BROADSHEETS

PHIL. DAILY INQUIRER -- DFA Chief Fetches Pinoys From Tripoli

MANILA BULLETIN -- OWWA’s Ark

PHILIPPINE STAR -- US Prepared To Help Libyans Oust Ghadafi

MANILA STANDARD -- Enrile, Belmonte Supports Special Powers For Aquino

MANILA TIMES -- Ombudsman Fights Back

MALAYA -- RH Bill To House Floor Today

DAILY TRIBUNE -- Noy Ally Files Impeach Raps Vs SC Justices

TABLOIDS

PEOPLE’S JOURNAL -- Mass Evacuation Underway

ABANTE -- 550 Pinoy Pa Naitakas Sa Libya

PILIPINO STAR NGAYON -- 15-K Pinoy Ipit Pa

BALITA -- Walang Maiiwan

PEOPLES TONIGHT -- OFW Killed In Libya!

BULGAR -- OFWs Total Ban Sa Middle East

ISSUES MONITORING

On Congress

The much-debated reproductive health bill may not be in the list of Malacañang’s top 23 priority legislative measures but it continues to gather steam at the House of Representatives where plenary deliberations on the bill start today. The consolidated measure’s principal sponsors led by minority leader Edcel Lagman will take turns in delivering their sponsorship speeches despite the strong opposition by the Catholic Church and other organizations. (Malaya-Banner)

The House of Representatives is starting this afternoon the plenary debates on the Reproductive Health (RH) bill even if it was not listed as a priority bill by the executive department. Proponents of the bill believe the bill on family planning will be passed in the House before the 15th Congress adjourns in June. “We (RH advocates) do not only have the superiority of numbers; we also have the superiority of arguments,” said the bill’s principal author, Minority Leader Edcel Lagman. (Philstar-p11) 

The payment of the salary and other emoluments to Ilocos Sur Rep. Ronald Singson has been suspended starting today even as the House awaits the resignation of the congressman now doing time in a foreign prison. Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. told reporters yesterday Singson’s father, Gov. Luis “Chavit” Singson, went to his residence on Sunday night to discuss his son’s resignation. (Philstar-p1) 

Ilocos Sur Rep. Ronald Singson has decided to resign after he was convicted last week by a Hong Kong court for illegal possession of prohibited drugs. Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. said this was confirmed by Singson’s father, Ilocos Sur Gov. Luis "Chavit" Singson, who went to his house at 7 p.m. Sunday. "He told me that his son will resign after the judge comes down with a verdict," the Speaker said. (Malaya-p1) 

On Presidency

Malacañang and Congress reached yesterday a “broad consensus” on the priority bills submitted by President Aquino for immediate passage, including the proposal to postpone the August elections in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) to be synchronized with the 2013 polls and allow the Chief Executive to appoint officers-in-charge for the posts to be vacated. (Philstar-p6) 

Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. assured the people yesterday that Congress is ready to grant President Aquino emergency powers if he requests for it to allow the government to respond to the impact of the political turmoil in the Middle East and North Africa. “The thing about the emergency powers is that the President has not asked for it,” Belmonte told reporters. “But if he does, and the situation warrants it, we will support him.”“This is a very uncertain situation,” he added. (Philstar-p14)

President Benigno Aquino 3rd on Monday dismissed suggestions to grant him emergency powers in case upheavals in the Middle East and North Africa escalate. During a briefing in Malacanang, President Aquino said that the unrest in Libya in particular was not even discussed during the first meeting of the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council under his watch. (Mla Times-p1) 

On OFWs Evacuation

Using what the Philippine foreign secretary called “smile diplomacy,” some 440 Filipinos made the dangerous journey from troubled Libya to Tunisia yesterdayon Monday, through desert roads dotted by government and rebel checkpoints, some manned by armed teens and beefed up with tanks and antiaircraft guns. “I think the Lord was with us,” acting Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario yesterday said of the six-hour drive he and the evacuees took from Tripoli, the Libyan capital. (PDI-Banner) 

On Human Rights Victims

No amount of money can bring back a lost son or erase memories of torture and detention, but a court ruling ordering the man behind these horrors to pay the victims provides a measure of comfort to the victims of martial law abuses. “The pain is still with us and I share it with other Filipinos whose children or husband had suffered … We never forget,” Cecilia Lagman, who lost her son Hermon during the Marcos regime, said yesterday. (PDI-p1) 

On The Marcoses

The sons of the central figures during the martial law regime must now work for a final and universal settlement for the thousands of people whose human rights were violated during that period. This was according to American lawyer Robert Swift, the lead counsel in the class suit filed by the victims of the Marcos regime, who issued the challenge to President Benigno Aquino III and Sen. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. (PDI-p11) 

On The Supreme Court

House members belonging to the majority and allied with President Aquino appear to be impeachment-happy. Not content with having just one impeachment proceeding against constitutional official Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez, they now want to impeach all the high court justices who voted for the status quo ante decision in connection with initially stopping the House of Representatives justice committee from holding impeachment hearings, a senior House member and vice chairman of the justice committee yesterday bared. Senior Deputy Majority Leader Rodolfo Fariñas was set to file on Thursday an impeachment case against Supreme Court (SC) justices who had voted to issue a status quo ante order on the impeachment case against the Ombudsman, saying that the decision was arrived at without the justices deliberating on the petition Gutierrez filed. (Tribune-Banner) 

On The Ombudsman 

Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez disclosed that certain groups are seeking to force her out from her post and replace her with someone of their own choosing. She urged the Supreme Court to reconsider its recent ruling that allowed the House of Representatives to resume impeachment proceedings against her. During an interview on Monday, Gutierrez said that some people persist in having her impeached so they can install their own “man” inside the Office of the Ombudsman. (Mla Times-Banner)

Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez asked the Supreme Court (SC) yesterday to reconsider its decision to dismiss her petition to stop Congress from hearing the impeachment case against her. She said the House committee on justice violated the one-year constitutional ban on successive impeachment proceedings against an official in proceeding with the consolidated complaints against her filed by former lawmaker Risa Hontiveros and the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) last year. (Philstar-p9) 

On New Zealand Quake

Chances that survivors will be rescued from under the collapsed Canterbury Television (CTV) building in Christchurch, New Zealand are “very, very slim,” the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said yesterday.  Foreign Affairs spokesman Eduardo Malaya said New Zealand authorities said there have been no survivors dug up from of the leveled building since last Wednesday. (Philstar-p11) 

On The Armed Forces

A top-level reshuffle in the Armed Forces of the Philippines is upcoming with the scheduled retirement of several top-ranking officers led by AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Ricardo David, whose replacement is yet to be announced by the Commander in Chief President Aquino. At a press briefing, David yesterday announced that AFP Deputy Chief of Staff for Civil Military Operations or J7 Brig. Gen. Nonato Alfredo Peralta will be promoted as incoming superintendent of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) vice retiring Vice Admiral Leonardo Calderon. (Tribune-p3) 

Former military budget officer George Rabusa will charge with plunder retired Armed Forces chiefs Diomedio Villanueva and Roy Cimatu, and former military comptrollers Jacinto Ligot and Carlos Garcia before the Department of Justice tomorrow. “It (complaint) will include several charges – ranging from plunder to forfeiture – depending on the gravity of offense of those persons mentioned in my affidavit,” he said. (Philstar-p3) 

On US-RP Military Relations

The commanding general of the United States Pacific Fleet has declared his recent visit and talks with top-ranking Philippine Defense and Military officials a fruitful one, highlighted by a call to Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin. Admiral Patrick Walsh, commander of the US Pacific Fleet, said his visit last Friday had productive discussions with Gazmin and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) top brass, particularly on bilateral naval cooperation and regional security issues. (Tribune-p3) 

On Total Log Ban

Exporters have asked the government to lift the total log ban, which they claimed was injurious to wood-based export sectors. In a statement, the Philippine Exporters Confederation Inc. (Philexport) on Monday said that it has submitted a position paper to Malacañang seeking “immediate suspension” of Executive Order (EO) 23, as the order “will jack up the cost of wood as a result of the actual and perceived shortage of the raw materials.” (Mla Times-p1)