BROADSHEETS

PHIL. DAILY INQUIRER -- P-Noy Orders Oban To Pursue Reforms

MANILA BULLETIN -- Oban Is News AFP Chief

PHILIPPINE STAR -- Noy To PMA Graduates: Shun Gold’s Tempations

MANILA STANDARD -- Aquino To Elevate Spratlys Issue To Asean Neighors

MANILA TIMES -- Belmonte Backs Gutierrez

MALAYA -- OFW Insurers Refuse To Pay Claims

DAILY TRIBUNE -- Noy Sends Spratly’s ‘Specialist’ To China

TABLOIDS

PEOPLE’S JOURNAL -- Oban New AFP Chief

ABANTE -- Yumuko Ka, Merci

PILIPINO STAR NGAYON -- 3 Kagawad, SK Chair Minasaker

BALITA -- Bagong AFP Chief

PEOPLES TONIGHT -- Satanic Group Sows Fear In Ecija Towns

BULGAR -- 4 Todas Kay Tserman

 

ISSUES MONITORING

On Congress

Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr., when asked to comment on Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez’s supposed plan to ignore Tuesday’s scheduled congressional hearing on impeachment complaints seeking to remove her as the country’s chief graftbuster, said that Gutierrez can ignore the impeachment process if she so wishes. “I will not urge her to submit herself to the process, bahala siya sa defense niya [It’s up to her on how she would defend herself from the complaints],” Belmonte told reporters in a text message on Sunday. (Mla Times-Banner) 

With the death of Gen. Angelo Reyes, a former chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the third party-list nominee of the transport group United Transport Coalition (1-UTAK) party-list can now seat as its representative at the House of Representatives in the Fifteenth Congress. The Commission on Elections (Comelec) en banc has ruled to allow the proclamation Homero Mercado and sit as 1-UTAK congressman after the death of Reyes. (Mla Times-p1) 

The leadership of the House of Representatives announced over the weekend that the lower chamber is set to accept the resignation of Rep. Ronald Singson of Ilocos Sur who was convicted before a Hong Kong court for bringing illegal drugs to the cited territory.  House Speaker Feliciano Bel¬monte Jr. said that the House plenary is set to adopt a resolution formally accepting Singson’s decision to vacate his post following his conviction. (Mla Times-p3) 

On Presidency

President Benigno Aquino III Sunday said graduates of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) this year were embarking on a military career not to enrich themselves but to serve the nation. (PDI-p1) 

Five members of the Cabinet of President Aquino will be joining him today when he leaves Manila for a state visit to Indonesia and later, on March 9, to the state-island of Singapore. According to Secretary Ricky Carandang, those included in the official delegation are Secretaries Albert del Rosario (foreign affairs), Cesar Purisima (finance), Jose Rene Almendras (energy), Florencio Abad (budget) and Herminio Coloma. Concerns regarding the welfare of overseas Filipino workers, he said, will have to be heard mostly from Singapore since Filipinos there are mostly domestic helpers, as against those in Indonesia, where Filipinos are highly regarded because they hold managerial posts. (Philstar-p3) 

President Benigno Aquino 3rd has ratified and endorsed the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to the Senate. Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr. over the weekend said that President Aquino signed the Instrument of Ratification of the treaty on February 28. The ratification of and recommendation of the Rome Statute to the Senate is in view of the visit of ICC President Sang-Hyun Song from March 7 to 8 to the Philippines. (Mla Times-p1) 

On New Taxation

A Palace official hinted yesterday that President Aquino might consider raising taxes in 2012 or before the middle of his term in 2013. “If calculations are correct, if there is a need to raise taxes, we can always consider that next year,” said Secretary Ricky Carandang of the Presidential Communications on Strategic Planning and Development. Carandang agreed with the proposal of a senior Palace reporter that the best time to raise taxes, and which has proven to be successful, is at least two years before elections, which, in this case is the 2013 midterm senatorial polls. (Philstar-p13)  

On ASEAN Trip

The welfare and protection of overseas Filipino workers would be on top of the agenda of President Aquino during his state visit to Indonesia and Singapore this week, Presidential Communications Planning and Strategic Development Office Secretary Ramon Carandang said yesterday. Carandang said in an interview over Radyo ng Bayan that the President would have with him Secretaries Albert Del Rosario (Foreign Affairs), Cesar Purisima (Finance), Rene Almendras (Energy), Florencio Abad (Budget), and Herminio Coloma (Communications) during the March 7-9 state visit to Indonesia and the March 9-11 state visit to Singapore. (Malaya-p4) 

On The Armed Forces

Mincing no words against corruption in the military, President Aquino yesterday urged the graduates of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) to turn away from “gold’s temptations” and become saviors of the poor from the quagmire of poverty. Aquino addressed the 196 graduates of PMA Class 2011 “Laon-Alab,” enjoining them to resist temptations of wealth and live up to the ideals of the academy and the military as an institution. (Philstar-Banner) 

His marching orders from the Commander in Chief were clear: Press on with reforms to end corruption in the scandal-wracked Armed Forces of the Philippines. Named new AFP chief of staff by President Benigno Aquino III yesterday, Lt. Gen. Eduardo Oban roughly has nine months to do the job. He is due to retire in December this year.  (PDI-Banner) 

President Aquino yesterday named Air Force commander Lt. Gen. Eduardo Oban Jr. as the new chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), after Gen. Ricardo David Jr. who is set to retire tomorrow. Aquino made the announcement during graduation ceremonies of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) at Fort Del Pilar in Baguio City. (Philstar-p1) 

On The Supreme Court

Malacañang is silent for now on the plan of Ilocos Norte Rep. Rodolfo Fariñas to file an impeachment complaint against 15 justices of the Supreme Court (SC) this week. “It’s still too early. We have not yet seen the basis of this (impeachment complaint),” said Sec. Ricky Carandang in an interview with state-run radio dzRB. Fariñas is senior vice chairman of the justice committee in the House of Representatives which has jurisdiction over impeachment complaints. Iloilo Rep. Niel Tupas Jr. chairs the committee.  (Philstar-p4) 

The Supreme Court’s unstable position on the creation of 16 new cities will likely take its toll on some 30 million residents since the Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) of these cities will suffer a combined cut of P3.7 billion, according to the League of Cities of the Philippines (LCP). During separate interviews, LCP Secretary General Hernani Braganza and several city mayors expressed the fear that the tribunal’s “flip-flopping” decision on the legality of the creation of these cities might result in massive loss of jobs and stunt growth. (Mla Times-p2) 

On South China Seas

Malacañang said yesterday it is sending a Spratlys specialist to China in the next few days to take up the near encounter in the disputed islands even as a senator warned that the incident involving Chinese patrol ships and a Philippine exploration vessel will definitely be raised by China during coming negotiations on the fate of three Filipinos facing execution in the mainland for drug offenses. (Tribune-Banner) 

Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago defended yesterday the move of the government to file a diplomatic protest against the People’s Republic of China (PROC) after two Chinese ships harassed a government research vessel conducting an oil exploration mission near the disputed Spratly Islands last March 2. Santiago, a constitutional and international law expert, said the Philippines merely pursued its territorial claim over the disputed islands when it responded to a call from the research vessel for assistance after two Chinese ships hovered around them while conducting their seismic survey in the area. (Philstar-p11) 

On ASEAN

As the Philippines protests the latest Chinese military action in disputed areas of the South China Sea, India is ramping up its charm offensive in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, pushing for close economic cooperation with the 10-member regional grouping. “The shift of power to Asia in this century is almost a cliché now,” Indian External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna said here last week at the two-day Delhi Dialogue III. “We are committed to deepening our engagement with the countries of ASEAN.” Krishna pushed for the construction of “an inter-connected economic bloc” between India and ASEAN. This would revive ancient economic and cultural ties. (Philstar-p1) 

On Pinoys In Libya

Local recruitment agencies yesterday asked the Department of Foreign, the Department of Labor and Employment, and the hilippine Overseas Employment Administration to direct insurance companies to cover the repatriation of Filipino workers from Libya. Recruitment leader Lito Soriano said several insurance companies listed by manpower agencies have been refusing to cover repatriation tickets for their workers. (Malaya-Banner) 

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has called on all Filipinos trapped in the raging conflict in Libya to avail themselves of the repatriation being offered by the Philippine government as it prepares to wind down its operations within the week. DFA spokesman Eduardo Malaya said those who wish to be evacuated must immediately inform Philippine consular teams of their location or proceed to pick-up areas. (Tribune-p1) 

On The Ombudsman

Lawmakers participating in the impeachment case against Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez should come clean and tell the panel that they are not going to be biased despite their pending cases before the Office of the Ombudsman. According to Camiguin Rep. Pedro Romualdo, some of his colleagues in the panel “do not have the face” to admit their possible bias against the Ombudsman. (Tribune-p1) 

On Airport Operations

The Court of Appeals (CA) has cleared the officers of the Philippine International Air Terminals Co. Inc. (Piatco) of criminal charges in connection with the alleged monopoly of ground handling, catering, fueling and other airport-related services at the controversial Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3. In an eight-page decision, the fourth division of the appellate court reversed an earlier ruling of a Manila regional trial court (RTC) and ordered the dismissal of the complaint filed by lawyer Jose Bernas against Piatco shareholders for alleged violation of Article 186 (1) of the Revised Penal Code when they conspired to get exclusive right to provide airport-related services in 1999. (Phlstar-p1) 

On The PCGG

The government is estimated to have lost billions of pesos because of a move by the previous leadership of the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) to convert its shares in San Miguel Corp. (SMC) from common to preferred shares in late 2009. The SMC stake conversion, involving 753,848,312 previously common shares bought from coconut levy funds, is one of the many anomalous and highly disadvantageous transactions undertaken by the PCGG under its former chairman Camilo Sabio, now being probed by the commission under its current chairman, Andres Bautista. (Philstar-p1) 

On Singapore Labor

Deployment of Filipino workers to Singapore is expected to drop in the next few years after the Singaporean government’s decision to raise the levy on the hiring of foreign workers in order to curb their entry into the island-state, Jed Martin Llona, third secretary and vice consul at the Philippine embassy here, said. Llona said the increase in the foreign workers’ levy announced by Singaporean Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam before Parliament last Feb. 18, which shocked many companies here, will have employers thinking twice about hiring foreign workers. (Malaya-p4) 

On The Price Of Bread

Prices of branded bread will rise starting today, while prices of other flour-based products, canned goods and cement would also increase on back of rising global food and fuel prices. Department of Trade and Industry Undersecretary Zenaida Maglaya told dzMM radio over the weekend that large bakeries belonging to the Philippine Baking Industry Group have advised the department of price hikes of P2 a loaf and P1 a 10-piece pack of pan de sal to compensate for higher flour prices because of skyrocketing global wheat prices. (Mla Times-p1)