The Wutz Up in the Philippines!

MANILA, Philippines - Nearly all Cabinet officials seeking elective posts this May have submitted their resignations to President Arroyo, ahead of the appeal to be filed by Solicitor General Alberto Agra on a Supreme Court ruling declaring all appointive officials running in the elections as resigned.

But they are staying in their posts until President Arroyo accepts their resignations, according to Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita, who is running in the first congressional district of Batangas. Ermita tendered his resignation last Tuesday.

Ermita and Budget Secretary Rolando Andaya Jr. were the first to file their resignations early this week.

“I have resigned because there is a Supreme Court decision,” Ermita said. “We have submitted our resignations. It depends on the final decision of the President (to accept them or not) but it’s legally okay for us to be still there (in our posts) because it (SC ruling) is not final and executory.”

“We are winding down our affairs now, and I am sure there will be no vacuum because the President also has people in mind for our replacements,” he added.

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MANILA, Jan. 28 — Department of Justice (DOJ) Secretary Agnes Devanadera justified on Thursday the tight security measures being imposed by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) against road rage murder suspect Jason Aguilar Ivler.

At the same time, Devanadera gave a “cold shoulder” on the move of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) to conduct an investigation into the alleged violation of human rights during the arrest of Ivler.

Ivler is the suspect in the fatal shooting of Renato Ebarle Jr., son of Presidential Chief of Staff Undersecretary Renato Ebarle Sr., during a traffic altercation in Quezon City last November 18.

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SHARIFF AGUAK – (UPDATE 7) A key suspect in the gruesome killings in Maguindanao province and member of a powerful clan in Mindanao has surrendered to authorities and would be flown to Manila.

Datu Unsay Mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr., son of Maguindanao Governor Andal Ampatuan Sr., has been identified as having masterminded the massacre last November 23 that claimed the lives of at least 57 people, including 18 journalists who were supposed to cover the filing of candidacy for governor of the Ampatuans’ political rival, Buluan Mayor Esmael Mangudadatu.

Ampatuan Jr., accompanied by Jesus Dureza, presidential adviser on Mindanao, arrived in General Santos at 12:25 p.m. and was handed over to Justice Secretary Agnes Devanadera who would bring the local official to Manila.

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MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang on Thursday rejected the appeal of oil companies for a dialogue with President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on the possible recall of an executive order freezing fuel prices in Luzon, which remains in a state of calamity.

But Justice Secretary Agnes Devanadera indicated that the order may soon be lifted in specific areas as the government and oil firms try to reach an agreement on a mutually acceptable response to the devastation wrought by successive storms.

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