By MIRIAM CORONEL FERRER
ABS-CBN News; 03/13/2010

Everyone has been focused on the election trail, and while we’re not looking, the government is fast tracking the selling of valuable government assets.

The issues surrounding the selling of the Food Terminals in Taguig and the real estate owned by government in Fujimi, Japan have already come out in the open. But still outside of the public glare is the ongoing negotiation to sell the 10 percent share of the government in the Malampaya oil field.

If Malacanang manages to arm twist the Philippine National Oil Company-Exploration Corporation (PNOC-EC) board to sign the deed of sale – and it seems they are trying their darnedest to pull this through — the billions of fresh funds from the sale will immediately prop up the sagging coffers of this administration. But the Filipino people and Philippine government will lose forever significant and potentially higher annual revenues from the resource in the next 20 years.

Gas from Malampaya fuels the 2,700 megawatt power plant in Batangas. So far, Malampaya is the biggest oil and gas producing field in the country. It is estimated to contain 3 trillion cubic feet of gas and 40 million barrels of recoverable oil reserves. However, there are indications that it has much more in store not only in the Malampaya structure, but also in the nearby prospects that Shell and the Service Contract 38 joint venture have identified and will be drilling soon.

The government plans to sell Malampaya for about US$300 million or P14 billion. In 2008, the PNOC-EC earned P3.08 billion, most of which came from Malampaya earnings. At this rate, and assuming steady gas prices and volume of sales, it can easily raise the $300 million in six years without having to sell the goose that lays the golden egg.

In fact, the Malampaya consortium has already fully recovered its initial $4.5 billion investment. It started operation only in 2001.

Obviously, disposing of the asset now will immediately strip the government, starting with the next administration, of a sustained and significant revenue source.

Without the Malampaya asset, the PNOC-EC’s net worth would be decimated. It won’t have the capacity to invest in other exploration projects.

The government plan is to eventually sell 60 percent of the PNOC-EC. But without the Malampaya goose, it won’t fetch much. If it sells PNOC-EC with its Malampaya share intact, it can fetch a much higher value for the same share. So why is the government so keen to sell the shares now?

This is the not the first time, the GMA administration tried to sell the participating interest of the PNOC-EC in Malampaya. In 2005, it approved the sale of half of Its participating share to the Korean LG company. But several people in government managed to block the planned sale. With only three months to go before a new administration takes over, high-ranking government officials are once more working fast to swing a deal asap.

Speculations as to motives are naturally rife when a government-brokered deal is evidently unwise from a business investment point of view and fraudulent from a governance perspective. Some surmise the funds will be diverted to private pockets, or electioneering. Others think the administration wants to exit without the shameful legacy of a huge budget deficit. That’s why they badly need the green bucks-transfusion. Still others cannot help think of even more sinister plots in the offing, such as the eventual privatization of the much devalued PNOC-EC at bargain prices to a favored investment group.

The president has promised a smooth transition to the next administration. And while we have yet to see through this promise, we have before us very high-ranking government officials hell-bent on using their terminal powers to squeeze the most benefit for themselves.

The president has been filling up all appointive positions with people whom we will have to suffer even after she has stepped down. It seems she will appoint the chief justice of the Supreme Court during the election ban period even at the cost of a constitutional showdown. It is pathetic that an incoming AFP chief’s inaugural speech is a plea for trust, given how little there is on both the appointer and appointee.

And now, we have this impending sell-out of a prime revenue-generating government asset for one more short-term and self-serving gain.

E-mail: mcf178@yahoo.com

BY ASHZEL HACHERO
Malaya; February 25, 2010

MANNY Villar, presidential candidate of the Nacionalista Party, and Manuel Roxas, vice presidential bet of the Liberal Party, have gotten the support of the Magdalo group which said it could deliver at least 250,000 votes.

The “price” of the support: He will not enter into an alliance with President Arroyo; and he will pursue the Magdalo advocacy on poverty alleviation, anti-corruption, peace in Mindanao, and reform and modernization of the Armed Forces.

A third condition, according to Acedillo, is for Villar to allow other detained Magdalo members to serve in government.

Asked to explain if the condition — “malayang makapagsilbi ulit sa gobyerno an gaming mga kasamahan sa pamumuno ng aming chairman a si Sen. (Antonio) Trillanes IV” — means they would seek amnesty for the detained Magdalo members, Acedillo noted the Magdalo members are still undergoing trial for coup and rebellion. He said they might move for amnesty in the next administration.

The group also endorsed senatorial candidates from different parties, including former fellow military officers Danilo Lim of LP and Ariel Querubin of NP, who are facing court martial for a plot to overthrow the Aquino government in 2006.

Former Air Force 1st Lt. Ashley Acedillo, Magdalo national spokesman, said his group reached the decision after a nationwide consultation process with 400 national and local chapters which have at least 55,000 members.

Acedillo said Villar got 52 percent of the votes of the members and Aquino, or five more than Aquino.

Asked why the Magdalo chose Villar over Aquino, Acedillo said Villar has the competence, character and vision to lead the country.

“Consider this a personal bias, having come from the military. It goes without saying that there is a premium in leadership. The ability to lead the men under you, I think that played a big role,” he said.

Acedillo said the group’s endorsement of Villar and Roxas does not mean severing friendship with other candidates.

“Sina President Erap Estrada, Sen. Noynoy Aquino, Sen. Loren Legarda at Mayor Jojo Binay ay mga mabubuting tao at sila ay mga kaibigan ng Magdalo at mananatiling kaibigan sa kabila ng pag-endorsong ito,” Acedillo said.

The Magdalo late last year endorsed Sen. Francis Escudero, who later dropped out of the presidential race.

Acedillo dismissed reports that the Magdalo group was offered money by Villar in return for its endorsement.

“Sampal po sa amin yun kung may ganun at siguro naman kilala ninyo kami kahit nakakulong kami hindi kami tumanggap ng ganun. Gusto ko lang pong linawin na walang perang involved dito. Mayroon po tayong advocacy na pinaglalaban dito,” he said.

The Magdalo’s other senatorial candidates are Pia Cayetano (NP), Jinggoy Estrada (Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino), Susan “Toots” Ople (NP), Gilbert Remulla (NP), Adel Tamano (NP), Ruffy Biazon (LP), Tito Sotto (NPC), JV Bautista (PMP), Joey De Venecia (PMP) and Bongbong” Marcos (NP).

Villar expressed gratitude to the Magdalo whose endorsement, he said, showed his being a “genuine oppositionist.”

“At inaasahan natin ang paglaya ng ating mga sundalong nagnais at patuloy na nagtutulak ng pagbabago sa bansa,” he also added.

Lim, a former general, thanked the Magdalo.

As to the Magdalo’s choice of presidential bet, he said he respects the choice. Lim is running under the LP and is an adopted candidate of the PMP. – With JP Lopez and Czarina Rufino

PRESS STATEMENT OF THE MAGDALO GROUP

Marso Café and Restaurant – October 30, 2009

With due respect to the Second Division of the Honorable Commission on Elections, ang Grupong Magdalo ay naniniwala na ang RESOLUSYON na inilabas nila kamakailan lamang patungkol sa aming petition for accreditation bilang partido politikal ay HINDI PATAS, WALA SA AYOS, at PUNO NG BUTAS dahil sa mga sumusunod na dahilan:

1. Ang RESOLUSYON ay base sa espekulasyon lamang, at nakatuon sa mga MOTIBO raw ng mga tagapagtatag ng grupong MAGDALO PARA SA PAGBABAGO (“Magdalo”). Ang RESOLUSYON ay hindi po base sa ebidensiya but on pure conjecture and presuppositions;

2. The RESOLUTION preempts the Court trying the case, kung saan ngayon ay nililitis pa po sa Makati Regional Trial Court, Branch 148. The RESOLUTION unfairly jumped at the conclusion that the founders of the Magdalo “employed violence” and “use unlawful means” and “in the process defied the laws of organized society” during the Oakwood Incident samantalang ang Korte mismong naglilitis sa kaso ay HINDI PA PO NAGLALABAS NG DESISYON patungkol dito.

3. Because of this, the RESOLUTION violated our Constitutional right to the presumption of innocence, lalung-lalong na ng mga tagapagtatag, and the right of the Magdalo to due process of law.

4. The RESOLUTION also cites documents which were never presented as evidence during our petition hearing and which are not part of the records of the case [i.e., the supposed records of the court martial hearing referred to in Letter (c) of the observations of the ponente as appearing on Pages 5 & 6 of the RESOLUTION].

5. The RESOLUTION also assumes facts NA HINDI BASE SA EBIDENSIYA. Its conclusions regarding the Oakwood Incident have no basis on record SA ANUMANG KORTE at sa katunayan ay HITIK PO SA PAGKAKAMALI. A case in point are the claims in the RESOLUTION that “several innocent civilian personnel were held hostage” and the Magdalo group used “violence” which are completely false and utterly baseless.

6. The RESOLUTION was not based on a determination of whether or not the MAGDALO met all of the requirements for accreditation as a Political Party – AND WE HAVE MET THE REQUIREMENTS po — but apparently, the RESOLUTION is based on the personal bias and prejudice of the ponente.

These bring to light other issues:

1. Fundamental fairness of the COMELEC

DAHIL PO SA RESOLUSYON na ito, it brings to the fore the issue of the fundamental fairness of the COMELEC. Mawalang-galang na po sa mga makakaliwang-grupo, but why is it that left-leaning groups, even those identified with the NPA, have been accredited by the COMELEC and have in fact been allowed to participate in the National, Local and Party-List elections while the Magdalo, which is composed of former officers and enlisted personnel of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, and now even civilians, are denied the same opportunity? Does the COMELEC have a bias against former members of the AFP? O dapat po bang maging retirado ka munang heneral ng AFP na kahit nabansagan kang berdugo pero dahil ka-alyado ng administrasyon ay papaboran ka?

2. Faulty Logic of the Reason Cited for the Denial

The view expressed by the RESOLUTION is also myopic and short-sighted. The logic is also defective. If the desire of Magdalo is to merely “recruit and indoctrinate disciplined followers who may become their blind followers”, we would not go to the trouble of filing a petition for accreditation with the COMELEC. We could very well have achieved this purpose by forming even an informal group or a secret or clandestine organization at patagong mag-recruit ng mga miyembro, at kung ano pa.

The fact that the Magdalo have decided to form a group and apply for accreditation as a political party signifies the group’s desire and firm resolve to continue its advocacy for reforms through legitimate and lawful means, particularly by participating in the electoral process.

In fact, it is in the best interest of the country for COMELEC to encourage the Magdalo group to join the mainstream of Filipino society and allow it to participate in the democratic process, especially in elections, by approving its application for accreditation as a political party sa halip na I-ISOLATE KAMI at ITULAK KAMI SA FRINGES sa pagbasura n gaming petisyon.

Steps Moving Forward

Because of the issues na kababanggit ko po lamang, amin pong i-aapila sa Kagalang-galang na COMELEC en banc, lalo na kay Chairman Jose Melo, within the period prescribed by the rules PARA PO MAANYAYAHAN ang Commission on Elections to reconsider, at kung maari, rebisahin ang RESOLUSYON po na ito.

Maraming salamat po.