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THE BIG NEWS
VOL.5 ISSUE 51 • MAY 15, 2012
EDGEDAVAO
Banana ban to China
Diversify your markets, PNoy urges growers By Jade C. Zaldivar
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RESIDENT Benigno Aquino III yesterday advised banana growers in Mindanao to diversify their markets following China’s stricter screening measures on bananas coming from the country. Aquino said the announcement of a so-called banana ban last week has led him to discover that 30% of the bananas exports from the country were sent to China. “Thirty percent ng ating banana sa iisang bansa napupunta which is very big. Instruction ko sa kanila dagdagan ang mga bansang pinapadalhan para di matali sa iisang bansa,” Aquino said during a press briefing at Grand Regal Hotel. Aquino said allotting a huge portion of your supply to one market would entail dependency. “Even last year that’s what I said. Dahil pagka nagka-problema ay naapektohan kaagad sila. They should consider other markets,” he said. However, actions are already being made to negotiate with Chinese authorities to amend their strict screening of the country’s bananas. Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala said one team from the Department of Ag-
riculture is set to go to China carrying with them credentials of the banana’s quality. “They will be there in opening the container vans (put on hold by Chinese authorities). At the same time, kasama na rin ang pag-imbita sa nga Chinese authorities na pumunta dito sa Pilipinas para i-check ang ating protocol before sending the bananas,” he said. Aquino added that changes have also been made in banana plantations to following the requirements set by China. Banana products from Mindanao plantations, many of which are in Region 11, are exported to markets such as Japan, the Middle East, South Korea, and Russia where demand for the fresh fruit has increased in recent years. Philippine Banana Growers and Exporters Association (PBGEA) president Stephen Antig last May 10 bared that the banana exporting industry has lost a total of P1.44 billion since March 5 when China started to impose stricter regulations. More than a thousand container vans of banana products are being held in major ports of China, including those in Dalian, Shanghai, Tianjin, Beijing, and Qingdao. Under the new quality measures, if a single insect/ mealy bug is found in a box,
the whole container will be rejected “They will send back to origin or the Chinese government will dispose of them,” Antig said. He said the country “is being bullied” by China. It ias believed that the banana ban is caused by the ongoing Scarborough Shoal standoff in the West Philippine Sea, 120 nautical miles from mainland Zambales. National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB) secretary general Romulo Virola told Edge Davao that the country’s tourism is bound ‘to hurt’ from the standoff between the country and the so-called Asian dragon. “What we’ve heard about cancelled tours to the Philippines (from China) could be just the beginning if the standoff continues,” he said. Meanwhile, Davao City Vice Mayor Rodrigo Duterte on Sunday blamed the staging of Balikatan exercises in the country more than the Scarborough standoff for China’s rejection of banana products. During his TV show Gikan sa Masa Para sa Masa, the vice mayor said the presence of American troops in the country is provoking China. He added that the joint exercises between the Philippines and the United States will make China even more aggressive in its treatment of the country.
handling different cases involving children. Bernie Mondragon of the Child Alert Mindanao said positive approaches will make the child understand and realize his or her mistakes without being physically hurt. As cited by Relacion, letting the child face the wall after committing mischief is an example of positive approach because without being physically hurt, the child will realize his or her faults while facing the wall. While society has become conscious of protecting women against violence, Bhong Binondo of the CWC committee on children’s protection said, all the more that we should be protecting the children from physical and psychological violence. He added that it is not true that children are disciplined by inflicting physical pain on them, as it is not out of respect for their parents, but fear to be hurt again, that they refrain from committing similar deeds that caused their punishment. Further, the Plan Interna-
tional is a project supported by the European Union and Plan Germany, which aims to strengthen the role of civil society in eliminating violence against children in the Philippines, particularly grave abuses such as corporal punishment. Its expected results also include enactment of local ordinances and deliberation of a national bill prohibiting corporal punishment. Relacion mentioned that in the national level, House Bill 4455, or the proposed positive discipline bill, principally authored by Representative Susan Yap, was approved on third and final reading in the House of Representatives. Under HB 4455, the proposed prohibited acts are forcing the minor to kneel on stones, salt or pebbles; squatting; public humiliation; deliberate neglect of child’s physical needs; exposure to substances that can cause discomfort; and imposing tasks that the minor is incapable of doing such as forcing to skip sleep and verbal assaults.
Davao to host anti-corporal punishment confab May 16 By Lorie A. Cascaro
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NITIATED by the Plan International to end corporal punishment and popularize positive and non-violent approach in disciplining children, a forum will be held on May 16 at Alexian Brothers Health and Wellness Center, McArthur Highway, Matina, Davao City. Psychologists from Metro Manila will discuss psychological effects of corporal punishment in the confab, which will be participated in by members of the Council for the Welfare of Children (CWC), parents and public school teachers, according to Paul Relacion, project officer of the Plan International. “This will also be a venue to discuss and push this month the proposed city ordinance on the promotion of positive and non-violent approaches to child discipline authored by councilor Leah Librado,” he said. The confab also aims to spearhead parenting education among communities in the city, especially in terms of
THE LADY MAYOR. Davao City Mayor is all smiles during the visit of President Aquino in the city on Monday to grace the People’s Organization Congress held in the Grand Regal Hotel. [KARLOS MANLUPIG]
Ombudsman: Corona had 82 dollar accounts
Chief Justice Renato Corona owned 82 dollar accounts in five banks as of 2011, Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales said Monday, citing a report from the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC). Morales made this revelation as she took the witness stand on Monday’s trial, further indicting the chief justice. Morales said Corona’s dollar accounts ballooned from a single account in 2003 to 82 accounts in eight years. She said that according to the report, Corona made “significant withdrawals” during the 2004 and 2007 elections, and the week he was impeached in the House of Representatives. The chief justice was said to have withdrawn $418,000 and transferred the amount in a trust fund on the day he was impeached. She added that based on the report, Corona had a $10 million “transactional balance” which she explained as the “total inflow and outflow of funds that when through the system.” This is apart from his “fresh deposits,” which refer to the “money that never moved,” amounting to over $12 million, the Ombudsman said. The defense team presented Morales, who was later identified a hostile
witness, to prove that there is no evidence that Corona owns a $10-million dollar account and that the probe of the office of Ombudsman is illegal and baseless. Lead defense counsel Serafin Cuevas tried to stop Morales’ testimonies because he said she is not competent to explain the 17-page AMLC report which was described as “strictly confidential” and contained a summary list of Corona’s 705 bank transactions in both of his peso and dollar accounts from 2003 to 2011. But the court unanimously voted for the Ombudsman to show a present a report prepared by Morales and the Commission on Audit. Morales said her office, within its power, is conducting a fact-finding investigation against Corona following a series of complaints accusing the chief justice of violations of the anti-graft and corrupt practices act for acquiring ill-gotten wealth. She added that while the complaints did not specifically mention the
Quips
$10 million, she asked assistance from AMLC if they have documents of the chief justice’s bank transactions relevant to the filed complaints.
Cuevas, however, noted that the alleged multimillion dollar account is not included in the impeachment complaint. “If the $10 million is not included in the impeachment complaint, then all the more reason that I should conduct an investigation,” Morales said. Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile clarified that Article 2 of the impeachment complaint generally accuses Corona of untruthful disclosure of his statements of assets, liabilities and net worth. “There is no question the $10 million is not included in articles, but the issue is inclusion or noninclusion of SALN. The amount is immaterial,” Enrile explained. Morales was ordered to return tomorrow to continue to testify on Corona’s alleged dollar accounts. [PNA]
‘THE project will be a big boost to the economy. It will bring investors and this will provide employment and livelihood opportunities of Filipinos.’
--Vice President Jejomar Binay on Pagcor Entertainment City