BROADSHEETS

PHIL. DAILY INQUIRER -- No Criminal Charges Over Hostage Fiasco

PHILIPPINE STAR  -- Noy Finds 8 Liable For Hostage Fiasco

MANILA STANDARD -- Lim, 4 Police Officers Take The Fall For Hostage Fiasco

MANILA TIMES -- No Crime Raps Vs Bunglers

MALAYA -- Robredo, Puno Get An Earful

DAILY TRIBUNE -- Noy Absolves  Puno, Verzosa

TABLOIDS

PEOPLE’S JOURNAL -- Robredo, Puno Spared

ABANTE -- Mga Pulis Lang Ang Diniin

PILIPINO STAR NGAYON -- Konsehal, Misis, 1 Pa Minasaker!

BULGAR -- Kulong Sa Mamamalo Sa Anak

 

ISSUES MONITORING

On Congress

Legislators backed Speaker Feliciano Belmonte’s assertion that the P50 million allotment from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) should not be considered as pork barrel while 37 members of the House of Representatives signed a manifesto yesterday thumbing down the P21.9 billion proposed fund for President Aquino’s cash transfer program. Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile said the P50-million additional funds for each lawmaker under the proposed P1.6 trillion national budget for 2011 was meant to even the field in the distribution of key infrastructure. (Tribune-p1) 

The opposition to the administration’s P21.9-billion conditional cash transfer (CCT) program is not just coming from President Benigno Aquino III’s critics, a manifesto against the project shows. Aside from militant lawmakers, who have been vocal about their disapproval of the CCT, members of the House majority and minority have also signed the manifesto. As of yesterday, 37 lawmakers have affixed their signatures to the statement and backed the call to realign the P21.9 billion to projects that they think are more deserving of funding. (PDI-p1) 

Sen. Panfilo Lacson had signed disbursement certifications amounting to millions of pesos even after he went abroad last January to avoid arrest in connection with the Dacer-Corbito double murder case. With the Senate consenting to the disbursement of the senator’s funds, the Commission on Audit (COA) has warned Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile that he and the entire Senate might be held liable for aiding and abetting a criminal. (Philstar-p5) 

The House of Representatives has been wrongly applying the ban on the filing of impeachment cases within a year of each other, according to veteran lawyer Estelito Mendoza. “In my opinion the one-year ban only starts when the article of impeachment is filed with the Senate,” Mendoza, a former solicitor general, told reporters. Mendoza said it was wrong for the House to dismiss an impeachment complaint filed against an official within a year after another one had been filed. “That should not be the case,” he said. (Philstar-p13) 

A lawmaker wants to repeal Article 247 of the Revised Penal Code allowing husbands and parents to kill their wives and daughters caught having sex with another man.  Bayan Muna Rep. Neri Colmenares said it is incomprehensible why a law allowing a husband and parent to kill an offending wife and disobedient daughter remains in the statute books. (Philstar-p4) 

On Presidency

A recent survey by the Social Weather Stations (SWS) showed that almost half of Filipinos believe that President Aquino is serving the interests of the poor. The survey conducted from Sept. 24 to 27 also found 44 percent of the 1,200 respondents saying that they expected Mr. Aquino to fulfill most or all of the promises he made in his first State of the Nation Address (SONA) last July 26. Results of the SWS survey were published yesterday in the newspaper BusinessWorld. (Philstar-p1) 

The country’s bachelor president yesterday indirectly admitted that he and Valenzuela Councilor Shalani Soledad have broken up after admitting that he is "being friendly" with a lady lawyer he met years ago. The President appealed the public to grant him some privacy "or what little of it that is left" and eventually allow him to have a "love life." "Kapag sinagot ko kayo lalo na walang matitira doon (private life). Maawa naman kayo, five percent na lang nga," he said when further asked about his love life.  (Malaya-p1) 

On The IIRC Report

They may be suspended or fired, but no one is going to be criminally charged for the botched hostage rescue on Aug. 23, apart from the brother of the hostage-taker. In a nationally televised news conference yesterday, President Benigno Aquino III disregarded the Incident Investigation and Review Committee (IIRC) and adopted the recommendation of his Palace team that exculpated Interior Undersecretary Rico E. Puno for the fiasco that left eight Hong Kong tourists and the hostage-taker, dismissed Senior Insp. Rolando Mendoza, dead. (PDI-Banner) 

President Aquino ordered yesterday the filing of charges against top officials, including Manila’s former police chief, in connection with the Aug. 23 hostage-taking incident, but cleared close friend Interior and Local Government Undersecretary Rico Puno. In a press conference, the President also called for administrative charges against Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim, Deputy Ombudsman Emilio Gonzalez III and four police officers. Mr. Aquino made the announcement as he released officially the report of the incident investigation and review committee (IIRC) on its investigation into the hostage crisis. (Philstar-Banner) 

Speculations and public suspicion of a Palace whitewash of the Incident Investigation and Review Committee (IIRC) report and charges against several personalities were well grounded, as President Aquino yesterday, in a press conference, absolved his target shooting buddy, Department of Interior and Local Government Undersecretary, Rico Puno, of any accountability and responsibility in the Aug. 23 botched hostage rescue operations that saw eight Chinese Hong Kong tourists dead, as well as the hostage taker, sacked police officer Rolando Mendoza. (Tribune-Banner) 

Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim hit back yesterday at the incident investigation and review committee (IIRC) for recommending that he face criminal and administrative charges as head ot the city’s crisis management team. Speaking during yesterday’s flag-raising ceremony at City Hall, Lim said he was taught at the US Federal Bureau of Investigation that a mayor or a president should not meddle in a hostage negotiation. (Philstar-p1) 

China’s top diplomat in the Philippines yesterday declined to comment on the review and recommendations adopted by Malacañang on the report of the incident investigation and review committee (IIRC), saying he has yet to see the official document. Speaking at the joint Makati Business Club-Management Association of the Philippines (MBC-MAP) general membership meeting held at the Inter-Continental Hotel in Makati, Ambassador Liu Jianchao said they have received mixed signals but would not comment until he sees the document. (Philstar-p1) 

The government is going after the brother of slain hostage taker Rolando Mendoza and the Office of the Ombudsman for the bungled rescue try on a hijacked bus last August. President Aquino, in a press conference yesterday, ordered the Department of Justice to speed up the resolution of the cases of serious disobedience and conspiracy in illegal detention filed against SPO2 Gregorio Mendoza. (Malaya-p1) 

Despite all the diplomatese over the botched hostage rescue operations last Aug. 23, where eight Hong Kong Chinese tourists died, with several injured and traumatized, it appears that China is not too willing to forget the incident.  China’s top diplomat to Manila yesterday said the country could attract more tourists from China and Hong Kong if the government could guarantee their security and safety in the Philippines. (Tribune-p1) 

On The Presidents’ Men

Work well as a team or get the boot. President Benigno Aquino III issued this warning to Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo and Interior Undersecretary Rico E. Puno when he announced yesterday the results of the Palace review of the recommendations of a committee on the failed Aug. 23 hostage rescue. Mr. Aquino met his party mate Robredo and long-time friend Puno on Sunday night and told the officials of his “exasperation” over their intramurals in the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and in the media. (PDI-p1) 

President Aquino yesterday decided to retain Secretary Jesse Robredo and Undersecretary Rico Puno of the Department of the Interior and Local Government, but gave them stern warning against further infighting following reports that the two officials have been squabbling. "Both of them (Robredo and Puno) are under observation. Their retention is subject to change, as in the way they have been conducting themselves in the last few weeks," Aquino said during a press conference at Malacañang. (Philstar-p1) 

On NBN-ZTE Scam

Invoking her constitutional right to remain silent, former president and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is asking the Sandiganbayan to nullify a subpoena which has ordered her to appear as a witness in a graft case against former National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) director general Romulo Neri. In a motion, she said she cannot take the witness stand and testify on the issue of the botched $329-million national broadband network (NBN) deal because she herself is being probed for supposed involvement in the allegedly anomalous and grossly overpriced contract between the Philippine government and China’s ZTE Corp. (Philstar-p2) 

On Public Works

Public Works and Highways Secretary Rogelio Singson sees the P50-million infrastructure projects allotted to each congressional district as an “equalizer.” “It will equalize the allocation of funds in the sense that districts with less than P50 million will get P50 million,” he said. “So all districts are assured of at least that much.” (Philstar-p3) 

On Barangay Elections

The Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) yesterday asked the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to furnish them a copy of the computerized voters’ list (CVL) to give them time to purge the list of flying voters and multiple registrants. PPCRV chair Henrietta de Villa said that she already sent a strongly worded letter to Comelec Chairman Jose Melo reiterating their appeal for a copy of the CVL. (Philstar-p3) 

On The PNP

Police officers  in the field are now receiving 85 percent of the funds as a result of the reorganization undertaken in the Philippine National Police (PNP), Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo said. He said operating units nationwide would now have more funds to support their operational activities.   This will significantly increase the monthly operating fund of local police stations and enable them to more effectively prevent crimes and maintain peace and order in the communities,” Robredo said. (Philstar-p5) 

On AFP Modernization 

The Department of National Defense-Bids and Awards Committee (DND-BAC) has decided to approve the lone price bid that was submitted by a US company for a refurbished Hercules C-130H plane, intended for the capability upgrade of the Philippine Air Force (PAF). Derco Aerospace Inc., said to be a world leader in providing aircraft spares distribution, logistic solutions, repaire services and technical solutions to military and commercial customers around the globe, was a adjudged as qualified for post qualification process after bidding P1.747 billion, or around $40 million, for one refurbished, 26-year-old C-130 aircraft. (Tribune-p1) 

On Power Supply

Electricity users will have to brace for more rate increases soon as they will be made to pay for P470 billion of the P930-billion combined debts of the state-owned National Power Corp. (Napocor) and the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management (PSALM) Corp. This was revealed at a budget hearing by Cavite Rep. Joseph Emilio Abaya, quoting officials of the two agencies. He said the plan was to make electricity users pay an additional 30 centavos per kilowatt-hour over a period of at least 16 years. (Philstar-p6) 

Energy Secretary Jose Rene Almendras admitted yesterday that there will be a power supply shortage of at least 300 megawatts (MW) in Luzon next year because of inadequate generation and expected increase in demand.  During the hearing on the budget of the Department of Energy (DOE) at the Senate yesterday, Almendras said that both Luzon and Mindanao would continue to experience supply shortages next year unless this is addressed right away. (Philstar-p6) 

On Media Safety

Journalists facing threats to their lives should lessen their degree of “exposure predictability” and vary the pattern of their movements, the Philippine National Police (PNP) has advised. Chief Superintendent Arturo Cacdac, head of the PNP’s Directorate for Investigation and Detective Management and concurrent head of “Task Force Usig,” said a victim’s movement and exposure predictability were common factors in most reported cases of slain journalists over the past nine years. (Philstar-p12) 

On South China Sea

US Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Monday called for an international approach to resolving territorial disputes in the Pacific, despite China’s opposition to any multilateral deal brokered by Washington. In remarks that appeared aimed at China, Gates said that “increasingly, we find that relying exclusively on bilateral relationships is not enough—we need multilateral institutions in order to confront the most important security challenges in the region.” Key issues in Asia, including “territorial disputes,” could best be solved through “strong multilateral cooperation,” he said in a speech to military officers at Vietnam National University in Hanoi. (Mla Times-p1) 

On The Peace Process

Authorities are holding a senior leader of Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and accused him of terrorism ahead of peace talks between Manila and the Muslim rebel group fighting for separatism in the troubled region in Mindanao.  The MILF said it was protesting the arrest of Eduard Guerra and it also wrote Malaysia, which is brokering the peace talks, to say that the man had been tortured into admitting false charges of terrorism. “We have filed a protest with the Philippine government and informed Malaysia about the arrest of Brother Eduard Guerra. He is a senior official of the MILF Central Committee and all the charges against him were false,” Von Al Haq, a spokesman for the rebel group, told The Manila Times. (Mla Times-p1) 

Although Beijing is inclined to slightly disrupt flow of its investments to Manila as leverage in the two nations’ dispute over the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea, an official of United States-based think tank Stratfor told The Manila Times during a recent exclusive interview that the row will have no long-term economic effects on Philippines-China relations. Jennifer Richmond, China director for Stratfor, said that any threats that China made against the Philippines, such as pulling out of investments and trade, “would not be binding.” Startfor is a US-based, independent, non-partisan and non-ideological global team of intelligence professionals that publishes situation reports, analyses, quarterly and annual forecasts and intelligence guidance around the world about political, economic and military developments. (Mla Times-p1)