Implications of Corona’s conviction – same standards should apply to all public officials

I signed the impeachment complaint against Chief Justice Renato Corona not only to remove an undeserving person from public office but to hasten the attainment of justice, transparency and accountability in government.

Thus, in the most likely event of Corona’s conviction by the Senate Impeachment Court today, I join the people in wanting to see more than Corona’s removal from office. The following should also happen:

1. All public officials should voluntarily disclose their statements of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN) to the public. The Supreme Court and other agencies that have put obstacles to such public disclosure should remove said obstacles;

2. All public officials will be assumed to have included their dollar and other foreign exchange assets in their SALN. Any discrepancy in the actual and declared amounts will be presumed to be a violation of the law;

3. Like Corona, impeachable officials with erroneous SALNs should be charged for culpable violation of the Constitution and betrayal of the public trust. Other non-impeachable officials should be held liable under the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards of Public Officials (RA No. 6713);

4. All public officials suspected of having concealed their peso, dollar and other foreign exchange assets in their SALNs should be investigated by the Ombudsman based on the unconditional waiver already incorporated in the SALN. Notwithstanding such automatic waiver, said public officials are enjoined to sign an unconditional waiver on these accounts and their other unreported or misdeclared assets.

After Corona’s conviction, it cannot be business as usual. Only in this way can we say that Corona’s impeachment was not a case of vendetta. Only in this way will his conviction lead to a more just, transparent and accountable system of governance.

If, however, he is acquitted, then God help the Philippines.#

The preceeding was issued as a press Statement today, May 28, 2012

Uphold our health workers’ rights!

Privilege speech on the occasion of National Health Workers Day

May 7, 2012

Mr. Speaker

I rise to avail of the privilege hour to discuss a very important and urgent matter – the state of our health workers.

Today is national health workers day. At this point I would like to greet the health works who are present in the gallery – happy Health Workers’ Day po!

The law mandating this, Republic Act 10069, was authored by former Bayan Muna congressman Satur Ocampo in the 14th Congress. Its aim is to give due recognition to the contribution of our doctors, nurses and other health workers and professionals in providing quality health care for our people.

This morning, members of the Alliance of Health Workers and other health groups decided to mark health workers day by marching to Mendiola to present their plight and express their demands to the executive. This afternoon, they were supposed to hold a dialog with Departmet of Health (DOH) officials. At the Mendiola rally, our health workers had a very apt and vivid representation of their situation and that of the country’s health care system. May dala po silang hospital bed na may pasyenteng comatose. Sabi nila, naghihingalo at halos patay na ang health care system natin.

Baka sabihin ninyong O-A ang ating mga health workers. Pero hindi lang sila ang may ganitong pananaw. Kahit po ang Asian Development Bank, sa kanilang malaking meeting noong isang linggo, ay nagsabing malala na ang lagay ng ating sistemang pangkalusugan.

The ADB observed that almost 70% of our health workers are in the private sector, serving only 30% or 29.2 million of the population. In contrast, only 30% of our health workers are in government, catering to 68.3 million Filipinos.

To quote the ADB, in its paper, Country Partnership Strategy: Philippines 2011-2016 – “a two-tier system exists in the health sector: the private sector for the rich (mainly located in the urban areas) and the public system for the poor.”

Ganito rin ang sinasabi ng ADB sa serbisyong pangkalusugan. “Access to health care is noted to be inversely related to wealth, with the lowest wealth quintile generally having less access to antenatal care, skilled birth attendance, institutional deliveries, immunization, and contraceptives.”

More disturbing health sector data from ADB: six out of ten Filipinos die without medical attention, and four out of ten babies are delivered by untrained hands. Financial protection for the poor is inadequate.

Nearly half of health care costs are paid out-of-pocket. In fact, compared to other Southeast Asian countries, the Philippines has one of the highest out of pocket share at 54.7% and one of the lowest government share at only 34.7%.

The Aquino administration is singing the same tune so-to-speak, when it comes to assessing the overall health situation in the country, particularly in the aspect of delivery of basic health services. It is recornized in the Aquino Administration’s healthcare agenda that the poorest of the population are the main users of govemment health facilities and that this means that the deterioration and poor quality of many government health facilities is particularly disadvantageous to the poor who needs the services the most. It was stated clearly in the aha that the country’s health infrastructure needs a boost given the gaps in health facilities.

Ngayon, kung nagkakapareho tayo ng tingin sa problema, dapat pareho din ang solusyon. Subalit, sa bahaging ito, kagulat-gulat na naiba ang tono ng gobyerno at ng ADB. While recognizing that there is a need to attract more health professionals to work in the government sector –– which largely caters to poor patients –– the government has an existing freeze hiring policy for health workers. Hindi lang mababa ang sweldo, puro casual at job orders na lang ang kinukuha.

Recently, the executive implemented a series of regulations that reduced further the benefits of health workers. And while both government and the ADB acknowledge the chronic underfunding in health, its solution is not to increase public spending but, ironically, decrease funding and then privatize the health care system.

Last December, the Department of Budget Management issued National Budget Memorandum No. 112 that reduced the subsistence allowance for health workers from P50 a day or P1,500 a month to P30 per day or an average cut of about P700 a month.

Pati yung laundry allowance, hindi pinatawad. It went down from P150 per month to P125 per month. Ano ho ang kahalagahan ng subsistence at laundry allowance? Dahil nga mababa ang sweldo nila, malaking bagay ang kaunting dagdag para matiyak ang pagkain nila ng tatlong beses isang araw. Importante rin sa ating health workers na laging malinis ang pananamit.

Vigorous protest from health worker groups forced the DOH to come up with its own circular reinstating the allowances but to be sourced from agency savings. Ang problema, paano kung walang savings? Eh dati naman hindi dependent sa savings ang mga allowances na ito.

Another casualty is the hazard pay of our health workers. Dapat lang silang tumanggap ng hazard pay dahil talaga namang peligroso magtrabaho sa mga ospital at ma-expose sa sari-saring sakit. Pero alam n’yo ho bang mula enero, hindi pa nabibigay sa kanila ang kanilang hazard pay? Hinihintay pa daw ng approval ng DBM when this is already mandated by law at dati ay automatic nilang nakukuha.

In fact, binawasan po ang hazard pay ng mga doktor na tumaas ang salary grade dahil sa SSL 3, from 25% to only 5% kahit sinasabi sa SSL 3 na hindi dapat mabawasan ng sweldo o benepisyo ang sinuman dahil sa pagpapatupad ng batas.

The situation is equally apalling when it comes to our public hospitals and health facilities. Even as the Aquino Administration constantly reiterates its commitment to better the health delivery system in the country, the reverse appears to be happening. Today, as we celebrate national health workers day, our health workers continue to fight against budget cuts in public hospitals and public health services.

The government is eyeing zero subsidy for maintenance and other operating expenses for public hospitals by 2014, and zero subsidy for personnel services by 2020, based on the DOH Financing in Health presentation in 2010. Inadequate funds explain the dismal state of public hospitals in the country.

On top of all these, the Philippine government health sector will be facing its greatest challenge this year: the privatization of government hospitals.

The Aquino Administration and its allies in the Senate prefer to call it “corporatization.” Pero kahit ano pa ang tawag, pareho ang resulta sa malao’t madali: wala ng charity ward sa Pilipinas.

Essentially, corporatization is privatization in the form of public-private partnership (PPP) projects in government hospitals and facilities. It will involve outsourcing of equipments, supplies, and personnel that will further increase the cost of health services. DOH secretary Enrique Ona himself admitted that health services cost would increase with public private partnerships.

The ADB also promotes the privatization of the health sector, providing in 2004 a $200-million loan for the Health Sector Development Program (HSDP) to systematically advance and accelerate the privatization and commercialization of hospitals and the health care system in the country. Tapos, sinasabi nila na kailangang gawing mababa ang presyo ng gamot at gamutan sa Pilipinas.

Most recently, Sen. Franklin Drilon filed Senate Bill 3130, also known as the National Government Hospital Corporate Restructuring Bill. In the guise of modernization and efficiency, the bill will “corporatize” – meaning, it will allow the entry of private corporations that will jointly manage with the government some 26 public hospitals. These hospitals include the Philippine Orthopedic Center (POC), San Lazaro Hospital (SLH), the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM), to name a few.

At present, there are modes of healthcare privatization already being implemented by the Aquino Administration at the expense of Filipino patients. There is the University Physicians Medical Center – a private health facility operating within the Philippine General Hospital compound. Another is the subcontracting of basic hospital services, like radiology or dialysis. There is also the sale of the Welfareville property in Mandaluyong City, which includes the National Center for Mental Health, only to give way to a new mall and high-end residential buildings.

The hospitals will be income-generating entities, thus self-perpetuating and allegedly not dependent on government subsidy for its operations and personnel. But it will also make it imposssible for them to give free services and treatment to those who cannot afford it.

And please, the government should not say that the needs of the poor will be handled by Philhealth because we all know Philhealth cannot fully pay for the expenses incurred by a patient, rich or poor. Hindi kaya ng pondo nila ang sumagot ng buo sa ganitong gastusin. As experienced by many Philhealth indigent beneficiaries, they needed to shell out money because of the limited coverage.

On the part of health care workers, they are also under threat as privatization could result in mass lay-off, reduction of benefits, and suppression of health workers’ rights. This usually happens when government institutions are transformed to business enterprises. Imbes na serbisyo, tubo na ang motibo.

In this light, how can we make health workers day really meaningful for our health workers?

Let us begin by joining them in their call for the immediate and proper implementation of the Magna Carta for Health Workers, specifically the provisions on job security, wages, benefits and working conditions.

Let us join them in their call for a P6,000 minimum salary increase.

Let us support our government nurses’ demand for a salary grade upgrade to SG 15 or P24,000 a month based on the Nursing Act of 2002.

Let us support the call of government doctors for upgrading to salary grade 24 or approximately 50,000 per month. These will ease the burden of health workers struggling for a living who save the lives of patients.

And let us continuously oppose the privatization of our public health care system and instead invest in better facilities, better training and bettere salaries and benefits for health workers.

Again, may we have a meaningful Health Workers Day. Mabuhay ang mangagawang pangkalusugan! #

A Time for Consensus

Privilege Speech in commemoration of May 17 International Day Against Homophobia, delivered May 15, 2012

MR SPEAKER, MY DEAR COLLEAGUES.

I rise on a matter of personal and collective privilege to take up the cause of one of our marginalized and discriminated sectors who are not officially represented in this Congress – our gays, lesbians, bisexual and transgender persons.

Let me start with a question: is there any congressman in this august chamber who will openly declare that he is gay? Is there a congresswoman in this room who will admit she is lesbian?

I ask these questions today to underscore how difficult it is to deal with the issue of homosexuality in the Philippines.

And to think na sa buong mundo ngayon, pagdating sa kontrobersyal na isyu ng sexual orientation and gender identity, hindi na lang homosexuality o pagiging gay o lesbian ang pinag-uusapan. Meron din pong bisexual at transgender o kung sama-samahin ay tinatawag na LGBT.

Sa katunayan po, ang petsang May 17 ay idineklara na bilang International Day Against Homophobia or IDAHO, dahil ito ang araw na inalis ng World Health Organization and homosexuality sa listahan ng mga mental disorder. This happened on May 17, 1990. Bago ho niyan, baliw ang tingin sa mga bakla.

Ano po ang kinalaman ng International Day Against Homophobia sa tanong kung meron bang bakla o lesbian sa kapulungang ito?

I wish to make clear that exposing a lawmaker’s sexuality is not the point of this privilege speech. Hindi po yan kasama ng mga nais i-expose ng Bayan Muna.

Kaya po ako nagtanong ay para maipadama sa bawat isang nandito ngayon ang karaniwang reaksyon ng isang Pilipino – mambabatas man o karaniwang mamamayan – sa isyu ng sexual orientation and gender identity.

Whether we admit it or not, the LGBT phenomenon has put many a Filipino in a quandary. It has even placed some Filipinos in a state of agitation.

It’s true that many Filipinos do not really want to talk seriously about this issue. Kadalasan, pag tinatanong ko sila kung ano ang tingin nila sa mga bakla o lesbian o transgender, ang madalas na sagot ay ngiti o kaya’y biruan. Sabay mananahimik. Hindi sa sasagot. Meron din naman, sasabihin “ok lang,” pero parang sinabi lang para matapos na ang usapan.

I do not find this surprising. It has been the observation, too, of some sociologists, that Filipinos, by nature, tend to avoid confrontations. “Ayaw makasakit ng damdamin; ayaw ng gulo” is how some of my sociologist friends describe this behavioral tendency.

Sa tingin ko po, ganito rin ang handling natin sa isyu ng LGBT. Lalo na sa hanay ng mga mambabatas. Almost nobody wants to address LGBT concerns. Kaya nga siguro ilang taon nang nakabinbin ang inihain kong anti-discrimination bill at ganun din, walang aksyon sa inihain kong House Bill 4653 – An Act Declaring May 17 of Every Year as the National Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia.

Let me be frank and honest about this. Some of my well-meaning friends have advised me to steer clear of the LGBT issue. Sabi nila, “Kiss of Death” or “Election Suicide” daw yan for anyone aspiring for an elective post at the national level.

Siguro nga, mas madali na lang kung mag-motherhood statement na lang tayo sa issue ng LGBT. Maybe it would make our lives easier as lawmakers, if we don’t tangle with issues with deep religious and moral underpinnings, especially in view of the fact that next year is an election year.

Pero, kailan pa natin pag-uusapan ito ng matino? LGBTs and the LGBT lifestyle is a twenty-first century reality. Anong gagawin natin sa mga problema nila?

An online study on gay killings conducted by the Philippine LGBT Hate Crime Watch showed 97 cases of gays violently killed from 1997 to June 2011, alone. These numbers continue to rise. What do we do about the gruesome, cold-blooded murder of gays?

The Department of Health has sounded the alarm over the sudden rise in number of HIV and AIDS cases in the country. Some 274 new cases were recorded last February and the DOH said this represented a 72 percent rise, compared to the 159 cases reported in February 2011. This DOH announcement, released last March 22, also said that majority of the cases reported sexual contact as the mode of transmission and that males having sex with other males was the predominant type of sexual transmission, corresponding to 87 percent of the reported cases.

How do we deal with the rising number of gays with HIV or AIDS?

And isyu ng LGBT ay isang realidad n gating panahon. Hindi natin ito maiiwasan, gustuhin man natin o hindi.

And to my mind, even the most conservative among us would agree to a discussion on ways to address LGBT concerns, rather than create a great divide where one side is directly opposed to the other.

As lawmakers, it behooves us to be the vanguard of consensus-building among our people. As lawmakers, we should also be peacemakers, the harbingers of unity and understanding, never of discord.

So much has changed in the world we know. In the United States, Pres. Barack Obama has openly supported same sex marriages. Billionaire entrepreneur Donald Trump, owner of the Miss Universe franchise, has officially allowed transgenders to participate in all franchise contests of the Ms. Universe pageant. And this may come as a surprise to many, but really, transgenders have been allowed to compete in the Olympics since 2004.

I do not necessarily agree with Pres. Obama or Mr. Trump. I think the issue of same sex unions is a very complex issue that requires further dialogue and understanding. Yet the sad reality is that here in our country, LGBTs are still being discriminated in our workplaces, schools and communities. Gays are being assaulted and killed for being gay. Persons with HIV, especially gays are being isolated and ostracized. Transgenders are being denied entry in some places because they don’t dress the part.

Dito sa Pilipinas, hindi gay marriage ang pinoproblema n gating mga LGBTs. Ni walang panukalang batas sa Kongreso tungkol ditto. Mas kagyat at simple ang mga problema nila – hindi sila mabigyan ng break sa trabaho. Ayaw silang pag-aralin ng kanilang mga pamilya. Kini-kick out sila sa eskwela. Binubugbog at sinasaktan, kinukutya at tinatakwil sila, tinitignan pa rin bilang mga abnormal.

Pero sinabi nga ng WHO, hindi mental disorder and pagiging bakla. Hindi ito sakit. Hindi ito abnormality. It’s just how the way some people are. Yes they may be different, but that does not make them any less of a person with less rights.

Palagay ko’y panahon na para tanggapin ng lipunan ang kanilang mga karapatan bilang tao. Katulad n’yo, katulad ko. Lahat tayo ipinanganak na hubad.

We need a common ground, a working consensus on LGBT concerns. But this cannot be achieved if one or the other resorts to namecalling or falls back on our traditional biases and fears. Magpakatao tayo. Ito ang mensaheng ipinapaabot ko bilang pagmarka ng International Day Against Homophobia.

Wala tayong mararating kung hindi natin bubuksan an gating mga isip at puso.

It was American civil rights leader and martyr Martin Luther King who said that “a genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder for consensus.”

There has to be a way for opposing sectors in our society to reach a consensus. Lawmakers like us, and the laws we make, could help mold this consensus.

Again, who in this august chamber is a gay or lesbian? To tell you the truth, I don’t care because it doesn’t really matter.

This is the answer that I wish to hear. That it doesn’t matter because straight, gay, lesbian or transgender, we all have the same rights, the same obligations, the same dignity as all human beings.

Good afternoon and thank you very much

To solve impending power crisis, Casiño proposes one million solar powered homes and businesses in 10 years

Bayan Muna Rep. Teddy Casiño, is proposing a novel solution to the Mindanao power shortage and the impending power crisis in Luzon – build a million solar powered roofs in 10 years.

Casiño, author of House Bill 5405 or the proposed One Million Solar Roofs Act, said that Congress should fast track the bill which provides incentives and financing facilities to ordinary electricity consumers like residences, offices and small to medium business establishments who want to put up their own solar power systems.

Casiño’s bill will allow homeowners and entrepreneurs to take out loans from Pag-Ibig, GSIS, SSS and other financial institutions to purchase solar panels and pay the amount from the ensuing savings in their electricity bills.

“In this way, we hit three birds with one stone – we build additional supply of power; liberate ourselves from expensive, dirty and imported fossil fuels; and develop the local renewable energy industry. It is really the way to go,” he said.

According to the lawmaker, “Government should think out of the box and go beyond the big developer mentality in dealing with the power crisis. Solar power technology now allows electricity consumers to be producers themselves. So rather than giving the President emergency powers to ink sweetheart contracts again with the big players, why not empower consumers to produce their own energy through solar power? “

“Our bill also allows these solar powered households and small firms to feed in their unused power to the grid during peak midday hours at a cost cheaper than existing diesel peaking plants. In the National Capital Region (NCR), some peaking plants sell at as high as P30/kWh while solar can come in at half that price,” Casiño revealed.

He said the amount sold by the solar power producer can be offset from their monthly electricity bills via the net metering mechanism as proposed in the bill.

“Solar technology can be an immediate and sustainable way to deal with the country’s energy problems, especially with the abundance of solar energy throughout the country and the modular nature of solar energy systems,” said the progressive solon.

“Besides the country being second in Southeast Asia in terms of irradiation and insolation, we already have the foundation to become a renewable energy leader in the region owing to the strong semi-conductor industry and the manpower base serving in the manufacturing and service sectors, especially the installers sub-sector,” he added

“With government harnessing the solar resources of the country and providing for incentives for massive deployment of solar energy systems, the prospects of attaining energy independence from oil companies and significantly lowering electricity prices in the medium-term are realizable,” said the lawmaker.

As the Aquino administration admitted that the power problem in Mindanao had been neglected for years and as things develop a power crisis is looming in Luzon in the next 2 years Rep. Casiño proposed that the “government should invest in solar power to promote energy stability and independence from imported energy sources, mitigate global warming and air pollution and encourage industry growth that will lead to more jobs and lower electricity bills,”

“Ito ay isa sa mga bago at malikhaing paraan para lutasin ang problema sa enerhiya kaya dapat paspasan na agad ng Kongreso ang pag-apruba sa 1 Million Solar Roofs bill para mapigilan ang krisis. Lalo tayong mamomroblema kapag babagal-bagal tayo sa pagkilos,” ended Casiño. # # #

The 4-Way Test for Small Business Enterprises

Speech of at the Rotary Club Visayas and Mindanao District Conference
March 9, 2012
Matina, Davao City

Thanks to “Ony” Partoza Jr., DISCON 2012 Chairman, to “Nonoy” Villa-Abrille, District Governor of Rotary 3860, fellow Rotarians from the Visayas and Mindanao, my kababayans from my hometown of Davao, maayong hapon. Thank you for inviting me to this conference. It’s great to be here.

You know, I have always had a close affinity with Rotarians. My dad was a Rotarian here in Davao and my uncle was President of the Rotary Club of Davao in 1985-1986. But more than that, I have always admired the Rotarian’s vocation for service. You can probably call me a Rotarian at heart.

Before I proceed, let m first of all greet all the ladies here a belated Happy Women’s Day. Mabuhay ang ating mga kababaihan! At tamang-tama, nandito tayo ngayon sa Philippine Women’s College. Tamang-tama.

Since its Women’s month, here’s a pick up line for the ladies out there. Rotarian ka ba? Bakit? Kasi you make my world turn.

Just to be clear, I am not here to speak about the Corona impeachment, thank God. Change channel muna tayo. I am here to speak on “Small Business Enterprises” — not just any enterprise or business, but SMALL business.

The term, of course, is a relative modifier. Small, compared to other businesses. Small, in relation to our economy. Small, in relation to the world. But it can be BIG, depending on how your look at it. “One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind!,” sabi nga ni Niel Armstrong upon reaching the moon. Yung nanotechnology, napakaliit din niyan, pero malaki ang gamit mula cellphone hanggang medical operation.

Do you know what the dominant life form on earth is? No, it’s not man or the human species. It’s bacteria. Bacterial ang dominant form of life dito sa planeta. At kahit maliit na virus, pwedeng patumbahin ang malaking tao. “A small leak can sink a great ship” — sabi na ni Benjamin Franklin.

Kaya’t huwag nating ismolin ang small business. The fact is, in business, small is big. Sabi nga ng mga Chinoy, liit gastos, laki kita. Pag laki gastos, liit kita. That’s the rationale for small business – liit gastos, laki kita.

And since we’re all Rotarians here, I’ll apply the 4-Way Test in discussing the situation of our small business enterprises.

Ang sabi natin: Of the things we think, say or do
Is it the TRUTH?
Is it FAIR to all concerned?
Will it build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS?
Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?

I might as well ask: ano ang true and fair sa small business, may goodwill bang nabubuo dito, at beneficial ba ito?

Una, ano ang truth sa mga micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs)?

Kung bacterial ang dominant mode of life sa mundo, ang ating MSMEs ang dominant mode of business sa Pilipinas. This has been the case for a long time. MSMEs are important for the economy – comprising 99.6% of total establishments in the country, providing six out of ten jobs, and producing 35.7% of all value added.

We can even see a trend of “micronization” of the economy. In fact, nine out of ten MSMEs are micro, with a capital of three million and below. Instead of small and medium enterprises leveling up to medium and large, what we have is a hollow middle, at umaatras pa sa micro enterprises. It’s the tingi tingi or sachet phenomenon we see all around us.

Thus, what was formerly known as SMEs we now call the MSMEs. Sila na ang pinakamarami.

At dahil nga malaking bahagi ng mga negosyo ngayon ay MSMEs, kailangan silang suportahan. Next to our farms, it is our MSMEs that is the backbone of our economy. Not the BPOs, not tourism, certainly not large-scale industry.

Which brings me to my second point, fair ba tayo sa small business?

We have the highest electricity rates in Asia. Siyam na beses nang tumaas ang local oil prices, mas mahal pa sa malalayong probinsya. And the taxes and fees. Imagine, we are taxing small businesses more than big mining corporations. What else? Lack of credit, high transportation costs, rentals, shipping infrastructure, lack of information and market access, low productivity and intense competition from cheap imports – maraming usapin ang hindi fair para sa maliliit na negosyo.

Kung ‘yung malalaking negosyo, nagrereklamo na, ‘yun pa kayang maliliit? It’s not fun doing business in the Philippines if you’re a small player.

I remember a lament told to me by a small entrepreneur in Cebu. Nanalo siya ng P20,000 sa isang competition for small business start ups. Ito sana yung pang kapital niya sa kanyang winning business plan. Pagpunta niya sa city hall, yung bayad pa lang sa mayors permit P15,000 na. Ang sabi niya, mayor’s permit pa lang, ubos na ang kapital ko. Kung pwede lang daw isasauli na lang niya yung prize niya. Its so unfair, no?

Pero actually, may fair din naman sa mga small entrepreneur – ang trade fair. Oo, marami tayong tiyangge.

But seriously, the MSMEs who prop up the local economy, just like pur OFWs, are often praised but not supported or protected. Ang DTI nga sa Southern Mindanao region, sa akin pa nagpapatulong ilakad ang pag-establish ng DTI office sa Compostela. Mismong sa loob ng gobyerno, kulang ang suporta. Like a small leak, this can indeed sink a big ship.

Last year, the Aquino administration came up with its MSME Development Plan (2011 to 2016) which declared the MSME sector as a “critical driver for the country’s economic growth.” That’s fine. Kaya lang, kapag kaharap ang mining sector, sasabihin ng gobyerno, sila ang susi sa pag-unlad. Ganoon din kapag kaharap ang Business Process Outsourcing o BPO industry o kapag foreign investors ang kaharap. Sila raw ang magpapaunlad, sila ang prayoridad, sila ang tututukan. Ano ba talaga, kuya?

Again, what is the truth? Even the IMF-World Bank says our growth is consumption-led – fueled mainly by OFW remittances. Lumiliit ang manufacturing, bumababa ang agriculture, at matumal ang exports, traditional man tulad ng asukal o bago katulad ng electronics.

With the large and medium enterprises taking a downturn, and jobs in industry and agriculture being sacrificed due to unbridled free market competition and lack of government support, even the “isang-kahig-isang-tuka” types of livelihood is now considered an “enterprise”. “Entrepreneur” has become the new euphemism for unemployed persons who engage in informal livelihoods. O di ba? Bos, anong trabaho mo? Wala, entrepreneur. Ah, entrepreneur. Anong ginagawa mo? Eto, nagbebenta ng basahan sa kalsada. Huwag ka nang maghanap ng trabaho, mag entrepreneur ka na lang.

Pero ok lang yon. But then where is the fairness when there is no “level playing field?” Ang small entrepreneur hirap sa credit, mataas ang cost of business, pinag-iinitan ng BIR, at nalulunod sa mga imported at smuggled goods galing China o saan pa man. Marami ngang nagtatayo ng small at micro business. Pero marami rin ang nagfo-foldup after one or two years in operation. Nagiging panandalian lang.

This is why we really need to support our local enterprises, lalu na yung MSMEs. That is why I and a few like-minded advocates in the business sector have launched “Buy Pinoy, Build Pinoy” – a grassroots-based movement to actively promote the consumption of Filipino-made products as a patriotic duty and push for policies beneficial to local producers/entrepreneurs, leading to the establishment of integrated, world-class Filipino industries. Dapat tangkilikin natin ang sarili nating mga produkto at itaguyod ang sarili nating mga industriya para lumikha ng trabaho at kabuhayan para sa lahat. I hope the Rotary Club can join me in this advocacy.

As a first step, I have filed a bill declaring November of every year as Buy Pinoy, Build Pinoy month. In the works is a bill to further strengthen the preference for local goods and services in the government’s procurement program.

I will now proceed to the question of building goodwill and being beneficial to all concerned, the last two in our 4-Way Test.

While micro entrepreneurship is fine as a remedial, immediate response to unemployment, we cannot develop as a country of food carts, makeshift stalls and retail shops. Statistics will show, for example, that while large industries are very few, comprising less than 1% of total business establishments, they employ 40% of employed Filipinos and create 65% of the national income. In other words, while small is beautiful, big still matters the most.

What is lacking is the mechanism and strategy to ensure that our MSMEs are linked to the large industrial enterprises. Ito ang Japanese, Korean model – SMEs supplying the needs of large industries.

Ang problema sa Pilipinas, walang large industry na susuplayan ang MSMEs. That is why a great majority of MSMEs are in retailing rather than manufacturing. Kung meron mang big players, they are linked to a global supply chain and get their supplies and materials from China or some other country. Many do not exert the extra effort to link up and get their supplies locally. Eh kasi daw mahal, low quality at ma-hassle. Pero ang problema pa siguro, walang malinaw na industrial plan ang gobyerno to make it happen.

In fact, the thrust of government policy for MSMEs is to export. This is not sustainable in the long run as shown by the global recession we are now experiencing.

If we are serious about developing MSMEs, we should therefore pay serious attention to large industries as well and ensure that the whole dynamic between MSMEs and large industries happen in the Philippines. That is why we are still pushing hard for national industrialization – para may goodwill talaga at maging beneficial para sa lahat ang ekonomiya. In this regard, I am crafting a bill to create mechanisms for the building up of supply chains and linkages among MSMEs and large industries.

Talking about industrialization, do you know that for the longest time, our government hasn’t had any national industrial strategy or plan? The secretary of the DTI himself admitted this during the budget deliberations in Congress last August 2011, where he said that such a plan is still being drafted. Guess what, two weeks ago, or some seven months later, I asked about it in a Senate hearing and I was told they have now started discussions with other stakeholders. In other words, it took seven months for them just to talk to each other about it. Goodness gracious, at this rate, baka 2016 pa matapos ang plano, in time for the exit of the Aquino administration.

But don’t worry, all is not lost. Let me tell you a few things we have been doing in the Committee on SBED which I chair:

We are currently hearing bills amending the Baranggay Micro Business Enterprise Law. Some amendments include exempting micro businesses with a capital of P200,000 and below from all national and local taxes and fees for six years. It also aims to ensure clear mechanisms for easy, low-cost credit.

Congress recently approved a bill on micro development institutions which will set policy and regulations on non-stock, non-profit NGOs providing comprehensive micro-finance and other livelihood programs for the poor. This will improve the delivery of cheap credit and other services for micro-entrepreneurs. The said bill is now pending approval in the Senate.

We have ongoing hearings on a Credit Surety Fund Bill which aims to institutionalize the creation of provincial surety funds to guarantee collateral-free loans taken out by qualified MSMEs.
I recently filed a bill puting a cap on interest rates to 12% per annum as well as another bill to limit the increase in rental fees for small businesses.

On a wider scale, we are aiming to immediately reduce production costs by removing the VAT on oil and power. Iyan, immediately doable, ayaw lang gawin. In the long-term, our proposal is to replace the policy of oil deregulation with proactive and stricter regulation, including the buy-back of Petron, centralized procurement and price controls. The entire power industry also needs reforms that could lower electricity rates, like bringing back regulation in power generation, allowing Napocor to once again build power plants and changing the ERC’s rate setting formula.

These are just some of the things that could significantly reduce the cost of doing business, making it truthful, fair, good and beneficial for small business enterprises.

Ilan lang po ito sa mga panukala kong batas sa Lower House. Unfortunately it takes forever to get progressive legislation passed in Congress. I am now on my third and final term and yet so much more needs to be done. That is why I have decided to run for the Senate in order to continue my advocacy for small business in the Upper House. I hope my fellow Rotarians can support me in this leveling-up of our collective endeavor just as I have supported a number of Rotary Clubs in their projects and activities.

Alam n’yo po I am an unlikely senatorial candidate. Unlike the others, I don’t have a political pedigree. Hindi ako anak, asawa o kapatid ng senador. Hindi nama ako mayaman. In fact I am the second poorest member of the House. Mayaman lang ako sa dalawang bagay, sa prinsipyo at sa kaibigan. Eh sana po mula ngayon tratuhin n’yo na rin akong kaibigan.

Maraming salamat po at mabuhay kayong lahat!

Huge P26B windfall tax from VAT on oil is unjust and oppressive

Bayan Muna Rep. Teddy Casiño today said that the projected P26B windfall revenues from the VAT on oil for 2012 is “an unjust and oppressive burden on the people that has no place in a government that professes to be for the poor.”

At a forum titled “High Oil Orices: Seeking Solutions” held at the House of Representatives, Casiño accused the government of raking in billions of additional VAT on oil at the expense of the public interest. “Considering that there is a P1 billion additional VAT revenue for every $1 increase in Dubai crude, there is already a P4 billion VAT windfall for the first quarter of the year alone. Assuming that there is no huge change in the volume of consumption and the level of price for the rest of the year, we can say that the projected windfall VAT revenues for 2012 is P26 billion.”

Casiño based his estimates on the February 2012 Dubai crude average of $116/bbl (IMF commodity data) and using $90/bbl BESF 2012 programmed Dubai cost.

“Sobrang laki pala talaga ang nakukuha ng pamahalaan dito sa VAT kaya ayaw ibigay sa mamamayan,” said the progressive solon.

He said the rationale for imposing the VAT on oil seven years ago does not hold true anymore. “The VAT was increased to 12% and expanded to include oil, power and basic commodities in 2005 as a response to the fiscal crisis of 2004. Now seven years have passed and we are being told that the economy is doing good, gross international reserves are at historic levels and the public debt is well managed. Therefore there is no more basis for such a high VAT rate and immediate relief can be given to the people even on just the VAT on oil,” said the lawmaker.

He said seven years after increasing and expanding the VAT, it is time to give the public a break.

“The Aquino government should forego this gigantic windfall, which is gained in exchange for the suffering of the people. Consumers need immediate and concrete relief, and the president should listen. The estimated immediate reduction in the pump price of diesel if the VAT on oil is removed is almost P6 per liter; almost P7 per liter for gasoline; and as much as P110 per 11-kg tank for LPG.

“Again we demand that marathon hearings should be done to fast track House Bill 2719 to scrap the VAT from oil products and to fast track House Bill 4355 to again regulate the oil industry,” ended Casiño. #

We have reached critical mass! Let us take the anti-mining campaign to a new and higher level!

Keynote address to the 3rd National Mining Conference
March 1, 2012, Tagaytay City

To my colleague in the House Gabriela Women’s Party Rep. Luz Ilagan, Gov. Firmalo of Romblon province, our bishops, clergy and members of the various religious congregations, friends and colleagues in the various organizations, alliances and institutions; our scientists and professors in the academe, our brother and sister indigenous peoples from the ancestral domains scattered across the country, other gov’t officials, guests and observers, friends in the struggle against large-scale, destructive mining.

Isang magandang umaga at maalab na pagbati sa inyong lahat! Mabuhay ang nagmamahal sa bayan!

I am happy to be here today with kindred spirits who love our country and our people deeply and passionately. Lahat ba tayo ay nagmamahal sa ating bayan? Kita nyo na, pare-pareho pala tayong Bayan Muna!

It is this love that has pushed us to oppose what could possibly be the biggest threat to our country today – unbridled, catastrophic, large-scale mining; nothing less than the gang rape of our environment and the total destruction of our communities and ecosystems.

We see it all around us. From the black sand quarrying in Cagayan and Ilocos, the open pit mines in the Cordillera, Bicol, Negros and Mindanao, the landslides of Compostela Valley and Davao Oriental, the floods in Cagayan de Oro and Iligan, the divisions, conflicts and disrupted lives among our indigenous peoples, and the fiting and militarization in areas where mining abounds.

We have seen our forests uprooted, our mountains flattened, our water systems poisoned, our farmlands ruined, and our thriving communities transformed into ghost towns all in the name of money.

At the heart of all these is a system that values profits over people, the environment and the nation’s future. A system that seeks to make as much money as possible in the cheapest and quickest manner. A system that seeks to extract every ounce of finite minerals we have for the infinite, insatiable global market.

In this global system, it is the transnational and multinational corporations that rule, aided by their imperialist governments in seeking the biggest and richest mines the world over. In connivance with them are the corrupt, subservient puppet regimes that willingly sell out their impoverished nation’s resources for their meager pound of flesh. And the victims are we, the people and the environment who have to contend with the catastrophic impact of the large-scale, destructive extraction and export of our wealth. Ninanakawan na nga tayo, pinapatay at winawasak pa ang ating mga komunidad.

Napakasakit, Kuya Eddie. Daig pa ang isang telenovela sa dami ng pagtataksil, luha at buhay na ibinuhos ng ganitong klaseng pagmimina sa Pilipinas. Pag nakikita ko ang epekto ng mining sa isang lugar, parang gusto ko nang magwala. Sabi nga ni Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago kahapon, wahhh!

This cannot continue. This must not continue. Tama na. Sobra na.

Ang tanong sa atin ngayon, handa na ba tayong wakasan ang sistemang ito? Handa na ba tayong tapusin ang paghahari ng mga dambuhakang kumpanya ng pagmimina at kanilang mga korap na kasabwat sa gobyerno? Handa ba tayong paigtingin ang pakikibaka para ibalik sa ating mga kamay ang pag-aari at kontrol sa ating likas na yaman at kinabukasan?

Ang magandang balita, hindi tayo nag-iisa.

Sa nakaraang buwan lamang, napakaraming pagkilos ang naisagawa ng iba’t-ibang grupo at sektor para tutulan at labanan ang malakihan at mapanirang pagmimina. Parami nang parami ang mga komunidad na naninindigan para ipagtanggol ang kanilang kabuhayan at karapatan. Pati nga mga lokal na gobyerno ay umaalma na sa paninira at pambubusabos na ginagawa ng mga mining company at pambansang gobyerno.

Ang mga pagsisikap natin at ng iba’t-ibang grupong anti-mining ito ay naririnig na sa buong bayan at nagtutulak para sa iba pang tao na manindigan at lumaban din. Ang paglawak at pagme-mainstream ng ating anti-mining campaign ay sinasalamin ng No to Mining in Palawan Movement sa pangunguna ni Gina Lopez, na nakakalap na ng mahigit limang milyong pirma. Malaking bagay din ang naisagawang mga island-wide anti-mining conferences sa Mindanao, Visayas at Luzon. Dapat salubungin at payabungin pa ang mga inisyatibang na ito.

Noong isang linggo lamang, at nagagalak akong ibalita, na inaprubahan ng House Committee on Natural Resources ang dalawang House resolution na nananawagan ng moratorium sa mining at pagkansela ng mga mining permit sa buong lalawigan ng Negros Occidental at Capiz. Batay po ito sa mga lokal na ordinansa ng mga Sangguniang Panlalawigan sa Negros Occidental at Capiz para sa pagtigil ng large-scale mining sa kanilang lugar. Ang moratorium sa Negros Occidental ay 25 taon samantalang sa Capiz naman ay 50 taon. Ito ang unang beses na ang komite ay sumuporta sa ganitong klaseng lokal na ordinansa. Siyanga pala, ang mga author ng nasabing mga resolusyon ay kami ni congressman Neri Colmenares ng Bayan Muna.

Itong linggo, ang Davao City council naman ang nagpasa ng resolusyon para ideklarang mining-free zone ang buong lungsod. Nauna na rito ang environmental code ng South Cotabato na nagbabawal sa open pit mining na siyang pumipigil sa pagmimina ng SMI sa Tampakan. Ang pamahalaan ng Zamboanga del Norte ay nagpahayag na rin ng pagtutol sa open pit mining na mukhang susundan ng mga provincial board ng Zamboanga Sibugay.

Pati ang Korte Suprema ay pumasok na sa eksena sa pamamagitan ng Writ of Kalikasan. Mainam na makabisado natin at magamit ang instrumentong ito para sa kapakanan ng ating mga komunidad.

Kaugnay naman ng pagbabasura ng Mining Act of 1995, noong isang linggo din ay inadopt na ng House Committee on Natural Resources ang pinagkaisang borador ng iba’t-ibang alternative mining bills, na sa malaking bahagi ay halaw sa ating People’s Mining Act. Ang titulo nito ngayon ay Philippine Mineral Resources Act of 2012. Kaugnay nito, kailangan namin ng inyong tulong. Unang target natin ay pumasa ito sa Komite sa Hunyo. May 45 kasapi ang Komite. Makumbinse lang natin ang 23 rito ay lusot na tayo at madadala sa plenaryo ang panukala sa pagbubukas ng ikatlong sesyon ng Kongreso. Kayat sa SONA sa Hulyo pwedeng ang panawagan na natin sa plenaryo ay ipasa ang People’s Mining Bill, at magpapa-design na ako ng barong tagalog na ganito ang tema.

Siyempre, sakaling hindi maipasa ang People’s Mining Bill sa Kongresong ito, nandyan naman ang Kalikasan Partylist para pangunahan ang laban sa susunod na Kongreso.

Kahapon, nagbigay ako ng privilege speech na nananawagan ng moratorum sa lahat ng mapanira at malakihang pagmimina at pagbasura ng Mining Act of 1995. Alam n’yo ho, medyo boring sa Kongreso nitong mga nakaraang linggo dahil sa impeachment trial. Ni wala nga kaming quorum. Pero kahapon, limang kongresista ang tumayo, nag-interpellate sa atin at nagpahayag ng pagsuporta sa ating mga panawagan. Pambihira itong mangyari.

Samakatuwid, nasasaksihan at nararamdaman natin ang bugso ng kilusang laban sa mapanira at malakihang pagmimina. Huwag tayong bibitiw sa bugsong ito. Ang hamon ngayon ay kung paano higit pa nating pataasin ang kamulatan ng ating mamamayan, organisahin sila at pakilusin upang ipagtanggol ang kanilang kabuhayan at karapatan.

Kaya ho tamang-tama itong ating conference. I wish you all the best. Nagtitiwala po akong magiging malaman at makasaysayan ang kapulungang ito. Sana po ay maipadama natin sa ating isip, salita at gawa ang lubos na pagmamahal sa ating bayan.

Muli po, isang magandang umaga. Mabuhay ang sambayanang Pilipino!#