Tuesday, May 20, 2008

I. BANNER STORIES

1. Philippine Daily Inquirer

Fare hikes deferred

Transport sector ‘confused’ with gov’t about-face

By Riza T. Olchondra

Philippine Daily Inquirer

First Posted 01:12:00 05/20/2008

MANILA, Philippines—Invoking the public interest, Transportation Secretary Leandro Mendoza Monday put off the implementation of fare increases for jeepneys and buses—a surprise government turnaround that provoked threats of a strike from militant drivers.

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20080520-137592/Fare-hikes-deferred

2. The Philippine Star

‘Cosme’ death toll rises to 21

By Eva Visperas

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Strong winds and heavy rains brought by storm “Cosme” killed 21 people and injured nine others as it slammed Northern Luzon last Saturday, the Provincial Disaster Coordination Councils (PDCCs) in the affected areas reported yesterday.

http://www.philstar.com/index.php?Headlines&p=49&type=2&sec=24&aid=20080519105

3. Manila Times

‘Word war’ rattles Meralco investors

Utility firm to present plan to lower electricity rates to Cabinet

By Likha Cuevas-Miel, Reporter

The word war between the government and the Lopez family for control of Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) is giving foreign investors second thoughts about putting their money in the country’s biggest power distributor.

http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2008/may/20/yehey/top_stories/20080520top1.html

4. Malaya

Fare increase deferred

DOTC tells LTFRB to do more studies

BY ASHZEL HACHERO

THE Department of Transportation and Communication yesterday deferred the 50-centavo to P1.50 increase in jeepney and bus fares as it ordered the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board to conduct further studies on the implication of the increase.

http://www.malaya.com.ph/may20/news1.htm

5. Manila Bulletin

12 dead as ‘Cosme’ leaves RP

Storm displaces 35,000 people in 4 regions

‘Cosme’ leaves 12 dead, 35,000 people homeless

By RIO ROSE RIBAYA

Tropical storm "Cosme" has left 12 people dead and nine others injured and displaced 35,000 persons due to strong winds, floods, and landslides in Northern Luzon, Central Luzon, Western Visayas, and the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) said yesterday.

http://www.mb.com.ph/MAIN20080520125076.html

6. The Daily Tribune

Lopezes say assaults on Meralco retaliatory

05/20/2008

The Lopez family yesterday practically attributed the attacks being waged on power giant Manila Electric Co. (Meralco), which it controls, on the Arroyo administration saying it was both a retaliation and at the same time a way to deflect blame.

http://www.tribune.net.ph/headlines/20080520hed1.html

7. Abante

14 NIRATRAT SA LAGUNA

BELL DESOLO, NILO MARASIGAN at ERIKA MAALA

CALAMBA CITY --- Hindi pa man nalulutas ang bank rob-massacre sa Cabuyao, Laguna noong Biyernes, isa pang madugong masaker ang isinagawa sa lalawigang ito ng nag-iisang suspek na armado ng armalite rifle kamakalawa ng gabi kung saan 8-katao ang nasawi, kabilang ang limang paslit, at ikinasugat ng anim na iba pa.

http://www.abante.com.ph/issue/may2008/default.htm

8. Abante-Tonite

9. Pilipino Star Ngayon

Casiño inupakan sa Meralco takeover

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

“Ano siya, taga-depensa ng mga Lopez?” Ito ang buwelta ng Association of Democratic Labor Organization sa pahayag ni party-list Rep. Teddy Casiño na may tatlong crony ni Presidente Arroyo ang ibig kumontrol sa Manila Electric Company.

http://www.philstar.com/index.php?Bansa&p=50&type=2&sec=54&aid=2008051962

10. Journal

HOLD IT

By: Joel dela Torre

Fare hike only suspended -- LTFRB

TRANSPORTATION Secretary Leandro Mendoza yesterday froze the provisional fares approved by the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board.

http://www.journal.com.ph/index.php?issue=2008-05-20&sec=1&aid=60224

11. Business World

BY IRA P. PEDRASA, Reporter

Wage hike cost: P473/worker

METRO MANILA minimum wages may have been raised to P382 per day but employers will in fact have to shell out P472.75, official simulations show.

http://www.bworldonline.com/BW052008/content.php?id=001

12. Business Mirror

Group eyes government Meralco stake

By Honey Madrilejos-Reyes

Reporter

FIVE foreign companies are interested in joining the Lopez-owned First Philippine Holdings Corp. (FPHC) in a planned consortium that would acquire the 29-percent stake of the government in the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco).

http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/05202008/headlines01.html

II. POLITICAL

Meralco chair won’t be meeting with Arroyo

By Elizabeth Sanchez-Lacson, Ronnel Domingo

Philippine Daily Inquirer

First Posted 01:19:00 05/20/2008

MANILA, Philippines—President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and the Lopezes are not about to bury the hatchet in the white sands of Panglao island—not on Tuesday, anyway.

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20080520-137593/Meralco-chair-wont-be-meeting-with-Arroyo

Esperon appointment under fire

By Dona Pazzibugan

Philippine Daily Inquirer

First Posted 05:52:00 05/20/2008

MANILA, Philippines—The appointment of newly retired Gen. Hermogenes Esperon Jr. as presidential adviser on the peace process has led some senators to wonder if the Arroyo administration is out to sabotage the negotiations with communist insurgents and Moro separatists.

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20080520-137630/Esperon-appointment-under-fire

Villafuerte files resolution on Meralco refund

By Norman Bordadora

Philippine Daily Inquirer

First Posted 05:53:00 05/20/2008

MANILA, Philippines—Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Villafuerte Monday filed a resolution suggesting that Manila Electric Co. be made to refund what he called the illegally passed-on cost of Meralco’s own use of electricity that was “improperly classified as systems loss.”

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20080520-137631/Villafuerte-files-resolution-on-Meralco-refund

Senators worth a collective P2B

By Gil C. Cabacungan Jr.

Philippine Daily Inquirer

First Posted 05:54:00 05/20/2008

MANILA, Philippines -- The collective net worth of the senators of the land rose by seven percent last year to P2 billion with Senate President Manuel Villar as the first billionaire member of the chamber, their official statements of assets and liabilities as of December 2007 showed.

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20080520-137632/Senators-worth-a-collective-P2B

Lacson positioning self for 2010?

By Gil C. Cabacungan Jr.

Philippine Daily Inquirer

First Posted 05:55:00 05/20/2008

MANILA, Philippines -- In a move seen to shore up his bid for a second crack at the presidency in 2010, Sen. Panfilo “Ping” Lacson is joining the Partido Demokratikong Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) led by opposition stalwarts Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr. and Makati City Mayor Jejomar Binay.

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20080520-137633/Lacson-positioning-self-for-2010

Rights groups decry latest disappearance

Philippine Daily Inquirer

First Posted 05:55:00 05/20/2008

MANILA, Philippines -- Human rights groups Karapatan and desaparecidos on Monday called for an independent fact-finding and investigation team to look into what could be, based on their count, the 194th case of an enforced disappearance.

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20080520-137634/Rights-groups-decry-latest-disappearance

This 1999 PMA grad is now an instructor pilot

By Tarra Quismundo

Philippine Daily Inquirer

First Posted 05:56:00 05/20/2008

MANILA, Philippines—After each successful touchdown, she would pat Huey on its side, kiss it on the nose, and whisper her thanks for another smooth flight.

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20080520-137635/This-1999-PMA-grad-is-now-an-instructor-pilot

Self-rated food poverty rises to 40%

By Helen Flores

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Forty percent of Filipino families or about 7.1 million consider themselves “mahirap” (poor) in terms of food, a survey of the Social Weather Stations (SWS) showed.

http://www.philstar.com/index.php?Headlines&p=49&type=2&sec=24&aid=20080519106

GMA to Unesco: RP education improving

By Marvin Sy

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

The government’s education services for the poor have improved significantly, unexplained killings are down and the country’s press remains one of the freest in the world.

http://www.philstar.com/index.php?Headlines&p=49&type=2&sec=24&aid=20080519107

Napocor to seek 40¢/kwh rate cut

By Donnabelle Gatdula

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

State-owned National Power Corp. (Napocor) will file a petition to lower its power rates in the Luzon grid by more than 40 centavos per kilowatt-hour.

http://www.philstar.com/index.php?Headlines&p=49&type=2&sec=24&aid=20080519108

Fare hike deferred; P2 fuel aid OK’d

By Rainier Allan Ronda

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

A provisional fare increase for public utility jeepneys and buses was deferred by the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) yesterday so it could be reviewed by the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA).

http://www.philstar.com/index.php?Headlines&p=49&type=2&sec=24&aid=20080519109

Informant seeks to compel BIR to collect unpaid Meralco, First Gas taxes

By Perseus Echeminada

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

A man who claims to be a registered tax informant is set to file a case today with the Court of Tax Appeals in Quezon City to compel the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) to collect more than P100 billion in unpaid taxes from the Manila Electric Co. and First Gas Power Corp.

http://www.philstar.com/index.php?Headlines&p=49&type=2&sec=24&aid=20080519113

New CHR chief tells human rights victims to trust her

By Katherine Adraneda

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Newly appointed Commission on Human Rights (CHR) chairperson Leila de Lima formally assumed her post yesterday, confessing to being a “neophyte in the human rights circle” but appealed for trust from human rights victims and their families while pushing for independence, transparency, and credibility for the Fourth Commission under her helm.

http://www.philstar.com/index.php?Headlines&p=49&type=2&sec=24&aid=20080519114

MILF sees delays in peace process with Esperon’s appointment

By Edith Regalado

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

DAVAO CITY – Former Armed Forces chief Hermogenes Esperon Jr.’s appointment as presidential peace adviser will further delay the long-stalled peace talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), the separatist movement said yesterday.

http://www.philstar.com/index.php?Headlines&p=49&type=2&sec=24&aid=20080519115

Meralco head, GSIS chief invited to meeting with GMA today

By Marvin Sy

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

The presidents of the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) and the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) are expected to be among the resource persons in today’s Cabinet meeting in Bohol where the issue of energy will be tackled.

http://www.philstar.com/index.php?Headlines&p=49&type=2&sec=24&aid=20080519117

Zubiri files bill seeking return of death penalty for certain heinous crime

By Aurea Calica

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Several senators are calling for the reinstatement of the death penalty for certain heinous crimes, including terror acts, as a means to promote peace and order in the country.

http://www.philstar.com/index.php?Headlines&p=49&type=2&sec=24&aid=20080519119

Pananakot sa testigo itinanggi ng Palasyo

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Itinanggi ng Palasyo ang akusasyon ni Iloilo Vice Governor Rolex Suplico na tinatakot daw ng Malacañang ang hawak niyang bagong testigo sa anomalya sa national broadband network project na iniimbestigahan sa Senado.

http://www.philstar.com/index.php?Bansa&p=50&type=2&sec=54&aid=2008051963

Nograles favors suspending EVAT on electricity bills

By EDMER F. PANESA

House Speaker Prospero C. Nograles said yesterday that he would rather have the 12- percent Expanded Value-Added Tax (EVAT) imposed on electricity suspended than see people take the law into their own hands.

http://www.mb.com.ph/MAIN20080520125079.html

Witness ‘Alex’ missing; NBN probe to push on with ‘Joe’

By Angie M. Rosales

05/20/2008

All too suddenly, ZTE-National Broadband Network (NBN) scam witness, known only by his alias “Alex,” has gone missing, according to his handler Iloilo Vice Gov. Rolex Suplico who only a week ago claimed that Alex was being guided by him to recognize the pressure styles of Malacañang while in a safehouse Suplico had arranged.

http://www.tribune.net.ph/headlines/20080520hed5.html

SNITS dropped in Senate version of tax relief bill

THE SENATE is moving to pass its own version of a tax relief bill for workers, moving closer to a clash with the House of Representatives over how to minimize the impact on the government.

http://www.bworldonline.com/BW052008/content.php?id=006

Lozada ’di bibitiwan ng Senado sa ZTE-NBN deal probe

By: Marlon Purificacion

HINDI pa rin bibitawan ng Senado si ZTE-NBN broad-band scandal witness Rodolfo ‘Jun’ Lozada kahit na may panawagan na ang ilang senador na bitawan na ang pagbibigay ng seguridad dahil na rin sa sobrang mahal na ginagastos sa kanya.

http://www.journal.com.ph/index.php?issue=2008-05-20&sec=4&aid=60179

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