BROADSHEETS

PHIL. DAILY INQUIRER -- US Envoy Feels Safe In PH

MANILA BULLETIN -- Bulusan Continues To Rumble

PHILIPPINE STAR -- Aquino Chides US On VFA, Terror Alert

MANILA STANDARD -- House Blinks, Passes Deles And Soliman’s Budget Without Cuts

MANILA TIMES -- Bomb Cause Of Mall Blast

MALAYA -- And Let The Word War Resume

DAILY TRIBUNE -- Sollano: Metal Damage, Crater Proof Of Mall Explosives Blast

TABLOIDS

PEOPLE’S JOURNAL -- More Houses For Poor

ABANTE -- Record Jackpot

PILIPINO STAR NGAYON -- Bomba Sumabog 3 Nalasog

 

BALITA -- Red Tide Kumalat

PEOPLES TONIGHT -- Devirginized

REMATE -- Obrero Kinatay Ng Amo

 

ISSUES MONITORING

On Congress

The Senate Blue Ribbon committee will no longer conduct investigations on the controversial P18.5-billion Laguna Lake Rehabilitation Project (LLRP) after President Aquino announced the project’s suspension pending a review and possible renegotiation. Sen. Teofisto Guingona III, chairman of the Blue Ribbon committee, said it is already pointless to conduct an investigation since the President himself declared his disapproval on proceeding with the dredging of the Laguna Lake. (Philstar-p3) 

The proposed P1.6-trillion national budget for 2011 was approved on third and final reading yesterday with a vote of 175 in favor and only 21 against, in an evident Majority railroading of the budget bill. The minority bloc, led by Minority Leader and Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman, objected to the voting, saying that the copy of the final version had not yet been reviewed by his colleagues. He also said there was no urgency to vote on the bill immediately. (Tribune-p1) 

The House of Representatives, voting 175-21, approved next year’s proposed P1.645-trillion national budget on third and final reading last night. Approval came on the day lawmakers resumed session after a three-week break. (Philstar-p15)          

The Philippine government has been offering fiscal incentives to investors, which have become redundant since these incentives are provided under different laws with differing provisions, Rep. Gloria Arroyo of Pampanga second district said Monday.  The former President disclosed that the fiscal cost of these incentives in the form of foregone revenue is already pegged at P47 billion. “This amount could substantially fund basic social services in the form of more school buildings, more hospitals, or more infrastructure facilities like more roads, bridges, ports, among others,” Arroyo said. (Mla Times-p3) 

On Presidency

President Aquino chided the United States yesterday for voicing concern over the impending review of the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) but not finding time to officially alert him of supposed terror threats used to justify travel warnings to its citizens in the Philippines. “I understand that there were several communications between our government and the US government and the main topic on the agenda had to deal with the VFA, the review process itself... reviewing the VFA to be more precise, rather than any terrorist alerts,” Mr. Aquino told reporters. (Philstar-Banner) 

President Aquino should start showing signs of his determination to fulfill his promise to the Filipino people of stamping out corruption in government or suffer the loss of public sup-port, legislators warned yesterday. Despite his campaign pitch of leading the nation through a “straight path” and a vow to listen to public sentiment and even stating that Filipinos are his real boss, critics, however, have cited several instances of corruption allegations against his allies that Aquino had merely ignored.  (Tribune-p1) 

The reduction in the intelligence funds of President Aquino was in the amount of P250 million and that P4 billion is the total budget of the Office of the President (OP) for 2011, Malacañang clarified yesterday.  Secretary Herminio Coloma of the Presidential Communications Office for Operations said the total reduced amount in intelligence funds was P250 million - from P650 million to P400 million.  “The P184 million that was reduced was from the total budget of the OP,” he clarified. (Philstar-p1) 

Did P-Noy watch ex-girlfriend Shalani Soledad’s TV debut on the game show “Willing Willie” last night? Whether he did or not, he had one wish for her—that she would find “true happiness.” Asked Monday afternoon—hours before the show came on—if he planned on watching it, President Benigno Aquino III gave a long-winded reply that meant “maybe”: “Depends on how much material I will be given tonight to study. I have only two and half days to prepare for my trip to Japan.” (PDI-p1) 

Hilarious as ever, the Philippines’ comedy king Dolphy drew laughter at Malacañang yesterday when he joked that the chunky gold necklace placed on his shoulders by President Benigno Aquino III was too heavy for his 82-year-old frame. But funny he was not when it came time for him to formally accept the Grand Collar (Maringal na Kuwintas of the Order of the Golden Heart)—the highest award given to a private citizen—from the President, whom he did not support in the May presidential election. (PDI-p1) 

On The President’s Men

President Aquino has submitted the appointments of 18 of his Cabinet secretaries to the Commission on Appointments (CA) for confirmation, with Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo excluded from the list. The CA said yesterday that the Office of the President submitted the names last Oct. 20 and the CA has notified the Cabinet members to submit the documentary requirements to the secretariat within 15 days. Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr.’s name was added to the list. (Philstar-p1) 

On Presidential Sister

Has Kris Aquino dropped “Yap” from her name? That’s what an online story is saying but Kris is denying it. Contacted by The STAR for clarification, Kris said that when she read this paper’s Conversation article with her estranged husband James Yap last Sunday, “I was appreciative of him saying that Bimby is much closer to me.” Bimby is Kris’ pet monicker for their son Baby James. (Philstar-p1) 

On The Visiting Forces Agreement

President Aquino yesterday denied rumors that he has met with a United States government official just recently who reportedly asked his administration to cancel its ongoing review on the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) that might not yield favorable results for the Americans which allegedly triggered the string of travel advisories issued by six foreign countries last week.Aquino, nonetheless, continuously lamented the fact that the US government denied them the intelligence information they possessed with respect to the ongoing global terror alert which eventually placed the country as among the possible targets of attacks.(Tribune-p3) 

On Terror Threat

Despite warnings of a terrorist attack, US Ambassador Harry K. Thomas Jr. feels safe traveling in the Philippines. Thomas yesterday said he would even go to Mindanao, where Washington warned US nationals they faced the “risks of terrorist activity” ostensibly from Moro separatist guerrillas and al-Qaida-linked bandits. “I’m going this week, next week and the following week outside of Manila and I will feel very safe,” Thomas said at Aurora Quezon Elementary School in Malate, Manila, where a pencil distribution project for Philippine public schools was launched. (PDI-Banner) 

Defense and military officials are taking seriously some claims that foreign terrorists have managed to enter the country. The officials also reiterated the country’s readiness to quell any terror plot. “We will still have to verify these reports. We cannot discount the possibility but we will have to see if we have enough information regarding that,” Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin told reporters on the sidelines of the DND’s 71st anniversary celebrations yesterday. “Everything is being taken seriously,” he added. (Philstar-p4) 

The global police agency Interpol has issued an alert to help forces in its member-states spot disguised bombs of the kind al-Qaeda terror group sent last week to the United States using airmail parcel couriers. The so-called “orange notice” contains photographs and technical details of the latest bombs, which were discovered and made safe at airports in Dubai and Britain after an intelligence warning. (Tribune-p1) 

On Calamities

A “gaping disconnect” between government claims and reality on the ground is putting disaster preparedness in the Philippines on the brink of disaster, a multinational risk consultancy firm said in a recent report. In a weekly report submitted to its clients, Pacific Strategies and Assessments (PSA) said it found no basis for President Benigno Aquino III to proclaim success in the government’s handling of emergency and relief operations prompted by Supertyphoon “Juan” (international name: Megi). (PDI-p1) 

On Glorietta Blast

Findings of a former military officer that the Glorietta 2 shopping mall blast in Makati City in Metro Manila in October 2007 was caused by a bomb were covered up during the previous Arroyo administration. 

Retired Army Col. Allan Sollano, a former executive officer of the Philippine Army Explosive and Ordnance Division who investigated the incident, submitted before Senior State Prosecutor Peter Ong on Monday his five-page affidavit stating that the Glorietta 2 blast can only be caused by something more destructive than a methane-gas explosion. The blast killed 11 people and injured 108 others. (Mla Times-Banner)

Retired Army bomb expert Col. Allan Sollano has formally submitted his sworn statement, claiming the Glorietta 2 explosion in Makati City on Oct. 19, 2007 that costthe lives of 11 persons was caused by a bomb attack. (Tribune-Banner) 

A retired Army colonel who took part in the investigation into the deadly Glorietta 2 mall blast in 2007 insisted yesterday it was a bomb and not methane gas which caused the explosion that killed 11 people and wounded a hundred others. Retired colonel Allan Sollano, head of the Army Explosives and Ordnance Division team at the time of the investigation, showed up at the Department of Justice (DOJ) to personally submit to Secretary Leila de Lima an affidavit detailing results of an earlier probe that had reportedly been concealed by the previous Arroyo administration. (Philstar-p4) 

On Reproductive Health Bill

Retired Cardinal Ricardo Vidal yesterday chided lawmakers pushing for the reproductive health (RH) bill for concealing a provision that deals with imprisonment.  "Isa sa nakalagay na sanction: If it becomes a law, anybody who would speak against the law will be fined or put into prison… I have read the bill. It’s very clear there," the recently-retired archbishop of Cebu told reporters at the sidelines of the 17th Asia-Pacific Congress on Faith, Life and Family in Makati City. (Malaya-Banner) 

President Aquino hopes to resume dialogue with Catholic bishops over the Reproductive Health (RH) Bill as soon as he returns from the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit in Japan on Nov. 12 to 15. “I’m hoping to have a report by the time I get back from Japan,” he said. Speaking to reporters, Mr. Aquino said he hopes the dialogue would move on to a more formal stage. (Philstar-p7) 

On The Supreme Court

Another official of the previous administration has joined the list of so-called “midnight appointees” questioning before the Supreme Court (SC) President Aquino’s Executive Order 2 that removed them from their posts. In a 24-page petition, former Philippine National Railways (PNR) general manager Manuel Andal asked the High Court to issue a temporary restraining order (TRO) for his reinstatement and to also nullify the appointment of his replacement, Junio Ragrario. (Philstar-p9) 

On Pinoy Overseas Workers

The 11 displaced overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who have sought shelter in Los Angeles to escape harsh working conditions in far away Mississippi in the US East Coast have denounced the inaction by Philippine labor officials on their request for assistance More than six weeks since they fled their jobs at a casino hotel in Biloxi, Mississippi, the workers continued to live off the kindness and charity of church and nongovernment groups, their spokesman Normal Paul Yaranon said by telephone to The Manila Times. (Mla Times-p1) 

On Maguindanao Massacre

A request of Maguindanao massacre principal suspect Andal Ampatuan Jr., for him to be allowed to post bail, may soon be resolved after a Quezon City court granted his motion for a continuous trial on the bail request. In a two-page order dated November 5, 2010, Judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes of Branch 221 of the Regional Trial Court of Quezon City also directed prosecutors to be ready with at least two witnesses in every trial. Andal Jr., in a motion filed last month, asked the court to require the prosecution to have three witnesses ready for the hearing to avoid further delays on his bail petition. (Mla Times-p1)