BROADSHEETS 

PHIL. DAILY INQUIRER -- Pope: Condom use OK in AIDS fight

PHILIPPINE STAR -- 21 Ampatuans in slay continue to elude arrest 

MANILA BULLETIN -- Pacquiao top taxpayer

DAILY TRIBUNE -- 4 extremist groups operating in Metro

TABLOIDS

PEOPLE’S JOURNAL -- More parcel bombs

ABANTE -- Santo Papa lumambot sa condom

PILIPINO STAR NGAYON --  Ulo ni Ping pepresyuhan na! 

PEOPLES TONIGHT -- Pacquiao 'tax hero'

ISSUES MONITORING

On Congress

Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. disclosed that the House of Representatives is considering the passage of an anti-trust bill and amending existing investment and power laws to eliminate cartels to further promote transparency and competitiveness in business. Belmonte told the joint membership meeting of the Management Association of the Philippines and the Makati Business Club at the Peninsula Manila Hotel last Friday that the 2010 World Competitiveness Yearbook ranked the Philippines 56th in overall infrastructure out of 58 countries. The 2010-2011 Global Competitiveness Report by the World Economic Forum showed the Phi-lippines at 113th out of 139 countries in terms of quality infrastructure. (Philstar)

On Pacquiao

The House of Representatives will confer the Congressional Medal of Distinction on boxing champion and Sarangani Rep. Manny Pacquiao when he returns to his law-making job today. Majority Leader Neptali Gonzales II said yesterday the conferment ceremonies “will be our first order of business” in today’s session. “This congressional award will be conferred by the Speaker. Then we will allow some time for members to congratulate Manny. After that, we will resume session. A modest victory party will follow in the evening,” he said. (Philstar)

On tourism

Following complaints from almost all sectors, Malacañang hinted yesterday that the Aquino administration would be adopting an entirely new concept for the slogan of the Department of Tourism (DOT) in order to attract more tourists and investors. Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte clarified that this is a government that takes into consideration the public pulse, because it scrapped altogether the proposed “Pilipinas kay Ganda” slogan of Tourism Secretary Alberto Lim. (Philstar)

On Maguindanao massacre

 Justice Secretary Leila de Lima believes the bombing in Shariff Aguak town in Maguindanao yesterday was perpetrated to scare people from going to the province on the first anniversary of the Maguindanao massacre tomorrow. In a text message, De Lima said, “Whoever were behind this latest incident are probably trying to scare off the hundreds expected to flock to the massacre site tomorrow for the first year commemoration of the massacre.” (Philstar)

On climate change

Malacañang clarified yesterday that Climate Change Commission vice chairman Heherson Alvarez has a fixed six-year term and President Aquino, chairman of the commission, could not easily replace Alvarez. The appointment of Alvarez, a close friend and ally of Aquino’s late father, Sen. Benigno Aquino Jr., was clarified after an apparent disagreement over which country the Philippines would endorse to host the Climate Summit in 2012. (Philstar)

On labor

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) is soon coming out with a program to generate not only productive but also environment-friendly workers. Ciriaco Lagunzad III, executive director of the National Wages and Productivity Commission (NWPC), said they are set to launch tomorrow the “Green My Enterprise (Green ME)” program. Lagunzad said the program would utilize green productivity technologies to achieve higher levels of workers’ productivity and better environmental performance. (Philstar)

On bird flu

Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Ramon Paje yesterday ordered all officials of the department to double their efforts to prevent the possible transmission of bird flu in the country. The directive came in the wake of reports of a bird flu outbreak in Hong Kong, where the alert level for the disease has been raised to “serious,” which means that there is a “high risk” of humans being infected with the potentially fatal disease. (Philstar)

On travel advisory

United States Ambassador Harry Thomas Jr. said yesterday the US will continue to review its travel advisory on the Philippines for the safety and security of its nationals. “As regards the travel warning we review it every six months,” Thomas told The STAR in a chance interview at the Smokey Mountain Little League baseball tournament at the “Field of Dreams” in Tondo, Manila. (Philstar)

On OFWs

 In the first two weeks of the implementation of the compulsory insurance requirement under the amended Migrant Workers Act, the number of overseas employment contracts processed dropped 52 percent, according to local recruiters.  Host countries already offering insurance for foreign workers, including Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Middle East countries, contest the insurance scheme, which took effect last Nov. 8. Recruiters believe the number of processed applications will continue to drop. (Philstar)

On MMDA

The government was urged yesterday to implement an electronic identification system similar to the shelved radio frequency identification (RFID) system to curb the proliferation of illegal buses on EDSA and other major roads. Navotas Rep. Toby Tiangco and former lawmaker Vigor Mendoza said the RFID system is an effective and cost-effective way to identify out-of-line buses plying EDSA. (Philstar)