Exactly how many votes does Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) command?

Editorial

The Iglesia Ni Cristo boasts that it commands a block vote of five million. That is why gullible and desperate politicians make a beeline for the Iglesia central temple in Quezon City to seek the blessings of Eduardo Manalo every election year, lawyer Wilfredo Garrido says.   

He goes on: “There is no way to validate this figure. But there is empirical evidence to show that it commands much less than that: not even a million votes. Consider the performance of its well-known party-list organization: SAGIP, headed by ABS-CBN franchise buster Rodante Marcoleta.

“Voters are allowed to vote only one party-list. For a sect deathly afraid of splitting its vote, on which it depends for its very existence, to the extent of expelling any member who defies its leader's choice, INC can afford to endorse only one party-list. This is none other than SAGIP, which it did in fact endorse in 2013. Vote for more than one party-list and your vote is considered spoiled.

“Based on the last election, two million votes are enough to get you the maximum three seats. If it really has five million votes locked up, the INC should be consistently topping the party-list race and sending the maximum of three representatives to Congress, right?

“SAGIP has never been able to do this in the four consecutive elections it contested since 2013. In the last election in 2022, only one party-list was able win three seats: ACT-CIS, with 2,111,091 votes. SAGIP?

It got 780,456 votes, good enough for two seats, its best performance so far. In the first three elections it contested, it managed to send one representative to Congress by the skin of its teeth: barely 300,000 votes. So what happened to the four million other votes?

You can't say they defied their prophet. It is more likely they don't exist. So, good luck chasing Iglesia votes.”

Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Juan Ponce Enrile warned the country would face a “very detrimental precedent” if Filipinos followed the implied reasoning of the recent INC rally opposing efforts to impeach Vice President Sara Duterte.

In a Facebook post on Wednesday night, two days after the INC’s “National Rally for Peace,” the 100-year-old former Senate President challenged the INC’s supposed support of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s call on his congressional allies not to pursue the Vice President’s impeachment, which is an exercise of due process to exact accountability.

“There is a bigger question,” Enrile said. “Can the INC, with all its members, amend the 1987 Constitution or suspend any of its provisions? Are we prepared to discard or sacrifice the value of rule of law for a person or a group of persons?”

Enrile explained impeachment is “just a constitutional legal process” to remove an official from office if found culpable based on evidence. It is not meant to send the official to prison.

Under the 1987 Constitution, the President, Vice President, members of the Supreme Court and constitutional commissions, and the Ombudsman are impeachable public officers.

As the Senate President in 2012, Enrile presided over the impeachment trial of then-Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona for betrayal of public trust and culpable violation of the Constitution for not disclosing all his assets as constitutionally required.

On Feb. 28 that year, the INC also held rallies nationwide, drawing a crowd of more than half a million at Quirino Grandstand. The assembly was billed as a “Grand Evangelical Mission,” similar to the peace rally last Monday, but was a subtle signal to Malacañang not to convict Corona.

On May 29, 2012, Enrile and 19 other senators voted to convict Corona, whose lead lawyer was retired Supreme Court Associate Justice Serafin Cuevas, an INC member. Mr. Marcos, then a senator, voted against Corona’s impeachment along with Senators Joker Arroyo and Miriam Defensor Santiago.

In his Facebook post, Enrile warned against following the implied reasoning behind the INC rally, which is not to let due process take its course in the three impeachment complaints against Duterte in the House of Representatives for the sake of “peace and unity.”

“As a nation and a state, we will incur a very detrimental precedent if we follow the logic implicit in the INC rally that they mounted. Are we prepared and ready to face the long-term consequences of that INC move?” he asked.

In November last year, the President said that Congress should not pursue the impeachment of Duterte. He pointed out that the Vice President was “unimportant” and her impeachment would just be a waste of time that would distract lawmakers from doing their jobs and wouldn’t benefit a single Filipino.

Malacañang was unmoved by Enrile’s Facebook post.

Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin on Thursday said the President has “always nurtured a culture of open ventilation of ideas” among members of the Cabinet and that it was this environment that Enrile decided to speak on the issue.

“While his thoughts may carry weight and are always valued, his is one of many that the President seriously considers. Nonetheless, the President’s stand on the issue concerned remains unchanged,” Bersamin said.

The executive secretary said Mr. Marcos’ openness to opposing points of view from Cabinet members had enriched policymaking because of the “diverse views resulting in decisions distilled from a wealth of varied experiences, different disciplines and special expertise of those who contribute.”

The INC, known for bloc voting during elections, said the rally was not meant to be a political gathering. But sect leaders urged lawmakers to address major problems like the high food prices, lack of jobs, and poverty and not to engage in politicking such as moves to impeach the Vice President.

Duterte broke off from the Cabinet last July when she quit as education secretary. Months later, she became openly hostile to the President and called him a liar and a thief in a profanity-laced tirade during an online press briefing.

She also said that she had arranged for the assassination of the President, first lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and Speaker Martin Romualdez if she died in an alleged plot to kill her.

Although the influential INC mustered large crowds across the country to attend the Jan. 13 peace rally, including an estimated 1.8 million at Quirino Grandstand, critics of the Vice President were undeterred in pushing for her impeachment.

The impeachment complaints accused her of culpable violation of the Constitution, betrayal of public trust, graft and corruption, bribery, and other high crimes.

All the complaints alleged that Duterte misused hundreds of millions of pesos in confidential funds of the Office of the Vice President and the Department of Education.

Members of various people’s organizations, social movements, sectoral groups, and religious leaders gathered for a Mass at Edsa Shrine in Quezon City that served as a platform for reflection, prayer, and a collective call for holding public officials, particularly the Vice President, accountable.

They wore white and black shirts with peach-colored ribbons, symbolizing their commitment to impeach Duterte to uphold transparency and justice in governance.

They were joined by Akbayan Rep. Perci Cendaña, an endorser of the first impeachment complaint against Duterte; former Sen. Leila de Lima, spokesperson for the complainants of the first complaint; leaders from the Magdalo Party-List group; former presidential adviser on the peace process Teresita Deles; and Francis “Kiko” Aquino Dee, grandson of the late President Corazon Aquino.

The “Misa ng Sambayanan: May Kapayapaan kung May Pananagutan” (People’s Mass: There is Peace when there is Accountability) was a virtual retort to the INC’s “National Rally for Peace.”

“There is no peace without justice and no justice without accountability,” said Cendaña, adding that every delay in the impeachment process would embolden the Vice President and weaken democratic institutions.

Dee, one of the impeachment complainants, said “peace and accountability are related.”

De Lima said the impeachment of the Vice President was a moral and constitutional imperative.

“Impunity thrives in silence and inaction,” she said. “Without transparency, there can be no trust. The Vice President’s blatant disregard for accountability demands swift and decisive action. The Filipino people deserve no less.”

        So back to INC’s purported bloc voting and its capability to win elections – does it really hold water?  

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SWS: 96 percent Filipinos enter New Year with hope

 EDITORIAL

Instead of fear, around 96 percent of adult Filipinos are entering the New Year with hope, the highest recorded since the pre-pandemic in 2019, according to a survey by the Social Weather Stations (SWS) released on Thursday.
    Results of the Dec. 8-11 survey found that hope for the coming new year is one point higher than the 95 percent recorded in 2022 and the highest since the pre-pandemic 96 percent in 2019.
    Meanwhile, 3 percent answered they are entering 2024 with fear, down by 2 points from 5 percent in 2022.
    Entering the New Year with hope was the highest among respondents in Metro Manila and Balance Luzon at 97 percent, followed by Mindanao at 96 percent, and Visayas at 93 percent.
    The pollster said New Year hope at the end of 2023 rose slightly across educational levels compared to the end of 2022: from 92 percent to 93 percent among non-elementary graduates, from 95 percent to 97 percent among elementary graduates, from 95 percent to 96 percent among junior high school graduates, and from 96 percent to 98 percent among college graduates.
    The survey was conducted using face-to-face interviews of 1,200 adults aged 18 years old and above nationwide: 300 each in Metro Manila, Balance Luzon (or Luzon outside Metro Manila), the Visayas, and Mindanao.
    The sampling error margins are ±2.8 percent for national percentages, and ±5.7 percent each for Metro Manila, Balance Luzon, the Visayas, and Mindanao.

 

EDITORIAL 

Transport crisis looming with PUV modernization 

More than 100 Sangguniang Kabataan officials have signed a unity statement opposing the government’s franchise consolidation plan for public utility vehicles (PUV), warning that the franchise consolidation requirement would lead to a mass transport crisis among millions of commuters.
    According to a statement shared by the Kabataan Partylist, the SK officials said they oppose the franchise consolidation deadline set on Dec. 31 as it threatens to strip off the livelihood and income of more than 60,0000 jeepney operators by forcing them to submit to the management of transport cooperatives or corporations.
    Kabataan Partylist told reporters in a message on Sunday that 111 officials have signed the statement. 
    “The repercussions of drastically reducing the number of PUVs in January 2024 extend beyond economic implications. Aside from creating dents in commuter’s budgets, especially those working or studying, it threatens to plunge millions of Filipino commuters into a dire transport crisis, profoundly impacting crucial sectors of our economy,” the statement read.
    The youth leaders also urged Marcos to review the PUV modernization program and “either set aside or completely revoke” the deadline for franchise consolidation to "avert an impending transport crisis."
    “Though government information insists on progress in terms of franchise consolidation, ground reports paint a different picture — one that ensures that existing policies will neglect the conditions of the transport industry,” the statement added.
    The SK officials also hit the government’s franchise consolidation requirement, saying that this essentially violates the rights of jeepney drivers and operators to form their own associations by “compelling them to dissolve their existing associations to comply or risk losing their means of livelihood.”
    A memorandum circular issued by the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board last Dec. 22 allows jeepney drivers and operators who have not yet consolidated to still ply the roads after the Dec. 31 deadline. However, they will no longer be allowed to join cooperatives or corporations. 

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LTO targets colorum PUVs, choosy cabbies

EDITORIAL

Land Transportation Office (LTO) chief Vigor Mendoza II yesterday ordered a crackdown on colorum public utility vehicles (PUVs) and taxi drivers who refuse to convey passengers during the holidays.
    Mendoza said that under “Oplan Pasaway,” LTO personnel would be deployed in malls and other places of convergence in Metro Manila and other urban areas in the country in order to run after colorum vehicles and abusive cab drivers.
    Mendoza noted that there is always an upsurge of complaints against taxi drivers who refuse to convey passengers during the Christmas season.
    “With the expected surge in the volume of passengers this holiday season, colorum PUVs are also expected to proliferate. That’s why we ordered our personnel to go after them,” Mendoza said.
    In his order to LTO Law Enforcement Service director Francis Almora, Mendoza said there should be enough LTO enforcers deployed even after office hours, especially at night when the number of passengers increases.
    According to Mendoza, strategic deployment is also necessary in order to maximize the presence of LTO enforcers, especially in Metro Manila, where there are a number of malls and other places of convergence.
    Mendoza added that the mere presence of uniformed LTO enforcers is enough to compel erring taxi drivers to behave and deter operators and drivers of colorum PUVs from engaging in illegal activities.
    “We will also coordinate with the Philippine National Police through its Highway Patrol Group, as well as mall security managers, in order to augment our enforcers in this operation,” he added.
    He said that the public should immediately report abusive taxi drivers to LTO enforcers, police and mall guards in the area.

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LTO, PNP work to catch online scammers

  

EDITORIAL

The Land Transportation Office and the Philippine National Police Anti-Cybercrime Group are now strengthening the LTO’s campaign against online scammers.
    “We will enhance our partnership with the PNP-ACG to catch these scammers who are proliferating online,” Land Transportation Office chief Vigor Mendoza II Mendoza said recently.
    He assured the public that the LTO will not stop until online scammers are “put behind bars.”
    Mendoza’s warning came after LTO branches warned the public to be vigilant against online scammers asking for large amounts of money supposedly in exchange for their assistance in claiming vehicle license plates.
    “In some cases, the victim will just find out that the licenses provided by these scammers were fake. It noted that most of these scammers on Facebook were offering their illicit service through buy-and-sell groups,” the LTO said.
    Mendoza warned motorists who have yet to claim their license plates after he received reports that certain people are asking for a fee of P200 in exchange for a hassle-free claiming of license plates.
    He said the distribution of license plates is free, adding that the distribution process has started in some areas in the country, particularly in the Bicol Region.
    According to Mendoza, the LTO will come up with an appointment system for a systematic and orderly distribution of unclaimed license plates, including at malls that are being eyed as distribution sites.
    He also urged LTO regional directors and heads of district offices to come up with the best ways to distribute the unclaimed license plates.

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PUV consolidation deadline final - LTFRB

EDITORIAL

The deadline for the consolidation of public utility vehicles (PUV) is Dec. 31 despite transport strikes, according to the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB).
    “The deadline will stay on Dec. 31, 2023. Beyond that, the LTFRB will not issue a franchise anymore,” LTFRB chair Teofilo Guadiz said in a briefing Thursday.
    Part of the government’s PUV modernization program is the franchise consolidation requirement, in which drivers and operators of traditional jeepneys and utility van express units must consolidate into cooperatives and corporations before Dec. 31, or else lose their jobs.
    All provisional authority and certificates of public convenience will expire on Dec. 31, unless they are covered by the extension to be granted by the LTFRB for consolidated units.
    This means that non-compliant jeepneys that do not consolidate will not be allowed to ply their routes after the deadline passes.
    The LTFRB said they have eased the application process, as operators only need a petition for consolidation by Dec. 31 and their provisional authority would be extended.
    The required number of members for the cooperative has also been reduced from 15 to 10 members.
    The agency is also studying proposals allowing two cooperatives to ply one route instead of having only one corporation.
    The LTFRB assured that there will be no transport crisis even if only around 65 percent of units nationwide have been consolidated.
    LTFRB technical division chief Joel Bolano said they have contingency plans.
    “Our objective is for the gap (in supply and demand of PUVs after Dec. 31) to be non-existent or manageable,” he added.
    Meanwhile, Land Transportation Office chief Vigor Mendoza said they are planning to file criminal charges against transport leaders and workers who allegedly coerced colleagues to stop operating following the recently concluded weeklong strike.
 

EDITORIAL

Comelec to Congress: Voter re-registration

The Commission on Elections appealed to the congress on Wednesday to allow a re-registration of voters to establish a more accurate list for the 2028 elections.
    Comelec chairman George Erwin Garcia urged political parties’ representatives to call out legislators to allow re-registration of voters and to use new technology to improve voter identification during the     “Updates on Political Party Institutionalization and the 2025 National and Local Elections” conference held at The Bayleaf Intramuros in Manila.
    “In 2026, let’s annul the list of voters. Let’s convince Congress, the Senate, and the House of Representatives. Let’s annul the entire list of voters in the entire country,” the chairman said.
Garcia proposed a month of general registration of voters to determine an accurate number of Filipinos who can vote in the upcoming elections.
    “This is to find out if there are really 68 million voters in the country. So at least, we’ll be back to zero in 2028,” Garcia said.
    Garcia stated the Comelec is currently using an Automated Fingerprint Identification System or AFIS, a system that the poll body uses to cross-match the biometrics data registrations of voters as part of efforts to eliminate double and multiple registrants.
    The chairman added that AFIS detected more than 491,000 double and multiple registrations prior to the 2023 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections.
    The Comelec said the agency aims to improve the voter identification system by using new technologies to ensure transparency and organization.
    “A lot has changed even if you say that no person has the same fingerprint of another, a lot has changed in that person’s situation,” Garcia said.
    “The question is how do we determine the accuracy of the system, and that’s what we want to know before we conduct a special general registration, allow the government to procure AFIS,” he added.
Garcia believes that the changes would be an avenue to address the problem of double and multiple registrations, as well as other possible election issues.
    Garcia was among the speakers at the event, along with Professor Julio C. Teehankee and Director Efraim Bag-id, which was initiated by Political Participation for Greater Electoral Integrity (PARTICIPATE), a non-partisan, pro-democracy coalition “dedicated to engage and empower the political participation of Filipinos, endeavors to bring together representatives from national and regional political parties, top party-list organizations, Comelec officials, and the media.”
    Efforts to strengthen and institutionalize political parties are part of the forum’s discussion.

EDITORIAL

Post-mortem of the barangay, SK elections

Its relevance may have been understated at times, but the 2023 barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections (BSKE) is significant in so many ways.
    It’s the first BSKE in the Philippines in five years, the first large-scale poll conducted by the George Garcia-led Commission on Elections and the first nationwide election under a Marcos presidency.
    The polls are over, canvassing has concluded in all 42,001 villages, and the turnover between outgoing and incoming officials has begun. There were hiccups here and there, but the commission believes the October 30 vote was a success.
    More importantly, the election’s conduct and its aftermath are likely to cause ripples in the midterm.
    While the Comelec is independent of three main branches of government, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. was not totally hands-off. His most significant contribution was signing into law the bill that rescheduled the electoral exercise once slated for December 2022 to October 2023.
    Watchdogs decried the postponement, especially because it wasn’t the first time that it happened. The polls were supposed to be held in May 2020, but former president Rodrigo Duterte also moved to push back the date of the elections.
    Veteran lawyer Romulo Macalintal challenged Marcos in the Supreme Court, and won. The High Court handed the President his first legal defeat in office. It said Republic Act No. 11935 was unconstitutional, and its enactment amounted to a grave abuse of discretion.
    The landmark ruling came out in June 2023, which meant the postponement had already happened. The High Court nonetheless enumerated criteria so that elections in the future won’t be postponed for trivial reasons (after all, some lawmakers justified the postponement, saying that the country was still healing from the divisive 2022 presidential polls).
    The Supreme Court also ruled that after 2023, the next village-based elections should be held in December 2025.
    Election winners are left with a two-year term, shorter than the three-year term that barangay officials usually get.
    Aspirants for public office were undeterred by the shorter term. The Comelec received 1.41 million certificates of candidacy this election cycle to fill in the 672,432 seats up for grabs. That was a 23% increase from the 1.14 million COCs submitted in 2018, the last time the BSKE was held.
    The poll body – under past leaderships and in previous elections – faced mounting criticisms about alleged complacency, as candidates became more emboldened to campaign prematurely and buy votes.
    From the get-go, Chairman Garcia wanted to send the message that the Comelec means business, and that his leadership is all about reforms.
    The Garcia commission reinterpreted a 2009 Supreme Court ruling that took away the punishment for premature campaigning. The new Comelec said the doctrine that arose from that landmark resolution only applies to automated elections, not manual ones like the 2023 BSKE. It meant candidates wooing voters before the campaign period started could face repercussions.
    The poll body also made a permanent Comelec committee – named Kontra Bigay – to go after vote-buying offenders. That panel essentially sought to simplify the process of lodging complaints, and removed bureaucratic bottlenecks that complicated the poll body’s crackdown efforts.
    The commission has flagged 8,474 candidates for potential unlawful electioneering, and ordered them to submit an explanation. It also slapped disqualification petitions against 294 BSKE aspirants.
It remains to be seen if any embattled candidate – when all remedies in the justice system have been exhausted – will actually face the full wrath of the law.
    “What is essential here is ensuring that these violators are held accountable for these election offenses,” said the Legal Network for Truthful Elections (LENTE), an election watchdog. “The continued failure to hold any person liable for vote-buying despite its widespread conduct has resulted in a lack of confidence in the electoral process in the country.”
    For now, at least 101 election winners with unresolved cases won’t be able to hit the ground running.     Their proclamation will remain suspended until the Comelec clears them of wrongdoing.
Can the public expect the same rigidity from the poll body in 2025, when the ones running for office are far more powerful and influential?
    “We will double the level of strictness, especially since we have national and local candidates,” Garcia said. “It is incumbent upon the Comelec to prove to them that we can do it not just in barangay and SK elections, but more particularly, in our regular, national and local elections.”
    The 2023 elections saw the return of the counting-sticks method to tally the votes, but there were three villages where the polls were automated.
    Barangays Zone II and Paliparan III in Dasmariñas, Cavite, as well as Barangay Pasong Tamo in Quezon City, used vote-counting machines on October 30, as part of the Comelec’s pilot test to automate future village elections.
    The project was in response to a ranking House lawmaker’s proposal to consider using the automated election system for the 2023 barangay polls, but due to logistics and budgetary constraints, the poll body limited the AES to three villages. -- Rappler
 
 

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Baguio on joining ‘open government partnership’

   EDITORIAL

Since the Baguio City government signified it is willing to be among models of Philippine Open Government Partnership in line with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s Executive Order No. 31 on June 20, 2023 institutionalizing co-creation of collaborative solutions to public problems, it could now start to be a model and address issues by involving the citizenry in monitoring projects, addressing rampant illegal gambling, among others.     
    The Dept. of Interior and Local Government, Dept. of Budget and Management and the Philippine Information Agency launched the OG Pinas last Tuesday in Baguio clustering participants from government, academe, civil society organizations and other groups from Regions I, II, III and CAR.
    The PIA reported that OGP seeks to raise awareness about PH-OGP, especially at the local level. It seeks to provide avenues and more channels of communication for government-civil society partnerships and strengthen public participation in policy-making and governance in the country.
    Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong said his administration has always been supportive of inclusive and sustainable development, thus encouraging youth groups and civil society organizations in committees and decision-making bodies of the city as part of his Good Governance campaign.
    He said utilization of social media platforms in information dissemination has also been a catalyst in the city government’s transparency of projects and plans therefore boosts citizen participation.
    According to Magalong, his administration's seven-point development agenda is also in line with OGP's direction to promote integrity, accountability and social innovation, enabled by the use of new technologies.
    Being an OGP model provides LGUs verifiable means of reform credentials with incentivized training in the development of local action plans that address local and national issues.
OGP has been launched simultaneously in other parts of Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.
    It was formed by 76 countries, 104 local governments and more than 3000 civil society organizations since 2011 aimed at developing and implementing concrete commitments to advance open government.
 

 

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Stricter gun laws

 

EDITORIAL

A party-list lawmaker on Tuesday called for stricter gun control in the Philippines after the 2023 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKEs).
    Bagong Henerasyon Party-list Rep. Bernadette Herrera called for gun law reforms due to proliferation of unlicensed firearms and smuggled guns. A report of the government-run Philippine News Agency said the lawmaker also called for tougher and swifter administrative penalties, not just longer prison sentences,
    She said it was also time to conduct fact-finding investigations on private armies and extrajudicial killings.
“What is concerning is the persistence of the violence in some localities with long histories of unrest and animosities. They have not grown tired of violence when many others have transformed into peaceful and progressive communities,” she said.
Herrera commended the Commission on Elections, the Philippine National Police, and Board of Election Inspectors for the smooth and peaceful conduct of the BSKE.
    “Though there were incidents of violence leading to and on Election Day itself, all those taken together would still be few considering there are over 42,000 barangays,” she said.
    Deputy Speaker Camille Villar, meanwhile, was quoted as saying newly elected barangay and SK officials should buckle down to serious work and deliver on their campaign pledges.
    “The tasks before them are broad and diverse, and they have limited time to make a significant impact in their communities and on the lives of their constituents,” Villar said.
    She also expressed hope that the new leaders would be trustworthy and reliable in carrying out their duties and responsibilities and would not fall victim to the system of corruption and selfishness.
    BHW Party-list Rep. Angelica Natasha Co urged reelected incumbents and the new public servants to become familiar with the many new laws Congress has passed and to implement well those that are relevant to their barangays.
    “As one of the younger members of the House of Representatives, my advice to the Sangguniang Kabataan is that they help their cities and municipalities monitor the implementation of public works projects in their barangays,” Co said.
    Based on Comelec data, up for grabs in Monday’s polls were 42,007 positions each for village chair and youth chair and 294,007 each for village council members and youth council members.
    The same data showed there were 67.8 million registered voters for the village polls and 23.2 million registered youth voters.
    Comelec chairperson George Erwin Garcia said the BSKE went smoothly and was generally peaceful.
Election watchdog Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) has reported violent incidents during the BSKE, many of which happened in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
 

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Pinoys oppose CBCP office’s membership in NTF-ELCAC

 EDITORIAL

Up to 90.1 percent of Filipinos do not support the membership of an office of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) in the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC).
    This was according to a survey conducted by Caritas Philippines on its Facebook page on Sept. 22.
    The respondents used emoticons to respond to the survey question: What is your opinion on the CBCP-Public Affairs Commission (PAC)’s membership in the NTF-ELCAC?
    At least 137 of the 152 respondents replied with an “angry face” emoticon while 7.2 percent or 11 respondents responded with a “sad face.”
    Two or 1.3 percent of the respondents replied with a “like” while two respondents each answered with a heart and a “ha ha.”
    Caritas said a majority of the respondents believed that the CBCP-PAC should not join NTF-ELCAC, noting the Church should ”stay true to its mandate of standing up for the poor, the hungry, the oppressed and the vulnerable.”
    “The Church will have a stronger voice in dialoguing with the government outside the NTF-ELCAC by working in solidarity with the poor and other human rights groups,” the respondents said.
    They said the Church should continue to build social friendships and dialogue with the faithful, the poor and most vulnerable sectors as well as civil society organizations, other faith groups and the government in its pursuit of establishing an “inclusive and sustainable peace.”
    The CBCP had clarified that only the PAC is engaging with the NTF-ELCAC to “address some Church issues vis-a-vis government, including the issue about the red-tagging of some cause-oriented groups and Church organizations.”

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Judgment day for bets in barangay, SK polls

EDITORIAL

It will be judgment days on Oct. 30 when Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections (BSKE) are held for oters will elect new officials. The last time such polls were held was in 2018.
    To qualify to run for either position, a potential candidate must be a Filipino citizen, registered voter in the barangay where election is sought, resident of the barangay for at least a year before election day, able to read and write Filipino and at least 18 years old on election day.
    According to Book III of the Local Government Code, among responsibilities of the barangay chairman is to enforce all laws and ordinances, maintain public order in the area of jurisdiction, and with the approval of all the members of the Sangguniang Barangay, enter into contracts in behalf of the barangay as well as appoint or replace the barangay treasurer, secretary, and other appointive barangay officials.
    The Sangguniang Barangay, meanwhile, is made up of the barangay chairman who will serve as the presiding officer, seven regular members elected at large and the Sangguniang Kabataan chairman, as members.
    Among benefits officials receive are monthly honoraria of no less than ₱1,000 for Punong Barangay and ₱600 for Sangguniang Barangay members, treasurer, and secretary. They also receive a Christmas bonus, insurance coverage, and free medical care.
    The National Youth Commission (NYC) says the SK was created through the Local Government Code of 1991. Its forerunners are the Kabataang Barangay created in 1975, the Pambansang Katipunan ng Kabataang Barangay created in 1977, and the Presidential Council for Youth Affairs (1987).
    The first election for SK leaders was held in December 1992. The Sangguniang Kabataan is composed of a chairman, seven members, a secretary, and a treasurer.
    The NYC states that to run for SK office a candidate must be a Filipino citizen, registered member of Katipunan ng Kabataan (KK), resident of the barangay for not less than one year a day before the elections, at least 18 years old, but not over 24 years of age, able to read and write in English, Filipino, or the local dialect used in the barangay where office is sought, not have been convicted by final judgment of any crime involving moral turpitude, not related, during the period of his/her candidacy and on the effective day of his/her election/appointment, to within the second civil degree of consanguinity or affinity to any incumbent elected national official, nor to any incumbent elected regional, provincial, city, municipal, or barangay official, in the locality where she/he seeks to be elected or will be appointed
    Included in the privileges for those elected into SK posts are free education and payment of matriculation fees while enrolled in any public tertiary school including state colleges and universities.
The Local Government Code of 1991 says the duties of SK officials include promulgating resolutions needed to carry out the objectives of the youth in the barangay, holding fund-raising activities, and creating bodies or committees needed to effectively carry out programs and activities.
    The KK is made up of Filipino citizens aged 15 to 30 living in the barangay for at least six months, and are registered in the list of the Commission on Elections and/or the records of the Sangguniang Kabataan secretary. The KK shall elect the SK chairperson and members.
    Commission on Elections chairman George Garcia said the Oct. 30 polls will be done manually. This means that voters will have to write down their choices on ballots instead of shading.
Counting of votes will be also done manually, with electoral board members reading ballots one by one and writing the results on a blackboard.
    Asked why the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections will be held manually, Garcia said this has always been the practice because of expenses that come with conduct of automated polls. Results will not be transmitted as the votes will only be canvassed in the polling place, he added.
    Voting will start at 7 a.m. and end at 3 p.m., he said. Tallying of votes is expected to be completed by 10 p.m. to 11 p.m. to be followed by proclamations by 12 a.m. to 1 a.m. the following day, he added.
Teachers will serve as electoral board members during the village-level polls. Per precinct, there will be a chairman and two members. Garcia said personnel from the Philippine National Police were also trained to serve as substitutes in case teachers will be unable to perform their duties.
    Aside from this, the Comelec official said honoraria to be received by electoral board members were increased to ₱10,000 from ₱6,000 for the chairman, and ₱9,000 from ₱5,000 for the members, which are the same rate distributed during the 2022 automated polls.
    Garcia said they decided to increase the honoraria because teachers will have to work longer hours to complete the manual tallying of votes.
    To voters: Choose your candidates well. You wouldn’t want a nincompoop holding office in your barangay and arrogantly lording it over you for the next few years.

EDITORIAL 

Cracking down on ‘colorum’ vehicles

The Land Transportation Office (LTO) on Thursday has started a crackdown against colorum vehicles nationwide, the government-run Philippine News Agency reported.
    The traffic law enforcement agency, for starters impounded 15 public utility vehicles (PUVs) in its latest anti-“colorum” operation at the Parañaque Integrated Terminal Exchange (PITX).
    LTO chief Assistant Secretary Vigor Mendoza II said the impounded vehicles consist of nine bus
    This is only the beginning of the LTO’s aggressive operations not only in Metro Manila but in the entire country,” Mendoza said.
    Of the nine buses, eight were impounded for being “colorum” or unregistered with the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) and one for having a physical defect and no license plates.
    “This serves as warning to drivers and operators of ‘colorum’ PUVs to stop their illegal activities,” he said.
    The operation, led by LTO - National Capital Region Director Roque Vorzosa III, also conducted a surprise drug test and found five PUV drivers who tested positive for illegal drug use.
    A total of 101 PUV drivers underwent the surprise drug test.
    He warned that road-worthiness inspections would continue ahead of the exodus of travelers for the village and youth elections and the observance of All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day. 
    In Northern Luzon, where colorum vehicles reportedly abound,  local LTO offices are set to make apprehensions. In Baguio City alone, there are reportedly numerous taxis plying the streets adding to traffic congestion.   
 

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Uproar against ‘Confidential funds’

EDITORIAL

Confidential funds worth million if not billions of pesos allotted to government agencies like the Dept. of Education under Vice President Sara Duterte had been the object of harsh commentaries from the public.
    The three branches of government are supposed to provide checks and balances to each other, minimizing mistakes as well as preventing the misuse, abuse and centralization of power.
    Both chambers of Congress, invoking parliamentary courtesy, are abdicating this role in dealing with the executive’s proposals for confidential and intelligence funds or CIF, political analysts are saying.
    The P2.3-billion proposed budget for 2024 of the Office of the Vice President recently breezed through the House of Representatives, and then through the Senate committee on finance, for immediate referral to the plenary.
    The amount includes P500 million in CIF for the OVP.
    Extending parliamentary courtesy to the two highest officials of the land is fine if there are no controversial issues involved in the utilization of people’s money. In this case, however, the Makabayan bloc congressmen had wanted to question the OVP regarding its use of P125 million in confidential funds in the final six months of 2022. The funding was not in the Congress-approved budget for 2022 that was prepared by Leni Robredo, who never sought confidential funds in her six years as vice president. Without the appropriation, the OVP took its confidential funds for the second semester of 2022 from the P221.424-million contingent funds of the Office of the President.
    Before the Makabayan bloc could raise this point, however, President Marcos’ son, Ilocos Norte 1st District Rep. Ferdinand Alexander Marcos, moved to terminate the deliberations. The House committee on appropriations dutifully complied, and the OVP budget was quickly rubberstamped by the chamber.
    At the Senate at least, one of the two minority members, Sen. Koko Pimentel, was allowed to raise what he described as the illegal transfer of funds from the Office of the President to the OVP. Apart from the absence of the funding in the 2022 General Appropriations Act, Pimentel pointed out that the contingent fund of the OP can be used only for three purposes, which do not include providing for or augmenting confidential funds in another office.
    The Office of the Executive Secretary defended the fund juggling, explaining that Special Provision No. 1 in the 2022 Contingent Fund authorized the OP to use the fund for new or urgent activities, in this case new satellite offices for the OVP.
    Militant teachers have also questioned Congress’ approval of a P150-million confidential fund for the DepEd under Duterte, who told reporters that the money is needed to “mold children (to) defend the country.”
    Amid protests, the Senate leadership has said it may review the CIF of the OVP and DepEd.
It remains to be seen whether this will lead to transparency and the judicious use of public funds. At this time, no review is happening.

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PBBM prohibits fee collection on vehicles transporting goods

EDITORIAL

President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has prohibited local government units from collecting toll fees and charges on all motor vehicles transporting goods or merchandise.
    Under Executive Order (EO) 41 inked by Marcos on Sept. 25, all vehicles in charge of transporting goods no longer need to pay “pass-through fees” while passing through any national roads and other roads not constructed and funded by LGUs.
    Marcos’ directive aims to ensure the efficient movement of goods across the regions to revitalize local industries.

“The unauthorized imposition of pass-through fees has a significant impact on transportation and logistics costs, which are often passed on to consumers, who ultimately bear the burden of paying for the increase in prices of goods and commodities,” EO 41 read.

“In order to uphold the welfare and advance the best interest of the Filipino people, it is the overarching policy of the Administration to consolidate all essential components within the value and supply chain, and reduce the costs of food logistics, which play a pivotal role in effectively tempering the inflation rate in the country.”

In the interest of public welfare, EO 41 “strongly” urges all LGUs to suspend or discontinue the collection of fees that are imposed on all motor vehicles transporting goods and passing through any local public roads constructed and funded by these LGUs.

These include sticker fees, discharging fees, delivery fees, market fees, toll fees, entry fees, and Mayor's Permit fees.

According to EO 41, reducing transport and logistics costs is one of the pillars of the Marcos administration’s eight-point socioeconomic agenda.

EO 41 directs the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) to secure copies of existing ordinances of all LGUs on the collection of pass-through fees imposed on motor vehicles, including those issued under Sections 153 and 155 of Republic Act (RA) 7160 or the Local Government Code of 1991, within 30 days from the effectivity of the order.

The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Department of Transportation (DOTr), Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA), and the Department of Finance (DOF) are tasked to evaluate the ordinances secured by the DILG to ensure compliance with RA 7160.

Administrative and disciplinary sanctions will be imposed on erring public officials or employees for failure to comply with the directives under EO 41.

“For this purpose, and consistent with its mandate of assisting the President in the supervision of local governments, the DILG shall take appropriate actions to ensure that the LGUs shall act within the scope of their prescribed authorities under Sections No. 133(e), 153, and 155 of RA No. 7160,” EO 41 said.

Section 153 of RA 7160 allows LGUs to impose and collect reasonable fees and charges for services rendered, while Section 155 of the law authorizes a local sanggunian (council) to prescribe the terms and conditions and fix the rates for the imposition of toll fees or charges for the use of any public road, pier or wharf, waterway, bridge, ferry, or telecommunications system funded and constructed by the concerned LGU.

On the other hand, Section 133(e) of RA 7160 provides that taxing powers of local governments shall not extend to the levy of taxes, fees, and charges and other impositions upon goods carried into or out of, or passing through, the territorial jurisdictions of LGUs in the guise of charges for wharfage, tolls for bridges or otherwise, or other taxes, fees, or charges in any form whatsoever upon such goods or merchandise.

The DTI and DILG are directed to jointly submit reports to the Office of the President, through the Office of the Executive Secretary, on the compliance of LGUs with EO 41.

Within 30 days from the effectivity of the EO, the DTI, DILG, DOTr, DPWH, ARTA, and DOF are also tasked to formulate and issue guidelines as may be necessary, or amend or consolidate existing rules, regulations, or issuances as may be appropriate for the effective implementation of the order.

EO 41, which was made public last, takes effect immediately upon its publication in the Official Gazette or a newspaper of general circulation, a Philippine News Agency report said.

 

 

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‘Disputes with media should be settled in court’/ Confidential funds

  
EDITORIAL

Public Attorney’s Office (PAO) Chief Persida Acosta on Tuesday urged that disputes with the media should be settled in court instead of through bloodshed.
    “Meron mga nasasagasaan ang ating mga kasama sa media na talaga namang may impluwensiya, may kapangyarihan, may kayamanan, at ang kanilang nagiging result ay ikli ng buhay ng ating mga kasama (There are media practitioners who clash with influential, powerful, or rich individuals, and this results in shortened lives),” Acosta told a media summit at Bayview Park Hotel in Manila.
    She said however that there are laws in place and effective legal processes for those who have grudges against journalists as well as public servants.
    “Bigyan natin ng pagkakataon ang rule of law and justice. Daanin sa proseso. At kaugnay nito, kailangan po ang mga pag-aaral po ng ating mga kasama sa media ng batas upang maiwasan ang galit at bangis ng mga nasasagasaan (Let’s give a chance to the rule of law and justice. Let’s go through the process. And with this, our media practitioners should also study the law to avoid the ire of those being imputed)” Acosta said.
    Among some of the common lawsuits filed against journalists are cyber-libel or libel under the revised penal code, she was quoted by the government-run Philippine News Agency.
        In a separate speech, Presidential Communications Office (PCO) Assistant Secretary Michel Andre Del Rosario said a “free and responsible press” in the country is a “cornerstone of any democracy.”
    “It is through the diligent and courageous work of our journalists, that we are kept informed, enlightened, and engaged in the affairs of our nation,” he said.
    The media summit organized by the Presidential Task Force on Media Security (PTFoMS), with the theme "Promoting a free and responsible press towards a safer media community" is part of the government’s efforts to address violence against journalists.
    “It is our solemn duty to address these issues head-on and ensure that those who seek to silence the press are brought to justice,” Del Rosario said.
    Senior media practitioners, lawyers, and legal experts discussed several topics during the event to educate participating journalists on the present condition of the country’s media landscape.
    The PTFoMS - through the PAO and the Puno and Puno Law Offices – also held a free legal aid clinic for journalists during the latter part of the event.
    PTFoMS executive director, Undersecretary Paul Gutierrez, said the summit is only the beginning of a series of events organized for media practitioners.
    He said succeeding legs of the event will be held in the Davao Region, Tagaytay City for the Southern Luzon leg, and in Subic for the Central Luzon leg. 

EDITORIAL
Confidential funds

One of the controversial issues now engulfing the country is confidential funds. This, after Vice President Sarah Duterte insisted on having such funds for the Education department which she heads which doesn’t involve national security.
    She wanted a P500 million confidential fund for the Office of the Vice President. Granted.
    She wanted a separate P150 million confidential fund for the Department of Education which she also heads. Pointedly questioned about it by Arlene Brosas (Gabriela), France Castro (ACT Teachers) and Raoul Manuel (Kabataan), she just said matter-of-factly that security and surveillance work – never before part of DepEd’s functions because why would the department need money for this when there is an acute classroom shortage that was not addressed during her father’s term? – was necessary to handle “specific issues and challenges.” Granted again.
    Taking cue from this, the Dept. of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) also requested a confidential fund worth P300 million worth of confidential and intelligence funds (CIF) for fiscal year 2024 to combat scammers, according to Sec. Ivan Uy said on Wednesday.
    In a Malacañang Press Briefing, Uy explained that the confidential fund is necessary to conduct intelligence and investigations to apprehend cyber criminals.
    Confidential funds pertain to costs associated with surveillance operations within non-military government organizations to assist the agency’s mission or functions.
    The DICT chief expressed concern over scammers using multiple tactics to evade being identified and apprehended.
    Uy said these criminals are well-funded, well-organized, and highly technical.
    Hence, he said that DICT needs to match them with the appropriate government capabilities.
 “Our hands are tied without the proper tools, and many of these tools and methods require confidential funds to be implemented,” Uy said.
    The DICT says that it is working with law enforcement agencies to crack down on cybercrime.
    However, Uy said that the confidential fund will allow the DICT to take a more proactive approach to combating these crimes.
     “We need to be able to gather intelligence and conduct investigations without being hampered by red tape,” Uy said. “The confidential fund will allow us to do that,” he added.
    Joint Circular No. 2015-01, issued on January 8, 2015, by the Commission on Audit and four other government entities, prescribes the guidelines for the utilization and audit of intelligence and confidential funds.
    According to records from the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), the combined allocation for confidential and intelligence funds for the upcoming year amounts to P10.142 billion.
    The DBM noted that this figure represents an increase of P120 million compared to the P10.02 billion allocated for the Confidential and Intelligence Funds (CIF) in 2023.
    It is now becoming a trend among government agencies and even local government units to haggle for confidential funds which they will use according to their whims without being accountable for it.
    There needs to be more stringent rules on use of taxpayers’ money like what those in government call confidential funds.

EDITORIAL

Changing abusive, inept corrupt barangay officials

The filing of certificates of candidacy for the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections has lapsed. Now, the first BSKE since 2018 will be held and changing abusive, inept and corrupt barangay officials is now possible.
After multiple postponements that effectively extended the terms of village and youth council officials, the BSKE will finally push through in October.
    This was after the Supreme Court struck down the latest postponement, through Republic Act 11935, as a “grave violation of the Constitution” and “unduly arbitrary or oppressive of the electorates’ right of suffrage.”
    The gift of a term extension has been widely seen as either a reward or a way of wooing the support of officials at the smallest unit of government.
    The gift is typically granted by Congress and Malacañang shortly before or after general and midterm elections.
    As the Supreme Court pointed out, however, “the free and meaningful exercise of the right to vote, as protected and guaranteed by the Constitution, requires the holding of genuine periodic elections, which must be held at intervals which are not unduly long, and which ensure that the authority of government continues to be based on the free expression of the will of electors.”
    With the BSKE finally pushing through this year, voters should take the time to get to know the aspirants for posts that directly affect governance in their communities.
    People should remember how the incumbent officials performed during the Covid lockdowns, when several faced criminal and administrative complaints in connection with the distribution of various forms of pandemic ayuda or assistance.
    During the Duterte administration, several barangay captains were also indicted for drug-related offenses.
    Voters should also consider the performance of incumbent officials in making their communities business-friendly.     Barangays are empowered to collect certain types of fees for various enterprises and services including for the use of farm equipment. Enterprises from micro to large have complained about the immense amount of red tape and redundant fees imposed by barangays across the country. Even plain folks have been victimized by abusive barangay officials who wielded their power to harass.
    With the filing of COCs, voters can consider how aspirants conduct their campaigns. Those who violate election rules, starting with the display of campaign materials, cannot be expected to play fair and provide honest public service.
    Good governance must be promoted at the grassroots. After several postponements, voters now have a chance to make this possible by electing into office deserving candidates. 
 
 
 

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‘Money ban’ against vote buying, selling

 EDITORIAL

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) is eyeing to impose a “money ban” to lessen or stop vote buying and selling during the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) on Oct. 30.
Comelec Chairperson George Erwin Garcia said Tuesday under Section 27 of the draft of Kontra Bigay resolution, the poll body may presume vote buying or selling through one's "possession or transport" of cash exceeding P500,000 five days before the election day.

    “We will not prohibit withdrawal of P500,000. What we will prohibit and punish are those sending P500,000 especially when the campaign period starts," the state-run Philippine News Agency quoted him as saying.
    However, Garcia said individuals with justifiable backgrounds shall be exempted, including businessmen and disbursement officers or cashiers, among others.
    “Where can you see someone carrying half a million [pesos] before the election day and you're not a treasurer nor a businessman? What [kind of worker] are you, a vote buyer? So, we will presume that person is involved in vote buying)," he said.
    All police authorities are tasked to conduct 24-hour money ban checkpoints nationwide.
    Garcia said although these measures are not under the law, setting such is also not prohibited.
    Garcia said the Comelec has submitted the draft of Kontra Bigay resolution to en banc for approval of the proposed money ban and other measures, and setting of guidelines.
    Besides transporting or delivering large sums of money, Comelec also aims to monitor the splitting of at least P20,000 cash into smaller denominations of P100s, P50s or P20s.
    It also targets to cooperate with mobile banking and digital payment platforms to ensure they are not used for vote buying or selling.
    "Ang GCash, PayMaya at iba pa pong platform ay under ng BSP (Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas). Kausap natin ang BSP at pati na ang AMLC (Anti-Money Laundering Council) (The Gcash, PayMaya and other platforms are under BSP. We are coordinating with the BSP and AMLC)," Garcia said.
    Under the Comelec draft resolution, long queues of registered voters for distribution of cash or other favors shall also be subject to the action of law enforcement.
    Apart from stringent monetary measures, the Comelec also seeks to create an official Kontra Bigay committee, with a complaint center for efficiency.
    The complaint center is expected to operate from Aug. 28 to Oct. 28 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and 24/7 starting Oct. 29 to 31. 
    Meanwhile, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said it will exert  utmost courtesy when conducting inspections at checkpoints.        
“The PNP will help with manning Comelec checkpoints. We will look at vehicles that pass through checkpoints and the implementation of that is through the plain view doctrine where our police officers will inspect the vehicles by only looking at the inside of the car. Foraging and search are prohibited. If there is a reason to be more thorough in the search, that's the only time that we will do it. So, plain view doctrine),” PNP Public Information chief Brig. Gen. Redrico Maranan told reporters when sought for a comment in a press briefing Tuesday held at Camp Crame.
    He said that exempted are messengers, cashiers and other employees whose jobs involve transporting money for their companies and all they have to show is their company ID as proof of their employment.
Maranan said they will continue to monitor the 27 "areas of grave concern" for the coming BSKE.
The PNP is looking at 27 barangays that can be placed in the red category, but the validation process reportedly is still ongoing because these 27 are based only on historical data.

 

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