Cayetano to remain Duterte ‘partner for change’
Taguig Rep. Alan Peter Cayetano has vowed to remain an ally of President Duterte despite his ouster as House speaker earlier this month......»»
DFA’s Manalo off to Vietnam, Laos to strengthen bilateral ties
The Department of Foreign Affairs on Monday announced the visit of Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo to Vietnam and Laos to review current relations and explore ways to strengthen bilateral ties with the two countries. In a statement, the DFA said Manalo will travel to Hanoi from 31 July to 3 August for the 10th Philippines-Vietnam Joint Commission on Bilateral Cooperation. Manalo and his Vietnamese counterparts are set to discuss areas of cooperation such as defense, maritime, economic and people-to-people ties. He is also slated to speak at the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam with the theme, “Philippines-Vietnam Strategic Partnership in the Age of Change.” The 9th Philippines-Vietnam JCBC was held in Manila in 2019, attended by then-Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. and Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh. The DFA chief will then travel to Vientiane for the 2nd Philippines-Lao PDR JCBC on 3-5 August, where he will take stock of the current Philippines-Lao PDR relations and explore ways to expand cooperation. He will also engage with the diplomatic community through his talk at the Institute of Foreign Affairs, entitled “Closer Together: People at the Center of Philippines-Laos Relations.” The first Philippines-Lao PDR JCBC was also held in Manila last 2017, attended by then DFA Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano and Lao Foreign Minister Saleumxay Kommasith. According to the DFA, the JCBC is the primary mechanism that the Philippines has with both Vietnam and Laos that provides an opportunity to comprehensively discuss bilateral relations, as well as various regional and global issues. The post DFA’s Manalo off to Vietnam, Laos to strengthen bilateral ties appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Cayetano to remain Duterte ‘partner for change’
Taguig Rep. Alan Peter Cayetano has vowed to remain an ally of President Duterte despite his ouster as House speaker earlier this month......»»
Time to change our system and structure of government
The recent imbroglio in Congress caused by the rift between Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano and Lord Allan Velasco shows yet again the need to change the system and structure of government forced on us by the US when we became “independent.”.....»»
What will Cayetano& rsquo;s Strike 3 be?
The word “strike” and the phrase “striking out” are part of the language of the United States’ national game, baseball. An inning comes to an end, and a change-over takes place, when the person at bat fails to hit three successive perfect throws from the pitcher. The batter is said to have struck out......»»
Cayetano or Velasco – it’s the same banana
There was no need to replace Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano with Lord Allan Velasco if the objective was to effect change......»»
As COVID-19 ravages the Philippines, a bible thumper insults our intelligence
RJ Nieto We have been made too aware of the speakership catfight in the House of Representatives. On one side is Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano who, last year, agreed to a term sharing deal that entails his voluntary resignation this month. On the other side, the PDP-Laban Lord Allan Velasco, head of the House’s biggest political party. If Cayetano just complied with the term-sharing agreement that he himself insisted on having, then the nation could have moved on and returned its focus on the COVID-19 pandemic that has been ravaging the erstwhile flourishing Philippine economy. But that was not the case: after getting a taste of his lucrative position for 15 months, Cayetano didn’t want to let go. In mid-September, Cayetano said he should remain as the speaker as he claims to enjoy majority support. Days later, his camp even went a step further when Camarines Sur Rep. LRay Villafuerte accused Velasco of planning to delay the passage of the crucial 2021 National Budget. President Rodrigo Duterte, acting as head of the Kilusang Pagbabago Coalition, mediated the rift when he called for a meeting with Cayetano and Velasco. There are various versions of what happened during the meeting, but what’s clear is that both sides agreed to a vote on the speakership on October 14th. At this point, minus the speakership drama, pretty much everything else in the House, especially the 2021 budget deliberations, was going quite smoothly . At this point, the Cayetano-Velasco catfight was still a purely political skirmish. But things took a turn for the worse during the October 7 House session. While the budget debates were still ongoing, Cayetano abruptly declared the end of debates. He then moved to suspend House sessions until mid-November, effectively cancelling the October 14th vote for speaker. Cayetano’s move squarely violated Section 16(5), Article VI, of the Constitution, which forbids the House from adjourning for more than three days without the Senate’s nod. The term he used — “suspension” — is just semantic acrobatics for adjournment. Cayetano’s move effectively delayed the transmission to the Senate of the budget’s House version from October 14 to mid-November at the earliest. For the sake of holding onto power, he escalated the purely political skirmish into a full-blown national crisis. If Cayetano and his allies did not want a speakership change because his replacement will just delay the budget, then why did he delay the budget himself? The COVID-19 pandemic is creating a New Normal, and we need a national budget that takes this New Normal into account. However, the speaker’s latest political stunt risks the reenactment of the previous national budget, a budget that was written before COVID-19 ravaged us. How can the nation address the rampaging pandemic without a national budget that recognizes COVID-19 as a national disaster? We need more IT infrastructure funding as more Filipinos engage in e-commerce and as schools shift to online learning. We need more healthcare funding as Filipinos continue to get infected with this virus. We need more fiscal support for ailing businesses as thousands have gone bankrupt after the economy ground to a halt. But all of these may not happen because of what Cayetano did. He can bicker with anyone as much as he wants, but he should not sacrifice the welfare of this nation for the sake of his ambitions. Cayetano loves to quote the Bible every chance he gets, but it appears that the Bible he reads excludes all the verses that mention greed. I know for a fact that politicians want power. Running for office, after all, is inherently a quest to gain power. But power is sought not for power’s sake. Power is just a means to towards an end, and that end should be public welfare. Too bad for us earthlings, Cayetano may not share the same view of power. And even if he does, his notion of power is a warped, twisted version that serves his aspirations more than those of the Filipino people. And despite what he’s done, he has the gall to insult our intelligence by claiming that he has the nation’s best interests in mind. If there’s anything we can learn from Cayetano, that would be new and more creative ways to cringe. Alan Peter Cayetano’s latest stunt suggests that while Alan Peter Cayetano may still love this country, Alan Peter Cayetano happens to love Alan Peter Cayetano more. For comments and reactions, please email TP@ThinkingPinoy.net or visit Facebook.com/TheThinkingPinoy.....»»
Where is the House of Representatives’ mace?
Restive members of the House of Representatives are now looking for the Congress’ mace after it was reportedly brought home by one of their colleagues soon after Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano suspended the sessions last Wednesday. The suspension of the sessions was seen by the House members as Cayetano’s attempt to stall the change of […] The post Where is the House of Representatives’ mace? appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Moderating oligarchs’ greed
Last July 13, President Rodrigo Duterte spoke before soldiers in Jolo, Sulu and triumphantly declared he “dismantled the oligarchy that controlled the country’s economy without the need to declare martial law.” This came a few days after a committee in the House of Representatives rejected ABS-CBN’s franchise renewal bill. During his penultimate State of the Nation Address on July 27, Duterte took another swipe at the oligarchs whose great wealth has enabled them “to influence public policy to their advantage.” He cited as an example the Lopezes “who used their media outlets in their battles with political figures” including himself during the 2016 elections. People seem to forget that Duterte’s avowed mission to put oligarchs in their proper place was part of his 2016 campaign promise to stamp out corruption. At that time, he said the corruption in the Bureau of Customs and the Bureau of Internal Revenue was “small change in comparison to the high-level corruption that runs in the billions among the economic elite.” Oligarchy means the rule of the few, but its meaning has evolved to refer to powerful individuals or groups outside of government who are able to benefit from political connections to amass vast amounts of wealth and gain control of major industries. The term “oligarch” started popping up recently in mainstream and social media but its context in relation to what is happening in our society has become warped and obfuscated. To be fair, the President has given credit where credit is due, even to the so-called oligarchs when they helped the government in this COVID-19 crisis, but he said it is their abuses that he abhors. On several occasions, House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano pointed out how oligarchs use their wealth to gain power, while the political elite used their power to amass wealth. He expressed full support to Duterte’s advocacy in changing the current system where he believes the people “willingly consent to being held back by the few who control the economy and through that, the running of the nation.” According to Cayetano, the real threat to the stability of our socio-political and economic systems are those backroom deals that make exploitation legal – “the quiet acquiescing to a system that naturally favors the ultra-rich and very powerful.” He believes that not all oligarchs are bad, saying in a media interview: “Just like every entrepreneur wanting to expand their business, these would-be oligarchs might very well have started off with the most benign or even benevolent intentions. But the malignant DNA of unabated, uncontrolled capitalism, especially corporate capitalism, eventually comes to play, leading to people and systems being abused and exploited.” Cayetano clarified, though, that capitalism and democracy work as we have seen in other economies. He thinks the situation in the Philippines is not hopeless, and we can begin to change this corrupt system by acknowledging there is a problem and we are part of it. “This is a battle between those who are willing to fight their self-interest and change with the system, versus those who deny that there is anything wrong with the status quo, specifically as it relates to themselves, and instead simply choose to blame the politicians and officials in government,” he said. This brings to mind the statement attributed to a Cabinet member of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo who advised another top official to “moderate your greed.” Another cautionary tale is found in the recently re-launched book of Ricardo Manapat, who served as National Archives Director during the Arroyo and Ramos administrations. Manapat’s book is titled “Some Are Smarter Than Others: The History of Marcos’ Crony Capitalism” which is a classic work on anti-cronyism exposing the ill-gotten wealth of former President Ferdinand Marcos. Oligarchs may not be totally wiped out in the Philippines, since developed economies even have to contend with their presence. But Duterte’s relentless campaign against them could very well result in moderating their greed and freeing the country from their tight grip. nextgenmedia@gmail.com.....»»
Timing lang sa Charter change
Suportado ni House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano ang panukala ng League of Municipalities of the Philippines na pag-amyenda sa Saligang Batas. Ayon kay Cayetano, mahalaga na maamyendahan na ang 1987 Constitution pero dapat aniyang ikonsidera ang tamang timing. Sinabi ng lider ng Kamara na bagama’t maaaring talakayin ang Charter change ngayon, hindi nakikita na maaprubahan […] The post Timing lang sa Charter change appeared first on Bandera......»»
Akbayan to Sara: You don’t have to be president to speak vs China
MANILA, Philippines — Party-list group Akbayan said on Thursday that Vice President Sara Duterte does not have to be a president of the country for her to call out China’s intrusive actions over the West Philippine Sea (WPS). Empathy and a moral backbone is just what it takes to stand up with fisherfolk and frontline.....»»
Roque bares Duterte, China agreement to respect status quo in WPS
Roque bares Duterte, China agreement to respect status quo in WPS.....»»
Survey shows Cha-cha still unpopular with Filipinos — Senate leaders
Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri said that the findings of the survey by private pollster Pulse Asia, which was released on Wednesday, show that Charter change is an "unpopular move.".....»»
7 nanlaban drug suspects dead after Baste Duterte declares drug war
Less than a week after Davao City Mayor Sebastian Duterte declared a "war on drugs" in the city, at least seven drug suspects were killed during a buy-bust operation in the city — violence that highlights the seriousness of the mayor's recent threat of outright killing persons caught using illegal drugs......»»
CHR alarmed by war vs drugs in Davao City
THE Commission on Human Rights (CHR) is alarmed by Davao City Mayor Sebastian “Baste” Duterte’s “war against drugs”, as seven drug users were killed from different barangays in the city over the weekend, just a few hours after his declaration......»»
Revisiting Uniteam (Last of 2 parts)
THE Uniteam coalition of President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. and Vice President Sara Duterte, described by many political analysts as the "dream team", had come a long way since sweeping the 2022 elections......»»
Toral: Navigating through change: Insights from PMI manufacturing February 2024
Toral: Navigating through change: Insights from PMI manufacturing February 2024.....»»
88% of Pinoys oppose Cha-cha – Pulse Asia
Public opinion on Charter change, which last year was roughly divided among Filipinos, is now largely skewed toward those opposed to changing the country’s Constitution, a survey conducted by Pulse Asia showed......»»
Roque: Xi, Duterte agreed to keep West Philippines Sea status quo
The Philippines under former president Rodrigo Duterte had a “gentleman’s agreement” with China to keep the status quo in the West Philippine Sea, a former Cabinet official said yesterday, as fresh tensions surround the WPS due to recent incursions by Beijing that targeted a Filipino resupply mission and a research team......»»
Lalamove empowers aspiring women entrepreneurs to start their small businesses in PangNegosyo program
Lalamove, a leading on-demand delivery platform, has launched the Panalong PangNegosyo program for its thousands of women partner drivers to give out a business-starter package to three lady riders or drivers......»»
Most Filipinos reject Charter change, lifting foreign ownership restrictions
An overwhelming majority of Filipinos oppose changing the 1987 Constitution at this time, according to a new Pulse Asia Survey, with results showing Filipinos in all regions and all socio-economic classes did not support the lifting of foreign ownership restrictions in key industries......»»