by Lynda Jumilla, ABS-CBN News
The Senate has begun exploring ways to allow detained Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV to participate in the chamber’s proceedings through video conferencing.
Sen. Panfilo Lacson, chairman of the Committee on Accounts, witnessed a demonstration by Filipino-owned American Technologies Inc. of its video conferencing technology.
During the demo, Lacson was able to have real-time discussions with another party in a remote location.
“Allowing him to participate is a foregone conclusion that has already been decided in the Committee of Rules,” Lacson said.
“So here we are, there’s a demonstration and we seem satisfied with the ongoing demo.”
Late last year, Lacson and Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile visited Trillanes in his detention area at the Camp Crame Custodial Center and promised he would be allowed to participate in Senate proceedings, pursuant to a resolution adopted by the chamber.
But there is still disagreement on whether Trillanes can vote on measures and other issues.
Lacson said they hope to put the facility in place by the time the third regular session of Congress opens in late July.
However, this would require the cooperation of the Philippine National Police (PNP), which acts as Trillanes’ custodial officer.
“Of course, ang technical facilities sa amin manggagaling, pero ang physical facilities sa kanyang lugar sa detention, ipagpapaalam natin sa PNP yan. I don’t think it’s asking too much kung magpaalam kami sa PNP bigyan siya ng maliit na kuwarto roon. Nakaupo siya sa isang desk, I think a two-by-two meter room will be sufficient for him to really participate in the proceedings sa Senado,” Lacson explained.
According to officials of American Technologies, a single video conferencing unit costs about P600,000.
Add to that would be the cost of the other components, such as the wide screen that would be put up in the session hall and committee rooms, and the individual monitors on the senators’ desks should they decide to have one.
Lacson said the Senate has a budget of P50 million from the e-government fund.
He also clarified that while American Technologies was allowed to demonstrate its technology, the contract would have to be bid out pursuant to procurement laws.
“Magkakaroon ng bidding. Dito walang collusive practice, dito ay kailangan mag-compete,” Lacson said.
Sen. Sonny Trillanes is worth more than P50 million. In fact, what he contributed so far to the ‘awakening’ of pinoy is priceless.
That’s absolutely right, chi. It’s a measly five-peso expense for every soul that voted for him, VAT included!
Vat included ha, Tongue. Hahaha! Galing ng kwenta mo.
Dapat naman he should be allowed..Enrile visited him but did not do anything as Senate President? Under the falda rin pala siya ni putot..Inspite of all these efforts to have him participate..I doubt he would be allowed to..takot si putot..
Just free him is the best option.
Sana nga totoo na ito. Taragis, ang tagal-tagal nang pino-propose ang video conferencing na sa totoo lang di naman kailangang maging mahal na kaya lang naman magiging mahal dahil na rin doon sa mga balak ng mga unggoy na kupit as usual.
Tangnanay nilang padded bills na naman iyan. Kung kami nga naka-video conferencing kay Jun Lozada na hindi naman mahirap gawin kung gugustuhin talaga.
Hindi naman malaki ang nagasta ko sa pagbili ng mga kailangang gamit dahil ang kailangan lang naman maka-hook up. Meron naman diyang yahoo messenger, skype, msn, etc. na puedeng gamitin.
Lalo na ngayon na parang pakyaw ang presyo ng mga gadgets for internetting. Dito nga sa Japan, wala na halos gumagamit ng ADSL. Majority ang gamit optic fiber lalo na’t packaged ng mga telephone company. Pagandahan pa ng service.
Siniguro lang namin na hind maha-hack, etc. ang connection namin ng mga tuta/tsimoy etc. ni Gloria Dorobo nang mag-video conference kami kay Lozada.
In other words, walang imposible kung gugustuhin. Pinakamagaling, papuntahin ng diretso si Trillanes sa Senado para um-attend ng mga sessions. Siguro naman di niya i-jeo-jeopardize ang chances niya by doing another Manila Pen unless the Filipinos are ready to do a Thai!
Bakit hindi? Trillanes is in principle merely representing the people who voted for him, and they have every right to be represented by him in voting on any measure and other issues his fellow senators/representatives are voting on.
Mukhang nakakalimutan ng mga unggoy ang trabaho nila a. At least, si Senator Pimentel marunong mag-acknowledge na siya ay “mere public servant” at hindi amo ng mga taumbayan!
Ang sabihin nilang mga unggoy sila, gusto lang nilang magpalusot. Kunyari pang para maka-participate si Trillanes sa Senado pero ang totoo isa na naman iyang pakulo para makakupit ng pera sa kaban. Iyong padded bills ang nakakatakot sa totoo lang!
Dahil kung talagang gusto nilang mag-participate si Trillanes sa Senado as he should dahil insulto sa mga bumoto sa kaniya na hindi pinapagtrabaho ang binoto nila, wala namang masamang dalhin siya sa Senado at ibalik sa selda niya after each session kung talagang ayaw nilang palabasin sila dahil na rin sa takot nila sa kanilang mga multo.
Sa palagay ko naman di naman ganoong ka-unggoy si Trillanes to jeopardize the welfare and interests of his constituents, the nation and the people. But what can you expect? Apparently, itong mga kuratong, they measure Trillanes by their own warted principles and standards!
Kawawang Sonny! Kawawang mga voters na bumoto sa kaniya! Kawawang bansa!
From a concerned citizen who asked that his name not be mentioned:
patria adorada: Just free him is the best option.
*****
Sinabi mo pa. Wala naman talagang naging kasalanan si Trillanes, et al. Hindi kasalanan ang magreklamo na mapailalim sa isang kriminal.
Kunyari pinatakbo siya, pero hindi naman pinapayagang gawin ang tungkulin niya. In short, niloko lang siya at iyong mga bumoto sa kaniya! Kunyari pa si Gloria Dorobo na considerate kuno! :-0
China claims ownership of islands on seas with “China” written on them up to the Marianas Islands. Iyan ang swapang talaga!!!
FYI
—–Original Message—–
Sent: Friday, March 06, 2009 3:27 PM
Subject: [psg-l] “U.S. Troops out now: Protest in Manila”
Dear Colleagues,
Luis Liwanag’s color photographs for Xinhua News Agency from Wednesday’s anti-VFA demonstration near Malacanang Palace may be viewed online .
Vincent K. Pollard, PhD
Lecturer / Cooperating Graduate Faculty
Asian Studies Program
Moore Hall 416 / Fax: + 808 956-2682
UNIVERSITY of HAWAI’I at MANOA
http://www2.hawaii.edu/~pollard/Asia.html
“Freedom is participation in power”
— Marcus Tullius Cicero (106 BCE – 43 BCE),
“True beauty is so stunning
that even the birds and animals stare in awe”
— unknown, China.
___________________________________________
sa palagay mo mananalo pa pinas sa china
eh nabili na ng china yung pinas
hanggang hindi tumatakbo ang northrail project patuloy na umaandar ang metro ng interes dun
another nuclear plant project in the making yung project na yun hindi pinakikinabangan but still kailangang bayaran
tapos sabi nila cancel na yung contract ng nbn-zte
pero pag alis ng pamilya sa malakanyang at nagtago na sa tate kasama ang mga alipores
dun lalabas na may utang ang pinas sa tsina
felemun Says: ….sa palagay mo mananalo pa Pinas sa china
eh nabili na ng china yung Pinas?
Wala namang ganyanan Felemun…iba nang usapan kung ang KALAYAAN ng bansa ang nakataya dito, China is China and ofcourse ibang usapan kung sasakupin nila ang Pinas thru their peoples?
Remember ang nangyari sa Indonesia…pinalayas ng mga Indonesian ang mga Intsik doon at kung mangyayari ito sa Pinas e for sure back to China na uli ang mga Chinoy na yan or else giyera patani ito.
Ang pera nila e di pwedeng maghari yan kapag ang taong Bayan ang nag-alsa balutan. Kaya tayong mga Pinoy ang dapat magmalasakit sa ating bansa at pasasaan ba e ang lahat ng bagay ay may solusyon. Ang kailangan lamang e magpakatotoo tayong lahat at gawin natin ang masnakakabuti sa ating kapwa-Pinoy upang maging maunlad ang ating lipunan.
Never tayong panghihinaan ng loob at remember habang may hininga e may pag-asa sa buhay. Tuloy ang ligaya sa pakikiba upang makamit natin ang tagumpay!
Hindi malayong mangyari yung sinabi ni Felemun. Halos lahat ng malalaking business sa Pilipinas eh pagaari ng mga Instsik na naging Pilipino. To name a few, Henry Sy, Lucio Tan, the Gokongweis and so on and so forth.
Also, the evil bitch has been dealing with China a lot UNDER THE TABLE. We only know the anomaly when she and her fatso are caught. It would be interesting to know how many contracts and agreements were entered into by the evil duo with China after they are booted out of their stolen thone.
Trillianes can really do more for the people if his voice is heard. Iba ang dating. Sana nga matuloy itong video cam conferencing.
Sabi nga ng China, all the islands along the China Sea, hanggang Marianas kaniya pati Pilipinas sa totoo lang.
Historically speaking, ang Luzon ay dating vassal state ng China bago pa sakupin ng mga kastila. Baka iyan ang gawing claim ng China sa totoo lang. Buti na lang iyong mga kastila, ang hihilig magsunog ng mga ebidensiya na baka gamitin pang ebidensiya ng mga intsik ng claim nila! 😉
Ellen,
Re: “According to officials of American Technologies, a single video conferencing unit costs about P600,000.”
Roughly 10K euro is not unreasonable but all depends on the tech specs the company proposes. The price Am Tech gave per unit may be reasonable or unreasonable depending on the specs. Anyway, the company is likely to ask for a minimum number of installations. In any case, they will be making a killing on spare parts, maintenance, etc. etc.
I’m a bit familiar with this conferencing thinggy because European companies have set up shops and have installed video conferencing paraphernalia in a few govt institutions in Asia — matter of fact, one of the first to do that was the company I worked for which set up Malaysia’s links to the world via video conferencing way back in 1996. Mahathir personally attended the launch of the conference taking place between him in London and his subalterns in KL.
We proposed the same to Erap’s govt in 1998-99. Erap was fascinated and absolutely wanted it because he was so tamad and didn’t want to hold cabinet meetings (hehe!) and DOTC under Jun Rivera was tasked to examine it. (Unfortunately we know what happened — Erap got caught in the middle of the Sippadan hostage turbulence and then he was kicked out…)
In any case, video conferencing tech is now cheaper than what it was then. I do believe that if everything is above board, i.e., selection, bidding and bid awards exercises, etc., Pinas can get their money’s worth and obtain the best tech for the amount they have earmarked which could include video conferencing from Malacanang all the way to the moon!
Matter of fact, I’m inclined to believe that at the rate these technologies have become easily accessible and affordable (and vulgarised, there are a few local Pinoy techno companies that could propose the same tech and services for much much less.
Anna: Matter of fact, I’m inclined to believe that at the rate these technologies have become easily accessible and affordable (and vulgarised, there are a few local Pinoy techno companies that could propose the same tech and services for much much less.
*****
You’re right. It is much cheaper now. Truth is I got my webcam for the video conferencing we had with Jun Lozada for less than 10 dollars! But then, of course, I have the homey type of gadgets rather than the professional ones. Still, it will not cost that much if they really would like to get on with it sans the “kupit”!!! 😛
In fact, there are a lot of those being discarded by big companies that are being given for free especially to the indigents who may have need of them like those computers that companies like mine give away.
Yuko, you’re spot on — wala lang kupit puwede na sana…
Meanwhile, Ellen, your readers made a very relevant observation:
“n the absence of any Foreign Forces Visiting Act with China, allowing international access to our interisland sealanes would enable the Red Chinese navy to stage a commanding presence in our immediate area.”
It’s no longer “would enable”, it is actually “enabling the Red Chinese navy…” to stage more than a commanding presence. Their submarines are all over the place, even right under PN ships even poking fun at them, simulating games like target practice.
felemun,
brad, plis end yur sentenses wid piryud.
it is hard tu absorb the tots op yur post.
por as olso aboyding sikantots.
ibendo yu ask TT, da oridyineytor op dat tot.
Anna,
Telecoms technology is so advanced, gadget and service suppliers’ prices are cut-throat.
For example, I have just terminated my VOIP service contract that provides me a Manhattan Area Code telephone number that anyone in the world can call with the US prefix “1”; and anyone in the US can call without incurring overseas toll charges to reach me. It’s $35/month but I just got a quotation from their competitor for $17 with additional 200 minutes more outgoing calls, so I switched. Dirt cheap for 500 mins of US-bound calls and unlimited incoming US calls, isn’t it?
The telecoms sector is probably the best-earning industry in the country today. Even the Danding Cojuangco-Ramon Ang tandem are into it. Danding, in partnership with Qatar Telekoms has very recently bought Liberty Telecoms (Radionet) owned by Former Marcos-Ver crony Raymond Moreno and Extelcom of ex-GMA7’s Meynardo Jimenez to use the latter’s CMTS franchise and Radionet’s repeater towers to slug it out with big boys Smart, Globe, Sun, and the new player Red Mobile.
Relating this to the blog topic, I am quite sure the P600,000 per unit video conferencing equipment could well be on the high side. Sattelite-transmitted professional VC equipment may even cost half of that, and again, even cheaper if hard-wired to the existing phone networks.
But if senate/government really wants to save money and achieve the same results, any high-end webcam+microphone+PC combo connected to a 4-10MBps wireless broadband network would do the job. It could also connect all the senators to their own Senate intranet. Two birds, one stone. At a mere 20% of the cost.
tongue,
are you saying TONGPATS galore na naman ito?
no more ending na walang katapusan?
ano ba ito, HAWA HAWA na?
parang bune?
oh, my goodness!
According to officials of American Technologies, a single video conferencing unit costs about P600,000.
==================
The average retail price of a single unit video conferencing unit in US is $4,000 or P192,000 (P600K is too much). These are the near broadcast quality brands like Polycom, Tandberg, Sony Professional, Codian and Radvision (ATI represents Polycom and Tandberg only). A single unit includes a high resolution color camera, a microphone system and a control unit. The PC and monitor is not included. Labor, cables, wires and other installation materials are not included. Engineering design should be easier than designing multiple PC system.
In Camp Crame, Sen. Trillanes needs only one unit. In Congress, they will need more, e.g., at least one in each hall where sessions are held. In this case they will be able to save more if they use a Master Control Unit to control the units.
They can also opt to have their conferences recorded by Sen. Trillanes and by the Congress.
The cheap webcams connected to a PC and using softwares like the Adobe Acrobat® Connect Pro or softwares provided by webcasting services like Webex, Gotommeeting, Instantconference and etc., are not recommended. The video movements are not smooth and picture quality is poor.
The proposal to allow Sen. Trillanes to participate in the deliberations through video conferencing sounds like “pa pogi points” sa mga bumoto kay Sen. Trillanes.
1. This proposal waited long enough till just-about-election season. Puwede naman noon pa.
2. What is the use of allowing Sen. Trillanes in the deliberations if he is not allowed to vote?
From where I sit, it appears that some politicians are simply eager to “parade” Sen. Trillanes to the public, banking on “sympathy votes” for those who initiated this video-conferencing facility. Mabola nga naman kahit 50% na bumoto kay Sen. Trillanes eh sulit na sulit na 🙂
I asked a soldier if given one power, to free Trillanes or shoot FG. Guess what was his choice.
Tounge, couldn’t agree with you more!
“But if senate/government really wants to save money and achieve the same results, any high-end webcam+microphone+PC combo connected to a 4-10MBps wireless broadband network would do the job. It could also connect all the senators to their own Senate intranet. Two birds, one stone. At a mere 20% of the cost.”