BROADSHEETS 

PHIL. DAILY INQUIRER -- P50-M Webb fund bared

MANILA BULLETIN -- Libya crisis escalates

PHILIPPINE STAR -- Merci impeachment on 

DAILY TRIBUNE -- Mar fails at troubleshoot job

TABLOIDS

PEOPLE’S JOURNAL -- Taiwan to stop hiring Pinoys

ABANTE -- Libya escape routes handa na!

PILIPINO STAR NGAYON -- Nigerians sa droga pinatutugis!    

PEOPLES TONIGHT -- Man stabs ex-lover, kills self

 

ISSUES MONITORING

On Congress

A committee of the House of Representatives yesterday voted to resume hearings on the impeachment complaint against Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez. Lawmakers comprising the House committee on justice voted 21-5 to resume the impeachment proceedings against Gutierrez following a motion of Ilocos Norte Rep. Rodolfo Fariñas. Fariñas, vice chairman of the committee, ordered Gutierrez to answer the impeachment complaints against her within three days, even as other lawmakers warned the proceedings are being railroaded at the prodding of Malacañang. (Philstar)

On OFWs

The Philippines and China will soon begin negotiations for a “Transfer of Sentenced Persons Agreement” aimed at providing the government with an additional tool for assisting Filipinos in distress, including those in jail in China principally on drug-related cases. Foreign affairs spokesman and concurrent Assistant Secretary for Legal Affairs Eduardo Malaya said yesterday the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) welcomed the call of Sen. Francis Escudero for the government to forge such agreements with countries hosting large numbers of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs). (Philstar)

On AFP fund scam

The Senate Blue Ribbon committee has subpoenaed the wife of former military comptroller Lt. Gen. Jacinto Ligot to compel her to attend tomorrow’s hearing and shed light on her and her husband’s bank transactions and real estate acquisitions. “If Mrs. Ligot will not attend the next hearing, we will be forced to issue an arrest order to force her to attend the hearings,” committee chairman Sen. Teofisto Guingona III said. The hearing is on the plea bargain deal between the Ombudsman’s prosecutors and former military comptroller Carlos Garcia, who is facing plunder charges.(Philstar)

On Taiwan row

Taiwan expressed anger on Tuesday over the Philippines’ refusal to apologize for deporting 14 Taiwanese to China and threatened to freeze the hiring of Philippine workers. “Taiwan’s government and people are strongly angered,” President Ma Ying-jeou said through an interpreter while meeting in Taipei with former Sen. Manuel Roxas II, the unofficial envoy of Philippine President Aquino. (Philstar)

On peace talks

Government negotiators and communist rebels agreed Monday on a road map for continued peace talks aimed at resolving Asia’s longest-running insurgency by June 2012. Ending the first round of long-stalled peace negotiations in Norway, the two sides agreed to meet again in April and every two months after that. “Tonight finds us on the zigzag path to peace,” government chief negotiator Alex Padilla said. “But we have taken the first step.” (Philstar)

On power rates

The Philippines, which ranks among the most corrupt countries, also holds the unenviable record of having the highest residential power rates not only in Asia but in the entire world. Officials of the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) and the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) admitted as much yesterday in the course of a hearing by the House energy committee on the high cost of electricity in the country. Responding to questions raised by Eastern Samar Rep. Ben Evardone, the energy officials said the Philippines has overtaken Japan as the country that charges the highest electricity rate on residential users. (Philstar)

On People Power 1

Twenty-five years after the EDSA People Power revolution that overthrew his father’s dictatorship, Sen. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. believes the nation’s aspirations are still far from being realized. “There were great promises that had been made and we have to see how far we have come in the fulfillment of those promises… I believe that all Filipinos dream of having a job, to provide their children with an education and that is why they work. I believe that a large percentage of the country have yet to achieve these dreams,” he said. (Philstar)

On Vizconde case

Chief Justice Renato Corona yesterday denied allegations he tipped off that a ranking magistrate had lobbied for the acquittal of the convicts in the Vizconde massacre case. Corona, through SC spokesman Midas Marquez, denied telling Lauro Vizconde that Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio had approached fellow magistrates to vote for the acquittal of Hubert Webb and others convicted in the massacre.(Philstar)

On new AFP chief

President Aquino confirmed yesterday that he has chosen the next Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief who would replace Gen. Ricardo David Jr. who retires on March 8. Asked whether he had made a decision on the next AFP chief, the President said, “There is, but we are still evaluating to be sure about our choice.”“We still have a few more days, perhaps a week or two to finalize this,” Aquino said. (Philstar)