NEWSCAPS
April 8, 2013
(POLITICAL)
I. HIGHER PENALTIES FOR THE US NAVY
 The US Navy is not yet off the hook in the Tubbataha Reefs, as
Senator Loren Legarda will not allow it to sail away even after it
pays $1.4 million for the damage the grounding of the USS
Guardian has caused to the protected marine park in the Sulu
Sea.
 A principal author of the Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park Act of
2009, former Sen. Jamby Madrigal, said that the government
should have imposed higher penalties on the US Navy.
II. CHINESE CRUISE TOURS IN DISPUTED TERRITORY
 Beijing’s plan to allow people to go on cruise tours to the islands
known as Xisha in China and Paracel elsewhere by next month is
likely to inflame a long-running territorial row with its neighbors,
especially Vietnam, which also claims the islets, sandbanks and
reefs southeast of China’s Hainan Island.
III. PH NAVY REPORT OF AIR INTRUSION
 The Philippine Navy has reported that two unidentified aircraft
intruded into the country’s airspace at the vicinity of Pagasa
Island in the disputed West Philippine Sea.
 Marine Col. Edgard Arevalo, Navy spokesman on West Philippine
Sea matters, said on Sunday that the jets were spotted on
Thursday at 9:50 AM heading north coming from the southwest
direction.
IV. FOREIGN AFFAIRS SECRETARY DEL ROSARIO IN BRUNEI
 Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario is set to leave for
Brunei today to attend the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting
(AMM), which will be held from April 10 to 11.
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 Secretary del Rosario postponed his scheduled trip to Seoul,
South Korea after getting assurances that there was no
immediate threat to the safety of Filipinos in the region despite
North Korea’s latest missile deployment.
V. JAPAN ON SHOOTING DOWN NORTH KOREA MISSILES
 Japan will order its armed forces to shoot down any North Korean
missile headed towards its territory, press reports said. The order
would not be made public so as not to alarm the public,
the Kyodo news agency quoted government sources as saying.
VI. SAUDI ON 3-MONTH REPRIEVE FOR ILLEGAL WORKERS
 Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah ordered a three-month delay to a
crackdown on migrant workers to give foreigners in the kingdom a
chance to sort out their papers.
VII. SYRIA REPATRIATION
 The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said that 28 overseas
Filipino workers (OFWs) from war-torn Syria are scheduled to
arrive at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 1
on board two separate flights, “bringing the total number of
repatriates to 3,792.” The DFA has repeatedly appealed to OFWs
in Syria to avail of the government’s repatriation program to
escape from the violence there.
VIII. 1,000 REINFORCEMENTS IN SABAH
 An additional 1,000 armed men from Tawi-Tawi and Sulu have
slipped into Sabah and joined the followers of Agbimuddin Kiram
to fight Malaysian security forces, a source from the Moro
National Liberation Front (MNLF) said.
 MNLF Spokesperson Emmanuel Fontanilla confirmed that
thousands of Tausugs have been preparing since the outbreak of
hostilities between the royal sultanate army of Kiram and
Malaysian forces.
IX. SABAH REFUGEES IN CCT PROGRAM
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 The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) will
include the thousands of Filipinos displaced by the armed conflict
in Sabah in the government’s conditional cash transfer (CCT)
program.
 From March 7 to April 5, Task Force Sulu listed at least 4,064
refugees who sailed from Sabah to Sulu by batches on
motorboats. Most of the evacuees are women, children and
minors.
X. SULU SULTANATE ON DIALOGUES WITH RELIGIOUS GROUPS
 After its successful dialogue with the Catholic bishops, the
Sultanate of Sulu is also set to meet the leaders of other Christian
groups, such as the Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) and Ang Dating Daan
(ADD), to get their support for its move to regain Sabah.
XI. LOZADA GRAFT CASE
 Secretary Herminio Coloma said that there was no plan to
persecute Rodolfo Lozada Jr., even as President Aquino refuses
to intervene in a pending graft case against the whistle-blower.
“The President cannot intervene in cases already pending in the
courts,” Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Abigail Valte also
said.
XII. SC: NO MORE APPEALS ON PARTY-LIST RULING
 The Supreme Court (SC) will no longer entertain any appeal over
its decision on the party-list system, SC spokesman Theodore Te
said. He said that the ruling that allows groups not representing
“marginalized and underrepresented sectors” to participate in the
elections is “immediately executory” and should therefore be
enforced right away.
XIII. HONTIVEROS VS BINAY
 Akbayan Rep. Risa Hontiveros said that she is ready to face rival
senatorial candidate Nancy Binay in a public debate “anytime,
anywhere.” Hontiveros hurled the challenge when asked to
comment on a circulating Internet meme “Anyare,” which
compared the qualifications of Binay and Hontiveros.
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 When asked for a response, Binay, who ranks 6th in the surveys,
had a quick answer to 18th-ranked Hontiveros: “Let’s win the
Senate race first, then we can debate on the Senate floor.”
XIV. OVERSEAS ABSENTEE VOTING ON APRIL 13
 Almost a million Filipinos abroad are set to cast their absentee
votes starting Saturday, April 13. Commissioner Lucenito Tagle
said that the Commission on Elections (Comelec) has completed
the preparations for the conduct of the overseas absentee voting
(OAV).
XV. BUREAU OF CUSTOMS
 While President Aquino has been mulling over the creation of a
watchdog against oil smuggling, the President has no plans to
change the Bureau of Customs (BOC) leadership, Secretary
Herminio Coloma said.
XVI. P32-BILLION SMUGGLED AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS
 Rampant and large-scale smuggling of agricultural products into
the country has prompted calls for the resignation of Customs
Commissioner Rozzano Rufino “Ruffy” Biazon. In 2012 alone, the
total volume of smuggled agricultural products amounted to P32
billion, according to Abono party-list Chairperson Rosendo So.
XVII. DOTC USEC. OBAN’s ALLEGED LINKS TO OIL SMUGGLING
 Transportation and Communications Undersecretary for
Operations Eduardo Oban Jr. is reportedly being investigated for
his alleged links to oil smugglers, an alliance that dates back to
the time when he was Chairperson of the Clark Development
Corporation (CDC).
 Oban, a former chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the
Philippines (AFP), has filed for an unusual six-month leave of
absence beginning April 1 for still unknown reasons.
XVIII. PNP OUTSOURCING
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 Fed up with rogue cops, the Philippine National Police (PNP) may
turn to private manning agencies to screen police recruits.
Director General Alan Purisima said that the PNP is studying the
possibility of “outsourcing” the hiring process for applicants to the
148,000-strong force.
XIX. STUDENTS’ SUICIDE OVER FAILING GRADES
 Two students in Batangas shot themselves dead after receiving
failing grades in separate incidents Friday afternoon. Daveson
Beron, 22, a mechanical engineering student at Batangas State
University, and Don Benedict Pamintuan, 17, a physical therapy
freshman at the De La Salle-Dasmariñas in Cavite, used a caliber
.38 revolver and a shotgun, respectively.
XX. PAGCOR ON P2 BILLION FOR NEW CLASSROOMS
 At least P2 billion in additional grant has been allocated by the
Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) for the
construction of at least 2,000 classrooms in public schools this
year.
XXI. WHO ON PRESIDENT AQUINO’s HEALTH PROGRAM
 The World Health Organization (WHO) in the Western Pacific
Region will honor President Aquino during its commemoration of
World Health Day 2013 today. “Among his most significant
accomplishments have been raising taxes on tobacco and
alcohol, and giving vulnerable Filipinos access to health
insurance and reproductive health care,” WHO regional director
for Western Pacific Dr. Shin Young-Soo said.
XXII. ESPOSO’s DEMISE
 William “Billy” Esposo who wrote the column “As I Wreck this
Chair” for the Philippine Star, died from complications brought on
by chronic kidney disease at 12:08 AM yesterday at the Makati
Medical Center. He was 64. President Aquino went to the hospital
before dawn on Sunday to condole with Esposo’s family.
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(ECONOMY)
I. SWS SURVEY ON PRESIDENT AQUINO’s RATINGS
 Satisfaction with President Aquino’s performance has picked up,
the Social Weather Stations (SWS) said in a new report, following
a double-digit fall from a record high at the end of last year.
 A four-point gain to a net +59 (74% satisfied, 15% dissatisfied)
based on a March 19-22 survey extended the president’s run of
“very good” ratings to a third quarter, although the result was still
eight points below August 2012’s peak of +67% (77% satisfied,
10% dissatisfied).
II. PH-PAPUA NEW GUINEA RICE, FISHERY DEALS
 The Department of Agriculture (DA) is preparing the groundwork
for a technical cooperation agreement on rice production and
fisheries with Papua New Guinea (PNG) that could provide
investment opportunities for Filipino firms engaged in the two
sectors.
III. BSP EARNINGS FROM FORECLOSED ASSETS
 The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has exceeded last year’s
income target from the sale of foreclosed assets it acquired from
banks despite lower property prices. Inclusive of interest and
maintenance of assets, the BSP earned P508.27 million, marking
a 28-percent improvement from 2011.
IV. MANILA WATER ON INDONESIAN INVESTMENT
 Manila Water Corp.’s (MWC) planned investment in Indonesian
utility firm PT PAM Lyonnaise Jaya (PALYJA) will be a major
driver of growth, potentially accounting for 40 percent of the
Ayala-led water concessionaire in the east zone in Metro Manila.
V. GOVERNMENT BORROWINGS
 Government borrowings decreased by 28 percent in February to
P38.51 billion, the Bureau of Treasury reported. This brings to
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P79.84 billion the national government’s total borrowings for the
first two months of the year, down 41 percent from a year ago.
VI. DOE ON OTHER LNG SOURCES
 The Department of Energy (DOE) is looking for other sources of
liquefied natural gas to augment the current supply in the country
on the back of growing demand. “The Malampaya deep water-togas field in northwest Palawan would eventually be depleted by
2020 which is why the country needs to find other sources of
natural gas,” Energy Secretary Carlos Jericho Petilla said.
VII. GSIS ON MEMBERS’ BILL OF RIGHTS
 The Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) is seeking the
establishment of a member’s bill of rights and the removal of
stringent provisions that have prevented pensioners from
enjoying the survivorship benefit.
VIII. COCONUT OIL EXPORTS
 The volume of coconut oil (CNO) exports rose in March because
of carry over shipments from February and slight uptick in
demand from key markets. The United Coconut Association of
the Philippines (UCAP) said that CNO shipments in March rose
125 percent to 142,991 metric tons (MT) from 63, 649 MT in the
same period last year.
(END)
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