BROADSHEETS

PHIL. DAILY INQUIRER -- GMA Faces Plunder Raps Over P550M

PHILIPPINE STAR -- GMA Faces Plunder Raps Over OWWA Fund Misuse

MANILA STANDARD -- Plunder Case Filed Vs Arroyo

MANILA TIMES -- Aquino Allies Scam Gainers

MALAYA -- GMA Named In 2nd Plunder Rap

DAILY TRIBUNE -- Noy Allies To Face Criminal Charge On Fertilizer Scam

TABLOIDS

 

PEOPLE’S JOURNAL -- GMA Charged With Plunder

ABANTE -- P5530M Plunder Vs GMA

PILIPINO STAR NGAYON -- P530-M Plunder Vs GMA Isinampa!

 

BALITA -- Rollback, Kulang

PEOPLES TONIGHT -- Dad Sires 2 Kids With Daugther

BULGAR -- 8-Anyos Todas Sa Kalaro

 

ISSUES MONITORING

On Congress

Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. said yesterday impeached Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez might be trying to weaken the impeachment charges against her. Belmonte told reporters that the recommendation of the Ombudsman’s office for the filing of criminal charges against certain former lawmakers who are related to incumbent House members is not a retaliatory move against his chamber for its overwhelming vote to impeach Gutierrez. (Philstar-p1) Ombudsman

Three members of President Benigno Aquino 3rd’s Liberal Party (LP) were issued sub-allotment advices (SAAs) in 2004 allowing them to get funding from the government’s Farm Inputs/Farm Implements Program (FIFIP). The program was said to have given birth to the alleged P728-million fertilizer fund scam. The 134-page Joint Resolution of the Office of the Ombudsman released on April 15 identified the three LP members as incumbent Gov. Joey Salceda of Albay, incumbent Gov. Abraham Kahlil Mitra of Palawan and losing senatorial candidate Nereus Acosta Jr.  (Mla Times-Banner)

Two lawmakers from Mindanao yesterday filed a bill that would compel oil companies to reveal their pricing formula. Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez and Abante Mindanao party-list Rep. Maximo Rodriguez filed House Bill 4416 to compel oil firms to report to the Department of Energy (DOE) a “detailed calculation” of how they came up with the retail prices of gas and diesel per liter as well as “how much they earn per liter.” The measure would also require oil firms to present to the DOE a “comprehensive report” on their monthly operations including the amount of oil imported per month, cost of importation, revenues and expenses, net income, and “all other pertinent data as may be required by the DOE.” (Philstar-p4) Oil Pricing

Members of the House of Repesentatives yesterday called on President Aquino to start being serious with the government’s anti-illegal drug campaign by strengthening the anti-narcotics agencies relegated to “sidekick roles” as they aired serious concern over a decline in anti-drug enforcement operations in the country. (Tribune-p3) Illegal drugs

On Presidency

There might be good news from the government for the workers on May 1 even as the Labor Day celebrations will not be moved to Monday for a long weekend. “There are measures that are going to be undertaken, hopefully in time before Labor Day, that we can announce and so that we can assure the public that we are trying to do all we can to alleviate the burden to the public,” presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said yesterday. (Philstar-p1) 

The Palace implored yesterday that the Catholic Church should consider President Aquino as an “arbiter” instead of an adversary in the fierce debate over the controversial Reproductive Health (RH) bill amid fresh threats from prelates to boycott dialogs scheduled for the bill as former Sen. Francisco “Kit” Tatad issued a new warning on the rift Aquino had created in pushing the controversial measure. Tatad said yesterday at a weekly forum hosted by the Catholic Media Network that the state has no business imposing contraception and sterilization as it was already declared as being against humanity when the Nazis did the same in Germany sometime in the past. (Tribune-p1) 

Malacañang sees no problem with President Aquino soliciting advice from his “good friend,” Sen. Panfilo “Ping” Lacson, on police matters occasionally yet it keeps on vacillating to entertain the possibility of the lawmaker joining the Cabinet in the future. Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda explained during a press briefing yesterday that Aquino was just being “consultative” when he sought Lacson’s advice on who to pick as future chiefs of the Philippine National Police (PNP) during their meeting last month. (Tribune-p3) 

On The Presidents’ Men

Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda on Tuesday asked the NBI to look into reports that his and other Cabinet officials names are being used to extort money or gain special favors from businessmen. He said the latest stunts duped manning agencies into shelling out P20,000 to P30,000 each. Lacierda declined to name the victims. One scam had him asking one firm to donate P10,000 for a golf tournament in Tagaytay Highlands. (Malaya-p6) 

On The Supreme Court

President Aquino is expected to appoint two new Supreme Court associate justices when two magistrates retire in June. The Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) had also extended the period of application for two upcoming vacancies in the Supreme Court to be left by the retirement of Associate Justices Antonio Eduardo Nachura and Conchita Carpio-Morales in June. (Philstar-p18) 

On RH Bill

Malacañang yesterday said it wants to continue dialogues with the Church on the issue of reproductive health. A meeting is being arranged with Msgr. Juanito Figura, secretary general of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, by Julia Abad, head of the Presidential Management Staff, according to presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda. (Malaya-p1) 

Malacañang sees no reason to fight or end its dialogue with the Catholic Church over the reproductive health bill, saying focus must be on how to improve the proposed measure. Presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said in a press briefing at Malacañang yesterday that continued discussions on the bill would not be futile because the administration would want to come up with a very reasonable measure. With other religious groups voicing their support for the measure, some bishops said it was now futile to discuss the matter with the administration because President Aquino had already made up his mind. (Philstar-p19) 

On Plunder Case

For allegedly dipping her fingers into a cookie jar reserved for overseas Filipino workers, former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo so disgusted at least three Malacañang insiders that they helped put together plunder charges that she is now facing. Former Solicitor General Frank Chavez Tuesday filed a 23-page complaint claiming that Arroyo, now a Pampanga representative, misused more than P550 million from the Overseas Workers’ Welfare Administration (OWWA) from March 2003 to February 2004. (PDI-Banner) 

On Fertilizer Scam

Former Bukidnon Rep. Nereus Acosta Jr., an ally of President Aquino, and four other solons received shares from the Farm Input/Farm Implements Fund (FIFIF) even if their legislative districts were not in the list submitted to the Department of Budget and Management in 2004 for issuance of Special Allotment Release Order (SARO). (Malaya-p3) 

On New Taxes

Malacañang maintained yesterday that new taxes would not be considered this year but such policy would not necessarily hold until the end of President Aquino’s term. “I’m not sure if that no new taxes is for the entire six years. That wasn’t the promise made. What we’re very clear is there will be no taxes this year,” presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said in a press briefing at the Palace. “That’s my understanding. We’re going through it on a year-to-year basis.” Lacierda said the proposals for new or increased taxes might be tackled by next year, depending on the country’s fiscal condition. (Philstar-p1) 

On Rotting Rice

A former Isabela congressman urged President Aquino yesterday to order National Food Authority (NFA) Administrator Angelito Banayo to explain why his agency allowed a huge volume of imported rice to rot in its Western Visayas warehouses. “Allowing rice to rot in the face of mass hunger is criminal negligence,” former Rep. Rodolfo Albano III, now vice governor of his province, said in a call to The STAR. “The P-Noy administration could have given that rice to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) for distribution to poor families,” he said. (Philstar-p1) 

On The Armed Forces

Talks are ongoing with the United States for the acquisition of two more Hamilton class ships in addition to the one that is due to be delivered this August to the Philippine Navy. The talks are on the "exploratory" stage, Armed Forces spokesman Commodore Miguel Jose Rodriguez said. He said the Coast Guard cutters are due to be decommissioned. "We will compete with other countries to buy (these ships)." (Malaya-p4) 

On The Peace Process

The government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front are set to hold exploratory talks today and tomorrow in Kuala Lumpur. Among issues to be discussed are the government’s concern about the status of Ameril Umbra Kato, who has broken away from the MILF and formed his own armed forces, and the proposed "Comprehensive Compact" submitted by the MILF. (Malaya-p4) 

On Gov’t Composition

There is no vacancy in the top post in the Department of the Interior and Local Government for Sen. Panfilo Lacson, according to Malacañang. Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda told reporters yesterday that President Aquino himself had made this clear in a phone call last Monday. “There was a text (message) from GMA-7 precisely on that question if there was an offer made and the President said the position is not vacant,” Lacierda said. He said the call came after Aquino’s meeting with Lacson. (Philstar-p2) 

On Compostela Valley

The government may have to forcibly evacuate residents at the mining site in Compostela Valley affected by the landslide, Malacañang said yesterday. Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) had declared the area as dangerous, emphasizing that residents should leave immediately. Lacierda said the MGB had warned that it would only be a matter of time before the soil would collapse and put the residents in the area at risk. (Philstar-p1) 

On Syrian Turmoil

The Department of Foreign Affairs yesterday raised the alert to Level 2, which means limiting travel to that West Asian country and opening the possibility for voluntary repatriation. Under alert Level 2, non-essential and non-urgent travel, including travel for tourism, is being discouraged. Also, Filipinos are being encouraged to voluntarily relocate or leave the country at their own cost if they have no pressing need to remain. (Malaya-p1) 

On The Libyan Leader

Embattled Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi will survive the rebellion in his country, a Muslim political leader said recently. Nur Misuari, the founding chairman of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and a former governor of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), told The Manila Times that he believes that France and the United Kingdom will soon realize that it would be better to talk with Qaddafi than allow the casualty count in the Libyan turmoil to rise. (Mla Times-1) 

On Pilar Pilapil Stabbing

Police investigators disclosed yesterday that they are checking if Rosel Jacosalem Peñas, the missing companion of actress Pilar Pilapil when she was attacked and left for dead last April 14, is a con artist. Probers received reports that Peñas had allegedly worked as a housemaid and robbed her employer and was able to buy a car in cash. Members of Task Group Pilapil gathered that Peñas paid P480,000 cash when she bought the beige Kia Carens with license plates CIZ-888 vehicle from its owner on Jan. 10, 2011. (Philstar-p1) 

On Laguna Lake Dredging

The Aquino administration will try to resolve “through diplomatic channels” its problem with a P6 billion damage suit being readied by a Belgian firm in response to the government’s cancellation of the P18.7-billion Laguna Lake Rehabilitation Project. “We decided to respond in writing, and we believe that it can be resolved through diplomatic channels,” Secretary Ricky Carandang of the Presidential Communications for Strategic Planning and Development Office said yesterday. Aquino has called for a meeting with concerned Cabinet officials on the case of Belgian firm Baggerwerken Decloedt en Zoon (BDZ). Environment Secretary Ramon Paje, Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, Presidential Management Staff chief Julia Abad and Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario attended the meeting. (Philstar-p3)