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NOVEMBER 11-17, 2013 VOL.4 NO.12 Visit us at www.opinyon.com.ph facebook.com/opinyon twitter.c om/opinyon2010

SNAKE PIT
By Miguel Raymundo
The Presidents men are killing each
other, making Malacaang the most
dangerous place to be in: a snake pit.
The Samar group has taken an upper
hand in the war of dirty tricks. The war
is driven by both greed and fear. The
feud is going out of control that PNoy
could end up falling even before the
2016 elections. Page 2

feature NFA WARNS VS SMUGGLED VIETNAM RICE 9

Opinyon412.indd 1 11/8/13 7:44 PM
 COVER STORY
SNAKE PIT
By Miguel Raymundo
MOST of us believe the pork scandal is a corruption issue. Yes it is, but to some high-risk political
operators, this is just the start of the 2016 presidential campaign. The last three years in Malacaang
has been the most dangerous, if not unproductive, for sitting President BS Aquino. Not only has he
found himself abandoned, but also tamed even by his most trusted allies.
As expected, powerful forces are now
on each others throat in what could
easily be a warm-up fight for the presi-
dential contest two and a half years
from now.
But if you think the war is between
Malacaang and the opposition, you
fail to see deeper into what is happen-
ing behind doors in the current pork
barrel scandal. The war is now between
forces inside Malacaang. Manila
Standard Today reported that DILG
Secretary Mar Roxas is to blame for the
12-minuter fiasco, the I-am-no-thief
televised speech of PNoy.
The Manila Standard also reported
of a Laygo survey that said PNoys pop-
ularity rating is down by 35 percent, a
major slip in his ratings. The broad-
sheet said Malacaang is in panic. The
paper said they have a Malacaang in-
sider for a source.
OpinYon sources inside Malaca-
ang say the Manila Standard story is
half-true. It is true that there is a bloody
war between forces of Executive Secre-
tary Pacquito Jojo Ochoa and those
of the Liberal Party led by Roxas. It is
too bloody that PNoy has been reduced
to become a victim of the ambitions,
greed and fears of the Ochoa camp.
BOC: Cash Cow
The Ochoa camp is not ready to give
up its control over Malacaang even
after PNoy is gone. That is the ambition
and the greed. The fear is should an
enemy group take control of Malaca-
ang, Ochoa and company could be
joining another President behind bars.
The fears of Ochoas group are not
unfounded. There are persistent re-
ports that some top Malacaang of-
ficials are in control of smuggling.
Billions of pesos in lost taxes and gov-
TIRED of plundering politicians
who have ruined our country
and its economy?
Its time to take a stand and let
your voice be heard.
Join us in the crusade to eect
change in government and put
an end to ALL corruption.
Sign up now.
www.facebook/opinyon
2 NOVEMBER 11-17, 2013 OpinYon
Opinyon412.indd 2
ernment revenues end up in the pock-
ets of the relatives of these Malaca-
ang officials. Out of power, they will
not only lose this cash cow, their boys
might even be charged of corruption.
The Bureau of Customs is the fa-
vorite cash cow of any political party
in power. It has lately become a center
of controversy and power play between
Samar and Balay groups.
Attempts by the Balay group to take
control of BOC has always been de-
railed resulting in Ruffy Biazon keep-
ing the post even with his dimwit per-
formance.
Also the agencies known for mas-
sive corruption like the DPWH are
controlled by the Samar group. There
is sharing of powers in some agencies
that bring in the cash. The bigger pie
almost always ends up with the Samar
group.
Dirty Tricks
In the elbowing in the power game,
pockets and egos are bruised creating
deep resentment and plotting between
the two forces.
The war inside Malacaang is very
interesting as regards to the use of dirty
tricks.
Unbelievable it seems the claim that
only the Roxas camp is to blame for the
12-minuter speech fiasco.
The report said that PNoy delayed
facing the camera for that I-am-no-
thief speech to give time for correc-
tions of the speech by Ochoa. Being
the last official to tinker with the tran-
script, Ochoa should take the blame for
the fi nal copy.
But the Manila Standard source from
inside Malacaang said that Roxas
takes the blame and played up the slant
that he is bringing down the President.
Who owns Manila Standard?
An OpinYon source said it is the
other way around. The almost perfect
handling by dirty tricks operators of
Samar is making Roxas the bad boy.
Almost perfect is the handling in
the demolition of Roxas except that the
top broadsheets appear to be treating
the story with suspicion. So does Opin-
Yon, forcing us to sneak in and get our
side of the truth.
Why is Manila Standard on top of
this inside sources trick? This brings
us to ask: who owns Manila Standard?
That paper is owned by the Romual-
dezes, who are actually the Marcoses.
We encourage you to do your own
math and we would end up with the
same conclusion.
Notice one story fi nding space and
getting viral in social media: the Mar-
cos wealth and insinuations that its re-
turn will solve poverty in this country.
Another interesting side of this 2016
battle for the presidency is how the
camp of Binay is being treated by these
two forces inside Malacaang.
It appears that a decision has been
made that Binay is not a serious con-
WE TAKE A STAND
tender, if not an already destroyed po-
tential enemy.
Binay, A Goner?
With Binay already reduced to ashes,
ironically by his own acts and moves by
Malacaang, the two groups are now
on each others throats, suspecting that
whoever takes Malacaang will have
the other join the President behind
bars.
Roxas has minced no words in
seeking the presidency come 2016, but
speculations are rife that Ochoa may
have a different agenda backing the
presidential bid of opposition Senator
Ferdinand Marcos Bongbong Mar-
cos Jr.
The Ochoa-Marcos link is via a law
fi rm the Marcos, Ochoa, Serapio and
Tan, thus the acronym MOST. Marcos
refers to Liza Marcos, wife of Senator
Marcos, while Ochoa is Aquinos exec-
utive secretary and S and T for Edward
Serapio and Joseph Tan, respectively.
The law fi rm was recently tagged as
lawyering for pork barrel queen Janet
Lim-Napoles, accused in a case of kid-
napping and serious detention.
It should be noted, as well, that as
early as Aquinos 2009 presidential
campaign, the salt to the wound has
already been added. Members of the
Balay faction of Aquino supporters, the
one headed by Roxas, started blam-
ing the Samar group under Ochoa for
the failure of the Aquino-Roxas ban-
ner, after Chiz Escudero endorsed the
Aquino - Binay tandem, without the
knowledge of the said candidates. Es-
cudero even went as far as to print t-
shirts saying Aquino-Binay, which did
not help the already widening division
between the two groups that are sup-
posed to be united under the Aquino
flag.
The publicity spin doctors in
Malacaang were quick to rush and
patch up the holes created by the in-
fighting, but not fast enough that
sources from inside were able to spread
the knowledge that Aquino is running
a divided political household.
Battle Royalex0
Since Filipinos are known for put-
ting premium on keeping up appear-
ances, Ochoa and Roxas would come in
public ceremonies together, standing
side by side, just to make it appear that
allegations of infighting are baseless.
Other than the obvious nonverbal
tension that one can observe in this
play-acting to feign truce, we know
that the Filipino public has seen the
same political drama repeated over and
over again, and they are not fooled.
As preparations for the 2016 elec-
tions begin, we see a repeat of the
2010 battle royale between these two
groups. But this time, it will be bloodier
and it might trigger the fall of Pnoy
even before the 2016 elections.
Malacaang is now the most dan-
gerous place to be: a snake pit.
CHRONOLOGY OF THE RIFT
November 28, 2009 - Benigno Aquino III
and Manuel Mar Roxas II le for candidacy
as President and Vice President.
Feb. 9 - May 8, 2010 presidential campaign
period - Two groups form to support PNOYs
campaign: Balay, comprised of members of
the Liberal Party (of which Roxas is presi-
dent), social democrat party AKBAYAN under
Ronald Llamas, and the Black And White
Movement, an anti-Arroyo civil group. They
regularly met in Roxas house. The other one
is Samar, made up of Maria Montelibanos
Noynoy For President Media Bureau, Pacqui-
to Ochoas legal team, some of Mr. Aquinos
former schoolmates, his sisters Pinky and
Ballsy, and Mr. Sonny Belmonte.
Senator Francis Chiz Escudero, during the
said campaign period, started endorsing
Benigno Aquino III and Jejomar Binay, which
started the Aquino - Binay campaign, without
the consent of the candidates. Members of
the Balay group blamed the Samar group for
the popularity ratings failure of the initially
desired Aquino - Roxas tandem.
June 30, 2010 - Atty. Pacquito Ochoa Jr.,
handler of Aquinos legal aairs since his
run for Congress in 1998, is chosen to be
Aquinos Presidential Executive Secretary.
Atty. Ochoas father (former mayor of Pulilan,
Bulacan) is a longtime close friend of Aquino.
Ochoa is a partner in the Marcos-Ochoa-
Serapio-Tan law rm (MOST), with Atty. Liza
Araneta-Marcos, wife of Ferdinand Bong-
bong Marcos Jr. and cousin of Jose Miguel
Mike Araneta Arroyo, former presidential
husband.
May 10, 2011 - May 13, 2011 - Political analysts
and veteran government o icials Ernesto
Maceda (ex-Marcos executive secretary and
former senator) and Albay Gov. Joey Salceda
(ex-Arroyo chief of sta ) predicted in an
interview with ABS-CBN that a clash between
the Ochoa and Roxas camps are inevitable.
Maceda previously stated similar concerns in
his Philppine Star column.
June 29, 2011 - In an interview with News-
break, Ochoa denies inuencing Aquino in
his appointment of Roxas as incoming DOTC
chief rather than as supposed Chief Of Sta,
as insinuated by Aquino in past press inter-
views.
June 30, 2011 - Despite public expectations
that Mar Roxas will be appointed as Aquinos
Chief Of Sta, Roxas accepts Aquinos oer to
take on the then-recently vacated position of
Secretary of Transportation and Communica-
tions, right after former DOTC head Ping De
Jesus resigned.
August 31, 2012 - Aquino appoints Roxas as
new DILG chief, and Cavite Rep. Joseph Jun
Abaya as new DOTC head.
September 3, 2012 - DILG Secretary Mar Roxas
and Ochoa gave contradicting statements
to the public on DILG Undersecretary Rico
Punos exit. Roxas claimed that the President
is giving Puno a dierent assignment, while
Ochoa insisted that no such decision has
been made by the President yet.
August 25, 2013 - Malacaang dismisses Brian
Raymund Yamsuan, consultant to Ochoa,
after being mentioned as the one who bro-
kered the meeting between Napoles and the
editors of Philippine Daily Inquirer.
September 10, 2013 - Ochoa denies link to
Janet Lim-Napoles. His law rm MOST used
to represent Napoles, as indicated by NBI af-
davits with the MOST imprint in them.
November 4, 2013 - Palace denies rumors
about inghting within the Aquino admin-
istrations ranks. Mar Roxas and Pacquito
Ochoa appear together in public, beside each
other, during an awarding ceremony for the
soldiers in the Zambo siege.
Nov. 6, 2013 - According to Francisco Tatads
column in Manila Standard, Executive Secre-
tary Paquito Ochoa was quoted in this paper
as saying it was Roxas who had pushed Aquino
to make that widely derided I am no thief
speech on television, which has now become
the latest national calamity under the Aquino
administration.
-Compiled by Eric Fabian
11/8/13 7:44 PM
 Politics
News from
Where You Stand

Peoples Uprising
By Richard James Mendoza
JUST a few weeks ago, former Chief Justice Reynato Puno introduced
the idea of crafting a law abolishing all kinds of pork barrel by means
of a peoples initiative through Republic Act 6735, also known as the
Initiative and Referendum Law.
Multiple sectors have expressed their
support for the peoples initiative; among
those who have thrown in their support
are the Catholic Church through the
CBCP, as well as the transport sector and
various militant groupswith the lat-
ter two planning to hold gatherings to
gain signatures to help meet the required
number of signatories.
Malacanang on their part wasnt too
receptive of the idea, with Sec. Coloma
saying that the peoples initiative pre-
supposes that the Legislative and the Ex-
ecutive branches of government are un-
willing to enact and implement laws that
will prevent the misuse of public funds.
Well thank you very much, Captain
Obvious (or should I say Captain Oblivi-
ous?)! It should have been apparent by now
that under the present administration, the
Executive and Legislative branches of the
government are unwilling to enact and
implement the laws preventing the mis-
use of public funds, whatever they may
be.
No amount of deception created by
your multi-headed Communications Of-
fice can cover the fact that a culture of
impunity is being maintained by those
in power. These people know that under
such conditions they can get either get
away with their crimes scot-free, or re-
ceive a mere slap in the wrist should they
get their hands caught in the proverbial
cookie jar.
Personally, Im skeptical about the
outcome of this peoples initiative. After
the Oct. 4 rally in Ayala, all of a sudden
CJ Puno shows up with this idea. Though
CJ Punos people initiative is a welcome
move that warrants its support, it should
be taken with a grain of salt for the possi-
bility of the move being hijacked (or even
supported) by outside forces is very much
real and shouldnt be easily ignored. And
no, its not going to be the ND Left like
what the Million People March organiz-
ers have always insinuated with their
statements.
Im talking about the US imperial-
ists of course, with the CIA along with
the National Endowment for Democracy
(NED) as well as their related surveillance
fronts like the US Aid, The Asia Founda-
tion, etc., in coordination with the Yellows
in power.
Besides, the proposed peoples initia-
tive is merely reformist in nature; it seeks
to change the present circumstances
within the framework of the corrupt
system. Yet, it is interesting to note that
the peoples initiative was described by
CJ Puno as the last peaceful alterna-
tive for the people to take charge of their
Secretary Coloma
destiny and that no other option would
be left should this option fail. Does
this call for a more radical undertaking?
After the past several months of pub-
lic outrage against the pork barrel system
that manifested an underlying problem
in the present political system of the
Philippines; from the so-called Million
People March and the humorous failure
of EDSA TAYO!, to the #ScrapPork net-
work consisting of various anti-corruption
coalitions and groups that were formed
in the midst of the outrage against pork,
now comes the next step of the plan.
Though there are a few exceptions, I
dont think that the people are falling
for the lies of the Aquino regime. As of
press time, the President had just fi nished
his little defense of the Disbursement
Acceleration Program (DAP) on live TV,
insisting that its not pork barrel and that
its the fault of the opposition, the pro-
gressive Left, and of course his favorite
scapegoat Gloria Arroyo.
Based on personal experience, the power
of collective action to bring concrete re-
sults is uncontested. Its time to raise
the level of discussion in order to arouse
the people about the issues that face
our country, organize them into units,
and then mobilize under a united front.
Its now time to push for a more direct
and perhaps radical solution. Because
until the ruling classes continue to thrive
on the exploitation of the oppressed
masses, they wont even bother to listen
to our demands let alone take action for
this issue. When our backs are pushed
against the wall, what else can be done?
Do we just ask the oppressor to stop?
Reflecting the call of Anakbayan, let us
work towards a peoples uprising to abol-
ish ALL kinds of pork and to advance gen-
uine social change through the national
democratic revolution. Punish the plun-
derers and the corrupt that benefitted from
exploiting the masses composed of the
Yellows and their ilk, the large bourgeois-
compradors and landlords, the bureau-
crat-capitalists; in other words, those who
are at the top of the social triangle. Lets
reverse the triangle upside-down and
place those at the bottom of the triangle,
the workers and the farmers, on top and
lead a new country free from the three
ills that currently plague our coun-
try. Only then will we have achieved our
victory.

What Is PNoy Up To?

S
OMETHING is hap-
pening in this na-
tion that is not easy
to understand or in-
terpret. Most people
are wondering whats
next. Others are also
wondering how PNOY
sees and/or interprets what is
happening. Most of the opin-
ions are not so salutary.
When the protests began
about the PDAF and began to
reach a crescendo, the evident
uncertainty of the Palace was
discomforting. First was the
kneejerk response of oppos-
ing the protest and defend-
ing PDAF. Then the position
changed to being somewhere
in the middle until the day of
the protest when a declaration
of support for the protest was
made obviously to pre-empt the
MPM protest march at Luneta.
Obviously, the responses
suggested that the assessment
was that the protests would
somehow go away and that it
should not be taken seriously.
This was a mistake because
what was hurt was PNOYs own
integrity. For someone who had
planted on the masthead of his
administration the Matuwid
na Daan, his vacillation about
truly pursuing the corruption
exposed by the Commission on
Audit report was disheartening
to many people.
This revelation of such exten-
sive malfeasance in the highest
levels of the Legislative bodies
and the Executive Departments,
after the impeachment through
somewhat dubious methods of
the Chief Justice, sent tsunami-
like waves over the whole na-
tion. The ones who impeached
Corona were guilty of even
greater corruption! Proof once
and for all that, with few excep-
tions, corrupt and dishonorable
persons in just about every part
of government are totally unde-
serving of any honor and have
tainted so severely their posi-
tions. No delicadeza and they
are still clinging to their posts,
shameless if anything.
Remedial action was un-
dertaken to try and pacify the
protesters by inviting the some-
what motley leaders to a confer-
ence with the DBM head Butch
Aquino and DSWD Sec. Soli-
man and a few others. It did
not result in any real changes as
was proven subsequently.
The peoples demands were
essentially two. First, abolish
the PDAF in both houses of
Congress, meaning take away
from them the power to initiate
and control projects, their func-
tion being legislating. They are
welcome to make suggestions,
but cannot initiate projects on
their own initiative. That work
should be undertaken by the
line departments and agencies
with no overt or discreet inter-
ference.
Of course what resulted in
the budgetary process was to
simply change the collar around
the pork but the initiative still
rests with the individual legis-
RAY
OF HOPE
Ramon Orosa
lator. In other words, sheer cos-
metics, not substantive.
The second portion of the
protesters demands was to
charge everyone involved in the
corruption, regardless of party
affiliation. The report of the
Commission on Audit indicated
that over 200 legislators were
somehow involved in the matter,
some already out of Congress,
many others still in. Well, up to
now the charges have not been
filed and it seems only three are
being seriously considered at this
time. The sad part is that legisla-
tors on both sides of the aisle are
involved but PNoy is being true
to his pursuit of only those that
may represent a danger to him
or else those that are in the op-
position. So the protesters have
given PNoy until sometime early
December to file all the charges
and otherwise prove that he is
just like the other politicians and
cannot stand on his declared
slogan. He has been found seri-
ously wanting. He may have a
heart for the poor but all calcu-
lated for political gain.
I am not betting that with
the exception of a very few sam-
ples, the others will be indicted
at all. Again, it will be at the
expense of PNoys integrity and
commitment to doing the right
thing! I suspect though that
in formulating that slogan the
ones who crafted his political
postures never anticipated that
all these revelations of corrup-
tion would ever be so public.
Next followed the Zambo-
anga incident and there are
those that saw what happened
as suspiciously orchestrated.
Followed by PNoys physically
staying in Zamboanga for a
week, utterly neglecting all the
other national concerns. Some
interpret this as a somewhat
escapist activity. Next came
the earthquake in Bohol and so
now PNoy is camping out in the
area. This leaves a lot of peo-
ple wondering that though the
moves might have had some PR
value, it did expose PNoy to ac-
cusations of limited capacity to
undertake the stresses of office
and face the very serious issues
that need to be faced. So much
for the people being the boss.
Turns out to be sheer political
blather.
These developments though
smack of a very cynical sort of
perception management con-
sidering the damage done to
PNoys image by his waffl ing
on the PDAF issue; protesters
incidentally wanted the elimi-
nation of discretionary spend-
ing to be applied to what is
tantamount to his own pork, a
large percentage of the national
budget at about 600 Billion of a
2 trillion budget, approved by a
compliant Congress in 15 min-
utes as the media have reported.
Well, maybe not totally, but
certainly much , much less than
the current amount; the idea
being let the amounts be al-
located directly to the line de-
partments who must give good
account of how they spend it.
And so, PNoys principal
slogans lie in tatters.
Well, I think it was naively
undertaken and has proven
virtually impossible to truly
pursue. But it does raise issues
about what is next. If the pro-
tests continue or if PNoy truly
pursues the issue of corruption
in the PDAF, he will have to
deal as well with the claimed
corruption in Malampaya
funds, the Agriculture scam
and a whole lot of others that
have come to light.
Then, there is the corruption
in many LGU units all the way
down to the Barangay level. As
I have commented before, we
will probably need to enlarge
our jails and holding places or
else create a bonanza for hospi-
tals as the favorite holding area
of those who have some influ-
ence in this nation.
But this is not really the dan-
ger. If PNoy is pushed hard to
the wall, what direction will he
then take? We need the seers to
come out and tell us what they
see coming up next because I do
not see the pressures abating.

WE TAKE A STAND OpinYon NOVEMBER 11-17, 2013 3

Opinyon412.indd 3 11/8/13 7:44 PM

 OPINION

From the
Chairman By Raymund L. Junia

I WAS in the province for a long weekend to cele-
brate All Souls Day. It was a four-day stay in Tolosa,
Leyte with relatives I have not seen for decades.
Tolosa in Leyte is one small town with a voting
population of about 20,000. I do not remember of
the town having a regular market day, a measure
of a towns economic life, from the time I left some
over forty years ago.
I always brag of living in a town, Tolosa, with
the cleanest market in the province, due to the ab-
E D I T O R I A L sence of business activity.
Even when the small town suffers from anemic
economic activity, this town does not fail to get na-
legal while PNoy bends laws and the constitution
and is accused as budget dictator.
The town is also home to three Boy Scouts he-
roes who helped the American forces take out the
Japanese army from the shores of Leyte on the
return of Gen. Douglas MacArthur. One of these
three boy heroes was my uncle, Antero Junia.
One thing I noticed in the province: nobody
talked about the Napoles pork barrel. Unless I took
up the topic, the Senators Tanda, Sexy, and Pogi
hardly were talked about.
The people in my town did not talk national
politics and if ever, it was to make a joke, mostly

War in the Palace
IS THERE trouble brewing in Malacaang? With two
camps running the Palacethe so-called Balay and
Samar groups headed by Sec. Mar Roxas and Executive
Secretary Pacquito Ochoa, respectivelythe answer is a
resounding YES.
Its an odd marriage forged in 2010 during the election
campaigns, a partnership that was immediately strained
with the loss of Mar Roxas to Jejomar Binay in the race
for Vice President.
tional attention, the latest being the second landfall
of last weeks super typhoon Yolanda.
The town is remembered in the province and
the country to be home to Congressman Daniel Z.
Romualdez, who served as Speaker of the House
of Representatives and uncle to Imelda Romuladez
who later married the countrys only official dictator.
Official because he was man enough to de-
clare Martial Law to make his decrees and orders
Power sector debt: $ 34-B
corny. They talked about local politicians like how
two private planes flew in from Manila in the last
local elections, carrying bags and bags of cash to
buy votes for a mayoralty candidate of the Romual-
dez family.
Nothing much has changed in my town. We
talked about mahjong, tong-its, and the beach. Yes,
my children keep on going back to Tolosa for her
beautiful beach.

W
From then on the two camps barely managed to co-ex-
ist, engaging in minor scrapes and arguments every now HILE the coun- for tax delinquency. In 2010 de-
and then on the handling of issues of national import. try is being dis- spite a higher P 500-M bid the
But that was before the PDAF scandal got out of the tracted with the plants the Iligan City council
bag which put the whole administration in its biggest Napoles hear- resold them to Alcantaras for P
ings revolving 300-Million, less than 10 cents to
quandary.
The fragile relationship between the two camps have
around P 10-Bil- PEOPLES the Peso. Rehab cost of P 34-M

reportedly reached critical mass anew with President

lion pork barrel
scams involving STRUGGLE was bloated to P 614-M and en-
tire project cost to P 1.5-B as rate
Aquinos I am no thief speech, which aired on prime- four dozen opposition and ad- base.
ministration sow-lons, a na- Mentong Laurel
time television recently.
tional shame of $ 34-Billion or Worse privatization cases
Apparently, the idea of giving the speech was a unilat- P 1.5-Trillion of unjust debt on According to PSALM it has
eral decision made by the Roxas campa call made by the shoulder of the people con- privatized 26 power generating
the Liberal Party. This means Ochoa and company were tinues to weigh down the nation, Iligan, EPIRA gone amok plants and 4 decommissioned
against the speech which put PNoy on a defensive stance its economy and its chances for Iligan City, Mindanao, is a facilities (whatever that means)
on the PDAF issue. economic take-off astride other prime case. Blessed with the for 91.73% of its assets in Luzon
Asian countries. The P 1.5-Tril- Maria Cristina Falls and the and Visayas. Among the assets
In hindsight, PNoys speech appeared to have had very lion debt of the power sector wellspring of the massive Agus- bought from NPC to privatize
little positive impact on the public perception that PNoy is a fi fth of the total debt of P Pulangui hydro-electric system. is the Bohol-Panay Power Plant
and company are equally liable in the PDAF scandal. If the 5.46-Trillion and yet there has Iligan City with its 60,000 power Complex which was set up for
intention was to disconnect PNoy from the PDAF fiasco and been no executive or legislative consumers had for the longest P 19-Billion but sold to SPC for
reinforce hismatuwidimage, the speech backfired. Why investigation, senate hearing time the lowest power cost in the P 293-M, or two centavos to the
or national media uproar on it, Philippines. Up to only recently, Peso. One power plant in the
deny involvement in the PDAF scam if you are not involved thence the continuing public ig- delivered power cost there was complex was rehabilitated by
in it the first place?Ochoas camp must have argued. norance of this national shame only P 5/kWh; today Iligan City NPC for P 1-Billion, that alone
As it is, the PDAF scandal will involve lawmakers in and injustice. was a huge loss. In-
both the opposition and administration camps. The pres- The P 1.5-Trillion vestigating further
ent ploy of limiting the scandal to a handful of lawmakers debt is the combina- we found that a Chan
tion of the National Lok Lim heads SPC,
is simply a means to buy the PNoy administration some Power Corporation he was formerly with
time to figure a way out of the fiasco. (NPC) and Power The rise of globalist economic ITE Power Corpora-
If there is a way out. Sector Asset and Li- colonialism in the guise of free tion, a Singaporean
With the Senate Blue Ribbon failing to get a piece of tes- abilities Management company; we can
timony from Janet Lim-Napoles, it is clear that the PDAF (PSALM) current ob- trade and privatization in the be sure that behind
scandal will be a long-drawn drama. It will take years
ligations amounting 80s, with Corazon C. Aquinos these are also Brit-
to $ 16-Billion and ish fi nance-capital
before charges are filed against the guilty parties and even $ 18-Billion respec- ascendance and the surge of groups.
longer before the guilty are brought behind bars. tively. These two debts profit-manic Filipino family- Another privati-
PNoy and company do not care if the whole investiga- began as a single debt, zation scam sale and
tion process takes forever. of NPC in 2001 of $ corporations led to the Epira and transfer of Transco,
Right now, they just need to survive until 2016.
18-Billion. Gloria Ar- privatization of the power sector. the transmission grid
royos third Yellow of NPC before which
government, after was earning P 16-B
Cory Aquino and Fidel per annum when it
Ramos, passed the Electric residents will face a 100% in- was privatized. A Ramos-Ra-
Power Industry Reform (Epira) crease to P 10/kWh. The rise of zon-Carlyle fi rst took over the $
HERMAN TIU-LAUREL law creating PSALM to liquidate globalist economic colonialism 6-Billion grid for half that price,
Publisher
NPC debts by buying and selling in the guise of free trade and and then a transfer to the Sy-
TONYPET J. ROSALES of NPC assets for private take- privatization in the 80s, reas- China Grid Corporation group
Managing Editor over. It should shock the nation sertion of oligarchy-elite Phil- for a $ 1-B down payment on a
DAVE DIWA that after 12 years and 91.75% ippine politics with Corazon C. price of $ 4-B, to become Na-
OpinYon is of NPC assets privatized, NPC Aquinos ascendance and the tional Grid Corporation of the
Opinion Editor
published by Digitek debt remains almost unchanged, surge of profit-manic Filipino Philippines (NGCP). NGCP is
Publishing House, FREDERICK FABIAN
while the new mountain of debt family-corporations led to the now raking in profits that used
Inc., with editorial Social Media Director
of PSALM had been created. Epira and privatization of the to go to NPC and NGCP debt
and business oices CARLOS RAJAMIRA power sector. to Psalm is part of the latters P
at No. 10 Pacita Creative Director There was no Mindanao 568-B collectibles. NPC contin-
Avenue, Pacita power shortage in 1992 but ued to pile up debts because its
JOJO VALENCIA
Complex I, San Layout Artist Cory Aquino, two days before profit centers were gradually re-
Pedro, Laguna. her term ended, signed a mid- moved from it, Psalm was loaded
Editorial Consultants
DIEGO CAGAHASTIAN night IPP contract for the Al- with debts from collectibles. In
TELEPHONE NUMBER LINGGOY ALCUAZ cantara family-capitalist group the power sector, we Filipinos
San Pedro: 214-0766 ERICK SAN JUAN (relations go back to Boston). have been cooked in our own oil.
RODRIGO CORNEJO The Alcantaras bought land for
Email: opinyon.2010@ project at P 200/sq. m. and val- (Tune to 1098AM,5 to 6pm, Tues.
gmail.com Scan this QR Code with
RAY L. JUNIA ued it at P 20,000/sq. m.. A three to Fri.; , Sat.8pmand Sun8am-
Board Chairman & President your mobile device to years later FVR signed a second Destiny Cable, GNN Channel 8,
website: ATTY. SALVADOR S. PANELO read OpinYon Digital
www.opinyon.com.ph Alcantara IPP, the two now val- Skycable channel 213, andwww.
Ombudsman
ATTY. RICKY RIBO, Legal counsel Edition on the go. ued at m P 3.5-Billion. The BOTs gnntv-asia.com; visit: http//www.
JOACHIM JOSHUA P. MEDROSO expired and returned to NPC, newkatipunero.blogspot.com; text
ISSN 2094-7372 V.P. Business Development but confiscated by Iligan City comments to 09234095739)

4 NOVEMBER 11-17, 2013 OpinYon WE TAKE A STAND

Opinyon412.indd 4 11/8/13 7:44 PM


Why Is The Philippines Poor and Japan Rich? Part 3
An exposition on the book Why Nations Fail
By Teresa Tanizaki
WILL the Philippines even-
tually implode? I think weve
had our implosions (EDSA).
But like Russia, we didnt really
shift to a more inclusive political
system. We changed the faces of
the major players, but the sys-
tem is still the same. Filipinos
are patient, stoic people, and
wed like to hold out until we
can (But then again, so where
many people of the world). I was
talking to a good friend of mine
who was suggesting that I re-
locate back to the Philippines
with my husband. I answered,
Ayoko na kasing magbayad
ng taxes diyan, if I can help it.
Taas ng tax (32%) wala namang
nangyayari. My friend replied,
Eh ganyan naman talaga dati
pa. Ganyan naman talaga dati
pa -if we can still afford to say
it, it means were still not going
to implode any time soon.
Democracy
in the Philippines
What is interesting when we
travel is that we get to see and
observe how things are done
in another country. We talk to
people and learn what happened
in their lives. Japan, for example,
during devastating earthquakes,
provided temporary housing to
people whose houses were de-
stroyed (according to one student
of mine). Public schools are free
up to junior high. Being a wife
of a Japanese, I get a monthly
(albeit small) allowance for the
government. If someday I have
kids, theres also government
subsidy to cover for child birth
Wake Up!
T
HE New York Times
Sunday magazine cover
story (October 27) - A
Sea of Trouble, with
the second heading
A Game of Shark and
Minnow, is actually an
eye-opener for all of us
especially to our leaders. Why is
this so?
The New York Times story
cited the following: In a remote
corner of the South China Sea,
105 nautical miles from the Phil-
ippines, lies a submerged reef
the Filipinos call Ayungin Shoal.
In most ways it resembles the
hundreds of other reefs, islands,
rock clusters and cays that col-
lectively are called the Spratly
Islands. But Ayungin is differ-
ent. In the reefs shallows there
sits a forsaken ship, manned by
eight Filipino troops whose job
is to keep China in check.
Yes what we have in the con-
tested area is an eight-manned
ship, a dilapidated one, actu-
ally a World War II-era ship
called the Sierra Madre, which
the Philippine government ran
aground on the reef in 1999 and
has since maintained as a kind
of post-apocalyptic military
garrison.
The small detachment of
Opinyon412.indd 5
expenses. Aside from that, when
we get sick, we pay only 30% of
the cost of the medicine and the
fees (Medicines in the Philip-
pines turn out to be more expen-
sive). When I fell from a bicycle, a
fire truck, an ambulance and cops
all came within ten minutes. The
ambulance coordinated with an
available hospital (hospitals dont
run 24/7) and brought me to the
hospital- all for free (the hospital
itself wasnt free though... but it
was subsidized).
What about the Philip-
pines, which took 30% of my
taxeswhen I was working there?
What did the Philippines do
in return? They made people
like Janet Napoles rich. When I
drive around Makati, I still have
to watch over potholes. When I
use the airport, I have to pay air-
port fee plus Php2600+ for being
a resident abroad (and not an
OFW). The public transportation
is in a sorry state. This is frus-
trating. The state takes and takes
and takes and takes (I wonder
if thats why its called extrac- they were good men and there
tive extracting from people
all the time) and I get nothing
in return. This is unsustainable
and a fodder for discontent.But,
just because I feel frustrated and
mad doesnt mean I dont love minds of many Africans. He won
my country back. My country
doesnt love me back, and I am
not a martyr to stay. Why? Be-
cause things can get better. My
less-traveled friend doesnt seem
to know that it doesnt have to
be the same way all the time. As
Barack Obama says, we are the
change weve been waiting for.
Being complacent and accepting
things as they are is unaccept-
able. I dont want things to be the
Filipino troops stationed there
struggling to survive extreme
mental and physical desola-
tion.
And this same decaying ship
could be the next battleground
between China and our coun-
try, whether we like it or not.
The Sierra Madre at one
time was the U.S.S. Harnett
County, built as a tank-landing
ship for World War II and then
repurposed as a floating heli-
copter and speedboat hub in
the rivers of Vietnam. In 1970,
the U.S. gave the ship to the
South Vietnamese, and in 1976.
It was passed on to the Phil-
ippines. But nobody had ever
taken the time to strip all of the
communications gear or even
old U.S. logbooks and a fleet
guide from 1970. (Ibid)
Recently, the Filipino troops
manning the Sierra Madre were
given a power point presenta-
tion of the real situation in the
contested area particularly in
Ayungin. Just imagine the mag-
nitude of the role these men
have in the whole region that
will have a great impact in the
confluence of events particular-
ly in geopolitics. Unfortunate-
ly, China through Maj. Gen.
Zhang Zhaozhong, of Chinas
Opinion
same way!
Another problem is when we
pine our hopes on the person
and not the system.
Ayyitey got it right when he
said in his article After Revolu-
tions, Beware of Crocodiles,
It is analogous to a defective
vehicle with a bad driver. After
sacking the driver, the vehicle
itself must be fi xed or the new
driver will quickly land in a
ditch.
This happens when a croco-
dile liberator, like Charles Tay-
lor of Liberia,turns out to be far
worsethan the dictator he claims
to have overthrown. It can also
occur when quack revolution-
aries flaunting fake democratic
credentials hijack revolutions to
stay in power and pursue their
own megalomaniacal agendas.
Many African leaders, for in-
stance, came to power after some
sort of revolution (against colo-
nialism or self-rule) where they
were seen as heroes. Initially,
Africans seemed to believe that
start from Macas brutal and
were no reasons to believe they
werent. Zimbabwes Robert
Mugabeis one such man:
At the end of the war in 1979,
Mugabe emerged as a hero in the
the general elections of 1980, the
fi rst in which black African ma-
jority participated through uni-
versal franchise.
Teodoro Obiang Nguema
Mbasogo ousted his uncle dic-
tator, whose reign was noted for
having a third of the population
flee to other countries. Accord-
ing to Wikipedia,
Obiang declared that the new
government would make a fresh
WHISTLE
BLOWER
Erick San Juan
Peoples Liberation Army, said
in a television interview in May,
using the Chinese term for Scar-
borough. (That there are three
different names for the same set
of uninhabitable rocks tells you
much of what you need to know
about the region.) He described
a cabbage strategy, which en-
tails surrounding a contested
area with so many boats fish-
ermen, fishing administration
ships, marine surveillance ships,
navy warships that the is-
land is thus wrapped layer by
layer like a cabbage.
There can be no question
that the cabbage strategy is in
effect now at Ayungin and has
been at least since May. General
Zhang, in his interview sev-
eral months ago, listed Renai
Shoal (the Chinese name for
Ayungin) in the P.L.A.s series
hopes to someone of spotless
repressive regime. He granted
amnesty to political prisoners
and ended the previous regimes
system of forced labor.
Yet, Forbes rates him as one
of theThe Five Worst Leadersin is hard to measure. Do we vote
Africa, Equatorial Guinea is one
of the continents largest pro-
ducers of oil and has one of the
highest per capita incomes in the
world, but this doesnt necessar-
ily translate into prosperity for its
people.
Does this paint a familiar pic-
ture? EDSA I, EDSA II, anyone?
What did we get but a bunch of
crocodiles, worse off than the last?
Our habits of pining on our
of achievements in the South
China Sea. He had already put it
in the win column, even though
eight Filipino marines still live
there. He also seemed to take
some pleasure in the strategy.
Of taking territory from the
Philippines, he said:
We should do more such
things in the future. For those
small islands, only a few troop-
ers are able to station on each
of them, but there is no food or
even drinking water there.
If we carry out the cab-
bage strategy, you will not be
able to send food and drinking
water onto the islands. With-
out the supply for one or two
weeks, the troopers stationed
there will leave the islands on
their own. Once they have left,
they will never be able to come
back. (Ibid)
The PLAs cabbage operation
in Ayungin is a clear sign how
desperate they are to occupy the
area, fi rst in Ayungin and before
we know it, the whole group of
islands known as Spratlys. And
the only thing we have there
manning the
Dangerous Ground (a
reference made to Spratlys by
navigators since the 18th cen-
tury) is the Sierra Madre with
WE TAKE A STAND OpinYon
The Viewpoints
and outlook of
the well-informed
character has lead us nowhere.
Why? Because people are peo-
ple. People make mistakes.
People are fickle. Like love for
country, a persons character
for vegetarians, non-smokers,
God-fearing or devout (insert
religion) leaders? John Adams
was a drunk, Hitler was (in the
latter part of his life) a vegetar-
ian,Obama is a smoker, Estrada
is a well-known womanizer,and
Bill Clinton was involved in a
string of sexual misconduct.
To read full article online, go to
ikalwewe.wordpress.com
our troops miserably hanging
on to what was left of the vin-
tage ship.
I just could not imagine that
in the midst of all of these huge
funds misused by the chosen
few, there in the middle of the
sea, our Filipino troops trying to
survive in order to protect our
sovereignty.
Any sane person will ask
after reading this cover story of
the NYT magazine: Is the Phil-
ippines present administration
numb on the plight of the eight
Filipinos living (or slowly dying)
there inside the Sierra Madre?
And if not, why the hell are they
are not doing anything?
All the rhetoric and double-
speak about military modern-
ization through the contro-
versial Malampaya funds to
address the South China Sea
issue are all BS if such a simple
thing as this will not be re-
solved to save what is left of our
sovereignty.
Chinas cabbage op is al-
ready in placenow and through
this scheme, any miscalculated
move will always be perceived
as an act of provocation. A
provocation that might lead to a
regional confl ict in the process.
God forbid.
NOVEMBER 11-17, 2013 5
11/8/13 7:44 PM
 OPINION
REMBRANDT BALITAAN Orlando Marquez, president of Liga ng Transportasyon at
sa Pilipinas and former president of Philippine Investors Society, and political activist MD Rebueno
were guests at the recent Balitaan sa Hotel Rembrandt. Marquez cited the lack of government sup-
port toward transport systems using alternative fuels while Rebueno urged President Aquino to
cleanse his loop of scammers. Also in photo is forum host Erick San Juan.
Damage control?
O
N the eve of last All
Saints Day, Pres. Be-
nigno Simeon Aquino
lll delivered a hurriedly
crafted twelve-min-
ute damage-control
speech that instead
created greater damage
to his plummeting popularity
ratings triggered by his boners
in the Disbursement Accelera-
tion Program (DAP) imbroglio.
I cannot fathom why, for the life
of me, so much dissension has
been generated by a prime-time
discourse defending the admin-
istrations indefensible DAP po-
sition.
DAP is unconstitutional, pe-
riod; and no amount of sophistry
from the fi nest of student coun-
cils can validate or rectify it --
sophistry is the use of clever but
false arguments, especially with
the intention of deceiving --not-
withstanding the supposed best
of intentions behind its cryptic
creation, along with their trum-
peted beneficial results, if any.
DAP is unconstitutional be-
cause P-Noy, his fair-haired boy,
Department of Budget and Mis-
management Secretary Butch
Abad, and other sycophants
unilaterally (i.e., without the re-
quired legislative participation)
invented it, and there is abso-
lutely no excuse for this culpable
breach of the fundamental law.
A Machiavellian Offense
Wrong is wrong. For instance,
a thief cannot be allowed to say,
You cannot sue me because I
am not guilty of anything! I stole,
yes, but I delivered the good-
ies to our pitifully impoverished
countrymen. In fact, I did not in
any material way benefit from
my altruism. Sadly, however, he
is still criminally liable because
Machiavellianism is anathema
to our legal system that operates
under the Rule of Law.
Needless to say, it is very
devastating that the Machiavel-
lian offender in the instant DAP
case is no less than Pres. Noynoy
himself. Now, is this not a very
negative image that he has man-
aged to portray of himself under
the circumstances?!
I felt sorry for him as he ad-
dressed the nation either with
such ignorance of the law or
with outright defiance of it. I felt
sorrier for myself, feeling like a
8 NOVEMBER 11-17, 2013 OpinYon
Opinyon412.indd 8
MUSINGS
Ronald Roy
hapless citizen held hostage by
a madman gone berserk on sur-
vival mode. Wow, I mulled, this
guys gonna be around for an-
other two and a half years!
P-Noys delivery was ex-
pectedly fluid and rhetorical; a
speech trait generally associated
with the Aquino clan. No other
Filipino president could have
delivered the same piece with as
much persuasiveness and elan.
This was, again, his big mo-
ment before the cameras, except
that, this time, the more knowl-
edgeable of his listeners and
viewers could detect the decep-
tion, along with subtle remind-
ers that the power that he had
wielded to crush the impeached
CJ Renato C. Corona could again
be unleashed to silence his critics
on the DAP fiasco. He irritating-
ly chose the issues, rattling off A
B C D E F etc. while we wanted
to hear him go through 1 2 3 4 5
6 etc. For instance, he intoned: I
am not a thief! even if nobody
was calling him one.
The Undelivered Message
What then would I have
wanted to see and hear from
P-Noy? Well, this: an angry and
contrite President saying that he
was sorry for all the pork bar-
rel and DAP mess his adminis-
tration had caused, that he had
fi red Abad, Agriculture Secre-
tary Alcala, the notorious Ron-
ald Llamas who has been widely
rumored to be in constant touch
with SC Associate Justices, and
other lackeys. P-Noy seems to
have forgotten that consigning
Undersecretary Rico Puno to
oblivion helped prop up his then
sagging presidential image.
I also would have wanted
to hear P-Noy say he was giv-
ing up his pork barrel in favor
of line departments. Wow, if he
had done all these, he probably
would have primed himself up to
WE TAKE A STAND
Operator
becoming the greatest president
our country has ever had!!
No, it would not be in P-
Noys character to step down.
He will hang in there until hell
freezes over. Ever since he took
Cojuangco out of his name, he
has remained determined to be
his own man, a president who
gets what he wants and intends
to leave behind a legacy all his
own. You get 95 million citi-
zens demanding his ouster, and
he still will not budge an inch.
P-Noy is just irreversibly bent
on being his own man even if it
means tempting Fate by doing
so.
BANG is the awesome reso-
nance caused by an assassins
fury, and how well P-Noy the
gun enthusiast knows it. Of
course he should be aware his
adamance could take him to an
inglorious tarmac-like cul de sac,
but he is pathetically too busy
being his own man to sense any
danger. Then again, perhaps he
has deluded himself into think-
ing he has the sort of courage
that is the stuff of martyrdom.
Could he be crazy? Hmmm...Yes,
maybe.
Politics, Politics, Politics
In any event, I hear its busi-
ness as usual back at the Palace.
Strengthening of the Liberal
Party is up in the air. Sen. Ralph
Recto has loomed as the stron-
gest choice to replace the embat-
tled Senate President Franklin
Drilon, whose latest embarrass-
ment is his being found out to
be the chairman of a foundation
organized for the mother of Janet
Lim Napoles.
Incidentally, P-Noy has re-
portedly cautioned Drilon and
former Sen. Ed Angara against
indiscreet contacts with officials
of the Office of the Ombudsman
and the Commission on Audit.
Also, being eyed this early is a
probable Mar Roxas - Kris Aqui-
no tandem for the 2016 elections.
Repeat: this early. Ho-hum.
But its all up to P-Noy, re-
ally. I would not be surprised if
he would choose to extend his
term and his confreres gave way.
Fools, these traditional politi-
cians!
(http://musingsbyroy.wordpress.
com. | 09186449517 | @ronald8roy
| #musingsbyroy)
Localizing Development
Measures
T
HE Human Develop-
ment Index (HDI) is
a composite statistic
to rank countries into
four tiers of human
development, namely
low, medium, high and
very high. The coun-
tries are ranked based on three
measures, namely the life ex-
pectancy index, the education
index and the income index.
The life expectancy is mea-
sured from birth. The educa-
tion index is measured by the
adult literacy rate and the com-
bined primary, secondary and
tertiary gross enrolment ratio.
The income index is measured
through the standard of liv-
ing, as indicated by the natural
logarithm of gross domestic
product (GDP) per capita at
purchasing power parity.
Simply put the HDI mea-
sures life expectancy in rela-
tion to the mortality rate. It
measures the literacy rate in
relation to the illiteracy rate.
In a manner of speaking, it
measures the prosperity rate
in relation to the poverty rate.
In usual practice, the illiteracy
rate is usually not measured,
being just the opposite of the
literacy rate. In the same man-
ner, the prosperity rate is also
not usually measured, being
just the opposite of the pov-
erty rate. It stands to reason
however that the prosperity
rate actually reflects the statis-
tic of all those who are above
the poverty line.
As I understand it, the
Philippine government is not
ranking the provinces in terms
of their human development
indices, either using the HDI
method or any other measure.
As I also understand it, there
is no such thing as a Gross
Provincial Product (GPP) in
relation to the Gross National
Product (GNP). But since the
HDI method measures only
the GDP, perhaps it would also
be a good idea to also measure
the Gross Provincial Domestic
Product (GPDP). On a simi-
lar note, it may also be a good
idea to measure the Provincial
Per Capita Income (PPCI).
In my previous columns,
I wrote about JEWEL, short
for a development framework
that would organize and co-
ordinate the delivery of five
basic services at the local
level, namely Justice, Educa-
tion, Wellness, Employment
andLivelihood. Among these
five basic services, only the
last four are directly relevant
to the HDI method. However,
it could be said that justice is
actually indirectly relevant to
the HDI method, because the
lack of it could be a way to
deny access to the last four.
Although it is really not that
simple as it seems, employment
and livelihood are the obvious
means to increase the incomes
of our people, thus also elevat-
ing their standards of living. I
am using employment here in
a loose sense, because it could
also mean self-employment,
a concept that could also mean
having a small business. I am
also using livelihood here in
a loose sense, because it could
also mean having a small busi-
ness or perhaps it could also
mean practicing ones craft or
profession.
Very recently, several po-
lice directors got into hot
water when it was discovered
that they were tampering with
local crime rate statistics, ob-
SCIENCE
WORKS
Ike Seeres
viously to make it appear that
the crime rate is low in their
jurisdictions, meaning to say
that they are doing their job
well. I wrote about this prob-
lem many years back, and I
argued that the Philippine
National Police (PNP) should
not be the source of crime rate
reports, because that would
put them in a confl ict of inter-
est situation. Naturally, they
would tend to make it appear
that everything is good; oth-
erwise it would make them
look bad. Having said that,
who could possibly report the
provincial HDI data without a
possible confl ict of interest?
In the case of the PNP
anomaly, it would seem that
the problem is in the consoli-
dation of the data, and not in
the gathering of the data.
Since there was apparently
no problem in the crime rate
reports of the other police di-
rectors, it would be fair to say
that the honest ones did not
tamper with the data that was
submitted by the lower levels
that could also be presumed
to be honest. For lack of any
other practical choice, could
we possibly rely on the local
mayors to be honest in report-
ing their local HDI data?
On the upside, I would say
that the statistical methods
that are used in computing the
HDI data are purely transpar-
ent and technical, meaning
that these could not possibly
be corrupted by political in-
terventions. Moreover, the re-
sulting computations could be
subjected to the review of local
accountants and auditors, who
could all be presumed to be po-
litically neutral. The key to this
however is the accuracy of the
input data, because otherwise,
it would just be a Garbage In,
Garbage Out situation.
I believe that once the
controversies over the recent
scams are over, the focus will
shift to genuine local devel-
opment projects that will be
implemented by the local
government units (LGUs) on
their own, or in cooperation
with Non-Government Units
(NGOs). I could only hope
that the LGUs would give pri-
ority to projects that would in-
crease their HDI performance.
I am also hoping that they
would plan and implement
their projects in line with the
JEWEL framework.
On my part, I am now
working on a project that
would provide an alternative
information superhighway
for national development and
emergency response purposes,
as a way of helping LGUs and
NGOs alike. I have no doubt in
my mind that one way or the
other, information and com-
munications technology (ICT)
holds the key to the attainment
of national development, but
first, the LGUs must do their
part in local development.
For feedback, emailis-
eneres@yahoo.comor
text+639083159262
11/8/13 7:44 PM
 Agriculture
Growth in Fisheries Expected
THE Department of Agriculture (DA) expects the sheries
industry to sustain its remarkable recovery from several
quarters of declining output, saying it will likely grow 6 per-
cent this year based on initial estimates.
In a press conference in La Union on Wednesday, DA Sec-
retary Proceso Alcala said such expansion would be largely
fueled by the success of the imposition of conservation eorts
and a three-month no shing season for commercial shing
in waters o Mindanao, Visayas and possibly, Palawan.
Alcala was in San Fernando City, La Union to grace the
launch of BFARs National Municipal Fisherfolk Registration
(FishR) Program for the Cordilleras and Ilocos regions. FishR
is a survey designed to collect relevant data about farmers
and other shery stakeholders so as to allow the government
to make need and site-specic interventions.
He said the implementation of closed shing season in
Zamboanga Peninsula and Visayas seas for the past two
years helped the harvest of sardines to increase by as much
as 35 percent, a development that augurs well for tuna sh-
ers as sardines, along with round-scad or galunggong, serve
as food for tuna.

NFA Warns Customs vs

Kapag marami po palang sardinas, pag marami pong
galunggong, eto po yung kinakain ng tuna kayat di umaalis
sa area of responsibility ng Pilipinas dahil may esta lagi (sa
pagkain), Alcala said.
Buoyed by the positive outcome, DA-Bureau of Fisher-
ies and Aquatic Resources is considering the inclusion of
Palawan Strait in the shing ban, as it is considered to be a
key breeding ground for round-scad. It claries, however,
Smuggled Vietnam Rice
that the biophysical and socio-economic impact of the ban is THE National Food Authority (PD) No.4, as amended, Calay- ports in Thailand, Singapore or
under careful study, given that such action would aect the (NFA) has raised the alarm over ag said in his letter. Rice cannot Taiwan.
livelihood of thousands. the possible entry of a huge ship- be imported in the Philippines Earlier, NFA has recom-
The Philippines ranks among the worlds biggest producers ment of illegally traded rice from without an import permit from mended the fi ling of appropriate
and exporter of marine and aquaculture products. In recent Vietnam. The NFA. cases against five consignees of
Asking the help of the Bureau RA 8178, also known as 243,0050 kilogram bags of smug-
years, however, commercial and municipal shing shrunk of Customs, NFA Administrator The Agricultural Tariffication gled rice from Thailand which
mainly due to overshing and pollution, pushing down overall Orlan Calayag wrote Customs Act, abolishes restrictions on were shipped to the Davao Port
industry output. In 2011 and 2012, for instance, overall sh Commissioner Ruffy Biazon the importation of agricultural between July and September this
harvest declined by 3.5-percent and 2.3 percent, respectively. and gave information about the products while protecting Fili- year.
Aside from conservation and resource re-generation reported agreement reached by pino fi rms against unfair trade Documents provided by the
initiatives, DA-BFAR also works to build modern shports a group of Filipino rice traders through the strict implementa- NFA show some of the shipments
and upgrade those existing ones, and develop new shing with the Vietnam Food Asso- tion of anti-dumping and coun- actually originated from Vietnam
grounds through the deployment of payao units (Fish Ag- ciation for the supply of 120,000 tervailing measures. On the and were sent through the Philip-
gregating Devices) in areas such as the Benham Rise declared metric tons of rice. This agree- other hand, PD No. 4 empowers pines via a port in Bangkok.
last year by the United Nations as part of Philippine territory. ment was reached without NFA the NFA to require import per- Calayag also requested for
consent, Calayag claimed. mits for rice shipments. the fi ling of charges to concerned
The government will also develop 25 sh port sites in 2013 Calayag said.For your infor- The NFA informed the BOC BOC staff and officials who al-
and another 25 more in 2014. Also in 2014, it proposes to mation, the planned importation that rice have been smuggled lowed the shipments to leave the
construct eight Ice Plant and Cold Storage facilities to lower is in violation of Republic Act into the country in container port even within complete docu-
postharvest losses and boost shers income. 8178 and Presidential Decree vans from Vietnam through ments.

YOLO*
Dearest Bella,
My friends tell me I am over-
sexed, that I like sex too much.
I tell them, Who doesnt? Even
priests are tempted to from time
to time to which they reply,
Blasphemy! I want to hear
your thoughts on this.
Here are two of my most in-
teresting hook ups.
Two months ago I picked up
a friend, Peter, from the airport.
Hes not really a friend. Actu-
ally, I met him the fi rst time
when I picked him up. Though,
weve been talking online, in
a web site dedicated to people
who loves travelling and meet-
ing people in the places they
travel to, for a month. Peter is
this 6 2 Australian with an in-
credible body based on several
half-nude pictures he has on his
profi le.
So two months ago I picked
him up and shortly after I dis-
covered for myself how incred-
ible Peters body is. And, wow!
This hunky bloke toured
the Philippines for a couple of
weeks and for a few days he
stayed with me. During the day
I took him around Manila to
some of my favorite places. At
night, we did what comes natu-
rally when you put an attractive,
heterosexual man and woman
in a room.
Now, the last time I was in
Singapore, I took a detour and
took a bus to and explored
Kuala Lumpur for two days and
one night. On the bus, I sat with
this handsome stranger. When
we arrived in Malaysia, I went
with him to his hotel and got to
know him better before I toured
the city.
I am oversexed? I dont see
anything wrong with picking
up someone I do know how to
play it safe and to always protect
myself in all these encounters. I
am a single woman responsible
only to myself.
Sincerely,
Karen M.
Karen, thank you for writing
and sharing these beautiful sto-
ries. Yes, they are beautiful. They
tell me about your passion for life.
Though these stories are about
your sex life, I bet my non-exist-
ing psychology degree that you are
this passionate in everything that
you do.
I dont see you as oversexed.
Between you and me, I think that
the people who invented the term
oversexed are not having enough
and joked themselves into believ-
ing that they are over sex.
I do caution you, and I cant
over emphasize this enough, to
be very, very careful in all youre
encounters. Ive said it in this col-
a result of you sharing too much your friends dont want to hear.
or it could be that they were tired Continuing to tell your friends
of hearing about your encounters. about your encounters in spite
Filipinas, based on several friends of their oversexed reaction may
I have, are basically conservative. eventually result to losing some
I know that most of these friends of them. If you really need to tell
CONFESSION would not want to hear my bed- these stories to someone, then
FACTS hopping adventures, if I have any.
Maybe this is also something that
choose one who is as open-minded
as you are.
Isabella San Gabriel
Gay Sex
umn a couple of times that sexual
encounters last for several min-
utes, but several sexually trans-
mitted diseases last a lifetime.
Maybe months or years from now,
I dont want to receive another
email from you saying how you
regret your sexual impetuous-
ness. Wouldnt it be great if you
and whoever is your flavor of the
moment can carry around both of
your latest clean bill of health cer-
tificate from a doctor?
As a woman, I know how we
girls talk about anything when
we get together and I understand
how you would share some of
your most entertaining encoun-
ters. Since you didnt give me the
context of the conversation youre
having with your friends when
they told you youre oversexed, I (www.buzzfeed.com)
cant give a more specific opinion. *An acronym for you only live once
Based on at that time,
what you were maybe their Isabella San Gabriel is an aspiring life coach with focus on effective and
talking about reaction was great relationships. Email her at womanconfessions@gmail.com.

WE TAKE A STAND OpinYon NOVEMBER 11-17, 2013 9

Opinyon412.indd 9 11/8/13 7:44 PM


Entrepreneurs...
3 stories, 3 revelations
T
From page 12
Product Development HERE are gay beauty
To continuously develop their product, LotsA Pizza has success- pageants and there are
fully partnered with multinational food companies like San Miguel, gay pageants.
Purefoods, Dole Philippines and Kraft Food Products to provide them One of their fore-
with ingredients customized for their pizza brand. runners, if not the fi rst,
To help their franchisees, the couple also introduced the LotsA is the Miss Gay Philip-
Pizza Academy, a five-level training and development program that
covers business concepts and the areas of recruitment, methods of
pines, which was origi-
nally conceptualized
preparation, cost analysis and management skills. Franchisees spend and organized in the mid-eight-
some time in a classroom and on-site environment to develop profi-
ciency in pizza making, counter service and business management.
ies by the late movie writer Chito
P. Alcid, a gay beauty contestant
Tess and Eduardo also developed a telco-powered inventory himself during the early seven-
and ordering system that reduces human error and provides faster ties, when this kind of gig was
turnaround. still considered shocking and
To service its operational needs in Luzon, the company has in- taboo.
vested in the construction of three commissaries to make sure that Before Alcid died last month,
franchisees get a steady supply of pizza ingredients. After putting he turned over the ownership of
up commissaries in Pampanga and Las Pias, the company built his search group to interested
an even bigger facility in Cavite to provide for expansion in the parties who are now running
southern parts of Luzon and Bicol Province. the show up against a number of
The company also expects to open more branches as LotsA beauty contests of the queers.
Pizza builds its presence in Visayas and Mindanao. Peacefully, Chito might be
What started as a small food cart in Mendiola, a Filipino-owned eternally sleeping in his ashes
pizza chain continuously conquers every corner of the nation. And as there are still many gay con-
Eduardo concedes that they owe much of their success to the hard tests being mounted anywhere
work of Tesswho also sits as company president and treasurer. in the country to stir the positive
meanings of homosexuality.
Success Secret As a matter of fact, the Amaz-
And if theres one secret to their success Tess says its their con- ing Philippine Beauties 2013 is
servative approach to business. being dedicated to Alcid by TV
Conservatism is our approach to business. We may not be host and medical doctor John
aggressive as the rest but we have maintained focus in the busi- Nite during the press presenta-
ness, dedicated a strong passion for the product and adopted good tion of its contestants at the Ma-
money management, she said. Tess said LotsA Pizza will always nila Film Center recently.
remain committed to providing Filipinos with the best affordable Not a few contenders to the
pizza without compromising quality simply because their pizza is title are pretty and talented as
prepared by people who love and know pizzas. real ladies.
Many of them are lookalikes
Awards and Recognitions of popular actresses like Iza Cal-
No pizza company in the same market segment can match zado, Kris Bernal, Maureen Lar-
LotsA Pizza in growth and number of prestigious awards received. razabal, Marian Rivera etc.
In 2011, Tess became one of 20 Go Negosyo Women Starpreneurs Most of them arent transgen-
which included Genevieve Ledesma-Tan, Founder and President of der yet except for one who has
the Southville International School and Colleges; Zenaida Tantoco, already had a sex change and has
President of Rustans Commercial Corp.; Nelia Siggaoat, President been living in The Netherlands.
of Manels Leathergoods Corp.; Elizabeth Lee, chief operating of- Well see who among them
ficer of Universal Motors; Myrna Yao, founder and COO of Rich- will clinch the queer crown on
well Trading; Natividad Cheng, Chief Executive Officer of Uratex November 23, 2013 at seven in
Group of Companies; Rosalinda Hortaleza, Chairman and CEO of the evening at the newly built
HBC Inc.; Vicki Belo, Medical director of Belo Medical Group; Merle MFC stage after a pre-pageant
Alferez, Founder of MSA Academic Advancement Institute; Sara elimination round on November
Black, Owner of Sara Black Photography; Lydia de Roca, Owner of 6 same time, same venue.
Lydias Lechon; Mary Grace Dimacali, President Mary Grace Foods
Inc.; Emma Guerrero, President of Bioessence; Grace Gupana, CEO Meanwhile, after five years
of Abs Bitter Herbs; Marlyn Montano, Owner of Holy Cow Anima- of going steady, singer and actor
tions; Batangas Gov. Vilma Santos-Recto; Ruth Callanta, President Lance Raymundo has sadly bro-
of Center for Community Transformation; Pacita Juan, Founder of ken up with his foreigner girl-
Echostore; and Alegria Limjoco, CEO of Francorp. friend. He doesnt want to drop
the name of his ex-flame).
Here is a rundown of the awards received by the company: Although having a hard time
2012 coping with the situation, Lance
Franchise Awards Best Franchising Support; Special Citation, is making the most of it to be pro-
Research and Development; Special Citation, New Distribution ductive and optimistic as a new
Models love conquest is in the offing.
2010 According to Raymundo,
Entrepreneur Philippines Franchising Awards Most Promising theres no third party involve-
Franchise (gold); Best in Franchising Support (gold); Best Local ment in the split-up with her, but
Homegrown Franchise (gold) they consider it a wise decision
2009 between them. It was logical de-
Entrepreneur Philippines Franchising Awards Best Local Home- cision and it gave peace of mind
grown Franchise; Fastest Growing Franchise; Most Promising to both of them.
Franchise Perhaps we wanted space to
2008 breathe, pop idol Rannie Ray-
Entrepreneur Philippines Franchising Awards Best Franchise mundos younger brother and
Support; Best Local Homegrown Franchise only sibling exclaims.
2007 All his life as a bachelor, says
Entrepreneur Philippines Franchising Awards Best in Franchis- Lance, he has spent with all for-
ing Support eigner-sweethearts.
He confides that this orienta-
tion may be due to his modern
and hip lifestyle and outlook.
This time I want to try a ro-
mance with a Filipina. I would
want to experience being in
love with someone of our own,
quips Lance.
caper by showing up on the
Time and again, Raymundos
name has been dragged with
that of actress Mercedes Cabral
not only because they share the
same talent manager, Shandii
Bacolod, but because they are al-
ways hot items in the grapevine.
Lance and Mercedes are al-
ways seen together in many
events, public or exclusive.
FORMER Senator Francisco Tatad and Bayan Cong. Neri Colmena- Is Cabral the cause of Lance
res were the guest resource speakers at the Fernandina Media and his girlfriends breakup?
Forum last Wednesday at the Club Filipino. Tatad was cynical if No. Defi nitely not, assures
detained businesswoman Janet Napoles would spill the beans Raymundo.
while Colmenares called on Napoles to tell everything she knows Is Mercedes the woman
about the pork barrel scam. Colmenares said PhP4.5B from DAP Lance is laying his eyes on as the
was given by PNoy for the purchase of train coaches for MRT. The Filipina worth his salt?
forum was hosted by Corinne Carlos. Maybe. Mercedes is such
a wonderful woman. I like her.
Opinyon412.indd 11
THE NET
[National Entertainment Today]
Boy Villasanta
Shes very intelligent, one of the
traits I am looking for in a part-
ner, he reveals.
Sharing the same stable of
stars with Cabral, Raymundo is
familiar with all the activities of
the actress and he keeps track of
them.
She knows that Mercedes
has just come back from Den-
mark where she has just signed
up a deal to make a fi lm with a
famous actor. I just forgot his
name. Mercedes will fly back to
Denmark in January to shoo the
fi lm, informs Lance.
Is his familiarity with Mer-
has fi nally join her mom Vilma
cedes breeding romance this
early?
ter MJ Winstanley which made
Speaking of Cabral, the actress
is one of the cameo performers
in Brillante Ma. Mendozas new
opus, Sapi, a take on Filipino
experiences on spirit possessions
contextualized within the rivalry
among broadcast news coverage
in the Philippines.
Mercedes scenes maybe
short but significant to the theme
of the story and her acting is still
remarkable.
Although Cabral was missed
during the fi lms premiere night
at the Cinema 6 of Megamall last
week, her sense of participation
in the project was totally appre-
ciated.
Mendoza called on her name
onstage twice for recognition but
only the main cast composed of
Dennis Trillo, Ruby Ruiz, Meryll
Soriano, Flor Salanga and Baron
Geisler came up on the floor.
Many celebrities were sup-
portive of Dante Mendozas
nunuri ng Pelikulang Pilipino,
event which included Superstar
Nora Aunor; prolific screen-
writer Ricardo Lee, also known
as Ricky Lee; actresses Maria
Isabel Lopez, Teeda Pascual,
Mae Paner and Cherry Cornell;
Mendozas fellow fi lmmakers
Peque Gallaga, Joey Romero, Gil
Portes, Adolf Alix, Jr., Carlitos
Siguion-Reyna, Lawrence Fa-
jardo, Emmanuel de la Cruz etc.
Sapi, roughly translated
as Possession, maybe dubbed
as a scary fi lm but Brillante has
defied the many conventions
on thrillers by interplaying cult
drama on mysticism and the
many socio-political horrors in
the country today.
WE TAKE A STAND OpinYon
OPINION
ShortsMany people from
Lopez, Quezon have expressed
their disgust over the non-ap-
pearance of Mayonnaise Band in
a scheduled concert of the group
last October 30 as a Holloween
gig. They got pissed off with the
organizers of the show which
was supposed to be staged at the
town plaza. The disappointed
ticket buyers plan to fi le court
cases against the producers
of the concert...On All Saints
Day, Angel Locsin was report-
edly seen at the Lopez public
cemetery with a sibling of the
towns mayor...Desiree del Valle
was also present at the dead
place to say her late grandmas
grave a prayer at the Senora del
Pilar Memorial Park in Lopez...
Yvonne Benavidez, also known
as Tita Mega C celebrated her
nth birthday in a special party
with close friends and relatives
like Pinoy Radio UK regular
resource person Fe B. Zulueta,
Conrad Poes common-law wife
Zeny Marcelo-Poe, character
actor Romy Robles, party host
Randy Nonato, movie scribe Joey
Sarmiento and many of the cele-
brators cherished business asso-
ciates...In her head gear, bullet-
proof vest props printed with the
madcap name Napulis, wheel
chaired satirist Mae Paner, better
known as Juana Change, stole
again the thunder from the anti-
pork rallyists outside the Senate
building by protesting against
greed and corruption in the
Philippines and parodying shes
got no ten expensive houses but
only two housesthe Lower
House and the Upper House
which drew laughter from the
protesters and observers during
the Senate Blue Ribbon Com-
mittee hearing on the ten-billion
pork barrel scam queen Janet
Lim Napoles...Luis Manzano
Santos birthday treat in Japan
last week after his breakup with
sweetheart Jennylyn Mercado...
Controversial and intriguing Fil-
Briton fi lmmaker Jowee Morel
celebrated his birthday with sis-
his day very memorable...Derek
Ramsay and Cristine Reyes have
resumed work on the set of Viva
Films Trophy Wife with El-
wood Perez at the helm. Is ro-
mance ready to rekindle?...Heart
Evangelista is inspired to shoot
a fi lm anew...Entertainment col-
umnist Dennis Adobas directed
once more producer and singer
Anna Lorenzanas show recently
at Bagaberde in Buendia Avenue
as a tribute to the late movie re-
porter Chito Alcid who did a lot
of productions for Lorenzana...
Maverick director Tikoy Aguiluz
has been busy organizing his
14th Cinemanila International
Film Festival to be held on No-
vember 26 to December 5, 2013
and Gwangju International Film
Festival Programming Supervi-
sor in Gwangju, South Korea
Cho Pock-rey is interested to at-
tend the fest... Mike Feria, former
member of the prestigious Ma-
founder of the respectable Young
Critics Circle and organizer of
the annual FACINE (Filipino-
American Cine Festival) now on
its 20th year in San Francisco,
California, plans to go home to
the Philippines for good and to
foster development of the local
entertainment industry...Ralph
Rectos mom Carmen Gonzales-
Recto, died in her sleep while
taking a vacation in Cambodia.
She was erstwhile matinee idol
Jose Mari Gonzales brother.
Jose Mari is married to former
model Charito Malarky and they
have children in showbiz namely
Cristina Gonzales and Ana Mar-
garita.
NOVEMBER 11-17, 2013 11
11/8/13 7:44 PM
 Money
Visit us at www.opinyon.com.ph NOVEMBER 11-17, 2013 VOL.4 NO.12
SECTIONS
POLITICS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
OPINION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
BUSINESS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
AGRICULTURE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
FOREIGN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P1
LIFESTYLE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P4

EDUARDO & TESS NGAN TIAN

Entrepreneurs of Pinoy Pizza

W
HILE defi nitely Italian in origin, husband and
wife food entrepreneurs Eduardo and Tess
Ngan-Tian went into business branding their
pizza as the Genuine Pinoy Pizza. The gim-
mick worked and their small business grew by
leaps and bounds.
Co-owners of the successful franchise sys-
tem LotsA Pizza, this Pinoy couple started
their business in 1987 renting out food stall
spaces near the San Beda College campus in
Mendiola, Manila. At that time, Eduardo was selling hamburgers, siopao, ice
cream, banana cue, peanuts and other snack food items through R&W Foods, and
Tess was working as fi nance and administrative director at San Beda Alabang.

Humble Beginnings
When no occupants leased three of their stalls in Mendiola, Tess came up with
the idea of offering a different fare to the studentstheir usual patrons. To add to
the fare she added pizza which she made from her own recipe.
With a business now needing fulltime attention, Eduardo asked Tess to quit her job
at San Beda. After some thinking, Tess packed her bags and went to the United States
to study a course on pizza technology at the American Institute of Baking where the
unique pan baked crust and signature sauce of LotsA Pizza was developed.
That was the beginning of LotsA Pizza here in the Philippines.
With no background in the food industry, but armed with CPA backgrounds,
the Ngan-Tian couple invested PhP250,000 into their venture and started out with
10 co-owned LotsA Pizza stores in 1996.
From these humble beginnings, the Ngan-Tian couple started a franchise sys-
tem in 2000 and today LotsA Pizza has over 130 franchised outlets all over the
Philippines and 39 company-owned stores.

Business Guideposts
In a newspaper interview, Tess shared her guideposts for business.
First, make sure that the product you have is universal. Meaning, anywhere in
the country, or in the world, that product is accepted, Tess said.
Second, make sure that the product is tailored fit to the taste of your clients.
You cannot expect someone in the Philippines to eat the same way as Ameri-
cans do. Even if it is the same product, there will still be differences, she added.
Third, and most importantly, you should develop your own product. Make sure
that your product has its own character to be a market stand out.
Through the couples joint effort, they were able to create a market brand known
for its affordability and high quality of ingredients used. Their signature dough,
she said, has the desired chewiness and crunchiness but without the toughness.
Moreover the crust is formulated with very low sugar and oil which makes it a
good source of complex carbohydrates, Tess said.
Turn to page 11

12 NOVEMBER 11-17, 2013 OpinYon WE TAKE A STAND

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