Filipino Star - November 2010 Issue

16
Verdict on Philippines' 'trial of the
century' seen within Aquino's term
A verdict on the massacre in
Maguindanao, in the southern
Philippines, should be reached within
President Benigno Aquino III's term
because delay will ultimately lead to a
denial of justice, Justice Secretary
Leila de Lima said.
"I think saying that the trial might
drag for 10 years is too much. That is
not acceptable ... That would be a case
of justice delayed, justice denied. We
should finish (the trial) within this
current administration. That's why we
(in the prosecution) are giving our best
effort and zeal," De Lima told reporters.
Families of the 57 massacre
victims, as well as media organizations
and human rights groups, have
lamented the snail-paced progress of
the so-called "trial of the century."
Sigfrid Fortun, legal counsel of the
primary suspect Andal Ampatuan Jr.,
was quoted to have said that the trial
might drag for over 10 years "if (it is)
not properly managed."
De Lima acknowledged that the
"perceived delays" were among the
problems in the trial given "the gravity
of the offense" as well as the purported
"capacity, resources and status of the
accused."
She also admitted that there were
"loopholes, gaps (and) weaknesses" in
how the trial was being prosecuted,
but issued an assurance that these
were being addressed.
2 trial days a week
In fact, De Lima said, a case
management conference was held on
Tuesday among Judge Jocelyn Solis
Reyes, the prosecution and the
defense to address the sluggish pace
of the trial.
She said it had been agreed that
there would now be two trial days
weekly, with at least two witnesses
presented per trial day.
"These were among the
agreements reached during that case
management meeting ... We are just
waiting for the confirmatory order from
the judge," De Lima said.
The trial opened in September with
nearly 200 accused and more than 500
witnesses.
De Lima also said she had a
"heart-to-heart" talk with the public
prosecutors after their colleague,
Senior State Prosecutor Leo Dacera III,
died suddenly of cardiac arrest early
this month.
More focused, aggressive
She expressed confidence in the
capabilities of the state lawyers led by
Senior Deputy State Prosecutor
Richard Anthony Fadullon and Senior
State Prosecutor Juan Pedro Navera,
but said she had ordered them to be
"more focused and more aggressive"
during the trial.
"They should always object and
block dilatory moves on the part of the
defense," she said.
Priority
De Lima said she had begun
limiting the Ampatuan prosecutors'
caseloads but could not guarantee
that they would be working exclusively
on the massacre trial.
"They said they can handle other
cases although they are prioritizing the
Ampatuan trial. This is a very important
trial. This is the trial of the century," she
said.a
Remittances increase 7.8%
in 9 months
Remittances sent home by
Filipinos abroad rose at the fastest
pace in nine months as the global
recovery supported demand for
Filipino sailors, engineers and
carpenters, spurring gains in the
nation’s currency.
The funds increased 10.6 percent
from a year earlier to $1.6 billion in
September, the central bank said
Monday.
Remittances grew 7.8 percent to
$13.8 billion in the January-to-
September period, nearing the central
bank’s 8-percent target for the whole
year—to $18.6 billion from $17.3 billion
last year.
The World Bank expects this
year’s remittances to be even higher at
$21 billion.
Rising remittances, exports and
investment in the $160-billion
economy have boosted the peso,
prompting policy makers to implement
measures to slow the currency’s
advance.
The Bangko Sentral last month
eased the rules on foreign-exchange
outflows, and Finance Secretary Cesar
Purisima said last week the
government might pay some of its
foreign debt ahead of schedule and
increase local borrowing next year.
“There’s still room for growth in
remittances” going into the fourth
quarter when spending peaked,
Jonathan Ravelas, a strategist at
Banco de Oro Unibank Inc., said
before the report.
The peso’s decline this month “is a
long- overdue correction” and the
currency would continue its advance
until next year as the dollar remained
weak, he said.
The Philippines’ foreign exchange
reserves rose to a record $56.8 billion
in October. The peso reached 42.47 to
the dollar on Nov. 4, the strongest level
since May 2008.
“The double-digit growth
registered for [September] was the
highest during the year,” Bangko
Sentral Governor Amando Tetangco Jr.
said.
Remittances from both sea-based
and land-based workers increased by
11.4 percent and 6.9 percent,
respectively.
Tetangco said the continued
preference for the skills of Filipino
workers combined with the expanding
international remittance transfer
networks of bank and non-bank
channels explained the steady flow of
remittances into the country. a
The North American Filipino Star
For the second time in as many
foreign trips, President Benigno
Aquino III lashed out at the
Philippine press, telling Filipinos
working in Japan they probably
“do not get all the news” because
of the Philippine media’s heavy
emphasis on negative reporting.
“What happens is that to get
the attention of more people, they
tend to keep on scratching tiny
scrapes,” the President said in a
speech to the Filipino community
in Yokohama Sunday night.
“It is natural for anybody to lose
his drive to work if [the] only stories
of our failure are reported.”
But Mr. Aquino assured the
Yokohama-based Filipinos that
their families in the Philippines
were “in good hands.”
“What we want to convey is
simple,” he said. “Good things are
happening to our country left and
right. We are not failing the
Filipinos. You are still my boss.”
The President kept up his
attacks on the Philippine press
Monday afternoon on his return,
saying he was expecting more bad
news even though he had reported
drumming up $5.45 billion in new
investment commitments from
Japan.
“Here I am today reporting on
what we have achieved from our
trip to Japan, and I believe
tomorrow we will read again more
criticisms against us, but that’s
okay,” he said.
Of the $5.45 billion in new
investment commitments, $2.85
billion were in the pipeline,
including $2.6 billion from
www.filipinostar.org
nOVEMBER 2010
Aquino grumbles against media’s
negative reporting
Marubeni Corp. for the expansion
of the Sual, Calaca and Pagbilao
power plants; $133 million from
Toshiba Corp. to expand its
electronics factory; and $122
million from Itochu Corp. to
develop 11,000 hectares of
sugarcane in Isabela to produce
bio-ethanol, Mr. Aquino said.
The remaining $2.6 billion in
pledges were in the final stages of
negotiation, and those included an
unsolicited bid for the Metro Rail
Transit Line-7; Light Rail Transit 2’s
East and West expansion project; a
digital TV system and equipment;
and a liquefied natural gas project.
Mr. Aquino shrugged off a
recent Pulse Asia survey showing a
9-percent drop in his approval
rating and a 5-percent decline in
his trust rating. The Aug. 23
hostage fiasco that left eight
Chinese tourists dead might have
contributed to it, he said.
Pulse Asia’s October survey
showed 79 percent of Filipinos still
approved of his performance, while
80 percent still trusted him.
In July 2010, although Mr.
Aquino had already been
proclaimed, the survey
respondents were asked to rate his
performance during his last three
months in the Senate.
“Rated as a senator, President
Aquino scored an overall approval
rating of 88 percent and an overall
trust rating of 85 percent,” Pulse
Asia said.
During his official visit to
Vietnam in October, the President
criticized “a Manila-based
newspaper of minor circulation” for
quoting a Catholic bishop as
saying he might fail to complete his
six-year term as a result of his poor
management skills and his reliance
on unsound legal advice from his
trusted lieutenants. a
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