Contact Details

Rm. N-411, House of Representatives, Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines
+63 2 931 5497, +63 2 931 5001 local 7370

Press Statements
PRESS STATEMENT
0918-912-0137, 415-5455
13 July 2010


Political killings and other human rights violations do not choose a regime as no administration is sacrosanct to criminals.

Consequently, the administration of the day should not be solely faulted for such criminal acts but must be bold enough to immediately create an environment of security to protect possible victims and develop a defensive strategy to discourage and expose would be perpetrators.

The basic problem is that all administrations inherit an existing military-police establishment which has developed a culture of violence and impunity in perpetrating human rights violations and other abuses.

Proof of this is the almost equal record of the Cory Aquino administration and the Marcos regime in the number of involuntary disappearances which, on a time frame basis, the Cory government had relatively more cases because she served for six years while Marcos ruled for 21 years.

It should be recalled that the martial law military bureaucracy survived the People Power revolution.

Press Release
PRESS RELEASE
Mobile No. 0918-9120137
10 July 2010

LAGMAN: LAKAS-KAMPI ENDORSES
DEFERMENT OF BARANGAY POLLS

The postponement of the barangay elections was made a party stand of the LAKAS-KAMPI CMD (LKC) as it endorsed House Bill No. 104 of Rep. Edcel C. Lagman deferring the village polls to October 29, 2012.

Lagman announced that his party’s position was adopted in a caucus on July 7, 2010 in order “to prevent shortly after the national elections further countrywide divisiveness traditionally generated by barangay elections and to allow the realignment of more than P3-B earmarked for the forthcoming October 25, 2010 barangay contests to basic social services and infrastructure development.”

House Bill No. 104 antedates other bills seeking the postponement of the barangay elections.

Late in the 14th Congress, Lagman filed a similar bill but it remained pending with the Committee on Local Governments.

In his explanatory note, Lagman stated that:

(1) The postponement is consistent with previous deferments of the village polls to decrease the frequency of the barangay elections and minimize intense local rivalries and conflicts;

(2) The consensus in previous Congresses as expressed in numerous bills is to fix the terms of barangay officials to five (5) years. Thus, postponement of the October 25, 2010 election to October 29, 2012 would give the incumbent barangay officials, who were elected in 2007, terms of 5 years;

(3) Since barangay officials constitute the pool from which city and municipal officials often come from, there is merit for a longer period of five years to afford barangay officials adequate training and experience in local governance.

Lagman urged that the consideration and approval of a consolidated bill on the postponement of barangay elections should be prioritized for the guidance of the COMELEC and prospective candidates since under R.A. No. 9164 the village polls are scheduled on October 25 this year.

Press Statements
PRESS STATEMENT
0918.9120137
4155455/9315497


The volume of the current fiscal deficit is manageable according to impartial assessments.

There is no justification for declaring a fiscal crisis which may unduly scare away investors.

Reducing the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) may be sending the wrong signal even as it is a cosmetic solution to the deficit because any savings would be too miniscule to make a dent on the deficit.

President Noynoy Aquino’s statement that the PDAF will be retained “as a concept” is welcome but his colatilla that the “figures would be different” is ambivalent because this could result to a reduction of amounts which is akin to the ill-advised proposal to slash the PDAF.

There is no need to provide a menu for the utilization of the PDAF as intimated by the President because ever since there has been a restricted menu for its availment and implementation.

Press Statements
PRESS STATEMENT
06 July 2010

The proposal of Liberal Party leaders in the House of Representatives to drastically slash Congressional allocations or what is known as the Priority Development Assistant Fund (PDAF) is flawed, cosmetic, counterproductive, anti-poor and will reduce countrywide development.

The proffered reason for reducing the PDAF from P70M to P30M annually for Representatives and P200M to P130M for Senators is to reduce the fiscal deficit and avoid the imposition of new taxes to raise revenues.

The proposal is not responsive to the twin problems for the following reasons:

1. The savings to be generated is small at about P10-B. This is a miniscule dent on the deficit of P293.2-B and is a meager addition to revenues.

2. The relatively small savings will not be commensurate to the grave reduction in local services and poor beneficiaries for scholarship programs, medical assistance, small but critically needed infrastructure projects in the countryside, livelihood support programs, employment generation, access to potable water, energization of sitios and barangays and needed financial assistance to local government units, all of which are sourced from the PDAF.

In other words, less PDAF would translate to less scholars, less assisted indigent patients, less livelihood support programs, less countrywide infrastructure development, less rural employment, less potable water supply and less barangay and sitio electrification and less financial support to LGUs.

3. The Countrywide Development Fund (CDF), now the PDAF, has been declared valid and constitutional by the Supreme Court in Philconsa vs. Enriquez (235 SCRA 506).

4. Legislators do not personally handle the PDAF funds which are released directly to appropriate implementing agencies. The role of legislators is only to identify priority projects, which is part of the power to appropriate funds as sustained by the Supreme Court; and

5. While the PDAF is suspected to be prone to corruption, no legislator has been convicted. The solution is a strict monitoring of PDAF projects, and errant legislators must perforce be prosecuted and convicted, if warranted. The problem must be addressed but the lifeline for development and poverty alleviation must not be sacrificed.

Press Release
PRESS RELEASE
June 04, 2010

Lakas-Kampi-CMD is fielding Albay Representative Edcel C. Lagman  as its candidate for Speaker.

The decision was reached in the party’s meeting at Club Filipino today from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. after Quezon Representative Danilo Suarez, one of the aspirants, proposed for a term sharing wherein Lagman would take the lead for the first 18 months of the 15th Congress.

After Lagman accepted the proposal, the same was unanimously approved by the 35 members of the party who attended the caucus.

Other members were unable to attend because they are either abroad or in their respective districts.

Lagman said, that Lakas-Kampi-CMD remains as the biggest block in the House of Representatives with 55 confirmed steadfast members while 27 members are still undecided whether to remain with the party or to coalesce with the administration party.

Lagman added that Lakas-Kampi-CMD is fighting for the speakership  to “uphold the electoral mandate which elected more Representatives coming from Lakas-Kampi-CMD”.

Lagman also said now that Lakas-Kampi-CMD has chosen its candidate for Speaker, he will formally negotiate with the other political parties and party-list organizations.

“I will be serving my 6th term during the 15th Congress and in the past two decades I have been either with the majority or the minority in the House.  I know how to fight and defend.  The plenary hall has been my ring”, Lagman added.

Lagman also said “he will fight for and defend the House of Representatives and its membership as an independent institution” even as he pursues his pro-people legislative agenda which he has been advocating since the 8th Congress.