Maniolas

To help build an airtight case against her mother’s alleged murderer, actress Cherry Pie Picache on Tuesday gave National Bureau of Investigation agents samples of her DNA. Picache gave a buccal swab and blood sample when she and relatives met with NBI agents, GMA News’ John Consulta reported on “24 Oras.” The family members remained emotional as they continued to call for justice for their murdered matriarch Zenaida Sison, 75. Sison, 75, was found brutally killed in her house in Quezon City last September 19. During the meeting on Tuesday, the NBI also updated the actress’ family on the progress of the investigation. The NBI agents showed the victim’s family various pieces of evidence they have so far collected, including closed-circuit television footage of primary suspect Michael Flores. Investigators had also recovered the shorts and shirt believed worn by Flores at the time of the murder. Flores had been depicted in the CCTV footage as wearing the said clothes. “We are about to file the case at the soonest possible time,” said the Picache family’s lawyer, Ferdinand Calunsag. Investigation also showed robbery appeared to be the most likely motive for the killing, since some P500,000 in cash and jewelry was missing. Investigation also showed Flores had partners in the crime, based on the statements of witnesses. “May testigo nagsasabi, ito nakaplano na,” NBI special investigator Joey Ajero said. At least two people, who were initially linked to the crime went to the NBI to give their statements and DNA samples Read More …

The national government is planning to pour several billions of pesos to the proposed Bangsamoro political entity in the form of an annual block grant and several subsidies to help it catch up with the development of other regions, Budget Secretary Florencio Abad said Tuesday. At the House ad hoc panel hearing on the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL), Abad said the Aquino administration has committed to grant a special development fund (SDF), transition fund and an infrastructure development fund to the envisioned autonomous region on top of the block grant indicated in the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB). According to Abad, a total of P17 billion in SDF will be released to the proposed Bangsamoro region over a period of seven years. The transition fund, meanwhile, will amount to P1 billion. “The region is one of the poorest regions. Our role is to focus on a policy or program that will allow the ARMM to catch up,” Abad said. The Bangsamoro bill, or House Bill 4994, will formalize the creation of the new political entity that will replace the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. Under the Bangsamoro bill, a block grant equivalent to four percent of the net internal revenue of the Bureau of Internal Revenue minus the internal revenue allotments (IRA) of local government units (LGUs) shall be automatically appropriated to the Bangsamoro region yearly. The block grant should not go below the ARMM’s P20.5 billion budget for 2014, Abad said. Reasonable level While the block grant is Read More …

A lone lotto bettor is now P98.6 million richer after winning the jackpot in the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office’s Mega Lotto 6/45 draw Monday evening. The PCSO said the bettor got the combination of 45-24-13-16-29-05 to win the night’s jackpot worth P98,652,196. The PCSO is not likely to name the winner for security reasons. On Sunday, a lotto bettor bagged the jackpot in the Super Lotto 6/49 draw by getting the combination of 43-48-06-11-13-29 to win P90,126,700. On Sept. 27, a bettor won the Grand Lotto jackpot of P294,602,336 after getting the combination of 08-42-35-11-17-22. Last Sept. 20, a lone bettor won the Lotto 6/42 draw by getting the combination of 29-24-01-02-08-20 to win P22,946,228. The biggest lotto prize in recent history was in November 2010, when a lone bettor won some P741.176 million for getting the winning combination 11-16-42-47-31-37. — Joel Locsin/JDS, GMA News

The consumer rights’ group that filed  plunder, bribery and graft cases against Philippine National Police chief Director-General Alan Purisma said the media tour of his Nueva Ecija rest house was insufficient to prove his innocence and propriety, according to a report on GMA News’ “24 Oras”on Monday.  The Coalition of Filipino Consumers said a representative from the Ombudsman and the Assessor’s Office of San Leonardo should have been present in the media tour. Two batches of media visited the property early Monday.  The group also questioned why the property suddenly had an assessed value when it was not listed in the Registry of Deeds of San Leonardo as previously reported.  Purisima has said that his Nueva Ecija property was not a mansion, as the group called it, but only an ordinary house. The 204-square meter house is located inside a 4.7 hectare lot. The house has a market value of P2.3 million while the entire lot is worth P3-4 million.  Aside from CFC, anti-crime watchdog group Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC) also filed a plunder case against the PNP chief in connection with his Nueva Ecija mansion and the renovation of his official quarters inside Camp Crame.  A private citizen also filed plunder against Purisima and Firearms and Explosives Office head Chief Superintendent Napoleon Estilles in April for their alleged involvement in a P100-million deal with a private courier service company. Despite all the allegations, Purisima said he would continue his job in serving the country. He also said Read More …

Senators investigating alleged overpricing in a Makati government building should “follow the rules” on a challenge raised by Vice President Jejomar Binay — former Makati mayor — on their jurisdiction to do so, a spokesman for the city said. Joel Salgado said Senate President Franklin Drilon and the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee should “follow their own rules” after it resumed its investigation into the controversial Makati City Hall Building II. “Drilon says that no one is above the law. We agree, and that includes the senators. Under the rules of the Senate, neither Drilon nor the subcommittee can cite anyone in contempt and order their arrest. It has to be the whole committee,” Salgado said in a tweet on Saturday. He then said the whole committee must resolve the jurisdictional challenge before it can proceed with the investigations, adding that the Office of the Ombudsman has technical authority over the case. “All we want is for Drilon and the sub-committee to follow their own rules,” Salgado said. The lawyer added that neither Senate President Drilon, nor the subcommittee, had the right to cite the Binays for contempt or arrest them. Despite their protests, Drilon affirmed their jurisdiction over the investigation on Friday, saying that all issues related to it was delegated to the subcommittee headed by Sen. Aquilino Pimentel III. “It is only the report of the subcommittee, which would have to be approved by the main committee,” he said. Pimentel said last September that the committee could cite Mayor Read More …