BROADSHEETS

PHIL. DAILY INQUIRER -- ’50-M Sendoff Gift For Reyes’

MANILA BULLETIN -- Makati Mourns

PHILIPPINE STAR -- ‘Reyes Got P50-M Send Off Money’

MANILA STANDARD -- Belmonte Pushes Charter’s Economic Amendments

MANILA TIMES -- Massive Graft In AFP Bared

MALAYA -- Massive Corruption In AFP Traced

DAILY TRIBUNE -- Ex-AFP Budget Chief Drops Big Payola Bomb Vs Angie

TABLOIDS

PEOPLE’S JOURNAL -- 10 Workers Plunge To Death

ABANTE -- General’s Cut Binalatan!

PILIPINO STAR NGAYON -- 10 Obrero Lasog!

 

BALITA -- Bumigay

PEOPLES TONIGHT -- 10 Fall To Death At Makati Bldg

BULGAR -- Junk Foods Bawal Sa Iskul

 

ISSUES MONITORING

On Congress

Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. disclosed yesterday that deliberations on various proposals to amend the 1987 Constitution would continue in the House of Representatives even if Charter change is not a priority of President Aquino. Belmonte said the House had already lined up its priority measures as well as bills that the House leadership thinks can be easily approved in the coming weeks. Besides, amending the Constitution should be done carefully, he said. (Philstar-p2) Cha-cha

The House of Representatives would be able to pass as many as 25 significant measures before Congress goes on the Holy Week break in March, Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. said yesterday.  Belmonte said the House was able to initially list 135 important measures out of the thousands of bills filed since the 15th Congress opened last July.  This was trimmed to 80 bills and last week, to 25, including the proposals filed by Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.  (Philstar-p3) 

Senators yesterday demanded to know from state prosecutors why they did not pursue the plunder case against ex-military comptroller Carlos Garcia despite his own wife’s admissions that they had received extravagant gifts and money from military contractors and suppliers. At the start of the inquiry by the Senate blue ribbon committee into the controversial plea bargain with Garcia, Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano pressed the prosecutors to explain why they did not attempt to reach out to Clarita Garcia.  (PDI-p1) 

On Presidency

President Aquino appears to have shifted his hobby from firing pistols to collecting luxury cars after he was seen riding a bullet-proof Lexus LX 570 in visiting victims of the fatal Edsa bus bombing incident who were being treated at St. Luke’s Global City Hospital. The ritzy car is aside from a P4.5-million luxury Porsche sportscar that he justified as being purchased “third-hand.” The Palace has rejected repeated demands to show  purchase documents on the Porsche to verify the sportscar’s true cost but a source had said it was a gift from a businessman which has a local Porsche dealership. (Tribune-p1) 

There’s no way the budget for the conditional cash transfer (CCT) program of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) would end up in the hands of corrupt officials, President Aquino said yesterday. In his speech during the 60th anniversary of the DSWD, Aquino defended the sharp increase in the budget for the CCT program or the “Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program,” saying the government has set in place mechanisms for its effective implementation. (Philstar-p4) 

Vexed by the onslaught of criticisms it has been receiving lately on the government’s failure to prevent the recent bombing incident in Makati and address the rising criminality in the country, Malacañang yesterday slammed the so-called “noisy minority” for allegedly politicizing the issues that are currently confronting President Aquino’s leadership.  Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda also blamed the media for allegedly “sensationalizing” the recent crime incidents that are being reported to the public lately beginning from the carjacking and killing spree involving a notorious group of car thieves to the latest bus mishap which already claimed five innocent lives.  (Tribune-p1 

On Corruption In The Armed Forces

A retired lieutenant colonel yesterday made a surprise appearance at the Senate and disclosed how he and his ex-bosses allegedly amassed wealth, with a large portion of the loot taken from soldiers’ salaries. Seated on a wheelchair following a stroke, George Rabusa dropped a bombshell: that Angelo Reyes, a former Armed Forces chief of staff, received a send-off gift (“pabaon”) of “not less than” P50 million when he retired in 2001. (PDI-Banner) 

Former military chief Angelo Reyes allegedly received P50 million in pabaon (sendoff money) when he retired in 2001, in keeping with a “tradition” in the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) of rewarding its chiefs with princely sums. Reyes’ alleged “gift” – on top of a monthly P5 million “personal fund” – was revealed yesterday by a former military budget officer at a hearing of the Senate Blue Ribbon committee on the plea bargain deal between the Office of the Ombudsman and former military comptroller Carlos Garcia. (Philstar-Banner) 

The Senate Blue Ribbon committee investigation on the plea bargaining agreement struck between the Ombudsman and former military comptroller Carlos F. Garcia took a new turn after a former military budget officer revealed a "fund-raising" operation that reached hundreds of millions of pesos. Col. (ret.) George Rabusa, former AFP budget officer, also said former AFP chief Angelo Reyes, when he retired in 2001, was given "send-off money" amounting to P50 million. (Malaya-Banner) 

What goes around, comes around. Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV finally got back at his former superior, grilling him over complaints of massive corruption in the military, which precipitated the Oakwood uprising of 2003. A former mutineer, Trillanes blew his top over repeated complaints by former Defense Secretary Angelo Reyes that his name was being damaged by allegations that he pocketed at least P150 million during his stint as military chief of staff.  (PDI-p1) 

Former Armed Forces chief Angelo Reyes denied he had ever received funds illegally, contrary to what his former budget officer told a Senate committee hearing a corruption case against another retired general yesterday. “It is my reputation, my name and my family that are being assaulted here. I need to protect it,” Reyes told the Senate Blue Ribbon committee investigating the plea bargaining deal between the Office of the Ombudsman and former military comptroller Carlos Garcia. (Philstar-p1) 

Special Prosecutor Wendell Barreras-Sulit yesterday said she would start a new investigation on the plunder case against former military comptroller Carlos Garcia. Sulit made the assurance before the Senate Blue Ribbon committee investigating the plea bargaining agreement between Garcia and the special prosecutors. Sulit noted the detailed claims of Lt. Col. George Rabusa, a former military budget officer who testified yesterday on how government funds are converted into personal funds of top military officials. (Philstar-p1) 

On Amnesty Program

Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV is now officially a free man. The former rebel military officer and 94 others took their oath of allegiance to the Constitution at Camp Aguinaldo to complete the amnesty process yesterday. Trillanes took his oath at the office of Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin around 7:30 a.m. before attending the Senate inquiry on the plea bargaining agreement between former military comptroller Carlos Garcia and the Office of the Special Prosecutor. (Philstar-p1) 

On Makati Bus Bombing

Malacañang sees no need for President Aquino to appoint an anti-crime or peace and order czar to address the recent spate of criminal activity in the country, but the police will impose stricter security, including the deployment of bus marshals. At the same time, presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda appealed to the public to rally behind the administration and ignore the “noisy minority” that he said was “politicizing” the current security issues to discredit the government. (Philstar-p1) 

The Armed Forces yesterday said there might have been lapses in the intelligence community in connection with Tuesday’s bombing of a passenger bus in Makati City, which killed five people and injured 13. Brig. Gen. Jose Mabanta, AFP spokesman, also called the incident "a minor setback" and an opportunity to strengthen intelligence collection efforts. Mabanta confirmed reports that the intelligence community obtained information about a general plan to carry bombings as early as last year. He said the military took steps to preempt it. (Malaya-p1) 

On Carjacking

A police official denied accusations that he is the protector of the Dominguez carjack gang linked to the brutal slaying of used-car dealer Venson Evangelista. Superintendent Napoleon Cauyan, assigned at the holding center at Philippine National Police (PNP) headquarters at Camp Crame, Quezon City, said he is ready to appear at the Senate hearing to clear his name and reveal all he knows about the carjacking syndicates. “Enough is enough. They have been implicating me in almost all cases that surfaced and which I have no knowledge of,” Cauyan said, adding that he would not be surprised if his enemies would implicate him in the bombing of a passenger bus in Makati City last Tuesday. (Philstar-p4) 

On US-RP Dialogue

The Philippines and the United States will take steps to increase Philippine capability to patrol its waters, despite China’s objection to the involvement of a third party in the territorial disputes in the South China Sea.  This was announced yesterday by visiting US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Kurt Campbell during a press conference of the Philippines-US Strategic Dialogue held at the Sofitel Philippine Plaza Hotel in Pasay City.  Campbell said the bilateral step is one of the subjects for discussion between the two sides today.  (Philstar-p1) 

A high-ranking official of the United States government on Thursday revealed Washington’s plan to help the Philippines increase its maritime capacity to protect the country’s claim over the contested Spratly Islands in the South China Sea.  Kurt Campbell, assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, said that the US government believes that it is important for the Philippines to “develop confidence level” in maritime issues, especially those pertaining to territorial claims over the Spratlys. The Spratly Islands are a chain of islands, islets, reefs and atolls that are believed to be rich in oil, minerals and gas deposits. (Mla Times-p1) 

On RP-Aus Relations

Australia is still looking forward to Senate ratification of the Philippine-Australia Status of Visiting Forces Agreement (SOVFA). Ambassador Rod Smith said in an interview at the annual journalists’ reception hosted by the Australian embassy on Tuesday that Australia remains hopeful that the Senate will concur with defense agreement. “My understanding is that it remains pending in the Senate for ratification. I’m not sure of the plans. All I can say is that we look forward to the ratification of the agreement,” Smith said. (Philstar-p8) 

On Tax Evasion

The Department of Justice (DOJ) has indicted a real estate agent on a P7.5-million tax evasion case filed by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR). In a resolution signed by Prosecutor General Claro Arellano, the DOJ said it has found probable cause to file charges in court against Marieandy Fricke for violation of the National Internal Revenue Code. The DOJ found merit in the allegation of BIR that Fricke willfully evaded payment of taxes for the sale of a P30-million property to spouses Melito and Malisa Chua in 2007. (Philstar-p2) 

On Palawan Killings

President Aquino reappointed yesterday Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) governor Amando Tetangco to a fresh six-year term. Aquino said he has confidence in Tetangco, and “in addition my economic team recommended him.” Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said the President offered the post to Tetangco but the BSP chief had asked for time to consult his family. (Philstar-p9 )

On Flour Prices

The government is asking the Filipinos to eat more "camote" (sweet potato) instead of bread due to the rising cost of flour in the world market. Camote, a starchy, sweet tasting tuberous root is low in fat but high in energy, Vitamin A, C, and B6, beta-carotene, carbohydrates, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, and dietary fiber. (Malaya-p1)