BROADSHEETS 

PHIL. DAILY INQUIRER -- TV5 willing to back Willie Revillame

PHILIPPINE STAR -- GMA allies prepare frontal attack vs Noy

MANILA BULLETIN -- 17 face plunder raps

DAILY TRIBUNE -- Plunder raps filed vs 3 ex-AFP CoS, 14 others

TABLOIDS

PEOPLE’S JOURNAL -- Plunder

ABANTE -- Bagets pumalag sa alis 'Unli Rice'

PILIPINO STAR NGAYON -- Mga piskal armasan na! - PNoy 

PEOPLE'S TONIGHT -- No vacation for Noynoy

 

ISSUES MONITORING

On Congress

Former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s allies in the House of Representatives have decided to “go on the offensive” against the Aquino administration, Quezon Rep. Danilo Suarez said yesterday. “We agreed not to be docile, supportive and constructive anymore. We will go on the offensive and criticize this administration frontally. That was the marching order,” he said at the news forum Serye Café in Quezon City. (Philstar)

On P-Noy

President Aquino is in no hurry to visit China this year as details of the trip are still being finalized. “No final plans yet but most probably in the third quarter,” Aquino responded by text when asked about the trip. When asked to clarify whether the trip had originally been scheduled for May 22-25, Aquino said, “There is no unilateral decision. The dates are mutually agreed upon.” (Philstar)

On new cities

The League of Cities of the Philippines (LCP) is seeking the impeachment of justices of the Supreme Court (SC) who voted to uphold the conversion into cities of 16 municipalities despite their failure to meet the requirements under the Local Government Code. San Fernando, Pampanga Mayor Oscar Rodriguez, LCP president, said they will exhaust “all legal remedies” available, including filing impeachment complaints against the justices. “We are disappointed and frustrated that the Supreme Court skipped the chance to correct the judicial error of recognizing unqualified municipalities as cities,” he said. (Philstar)

On wage hike

Another Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB) has declared a “supervening condition” that could pave the way for the grant of a salary increase in other areas of the country. National Wages and Productivity Commission (NWPC) executive director Ciriaco Lagunzad III said the RTWPB in Western Visayas ruled that a supervening condition exists in the region due to the continuing increase in the prices of petroleum products. “Oil price hike was primarily the basis for the wage board’s decision to declare a supervening condition in western Visayas,” Lagunzad said. (Philstar)

On Ombudsman impeachment

Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile dispelled yesterday speculations that the impeachment trial of Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez could be delayed or long drawn out, saying he expects the process to be concluded within the year. Enrile told a Senate forum that barring unforeseen hitches, he does not see the trial lasting until the end of Gutierrez’s term next year because he would ensure that the case is disposed of within a reasonable time. “That (long trial) will be, I think, unacceptable to the people… I, for one, am not ready to accept that we could not dispose of this case within a reasonable time,” said Enrile, who will serve as presiding officer of the impeachment trial. (Philstar)

On AFP scam

Retired Lt. Col. George Rabusa, a former military budget officer who blew the whistle on alleged corruption in the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), filed plunder charges yesterday with the Department of Justice (DOJ) against 17 officials, including three former AFP chiefs. Rabusa showed up at the DOJ escorted by a handful of supporters, including nuns. The principal respondents in the criminal charges for violation of Republic Act 7080 or plunder were former AFP chiefs of staff Diomedio Villanueva, Roy Cimatu, and Efren Abu, and former comptrollers Lt. Gen. Jacinto Ligot and Maj. Gen. Carlos Garcia. The other respondents were Col. Cirilo Tomas Donato, Col. Roy Devesa, Maj. Emerson Angulo, retired Maj. Gen. Hilario Atendido, B/Gen. Benito de Leon, retired Lt. Col. Ernesto Paranis, Capt. Kenneth Paglinawan, Col. Gilbert Gapay, Maj. Gen. Epineto Logico and Col. Robert Arevalo.(Philstar)

On Ampatuans

Documents containing evidence of graft against former governor Zaldy Ampatuan of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) have been submitted to the Department of Justice (DOJ), according to Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo. Speaking to reporters in Zamboanga City, Robredo said the case build-up against Ampatuan was based on the findings of the Commission in Audit (COA) last March 17. “Right now we have only one report and based on that report we can file several cases,” he said.(Philstar)

On SMC case

President Aquino yesterday gave assurance that his administration would look after the interest of the majority in dealing with the Supreme Court (SC) ruling favoring his uncle, businessman Eduardo “Danding” Cojuangco Jr., in the San Miguel Corp. (SMC) issue. The SC said the state could still appeal the ruling that affirmed the Sandiganbayan’s 2007 decision disallowing government sequestration of the 20 percent share of Cojuangco in SMC. The SC ruled that the shares of Cojuangco, chairman and chief executive officer of SMC, were not part of the coconut levy funds seized by the government from cronies of the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos. (Philstar)

On VAT on oil

Malacañang yesterday said economic managers have not yet decided if the value added tax (VAT) on oil products would be reduced, especially now that the government expects to gain P70 billion in revenues because of rising crude prices. The Department of Finance initially projected revenue collections of P52 billion from oil firms for 2011, but the skyrocketing oil prices in the world market might bring the actual income from VAT to P70 billion. Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said economic managers have not yet made a concrete recommendation but are considering all possible options. (Philstar)