A MILITANT legislator assailed the House leadership on Thursday for allegedly delaying the approval of the bill that would include the disputed Spratlys group of islands in the country’s national territory.

Party-list Rep. Teodoro Casiño of Bayan Muna challenged the House leadership to immediately approve House Bill 3216 on third reading to dispel any suspicion the government had entered into a compromising deal with China on the Spratlys.

“It is a major puzzle why the House has not acted on this vital measure on our nation’s national territory and national boundaries,” Casiño said.

He said that House Bill 3216 titled “An Act Defining the Archipelagic Baselines of the Philippine Archipelago, amending for the purpose Republic Act 3046, as amended by Republic Act 5446” principally authored by Lakas Rep. Antonio Cuenco of Cebu is up for approval on third reading and has been in the House’s order of business since December 13 last year. It claims both the Kalayaan and Spratlys group of islands as well as the Scarborough Shoal as part of Philippine territory.

Lakas Rep. Orlando Fua of Siquijor, vice chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, told Casiño it is the Department of Foreign Affairs that did not want the House to pass the measure as it would violate some international agreements entered into by the government.

Relatedly, Mayor Jejomar Binay of Makati City, United Opposition president, also expressed fears that sensitive documents on the so-called Spratly deal between Manila and Beijing may have already been misplaced or even destroyed, along with those concerning controversial government projects such as the ZTE deal.

Binay said that the documents related to the Spratly deal, which allows China to explore Philippine territorial waters must be secured immediately, to ensure “they are not stolen, misplaced or destroyed.”

Former CBCP president: Senate probe into ZTE flawed

A FORMER president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) said on Thursday the bishops did not get along with the “growing clamor for [President Arroyo’s] resignation” because they feel that the Senate inquiry into alleged government kickbacks in the botched $329-national broadband network deal is flawed.

SENATE Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr. on Thursday asserted that former socioeconomic planning secretary Romulo Neri cannot impose any condition on the Senate for resuming his testimony on the ZTE-national broadband network (NBN) project.

THE controversial acquisition of x-ray machines by the Bureau of Customs (BOC) is up for scrutiny at the Senate blue-ribbon committee when it conducts a separate inquiry into the Northrail and Southrail projects, Sen. Francis Escudero said Thursday.

A MILITANT legislator assailed the House leadership on Thursday for allegedly delaying the approval of the bill that would include the disputed Spratlys group of islands in the country’s national territory.

THE Court of Appeals (CA) has issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) enjoining a court in Batangas City from implementing its order allowing creditors of Steel Corp. of the Philippines (SCP) to acquire ownership and management control of the company.