The Wutz Up in the Philippines!

President reportedly upset with PNP chief

MANILA, Philippines—Was that a snub?

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo Thursday skipped the graduation ceremony of the Philippine National Police Academy in a show of displeasure over Director General Jesus Verzosa’s declaration that he would not support a move to extend her term, police sources told the Inquirer on condition of anonymity.

Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno instead represented Ms Arroyo, who flew to Sarangani, Lanao del Sur and Zamboanga del Sur to attend to concerns sparked by the prolonged El Niño dry spell, said Malacañang spokesperson Ricardo Saludo.

Ms Arroyo’s activities, however, had nothing to do with the drought—like welcoming a delegation of Indonesian businessmen, witnessing a signing ceremony and visiting a high school and public market, according to a Palace schedule.

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Puno designates Carpio acting Chief Justice

MANILA, Philippines—Reinterpreting the constitutional provision against an outgoing president’s so-called midnight appointments, the Supreme Court Wednesday gave President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo the authority to appoint the next Chief Justice.

Nine of the 15 justices voted to allow Ms Arroyo, who steps down from office on June 30, to appoint the successor of Chief Justice Reynato Puno, who retires on May 17. According to the nine, Section 15 Article VII that prohibits midnight appointments does not apply to the Supreme Court.

The high court ordered the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) to submit the short list of nominees for Chief Justice to Malacañang “on or before May 17.” But it did not say whether Ms Arroyo could appoint Puno’s successor before the vacancy occurs.

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Authorities remain clueless on who was behind the grenade attack on a hotel in Makati City Monday morning.

Radio dzBB’s Denver Trinidad reported on Tuesday that police have so far determined the explosive used in the incident was a fragmentation grenade.

Unidentified men lobbed a grenade at the parking area of the Tower Inn Hotel along Arnaiz Avenue at 5 a.m. Monday.

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MANILA, Philippines—Politicians who ride on the fame of Manny Pacquiao are forewarned: Don’t inject politics into any victory celebration for him when he comes home—unless you want to run afoul of election campaign laws.

“It’s a warning. Don’t use the victory parade for (your) own political purposes,” Election Commissioner Gregorio Larrazabal said Monday, referring to national and local candidates who aim to bask in Pacquiao’s glory following his one-sided win over Ghana’s Joshua Clottey last weekend in Texas.

In other words, keep politics out of any celebration in honor of the boxing champ.

“This one is a national event, a sporting event, it’s not an event that’s owned by any particular group, politician or political party,” said the Commission on Elections official.

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Win first, Palace twits LP candidate

MANILA, Philippines—If elected president, Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III Monday said one of his first acts in office would be to set up a commission that would investigate the various scandals that had engulfed President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

“We want to set up an office or commission that will create a mechanism that would provide closure to all the issues surrounding this current administration,” Aquino said in an interview over GMA Channel 7’s Unang Hirit.

The Liberal Party standard-bearer said the commission would be modeled after the Presidential Commission on Good Government that went after the ill-gotten wealth of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos and his cronies.

“If there is a crime, someone should pay. There should be a mechanism so that there would be closure for items like ‘Hello Garci,’ the fertilizer fund scam and ZTE. There should be focus on this,” Aquino said.

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President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has approved a recommendation declaring a state of calamity in Mindanao, allowing government to use disaster funds to address the power crisis besetting the Philippines’ second-largest island.
This was disclosed on Thursday by Mindanao Development Authority chairman Jesus Dureza, who, until last year, was the Arroyo government’s press secretary.

Dureza made this disclosure while accompanying the President during a visit in Zamboanga del Norte, a separate dzBB radio report said.
Declaring a state of calamity in Mindanao will also allow local government units to use up to five percent of their internal revenue allotments (IRA), which are their share of revenues from the national government.

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MANILA, Philippines – (UPDATE) President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is “deeply committed to smooth transition to a new government” and is counting on the Armed Forces of the Philippines “to help us prove that our democracy works for the future of our nation’s children.”

Arroyo made this assurance Wednesday at the formal turnover ceremony of the AFP where newly appointed chief Lieutenant General Delfin Bangit took over from General Victor Ibrado who retired today.

“We remain deeply committed to smooth transition to a new government,” Arroyo said in her speech, maintaining that she made the right decision in choosing Bangit.

“We can count on the AFP to help us prove that our democracy works for the future of our nation’s children,” she said, referring to the national polls on May 10 that will pave the way for a new president.

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A Filipino will battle it out with contenders from Indonesia, Malaysia and Hong Kong for the first-ever “The Biggest Loser Asia” title when the reality television series’ finale takes place on Tuesday.

Professional chef Carlo Miguel, 32, will go against Indonesian David Gurnani, Malaysian Aaron Mokhtar and Martha Lai from Hong Kong.

Miguel had a starting weight of 132 kilograms. His last weigh-in on Week 13 before going into the final was 90 kg.

He belongs to a family of foodies and chefs. His great-grandfather was a pastry chef, his mother is a cook with a catering business while his older brother is a chef as well.

Miguel has cooked in Luke Mangan’s Salt Restaurant and David Rayner’s Vault in Sydney, Australia. At present, he is the executive chef of Sala Bistro and Sala Restaurant in Manila.

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MANILA, Philippines—They came bearing condoms.

Members of a workers group Monday brought the condom debate to the doorstep of Catholic bishops, in a bid to convince the prelates that prophylactics protect the health of women.

Carrying baskets with inflated condoms and flowers, members of Partido ng Manggagawa (PM, Party of Workers) gathered Monday at the gates of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) in Intramuros, Manila, to ask the bishops to bless the rubbers.

But not one of the Catholic bishops was available to meet with PM members. Instead, the group submitted a copy of a position paper supporting the government’s distribution of condoms to curb the spread of HIV-AIDS.

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Communist guerrillas are expected to extort more money from politicians before national elections scheduled for May 10, the Philippine military said Sunday.

In a report issued to journalists, the military said that it had identified the modus operandi of the Communists in extorting what the rebels call “revolutionary taxes” from businesses and that they are more focused on collecting money from politicians in exchange for access to areas controlled or influenced by the rebels.

The commander of the armed forces’ civil relations service, Brig. Gen. Francisco N. Cruz Jr., said in the report that the Communists had even collected “permit to win” fees in exchange for a promise of victory by a candidate. He said those who refused to pay were punished.

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