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

 

           While it is salutary to protect investors from “regulatory risks”, government contracts are not inordinately sacrosanct so as to be immune from judicial review by the Supreme Court and police power legislation by the Congress.

            It is beyond presidential prerogatives to shield contracts from final court judgments and valid legislative enactments.

President Benigno Aquino III gave investors an errant assurance when he declared:

      ·         “If private investors are impeded from collecting contractually agreed fees – by regulators, courts, or the legislature –  

      then  our government will use its own resources to ensure that they are kept whole.”

·         “If, for some reason, a court decision threatens the adjustment, the government will compensate the private concessionaire for the difference between what the tariff should have been under the formula, and the tariff which it is actually able to collect.”

            It is a heretic for the President to assert that he will defy the Supreme Court by not following its decisions annulling or modifying contractual stipulations, and instead he will pay investors the difference between what they are supposed to earn under the original contract and what they can only collect under the Supreme Court verdict.

It is also axiomatic that the legislature does not pass laws that cannot be repealed or modified, and consequently, the President cannot prevent the Congress from legislating a new law as warranted by changing circumstances.

The constitutional injunction that “no law impairing the obligation of contracts shall be passed” and the Civil Code provision that “contracts have the force of law between the contracting parties” are not absolute because contracts must bow to the police power of the State on prescription of “regulations to promote the health, morals, peace, education, good order or safety and general welfare of the people.”

Moreover, contracts are only valid if they are “not contrary to law, morals, good customs, public order or public policy” as provided for in Article 1306 of the Civil Code.

Considering the propensity of the Aquino administration to resort to legal shortcuts and constitutional infractions as many of the President’s Executive Orders have been challenged before the Supreme Court, it would be foolhardy to propagandize that all its contracts should be “kept whole” despite adverse judicial and legislative scrutiny.

Press Statements

 

The recent outstanding ticket sales during the Pacquiao-Margarito fight that filled the Cowboys Stadium in Texas close to maximum capacity and record breaking pay-per-view sales speak volumes about the drawing power of Manny Pacquiao.

 It would therefore be a tremendous boost to Philippine tourism should Pacquiao decide to hold his next fights here in the country.

 He has a loyal foreign following who would not hesitate to come to Manila to see him fight and balikbayans may also take the opportunity to come home.

 Moreover, local tourism will also improve because Pacman fans outside Metro Manila will not let this once-in-a-lifetime chance of seeing Manny fight live pass.

 This will be similar to Singapore’s holding the Formula 1 in the city-state. This is being marketed as an international event and foreign tourists flock to Singapore for this novel night race.

 Should Manny decide to fight here, the Department of Tourism can make it the template for sports-adventure tourism in the country. Adventure races, triathlons, marathons and other sporting events can be scheduled around the time of the fight. It is important to get tourists to stay in the Philippines beyond the fight, have a pleasant and memorable time and spend their dollars here.

 This will be an effective tourism formula because we have: (1) the main attraction which is the Pacquiao fight; (2) sub-attractions like allied sports events and adventure tour packages and other regular tourist attractions; and (3) the facilities to support tourism such as ample hotels, restaurants, shopping malls and entertainment centers.

 The only other thing we have to ensure for this to be a foolproof formula is to guarantee the safety of our tourists.

 Holding his fights in the Philippines may not be as profitable for the Filipino super boxing hero. However, fighting here would mean that he would be giving back and showing his gratitude to his countrymen – his faithful fans and steadfast admirers. It would certainly contribute to increased tourism receipts, more jobs and economic opportunities for Filipinos and will revitalize our tourism industry.

Press Statements

 

CARELESS COMMENTARY: CLINTON’S

TAKE ON PH’s HUGE POPULATION

 

        Former US President Bill Clinton’s passing statement on the Philippines’ “huge population” being “positive” may be typical of patronizing platitudes heaped by Americans on third world countries.

        Filipinos must be wary of taking such a statement hook, line and sinker as it is a careless commentary, not a sincere compliment.

        Those opposed to the RH bills cannot claim Clinton as an ally because he did not explain his sweeping generalization although he admitted it is taking the Philippines “longer than Singapore” to realize its potential because Singapore is “a smaller country”.

        Singapore has a population of 4.8 million with the highest Human Development Index in Southeast Asia at rank number 27 in the world, while the Philippines is the 12th most populous country with a population of 94.3 million this year and ranks 97th in human development.

        Clinton’s wife, US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton, is an ardent advocate of family planning and reproductive health.

        During a US congressional hearing in April 2009, Ms. Clinton said “I have been in Asian countries where the denial of family planning consigns women to lives of oppression and hardship. We happen to think that family planning is an important part of women’s health.”

        A year ago, while being interviewed in Malacañang, she said “I believe strongly that family planning is an important aspect of development. And I've seen this around the world, and I think empowering women to be able to make choices that are in the best interests of the children they already have and the family size that they desire increases educational outcomes, it increases income generation, it provides a much stronger basis for human development… trying to empower and educate women so that they are able to make these decisions and they have access to family planning is not only a positive for the woman and her family, but for the larger society.”