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NEWS MONITORING AND ANALYSIS
February 17, 2009
Tuesday
Headlines and top stories in today’s newspapers



It's Joey who's applying for 2010 Senate slate - Erap, Philstar news page -- Estrada was reacting to reports quoting Joey, the whistleblower in the alleged anomalous national broadband deal between the government and China’s ZTE Corp., that he is being wooed by Estrada to run under the ticket of the opposition in next year’s elections.

On the contrary, Estrada said it was Joey de Venecia who presented himself to them.

WB offers to brief government officials, senators, Philstar banner story -- The World Bank offer came after a dressing down – in absentia – from some senators last week who accused the lending institution at a public hearing of not backing up its claims with solid evidence. The WB report implicated First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo and some officials as well as three Filipino contractors in bidding irregularities.

Bert Hofman, World Bank country director for the Philippines and East Asia and Pacific Region, relayed the institution’s willingness to share more information with officials in a letter to Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago.


WB blinks, agrees to brief senators, PDI banner story -- World Bank officials said they were willing to brief senators — but not at a Senate hearing — on their claim that Philippine construction contractors had rigged the bidding of World Bank-funded road projects.

World Bank country director Bert Hofman told Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago on Monday that bank officials were willing to hold an “informal technical briefing” on the matter.



Ping: Let’s erase fears Senate has turned into a Palace lackey, Malaya front page -- "If we injudiciously exonerate or pin the blame on anybody without exhausting all legal means to get to the bottom of this controversy, then we only have ourselves to blame if we are branded as accomplices or subservient to the corrupt powers-that-be," Lacson said.

RP veterans get $198M, PDI banner story -- The US Congress approved on Friday the stimulus bill, a $787-billion package of tax cuts and fresh spending to salvage the broken American economy, handing US President Barack Obama his biggest political victory yet.

The bill contains a provision recognizing the military service of Filipino veterans of World War II and granting a tax-free lump sum of $15,000 to those who are based in the United States and $9,000 to those living in the Philippines.



‘Palace plan is to wait it out’—lawyer, PDI front page -- The Philippine government’s strategy is apparently to stall any action on a Supreme Court ruling to move rape convict Lance Cpl. Daniel Smith back to a Philippine jail and just wait for the Court of Appeals to rule on his case, the lawyer of Smith’s Filipino victim “Nicole” said.

“That’s what we get from their moves … The strategy is to wait,” Evalyn Ursua said when reached by phone on Saturday.

Sen. Francis Pangilinan filed yesterday a resolution calling for the termination of the VFA for violating the 1987 Philippine Constitution.

Gov’t has inferiority complex—senator, PDI front page -- Sen. Joker Arroyo on Saturday characterized executive branch officials as having an “inferiority complex,” resulting in the Philippines’ continued failure to take custody of convicted rapist US Marine Daniel Smith.

SEC files raps vs Legacy owner, Philstar front page -- Sources said the SEC recommended the filing of criminal charges against the respondents for selling unregistered securities and engaging in misrepresentation by assuring investors that the principal amount of their investments is guaranteed.

Congress prodded on poll automation budget, Philstar front page -- Presidential Adviser for Political Affairs Gabriel Claudio said Speaker Prospero Nograles and House appropriations committee chairman Junie Cua of Qurino province earlier gave assurances that “whatever kinks there were have all been ironed out.”

Mar hits P200-million equipment overprice; NIA chief denies claim, Philstar news page -- Roxas told reporters at the Manila Hotel that the Senate Blue Ribbon committee would conduct an investigation into the alleged rigging of the public bidding for the procurement of heavy equipment worth P1.4 billion by the NIA.

P1.4-B NIA project must be probed: Mar, Mirror news page –

NIA P1.4B rigging bared, Malaya banner story -- In Resolution No. 880, Roxas sought an inquiry by the Blue Ribbon committee into the alleged manipulation of the bidding process, which he said was made "precisely to limit the number of participants in the bid project."

Oil deregulation review sought, Bulletin banner story -- After being ignored by oil companies, House Speaker Prospero Nograles yesterday renewed his threat to push for a congressional review of the oil deregulation law in the wake of government’s vow to examine the finances of the country’s major petroleum player



Palace serious on oil-deregulation law review, Mirror news page -- Responding to questions on Congress’s stand on this, Speaker Prospero Nograles said “revisiting the law is not far-fetched,” given recent developments, but stressed that any action by lawmakers will be anchored on what, at bottom, is the national interest.

February 25 not a holiday, Philstar news page -- Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Lorelei Fajardo said Feb. 25 was not included in the list of holidays under Proclamation 1699 issued by President Arroyo setting the holidays for 2009.

“This was not included in the calendar of holidays,” Fajardo said at a news briefing. “I think there are many long weekends and long holidays, that’s why Feb. 25 was not considered. But we have many activities commemorating Edsa I.”


‘Corruption is GMA’s bribe to stay in power’, Malaya front page -- "Kailangan talagang bantayan itong isinusulong na Charter change. I think the next three weeks is critical for the administration to push its effort to amend the Constitution and we should do everything to prevent them from tinkering with the Charter," Teresita "Ging" Deles, former peace adviser and member of Former Senior Government Officials (FSGO), said in a forum.

What Mikey wants, Mikey gets?, Malaya news page -- Panlilio, who was at Camp Crame, said it has been a year and nine months since he requested that Singian be replaced by a "morally upright and qualified police chief" for failing to stop illegal gambling.

BUSINESS San Miguel eyes BayanTel, PDI Business news page -- Conglomerate San Miguel Corp. is in talks with a major creditor of Bayan Telecommunications Inc. (BayanTel) to acquire about $150 million worth of debt paper that could give it the controlling stake in the telecom firm of the Lopez group, Philippine Daily Inquirer sources said.


The mystery buyers of Meralco shares, Written by Mirror on the wall / Raul Valino Mirror Opinion -- With the Meralco annual stockholders’ meeting and election of officers just three months away, our sources say more sales will be forthcoming to make the inevitable happen, that is the changing of the guards on Ortigas Avenue.

Who will eventually become the new majority owners or managers of Meralco? Some say it could be San Miguel Corp. (SMC), the food and beer giant that may also have tied up with the finest names in Philippine business, namely, the Zobel-Ongpin clans.



The perfect bank scam? Omerta / Butch del Castillo Mirror Opinion -- TWELVE rural banks with a recorded deposit base of P14.4 billion (amassed through a total of 50 branches in Luzon and Visayas) suddenly go belly up, one after another, within a three-week time frame. It was as if these banks’ almost simultaneous closure was carefully orchestrated by some unseen baton-wielding hand.

All the 12 banks happen to be owned by the Legacy Group founded by the controversial ex-banker Celso de los Angeles, the incumbent mayor of Santo Domingo, Albay. (Under the corporate umbrella of Legacy are also four failed preneed companies with billions of pesos in liabilities to thousands of customers.)



BIG DEAL By Dan Mariano Nuclear folly marches on , Manila Times Opinion 02/16/09 -- Rep. Juan Miguel Arroyo of Pampanga recently said that a bill seeking to commission the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP) in Morong, Bataan, is as good as passed. The chairman of the House energy committee reported that the bill already has the support of 190 out of 238 congressmen.