Tambuling Batangas Publication February 07-13, 2018 Issue | Page 8

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Army officials attempt to clear Palparan
in Cadapan-Empeño abduction
“This 2018, we hope that
the case against Palparan
be finally resolved soon.
The case has been running
since 2014, and it has been a
long ordeal for us and all of
Palparan’s victims. We want
to see him in jail this year.”
By RUTH LUMIBAO
MALOLOS, BULACAN –
Three years, three witnesses,
three general denials.

The Regional Trial
Court of Malolos was, once
again, packed with about
30 riot police, an Army bus,
two military jeepneys, and a
handful of armed uniformed
personnel — all brought
to guard former Maj. Gen.
Jovito Palparan during the
January 11 hearing.

Early in the trial
stage, Palparan claimed that
he could present about 40
witnesses to prove his non-
involvement in the abduction
of two students of the
University of the Philippines:
Karen Empeño and Sherlyn
Cadapan.

Proceeding with the
presentation of evidence,
Palparan presented three
witnesses: Colonel Segundo
S. Metran, Staff Sergeant
Edgardo
Osorio,
and
Lieutenant Colonel Felipe
Anotado.

In
all
of
their
testimonies,
the
military
officials attempted to deny
Palparan’s participation in
the crime.

The case has been
ongoing since 2014. (Click
here for more stories.)
Who’s who?

Sherlyn and Karen’s
abduction
was
allegedly
carried out by the 24th
mula sa pahina 3
DSWD ensures assistance to families
affected by Mayon volcano eruptions
QUEZON
CITY -- The
Department of Social Welfare
and Development (DSWD) is
exerting all efforts and working
24/7 to ensure that families
affected by the series eruptions
of Mayon Volcano will receive
assistance.
DSWD
Officer-in-
Charge (OIC) Emmanuel A.
Leyco said that the agency
through its Field Office 5
is focused on its efforts to
assist local government units
(LGUs) in meeting the needs of
displaced residents.
“Based
on
our
consultations with DSWD FO
5, we have enough provisions
to augment the supplies we
prepositioned with the LGUs.
A daily monitoring of said
supplies are being done to
ensure that we can immediately
send from our warehouses in
Pasay and Cebu,” Leyco said.
Yesterday,
DSWD
Family Food Packs (FFPs)
containing six kilos of rice,
four cans of sardines, four cans
of corned beef, and six packs
of coffee were distributed by
the provincial action teams of
Albay to families of Barangay
Matanag, Legazpi City who
are currently staying in Albay
Central School and to evacuees
at Buraguis Elementary School,
also in Legazpi.

DSWD dignity kits
were also distributed this
week to evacuees at Budiao
Elementary School in the
Municipality of Bacacay and
to families staying at Anoling
Elementary School in Camalig,
Albay.

Each
dignity
kit
contains bath soap, detergent
bar,
toothbrushes,
combs,
alcohol, a nail cutter, a
whistle, toothpaste, bath towel,
undergarments, and a flashlight
with battery.

To help the province
of Albay respond to the needs
of its affected constituents, the
DSWD sent additional relief
assistance to the province last
week, including 6,503 family
food packs, 6,500 dignity kits,
2,000 assorted toys, and 6,503
blankets.

The assistance was on
top of the earlier aid provided
by the Department to the
province which included 5,500
FFPs and 11,000 malongs
and to Legazpi City, which
included 500 food packs and
1,000 malongs.

The relief aid are being
distributed by the Albay’s
provincial
action
teams,
provincial social welfare and
sundan sa pahina 3
BULATLAT FILE PHOTO: Jovito Palparan Jr pensive as he awaits arraignment at the Malolos Regional Trial Court in 2014 (Photo
by J. Ellao / Bulatlat)
PH ranks first in Asia for
budget transparency
“We’re very proud of what
we’ve accomplished to date.
In surpassing our Asian
neighbors, we have further
cemented our position as
a global leader in Open
Government. It encourages
us to persevere, to do
even better, in the years
ahead.” Budget Secretary
Benjamin Diokno
MANILA -- The results
of the Open Budget
Survey (OBS) 2017 have
been released with the
Philippines receiving an
Open Budget Index (OBI)
of 67, effectively securing
the top spot in Asia for
budget transparency.
“We’re
very
proud of what we’ve
accomplished
to
date.
In surpassing our Asian
neighbors, we have further
cemented our position as
a global leader in Open
Government. It encourages
us to persevere, to do even
better, in the years ahead.”
Budget Secretary Benjamin
Diokno said.

The
Philippines’
2017 OBI (67) is three
points higher than its score
in 2015 (64). We are now
first in Asia, followed by
Indonesia (64), Jordan
(63), Japan (60), and South
Korea (60).
The
Philippines
ranks 19th worldwide. The
Global Average for the OBI
in 2017 is 42.
In
2015,
the
Philippines ranked first in
the ASEAN region, second
in Asia after South Korea
(65), and 22nd worldwide.

The Open Budget
Survey
(OBS)
is
a
biennial survey conducted
by
the
International
Budget Partnership (IBP)
which assesses budget
transparency based on the
amount and timeliness
of
budget
information
governments
make
available to the public.
After
being
evaluated
against
109
equally
weighted
indicators,
each country receives a
composite score (out of
100) that determines its
ranking on the OBI.

The survey also
measures the extent of
public participation in the
country’s budget process
and budget oversight by
the legislature and the
Supreme Audit Institution
(SAI).
The
Philippines’
boasts a score of 41 for
Public Participation, more
than three times the global
average at 12. It is one
of only four countries to
achieve a moderate score
in the category, sharing
this distinction with New
Zealand, Australia, and the
United Kingdom.

Meanwhile,
the
Philippines holds a score
of 65 for Budget Oversight,
with
the
legislature
and the Commission on
Audit providing adequate
oversight over the budget.

“The Department of
Budget and Management
will continue to work
with the legislature, our
constitutional bodies, and
our citizens to further
enhance budget openness
in the public sector,” the
Philippines’ Budget Chief
said.

The
Open
Budget
Survey
uses
internationally-accepted
criteria developed by
multilateral organizations
from
sources
such
as
the
International
Monetary Fund (IMF),
the Organisation for
Economic Co-operation
and
Development
(OECD), the International
Organisation of Supreme
Audit
Institutions
(INTOSAI)
and
the
Global Initiative for
Fiscal
Transparency
(GIFT). (DBM)