Maniolas

Complainants in the Maguindanao massacre case should expose alleged bribery attempts from the Ampatuan clan so that the government can come to their aid, Malacañang said Wednesday. At a press briefing, presidential spokesman Secretary Edwin Lacierda said the Aquino administration is ready to assist relatives of Maguindanao massacre victims in filing bribery cases. “It depends on the person who claimed that she was offered a bribe to come out and present the testimony and we will look into it,” Lacierda told reporters. “Otherwise, we won’t be able to act on it e, kasi kailangan mo talaga ng personal knowledge ‘nung taong nilagyan or in-offer na bigyan ng lagay,” he added. The Palace official made these statements after Myrna Reblando, widow of slain Manila Bulletin reporter Alejandro Reblando, revealed that she was supposedly offered a P3-million bribe by members of the Ampatuan family in exchange for her silence. Members of the Ampatuan clan are facing multiple counts of murder before a Quezon City court for allegedly masterminding the massacre in November 2009, which  claimed the lives of 58 people, most of them members of the media. Mrs. Reblando also claimed receiving threats after she rejected the bribe, forcing her to stay in Hong Kong while the Maguindanao massacre case is being heard. Lacierda, for his part, said that mechanisms are in place to protect complainants in the Maguindanao massacre case, including the Witness Protection Program. “If there are any attempts to bribe, then the best course of action is really we’d Read More …

The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) arbitration case against China is “not about who owns what” but rather to make clear the entitlements due the Philippines, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said on Saturday. “It is not about determining who owns what in the territories in the South China Sea. That is not our case. Our case is a interpretation of the law, clarification, and validation… Our aim is for the tribunal to say that the nine-dash line is without basis under UNCLOS,” DFA spokesman Charles Jose said in a forum at the University of the Philippines. He added that given that China has said it will not take part in the arbitration proceedings, it will take the tribunal less time to render a decision. Jose said the tribunal might call a hearing after December 15, the deadline given China to respond to the Philippines’ case. “The Tribunal will determine the further course of the proceedings, including the need for, and scheduling of any other written submissions and hearings, at an appropriate later stage,” the DFA had said in a July 2014 newsletter on developments in the arbitration case. Assistant Secretary Jose said that in that possible hearing after December 15, the five-member tribunal may ask the Philippines about details of its claim and other matters for clarification. DFA Secretary Albert del Rosario said on June 17 that with China opting out of the proceedings, “perhaps we could get a quicker resolution from the Read More …

Negros Occidental Rep. Alfredo Benitez has filed House Resolution 1304 to commend the Iglesia ni Cristo for constructing the Philippine Arena, which is said to be the largest indoor arena in the world. According to a “24 Oras” report aired Saturday evening, Benitez said the world-class arena, which has a minimum capacity of 55,000, “will have socio-economic impact” in terms of tourism, jobs, youth development, and sports “as it will open possibilities of hosting bigger sports tournaments and international events.” Construction of the arena cost an estimated P7.8 billion and was paid for with donations from Iglesia ni Cristo members. The arena is not for the exclusive use of INC, but the church “[reserves] the right to determine what kinds of activities will be held here based on wholesome Christian principles and values that our church upholds.” — JDS, GMA News

The Commission on Audit (COA) questioned the P3.19 billion from the Supreme Court (SC) budget that the court declared as savings in 2012, GMA News’ “24 Oras” reported on Monday. According to the 2012 audit report of COA, the SC has P3.19 billion in unspent funds from the P15-billion notices of cash allocations (NCA) it received from the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) that year. In its report, the COA questioned why the SC declared such huge savings when it had several unpaid obligations during that year. According to the “24 Oras” report, the COA said that since the SC declared P3.19 billion of its NCA as “savings”, payments for its obligations incurred in 2012 were taken from the SC’s 2013 budget. The COA said this practice was against the law on government spending. Meanwhile, the SC, in its reply to the COA report said, it has been a practice of the high court to declare unspent funds as “savings”. According to the “24 Oras” report, the SC said it has its own policies when it comes to spending. In his televised speech Monday afternoon, President Benigno Aquino III criticized the SC over its decision to declare the administration’s Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) as partially unconstitutional. Among the practices under DAP that the SC ruled as unconstitutional were the declaration of unobligated and unprogrammed funds as “savings”, the “cross-border” transfer of savings of the executive branch to the other branches of the government, and the funding of projects not Read More …

A lone lotto bettor won P14.634 million in Monday night’s Mega Lotto 6/45 draw of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office. The PCSO said the bettor got the combination of 24-19-09-35-07-43 to win the night’s jackpot worth P14,634,376. But as in the past, the PCSO is not likely to name the winner for security reasons. Last July 4, a lone bettor got the Mega Lotto 6/45 jackpot by getting the combination of 35-37-05-39-12-11 to win P92,361,380. On June 28, a lotto bettor hit the jackpot of the Grand Lotto draw, getting the combination of 04-52-55-38-46-08 to snag the jackpot worth P215,867,812. Also last June 28, a bettor won the Lotto 6/42 jackpot after getting the combination 27-01-29-04-06-18 to win P17,962,256. Last May 22, a lone Super Lotto 6/49 bettor won P98,612,308 with the combination of 31-35-04-06-30-03. On April 7, a lone bettor hit the jackpot of the PCSO’s Grand Lotto, getting the combination of 39-21-42-28-05-27 to win P249,841,572. But 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