House passes bunch of bills on 3rd reading

By Maricel V. Cruz

IT WAS business as usual at the House of Representatives as the chamber passed several bills on final reading in preparation for its scheduled sine die adjournment next week.

By Vince Lopez

for a writ of habeas corpus filed before the Manila Regional Trial Court (RTC) by Rivero.

The three other arrested suspects had earlier been identified as Joric Garido Labrador, Joven Calibjo Javier, and Benjie Buladola R. Rodriguez.

“Family (wife) doesn’t want to talk to him, according to WPP (Witness Protection Program),” Remulla said of Rivero.

Earlier, Remulla had said that suspects in custody have expressed willingness to cooperate in the investigation in the March 4 killings.

Also, the Justice Secretary said the families of the suspects have asked that they be placed under the DOJ’s WPP for their protection.

Like them, Rivero was previously charged in court with illegal possession of firearms and explosives related to the assassination of Degamo.

With their arrests, the DOJ said the four suspects were initially charged before the Bayawan City RTC with three counts of illegal possession of firearms, ammunition, and explosives.

In previous statements, the Justice Department said the four suspects pointed to the participation of Marvin H. Miranda, the arrested bodyguard of Teves, in the killings.

The National Bureau of Investigation on May 17 filed complaints before the DOJ against Teves for 10 counts of murder, 14 counts of frustrated murder, and four counts of attempted murder.

As of Friday, the DOJ has yet to evaluate the complaints for action.

In his counter-affidavit, Rivero said in Filipino: “It’s not true that I know a person named Marvin. It is also not true that I pointed at the photo of Teves because I never knew him and have never met him. It is not true that I knew of the planning in the killing Degamo and it is not true that I am familiar with the guns and clothes used because I never used nor seen those.”

Rivero recounted that in the morning of March 5, 2023, he was arrested by police and taken to the PNP’s Provincial Intelligence Unit.

“When I was taken to the Provincial Intelligence Unit, they told me I was pointed at by three other suspects who got arrested and investigated over the planning and entering the Degamo family compount in Pamplona, Negros Oriental. I was tortured. I was suffocated by covering my head with a plastic bag and they used a wire to strangle me. I passed out and, when I regained consciousness, I noticed swelling on my neck that I still complain about.

LTO...

From A1 always share in Secretary Bautista’s belief that our offices can be a formidable force for good in our country,” he added.

Tugade, son of former Transport Secretary Arthur Tugade, resigned after his agency was criticized over the shortage of plastic cards for driver’s licenses, which prompted the agency to print out licenses on paper.

The agency also said license plates for motorcycles are expected to run out by June and those for four-wheeled vehicles by July.

The younger Tugade was first appointed as acting general manager of the Manila International Airport Authority but was reappointed as head of the LTO.

Bautista thanked Tugade for his seven-month stint as LTO chief, saying his pursuit of service innovations at LTO benefited the public.

PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Monday appointed Paulino “Paul” Mahinay Gutierrez as the new Executive Director of the Presidential Task Force on Media Security (PTFoMS), among a slew of appointments revealed by the Palace for positions in several agencies. Gutierrez was the Executive Director of the National Press Club and takes over with a rank of Undersecretary from another NPC veteran, Jose Joel Sy Egco.

Napoles...

From A1 were found guilty.

Revilla was also eventually acquitted in 2021 in the graft cases after the court granted his demurrer to evidence. The First Division cited the failure of the prosecution to prove Napoles guilt beyond reasonable doubt.

The court said: “Considering that the charge of plunder against Revilla, his former political officer Atty. Richard Cambe and Napoles also constitute as graft since they are based on ‘predicate acts,’ the liability of the accused could no longer be determined as they were already included in the plunder case for which they were already prosecuted for.”

“This fact became even more apparent after the presentation of the same testimonial and documentary evidence in both cases,” the court added in the resolution written by Associate Justice Geraldine Faith Econg. Division Chairman Efren de La Cruz and Associate Justice Arthur Malabaguio concurred.

‘Mano...

From A1

Gonzales, on the other hand, belongs to the former ruling party, PDP-Laban.

Gonzales’ election prompted Arroyo to issue a statement denying rumors that she was behind a move to unseat Romualdez as Speaker.

Earlier in the day, the 51-strong Visayan Bloc in the House expressed

Gasoline...

From A1 higher than the first four days of trading forecast last week of about P0.10 to P0.40 per liter.

From A1 7-hour...

“Petron will implement the following price adjustments effective 6 a.m. on

From A1 the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) said.

Thick, black smoke billowed hundreds of meters into the sky as flames gutted the neo-classical Manila Central Post Office that overlooks the Pasig River.

It took firefighters more than seven hours to get the inferno under control.

“The whole building has burned down from the basement all the way to the fifth floor,” Postmaster General Luis Carlos told DZBB radio.

The fire broke out Sunday evening and reached the first alarm at 11:41 p.m. It escalated to general alarm, or its highest fire alarm level, at 5:54 a.m. on Monday and was declared under control at 7:22 a.m.

The cause of the blaze was being investigated, he said.

Fire brigades from across the capital deployed personnel to fight the blaze that

It was contained in an appointment paper released and confirmed by the Presidential Communications Office on Monday.

Philippine Information Agency Director General Mon Cualoping, however, resigned last night, saying he tendered it on April 4 to give PCO Secretary Cheloy Velicaria-Garafil a free hand “to choose whom she sees best” to lead the PIA.

Malacañan Palace also announced the latest appointments to the Marcos administration, made on May 17, at the

The anti-graft court also acquitted Gondelina Amata, Ofelia Ordoñez, Sofia Cruz, Evelyn Sucgang, Francisco Figura, Maria Rosalinda Lacsamana, Marivic Jover, Consuelo Lilian Espiritu, Victor Roman Cacal, and Maria Ninez Guanizo.

The First Division, however, found accused Dennis Cunanan, Gregoria Buenaventura, Rhodora Mendoza, Evelyn de Leon, Laarni Uy, and Jocelyn Piorato guilty and were meted out six to eight years of imprisonment and perpetual disqualification from public office.

The cases against accused Cambe, Eulogio Rodriguez, and Emmanuel Alexis Sevidal were dismissed due to their death.

The Sandiganbayan Second Division’s decision, on the other hand, stated that the Anti-Money Laundering Council report affirmed the testimony of whistleblower Benhur Luy that nongovernment organizations involved in the PDAF scheme were owned, controlled, and operated by Napoles.

Aside from Napoles, accused Belina Concepcion and Mylene Encarnacion, as full support for Romualdez.

The bloc’s leader, Rep. Jose Francisco Benitez of Negros Occidental, said in a statement: “Speaker Romualdez has been a paragon of public service, demonstrating effective leadership through competence, diligence, and goodwill. We will continue to work with him to deliver on the President’s priority legislative agenda and uplift the lives of Filipinos.”

At least seven political blocs in the

May 23: P0.80 per li increase for gasoline; P0.60 per liter increase for diesel and P0.10 per liter rollback for kerosene. These reflect movements in the international oil market,” Petron Corp. said in its advisory. Phoenix Petroleum Philippines, Cleanfuel, Seaoil Philippines, Jetti Petroleum, PTT Philippines, and Chevron Philip- injured 11—nine firefighters, one volunteer, and a civilian. Damage from the fire is estimated to reach around P300 million.

Designed by architects Juan Arellano and Tomas Mapua, the Manila Central Post Office was built in 1926 and was once considered the “grandest building” in Manila, according to its website.

It was destroyed in World War II as US forces recaptured the capital from Japanese occupation forces, and was rebuilt in 1946.

The Philippine National Museum declared the building an “important cultural property” in 2018.

Letters, parcels, and the postal agency’s entire stamp collection were in the building and are likely destroyed, Carlos said, adding that they were looking at indemnity for burned parcels.

Mark Laurente, chief of staff of the postmaster general said the fire started in the basement storage rooms.

Structural engineers will assess the integrity of the building to determine if well as Maria Rosalinda Lacsamana were also found guilty by the court of graft. pines issued separate advisories on the latest domestic pump price movement.

Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD), and the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC).

Retired police chief superintendent Renato Gumban has been appointed Deputy Director General of PDEA, the PCO confirmed. Alvin Feliciano, who served as the chairman of the Presidential Commission for the Urban Poor, was appointed as an assistant general manager of the National Housing Authority.

“Unfortunately, accused Napoles, Encarnacion, and de Leon did not even present any evidence to debunk the above facts,” the anti-graft court said.

The court ordered Napoles, Concepcion, Encarnacion, and Lacsamana to indemnify the government P7.6 million, which was the amount of the PDAF “wrongfully and illegally” disbursed.

The four were also convicted of malversation and ordered to pay a fine of the same amount of P7.6 million.

Others who were implicated in the graft and malversation cases were acquitted, namely Mario Relampagos, Rosario Nuñez, Lalaine Paule, Marilou Bare, Dennis Cunanan, Francisco Figura, Marivic Jover, and Maurine Dimaranan, for the failure of the prosecution to prove their guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

Cagas was dropped from the cases following his death in 2021.

Napoles has been serving a 20- to 40year sentence in the Correctional Institution for Women after a Makati court convicted her of serious illegal detention.

House – Lakas-CMD, the National Unity Party (NUP), the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC), the Party-List Foundation Inc., (PCFI), PDP-Laban, the Nacionalista Party (NP), and the minority bloc – have all expressed support to the leadership of Romualdez.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Friday shrugged off insinuations that there is more to the movement at the House other than being “just a run of the mill” reorganization.

World oil prices went up last week amid reports that leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) nations plan to tighten sanctions on Russia at their summit in Japan.

Reports that the US plans to purchase oil for its strategic petroleum reserve and the raging wildfires in Canada it should be repaired or condemned.

The Philippine Statistics Authority said it is coordinating with the Philippine Postal Corporation (PHLPost) regarding the PhilIDs that may have been destroyed in the fire.

Based on the initial reports from PHLPost, an undetermined number of national IDs that were supposed to be delivered in Manila were destroyed in the fire. The PSA said it would replace all affected IDs without charging the registered persons.

In the next few days, the Manila Central Post Office operations will be moved to the Foreign Surface Mail Distribution Center (FSMDC) building, Carlos said.

The corporate offices will be housed at the building beside the burned post office and at the canteen area, he added.

Manila Mayor Honey Lacuña said the city would coordinate with the national government to restore the gutted post office.

Senator Robin Padilla called for a congressional inquiry into the fire “with the

Among the bills passed on the third and final reading were the measures increasing disability pensions for military veterans, dependents, establishing voucher system for poor students in tertiary education, institutionalizing ‘One Town, One Product’ program to boost MSMEs, and strengthening IPOPHL, efforts against piracy, counterfeiting; declaring August 1 a special working holiday to commemorate the declaration of Philippine Independence; and on discounted waived fees on pre-employment requirements for indigent jobseekers Voting 268 against zero and one abstention, lawmakers approved House Bill (HB) 7939 or “An Act Rationalizing the Disability Pension of Veterans,” which amends Republic Act 6948 as amended by RA 7696, or the laws that standardized and upgraded the benefits for military veterans and their dependents. RA 6948 and RA 7696 were enacted in 1990 and 1994, respectively. HB 7939 seeks to increase the pensions mandated under these laws.

Food...

From A1 we have never had, but it is something that we can see that has been effective in other countries,” he told reporters during his visit to the ADB headquarters in Mandaluyong City on Monday. fueled supply worries and also influenced domestic pump price movement. Analysts also took notice of the latest report of the International Energy Agency, which raised its forecast for world oil demand growth in 2023 to 2.2 million barrels per day, with China’s rebound even stronger than previously expected. aim of revisiting and strengthening policies for the preservation and protection of cultural properties against fire and other hazards.”

An estimated 3 million Filipino families experienced hunger at least once in the last three months of 2022 – or leading into the Christmas holidays -- a survey by the Social Weather Stations (SWS) released in January showed.

The national survey of 1,200 adults found that 11.8 percent of Filipino families experienced involuntary hunger, which means being hungry and not having anything to eat, in the fourth quarter of last year.

The number of families facing hunger from October to December was highest in Mindanao at 12.7 percent, followed by the Visayas at 12 percent, Metro Manila at 11.7 percent, and Balance Luzon at 11.3 percent.

“It has been highest in Mindanao in 38 out of 100 surveys since July 1998,” the SWS noted.

During his visit to the ADB, Mr. Marcos met with the bank’s president, Masatsugu Asakawa, to discuss present and future projects geared toward the Philippines’ post-pandemic recovery and climate change resilience.

The President also discussed with the ADB guests and officials the 8-point socioeconomic agenda of his administration, wherein laid the blueprint for the Philippine Economic Development Plan for 2023 to 2028.

“This recent incident underscores the vulnerability of our national cultural heritage to fire and other hazards and highlights the urgent need to revisit and assess the effectiveness of existing preservation and protection measures,” he said in his resolution.

“It is of public interest to provide policies that will prevent or mitigate the effect of fire and other hazards to protect and preserve our national cultural heritage,” he added.

“The Manila Central Post Office is a tangible representation of the nation’s culture and history, and its damage is a blow to the country’s cultural heritage,” he said.

House Deputy Speaker and Batangas City Rep. Ralph Recto on Monday called for the immediate reconstruction of the post office. With Julito G. Rada and AFP