Office of Senator Antonio “Sonny” F. Trillanes IV

PRESS RELEASE
November 17, 2008

Senator Antonio Trillanes IV has filed two anti-corruption bills to make use of technology. He said free electronic delivery of services to the public by government agencies, with more ‘transaction windows,’ could thwart dishonest direct dealings.

“Computerization is the best alternative to the usually long-winded and tiring process of transacting business with the government, while potentially decreasing the likelihood of bribery and other corruption practices,” said Trillanes.

He added that with personal interactions limited to appropriate ‘transaction windows,’ clients can be barred from entering government offices, which would then drastically reduce petty corrupt acts.

Another bill by Trillanes would mandate video recording of all public bidding conferences for projects amounting to one million pesos or over. This intends to strengthen RA 9184 or the Government Procurement Reform Act. If passed, video recordings may be subpoenaed and used as court evidence.

The current law requires proper documentation and monitoring of disbursements with other measures to safeguard public money from graft and corruption, including strict accreditation of suppliers and public bidding of contracts.

“RA 9184 was a landmark piece of legislation in 2003. But there must be some loopholes if recent headlines show how badly we’re still plagued by corruption,” he said.

In 2008 the Senate conducted several investigations on anomalies involving government agencies, including alleged procurement law violations from the Fertilizer fund scam, Macapagal Highway overprice, Quedan and Rural Credit Guarantee Corp. (QUEDANCOR) irregularities, ZTE-NBN deal, and North Rail and South Rail projects.

END

” I cannot understand the reason why the judiciary allowed Senator Trillanes to file his candidacy and authorized him to take his oath of office but they do not want him to serve his mandate. Sa ganitong sistema panalo si GLORIA, talo ang BAYAN. May hustisiya pa ba sa bayan nating ito?” -B

Mindanao war casualties being ignored, says Trillanes

Office of Senator Antonio F. “Sonny” F. Trillanes IV
PRESS RELEASE
Sunday, 21 September 2008

Senator Antonio Trillanes IV said casualties of the war in Mindanao are being ignored by the government with the delayed release of his 2007 and 2008 Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) allocation intended for military hospitals.

Trillanes has waived the P100-million PDAF allocation for ‘hard’ or infrastructure projects to be consistent with his campaign commitment. His office is awaiting the release of the P100 million allocation for ‘soft’ or healthcare/educational assistance projects. Military hospitals of the Philippine Army, Philippine Air Force, Philippine Navy, and the Armed Forces of the Philippines Medical Center will receive a total of P29 million from this fund.

This month alone 26 soldiers have been reportedly wounded from recent encounters with Moro rebels in the Lanao del Norte and Lanao del Sur provinces.
“There’s obvious demand for medical services in light of the heightened conflict in Mindanao,” said Trillanes. “GMA (Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo) herself put these men and women in the line of fire as a result of her failed peace policies. If she cannot help them, she shouldn’t stand in the way of those who want to.”

Each senator is supposed to be entitled to P200 million for either ‘hard’ or ‘soft’ projects. However, most opposition senators have not received PDAF allocations after allegations of electoral fraud against President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, based on wiretapped phone conversations with then-elections commissioner Virgilio Garcillano that were leaked in 2005.
Trillanes had earlier waived his 2007 PDAF allocation as an election campaign promise. But since half was already allocated upon assuming office, he directed the P100 million to public hospitals nationwide and the construction of school buildings.

“If the said amount would not be programmed, it would be like giving GMA a P100-million blank check,” he said in an earlier statement.

Unused pork barrel funds are redirected to the national treasury and may be drawn by the Office of the President.

Other would-be beneficiaries of Trillanes’ 2008 PDAF include indigent patients of government hospitals nationwide (P70,500,000) and school assistance programs (P5,500,000).

To be transparent, Trillanes has posted all his funded projects at his official website, senator.trillanes.org.

END

2007:

V. Luna Medical Center: 5,000,000.00

2008:

Philippine Army

FT Bonifacio General Hospital: 1,000,000.00
FT Magsaysay Stn Hospital: 1,000,000.00
Cp M dela Cruz Stn Hospital: 1,000,000.00
Cp Capinpin Stn Hospital: 1,000,000.00
Cp Peralta Stn Hospital: 1,000,000.00
Cp Lukban Station Hospital: 1,000,000.00
Cp Evangelista Stn Hospital: 1,000,000.00
Kuta Sang-an Hospital: 1,000,000.00
Cp Singco Stn Hospital: 1,000,000.00

Philippine Air Force

Air Force General Hospital: 1,000,000.00

Philippine Navy

Manila Naval Hospital: 1,000,000.00
Cavite Naval Hospital: 1,000,000.00

AFP Medical Center

V Luna Medical Center: 5,000,000.00
Fort del Pilar Station Hospital: 1,000,000.00
Cp. Aquino Station Hospital: 1,000,000.00
Cp Nakar Station Hospital: 1,000,000.00
Ricarte Station Hospital: 1,000,000.00
Cp Lapulapu Station Hospital: 1,000,000.00
Panacan Station Hospital: 1,000,000.00
Cp Navarro Gen Hospital: 5,000,000.00
Cp Asturias Jolo Station Hospital: 1,000,000.00

TOTAL: P29,000,000.00