Now, we even have to pay Lucio Tan

Recently, Forbes Magazine named Lucio Tan as 377th world's richest person, with assets worth more than US$1.6Billion. He is also named as 12th richest in Southeast Asia. Of course, he could be more than his declared $1.6B, for we can assume that those assets are just what he declared in the Philippines, where only mostly regular employees are the ones who make accurate declarations!

Now we even know that he is not only paying his correct taxes. He (his companies) even made some overpayments to the government as per recent Court of Appeals decision (Manila Times report, Inquirer report). For that reason, the government has to refund him more than PhP1.0B!

Wow, these are really big newssss. However, judging from the very few coverage of these news, apparently Philippine media doesn't think so. I wonder what the reasons could be?

It would help to think that PNB and PAL both have banner ads at the Inq7.net. Of course, those two companies, together with Fortune Tobacco and Asia Brewery could very well be among the biggest advertisers in the country. Are those advertisers influencing the news? PCIJ has such a report in 1999 (We love Lucio).

Now Lucio Tan winning a legal battle, how could this happen?

I am sure our laws full of obvious loopholes, crafted by our most honorable senators and congressmen, and implemented by our very intelligent foreign trained goverment people and lawyers, did the trick. Senate Majority Leader Kiko Pangilinan, citing the deficient laws, even have the guts to say that the government has a strong case versus Fortune Tobacco (is that why the government lost it?), as if that is of any consolation!

From Manila Times report:
"...The appellate court ruled that although the Tax Code of 1997 gives the BIR chief the authority to raise the tax by 12 percent on January 1, 2000, it does not specify “the amount upon which the increase shall be based.”..."

It is like there is killer on the loose. Instead of calling on the police, we called on Robin Padilla and gave him a toy gun. And then we sent Boy Abunda to cover it.

Yeah, pure showbiz. And our media is taking us for a ride, like a (the) Buzz.

KBP's TV code sets 20 minutes/hour limit on advertisements

This is from page23 of the TV code from the KBP website:

Time Standards for Non-program Materials

1. Commercial interruptions shall be scheduled in such a manner as to provide continuous viewing pleasure.

2. All networks shall regulate the placement, duration and frequency of non-traditional advertisements so as not to duly intrude into the program content.

3. Commercial load for television in Metro Manila shall not exceed eighteen (18) minutes per hour in foreign or local programs, inclusive of breakspots. The commercial load for provincial TV stations shall not exceed twenty (20) minutes per program hour, whether foreign or local.

4. Coverages of news, special events, public affairs programs and sports shall be exempt from program interruption standards. However, the aggregate number of commercial minutes per clockhour shall be observed, except in international sports events where the commercial load may be increased on a case to case basis upon approval of the Standards Authority but in no case shall it exceed twenty (20) commercial minutes per hour. The responsibilities on implementation of the number of commercial minutes allowed per hour remains with the station. These terms and conditions shall appear in the contract covering spot/program sales.

5. Direct competing products, services or firms may be placed within the same commercial cluster provided they are not aired back-to-back.

6. Programs with multiple sponsorship may avail of product CBB's bumpers.

7. The following schedule of penalties shall be imposed on any station found to be violating the above rules:

a. For airing commercial materials in excess of limitations - a confiscatory fine of the equivalent amount of the commercial in excess plus 20% of the aggregate total amount of the overload.

I am amazed to know that there is such a TV code for KBP members, one that limits the time allocated for advertisements. I am sure everyone will agree that this code is often violated by TV stations especially when they are covering sports events such as last Sunday's Pacquiao-Morales boxing match.

It would be interesting to know what will KBP do with RPN9 who aired more advertisement than boxing last sunday.

Anyone who would like to e-mail the KBP may try this e-mail address: kbp@pacific.net.ph

Now this guy loves the NLEx project. Really.

There is really something wrong somewhere. Some columnists just really love the North Luzon Expressway project that they cannot help but write something positive about it. I cannot be very sure why they really bother to write mostly positive stuff about this project. They could just have easily directed their readers to the MNTC website for they seem to have just copied the contents there anyway (ha..ha..)!!!

Now, here is Mr. Conrado Banal, a columnist for the business section of the Philippine Daily Inquirer (his column here on the toll). He loved the NLEx project so much that you would have wondered whether he actually owns it or he is handling its PR. He is so sure that there was no corruption whatsoever that takes place in the project as he wrote... "....But here is one project on which I can bet my squid balls that every single peso went into it: the rehabilitation of the North Luzon Expressway, or the NLEX." and "...And so you can bet that no money changed hands, if you know what I mean. The project, as far as I know, went through strict audit by its financiers.".

Wow, he is sooooo sure. Which only means that if there is corruption that indeed happened while this project is being approved and implemented, this Mr. Banal is surely in on it too! And in this I am sure there'll be a lot more people who would like to bet their squidballs on....!

And as with all the other press releases by the NLEx to justify their rates, Mr. Banal again compared the rates with that at SLEX which is higher. He wrote: "...Anyway, at the NLEX, the private company charges you only P2.50 a kilometer. That's almost half of the SLEX rate, mind you.." Of course, as with the others, he forgot to mention that the SLEX on-the-ground-rates are subsidizing the skyway!!! So how can you compare...duh!

We can all see that indeed Mr. Banal is a real fan. He even bothered to go check the 15 computerized cameras firsthand! He wrote: "Believe me, I went there to check on it. Some 15 computerized cameras are monitoring the entire stretch all day and all night long, seven days a week." By the way, he did not say how he was able to check and confirm that the cameras are working "all day and all night long seven days a week". Maybe he is now holding his office there just to make sure (he..he..)? And, he also did not say how the 15 cameras were able to cover the entire 83.7km on both sides!!??

If he is not a die-hard fan, how can he say that: "Stalled vehicles get assistance from NLEX patrols in less than 10 minutes, on the average." I bet he checked on that too. Maybe he simulated a problem with his own car, and waited for the assistance which came in within 10 minutes (and I am sure he did it many times to claim to an average, and perhaps even used two cars to simulate two problems happening at the same time)!!! Unfortunately, he did not say what kind of assistance is given him but with the kind of support he gives the MNTC, I am sure he must have given some very good assistance with free goodies (colgate products, which were given in the first few days of operation, ha... ha..)!! By the way, his claim of 10 minutes assistance is even better than that claimed by the MNTC website (20 minutes).

And so he thinks that : "Precisely because the TRB approved the RIGHT amount of toll for the NLEX, some other groups are now also looking at going into road projects." He thinks that the rates are RIGHT (with his big letters). Not even one peso less (or one peso more) is more right. He actually thinks that the rates are really really RIGHT!

I love this guy! Really!

I am a Rabbi

I am a Rabbi in a country where most (maybe 80%) of the people are Jews, although perhaps I can say that only 20% are practicing Jews (the exact figure is hard to guess). Our country has a Prime Minister who is also a Jew (and proclaims he is a devout follower) and many of our law makers are Jews as well.

As Jews, we do not eat pork for we believe they are dirty. However, there is a group of lawmakers, whom I think are atheists, suggested that government should use its resources to teach people how to prepare and eat pork for all those supposed mostly economic benefits. They even suggested government should give out pork samples for everyone to try them and prove that they are not bad to eat!

Naturally, I will oppose such move as it directly challenges the beliefs and traditions of my religion. Would you say I am vain, stupid, short-sighted, dumb, or even a hypocrite?

Well, I am not a Rabbi, nor are people in my country mostly Jews. I live in the Philippines and we are mostly Catholics. Also, I am not a priest nor can I say that I am a practicing Catholic. Our lawmakers does not want to teach our countrymen how to eat pork. Believe it or not, they want to teach us how to use condoms, injectables and pills!!!

But If I were a Jew in a mostly Jewish country, the above scenario would not have happened. Out of respect for religion, even if as minority (and which the scenario says otherwise), lawmakers would and should not propose any such move. And out of pure ethics, no one, even the most overly-confident educated, would or should dare propose to use government money and resources to teach people how to do/use things directly viewed as immoral by the religious authorities of the constituents. And yes, in a Jewish country, no one will call a Rabbi a hypocrite for doing his job!

But the Philippines is different, or at least that is what so many supposed liberal thinkers would like us to believe we are. In our country, it is vogue to bash the catholic heirarchy and dismiss their teachings as hypocrisy. Many of our lawmakers and opinion leaders do not anymore know what is the real meaning of the separation of church and state, while they submit their arguments directly challenging the church teachings, supposedly based on that principle. And our media are either espousing some hidden agenda or are fooled into their perspective. Media give these supposed free thinkers too much airtime without challenge and does not form honest opinions within themselves on what are the real issues behind every issue.

Dare anyone say that this is Freedom of the Press and of Expression at work? Is this what free thinking is all about? Baloney! If this is freedom of the press why is it that no one targets the teachings of a Mullah in the Philippines. If this is freedom of the press, why is it that the Iglesia ni Kristo heirarchy remain untouched and their teachings even those that encroach on politics are not criticized for what they really are? If this is liberal thinking why has it became the norm to respect other religion while directly challenging and insulting the Catholic teachings at the same breath?

Liberal double-speak?

I have nothing against people who think that population control is good. But when people yell that it is hell right to use condoms in a catholic nation and government should teach everyone how to use it, it is to me like these people are walking down butt-naked on a street in a quiet neighborhood. There must really be something wrong with someone who forgets the basic rules of decency and respect.

Planning for the Family

One of the hottest item on news today is the bill filed by some congressmen that seeks to encourage couples to limit their number of children to two (2-child policy) and to promulgate the use of and information on any form of pregnancy-avoidance methods.

I cannot comment on the bill itself for I have nor read it yet (I would not understand it anyway... ha..ha..) and my knowledge is limited only to those published by the tri-media, which as expected, is not much.

It is funny however that the sponsor of the bill, Representative Edsel Lagman, is challenging the bishops to a debate to tackle the issue. Obviously this challenge is purely showbusiness, for no one can expect a bishop of a catholic church in his right mind to accept such a challenge. On the other hand, here is another politician, Manila Mayor Lito Atienza, who seems to be just too eager to take the catholic side and engage the congressman to a debate. I never realize the Rep. Lagman and Mayor Atienza are so much involved in this issue, which they now seem to me to have been building on from long ago. Family planning is an issue that attracts national attention to the opposing sides. We can only surmise that both Lagman and Atienza are in it both for the exposure and not for anything else, where media oblige. The fact that this issue could also dislodge the VAT/Additional Tax measure being pushed by the government doubles our suspicion on the purpose of this hot debate.

Although I personally agree that family planning is needed by many of our married couples, especially those in the lower economic class, I cannot see any form of legislation that can espouse it while not also endorsing sexual promiscuity. A Family Planning legislation would wish to solve the problem of over population that makes the poor family poorer. However, if you teach the poor couples on how to avoid pregnancy especially by artificial means, what would stop them from using the same techniques they learned with other partners? And since so many are poor are poorly educated, there is very little probability that they will be successful in such methods, thus more unwanted pregnancies will ensue, and which further the thesis that there could be more abortions as a result. This is one point of the catholic church and their fear cannot be dismissed.

Faulty Drill-on Oil Price Hikes

As expected, the fact that the Inquirer made a good headline yesterday out of the looming oil price increases revives old issues such as the privatization of Petron and the deregulation of the industry. And politicians are indeed politicians, they would jump at any chance to get their name on any popular or controversial issue.

Now Senator Drilon got himself on page 1 of the Inquirer for suggesting that the government must buy back Petron, as a "quick solution" to the excalating cost of oil. Hello? Did he say "quick"?

Well, look how one of our leaders talk. Senator Drilon is the Senate President (bio), a lawyer, a former DOLE then DOJ secretary, a former executive secretary, a bar topnotcher (3rd place, 1969), President of the Liberal Party, etc... In short, one intelligent, educated and respected lot!

And he wants the government to buy back Petron, and quick, like buying candy from a sari-sari store. Indeed a cheap shot!

And according to the Inqiurer, among the other things he said is that there is a cartel among Shell, Caltex and Petron.

"...Drilon said that reacquiring government control of Petron could serve as "a check on the monopoly and cartel that is now prevailing in the oil industry.”..."

Wow! He says there is a "cartel" (a very serious charge charge indeed, and should have been the headline) and his solution is for all the inefficiencies of the government to get back into the market (and which everyone knows is a losing proposition).

Yes, Senator Drilon says there is a cartel, one thing everyone suspects but cannot show proof. It could have served better the country if the senator shows proof, or propose legislation how this can be put to check, or show the way how the players in the cartel be prosecuted.

But serving the country is obviously not in his agenda.

Media Terror Interviews

I wonder how terorrists, communist rebels and rightist putchists are paying their way to media interviews. But I can only assume that they are, for how can they have access if they don't?

Now, don't get me wrong. I am not against media interviewing even these people who are grossly outside the law, like how AFP Deputy Chief of Staff Gen. Adan seems to prefer to penalize media for such interviews (Inquirer report). But what I am against is how these media outfits interview them just like any other personalities, giving them time to propagandize, without challenging their beliefs and methods. I am aghast as to how DZMM interview Ka Roger like interviewing old pals and with the interviewer even giving kind regards to comrades to close the interview; or how DZBB interview an Abu Sayaf spokesperson who claims ownership to the Valentines bombing and who says how perfect they were able to do it, just like interviewing a director of a film who just had his work released!

Sadly, the press will do anything for money. I cannot help but wonder what (shit) would it get me if I had a million bucks to pay them. Perhaps I can get to describe in vivid details on TV or Radio how gross my briefs look like if I use it for straight for one week. Or maybe I can get one of those anchors to smell my breath early in the morning just as I woke up from a garlic dinner party the night before.

Brace for more oil price hikes!

With the current upward trend of world oil price, anybody can predict that local gasoline prices will follow. We do not need a government official to make that prediction for us, do we?

Well, the Inquirer doesn't think so. On the contrary, it thinks that Energy Undersecretary Peter Anthony Abaya making that prediction is frontpage headline material.

Obviously, the headline is just there to stir some controversy, i.e. here is a government official acting again as spokesperson for the big oil capitalists Shell, Petron and Caltex. The story seems to hope to revive old rehash issues such as about oil deregulation, whether it is good or bad for the country, or even the privatization of Petron. The story also seems to be trying to project a gloom and doom scenario, with a government official's stamp on it.

Of course, we do not need those kinds of issue revivals and gloom/doom predictions. As usual, the press would rather thread the easy road to selling news by selling bad news and controversies - the usual end-of-the-world or candy-for-the-kids sales strategy.

But what we need are news on up to date information on the world trend and analysis of why and what is happening, from real analysts. What we need are news on what steps the government is taking to avoid the damaging effects of oil price hikes to our industries, and checks on how the big players in our oil industry are pricing their products, and how we can be sure that they are not conniving in their pricing.

Well, who cares about what we need? Certainly, not the media.

One sided news report.

Congressman Alan Cayetano accused LRTA administrators of squandering taxpayers money of at about P1.2Billion. Through what seems to be his press release (abs-cbnnews.com article here), he went on to describe how LRTA has made/allowed rigged biddings/transactions and how it bought equipment that are not needed or overpriced - an expose of sorts.

Well this is nice for a lawmaker to check on what the executive branch is doing. However, Rep. Cayetano did not say how he got his information nor did he offered proof. Worse, the news report did not bother to check the information provided by Rep. Cayetano and did not give the LRTA a chance to their side.

Hmmm. One-sided news reports such as this would not help us a bit to fight corruption. I do not trust any government department or office to be free from graft, much so the LRTA, but what we need are serious facts, not hearsay or press releases from ambitious politicians.

Abolish the Senate?

Some congressmen are now saying the it is high time that we abolish the Senate. This is in reaction to the recent move by the Senate to pass the National 2005 Budget as forwarded by the House of Representatives (no need for bicameral conference comittee approval).

Considering that the two legislative bodies works independently from each other, it is as if one town mayor is asking for the abolition of the position of the mayor for the next town. They are not in a position to say that. Unless of course they are talking about long term plans for constitutional ammendments on the form of government, which they are not.

I wonder why it is so easy for politicians to say something and the press so easy to pick them up as news without challenge, such as this abs-cbnnews.com article (Solons call for abolition of Senate). This is obviously a press-release-being-passed-on-as-news article.

The real issue should have been whether the Senate is allowed or it is legal for them to do that. This is the topic that the press should be pounding on and delivering to the people. If it is legal, then, maybe it is high time for everyone to shut up.