Akbayan Hits Chacha: It Will Extend Trapos, Oligarchs and Warlords

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As the House Committee on Constitutional Amendments tackled proposals for charter change (Cha-cha) today, Akbayan slammed the House of Representatives’ scheme to extend term limits and give ‘almost absolute’ power to the president.

“Charter change offers no real change. It’s a scam led by Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez to keep the old oligarchs, trapos and warlords in power,” Akbayan President Machris Cabreros said. “The proposal by PDP-Laban to extend the terms of the President and congresspersons up to 10 years proves that the trapos shamelessly want to cling to their seats longer.”

Akbayan also hit the proposal to put the president as head of state and head of government during the transition period, giving Duterte powers over the legislative.

“The proposal to dissolve congress and replace it with an interim parliament leaves law-making to their vested interests before the 2022 elections,” Cabreros added. “During the transition period, it will be a free-for-all for Duterte and his ilk. Imagine laws like death penalty, immunity for the Marcoses and other draconian measures being passed.”

“An unhampered transition period plus a 10-year term is exactly what the trapos need to be unstoppable. It will give trapos more time to sell out our country’s interests. Who knows what will be left of the Philippines after their term?”

“With Chacha, the Alvarez-led House is dancing its way to a self-serving dictatorship while Filipino families remain hungry, jobless and in danger of getting killed,” Cabreros said. “The longer the trapos extend through the new constitution, the longer Filipino families suffer.”

Sec. Alfonso Cusi Statement on ERC Commissioners Suspension

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The following statement has been issued by the Department of Energy last 23 December 2017 on the Suspension of 4 ERC Commissioners.

“The law requires us to abide by the year-long suspension order of the Office of the Ombudsman against the four (4) ERC Commissioners. We have already requested for the designation of acting commissioners so that ERC can continue its functions.

We wish to assure all stakeholders that the suspension will not cause any debilitating effect to the power supply and services in the Philippines.

The suspension may cause further delays in power projects which require approval from a collegial commission. However, we will see to it that this will not have any significant impact in the short and medium term. The execution of the Power Development Plan covering the medium and long-term up to 2040 will continue unhindered.

The DOE has been pushing for reserve capacities for possible contingencies. This will ensure an uninterrupted supply at all times for power security and reliability.

Thus, we are certain that we can overcome this recent challenge to the energy sector.”

For concerns please contact DOE HOTLINE: ‎8402167.

CHED Completes Release of Allowances of 2,828 Eligible Faculty Scholars

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After facing initial challenges in the release of allowances to 4,096 scholars under the Commission’s K to 12 Transition Program, CHED has announced that it has finally completed the release of the allowances to eligible faculty and staff grantees today.

Following the ongoing effort since November 2017 during which the Commission resumed processing of allowances after the COA Notice of Suspensions, CHED has now completed the release of allowances to 2,828 eligible scholars, of which 2,247 is for full release, and 581 is for partial release.

Scholars may check their status through the online public tracker which is updated regularly: http://chedk12.com/sgsdisbursement. CHED Regional Offices have likewise been mobilized to communicate with the scholars to update them of their status.

Due to accounting and auditing rules, the Commission can only release partial allowances to scholars with remaining deficiencies in terms of submission. Meanwhile, for 1,268 scholars who have been unable to submit valid enrollment forms, releases remain on hold. Release of allowances under the Program are triggered by the complete submission of valid enrollment forms and authenticated copies of grades for the previous semester.

The Commission is also continuously processing the full release of allowances to scholars who are able to submit pending documents as they come, and resolving issues on documentary submissions, within the bounds of government accounting and auditing rules, to facilitate releases for remaining scholars at the soonest possible time.

The K to 12 Transition Program began in 2016 to prevent the massive displacement of higher education faculty and staff in colleges and universities due to the implementation of Senior High School (SHS), while upgrading the quality of higher education.