President Benigno Simeon Aquino III on Monday said he was optimistic that the Philippines and China were moving closer to resolving the territorial dispute on Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal.
“It’s still too early say na lumiwanag na ang sitwasyon pero at least medyo mas nalalapit tayo doon sa pagliwanag ng sitwasyon at pag-resolba nga nito using diplomatic means which was what we stated from the very beginning,” Aquino said.
In an interview with reporters after attending the Mindanao Rural Development Program 2 - People’s Organization Congress in Davao City, the President said the two countries are holding a dialogue over the issue.
“May pinatutunguhan ‘yung pag-uusap, parang medyo lumabo for a while pero ngayon ay mukhang nagkakaroon ng liwanag,” Aquino said.
The president further said the Philippines consulted various legal entities about the best method to resolve the issue.
“Hinihintay pa natin ‘yung nag-aaral. Kasi binigyan ng terms of reference recently ni (Foreign Affairs) Secretary (Albert) Del Rosario itong ating legal consultants and they will be coming back to us after they finish their study,” he said.
Fishing ban
Meanwhile, Aquino welcomed the decision of the Chinese government to implement a fishing ban in South China Sea from May 16 to August 1.
“Kung mag-i-impose sila ng ban doon sa mga kababayan nila na sila ang nagha-harvest ay bakit hindi natin iwe-welcome ‘yang ban na ‘yan, ano? Makaka-recover lalo na itong Panatag Shoal. So thank you kung i-impose nila doon sa mga tao nila dahil sa totoo lang mas konti ‘yung ating mangingisdang nagpupunta diyan,” he said.
He noted that the Filipino fishermen going to the area are mostly using small boats.
“Yung atin pumupunta doon palaot kadalasan bangka. ‘Yung bangka ay de-canoe na outrigger, maliit, maliit ang kayang i-harvest. ‘Yung sa kanila ay talagang medyo malalaking fishing trawler, ano, ‘yung kung ikukumpara doon sa atin siguro mahina ‘yung times ten o mga times fifteen ‘yung capacity,” he said.
Aquino said he received report from the Philippine Coast Guard and Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) about the adverse effects of harvesting giant clams in Panatag Shoal.
“Naapektuhan na ‘yung Scarborough Shoal—something about the discoloration of the water—I’m not a marine aquaculturist so I’m not that conversant with the details. But there seems to have been damage already inflicted so ‘yung there’s damage, we want to help the ecosystem recover, and a ban would help in the recovery process,” he said.
To prevent Filipino fishermen from going to Panatag Shoal, Aquino said BFAR is using some device to improve fishing conditions in Masinloc and other areas in Zambales and Pangasinan..
While Aquino was in favor of the fishing ban, Del Rosario was not.
"Our position is we do not recognize China’s fishing ban in as much as portions of the ban encompass our EEZ. But the President has decided to that, in view of the accelerated depletion of our marine resources, it would be advisable for us to issue our own fishing ban for a period of the time to replenish our fish stock," Del Rosario said.
PHL Ambassador to China
"Our position is we do not recognize China’s fishing ban in as much as portions of the ban encompass our EEZ. But the President has decided to that, in view of the accelerated depletion of our marine resources, it would be advisable for us to issue our own fishing ban for a period of the time to replenish our fish stock," Del Rosario said.
PHL Ambassador to China
“I’m interviewing people pero I haven’t chosen a singular entity. We’re trying to accelerate that process,” Aquino said.
“Given the complexities of our relationship with China right now, it has to really be somebody who is the best that we can produce,” he added. - VVP, GMA News
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Ralph Recto, who authored the 12% VAT to commodities some eight years ago now wants to revert back the said VAT to 10% now.
According to the Senator, the enforcement of 12% VAT before was due to a "need" as it serves as an economic medicine the past years.
“I believe the prescription for the 12 percent VAT as an economic medicine has expired. It's time to lower the dosage,” Recto said in a statement.
Recto said the revenues being produced by the EVAT can be sufficed by the income of PCSO, PAGCOR and Malampaya.
The Senator added that income from the three government corporations should be included in the national budget instead of being an off-budget subject to the full control of the Office of the President.
According to his statement, Pagcor expects a P45-billion gross income this year while PCSO and Malampaya reported a total P31-billion and P43-billion income, respectively, in 2011.
However, whenever his proposal will be granted, he doubts that oil companies will cut down their price.
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The lady senator Miriam Santiago is facing a complaint filed by human rights group called Born Free Coalition for Truth & Justice and Raphael Intelligence and Safety Provider, Inc.
According to the complainants, Santiago is "exceeding the bounds of propriety, good manners and right conduct in her public tirade as senator-judge against the prosecution panel.”
They have considered the words coming from the senator's mouth as inappropriate and an insult to the members of the prosecution and indignation to millions of the Filipinos watching the Corona impeachment trial calling them "gago" at the 26th day of the impeachment trial.
“The committee on ethics is required to act in order to spurn from bad precedence to any member of the Senate acting beyond their propriety and good manners otherwise the office will no longer enjoy a public trust,”a complainant said.
Santiago is not yet issuing a response on this matter but on her tweet [@senmiriam], she said, “I'm very grateful to the Filipino people who see that despite everything, I'm a goodhearted person who's just trying to do good.”
Judge Jesus Mupas of Pasay City Regional Trial Court Branch 11 had ordered the transfer of congresswoman Gloria Arroyo to a government hospital as part of his hospital arrest due to her pending electoral sabotage charges filed against her by the Commission on Elections (Comelec).
Arroyo's teledrama is becoming more exciting each day. The real-life drama series is getting more twists and more characters are popping up daily from the hospital to airport to court.
Well, we as Arroyo's avid viewers of her real-life drama series aren't getting bored. It gets more exciting daily as we can see that Arroyo is becoming a good actress and her director seems to give as unpredictable outcome of what is going to happen next to her teleserye.
Above all, it is not our cost, it is the cost of her production team to create more dramatic stories and the chopper-transfer thing seems like the director wants Gloria to become a new action star! At the end of the day, it is the expense of the drama production team as we viewers just sitting back, relaxing then enjoy watching her story, now an action film while the movie producer is spending more money to make the film more thrilling!
