Miriam Defensor Santiago's Blog, page 5

MIRIAM: EVEN SEA TRAVEL IS UNSAFE

Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago on Friday lamented that even traveling by sea in the Philippines is unsafe, as she called on her colleagues to investigate the Philippine Coast Guard’s (PCG) alleged failure to repair 226 defective light stations.

Santiago, laureate of the Ramon Magsaysay Award for government service, will file a resolution on Monday based on the recently released Commission on Audit (COA) report that of the 563 light stations in the country, only 337 were operational as of the end of 2014.

“Commuters in Metro Manila highways are frustrated by hellish traffic. Those who need to travel by plane have to go through the ordeal of flight delays. But apparently, even sea travelers are unsafe,” the senator said.

She claimed that because of the defective light stations, there are only 2.9 light stations per 100 nautical miles of Philippine coastline, lower than the standard of four light stations per 100 nautical miles set by the International Association of Lighthouse Authorities’ (IALA).

Santiago agreed with the COA that the dismal state of government aid to navigation in the country is alarming, noting that regardless of advancement in technology, mariners still rely on these light stations as visual confirmations of their electronic readings.

“Lighthouses are useful particularly to fishermen whose boats are not equipped with modern technology for navigation. Lack of operational light stations can jeopardize their safety,” the senator said.

She noted that under R.A. No. 9993 or the Coast Guard Law of 2009, the PCG is mandated to coordinate, establish, maintain, and operate aids to navigation within the maritime jurisdiction of the Philippines.

“The PCG management should prioritize the immediate repair of defective light stations and regularly monitor the condition of these facilities. Likewise, the PCG should increase the number light stations to ensure the safety of all vessels navigating in Philippine waters,” Santiago said.

The senator also urged Congress, in consultation with the Department of Transportation and Communications and other concerned agencies, to determine the need to pass laws or amend existing laws to boost maritime safety.

MIRIAM SLAMS P687-MILLION PEZA OVERPAY

Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago on Friday urged her colleagues to investigate the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) for allegedly overpaying its officials and employees by a total of P687 million from 2009 to 2014.

Santiago, laureate of the Ramon Magsaysay Award for government service, filed proposed Senate Resolution No. 1563, based on the recently released Commission on Audit (COA) report that red-flagged PEZA salaries, allowances, and benefits.

“It is appalling that in 2014 alone, the PEZA overpaid its personnel by P165 million by using a salary scheme that was not approved by the President. In other words, the PEZA has been illegally paying its employees for six years,” the senator said.

The PEZA is the agency tasked with the development of ready-for-occupancy economic zones in the country in a bid to attract more foreign investments. Republic Act No. 7916, otherwise known as the “Special Economic Zone Act of 1995,” as amended, allows the PEZA to promulgate its own compensation scheme.

Santiago, agreed with the COA, however, that such compensation scheme is still subject to the approval of the President. She cited Presidential Decree No. 1597, or a decree “further rationalizing the system of compensation and position classification in the National Government,” Section 6, which states that:

…. Exemptions notwithstanding, agencies shall report to the President, through the Budget Commission, on their position classification and compensation plans, policies, rates and other related details following such specifications as may be prescribed by the President.

The COA also noted that in the 1999 case of Intia v. Commission on Audit, the Supreme Court ruled that P.D. No. 1597, Section 6, applies even to government corporations whose charters allow them to fix their own compensation system.

The Court in Intia agreed with the COA that payments for representation and transportation allowances (RATA) fixed under rates approved through a board resolution of the Philippine Postal Corporation must be disallowed for failure to submit the same for review and approval of the Department of Budget and Management.

“The PEZA should have no delusions: Pending the approval of the President through the DBM, it should discontinue the implementation of salary adjustments and the use of new salary rates in the computation of benefits and premiums,” Santiago said.

She also urged her colleagues to put in place measures that would give more teeth to COA notices of disallowance. Santiago noted that the PEZA, while appealing notices of disallowance from 2009 to 2013, continued to overpay its employees.

“On the other hand, we must consider legislation that will mandate the COA to immediately resolve appeals on notices of disallowance in order to make such notices final and enforceable,” the senator said.

MIRIAM: PROBE UNDELIVERED ARMY SUPPLIES

Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago on Monday urged the Philippine Army to explain why, based on a Commission on Audit (COA) report, bulk of the training ammunitions and equipment it was programmed to procure in 2014 had not been delivered.

Santiago, chair of the Legislative Oversight Committee on the Visiting Forces Agreement, vowed to file a resolution calling for a Senate investigation on the non-delivery of the military supplies, a failure which she said might put Filipino soldiers at risk.

“How can we expect our troops to defend our sovereignty and territorial integrity when they have no ammunitions or equipment for training? Funds have been disbursed, why were supplies not delivered?” the senator said.

She cited a recently released COA report, which showed that despite the P569.6 million the Army released to the Government Arsenal for ammunitions, only P42.4 million worth of ammunitions were delivered in 2014.

The same COA report showed that of the P231.9 million worth of combat clothing and equipment the Army requested through the Procurement Service of the Department of Budget and Management from 2004 to 2011 P786,000 remained undelivered in 2014.

“The Philippines is threatened by a neighbor encroaching on its territory. We cannot afford to postpone—not even for a day—the delivery of much-needed ammunitions and equipment,” Santiago said.

The senator has been urging the military to boost its defenses against external threats, as she criticized the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) between the Philippines and the U.S.

In July, Santiago, as chair of the Senate committee on foreign relations, filed a resolution expressing the sense of the Senate that the EDCA is invalid and ineffective unless concurred in by the Senate. The resolution was supported by 12 other senators.

MIRIAM HITS GAPS IN TRANSPORTATION-RELATED SPENDING

Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago on Friday called on her colleagues to immediately investigate gaps the Commission on Audit (COA) identified on recent government spending on transportation.

Santiago, a laureate of the Ramon Magsaysay Award for government service, has filed two resolutions based on 2014 COA reports on the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) and a transportation-related project of the Metals Industry Research and Development Center (MIRDC).

“Transportation is one of the issues Filipinos complain about daily. It is therefore appalling to learn that traffic congestion in both roads and airports is just the tip of the iceberg, and that less obvious threats abound in the transport sector,” the senator said.

Proposed Senate Resolution No. 1550, which Santiago filed on August 27, seeks an inquiry, in aid of legislation, on the COA report that only 21 out of 82 airport facilities operated by the CAAP are covered by the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS).

The COA further claimed that properties worth P10.1 billion were registered with the CAAP in 2014, but total insurance was only up to P12.3 million. This leaves bulk of properties without financial protection in case of natural and man-made risks.

“It is the duty of the government to spend taxpayers’ money wisely. That mandate entails insuring all properties acquired using public funds,” Santiago said.

The senator also filed P.S.R. No. 1546 on August 26, urging an investigation on delays in the operation of alternative mass transport systems for Metro Manila developed by the MIRDC, an attached agency of the Department of Science and Technology.

The COA said the MIRDC has completed two monorail systems—one in the Quezon City campus of the University of the Philippines and another near the DOST compound in Bicutan, Taguig—but failed to operate both models.

State auditors claimed that this defeats the purpose of the projects worth a total of P128.1 million. The Automated Guide-Way Transit Systems are intended as models for mass transport systems that will help ease traffic congestion in Metro Manila.

“The administration has the gall to flaunt monorail projects as its proposed solution to the hellish traffic commuters encounter every day, yet it dilly-dallies on operating the model systems and on replicating it for public use,” Santiago said.

She also highlighted the COA findings which criticized how the Bicutan monorail was developed even before problems have been identified and addressed in the UP monorail, leaving two separate projects both in the experimental stage.

“We must, on the one hand, fast-track research and development in public transportation, and, on the other, ensure that public funds for such endeavors are judiciously used,” the senator said in her resolution.

Santiago remains on medical leave due to her lung cancer, stage 4, but continues to perform her functions as a senator by filing bills and resolutions. She announced in July that she intends to join the presidential race in 2016 with her cancer in check.

MIRIAM TO CUSTOMS: DON’T DESECRATE BALIKBAYAN BOXES

Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago on Monday filed a resolution urging the Senate to investigate the Bureau of Customs (BOC) plan to intrusively inspect and further tax balikbayan boxes sent by overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).

Santiago, a recipient of the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Government Service, filed proposed Senate Resolution No. 1534, in response to some 78,000 Filipinos who asked her via online petition platform Change.org to stop the BOC plan.

“Balikbayan boxes are often channels of private and personal communication between migrant workers and their families in the Philippines. Is nothing sacred anymore for the Bureau of Customs?” the senator said.

The BOC drew flak on social media over the weekend, after Customs Commissioner Alberto Lina announced that the agency may soon open up balikbayan boxes, which he claimed are being used to smuggling goods into the country.

Lina alleged that the duty- and tax-free shipments often contain items valued above the $500 limit, that OFWs exceed the maximum of one consignment per sender per month, and that some items in balikbayan boxes are for commercial use.

While acknowledging the Bureau of Customs’ mandate to scrutinize all shipments arriving in the country, Santiago in her resolution claimed that the agency must continue to improve its facilities, which should include equipment for non-intrusive scans.

The senator urged the BOC to use X-ray machines and other technologies. The agency reportedly acquired some 30 X-ray machines to be used in seaports in 2006, and in 2013 sought contractors that will provide 20 X-ray machines for airports.

“It is one thing to inspect balikbayan boxes, another to desecrate them. The Bureau of Customs seems aware that balikbayan boxes, when opened by their personnel, are sometimes pillaged. What have officials done to rid their ranks of thieves?” she said.

The BOC is one of the most corrupt and worst-performing government agencies, according to opinion polls. It got the worst rating (-63 or “very bad”) in the 2013 SWS Survey of Enterprises on Corruption.

Businessmen surveyed by the Makati Business Club also considered the BOC the third worst-performing agency from July 2014 to July 2014, topped only by the Office of the Vice President and the Department of Transportation and Communications.

In her resolution, Santiago urged her colleagues to demand from the BOC accomplishment reports for the anti-graft and corruption programs the agency implemented, especially as the Senate reviews the proposed BOC budget for 2016.

“Whether they accept it or not, the sad reality is that Customs personnel don’t particularly enjoy the public’s trust. You cannot blame OFWs for doubting the renewed vigor of Customs inspectors when it comes to balikbayan boxes.” she said.

Santiago is on medical leave in the Senate due to lung cancer, stage four, but she remains the senator with most number of bills and resolutions filed. She announced in July that she plans to run for president in 2016 with her cancer in check.

MIRIAM GETS LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD FROM U.P. VISAYAS

Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago, the most-awarded public official in the country, has gained another citation on Sunday, as she received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the University of the Philippines Alumni Association (Iloilo Chapter).

Santiago was given the award at the premier state university’s alumni and faculty homecoming in Iloilo City. She was represented by her sister, former Higher Education Commissioner Nenalyn Defensor.

“I am deeply grateful for the award. I would have gone if it were physically possible but I am inhibited by my lung cancer,” the senator said in a message.

Santiago is one of the most prominent U.P. graduates in government. She graduated with a degree in Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, magna cum laude, from U.P. Visayas in 1965.

UP alumni in Iloilo cited Santiago “for truly living the U.P. culture of excellence” and “for putting the Ilonggos in the global map through the many awards, recognition, and citations she has received.”

The senator also brought “honor to U.P. and the Ilonggos as graft-buster of the country and protector of the welfare of the Filipinos by adhering, at all cost, to truth, honesty, independent mindedness, and justice,” the citation read further.

Santiago later enrolled at the U.P. College of Law, and was the first female editor-in-chief of the Philippine Collegian, U.P’s nationally prominent student publication. She was also councilor, and later vice-chairperson, of the University Student Council.

During her time in U.P. law school, the senator was called the “super girl at the state university” by a national daily, and was twice presented the Wenceslao Q. Vinzons Achievement Award for Student Leadership.

The senator graduated from the U.P. College of Law, cum laude, in 1969. She returned to U.P. in 1976 to teach constitutional law and remedial law. In 1988, the premier state university named her Most Outstanding Alumna in Law.

Santiago received the Ramon Magsaysay Award for government service, the Asian equivalent of the Nobel Prize, as immigration commissioner in 1988. She was cited for “bold and moral leadership in cleaning up a graft-ridden government agency.”

In 2011, Santiago became the first Asian from a developing country to be elected judge of the International Criminal Court.

Santiago is on medical leave due to lung cancer, stage four, but continues to file the highest number of bills and resolutions among senators. In July, Santiago announced that she plans to join the presidential race with her cancer in check.

MIRIAM: PROBE ‘PAMANA’ KILLING

Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago is urging her colleagues to investigate the killing of Pamana, a Philippine eagle found shot dead in a protected area in Davao Oriental barely two months after it was released into the wild.

Santiago, sponsor of the treaty on the ASEAN Center for Biodiversity at the Senate, will file a resolution on Monday, calling for an inquiry, in aid of legislation, on the death of Pamana and risks to endangered Philippine species in protected areas.

“There is a disconnect between the fact that Pamana was killed in Mount Hamiguitan, and the fact that the mountain range is a protected site. If we cannot protect wildlife in what we dare call protected areas, what kind of protection are we providing?” the senator said.

The Mt. Hamiguitan Range Wildlife Sanctuary in Davao Oriental was declared a World Heritage Site in June 2014, with the UNESCO citing the area as an important habitat for the critically endangered Philippine eagle.

The Philippine Eagle Foundation (PEF), a nongovernment organization, released Pamana in the area in June, two years after taking the bird in captivity while rehabilitating it for bullet injuries sustained in April 2013.

On August 16, the PEF launched search efforts for Pamana, after the bird’s tracker signalled its death. The group found Pamana only a kilometer from the site of the bird’s release, with bullet wounds that are believed to be from an airgun.

This is not the first time Santiago called for a Senate hearing on the killing of a Philippine eagle, which the International Union for the Conservation of Nature considers a critically endangered species, or at extremely high risk of extinction in the wild.

In 2013, she filed Senate Resolution No. 342, calling for an inquiry on the death of Minalwang, a Philippine eagle also shot dead months after being released into Mt. Balatukan Range in Gingoog City.

She also filed S.R. No. 1347 in May, calling for an investigation on the impact of kaingin and other prevalent forest activities on the dwindling Philippine eagle population in the forests of Samar Island.

Both resolutions have not been acted upon by the Senate committee on the environment and natural resources to which they have been referred.

“We must, on the one hand, empower local government units to strictly guard protected areas, and, on the other, make administratively liable local officials who grossly neglect to implement laws concerning protected areas,” the senator said.

Santiago remains on medical leave due to her lung cancer, stage 4, but continues to perform her functions as a senator by filing bills and resolutions. She announced in July that she intends to join the presidential race in 2016 with her cancer in check.

MIRIAM BACKS PRESIDENTIAL DEBATES

Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago, one of the most popular choices for president in 2016, on Sunday rallied support for the Commission on Elections (Comelec) plan to organize debates among those joining the presidential race.

Santiago said the plan is consistent with Senate Bill No. 1797, or the Presidential Debate Reform Act, which she filed in October 2013. The bill, pending at the committee on electoral reforms, seeks to institutionalize presidential and vice presidential debates through the Presidential Debate Commission.

“A debate format among presidential and vice-presidential candidates would test who among these candidates is most fit for the position they are running for,” the senator said.

The last presidential debate organized by the Comelec was during the 1992 elections, poll chief Andres Bautista said. This was the same year that Santiago ran for president against Fidel V. Ramos.

“Through debates, a well-informed voting population would be able to carefully choose their future leaders. Debates are also opportunities for candidates to squarely face the allegations hurled against them,” Santiago said.

The senator’s proposed Presidential Debate Commission shall be composed of six members from the public or private sector. Commissioners may be from government offices, the academe, and non-profit organizations, among others.

The president will appoint two members from a list of nominees submitted by the two dominant political parties. The four other members will be chosen by the Senate president and the House speaker, as well as the majority leaders of both houses.

For the commission to be independent, the Santiago bill stresses that no more than three appointees shall come from any political party, and the appointees shall as much as possible come from different sectors.

If enacted, the bill shall mandate the Commission to establish a schedule for one preliminary debate, not more than two vice presidential debates, and not less than two but not more than four presidential debates.

Santiago, a multi-awarded debater at the UP College of Law, is known in the Senate as the most forceful debater, commanding full attention of the halls when she takes the rostrum to sponsor a bill, to interpellate, or to deliver a privilege speech.

She is on medical leave from the Senate due to lung cancer, stage four, but she continues to file bills and resolutions, and presides over committee hearings on a priority basis. In July, she announced that she might run for president with her cancer in check.

PUSH FOR ‘SINCERITY BILLS,’ MIRIAM TELLS 2016 BETS

Amid the early start of the election season, Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago on Friday challenged those who have declared their intention to run for president in 2016 to push for the passage of at least three pending measures which she referred to as “sincerity bills.”

Santiago, who announced that she might join the presidential race with her cancer in check, said voters can test the sincerity of her potential rivals by asking about their positions on the Anti-Political Dynasty Bill, the Anti-Premature Campaigning Bill, and the Anti-Epal Bill.

“Self-interest naturally ensures that politicians who will be adversely affected by any of these laws will actively campaign and even vote against it. But if these early presidential contenders mean what they say in media, they must lobby for these bills,” the senator said.

None of these bills have been identified as priority measures for the third regular session of the present Congress—not even the Anti-Political Dynasty Bill, which President Aquino mentioned during his last State of the Nation Address in July.

Santiago, for her part, has constantly asked her colleagues to act on these measures, which have been languishing at the committee level since they were filed.

She has two versions of the Anti-Political Dynasty Bill in the 16th Congress: Senate Bill No. 55, filed in July 2013, and S.B. No. 1580, which expands the prohibition up to the national level, filed in September of the same year.

If approved, the bills will prohibit relatives within the second civil degree of consanguinity or affinity from running for public office at the same time, within the same province, city, or municipality, or from occupying at the same time national positions such as those in the House of Representatives and the Senate.

“The Constitution regards political dynasties as evil, but the battle against such evil must now be led by the Congress, many of whose members suffer from a conflict of interest on the subject of political dynasties,” Santiago said.

She also filed S.B. No. 2445, or the Anti-Premature Campaigning Bill, in November 2014. If approved, it will prohibit candidates and even prospective candidates from campaigning or partisan activities a year before the elections.

Santiago said the bill will correct the doctrine resulting from the 2009 case of Peñera v. Commission on Elections, where the Supreme Court ruled in effect that the offense of premature campaigning has been repealed by Republic Act No. 8436, or the New Poll Automation Law, as amended.

The Peñera case resulted in candidates engaged in early campaign advertising. Some incumbent officials, either elective or appointive, have even been accused of using public funds to advertise themselves under the guise of infomercials.

“The prohibition against premature campaigning will level the playing field for candidates, to equalize the situation between the popular or rich candidate, on one hand, and lesser-known or poorer candidates, on the other,” Santiago said.

Also relevant in the coming elections, the senator said, is S.B. No. 54, or the Anti-Signage of Public Works Act, which she filed in July 2013. It is more popularly known as the Anti-Epal Bill, and was originally filed during the 13th Congress.

If enacted, it will prohibit public officials from affixing their names or photos on signage announcing a planned, ongoing, or finished public works project. It will also prohibit signage crediting a public official for any government project.

“Crediting individual public officers instead of the government fosters and promotes a culture of political patronage and corruption. It diminishes the concept of continuity in good governance in the mind of the public,” Santiago said.

The senator remains on medical leave due to lung cancer, stage four, but in July said that she was “elated and gratified” by results of a pre-election survey where she ranked second among potential presidential aspirants.

Santiago also announced that cancer growth on her left lung has been arrested, citing findings of New York-based oncologist Mark Kris, with whom she had a special consultation in Manila.

The senator’s supporters responded positively to the news, especially when she posted by the end of July that she was choosing a running mate. “If I were to run for president in 2016, who should my vice president be?” Santiago said on Facebook.

Some 65,000 of Santiago’s three million followers on Facebook liked the post, while some 900 shared it. Among the popular names floated as Santiago’s vice president are Sen. Grace Poe, Davao Mayor Rody Duterte, and Camarines Sur Rep. Leni Robredo.

MIRIAM LICKS CANCER, EYES PRESIDENCY

Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago, on medical leave from the Senate, said she was “elated and gratified” by two recent developments: she received a special visit and had special consultation with one of the world’s leading lung cancer specialists; and she was named one of the top three presidential candidates by a recent survey firm.

Santiago has been under treatment by her correspondent doctor, Dr. Mark Kris, a distinguished medical oncologist who serves as chief of the Thoracic Oncology Service at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York. In addition, he holds the Joy Ruane Chair at the same Center. He is also a professor of medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College specializing in lung cancer.

Sloan Kettering is the world’s oldest and largest private cancer center, which began with support from John J. Astor and John Rockefeller, Jr., and has served the world for more than 130 years. In 2014-2015, it was ranked the number one hospital for cancer care in the United States.

Kris had a consultation with Santiago together with her team of local doctors consisting of: Dr. Esperanza Cabral, cardiologist; Dr. Gary Lorenzo, oncologist; and Dr. Ruth Divinagracia, pulmonologist. The consultation was held last Friday, July 17.

The team, together with Kris, examined at the St. Luke’s Global City Medical Center all the PET (Positron Emission Tomography) and CT (Computed Tomography) Scans which Kris had already fully studied in his New York clinic.

Kris said that although no patient can be pronounced cured of cancer, Santiago, while following the medical prescriptions of Kris, has been able to control the cancer, meaning that cancer growth in her left lung has been arrested.

In his three-day whirlwind visit, Kris also delivered medical lectures at the Asian Hospital and the St. Luke’s Medical Center in Quezon City. He was accompanied by another distinguished Filipino working out of San Francisco, the famous heart surgeon, Dr. Alexander Yap.

At present, Santiago occasionally participates in Senate work, but mostly remains in her La Vista house, where she has produced two best selling joke books and the latest 2015 editions of over two dozen law books.

Interest in Santiago’s health was aroused when supporters posted on her Facebook page a video of Santiago from the back. At present, the senator exercises by walking some two kilometers everyday.

In another development, Santiago said she was “happily surprised” by the publication in a news website of a survey by Publicus Asia listing the following in the order of voter preference for the presidential elections: Grace Poe, Miriam Defensor Santiago, Jejomar Binay, Francis Escudero, Rodolfo Duterte, and Mar Roxas.

All of the above candidates are active in government service except for Santiago, who is on qualified medical leave from the Senate. This means that she is allowed to be absent because of her cancer, but at the same time, she is also allowed to participate, if necessary, in certain official Senate activities.

“To remain in the consciousness of voters despite an absence of over a year is certainly a challenge, including remaining in public service. And I consider it in that light,” Santiago said.