IIRC findings: Hostage-taker kills 8 tourists

MANILA (Updated 12:17 p.m.) -- The firearm used by a dismissed policeman during the August 23 carnage in Quirino Grandstand was found to have killed all eight tourists, findings of the fact finding committee showed.

House told to abide by High Court order

SENATE President Juan Ponce Enrile called on members of the House of Representatives to abide by the order of the Supreme Court (SC), stopping the impeachment proceedings against Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez.

"It does not necessarily mean that they have made up their minds. They simply want more time to consider the issues involved," Enrile said.

Probe body defers submission of hostage report

THE Incident Investigation and Review Committee (IIRC) tasked at investigating the August 23 hostage fiasco deferred the submission of its report to President Benigno Aquino III.

Palace hands off on SC, House tension

MALACAÑANG will not meddle in the brewing tension between the Supreme Court (SC) and House of Representatives following the suspension of impeachment proceedings against Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez.

In a press briefing Wednesday, Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigal Valte said it is not proper for the executive branch to intervene since it is co-equal with the judiciary and legislative.

Aquino has strong policy vs jueteng

THE Palace maintained that President Benigno Aquino III has a strong policy in eradicating the illegal numbers game, jueteng, in his administration.

Minority bloc proposes supplemental budget

THE House minority bloc sees the need for President Benigno Aquino III to submit a supplemental budget in addition to his P1.645 trillion allocation proposal for 2011.

Minority Leader Edcel Lagman said the move is needed to cope-up the inadequate allocations for other government agencies for its yearly expenditures.

Traps vs dengue mosquito invented

THE Department of Science and Technology (DOST) had invented a mosquito trap that will help alleviate the worsening dengue cases in the country.

In a press briefing in Malacañang Wednesday, DOST Secretary Mario Montejo said the trap is composed of a black painted tin can, lawanit wood, and specially mixed solution.

Life sentence to 5 policemen affirmed

THE Supreme Court on Wednesday affirmed the life sentence meted to five police officers tagged in the killing of Colonel Rolando Abadilla, former officer of the defunct Philippine Constabulary, in 1996.

Abadilla was shot dead by the so-called "Abadilla 5" while his car was stuck in traffic along Katipunan Avenue in Quezon City.

Aquino skips Belgium trip

PRESIDENT Benigno Aquino III announced Wednesday the cancellation of his trip to Brussels, Belgium for the upcoming Asia-Europe Summit (Asem) in October.

The announcement came after the President learned that some of the world's leaders are also not attending the event.

Watchdog gets poll accreditation

THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) re-accredited the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) as its citizens' arm for the upcoming Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections.

The Comelec en banc cited the PPCRV's reliability in conducting poll watchdog activities in the past elections.

PET sets pre-conference on Roxas poll protest

THE Supreme Court, sitting as Presidential Electoral Tribunal (PET), scheduled the preliminary conference on the election protest filed by former Senator Mar Roxas against Vice President Jejomar Binay on September 30.

Court spokesman Jose Midas Marquez said the PET designated retired SC Justice Bernardo Pardo as hearing commissioner.

'Ampatuan offers bribe money to officials'

MANILA (Updated 2:21 p.m.) -- The Ampatuan patriarch attempted to go on millions of pesos worth of "bribery spree" to have criminal charges against him dropped, a witness told a local court on Wednesday.

House panel to continue impeachment trial vs Ombud

MANILA -- The impeachment proceedings at the House of Representatives against Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez will proceed despite the Supreme Court (SC) order suspending the hearing, the justice panel head said Tuesday.

Iloilo Rep. Niel C. Tupas Jr., chair of the committee on justice, said he will recommend to the House leadership for the hearings to continue, citing that the arguments of Gutierrez did not justify the SC intervention.

First mediation talk on PAL row fails

THE first of the series of mediation hearings Tuesday between the Philippine Airlines (PAL) management and its flights attendants union failed as the workers insisted on conducting a strike in October.

In an interview, Andy Ortega, vice president of the Flight Attendants and Stewards Association of the Philippines (Fasap), said the meeting did not produce any concrete solutions on the labor dispute.

Tribunal issue TRO vs impeach proceedings

THE Supreme Court issued a status quo ante order Tuesday enjoining the House committee on justice from proceeding with the impeachment complaints against Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez.

Voting eight-seven during its en banc session, the SC granted Gutierrez’s petition seeking to nullify the September 1 and 7 resolutions of the House Committee on Justice, finding the two impeachment complaints against her to be sufficient in form and substance.

Massacre trial resumes today

THE first prosecution witness of the controversial Maguindanao massacre case will continue his testimony at the resumption of the hearing at Camp Bagong Diwa today, Wednesday.

Senators grill media on hostage fiasco

SENATORS took turns in questioning several executives of broadcast media on their role during the August 23 hostage incident that left eight foreign nationals dead.

Bishop: Church gets jueteng payola too

ANTI-jueteng advocate, retired Archbishop Oscar Cruz, said several leaders of the Catholic Church are also receiving payola from the illegal numbers game aside from some government officials.

“They received money not only from jueteng but also from the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor),” said the Archbishop Emeritus of Lingayen-Dagupan.

New PNP chief ordered to continue reforms

PRESIDENT Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III directed the new leadership of the Philippine National Police (PNP) to continue the reforms in the agency, especially addressing the lapses revealed during the August 23 hostage crisis.

New PNP Chief Raul Bacalzo was also ordered by the President to upgrade police battle gears that shamed the operatives during the botched rescue operation.

Aquino to explain judiciary budget cut

PRESIDENT Benigno Aquino III on Tuesday said he will be meeting with Chief Justice Renato Corona to discuss the slashing of the judiciary’s proposed budget for 2011.

This came after several court workers warned of going on mass leave should the cut be implemented.

Dengue cases reach 77,000

AMID reports that dengue is now easing, the Department of Health (DOH) said Tuesday it recorded a total of 77,012 cases from January 1 to September 4 this year.

Based on the latest Disease Surveillance Report, the figure is more than double of the 36,877 cases recorded last year.

Aquino bares delegation for first US

PRESIDENT Benigno Aquino III will be bringing a lean delegation for his trip to the United States to attend the United Nations General Assembly on September 24 in New York.

According to Aquino, he picked Secretaries Alberto Romulo (Foreign Affairs), Cesar Purisima (Finance) and Gregory Domingo (Trade and Industry) to join him on the trip.

Gun ban starts Sept. 25

THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) will implement a total gun ban in preparation for the upcoming barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) polls next month.

Poll Commissioner Gregorio Larrazabal said the gun ban will be implemented from September 25 to November 10.

Court junks protest vs Luisita settlement

THE Supreme Court denied the bid of another farmer group to stop the ongoing mediation proceedings between the Hacienda Luisita Inc. management and farmers working at the 6,000-hectare sugar estate in Tarlac.

The decision was announced by retired Associate Justice Alicia Austria-Martinez, head of the Court-appointed mediation panel, at the continuation of the proceedings in the land dispute case Tuesday.

SC order 'could trigger constitutional crisis'

MANILA (Updated 2:28 p.m.) -- The status quo ante order issued by the High Court to stop the proceedings of impeachment complaints against Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez could trigger a constitutional crisis, said a lawmaker.

Aquino wants plan vs jueteng

PRESIDENT Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III on Monday ordered the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) to come up with "comprehensive plan" against jueteng.

Also, the Senate approved two resolutions seeking for an inquiry on the jueteng payola following the call of Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago for the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee to investigate the issue.

Ombuds seeks TRO on impeach proceedings

OMBUDSMAN Merceditas Gutierrez asked the Supreme Court (SC) to stop the Congress from hearing the impeachment proceedings filed against her.

Aquino appoints new PNP chief

PRESIDENT Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III named Police Deputy Director for Operations Raul Bacalzo as new chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP), replacing Director General Jesus Verzosa who is retiring from his post Wednesday.

Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr. said Bacalzo bested other candidates for Verzosa’s post. The bets for the position include Perfecto Palad, deputy PNP chief for administration; and Benjamin Belarmino Jr., chief of PNP directorial staff.

Truth body members take oath

THE Truth Commission will start working Tuesday following their oath-taking ceremony at Malacanang Monday.

The Commission includes former Supreme Court chief justice Hilario Davide Jr. as chairman, and Flerida Ruth Romero, Romeo Callejo Sr., Menardo Guevarra, and Carlos Medina as members.

Health department sees decline in dengue cases

DESPITE the record-setting dengue cases, the Department of Health (DOH) ruled out the possibility of declaring a national calamity against the mosquito-borne disease.

In a press briefing in Malacanang Monday, DOH chief epidemiologist Eric Tayag said they are receiving fewer cases of dengue in Metro Manila and even in the regions.