Friday - July 30, 2010

 

DFA sends envoy to Iraq to assess security situation of OFWs

1. The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has sent a special envoy to Iraq to assess the security situation of overseas Filipino workers (OFW) there, days after the United States (US) ordered the pull out of Filipinos working in the Middle Eastern country.

 

NFA eyes selling rice stocks to other govt agencies

1. The National Food Authority is thinking of selling their rice stock to other government agencies to help ease the "overflow" of the staple's supply.

 

President Aquino signs EO creating Truth Commission

1. President Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III has finally signed his first executive order, creating the Truth Commission that will investigate alleged corruption issues in the Arroyo administration. The Commission will be led by retired Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr. and will have four other members, said Justice Secretary Leila de Lima.

 

Random drug test will do for govt workers - Binay

1. Amid talks of mandatory drug testing for those working in government, Vice President Jejomar Binay on Friday said it will be enough to just conduct random illegal-drug tests in government offices nationwide.

 

PDEA awards P5 million to six drug informants

1. Six people on Friday received a P5-million reward money from the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) for their help in catching suspects in the illegal drugs trade.

 

Arroyo to attend her 1st House session Monday

1. Former president and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will attend the session of the House of Representatives on Monday, her spokesperson said Friday.

 

DILG chief favors mandatory drug testing for those in govt

1. Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo on Friday said if he will have his way, he will subject all state employees to a mandatory drug test.

 

Palace amends 1st memo, extends stay of non-CESOs

1. A day before all non-Career Executive Service Officials (CESO) would have been thrown out of their jobs, Malacañang issued on Friday a new memorandum circular extending their service, thereby amending the very first memo dispensed by the President when he assumed office on June 30. Non-CESOs have been permitted to stay in their positions until October 31, instead of July 31.

 

Aquinos to gather for Mass on Cory's 1st death anniversary

1. President Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III and his four sisters will attend a Mass at La Salle Greenhills on Sunday to commemorate the first death anniversary of their mother, former President Corazon Aquino.

 

PAGASA: Expect thunderstorms, La Niña rains

1. The Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) advised the public to brace for rainshowers and thunderstorms on Friday and more "La Niña" rains by August.

 

Cops recover stolen vehicles of ex-envoy, actor; 2 suspects fall

1. The carjacked vehicles of former Ambassador Roberto Romulo and actor Derek Arthur Ramsay have been recovered in a series of police operations in Metro Manila, a report said Friday.

 

LRTA head says fare hike to end 'unfair' subsidies

1. Regular commuters of the Light and Metro Rail Transit systems may not agree with the fare hike proposal, but an official on Friday said the move will relieve residents outside Metro Manila of the burden of paying taxes to subsidize the transportation service.

 

Lone winner bags P109-M Superlotto jackpot

1. A lone winner won nearly P110 million in the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office's Superlotto 6/49 draw Thursday night.

 

Palace open to drug test for officials

1. Even though drug tests for government employees are not mandated by law, Malacañang on Thursday said it is open to the idea of its officials undergoing drug tests in light of a congressman's arrest in Hong Kong over drug charges.

 

972 pass Agriculturist Licensure Exam

1. A total of 972 out of 2,689 passed the Agriculturist Licensure Examination given in the cities of Manila, Baguio, Cagayan de Oro, Cebu, Davao, Iloilo, Legazpi, Lucena, Tacloban, Tuguegarao and Zamboanga earlier this month, the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) said on Thursday.

 

Talks for Navy's transfer to Camp Aguinaldo start

1. The Philippine Navy may lose its headquarters along Roxas Boulevard in Manila within the next six months, following the Aquino administration's plan to lease the property to foreign investors.

 

Luisita mill owners chopped workers' 13th month pay in 'bad faith' - SC

1. The Supreme Court (SC) has declared that Central Azucarera de Tarlac (CAT), the sugar milling company owned by the family of President Benigno Aquino III, acted in bad faith when it reduced the 13th-month pay of its employees, following a strike in 2004 that ended in violence and killed at least seven people.

 

MMDA chief accuses 3 bus firms of payola

1. At least three bus firms had been giving monthly payoffs to unscrupulous Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) personnel, the agency's newly appointed chairman, Francis Tolentino, said Thursday.

 

2 separate budgets for CommGroup eyed

1. Two Cabinet secretaries and two budgets for one department. A setup of this kind looms in President Benigno Aquino III's Communications Group, with presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda saying Thursday that the group's two heads will likely defend their respective budgets before Congress.

 

Arroyo to cooperate in Truth Commission probe, but...

1. Former president and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo is ready to take part in the hearings that might be called for by the soon-to-be-formed Truth Commission, which is supposed to investigate the alleged anomalies of the previous administration.

 

Legarda wants to restructure NFA

1. Amid criticisms of an oversupply of rice due to excessive importation, Senator Loren Legarda on Thursday called for the complete restructuring of the National Food Authority (NFA).

 

Finance dep't to look into NFA, DPWH mess

1. Finance secretary Cesar Purisima on Thursday said his department will look into allegedly anomalous deals the National Food Authority and the Department of Public Works and Highways entered into during the Arroyo administration, with specific focus on possible tax issues.

 

Carandang's independence from former employer questioned

1. A senator on Thursday vowed to grill Ricky Carandang, an official of the Aquino administration's Communications Group, when he faces members of the bicameral appointments body.

 

Planned MRT fare hike to test PNoy's political will-oppositionist

1. "Do you want to be right or do you want to be popular?" An opposition lawmaker posed this rhetorical question for President Benigno Aquino III on Thursday, saying that the planned increase in the fare of Metro Rail Transit 3 will test the chief executive's political will.

 

Lawmakers warned: Wear proper attire or be marked absent

1. Lawmakers who will not wear appropriate attire during session will be marked absent. This was the warning given by the Secretariat of the House of Representatives through an advisory issued Wednesday, three days after the 15th Congress opened its session.

 

Ex-IBP president Joel Cadiz is new SolGen

1. Former Integrated Bar of the Philippines president Jose Anselmo "Joel" Cadiz is the new solicitor general, presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda announced Thursday.

 

PAGASA: Meteor shower due 2nd week of August

1. Barring moonlight and light pollution, stargazers can expect a treat in mid-August watching a meteor shower, state astronomers said Thursday.

 

PSG checking 'minor' security threats vs Aquino

1. The Presidential Security Group (PSG) is checking reports of possible security threats against President Benigno Aquino III, even as the President's impending move from his Times Street to Bahay Pangarap should make it easier to secure him.

 

Sayyaf member in 1995 hostage-taking pleads guilty in US

1. A founding member of the al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf group who was allegedly involved in the kidnapping of more than a dozen American and Filipino tourists 15 years ago in southern Philippines had pleaded guilty to the crime before a federal court in Washington DC.

 

Pro-life parents drop class suit vs sex ed

1. Pro-life parents dropped on Thursday the class suit they filed against former Department of Education (DepEd) Secretary Mona Valisno for implementing sex education in schools.

 

Palace, senators welcome Marines' 'Hello Garci' testimonies

1. Malacañang and some senators on Thursday welcomed the willingness of several senior Marine officials to testify about the "Hello Garci" 2004 election scandal.

 

Tricycle driver files disqualification case vs Mikey Arroyo

1. Even a member of the marginalized sector that former presidential son Mikey Arroyo supposedly represents in the House of Representatives wants him disqualified.

 

Paje orders probe of alleged Angat illegal logging, squatting

1. Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Secretary Ramon Paje ordered Thursday an immediate investigation of the reported illegal logging and squatting at the Angat watershed in Norzagaray, Bulacan.

 

 

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