Roxas: Esperat decision start of Ombudsman cover-up

Liberal President Senator Mar Roxas rebuked Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez Saturday for dismissing the graft charges filed against former DA Undersecretary Jocelyn “Jocjoc” Bolante by slain journalist Marlene Esperat in 2003, as he expressed concern this could be the start of an official whitewash of the anomalies in the agriculture sector in the Arroyo Administration.

“Ang kapalit ng pagtataksil na ito ay ang buhay ni Esperat (The price for this betrayal is Esperat’s life),” Roxas said regarding the Ombudsman’s decision this week to junk the graft charges filed by Esperat in 2003 against Bolante, Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap and other DA officials in relation to a P432-million fertilizer fund that never reached farmer-beneficiaries.

He said Gutierrez has proven again public perceptions she has become a willing tool of Malacañang to cover up irregularities in the Arroyo Administration, adding he is concerned the Ombudsman will likely throw out the plunder charges against Bolante and other Arroyo officials involved in the P728-million fertilizer fund scam in 2004.

“By junking the Esperat case, Ombudsman Gutierrez has again betrayed her constitutional duty to protect the people. Do we need more lives to be sacrificed before the corruption in this administration is brought to justice?” Roxas asked.

The Ilonggo senator has warned that Ombudsman Gutierrez’ inaction on major graft cases involving officials close to the First Family and their allies will intensify calls for leadership change in the government similar to the call made recently by five bishops led by CBCP President Archbishop Angel Lagdameo.

He expressed concern that the Ombudsman found no reason to prosecute those involved in the fund diversion despite Esperat’s sacrifice of her life.

Esperat was a former journalist who filed graft charges as resident Ombudsman of the DA’s Central Mindanao office against Yap, Bolante and other DA officials for their alleged involvement in a P432-million fertilizer fund diversion scheme in 2003. She was gunned down before her children in their home in Sultan Kudarat.

“Ang mensahe nito sa ating lahat ay wala na tayong aasahan pang hustisya sa ilalim ng administrasyon na ito (The message here is that we should not expect justice under this administration),” Roxas said.

Saturday, November 8, 2008 | posted in angel lagdameo, arthur yap, cbcp, da, fertilizer fund scam, joc-joc bolante, mar roxas, marlene esperat, merceditas gutierrez, mindanao, ombudsman, pgma, philippines | 2 comments [ More ]

Roxas: Peace must be in line with the national interest

Peace can never happen when the country is torn into pieces.

In a meeting with the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines today, Liberal President Senator Mar Roxas stressed that lasting peace in Mindanao must be pursued in line with the national interest and by a sincere government.

“Peace must be pursued in line with the universal interest of all Filipinos—whether Muslim, Christian or Lumad. Peace cannot happen with disunity, with a people partitioned according to race or belief,” he said.

“And this peace must be pursued by a government that rules with the consent of the governed, that gives all citizens equal protection under the law. But what has happened that lead to our quandary right now is due to a government that tends to fragment our nation rather than lead it to one common aspiration,” he added.

Roxas lamented that with its recent acts, the government has shown either gross incompetence or something else: a gross disregard for the common interest.

“This government has managed to divide and fragment our nation through the years, and now by bungling on the peace process with the MILF. Ineptness and impatience prevailed, and deception to all—Muslim, Christian or Lumad—was employed to pursue an invalid memorandum of agreement with the MILF,” he said.

“And the result: more than a hundred innocent lives lost and more than 200,000 evacuees struck by hunger and disease,” he stressed.

The government, Roxas said, must accept responsibility for its actions and bring the peace process back on track, following Constitutional standards and transparency.

“It must, first of all, bring all lawless elements to justice. All those who violate human rights and rule of law—be it MILF splinter groups or other vigilantes—must be brought to justice. The government must smother Mindanao with the rule of law,” he said.

“The MOA between the government and the MILF must be torn apart, and we want the Supreme Court to do so through a definitive decision so it will no longer be used as leverage in peace negotiations and diplomatic discourse. On the part of the government, it must revamp the peace panel now,” he added.

Roxas advised the government to implement the rule of law forcefully and equally, with no ethno-linguistic or religious prejudice. Else, the scenario of conflict will escalate when civilians start taking the law into their hands.

“If the government fails to strengthen its presence in Mindanao now, it will eventually have to go in between the crossfire of warring vigilantes,” he said.

Sunday, August 31, 2008 | posted in cbcp, mar roxas, milf, mindanao, pgma, philippines, president | 0 comments [ More ]

Roxas pushes for Comprehensive Database on Agrarian Reform

Senator Mar Roxas today pushed for the creation of a comprehensive database on agrarian reform as a parallel effort to extending the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP), which expires this year.

Speaking before a Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) caucus on agrarian reform on Wednesday, Roxas stressed that proponents of CARP's extension must show a way forward that would result to better incomes and poductivity in the countryside.

“There must be an established and agreed upon database that would contain all the pertinent data on agrarian reform. How many lands have been and yet to be covered, how many agrarian reform beneficiaries are there and how their lives have changed due to CARP, how many families have yet to benefit, how much funding is available, among other intricate details,” he said.

“This way, we will be able to determine what are the real needs of our farmers, if there’s a need to spend more money on CARP, and how to spend it to have meaningful impact to the lives of families in the countryside,” he said.

Roxas said the process of extending CARP is much more complex than just passing one consolidated bill extending the same CARP law. Other factors, such as access to financing and farm inputs, government support programs to build competencies in support of land and farm inputs distribution, among others, have to be thought-out carefully as well.

“Through CARP extension together with reforms, there can be a convergence of resources, full support services and packages on top of land distribution. Our goal is not simply to extend carp but to ensure that this program will result to better incomes and better lives for farmer-beneficiaries,” he said.

“We should not extend CARP only for the sake of extending it. There must also be genuine reforms, else, it will be just more of the same, we will just be repeating the mistakes of the past,” he stressed.

Sunday, March 2, 2008 | posted in carp, cbcp, mar roxas, pgma, philippines, president | 0 comments [ More ]

Sen. Mar Roxas with CBCP

Senator Mar Roxas and several lawmakers (right photo) discuss the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) with members of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP, left photo), in a meeting Thursday morning at the Pope Pius Catholic Center in Paco, Manila.

Roxas stressed that any extension of the CARP should not be “for the sake of extending it,” and that the law required changes to ensure that farmer-beneficiaries are given not just land but an assistance package that would include farm inputs and implements. With Roxas are Quezon Rep. Lorenzo Tañada III, Cagayan De Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez and Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel. Representatives of the CBCP included (left to right) Revs. Bernardo Cortez, Martin Jumoad and Jose Oliveros, former Commission on Elections Chairman Christian Monsod, Revs. Antonio Ledesma, Honesto Pacana, Edwin De La Peña and Buenaventura Famadico.

Thursday, February 28, 2008 | posted in carp, cbcp, lorenzo tañada iii, mar roxas, nene pimentel, philippines, rufus rodriguez | 0 comments [ More ]