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JARO Archbishop and Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines head Angel Lagdameo on Monday blamed  extreme poverty in the country on “greed, fraud, plunder and corruption.” “The extreme poverty of the poorest of the poor is neither natural nor normal: It is man-made and can be overcome or eradicated by acts of justice, honesty, compassion

AFTER Iraq, Pakistan and the Philippines were the deadliest for the press in 2008, the Paris-based Reporters Without Borders reported today. In its Press Freedom Round-up for 2008, Reporters Without Borders recorded six journalists slain in the line of duty in the Philippines and seven in Pakistan. Fifteen journalists were killed in Iraq this year.

FORMER President Corazon Aquino publicly apologized this afternoon to former President Joseph Estrada for leading the second people power revolt in 2001 or “EDSA 2” that ousted him and installed Gloria Arroyo in the presidency. “I am one of those who pleads guilty for the 2001 uprising,” the ailing Aquino said in her brief remarks

WAR-TORN Iraq remains the world’s deadliest country for journalists. The Philippines and Russia also continue to rank among the deadliest nations for the press—and among the worst in solving the murders. So concluded the U.S.-based Committee to Protect Journalists in its yearend analysis as it recorded 41 journalists killed in line of their work for

THE  multisectoral Coalition against Corruption (CAC) recently lambasted President Arroyo for failing to rein in corruption in her administration and even misusing her power of executive privilege to block investigations into wrongdoing in government. In a statement released last Dec. 1, the 11-member CAC chaired by former Central Bank Gov. Jose Cuisia said no one

From Ang Pahayagang Malaya A MINING company in Mindanao has asked the Supreme Court to stop what it called the premature bidding of a portion of the 8,100-hectare Diwalwal “Gold Rush” site in Monkayo, Compostela Valley by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and its attached agency, the Philippine Mining Development Corp (PMDC). The

“WHAT’S happening to our country? Everything’s for sale.” So saying, former Speaker Jose de Venecia disclosed today his personal knowledge of what he called the “rampant, large-scale bribery and corruption” in government which, he said, starts with President Gloria Arroyo. Testifying before the House committee on justice, he called on his colleagues in the House

From Ang Pahayagang Malaya THE Supreme Court has ordered the state-run Philippine Mining Development Corp. (PMDC) to explain why it should not be cited in contempt for starting the bidding process for the exploration and mining operation of the 8,100-hectare Diwalwal gold rush area in Compostela Valley. The bidding was allegedly undertaken by the PMDC,

SEN. Juan Ponce Enrile was sworn in this afternoon as the new Senate president in a coup that caught Senate President Manuel Villar and his allies by surprise. Enrile, whose oath of office was administered by Sen. Gregorio Honasan Jr. at 4 p.m. when the chamber opened its plenary session, was supported by administrator senators

MALACANANG has launched a quiet but intense lobby for the inclusion of Solicitor General Agnes Vicenta T. Devanadera in a shortlist to be submitted to President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo by the Judicial and Bar Council, from where she would pick a new justice to fill the next Supreme Court vacancy, a JBC insider said Monday.

RETIRED Philippine National Police comptroller Eliseo de la Paz reiterated today he was taking “full responsibility” for requesting and approving the release of P10 million from the PNP intelligence funds to cover the expenses of an eight-member police delegation to the 77th Interpol Assembly in St. Petersburg, Russia last month. “I did it on my

THE Senate will continue to hold former Agriculture Undersecretary Jocelyn “Joc Joc” Bolante in its custody as the Senate blue ribbon committee began today its inquiry into the alleged P728 fertilizer fund scam. “There are still many questions hanging in the air,” said Senate Minority Floor Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr. who made the motion this

CONTROVERSIAL former Agriculture Undersecretary Jocelyn “Joc Joc” Bolante cleared today President Gloria Arroyo of involvement in the approval and release of P728 million in fertilizer funds purportedly diverted to her campaign kitty in the 2004 presidential elections. “President Arroyo has never been involved and is not involved in this particular project of the Department of

  CONSTITUTION expert Fr. Joaquin Bernas said Friday the Judicial and Bar Council must open its process of selecting nominees to the Supreme Court vacancies expected next year and the identities of those to be included in the short list to be submitted to President Gloria Arroyo should be publicized. Bernas, former member of the

THE fourth impeachment complaint against President Gloria Arroyo in four years was filed Monday morning, accusing her of betrayal of public trust, culpable violation of the Constitution, bribery, and graft and corruption. The complainants include Jose de Venecia III, son of former Speaker Jose de Venecia, and Iloilo Vice Gov. Rolex Suplico, who disclosed the

THE Court of Appeals junked on Sept. 22 a petition of First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo to dismiss a damage suit filed by journalists against him over the string of libel suits he had lodged against the media. In a 24-page decision, the court said Arroyo’s complaint that Makati Judge Zenaida Galapate-Laguilles acted without jurisdiction

FORMER members of the Arroyo Cabinet and other ex-government officials said today a recent presidential directive reorganizing the National Peace and Order Council supposedly to battle communist rebels appears linked to a plan of President Arroyo to declare martial law and extend her term. The officials, who call themselves Former Senior Government Officials or FSGO,

A U.S. court dismissed recently former Agriculture Undersecretary Jocelyn “Joc-Joc” Bolante’s petition for habeas corpus which, he said, would enable him to challenge the legality of his two-year detention.   Judge Charles N. Clevert Jr. of the U.S. District Court in Wisconsin cited lack of jurisdiction in dismissing Bolante’s petition last Sept. 3.

SEN. Alan Peter Cayetano will summon former Agriculture Undersecretary Jocelyn “Jocjoc” Bolante to appear before a Senate inquiry when the latter is deported from the United States, the Philippine Daily Inquirer reported Friday. “If Jocjoc becomes available, I will not hesitate to call him on the aspect of the anomaly on good governance,” Cayetano, who

SEN. Francis Escudero said Wednesday the Senate should invite former Agriculture Undersecretary Jocelyn “Joc-Joc” Bolante after he was linked to the P5-billion loan of the Quedan and Rural Credit Guarantee Corp. (Quedancor) purportedly for a swine distribution project. “If his name was really mentioned in the Quedancor scam, then the blue ribbon (committee) should give

FORMER Agriculture Undersecretary Jocelyn “Joc-joc” Bolante could be headed back to Manila soon, now that a United States appeals court has denied his appeal for asylum. The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago found that “Bolante has not demonstrated a well-founded fear of persecution upon returning to the Philippines,” a decision which upholds two

THE Commission on Human Rights has declared as unjustified the arrest and detention of journalists during the six-hour standoff last Nov. 29 at the Manila Peninsula hotel in Makati City. There were also violations of “human rights to liberty, security, and freedom from arbitrary arrest and detention” during the arrest and processing of journalists following

DETAINED Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV has filed a resolution seeking to initiate legislative action against Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita’s participation in a recent Senate meeting on bills on the country’s archipelagic baseline. Trillanes and senators Edgardo Angara, Rodolfo Biazon, Juan Ponce Enrile, and Aquilino Pimentel have authored five separate baseline bills.

SEN. Rodolfo Biazon suggested Wednesday that the Senate electoral reform committee investigate allegations that members of the Special Action Force of the Philippine National Police undertook the switching of 2004 election returns at the Batasan three years ago, Malaya reported today. Sen. Richard Gordon, chair of the Senate electoral reform committee, was not available for

PHILIPPINE National Police Chief Avelino Razon ordered yesterday Chief Superintendent Leocadio Santiago, director of the Special Action Force, to look into VERA Files two-part report that the elite police unit undertook the switching of  2004 election returns in the Batasan Pambansa.   Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay, who is also president of the United Opposition, however,

MALACANANG issued today the following press release in reaction to a VERA Files  report that several police commandos have confirmed their participation in the switching of election returns at the Batasan Pambansa in early 2005 to make it look like Gloria Arroyo won the 2004 elections:   “Don’t believe in the baseless allegation, but, instead,

FORMER Cabinet members are asking Congress to pass immediately a law that would define the country’s baseline in keeping with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea or UNCLOS.   The Former Senior Government Officials (FSGO), in a statement issued on July 11, cited the need to enact a baseline law in

THE Philippines is “far from achieving Education for All” by 2015, concluded a fact sheet released on July 11 by the National Statistical Coordination Board.   The NSCB, which consolidates facts and figures from different government agencies, pointed to the consistent drop in the net enrolment ratio or participation rate at the elementary level from

FORMER Vice President Teofisto Guingona will launch tonight his book, “Fight for the Filipino,” in which he reveals the reasons for his disillusionment with and eventual breakaway from President Gloria Macapagal–Arroyo, including her supposed order to then Justice Secretary Hernando Perez to approve the $470 million controversial agreement with the Argentinian power firm IMPSA (Industrias

THE U.S. State Department is urging the Philippine government to improve its record of prosecuting, convicting and punishing human traffickers. The State Department said in its “2008 Trafficking in Persons Report” released last month that while the Philippines demonstrated “exemplary efforts” to prevent cross-border trafficking and protect victims, it “demonstrated weak efforts to prosecute trafficking