Goyerno sinisisi sa mamamayan

SAPOL,Inilathala sa Pilipino Star Ngayon, Monday, March 31, 2008

MAPAGPANGGAP talaga ang Arroyo admin. Sa kabila ng mga ulat ng napipintong rice shortage, nagkaila agad ang Gabinete. Pero pinakawalan naman ng Malacañang ang mga media handlers para maghasik ng parallel na balita. Oo, anila, maaring magka-krisis sa bigas, pero hindi ‘yon dahil sa admin kundi sa pagiging maaksaya ng Pilipino.

Sa madaling salita, palihis na umaamin ang admin sa napipintong shortage — pero ibinibintang nito ang darating na krisis sa mamamayan.

Giit ng Malacañang, isang kutsaritang kanin ang ina­aksaya ng bawat isa sa 90 milyong Pilipino kada almusal, tanghalian at hapunan. Nangangahulugan daw ito ng 600 sako ng bigas na nasasayang araw-araw sa buong bansa — na ipinakakain lang sa mga alagang-bahay o -bakuran tulad ng aso, pusa, manok o baboy. Ito raw ay magbu­bunsod ng krisis. Kaya matuto raw dapat tayo magtipid; pati mga restoran, bawasan na raw ang takal ng kanin.

Ewan ko kung pag-aaksaya ang inaasal ng Pilipino kaya ipinakakain ang tirang kanin sa mga alagang hayop. Mahal masyado ang pet foods. Ewan ko rin kung totoong isang kutsaritang kanin ang inaaksaya natin kada kain. E, 20% ng populasyon — 18 milyong Pilipino — ay halos wala na ngang makain.

Kung kinakapos ang rice supply, ito’y dahil kulang ang naa-ani. At kung kulang ang naaani, ito’y dahil sa kurakot sa gobyerno.

Upang itaas ang produksiyon ng bigas, kailangan ng irigasyon, fertilizers, pesticides, post-harvest facilities, kalsada at palengke. Pero kulang palagi ang pondo para sa mga gan’ung proyekto. Bakit? E kasi winawaldas ng pamunuan sa mga walang kapararakang bagay. Ehemplo: kung hindi natin binisto, uutang sana ang Arroyo admin ng $330 milyon (P17 bilyon) para sa walang-silbing national broadband network, imbis na ilagay ang pera sa rice production.

Mas ginugusto ng pamunuan na mag-import ng milyon-milyong tonelada ng bigas. Kasi, may kickback sa presyo, sako at barko.

2 side issues to ZTE scam

GOTCHA, Published in the Philippine Star, Monday, March 31, 2008

In the course of researching the NBN-ZTE scam, I kept stumbling upon two bothersome items:

The first concerns the cornering by a well connected but little-known telco of the 20-MHz spectrum in the 2.2-GHz radio frequency. Apparently just one phone call from a very influential person in the Arroyo admin sent the National Telecoms Commission granting the frequency — for free. No public auction, no public offering, and no public hearing.

The 2.2-GHz freq is most vital nowadays for handlers of WiMAX and other new telecom technologies. The 20-MHz spectrum award would be worth $4-$5 million in the telco’s assets, or if it flips and sells the rights to another operator. But the awardee did not even pay the annual Spectrum User’s Fee, a mere P5 per KHz, or P5,000 per MHz.

The deal was done last year after the firing of reformist NTC chair Ronald Solis in 2006. For resisting coercion by the frequency-grabbing admin VIP, Solis was replaced first by a retired general, and then the new Malacañang choice.

Not only with Malacañang was the VIP influential. In 2004 Congress granted his telco a franchise “to construct, install, establish, operate and maintain a telecommunications system throughout” the land. The franchise is wide-ranging, from wire to wireless telecoms, landlines, paging, fiber optics, multi-channel multipoint distribution systems, local multipoint distribution systems, satellite transmit-and-receive systems, and value-added services. Yet a Google-search of the telco’s name will yield no address, company profile, or list of incorporators, directors and officers. Nothing, except the text of the republic act granting the franchise. The kinsmen powers behind the new Speaker are also the protectors of the telco and the admin biggie.

Equally bothersome are recurring accounts by different sources that Fan Yang, ZTE international finance officer, held a Philippine passport. With it the Chinese national could breeze through RP customs, immigration and airport authorities.

The Filipino brokers of the NBN-ZTE deal gave Fan the official travel document. This same “Greedy Group ++” also has the power to illegally wiretap competitors and detractors. It is presently circulating a 12-tract CD of eavesdropped chats of Joey de Venecia and Jun Lozada.

I’ll bet the concerned state agencies will do nothing about Fan’s unauthorized passport. There’s a grand coverup of all crimes that attended the NBN-ZTE deal. That, although Gloria Arroyo has admitted to learning about fraud on the eve of witnessing the signing. Also, despite the testimony of Sec. Romy Neri that he was offered a P200-million bribe to approve the deal.

And because of the Supreme Court decision on executive privilege, it’s unlikely that Congress will get to the bottom of the telco frequency scam either. The Tribunal has ruled that all conversations involving the President shall be deemed secret. Any executive official will thus just quote the Court to avoid answering questions by inquisitive senators or congressmen.

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Well done by the 2007 Bar passers, two of whom I know: Juris Echiverri, son of Caloocan City Mayor Rico Echiverri, and Mary Ann Reyes of The STAR. Notably the Villaraza Cruz Marcelo Angangco Law Firm maintained its 100-percent passing rate of law grad-recruits: 7th placer Sheryl Ann D. Tizon and 11 other new lawyers.

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I’m sure many readers share this idea from Mark Mallari of Manila:

“Thank you for your efforts and sacrifices exposing misdeeds in government, from plunder in NBN-ZTE to treason in the Spratlys. In light of what’s happening, there should be legislation to guarantee transparency in all government dealings. Barack Obama points the way with his Google for Government proposal. That is, all government transactions, contracts, bids, gifts to officials, pork barrel, etc. (except those with true national security implications) be posted on a special website within a specified number of days. Google for Government would allow the media and ordinary citizens to look over the shoulders of public servants and make sure the public treasury is spent well. We also incredibly still don’t have a Freedom of Information Act. We should all be allowed access to complete and unadulterated government files upon request. A lot of the problems we are facing today are because public officials think they are protected from public scrutiny by a cloak of secrecy. But not if they know there’s a night light left on.”

That e-mail was sent days before the fateful Supreme Court ruling that a President’s executive privilege is weightier than the public’s right to know. Can Mark’s suggestions prosper, given that the Tribunal will strike them down as high-handed because infringing on the Executive’s right to secrecy?

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Quote of the week: “A society of sheep must in time beget a government of wolves.” Bertrand de Jouvenel

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E-mail: jariusbondoc@workmail.com

Malacañang lantarang isinusuko ang Spratlys

Inilathala sa Pilipino Star Ngayon, Friday, March 28, 2008

TRAYDOR ang Malacañang. Nu’ng Sept. 2004 pumirma ng joint marine seismic understanding kung saan ipinapa-explore sa China — miski labag sa Konstitusyon — ang 142,866 sq km na karagatan sa Palawan at Kalayaan Islands sa gilid ng Spratlys. Nang umangal ang Vietnam, na umaangkin din sa bahagi ng Spratlys, isinali ito sa joint seismic study nu’ng March 2005. Habang nagsa­sagawa ng joint study, bawal magmina ang Pilipinas ng oil o gas sa naturang pook — na pag-aari naman ng Pilipinas. Saad sa kasunduan na dapat ito ilihim miski limang taon nang mapaso. Parang ibinenta ang Pilipinas: Kapalit ng understanding ay $2 bilyong utang kada taon na pinagkukumisyunan. Kabilang na ang $330-milyong NBN-ZTE deal kung saan sangkot sina Gloria at Mike Arroyo sa $200-milyong kickback.

Nang mabisto at batikusin kamakailan ang kasunduan, nagmalinis ang Malacañang. Kesyo raw si noo’y Speaker Joe de Venecia ang naggiit ng joint seismic study; pero tauhan naman ng Malacañang ang pumirma. Kesyo ipag­tatanggol daw ng Malacañang ang teritoryo ng bansa; pero sa salita lang ‘yon, dahil sa gawa ay inilihim pa ang pagbenta ng sobereniya.

Magsisimula pa lang ang imbestigasyon ng Senado at Kamara sa pagtataksil. Samantala, ipinasa nu’ng Dis­yembre 2007 sa Kamara ang panukalang baselines ng teritoryo ng Pilipinas. Sakop sa baselines ang Ka­layaan at Scarborough Shoal, isla sa gilid ng Zambales na ina­angkin ng China. Imbis na i-third and final reading na ito ng Kamara, biglang bumaliktad ang committee on foreign­ affairs, na hawak ng mga galamay ni Arroyo, at ipinabalik ito sa komite. Umaangal daw kasi ang China.

Lumitaw nu’ng Holy Week kung bakit ibinalik sa komite ang panukala. Aalisin pala ng Malacañang ang Kalayaan at Scarborough mula sa sakop na teritoryo ng bansa. Ituturing na lang itong “regime of islands.”

Nagsinungaling pa ang Malacañang. Kesyo hindi raw umaatras ang Pilipinas sa paggigiit ng sobereniya. Pero sa totoo lang, kapag tinawag na “regime of islands” ay ina­ako ng bansa na maaaring mapasa-kamay ng China ang teri­toryo. Talagang taksil na mangungulimbat ang pamunuan.

More overpricing by ZTE in WiMAX

GOTCHA, Published in The Philippine Star, Friday, March 28, 2008

The Senate is hiring independent experts to analyze the rates in the DOTC-ZTE contract for a national broadband network. The work would be surprisingly easy. The WiMAX portion of Equipment alone will show huge overpricing — by tens of millions of dollars.

This will be gleaned by comparing the DOTC-ZTE contract costs for WiMAX with the quotations from the subcontractor, Alvarion of Israel. Concerned persons provided The STAR pertinent documents.

Earlier shown was overpricing of $27 million (P1.35 billion) for the CPEs, or customer premised equipment (Gotcha, 26 Mar. 2007). Alvarion had quoted ZTE only $743.16 apiece in May 2006, or a total of P19 million for 25,844 sites. But the DOTC-ZTE contract of Apr. 2007 had it at $46 million, or nearly two-and-a-half times higher.

There was obvious overpricing as well in the other WiMAX aspects: base stations and cables, licensed software, warranties, and services.

When ZTE tapped Alvarion in 2006 as WiMAX subcontractor, the Chinese telecom firm was proposing only a fraction of the NBN. Through Filipino brokers, it was offering the Commission on Information and Communications Technology (under the Office of the President) only 22 base stations. In Oct. 2006 President Gloria Arroyo transferred the NBN project to the DOTC (Dept. of Transportation and Communication), which increased the number of base stations to 300.

Alvarion had quoted ZTE $8,853.60 for each base station equipment and cable. So for the 300 base stations the total should have been $2,656,077. At that rate, ZTE already would have made a good 20-percent profit, since Alvarion was offering it a “partner’s price” — actually a 20-percent discount. Such 20-percent margin is high in the very competitive telecom business.

But the DOTC-ZTE contract stated $8,735,272 for the same equipment and cables in 300 base stations. ZTE upped the price more than three times. Such 330-percent markup is unusual in telecoms. Technical men aver that it never would have happened had the government conducted open bidding instead of negotiating behind closed doors.

Testifying at the Senate, former ZTE technical consultant Dante Madriaga said they did start with less number of sites and base stations. But even back then, they already were more than doubling the prices to split the overpriced profit between ZTE and the Filipino brokers. Madriaga said the overpricing grew exponentially as the DOTC expanded the NBN’s coverage and thus required more equipment and services.

More overpricing — meaning kickbacks — were in licensed software. For instance, Alvarion quoted ZTE $4,800 ($6,000 less 20-percent “partner’s price”) for its basic AlvariSTAR infrastructure. The DOTC-ZTE contract listed the same program at $13,902 apiece, or $27,804 for two copies.

Alvarion also quoted $1,600 ($2,000 less 20%) per driver of the site devices; DOTC-ZTE listed this at $4,634 apiece, or $9,268 for two copies.

The three network elements also were jacked up. Where Alvarion quoted only a discounted $320 for a 10-license pack, DOTC-ZTE stated $8,109 for a 100-license pack, instead of $3,200 for ten times more. Where Alvarion offered $400 for a 1-license pack. DOTC-ZTE listed $69,509 for a 1,000-license pack. Where Alvarion quoted $3,800 for its MBST 10-license pack, DOTC-ZTE listed $471,689 for the 100-license pack. The overcharges became exponential since the DOTC-ZTE contract called for nine, 25 and three copies of these, respectively.

Even the extended warrantee fee was padded. Alvarion had offered a fee of seven percent of the total WiMAX equipment. Had there been no overpricing, the seven percent would have been computed from $19 million for 25,844 sites and $2.65 million for 300 base stations. But since these items were bloated to $46 million and $8.73 million, respectively, the seven-percent warranty fee also rose exponentially.

All this, for a project that experts say is not even necessary.

It should be noted that the DOTC keeps daring critics of the deal to “do the numbers” to prove any sleaze. Yet it also refuses to disclose the contract. Fortunately the Senate Blue-Ribbon Committee released to the press its copy of the annexes, including the WiMAX Bill of Quantities. And experts gave The STAR additional documents on the Alvarion price offers.

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RP is short of two million tons of rice each year. Instead of boosting farm productivity, government chooses to import the lack. Why? Because there’s kickback every step of the way, that’s why.

Malacañang said it would buy at $700 per ton. But the selling price of Vietnam is only $400 per ton. Somebody is about to make $300 per ton, or $600 million for two million tons.

There’s also a fat commission for the official who will decide which shipping firm to hire — to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars.

And there’s kickback even in jute sacks. Since the ’80s, this item elicits a dirty take of 15¢ per sack. If one ton requires 20 sacks, then two million tons will need 40 million sacks. The sack buyer earns a cool $6 million.

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E-mail: jariusbondoc@workmail.com

ZTE doubled rates of WiMAX supplier

GOTCHA, Published in the Philippine Star, Wednesday, March 26, 2008

ZTE Corp. more than doubled the price of WiMAX equipment it was getting from a subcontractor for the national broadband network (NBN). So in its contract with DOTC, the Chinese firm marked up the telecom gadgets to $46,107,524 for 25,844 units, when it should have cost only $19,206,194.

Claiming honesty in the hot deal, DOTC has been daring critics to “do the numbers.” The numbers of WiMAX alone in the $330-million contract belie it. There was overpricing of $26,901,330 ($46,107,524 — $19,206,194), or P1.35 billion, when the sale was signed in Apr. 2007.

The fraud emerges when comparing DOTC-ZTE contract annexes with price quotations of ZTE’s WiMAX subcontractor, Alvarion of Israel. Documents were provided to The STAR by concerned sources.

One DOTC-ZTE annex, “NBN Project WiMAX BoQ (Bill of Quantities), specified the following:

CPEs (Customer Premise Equipment) Subscriber Units

Item: BMAX CPE ODU PRO SA 3.5

Quantity: 25,844

Unit Price ($): 1,784

Total Price ($): 46,107,524

Description: BreezeMAX PRO CPE Outdoor Radio Unit

BreezeMAX brand is by Alvarion, a pioneer in WiMAX technology. WiMAX is short for Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access, a system of transmitting data over long distances, point-to-multipoint. It was the way DOTC-ZTE proposed to link up national and local government offices via 300 base stations and 25,488 sites.

Alvarion quoted its WiMAX prices to ZTE Corp. in May 2006. At that time ZTE was negotiating, through Filipino brokers, with the Commission on Information and Communication Technology (under the Office of the President) to supply only a fraction of the NBN.

ZTE’s proposal to CICT then was only for 63 sites. Alvarion quoted ZTE then $46,819 for the 63 BreezeMAX units, or $743.16 apiece. At that fee ZTE already had a comfortable profit of 20 percent, since Alvarion gave a “partner’s price” to the Chinese firm of only $576++ apiece. Such 20-percent margin for ZTE was high in the very competitive telecom business.

Malacañang in Oct. 2006 reassigned the NBN plan to Dept. of Transportation and Communication (DOTC). The DOTC increased the number of sites to 25,844, supposedly for wider coverage. Given the unit price of $743.16, this should have cost only $19,206,194. And with the “partner’s price” Alvarion was giving, ZTE would have made nearly $4 million as its 20-percent margin on the $19,206,194.

But ZTE upped the price nearly 2-1/2 times to $46,107,524. Such 250-percent margin is unusual in telecoms. Experts say it would have been impossible had there been public bidding instead of quiet negotiations.

Former ZTE technical consultant Dante Madriaga explained the fraud to the Senate this month. Price padding “grew exponentially” as the DOTC expanded the coverage and ordered more units, he said.

That ZTE was selling a third party’s WiMAX model also contradicts the claims of DOTC officials that they went only for the best. ZTE may now be deep in WiMAX research and assembly, but at the time it was talking to supply the NBN, it had yet to produce its own units. For the NBN, ZTE was planning to get from OEM (original equipment manufacturer) Alvarion.

BreezeMAX was a 2004 prototype of fixed WiMAX 802.16-2004, using an outdoor antenna. In late 2005 pioneers released a new standard, the nomadic system 802.16-2005, also called mobile WiMAX. ZTE dealt with CICT in May 2006 and signed the sale to DOTC in Apr. 2007 of Alvarion’s 2004 fixed-standard BreezeMax. Yet since early 2006 the WiMAX Forum of 520 or so operators, developers and suppliers already preferred the cheaper yet more powerful, thus cost-efficient 2005 mobile standard.

(The nomadic version — now produced by giants Motorola, Nortel, Alcatel-Lucent, and Nokia-Siemens, among others — not only is mobile but also has reliable indoor penetration. Soon the 802.16-2005 Intel chipset will be embedded in all laptops and mobile phones.)

As a fixed model, BreezeMAX would have used 3.5-GHz frequency. Such weak signal can beam data only 12 km radius using outdoor antenna, and less than 1 km using indoor CPE. Nomadic models (802.16-2005) can penetrate indoors, even without outdoor antennas, up to 30 km radius. In print ads and Senate hearings DOTC officials falsely cited mobile features to defend the fixed model they had contracted from ZTE.

Too, the BreezeMAX was not capable of VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) — another DOTC lapse. Fixed WiMAX needs Access Gateway Primary Voice Equipment in order to transmit voice messages. That’s why the DOTC-ZTE contract had to insert $15,175,887 more to make the WiMAX carry voice aside from data. And that again was in overprice of $12 million.

Sen. Loren Legarda wants the Senate to commission an independent study of the DOTC-ZTE deal to determine if there was fraud. Reviewers would spot red flags in the WiMAX portion.

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The Supreme Court ruling on executive privilege officially makes Congress toothless. There’s no more point in investigations. The Senate might as well abolish the Senate blue ribbon committee.

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E-mail: jariusbondoc@workmail.com

DOTC-ZTE contract ipasuyod sa eksperto

Inilathala sa Pilipino Star Ngayon, Tuesday, March 25, 2008

NOON pang mga unang hearing ng Senado sa NBN deal nu’ng Okt. 2007, hiniling na ni Sen. Loren Legarda na ipasuri ito sa in­dependent experts. Sa ganitong paraan aniya mababatid kung may overpricing talaga sa contract, at kung mapapa­kinabangan talaga ito ng gobyerno.

Merong Philippine Electronics and Telecommunications Federation, binubuo ng mga indibidwal, kompanya at samahan sa industriya. Kasama ru’n ang mga espesyalista sa iba’t ibang larangan ng telecoms, computers, at engineering. Maaring sa PETEF humingi ang Senado ng mga ekspertong susuyod sa 52-pahinang kontrata at 11 annexes nito upang malinang kung saan ang dayaan.

Tumestigo si Joey de Venecia na nu’ng pirmahan ang $330-milyong kontrata nu’ng Abril 2007, merong isiningit ang mga kakompetensiya na $200-milyong (P10-bilyong) kickback. Idinagdag ni Jun Lozada na nu’ng nagnenegosasyon pa lang sa paunang presyong $262 milyon, $130 milyon na umano ang pinapo-protektahang komisyon ni Comelec chief Benjamin Abalos. At sinumpa ni Dante Madriaga na, bilang ZTE consultant, alam niya na ang “tongpats” (patong o suhol) ay $230 milyon. May magsasabing biased ang mga paratang nina Joey, Jun at Dante — pero maaring gawing panimulang batayan ng independent experts ang mga papeles ng tatlo.

Meron pang ibang maaring gamitin ang independent experts­. Hawak ko, halimbawa, ang kopya ng mga dokumen­tong isinumite ng Alvarion of Israel sa ZTE nu’ng Mayo 2006. Price quotations ito para sa WiMAX units, equipment na bibilhin ng ZTE sa Israel at saka ibebenta sa DOTC. Du’n pa lang, maki­kitang halos triniple ng ZTE ang presyong ibinigay sa kanila ng Alvarion subcontractor. Saan pa napunta ang overprice kundi sa kickback o “tongpats”.

Maari ring sa iba pang sources magbatay ng pagsusuri ang experts. Basta’t habang hinahanap nila ang overpricing, alamin na rin nila kung mangyayari ang gan’ung katiwalian kung open bidding imbes na closed negotiations ang ginawa ng DOTC.

‘Regime of islands’ means surrender

GOTCHA, Published in the Philippine Star, Monday, March 24, 2008

Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita reportedly explained Thursday the recall of the Archipelagic Baselines Bill from Congress. And his words were alarming. It’s now clear it was Malacañang that derailed the passage of the law that finally would delineate RP’s territorial waters as required by the United Nations. Worse, it’s for reasons that weaken RP sovereignty.

The bill already had passed the House of Reps’ second reading in Dec., and was supposed to have been read a third and final time last Jan. From there it would have gone to a bicameral conference committee for reconciling with the Senate version. Once signed by the President, the law would then be basis for RP’s 200-mile exclusive economic zone under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.

But something odd intervened. The committee on foreign relations, dominated by Malacañang allies, in unprecedented action recalled the bill from the plenary. Supposedly there was need for further refinement at their level. But the outvoted chairman Antonio Cuenco detected the real reason. The Dept. of Foreign Affairs quietly had lobbied with the members to stop the bill in its tracks. Later Cuenco learned why, when the RP embassy sent an unsigned memo from Beijing about Chinese displeasure with the bill.

China’s peeve is expected. The bill defines RP’s archipelagic borders based not only on the Treaty of Paris, but also on later events with China. From 135 base points starting and ending with RP’s northernmost Amianan Island, boundary lines connect the old outermost isles east and south. Then the baselines go beyond Palawan and Luzon on west side. Included now in RP western territory are territories not just as ceded by Spain to America in 1898, but by virtue as well of long occupation in the South China Sea. These are: the seven islets of Kalayaan at the edge of the disputed Spratlys, and Scarborough Shoal just off Zambales. China has been claiming the whole of the Spratlys as its Nansha Islands, to include Scarborough. That claim overlaps RP’s, and even intrudes on traditional Palawan waters. In 1992 China unilaterally drew a map of its borders to include spurious historic rights over Mischief Reef, Sabina Shoal and Commodore Reef just off the Palawan coast but 900 miles from China’s southernmost island of Hainan. Based on such declaration, China in 1995 put up naval facilities in Mischief, and has tried to plant buoys on Sabina and Commodore. That RP is now drawing its own baselines, but using scientific data prescribed under UNCLOS, naturally is unsettling China.

During the House committee deliberations and two plenary readings, members scrutinized four options in delineating the territorial map. Option 1 enclosed the main archipelago as defined in 1898 and Scarborough Shoal, with Kalayaan chain as a “regime of islands.” Option 2 contained only the main archipelago, with Scarborough and Kalayaan as “regime of islands.” Option 3: main archipelago and Kalayaan, with Scarborough as “regime of islands.” The House adopted Option 4, enclosing the main archipelago, along with Scarborough and Kalayaan.

Enter Ermita. In last week’s reports, the Little President virtually admitted to having the bill tossed back to the committee. The reason, he said, was to include an amendment from a little known Commission on Maritime and Ocean Affairs that he chairs. And the amendment is for the Archipelagic Baselines Bill to use only Option 2. That is, to encompass only the main archipelago, and treat Scarborough and Kalayaan as a “regime of islands.”

“Regime of islands” means RP concedes Scarborough and Kalayaan to be disputed islets and waters. Explaining why he wants such risky classification, Ermita said Malacañang only wants to put the dispute on record without weakening RP’s territorial claim. We can only hope the former AFP vice chief of staff and defense secretary was misquoted. For he seems to be surrendering to foreigners what Filipino soldiers fought long and hard for, some to the death.

China deems Kalayaan, Scarborough and more — Mischief, Sabina, Commodore — to be its territories, based on its 1992 law. To strengthen its own claim, RP must put its occupied islands and traditional territories in its own archipelagic baselines law. For RP to rank Scarborough and Kalayaan as mere “regime of islands” is to deflate such claim. RP is starting on the wrong footing. It’s like beginning a game of basketball with a jump ball not at the center but on the opponent’s court.

Surely, Ermita knows that RP soldiers had spent grueling months on end patrolling Scarborough and Kalayaan, fending off Chinese (and other) incursions, and giving up lives to grave illness and weather. He must know that diplomacy too requires grit.

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Quote of the week, from Will Rogers: “I don’t make jokes, I just watch the government and report the facts.”

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E-mail: jariusbondoc@workmail.com

Nauusong katiwalian: Pag-imento sa sarili

SAPOL, Inilathala sa Pilipino Star Ngayon, Monday, March 24, 2008

KAKAIBANG klaseng sangay ng gobyerno ang Kongreso. Dito, ang mga kasapi ang nagtatakda kung mag­kano ang kikitain nila sa pamamagitan ng pork barrel, allowances, at budget ng committee chairmanship. Ang resulta: Nag-uuwi ang bawat senador o kongresista ng P5 milyon hang­gang $8 milyon kada buwan — na pera ng taumbayan.

Ginagaya ng executive branch ang Kongreso. Sa government-owned and -controlled corporations, mga board directors, na pawang appointees ng Malacañang, ang nagtatakda ng sariling per diem, allowance at bonus.

At dahil nakahahawa ang kasakiman, gumaya na sa Kongreso at GOCCs ang isang line agency sa ehekutibo — ang Philippine Overseas Employment Administration.

Nahuli at kinastigo ng Commission on Audit ang POEA dahil sa ilegal na pagbayad ng P40 milyong incentives at allowances sa opisyales at empleyado nitong nakaraang tatlong taon. Pinuna rin ng COA sa pagbigay ng POEA sa executives at rank-and-file ng cellphones. Inabuso pa nga ito ng POEA officers and men, anang COA, dahil siningil nila sa ahensiya ang pag-download nila ng P796,000-halaga ng ring tones, games, picture messages at iba pang unauthorized dahil personal na items.

Ang masaklap dito, ang perang kinupit umano ng POEA ay galing sa Overseas Workers Welfare Fund. Pera ito na sapilitang hinuhulog ng overseas workers para repatriation, hospitalization at iba pang emergency ha­bang nasa-abroad.

Dapat suyurin rin ng COA ang iba pang ahensiya ng gobyerno, pati ang mga munisipyo, city hall at kapitolyo upang ilantad ang pag-uumento sa sarili. Nauusong pa-raan ito ng katiwalian. Sa isang government bank nga, binayaran ng board directors ang sarili nila ng tig-P7-milyong bonus nu’ng Enero. At para hindi umangal ang officers, binalatuan din sila ng tig-P3 milyon hanggang -P5 milyon.

Siyempre ang nalulugi sa katiwalian ay ang mama­mayan. Imbis na magasta ang pera ng bayan sa serbisyo publiko, ibinubulsa lang ng iilan.

Visita Iglesia for prayer, culture

GOTCHA, Published in The Philippine Star, Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Tomorrow, Filipino Catholics will trek to seven choice churches in the custom of visita iglesia. By foot or car they will arrive to meditate on the Passion of Christ and repent for their sins. It’s also their occasion to take in the awesome intricacies of their church art and traditions. The visita helps Filipinos understand why they are what they are.

The practice of visiting seven churches on Holy Thursday dates back to the early Church. After the Mass of the Last Supper at dusk, Christians would go to the seven great basilicas in Rome for prayer and atonement. In that Mass the bishop would reenact Jesus’ washing of the Apostles’ feet, an act of humility that devotees reflected on. The Sacramentary, the Church’s official altar book, says that afterwards, “the faithful should be encouraged to continue the adoration before the Blessed Sacrament for a suitable period of time during the night, according to local circumstances, but there should be no solemn adoration after midnight.”

Cities in Poland and Ireland, where there are many churches, and Malta are known to observe the visita iglesia. Pre-War Manila newspapers reported on visita iglesia in the capital and the rest of Luzon. Records of churches throughout the islands indicate that the tradition was practiced centuries earlier. But since churches were then few and far between, the visita would be limited to only two or three adjacent parishes.

Filipinos have introduced variations of the visita. Notably they start it not after the twilight Mass but in the morning, and then cap the visits with the Mass. If possible to drop by seven churches, the first five are devoted to a decade each of the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Holy Rosary; the last two, for seven each of the 14 Stations of the Cross. But strictly everything must end before midnight, to emphasize Christ’s death on Good Friday.

In Cebu a favorite visita iglesia is to the Augustinian-built churches in the southeast. There are six, all dating back to the late-18th and early-19th centuries: the Church of Nuestra Señora del Pilar de Zaragosa in Sibonga, the Church of San Miguel Arcangel in Argao, the Church of San Guillermo el Hermitaño in Dalaguete, the Church of Nuestra Señora del Patrocinio in Boljoon, the Church of Nuestra Señora de la Immaculada Concepcion in Oslob, and the Church of San Jose Labrador in Nueva Caceres. Cebuanos complete the seven visits at the cathedral in the capital city.

Bohol province has restored and maintained 38 of 42 Spanish-era churches. Any contiguous seven can easily make up the visita. The country’s oldest church is in the seaside town of Baclayon. Its museum of antiquities rivals those of Europe; unfortunately thieves have been preying on the crowns of religious statues made of precious stones, and head and hands of ivory.

In Pangasinan, the visita is usually by foot, starting at dawn, to the churches of Manaoag, San Jacinto, Binmaley, Santa Barbara, Urdaneta, Lingayen, and Dagupan. Devotees in Pampanga, Bulacan and Nueva Ecija have their own pick of churches.

Manilans likewise prefer the older churches: the Manila Cathedral and San Agustin Church in Intramuros; Paco Church; Malate Church; Baclaran Church; and Santo Domingo, Sante Teresita and Lourdes Churches in Quezon City.

Of late, the visita iglesia has become a tourist affair, especially in the provinces of Rizal and Laguna. Out of custom, the Rizal visita starts at the Church of the Virgin of Good Voyage in Antipolo, then moves on to the lakeshore and hillside towns of Teresa, Baras, Morong, Tanay, Binangonan, and Angono. In Laguna, must-see churches are those in the towns of Mabitac, Siniloan, Pangil, Pakil, Paete, Pagsanjan, Lumban, Nagcarlan, Majayjay, Magdalena, Liliw, Pila and Calauan. One wonders if from the church in his Calamba hometown Jose Rizal had drawn inspirations for the characters and settings in his novels. History and local treats go together. Between stops, devotees buy rice cake, puto, and even the potent lambanog coco-rum.

Of note is the church of Pakil (San Pedro de Alcantara), for it tells the story of most of the old Philippine churches. It is cross-shaped with short transepts, and three baroque altars, gilded and painted white. Shields and crosses decorate the facade. A convento stands next to it, surrounded by an atrium. The architecture is eclectic, picking up from different periods and designs. The church, first built in 1732, underwent many alterations: due to fire in 1739, major change of Franciscan administration in 1769, the casting of the giant bell in 1777, long-delayed renovation in 1840, another fire in 1851, earthquakes in 1880 and 1937, War in the 1940s, and modernization in the 1980s.

The church of Majayjay (San Gregorio) is also of note because it has been well preserved. It also opens to a plaza where stands a statue of Emilio Jacinto. After Bonifacio’s execution, the Brain of the Katipunan had continued fighting the Spaniards but did not join Aguinaldo’s forces. He contracted malaria and retired to this mountain town, where he died in Apr. 1899 at the age of 23.

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E-mail: jariusbondoc@workmail.com

Pag-kontra ng China senyales para sa atin

SAPOL, Pilipino Star Ngayon, Tuesday, March 18, 2008

UMAANGAL umano ang China sa territorial baselines bill sa House of Representatives. Senyales ito na mabuti ang panukala para sa interes ng Pilipinas at hindi ng China. Ibig sabihin, isabatas na agad ang territorial boundaries ng Pilipinas sa karagatan, upang mapatulong natin ang United Nations sa pagpapalayas ng mga nanghihimasok na dayuhan. Mas importante, mapapakinabangan na sa wakas ng Pilipinas ang minerals, oil at gas sa karagatang teritoryo nito, at ang pangisdaan sa dagdag pang 200-mile exclusive economic zone.

Kumokontra ang China sa pagtatakda ng baselines ng Pilipinas dahil legal nating maaangkin ang Spratlys sa ilalim ng UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. Talo ang China du’n. Pinalalabas niyang kanya ang Spratlys dahil umano sa “historic claims”. Pero ayon sa UNCLOS, ang siyensiyang geology ang dapat na batayan ng teritoryo.

Nabanggit ko na kahapon ang geological history na batayan ng Pilipinas para angkinin ang Spratlys. Ayon sa masusing pag-aaral ng University of London, nu’ng sinaunang panahong wala pang tao sa mundo ay lumin-dol nang malakas sa mainland Asia kung saan ngayon ang China. Tumalsik ang pahabang piraso ng lupa sa Pacific Ocean, at ito ang naging Palawan. Dahil nagkaroon ng Palawan, umusbong ang Borneo sa timog. Dahil sa Pala­wan at Borneo, mula sa undersea volcanic eruptions ay umusbong naman ang mga pulo-pulo Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao, at Indonesia.

Samantala, sa kanluran ng Palawan, nagkaroon ng bagong dagat na ngayo’y tinatawag na South China Sea sa pagitan ng mainland Asia (Indochina) at Palawan. Ang continental shelf — lupang pinagpapatungan ng Palawan — ay sakop ang Spratlys, na nais angkinin ng China. Ang dulo ng shelf ay hanggang 50 milya kanluran ng Kalayaan Islands sa Spratlys.

Inaangalan ng China ang baselines bill dahil patunay ito na atin ang Spratly Islands na naglalaman ng maraming oil and gas deposits at pangisdaan. Dapat lang igiit ng gobyerno ang katotohanan ng ating claim.

Chinese objection means RP is right

GOTCHA, Published in The Philippine Star, Monday, March 17, 2008

A short item in this space in Jan. set the bosses of a government bank on a witch-hunt for my source. It was about the bank president paying himself, the board directors and senior officers P2 million to P10 million each in loyalty bonus. The amount depended on the receivers’ closeness to the president. One newcomer got P4 million just for being a yes-man, not for fulfilling the bank’s role of development of the Philippines.

Peeved old-timers are gathering evidence of wrongdoings by higher-ups. Papers show the president packing the bank with old cronies as highly paid consultants. More damning, that the cash in gift bags given out by Malacañang last Oct. came from the government financial institution.

* * *

That China is objecting to the baselines bill in Congress is a helpful sign for RP. It means the House of Reps is on the right track in defining once and for all RP’s western archipelagic boundary facing the South China Sea. Rep. Antonio Cuenco has all the reasons to bellow, “Full steam ahead and damn the torpedoes,” in pushing for his bill’s passage. Weak-kneed foreign affairs officials, shaking in their booties from China’s protests, must stand aside.

The bill would set 135 base points to draw RP’s outermost limits. The primary data are the same base points in the Treaty of Paris by which Spain ceded the archipelago in 1898 to the rising US naval power. It dumps the old RP claim to Sabah, now Malaysia’s state of North Borneo. But added are Scarborough Shoal off Zambales, and the Kalayaan Isles at the edge of the Spratlys west of Palawan.

Long occupation of Scarborough and the seven islets of Kalayaan, now a municipality of Palawan, is RP’s basis for territorial claim. Since the American Regime, Luzon fishermen have been using Scarborough, 135 miles west, for rest and repairs. As for Kalayaan, Filipino mariner Tomas Cloma discovered and laid claim to the isles in the early ’50s. RP in the ’70s dispatched soldiers to inhabit the islets. Civilians from Palawan and Luzon soon populated the biggest one, Pag-asa.

More than that, RP’s claim is geological. Earth science is the requisite, under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, for a coastal or archipelagic state to declare its borders. Specifically, UNCLOS entitles such a state to a continental shelf that geologically exists as an extension, albeit submerged, of its land territory. A shelf is officially defined as “the seabed and subsoil of the submarine areas that extend beyond its territorial sea throughout the natural prolongation of its land territory to the outer edge of the continental margin, or to a distance of 200 nautical miles from the baselines from which the breadth of the territorial sea is measured where the outer edge of the continental margin does not extend up to that distance.” The area 200 miles from its baselines is that state’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

Dr. Jose Antonio Socrates, Palawan’s provincial health officer, has been explaining for two decades the geological basis to claim Kalayaan. Also a geologist, Socrates cites studies by the University of London on how Earth’s land formations evolved. Based on limestone and other evidence, it appears that Palawan once was a part of mainland Asia. Just that, a mighty earthquake, millions of years ago before man, flung the elongated island onto the Pacific Ocean. The split created between Palawan and Asia a water channel now called the South China Sea. And with Palawan pushing the ocean floor eastward along with volcanic eruptions, islands of the RP and Indonesian archipelagoes later sprouted.

The cited study goes on: as it drifted farther from Asia, Palawan grew its own continental shelf, stretching all the way to Kalayaan Isles near what is now the Spratlys. That shelf ends where it begins to slope steeply into the sea bottom, 50 miles west of Pag-asa.

From the evidence, Cuenco’s baselines bill draws RP’s 200-mile EEZ to commence westward from Scarborough and Kalayaan. Once enacted, RP must submit the baselines for UNCLOS verification. Thence, only RP may fish or mine its EEZ, and can enjoy UN shield against poaching or illegal passage of, say, vessels laden with nuke waste.

China protests because RP’s baselines bill goes against its own claims. Invoking false “historic rights”, China in 1992 arbitrarily drew baselines to cover not just Kalayaan and Scarborough but more. Roped in were Mischief Reef, Commodore Reef and Sabina Shoal, all closer to Palawan, in defiance of scientific evidence required by UNCLOS. On this basis, China built in 1995 “fishermen’s shelters” on Mischief that actually are naval and air force facilities. During monsoons when RP’s puny naval craft can hardly patrol the coast, China attempts to plant buoys on Commodore and Sabina. If China’s baselines were to be accepted, its 200-mile EEZ would encompass Palawan and RP’s internal Sulu Sea. China routinely barges into territories it dreams to own. Breaching international treaties in the ’90s, Chinese navy ships docked on Antarctica and machine-gunned penguins.

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E-mail: jariusbondoc@workmail.com

The ‘Spratly deal’: Facts and figures (3)

(SOURCE: Encyclopedia Britannica Online)

GOTCHA, Published in The Philippine Star on Friday, March 14, 2008

(Continued from Wednesday)

The joint marine seismic understanding (JMSU) allegedly violated the Constitution. Critics point to four broken provisions — on protecting territory and sovereignty, exploration of natural resources, and Senate ratification of international agreements. The breaches are in items of the 2005 RP-China-Vietnam pact:

• “Seismic Work (Article 4) — It is agreed that certain amount of 2D and/or 3D seismic lines shall be reprocessed within the Agreement Term. Seismic work shall be conducted in accordance with the seismic program unanimously approved by the Parties. Interpretation of and evaluation on (sic) data should be done by a joint team created by the Parties either in Beijing or Hanoi or Manila.”

2D or 3D surveys are normal parts of oil or gas exploration. Meaning, the JMSU pertains to exploration for natural resources, which may be done only under stringent constitutional rules. There is no data to interpret or evaluate in the pre-exploratory phase.

• “The Joint Operating Committee (Article 5) — The Parties shall establish a JOC ... three representatives each... Decisions of the JOC shall be made unanimous through consultation... The Parties shall empower the JOC to: ... sign service contracts for seismic acquisition and processing....”

• “Service Contracts (Article 6) — The Parties agree to use CNOOC’s or PetroVietnam’s or PNOC’s affiliates or other parties to process the relevant seismic data in accordance with international bidding procedures. However, preference shall be given to one of the Parties or affiliate whose bid the Parties deem as competitive and reasonable compared with other bids in terms of quality and price for the service required.”

These provisos indicate the pact ceded government’s licensing power to China and Vietnam. The government, under strict constitutional rules, grants service contracts to survey, explore or drill oil and gas only to qualified groups. Based on the map and coordinates, the agreement area of 142,886 sq km covers not only the Spratlys but also the continental shelf of Palawan (Gotcha, 10 Mar. 2008).

• “Negotiation Term (Article 8) — In the event Parties elect to enter into negotiations for signing a more definitive agreement for further cooperation covering all or part of the Agreement Area prior to or at the expiration of the Agreement Term, such negotiations shall take place during the Agreement Term or during the period of 90 days following the date of expiration. The Negotiation Term shall be reserved for the sole purpose of negotiations among CNOOC, PetroVietnam and PNOC. During such Negotiation Term, unless otherwise agreed by the Parties, no party shall have the right to negotiate an agreement for a marine seismic undertaking or any other agreement(s) with any other party with respect to all or part of the Agreement Area.”

Since the pact covers Palawan’s continental shelf, this proviso bars government from licensing private firms to extract oil or gas in RP territory. This is the complaint of Forum Energy Philippines, which is ready to drill in its 2002 seismic-exploration area in the Reed Bank with deposits bigger than Shell’s Malampaya 150 km away. In effect, the government during the agreement period forfeited potential state income from oil and gas mining.

• “Assignment (Article 9) — CNOOC shall assign all its rights to and obligations under the Agreement to affiliate CNOOC China Limited, PetroVietnam to PetroVietnam Investment and Development Co., and PNOC to PNOC-Exploration Corp.... No Party shall assign all or part of its rights and obligations under the Agreement to any other parties without prior written consent of the rest of the Parties.”

Invoking this proviso, China resists the awarding of a drilling license to Forum Energy.

• “Confidentiality of Information (Article 10) — This Agreement and all relevant documents, information, data and reports with respect to the JMSU shall be kept confidential during the Agreement Term and within five years after its expiration and shall not be disclosed by a Party to any other party without the written consent of the rest of the Parties.”

No wonder Malacañang kept mum since the pact signing in Mar. 2005. This despite a constitutional provision (National Economy and Patrimony) that requires the President to report any exploration deals to Congress within 30 days of implementation (Gotcha, 12 Mar. 2008).

• “Miscellaneous Provisions (Article 11) — All data and information acquired for the fulfillment of the Seismic Work and their interpretation shall be jointly owned by the Parties. In the event any Party wishes to sell or disclose the above-mentioned data and information after the expiration of the confidentiality term, prior written consent shall be obtained from the rest of the Parties.”

What if China refuses to grant that written consent? How will RP use the seismic data on its own continental shelf for its own benefit?

Weeks after the pact signing, China promised RP $2 billion in loans per year till 2010. From the loans came at least 20-percent kickbacks. The contract for the $330-million national broadband network contained 60-percent kickback of $200 million.

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E-mail: jariusbondoc@workmail.com

Gas natin sa Palawan di mapapakinabangan

SAPOL, Pilipino Star Ngayon, Friday, March 14, 2008

UNA, nantraydor ang mga opisyales nu’ng 2005 sa pag­pirma sa China at Vietnam ng joint exploration sa Spratlys at continental shelf ng Palawan. Kwenta pina­hintulutan nila ang mga dayuhan na pumasok at mag-espiya sa teritoryo ng Pilipinas.

Tapos nangulimbat ang mga opisyales mula sa Chinese loans na bumuhos sa Pilipinas matapos paya­gan ang panghihimasok sa teritoryo. Nagbalato ng $2 bilyong pautang kada taon ang China — sa Northrail, Southrail, NBN-ZTE at tatlong dosena pang proyekto — kung saan di bababa sa 20% ($400 milyon) ang kickback, ayon kay Jun Lozada.

Heto naman ang pangatlong kakambal na salot na tumama sa bansa: Hindi mapakinabangan ng Pilipinas ang langis at natural gas sa karagatan ng Palawan dahil ayaw pumayag ang China. Ayon kasi sa 2005 joint exploration agreement, bawal sa tatlong bansa na i-assign kanino man ang mga yaman sa karagatan nang walang kasulatang pahintulot ng iba. Lugi ang Pilipinas sa ka­sunduang ito dahil bahagi ng Spratlys na okupado natin at continental shelf ng Palawan ang sakop na karagatan.

Nu’ng 2002 pa in-award ng gobyerno sa pribadong kompanya ang general survey and exploration contract 101 sa bahagi ng Reed Bank sa Palawan. Nais na ng kompanya na mag-drill ng gas. Pero hindi na maari ito dahil sa katrayduran at pangungulimbat na nagsimula nu’ng 2005.

Mas malaki pa sana kaysa Malampaya ang gas sa Reed Bank. Ayon sa tatlong seismic surveys, 3.7 trillion cubic feet ang reserve, at maaring umabot pa sa 20 TCF. Bilyun-bilyong piso ang halaga nito, at dapat may parteng 60% ang gobyerno sa pagbenta. Kaso, hindi mapakina­bangan ang gas. Kasi nga ihinihirit ng China ang joint exploration pact para pagkaitan ng drilling license ang kompanya.

Kailangang-kailangan ng gobyerno ng pera para sa edukasyon, pakain, patubig, pabahay at pangkalusugan ng mahihirap, at ng sundalo’t pulis. ‘Yung 60% parte sana ng gobyerno sa langis at gas resources ang puwedeng pagmulan ng pondo. Pero natraydor at nakulimbatan tayo.

The ‘Spratly deal’: facts & figures (2)

GOTCHA, Published in The Philippine Star, Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Source: http://www.bosnewslife.com

(Continued from Monday)

The 2004 and 2005 joint exploration pacts with China and Vietnam affect four constitutional provisions, namely:

• “National Territory (Article I) — The national territory comprises the Philippine archipelago, with all the islands and waters embraced therein, and all other territories over which the Philippines has sovereignty or jurisdiction, consisting of its terrestrial, fluvial, and aerial domains, including its territorial sea, the seabed, the subsoil, the insular shelves, and other submarine areas. The waters around, between and connecting the islands of the archipelago, regardless of their breadth and dimensions, form part of the internal waters of the Philippines.”

• “Declaration of Principles and State Policies (Article II

) — Sec. 7. The State shall pursue an independent foreign policy. In its relations with other states the paramount consideration shall be national sovereignty, territorial integrity, national interest, and the right to self-determination.”

• “National Economy and Patrimony (Article XII) - Sec. 2. All lands of the public domain, waters, minerals, coal, petroleum, and other mineral oils, all forces of potential energy, fisheries, forests or timber, wildlife, flora and fauna, and other natural resources are owned by the State. With the exception of agricultural lands, all other natural resources shall not be alienated. The exploration, development, and utilization of natural resources shall be under the full control and supervision of the State. The State may directly undertake such activities, or it may enter into co-production, joint venture, or production-sharing agreements with Filipino citizens, or corporations or associations at least sixty per centum of whose capital is owned by such citizens. Such agreements may be for a period not exceeding twenty-five years, renewable for not more than twenty-five years, and under such terms and conditions as may be provided by law. In cases of water rights for irrigation, water supply, fisheries, or industrial uses other than the development of waterpower, beneficial use may be the measure and limit of the grant.

“The State shall protect the nation’s marine wealth in its archipelagic waters, territorial sea, and exclusive economic zone, and reserve its use and enjoyment exclusively to Filipino citizens.

“The President may enter into agreements with foreign-owned corporations involving either technical or financial assistance for large-scale exploration, development, and utilization of minerals, petroleum, and other mineral oils according to the general terms and conditions provided by law, based on real contributions to the economic growth and general welfare of the country. In such agreements, the State shall promote the development and use of local scientific and technical resources.

“The President shall notify the Congress of every contract entered into in accordance with this provision, within thirty days from its execution.”

• “The Executive Department (Article VII) — Sec. 21. No treaty or international agreement shall be valid and effective unless concurred in by at least two-thirds of all the members of the Senate.”

The 2004 RP-China pact originally was billed “joint exploration.” Then-presidential legal counsel Merceditas Gutierrez (now Ombudsman) found it to break the Constitution. It was changed to “An Agreement for Joint Marine Seismic Undertaking in Certain Areas of the South China Sea.”

“Seismic” still pertained to exploration, which the Charter forbids unless under stringent conditions. So when Vietnam was included in 2005, a “cure” was proposed thus: “A Tripartite Agreement for Joint Scientific Research in Certain Areas of the South China Sea.” But the signed version still had the revealing title, “A Tripartite Agreement for Joint Marine Seismic Undertaking in the Agreement Area in the South China Sea.”

That 2005 pact stated from the start: “Signing of this Agreement shall not undermine the basic position held by the government of each Party on the South China Sea issue.” RP’s position is that it owns the Spratlys, and the reefs and shoals close to Luzon that China has been grabbing.

Still, the rest of the pact contains “treason” and “sellout”, according to critics. Among the telling provisions:

• “Whereas, the Parties expressed desire to engage in a joint research of petroleum resource potential of a certain area of the South China Sea as a pre-exploration activity.”

This allegedly reveals the aim of exploration, only worded as “pre-exploration” to avoid RP constitutional entanglements.

• “Whereas under authorization of the Philippine Government, PNOC has the exclusive right to sign this Agreement with CNOOC and PetroVietnam for a joint marine undertaking within the Agreement Area.”

Palace lawyer Sergio Apostol tries to make it look as if signatory PNOC president Eduardo Mañalac had no official order from the President to ink the pact. This proviso indicates that PNOC, part of the executive branch under the energy department, had consent from higher-ups.

• “Financing (Article 3) — Each party shall be responsible for the costs of its own personnel ... (to) include but not be limited to salaries or wages, allowance, expenses for travel and accommodation ... Expenses incurred in carrying out the activities ... shall be shared by the Parties in equal shares.”

To date $16 million reportedly has been spent on the exploration. Meaning, the deal was consummated, contrary to Malacañang denials. Yet the President never submitted the pact for congressional approval.

(More on Friday)

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E-mail: jariusbondoc@workmail.com

Mangungulimbat (Karugtong ng lumabas kahapon)

SAPOL, Pilipino Star Ngayon, Tuesday, March 11, 2008

NU’NG 2004 tinalikuran ng RP ang ASEAN. Gumawa si Gloria Arroyo ng sariling kasunduan sa China. Kesyo joint seismic studies daw ng Spratlys ng PNOC ng Pilipinas at CNOOC ng China. Nagpa-joint exploration din siya ng bahagi ng Spratlys na sakop ng Pilipinas, at pati ng continental shelf ng Palawan.

Ayon sa UN Law of the Sea, ang continental shelf ay bahagi ng teritoryo ng bansang-kapuluang tulad ng RP. Kaya kuwenta pinayagan ni GMA na manghimasok ang China sa okupadong isla at legal na teritoryo ng Pilipinas. Isa itong katraydoran!

Ilang taon ding itinago ng Pilipinas ang kontrata mula sa publiko. Nag-leak na lang ngayon ang detalyes sa mga nagsasaliksik. Ayon sa ulat ni Barry Wain sa Far Eastern Economic Review: “Ang tinutukoy na pook, ma­lawak na karagatan mula Palawan sa Katimugang Pili­pinas, ay sumasaklaw sa Spratlys at bumabagtas sa Ma­lampaya, isang produktibong gas field ng Pilipinas. Ika-anim ng kalawakan, pinakamalapit sa pampang ng Pili­pinas, ay ni hindi sakop sa inaangkin ng China.”

Kataka-taka ito. Ang joint exploration ay solusyon sana sa malimit na girian ng Pilipinas at China sa Spratlys. Kaya, bakit isinama rito ni GMA ang legal na teritoryo ng Pilipinas?

Ang sagot ay nasa sumunod na kilos ng China. Ilang linggo lang matapos ang pirmahan, inanunsiyo ng China na magpapautang ito ng $2 bilyon kada taon para sa mga proyektong imprastruktura at pangsakahan ng Pili­pinas. Hanggang 2010 daw, taon ng pagbaba sa puwesto ni GMA.

Kaya dumagsa ang Chinese loans magmula nu’ng 2005, kasama ang Northrail at Southrail. Nu’ng 2007 lang, mahigit 35 proyekto ang iniutang ng Pilipinas sa China, kabilang ang national broadband network ng ZTE.

Ibinunyag ni ZTE scam whistleblower Jun Lozada na mahina ang 20% kickback ng mga kawatang opisyales mula sa Chinese loans. Kung $2 bilyon kada taon ang pautang, e di $400 milyon ang kickback. Taumbayan ang magbabayad ng utang nang deka-dekada, pero yayaman agad ang mangungulimbat at traydor.

The 'Spratly deal': facts & figures (1)

GOTCHA, Published in Philippines Star, Monday, March 10, 2008

Source: http://www.middlebury.edu/SouthChinaSea

The Spratlys in South China Sea is a flashpoint due to overlapping claims over the isles and waters known to contain oil and gas. RP claim: by virtue of long occupation of seven islets called Kalayaan, with Pagasa the biggest. Other claimants: China, Taiwan, three ASEAN states Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei. All except Brunei have built fortresses. Firefights erupted between RP and Vietnam in the ’70s. Worse skirmishes sparked between China and Vietnam in same period to the ’90s.

China also claims isles beyond the Spratlys, close to Luzon well within RP’s 200-mile exclusive economic zone. China has built naval and air facilities on Mischief (Panganiban) Reef off Zambales, and Scarborough (Panatag) Shoal in Palawan. During monsoons, when RP military vessels can hardly patrol Palawan’s west coast, China puts buoys in Sabina (Bulig) Shoal and Commodore (Rizal) Reef.

Moves have been made to resolve claims peacefully. Most stirring: the “Declaration on Conduct of Parties in South China Sea,” by ASEAN and China, in 2002. Drafted by RP, it rallied the ten ASEAN states to stand as a bloc against China’s incursions and rising military presence in the region.

Two years later RP suddenly broke ranks from ASEAN and parleyed on its own with China. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo rushed to Beijing on Sept. 1, 2004 to oversee the signing of an “Agreement for Joint Marine Seismic Undertaking in Certain Areas in South China Sea.” RP and China tried to hide the pact, couching press statements in vague diplomatese. Eg., “turn an area of potential conflict into a zone of cooperation.” Apart from covering the contested Spratlys, the pact included RP territory off Palawan not even claimed by China.

Vietnam got wind of the inclusion of its own Spratly claims in the area, and protested. RP and China appeased Vietnam by letting it in on the deal. A sequel “Tripartite Agreement for Joint Marine Scientific Research in Certain Areas in South China Sea” was signed on Mar. 14, 2005. Then-Speaker Jose de Venecia witnessed the event in a Makati hotel, along with then-Energy Sec. Vince Perez, Foreign Undersecretary Sonia Brady, Chinese ambassador Wu Hongbo, and Vietnamese ambassador Dinh Tich. The participants then reported to Arroyo in Malacañang.

Salient features and provisions:

• Contracting parties: state oil companies of China, Vietnam and RP, namely, China National Offshore Oil Corp. (CNOOC), Vietnam Oil and Gas Corp. (PetroVietnam), and Philippine National Oil Co. (PNOC).

• Signatories: In the 2004 pact, CNOOC president Fu Chengyu, and PNOC president Eduardo V. Mañalac. In 2005, CNOOC vice president Zhou Shouwei, PetroVietnam CEO Tran Ngoc Canh, and again PNOC’s Mañalac.

• Agreement term. “Three years from start of implementation,” with 90 days immediately thereafter to renegotiate extension or new pact. If so, the deal must expire this Friday, Mar. 14, 2008. But there’s a view that implementation commenced only July 14, 2005, when the PNOC assigned subsidiary PNOC-Exploration Corp. as implementer. That same day the energy department granted PNOC-EC a license to explore Palawan waters. Still another interpretation is that the pact ends 90 days after July 14, 2008, the renegotiation period.

Expiry date is important for private firms that aim to extract gas from Palawan waters thrown into the agreement area. China, invoking the pact, resists such drilling in Palawan by firms that were granted survey rights well before the 2004 or 2005 signings. Drilling in RP waters could provoke the Chinese Navy to steam in and enforce “joint rights” over the area.

• Agreement area: 142,886 sq km of South China Sea, detailed in Annex A, encompassing the Spratlys and the Philippine continental shelf off Palawan. Continental shelf is that strip of submerged land from the coast to the point where it begins to slope down to the seabed. Under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, such shelf is part of an archipelagic nation’s territory.

• Annex A: a one-page “Location of the Agreement Area.” Two maps, of South China Sea and of Spratlys, show the nine-cornered area to be just off Palawan’s west, straddling its entire coast, with coordinates.

Corner		Longitude		Latitude
1		118º 00' 00"		10º 52' 00"
2		117º 00' 00"		08º 55' 00"
3		112º 54' 00"		08º 55' 00"
4		112º 54' 00"		09º 50' 00"
5		113º 57' 00"		09º 50' 00"
6		113º 57' 00"		11º 10' 00"
7		114º 32' 00"		11º 10' 00"
8		114º 32' 00"		11º 56' 00"
9		118º 00' 00"		11º 56' 00"

Barry Wain, in the Far Eastern Economic Review (Jan-Feb. 2008), reported that one-sixth of the area is RP territory not even claimed by China or Vietnam. Plotting the coordinates, it is only 25 km away from Palawan’s southern town of Balabac. (More on Wednesday)

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E-mail: jariusbondoc@workmail.com