Erap clears Binay

Former President and now Manila Mayor Joseph Ejercito Estrada said he believes Vice President Jejomar Binay will overcome his present difficulties and will continue to be the leading candidate for the presidency in 2016.

At the same time, he expressed doubts that Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Mar Roxas is the one who conceptualized the campaign against Binay dubbed as ‘Oplan Stop Nognog in 2016,’ meant to derail his bid for the presidency in 2016.

Mayor Estrada has told close friends he has no intention to run for president in 2016.

Liberal Party (LP) member and Caloocan Rep.Edgar Erice claimed that VP Binay’s camp hatched ‘Oplan Maligno,’ meant to divert the public’s attention from the corruption allegations being hurled at Vice President Binay. They picked the name Oplan Maligno since they expect the disinformation campaign to gain traction before the Halloween.

Erice said the political strategists of Vice President Binay were in panic mode. In desperation, they came up with the counterplot soon after Pulse Asia released its survey showing that the number of Filipinos who would vote for Binay as president dropped from 41% last June to 31% in September.

He added that Binay has also been staging “media events” in the provinces to amplify his accusations against Liberal Party (LP) leaders.

US to pay P87 million

Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto del Rosario announced in a Senate hearing that the United States (US) has agreed to pay P87 million for the widespread damage one of its minesweepers caused at the Tubbataha Reef after it ran aground in the biodiversity-rich area in January 2013.

Del Rosario said it was an interagency mechanism that determined the amount of compensation the Philippines would demand from the US.

Republic Act 10067, the Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park Act, the  country’s prime marine protected area and World Heritage Site, clearly states that any damage to the reef shall subject the responsible person or entity to the payment of administrative fines set by the Tubbataha Protected Area Management Board  (TPAMB) based on current valuation standards, as well as the cost of restoration, according to Senator Loren Legarda, chair of the Senate committee on foreign relations.

Senator Chiz Escudero, chair of the Senate committee on environment and natural resources, called on the US government to actively get involved in the restoration of the damaged reef.

The US government said it would pay $1.4 million for the damage caused to the reef.

That’s too small. The US should pay $5 million. We should demand not only for indemnity for damages but also for the restoration costs. Reefs are grown over centuries, the extent of the  damage and what it will leave cannot be quantified in any amount.

Not enough policemen

Better late than never, Interior Secretary Mar Roxas ordered  National Capital Region Police Office Regional Director Carmelo Valmoria to deploy additional 1,300 policemen to  crime-prone areas in Metro Manila, namely Masambong, EDSA, E. Rodriguez, and Aurora Boulevard in Quezon City (QC); Sampaloc and University Belt in Manila; Monumento in Caloocan; Baclaran in Pasay; and Kalentong and Shaw Boulevard in Mandaluyong.

Certainly, 1,300 is not large enough to cover all the crime-prone areas.

8-point reform areas

The 40th Philippine Business Conference has submitted to President Aquino an 8-point program of priorities the administration should focus in the last 20 months of the Aquino presidency.

Energy and power; education and human resources development; economic integration in Southeast Asia; port congestion; traffic congestion; transportation and infrastructure; agriculture; and rehabilitation in Super Typhoon Yolanda-hit areas in Eastern Visayas are the 8-point reform areas that businessmen urge the government to act on.

The resolution asking for mass government focus on the 8-point reform areas certainly implies that the administration has not effectively solved the problems in the last four years and four months.

The practical reality is that 20 months is not enough time to accomplish the solutions to the 8 major problems.

In addition, we have the serious crime situation compounded by police corruption and criminality in its ranks.

Binay wont’ give up

Congressmen Edgar Erice and Walden Bello have suggested that Vice President Binay should give up his presidential bid and concentrate on defending himself from charges hurled at him at the Senate.

Congressman Toby Tiangco, United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) interim president said in reaction: “Never, the Vice President will not turn his back on the poor who are expecting to have a free private school quality education, assurance of free hospitalization and financial allowance for senior citizens. These basic social services should be prioritized while the government is creating a job and livelihood opportunities.”

“The VP is the only one with the proven heart for the poor and the track record. He will go through all this black propaganda in order to fulfill his dreams of uplifting the life of the poor whom he has served since he was a human rights lawyer,” Tiangco added.

Congressman Rodito Albano of Isabela said he did not believe quitting, the presidential race is the best option for the Vice President. He has gone too far already and to quit now is an admission of guilt.

“People will gravitate sooner or later to him, especially the poor. He has a very high performance rating. In the end people will choose a candidate who will make a big difference in their lives,” Albano added.