BROADSHEETS

PHIL. DAILY INQUIRER -- ‘Zaldy Suggested Sacrificing Unsay’

PHILIPPINE STAR -- House Bows To SC On Impeachment

MANILA STANDARD -- Tetangco Talks Peso Down As Remittances Rise 8.2%

MALAYA -- Dureza Linked To Ampatuan Payoffs

DAILY TRIBUNE -- Speaker, Senate Chief Won’t Defy SC On Merci

 

TABLOIDS

A.

PEOPLE’S JOURNAL -- ‘Dureza Got P10-M’

ABANTE -- Simbahan Sabog Sa ‘Jueteng Bishops’

PILIPINO STAR NGAYON -- P10-M Each Pinamudmod

 

BALITA -- IIRC Report, ‘Di Pa Buo

PEOPLES TONIGHT -- Model’s Talent Fee: Brutal Sex!

BULGAR -- Magpinsan ‘Pinulutan’ Sa Inuman

ISSUES MONITORING

On Congress

Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. said there would be no hearings on the case against Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez until the Supreme Court (SC) issues its final ruling on her petition to stop the impeachment proceedings at the House of Representatives. But Belmonte stressed that “no decision of the court can ever erase” the House’s constitutional prerogative to initiate the impeachment process. (Philstar-Banner) 

The leadership of Congress used moral suasion yesterday to douse a brewing feud between the judiciary and the legislative over the status quo ante order of the Supreme Court suspending the impeachment proceedings against Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez as both the Speaker and the Senate president tried to dissuade the House committee on justice from disregarding the order of the high court. Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile and Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. both said the House committee must comply with the order of the Supreme Court stopping the impeachment proceedings even as panel chairman, Iloilo Rep. Neil Tupaz, remained defiant against the high court’s order. (Tribune-Banner) 

On Presidency

As part of austerity measures, President Aquino yesterday canceled his scheduled Oct. 3-5 trip to Brussels, Belgium, saying that the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) might not yield any benefit to the Philippines. “A lot of the principal heads of state that we… hoped to be able to meet have not confirmed... their attendance. Then it’s not worth the expense at all,” Mr. Aquino told reporters at Marriott Hotel here where he attended the Regional Economic Managers’ Briefing and Dialogue with local officials and businessmen. The ASEM was officially established in 1996 at the first summit in Bangkok, Thailand. (Philstar-p1) 

Malacañang has antedated the appointment papers of Foreign Secretary Alberto Romulo to cure the original that the Commission on Appointments found defective. Romulo, a holdover from the Arroyo administration, took his oath and had been functioning as foreign secretary in the first 40 days of the Aquino administration without an appointment, documents showed. (Malaya-p3) 

On The Presidents’ Men

Interior and Local Government Undersecretary for Peace and Order Rico Puno offered yesterday to resign or be reassigned amid controversies to spare President Aquino from added burden. “As I have said, I am willing to be reassigned or to resign from my post. Nahihiya ako kay Presidente,” said Puno, who has been with Mr. Aquino since he was still a congressman. Archbishop Emeritus Oscar Cruz has accused two trusted men of the President of receiving payola from jueteng operations. (Philstar-p1) 

On The Supreme Court

The Supreme Court yesterday said defiant lawmakers threatening to ignore its directive to suspend impeachment proceedings against Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez may be liable for contempt. Court spokesperson Midas Marquez said the House committee on justice should not interpret Tuesday’s status quo ante order as an attempt to torpedo moves to oust Gutierrez for allegedly sitting on corruption cases against former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. (PDI-p1) 

Chief Justice Renato Corona has accepted the invitation of President Aquino for a sit-down meeting to thresh out issues related to cuts in the judiciary budget  under the proposed 2011 appropriations bill now being deliberated in Congress. Corona said he is looking forward to this opportunity of presidential audience being given to him as head of the judiciary, a co-equal branch of government, and Congress to discuss the budget cut issues being raised by the judges and other members of Philippine courts. (Philstar-p11) 

The Supreme Court, sitting as the Presidential Electoral Tribunal, yesterday scheduled for September 30 the preliminary conference on the election protest filed by former senator Mar Roxas against his Vice President Jejomar Binay, his main rival in the vice presidential race in the May elections. (Malaya-p6) 

On The Ombudsman

Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez yesterday said she is ready to face the impeachment complaints at the House of Representatives but declined comment on the Supreme Court decision Tuesday to issue a status quo ante order enjoining the House justice committee from proceeding with the impeachment process. Gutierrez appeared evasive and rebuffed reporters after attending Senate finance committee hearing in on her agency’s budget. (Malaya-p1) 

On Jueteng

A group of security officials known as the “Three Kings” has taken over the collection of grease moey from “jueteng” operators under the Aquino administration, according to a list of gambling lords and their protectors prepared by a junior police officer. Jueteng, an illegal numbers racket patronized by the poor, generates an estimated P37.7 billion in gross sales a year. (PDI-p1) 

The government is losing over P9 billion in revenues due to illegal gambling operations, according to Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo. Robredo sent a letter to the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO), pointing out the need to strengthen the small town lottery (STL) in the countryside to defeat jueteng operations. (Philstar-p1) 

Retired Archbishop Oscar Cruz yesterday said the PNP is "polluted" with money coming from jueteng and that police officials accepting jueteng money outnumber those who do not. "I came to know that there are many, many more people involved in this matter and I would like this to be very clear: Most of this people are in the PNP. I think it does not take much profound knowledge nor deep investigation to know that if there is jueteng in a place, the policemen are involved because jueteng is illegal," said Cruz. (Malaya-p1) 

On Maguindanao Massacre

In the aftermath of the massacre of 57 people, brother turned against brother in the Ampatuan clan as the family faced multiple murder charges and pondered whose head should roll, a court was told yesterday.  Afraid that he would be jailed, Zaldy Ampatuan was prepared to tag his younger brother Andal Ampatuan Jr. as the man responsible for the worst political violence in the nation’s history, said former househelp Lakmudin Saliao. (PDI-Banner) 

An adviser of then President Arroyo and two police officers each received P10 million early this year from Andal Ampatuan Sr. in connection with the rebellion and the Maguindanao massacre cases against members of his family, a prosecution witness told the Quezon City court yesterday. Lakmudin "Laks" Saliao, a long-time helper of the Ampatuans, told the court he was instructed by Ampatuan Sr. last March 11 to give the money to former presidential adviser on Mindanao affairs and one-time Press Secretary Jesus Dureza in exchange for the dismissal of the rebellion charges. (Malaya-Banner) 

Millions of bribe money allegedly poured over to police and government officials, including former presidential adviser on Mindanao affairs Jesus Dureza, in the attempt of Andal Ampatuan Sr. to cover up the slaughter of 57 people in Maguindanao last November. (Phistar-p4) 

On Luneta Carnage Probe

The special panel investigating last month’s Manila bus hostage incident yesterday gave assurance its official report would be on the table of President Aquino by tomorrow. Panel chair Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said their report was already 85 percent complete as of yesterday. De Lima described the report as “exhaustive and fact-intensive.” “We have already completed the facts. The accounts and narrations are very detailed,” De Lima revealed. (Philstar-p2) 

The special panel investigating last month’s Manila bus hostage incident yesterday gave assurance its official report would be on the table of President Aquino by tomorrow. Panel chair Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said their report was already 85 percent complete as of yesterday. De Lima described the report as “exhaustive and fact-intensive.” (Philstar-p2) 

On Road Users Tax

The Commission on Audit (COA) was hard pressed to find the basis for P5 billion worth of projects funded by the road user’s tax, saying these were not evaluated by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) using the established criteria. The COA also said the allocation of P5.49 billion in special road support funds was not done in accordance with the procedures prescribed in the Road Board Operating Manual, while P28.89 million in special local road fund was improperly allocated for former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s livelihood projects. (PDI-p1) 

On Jobless Pinoys

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) reported yesterday that the number of jobless Filipinos had declined by 200,000 as the country recovers from the effects of the global financial crisis. DOLE said data from the National Statistics Office (NSO) showed that unemployed persons nationwide dropped to 2.7 million in July compared to the 2.9 million jobless workers recorded during the same period last year. (Philstar-p2)        

On DFA Machine Contract

The Supreme Court (SC) has upheld the termination of the P2-billion contract forged by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) with Philippine-Thai BCA International Corp. for the earlier implementation of its machine-readable passports and visa (MRP/V) project. In a 53-page decision, the first division of the High Court gave the DFA go-signal to pursue its new e-Passport project with a new contractor pending arbitration proceedings sought by BCA before the Philippine Dispute Resolution Center, Inc. (PDRCI). (Philstar-p8) 

On Abandoned Baby Boy

A woman from Luzon believed to be the mother of George Francis, the infant abandoned in the lavatory bin of a Gulf Air plane, is now in the custody of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI). The woman arrived in Manila at 5:30 p.m. yesterday on AirPhil Express flight 2P019 escorted by NBI agents. NBI Director Magtanggol Gatdula said the woman’s identity would be withheld for her protection.  (Philstar-p1)