Palace 'unshaken' with bishop's jueteng allegations
Malacañang says the recent revelation by an official of the Holy Church alleging that some members of President Benigno S. Aquino III’s official family had received paybacks to support the illegal numbers racket – jueteng – did little to shake his government’s foundations and instead solidified its resolve to fight corruption and end the illegal numbers game.
“We run the platform ‘Kung Walang Corrupt, Walang Mahirap’ (End Corruption, End Poverty). We frown against corruption. We frown against jueteng,” Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda told reporters in a press conference on Monday in Malacañang.
“We will not be shaken by this. Our resolve to fight corruption is always there and will always be there,” he added. (PCOO)
DOH sees decline in dengue cases
The Department of Health (DOH) expects a decline in dengue cases in the next few weeks.
In a news briefing in Malacanang Monday, Dr. Eric Tayag of the DOH National Epidemiology Center said most of the regions have reported a decline in dengue cases except for a few regions, including the National Capital Region, where there is an upsurge in the number of dengue patients.
Quezon City has so far reported more than 1,800 cases, followed by Manila and Caloocan City.
Tayag assured that hospitals in Metro Manila are coping with the upsurge and that there is enough supply of blood for transfusion, and an adequate supply of intravenous fluids.
Tayag appealed to local government units, especially those that have seen a decline in the number of dengue cases, not to let their guard down.
“We appeal to the communities and other agencies to continue the clean-up drive. This is not going to be a short term intervention. We need long term intervention… the decline in the number of (dengue) cases is due to their efforts of keeping communities at watch and cleaning up surroundings inside and outside homes,” he said.
Tayag explained that although the mosquito-borne disease peaks during the rainy months, particularly in August, the dengue disease occurs all year round.
He appealed to those who recommend alternative treatment such as the taua-taua, a tea drink that allegedly increases the number of blood platelets.
“This is not the right time to experiment on taua-taua. We need a controlled environment to observe the benefits of taua-taua plant among patients,” he warned. (PCOO)
Aquino swears in members of Truth Commission, other officials
President Benigno S. Aquino III formally inducted into office the five members of the Truth Commission, nine undersecretaries, three assistant secretaries and four other government officials in simple ceremonies Monday at the Presidential Guesthouse.
The members of the Truth Commission who took their oath before the President were former Supreme Court Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr. as head, retired Supreme Court Associate Justice Romeo Callejo Sr., former executive director of the Ateneo Human Rights Center Atty. Carlos Medina Jr., former Ateneo de Manila faculty member Atty. Menardo Guevarra, and former Supreme Court Justice Flerida Ruth Romero as members.
The President created the Truth Commission by virtue of Executive Order No. 1 to investigate alleged graft and corruption cases against officials of the past administration.
The President also swore in the new undersecretaries of various departments as follows:
George T. Syliangco and Christopher Rey Tio both from the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO); Sigfredo R. Serrano of the Department of Agriculture; Jeremias L. Dolino of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources; Ambassador Antonio V. Rodriguez of the Department of Foreign Affairs for International Economic Relations; Danilo P. Cruz and Hans Leo J. Cacdac of the Department of Labor and Employment; Jose Fabia as acting Undersecretary of the Philippine Information Agency (PIA) and Emmanuel C. Andaya as acting Undersecretary of the National Printing Office (NPO).
The new Assistant Secretaries who also took their of office were Guillermo E. Flores of the Presidential Management Staff (PMS), Ruby Alvarez of the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), and Sim Caronero of the Department of National Defense (DND).
Other officials who inducted include: Dante V. Sy, executive director of the National Tax Research Center; Atty. Nelson P. Laluces as acting Chairman of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFR); Cesar Buenaventura, member of the Board of Director of the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA); and Luwalhati R. Antonino as chairperson of the Mindanao Development Authority (MINDA). (PCOO)
Aquino frowns on jueteng legalization
President Benigno S. Aquino III maintained today that legalizing jueteng will never happen under his administration.
In an ambush interview after the oath taking of the members of the Truth Commission and other government officials, the President said he will not tolerate and is definitely not in favor of legalizing the numbers game.
“Gambling is not a productive venture except for the people who run it,” he said noting that there is no output in the operation of jueteng.
He urged his critics to concentrate on moving the economy forward rather than pushing for the legalization of jueteng.
The President revealed that prior to the expose of retired Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Oscar Cruz, he has already ordered Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo to come up with a comprehensive plan to stamp out jueteng.
“I’ve asked Sec. Robredo, in coordination with other officials of government to come up with comprehensive plan that deals with jueteng,” he said adding that the government should not satisfy itself with the arrests of kubradors or bet collectors and other involved in the operation of the illegal numbers game.
The Chief Executive said he wants Robredo to include in his reports how to prevent those involved in jueteng from jumping to other illegal trades like drug trafficking, if the illegal numbers game is stamped out.
The President added that he wants Robredo to study how the government can make small town lottery (STL) more "competitive" against jueteng, which is believed to be more popular in the localities where STL was marketed as an alternative. (PCOO)
