Bodies of 2 soldiers, 1 CAFGU found in Cagayan town

From the Philippine Information Agency (Jul 4): Bodies of 2 soldiers, 1 CAFGU found in Cagayan town

Decomposed bodies of two soldiers and a former member of the Citizen Armed Force Geographical Unit (CAFGU), feared to have been executed, were found inside a chapel at Sitio Masi in Barangay San Juan here.

The remains, identified as PCF Jay Tugao, PCF Victor Balao-as, both from Pinukpok, Kalinga, and Jayson Santor, a resident here, were found Friday after they went missing last March 2015.

Based on earlier reports, the three were allegedly killed by the members of the New People’s Army (NPA) on March 29, 2015 despite calls by some church leaders and peace advocates to release them.

Their bodies were now transferred by the team of Fr. Garry Agcaoili of the archdiocese of Tuguegarao to a funeral home in Tuguegarao City .

The authorities are now investigating the case while DNA tests will be conducted to each cadaver for proper identification before releasing to their families.

Meanwhile, Commission on Human Rights (CHR) special investigator Aldwin Pasicolan condemned this brutal and inhumane act.

Pasicolan urged the perpetrators to end the killing as this would not bring peace and development in the country.

He likewise assured the families of the three victims of financial assistance.

http://news.pia.gov.ph/article/view/461435921049/bodies-of-2-soldiers-1-cafgu-found-in-cagayan-town

Officer: truck torched by armed men not retaliation

From the Mindanao Times (Jul 2): Officer: truck torched by armed men not retaliation

UNIDENTIFIED armed men torched a truck owned by a piggery farm on in Purok 3, at the boundary of barangays Lubogan and Alambre in Toril District, Tuesday morning.

 

Police estimated the amount of damage to reach P800,000.

 

Felipe Arcala, the driver of the Mercedez Benz truck owned by Juliana Farms, was loaded with 240 sacks of feeds when he was flagged down by the group.

 

Accordingly, one of the men asked Arcala to open the front hood of the truck before pouring two gallons of gasoline on its engine and lighting it on fire. They left on board two motorcycles toward Barangay Alambre.

 

Lt. Col. Francis Carter Sibal, Civil-Military Operations commander, told reporters during the AFP-PNP press conference yesterday that they do not think that it was a retaliation of the rebels after Kumander Parago’s death.

 

“We don’t consider it as revenge on Parago’s death,” he said.

 

He said he contacted 84^th Infantry Battalion commander, Lt. Col. Arnold Bernardo, and found out that the owner did not receive any threat either through letter or text message.

 

Sr. Insp. Milgrace Driz, spokesperson of Davao City Police office, said they are still investigating the incident.

 

“It’s the NPA rebels who typically do something like this on alleged extortion,” she said.

 

http://mindanaotimes.net/officer-truck-torched-by-armed-men-not-retaliation/

Beijing lobbies hard ahead of South China Sea hearing despite snubbing UN tribunal

From InterAksyon (Jul 5): Beijing lobbies hard ahead of South China Sea hearing despite snubbing UN tribunal



China's claims to the disputed South China Sea will come under international legal scrutiny for the first time this week, but while Beijing has officially refused to take part in the case filed by the Philippines at a UN tribunal, it has made its presence felt.

Indeed, Manila's international legal team was heading to the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague to initially argue that the five-judge panel has jurisdiction to hear the case, Philippine Foreign Ministry officials told Reuters.

That is because of concerns China raised in a public position paper in December about the tribunal's jurisdiction over the matter, according to court statements.

A little-noticed decision by the tribunal's panel in April acknowledged China's objections and announced that a hearing on jurisdiction from July 7-13 would be held first.

Manila filed the case in 2013 to seek a ruling on its right to exploit the South China Sea waters in its 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ) as allowed under the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

Ruling unenforceable but significant

While legally binding, any decision that favors the Philippines would be unenforceable because there is no UN body to police such rulings, legal experts said.

Nevertheless, such a ruling would be a diplomatic blow to Beijing and might prompt other claimants to the South China Sea to take similar action, legal experts and diplomats said.

The case is being closely watched by Asian governments and Washington given rising tensions in the South China Sea, especially in the Spratly archipelago, where China is creating seven artificial islands that will allow its navy to project power deep into the maritime heart of Southeast Asia.

China claims most of the waterway, including many reefs and shoals that Manila considers are within its EEZ. Parts of the EEZ contain rich fishing grounds and energy deposits.

Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also have claims to the South China Sea, through which $5 trillion in ship-borne trade passes every year.

Effectively taking part

Some international legal scholars and South China Sea experts said China was effectively taking part in the case even though it had officially refused to do so.

"It appears the tribunal panel is bending over backwards to accommodate China's interests and appear even-handed to both the Philippines and China," said Ian Storey, a South China Sea expert at Singapore's Institute of South East Asian Studies.

Experts said that did not mean the judges would find in Beijing's favor.

"They are being as fair as they can ... they seem to sense China will scrutinize every word in any final ruling," said one legal scholar following the case.

When asked to comment, tribunal officials referred Reuters to statements on its website.

Without China's permission, Manila cannot seek a ruling at the International Court of Justice in The Hague on the sovereignty of the disputed territory, legal scholars said.

Instead, Manila has invoked dispute settlement procedures under UNCLOS, a system that allows for arbitration even when one side objects and refuses to participate.

Law of the Sea: system of territory, not sovereignty

The Law of the Sea does not rule on sovereignty but it does outline a system of territory and economic zones that can be claimed from features such as islands, rocks and reefs.

The Chinese position paper last December said the "essence" of the Philippine case was sovereignty, and therefore beyond the scope of the tribunal.

Storey said the hearing on jurisdiction could delay any final ruling by six to 12 months, meaning the case could linger beyond the single term of Philippine President Benigno Aquino, which ends next June.

Aquino has been a key figure behind the legal challenge, at times drawing China's ire by comparing its South China Sea claims to Nazi Germany's expansionism before World War Two.

China will reject outcome

Chinese diplomats and legal experts have been following developments closely and taking outside opinions, according to sources with knowledge of Beijing's approach to the case.

Some of that work has been handled by the Chinese embassy at The Hague, which has established a formal line of communication with the tribunal, they said.

Tribunal statements and the rules of the case reviewed by Reuters confirm that China can communicate with the tribunal via its ambassador to The Hague, while the court also updates China on procedural moves and opportunities for submissions.

Despite the exchanges, China still planned to reject any decision that favored Manila, the sources said.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told a regular briefing on Thursday that the "unilateral" arbitration was "a political provocation in the guise of law that seeks to deny China's national sovereignty in the South China Sea".

Charles Jose, the Philippine Foreign Ministry spokesman, disagreed: "The court is a fundamental first step towards a peaceful and rules-based resolution of the issue," he said.

Zha Daojiong, a political scientist at Peking University, said he believed Beijing's strategy of not taking part and then refusing to accept any judgment was set.

"Without China's participation, any ruling can only be an opinion," he added.

http://www.interaksyon.com/article/113631/beijing-lobbies-hard-ahead-of-south-china-sea-hearing-despite-snubbing-un-tribunal

PH, China dispute to continue despite UN Tribunal case

From Malaya (Jul 6): PH, China dispute to continue despite UN Tribunal case

DESPITE the presence of a high-level Philippine team at the hearing of the Philippines’ case against China before the Arbitral Tribunal of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) this week, the issue of who owns the contested islands in the South China Sea will remain unresolved. 

 

That’s because the Philippine team won’t be arguing its territorial claims, which are not under the jurisdiction of the Arbitral Tribunal in The Hague in the Netherlands.

“We are very confident that we can convince the court that this is not about ownership of land,” said former solicitor general now Supreme Court justice Francis Jardeleza, who is part of the Philippine team.  

 

Instead, the Philippines merely wants the Tribunal, which interprets UNCLOS, to invalidate China’s 9-dash line claim over the South China Sea. 

 

Territorial claims are the jurisdiction of another body, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), and the ICJ only entertains cases if all parties in the dispute participate. China has refused to do so.  

 

But although the Philippines is not arguing about who owns what in the South China Sea, its arguments have been misconstrued as such. Jardeleza, in fact, said, “For example, we’re not asking the court to say who owns Panatag shoal. We are arguing that they are within our EEZ and therefore under the rules of UNCLOS we have exclusive rights to fish within that area.”

 

It is this posturing by the Philippines that China calls sly and cunning. Although saying it is not making a territorial claim before the Tribunal, the Philippines’ words practically establish ownership of islands and areas, the Chinese government said.

In its position paper submitted in December 2014, China said, “The Philippines has cunningly packaged its case in the present form.”

“This contrived packaging, however, fails to conceal the very essence of the subject-matter of the arbitration, namely, the territorial sovereignty over certain maritime features in the South China Sea,” China’s position paper adds.

The hearing at The Hague this week, however, comes at time of heightened tensions between the two countries, with China speeding up the reclamation of disputed islands in the South China Sea, even building on those the Philippines claims as part of its territory.

The top-level team of Philippine government officials preparing to face the Tribunal is composed of two Supreme Court justices, the leaders of Congress, and the secretaries of foreign affairs and justice, as well as the executive secretary.

The team includes Senior Associate Justice Antonio T. Carpio, who has been delivering lectures on the South China Sea conflict, and Jardeleza, who was solicitor general when the Philippines first submitted its memorandum to Tribunal on March 30, 2014. A memorandum is called a memorial in international law.

Also in the team are Senate president Franklin Drilon, House speaker Feliciano Belmonte, foreign affairs secretary Albert del Rosario, justice secretary Leila de Lima, and executive secretary Paquito Ochoa.

Leading the Philippine legal team are solicitor general Florin Hilbay and Paul Reichler, a Washington-based lawyer, who are expected to tell the Tribunal that the Philippines’ arbitration case against China is solely a maritime dispute and does not involve any territorial conflict.

The Philippines, in all its submissions to the Arbitral Tribunal, emphasized that it does not seek a determination on which party enjoys sovereignty over any of the insular features claimed by both but has confined itself to raising claims that require the interpretation or application of UNCLOS.

 

The Philippine has asked the Court not to “bifurcate” or divide in two parts the jurisdiction aspect and the merits of the case.

“There’s so much tactical advantage to that procedure because we are very strong on the merits and by discussing the merits more and more you gain an advantage hoping to convince the tribunal that they should take the case and rule that they have jurisdiction,” Jardeleza said.

Last April, the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) that acts as a registry in the UNCLOS dispute settlement procedure, announced the hearing on the Arbitral Tribunal’s jurisdiction in the Philippine case versus China would be held July 7 to 13.

If the team is unable to convince the Tribunal, “that’s the end,” said Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Charles Jose. 

 

But if the Tribunal rules it has jurisdiction, “It’s almost an 80 percent chance of winning the case,” said lawyer Harry Roque, director of the UP Law Center’s Institute of international Legal Studies.

China’s Dec. 7, 2014 position paper states: “The Philippines’ claims is in essence one of territorial sovereignty over several maritime features in the South China Sea, which is beyond the scope of the Convention and does not concern the interpretation or application of the Convention. Consequently, the Arbitral Tribunal has no jurisdiction over the claims of the Philippines for arbitration.”

Roque said the UNCLOS dispute settlement procedure is limited to “interpretation and application of the UNCLOS.”

“It is not involved in matters of sovereignty,” he said.

Carpio explained in one of his lectures on the South China Sea conflict, “The Philippines is asking the tribunal if China’s 9-dash lines can negate the Philippines’ 200 nautical mile exclusive economic zone as guaranteed under UNCLOS.”

“The Philippines is also asking the tribunal if certain rocks above water at high tide, like Scarborough Shoal, generate a 200 NM EEZ or only a 12 NM territorial sea.  The Philippines is further asking the tribunal if China can appropriate low-tide elevations (LTEs), like Mischief Reef and Subi Reef, within the Philippines’ EEZ.  These disputes involve the interpretation or application of the provisions of UNCLOS,” Carpio added.

 

Jardeleza said, “Our claim is a very narrow one, land dominates the sea. This is not a case about land; this is a case about the maritime waters which is perfectly under UNCLOS.”

 

The PH legal team is expected to justify its decision to seek compulsory dispute settlement after it has exhausted the negotiation tack, both bilateral and multilateral as required by UNCLOS.

China insisted in its position paper that “disputes between the two States shall be resolved through negotiations and there shall be no recourse to arbitration or other compulsory procedures.”

The team is also expected to tell the Tribunal that talks between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and China on the Code of Conduct on the South China Sea is inadequate, as its objective is to promote peace and stability in the region by coming up with a code on how claimants should conduct themselves pending resolution of the dispute.

Aside from Hilbay and Reichler, other members of the Philippine legal team are British law professors Philippe Sands and Alan Boyle and Bernard Oxman from the University of Miami’s Law school.

The five-member Arbitral Tribunal is chaired by Judge Thomas A. Mensah of Ghana. The other Members are Judge Jean-Pierre Cot of France, Judge Stanislaw Pawlak of Poland, Professor Alfred Soons of the Netherlands, and Judge Rüdiger Wolfrum of Germany.

***

(VERA Files is put out by veteran journalists taking a deeper look at current issues. Vera is Latin for “true.”)

http://malaya.com.ph/business-news/news/ph-china-dispute-continue-despite-un-tribunal-case

PH presents case at The Hague

From Malaya (Jul 6): PH presents case at The Hague

A HIGH-LEVEL Philippine delegation left Sunday night for The Hague in the Netherlands to present the country’s case against China before the international arbitral court which would rule if it has jurisdiction over the maritime dispute in the South China Sea.

The delegation included Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin, Cabinet Undersecretary for Security Cluster Emmanuel Bautista, and deputy presidential spokeswoman Undersecretary Abigail Valte.

Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said Malacañang is confident that the tribunal would recognize the Philippines’ case that was filed based on the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

The hearing will be from July 7 to 13.

Coloma said a favorable decision on the jurisdiction would enable the country to present the merits of the case during the oral arguments.

He said the petition is supported by the three branches of the Philippine government which has sent their own representatives in the delegation.  He said the Executive branch is led by Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr., the legislative branch by Senate President Franklin Drilon and Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr., and the judiciary by Supreme Court Justices Antonio Carpio and Francis Jardeleza.

Ochoa had flown ahead of the delegation last week to meet with the Philippine government’s legal team that included Solicitor General Florin Hilbay and a team from the Washington-based law firm Foley Hoag led by Paul Reichler.

The legal team also included Professor Bernard H. Oxman of the University of Miami School of Law, Miami, United States of America; Professor Philippe Sands of the Matrix Chambers in London, and Professor Alan Boyle of the Essex Court Chambers also in London.

Asked what the Philippine government would do in case the arbitral court decides that it has no jurisdiction, Coloma said the Philippine is focusing at the moment on presenting its case.

“We are taking one step at a time and are determined to prove the merits of our position,” he said.

The Philippines in 2013 filed a “memorial” against China over the disputed territories but China had refused to acknowledge the petition, saying the maritime dispute should be resolved bilaterally.

The Philippines said the issue could not be addressed bilaterally since it involved several claimants. Apart from the arbitration case, the Philippines is also pushing for a legally-binding Code of Conduct in the Association of Southeast Asian Nation (ASEAN).

While legally binding, any decision that favors the Philippines would be unenforceable because there is no U.N. body to police such rulings, legal experts said.

Nevertheless, such a ruling would be a diplomatic blow to Beijing and might prompt other claimants to the South China Sea to take similar action, legal experts and diplomats said.

The case is being closely watched by Asian governments and Washington given rising tensions in the South China Sea, especially in the Spratly archipelago, where China is creating seven artificial islands that will allow its navy to project power deep into the maritime heart of Southeast Asia.

Some international legal scholars and South China Sea experts said China was effectively taking part in the case even though it had officially refused to do so.

“It appears the tribunal panel is bending over backwards to accommodate China’s interests and appear even-handed to both the Philippines and China,” said Ian Storey, a South China Sea expert at Singapore’s Institute of South East Asian Studies.

Experts said that did not mean the judges would find in Beijing’s favor.

“They are being as fair as they can ... they seem to sense China will scrutinize every word in any final ruling,” said one legal scholar following the case.

Without China’s permission, Manila cannot seek a ruling at the International Court of Justice in The Hague on the sovereignty of the disputed territory, legal scholars said.

Instead, Manila has invoked dispute settlement procedures under UNCLOS, a system that allows for arbitration even when one side objects and refuses to participate.

Tribunal statements and the rules of the case reviewed by Reuters confirm that China can communicate with the tribunal via its ambassador to The Hague, while the court also updates China on procedural moves and opportunities for submissions.

Despite the exchanges, China still planned to reject any decision that favored Manila, the sources said.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told a regular briefing on Thursday that the “unilateral” arbitration was “a political provocation in the guise of law that seeks to deny China’s national sovereignty in the South China Sea.”

Zha Daojiong, a political scientist at Peking University, said he believed Beijing’s strategy of not taking part and then refusing to accept any judgment was set. “Without China’s participation, any ruling can only be an opinion,” he added.

http://malaya.com.ph/business-news/news/ph-presents-case-hague

Marine shot dead, sergeant wounded in Sulu shooting incident

From GMA News (Jul 5): Marine shot dead, sergeant wounded in Sulu shooting incident

A member of the Philippine Marines was shot dead while another was injured in a shooting incident in Jolo town in Sulu province Sunday morning.

The incident occurred at 10 a.m. at Sitio Lungan Gitong in Barangay Bus-Bus in Jolo, GMA News correspondent Peewee Bacuño reported.

Bacuño said initial police reports identified the fatality as Pfc. Cariaga, and the wounded as Sgt. Oliver Kong. Both are members of the Marine Battalion Landing Team 10.

Kong, who was wounded in the right shoulder, was rushed to a nearby hospital.

The police report said the assailants used a cal-.45 pistol in the shooting, and fled toward Barangay Maubuh in Patikul, Sulu after the shooting.

http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/516370/news/regions/marine-shot-dead-sergeant-wounded-in-sulu-shooting-incident

AFP urges HRW to look into rebel breaches

From the Daily Tribune (Jul 6): AFP urges HRW to look into rebel breaches

Stung by a petition of US and Philippine rights groups to the United States Senate seeking the restriction of US foreign aid to the Aquino administration as a result of its poor record in protecting human rights, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) yesterday told the petitioning groups, particularly the New York City-based Human Rights Watch (HRW), to seek a stop instead to the foreign funding of the communist New People’s Army and also look at the NPA’s human rights violation.

The NPA, however, is not part of state forces and is even considered a terrorist group based on the Philippines and US government’s labeling.

HRW and other rights groups, including Bagong Alyansang Makabayan-USA, filed a petition before the US Senate calling for the restoration of ban on US military funding to the Philippines due to many unresolved cases of human rights violations under the Aquino administration.

Lt. Col. Harold Cabunoc, AFP-Public Affairs Office chief, said that the rights groups should also check on the human rights violations of the NPA and communist legal fronts.

Cabunoc, at the same time, called on the rights groups to help stop foreign aid being extended to the NPA, the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP).

“I think HRW is looking only at the alleged human rights violations filed by the NPA and their legal fronts,” said Cabunoc.

“We would like them to stop the funds for the NPA coming from foreign and local supporters who are deceived by their sweet-talking propagandists,” he added.

Cabunoc also cited violent incidents perpetrated by the communist rebels, including massacre and bombing.

“They should stop the NPA’s armed violence and the killing and abduction of unarmed personnel. They should be more concerned of the NPA’s Sipalay massacre and Paquibato bombing of innocent children,” Cabunoc said.

According to Cabunoc, the AFP is not tolerating its personnel involved into rights violations.
“We are ready to punish all those who are found guilty of human rights violations among our soldiers,” he said.

The HRW and Bayan-USA cited the spate of unresolved killings blamed on suspected government forces in seeking US Senate’s restoration of the ban on military funding to the Philippines.

The US government lifted the cap on Philippine military funding since 2014 when it released $50 million in military aid. The arrest of the fugitive ex-military official Jovito Palparan Jr. was reportedly a factor in the dramatic fund increase.

This year, the US had pledged to release $40 million as military assistance as a result of the Aquino administration’s drumming up of a maritime spat with China.

The groups wrote that every appropriations bill since 2008 has imposed a restriction on foreign military financing to the Philippines because of its military’s alleged involvement in extrajudicial killings.

“The most recent restriction places limits on assistance to the Philippine Army while allowing assistance to the Navy. These limits can be lifted if the Secretary of State certifies that the Philippine government is achieving sufficient progress on addressing extra judicial killings,” the letter said.

“Outside of the context of counterinsurgency, security force personnel have also been responsible for killings of politicians and political workers involved in local disputes and journalists reporting on corruption and other criminality,” according to the groups.

Among the signatories of the letter were representatives of the Columban Center for Advocacy and Outreach, Missionary Society of St. Columban (Catholic Church); National Alliance for Filipino Concerns; Human Rights Watch; St. Margaret of Scotland Episcopal Church, Chicago, IL; New York Committee for Human Rights in the Philippines; Peace with Justice Program, United Methodist General Board of Church and Society and the International Labor Rights Forum.

The petitioners also cited the US State Department’s report on the human rights situation in the country.

“The State Department’s most recent Human Rights Country Report on the Philippines highlighted this continuing human rights challenge, noting that the Philippines “most significant human rights problems continued to be extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances undertaken by security forces and suspected vigilante groups.”

It cited the case of activist and human rights defender William Bugatti, who was shot and killed on March 25, 2014 in Ifugao province, allegedly by soldiers from the Philippine Army’s 86th Infantry Battalion, 5th Infantry Division.

“Although the Philippine Department of Justice has taken action in some cases, the government’s overall record in investigating and prosecuting serious human rights violations by the security forces has been extremely disappointing,” the groups said.

According to police records, since 2001 there have been only two convictions in extrajudicial killings, and no senior officials have been among those convicted, only the gunmen.

“Lifting the restrictions is also strategically unnecessary: the current, well-tailored restriction focuses entirely on the Philippine Army, while the bulk of assistance requested by the Pentagon would be directed at the Philippine Navy,” it added.

http://www.tribune.net.ph/headlines/afp-urges-hrw-to-look-into-rebel-breaches

Explosion at banana plantation damages aircraft hangar, plane

From the Business World (Jul 5): Explosion at banana plantation damages aircraft hangar, plane

MEMBERS of the communist New People’s Army (NPA) allegedly bombed a Dole Philippines, Inc. banana plantation in Compostela Valley, damaging an aircraft hangar and one of the company’s Cessna planes, the military said on Sunday.



“We are looking at extortion as the motive as banana plantations are favorite targets of the NPA,” First Lt. Vergel U. Lacambra, the public affairs officer of the Philippine Army’s nearby 10th infantry division, said.

The explosion at the bridge leading to the hangar airstrip entrance took place at 11 p.m., the company’s security officer reported.

Only two guards were on duty since it was nighttime, Mr. Lacambra said in an interview.

The Philippine Army’s 25th Infantry Battalion was immediately able to deploy troops since its patrol base was near the plantation in Maragusan in Compostela Valley.

The NPA “seemed to have plans to torch the building and cut down the banana trees. It was a good thing that the nearby patrol base was able to send some soldiers immediately because they fled,” Mr. Lacambra added.

Perpetrators are likely from the NPA’s Guerilla Front 27 Operations Command, which is known for torching and bombing facilities of businesses in their area which refuse to pay “revolutionary taxes.”

http://www.bworldonline.com/content.php?section=Nation&title=explosion-at-banana-plantation-damages-aircraft-hangar-plane&id=110945

US-funded anti-poverty projects done by 2016

From ABS-CBN (Jul 5): US-funded anti-poverty projects done by 2016

Millenium Challenge Account-Philippines (MCA-P), the entity responsible for managing the implementation of the $434-million grant from the U.S. government’s Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), belied reports that it has stopped using the grant for anti-poverty projects.

"We are committed to finish the projects and we will do so by May 2016," MCA-P managing director and CEO Marivic Añonuevo said in a statement.

The $434-million grant from the US, called "the Compact," is used to fund three anti-poverty projects in the Philippines, namely, the Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan–Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (KALAHI-CIDSS) project with the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD); the Secondary National Roads Development Project (SNRDP) with the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH); and the Revenue Administration Reform Project (RARP) with the Bureau of Internal Revenue and the Department of Finance.

According to Añonuevo, they have used around 85 percent of the grant, or $369 million, as of March 2015 for these projects. MCA-P management remains optimistic that the funds will be fully utilized in the anti-poverty projects by the end of the Compact in May 2016, she added.

She also assured that all unutilized funds will be returned to MCC.

"Strict MCC guidelines make it impossible to divert funds to other purposes. Everything that we have done has been to help uplift the lives of Filipinos through economic growth," Añonuevo stressed.

Añonuevo also debunked claims that MCA-P refuses to return to the national government the P600 million allocated for SNRDP through the Disbursement Acceleration Program. She said the P600 million was returned to the Bureau of the Treasury on June 18, following a recommendation from the Commission on Audit.

She added that after a careful evaluation of the remaining grant funds under the Millennium Challenge Compact, MCA-P has deemed that additional funds from the government were no longer necessary to complete SNRDP.

The fund was allocated by the government in line with the government’s obligation in the Compact to provide funds in case of budget gaps in any of the MCC-funded projects.

In RARP, Añonuevo said the revenue reform efforts in the BIR are in place to enhance the existing tax administration system and raise additional revenues for government. The project also supports the Revenue Integrity Protection Service of the DOF, which conducts lifestyle checks on officials and employees of DOF’s revenue generating agencies.

MCA-P has completed 2,180 community-driven development projects that have benefitted close to half a million households in six regions in the Philippines as of May 2015. Through DSWD’s KALAHI-CIDSS project, MCA-P has provided basic social services sub-projects to 1,834 barangays, many of which have poverty incidence of as high as 80 percent.

Of the 2,180 completed sub-projects, 309 are school buildings, 259 are water supply systems, 160 are day care centers, 126 are health stations, and 22 are electrification projects. MCA-P has also provided basic access infrastructure sub-projects such as farm-to-market roads, access trails and foot paths, and small/foot bridges.

These are in remote barangays in the Cordillera Administrative Region, MIMAROPA, Bicol, Western Visayas, Central Visayas, and Eastern Visayas, including those that were recently devastated by natural calamities.

In Samar island, the 222-kilometer road rehabilitation project is still proceeding, with financial commitment reaching 96 percent as of March 2015. As of June 21, 2015, actual road works completed reached 139.31 kilometers, representing 73.74 percent of the overall net length for rehabilitation (excluding 33.31 kilometers of bridges and roads already paved).

The road rehabilitation includes road pavement, provision of road safety measures, and construction of drainage canals and slope protection structures.
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/regions/07/05/15/us-funded-anti-poverty-projects-done-2016

PVAO to participate in 3-day 'KABISIG Philippine Government Expo and Trade Fair'

From the Philippine News Agency (Jul 5): PVAO to participate in 3-day 'KABISIG Philippine Government Expo and Trade Fair'

The Philippine Veterans Affairs Office (PVAO) will be joining the government-wide "KABISIG Philippine Government Expo and Trade Fair" from July 6 to 8.

The event, which will be held at the Skydome, SM North EDSA, has the theme, "Matuwid na Daan, Tatahakin Hanggang sa Katapusan.”

All government agencies, corporations and local government units will be attending the three-day activity.

The KABISIG Expo aims to bring together in one place all agencies and instrumentalities of the government to feature their respective agency/company profile, products or services, facilities, programs and accomplishments.

It also provides an opportunity for the government to promote public awareness of its programs and enjoin the people’s participation in national development.

As a participating agency for the third year, PVAO will once again set up a PVAO service booth to promote public awareness and extend assistance on its three-fold mandate: administration of benefits and services for Filipino veterans and their dependents; propagation of veterans’ valor to promote patriotism; and empowerment of the Filipino Veterans Community though participatory management of veterans affairs.

During the three-day expo, PVAO frontliners will extend one-stop shop services to booth visitors for filing and verification of claims, updating of pensioners’ status, application for ID, and the like.

Information materials and forms will also be made available.

Visitors can also view a photo exhibit and audio-visual presentations featuring the agency’s significant accomplishments in fulfillment of its mandate of serving those who served as the nation’s defenders, as stated in the organization's core philosophy, "Serbisyo sa Beterano, Serbisyo sa Bayan."

To promote consciousness on the heroic deeds of the veterans, develop a keen sense of history and instill national pride among the citizens, the booth will also display and raffle off some of the books published and reprinted by PVAO such as: "Waiting for the Enemy" written by veteran and lawyer Jaime L. Guerrero; "Victory in Northern Luzon," "Freedom Fighters of Northern Luzon," and "Filipinos in the Korean War" authored by military historian Col. Cesar S. Pobre, PA (Ret.); "For Love of Freedom" by Dr. Senen L.R. Asuan; and "Victory at Bessang Pass" by former Philippines News Agency (PNA) Defense reporter and editor Ben Cal.

These books are products of extensive historical research featuring untold stories of past military campaigns by various guerrilla units and battlefield victories that highlight the gallantry in action and selfless sacrifices of Filipino veterans.

A virtual tour to PVAO’s national military shrines, namely: Capas National Shrine, Mt. Samat National Shrine, Kiangan National Shrine, Balantang Cemetery and National Shrine, the Ricarte National Shrine; USAFIP-NL Military Shrine & Park, Libingan ng mga Bayani and the PEFTOK-Korean War Memorial Hall, will be offered to 50 visitors every day.

Booth visitors will get a chance to pose for a souvenir mug with a national military shrine image in the background for free.

Aside from PVAO, the Department of National Defense, Office of the Civil Defense, Commission on Higher Education, Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, Philippine Health Insurance Corporation, Office for Alternative Dispute Resolution, Home Development Mutual Fund or Pag-IBIG Fund, Philippine Coconut Authority, Philippine Rice Research Institute, Philippine Postal Corporation, Philippine Coast Guard, National Bureau of Investigation, Department of Public Works & Highways, Design Center of the Philippines, Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office, and Sugar Regulatory Administration will also set up their respective one-stop-shops.

Other participating agencies include the Department of Agriculture, Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process, Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority, Maritime Industry Authority, Land Management Bureau, Technology Application and Promotion Institute, Philippine Fiber Industry Development Authority, Dangerous Drugs Board;

National Dairy Authority, Bureau of Jail Management & Penology-NCR, Philippine National Police-National Capital Region Police Office, Department of Interior and Local Government, Authority of the Freeport Area of Bataan;

Philippine Deposits Insurance Corporation, Presidential Commission for the Urban Poor, National Maritime Polytechnic, Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines, National Housing Authority, National Food Authority, Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization, People’s Television Network Inc.; Cagayan Economic one Authority, and the Kabisig Peoples Movement.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=779432

NPA rebels raid banana plantation, aircraft damaged in Compostela Valley

From the Philippine News Agency (Jul 5): NPA rebels raid banana plantation, aircraft damaged in Compostela Valley

Troopers from the 10th Infantry Division are now pursuing a New People's Army (NPA) band who detonated two improvised explosive devices (IEDs) near the hangar of a banana plantation in Compostela Valley, damaging a propeller-driven Cessna aircraft late Saturday night.

The incident took place at 11 p.m. at the DOLE banana plantation in Poblacion Maragusan, Compostela Valley, 10th Infantry Division spokesperson 1st Lt. Vergel Lacambra said.

The blast occurred near the bridge leading to the hangar airstrip, he added.

No one was reported injured but the Cessna sprayer aircraft sustained minor blast damage.

"Troops immediately proceeded at the blast site and secured the area. The Army's 25th Infantry Battalion has already launched pursuit operations against the perpetrators believed to be from the NPA's Front 27," Lacambra said.

Extortion by the NPA is believed to be the motive behind the incident.

Meanwhile, Major Gen. Eduardo M. Año, 10th Infantry Division commander, condemned the attack and ordered ground units to intensify close coordination with local government officials, police stations and company security officers.

"These CPP-NPA's banditry attacks against civilian entities which are non-military targets will not go unpunished," he added.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=779524