BROADSHEETS

PHIL. DAILY INQUIRER -- 13 May Face Charges Over Hostage Fiasco

PHILIPPINE STAR -- Hostage Report: 13 Persons Liable

MANILA STANDARD -- Lim, Verzosa, Gutierrez, 3 Network Face Sanctions

MANILA TIMES -- President Bares Liable List

MALAYA -- 15 Face Raps On Hostage Fiasco

DAILY TRIBUNE -- Noy Won’t Act On Report; Lawywers To Study Findings

TABLOIDS

PEOPLE’S JOURNAL -- Charge Them

ABANTE -- Hagip Lahat

PILIPINO STAR NGAYON -- Puno, Lim, Verzosa, 12 Pa Kakasuhan

 

BALITA -- No Homework, Mungkahi Lang

PEOPLES TONIGHT -- Killer Cheerdance

BULGAR -- Poste Ng Meralco Sumabog, 3-Anyos Utas

ISSUES MONITORING

On Congress

THE Senate Blue Ribbon Committee starts today its probe on jueteng payola with all but one of the major personalities invited confirming their attendance. Among them are archbishop emeritus Oscar Cruz, Interior Undersecretary Rico Puno and new PNP chief Raul M. Bacalzo. The committee secretariat said Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo, who is said to be in Cotabato, has yet to confirm his attendance. (Malaya-p1)

The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has made a suspicious lump sum and “vague” allocation of P5.4 billion in its proposed P100.8-billion budget for next year to settle various obligations to the private sector, a senior administration lawmaker disclosed yesterday. Palawan Rep. Antonio Alvarez asked the DPWH to itemize a proposed P3.32-billion lump-sum fund in the 2011 national budget for right-of-way (ROW) paymentfor private lands affected by government infrastructure projects. (Philstar-p8) 

Sen. Francis Escudero said Budget Secretary Florencio Abad is embarrassing President Aquino with the allocation program for 2011. “Secretary Abad is embarrassing and putting the President in a bad light,” Escudero told Davao reporters here over the weekend. “Excuse me, but this is no time for the DBM (to do) an on-the-job training when it comes to national budget,” the senator said. (Philstar-p8) 2011 Budget

On Presidency

A $434-million grant to fight poverty and meetings with US President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton await President Benigno Aquino III as he embarks on his first foreign trip as head of state, temporarily leaving behind him a storm at home caused by a hostage fiasco. Mr. Aquino was departed late last night for a weeklong visit to the United States, where he will also address the United Nations General Assembly and meet with his fellow Southeast Asian leaders.  (PDI-p1) 

President Aquino arrives here tomorrow for his debut on the world stage, highlighted by a speech on Sept. 24 (Manila time) before the United Nations General Assembly on the Philippines’ Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The 65th UN Summit on the MDGs, convened by the 192-member assembly, begins in New York today and is expected to attract nearly 140 heads of state, as well as dozens of representatives from civil society groups, foundations and the private sector. (Philstar-p2) 

President Aquino left last night for a seven-day working visit to the United States, promising to bring home from his first foreign trip benefits for Filipinos in the form of job opportunities and investments. Aquino was accompanied by a 56-member delegation, about half of them businessmen. Last week, he said the US trip could generate "tens of thousands" of new jobs within the next two years of his administration. (Malaya-p1) 

On Government Caretaker

Vice President Jejomar Binay yesterday said he has no problem with President Aquino’s “no caretaker” policy for his one-week working visit to the United States. “With all the available communications technology, appointing a caretaker would be unnecessary since the President can constantly keep in touch with the Cabinet and key government officials,” he pointed out. Aquino is addressing the United Nations General Assembly and meeting with US President Barack Obama and counterparts from Southeast Asia as well as top US businessmen during his first overseas trip as President of the Republic. (Tribune-p1) 

Vice President Jejomar Binay does not mind not being designated by President Aquino as caretaker during the latter’s trip to attend the United Nations General Assembly and other meetings in New York this week. In a statement, Binay’s media relations head Joey Salgado said appointing a caretaker would be unnecessary since the President can constantly keep in touch with the Cabinet and key government officials with all the available communications technology. (Philstar-p1) 

On IIRC Report

Saying friendship cannot intervene in his duty to serve justice, President Benigno Aquino III announced yesterday that charges had been recommended against Mayor Alfredo Lim and Interior Undersecretary Rico E. Puno for the botched hostage rescue last month. The President said in a nationally televised news conference that the report submitted on Friday by the fact-finding committee headed by Justice Secretary Leila de Lima also named 11 other people and the major TV networks ABS-CBN, GMA 7 and TV5 liable for the Aug. 23 fiasco. (PDI-Banner) 

Probability is high that President Aquino may not entirely uphold the recommendations presented to him by the Incident Investigation and Review Committee (IIRC) which he had tasked to probe the botched hostage rescue operations when a sacked police officer seized a tourist bus and killed eight foreigners last Aug. 23. (Tribune-Banner) 

President Aquino identified yesterday 13 government officials and private individuals, including three media men, recommended for sanctions by the incident investigation and review committee (IIRC) in connection with the mishandling of the Aug. 23 hostage crisis. (Philstar-Banner) 

Ignoring protests by lawmakers, President Benigno Aquino III yesterday kept his word and gave a copy of the report on the hostage rescue fiasco to the Chinese ahead of the Filipino public. The Chinese ambassador to the Philippines, Liu Jianchao, went to the Department of Foreign Affairs to receive the 83-page report in the morning, according to a DFA statement. (PDI-p1) 

China was mum on the release of the report on the Aug. 23 hostage crisis, but the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said the Chinese ambassador had already conveyed his appreciation for President Aquino’s “strong leadership” in ensuring a “comprehensive, transparent, and credible” investigation into the incident. The Philippines handed over yesterday to the Chinese embassy a copy of the report prepared by the incident investigation and review committee (IIRC) on the hostage-taking incident. (Philstar-p1) 

On Jueteng

Archbishop Emeritus Oscar Cruz is urging the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) to disclose the gambling situation in each diocese and name the personalities involved in “jueteng” if it wanted to help stamp out the illegal numbers racket. This came as Ilocos Sur Gov. Luis “Chavit” Singson has brought to the attention of the National Bureau of Investigation illegal gambling operations in various parts of the country. (PDI-p1) 

Amid allegations that some dioceses are receiving donations from illegal gambling operators, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) said it cannot impose sanctions on bishops accepting such donations. In an interview with Church-run Radio Veritas, CBCP media office director Msgr. Pedro Quitorio said the Church can only remind bishops to refrain from accepting donations believed to have come from the illegal numbers game jueteng.  (Philstar-p4)     

On Maguindanao Massacre

Former Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao governor Zaldy Ampatuan has asked the Court of Appeals (CA) to resolve his petition to reinstate the resolution of former Justice secretary Alberto Agra absolving him from the Maguindanao massacre case without any comment from the government. In a manifestation, Ampatuan said the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) has not made any comment within the 100-day extension given by the court to answer. (Philstar-p9) 

On The Armed Forces

Some military officers are grumbling about losing control over a substantial amount of funds meant for infrastructure projects in poor barangays whose residents are vulnerable to recruitment by communist rebels. The Aquino administration has scrapped funding next year for the Armed Forces’ Kalayaan sa Barangay Program (KBP), the supposed carrot in the military’s carrot-and-stick counterinsurgency campaign. (PDI-p2) 

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) does not see the need to form an elite strike force to handle hostage crisis and admitted at the same time that it would be difficult to integrate military and police forces into one unit. “After looking at the capability of these elite forces – Philippine National Police (PNP), Army, Navy, Air Force – we are recommending that there is really no need to integrate all of these elite forces because they have their own specialization,” AFP spokesman Brig. Gen. Jose Mabanta Jr. told radio dzBB yesterday. (Philstar-p4) 

On The South China Sea

Along with the diplomatic tension created by the Aug. 23 hostage crisis has subsided, President Benigno Aquino III will have to deal with another strain on the country’s relationship with China: the dormant yet sensitive issue of the contested Spratly Islands.  The Spratlys dispute will be high on the agenda when Aquino meets his counterparts in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and US President Barack Obama on Friday in New York. (Malaya-p1) 

On The PNP

The 135,000-strong Philippine National Police (PNP) was placed on a higher alert level in connection with the scheduled seven-day working visit of President Benigno Aquino 3rd to the United States. The PNP spokesman, Senior Supt. Agrimero Cruz Jr., said that the whole of Metro Manila or the National Capital Region (NCR) and the Mindanao police regional offices were placed on full-alert status effective 12 noon of MondayPolice forces in the Visayas and the rest of Luzon were placed on heightened alert status.  (Mla Times-p1) 

On The Flag Carrier

For Commission on Human Rights (CHR) Chair Loretta Rosales, Philippine Airlines (PAL) may be liable for violation of its flight attendants’ human rights, particularly rights against discrimination based on gender and age. The Flight Attendants and Stewards Association of the Philippines (FASAP) has turned to Rosales for help in its labor dispute with the country’s flag carrier over its practice of imposing a mandatory pregnancy leave without pay and a mandatory retirement age of 40. (PDI-p2) 

On The  Environment

The quality of the air that residents of Metro Manila breathe has worsened, prompting the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to launch a crackdown on smoke-belchers along one of the busiest thoroughfares in the metropolis. Environment Secretary Ramon Paje said DENR tests on air quality in the first half of the year showed an increase in solid or liquid particles suspended in the air. (PDI-p1) 

The militant fisherfolk group Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) yesterday urged Environment Secretary Ramon Paje to withdraw a proposal seeking a P1-billion budget for the procurement of 50,000 computers, software and web cameras. “Secretary Paje should recall this proposal to purchase 50,000 personal computers. This is brazen waste of public funds,” said Pamalakaya chair Fernando Hicap. (Philstar-p8) 

On Hacienda Luisita

Farm workers demanding land on yesterday walked out of mediation talks ordered by the Supreme Court, charging that Hacienda Luisita Inc. (HLI) was insisting on keeping the sprawling sugar plantation owned by the family of President Benigno Aquino III. Jobert Pahilga, the counsel for a faction of Alyansa ng mga Manggagawang Bukid ng Hacienda Luisita (Ambala), said that he had informed the mediation panel that his clients “would no longer participate in the mediation hearings.” (PDI-p1) 

On ‘No Homework Advice’

Dear teachers, it’s just harmless advice, a reminder, that it is still possible for children to learn outside the classroom. This was Education Secretary Armin Luistro’s answer to criticisms hurled by a teachers’ group that his memorandum banning homework on weekends violated the academic freedom of educators to decide how best to teach their students. (PDI-p1) 

On GSIS

President Aquino yesterday named Hong Kong-based fund manager Robert Vergara to succeed Winston Garcia as president and general manager of the Government Service Insurance System. The Office of Executive Secretary also announced the appointment of new National Dairy Authority (NDA) administrator Grace Cenas vice Orkhan Usman. Cenas and Vergara’s appointments were signed last Sept. 13. (Malaya-p1) 

On Dilapidated Firetrucks

The Commission on Audit (COA) usually exposes in its annual audit reports how some government offices are wasting government funds or are spending too much money on questionable programs and projects. But in the case of the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP), state auditors said the agency is not spending enough to take care of its aging fire trucks. (Philstar-p8) 

On Weather Disturbance

About five to eight tropical cyclones are likely to enter the Philippine area of responsibility in the last quarter of the year, the state weather bureau said. The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said the weather systems that are expected to affect the country from October to December are the tail end of a cold front, intertropical convergence zone, easterly wave, ridge of high-pressure area, the easterlies, and about five to eight tropical cyclones. (Philstar-p1) 

On Dinky ‘Doleouts’

Members of the upper chamber have directed the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) to justify the P30-billion increase in its budget next year, intended for the Aquino administration’s dole-out program. Social Welfare Secretary Corazon “Dinky” Soliman, during the Senate’s budget hearing, was told to present documents  as to how the government intends to carry out the conditional cash transfer 

transfer (CCT) program that is said to have caused the increase of the department’s appropriations for 2011 by 123 percent. (Tribune-p1)