Archive for December 2008
He said, she said: Conflicting statements in fertilizer hearing
By Jesus F. Llanto
Researcher, Newsbreak
December 22, 2008
Witnesses invited at today’s Senate hearing on the fertilizer fund scam gave conflicting statements during the probe.
Maritess Aytona, who denied being a runner for alleged fertilizer fund scam architect Jocelyn “Joc-Joc” Bolante, said that Jaime Paule told him that there are funds available for fertilizers for local government units (LGUs) and lawmakers and that it was Jose “Boy” Barredo who made the proposal for the allocation for the province of Bulacan.
Barredo, who approached local officials informing them of the fertilzier funds, denied Aytona’s claim and said that it was Aytona who sent her the instructions. He also added that it he received his salary from the office of Aytona at the National Organization for Agricultural Enhancement and Productivity.
Timeline: Cities vs cities
11th Congress—The House of Representatives enacts into laws 33 bills converting 33 towns into cities. The Congress, however, does not act on 24 other cityhood bills.
12th Congress—Republic Act 9009 is enacted. The law increases the minimum income requirement for cityhood from P20 million to P100 million. After the law took effect, the Congress adopts Joint Resolution No. 29, which seeks to exempt the 24 municipalities from the minimum income requirement prescribed by RA 9009. The Senate, however, fails to approve the resolution.
13th Congress—The House re-adopts Joint Resolution No. 29 as Joint Resolution No.1 and forwards it to the Senate for approval. The Senate fails to approve it. Congressmen of the 16 municipalities vying for cityhood files 16 cityhood bills that contain provision exempting them from the P100- million income requirements set by the Local Government Code, as amended by RA 9009.
December 22, 2006—The House of Representatives approves the cityhood bills.
February-June 2007—The Senate approves the cityhood bills.
March-July 2007—The cityhood laws lapses into law without the signature of President Gloria Arroyo.
March 27, 2007—The LCP files its first case in the Supreme Court after six towns were converted into cities.
May 4, 2007—Another case is filed by the LCP after six more towns were converted into cities. —Research by Jesus F. Llanto, abs-bnNews.com/Newsbreak
Click here to view full timeline.
Source: News reports, Supreme Court decision voiding 16 cityhood bills
‘Lawmakers should be careful in passing cityhood laws’
By Jesus F. Llanto
Researcher, Newsbreak
December 15, 2008
The Supreme Court decision voiding the conversion of 16 municipalities
into cities should make lawmakers more careful in passing cityhood bills, local officials and an expert on local governance said.
Sources interviewed by abs-cbnNews.com/Newsbreak said that lawmakers should ensure that the criteria set by the Local Government for cityhood are met before pending cityhood bills are approved to avoid another incident similar to the High Tribunal’s decision to void cityhood laws.
In November, the SC, voting 6-5, junked the cityhood laws of three cities in Luzon, seven in the Visayas, and six in Mindanao for failing to meet the qualifications prescribed by the LGC.
The SC voided the cityhood laws of the following cities: Tabuk in Kalinga; Tayabas in Quezon; Batac in Ilocos Norte; Naga, Bogo and Carcar in Cebu; Baybay in Leyte; Guihulngan in Negros Oriental; Catbalogan in Samar; Borongan in Eastern Samar; Tandag in Surigao del Sur; Bayugan in Agusan del Sur; El Salvador in Misamis Oriental; Mati in Davao Oriental; Lamitan in Basilan; and, Cabadbaran in Agusan del Norte.
As of posting time, local officials of the 16 cities filed a motion for reconsideration at the Supreme Court.
Alex Brillantes, dean of the University of the Philippines National College of Public Administration and Governance (UP-NCPAG), said that the decision was a “positive development” because it emphasizes the need to follow the rules in converting towns into cities.
Click here to read the rest of the story.
Photo: www.abs-cbnnews.com
RELATED STORIES
• GMA Creating Too Many LGUs
• As year ends, GMA creates more LGUs
• IRA Formula Makes Local Governments Complacent
• Birth Pains
• Cities Contemplate Tax Boycott, Work Stoppage
• Less IRA Forcing Mindanao Cities to Cut Down on Services, Workers
• With less IRA, some cities may lose competitiveness
• Mayors glad, sad over SC decision voiding 16 cities
• 16 cities to revert to towns; face huge revenue cuts
16 cities to revert to towns; face huge revenue cuts
By Jesus F. Llanto
Researcher, Newsbreak
December 13, 2008
When Lamitan City celebrated its first anniversary as a city last June 2008, local officials and residents held a one-week program. During the celebration, the city government also inaugurated P74 million worth of infrastructure projects, which included a P30-million wet and dry markets and P48 million new transport terminal and air-conditioned hostel.
“The celebration was festive,” the city’s legal counsel Quirino Esguerra Jr., told abs-cbnNews.com/Newsbreak.
Local officials of Lamitan interviewed by abs-cbnNews.com/Newsbreak said the conversion has spurred development in their city. City councilor Juan Puri Jr. told us in a previous interview that the city government was able to implement more infrastructure projects because of more funds from the national government that came along with their cityhood status.
Lamitan’s mayor, Roderick Furigay Jr., told abs-cbnNews.com/Newsbreak in November that their share on the tax collection of the national government or the internal revenue allotment (IRA) leaped from P80 million to more than P200 million.
Five months later, however, the optimism and promises of cityhood faded away when the Supreme Court declared the conversion of Lamitan City—along with 15 other cities—as unconstitutional.
The 16 cities, whose cityhood bills were voided by the Supreme Court last month, are now the ones facing the possibility of losing huge amounts of IRA allocations.
Click here to read the rest of the story.
RELATED STORIES
• GMA Creating Too Many LGUs
• As year ends, GMA creates more LGUs
• IRA Formula Makes Local Governments Complacent
• Birth Pains
• Cities Contemplate Tax Boycott, Work Stoppage
• Less IRA Forcing Mindanao Cities to Cut Down on Services, Workers
World Bank: Economies of RP, Asia to recover in 2010
By Jesus F. Llanto
Researcher, Newsbreak
December 11, 2008
The World Bank (WB) expects the Philippines and other East Asia and Pacific economies to post slower 2008 growth rates, skid further in 2009, before exports pick up and credit and investments start flowing again in 2010.
In its Global Economic Prospect (GEP) 2009 report released Wednesday, the World Bank said the Philippines will grow by only 3 percent in 2009, slower than its 4 percent forecast for this year.
These projections are lower than the Philippine government’s own economic growth targets of between 4.1 to 4.8 percent this year, and 3.7 and 4.7 percent in 2009.
World Bank’s projections showed the Philippines lagging behind peer countries’ growth prospects in 2008 up to 2010.
This year’s 4 percent growth forecast for the Philippines is lower than South East Asian countries, like Thailand (4.6 percent), Malaysia (5.5 percent), Indonesia (6 percent).
Even previous laggards in the neighborhood, like Vietnam (6.5 percent), Lao (7 percent), and Cambodia (6.7 percent) will also slowdown in 2008, but their growth rates still outpace the Philippines’.
It would be the same case in the World Bank’s 2009 growth forecast for the Philippines. The country’s 3 percent growth will again be slower than the others: Thailand (3.6 percent), Malaysia (3.7 perrcent), Indonesia (4.4 percent), Vietnam (6.5 percent), Lao (6 percent), and Cambodia (4.9 percent).
Click here to read the rest of the story.
Photo: www.abs-cbnnews.com
East Asia growth to slow down–World Bank
By Jesus F. Llanto
Researcher, Newsbreak
December 11, 2008
The growth of the economies of developing East Asia countries will slow down to 6.7 percent in 2009 and 7.8 percent in 2010, from 8.5 percent in 2008 as the impact of the financial crisis reaches the region, the latest economic update of the World Bank said.
The Global Economic Prospect (GEP) 2009 said that the 6.7 percent real gross domestic product (GDP) growth of the region next year is the weakest since the dot-com recession of 2001 and the East Asia crisis of 1997-1998.
“The 6.7 percent is not as good as it sounds because a huge part of it is China,” Vikram Nehru, World Bank’s regional chief economist in the East Asia region told reporters.
Developing East Asia includes the China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Mongolia, Papua New Guinea and the island economies in the Pacific.
The latest six-monthly assessment of the region said that while the East Asian countries are better prepared than they were for the 1997 Asian financial crisis, none of them is immune to the impact of the global economic financial crisis.
“While decline in oil and food prices will support external positions and provide some relief in the inflation front, reduced investment spending is expected to contribute to a substantial slowdown in regional growth to 6.7 percent in 2009,” the report said.
Regional export volumes, the report added, are expected to fall from 8.3 percent in 2008 to 2.6 percent in 2009 while investment is expected to ease to 7 percent.
BPO industry in Mindanao suffers from MILF attacks
By Jesus F. Llanto
Researcher, Newsbreak
December 9, 2008
The clashes between the government troops and the rogue members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) were isolated in several provinces in Mindanao, but it is the entire region that is paying for it.
The business process outsourcing (BPO) industry is suffering, particularly in the industrialized cities of Davao and Cagayan De Oro, because of the negative perception due to the volatile peace situation. It scares away investors, industry experts told Newsbreak.
“There is a huge potential because of the huge number of talents in Davao and Cagayan de Oro, but it is difficult to convince [the investors to come] because of the perception that Mindanao is not peaceful,” said Jamea Garcia, executive director for talent development of the Business Process Association of the Philippines.
Another source disclosed that two BPO firms, who were close to finalizing their plans to locate in Mindanao, backed out when the clashes between the military and rebels erupted in August due to the aborted signing of the Moro homeland accord.
This is unfortunate because the region has made strides in attracting the multinational BPO companies away from established outsourcing hubs like Metro Manila and Cebu.
Other Mindanao cities—General Santos, Dipolog, and Zamboanga—have also been gearing to benefit from the growing industry.
