BROADSHEETS

PHIL. DAILY INQUIRER -- Kinder, Gentler Senate

MANILA BULLETIN -- P8.3-B AFP Fund Frozen

PHILIPPINE STAR -- Family Hits Back At Reyes Critics

MANILA STANDARD -- Palace Slashes P8B From AFP Budget, Says It’s 20% Bloated

MANILA TIMES -- Senators Spare Reyes Family

MALAYA -- Garcia, Ligot Pressed To Tell All

DAILY TRIBUNE -- DoJ To Probe ‘Big Fish’ Behind Garcia

TABLOIDS

PEOPLE’S JOURNAL -- Soldiers Pay Skimmed

ABANTE -- Garcia Itutumba?

PILIPINO STAR NGAYON -- Lola, 3 Apo Natupok Sa Sunog!

 

BALITA -- ‘Bakit

 Kami?’

PEOPLES TONIGHT -- Reyes, Bank Prexy’s Suicides Similar

BULGAR -- Pulis Todas Kay Misis

 

ISSUES MONITORING

On Congress

The Senate appears to have been chastened by the suicide of Angelo Reyes, who was accused by a witness before the blue ribbon committee of pocketing more than P100 million when he was the military chief of staff. The senator who brought in whistle-blower George Rabusa to spill the beans on Reyes looked like he had barely slept the morning after the former AFP chief of staff killed himself. Reporters chanced upon a rather soft-spoken Sen. Jinggoy Estrada, who insisted there wasn’t “anything wrong” with the way he grilled Reyes, 65, over the P50-million send-off gift (pabaon) the latter allegedly got. (PDI-Banner) Reyes death

Members of the House defense committee discovered yesterday that the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) illegally diverted $55 million (about P2.4 billion) in reimbursements from the United Nations (UN) to an account in a private bank. Representatives Joseph Emilio Abaya of Cavite and Rufus Rodriguez of Cagayan de Oro City said the reimbursements should have been remitted to the national treasury instead of being deposited in an AFP account with the United Coconut Planters Bank (UCPB) branch on Alfaro Street in Makati City. (Philstar-p1) AFP mess

On Presidency

President Benigno Aquino 3rd will lead the inauguration today of the Presidential Situation Room (PSR), which will be used to monitor crisis situations in the country. The PSR, located at the Presidential Security Group Compound across Malacañang, will provide President Aquino the capability to handle situations of critical importance to national security. (Mla Times-p3) 

President Aquino has always been for responsible parenthood, Malacañang reiterated yesterday. We have always been very consistent that his stand was for responsible parenthood,” deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said. “His stand was always for responsible parenthood, meaning that the choice is left to the parents after they have all the available information given to them. (Philstar-p7) 

Malacañang yesterday declined to give any commitment to potential long-term foreign investors that they will be given immunity from judicial risks when they start doing business under the Aquino administration out of courtesy to the judiciary which is a separate and co-equal branch of government. (Tribune-p1) 

On Executive-Legislative Abuses

Supreme Court (SC) Chief Justice Renato Corona isn’t about to allow his high court to bend to the will of the Executive and Legislative branches of government when it comes to cracking down on abuses committed by both Malacañang and Congress. Corona yesterday said the SC will continue to wield its review power to crack down on abuses committed by the Palace and Congress. (Tribune-p1) 

On Gen Reyes Death

The sons of the late former Armed Forces chief Angelo Reyes hit back at his critics yesterday, calling them “ignorant and envious” and with “nothing better to do than to cowardly criticize him.” They voiced their sentiments in a statement read yesterday outside the Arlington Ascension Chapels on Araneta Avenue where the wake for Reyes was being held. Reyes shot himself Tuesday before his parents’ graves at the Loyola Memorial Park in Marikina. (Philstar-Banner) 

The last remark of the dying Angelo Reyes to his youngest son Judd was not “Sorry” but “Be strong, be strong, kontakin mo mga kapatid mo (contact your brothers).” Judd Reyes, along with his brother Carlo and their father’s aide Cesar Abon and driver Rolando Dagang, accompanied the retired general to Loyola Memorial Park in Marikina City on that fateful Tuesday morning. In an interview with the Inquirer on Tuesday night, Judd said that as always, his father was “quiet” from the house to the cemetery and spoke with them in a normal voice. He said no one in the family had any inkling that their father would commit suicide. (PDI-p1) 

Angelo Reyes’ act of taking his life by shooting himself in the chest showed “extreme courage,” and not weakness, according to a three-star general who served with him in the Armed Forces. “Honor, to people like General Reyes, is of great[er] value than life itself, and they’re willing to give their lives to defend that honor,” retired Philippine Navy chief Mateo Mayuga told the Inquirer on Tuesday night at the wake.  Mayuga said that while men generally committed suicide with a shot to the head, Reyes aimed the gun at his heart, bursting the aorta. When people swear to tell the truth, “they swear with all their heart,” said Mayuga, a retired vice admiral. “It was an act of extreme courage, an act that a non-military mind will never understand.” (PDI-p1) 

Former military chief of staff Angelo Reyes believed he was the main target of the Senate probe of massive corruption in the military under two former comptrollers, his former aide said. Col. Edgardo de Leon yesterday said that Reyes had believed that the other retired top officials implicated by former military budget officer George Rabusa were just “cosmetics.” “He said it looked personal, that he was the target. The others who were mentioned were just cosmetics but he was the real target,” De Leon said, recalling what Reyes recently told him on the phone. (PDI-p4) 

On AFP Mess

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima has vowed to look into the claim of retired Commodore Rex Robles that a “bigger personality” is involved in the corruption scandal in the military. (Tribune-Banner) 

President pro tempore Jinggoy Estrada yesterday proposed an executive session for the next hearing of the Blue Ribbon committee, in the hope that Maj. Gen. (ret.) Carlos Garcia and his immediate predecessor, Lt. Gen. (ret.) Jacinto Ligot, would divulge what they know about conversion and diversion of the military’s budget. "Kasi sinabi nga ni General Garcia that he might incriminate himself. Even General Ligot. We’ll give them a chance to say everything in an executive (session). Tutal naman, under our rules, pag merong sinabi ang resource person sa executive (session), hindi namin pwedeng i-divulge (to public)," Estrada said. (Malaya-Banner) 

Former military budget officer and whistle-blower George Rabusa said yesterday he is determined to continue his exposés on anomalies in the Armed Forces of the Philippines even if these had already driven former AFP chief Angelo Reyes to commit suicide. “I have started this, and I have to finish it,” Rabusa said in an interview. “I cannot believe that he committed suicide because he was a very strong man.” Rabusa expressed sadness at the turn of events but said life must go on. (Philstar-p1) 

Special envoy to the Middle East Roy Cimatu categorically denied allegations that he received military funds illegally when he served as Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief of staff. Cimatu arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport the other night from an official trip to Afghanistan and the Middle East. (Philstar-p1) 

The government will look into the claims of retired Commodore Rex Robles that a “bigger personality” could be fished out of ongoing investigations into alleged corruption in the military stemming from the plunder case against former military comptroller Carlos Garcia. Justice Secretary Leila de Lima yesterday said it could be worth looking into the insinuations of Robles that Garcia’s protector allegedly used the charges against the late former secretary Angelo Reyes as a smokescreen. (Philstar-p1) 

Investigation of alleged corruption in the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) will push through despite the death of former AFP Chief of Staff Angelo Reyes, according to Justice Secretary Leila de Lima. “This is not just about Secretary Reyes. We have a higher issue here, which is the corruption in the military,” de Lima said on Wednesday, stressing that other high Armed Forces officials supposedly are also involved in wrongdoing. “We have to take the opportunity to look into this alleged corruption and this is the best time to do it,” she added. (Mla Times-p1) 

On UN Funds

Release of at least $3.3 million, or about P148.5 million from the United Nations to reimburse expenses of Filipino peacekeepers abroad has been put on hold since May 2008, an official of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said on Wednesday. During a hearing held by the House Committee on National Defense and Security on alleged mismanagement of military funds including those from the UN, Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Policy Erlinda Basilio disclosed that Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo froze the $3.3 million to ensure that it would not end up in the wrong hands in light of a plunder case against former military comptroller Carlos Garcia. (Mla Times-p1) 

The misuse of United Nations (UN) funds intended for Filipino peacekeeping soldiers has been going on for some time with the government, specifically the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), that knows about it and addressed it by not confronting the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). Instead, the DFA withheld the funds from the AFP, authorities separately confirmed yesterday. An official of the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) also indicated the DFA was part of those on whom to blame for the misuse of the funds since the agency violated Executive Order 388 when they gave UN funds directly to the AFP. (Tribune-p1) 

On State Auditors

Commission on Audit (COA) chairman Reynaldo Villar will order a review of the assignment history of government auditors nationwide to determine if there are assessors staying beyond their three-year terms. “I will have all of these looked into,” he told The STAR. The plan to institute reforms in the commission came on the heels of reports that Philippine Navy resident auditor Divina Cabrera received bribe money during her 13-year stint in the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP). (Philstar-p4) 

On The Peace Process

The Philippine government and the country’s largest Muslim rebel group resumed formal peace talks here yesterday for the first time since President Aquino took office last year. Chief government negotiator Marvic Leonen said both sides began a meeting scheduled to run for two days in Malaysia, which has brokered the negotiations since 1997. The peace process seeks to end a decades-long rebellion by the 11,000-strong Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). Talks collapsed in 2008 when the Philippine Supreme Court rejected a preliminary accord with the government of then-President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo that would have expanded an existing Muslim autonomous region in Mindanao. (Philstar-p7) 

On Dacer-Corbito Murder

Daughters of slain publicist Salvador “Bubby” Dacer opposed yesterday a petition of fugitive Sen. Panfilo Lacson for the Court of Appeals (CA) to lift the arrest warrant against him. Carina Dacer, Sabina Reyes, Emily Hungerford and Amparo Henson said the CA need not clarify its ruling on whether the arrest warrant still stands. “The decision did not expressly provide for its immediate execution, which it should have done if that was its intent,” they said. (Philstar-p4) 

On Military Academy’s Abolition

The military rejected yesterday calls to abolish the Philippine Military Academy (PMA), claiming that a majority of the institution’s graduates are serving the country with integrity despite allegations of corruption in the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). AFP spokesman Brig. Gen. Jose Mabanta Jr. said the academy should not be blamed for the alleged misdeeds former military chiefs are being accused of.  (Philstar-p8) 

On Foreign Affairs

The Taiwanese government yesterday demanded a public apology from the Philippine government over what it called the "surreptitious" deportation of its 14 citizens despite a writ of habeas corpus issued by the Court of Appeals requiring the Department of Justice, National Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Immigration to produce the 14 suspects. But deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said no such apology is forthcoming, with the government standing by its decision to deport 14 alleged Taiwanese accused in a large-scale investment scam that victimized Chinese citizens in the mainland, Singapore, and Hong Kong. (Malaya-p1) 

Taiwan has started hiring workers from Thailand and Indonesia to replace Filipinos in retaliation for the Philippine government’s deportation of 14 Taiwanese to China, a source said yesterday. Taiwan is also considering stopping all investments in the Philippines, according to a very reliable source close to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO), Taiwan’s de facto embassy in Manila. “How can the Philippine government ignore Taiwan which has 150 units of F-16, 60 Mirage jet fighters, tanks, latest weapon with a strong 600,000 well equipped armed forces and over $400 billion foreign reserves,” the source said. (Philstar-p2)