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A key witness who linked First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo and several government officials to the jueteng payoff scandal in 2005 was shot dead in an ambush in Parañaque City Sunday morning.
The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines said Wilfredo “Boy” Mayor, 55, succumbed to gunshot wounds before doctors at the San Juan de Dios Hospital could treat him.
As the nation celebrates the 24th anniversary of the 1986 EDSA People Power uprising, the son and namesake of the late strongman ousted by that revolt asked Senator Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III on Wednesday to reconsider his stand that he will not allow the late dictator’s remains to be laid to final rest at the Libingan ng mga Bayani if he gets elected president.
In a statement, Ilocos Norte Rep. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. asked Noynoy, a consistent leader in presidential preference surveys, not to make the elder Ferdinand Marcos’ burial a “personal” issue so “the nation can move forward.”
MANILA, Philippines – Malacañang welcomed yesterday a proposal to grant emergency powers to President Arroyo in order to address the power crisis.
Deputy presidential spokesperson Charito Planas said Mrs. Arroyo would consider the proposal of Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, a member of the opposition, to call a special session of Congress and declare a state of emergency in Mindanao.
Actor Richard Gomez, who is running as congressman of the 4th district of Leyte under the Liberal Party (LP), was disqualified by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) Wednesday due to lack of residency requirements.
“In an instant case, the respondent has not presented sufficient proof that would establish his ties to Ormoc City. The absence of such ties indicates his lack of intention to stay permanently in the said locality,” read the Comelec’s First Division resolution. (more…)
MANILA, Philippines – The Commission on Election (Comelec) has turned down Filipino boxing champion Manny Pacquiao’s petition to have his political opponent Roy Chiongbian barred from running in the May 10 elections.
Based on the promulgation issued by the Comelec en banc, Chiongbian will be allowed to vie for a congressional seat representing Sarangani. (more…)
MANILA, Philippines – Master the art of disguise and deception. Pray hard. Persevere.
Sen. Gregorio “Gringo” Honasan, the soldier turned politician who had been a fugitive from the law on several occasions in the past, offered this advice to Sen. Panfilo Lacson yesterday, urging his embattled colleague to use his training as a former military officer and police official.
Honasan advised Lacson to “pray hard” and master the art of disguise if he does not want the long arm of the law to catch up with him. (more…)
By Charlie V. Manalo – Daily Tribune
02/04/2010
Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino does not come to the presidential race with clean hands, as they have been bloodied by two massacres: The Hacienda Luisita massacre of the striking farmers and the “massacre” of the original Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTex) project, shepherding its overprice while he and his family benefited from the project.
Rep. Crispin “Boying” Remulla, a critic of Aquino, bared at a press conference yesterday that two separate committees of both the Senate and the House established the fact that Noynoy Aquino used his influence as a legislator and served as the proponent of the SCTex project which directly benefited his family’s Hacienda Luisita in Tarlac. (more…)
Manila Mayor Alfredo S. Lim and Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III led the unveiling of the 15-foot monument of the late President Corazon C. Aquino on her 77th birth anniversary Monday at the corner of Roxas Boulevard and P. Burgos Drive across the historic Manila Hotel.
Republic Cultural Heritage awardee Eduardo De Los Santos Castrillo, who was personally commissioned by Lim for the project, sculpted the bronze statue of the much-loved leader. (more…)
In theory, it seemed a far-fetched scenario: the sultry Sexbomb Dancers and the inmates of the Cebu provincial jail on the same dance floor. But hey, we aren’t Filipinos for nothing. We love to dance at the drop of a hat, so the next step is just logical: combine the two for the noble purpose of boosting voters’ education.
Thus—with the aid of a catchy tune and bouncy steps—the two dance groups have accomplished what the Commission on Elections can perhaps only dream of. They’ve made educating voters cool. (more…)
MANILA, Philippines – It will now be a 10-cornered fight for the presidency in May as the Commission on Elections (Comelec) yesterday reinstated two aspirants in the official list of candidates.
The Comelec, in Resolution 8743, reconsidered the candidacy of independent Jesus Nicanor Perlas and Vetallano Acosta of the Kilusang Bagong Lipunan (KBL).
Perlas is a known environmentalist while Acosta describes himself as a financial consultant. (more…)
The government was able to save more than P200 million in the cost of printing ballots that will be used in the May elections.
This was after the Commission on Elections (Comelec) convinced the National Printing Office (NPO) to give them the lowest price of P2.50/ballot from the P7.20/ballot cost of printing.
“It went down from P7.20 to P2.50 per ballot . . . we were able to haggle it down,” said Comelec chairman Jose Melo. (more…)
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has declared martial Law in Maguindanao as tension and public safety has deteriorated. The Proclamation of 1959 also suspended the writ of habeas corpus in the province. It was announced also that the said declaration of Martial Law in Maguindanao won’t exceed 60 days. (more…)
There were 30 and not just 27 reporters and media workers who were killed in a manner brutal beyond description in Ampatuan, Maguindanao, last Monday, November 23.
However, another journalist, Jolito Evardo of UNTV General Santos City, has not been accounted for as of press time.
The 30 media workers comprise more than half of the 57 confirmed casualties of what is now known as the Maguindanao or Ampatuan Massacre, according to a list compiled and verified by the Humanitarian and Fact-Finding Mission of the Freedom Fund for Filipino Journalists (FFFJ), a network of independent media organizations, including the PCIJ. (more…)
MAGUINDANAO, Philippines—(UPDATE) Bullet-ridden bodies were pulled out from shallow graves on Tuesday as troops hunted down the gunmen who massacred, according to the Philippine National Police, at least 46 people in one of the Philippines’ most brutal explosions of political violence. (more…)
MANILA, Philippines – Forty-three persons – including a politician about to file her and her brother’s certificates of candidacy (COCs), as well as journalists covering the event – were confirmed killed when heavily armed men waylaid the group on its way to the local Commission on Elections (Comelec) office in Maguindanao. (more…)
The Commission on Elections (Comelec) expressed fears Thursday that it might end up conducting a manual election in some areas next year if suppliers Smartmatic Corp. and Total Information Management (TIM) fail to fix the bugs in its transmission system.
Comelec Chairman Jose Melo mentioned such possibility after acting director Jeannie Flororito of the poll body’s Information Technology Department said that at least 25 percent of areas nationwide don’t have transmission systems. (more…)
In a forum attended by former President Joseph “Erap” Estrada himself, lawyers voted Wednesday against his plan to run again for the country’s top post in the 2010 elections.
Estrada surprised participants of a debate on the legality of his plan to join next year’s presidential race when he showed up and participated in the event in San Juan. However, his presence failed to sway the lawyers’ vote in favor of his reelection.
Eighteen of the 30 lawyers who attended the forum said Estrada cannot run again for president in 2010, because the Constitution clearly prohibits ex-presidents to seek reelection. Seven lawyers agreed with the legality of Estrada’s reelection bid, while three said they were undecided. (more…)
MANILA, Philippines – Sen. Manuel “Mar” Roxas II officially declared his vice-presidential bid in 2010, formally teaming up with Liberal Party standard bearer Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III.
Speaking before a jam-packed crowd that included LP stalwarts and supporters at the Kalayaan Hall of the historic Club Filipino in Greenhills, San Juan City today (Sept. 21), Roxas announced he has accepted the challenge to be Aquino’s deputy “in our fight for change.” (more…)
After weeks of speculation, Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III finally announced on Wednesday that he will run for president in 2010 to “continue the fight” for democratic reforms started by his politically influential parents.
Aquino made the announcement at the historic Club Filipino in Greenhills in San Juan City, where his mother took her oath as president on Feb. 25, 1986 during the final day of the EDSA People Power Revolution that ended the 20-year rule of strongman Ferdinand Marcos.
He said he arrived at the decision after his spiritual retreat over the weekend at the Carmelite Monastery in Zamboanga City, and after consulting various sectors. (more…)
Pampanga Rep. and presidential son Juan Miguel “Mikey” Arroyo said Tuesday that a large portion of his wealth came from generous wedding and campaign donors.
Mikey, the eldest son of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and First Gentleman Jose Miguel “Mike” Arroyo, made the revelation in an interview over GMA7’s Unang Hirit with hosts Arnold Clavio and Winnie Monsod about where his wealth came from. (more…)
