NEWSCAPS
May 4, 2013
(POLITICAL)
I. FUGITIVE MANCAO ON PLEADING WITH SEN. LACSON
 Fugitive former police Senior Supt. Cezar Mancao II said that he
did everything he could to make Sen. Panfilo “Ping” Lacson stop
harassing him, but his former boss in the Philippine National
Police (PNP) ignored his pleas.
 He called news organizations to say that he had learned about a
plot to move him to Manila City Jail and kill him there, and
claimed that Lacson was behind the plan.
II. CALL FOR MANCAO’s SURRENDER
 Justice Secretary Leila de Lima warned Mancao that he might
lose his coverage under the Witness Protection Program (WPP) if
he fails to surrender.
 Interior and Local Government Secretary Manuel Roxas II also
called on Mancao to surrender if he wants to be secured from any
kind of threat to his life.
III. GORDON ON SC PETITION TO OPEN SOURCE CODE
 With little more than a week before voters troop to the poll
precincts on May 13, senatorial candidate Dick Gordon has asked
the Supreme Court to compel the Commission on Elections
(Comelec) to allow the political parties to examine and review the
source code of the precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines
to be used in the elections.
IV. CRITICS’ UN PETITION VS COMELEC
 Civil society groups brought their issue with the Commission on
Elections (Comelec) to the United Nations, accusing the
Philippine government of violating their right to vote and of turning
over to a foreign entity the conduct of the technical aspect of the
country’s elections. The group, led by former Vice President
1
PREPARED BY:
PRESIDENTIAL COMMUNICATIONS DEVELOPMENT AND STRATEGIC PLANNING
OFFICE (PCDSPO)
Teofisto Guingona Jr., submitted a petition to the UN Human
Rights Committee.
V. JOMA SISON ON INCREASED NPA OFFENSIVES
 Renewing his verbal attacks on the Aquino government from his
Dutch aerie, Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) founder
Jose Maria Sison warned of increased offensives throughout the
country from the New People’s Army (NPA), the CPP’s armed
wing, as a result of the government’s allegedly unilateral
termination of the peace talks.
 The government is “asking for intensified tactical offensives by
the NPA” when it declared an end to the negotiations, Sison said
in an e-mail interview from Utrecht, The Netherlands.
VI. KRIS AQUINO’s POLITICAL PLANS IN 2016
 Presidential sister Kris Aquino has announced her plans to run for
public office in 2016 not in Makati, where she has long been a
resident, but in her home province of Tarlac. “Mahirap tibagin ang
mga Binay,” Kris Aquino said.
 Kris Aquino earlier said that she would establish residency in a
city in Metro Manila and run for office there. But later, she said
she would probably just run for governor in Tarlac.
VII. TEAM PNOY / LOREN VS ALAN
 Team PNoy’s campaign manager, Sen. Franklin Drilon, said that
Sen. Loren Legarda was not breaking away from the
administration coalition as a result of an apparent feud with Sen.
Alan Peter Cayetano.
 Legarda said that all her properties—including an apartment in
New York bought by her former husband—had been declared in
her Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN) since
2007.
VIII. SENATORIAL BETS IN SOCIAL MEDIA RACE
2
PREPARED BY:
PRESIDENTIAL COMMUNICATIONS DEVELOPMENT AND STRATEGIC PLANNING
OFFICE (PCDSPO)
 If netizens are to be believed, Bro. Eddie Villanueva, Grace Poe,
Bam Aquino, Chiz Escudero, Risa Hontiveros and Sonny Angara
should win in the senatorial race in the May 13 elections.
 That’s because these candidates generated the most positive
mentions on social networking sites such as Facebook and
Twitter, according to data culled by C18 Research and analyzed
by Astrolabe, an upstart risk mitigation and crisis management
company.
 Senatorial candidates Nancy Binay and Jack Enrile, however,
appeared on the list of candidates with the most negative
mentions on social media.
IX. PNP DEPLOYMENT FOR POLL DUTIES
 With only nine days left before the May 13 elections, the
Philippine National Police (PNP) will start deploying 30,000 cops
to areas where there is a high risk of violence.
 PNP is closely monitoring Ilocos Sur, Pangasinan, Abra, La
Union, Pampanga, Nueva Ecija, Cavite and Batangas for
security-related concerns. Although there is still no indication of
possible source of violent incident in these provinces, the PNP
will not leave everything to chance. The PNP security coverage
will also be augmented by the strategic deployment of soldiers.
X. CUSTOMS’ REFORM
 Faced with unabated smuggling and corruption issues in the
Bureau of Customs (BOC), President Aquino is set to implement
an overhaul of the agency after the elections.
 Customs Commissioner Ruffy Biazon said that the President has
indicated support for the filing in the next Congress of the
Customs Modernization Bill, which will amend the Tariff and
Customs Code and pave the way for BOC reforms.
XI. SENATORS’ SALN
 Sen. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. became the seventh
senator to make public his statement of assets, liabilities and net
3
PREPARED BY:
PRESIDENTIAL COMMUNICATIONS DEVELOPMENT AND STRATEGIC PLANNING
OFFICE (PCDSPO)
worth (SALN) for 2012, declaring a total net worth of
P437,238,356.18. His net worth increased by P72.85 million,
owing mostly to the need to declare the acquisition costs of
various properties as a result of the lessons learned during the
impeachment trial of former chief justice Renato Corona.
 Apart from Marcos, those who revealed their SALNs for scrutiny
of the media were Senators Francis Escudero, Loren Legarda,
Ramon Revilla Jr., Teofisto Guingona III, Sergio Osmeña III and
Antonio Trillanes IV.
XII. 2 FILIPINAS FREED FROM SAUDI HOME IN US
 Immigration officials have removed two Filipino domestic workers
from a Virginia home owned by the government of Saudi Arabia
as part of an investigation into a report of human trafficking.
 In Manila, the Department of Foreign Affairs said that it had
relayed the report on the incident to the Philippine Embassy for
confirmation and comment. There was no word on the identity of
the Saudi diplomat who lived there.
XIII. SC RULING ON SANDIGAN JUSTICE ONG’s CITIZENSHIP
 The Supreme Court has ruled with finality that Sandiganbayan
Justice Gregory Ong is a natural-born Filipino, dismissing
challenges to his citizenship. In a six-page en banc resolution, the
high court junked a letter-query of former special prosecutor
Dennis Villa-Ignacio who earlier questioned Ong’s Chinese roots
and his Filipino citizenship.
XIV. ONGPIN GRAFT CHARGES
 Businessman Roberto Ongpin has asked the courts to dismiss
the graft charges against him and 24 current and former officials
of the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP), reiterating that
the loans he obtained from the state-owned bank had been fully
paid and, as such, could not be considered behest.
XV. SUMMER TEMPERATURES
4
PREPARED BY:
PRESIDENTIAL COMMUNICATIONS DEVELOPMENT AND STRATEGIC PLANNING
OFFICE (PCDSPO)
 Summer temperatures are expected to peak this month, the state
weather bureau said as it warned against heat strokes and other
ailments triggered by warm conditions.
 The maximum temperature recorded in Metro Manila yesterday
was 36.4 degrees Celsius, slightly lower than the record-high
36.6 degrees Celsius registered in the metropolis so far this year.
The warmest day was last April 19, according to PAGASA.
(ECONOMY)
I. PH STOCKS RECORD HIGH
 Optimism over the investment grade rating carried the main stock
index to charge past the 7,200-barrier and close at an all-time
high for the 28th time this year.
 The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) jumped 1.72 percent
or 121.93 points to end at 7,215.35, breaking the previous high of
7,120.48 recorded just last April 22.
II. PH ON US INVESTMENT ROAD SHOW
 Filipino business chief executive officers (CEOs) have concluded
in their United States-wide investment road show an appeal to
Americans to take advantage of the “resurging” Philippine
economy.
 The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) quoted Harvard
University economist Dr. Bernardo Villegas as saying that the
Philippines, recently given upgraded ratings by Fitch Ratings and
by Standard & Poor, is a rising economic tiger in Asia that is
poised to grow by an average of 7 to 9 percent during the next
two decades.
III. BSP ON GUARD AGAINST ASSET BUBBLES
 The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is on guard against the
threat of asset bubbles following succeeding promotions to
investment-grade status expected to boost the country’s financial
system. Local banks have enjoyed high capitalization and assets,
5
PREPARED BY:
PRESIDENTIAL COMMUNICATIONS DEVELOPMENT AND STRATEGIC PLANNING
OFFICE (PCDSPO)
backed by the low interest environment that are driving them to
lend more.
IV. CREDIT UPGRADE AS BOOST TO APPROVED INVESTMENTS
 A 10 percent growth in investments “would be a safe target this
year” considering the improving economic outlook for the country
underpinned by two recent credit rating upgrades, Trade and
Industry Secretary Gregory Domingo said.
 The Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services (S&P) raised its credit
rating for the Philippines to BBB- with a stable outlook, just over a
month after Fitch Ratings gave the same rating last March 27.
 Data from the National Statistical Coordination Board showed that
total approved foreign investments for 2012 went up by 12
percent to P289.1 billion from the previous year’s P258.2 billion.
V. DOLE ON LABOR STATISTICS
 Unemployment is not as bad as some surveys have shown,
according to Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz. She said that her
agency’s Labor Turnover Statistics showed that employment in
large enterprises in Metro Manila was up 2.47 percent in 2012,
from 1.88 percent in 2011. She also said that there were
indications that more jobs would be made available to Filipinos in
the near future.
VI. DA ON NEW RULES FOR MEAT IMPORTERS
 The Department of Agriculture (DA), through the National Meat
Inspection Service (NMIS), has issued new rules for the
accreditation of meat importers to eliminate fly-by-night traders.
 NMIS director Minda Manantan said that the DA, through
Administrative Order No. 9 issued in March 18, now requires new
meat importers to submit their audited financial statements to the
NMIS to qualify for accreditation. Exempted from the rule are
businesses that have only been in operation for less than a year.
VII. PH-RUSSIA CUSTOMS COOPERATION AGREEMENT
6
PREPARED BY:
PRESIDENTIAL COMMUNICATIONS DEVELOPMENT AND STRATEGIC PLANNING
OFFICE (PCDSPO)
 The Philippines and Russia signed the first customs cooperation
agreement between the two countries that will help the
government’s campaign against border security breaches and
transnational crimes, including smuggling.
VIII. REVISIONS IN FARE MATRIX COMPUTATION
 The government will revise the matrix of factors that guide
authorities in setting the minimum fare for commuters around the
country. Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya explained
that the idea linking the minimum fare to the price of oil came
from Energy Secretary Carlos Jericho Petilla.
 He added that the review was triggered by an informal discussion
on whether or not the minimum fare for commuters across the
Philippines should be linked directly to the price of imported oil.
(END)
7
PREPARED BY:
PRESIDENTIAL COMMUNICATIONS DEVELOPMENT AND STRATEGIC PLANNING
OFFICE (PCDSPO)