Security up for Arroyo’s transfer to state-run hospital

MANILA -- Government authorities have set up all security measures for the scheduled transfer of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo from the St. Luke’s Medical Center in Taguig City to the Veterans Memorial Medical Center (VMMC) today, Friday.

Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo, however, refused to divulge details whether now Pampanga Representative Arroyo will be brought to the government facility on a special van accompanied by a security convoy or flown by a helicopter.

Lawmaker: No same-sex unions under anti-discrimination bill

MANILA (Updated) -- A bill that will penalize ethnic and religious discrimination will not lead to same-sex marriages, a senator elected to the bicameral conference committee working on the bill said Thursday.

"Definitely, this does not encourage same-sex marriages," Senator Gregorio Honasan II told Sun.Star.

Massacre victims seek reparation, eye Ampatuan frozen assets

FAMILIES of media workers killed in the worst incident of election-related violence in the country has asked a Manila court to set aside a billion pesos from the frozen assets of the clan that reportedly planned the massacre.

Once set aside, the money will be used for their reparations after their loved ones were killed in the gruesome Maguindanao massacre, the group's lawyer said in a seven-page suit submitted to the court.

Mining industry review sought to avert food supply threats

THE Philippine mining industry must undergo a review to prevent threats to the country's food security, Senator Francis Pangilinan said Thursday after a joint hearing by the Senate committees on the environment, and on agriculture and food.

"Clearly, there is a need to address the loopholes in the regulation and practices of mining companies that operate in the country. We cannot sacrifice our food security for the sake of tapping the potential of an industry that obviously needs further evaluation based on data that we have received today," he said.

Pasay court orders arrest of 3 accused of poll sabotage

A PASAY City court has issued arrest warrants against three persons accused of poll sabotage in North and South Cotabato in 2007, just a day after the complaint was filed by the Commission on Elections (Comelec).

However, the same court failed to place former Comelec chief Benjamin Abalos under arrest after he filed an urgent motion to determine probable cause.

Palace: Aquino's anti-SC tirade has nothing to do with Luisita

PRESIDENT Benigno Aquino's recent tirades against the Supreme Court has nothing to do with the latter's decision that ordered the distribution of landholdings owned by the family of his mother, a Malacanang official said Thursday.

Palace condoles with Pinoy drug mule’s family

MANILA (5th Update, 5:42 p.m.) -- Malacanang extended Thursday its condolences to the family of the 35-year-old Filipino executed by the Chinese government after being sentenced to death for a 2008 drug trafficking charge.

"We extend our sincerest condolences to the family of the Filipino who is currently being named as Pinoy One," presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said.

Government to auction off smuggled luxury bike

AUTHORITIES will auction off a brand new Harley Davidson motorcycle after it was seized by the Bureau of Customs together with other items.

This was announced by Customs Commissioner Ruffy Biazon on Thursday, adding that other items that came with it--shipments of energy drinks and pirated digital video discs--will be destroyed.

Stiffer penalties for hot meat traders set for approval

TRADERS of botcha, the local term for meat taken from an animal that died of disease, will face a jail term of up to 10 years if a bill banning the practice is passed into law.

The House of Representatives voted on Monday for the approval on second reading of House Bill 5490, which imposes stiff penalties for persons and entities found guilty of distributing, transporting, or selling hot meat.

Filipino drug mule executed in China

MANILA (3rd update, 1:09 p.m.) -- Vice President Jejomar Binay confirmed Wednesday afternoon that the Filipino convicted of drug trafficking was executed in China.

Binay, in a television interview, said the 35-year-old Filipino convicted for smuggling 1.495 kilos of heroin in Guangxi, China was executed through lethal injection at 12:30 p.m. in Liuzhou.

Filipino drug mule to be executed today

MANILA (2nd Update, 1:03 p.m.) -- The 35-year-old Filipino convicted of drug trafficking in China is set to be executed through lethal injection today, Thursday (Philippine time).

The drug convict met with his family at the Guilin in the Guangzxi Zhuang autonomous region in China around 9 a.m. before the promulgation of the Filipino's death sentence was read, radio and television reports said.

Justice committee denies impeach vote a warning vs High Court

THE House justice committee which declared sufficient in substance the impeachment complaint against a Supreme Court (SC) justice on Wednesday denied that the decision was a warning to the members of the High Tribunal.

"This has nothing to do with what is happening between the executive and the judiciary… We should allow things to just settle down," panel chairman Niel Tupas Jr. said in a chance interview.

2 senators uneasy over government power to freeze accounts

TWO senators whose fathers' bank accounts were frozen after they were ousted from power expressed apprehensions over a proposal that will allow government to withhold depositors' access to their cash.

This developed after Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada said Wednesday a proposal to give the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) authority to freeze a bank account without its owner's knowledge might be used to put pressure on critics of the administration.

Justice chief defends boss

PRESIDENT Benigno Aquino III is not and will never be a dictator just to accomplish his anti-corruption agenda, one of his aides said Wednesday.

This developed after Father Joaquin Bernas, former law dean of the President’s alma mater Ateneo de Manila University, said Tuesday Aquino went overboard when he questioned the Supreme Court's (SC) credibility in a public event.

Ex-poll chief faces election sabotage raps

MANILA (Updated) -- The Commission on Elections (Comelec) filed Wednesday an electoral sabotage case against its former chairman, Benjamin Abalos, over his alleged involvement in the rigging of the 2007 senatorial election results.

Before the case was filed, Abalos went to the Pasay Regional Trial Court (RTC) Wednesday, together with his wife Cora and son Mandaluyong City Mayor Benhur Abalos to prove that he will not run away.

Arroyo’s allies appeal for house arrest this Christmas

WITH only 18 days left before Christmas, allies of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in Congress wished the court would grant a house arrest immediately.

"What’s a couple of days to allow her to be detained in La Vista?" Deputy Minority Leader Danilo Suarez told reporters in a press conference Wednesday.

Flight crew urges High Court to resolve case before yearend

FLIGHT attendants of Philippine Airlines (PAL) said they have become impatient over the Supreme Court’s (SC) slow action in resolving the case of 1,400 illegally dismissed workers in 1998.

Last November 15, Court spokesperson Midas Marquez said the justices deferred deliberations on the matter to give way to petitions filed by the government and lawyers of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who is indicted in poll sabotage charges.

Aquino willing to let bishops settle row with Supreme Court

PRESIDENT Benigno Aquino III said Wednesday he is open to the proposal of several bishops to become mediators between him and Supreme Court (SC) Chief Justice Renato Corona.

In an interview after the awarding ceremony for the 2011 Lupong Tagapamayapa Incentives Awards in Malacanang, the President told reporters that he is not picking a fight with the judiciary but is only expressing his opinion on several High Court decisions that affect the executive’s ability to govern.

Fast food chain owner, 2 mayors top TOYM awardees

MANG Inasal founder Edgar Injap Sia II, Lea Salonga’s brother, musical director and conductor Gerard Salonga, and Valenzuela City Mayor Sherwin Gatchalian were among the recipients of this year’s The Outstanding Young Men (TOYM) of the Philippines.

President Benigno Aquino III led the conferment of trophies on the awardees at a ceremony held at Rizal Hall in Malacañang Wednesday.

Government vows to transform towns into vibrant economies

THE National Government vowed to work closely with its counterparts in local government units to help transform communities into "vibrant economies."

This was announced by Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr., who spoke in behalf of President Benigno Aquino III at the 2011 General Assembly of the League of Municipalities of the Philippines (LMP) in Cebu City on Tuesday.

Probe on proliferation of illegal drug syndicates sought

TWO militant lawmakers are pushing for a congressional investigation into the government’s efforts to stop illegal drug syndicates as another Filipino drug mule is set to be executed in China Thursday.

Akbayan party-list Representatives Walden Bello and Kaka Bag-ao filed House Resolution 1979 indicating that “the State must immediately step up its campaign to go after local and international drug syndicates that victimize OFWs (overseas Filipino workers).”

Senate asked to look into over-importation of pork, chicken

SENATOR Loren Legarda has filed a resolution asking the Senate committee on agriculture and food to look into the reports that the country has been importing too much meat to the detriment of local pig and chicken raisers.

According to the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) of the Agriculture department, the country imported 135 million kilograms of pork from January to November of this year. This is more than double the amount of pork brought into the country in 2007, Legarda said, adding the higher supply has forced local hog raisers to drop prices.

Senator calls on government to ensure no more drug mules

SENATOR Manuel Villar Jr. has called on the National Bureau of Investigation and the Philippines Overseas Employment Administration to step up efforts to keep Filipinos from being recruited as drug mules even as another Filipino faces execution in China this week for trafficking heroin.

Authorities are already hunting for a member of a West African drug syndicate believed to have recruited the unidentified drug mule. The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency said the drug mule has carried drugs for the syndicate in the past.

Impeach rap vs SC justice 'sufficient in substance'

MANILA (Updated 12:15 p.m.) -- The House committee on justice on Wednesday found the impeachment complaint filed against Supreme Court (SC) Associate Justice Mariano del Castillo sufficient in substance.

Voting 40-7, the panel reached with the decision following a lengthy discussion on the supposed encroachment of the SC on the power to impeach exclusively granted to Congress under the Constitution.

Arroyo faces 7th plunder case

MANILA (Updated 12:06 p.m.) -- Former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is facing another plunder case in connection with the alleged misuse of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office's (PCSO) funds during her administration.

PCSO Director Aleta Tolentino told ANC that PCSO officials filed the case Wednesday before the Office of the Ombudsman. It is the seventh plunder case filed against the former leader since her term ended in June 2010.

Comelec okays filing of poll sabotage case vs Abalos, 3 others

MANILA (Updated 10:40 a.m.) -- The Commission on Elections (Comelec) said Wednesday that it will file electoral sabotage case against its former chairman Benjamin Abalos and three others for their alleged involvement in the rigging of the 2007 elections.

Comelec Chairman Sixto Brillantes said in a radio interview that the commission en banc already approved the resolution to file the case against Abalos before the Pasay City Regional Trial Court (RTC).

Australians told to avoid Central, Western Mindanao trips

MANILA -- The Australian government warned Tuesday its citizens to avoid travels to Central and Western Mindanao following the kidnapping of an Australian in Zamboanga Sibugay province Monday night.

State banks to use foreign firm for trail buyout

GOVERNMENT banks had to resort to using a foreign company to buy back shares in the Metro Rail Transit because the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) was taking too long to authorize the banks to do it, officials--including former Finance secretary Margarito Teves--told senators Tuesday.

At the time, the government was having trouble paying MRT Corp. (MRTC)--the consortium that built the train--equity rental payments (ERPs) at 15-percent internal rate of return (interest) for its investment and debt rental payments for $489 million borrowed from foreign lenders.

Lawmakers run out of time to probe trader's insider trading

SENATORS ran out of time to delve into alleged insider trading by businessman and former Marcos minister Roberto Ongpin in the sale of shares in Philex Mining Corp. to businessman Manuel Pangilinan.

Senator Sergio Osmena III, chairman of the Senate committee on banks, earlier said he would prove that Ongpin engaged in insider trading in the sale of Philex shares at P21 that he bought at P12.75.

Justice department rejects Senate request

AN EXECUTIVE whose company benefitted from allegedly anomalous loans from government banks will be able to leave the country freely, the Department of Justice (DOJ) said on Tuesday.

Justice Secretary Leila De Lima said that it has rejected a Senate request to place Josephine Manalo, president and majority stockholder of Delta Ventures Resources Inv. (DVRI) under the Bureau of Immigration’s watchlist.