Balita newsletter for April 24
Balita News Group
-- GMA congratulates two cops who rescued Schilling
-- GMA says key personalities in kidnappings and other major crimes have
been pinpointed
-- GMA is first president to visit Chinatown
-- De Villa to undergo heart bypass operation
-- Opposition tells GMA to include FVR anomalies in graft probe
-- Comelec says Erap can vote
-- Honasan tells NDF to give up inflexible demands
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NOW THE NEWS IN DETAIL...
President Macapagal-Arroyo congratulated the two policemen from Sulu who
were promoted for their important roles in the daring rescue of Jeffrey
Schilling from the Abu Sayyaf.
The President conveyed her felicitations to SPO3 Hagim Abdani Timbang and
SPO3 Asiri Inog Buclao during her visit yesterday to Chinatown in Binondo,
Manila.
In an earlier ceremony at Camp Crame in Quezon City, PNP Chief Director
General Leandro Mendoza led in honoring Timbang and Buclao by promoting
them to Senior Police Officer 4.
Also honored in the ceremony was Timbang's 16-year-old son Nidzmar who
received a cash award of P20,000 and a full scholarship grant at the
Southern City High School in Zamboanga City.
Both policemen, who are members of the Luuk Police Station in Sulu, also
received a special cash award of P50,000 each from the PNP chief.
Their promotion was recommended by Senior Superintendent Acmad Omar,
Regional Police Director in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
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MEANWHILE...
President Macapagal-Arroyo told members of the Chinese Filipino Business
Club during a meeting at the Seafood Restaurant in Binondo that the
administration has pinpointed key personalities -- including police
officers -- engaged in kidnapping, smuggling, illegal drug trade and
prostitution.
Vowing to cut the tentacles of these criminal groups, the President called
on the Chinese-Filipino community to stop assisting police officers who
pretend to help them but who are, in fact, engaged in kidnap-for-ransom
activities and other crimes.
The President described the key personalities engaged in high crimes as
"very clever," who kidnap their victims for ransom and rescue them at the
same time.
The President said some of these personalities even asked for monetary
contributions from the Chinese-Filipino community to help in their
anti-kidnapping operations.
According to the President, these personalities give out orders to their
contacts in the underworld to organize a holdup or a kidnap-for ransom
activity.
The President said these officials, according to reports, have outstanding
links to organized criminal groups such as the Kuratong Baleleng, the
Ilonggo Group, Solid Group and the Spider Group.
The President also called on the Chinese-Filipino community to give Senior
Supt. Reynaldo Berroya a chance to fulfill his new job as intelligence
chief of the Philippine National Police.
Berroya himself had been implicated in kidnap-for-ransom and spent several
months in the national penitentiary.
But the Presidents said, the Supreme Court had acquitted Berroya.
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IN A RELATED DEVELOPMENT...
President Macapagal-Arroyo made history yesterday as the first Philippine
President to formally visit Chinatown in the Binondo district of Manila.
The President walked the stretch of Quintin Paredes St. amid dragon dances
and cheers and fiesta-like atmosphere at the Filipino-Chinese community.
The President visited the statue of the late Ramon Ongpin, a businessman
and philanthropist for whom the popular street in Chinatown was named.
The President also visited Binondo Church where she and First Gentleman
Atty. Mike Arroyo, were met by Monsignor Josefino Ramirez, the parish
priest of the Binondo Church.
>From Binondo Church, the President walked the stretch of Ongpin St. to
Seafood Restaurant where she had a luncheon meeting with members of the
Chinese Filipino Business Club.
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IN MALACANANG...
Newly-appointed Presidential Spokesman Rigoberto Tiglao yesterday confirmed
that Executive Secretary Renato de Villa will undergo a heart bypass
operation at the Makati Medical Center and will be out of duty for about
two to three weeks.
In his first press briefing at the Kalayaan Hall, Tiglao said President
Macapagal-Arroyo hasn't designated any replacement for De Villa yet.
Tiglao said he was able to talk to de Villa just before the briefing and de
Villa told him he was in good spirits and was not complaining of anything
when he underwent his regular medical checkup last Friday.
Dr. George Garcia of the Makati Medical Center, the doctor who conducted de
Villa's regular medical checkup, suggested that the Executive Secretary
undergo a heart bypass operation.
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IN OTHER NEWS...
The Laban-Puwersa ng Masa coalition has challenged the Arroyo
administration to investigate former President Ramos and other officials
involved in the P9 billion Centennial Expo and Amari land anomalies if only
to prove it is sparing no one from its much-touted campaign against
official corruption.
The opposition said the Arroyo administration cannot ignore the massive
volumes of evidence gathered by the Ad Hoc and Independent Citizens'
committee chaired by former Sen. Rene Saguisag.
The Arroyo administration should not conceal the anomalies of its allies by
coming up with fabricated charges against other people, the opposition said.
The opposition issued the statement following reports that the Arroyo
government will also investigate irregularities committed by previous
administrations to show that it has no sacred cows in its campaign against
corruption.
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MEANWHILE...
Comelec Commissioner Resurreccion Borra said deposed President Joseph
Estrada can still vote in the scheduled May 14 electoral exercise even if
he is arrested and jailed for plunder.
According to Borra, the Sandiganbayan has the jurisdiction to decide
whether to allow the former President to exercise his privilege to go out
of his detention cell in order to vote.
Borra explained that if Estrada is allowed to vote, he needs to be escorted
by detention officials before going to the precinct where he is listed.
Borra also said that a ballot box would not be allowed inside the detention
cell for Estrada to cast his vote, saying this procedure is only allowed
for disabled persons.
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IN OTHER NEWS...
Independent Senator Gregorio "Gringo" Honasan urged the National Democratic
Front to refrain from making "inflexible demands" during its formal peace
talks with the government in Oslo, Norway on April 27.
Honasan said the NDF through its chief negotiator Luis Jalandoni should not
make demands that it knows could hardly be granted by the government due to
some legal and constitutional problems that may eventually arise.
With only one week before the opening of the formal peace talks in Oslo,
Norway, the NDF had demanded for the freedom of three New People's Army
leaders as well as the abrogation of the RP-US Visiting Forces Agreement.
These rebel leaders are Leonicio Pitao, Donato Continente and Juanito Itaas.
Pitao was responsible for the snatching of Gen. Victor Obillo and Capt.
Eduardo Montealto in 1998, while Continente and Itaas were charged for the
killing of American serviceman James Rowe.
Honasan explained that the President has no choice but to allow the
judicial process to take its due course in the cases of Pitao, Continente
and Itaas who are all facing criminal charges before the appropriate courts.
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FINALLY THE WEATHER...
Eastern and southern Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao will experience cloudy
skies with scattered rainshowers and thunderstorms. The rest of Luzon will
be partly cloudy to at times cloudy with isolated rainshowers or
thunderstorms.
Light to moderate winds blowing from the east and southeast will prevail
over the entire archipelago and the coastal waters will be slight to moderate.
Metro Manila will be partly cloudy to at times cloudy with isolated
rainshowers or thunderstorms, winds light to moderate blowing from the
east, Manila Bay slight to moderate, temperature range is 25 to 36 degrees
Celsius.
Sunrise at 6:37; sunset comes at 6:11. (PNA) VCS/
PNA 04240704