P-Noy trusts Binay

Presidential Communication Operations Office (PCOO) Secretary Sonny Coloma said Sunday that the trust and confidence of the President will remain in his Cabinet members, including Vice President Jejomar Binay.

Secretary Coloma distanced the President from the privilege speech of Congressman Edgar Erice, who dared the Vice President to resign his post in the Aquino administration after Binay’s camp allegedly claimed that there is a demolition job against him that has been sanctioned by Liberal Party (LP).

Coloma clarified the President has nothing to do with Erice’s speech because a privilege speech is the right of every lawmaker and that they are accountable for their own constituents.

Erice also stated that it is time for the LP to defend itself from the two-faced attacks of Binay and the members of the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA).

VP Binay has not directly attacked the President’s policies. He has been concentrating on his job as chairman of the Housing Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) and as presidential adviser on overseas Filipino workers (OFW).

UNA secretary-general and Navotas Rep. Toby Tiangco said Binay has been loyal not only to the President but to the entire Aquino clan. Erice should ask non-performing Cabinet members to resign, not Binay whose approval and trust ratings are the highest, he added.

Cases vs. Quimbo, 3 others

Alex Alvarez, former foreclosure manager of the Home Development Mutual Fund, or Pag-IBIG Fund, has filed corruption charges in the Office of the Ombudsman against Marikina Rep. Romero Quimbo, former president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Pag-IBIG from 2002 to 2008.

Also accused were Jaime Fabiana, Quimbo’s successor; Robert Cosico, senior vice president for administration; and Jun Espana Jr., senior vice president for finance.

The three were charged with violation of Section 3 (e) and (g) of Republic Act No. 3019, or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, and  the Pag-IBIG Charter.

Alvarez reportedly claimed these officials had failed to draw up the implementing guidelines that would have protected the housing financing agency from abuses in its loans to developers, specifically the P6.6-billion funding program granted to Globe Asiatique president Delfin  Lee from 2008 to 2010.

In a statement, Quimbo said the charges have no legal or factual basis and just a rehash of a previous case which the Ombudsman dismissed last year. He also said the timing of the charge is quite suspicious considering the grounds Alvarez is raising are circa 2008.

Quimbo questioned why Alvarez took five years to file the charges. Alvarez is one of the coaccused in the P6.6-billion estafa cases filed by Pag-IBIG Fund against Lee.

Prices up, up and away

The price of well-milled rice has risen to P44/kilo; sugar has gone up to P50/kilo; garlic (bawang) is up to P350/kilo; and ginger sold at P180/kilo. Eggplants and ampalaya are up to P100/kilo. Jeepney fares are up to P8.50 for the first four kilometers. MRT-3 passengers are forced to take buses.

The Aquino administration is not doing anything to bring the prices down. It has already imported 1.2 million metric tons of rice. It should start releasing them now.

3rd batch to be charged

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) is set to file graft charges against Janet Lim-Napoles and ten lawmakers in connection with the alleged P10-billion pork barrel scam.

The lawmakers are Director General Joel Villanueva of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda), La Union Rep. Victor Ortega (4th District), former La Union Rep. Manuel Ortega, former Zamboanga Rep. Isidoro Real Jr., Manila Rep. Amado Bagatsing (5th District), Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez (2nd district), Abono Rep. Conrado Estrella III and former Abono Rep. Robert Raymund Estrella and Sen. Gringo Honasan.

According to the source, Honasan will be accused of authorizing the release of P15 million from his Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) allocation into a Napoles-controlled Foundation, the Agriculture and Economic Program for Farmers Foundation, for various livelihood projects to be implemented by the National Livelihood Development Corp. (NLDC). Senator Honasan denied the allegations saying that he was not the one who chose where his PDAF was allocated from 2007 to 2009.

La Union Rep. Manuel Ortega, a member of the Lakas-CMD party, has also denied ever meeting or doing business with Napoles.

Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, a member of Puwersa ng Masang Pilipino of President/Mayor Joseph Estrada, said that if complaints would be filed against him, he would answer the allegations and prove he had not committed any wrongdoing. 

“If there’s a filing, we will face the music because we’re sure of our innocence,” Rodriguez said. He stressed that he had never received any amount from Napoles or any of her associates, claiming that he had not met her nor any of her people. “My signatures in all the documents were forged,” he said.

Tidbits: Senator Bong Revilla has started his presidential campaign. At the rate the plunder cases are proceeding, he won’t be convicted by 2016; and can still run.

Former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s name has been delisted from the voter’s list, for failure to vote in the last two elections.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has raised the crisis alert level in Iraq to level 3.

Lanao del Sur Governor Mamintal Alonto Adiong Jr. is facing graft charges before the Ombudsman.

The San Antonio Spurs defeated the Miami Heat, winning 4 out of 5 games, to win the NBA championship.