BROADSHEETS

PHIL. DAILY INQUIRER -- Rabusa To Spill Beans On 3 Ex-AFP Bosses

MANILA BULLETIN -- 11 Perish In Navotas Fire

PHILIPPINE STAR -- Probe On Perks: AFP Vows Full Cooperation

MANILA STANDARD -- Palace Needles Arroyo To Appear At Hearing

MANILA TIMES -- Govt May Scrap MRT Buyout

MALAYA -- Miriam Moves To Pin Angie

DAILY TRIBUNE -- Rabusa Testimony Enough To Pin Down Reyes - Miriam

TABLOIDS

PEOPLE’S JOURNAL -- Lifestyle Check

ABANTE -- Si Misis Kasi!

PILIPINO STAR NGAYON -- 11-Katao Natupok Natupok Sa Navotas Fire

BALITA -- Bagong Trahedya

PEOPLES TONIGHT -- Smart Employee Stripped Naked, Bled Dry!

BULGAR -- Iskul Nasunog 11 Nalitson

 

ISSUES MONITORING

On Congress

Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago yesterday said the eyewitness account of former Col. George Rabusa could pin down Angelo Reyes and other former AFP chiefs for criminal charges. "He is a dead man walking. Yang si Reyes na yan, patay na yan. His goose is cooked...dahil mayroon tayong eyewitness…sa kasong criminal," she said in a radio interview. (Malaya-Banner) 

Who is Ebbie Pelayo? Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada wants to know more about the civilian who allegedly received P1 million monthly in payola from former military comptroller Carlos Garcia from 2001 to 2003. This question cropped up yesterday after the name was included in the list of recipients of the multimillion-peso Provision for Command Directed Activity (PCDA) of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP)’s operating program and budget for 2002. (Philstar-p1) 

Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. led 46 lawmakers in attending all 46 sessions of the House of Representatives during the five-month period that Congress was in session last year.  `House records show that the top absentee was Ilocos Sur Rep. Ronald Singson, who was detained and is on trial in Hong Kong on drug trafficking charges. He has reportedly offered to plead to a lesser offense in return for a lighter sentence. Singson, who was arrested by Hong Kong authorities before Congress convened on June 26, 2010, did not attend a single House session. (Philstar-p1) 

Malacañang over the weekend announced that it is confident that the ongoing Senate investigation on the allegations of massive corruption in the military will not result in new destabilization plots against the Aquino administration. In an interview over government-run dzRB radio, deputy presidential spokesman Abigail Valte said ordinary soldiers are at the loosing end as a result of the anomaly and that they will not support any moves to topple the government. “We see that any destabilization will not succeed because it’s the ordinary soldiers who are affected. It’s unfair that there are few who benefit at the expense of our soldiers who don’t have boots and bullets,” she said. (Mla Times-p3) 

On Presidency

Malacañang yesterday defended President Aquino’s new armored vehicle, a Toyota Lexus, saying it is necessary for his security. When asked by reporters if there was an imminent threat on the President, deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte only said it was part of Aquino’s "normal security." Valte said the black bullet-proof Mercedes Benz limousine originally used by presidents is "no longer reliable." (Malaya-p6) 

The hands-off leadership style of President Beningo “Noynoy” Aquino 3rd was appropriate for the economic situation today, and his bachelor lifestyle was irrelevant to rapid growth, one of the country’s leading economists said. Dr. Bernardo Villegas said during a media briefing on Friday that the Philippines was to grow at least 7 percent in 2011 and in the next five to six years, and that one of the contributing factors was the capable economic team of the President. Villegas, a Harvard-educated economist, is a co-founder and trustee of the University of Asia and the Pacific (UA&P).  “I don’t think he’s hands on,” Villegas told journalists, referring to President Aquino. But that seemed to be the leadership style the economic situation warrants, he added. (Mla Times-p1) 

Malacañang on Saturday downplayed the travel warnings issued by at least two countries following last week’s bus explosion in EDSA-Makati where five people were killed. “From what I understand, they just added the details about the bombing that happened last Tuesday. But the overall tenor of the travel advisory has not changed,” said deputy presidential spokesman Abigail Valte. The United Kingdom and Australia have reviewed and reissued with an amendment their travel advisory against the Philippines after the bus bombing. (Mla Times-p1) 

On People Power

Violent people power revolutions are engulfing the Arab world as President Benigno Aquino III smugly struggles to halt the erosion of his popularity built on the flimsy legacy of his election as heir to the bloodless 1986 EDSA I led by his mother, the late President Corazon Aquino. Egypt Sunday continued to be rocked by violent clashes that began last week between police and protesters demanding the immediate resignation of President Hosni Mubarak and return of democracy after 30 years of autocratic rule. (PDI-p1) 

On The Armed Forces

Whistle-blower George Rabusa is executing an affidavit detailing corruption in the Armed Forces of the Philippines under then Chiefs of Staff Angelo Reyes, Diomedio Villanueva and Roy Cimatu that could be used by investigating agencies. “I’m detailing my knowledge of corruption and the rotten system in the Armed Forces,” the former military officer said in a brief phone interview. (PDI-Banner) 

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) vowed yesterday to cooperate with agencies that would investigate alleged anomalies involving military chiefs of staff, saying revelations of fund misuse within its ranks would pave the way for a stronger anti-corruption policy. AFP spokesman Brig. Gen. Jose Mabanta Jr. admitted that they are facing “challenging times” due to the revelation of retired Lt. Col. George Rabusa that AFP chiefs traditionally receive hefty sums upon assuming office and retirement. (Philstar-Banner) 

I don’t know if retired Maj. Gen. Carlos Garcia will confirm this if asked in a Senate hearing but I learned that when he was in detention, he wrote a letter addressed to three persons detailing his version of the multi-million (even billion) mess in the military that he was embroiled in. The letters, I learned, were placed in the safekeeping of those three persons with the instruction that in case something happens to him, the contents of the letter would be divulged. This should give sleepless nights to all those involved in grand theft of the money intended for the soldiers, who lay down their lives, for the country’s peace, stability and security and for the upgrading of military equipment. (Malaya-p1) 

On Makati Bus Bombing

Government agents have reportedly taken into custody a witness who has identified one of the two persons being sought in the bus bombing in Makati last Tuesday. The witness said the man in one of the police sketches resembles Nurhasan Jamiri, a Basilan-based terrorist. (Philstar-p1) 

On The Peace Process

The chief peace negotiator of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front yesterday said he has been telling commanders of the secessionist group not to be too optimistic about the peace negotiations with the administration of President Aquino. "We already have a vast experience. From 1997, (we’ve been talking) 14 years already and the negotiation is not yet over. It’s not right to be very optimistic," said Mohagher Iqbal. (Malaya-p6) 

On MRT Buyout

The Aquino administration may scrap the planned buyout of the Metro Rail Transit (MRT) Line 3 after the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) received the offer of the Pangilinan group to expand the capacity of the system, a government official said. ”The DOTC received an offer from them [Metro Pacific Investment Corp. or MPIC] last Monday to do the capacity expansion. The offer of MPIC will affect [the buyout] because the goal of the DOTC is the eventual integrations of Lines 1 and 3 and the eventual privatization of the whole lines,” Aristotle Batuhan, DOTC undersecretary for legal, administration and comptrollership said in an interview. (Mla Times-Banner) 

On Rice Importation

The Aquino administration has officially removed the rice importation and regulatory powers of the National Food Authority (NFA), and has limited the agency’s functions to procurement of rice from local farmers and maintenance of the country’s grains buffer stock. In a statement, Budget and Management Secretary Florencio Abad said that the Cabinet has finally set a clear direction for “much-needed reforms in the leakage and debt-saddled NFA” by streamlining its functions that would result in the empowerment of poor farmers and poor consumers. He said that the NFA will be conducting domestic rice procurement from small farmers within an inventory of 15 days during harvest season and 30 days during lean months. (Mla Times-p1) 

On Egypt Turmoil

The government assured the public that Filipinos in Egypt are safe despite the prevailing political instability in the cities of Cairo, Alexandria and Suez. Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte yesterday said Filipinos in Egypt have been heeding the advise of the government to avoid places where protests are held. (Philstar-p1) 

On US-RP Relations

Amid alls for its review, the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) “remains an important component” of the relationship between Washington and Manila, an official of the United States government said last week. 

Kurt Campbell, assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, said that US-Philippine relations is “critically important” since much can be done “politically, economically, commercially and strategically.”  He said though that the review of the VFA was not part of the agenda during the two-day first strategic dialogue between Washington and Manila held at the Sofitel in Manila last week, which he co-headed with the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Undersecretary Erlinda Basilio. (Mla Times-p1)