Senator calls for probe into PLDT-Digitel deal

SENATOR Joker Arroyo has filed a resolution directing the Senate to look into a business merger that will give two telecommunication companies 70 percent of the telecoms market.

Arroyo has tasked the Senate committee on public services to find out if a “share-swap deal" between Philippine Long Distance Co. (PLDT) and Digitel Mobile Philippines Inc. is in the public interest.

Archbishop: Aquino already irking prelates

PRESIDENT Benigno Aquino III is already peeving a big part of the public as shown by recent satisfaction ratings results, and the bishops are not feeling any different.

Former Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) president Archbishop emeritus Oscar Cruz said the bishops are already very disappointed as to how Aquino had failed to fulfill his campaign promises.

Government confident Roxas, Binay 'will work as one'

MALACAÑANG on Sunday assured that the impending appointment of former senator Manuel "Mar" Roxas II will not affect the job of Vice President Jejomar Binay.

Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said although Roxas and Binay are known rivals during the vice presidential race, the two will be working "harmoniously" for the reform agenda of President Benigno Aquino III.

Senate bill pushes more income tax exemptions

A SENATE panel is consolidating bills that will amend the National Internal Revenue Code to allow taxpayers to claim tax exemptions beyond the four dependents currently allowed by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR).

Poll body 'jittery' over Armm elections

MANILA -- With barely 12 weeks left before the scheduled Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (Armm) elections, the poll body is already starting to feel nervous over the lawmakers’ failure to resolve the proposal to postpone the voting.

Tapping independent power producers for LGUs funds eyed

INDEPENDENT power producers (IPPs) may soon become more than just a source of electricity if a bill filed by Senator Panfilo Lacson is passed into law.

Brigada Eskwela starts Monday

THE Department of Education (DepEd) will formally launch Monday this year's "Brigada Eskwela" as it gears up for the expected influx of students when classes formally opened on June 6 after the two-month long summer break.

Employment agencies told: Don’t play 'hardball' with Saudi employers

LOCAL recruitment agencies advised the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) and the Department of Labor and Employment (Dole) not to go toe-to-toe with employers from Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA).

Over 19,000 students complete tech-voc courses

THE Technical Education Skills and Development Authority (Tesda) announced Sunday that 19,893 students have completed various technical-vocational (tech-voc) training courses in the first quarter of this year.

Zamboanga to hold activity for Aids

THE City Health Office is leading the International Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (Aids) Candlelight Memorial on Friday, May 27, in Zamboanga City.

City health officer Dr. Rodel Agbulos said the observance will begin with a candlelight parade, which will kick off in front of this city's fire station on Mayor Cesar Climaco Avenue to the Plaza del Pilar with the participation of all the stakeholders in the anti-Aids campaign.

Spes beneficiaries' salaries set for release

THE local government will release starting Monday until May 27 the salaries of the 1,372 college students who were hired for the first batch of the Summer Program for the Employment of Students (Spes) in Zamboanga City.

City Social Welfare and Development Officer Francisco Barredo said the City Government has allocated a total of P1.24 million for the salaries of the first batch of Spes beneficiaries.

PNP’s VIP security guidelines, procedures revised

THE Philippine National Police (PNP) revised the guidelines and procedures governing the availment of protective security by Very Important Persons (VIP) in the country.

The PNP said the purpose of the new guidelines is to provide additional guidelines and procedures in the availment and deployment of protective security personnel from the PNP and protective agents from accredited private detective agencies to the VIPs.

DOST to hold nutrition forum

THE Department of Science and Technology's Food and Nutrition Research Institute (DOST-Finri) is conducting a one-day Media Forum for Nutrition Communication Network (Nutricomnet) in the region.

Aquino to discuss Spratlys with China

MANILA (Update) — President Benigno Aquino III said he will discuss with the visiting Chinese defense minister how to prevent territorial spats in the South China Sea that can worsen into larger conflicts.

Aquino said Sunday he would raise the need for a binding accord aimed at preventing possible clashes at the disputed Spratly Islands and nearby waters in his upcoming meeting with Chinese Defense Minister Liang Guanglie.

Aquino urged to free political prisoners

HUMAN rights alliance Karapatan called on President Benigno Aquino III to follow his mother's example by freeing at least 336 political activists who remain behind bars due to alleged trumped-up charges.

After assuming power in 1986, then President Corazon Aquino granted unconditional amnesty to all political prisoners incarcerated during martial law.

Roxas to start Palace duties by June

DEFEATED vice presidential candidate Mar Roxas is expected to assume his new government position as presidential chief of staff by first week of June, a Palace aide on Saturday said.

"Yes. By that time he will be with us, by first week of June," Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said in an interview over government-run dzRB radio.

Labor sector: Workers must get P364 a day

MEMBERS of the National Congress of Unions in the Sugar Industry of the Philippines (Nacusip) asserted on Friday that workers and employees in the private sector in Western Visayas should be paid P364 per day.

During the hearing conducted by the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB) Friday, Nacusip president Zoilo dela Cruz said that with the rising prices of basic commodities due to high prices of fuels, workers must be given a daily wage increase of P99 per day.

Public Works lauded for flyover construction

THE Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) deserves commendation for a job well done in the construction of the flyover project at the Bata-Circumferential road intersection, Bacolod City Lone District Representative Anthony Golez said.

He said he would write DPWH Secretary Rogelio Singson commending the team who worked on the construction of the flyover.

Mayor: More Bacolodnons expected for 2011 MassKara

BACOLOD City Mayor Evelio Leonardia said he looks forward to more Bacolodnons joining the 2011 MassKara celebration on October after his promotion of the Balik Bacolod Program in the United States of America (USA).

Many Bacolodnons are returning home from abroad for the celebration, Leonardia said.

Army ready for rebel attack vs mining

MILITARY commanders in Negros declared that Army forces in Western Visayas are prepared for any attack the New People's Army (NPA) may launch to stop mining in southern Negros.

"We are ready for them," said Lieutenant Colonel Rodrigo Sosmena, commanding officer of the Cauayan-based 47th Infantry Battalion, which operates in southern Negros, including in the city of Sipalay where most of the mining firms are located.

500,000 enrollees expected in Negros

THE Department of Education (DepEd) in Negros Occidental expects 500,000 enrollees for public elementary and high schools during the opening of school year 2011-2012.

Negros Occidental Schools Division Superitendent Rizalino Tortosa said that last year, there were 224,000 total enrollees in public elementary schools and 190,000 enrollees in public secondary schools.

Ordinance vs littering takes effect

THE Bacolod City Anti-Littering Ordinance authored by Councilor Em Ang now takes effect after its publication last April 18.

Ang said the ordinance prohibits the littering of plastics, papers or any other refuse in open or public places, waterways and recreational areas and provides penalties thereof.

4 wanted persons arrested

ELEMENTS of Bacolod Police Station 4 headed by Chief Inspector Adonis Rosales scored in the Philippine National Police's campaign against wanted persons by nabbing four suspects with pending arrest warrants Thursday.

Two of the arrested suspects were identified as Jemar Castro of Purok Pag-asa, Barangay Estefania and Reynaldo Catito of Purok Kabulakan, Barangay Singcang-Airport, all in Bacolod City.

Robbers hit air-con shop

ROBBERS entered one of the air-conditioning shops at Barangay Villamonte, Bacolod City and took assorted tools and equipment Thursday morning.

Leonardo Tuando, 61, resident of Malaspina, Lopez-Jaena Streets, Barangay Villamonte, Bacolod City reported to Station 4 that around 8 a.m. Thursday, he discovered that his shop was entered by unidentified robbers.

5 men shoot Cebu cop in knees

CEBU CITY -- Shot in the knees by five men suspected to have links with a druglord, a policeman crawled his way to seek help Saturday morning.

The Naga police got a phone call at about 6:45 a.m. from “a concerned citizen,” informing them about a policeman who was crying for help along the highway.

Fire hits Mandaue anew

FIRE destroyed more than 40 houses in Barangay Banilad, Mandaue City yesterday afternoon. No one was reported injured or killed.

Several of them were boarding houses. Most of the 40 houses were made of light material.

More than 200 kids, and a 25-year-old adult, circumcised in Liloan

THE path to manhood involves a scary and painful process, literally.

For 11-year-old Rustom, his initiation to manhood took place when he and 227 other boys availed themselves of a non-government group’s free circumcision services in Liloan town, Cebu yesterday.

Fuente kids ‘run for their lives’ in city streets

CHRISTIAN, who used to beg for food, hit the streets again in Cebu City yesterday morning.

But the 12-year-old did not ask for barbecue from vendors in Larsian. He was with 12 other kids to jog with Chief Insp. Michael Bastes, the Fuente Police Station head.

Binay to discuss Mahiga with Mike

VICE President Jejomar Binay, who was in Cebu last Friday, said he will call Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama to inquire about the Mahiga Creek demolition.

This, as Pagtambayayong Foundation Inc. president Francisco Fernandez, a former city administrator, said lawyer Bien Salinas was appointed by President Benigno Aquino III to head the Presidential Commission for the Urban Poor but Salinas declined.

Congress to probe prison’s security system

MANILA -- Congressmen and senators will look into the security measures at the national penitentiary after prosecutors investigating the unauthorized exit of a prisoner discovered flaws in the system.

The House committee on justice will conduct a hearing this week to probe the said incident, while Senator Jinggoy Estrada sought for a full-blown investigation as to how former Batangas governor Antonio Leviste managed to leave the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) without proper clearance.