BROADSHEETS 

PHIL. DAILY INQUIRER -- 2 Koreas exchange fire

PHILIPPINE STAR -- Nation mourns massacre victims 

MANILA BULLETIN -- Go live on carnage trial

DAILY TRIBUNE -- Aquino won’t disband militias despite abuses

TABLOIDS

PEOPLE’S JOURNAL -- Justice vowed

ABANTE -- Simbahan nawindang

PILIPINO STAR NGAYON --  Sa palpak na 'Pilipinas Kay Ganda' logo: Usec. 'gaya-gaya' nagresign! 

PEOPLES TONIGHT -- OFW gives birth in NAIA CR!

ISSUES MONITORING

On Congress

Lawmakers took up the calls to abrogate the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) yesterday, with no decision being made but only proposals to review the Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT) between the Philippines and the United States. The Legislative Oversight Committee on the Visiting Forces Agreement (LOVFA) led by Sen. Loren Legarda heard the reports from officials explaining the status of the VFA, its benefits and the review of the treaty made by Malacañang. (Philstar)

On budget

For the first time in 11 years, the national budget may be passed before the end of the year, Budget Secretary Florencio Abad said yesterday.  “This would be a good indication of the goodwill and cooperation between the executive and the legislature,” Abad said.     He appealed to senators to give the budget for the conditional cash transfer a chance. The Senate is holding plenary debates on the cash transfer scheme starting Tuesday.  (Philstar)

                                  

On Maguindanao massacre

Relatives of 57 people killed in the country’s worst political massacre gathered at a remote hill in this town yesterday as the nation marked the first anniversary of the slaughter. Also yesterday, an accused in the massacre in Maguindanao was arrested in Shariff Aguak, Maguindanao. Chief Superintendent Benito Estipona, Task Force Maguindanao commander, said Misuari Sinsuat Ampatuan was arrested at around 4:30 p.m. in Barangay Labu-Labu. (Philstar)

Eight of every 10 Filipinos believe there will be justice for the 57 victims of the Maguindanao massacre, a Pulse Asia survey revealed yesterday. But Pulse Asia’s “Ulat ng Bayan” national survey, conducted from Oct. 20 to 29, found that a majority of Filipinos or 83 percent think the trial of those implicated in the killings was moving “slowly/very slowly.” The results of the survey were released exactly a year after the massacre, believed to have been perpetrated by former Maguindanao governor Andal Ampatuan Sr. and his sons. Thirty-two of the victims were journalists. (Philstar)

On FOI bill

The few opponents of the Freedom of Information (FOI) bill in the House of Representatives have started efforts to abort the passage of the measure that was nearly ratified by Congress in June if not for the move of some lawmakers to block it, proponents said yesterday. The House committee on public information started yesterday hearings on 15 pending FOI bills as panel chair Eastern Samar Rep. Ben Evardone and Deputy Speaker Lorenzo Tañada III expressed optimism that the bill would be enacted into law in the coming months. (Philstar)

On amnesty proclamation

President Aquino acknowledged yesterday the mistake his legal team committed in drafting the amnesty proclamation for detained Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV and other soldiers that mutinied against then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo seven years ago. Speaking to reporters at the Regional Tripartite Industrial Peace Council at Yazaki-Torres manufacturing plant, Aquino said the requirement that Trillanes and the others seeking amnesty should admit guilt could be integrated into the implementing rules and regulations of the amnesty proclamation. (Philstar)

On OFWs

China’s Supreme Court has affirmed with finality the death sentence on three Filipinos who were convicted of drug trafficking. Sources at the Philippine embassy in Beijing, who asked not to be named, said yesterday the three Filipinos whose identities were withheld could still escape execution if they identify the members of the drug syndicate that recruited them. (Philstar)

On tourism

 Tourism Undersecretary Vicente Romano II, the official behind the much-criticized “Pilipinas kay Ganda” promotion program of the Department of Tourism (DOT), resigned yesterday in an effort to put an end to the controversy. In a hastily called press conference, Tourism Secretary Alberto Lim announced that Romano has taken full responsibility for the “boo-boo” of the new DOT program and tendered his irrevocable resignation. “Usec Romano has taken full accountability over the slogan and tendered his irrevocable resignation. I relayed the information to the President and he accepted it,” Lim disclosed. (Philstar)

On lotto

The Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) announced that the jackpot of the 6/55 Grand Lotto online lottery draw today is expected to breach P600 million after nobody won last Monday’s draw. PCSO sources said the estimated jackpot would hit P620 million after nobody got the winning combination 22-25-17-50-19-37 with a jackpot of P584,899,925.20. The source said the jackpot might even breach P1 billion if nobody will hit the winning combination by the end of November. (Philstar)

On Vizconde case

 The Supreme Court (SC) yesterday deferred the ruling on petitions appealing the conviction of Hubert Webb and five others in the Vizconde massacre. The magistrates deliberated on the case but decided to postpone the voting on the petition that would put closure to the two-decade old case, Court spokesman Jose Midas Marquez said. “There were deliberations on the case, but some justices asked for more time to submit their position after hearing the arguments of both sides,” he said. (Philstar)