BROADSHEETS

PHIL. DAILY INQUIRER -- Merci Midnight Deal Hit

MANILA BULLETIN -- Goodbye, GOCC Perks

PHILIPPINE STAR -- Sandigan Justices Urged To Step Down

MANILA STANDARD -- Enrile Working On Palace ‘Request’ To Postpone Polls

MANILA TIMES -- Plea Deal Stirs AFP Unrest

MALAYA -- CBCP Burns Bridges On Repro Health Bill

DAILY TRIBUNE -- Solgen Moots Sinister Aim In Sandigan Ruling

TABLOIDS

PEOPLE’S JOURNAL -- RH Bill Will Pass

ABANTE -- Tito Sotto Naninira!

PILIPINO STAR NGAYON -- Buhay Pa!

 

BALITA -- Wala Nang Gatasan

BULGAR -- Anak Pinatay Ni Tatay

 

ISSUES MONITORING

On Congress

The House of Representatives will resume the debate on the Reproductive Health (RH) bill, also known as the Responsible Parenthood (RP) bill, next week.Minority leader Edcel Lagman, principal author and sponsor of the bill, said the bill would likely be taken up in plenary on Tuesday. He said they have conducted a “vote mapping” and are confident of getting the bill approved by the majority. (Philstar-p2) 

The Senate Blue Ribbon committee resumes today its public investigation into alleged corruption in the military after more than a month’s break, committee chairman Sen. Teofisto Guingona III said yesterday. Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin and Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief of staff Gen. Eduardo Oban Jr. were invited to the Senate hearing, which in the recent past dealt with accusations of former military budget officer George Rabusa that millions of pesos for personnel services and intelligence operations were converted and pocketed by top military officials. (Philstar-p1) 

Manuel Villar Jr. remained the richest senator, but his declared assets were reduced from close to P1 billion to about P725 million in the election year of 2010. His statement of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN) showed Villar’s assets totaled P725,221,964 with no liabilities. Antonio Trillanes IV replaced Joker Arroyo in the list as the poorest senator. (Philstar-p1) 

Congressmen-allies of former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo asked President Aquino yesterday why he has not released their pork barrel funds for this year. “Where’s our pork, Mr. President?” Davao del Sur Rep. Marc Douglas Cagas asked in a news conference of the House minority bloc, to which Mrs. Arroyo belongs. (Philstar-p2) 

On Presidency

President Aquino yesterday directed the Departments of Justice and Finance, and the Bureau of Internal Revenue to look for ways to fast-track the litigation of tax evasion cases, expressing impatience over the continued lack of convictions. The President yesterday called Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima and BIR Commissioner Kim Henares to a meeting in Malacanang to get an update on the Run After Tax Evaders (RATE) program. (Malaya-p2) 

Malacañang yesterday exuded confidence that President Aquino’s Executive Order (EO) 42 can withstand legal scrutiny should those who will be affected by the Palace latest directive decide to challenge it before the courts. Aquino’s EO 42 was released by Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr. the other day granting the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) provisional authority to replace all holdover nominees for director positions in various government sequestered and surrendered corporations. (Tribune-p1) 

On The Ombudsman

Former Ombudsman Merceditas “Merci” Gutierrez had ordered the reinstatement of a dismissed Bureau of Customs official shortly before her resignation took effect. Gutierrez, in a resolution signed on May 4, granted the motion for reconsideration filed by Customs police chief Jose Yuchongco which sought to overturn his dismissal from public service for failure to disclose his properties in his statement of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN). Gutierrez’s resignation took effect on May 6. (PDI-Banner) 

Dismissed Customs police chief Jose Yuchongco defended his reinstatement by Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez shortly before she resigned, saying he won his appeal based on its merits. “I filed a motion for reconsideration with the Ombudsman and I won it through the merits of my case. This is like a reappointment,” Yuchongco said in a phone interview. (PDI-p8) 

On The New Graftbuster

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima was nominated for Ombudsman before the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) yesterday.  In a letter to the JBC, Assistant State Prosecutor Romeo Senson said he nominated De Lima because she is most qualified to head the anti-graft agency. “Secretary De Lima has shown her incorruptible stand, integrity beyond reproach and character par excellence in serving the public,” he said. (Philstar-p1) 

On Sandiganbayan

Seven militant lawmakers yesterday called on justices of the Sandiganbayan’s second division to resign for “suspiciously and hastily” approving the plea bargaining agreement between the Ombudsman’s prosecutors and accused plunderer and former military comptroller Carlos Garcia. In Resolution 1237, the seven party-list representatives led by Teddy Casiño of Bayan Muna said the anti-graft court’s decision “is prejudicial to the interest of the Filipino people.” The Sandiganbayan, meanwhile, scored the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) for trying to intervene in the plunder case against Garcia. (Philstar-Banner)

Solicitor General Jose Anselmo Cadiz imputed sinister motives in the recent decision of the Sandiganbayan to uphold the plea bargaining agreement entered into between the Office of the Ombudsman and former military comptroller Maj. Gen. Carlos Garcia and in denying the Office of the Solicitor General’s (OSG’s) bid to intervene in the case for the government as Cadiz floated a theory that the agreement was a “done deal” early as May last year —before President Aquino won the election — and that the recent ruling was just “a formality.” (Tribune-Banner) 

Justices of the Sandiganbayan who recently approved a controversial plea-bargaining agreement were no longer hoping for promotion from President Benigno Aquino 3rd, who they said hears out public opinion rather than “facts” behind the evidence in the deal between the Office of the Ombudsman and former military comptroller Carlos Garcia. (Mla Times-p1) 

On Reproductive Health

Faced with the possibility of fighting both the Executive and Legislative departments, the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines has declared "all-out war" against the reproductive health bill. Archbishop Ramon Arguelles, vice chairman of the CBCP’s Episcopal Commission on Family and Life, said it should not surprise the public anymore if the Catholic Church opens "hostilities" against what they call an anti-life measure. (Malaya-Banner) 

Amid the raging debate on the reproductive health (RH) bill, former President Fidel V. Ramos Wednesday called on President Benigno Aquino III to certify the measure to Congress as urgent if he wants “to do the right thing.” Speaking at the launch of the “purple ribbon” campaign of family planning advocates, Ramos called on Mr. Aquino to mobilize support for the bill, largely hailed by civil society and women’s groups but opposed by the Roman Catholic Church. Purple symbolizes women’s rights, organizers said. (PDI-p1) 

On Fertilizer Scam

The indictment of former agriculture secretary Luis “Cito” Lorenzo and former undersecretary Jocelyn “Jocjoc” Bolante has been postponed after they asked the Office of the Ombudsman to reverse the finding of probable cause to charge them in the Sandiganbayan.  Deputy Special Prosecutor Jesus Micael yesterday said the postponement aims to give the anti-graft agency time to resolve their motions for reconsideration. “The motions for reconsideration were timely filed,” he said. (Philstar-p4) 

On Typhoon Bebeng

The weather bureau has reported that tropical storm “Bebeng” is out of the Philippine area of responsibility yesterday, but left 24 persons dead and more than P200-million worth of damage. The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) yesterday said Albay and Camarines Sur have been placed under a state of calamity due to heavy damage caused by the storm. Nathaniel Servando, acting administrator of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA), said Bebeng exited the country at 8 a.m. yesterday and moved northeast at 24 kilometers per hour towards Japan. (Philstar-p7) 

On Poll Losers

With the one-year election ban on appointment of losing candidates now over, allies of President Aquino who lost in the polls should give him due respect and stop jockeying for plum government posts, a key Palace official has suggested. “I think it would be easier if people just wait for the President to make the announcement rather than talk publicly about certain things,” Secretary Ricky Carandang of the President’s communications group said yesterday. “We can’t tell his final decision, so it’s best if we don’t preempt him regarding prospective candidates,” Carandang said. He said Aquino hates persistent lobbying. (Philstar-p6) 

On The Armed Forces

A military uprising could be generated by grumbling within the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) brought about by a recent ruling of the Sandiganbayan, the AFP leadership confirmed on Wednesday. The anti-graft court on Tuesday approved a plea-bargaining agreement between the Office of the Ombudsman and former military comptroller and now retired Maj. Gen. Carlos Garcia. The Armed Forces spokesman, Commodore Juan Miguel Rodriguez, made the confirmation in reaction to an earlier statement made by former senator and now Rep. Rodolfo Biazon of Muntinlupa City (Metro Manila) that the anti-graft court’s decision may encourage disgruntled soldiers to launch coup attempts. (Mla Times-Banner)

The military and state agencies have recommended 18 proposals to improve the Armed Forces’ financial and logistics systems and to prevent abusive practices. Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) spokesman Commodore Miguel Rodriguez said the proposals were crafted by participants of the fiscal and logistics summit held last month at the Army headquarters in Taguig City. (Philstar-p5) 

On Ret Gen Garcia

The Sandiganbayan Second Division has yet to set a date for the sentencing of retired Maj. Gen. Carlos F. Garcia on the lesser offenses of direct bribery and facilitating money laundering, to which he pleaded guilty as part of the plea bargaining agreement he struck with the Office of the Ombudsman in 2010. The entire division is conducting out-of-town hearings in Davao City for the week so it is unlikely that the promulgation will be scheduled soon, said Ruth Ferrer, chief of the graft court’s legal division and designated spokesperson. (Malaya-p1) 

On ARMM Elections

Former Sen. Aquilino Pimentel Jr. yesterday said senators won’t be pressured by Malacañang to postpone the Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) elections on August 8 and synchronize it with the midterm elections in 2013. "I am confident our senators can see through the unconstitutionality of postponing the ARMM election through a simple piece of legislation that will not be subjected to a plebiscite," Pimentel said. (Malaya-p3) 

On Kidnapping

President Benigno Aquino 3rd has ordered the creation of a Joint Task Force (JTF) to address the unabated spate of kidnappings in Southern and Central Mindanao and nearby areas in which most of the victims were Chinese-Filipino businessmen. The JTF has been activated following the signing of agreement the other day by Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief of staff Gen. Eduardo Oban, Jr. and Philippine National Police (PNP) Director General Raul Bacalzo. (Mla Tiimes-p3)