BROADSHEETS

PHIL. DAILY INQUIRER -- Noy Bucks Church, Backs Birth Control

MANILA BULLETIN -- RP Gets $2.8-B Investments

PHILIPPINE STAR -- Palace Review: No One Will Be Spared

MANILA STANDARD -- Hacienda Luisita Talks Collapse

MANILA TIMES -- President Defies Church

MALAYA -- Miriam: Face Need To Legalize Jueteng

DAILY TRIBUNE -- Jueteng Lords Gifted  5 PCSO Bigwigs With P2-M Cars

TABLOIDS

PEOPLE’S JOURNAL -- $2.8 B‘Pasalubong’

ABANTE -- PNoy  ‘Go’ Sa Condom

PILIPINO STAR NGAYON -- Sige Itumba N’yo Ako - Miriam

BALITA -- $2.8 -Billion Investment

BULGAR -- Jueteng Mas Lumala Kay P-Noy

 

ISSUES MONITORING

On Congress

Sen. Miriam D. Santiago said yesterday it is more than time for the government to study the legalization of jueteng.  Santiago said many presidents have come and gone, but illegal jueteng remains.  "No administration has yet succeeded in sending a gambling lord to jail. If so, should we not settle for regulating jueteng, instead of abolishing it on paper, without any realistic hope of success on the ground?"  (Malaya-Banner)  Jueteng

Sen. Loren Legarda Monday lashed at the administration for seeking more funds to deal with super typhoons even though it had barely used the multibillion-peso special allocation it got in the wake of destruction wrought by Tropical Storm “Ondoy” last year. (PDI-p1) Calamity

Stung by Education Secretary Armin Luistro’s swift rejection of his bill that would stop the overloading of schoolbags, Sen. Lito Lapid went nostalgic about his humble origins to defend his bill. “If only I did not go through such hard labor in the mountain—I was a wood gatherer and I carried sugar cane when I was young—I should have been taller because the Lapids are very big. I should have been taller than my father who was 5 (feet) 11 (inches),” said the 5’9” Lapid. (PDI-p1) 

President Aquino has appointed former Bataan congressman Antonio Roman, his former colleague in the House of Representatives, as the new head of the Presidential Legislative Liaison Office. Mr. Aquino also appointed Dr. Joel Rocamora, a political analyst, as lead convenor of the National Anti-Poverty Commission. Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr. said the President made the appointment before he left for the US last week. (Philstar-p16) 

On Presidency

President Benigno Aquino III served notice he may give assistance to Filipino couples needing contraceptives if that is what they want, instantly provoking a Catholic Church leader to accuse him of “selling out the Filipino soul” for American dollars. Speaking in a satellite television interview on Sunday (Monday in Manila) with members of Filipino communities around the world, Mr. Aquino stressed the number of children a couple had was a matter of personal choice. (PDI-Banner) 

Armed Forces officials reported yesterday that there is no assassination plot against President Aquino but the military will continue to be vigilant to secure the chief executive. “Initial reports tend to support the thesis that there is no plot against the President,” Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) spokesman Brig. Gen. Jose Mabanta Jr. said in a press conference in Camp Aguinaldo. Mabanta said Intelligence Service chief Brig. Gen. Romulo Bambao made the assurance after AFP chief Gen. Ricardo David ordered military units to validate the report. (Philstar-p2) 

On US Trip

President Benigno Aquino III on Sunday announced that his trip to the United States had yielded $2.8 billion (more than P120 billion) that would be poured into the Philippine economy mostly as investments. The President said the amount included $2.4 billion from two corporations that he was expected to name when he arrived in Manila and the $434-million grant from the US government-run Millennium Challenge Corporation. The grant is aimed at helping reduce poverty and fight corruption in the Philippines. (PDI-p1) 

President Benigno Aquino III dismissed criticisms over the inverted Philippine flag as coming from people with nothing better to do, saying his delegation had detected the error but it was too late to remedy it. “Some people just don’t have anything to do,” Mr. Aquino said on Sunday in a swipe at those who criticized the wrong way the flag was displayed during Friday’s summit in New York among US President Barack Obama and Southeast Asian leaders. The summit was held on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly meeting. (PDI-p1) 

On The President’s Men

Malacañang yesterday dis-missed the observation made by a party-list representative that the ostensible factionalism inside the Aquino Cabinet is behind the embattled state of Interior and Local Government Undersecretary Rico Puno. Puno has been plagued with criticisms lately owing to his involvement on the latest jueteng controversy and his inclusion to the Incident Investigation and Review Committee’s list of individuals that should be held accountable for the Aug. 23 hostage rescue fiasco. (Tribune-p1) 

Malacañang on Monday belied allegation that former Sen. Manuel “Mar” Roxas 2nd used a “fake” identification card to be able to attend the United Nations (un) General Assembly in New York City last week. “There has been malicious gossip going around that [Roxas] allegedly used a fake ID to enter the UN, that is not correct,” spokesman Edwin Lacierda said. The accusation was made through a text message, saying that the former senator impersonated Education Secretary Armin Luistro to be able to pass through UN security staff. According to the message, people from the Presidential Security Group and the Department of Foreign Affairs had to “lie” to the security staff to get Roxas in by pointing to the senator as Luistro. (Mla Times-p1) 

On Appointment Ban

Malacañang is seeking an exemption from the Commission on elections (Comelec) that would allow President Aquino to continue to exercise his powers to appoint officials in government even during the period prior to and after the holding of barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections on Oct.25. The Comelec prohibition covers the hiring of any new employee as well as transferring of posts, creating new positions, suspending any elected official and granting salary increases. It took effect last Sept. 25 and will run up to Nov. 10. (Philstar-p2) 

On IIRC Report

President Aquino vowed here Sunday that no one would be spared from liability if evidence would indicate that certain individuals, including those from media, were responsible for the bungling of negotiations and rescue operation during the hostage crisis in Manila on Aug. 23. The President apparently did not welcome being asked about details of the report that he had ordered reviewed. Mr. Aquino said he wanted Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr. and Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Eduardo de Mesa to review the recommendations made by the incident investigation and review committee (IIRC) led by Justice Secretary Leila de Lima because there were no specific charges mentioned for those who were deemed liable administratively or criminally. (Philstar-Banner) 

On Jueteng

Jueteng whistleblower Sandra Cam yesterday accused five former officials of of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) of being the beneficiaries of expensive imported cars from illegal numbers racket lords in exchange for the protection of “jueteng” which continues to operate under the guise of the PCSO-sponsored small town lottery (STL). At the hearing of the House committee on games and amusement on the reported non-remittance of STL revenues to the PCSO, Cam claimed that the unnamed officials were each given Mini Coopers costing at least P2 million apiece. (Tribune-Banner) 

Private operators of small-town lottery (STL) have been depriving the government of billions of pesos in revenues, retired Archbishop Oscar Cruz said yesterday. Testifying before the House of Representatives, Cruz said seven STL operators have been underreporting their gross sales to the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO). “The PCSO has been duped to high heavens, so to speak,” he said. “In short, there is something very, very wrong in how STL is being operated in the country, how the STL is practically in the hands of jueteng operators.” (Philstar-p1) 

Jueteng, an illegal numbers game, got worse under the administration of President Benigno Aquino 3rd, former Lingayen Archbishop Oscar Cruz said Monday. Cruz made his pronouncement during the House Committee on Games and Amusements investigation concerning the non-remittance of small town lottery (STL) revenues, leading to loss of localized funding assistance for health and developmental projects written by Danilo Ramon Fernandez of the First District of Laguna. (Mla Times-p3) 

On ‘Dirty’ Art Trade

The Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) has started investigating the trade in artworks, saying that the activity has become one of the methods of laundering dirty money. “As soon as we comply with the legal requirements and are able to gather sufficient evidence, we will file the necessary charges with the courts,” AMLC officer in charge Richard David Funk II said yesterday. (PDI-p1) 

On Reproductive Health

The Philippine government will provide contraceptives to poor couples who request them despite strong opposition from the dominant Roman Catholic Church, President Benigno Aquino 3rd said on Monday. Speaking during a satellite television interview from the United States where he is on a seven-day visit, President Aquino stressed that the number of children a couple had was a matter of personal choice. “The government is obligated to inform everybody of their responsibilities and their choices. At the end of the day, the government might provide assistance to those who are without means if they want to employ a particular method,” the President said. “ (Mla Times-Banner) 

The government will provide contraceptives to poor couples that request it despite strong opposition from the Church, President Aquino said yesterday. Speaking in a satellite television interview from the United States where he is on a seven-day visit, the President stressed that the number of children was a matter of personal choice for couples. “The government is obligated to inform everybody of their responsibilities and their choices. At the end of the day, government might provide assistance to those who are without means if they want to employ a particular method,” he said. (Philstar-p1) 

On The Ombudsman

Allies of President Aquino, key figures in the impeachment complaints against Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez yesterday asked the Supreme Court (SC) to set aside the status quo ante order it had earlier issued stopping the House of Representatives’ committee on justice from hearing the impeachment proceedings before the lower chamber. Gutierrez earlier said the committee violated her right to due process when the House justice panel issued its Sept. 1 and Sept. 7 resolution with “indecent and precipitate haste” and violated the provisions of the 1987 Constitution, limiting impeachment proceeding against the same official to once within a period of one year. (Tribune-p1) 

On The Comelec

The Commission on Elections has opened the source code used in the May national elections to public review. We conducted a source code review and we made the procedure open to the public,” said Comelec Commissioner Gregorio Larrazabal. The Supreme Court recently ordered the Comelec to disclose the source code used in the Automated Election System. The ruling grants the petition filed by the Center for People Empowerment in Governance (Cenpeg) to conduct an independent review of the source code or human readable instructions.  (Philstar-p9)         

On Legacy Scam

The Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. (PDIC) has filed its biggest syndicated estafa case against businessman Celso de los Angeles Jr. and 21 others for the fraudulent use of P5.37 billion worth of funds by one of the affiliate banks of his controversial Legacy Group. “This is the biggest case filed so far by PDIC in terms of amount and its 23rd Legacy case,” the PDIC said in a statement. The case has been filed with the Department of Justice, according to the PDIC. The 21 others charged with De los Angeles were officers and personnel of Dynamic Bank of the Legacy Group. (Philstar-p1) 

On Toll Rate Hike

A private lawyer asked the Supreme Court yesterday to look closer into the South Luzon Expressway project and compel its private operator and the government to account for the alleged multibillion peso discrepancy in the contract amount declared. Lawyer Ernesto Francisco Jr. also asked the High Court to junk a motion seeking to lift the temporary restraining order issued last month on the 277-percent increase in SLEX toll fees. (Philstar-p3) 

On Rice Sufficiency

The Philippines’ self-sufficiency ratio (SSR) in rice went up to 85.83 percent while the SSR for corn dropped to 95.88 percent in 2009, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said in a recent report. In its “Food Sufficiency and Security” report, the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics (BAS), an attached agency of the Agriculture department, said that the country’s SSR in rice went up to 85.83 percent in 2009, some 3.93 percentage points higher compared to the 2008, despite the relatively low production output during the period. One of the objectives of Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala Jr. is to make the country 100-percent self sufficient in rice by 2013. (Mla Times-p2) 

On Calamity

Former Chairman Bayani Fernando of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) on Monday said that the massive destruction brought by Typhoon Ondoy last year could happen again if the government will not move fast enough to correct the conditions that caused losses in lives and property then. One year after Typhoon Ondoy ravaged Metro Manila, members of the Eco Waste Coalition troop to the Senate building on Monday to urge lawmakers to pass a law banning plastic bags, which cause massive floods when not properly disposed of. Fernando was among the invited guests at the MMDA compound in Makati City on Monday, which marked a year after Ondoy ravaged parts of Metro Manila, the National Capital Region (NCR).  (Mla Times-p6)