PRIVILEGE SPEECH
Cong. Teofisto “TG” Guingona III
Kinatawan ng Ikalawang Distrito ng Bukidnon
Ika-6 ng Mayo 2008
Si Andres at si Selya ay mag-asawa. Iisa ang kanilang anak, si Tomas. Maagang nabiyuda si Selya. Bago mamatay ang asawang si Andres, ibinilin nito sa nakatatandang kapatid na si Max ang pamamahala sa kanilang palayan at sa pondong naipon niya. Nangako si Max na tutuparin niya ang hiling ng kaniyang kapatid.
Ngunit kalilibing pa lamang ni Andres, pinabayaan na ni Max sina Selya at Tomas. Siya ay naging mabisyo at lasenggo. Ang sakahan ay tuluyang pinabayaan. Mabuti na lamang at masipag si Tomas. Siya na ang nag-asikaso sa kanilang sakahan kahit labinlimang taong gulang pa lamang siya nang mamatay ang kaniyang ama. Hindi madaling isaka ang palayan ni Andres. Wala itong irigasyon, kung kaya dalawang beses lang sa isang taon nakakapagtanim si Tomas. Kapag minalas-malas pa, isang beses lamang. Hindi lang iyon, mula sa kanilang sakahan, walang matinong daan patungong hi-way. Sampung kilometro ang layo ng hi-way. Matindi ang pagsasakripisyo ni Tomas.
Si Max naman ay pabigat kina Selya at Tomas. Bigla na lang itong magpapakita na may bitbit pang barkada, at inoobliga sina Selya at Tomas na pakainin at painumin sila. Naglalasing sila hanggang madaling araw. Perhuwisyo talaga si Max.
“Selya, si Cheng Wu, bago kong kabarkada,” pagpapakilala ni Max.
“Ha?!”, nagulat si Selya; hindi niya napansin na may kasama si Max.
“Dayuhan siya, galing sa Tsina,” dagdag ni Max.
Kinabahan si Selya nang makita niyang biglang naging seryoso ang mukha ni Max. Buo ang boses at seryoso ang tono nang sabihin niyang “A, Selya, nakapagdesisyon na ako. Mayroon kaming pinirmahang kontrata ni Cheng Wu. Uupahan niya ang sakahan ninyo. Siya na ang magtatanim ng palay at mais.Babayaran niya kayo ng upa. Ang lahat ng ani, ipadadala sa Tsina.”
“Hanep ka talaga! Kami ang may ari ng lupa! Kami ang may karapatang magpasiya kung ano ang mabuting gawin! Hindi mo man lang kami kinonsulta bago ka nakipagpirmahan ng kontrata. At wala kaming parte sa ani. Makatarungan ba ‘yan?” mapaklang bigkas ni Selya.
“Kapag pumayag kami diyan sa kontrata, sigurado bang magkakaroon ng trabaho si Tomas? Sapat ba at makatarungan ang kaniyang kikitain?” usisa pa ni Selya.
“Wala kaming pinag-usapang ganyan. Pwedeng kunin ni Cheng Wu si Tomas bilang trabahante, pero pwede ring hindi. Pwede rin siyang magpasok ng ibang tao, maski na hindi Pilipino. Bahala na si Cheng Wu.” sagot ni Max.
“At saka nga pala Selya. Kasama sa kontrata ang paggawa ng daan at kanal para sa irigasyon, mula hi-way patungo sa inyong palayan.” dagdag pa ng impaktong si Max.
“Sino ang gagastos para sa mga yan?” tanong ni Selya.
Huminga nang malalim si Max saka niya sinabing, “Kayo ang gagastos. Ang pondong iniwan ni Andres ang gagamitin.”
“Nabuang ka na ba Max! Anong klaseng kontrata ‘yan? Hindi mo kami kinonsulta bago kayo nagpirmahan. Bayad sa upa lang ang makukuha namin at ang lahat ng ani, dadalhin sa Tsina. Puwede pang mawalan ng kabuhayan si Tomas. Ang pinakamatindi sa lahat, kami pa ang magbabayad sa pagpapagawa ng irigasyon at daan patungong hi-way.” ngitngit na ngitngit si Selya.
“Ano ka ba Max! Kapatid mo si Andres! Sarili mong dugo, tinalikuran mo! Mas pinili mo pa yang dayuhang yan! Taksil ka!” tangis ni Selya.
Maihahalintulad ang pagtataksil ni Max kay Andres sa ginawa ng ating pamahalaan nang makipagkasundo at nilagdaan ang kontratang tinatawag na China Farm Agreements. Sa mga kontratang ito, pauupahan sa mga dayuhang Tsino ang 1.4 milyong ektarya ng lupang sakahan dito sa Pilipinas.
Ayon sa ating Saligang Batas, ipinagbabawal ang pagpapaupa sa mga dayuhan ng lupaing pag-aari ng Pilipinas, nang higit sa isang libong ektarya.
Ang sabi nga ni Sen. Edgardo Angara sa isang hearing sa Senado noong Setyembre 24, 2007: “…there is an agreement to set aside 1.4 million in favor of these Chinese companies, in essence. …this is illegal. No corporation or group can lease more than 1,000 hectares in our country. And if you try to lease out almost 1.2 million hectares, you are committing an illegal, unconstitutional act.”
Malinaw na walang respeto sa Saligang Batas ang administrasyon ni Gng. Gloria Arroyo. Kawawa na naman ang mga Pilipino. Inapi na naman ang Pilipinas.
Hindi lang ‘yan. Magtatanim ang mga Tsino ng hybrid na palay at mais ngunit walang parte ang Pilipinas sa ani. Ang lahat ng ani ay ipadadala sa Tsina. Palay na itinanim sa Pilipinas, bigas na kakainin ng mga dayuhang Tsino. Ang matatanggap lang natin ay ang bayad sa pag-upa sa lupa. Nais ko lamang bigyan natin ng pansin, na ang lawak ng lupang pauupahan ni Gng. Gloria Arroyo ay katumbas ng higit sa 25 % ng ating lupang palayan. Kawawa na naman tayong mga Pilipino. Inapi na naman ang Pilipinas. Ang masakit pa, sarili nating pamahalaan, ang administrasyon ni Gng. Gloria Arroyo ang lumagda sa mga kontratang ito. At ngayon pa, kung kelan problema natin kung saan tayo kukuha ng bigas. Si Sen. Angara, ang dating secretary ng Department of Agriculture mismo ang nagbabala: “…you will divert agricultural production of 1.4 million to supply the needs of …China rather than the Philippines when the incidence of starvation and malnutrition is still rampant.”
1.4 milyong ektarya ang tatamnan ng palay ngunit ang lahat ng ani ay ipadadala sa Tsina para kainin ng mga Tsino samantalang hirap ang Pilipinas na bumili ng bigas. Kawawa na naman tayong mga Pilipino. Inapi na naman ang Pilipinas.
Ang isa pang dapat bigyang-pansin sa China Farm Agreements ay ang kawalang katiyakan na mga Pilipino ang kukuning manggagawa sa mga sakahan. Puwedeng-puwedeng silang maetsa-puwera. Kawawa na naman tayong mga Pilipino. Inapi na naman ang Pilipinas.
Ang pinakamapait, ang Pilipinas ang magbabayad at gagawa ng farm-to-market roads at irigasyon ng 1.4 milyong ektaryang palayan na gagamitin ng mga dayuhang Tsino.
Ito pa ang isang punto, hindi kinonsulta ang kahit isa man lang na mamamayang Pilipino bago nakipagkasundo at nilagdaan ng ating pamahalaan ang kontrata. Mawawalan tayo ng 1.4 milyong ektaryang lupain, mababawasan ang pinagtataniman natin ng palay ngunit hindi tayo kinonsulta ng ating sariling pamahalaan bago sila nakipagkasundo sa Tsina. Hindi lang ito labag sa ating Saligang Batas , ito ay garapalang pambabastos sa dignidad ng bawat Pilipino. Biruin niyo po, basta na lang ibinigay ang 1.4 milyong ektarya upang magkaroon ng pagkain ang mga dayuhang Tsino. Hindi man lang tayo inabisuhan. Ni ha, ni ho, wala! Basta na lamang nakipagkasundo at pumirma. Akala siguro nila, sila ang may ari ng Pilipinas. Sabi nga ng isang kanta, “Nosi, nosi balasi. Sino, sino ba sila?!?”
Ang sabi ng Deparment of Agriculture, kailangan natin ang teknolohiya ng mga Tsino. Hindi ako naniniwala na mas magaling ang kanilang teknolohiya. Una sa lahat, narito ang IRRI o International Rice Research Institute, ang pinakauna at pinakamalaking pandaigdigang institusyon na nakatuon sa pananaliksik hinggil sa palay. Isa sa kanilang latest achievements ay ang aeorobic rice na ang kailangang tubig ay kalahati lamang ng dami ng kailangang tubig ng pangkaraniwang palay. Malaking tulong ito lalo na sa panahon ng tagtuyot, kapag malalâ ang kakapusan sa tubig. Ang isa pang achievement ay ang underwater o submarine rice na maaaring mabuhay kahit nakalubog sa tubig nang labing-pitong (17) araw. Malaking tulong ito sa mga Pilipinong magsasaka na nasa lugar na madalas bahain.
Pangalawa, ang klima ng bansang Tsina ay temperate samantalang ang Pilipinas ay tropical. Maaaring hindi angkop ang kanilang teknolohiya para sa atin.
Ikatlo, hybrid rice ang isinusulong ng Tsina. Alam naman nating lahat na nakasalalay sa kemikal na fertilizer ang hybrid rice. Fertilizer, na ang presyo ay hindi tumitigil sa pagtaas. Lalo lamang mababaon sa utang ang mga magsasaka at lalo lamang mapipinsala ang ating kalikasan, gaya ng ipinapakita ng marami nang pananaliksik. Panahon na upang bigyang-tuon natin ang organic farming. Ayon sa pananaliksik, nakapagbibigay ito ng aning katumbas ng siyam na metriko tonelada bawat ektarya.
Mga kababayan, oposisyon man o administrasyon, tayong lahat ay naghahangad ng sapat na pagkain para sa lahat ng Filipino. Mas makabubuti kung ang gagawin ng pamahalaan ay ang sumusunod na hakbang upang mapataas ang produksiyon ng pagkain: Una, dagdagan ang badyet para sa farm-to-market roads at irigasyon. Kulang talaga ang pondong inilalaan para sa mga iyan. Pangalawa, kailangang pagtuunan natin ng seryosong pansin ang organic rice production, na napatunayang sagana ang ani nang hindi gumagamit ng kemikal na fertilizers na napakamamahal at nakakasira sa mga lupaing sakahan.
Sa pagtatapos, iginigiit ko na kanselahin ni Gng. Arroyo ang China Farm Agreements. Hindi sapat ang suspensiyon lamang. Kanselahin lahat. Dahil ang suspensyon ay parang si impaktong Max na natutulog lamang. Maaari siyang gumising anumang oras upang lalo pang pahirapan sina Tomas at Selya. Hindi ang China Farm Agreements ang solusyon sa krisis sa bigas. Kitang-kita na ang mga dayuhang Tsino lamang ang makikinabang sa mga kasunduan at maagawan pa nila ng pagkain ang mga pamilyang Pilipino. Aping-api na ang mga Pilipino.
Kinakailangang mabigyan ng sapat na pagkain ang bawat pamilyang Pilipino. Hindi dapat magdusa sina Tomas at Selya dahil sa kasakiman at kapalpakan ng administrasyon ni Gng. Arroyo. Walang Pilipino ang dapat magutom!
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Section 3, Artcile XII states: “Lands of the public domain are classified into agricultural, forest or timber, mineral lands, and national parks. Agricultural lands of the public domain may be further classified by law according to the uses which they may be devoted. Alienable lands of the public domain shall be limited to agricultural lands. Private corporations or associations may not hold such alienable lands of the public domain except by lease, for a period not exceeding twenty-five years, renewable for not more than twenty-five years, and not to exceed one thousand hectares in area. Citizens of the Philippines may lease not more than five hundred hectares, or acquire not more than twelve hectares thereof by purchase, homestead, or grant.”
Sen. Edgardo Angara: At bottom, whether you call it a memorandum of intent, a framework, there is an agreement to set aside 1.4 million in favor of these Chinese companies, in essence. And I am glad that you are suspending it because this is illegal. No corporation or group can lease more than 1000 hectares in our country. And if you try to lease out almost 1.2 million hectares, you are committing an illegal, unconstitutional act. So, I’m glad that you halted this illegality and rethink it. There are many ways of developing our scarce land resources and Sen. Enrile is probably the expert in this country on that. xxx So I hope that you will issue a written circular among the three that this is now suspended.
Showing posts with label Cong. Teofisto “TG” Guingona III. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cong. Teofisto “TG” Guingona III. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Monday, May 5, 2008
Privatize Napocor and Electric Rates Will Be Reasonable
PRESS STATEMENT
Cong. Teofisto “TG” Guingona III
2nd District, Bukidnon
May 5, 2008
Privatize Napocor and Electric Rates Will Be Reasonable All of us, whether Administration or Opposition, want electric rates to go down. But do you know that generation charges make up sixty percent (60%) of our total electric bill? So, if we bring down our generation charge, we will bring down our total electric bill dramatically. The solution is in implementing the EPIRA law. EPIRA mandates that by 2009, seventy percent (70%) of NPC owned or controlled electric generating capacity should be privatized[1]. One of the purposes of EPIRA was to ensure affordability of supply of electric power[2], as well as transparent and reasonable rates, through a regime of free and fair competition[3]. Today, seven (7) years after EPIRA has become a law, NAPOCOR still owns or controls seventy percent (70%) of generating capacity. Prior to EPIRA, it owned or controlled ninety-five percent (95%) of generating capacity. This means that it took them seven (7) years to privatize twenty-five percent (25%). This is obviously too slow. That is where the cause of high electric rates lies: monopolistic dominance of NAPOCOR of the generation of electricity. The evil of this monopolistic dominance is obvious. Tingnan na lang natin yung nangyari sa WESM noong Agosto 2006[4]. Itong WESM ay isang palangke, pero sa halip na pagkain ang ibinibenta, kuryente ang ipinagbibili. Nahuli ng manager ng palengke ang NAPOCOR na nagbigay ng instruksyon sa kanyang mga planta na kailangang magkasabwatan sa pagtaas ng presyo ng kuryente. Parang pumunta ka sa palengke at gusto mong bumili ng galunggong. Sa palengkeng iyon, tatlo lang ang tinderang nagbebenta ng galunggong, si Neneng, si Selya, at si Doray. Wala nang iba. Pagdating mo sa palengke, napansin mo na napakataas ang kanilang presyo at pare-pareho. Yung pala, magkapatid sila at ang kanilang ama ay si NAPOCOR. Nadiktahan sila ng kanilang ama. Ganoon din po sa kuryente, nakakadikta ang NAPOCOR ng presyo ng kuryente sapagkat ito ang may-ari o kontrolado niya ang pitumpong porsiyento (70%) nito. The solution to lower electricity rates is genuine competition amongst private generation companies in a regime of free and fair competition on a level playing field. Privatize NAPOCOR and electricity rates will be reasonable.
[1] sec. 47-I, EPIRA [2] sec. 2-b, EPIRA [3] sec. 2-c, EPIRA [4] Market Surveillance Committee Report, dated Nov. 20, 2006, addressed to the Board of the Philippine Electric Market.
Cong. Teofisto “TG” Guingona III
2nd District, Bukidnon
May 5, 2008
Privatize Napocor and Electric Rates Will Be Reasonable All of us, whether Administration or Opposition, want electric rates to go down. But do you know that generation charges make up sixty percent (60%) of our total electric bill? So, if we bring down our generation charge, we will bring down our total electric bill dramatically. The solution is in implementing the EPIRA law. EPIRA mandates that by 2009, seventy percent (70%) of NPC owned or controlled electric generating capacity should be privatized[1]. One of the purposes of EPIRA was to ensure affordability of supply of electric power[2], as well as transparent and reasonable rates, through a regime of free and fair competition[3]. Today, seven (7) years after EPIRA has become a law, NAPOCOR still owns or controls seventy percent (70%) of generating capacity. Prior to EPIRA, it owned or controlled ninety-five percent (95%) of generating capacity. This means that it took them seven (7) years to privatize twenty-five percent (25%). This is obviously too slow. That is where the cause of high electric rates lies: monopolistic dominance of NAPOCOR of the generation of electricity. The evil of this monopolistic dominance is obvious. Tingnan na lang natin yung nangyari sa WESM noong Agosto 2006[4]. Itong WESM ay isang palangke, pero sa halip na pagkain ang ibinibenta, kuryente ang ipinagbibili. Nahuli ng manager ng palengke ang NAPOCOR na nagbigay ng instruksyon sa kanyang mga planta na kailangang magkasabwatan sa pagtaas ng presyo ng kuryente. Parang pumunta ka sa palengke at gusto mong bumili ng galunggong. Sa palengkeng iyon, tatlo lang ang tinderang nagbebenta ng galunggong, si Neneng, si Selya, at si Doray. Wala nang iba. Pagdating mo sa palengke, napansin mo na napakataas ang kanilang presyo at pare-pareho. Yung pala, magkapatid sila at ang kanilang ama ay si NAPOCOR. Nadiktahan sila ng kanilang ama. Ganoon din po sa kuryente, nakakadikta ang NAPOCOR ng presyo ng kuryente sapagkat ito ang may-ari o kontrolado niya ang pitumpong porsiyento (70%) nito. The solution to lower electricity rates is genuine competition amongst private generation companies in a regime of free and fair competition on a level playing field. Privatize NAPOCOR and electricity rates will be reasonable.
[1] sec. 47-I, EPIRA [2] sec. 2-b, EPIRA [3] sec. 2-c, EPIRA [4] Market Surveillance Committee Report, dated Nov. 20, 2006, addressed to the Board of the Philippine Electric Market.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
“Failure of Leadership, Failure of Command”
Privilege Speech delivered by Cong. Teofisto “TG” Guingona III
of the 2nd District of Bukidnon on February 27, 2008
Jason and Fe Aquino have been happily married for 14 years now. Jason Aquino is a Major of the Philippine Army, assigned at Fort Bonifacio. He is no ordinary soldier, for he is the class baron of Philippine Military Academy Class ’91 and former Operations Chief of the elite Scout Rangers. His wife, Fe, is a housewife who hails from Cagayan de Oro. They are blessed with four daughters; Chen, who is 13 years old, a first year high school student; Chel who is 12 years old, a grade six student; and Chez who is 8 months old. All of them study at the Holy Spirit School at New Manila, Quezon City. Last year, the couple was blessed with another baby girl.
It was a bright, sunny day last February 27, 2006. Jason had already eaten his breakfast; drank his cup of coffee and had finished his Marlboro. He kissed his wife Fe goodbye and off he went to work at Fort Bonifacio. Little did they know that that was the last time they would see each other in a long, long time.
February 24, 2006 was the day that GMA declared a state of emergency. On February 27, Jason did not come home. The next day, Fe was worried sick. She called his office. She called almost everyone whom she thought could help her. Nobody knew where Jason was. She was frantic. She even confronted Col. Bacarro, the AFP spokesman, who said that he did not know the whereabouts of Jason.
My friends, I don’t know if you’ve ever had the experience and agony of having a family member not coming home. The experience is traumatic and the mental anguish is terrible. Your heart beats at the pace of a racehorse, your mind is numb with uncertainty – as if it had been injected with dental anesthesia, your throat dries with tension – like sandpaper, and your chest tightens with anxiety. Can you imagine? Ms. Fe Aquino, all alone in their house, with four daughters? Everyone she calls tells her: I don’t know where your husband is! After three sleepless nights, through the help of Jason’s Mistahs, Fe was finally informed that Jason was imprisoned at the Maximum Security Detention cell at the Intelligence Service Group or ISG compound. She was not allowed to see Jason.
Fe wondered why her husband was at the ISG. The ISG is not a custodial facility. It is a facility for interrogation and torture. In fact, this is where the members of the Abu Sayaff group are incarcerated. Jason was put in solitary confinement – in a cell that is hot, dark, and isolated. Jason was arrested and put in solitary confinement without notice to his family, without notice to his lawyers. Worst of all, Major Jason Aquino, a distinguished officer and gentleman, class baron of the Philippine Military Academy Class ’91, was made to suffer solitary confinement without any charge for five months. He was treated worse than a hardened criminal.
It took a whole week before Fe and her daughters could see Jason. They were made to wait an hour before they could actually see him. Upon seeing him, his daughters broke down in tears. He was very thin and haggard. There were deep markings on his face. Chen and Chel broke down in tears. They could not understand what was happening. Fe was warned by an officer that if she filed a case against them, they would not allow her to visit Jason anymore. As this was not enough, her house inside the heavily guarded Camp Aguinaldo was ransacked three (3) times and up to now, the Military Police and CIDG, despite their resources, have yet to arrest a single suspect.
After five months of solitary confinement, Jason Aquino was charged with attempted mutiny in connection with the alleged plan of the Scout Rangers under Bgen. Danilo Lim and the Marines under MGen. Renato Miranda. This was with regard to their alleged withdrawal of support from the administration of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.
Today, I speak to you not only about the plight of Major Jason Aquino, but of the plight of the 28 distinguished Officers of our Armed Forces who are now facing a court martial for their alleged withdrawal of support last February 2006. If you will recall, that was when the people came out in EDSA to protest the legitimacy of the Arroyo administration brought about by the “Hello Garci” scandal. GMA declared a State of Emergency. These distinguished Officers are now being subjected to countless indignities and their constitutional rights have been trampled upon by the Arroyo administration. Let me read some of their names:
Maj. Gen. Renato Miranda, Brig. Gen. Danilo Lim, Col. Ariel Querubin, Col. Orlando de Leon, Col. Januario Caringal, Col. Armando Bañez, Lt. Col. Custodio Parcon, Lt. Col. Achilles Segumalian, Lt. Col. Nestor Flordeliza, Lt. Col. Edmundo Malabanjot, Maj.Francisco Domingo Fernandez, Maj. Jason Laureano Aquino, Maj. Jose Leomar Doctolero, Capt. James Sabadan, Capt. Montano Almodovar, Capt. Joey Fontiveros, Capt. Ruben Guinolbay, Capt. Isagani Criste, Capt. William Upano, Capt. Dante Langkit, Capt. Allan C. Aurino, Capt. Frederick Sales, Lt. Belinda Ferrer, Lt. Ervin Divinagracia, Lt. Jacon Cordero, Lt. Homer Estolas, Lt. Sandro Sereno, and Lt. Richiemel Caballes.
Let’s take some indignities. Last February 1, Col. Ariel Querubin, a recipient of the Medal of Valor1, the highest award given by the AFP for gallantry in combat, was forced to attend the court martial proceedings despite having a high fever and dizziness. Ariel was suffering from a combination of bronchitis and urinary tract infection. A military medical doctor who examined him found his fever to be at 38.5 C°. Instead of trying to minister to Ariel’s high fever, the doctor just filled up a medical certificate stating that Ariel was “fit to travel with medical team”. When confronted by Mrs. Pong Querubin, the doctor just replied that he was just following orders.
Another example was the way they manhandled the officers and ridiculed their families when they were transferred from Camp Capinpin in Tanay to the ISAFP Compound in Camp Aguinaldo. On the morning of that day there was a gentleman’s agreement, that the officers would be furnished a written order for their transfer and that they would not be handcuffed. At around 4:30 pm a commotion started. In breach of the previous gentleman’s agreement, the officers were being handcuffed in front of their wives and children. No written order was ever produced. Lt. Col. Custodio Parcon, another Medal of Valor Awardee2, was forcibly handcuffed and carried by eight-men: “parang baboy na binuhat” ang sabi ng isang asawa. The officers were brought to the ISAFP compound at Camp Aguinaldo at 9 in the evening. ISAFP is not a custodial facility. It is a facility for interrogation. Their transfer to ISAFP was for no other purpose but to break their spirit. The cells are very hot, dark, and devoid of ventilation. Their beds are located right beside their waterless toilet bowls. Their families were not informed where they would be transferred. When the wives went to the high steel gates of the ISAFP compound to verify, the guards just mocked them, laughed at them and ridiculed them. Exhausted, hungry, cold, and traumatized by the day’s events, the officers’ wives and their children could only cry in desperation. As Jun Lozada said: “I have seen the ugly side of the state!”
General Esperon has persecuted these Officers and their families. They are not asking for mercy. All they want is justice, to be treated fairly and decently befitting an officer and a gentleman.
They are being forced to face an illegitimate court martial without any proper charges. The basis of the charges are two documents. Ironically, the first document, called the pre-trial investigation report (PTIR), recommended the dismissal of the mutiny charges against all of the accused. This was the result of an investigation by a three-man panel headed by Colonel Al Perreras. The second document, called the Pre-Trial advice, which reverses the PTIR, recommends the filing of charges. This was not signed by Esperon. Had Esperon signed this document, there would be no doubt about the legitimacy of the court martial. It is like a civilian being made to undergo a trial based on an unsigned criminal information sheet. To this date, Esperon has not signed3. The result is an illegitimately constituted court martial. In the absence of a signed pre-trial advice, there is no basis to detain these officers. This is a blatant display of abuse of authority without responsibility. This is a failure of leadership that further divides an already divided Armed Forces.
That is how our present Arroyo administration regards our military. To GMA, the Armed Forces of the Philippines is not the protector of the people. They are being used as tools. Tools to perpetuate her illegitimate and immoral hold on the Office of the President. Tools to suppress and intimidate legitimate opposition and dissent. Tools to extra-judicially kill our countrymen, just because they have progressive ideas. The Arroyo administration will do anything to stay in power. At first they will plead with you, and if you do not agree, then they will try to bribe you. If you do not agree to be bribed, they will threaten you and your family. Professor Randy David, in his column4 eloquently described the Arroyo administration in four phrases – “No Qualms, No Shame, No Conscience, No Limit!”
Aside from the question of legitimacy of the Arroyo administration, there is an apparent failure of leadership in the AFP. As Columnist, Ramon Farolan, a former General and PMA’er puts it5: “The AFP is not the Armed Forces of the Philippines. It is the Armed Forces of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (AFGMA). Every officer who makes it to star rank and who aspires for high position in the military organization must, first and foremost, indicate a sense of personal loyalty to her over and above loyalty to country and people. …what matters most is personal loyalty to her more than efficiency, honesty or even honor.”
As the Philippine Daily Inquirer editorial states6:
“Esperon has shown his Commander-in-Chief utmost fidelity, ……… But overriding loyalty to the Commander- in-Chief is the quality one looks for in a commander of the presidential guard. The AFP Chief of Staff; however, must place both the national interest and the interest of the military as the protector of democracy above that of the President. This is exactly the thing that Esperon has failed to do.
He has not risen above his formative experience as commanding officer of the Palace guard. He has failed……. to de-politicize the military.
In a word, he has acted as a partisan.
Under his term, Esperon has also failed to stop the spree of politically motivated killings that will forever haunt his… legacy.
Consider the legal or political battles over the Mayuga report, over the Jonas Burgos case, over the Peninsula Manila incident -- indeed, over the damaging disclosures in the Hello Garci tapes.”
The track record of Mr. Esperon sends a spine-chilling effect on all of us. If asked by the President to do an illegitimate and non-democratic act, we doubt very much if he will stand up for the nation’s true interest.
Mr. Speaker, I therefore move to refer this speech to the Committee on Human Rights so as to inquire into the conditions of detention and the violation of the constitutional rights of the 28 officers detained at ISAFP compound at Camp Aguinaldo, as well as those detained at the CIDG compound at Camp Crame.
Secondly, I renew my call on Gloria Arroyo, to vacate the Office of the President. She never had any legitimate right to be President. She stole that office in 2004, as revealed by the “Hello Garci” tapes. Having stolen that Office, she is nothing but a usurper. I therefore call upon the usurper, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, to stop the lying, stop the stealing, stop the kidnapping, stop the killing, and vacate the Office of the President of the Philippines!
Lastly, I call on General Hermogenes Esperon to immediately step down for failure of leadership. For failure to institute a credible military justice system. For oppression and persecution. For failure to fulfill the Constitutional mandate that makes the Armed Forces of the Philippines the protector of the people. For using the Armed Forces as a tool for perpetuating a corrupt and illegitimate administration.
of the 2nd District of Bukidnon on February 27, 2008
Jason and Fe Aquino have been happily married for 14 years now. Jason Aquino is a Major of the Philippine Army, assigned at Fort Bonifacio. He is no ordinary soldier, for he is the class baron of Philippine Military Academy Class ’91 and former Operations Chief of the elite Scout Rangers. His wife, Fe, is a housewife who hails from Cagayan de Oro. They are blessed with four daughters; Chen, who is 13 years old, a first year high school student; Chel who is 12 years old, a grade six student; and Chez who is 8 months old. All of them study at the Holy Spirit School at New Manila, Quezon City. Last year, the couple was blessed with another baby girl.
It was a bright, sunny day last February 27, 2006. Jason had already eaten his breakfast; drank his cup of coffee and had finished his Marlboro. He kissed his wife Fe goodbye and off he went to work at Fort Bonifacio. Little did they know that that was the last time they would see each other in a long, long time.
February 24, 2006 was the day that GMA declared a state of emergency. On February 27, Jason did not come home. The next day, Fe was worried sick. She called his office. She called almost everyone whom she thought could help her. Nobody knew where Jason was. She was frantic. She even confronted Col. Bacarro, the AFP spokesman, who said that he did not know the whereabouts of Jason.
My friends, I don’t know if you’ve ever had the experience and agony of having a family member not coming home. The experience is traumatic and the mental anguish is terrible. Your heart beats at the pace of a racehorse, your mind is numb with uncertainty – as if it had been injected with dental anesthesia, your throat dries with tension – like sandpaper, and your chest tightens with anxiety. Can you imagine? Ms. Fe Aquino, all alone in their house, with four daughters? Everyone she calls tells her: I don’t know where your husband is! After three sleepless nights, through the help of Jason’s Mistahs, Fe was finally informed that Jason was imprisoned at the Maximum Security Detention cell at the Intelligence Service Group or ISG compound. She was not allowed to see Jason.
Fe wondered why her husband was at the ISG. The ISG is not a custodial facility. It is a facility for interrogation and torture. In fact, this is where the members of the Abu Sayaff group are incarcerated. Jason was put in solitary confinement – in a cell that is hot, dark, and isolated. Jason was arrested and put in solitary confinement without notice to his family, without notice to his lawyers. Worst of all, Major Jason Aquino, a distinguished officer and gentleman, class baron of the Philippine Military Academy Class ’91, was made to suffer solitary confinement without any charge for five months. He was treated worse than a hardened criminal.
It took a whole week before Fe and her daughters could see Jason. They were made to wait an hour before they could actually see him. Upon seeing him, his daughters broke down in tears. He was very thin and haggard. There were deep markings on his face. Chen and Chel broke down in tears. They could not understand what was happening. Fe was warned by an officer that if she filed a case against them, they would not allow her to visit Jason anymore. As this was not enough, her house inside the heavily guarded Camp Aguinaldo was ransacked three (3) times and up to now, the Military Police and CIDG, despite their resources, have yet to arrest a single suspect.
After five months of solitary confinement, Jason Aquino was charged with attempted mutiny in connection with the alleged plan of the Scout Rangers under Bgen. Danilo Lim and the Marines under MGen. Renato Miranda. This was with regard to their alleged withdrawal of support from the administration of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.
Today, I speak to you not only about the plight of Major Jason Aquino, but of the plight of the 28 distinguished Officers of our Armed Forces who are now facing a court martial for their alleged withdrawal of support last February 2006. If you will recall, that was when the people came out in EDSA to protest the legitimacy of the Arroyo administration brought about by the “Hello Garci” scandal. GMA declared a State of Emergency. These distinguished Officers are now being subjected to countless indignities and their constitutional rights have been trampled upon by the Arroyo administration. Let me read some of their names:
Maj. Gen. Renato Miranda, Brig. Gen. Danilo Lim, Col. Ariel Querubin, Col. Orlando de Leon, Col. Januario Caringal, Col. Armando Bañez, Lt. Col. Custodio Parcon, Lt. Col. Achilles Segumalian, Lt. Col. Nestor Flordeliza, Lt. Col. Edmundo Malabanjot, Maj.Francisco Domingo Fernandez, Maj. Jason Laureano Aquino, Maj. Jose Leomar Doctolero, Capt. James Sabadan, Capt. Montano Almodovar, Capt. Joey Fontiveros, Capt. Ruben Guinolbay, Capt. Isagani Criste, Capt. William Upano, Capt. Dante Langkit, Capt. Allan C. Aurino, Capt. Frederick Sales, Lt. Belinda Ferrer, Lt. Ervin Divinagracia, Lt. Jacon Cordero, Lt. Homer Estolas, Lt. Sandro Sereno, and Lt. Richiemel Caballes.
Let’s take some indignities. Last February 1, Col. Ariel Querubin, a recipient of the Medal of Valor1, the highest award given by the AFP for gallantry in combat, was forced to attend the court martial proceedings despite having a high fever and dizziness. Ariel was suffering from a combination of bronchitis and urinary tract infection. A military medical doctor who examined him found his fever to be at 38.5 C°. Instead of trying to minister to Ariel’s high fever, the doctor just filled up a medical certificate stating that Ariel was “fit to travel with medical team”. When confronted by Mrs. Pong Querubin, the doctor just replied that he was just following orders.
Another example was the way they manhandled the officers and ridiculed their families when they were transferred from Camp Capinpin in Tanay to the ISAFP Compound in Camp Aguinaldo. On the morning of that day there was a gentleman’s agreement, that the officers would be furnished a written order for their transfer and that they would not be handcuffed. At around 4:30 pm a commotion started. In breach of the previous gentleman’s agreement, the officers were being handcuffed in front of their wives and children. No written order was ever produced. Lt. Col. Custodio Parcon, another Medal of Valor Awardee2, was forcibly handcuffed and carried by eight-men: “parang baboy na binuhat” ang sabi ng isang asawa. The officers were brought to the ISAFP compound at Camp Aguinaldo at 9 in the evening. ISAFP is not a custodial facility. It is a facility for interrogation. Their transfer to ISAFP was for no other purpose but to break their spirit. The cells are very hot, dark, and devoid of ventilation. Their beds are located right beside their waterless toilet bowls. Their families were not informed where they would be transferred. When the wives went to the high steel gates of the ISAFP compound to verify, the guards just mocked them, laughed at them and ridiculed them. Exhausted, hungry, cold, and traumatized by the day’s events, the officers’ wives and their children could only cry in desperation. As Jun Lozada said: “I have seen the ugly side of the state!”
General Esperon has persecuted these Officers and their families. They are not asking for mercy. All they want is justice, to be treated fairly and decently befitting an officer and a gentleman.
They are being forced to face an illegitimate court martial without any proper charges. The basis of the charges are two documents. Ironically, the first document, called the pre-trial investigation report (PTIR), recommended the dismissal of the mutiny charges against all of the accused. This was the result of an investigation by a three-man panel headed by Colonel Al Perreras. The second document, called the Pre-Trial advice, which reverses the PTIR, recommends the filing of charges. This was not signed by Esperon. Had Esperon signed this document, there would be no doubt about the legitimacy of the court martial. It is like a civilian being made to undergo a trial based on an unsigned criminal information sheet. To this date, Esperon has not signed3. The result is an illegitimately constituted court martial. In the absence of a signed pre-trial advice, there is no basis to detain these officers. This is a blatant display of abuse of authority without responsibility. This is a failure of leadership that further divides an already divided Armed Forces.
That is how our present Arroyo administration regards our military. To GMA, the Armed Forces of the Philippines is not the protector of the people. They are being used as tools. Tools to perpetuate her illegitimate and immoral hold on the Office of the President. Tools to suppress and intimidate legitimate opposition and dissent. Tools to extra-judicially kill our countrymen, just because they have progressive ideas. The Arroyo administration will do anything to stay in power. At first they will plead with you, and if you do not agree, then they will try to bribe you. If you do not agree to be bribed, they will threaten you and your family. Professor Randy David, in his column4 eloquently described the Arroyo administration in four phrases – “No Qualms, No Shame, No Conscience, No Limit!”
Aside from the question of legitimacy of the Arroyo administration, there is an apparent failure of leadership in the AFP. As Columnist, Ramon Farolan, a former General and PMA’er puts it5: “The AFP is not the Armed Forces of the Philippines. It is the Armed Forces of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (AFGMA). Every officer who makes it to star rank and who aspires for high position in the military organization must, first and foremost, indicate a sense of personal loyalty to her over and above loyalty to country and people. …what matters most is personal loyalty to her more than efficiency, honesty or even honor.”
As the Philippine Daily Inquirer editorial states6:
“Esperon has shown his Commander-in-Chief utmost fidelity, ……… But overriding loyalty to the Commander- in-Chief is the quality one looks for in a commander of the presidential guard. The AFP Chief of Staff; however, must place both the national interest and the interest of the military as the protector of democracy above that of the President. This is exactly the thing that Esperon has failed to do.
He has not risen above his formative experience as commanding officer of the Palace guard. He has failed……. to de-politicize the military.
In a word, he has acted as a partisan.
Under his term, Esperon has also failed to stop the spree of politically motivated killings that will forever haunt his… legacy.
Consider the legal or political battles over the Mayuga report, over the Jonas Burgos case, over the Peninsula Manila incident -- indeed, over the damaging disclosures in the Hello Garci tapes.”
The track record of Mr. Esperon sends a spine-chilling effect on all of us. If asked by the President to do an illegitimate and non-democratic act, we doubt very much if he will stand up for the nation’s true interest.
Mr. Speaker, I therefore move to refer this speech to the Committee on Human Rights so as to inquire into the conditions of detention and the violation of the constitutional rights of the 28 officers detained at ISAFP compound at Camp Aguinaldo, as well as those detained at the CIDG compound at Camp Crame.
Secondly, I renew my call on Gloria Arroyo, to vacate the Office of the President. She never had any legitimate right to be President. She stole that office in 2004, as revealed by the “Hello Garci” tapes. Having stolen that Office, she is nothing but a usurper. I therefore call upon the usurper, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, to stop the lying, stop the stealing, stop the kidnapping, stop the killing, and vacate the Office of the President of the Philippines!
Lastly, I call on General Hermogenes Esperon to immediately step down for failure of leadership. For failure to institute a credible military justice system. For oppression and persecution. For failure to fulfill the Constitutional mandate that makes the Armed Forces of the Philippines the protector of the people. For using the Armed Forces as a tool for perpetuating a corrupt and illegitimate administration.
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