For foreign donors

PLS. coordinate with the Philippine Embassy/Consulates in your respective areas and the Dept. of Social Welfare and Development for your donations. Click here for the procedures you have to follow to make sure your donations get to the right recipients.

Meanwhile, Finance Secretary Gary Teves yesterday released a public advisory via text saying: "the Bureau of Customs (BOC) is now coordinating with the DSWD for the immediate release of used clothes donation from international institutions for the typhoon Ondoy victims. International organizations are advised to donate used clothes directly to DSWD as existing laws (RA 4653) prohibit the importation of used clothes for the Philippines.

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FYI: Sec. Teves, through his publicist, also informed me that "we will discuss with DSWD [Esperanza] Cabral if she can work with NGOs to faciliate the release of these goods."

Great Book Blockade revisited

JUST for everyone's perusal, here's the order from the Department of Finance suspending the tax on books. It's by no means permanent, as the DOF is still finalizing the guidelines on book importation. But for the moment, I think everyone can rest easy and go buy their books at their usual prices. (Of course, if the peso devaluates, it will raise the prices of our books, which is another matter completely.)

Here's a shout out to the bloggers and journalists who made a ruckus about the issue, and especially to my former boss and a book lover himself, Makati Rep. Teddyboy Locsin, who bent the ear of the presidentita on this one.

Shouldn't we applaud GMA as well? Hmmm...let's see the final guidelines first.

DOF Order 27-09 Suspending Book Tax

Publish at Scribd or explore others: Taxes & Accounting Business & Law book tax book blockade

Thanks to Finance Secretary Gary Teves' PR crew at Great Wall Advertising for emailing us a copy of the DO.

Manolo Quezon's take on the issue. Many think that the fight isn't over yet.

Bakit ganito kapatid?

THERE'S this really fascinating story in GMANews.TV about how former NEDA Director-General Romy Neri is supposedly sore at the media for trying to drive a wedge between him and his Presidentita. He supposedly lamented about this situation to Secretary Cerge Remonde, director-general of the Presidential Management Staff.

The story is so hilarious because it is so elaborately-constructed, with matching bakla dialogue ("Bakit ganito kapatid?" was how Remonde says Neri put it), and with angst dripping all over the place. It is so utterly unbelievable considering that Neri isn't really close to anyone in the Cabinet to confide his feelings to...well, except maybe for Finance chief Gary Teves, who became an unwitting accomplice in the Abalos-ZTE bribery fiasco.

And even if the conversation did take place, Bakit ganito kapatid? because kapatid you were stupid not to have told the truth! That's why. Gads since when did the PMS chief become an administration mouthpiece? Di ba tiga-ayos lang 'yan ng papeles ni Presidentita sus?

The lengths to which this administration goes to just to spin this scandal in their favor continues to amaze me. It is almost terrifying to have these many amateurs working on the Presidentita's team, you constantly wonder about the future of this country. It's so nakakatawa na nakakainis!.

Teves admits Neri told him about Abalos' bribe offer

MANILA, Philippines -- Romulo Neri informed not only President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo but also Finance Secretary Margarito Teves about Commission on Elections Chairman Benjamin Abalos Sr.'s purported offer of P200 million.

Teves himself disclosed this to reporters in New York, saying that Neri, then the director general of the National Economic and Development Authority, had told him about Abalos' alleged bribe attempt to push the approval of the National Broadband Network project in favor of China's ZTE Corp.

But at that time, "I did not put too much attachment to it," Teves said on Thursday. The finance secretary is part of the entourage of Ms Arroyo, who is in New York with other heads of state to attend the 62nd session of the UN General Assembly. (Read the rest at Inquirer.)

HAVE we Filipinos lost our sense of moral outrage over corruption in government? Apparently so, as even someone as respectable and honorable as Finance Secretary Gary Teves, apparently didn't even flinch when told of Comelec chairman Benjamin Abalos bribe attempt on former NEDA Director-General Romy Neri!

Why did Teves think Neri was telling him this for? Btw, FYI lang? Obviously, Neri turned to him for guidance being a decent man of his stature. Neri's conscience was bothering him and he wanted to tell someone so he would know what to do about it. But how did Teves behave? Wala lang.

It irritates me to no end that even people whom I thought were decent have a cavalier attitude over stomach-turning incidents as this. If you don't say anything about it or put a stop to it, then you are guilty by complicity. Such a shame Gary Teves. I believed in you.