AFP to clear 300 villages from rebels before BSKE polls

By Charles Dantes

THE Armed Forces of the Philippines on Wednesday said they were looking to clear about 300 barangays from the presence of armed insurgents as its troops prepare for the upcoming Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections in October.

“When asked about how many (election) hot spots there will be, because that really is where the activities will be, we’re looking first at the areas which the CPP-NPA are trying to recover, or those areas where they have presence,” AFP spokesperson Medel Aguilar told reporters. “We are also looking at areas where there are active (communist) guerilla fronts like the Samar area,” he added.

Last Monday, the Philippine National Police said they are monitoring 48 private armed groups ahead of the BSKE this year.

In previous reports from the AFP, it said there are at least 22 remaining guerilla fronts and only two of them are still active.

House readies for PBBM’s second SONA

By Maricel V. Cruz

THE House of Representatives has begun its preparations for the second State of the Nation Address (SONA) of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

This was revealed in a five-page memorandum dated Monday and signed by House Secretary General Reginald Velasco. The 1987 Constitution provides that the President’s SONA happens on the 4th Monday of July. This year, Mr. Marcos will address Congress on July 24.

“Pursuant to the 1987 Constitution and following established traditions, the second regular session of the 19th Congress will convene on 24 July 2023 at 10:00 a.m. at the plenary hall of the House of Representatives (HRep),” the memoran- dum read. as the new Chairman of the Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA), which promotes and oversees the development of water supply systems in provincial cities and municipalities outside of Metro Manila.

“At 4 p.m. the same day, the joint session of Congress will be held to hear the State of the Nation Address (SONA) of President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr.,” added the memo, which was addressed to House members, secretariat officials and personnel, and congressional staff.

The Batasan Complex in Quezon City is the traditional site of the President’s annual speech.

A one-kilometer no-fly zone over the House complex shall be imposed from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. on July 24, the memo added.

“All non-SONA transactions are suspended from 20-24 July 2023,” it said. Per tradition, everyone is encouraged to wear Barong or Filipiniana-inspired attire on SONA day.

Aguilar said the AFP is beefing up its counterintelligence capabilities to monitor former military members turned gun-for-hire.

“We strengthen our counterintelligence capabilities to make sure that we can still monitor those who have special skills so they don’t get hired for illegal activities,” he added.

The spokesman claimed that as of now, AFP has not monitored any groups of ex-military officers who are linked for illegal activities during past elections.

The former lawmaker served in the 18th Congress from 2019 to 2022, where he was vice chairman of the House Committee on Rural Development, and a member of the House Committee on Ways and Means.

Senators rip NGCP for huge dividends, unfinished projects

By Macon Ramos-Araneta

SENATORS on Wednesday chided the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) for allocating to its shareholders a whooping P15 billion from the agency’s P20-billion earnings, saying this should have been used for their projects that will redound to the benefit of their consumers.

During the Senate Energy Committee hearing chaired by Sen. Raffy Tulfo, NCGP said it posted a net income of P20 billion in 2019.

Tulfo noted that 75 percent of NCGP’s earnings went to the dividendsof shareholders instead of going to development or re-investing for its growth.

“The profit for transmission is only in the Philippines,” the senator pointed out, adding the private firm’s owners are “of amazing wealth.”

But lawyer Ronald Dylan Concepcion, NGCP Assistant Corporate Secretary, stressed the power firm has a budget allocation for their projects.

He related the firm has P39 billion in capital outlays, which came from different sources.

“We also have bank loans that we poured into our projects,” said Concepcion.

But Tulfo emphasized NGCP had given even higher dividends to their shareholders during the past years.

In 2017, he said NGCP’s net income was P20.6 billion, with P19 billion going to dividends. In 2015, its net income was P22.5 billion – with P21 billion going to dividends.