A fruitful visit of Sen. Roxas in Leyte; hints brgy poll postponement

After his visit in Leyte for the Alay-Lakad event in Tanauan and in Tacloban City, Senator Mar Roxas was lauded by the mayors for having the enough time in listening there local concerns. This was a very fruitful one because Sen. Roxas was able to hear the concerns of these local chief executives.

Senator Roxas also hinted that the upcoming barangay and SK polls might be postponed. He said that the Senate committee tasked to review the said proposal will be submitting their recommendations this Wednesday.
"It seems that the recommendation is in favor of the postponement of the barangay elections", Senator Roxas said.
So, you want to invite Sen. Roxas in your place, demand here! The more demands, the more chance that Sen. Roxas would come to your place!

Monday, October 1, 2007 | posted in , , | 0 comments [ More ]

Sen. Roxas will be in Leyte!

From http://www.pia.gov.ph/default.asp?m=12&fi=p070927.htm&no=36

Senator Mar Roxas is scheduled to arrive in Tacloban City early morning of Sunday, September 30 in order to give the inspirational message in two separate Alay Lakad Programs, one in Tacloban City, the other one in Tanauan, both in the province of Leyte.

Senator Roxas will first proceed to Tanauan, Leyte to give his message in the annual Alay Lakad activity of the municipality which is for the benefit of the out of school youth of the municipality.

Mayor Tiu said that the funds derived from the annual Alay Lakad are used for the skills training of the out of school youth so that they could engage in productive economic activities. The municipality accounts for so many success stories regarding the proper use of Alay Lakad funds, Mayor Roque Tiu revealed.

Thursday, September 27, 2007 | posted in , | 0 comments [ More ]

"Nobody is taking responsibility for approval of a project" - Roxas

From http://www.philstar.com/index.php?Local%20News&p=54&type=2&sec=91&aid=2007092718

Senator Mar Roxas on Wednesday chided executive officials for not following a clear process in the approval of public-funded projects, particularly the National Broadband Network project.
"After hearing the testimonies of Cabinet members, I am alarmed at how nobody is taking responsibility for approval of a project whose scope falls under several agencies, thus requiring a coordinated approach to policy design and implementation," said Roxas, chairman of the Senate committee on trade & commerce jointly hearing the Senate probe on the NBN deal.

"How did we get this far that $330 million is going to be borrowed? How did we get this far that we now have Senate hearings?" the Senator said at yesterday's hearing.
He lamented that even the Government Procurement Policy Board would not claim jurisdiction over the NBN deal, on the basis of the project being an 'executive agreement.'

Read more...

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Was Sen. Mar Roxas "bastos" on Senate probe?

In Boo Chanco's DEMAND AND SUPPLY column last September 21, 2007 entitled "ZTE scandal more dangerous than Garci", he commended Senator Mar Roxas. This is what he said:
"Sen. Mar Roxas should be commended for asking the most incisive and relevant questions during last Tuesday’s hearings, using very clear language. Sen. Roxas demolished the assertion of the former Chairman of the Commission on Information Technology and Communication (CICT) that the broadband project is going to deliver savings for the government.

Sen. Roxas got the former bureaucrat to admit that the savings figure he was using was provided by DOTC Secretary Mendoza which he has not verified himself. Back of the envelop computations of Sen. Roxas showed the figure was wrong. Garbage In, Garbage out, Sen. Roxas declared."
Indeed, the questions that Sen. Roxas made were "incisive" and "relevant" and it helped us to fully understand why we need to establish a National Broadband Network through an anomalous deal with China. Others may have misinterpreted his style of questioning. I have read a forum post saying that Sen. Roxas was "bastos" (impolite, harsh) when he was questioning DOTC (Department of Transportation and Communications) Assistant Secretary Lorenzo Formoso. With that style of questioning, he was able to pressure Asec. Formoso to explain the deal clearly. Here are the excerpts of Sen. Roxas' query on Asec. Formoso and DOTC Sec. Leandro Mendoza:
MAR: There are only 1,500 or 1,600 [fifth and sixth class] municipalities, so ilan kaya dito ang wala pang access? Sinasabi ni Mr. Formoso ang siyang isa sa pinakamahalagang dahilan kung bakit gagastos tayo ng 15 billion para maabot nga itong mga ito.

Formoso: Ah sir, I will submit the numbers and the list, your honor.

MAR: It is only 1,500, is it 30, 50, 60, 100, 1000?

Formoso: I won't be speculating sir. I will give you a breakdown first?

MAR: Ang galing mo dumepensa nito, Attorney Formoso. Ngayong tinatanong ka ilan ho ba itong gusto mong silbihan nitong broadband na ito, nakalimutan mo, hindi mo alam? Ano ba ito? It is only 1,500, is it 5, 10, 100? It is so notable a number that the entire government machinery is here to defend this deal supposedly to reach the fourth, fifth and sixth municipalities that don't have telco access.

My question is very simple, there are more or less 1,500 municipalities, how many of them do not have telco access at the present whether by landline, cellphone, satellite or whatever?

Formoso: I don't have that number sir?
At least, Sen. Roxas was able to prove that the NBN deal was impractical. The DOTC can't even assess the practicality of the project. No one was even tasked to assess the cost of the tools to be used in the project to easily determine if there was overpricing.
Others call it GRANDSTANDING, we call it MAKING A STAND. Sen. Roxas is doing this so that the people would know on where he stands on this issue. Let's take the argument of his critics. They say that he's doing this because he has his own personal motives. Even if it would be true that his personal motives told him to do so, should we ignore seeking the truth? If you say yes, then what would happen to our society and to our government?
Again, it's not GRANDSTANDING, it's called MAKING A STAND.

Wednesday, September 26, 2007 | posted in , , , , , , | 0 comments [ More ]

Statement of Sen. Roxas on the ZTE Suspension

"I strongly recommend cancelling the contract altogether. This is not our priority and of limited use only, exclusively for government. It's not transparent, thus possibly overpriced, overdesigned. I know that our friendship and historic ties with China are strong enough to withstand and overcome this controversy."

"The Palace decision will not impair or derail our hearings because these are held in aid of legislation so that such odious transactions will not happen again. As co-chair of these joint hearings, I will still press for the submission of annexes of the contract so we can scrutinize the nuts and bolts of this agreement. We also need to hear the side of Chairman Abalos and other cabinet officials who publicly expressed willingness to attend the forthcoming hearings. Our people deserve nothing less than a full explanation of all these matters."

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Roxas' exposé on OFW trafficking confirmed by Cimatu

After Senator Mar Roxas exposed the alleged OFW trafficking in Iraq by the "First Kuwait International", Special envoy Roy Cimatu and Foreign Affairs Undersecretaries Esteban Conejos Jr and Rafael Seguis had confirmed that indeed, the OFW trafficking exposé was in existent.
“The unabated recruitment of Filipino workers to Iraq, despite the government’s deployment ban, is alarming, especially since they are being made to work long hours under extremely stressful conditions," Roxas said.
Senator Roxas has urged the Department of Labor and Employemnt (DOLE) to look into the continued recruitment of Filipino workers by such firms as First Kuwaiti International after his exposé was confirmed by no less than the Department on Foreign Affairs.

Thursday, September 20, 2007 | posted in , , | 1 comments [ More ]

How much are our 2010 Presidentiables (except the VP)?

Here's the current amount of our 2010 Presidentiables (The Senators Leagues and except VP Noli De Castro) based on their Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth.

1st Placer... Manny Villar - P921.4 million
After all, as what I and Peter Laviña agree, MONEY can't make MANNY VILLAR President. He's might be generous, but he's stingy.

2nd Placer... Jamby Madrigal - P148.9 million
She's silent on her 2010 plans. She might run for President... who knows?

3rd Placer... Mar Roxas - P140.3 million
No question after all. Having the Araneta and Roxas on his side. He's truly the man to beat this 2010.

10th Placer... Loren Legarda - P41.4 million
No. 1 sa Senado might not be No. 1 sa Malacañang race at all.

13th Placer... Chiz Escudero - P7.4 million
A young and promising one. I am a Team Chiz member but I think it's too early for him to run for President. Maybe, he should run VP nalang.

16th Placer... Ping Lacson - P25.8 million
His 2nd try might make him in the 3rd place again...

17th Placer... Dick Gordon - P25.6 million
If Dick Gordon is indeed running, he should save for the rainy seasons. A presidential campaign is very costly in the Philippines.

Here's a logical explainer of the 2010 Presidentiables net worth. Have fun!:

Wednesday, September 19, 2007 | posted in , , , , , , | 0 comments [ More ]

My answer to a comment

This is reaction to Mr. Manny's comment on my post "Palengke Tours & Joey-Willie Clash." Before I rebut his comment, here is the text of Mr. Manny's comment:
"Honorable Kevin Ray Chua,
Press Secretary of Mar Roxas

Hehehehe!

Bay, halatang batang bata ka pa talaga at masyado kang nagpapaniwala sa propaganda ng idol mo.

Baka naman sabihin mo na nung tumakbo si Mister Palengke nung 2004 eh mababa talaga ang presyo ng mga bilihin at nagmura ang mga gamot.

Para sabihin ko sa iyo, at baka gaya ng idol mo eh hindi ka masyadong nakakapunta sa palengke, mahal po ang bilihin nuong 2004 at lalong mas mahal ngayon.

Sige, kanta ka na ng hoy hoy hoy!"
Thanks a lot for your comment Mr. Manny and thanks for making me as an Honorable Press Secretary of Senator Mar Roxas although I'm still a college student.

I think, he reacted on my statement wherein I said:
"A person might say that he's a good Senator because he's really going to the markets and seeing whether the basic commodities' prices are stable..."
What I really mean is that, he's been doing this palengke (market) tours since he was a DTI Secretary. It's not an assurance that when he visits a market, the prices of the basic commodities will go down. He is there to monitor the prices and see if these products are in a reasonable prices during the time of his visit or not. When he sees that some products have increased there prices, he would immediately trace the source of it. It might be from a typhoon, a disaster, oil price hike, new tax measure, or just overpricing.

Again, thanks for making me the press secretary of Senator Mar Roxas... LOL!

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Roxas urges Arroyo to pardon Estrada

From http://www.gmanews.tv/story/60809/Roxas-urges-Arroyo-to-pardon-Estrada

Senator Manuel “Mar" Roxas II on Monday filed a resolution urging President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to pardon former President Joseph Estrada on “humanitarian grounds."

In Resolution No. 135, Roxas said Estrada, 70, has been detained for more than six years, during which the ousted leader showed “remarkable humility."

Roxas said Estrada “is entitled to live the rest of his life quietly and in peace with members of his family."

The Sandiganbayan special division on September 12 found Estrada guilty of plunder and sentenced him to reclusion perpetua, or imprisonment of up to 40 years.

Roxas filed his resolution even as Estrada’s camp ruled out pardon as an option for the deposed President.

Read more...

Monday, September 17, 2007 | posted in , , , , | 0 comments [ More ]

Mar Roxas alarmed by ZTE's record

Senator Mar Roxas is alarmed by the news reports that ZTE Corporation, the Chinese group that the government has agreed to have a contract with establishing a national broadband in the Philippines' government agencies. He wants to have a deeper probe on the ZTE deal amid spying claims from France, US, UK and Germany. He said that if ZTE Corporation would control the government's database, our country would be in a serious trouble, as what the news report said that the German government's database was hacked by no less than, ZTE Corporation.

Here are the news reports which involved ZTE in spying claims:
He even fears that the ZTE broadband deal may end up like the Bataan Nuclear Plant, a promising project but surrounded by lots of irregularities.
"Why honor a contract that has been overwhelmingly rejected by those meant to benefit from it, by those paying for it – the people?" Roxas said on the lost government contract with Chinese firm ZTE Corp.

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