BROADSHEETS

PHIL. DAILY INQUIRER -- Prices, Fares, Toll Go Up

PHILIPPINE STAR -- OSG To Sandigan: Revoke Garcia Bail

MANILA STANDARD -- Subic, GenSan, Bacolod Also Slated For Open Skies

MANILA TIMES -- Garcia Deal Legally Infirm

MALAYA -- Sandiganbayan Okayed Garcia Plea Bargain Last May

DAILY TRIBUNE -- Poll Operators On List Of Comelec Officials Replacements- Solon

TABLOIDS

PEOPLE’S JOURNAL -- Triple  Whammy

ABANTE -- 8 bagong testigo sa Vizconde

PILIPINO STAR NGAYON -- 4 Minasaker Ng NPA

BALITA -- Orasyon Para Sa Tubig

PEOPLES TONIGHT -- DENR Chief Under Fire

BULGAR -- Taas-Pasahe Sa LRT At MRT Start Na!

 

ISSUES MONITORING

On Congress

The Senate ethics committee said it is finally ready to take up a complaint against fugitive murder suspect Sen. Panfilo “Ping” Lacson after months of delay, with assurances that it will not turn into a “witch hunt.” “We should send a clear message to the people that the senators are not above the law,” Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano, chair of the ethics committee, told reporters. (PDI-p2) 

The House of Representatives will initiate an ethics investigation into the culpability of detained Ilocos Sur Rep. Ronald Singson when sessions resume on January 17. Even without a formal complaint, the House committee on ethics and privileges can unilaterally initiate a proceeding against Singson, said Speaker Feliciano Belmonte. (PDI-p3) 

On RH Bill

A bishop has asked legislators in Misamis Occidental province not to vote for the controversial reproductive health (RH) bill pending in Congress or risk being disallowed to take Holy Communion. 

In a report on the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) News website, it was learned that Ozamiz City Archbishop Jesus Dosado has sent an open letter to Representatives Jorge Almonte Sr. of the First District and Loreto Leo Campos of the Second District of Misamis Occidental appealing to them not to vote for the RH bill, Dosado, however, encouraged the two lawmakers to support a version of the reproductive health bill filed by Rep. Roilo Golez of Parañaque City (Metro Manila). (Mla Times-p2) 

On Presidency

Malacañang assured the German government yesterday of the administration’s seriousness in having the issues surrounding the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 resolved soon. Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office Secretary Ricky Carandang said the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) would study all the options available to finally settle the NAIA 3 ownership issue. (Philstar-p3) 

On The Price Hike

The start of 2011 seems to bode ill for Filipinos as bread and public road transport—from jeepney and bus to taxi and light rail transit rides—are expected to cost more. Bakers on Wednesday said bread prices would go up in the coming weeks if prices of flour and sugar did not go down soon. (PDI-Banner) 

On Power Rate

The Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) will collect 27 centavos less per kilowatt-hour (kwh) from consumers this month. “We will be implementing changes in the generation, transmission, and distribution charges. For our consumers, this will mean a net reduction of around 27 centavos per kwh in their electric rates,” Meralco spokesman Joe Zaldarriaga said. (Philstar-p1) 

On The Insurgency

Soldiers and policemen captured a senior communist rebel leader here on Tuesday night, a day after a 19-day Christmas truce ended with both sides vowing to step up fighting. Tirso Alcantara, identified by the military as chief of the New People’s Army (NPA) command in Southern Tagalog, was wounded in the left buttock when he tried to draw his gun as the government troops raided Barangay Ibabang Iyam at 8:30 p.m., said Senior Supt. Erickson Velasquez, Quezon provincial police chief. (PDI-p1) 

On The Amnesty

Senator Gregorio Honasan, described as a “serial coup plotter,” will not follow the lead of Sen. Antonio Trillanes in applying for amnesty under President Benigno Aquino’s Proclamation 75 granting amnesty to military officers, enlisted men and civilians accused of involvement in three attempts to overthrow the Arroyo government in 2003, 2006 and 2007. Honasan insisted he had nothing to do with the standoff at the Marine headquarters in Fort Bonifacio in 2006 for which he had been tagged by the Arroyo administration. (PDI-p2) 

On Overseas Pinoy

Saying that working inside US military bases in Afghanistan was safer than walking the slums of Tondo, overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Afghanistan yesterday asked the government to lift the deployment ban on OFWs wanting to go there. Carlo Echano, a member of the Filipinos in Afghanistan (FIA) organization, said that attacks on US bases in Afghanistan—where 80 percent of OFWs in that country work—were more infrequent than those in Iraq, and missile attacks there “do not even make it over the perimeter fence.” (PDI-p4) 

On Ret Gen Garcia

Backed by Malacañang, the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) asked the Sandiganbayan yesterday to intervene in the case of former military comptroller Carlos Garcia to revoke the bail and plea bargaining agreement he struck with the special prosecutors. Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said the evidence presented to the Sandiganbayan was based on court records that showed that there was a good chance of proving the allegations of plunder against Garcia, thus there was no need for a plea bargaining agreement. (Philstar-Banner) 

The plea bargaining agreement between Maj. Gen. (ret.) Carlos F. Garcia and the Office of the Ombudsman was approved by the Sandiganbayan Second Division on May 4, 2010 while the country was preoccupied with the presidential elections. This was revealed yesterday by the Office of the Solicitor General in its 34-page Omnibus Motion for Intervention filed with the graft court, belying earlier statements by the Ombudsman and the Office of the Special Prosecutor that any bargaining deal was still awaiting court approval. (Malaya-Banner) 

On The Feast Of Black Nazarene

Six million devotees are expected to take part in the Black Nazarene procession on Sunday. The Manila police will deploy 1,800 policemen to ensure peace and order during the procession, the 404th anniversary of the Black Nazarene. Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim has ordered all streets where the procession would pass to be closed to vehicular traffic. (Philstar-p1) 

On The Comelec

Some alleged poll fraud operators are among those being considered to replace outgoing Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairman Jose Melo and retiring commissioners, Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano disclosed to reporters yesterday. The senator, however, refused to name names as to who he was referring to, saying that he will only do so when the proper time comes or if and when a shortlist is submitted to President Aquino.  (Tribune-p1)