, what is important is he arrived safely and we appreciate his cooperativeness,” Solda said.

Last Monday, Faeldon filed before the Supreme Court a petition seeking his release from detention.

But the SC did not take up his case during its full session Tuesday.

A source said Faeldon’s petition was not in the agenda of the SC’s full court session since his case has not been raffled for assignment to a justice-in-charge of the petition.

In his SC petition, Faeldon said that “the respondent’s [Senate] order of arrest and detention should be declared null and void as it was issued pursuant to a proceeding without any legislative purpose or even intent of legislation but purely for persecution, grandstanding, and self-confessed obsession.”

He pointed out that he was detained “without any chance for bail or any other form or mode of provisional or temporary liberty.”

“Stripped of the niceties, the petitioner is being detained, and has been detained for 134 days, and counting, on a non-bailable charge. Legislative contempt, however, and without fear of contradiction, is not and has never been classified as a heinous offense, much less a non-bailable offense,” he said.

“Thus, the assailed ‘no bail’ detention order is no doubt a cruel and inhuman punishment, which has long been outlawed under the 1987 Constitution,” he added.

He stressed that he was denied due process because he was not given a chance to explain why he should not be cited in contempt for not appearing in the hearings.

“Had the respondents first issued a show-cause order, the petitioner would have thoroughly explained to them the reasons why, it was and is his firm belief that he had a right to his personal dignity, to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation against him, and that he is presumed innocent unless and until the contrary is proved,” he said.

Sen. Richard J. Gordon, chairman of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee, said Faeldon’s continued detention a “self-inflicted wound that he himself can fix with a little humility and a little respect.”

Gordon said his committee would invite Faeldon, a former Marine captain, to appear in the next public hearing on Feb. 13.

Asked whether or not Faeldon would purge himself of the contempt charges slapped against him, Gordon replied: “I am not suggesting anything.”

“He will have to do it on his own. He has to show remorse and respect to the Senate,” he said. (With reports from Rey G. Panaligan and Mario B. Casayuran)

Tags: BJMP, Bureau of Customs, Harry Roque, Nicanor E. Faeldon, Pasay City Jail, Richard Gordon, Richard J. Gordon, Senate Blue Ribbon Committee, Senate sends Faeldon to Pasay jail; Palace won’t intervene