Palace asks help from local bets vs NPA illegal activities

MALACAÑANG urged Tuesday the local candidates to help the government gather information to stop the illegal operations of the communist New People's Army (NPA), particularly its extortion activities.

In a press briefing, deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte admitted that the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) has limitations and does not have the resources to guard all the hot spots in the country.

De Lima to consult DFA on Amalilio extradition

JUSTICE Secretary Leila de Lima said Tuesday she will ask the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to assess if it is ripe for the Philippines to proceed with extradition and forfeiture proceedings against Aman Futures founder Manuel Amalilio.

In a chance interview, de Lima noticed that the tension in Sabah between the Malaysian security forces and followers of Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III has "died down."

Brillantes, Lagman to debate over source code

CHALLENGE issued. Challenge accepted.

Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairman Sixto Brillantes challenged Tuesday his former colleague, Gus Lagman, to a debate on the source code and this was promptly accepted by the ex-poll commissioner.

Disclose your subscribers, Comelec tells polling firms

(2ND UPDATE) The Commission on Elections (Comelec) will compel polling firms to disclose their subscribers but the data will not be released to the public, chairman Sixto Brillantes Jr. on Tuesday said.

"We're directing them to divulge the names of the subscribers… What will be given to us will be kept in confidence," Brillantes told reporters in an ambush interview.

Pimentel: I’m a target of smear campaign

MANILA -- Reelectionist Senator Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III on Tuesday said he is now a subject of a smear campaign by his political opponents, including United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) senatorial bet Juan Miguel Zubiri.

In an interview with reporters in Cagayan de Oro City, Pimentel said he has ordered an investigation on the alleged black propaganda against him in Mindanao.

Waste processing facility launched in Payatas

MANILA -- Mundo Verde Corporation, in partnership with the Quezon local government, officially launched a waste processing facility in Payatas to support the waste management efforts of Quezon City.

The facility will help reduce the volume of waste in the Payatas landfill and produce Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF), an alternative fuel that can be used in the cement-making process.

Brillantes grows tired of Dominion-Smartmatic row

AFTER tirelessly working to negotiate for it, Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairman Sixto Brillantes on Monday has given up all hopes of being able to get a hand at the source code.   Brillantes said that he is not interested anymore in getting the source code since it cannot be reviewed anymore by the public.   "Hindi na ko masyadong interesado kasi too late na eh. Masyadong close na ang election (I'm no longer interested because it's too late. Election is near)," Brillantes told reporters in an ambush interview.

Escudero continues to drop in latest SWS survey

WITH barely a month to go before the May 13 polls, Senator Francis Escudero's ranking continues to drop in the latest survey conducted by the Social Weather Station (SWS) and BusinessWorld.

In the survey conducted from April 13 to 15, Nancy Binay of the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) and Cynthia Villar of Team PNoy are tied at rank 3-4 with their percentage points increasing from 47 to 49.   Nancy is the daughter of Vice President Jejomar Binay while Cynthia, a former Las Piñas congresswoman, is the wife of Senator Manny Villar.  

Public urged to be patient over peace talks with MILF

PRESIDENTIAL Adviser on the Peace Process Teresita Deles said the government has been diligent in reviewing the contents of the three remaining annexes that will be included in the final peace deal with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

She said President Benigno Aquino III wants to make sure that the whole government, not just the peace panel, has the full grasp of the documents to be signed.

Binay: Team PNoy-UNA debate depends on schedule

SENATORIAL candidates from rival groups Team PNoy and the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) will only debate on the hottest national issues if their schedule allows them to do so.

“You'll have to consider that we have respective schedules. So I cannot outright tell you that yes, we will attend,” said UNA stalwart Vice President Jejomar Binay in a campaign stop in Vigan City, Ilocos Sur on Saturday.

Nigerian nabbed for transporting 3 kilos of shabu

A 39-YEAR-OLD Nigerian national was arrested at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 1 for allegedly transporting approximately three kilograms of shabu into the Philippines, an official said Sunday.

NAIA Inter-Agency Drug Interdiction Task Group (NAIA-IADITG) Commander and Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) Director General Undersecretary Arturo Cacdac, Jr. identified the arrested suspect as Sunday Michael Owoborode, a trader from Lagos City, Nigeria.

Brillantes expected to announce whether he stays as Comelec chief

COMMISSION on Elections (Comelec) Chairman Sixto Brillantes hinted on Sunday that he might still be poll chief on Election Day.

He plans to formally announce on Monday his decision whether he quits or he will stay as Comelec chairman.

POEA clarifies: No deployment ban in Korea

AMID confusion over the stoppage in deployment of female overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) to South Korea, the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) reiterated that there is no existing deployment ban in the tension-filled country.

In its Facebook account, the POEA stressed that deployment of OFWs to South Korea remains.

Ombud: Plunder case vs ex-military officials still alive

THERE is still a chance that former military officials allegedly involved in widespread corruption in the past decade will face the bar of justice, Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales said over the weekend.

Morales said her office's decision to clear former Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chiefs of staff Diomedio Villanueva, Roy Cimatu and Efren Abu and ex-comptrollers Carlos Garcia and Jacinto Ligot can still be reversed if it will be appealed.

Parreno's appointment to Comelec constitutional: Palace

MALACAÑANG defended Saturday the appointment of lawyer Al Parreno as one of the new commissioners of the Commission on Elections (Comelec), saying that it did not violate the Constitution.

In an interview over dzRB Radyo ng Bayan, deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said that under the Constitution, a majority of the members of the Comelec Commission shall be members of the Philippine Bar with at least 10 years experience in the practice.

POEA names ‘no-go zones’ in Iraq for OFWs

DESPITE the lifting of the deployment ban in the war-torn country, the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) said Saturday that four areas in Iraq remain restricted for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).

Based on POEA Board Resolution No. 4 – 2013, the Philippines – Iraq Joint Commission Meeting (JCM) has already identified the four areas to be considered as “no-go zones”.

Comelec now in the post-election preparations

THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) said they are now in the post-election preparation for the May 13 mid-term polls.

Comelec Chairman Sixto Brillantes said since the preparations for the forthcoming election is almost complete, they are now preparing for the post election activity.

Party-list raises howl over inaccurate survey

PARTY-LIST group questioned on Saturday the results of the recent pre-election survey of the Social Weather Station (SWS), which showed Bayan Muna being the most preferred party-list, after it supposedly left out 17 groups.

1st Kabagis said the results of the survey are simply dubious since it did not include all the party-list groups running in the May 13 polls.

Senate bets warned vs excessive campaign spending

MANILA - Team PNoy senatorial candidate Loren Legarda warned her fellow candidates to ensure that they will not violate the spending cap of P150 million following the issuance of a temporary restraining order (TRO) on the poll body’s regulation limiting the airtime of political advertisements.

“With the Comelec (Commission on Elections) airtime limits now counted on a per network basis, anyone who uses the full airtime of 180 minutes for radio and 120 minutes for TV will violate the spending cap for candidates of approximately P150 million,” Legarda said in a press statement.

2 female human trafficking victims stopped at Cebu airport

TWO suspected human trafficking victims were intercepted at the Cebu airport as they attempted to leave with their visas and tickets hidden inside a tissue paper.

Bureau of Immigration (BI) Commissioner Ricardo David Jr. said Friday the two female passengers were apprehended last April 3 before they could board a Philippine Airlines Express flight to Hong Kong.

Aquino: Acosta to surpass perjury case

PRESIDENT Benigno Aquino III expressed confidence that political ally Laguna Lake Development Authority (LLDA) General Manager Nereus Acosta could surpass the challenge he is facing now.

In an interview in Lapu-Lapu City on Friday, Aquino said that he and Acosta have faced so many challenges together.

Immigration men alerted over Korea-bound Filipinos

THE Bureau of Immigration (BI) directed immigration officers in different airports to be extra strict in allowing the departure of Filipinos bound for Hong Kong and Macau, as these are usually used as transit points by Korea-bound “tourist workers.”

BI Commissioner Ricardo David Jr. issued the order on Friday as human trafficking syndicates continue to send their victims in South Korea following the recent successive apprehensions of undocumented overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) bound for the said country despite the tension in the Korean Peninsula.

Poll chief defends appointment of Comelec official

AL PARRENO can serve as commissioner of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) even if his experience as a lawyer failed to reach the 10-year requirement under the Constitution.

Defending Parreño’s appointment, Comelec Chairman Sixto Brillantes said Friday a non-lawyer can be appointed as long as the majority of the seven-man en banc are lawyers.

2 soldiers die in firefight with rebels in Samar

TWO government troopers died while two others were injured in a firefight on Thursday with communist rebels in Gandara town in Samar.

A report from the Army's 8th Infantry Division named the fatalities as Sergeant Ronal Dalumpines and militiaman Danilo Casaljay. Wounded were militiamen Clarencio Gabriela and Diorito Nueva.

Group: UNA accommodating Arroyo allies

ALLIES of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo have allegedly found a new home in the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA), a group supportive of the administration senatorial ticket Team PNoy.

“Baka naman nagagamit at ginagamit na ngayon at magkasama na ang UNA at ang kampo ni dating Pangulong GMA kaya nagpapagamit sila sa kampo ni dating Congressman Mat (Defensor) Hindi kaya UNArroyo na ito?” asked Harvey Keh, lead convenor of Kaya Natin! Movement.

Brillantes eyes envoy post

TO DO away with stress in running the Commission on Elections (Comelec), Chairman Sixto Brillantes said he might ask President Benigno Aquino III to make him an ambassador should he quit his post soon.

“That was what I was really asking for after he won in the elections. I was asking for the ambassadorship. I thought I would get it until Chairman (Jose) Melo resigned. That was when things took an unexpected turn,” said Brillantes, who has been with the poll body since January 2011.

Public warned on circulating fake OWWA receipts

THE Department of Labor and Employment (Dole) urged Thursday the public to help the agency get information that will lead to the arrest of persons or group of persons engaged in making fake receipts of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA).

Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz sought for public's assistance following persistent reports about the proliferation of counterfeit OWWA official receipts.

Aquino leads groundbreaking of road project in Dipolog

PRESIDENT Benigno Aquino III led on Thursday the groundbreaking ceremony of the P335 million road upgrading project in a bid to encourage foreign and local tourists to visit the tourist spots of Zamboanga del Norte particularly the Sungkilaw Falls.

The Chief Executive was joined by Interior and Local Government Secretary Manuel Roxas, Public Works and Highways Undersecretary Romeo Momo, and other local officials at Barangay Cogon in Dipolog City where he led the capsule laying rite that paves the way for the start of the improvement of the 14-kilometer national road.

Gov’t to speed up release of retirement benefits of its employees

THE Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has issued new guidelines for the release of retirement perks for all government employees, in a move to facilitate the efficient processing and timely release of benefits to retiring government employees, an official said Thursday.

Under Budget Circular 2013-1 dated April 12, 2013, government retirees will receive their retirement perks, gratuities and other benefits due them within 30 days from their actual date of retirement, provided all necessary requirements are submitted 90 days prior to said date, said Budget Secretary Florencio Abad.

House, Senate to abide by SC ruling on JBC

BOTH the House of Representatives and the Senate on Thursday said that they will abide by the Supreme Court's (SC) ruling that Congress only has one seat in the Judicial Bar and Council (JBC).

"We have to find a way to comply with the decision," House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. said.