BROADSHEETS

PHIL. DAILY INQUIRER -- Puno: It’s Time To Cha-Cha

PHILIPPINE STAR -- Cha-Cha Advocates Unfazed

MANILA TIMES -- Kidnappings Kills Business

MALAYA -- Water Supply To Metro Reduced

DAILY TRIBUNE -- Time Is Ripe For Cha-Cha – Ex CJ Puno

TABLOIDS

PEOPLE’S JOURNAL -- Trillanes Attends First Senate Hearing

ABANTE -- Plus 50c  Sa Jeep OK!

PILIPINO STAR NGAYON -- 5 Trader Minasaker!

BALITA -- Hirap Sa Buhay

BULGAR -- Anak Niratrat Ni Tatay, Patay!

 

ISSUES MONITORING

On Congress

Some hospitals indeed charge fees for training programs for new nurses but this practice is allowed by both the Commission on Higher Education (Ched) and the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC), Senate probers were told yesterday. Philippine Hospitals Association vice president Dr. Hermogenes Jarin admitted before the Senate committee on health and demography that it was the first time he had heard of the practice of “volunteerism-for-a-fee.” (Tribune-p3) 

A GROUP pushing for the passage of a reproductive health bill yesterday shrugged off the issuance of a mandatory prayer by the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines on the proposed bill. The Philippine Legislators’ Committee on Population and Development said the "Oratio Imperata for the Respect of All Human Life" will not work. Bishops have said the prayer would be their best weapon in protecting life against threats to it. (Malaya-p3) 

On Presidency

The executive department is now ready to turn over to both chambers of Congress 32 priority legislative bills when the first Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council convenes within the month. Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr., who heads the good governance cluster in Monday’s Cabinet workshop, disclosed that these bills have been trimmed from a total of 139 proposed measures from Cabinet secretaries, on top of 41 submitted by the foreign chambers. (Philstar-p4) 

On Charter Change

The start of a new administration is the “perfect time” to amend the 1987 Constitution and heal a “democracy on a stretcher,” former Chief Justice Reynato Puno said a day after Malacañang declared that Charter change (Cha-cha) was not its priority. Puno on Tuesday said that the Constitution had spawned a frail state, one crippled by a weak electoral system, social inequalities and a politically vulnerable judiciary. (PDI-Banner) 

Proponents of Charter change (Cha-cha) at the House of Representatives are unfazed by Malacañang’s pronouncements that amending the Constitution is not a priority of the administration. Two lawmakers believe Cha-cha would get popular support because the people trust the administration. Reps. Loreto Leo Ocampos of Misamis Occidental and Ben Evardone of Eastern Samar said the administration’s high credibility would make moves to amend the Constitution acceptable to Filipinos. (Philstar-Banner) 

Malacañang yesterday said President Aquino is not about to create a Charter Change Commission since there is no urgency to amend the 1987 Constitution. Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said Aquino’s campaign promise to form a Commission within six months of his presidency "is so if and when he (Aquino) sees the need for one." (Malaya-p4) 

Cha-Cha is being played again. Time to be wary and alert. Last Sunday, a friend working in the House of Representatives told us that Gloria Arroyo and her allies are ready with the charter-change operation and they are just waiting for the right time to start it. She said Arroyo has the "budget" for it. (Malaya-p4) 

On The Supreme Court

The contested acquittal of the accused in the Vizconde massacre and other high-profile cases are crowding the plate of the Supreme Court, but no resolution resulted from its first full session for the new year yesterday. The high court discussed the “more pertinent” among the 167 items on the session agenda and decided to “call again” (or reset for deliberation) a number of headline-grabbing cases, its spokesperson Jose Midas Marquez said at a news briefing. (PDI-p1) 

On The Comelec

President Benigno Aquino III is considering appointing as chair of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) his former lawyer who also defended then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo against allegations she stole the 2004 balloting. Romulo Macalintal, who is among several people short-listed for the post upon the effectivity of former Supreme Court Justice Jose Melo’s resignation at the end of the month, was interviewed on Monday by Mr. Aquino, Inquirer has learned. (PDI-p1) 

On The PAO Chief

The Civil Service Commission (CSC) issued a ruling yesterday that Chief Public Attorney Persida Rueda-Acosta and her deputies could keep their posts since they do not need career executive service (CES) eligibility. Acosta asked the Department of Justice (DOJ) yesterday to set aside an earlier legal opinion requiring her and other executives of the Public Attorney’s Office (PAO) to take the CES examination for them to become permanent. (Philstar-p1) 

On Oil Price Hike

Oil companies yesterday increased the prices of petroleum products, citing the continuing rise in international oil prices. Big three oil firms Petron, Shell and Chevron raised the prices of their gasoline products by 50 centavos per liter and 25 centavos per liter for diesel and kerosene effective yesterday. Phoenix and Total also carried out the same price hikes. (Philstar-p1) 

Chief Public Attorney Persida Acosta met yesterday with Justice Secretary Leila de Lima to formalize her position that she is qualified to head the Public Attorney’s Office, an attached agency of the Department of Justice, which provides free legal assistance to indigent litigants. She was armed with a legal opinion supporting her claim that she need not take a career executive service eligibility exam to qualify for her current position at the Public Attorney’s Office.  (Malaya-p1) 

On Terror Threat

Malacañang on Tuesday belied reports that the Philippines has overtaken Southern Thailand and Indonesia as an "area of most concern on terrorism" saying it was just a matter of perception. Presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said the perception could be due to the security problems in the southern part of the country. "We disagree that we have overtaken Indonesia or Southern Thailand. Remember that our pool of recruits is a lot smaller than that of Indonesia," Lacierda noted. (Malaya-p2) 

On Kidnappings

Recent kidnappings of mostly Chinese-Filipino, or Tsinoy, businessmen are wreaking havoc on the economy of southern Mindanao, according to crime fighter Teresita Ang See. Ang See, herself a Tsinoy and the chairman of the Movement for Restoration of Peace and Order (MRPO), on Tuesday said that business owners were panicking and people were getting demoralized as a result of the kidnappings. A spokesman for the Citizens Action Against Crime (CAAC), she cited as an example the city of Cotabato in Mindanao where three Chinese-Filipino businessmen were kidnapped just this month alone and later freed after paying millions of pesos in ransom. (Mla Times-Banner) 

On Amnesty Program

A Navy officer and 34 enlisted personnel who took part in failed attempts to overthrow the past administration applied for amnesty in the past two days. They bring to 126 the total number of military and rebels who have applied for amnesty since January 3 when the Department of National Defense amnesty committee began entertaining applications. (Malaya-p1) 

On Military Lands

An official of the House of Representatives wants government plans to sell Camp Crame and Camp Aguinaldo blocked by pushing for the classification of the police and military camps as historical sites. Rep. Hermilando Mandanas (2nd district, Batangas), chair of the House committee on ways and means, yesterday filed House Bill No. 3938 seeking to declare the camps in Metro Manila “historical, patriotic and cultural symbols of national dignity.” (PDI-p1) 

The defense and military leaderships are considering the consolidation of the headquarters of the three major services of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) inside Camp Aguinaldo as an alternative to the Aquino administration’s plan to privatize prime government properties to finance key economic projects, including the modernization of the Armed Forces. “The one principally considered is to house the headquarters of major services adjacent to Camp Aguinaldo this means the lots vacated by major services may be allotted to other purposes such as privatization,” the Armed Forces spokesman, Brig. Gen. Jose Mabanta, Jr. said. (Mla Times-p3) 

On Gen Garcia’s Wealth

An estimated P128 million that was withdrawn by ex-military comptroller Carlos Garcia’s family from the bank accounts cited in their plunder case is now “beyond reach,” Special Prosecutor Wendell Sulit said yesterday. Sulit told reporters that the money was withdrawn before the bank accounts were frozen. “How will you freeze air?” she said, adding that it was Garcia’s wife Clarita and their children who had withdrawn the money, and that there was no admission from Garcia that it was given to him. (PDI-p1) 

On Hunger

More Filipino families claimed to have experienced hunger at least once in the last three months, according to the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey. The survey, conducted from Nov. 27 to 30, 2010, found 18.1 percent, or about 3.4 million families, saying they experienced hunger or having nothing to eat in the past three months, higher than the 15.9 percent, or about three million families, recorded in September last year. As this developed, Malacañang said it is expecting to reduce the incidences of hunger in the country once the P21-billion conditional cash transfer program is implemented. (Philstar-p1) 

On Rice Supply

The Philippines may import rice by February but only about a third of purchases made last year, National Food Authority (NFA) administrator Lito Banayo said yesterday. Banayo said the government might hold a tender or enter into government-to-government deals for the purchase of its rice requirements. (Philstar-p1) 

On La Niña

The state weather bureau renewed its warning yesterday that the eastern seaboard, including the Bicol region, eastern Visayas and Mindanao, may experience flashfloods and landslides as the La Niña phenomenon continues to dump heavy rains over these areas until March. The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) weather branch chief Robert Sawi said the La Niña event is aggravating the rainy season in the eastern seaboard. (Philstar-p2) 

On Mendiola Massacre

The militant group Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) has urged President Aquino to reopen the 24-year-old Mendiola massacre case. On Jan. 22, 1987, some 10,000 to 15,000 farmers marched from the agrarian reform office in Quezon City to Mediola to ask the late former president Corazon Aquino to fulfill her promise of land distribution through agrarian reform. During the dispersal of the protest rally, 13 farmers were killed, 39 were wounded by gunshots, and 20 suffered minor injuries. (Philstar-p4) 

On Water Supply

The National Power Corp. has started reducing water supply to Metro Manila residents and Central Luzon farmers because of the continuing drop in the water level in Angat Dam.  The drop is caused by the absence of "significant rains" in Bulacan since December, said Rodolfo German, general manager of the Angat River hydroelectric power plant. The level dipped yesterday to 202.77 meters, and German said this is low for this time of year. (Malaya-Banner) 

On Foreign Affairs

Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo met with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak on Tuesday to further strengthen bilateral relations between the two countries, boost investment and trade and enhance development cooperation to aid the Philippines in achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). In a statement, the Foreign Affairs department reported that besides meeting with Lee, Romulo also held a “productive bilateral meeting” with South Korean Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan. The report said that Romulo and the South Korean officials discussed plans to convene regular bilateral policy consultations between the Foreign Affairs department and the South Korean foreign ministry. (Mla Times-p3) 

On Sexist Remarks

Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. Workers yesterday picketed the house of Rep. Eulogio Magsaysay and threatened to sue him after he angrily called a Philippine Airlines (PAL) attendant a “menopausal bitch” for failing to get him a seat beside his sons on a flight to Los Angeles. (PDI-p1)