Compel RP to implement Alston’s recommendations, UN urged

The Philippine Star

Local human rights groups attending the 8th Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva yesterday asked the UN panel to compel the Philippine government to implement the recommendations of its special rapporteur.

In a statement, the Philippine Universal Periodic Review Watch (UPR) asserted that the conclusions of UN’s Special Rapporteur Prof. Philip Alston in his fact-finding mission in 2006 are a “stinging indictment” of the human rights record of the Philippine government and a “mockery of its continued membership in the UNHRC.”

In her oral intervention during the interactive dialogue, Marie Hilao-Enriquez, secretary-general of Karapatan and a member of the Philippine UPR Watch, said Alston’s basic conclusions do not speak well of the Philippine government, which is supposed to observe the highest standards of human rights protection and promotion.

Enriquez reported to the UNHRC the case of activist Jonas Burgos, who is still missing after over a year despite all the legal remedies his mother, Edita Burgos, has resorted to.

She also confirmed that the killings in the Philippines have not stopped, and that Karapatan has already documented 13 victims of unexplained killings and two victims of enforced disappearances for this year.

She added that hundreds are still becoming victims of displacement due to military operations.

Enriquez’s oral intervention followed the report of Alston. Her statement was supported by the Commission of Churches on International Affairs of the World Council of Churches, the Asian Legal Resource Center, and the International Association of Democratic Lawyers.

“We also urge the UNHRC to ensure that the Philippine government will actually honor its pledges and commitments to the UNHRC,” she said.

The Philippine UPR Watch lamented that the Philippine Mission at the meeting showed “open hostility” while allegedly issuing an “undiplomatic tirade” against Alston and his report.

The group also lamented that the Philippine Mission engaged in a “total reverse of public relations spin” in Manila despite what they described as “the vituperative language and aspersions cast by the Philippine Mission together with the reportedly 50-member government delegation on Prof. Alston.”

Meanwhile, the government has branded as “inaccurate, highly-selective and biased” the report of Alston, which included several conclusions on the spate of unexplained killings in the country, citing, for instance the counter-insurgency program of the government as one, if not the primary, reason for the killings.

In her response to the report, Philippine Ambassador Erlinda Basilio expressed the government’s disappointment over the outcome of Alston’s visit to the country during which he met with the President and was given free access to government officials and its critics.

DOE told: Release audit on oil firms

The Philippine Star

Malacañang wants the Department of Energy (DOE) to release the results of the audit conducted on oil firms a few months ago.

The DOE hired reputed accounting firms to look into the books of the oil companies in order to see if their pricing is justifiable and that there are no irregularities.

Interviewed over state-run dzRB, deputy presidential spokesperson Lorelei Fajardo acknowledged that the auditing process would take some time but said the report should be expected very soon.

“I believe this is something that should be released by the Department of Energy, by Secretary (Angelo) Reyes,” Fajardo said.

She said the President has been following up on the DOE’s actions on the recommendations given at the conclusion of the Energy Summit held early last month.

In a related development, Malacañang expressed its gratitude to transport groups for deferring its fare hike petitions as well as the reported transport strike this coming week.

Fajardo said a transport strike would be ill-timed since classes all over the country start next week.

She said the government is working overtime on the increase in fuel discounts to be given to the transport sector in response to hikes in domestic pump prices.

“So hopefully, it would be implemented the soonest possible time. I don’t know if the LTFRB (Land Transportation and Franchising Regulatory Board) can do this within the week. But they have committed to work overtime on this,” Fajardo said.

And with the price of oil continuing on its upward path, Malacañang also appealed to the public to do its share in conserving energy instead of being overly dependent on the government for solutions.

While the government has taken several measures to ease the burden of high oil prices on consumers, Fajardo said that the public should also learn to conserve on fuel.

“If it’s possible, we would like to ask the people not to pass all of the burden on the government because everyone also has his own role to play in contributing to the solutions,” Fajardo said.

She said the people could try other ways, including using bicycles, walking and car-pooling, all of which could help bring down the consumption of oil in the country.

President Arroyo has issued a number of orders aimed at conserving energy at the government level.

Among her directives are for the government offices to switch off their air conditioners at 4:30 in the afternoon, to use only fluorescent lamps for lighting, to cut down on fuel consumption by 10 percent and to convert a portion of all government vehicles to liquefied petroleum gas from gasoline and diesel.

“So we also expect the same from the public, not only for those who are working in the government,” Fajardo said.

Gradual tightening of monetary policy seen

The Philippine Star

A top bank economist expects the central bank to gradually tighten its monetary policy setting this year, forecasting an increase in key policy rates by another 25 basis points in the next two policy meetings of the Monetary Board.

HSBC economist Frederic Neumann said over the weekend that monetary officials appear “increasingly hawkish” with inflation pressures likely to prove rather persistent.

“There is a significant upside risk to our own forecast of 7.7 percent for the current year, so officials look set to continue to hike interest rates in a gradual fashion,” Neumann said. “We now see a slight upside risk to our yearend policy rate forecast of 5.75 percent.”

According to Neumann, market concerns over spiralling inflation were reflected in the gradual depreciation of the peso and would further necessitate an active monetary policy response to rising price pressures.

Neumann said these concerns were made even more stark given the risk of rising import prices at a time of surging global commodity costs.

Conceding its 2008 inflation target, monetary officials said the inflation rate would also breach the 2009 target, prompting a 25-point increase in the key policy rates of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).

The BSP said it now expects the inflation rate to reach seven to nine percent in 2008 and four to six percent in 2009. This marks the first time the BSP has admitted that inflation rate would miss both the 2008 and 2009 targets set at three to five percent and 2.5 to 4.5 percent ,respectively.

Missing the 2009 target indicated that Thursday’s policy action would not be the last as the BSP grappled with rising commodity prices and the consequent adjustments in transport and wage rates.

The latest monetary policy action raised the overnight borrowing or reverse repurchase (RP) rate to 5.25 percent and the overnight lending or repurchase rate(RRP) to 7.25 percent.

The interest rates on term RRPs, RPs and special deposit accounts (SDAs) would also be adjusted accordingly, BSP Governor Amando Tetangco Jr. said.

The last time the BSP raised its key policy rates was in October 2005. Since then, its actions have been focused on managing monetary aggregates without having to touch its key policy rates.

“The Monetary Board believes that there are already indications that supply-driven pressures are beginning to feed into demand,” Tetangco said. He said core inflation as of May reached its highest level since April 2006 which meant that demand-side pressures were also building up.

“Given the early evidence of second-round effects, the MB recognized the need to act promptly to rein in inflationary expectations,” he said. “Since monetary policy affects economic variables with a time lag, policy measures undertaken now will help address risks to inflation in 2009.”

BSP deputy governor Diwa Guinigundo said their revised inflation projection for 2009 was based on the assumption the central bank would not be making any more policy action in the next 15 to 18 months.

Since the BSP is not changing its target for either 2008 or 2009, the language used by monetary officials indicated further tightening in monetary policy so that inflation rate could be brought back down to the target range.

Guinigundo also said the recent adjustment in minimum wages might not be the last, especially since the inflation rate was still heading upwards despite the recent drop in world oil prices.

According to Guinigundo, there were also petitions for yet another round of wage adjustments and even more petitions for transport fare adjustments in reaction to the dramatic increase in domestic pump prices.

“The adjustment in transport fares is yet another thing altogether and that has a direct impact on the prices of commodities that have to be moved to the markets,” Guinigundo said.

The market had expected the BSP to raise its policy rates by 25 to 50 basis points but Guinigundo said 50 basis points would have been too tight especially since inflationary pressures were still largely from the supply-side.

Intl training for cases of ELK, disappearances slated in Subic

CAMP OLIVAS, Pampanga – A group of international lawyers are set to discuss extra-legal killings (ELK), disappearances, and torture during a two-day training and live-in seminar workshop to be held inside the Subic Bay Freeport.

Aiming to encourage concerned sectors to be aggressive in pursuing cases related to ELKs, the American Bar Association – Rule of Law Initiative (ABA-ROLI) decided to embark on this noble project in a bid to provide the necessary tools needed in accomplishing cases related to ELKs, said Jack Andrew Miranda, ABA-ROLI coordinator.

The international training course on investigation and prosecution is set to mainly focus on ELKs, enforced disappearances and torture. It is slated to be held at the Vista Marina Hotel in Subic Bay Freeport Zone on June 16 – 17.

ABA-ROLI in cooperation with the Centerlaw and Professor Harry Roque has invited private prosecutors, public attorneys, selected journalists human rights lawyers and workers in Central Luzon to join in the training and workshop.

Jack Andrew Miranda of the ABA-ROLI said the main objective of the activity is to impart and equip all participants of the knowledge about ELKs and make them aggressive in pursuing such cases.

The project is fully supported by the Philippine Human Rights Reporting Project, said Miranda, in an invitation sent to possible participants.

Last month, the Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR), an international press group, held a one-day seminar workshop for journalists in Central Luzon.

Among the topics discussed during the workshop include human rights violations and reporting and other work-related problems encountered by journalists in the pursuit of fair, truth and justice writing stories.

First Filipina, first OFW’s son graduate from West Point

The Filipinos and Fil-Ams of USMA Class 2008 pose with their sponsor, at left, Col. Bryan Goda. The graduates are Daniel Asis, Anthony Bulaclac Jr., Kimberly Jung, Christy Achanzar and Mario Feliciano.

WEST POINT, New York – The US Military Academy (USMA) Class of 2008 will be memorable for Filipinos and Fil-Ams alike. They will be a tough act to follow in terms of distinction and the honors they’ve reaped in the four years they spent in West Point.

Christy Isis Achanzar is the first Filipina to join the “Long Gray Line”. The Davao lass took the Philippine Military Academy entrance exams almost on a whim. She passed and while already in Baguio, tried another test, this time for the USMA. The rest, they say, is history.

Mario Mokhtarian Feliciano is the first son of a Filipino migrant worker to hurdle West Point. He was born in Iran and grew up in Kuwait where he learned to speak near-perfect English. As a child, he’d cry when told not to play with other children because he hadn’t finished his homework yet, but when he did decide to part with his books, liked to play with miniature soldier figures.

Christine Limsiaco of Houston, Texas is already the second West Pointer in the family. Her elder sister Marissa, USMA Class 2005, has just finished her first tour with the 1st Cavalry Division, spending 15 months in Iraq. Asked if she had any advice for her sister, Marissa smiled and assured, “She’ll be fine, he’ll be good. We’re going to be together.” Christine is deploying to Fort Hood, home of the 1st Cavalry.

Anthony Bulaclac Jr. of Victorville, California joined the Golden Key, an international honor society that recognizes scholastic achievement – members must rank in the top 15 percent of their class. He is going to the Army flight school in Fort Rucker, Alabama. Given a choice, he says, he’d like to fly Apache attack helicopters.

Competition getting tougher
Over 1,200 cadets, including 17 foreign students, started with Class 2008 four years ago. When diplomas were handed out last Saturday, less than a thousand cadets marched up the stage at Michie Stadium.

Established in 1802, West Point is one of the few schools where present-day students study the words and works of some of her alumni – from Civil War Gen. Ulysses Grant to Douglas MacArthur to David Petraeus, commander of US forces in Iraq.

The Philippines has been sending its most talented sons – and most recently, the first woman – to West Point since 1914. It has bred one Philippine president, several Cabinet secretaries, numerous Armed Forces chiefs of staff, multinational executives and even one accused coup plotter.

Mario Feliciano, the first son of an OFW who graduated from the US Military Academy, pulls out a Philippine flag in a show of pride and patriotism on the parade grounds of Michie Stadium in West Point.

Feliciano finished 87 in a class of 972 and reached the rank of Regimental Sergeant-Major, the highest rank a foreign student can attain. More interestingly, he was one of the candidates for the post of First Captain, who serves as Corps Commander. He led one of the Corps’ four regiments in the summer of his senior year at West Point.

Achanzar also received an award in electrical engineering.

But Feliciano and Achanzar are the last Filipinos to graduate from West Point, at least for the next four years. When the Philippines still hosted US bases, it was assured of a slot at West Point. Today, the slots are apportioned based on competitive exams administered throughout Southeast Asia. Thus, the number of cadets eventually joining West Point can be a barometer of the comparative quality of cadets entering military academies in the region.

Mother’s appeal
Feliciano and Achanzar share one more thing in common – the influence of deeply religious parents.

Achanzar’s father Ermine, who works with the Dept. of Environment & Natural Resources in Davao City, usually keeps to himself. Her mother, Asuncion, also exudes a quiet strength that she attributes to her deep faith. “I wouldn’t like this interview if all we talk about is Christy being the first Filipina to graduate from West Point,” she cautioned as we prepped her interview with ABS-CBN’s “Balitang America.”

“We have to mention that God is the center and source of my daughter’s success,” she stressed.

Rosauro Feliciano was a Navy Reserve officer who saw action in Sulu and Tawi-Tawi until 1974 when he decided to work in the Middle East as an electronics technology instructor in Tehran, Iran where he would meet his future wife and Mario’s mother, Nahid, one of his students. When Islamic fundamentalists deposed the Shah, they moved to Kuwait.

He said Mario nurtured dreams of being a soldier too, which he first told them while he was still in high school. They asked an American neighbor about West Point but were told that was next to impossible. So they made a plan. “They told us we needed a sponsor, his mother said, ‘God will be your sponsor’,” the elder Feliciano explained.

“First God, second his knowledge and third our prayers,” Nahid said of how her son got into West Point. Often quoting from the Bible, she believes Mario is destined for bigger things.

She said she wanted to appeal the government. “I hope the government of the Philippines values his achievements. As a mother, I know that the knowledge that Mario has is really a gift from God. We need to use that in a way that others also learn something good. Government should make use of this knowledge, but in a right way,” Nahid declared.

Col. Rolando Tenefrancia, Philippine Army attaché in Washington D.C. said Feliciano and Achanzar are required to report to Camp Aguinaldo after 30 days. They will make a full circle in their budding military careers when they return to PMA for re-orientation before posting to field units. Achanzar will be deployed with the Light Armor Regiment; Feliciano is joining the Infantry.

Feliciano has been invited to speak before the Engineering Management Honor Society in Las Vegas, Nevada in September. They were impressed enough by his thesis in engineering management to extend the invitation to the new graduate.

Filipinos and Fil-Ams, tied by a common heritage, part ways, at least for the meantime. They will do what soldiers do, but they know their paths will likely cross again.

RP computer hackers turning into syndicates

(Second of three parts)

Authorities have been monitoring certain e-groups or “societies” that could be behind big, transnational cyber crimes, and these suspects could be your tech-savvy neighbors or seatmates at an Internet café.

Online identity thieves, who used to prefer working alone, have in recent years begun organizing as criminal syndicates, usually in connivance with foreign hacker groups, according to Alex Ramos, a computer forensics specialist of the Philippine National Police.

“They don’t fit the typical profile of a criminal. They’re not neglected. Some do it for the fun of hacking and earning a little something. There is also a group of crackers, college boys, who only focus on getting credit card information,” Ramos says. Some members being enticed to join these societies are as young as 14 years old, he says.

Alex Ramos, a computer forensics specialist of the Philippine National Police.

One of the earliest monitoring of hackers’ groups that Ramos conducted started in 1999. It led to some minor arrests, but the core of the syndicate—run by foreigners, in turned out—was busted only in 2007.

It turned out, too, that the crime was affecting telecommunications networks worldwide, and would be the biggest to be thwarted by local authorities since the E-Commerce Law was passed in 2000. Ramos earned for it the 2007 Timothy Fidel Memorial Award from organizers of the Computer Enterprise Investigations Conference.

Unwitting teen-agers

Ramos says the syndicate committed phreaking, which exploited security loopholes to obtain free access to telephone calls at the expense of customers of the Philippine Long Distant Telephone (PLDT). The process involves using a “war dialer” to call different phone numbers and then guessing the pincodes to those numbers in order to freely access the system to make long distance calls.

Foreign law enforcers contacted the Philippine government in 2001 about an upsurge in online anomalies hitting foreign telecoms. “These telecoms had been monitoring the increase in unauthorized calls and they made a projection that if this thing continued to happen at that rate, there would be denial of service. No one in the Philippines would be able to call anyone in the US,” he recalls.

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• Password thieves prey on Pinoy Internet users

Ramos said the first police raid concerning phreaking didn’t make the news in 2001 because it involved minors. It was a rude awakening for local law enforcement after seeing that children were being used unwittingly to commit cyber crimes.

“We used 200 men—SWAT, PNP, NBI—all fully armed because we didn’t know what we were up against. Even the house was located at a known hotspot of criminal activity. And then when we raided the house, we couldn’t file a case against the suspects; they were 14-year-old kids. In the list of the hottest phreakers in the country, they were at the top,” he says.

Foreign mastermind

After questioning the teenagers, Ramos was convinced that the children were unwitting accomplices of a foreign mastermind. “They didn’t know that what they were doing was illegal. All they knew was they were given instructions to punch these numbers in the computer. They weren’t even paid. It was just for kicks.”

Ramos says it was the absence of the money trail that bewildered law enforcement at first. Foreign law enforcers would later reveal that the syndicate was wiring money to local hackers in the Philippines to continue the phreaking operation.

Police made subsequent raids against suspected syndicate members in the following years, but it was in March 2007 that the police was able to dismantle the core group. Twenty-four Jordanian nationals of Palestinian descent and seven Filipinos were arrested in separate raids in Caloocan, Valenzuela, Parañaque, and Las Piñas.

Ramos says telecom companies lost an estimated $350 million in stolen revenue as a result of the phreaking syndicate. He says police investigation of the phreaking case is still ongoing. “We know it is being done by a foreign group. There are still phreaking activities happening here but they’re minor, it’s not as big as before,” he says.

Police said there are at least 100 Manila-based hackers in the phreaking syndicate composed of Filipinos, Palestinian-Jordanian nationals, Pakistani nationals, and Italians with Middle East origins.

Bad for e-commerce

Abe Olandres, a tech blogger, says one security threat that law enforcers should focus on is the stealing of passwords and credit card information from online users. This, he says, is the reason why e-commerce rollout in the Philippines remains slow.

YES Limited, a Hong Kong-based IT company launched in 2003, was victimized by credit card fraud, which led to the arrests of several suspects. YES Limited allows overseas Filipinos to send money to their loved ones in the Philippines by creating an online account in their Yespinoy.com website, which is then topped up with funds from a credit card. The relative of the overseas Filipino can withdraw the money using a Smart Money ATM card.

YES Limited monitored that a number of Yespinoy.com members were sending money to just one account. Money from the account was later withdrawn from an ATM in Quezon City. When contacted, the Yespinoy members denied sending any money to the account, while others denied registering for membership in the site.

The company contacted the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), which conducted an entrapment operation, netting two suspected credit card fraudsters using stolen account information.

Olandres says www.godaddy.com, an Internet domain registration site, refused to service the Philippines four years ago because of the high incidence of credit card fraud and malicious attacks by local hackers. He said the site had to resort to manual checking of users who wanted to register domains.

Private help needed

He says that while the E-Commerce Law was passed in 2001, none of the proposed bills on cybercrime have moved. “Congress has to act quickly because computer crimes are becoming more complicated. It’s counterproductive to have all this progress without the legislation needed to protect online users,” he says.

Ramos says there is also a need to equip law enforcers to go after cyber criminals. He says only a few units under the PNP and NBI are dedicated to fighting computer crime.

“You cannot centralize the skills, the knowledge. We have to spread the knowledge about how cyber crime works. That way, people would be able to see when it’s happening and report it,” he explains.

He also lauds the private sector, particularly the IT community, for helping law enforcers in pursuing criminals in cyberspace.

“Government does not have all the resources and skills. That is why it is a must that we work together with the private sector. We have to build a network of friends in the IT industry and we need an organized system that would help in the free flow of information between the private sector and the government units handling cyber crime,” he says.

More senators join Enrile in pushing for EPIRA amendments

The Philippine Star

More senators vowed to push for more amendments to the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) and other measures that can reduce electricity rates.

Sen. Francis Escudero, chairman of the Senate ways and means committee, said the amendments being proposed by Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile would not be enough to ensure that prices of electricity would go down.

Sen. Edgardo Angara would support amendments to the EPIRA to stop irrelevant pass-on charges such as stranded costs and franchise taxes imposed by local government units as well as cutting down systems loss being charged to consumers.

Escudero said he did not vote for EPIRA when it was first passed because he did not believe it would help bring down electricity prices.

“We need to amend the EPIRA but I am not sure if the amendments being discussed right now will work to bring down prices,” Escudero said.

Under Enrile’s proposal, Escudero said the “take or pay” clause was not included as well as the huge systems loss being passed on to consumers.

He said the need to address National Power Corp.’s mismanagement and debts was also not in the bill sponsored by Enrile.

Escudero said he would voice out his own proposals during the period of amendments.

Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr. said his fellow opposition members also opted to meet first and discuss the necessary changes in the current EPIRA to ensure that it would result in the reduction of electricity charges.

Pimentel said they did not mean to delay the passage of the EPIRA, adding that they would try to file their proposal this week.

“Incidentally, I propose that once our amendments are ready, we will go into caucus so we will identify what amendments they can and can not accept, we’ll just debate it on the floor, to fast-track,” Pimentel told reporters.

Those in the minority, aside from Pimentel, are Senators Panfilo Lacson, Manuel Roxas II, Loren Legarda, Benigno Aquino III, Jamby Madrigal and Rodolfo Biazon. Another member is Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV who is in jail for coup d’etat charges and cannot appear at the Senate.

The seven-year-old EPIRA is considered a failure as the target of further increasing private sector participation in the power industry remains to be seen as evidenced by the slow pace of privatization of Napocor’s generation assets.

Critics said one of the major reasons for the passage of EPIRA that mandates the privatization of Napocor and the restructuring of the entire power industry was the growing debts and liabilities to the independent power producers (IPPs) of the state-owned power corporation. But this problem still exists, they noted.

Pimentel and Legarda also filed separate bills to stop Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) from passing on the costs of systems loss to customers.

Meralco was also accused of passing its own electric bills and the hefty salaries of its executives to consumers.

Pimentel noted they would also look into the responsibilities of Napocor and the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) in the country’s high electricity rates.

“The opposition submits that the ERC is sleeping on the job. It has not been pro-active in its role of protecting the consumers. It has allowed electric companies to collect unwarranted charges to the consumers,” Pimentel said.

Energy Secretary Angelo Reyes has assured foreign business groups that the Philippines will continue to study ways to improve electricity rate levels.

In his recent speech before a Joint Foreign Chambers of the Philippines (JFC) forum, Reyes said the government would be pursuing a policy environment that will result in efficient and affordable energy services.

In its recently released open letter to President Arroyo, JFC said “the Philippines must have short term or spot market strategy, a medium term strategy, and ultimately a long term strategy for the procurement of fuel in order to optimize the impact of rising fuel costs on energy prices.”

Reyes rolled out various DOE action plans to have fair power rates through the EPIRA law and regularization of the Multi-Stakeholders’ Dialogue.

He said that based on data gathered from the website of the Heads of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Power Utilities Association, the Philippines ranked second highest in power rates next to Cambodia.

As of 2007, Philippine electricity rates reached $0.1750 per kilowatt-hour, next to Cambodia at $0.1768. Singapore’s power rate was placed at $0.1307 while that of Thailand is $0.085.

More benefits for poor from VAT

The Philippine Star

Malacañang assured the poor Wednesday of more direct cash aid and other forms of assistance from the P14-billion government revenue from value-added tax (VAT) on oil and power.

In separate interviews, Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita and Budget Secretary Rolando Andaya Jr. said the Presidential Task Force on Energy Contingency is reviewing numerous proposals on ways to immediately and effectively use the VAT proceeds to enable impoverished households to cope with rising fuel and food prices.

“President Arroyo thought that we should immediately implement things that are doable, so there is the P4 billion from the VAT on oil from the first quarter,” Ermita said.

“We’re not just thinking of welfare of people now, we are also thinking of their welfare in the long run,” Andaya said. “We want to return immediately to the people what was collected.”

Ermita said Mrs. Arroyo has launched a P4-billion assistance program for the poor in the last few days.

“What she and the Cabinet are preoccupied with is what the government can immediately do to alleviate the effects of rising oil and food prices,” he said.

Mrs. Arroyo is set to launch today at the Eulogio Amang Rodriguez Institute of Science and Technology in Manila the P500-million “New Students’ Assistance Fund for Education for a Strong Republic” program with funds from VAT proceeds in the first quarter of the year.

Andaya said the educational assistance was on top of another P500 million allocated for student loans in state universities and colleges, and private schools.

The task force headed by Ermita will fast-track its review of the various proposals on how to use the P14 billion expected from VAT this year, he added.

Ermita said the task force will meet again on Monday, this time to discuss the matter with members of academe.

Another P1 billion has been set aside to fund the conversion of public utility vehicles running on diesel and gasoline to liquefied petroleum gas or compressed natural gas, he added.

On Tuesday, Mrs. Arroyo launched the P2-billion one-time subsidy that would benefit some four million poor households that would get P500 each to pay for their electricity bills for the month.

Mrs. Arroyo has vowed to plow back proceeds from VAT on oil and power to the poor as government revenues increased due to rising prices of crude in the world market.

“The high price of oil is a global issue outside the control of the government,” she said. “We have nevertheless taken and will continue to take actions to reduce the pain on our people of these high prices.”

Fuel subsidy

Public utility vehicles will be given a P3-billion fuel subsidy every quarter, the government said yesterday.

Finance Undersecretary Gil Beltran said the subsidy will come from the expected P18.6-billion VAT on oil this year.

The subsidy may be in the form of a P2-per-liter discount for public utility vehicles although its implementing guidelines are still being drawn up, he added.

Beltran said an interagency group comprised of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), Department of Budget and Management (DBM) and the Department of Finance, has already endorsed the plan to Malacañang.

“It can be accommodated by the increase in collections,” he said.

Computations by the Department of Finance showed that every one-percentage-point increase or decrease in inflation translates to an increase or decrease in revenues of P10.6 billion.

Inflation already rose 8.3 percent in April, above the official forecast of 7 percent and the previous month’s inflation of 6.4 percent.

The Finance department is in favor of granting a subsidy to the various sectors using revenue from the VAT on oil instead of scrapping the tax.

Finance department estimates that the government will lose P45.7 billion in direct revenue yearly if VAT on oil is suspended.

“Our studies based on the Family Income and Expenditures Survey of 2003 show that 40.7 percent of the benefits (P18.6 billion) from suspension of VAT on oil will accrue to income groups earning P250,000 and above. Another 41.3 percent (P18.9 billion) will accrue to income groups earning P100,000 to P249,999,” the DOF said.

US says RP not fully compliant on elimination of human trafficking

But making significant efforts to do so

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The Philippines was retained in the Tier-2 list of countries in the Trafficking in Persons Report (TIPR) 2008 of the US State Department released Wednesday.

The US State Department prepares the report based on the US Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, as amended. It defined countries in the Tier-2 list as “Countries whose governments do not fully comply with the TVPA’s minimum standards, but are making significant efforts to bring themselves into compliance with those standards.”

Since 2001, when the first TIPR was prepared the Philippines has been on the Tier-2 list except for 2004 and 2005 when it was placed on the Tier-2 Watch List. The 2008 report said in particular: “The Government of the Philippines does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so.”

Sexual exploitation and forced labor

Street children and trafficking

Eleven-year-old Theresa ran away from her rural home in the Philippines after her uncle sexually abused her, joining other street children in a nearby city rummaging through garbage for food and sleeping under a bridge. Not long after she arrived on the streets, a pimp pushed Theresa into prostitution.Across the globe, street children like Theresa represent one of the most vulnerable groups, both for sexual exploitation and forced labor. In major cities worldwide, street children are lured into brothels, where they are also exposed to physical and sexual abuse, drug addiction, and HIV.

A large number of street children are reportedly prostituted in the urban areas of the Philippines.

more…

The Philippines was described in the 2008 report as “primarily a country of origin for men, women, and children trafficked for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor. “

It cited that Filipinos in significant number migrate abroad for work and are “subjected to conditions of involuntary servitude in Bahrain, Canada, Cyprus, Hong Kong, Cote d’Ivoire, Japan, Kuwait, Malaysia, Palau, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates.”

Is said that “Filipinas are also trafficked abroad for commercial sexual exploitation, primarily to Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, South Korea, and countries in the Middle East and Western Europe.”

Internally, the US report said women and children from poor communities in the Visayas and Mindanao are also trafficked to urban areas such as Manila and Cebu City “for commercial sexual exploitation, or are subjected to forced labor as domestic servants or factory workers.”

It noted a “growing trend is the use of budget airline carriers to transport victims out of the country” also the use of “fake travel documents, falsified permits, and altered birth certificates.”

On the destination side, the report also said that “a smaller number of women are occasionally trafficked from the People’s Republic of China, South Korea, and Russia to the Philippines for commercial sexual exploitation.”

The report however said that: “Child sex tourism continues to be a serious problem for the Philippines. Sex tourists reportedly came from Northeast Asia, Europe, and North America to engage in sexual activity with minors.”

The report also cited that the Philippine government “continued efforts to reduce demand for child sex tourism by cooperating with the prosecution of American nationals under terms of the US PROTECT Act of 2003.”

The 2008 report cited the government’s “exemplary efforts” to prevent the trafficking of migrant workers as well as in protecting overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) who were exploited abroad.

Weak efforts at prosecution and conviction

The 2008 report however pointed out that the Philippines has made minimal improvement in the prosecution and conviction of trafficking offenders “given the scope and magnitude of the internal trafficking problem.”

It cited only three convictions under the 2003 anti-trafficking law – against “three sex traffickers: two in Cebu City; and one in Davao. Each convicted trafficker was found guilty, sentenced to life imprisonment and ordered to pay fines ranging from $50,000 to $70,000.” The report said the improvement was minimal compared to the 2006 which reported only one conviction.

The US State Department report said that improving this is aspect “is essential for the Government of the Philippines to continue progress towards compliance with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking.”

The US report also said that no criminal convictions for forced labor were made during the reporting period which was from April 2007 through March 2008.

In terms of filing of cases versus traffickers, the report noted that 155 alleged trafficking cases were reported to the Department of Justice (DOJ), of which prosecutors initiated prosecutions in 56 of the cases. The report said that the remaining cases remained under preliminary investigation or were dismissed for lack of evidence.

It noted that the government’s ability to effectively prosecute “remained handicapped by a lack of resources, endemic corruption, and general ineffectiveness of the judicial system.”

It also noted that a “high vacancy rate among judges significantly slowed trial times.”

The 2008 reports main recommendation for the Philippines focused on this aspect.

“Significantly improve the record of prosecutions, convictions, and punishments for traffickers; disseminate information on the 2003 law throughout the country; train law enforcement officers and prosecutors on the use of the 2003 law; and vigorously investigate and prosecute public officials complicit in trafficking,” said the report’s recommendations for the Philippines.

The report positively cited that the Philippine government provided its cooperation to other countries particularly in Malaysia, Hong Kong, New Zealand, and Australia in the investigation and prosecution of trafficking cases.

Widespread corruption

Another problem mentioned in the report was “Widespread corruption at all levels of the government permitted many organized crime groups, including traffickers, to conduct their illegal activities.”

The report said that “it is widely believed that some government officials are involved in, or at least permit, trafficking operations within the country.”

It cited a trial versus a police officer Dennis Reci, who was charged in 2005 for allegedly trafficking minors for commercial sexual exploitation at his night club in Manila. The report said the court decision was still pending and that the policeman was still detained.

The report cited the creation of Task Force Against Trafficking at Ninoy Aquino International Airport in February 2007 to combat trafficking at the airport by intercepting undocumented passengers, assisting victims, and monitoring involvement of airport personnel. It also noted however that the task force “filed one case of trafficking involving an immigration employee at the airport and referred two other cases of trafficking- related corruption involving four immigration personnel to the Office of the Ombudsman.”

Victims’ protection

The US State Department report praised the Philippine government as it “sustained its strong efforts to protect victims of trafficking in 2007, including through partnerships with NGOs and international organizations that provide services to victims.”

It also cited the government efforts to provide temporary residency status, relief from deportation, shelter, and access to legal, medical, and psychological services. It noted that the Department of Social Welfare and Development operated 42 temporary shelters for victims throughout the country with thirteen supported by a non-charity organization.

The report said that the “Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has extended assistance to Philippine citizens trafficked abroad and managed repatriations.”

In coordination with the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE),

It recognized the DFA lead through its embassies and its 41 labor attachés who served in 35 cities around the world in protecting the rights of migrant workers abroad in coordination with the Department of Labor and Employment.

It cited DOLE for the deployment of “41 labor attachés who served in 35 cities around the world to help protect migrant workers; in addition, DOLE’s Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) sent 40 welfare officers abroad to support the work of labor attachés.”

The report also cited the Philippine government’s efforts in instituting measures to protect OFWs from fraudulent or otherwise illegal recruitment offers as well the broadcast of anti-trafficking infomercials.

The report also said that the Philippines has signed and ratified relevant international conventions namely the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress & Punish Trafficking in Persons, ILO Convention 182, Elimination of Worst Forms of Child Labour, Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography, Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child in Armed Conflict, ILO Convention 29, Forced Labour and ILO Convention 105, Abolition of Forced Labour.

Human trafficking

The TVPA of the United States defines “severe forms of trafficking” as: “sex trafficking in which a commercial sex act is induced by force, fraud, or coercion, or in which the person induced to perform such an act has not attained 18 years of age; or the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for labor or services, through the use of force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of subjection to involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage, or slavery.”

The Department of State said the 2008 report was prepared “using information from US embassies, foreign government officials, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and international organizations, published reports, research trips to every region, and information submitted to tipreport@state.”

The US State Department said the report is “a diplomatic tool for the US Government to use as an instrument for continued dialogue and encouragement and as a guide to help focus resources on prosecution, protection, and prevention programs and policies.”

The report said that “governments of countries in Tier 3 may be subject to certain sanctions” which may include withholding non-humanitarian, non-trade-related foreign assistance. Sanctions, if imposed, will take effect October 1, 2008, said the report.

Countries in the Tier-3 list are “Countries whose governments do not fully comply with the minimum standards and are not making significant efforts to do so” while those in the Tier-1 list are “Countries whose governments fully comply with TVPA minimum standards.”

US Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice in the report’s introduction said: “Covering 170 countries, the eighth annual Trafficking in Persons Report is the most comprehensive to date. The report brings to account each nation’s efforts to discover the perpetrators, prosecute the criminals, protect the victims, and ultimately abolish the egregious crime of human trafficking.”

RP hits Myanmar for continued Suu Kyi arrest

The Philippines has criticized the military government of Myanmar in its ruling to extend, once again, the house arrest of pro-democracy leader Aung Suu Kyi.

“Concrete steps are needed to enhance the credibility of Myanmar’s Roadmap to Democracy, that includes the release of political prisoners,” a statement from the Office of the Press Secretary said.

It added that the Philippine government is reiterating its call for the release of Suu Kyi and all other political prisoners.

“Meaningful dialogue with Aung San Suu Kyi and all political groups, and the full and free participation of all stakeholders in the political process will help bring about Myanmar’s full national reconciliation and return to democracy,” the statement added.

Suu Kyi was first arrested in 1989 after addressing a pro-democracy rally in Yangon.

The junta arrested her on the basis of martial law that also allows for detention without charge or trial for three years.

She was freed in 1995 but placed under arrest again five years later.

Following release in 2002, she was again arrested in 2003 and placed in secret detention for more than three months. House arrest resumed after government critics discovered her secret detention.

Amid widespread calls this year to allow foreign aid workers to reach Myanmar following the cyclone devastation there, the juna extended Suu Kyi’s house arrest for another year.