Pinoy Meets World

Fugitive Senator Panfilo Lacson was last spotted in Rome by intelligence agents, National Bureau of Investigation director Magtanggol Gatdula said on Thursday.

At a news briefing, Gatdula also called on his former boss to surrender already so the investigation on the November 2000 killing of publicist Salvador “Bubby” Dacer and driver Emmanuel Corbito may finally begin again.

“We are exerting all our efforts. As far as the last monitoring sa kaniya, dun sa may Rome. [We are] continuing interaction and cooperation with the Interpol,” Gatdula said, referring to the International Crime Police Organization which has issued a Red Notice for Lacson’s arrest.  Read more... (254 words, 1 image, estimated 1:01 mins reading time)

MANILA, Philippines – Gilbert Teodoro found himself in the hot seat at a youth forum Friday when he and other presidential candidates were asked whether they would make President Macapagal-Arroyo accountable for anything anomalous that happened in her administration.

At the forum at the De La Salle University (DLSU)-Manila campus, moderator Ted Failon asked the presidential hopefuls: “Is there something for which President Arroyo should be held accountable? How should she be made accountable?”

At first, Teodoro, the administration presidential candidate, hesitated to give an answer, saying his previous working relationship with the President bars him from doing so.  Read more... (173 words, estimated 42 secs reading time)

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, along with a group of Filipino-American experts on urban planning, will visit the Philippines next week to assist in the ”heavy lifting” of the Philippine government’s reconstruction and rehabilitation efforts.

Executive Director Butch Meily of the Philippine Disaster Recovery Foundation, which serves as partner of the Special National Public-Private Reconstruction Commission (SNPRC), announced the scheduled arrival of the California-based experts on reconstruction and rehabilitation along with the Hollywood action hero-turned-politician.

He said in a press briefing last Thursday that Schwarzenegger and company ”will be spending days” in Manila to share with their counterparts their practices and strategies in addressing damages brought by catastrophes.  Read more... (188 words, estimated 45 secs reading time)

MANILA, Philippines – Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago on Tuesday walked out of a Senate plenary session after criticizing Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile and fellow senators who engaged in gutter talk during Monday’s floor debates on the ethics case of Senator Manny Villar.

In an impassioned speech, Santiago reminded her fellow senators that the rules of the Senate frown on the use of improper language during debates in the plenary, especially against each other.

“Our language and behavior did not serve the nation…Our parliamentary immunity entitles us to freedom from liability in anything we say or do against anybody except our fellow senator or against any public institution such as the institution of the presidency, Congress or Supreme Court,” she said.  Read more... (199 words, estimated 48 secs reading time)

MANILA, Philippines – Liberal Party (LP) presidential candidate Sen. Benigno Aquino III’s lead in opinion polls has “significantly dropped” to single-digit levels while Lakas-Kampi-CMD standard-bearer Gilberto Teodoro Jr. surged to a double-digit mark for the first time since entering the race, according to results of the first survey taken after the Dec. 1 deadline for candidates to file their certificates of candidacy (COCs).

A poll conducted by the Issues and Advocacy Center (The Center) from Dec. 2 to 6 showed Sen. Manuel Villar Jr. of the Nacionalista Party (NP) cut Aquino’s lead to seven points by improving to 24 percent.  Read more... (232 words, estimated 56 secs reading time)

MANILA, Philippines – The Ampatuans, the primary suspects in the brutal killing of 57 people in Maguindanao last November 23, might be released from detention after the ifting of martigal in the province, a presidential bet today claimed.

Felix Cantal, Philippine Green Republic party standard bearer, said removing military rule could lead to the release of people arrested during that time, such as the Ampatuans, their supporters and civilian volunteer organizations.

Under martial law, defendants in a murder case can never be given bail but without military rule, they can file for bail, said Cantal, a former member of the United Nations International Court of Justice.  Read more... (178 words, estimated 43 secs reading time)

MANILA, Philippines – Despite the certainty of her victory over possible rivals, President Arroyo’s congressional bid next year may be heading for a legal maelstrom, according to her senator-allies.

The senators said that while there is no legal impediment to Mrs. Arroyo’s running for a House seat and keeping her job as President at the same time, the Supreme Court may still have to decide on whether the ban on re-election covers lower elective posts.  Read more... (295 words, estimated 1:11 mins reading time)