Sunday, April 30, 2006 (Philippines)

Real estate taxes from the just-inaugurated Marco Polo Plaza Hotel have been disputed by barangays Apas and Lahug in Cebu City. Apas chief Clemente Rosales said the city mayor assured him the row will be settled soon in favor of Apas. Which-ever barangay gets the tax share, the hotel has been applauded by the community as a welcome addition to Cebu’s fine hotel facilities.(Sunstar photo/Alex Badayos) The calibrated pre-emptive response (CPR) policy of the Arroyo administration may be out, but Malacañang said it will have no qualms in reinstating a state of national emergency should protesters in the planned Labor Day mass actions become unruly. Pro-Arroyo legislators, however, believe that the rallies tomorrow “will not reach a boiling point.” The Supreme Court (SC) has yet to rule on the constitutionality of Proclamation 1017, which placed the country under a week-long state of national emergency last February following a foiled attempt to wrest power from government. [full story]