Marcos on scrapping of excise tax: Help those in need first

 Motorists line up to re fuel in a gasoline station along commonwealth avenue in Quezon city on July 14 2022. PHOTO BY JOHN ORVEN VERDOTE

By Kristina Maralit, Manila Times

PRESIDENT-elect Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. is opting to take the same route as the Duterte administration in helping hardest hit sectors cope with the skyrocketing prices of fuel.

The incoming leader made the remark after being sought for comment regarding Senator Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel's statement that the Senate is willing to act on the proposed scrapping of excise taxes on oil products as long as he calls for it.

"I prefer to handle the problem on the other side of the equation and provide assistance to those who are in need," the President-elect said at a press briefing late Monday afternoon at the BBM Headquarters in Mandaluyong City.

He pointed out that cutting excise taxes does not directly alleviate the plight of those in need.

"So, ang aking iniisip kung sino yung mga kaagad na tinamaan, example yung lumabas kaagad 'yung transport, 'yung mga nagpapasada.... tinamaan kaagad. I-focus natin muna sa kanila, 'yung mga nangangailangan talaga (What I'm thinking is help those really feeling the hit, for example those in transport, those plying regular routes... they were directly hit. Let's focus on them, those in dire need)," stated Marcos Jr.

"'Yung mga may kaya (Those with the means), they can afford to pay. Those who are in danger of losing livelihoods, 'dun tayo mag-focus (let's focus on them)," he added.

EU sees deeper ties with PH under Marcos

European Union Ambassador to Manila Luc Véron and President-elect Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos Jr. PHOTO BY BBM MEDIA BUREAU

By Bernadette E. Tamayo, Manila 

EUROPEAN Union Ambassador to Manila Luc Véron is confident that the EU-Philippines relations "will deepen" under the Marcos administration.

Véron on Monday paid President-elect Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. a visit.

"I am grateful for the opportunity to meet President-elect Marcos ahead of his inauguration. I do not doubt that the EU-Philippines cooperation based on shared values and objectives will deepen under the Marcos administration," Véron said in a statement.

The envoy said he and Marcos "had an excellent conversation about the state of the world and his ambitions for the Philippines in the coming years."

"I am also heartened to hear that the incoming President is willing to work with the EU and its member states," Véron said.

He said that Marcos will be invited to attend the 45th anniversary of EU-Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) relations commemorative summit in Brussels, Belgium on December 14, 2022.

The ambassador conveyed the wish of all EU member states ambassadors to meet Marcos at the earliest opportunity.

He welcomed the importance that Marcos "attached to the enhanced partnership" between the Philippines and the EU and its member states.

Véron said he agreed with Marcos on the need to respect international law in the South China Sea, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and its dispute settlement mechanisms.

He presented the scope of the bilateral relationship between the EU and the Philippines ranging from trade and investments to the extensive cooperation on justice system, socio-economic development, sustainable energy, governance, peace in Mindanao and vaccination against Covid-19.

The EU Mission in the Philippines said both sides agreed that addressing climate change and the green economic recovery from the pandemic must be at the forefront of the bilateral agenda.

The EU conveyed its readiness "to stay engaged, at the [Philippine] government's wishes, to further consolidate the peace process in the Bangsamoro region."

Marcos camp: We have evidence of 2016 polls anomaly

By Patricia Lourdes Viray (philstar.com) | Updated September 6, 2017 - 12:05pm

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In his poll protest, former Sen. Bongbong Marcos questioned the integrity of the 2016 elections. The Supreme Court, sitting as the Presidential Electoral Tribunal, has dispensed Marcos' first cause of action in his election protest against Vice President Leni Robredo. AP/Bullit Marquez, file

MANILA, Philippines — The camp of defeated vice presidential candidate Bongbong Marcos remains confident that they will secure victory in an election protest against Vice President Leni Robredo.

The Supreme Court, sitting as the Presidential Electoral Tribunal (PET), earlier upheld the integrity of the 2016 elections.

The tribunal dispensed the Marcos camp's first cause of action calling to nullify the results of the vice presidential race due to a "flawed" automated election system.

Lawyer George Garcia, head of Marcos' legal team, admitted that the first cause of action will not result to the proclamation of the former senator as vice president.

The protest of Marcos against Robredo, however, is still not over, according to Garcia.

READ: SC upholds integrity of 2016 polls, orders ballot boxes retrieved

Headlines ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1

"That may not be true at all when we say that the Supreme Court dismissed, that Supreme Court merely dismissed the first cause of action. We have three causes of action and it is also wrong to say that the Presidential Electoral Tribunal practically set aside the so-called nullification of the 2016 election," Garcia said in ANC's Headstart.

The second cause of action is for the revision and recount of all voters' receipts, elections returns and other documents in 27 provinces and highly urbanized cities used in the May 2016 elections.

Meanwhile, the third cause of action seeks to annul the election results in Basilan, Lanao del Sur and Maguindanao on the grounds of cheating like vote buying, pre-shading, intimidation, among others.

Garcia claimed that more than 51 percent of the voters in the three provinces were not the ones who actually voted on election day.

"If we are able to prove that based on the decision of the Supreme Court in the case of Abayon vs HRET, that may result in the nullification of the results of the election at least for the position of vice president," Garcia said.

The Marcos counsel said that their camp has evidence to prove the anomalies in the three provinces during the 2016 polls, justifying their request to retrieve election materials.

The PET also ordered the "retrieval of ballot boxes and other election documents, revision of ballots and reception of evidence can already begin with, but shall first be confined to, only the provinces that have been designated by protestant, namely Camarines Sur, Iloilo and Negros Oriental.”

The nullification of election results from the three provinces may result in the victory of Marcos in the vice presidential race. Robredo won by more than 265,000 votes against Marcos.

"And in case the tribunal will annul the election in these three provinces, it may result to Bongbong Marcos winning by a 45,000-vote margin," Garcia said.

Where were you when we fought corruption?

Office of the Senate Majority Leader

Alan Peter S. Cayetano

Rm. 603 GSIS Complex Senate of the Philippines Roxas Blvd Pasay City

         

PRESS RELEASE

11 April 2016

Cayetano to Bongbong: Where were you when we fought corruption?

“Senator Marcos. Nasaan ka kapag korapsyon ang pinag-uusapan?”

Senate Majority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano said this as he slammed his rival, Senator Bongbong Marcos, on issues about corruption during the PiliPinas 2016 Vice Presidential Debate hosted by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) on April 10.

During the first part of the debate, candidates were asked to explain their stand on the issue of corruption and how they intend to solve the problem.

Cayetano, for his part, took a swipe at Marcos for claiming that he and his family had never been involved in any corruption anomaly. He then raised issues about the plunder allegations that the family faced during the Martial Law Era as well as Senator Marcos’ alleged involvement in the infamous pork barrel scandal.

“Tingnan niyo po ang interview ng nanay ni Senator Bongbong, sinabi niya they practically own the Philippines. I-search niyo po sa Google ang PCGG recovered money,” Cayetano stressed. “$1 billion ang pinaglalabanan pa rin ng gobyerno at Marcos family,” he added.

Cayetano also chided Marcos for his lack of sincerity to fight corruption. Cayetano said that, despite being a member of the Senate Blue Ribbon committee, Marcos never took the initiative to attend any of the committee’s hearings involving corruption anomalies.

“Anong hearing sa corruption nakita niyo nag-appear ang isang Bongbong Marcos? Kahit anong isyu sa corruption, wala siya doon,” Cayetano stressed. “Nasaan ka kapag corruption ang pinag-uusapan? Naalala ko noong hearing ni (pork barrel queen Janet-Lim) Napoles, galit si (Sen. Marcos) sa akin dahil pinapalapit ko ang isang Maya Santos, ngayon ko lang nalaman iyon pala ang middleman niya kay Napoles,” he added.

Cayetano, the running mate of presidential candidate Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, runs under a strong anti-corruption platform. During the debate, Cayetano stressed that of all the candidates in the upcoming polls, only he and Duterte have the political will to eradicate corruption in the country.

“Buong buhay natin may corruption, unless we change the system. Only a Duterte-Cayetano leadership can bring real change," Cayetano ended.