Newscast: The World Tonight - Broadcast date: 02/18/97
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Copyright © 1996, ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corp.
Philconsa lists down conditions for charter change
THE PHILIPPINE Constitutional Association (Philconsa) has finalized its recommendations on the Constitution.
But at the Senate, a resolution was just passed rejecting any move to amend the charter.
Philconsa lays down the terms for charter change. These are: The amendments should be made thru a constitutional convention, and not by Congress sitting as a constituent assembly; incumbent officials should be excluded from the lifting of term limits; and no public funds should be used for the amendments.
Philconsa has been acting as the President's pointman ever since Ramos broke his long silence on charter change in a speaking engagement before them.
Congressman Ralph Recto, offers to sponsor the resolution setting an election for Con-Con delegates.
At the Senate, 15 senators voted for a resolution blocking any move to amend the charter. Still, it was four votes short of the target.
And Senate President Ernesto Maceda expects Malacanang to continue lobbying.
Also, leftist groups vow to march in the streets to dramatize popular opposition to an extension of the President's term of office. But the Liga ng mga Barangay, says they already have two million signatures supporting a second term for Ramos.
Ramos: "Six years is enough"
THE PRESIDENT once more finds himself denying allegations he is plotting to stay in power. Ramos says six years is enough even if his executive secretary feels it is not.
In any case, recent developments on charter change is putting the President on the defense again.
"As far as I am concerned, and I say this to you my fellow veterans, six years for President Ramos, according to our 1987 Constitution, is enough."
It was a statement that comes at a time when his sincerity is in doubt. Last month, the President was opposed to a charter change. Last week, he was pushing it. Today, he pledged respect for the Constitution during a convention of Asean war veterans.
Some believe he's really stepping down in 1998. Defense Secretary Renato de Villa, says "it's clear he will uphold the Constitution."
But his critics warn he's plotting to stay in power. His executive secretary's statement that six years is too short for a good president was especially alarming to those aspiring for the presidency in 1998.
The President blames them for fueling speculations he would engineer a coup to remain in power. Senator Raul Roco, says he was in Edsa during the revolution but he's not making a big fuss about it.
Roco says: "He (Ramos) should stop acting like the hero and remember that it was the people who protected him and (then defense chief Ponce) Enrile. And maybe I should be asking, where were you when martial law was declared?"
Meanwhile, Executive Secretary Reuben Torres refuses to resign and lashes back at Senate President Ernesto Maceda for habitually asking officials to resign every time they disagree with him.
Torres reiterates his statement "that the President can be convinced to seek reelection," was a personal opinion and not an official stand of Lakas. He says he will only resign if the President asks him to.
House Committe upholds 60-day suspension of Jalosjos
THE HOUSE Committee on Ethics gave Congressman Romeo Jalosjos a chance to air his side. But just the same, the committee voted to recommend his suspension for 60 days.
It is now a question of whether the rest of the chamber agree with the committee.
It was like a homecoming for Congressman Jalosjos. His colleagues felt he was entitled to a chance to air his side regarding his attempt to evade arrest.
Jalosjos pointed fingers at the Solicitor General's Office and the Court of Appeals, for sitting on a petition he filed to quash the arrest warrant.
But the others didn't let him off that easily. Twice, while the congressman was in hiding, the committee notified his staff of the investigation.
Jalosjos did not necessarily take center stage. There was also a raging debate about whether his lawyer, former Justice Manuel Lazaro, would be allowed to speak.
But bend the rules they did, and Lazaro launched into a discourse on the merits of the case. Jalosjos also took potshots at the media for reporting he planned to flee to London. Congresswoman Imelda Marcos sat in on the hearing and she was sympathetic to Jalosjos.
The committee met in executive session for 30 minutes and decided to uphold the recommendation for a 60 day suspension.
The girl's lawyers are thinking of filing contempt charges against Lazaro. A committee member says committee chairman Emigdio Bondoc made sure the recommendation would be upheld.
The suspension may not get the support of two thirds of the chamber, but at least the ethics committee can' be blamed for not trying it best.
Meanwhile, the new warden of the Makati City Jail promises no special treatment for Jalosjos!.
Inspector Pepe Quinones has ordered the dismantling of the air conditioning unit donated by Jalosjos. The unit was installed in one of the offices inside the jail which was used by the congressman as a receiving room for his many visitors. This raised accusations of special treatment for the detained congressman.
The former jail warden, Senior Inspector Teofilo Labating, was forced to go on an indefinite leave effective today.
Aside from ordering the air conditioner out, Quinones also says Jalosjos will no longer be allowed to receive guests outside the scheduled visiting hours.
ATO official ruled out sabotage in Jolo crash
A HIGH-RANKING official of the Air Transport Office has ruled out sabotage in the plane crash that killed retired Bishop Antonino Nepomuceno.
The official, who refused to be identified, says the crash may be due to pilot error. He claims the pilot, Captain Jesus Biana, insisted on taking off without any clearance from air traffic controllers.
The plane allegedly went down after hitting trees at the end of the runway.
But an association of plane owners and pilots that made its own investigation insists the plane was shot at.
In Manila Bay, Navy and Coast Guard rescue teams have found a third body off Corregidor where a light-plane crashed last Thursday, killing all six people aboard.
The decomposing body was identified as that of Alfredo Uy, a student.
Rescuers fished two bodies yesterday in the area. Three more bodies are still in the plane wreckage 140 feet under water. Divers also brought to the surface parts of the airplane, among other items.
The Navy and Coast Guard tried to pull the plane up but it was too heavy. They said they need a crane to do the job.
Lady solon hurled glass at offensive colleague
SENATORS Nikki Coseteng and Heherson Alvarez may face an ethics committee inquiry for a quarrel that got out of hand.
Coseteng hurled a glass of water at Alvarez in today's hearing of the commission on appointments. Coseteng was questioning the alleged infidelity of an army general who was up for confirmation.
Alvarez got irritated because the issue had been settled earlier and Coseteng was late. The two had a heated exchange.
Coseteng says Alvarez made remarks that were "below the belt" which provoked her into throwing the glass at him. But it was Congressman Antonio Cuenco who got wet.
Television camera missed the action but later caught up with the two at the Senate lounge. Their colleagues teased them into making up but Coseteng wasn't laughing.
Meanwhile, four Supreme Court justices fear the high court may have set a bad precedent in its decision to acquit two Marcos cronies of malversation charges.
The high court ruled former Airport General Manager Luis Tabuena and manager Adolfo Peralta, were only following orders from Marcos.
Justices Hilario Davide, Flerida Ruth Romero, Reynato Puno and Artemio Panganiban, said the ruling could enable corrupt public officials to escape punishment since they were just following orders.
SC usurped power of the Executive branch - SolGen
THE GOVERNMENT says the Supreme Court usurped the authority of the executive branch when it stopped the sale of the Manila Hotel to a Malaysian company.
Solicitor General Silvestre Bello III, says only the executive branch has the power to implement government contracts.
The Supreme Court had ruled the Manila Hotel to be part of the national patrimony and awarded it to Filipino-Chinese Publisher Emilio Yap.
Bello says there is no law or guideline defining national patrimony.
Meanwhile, it's not just students and their parents who oppose the sale of the Don Bosco School in Makati to the Ayala Corporation. Even members of the Salesian Order who run the school don't agree with the decision of their superiors.
As the plan goes, the school will stop accepting prep students starting this June. In seven years, the school will be closed.
The superiors of the Salesian Order have decided to sell the two-hectare property to the Ayala Corporation, and transfer the school to Santa Rosa, Laguna, at the technopark owned by the Ayalas.
The Don Bosco Technical Institute was founded in 1952, on land that was donated by the Ayala family and in a Makati that was not yet the commercial and financial capital that it is today. Property in Makati now costs anywhere from two to P300,000 per square meter.
The sale has been approved by the Vatican and Manila Archbishop Jaime Cardinal Sin. Yet many priests in the Salesian Order do not agree with the decision.
The priests are meeting tonight and are considering appealing to their superiors in Rome. But given their vow of obedience, they may have little choice but to follow the decision of their superiors.
No sense of history
THE PHILIPPINES is not lacking in monuments and other historical landmarks. Unfortunately, what Filipinos are lacking in is a sense of historic conservation.
It was the site of the first major battle of the 1896 Revolution. Fighting alongside 800 Katipuneros were Andres Bonifacio and Emilio Jacinto.
Declared a national shrine in the 1960s, Pinaglabanan is now fighting for its life. Squatters surrounding the historic site have made it their garbage dump and toilet.
The Pinaglabanan Shrine, unfortunately, is just following the way of other historic sites.
"The desire to preserve historic landmarks, artistic monuments, is really something new to the Philippines. We don't have a tradition of doing it," says Dr. Fernando Zialcita of Department of Sociology and Anthropology of ADMU.
The country used to be abundant with historic sites. Binondo in Manila, used to be known for its turn of the century architecture.
Whatever the country has left, like the pre-war tunnels of Fort Bonifacio, is being swept aside in the name of progress.
The National Historical Institute (NHI), says instilling a sense of history on the people is not easy, especially when it involves the monetary value of property.
What the country needs, Zialcita says, is a clear policy on historical conservation.
In the meantime, places like the Pinaglabanan Shrine will maintain their sorry state until the government and the people know how to treat history.
Many will readily blame the lack of education for the desecration of our historical sites. But then again, those who are making and implementing the policies are the ones who are supposedly educated.
MIFE buys time
THE MANILA International Futures Exchange is asking the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), for a two-month extension before it issues the final verdict on its operations.
Trading at the MIFE has been suspended since June last year, due to reports of widespread irregularities.
This would give MIFE more time to put in place reforms required by the SEC before it could resume operations. These include the management of the exchange by professional managers and reducing the number of seats from 76 to 50, to ensure only qualified members are accepted.
MIFE also says a new exchange may be formed with the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), the Bankers Association of the Philippines and a host of commodity and futures traders.
The exchange traded contracts in copra, sugar, soybeans, coffee and major currencies.
Meanwhile, Japanese conglomerate Mitsubishi Corporation, is joining the Ayala-Bechtel-United Utilities Consortium, in operating the MWSS Metro West concession.
Danilo Gozo, Ayala Corporation's associate director, reveals Mitsubishi would likely enter through the 40 percent equity for foreign companies, but they have yet to finalize how much equity Mitsubishi will take.
Ayala's equity will also be reduced to 54 percent, as it plans to offer six percent to its employees through a stock option plan.
Also, the Phinma Group, the biggest cement manufacuring concern in the country has also taken a 10 percent equity in the Benpres-Lyonnaise consortium to operate Metro-West.
Gozo says negotiations could not fully take-off with the temporary restraining order still hovering over the MWSS sale. The TRO expires on Thursday.
Leading aluminum products manufacturer Reynolds Philippine Corporation, has signed a P120-million deal with food and beverage giant San Miguel Corporation. The one-year contract entails providing 1,200 metric tons of aluminum closure sheets to San Miguel's metal closure lithography plant.
Earlier, Reynold's also clinched a P133-million contract with Urban Bank Plaza, and a P179-million contract with Wynsun Tower in Ortigas Center. The company began its initial public offering last February 5, offering 34 percent of its total shares.
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Gordon's beats Shell, 88 to 81
GORDON'S Gin, formerly Ginebra San Miguel, won its first game of the 1997 season beating Formula Shell, 88 to 81.
The Gins played with only eight men after Wilmer Ong and Bal David got injured early in the first half. But they controlled the game all throughout.
Coach Robert Jaworski was thrown out in the fourth after a double technical. Noli Locsin topscored with 21 points.
In the first game, Santa Lucia beat Pop Cola, 80 to 73.
Still at the PBA, it's final. La Tondena announced EJ Feihl will not play for Gordon's Gin.
In a press release read by PBA Governor Ver Navarro, Gordon's says it does not want him anymore. They might trade him to another within the year.
La Tondena tried to resolve the issues concerning Feihl, but Feihl's signing with Ama last Saturday, closed all options. Feihl even made no mention of the signing when he met with Jaworski last Sunday. Jaworski says they will not miss Feihl's services at all.
PBA Commissioner Jun Bernardino, say he will wait for Gordon's Gin to make its move before taking any action against Feihl.