Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Controversies of Arroyo and Aquino III
Controversies of Arroyo and Aquino III
Controversies of Arroyo and Aquino III
was given $4, and $7 million went to Jimenez.In April 2008, the
office of the Ombudsman, headed by Merceditas Gutierrez, filed
graft charges against Perez, his wife Rosario, Ernest Escaler, and
Ramon Antonio Arceo Jr.
But the graft and robbery charges were junked by the
Sandiganbayan in November 2008 as the Ombudsman failed to
expedite the complaints, making Perez immune from the charges,
indirectly acquitting Perez. Perezs pending case with the
Sandiganbayan is on his falsification of public documents.In May
2009, Perez filed his third petition asking the Sandiganbayan to
dismiss the charges of unethical practices filed against him for
allegedly not declaring $1.7 million in his 2001 Statement of
Assets and Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN) saying that Arroyo
herself approved his SALN when she assumed office. Perez was
then a member of her cabinet.
3. The garbage contract
The Jancom controversy involved a $360-million (P18 billion)
incineration project in which the Jancom Environment Corp.
(JEC) would burn 3,000 tons of Metro Manila garbage a day for a
tipping fee of $10 per ton. During his term, President Ramos did
not approve the contract and President Estrada likewise debunked
it because JEC raised the tipping fee from $10 to $59 per ton.
Despite the passage of the Clean Air Act and the Ecological Solid
Waste Management Act (both banned the use of incarcerators) ,
the Supreme Court declared the contract valid in April 2002 in a
decision penned by Justice Jose Melo. Still, Arroyo said the deal
had many flaws. Arroyo passed the decision to the Manila
Metropolitan and Development Authority (MMDA) to decide
whether the deal is disadvantageous to the government or not.
said Abalos tried to bribe him with P200 million but he refused to
answer some senators questions, citing executive privilege.
Abalos resigned as Comelec chair in October 2007 as President
Arroyo cancelled the deal in a trip to China.
Jun Lozada, former chief executive officer of Philippine Forest
Corporation and NEDA consultant, testified in February 2008 that
Abalos and the First Gentlemen were to receive kickbacks once
the deal was signed. Speaker Jose de Venecia was unseated and
got dragged into the deal when his son said he was also in China.
On July 2008, the SC dismissed three petitions that question the
constitutionality of the deal and declared it moot and academic.
Money from Malacaang
Pampanga Gov. Eddie Panlilio revealed that he was given a paper
bag containing P500,000 in a Malacaang meeting in October
2007. The money was allegedly for community projects. The bags
were handed out by a female Malacaang staff. Panlilio said he
accepted the money because because no conditions were attached;
he did not consider it a bribe. Various versions of the source of
the money came out as other local officials present in the meeting
admitted receiving either P500,000 or P200,000.
Other officials who confirmed receiving money were Governors
Joselito Mendoza, Leo Campos, and Representatives Rachel
Arenas, Antonio Cuenco, Bienvenido Abante, Mauricio
Domogan, Tomas Dumpit Jr, and some others who refused to be
named. The named 9 officials were charged by the Office of the
Ombudsman for allegedly receiving bribes. Due to numerous
versions on the source of the money, Sen. Miguel Zubiri said
during the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing that the money
has no direct link to the Palace.
Housing
Housing efforts under the Macapagal Arroyo administration plan
to provide the bottom 40 percent of households with affordable
socialized housing. The private sector shall be organized to
innovate and produce decent housing at lower costs, while the
government shall be tasked to improve the efficiency of the
housing market. The President has enjoined the support of
Congress to enact bills addressing the high price of urban lands
turn had resulted to revived food security and food selfsufficiency programs of the government. Effective program
implementation and policy execution in 2005 increased the
agricultural sector's production during the first three quarters by
Land Distribution
In recognition and support of the Comprehensive Agrarian
Reform Program (CARP) as a strategic program to fight poverty
and push rural development, the Macapagal Arroyo
administration has speed up land distribution and delivery of
support services to the farmer-beneficiaries. The same shall apply
to the distribution of public lands. The Department of Agrarian
Reform (DAR) and Department of Environment and Natural
Resources (DENR) are the lead agencies for land distribution,
agricultural lands to be distributed by DAR, while public lands to
be distributed by DENR.
E-Procurement
The Electronic Procurement System or EPS is one initiative of
government to improve and modernize government's procurement
services. It involves the creation and operation of a central portal
for government procurement, bidding and supplier information
requirements, and the increasing use of the portal among
government agencies. The EPS is expected to attain transparency
in public procurement activities. The resulting improved
competition will encourage the attainment of the best quality
products at the lowest possible prices and consequently generate
substantial savings in public spending. Some P80 million in
newspaper advertisements and P600 million out of the P17 billion
government procurement budget are expected to be saved.
Acquisition time by government agencies shall also be shortened
by two (2) weeks, and eventually, deliveries can be done "just in
time".