Time to talk to the new American administration

The question of impunity now lies at the doorstep of Kristie Kenney as she winds down her stint as US ambassador to the Philippines. On one hand, having upheld the validity of the Visiting Forces Agreement, the Supreme Court has rendered a judgment favorable to the Philippine and American governments. On the other hand, having decided as well that there are no ifs, ands or buts about the kind of custody — Philippine and no other — in which American servicemen convicted of crimes in the Philippines ought to be kept, the United States, in particular the new administration of President Barack Obama, now risks having its bluff being called.

America is being called upon to prove that its commitment to a new kind relationship with both friends and foes is a substantive and not merely a rhetorical departure from the Bush years. Kenny, as a career diplomat, hewed closely to Washington’s supremacist attitudes, but at the end of her tour of duty in Manila, she is now the human face of a new political dispensation.

In its decision, penned by Justice Adolfo Azcuna, the Supreme Court concluded that the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) is an agreement that falls under the ambit of the Philippine-US Mutual Defense Treaty, ratified by the senates of both countries, establishing a policy, that is, an alliance, between the two nations. The VFA, the Court said, removed one irritant dating back to the colonial period: the legal impunity enjoyed by American troops. It also noted that in general, the United States has complied faithfully with its obligations under the VFA.

But after the conviction of Lance Cpl. Daniel Smith, a new irritant arose over the question of custody which an agreement signed by Kenny and Foreign Secretary Alberto Romulo granted to the US Embassy.

Azcuna boiled down the issue of custody as follows: “It is clear that the parties to the VFA recognized the difference between custody during the trial and detention after conviction, because they provided for a specific arrangement to cover detention. And this specific arrangement clearly states not only that the detention shall be carried out in facilities agreed on by authorities of both parties, but also that the detention shall be ‘by Philippine authorities.’ Therefore, the Romulo-Kenney Agreements of Dec. 19 and 22, 2006, which are agreements on the detention of the accused in the United States Embassy, are not in accord with the VFA itself because such detention is not ‘by Philippine authorities’.”

The Court has directed the secretary of foreign affairs “to forthwith negotiate with the United States representatives for the appropriate agreement on detention facilities under Philippine authorities as provided in Art. V, Sec. 10 of the VFA, pending which the status quo shall be maintained until further orders by this Court.” This means Smith remains in US custody and will remain so, until the secretary of foreign affairs negotiates with the US government for a custody mechanism that first of all, places Smith firmly under the custody of Filipino authorities, while recognizing the rights of American authorities to have access to him.

What is significant here is that the Court clearly stated that the Romulo-Kenney agreement allowing American custody of Smith is unconstitutional. While the Executive Department up to this point can claim it acted in good faith, it is now duty-bound to act swiftly to resolve the matter according to the parameters defined by the Court.

The Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo administration, which is desperately trying to toady to the new American administration, might be tempted to weasel out of the Supreme Court decision, and Kenney might stick to old habits and do the same by delaying matters. But this is an opportune time for the Philippine government to negotiate the matter for now it can do so from a position of strength.

The new American administration has to accede to the eminently moderate judgment of our Supreme Court. To do otherwise or to drag things out is to start inching down the same trail of impunity that led to the new Obama administration to make the elimination of the Guantanamo detention facility one of its first major acts.

On the other hand, to refuse to negotiate the matter swiftly or to dilly-dally on the transfer of custody to Filipino hands might provide the firmest basis yet for impeaching President Arroyo later this year.

source: Philippine Daily Inquirer

Pres. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo sent congratulatory letter to Pres. George W. Bush

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has sent a congratulatory letter to outgoing United States President George W. Bush and thanked him for maintaining close ties with the Philippines, Malacañang said.

Bush will relinquish his post to president-elect Barrack Obama on January 20, after eight years Justify Fullin office over which he increasingly came under fire for the US-led invasion of Iraq and a recession that has spread globally.

"President Arroyo has sent a letter of congratulations to President Bush for the very good relationship we had. Among others, it was mentioned, the support of the US government is providing the Philippines, in the economy, as well as in security," Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said.

Ermita expressed hopes the ties between Manila and Wahsington would remain strong under Obama.

"It has been our experience that the US government is very supportive [of the Philippines] as allies," Ermita said.

Arroyo has supported the US-led war against terrorism, and US forces continue to undertake joint exercises with Filipino troops under her administration.

In a radio interview from Maguindanao province in the south, the President stressed the importance of the joint training and the assistance of US troops in community building projects.

"We've had a long partnership with the Americans, especially on counter-terrorism, especially on training, sharing of intelligence, military exchange, and most importantly, in civic works," she said.

"Together, we build schools, roads, and infrastructure needed to isolate the terrorists," she said.

By Joel Guinto
INQUIRER.net

Philippines will not behind in election automation

As planned for the election automation in 2010 the Philippines will be advance in most of the developing country not only here in Asia but in the whole world.

Smartmatic, a multinational firm based in Holland, is among a few vendors looking to clinch a contract with the government to supply machines for the 2010 presidential elections.

The company was also one of two vendors that supplied automation machines used during the ARMM (Autonomous Region Muslim Mindanao) last October 2008.

In particular, the Commission on Elections leased more than 2,000 direct recording electronic (DRE) machines from Smartmatic used during the ARMM elections.

DRE uses preconfigured "touch screens." It is touted to yield the fastest results. The Comelec spent about P188 million for these machines including training, according to Smartmatic.

In Asia, only India has used DRE machines to automate elections, according to Cesar Flores, the company's international sales director.

This will all depend, though, if Congress approves the P11.9 billion budget the Comelec is asking to automate next year's national elections.

Comelec is expecting Congress to ratify the budget by end of March or early April.

The electoral agency is also expected to start the bidding process by this time.

Bob Cook, Smartmatic worldwide sales president, said this should give Smartmatic enough time to deploy its machines, if it does seal the contract.

"If by May or June, Congress still hasn't ratified (the budget), Comelec may have to rethink the amount of automation it plans to do. If it goes beyond that (time), there will probably be an issue," Cook said.

Also, a Comelec advisory council--created to assess different technologies to be deployed--has proposed that DRE be used along with less expensive optical mark reader (OMR) equipment.

Smartmatic also provides these other technologies although it is highly likely that Comelec will award contracts to multiple vendors.

"Because of geographical reasons and distribution of voters in precincts we believe a mix (of technologies) is best for the Philippines," Flores said. "It's not wise to install DRE in remote villages with only a handful of voters."

"The important thing to consider is how compatible these technologies are with the areas Comelec intends to automate," he said.

source: INQUIRER.net

Supreme Court has new chief justice

Sandiganbayan Presiding Justice Disodado Peralta is a new Supreme Court chief. President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has appointed Justice Disodado Peralta as Supreme Court associate justice last Wednesday.

He will replaced Ruben Reyes, who retired last January 3 when he turned 70 years old.

He is the second former member of the Sandiganbayan Special Division to be named to the high court, after Justice Teresita de Castro. The anti-graft court convicted former president Joseph Estrada of plunder in September 2007.

Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita announced Peralta's appointment and was quick to dispel criticism that Arroyo was tightening her grip on the high court to ensure a favorable decision when legal questions on efforts to amend the Constitution would be brought before the tribunal.

The President's allies at the House of Representatives are pushing for amendments to the 1987 Constitution through a constituent assembly by seeking a consensus of two-thirds of the combined membership of the House and the Senate.

But senators insist that the consensus of both chambers should be taken separately.

While the President's allies claim that they will only amend economic provisions in the Charter, her critics see this as a ploy to allow her to stay in power beyond the end of her term in 2010.

Peralta started as a production analyst of Cosmos Bottling Corporation in 1974 before working as general manager of Ace-Agri Development Corporation, according to his profile released to media.

In 1981, Peralta became legal consultant of the Metro Manila Commission and then served as councilman of Fairview, Quezon City.

The son of former Manila Court of First Instance (now regional trial court) Judge Elviro was also reportedly a friend of the late President Diosdado Macapagal, father of incumbent Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Peralta was appointed to the Tax Deficiency of the City of Manila that looked into the tax fraud cases against former First Lady Imelda Marcos, and later became part of the Joint Legal Action Group of the Departments of National Defense, Justice and Interior and Local Government.

In 1994, Peralta was appointed regional trial court judge in Quezon City and Executive Judge in 2000. During his stint as lower court judge, he became known as a "hanging judge" with a 90 percent conviction rate in his sala. He became a Sandiganbayan justice in 2002.

Peralta was one of three justices who convicted former president Joseph Estrada for plunder. The chairperson of the Sandiganbayan Special Division that heard the Estrada case, Associate Justice Teresita Leonardo De Castro, has been appointed to the Supreme Court.

Peralta is married to Court of Appeals Associate Justice Fernanda Lampas-Peralta.

Justice Peralta is an alumnus of the University of Santo Tomas where he finished his Bachelor of Laws in 1979. He was also a Professor, Reviewer and Lecturer in Criminal Law in UST.

source: INQUIRER.net

Ex-Governor Antonio Leviste guilty of homicide

Former Batangas governor Antonio Leviste is guilty of homicide in the death of his long-time aide Rafael de las Alas in 2007, a local court has ruled.

A Makati City regional trial court Branch 150 sentenced former Batangas governor Antonio Leviste on Wednesday to 12 years in prison for shooting dead his long-time buddy Rafael delas Alas.

Leviste claimed that he killed De las Alas in self-defense during an argument on Jan. 12, 2007, at the LPL Tower in Legaspi Village, Makati City.

Alameda gave Leviste 6 to 12 years of imprisonment and ordered the former governor to pay P100,000 in moral and civil damages.

The verdict was handed by the judge two years after Leviste shot delas Alas inside his office in LPL Tower in Legaspi Village, Makati City on Jan. 12, 2007.

source: abs-cbnNEWS.com

2010 poll automation allocated budget

Commission on Elections chair Jose Melo on Tuesday said he is very happy that a bill allotting P11.3 billion for the automation of the 2010 elections has been filed in Congress. House Bill 5715 was filed in the House of Representatives on Monday by appropriation chair Quirino Rep. Junie Cua.

“It’s very good. We can start the ball rolling already,” Melo said. He assured that the morale in Comelec is “very very high.”

While Comelec could do with a bigger budget, Melo said the polling body still has savings to augment the funding provided. Melo also wanted to use biometrics—an electronic security scheme for voter registration—but he said the P1 billion funding was not provided.

Since last year, Melo had been lobbying for the early approval of the budget for the 2010 elections to give them ample time to bid the automation project and to prepare for the elections. Although he said the Comelec could adjust its timeline, Melo’s first deadline for the approval of the budget was February 2009.

House Speaker Prospero Nograles on Tuesday said in a statement that the chamber will fast track the approval of the supplemental budget. He said the bill could pass the lower House within days from resumption of session on January 19.

“The poll automation will ensure an informed citizenry on their right of suffrage and the conduct of free, orderly, honest and credible elections,” Nograles said.

No public funds can be spent without the appropriations originating from the House of Representatives. But the congressmen had been waiting for Malacañang to transmit to them Comelec’s request for funding. After sitting on the supplemental budget for months, Malacanang on Friday finally submitted to Congress the supplemental budget of P11.3 million.

The Comelec Advisory Council—the group tasked to be on top of the technical side of the automation—had a closed-door meeting last week to discuss the “terms of reference” for the 2010 automated polls. Melo said the group will meet again on Friday to finalize it.

by Carmela Fonbuena
abs-cbnNEWS.com