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| 26 DECEMBER 2002 |
| Perez himself asked for leave extension and President granted it, says Palace |
Malacanang today clarified that it was Justice Secretary Hernando Perez himself who asked that his leave of absence be extended for another two to four weeks so that he can disprove all the charges leveled against him. In his press briefing this afternoon, Presidential Spokesman Rigoberto Tiglao said President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo acceded to the request. Tiglao said Perez asked the President to give him more time to devote his energy in debunking the charges filed against him at the Office of the Ombudsman by Manila Congressman Mark Jimenez. "And he (Perez) is confident that he could really finally disprove these charges decisively," Tiglao said. He said that as justice secretary, Perez feels that there should absolutely be no doubt in the minds of the people that he is innocent of the charges filed against him. When asked whether the President has plans of replacing Perez, Tiglao said all Cabinet members, including Perez, serve at the pleasure of the President. |
| Jimenez' extradition proves RP capable of enforcing its laws, says Malacaņang |
Malacanang today said that the expected departure today of Manila Congressman Mark Jimenez to face a string of criminal charges in the United States would show to the world that the Philippines is capable of enforcing its laws and international obligations. In a press briefing this afternoon, Presidential Spokesman Rigoberto Tiglao said that the media ruckus over Jimenez’ charges against Justice Secretary Hernando Perez had sidelined the significance of the extradition of the Congressman. "Extradition is an international test of a country’s capability to enforce its laws," Tiglao said. He said that it is because of the difficulty of enforcing an extradition pact that the Philippines, and even the US, do not have an extradition treaty with all countries. Tiglao explained that when you enter into an extradition treaty with another country, you recognize that the other contracting party is capable of enforcing the rule of law. "In the case of Jimenez, we think it is a very significant victory for our justice system to be able to implement the extradition treaty," Tiglao said. He said that the extradition of Jimenez, which even reached the Supreme Court is a triumph of our justice system. |
| Gov't to focus on creating jobs, domestic market in coming year, says Palace |
The administration will focus on the domestic market in pushing the economy and in creating jobs in the incoming year, Malacanang said today. In his press briefing this afternoon, Presidential Spokesman Rigoberto Tiglao said that the external stimulus from the world economy in the coming year is not very encouraging. Tiglao said that the Japanese economy is not showing signs of recovery while the United States economy is also saddled by anxieties about an Iraq war. Japan and the US are the two leading trading partners of the Philippines. "So, we really cannot expect much stimulus from the world economy next year, which means that we would have to really focus on our domestic stimulus," Tiglao said. This would mean, Tiglao said, that all concerned government agencies would concentrate on finding jobs or making it easier for the business sector to put up industries that would create jobs. He said that a major component of this approach is the P50 billion funding for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) that Trade and Industry Secretary Manuel Roxas II has announced. Tiglao said that the government is extending its full support to the SMEs since they are the most labor intensive sector in the economy. According to Tiglao, a special group is being set up in Malacanang to quickly resolve problems of red tape in government offices, especially those involved in issuing business permits or licenses. "The idea is to help different agencies in really clearing the way for the setting up of businesses," Tiglao said. |
| Malacaņang hopes CPP-NPA would assess position as people are tired of fighting |
Malacanang today expressed hope that the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and its armed group, the New People’s Army (NPA), would assess their position and agree to a peaceful settlement of their struggle, particularly in the wake of survey results which showed that the Filipino people are "tired of fighting." Presidential Spokesman Rigoberto Tiglao, in a press briefing this afternoon at Malacanang, made this statement in response to a question raised by a reporter on the threat by the CPP-NPA, through its spokesman Rogelio "Ka Roger" Rosal, that there will be more attacks next year. "The CPP-NPA got the lowest rating among any institutions, among any personality. Our people are tired of fighting and we hope that they would agree to a peaceful settlement of their struggle," Tiglao said as the CPP-NPA celebrated today its 34th anniversary. On Ka Roger’s claim that the CPP-NPA is willing to undertake formal negotiations with the government, Tiglao said the reality is that there has been communication between the government negotiating panel and its CPP-NPA counterpart. The government’s negotiating panel is still seeking an actual word on whether formal peace talks would proceed at a particular date, he said, adding that there is no actual communication for them regarding this matter. Tiglao noted that each member of the Macapagal-Arroyo administration is "willing to talk with the NPA just to convince them that times have changed." "Thirty years is enough time to determine whether their model could work or whether it’s even feasible. By model, I mean, an armed revolution to change the social situation or social structure," Tiglao said. Tiglao stressed that the government is just awaiting word from the CPP-NPA if they want to talk even informally. |
| C.O.A. clarifies why unliquidated cash advances appear to be bloated |
The Commission on Audit (COA) today clarified that the unliquidated cash advances of the Office of the President as of November 30 this year has gone down to only P27,019,754,32. COA issued the clarification in the wake of erroneous news reports attributed to flaws under the old government accounting system that the COA auditor had to follow for the Annual Audit Report for 2001. COA said cash advances to Disbursing Officers, dating back to the pre-Marcos Administration years up to the Estrada Administration which have accumulated through the years and even decades, were reported as "unliquidated cash advances as of December 21, 2001" and therefore, appeared as though incurred by the Office of the President during the present Arroyo Administration. In short, these accumulated unliquidated cash advances during the pre-Marcos Administration and up to the Estrada Administration which amounted to P223,750,762.03 were included as unliquidated cash advances of the Arroyo Administration. "The fact, however, is that the unliquidated cash advances of the Office of the President for the year 2001 amounted to only P159,221,763.14 which figure, as per the latest monitored liquidation of OP cash advances, has gone down to only P27,019,754.32 as of November 30, 2002," COA said. The old Government Accounting System which has been in effect during the last 50 years and until December 31, 2001, when it was replaced by the New Government Accounting System, lumped together as cash advances of a particular government agency various amounts it releases to: 1) Disbursing Officers; 2) Other Agencies; 3) Inter-Agency-Transferred Funds; and 4) Funds Entrusted to NGOs/POs. COA said that of the said "cash advances," which are actually "cash on hand," the biggest amounts are released to the Disbursing Officers for the payment of, among other things, salaries and wages of the agency’s officials and personnel, traveling expenses and others which, in most cases are not fully liquidated year after year. The unliquidated balances accumulate and are consequently reported in audit as "unliquidated cash advances as of December 31st" of the latest audit year, COA said. This was what happened in the case of the COA Annual Audit Report for 2001 for the Office of the President. In the preparation of the audit report, the COA Auditor had to follow the old system which was then still in effect, showing "Total Cash Advances" of P424,271,186.18 broken down as follows:
This accounting flaw incurred under the old government accounting system also happened in the case of the other so-called cash advances to Other Agencies and Inter-agency Fund Transfers which likewise resulted in unduly bloated reports about unliquidated cash advances. The new Government Accounting System (NGAS) crafted by the Commission on Audit Chairman Guillermo N. Carague, which has replaced the old, outmoded half-century-old accounting system effective January 1, 2002, has corrected the erroneous and misleading accounting presentations of the old system. Under the NGAS, what used to be cash advances under the old accounting system are now properly and correctly treated and presented in financial reports of all national agencies and local government units, as follows:
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