BROADSHEETS

PHIL. DAILY INQUIRER -- 10 Liable In Hostage Fiasco

PHILSTAR -- 10 May Face Raps Over Hostage Fiasco

MANILA STANDARD -- Aquino Allies Push For P3 Added Cigaret Tax A Pack

MANILA TIMES -- Hostage Players Face Raps

MALAYA -- Cruz Agree To Face Jueteng Probers

DAILY TRIBUNE -- Juetengate Probe To Include Bacalzo

TABLOIDS

PEOPLE’S JOURNAL -- CoA Raps Another GOCC

ABANTE -- 10 Kakarnehin Sa Hostage

PILIPINO STAR NGAYON -- Jueteng War!

 

BALITA -- P40:$1

PEOPLES TONIGHT -- HGC Bankrupt?

BULGAR -- P-Noy, Shalani Break Na

REMATE -- Home Guaranty Purdoy Na

 

ISSUES MONITORING

On Congress

Top interior and police officials have been invited to a Senate hearing on Tuesday to shed light on the extent of jueteng operations in the country. Sen. Teofisto Guingona III, Senate Blue Ribbon committee chairman, said he has invited Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo; Undersecretary Rico Puno; Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Raul Bacalzo; the police regional directors of Ilocos Region, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Calabarzon and Mimaropa; Archbishop Oscar Cruz, Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office special operations department manager Romualdo Quiñones; and retired PNP chief Jesus Verzosa. Guingona said the hearing is not intended to determine what must be done to stop the illegal numbers game. (Philstar-p1) 

Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. said the House of Representatives would defend its right to initiate impeachment proceedings against Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez. Last Tuesday, the Supreme Court (SC) ordered the chamber to suspend its hearings on the impeachment complaints against Gutierrez, citing a one-year ban on filing more than one impeachment case against the same person. Belmonte said the House is waiting for the official copy of the SC order to the House committee on justice. (Philstar-p1) 

The House of Representatives will approve President Aquino’s proposed P1.645-trillion 2011 national budget before Congress goes on its first recess on Oct. 15, Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. said yesterday. “We must be able to complete sponsorship and debates on the budget, including amendments, if any, before our first break,” Belmonte told a news conference. (Philstar-p2) 

The House of Representatives will contest a recent Supreme Court (SC) decision ordering lawmakers to suspend impeachment proceedings against Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez, House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. said on Thursday.  Belmonte was referring to the status quo ante order that the High Tribunal issued this week, calling on the House Committee on Justice to stop its hearings on the Gutierrez case despite the panel having found the impeachment complaint against the Ombudsman sufficient in form and substance. (Mla Times-p1) 

Sen. Jinggoy Estrada vowed to initiate a Senate investigation on the transfer of the P8-billion rice procurement subsidy of the National Food Authority (NFA) to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD). He said the transfer of funds poses a big problem and it must be scrutinized “to know why it is being juggled or transferred to other departments.” “We have to know why they are transferring funds from NFA to DSWD,” he said. (Philstar-p5) 

The House of Representatives has approved a bill seeking to penalize the desecration of the national flag, anthem and other heraldic items and devices. Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. expressed elation yesterday over Wednesday night’s approval of Bill 465, which was endorsed by the committee on basic education and culture chaired by Sorsogon Rep. Salvador Escudero III. “I’m happy about it because it was the first bill approved by us after we organized the committees,” he said. (Philstar-p11) 

On Presidency

President Aquino is standing by his long-time friend and appointee Interior and Local Government Undersecretary Rico Puno, who is believed to be one of the unnamed officials being linked to jueteng payoffs by a retired prominent cleric. “I still have confidence in him but I will talk to him as soon as I get back to Manila and I’ll ask him about these allegations and see what his responses are,” he told reporters on the sidelines of the launching of an Aboitiz-owned Sibulan Hydropower Plant in Sta. Cruz town here. (Philstar-p6) 

IT’S not true. And romantic Palace kibitzers say – and hope -- it’s more like "absence makes the heart grow fonder" rather than "out of sight, out of mind." Valenzuela Councilor Shalani Soledad said yesterday talks that she and President Aquino have broken up are not true.  In a text message to media, Soledad denied the reported split. "Not true. Thanks," the message read. (Malaya-p1) 

On Presidential Trip

In line with his promise to bring a lean delegation in his foreign travels, only one senator and one member of the House of Representatives, four Cabinet secretaries and 25 to 30 businessmen will be joining President Aquino’s trip to the United States next week, Malacañang said yesterday. Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said the list of the delegation was not yet complete. The businessmen would be shouldering their own expenses. (Philstar-p1) 

On Mindanao 

President Benigno Aquino 3rd on Thursday said that his administration is exerting efforts to increase power supply in Mindanao. President Aquino attended the inauguration of the Sibulan hydropower plant, Aboitiz Power Corp.’s Greenfield project, in Davao del Sur. The 42.5-megawatt plant harnesses water coming from the Sibulan and Baroring rivers to generate electricity. “Today, with the inauguration of this plant, we have taken a concrete step to solving the power shortage in the region. More efforts are being undertaken to increase supply,” the President said in his speech. (Mla Times-p1)

On The Supreme Court

Chief Justice Renato Corona may have to settle for either Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa or Budget Secretary Florencio Abad in discussing ways to resolve an impasse with Malacañang over the reduced judiciary budget since President Aquino is leaving for the United States. “That (meeting with Corona) would have to be handled by the executive secretary or the Department of Budget and Management if ever I cannot do it personally,” Mr. Aquino told reporters after the launching of the Aboitiz-owned Hydropower Plant here. (Philstar-p8) 

On Jueteng

Retired Archbishop Oscar Cruz has reconsidered his decision against attending the jueteng probe to be conducted at the House of Representatives. "I will accept the invitation. Gusto ko sana tingnan, baka sakali lang. Naniniwala pa naman ako sa pamunuan na malinis pa naman sa ngayon," said Cruz. "I’m willing to give it a chance. But this will be the last chance…after this, if nothing happens, then I’ll quit," said Cruz. (Malaya-Banner) 

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) cannot do anything to stop candidates in the Oct. 25 barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections from using jueteng money to run their campaign. Comelec spokesman James Jimenez said existing laws do not empower the poll body to prevent the use of jueteng money in elections. (Philstar-p18) 

The embattled Philippine National Police (PNP) chief, Director General Raul Bacalzo, on Thursday ordered all-out war against all outlawed forms of gambling amid allegations that he is one of ranking police protectors of jueteng, an illegal numbers game. Jueteng has grown into a P37-billion “industry.” Also on Thursday, Bacalzo implemented the latest reorganization of 14 key PNP positions prompted by recent retirements of some senior officials. (Mla Times-p1) 

Former Philippine Constabulary chief retired Maj. Gen. Ramon Montano came out of the woodwork yesterday to second the allegations made by retired Dagupan-Lingayen Archbishop Oscar Cruz regarding distribution of bribe money to top government officials, mainly from the police ranks, for the continued proliferation of the illegal numbers game ‘jueteng’. Montano said that jue-teng operat-ions will not proliferate if there was no connivance between the police and local government officials. “There are those who receive (bribes)…how can it (jueteng) proliferate if there are no connivance?” asked Montano. (Tribune-p1) 

On Luneta Carnage Probe

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima yesterday ruled out friendly fire in the killing of eight Hong Kong tourists but recommended charges against 10 officials, police and media people in the bungled hostage rescue last month. De Lima did not identify those accountable for the Aug. 23 fiasco or the charges to be leveled against them in the report, which she said was “95 percent” complete. The fact-finding committee will submit its report to President Aquino today. (PDI-Banner) 

The incident investigation and review committee (IIRC), the special panel investigating the hostage crisis in Manila’s Rizal Park on Aug. 23, has found 10 people including government officials and media liable for the bloody outcome of the 11-hour standoff. Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, chair of the IIRC, said yesterday that the panel would include in its comprehensive report to be submitted today to President Aquino the recommendation to file appropriate charges against the individuals involved in the handling of the hostage crisis. (Philstar-Banner) 

Investigators on Thursday said that they would seek charges against up to 10 people, including police officers and members of the media, over a hostage siege in which, the probers added, a lone gunman killed eight Hong Kong tourists. A day before an official government report was to be submitted to President Benigno Aquino 3rd, the investigators concluded that the hostage-taker had fired the bullets that killed all eight visitors from the former British colony, said Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, the head of the Incident Investigation and Review Committee (IIRC) that has inquired into the hostage crisis. “We have [had] discussions on specific accountabilities of specific officers and [other] personalities. . . We expect the President to act on the basis of our recommendations,” de Lima told reporters. (Mla Times-Banner) 

On Consumer Confidence

Consumer confidence hit a new record high under the Aquino administration on the back of favorable macroeconomic fundamentals as well as brighter economic prospects, results of a survey conducted by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed. “While still in negative territory, the confidence index increased from -28.7 percent in the second quarter of 2010 to -14 percent, the highest reading since the nationwide survey started in 2007,” BSP Assistant Governor Ma. Cyd Tuano-Amador said, referring to the results of the 3rd Quarter Consumer Expectations Survey. (Philstar-p1) 

On Housing Scam

The Home Guaranty Corp. (HGC), an agency under Vice President Jejomar Binay, lost P1.1 billion in 2008, according to the Commission on Audit (COA). The COA report, submitted to the House of Representatives, said the HGC, headed by its president Gonzalo Bongolan, steadily lost money since 2002, when it reported P204 million in losses. Auditors discovered that the agency’s payables increased by P22 billion and its financing charges by P10 billion “because it was settling its guarantee obligations through bond flotation, resulting in overlapping of liabilities.” (Philstar-p1) 

On Poverty

Four out of 10 Filipino children are living in various forms of poverty, other than economic poverty, according to the latest survey on child welfare conducted by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS). The study conducted in 2006 showed that 44 percent of Filipino children, or around 12.8 million under the age of 15, live in poverty, up by almost a million from the 2003 survey. (Philstar-p17) 

On Doing Business In The Country

American businessmen in the Philippines are optimistic of prospects in the country but most remain wary of prevalent corruption in the government, a poll among US companies in Southeast Asia showed. According to the Asean Business Outlook Survey 2010, 86 percent of respondents from the Philippines expected the country’s economy to expand this year. Almost three-fourths of US firms in the country also expected their profit to rise in 2010, compared with last year when only less than half of American companies in the Philippines projected higher profits. Seventy-six percent said that their profit in 2011 could be even better. (Mla Times-p1) 

On The Abandoned Baby

The mother of the baby abandoned on a plane may have been a victim of human trafficking or a sexual crime, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) revealed yesterday. NBI Director Magtanggol Gatdula told reporters during a late afternoon interview at NBI headquarters in Manila that the mother might have been sexually abused while working abroad. (Philstar-p1)