12 senators proclaimed

THE Commission on Elections (Comelec), sitting as the National Board of Canvassers (NBOC), officially proclaimed on Wednesday  all 12 senators-elect, nine days after the May 13 midterm polls.

All 12 winning senators were present during the proclamation at the canvassing headquarters of the NBOC at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC).

Senator-elect Francis Tolentino was first to arrive at the venue while comebacking Senator Pia Cayetano was last.

Except for Senators Christopher “Bong” Go and Ronald Dela Rosa, all others were accompanied by their wives or husbands and children.

Go and Dela Rosa were accompanied only by aides.

Below is the Comelec’s official count:

Cynthia Villar – 25,273,727
Grace Poe – 22,029,788
Christopher “Bong” Go – 20,657,702
Pia Cayetano 19,789,019
Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, 19,004,225
Edgardo “Sonny” Angara, 18,161,862
Lito Lapid 16,965,464
Imee Marcos, 15,882,628
Francis Tolentino, 15,510,026
Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel 3rd, 14,668,665
Ramon “Bong” Revilla, 14,624,445
Nancy Binay, 14,504,936

https://www.manilatimes.net/12-senators-proclaimed/558234/

Legarda says she can be a good House speaker

Outgoing Senator Loren Legarda, representative-elect of Antique’s lone congressional district, on Wednesday said she is confident that she can do a good job as speaker of the lower chamber.

Legarda’s name floated as one of the possible contenders for speakership at the House of Representatives at the opening of the 18th Congress on July 29.

“If it is the ability to perform a good job as speaker, I believe that I can do it, humbly speaking…in so far as performance at the job at hand,” she said in an interview with ABS-CBN News Channel.

But despite her optimism, Legarda recognizes that the speakership is a choice among the 297 elected representatives from various districts in the country.

“It’s not for a person to claim it. You can vie for it, but there is a process and it will be my first time in the bigger house,” she said.

Legarda was proclaimed as representative-elect of Antique after defeating former governor Exequiel Javier by 129,471 votes.

Asked what House committee she wants to head, Legarda, current chairperson of the Senate Committee on Finance, said she believes she can deliver in the appropriations committee.

She added, however, that she is “very open” to chair other committees in the lower chamber, since she had also experienced handling several committees in the Senate. (Editor: Gilbert S. Gaviola)

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1121898/legarda-says-she-can-be-a-good-house-speaker

D.M. Consunji boosts order book by P14B

The construction and engineering arm of DMCI Holdings has boosted its order book by P14 billion following a brand-new deal to build a commuter railway from Tutuban, Manila, to Malolos, Bulacan—the single biggest infrastructure project it bagged so far this year.

D.M. Consunji also expects to employ 5,000 workers for this North-South Commuter Railway (NCSR) phase 1, which will shorten travel time between Malolos and Tutuban to just 35 minutes from one hour and 30 minutes at present.

The construction firm has earmarked P2 billion in capital outlays for the next two years to support its railway construction activities, the bulk of which will be used to acquire construction equipment.

“Building mass transport systems and high-impact infrastructure is part of our DNA. We are very excited and grateful to be part of this game-changing project for our country,” said D.M. Consunji president and chief executive officer Jorge Consunji.

The project, which marks D.M. Consunji’s first partnership with Taisei Corp. of Japan, has a total contract value of around P54 billion. This project  will be done through an unincorporated joint venture with Taisei that recently bagged the project from the Department of Transportation.

D.M. Consunji’s share of revenues from this project is estimated at P14 billion, which is expected to be recognized as revenues over the next 30 months of the contract life.

The company was mandated to construct around 22 kilometers of elevated viaduct structures, six stations and a 14-hectare depot, which will be located in Valenzuela.

Including electromechanical and other components, NSCR phase 1 will be completed in 42 months. The railway will use the existing alignment of the Philippine National Railway and is expected to serve 300,000 passengers daily.  The trains will have the maximum operating speed of 120 kilometers per hour.

Isidro Consunji, president of parent conglomerate DMCI Holdings, said Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade had assured the group that 90 percent of the right-of-way in the segment awarded to Taisei and DM Consunji had already been cleared.

“Government is aware of the issues on completion and is doing something positive,” he told reporters after DMCI Holdings’ stockholders meeting.

https://business.inquirer.net/271023/d-m-consunji-boosts-order-book-by-p14b

Race is on: Who will be the next House speaker?

Several names are being floated for the possible replacement of Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo when she ends her term next month.

Sen. Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III, president of President Rodrigo Duterte's political party Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban), earlier said the party would regain the leadership of the House of Representatives.

Frontrunners for the speakership post are from the dominant PDP-Laban — Pantaleon Alvarez (Davao del Norte), Aurelio Gonzales (Pampanga) and Lord Allan Jay Velasco (Marinduque).

Administration allied lawmakers are also being eyed for possible speakership — Alan Peter Cayetano (Taguig City), Martin Romualdez (Leyte) and presidential son Paolo Duterte (Davao City).

Fredenil Castro (Capiz) of the National Unity Party and outgoing Sen. Loren Legarda have also expressed interest for the post.

Pantaleon Alvarez

Former Speaker Alvarez, who was booted out of the House Speakership in a coup last year, wants a comeback this year.

Alvarez was ousted as House speaker in July last year, with President Rodrigo Duterte's State of the Nation Address as his last official function as head of the lower chamber.

More than 180 members of the 292-member House of Representatives voted Arroyo to replace Alvarez while 12 abstained.

Earlier this week, Alvarez offered reconciliation with his political enemies, including Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte, whom he had feud with.

“Now that elections are over, I offer my hand in peace to heal our deep and divisive wounds,” Alvarez said in a statement

Sara Duterte, however, said Alvarez's offer of reconciliation was "deceiving and lacked sincerity." She warned that the former speaker "remains to be a very dangerous, Machiavellian individual who do not deserve peace."

Fredenil Castro

House Majority Leader Fredenil Castro earlier admitted that he is interested in becoming the House Speaker but has yet to discuss this matter with Arroyo.

Castro, president of the National Unity Party, was reelected as congressman for the second disctrict of Capiz in the 2019 midterm polls. This would be his sixth term in the lower house.

Alan Peter Cayetano

Former Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano, now a representative of his hometown Taguig City, gave up his Cabinet post for a seat in the House of Representatives.

As early as October last year, Cayetano had expressed interest in the speakership position.

"I will seek the leadership position in the House but it's a complex matter... You have to win the trust and confidence of the whole Congress especially na may specific vision tayo," Cayetano earlier told reporters.

Cayetano had also expressed optimism that he would get the House speakership without Sara Duterte's endorsement. Cayetano's Nacionalista Party is allied with the Davao City mayor's Hugpong ng Pagbabago coalition.

While Sara confirmed that Cayetano did not seek for her endorsement when they met in Davao last year, the presidential daughter claimed that the Taguig lawmaker warned her against endorsing Rep. Lord Allan Jay Velasco (Marinduque).

"He (Cayetano), however, came with a veiled threat, that if I endorse Rep. Velasco for Speaker, I would break up the 'group,'" Sara said.

Paolo Duterte

President Duterte's eldest son Paolo won his first term at the House of Representatives after winning the 2019 polls in their home town Davao City.

Paolo served as Davao City vice mayor before seeking a seat at the House. His younger sister Sara, however, said possible bid at the speakership "should best be addressed by our father because he is the president and our patriarch."

The president's eldest son is being linked to the illegal drug trade, which he already denied in a Facebook post in April.

Outgoing Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV claimed that Paolo Duterte has a dragon-like tattoo on his back that would supposedly prove his ties to a drug trafficking triad. Paolo refused to show his back to disprove the allegations during a Senate hearing.

Aurelio Gonzales

Pampanga's Aurelio Gonzales served as PDP-Laban's deputy national campaign manager in the 2019 midterm elections.

According to reports, Gonzales has the backing of newly-elected PDP-Laban senators, including former special assistant to the president Bong Go and former Philippine National Police chief Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa.

The Pampanga lawmaker was a member of Lakas-Kampi-CMD before transferring to the ruling PDP-Laban in the 2016 general elections.

Loren Legarda

Outgoing Sen. Legarda of the Nationalist People's Coalition would be taking over the lone district of Antique.

As her name was mentioned as possible House speaker, Legarda expressed confidence that she can do the job.

"If it is the ability to perform a good job as speaker, I believe that I can do it, humbly speaking… in so far as performance at the job at hand," Legarda told ANC's Headstart Tuesday.

Legarda, however, acknowledged that House leadership would depend on the 297 lawmakers elected from various districts in the country.

“It’s not for a person to claim it. You can vie for it, but there is a process and it will be my first time in the bigger house,” she said.

Martin Romualdez

Romualdez will be taking over the House seat that would be vacated by his wife Yedda after winning the 2019 polls. He is the president of Arroyo's Lakas-CMD party.

Rep. Prospero Pichay (Surigao del Sur) earlier claimed that Sara Duterte endorsed the possible speakership of Romualdez, nephew of former first lady Imelda Marcos.

Sara, however, denied Pichay's claims and clarified that she only raised Romualdez's hand during the HNP proclamation rally as he is supportive of the Duterte administration's reform agenda.

Lord Allan Velasco

In his Facebook page, Velasco shared an article stating that Sara Duterte "sealed a pact" to support his speakership in the 18th Congress.

This supposed agreement between Sara and Velasco seeks to avoid last year's House coup over the speakership.

Similar with her statement denying the endorsement of Romualdez, Sara noted that Velasco has been supportive of the president's agenda.

'Duterte will not meddle with House speakership'

Despite Pimentel's earlier declaration that PDP-Laban would regain House leadership, Malacañang earlier stressed that the president will not meddle with the speakership race.

"He (Duterte) does not meddle in the elections in Congress," presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo said earlier this week.

https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2019/05/22/1919961/race-on-who-will-be-next-house-speaker

Ambush interview with Ambassador Marciano Paynor, Jr.

Updated

Earlier at the National Media Center of the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay City, when Ambassador Marciano Paynor, Jr. said to reporters it cited the live multimedia coverage of the 24th Southeast Asian Games in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand after the the 2005 Southeast Asian Games in Manila, the December 2000 to January 2001 Senate impeachment trial of former president Joseph Estrada that sparked the Second EDSA People Power Revolution that led to his ouster and Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo becomes President from January 17 to 20, 2001, the January 12 to 16, 1995 Manila visit of Pope John Paul II for the 10th World Youth Day and 1992 Summer Olympic Games in Barcelona, Spain.

On December 7, 2000, the impeachment trial against former President Joseph Estrada began.

A first in Philippine history, it ended on January 17, 2001 when House prosecutors withdrew from the trial.

Millions immediately assembled on EDSA leading to the second People Power revolution that led to Estrada’s ouster.

Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo took her oath of office as 14th President of the Republic of the Philippines at 12:20 p.m., January 20, 2001 following the effective resignation of former president Joseph Estrada.

"I, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, do solemnly swear that I will faithfully and conscientiously fulfill my duties as President of the Philippines," she declared before a cheering crowd of thousands at the EDSA Shrine. The oath was administered to her by Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr.

The former president and his family packed up and left Malacañang at around 2:15 p.m. on a barge that crossed Pasig River. The Estradas are currently at the family residence in 1 Polk Street in Greenhills, San Juan, Metro Manila.

San Juan Councilor Rolando Bernardo said that the tears of Estrada's tear were not prevented from happening. At around 3:25 pm Estrada stayed at his home in Polk St., Greeenhills. Jinggoy left the municipality.

On April 4, 2001, the Office of the Ombudsman filed plunder and eight other graft charges against him, his son Sen. Jose “Jinggoy” Estrada, his wife former Senator Dra. Luisa “Loi” Ejercito, Charlie “Atong” Ang, and others.

Estrada was arrested on April 25, 2001 and was detained at the Veterans Memorial Medical Center in Quezon City. He was eventually transferred to his rest house in Sampaloc, Tanay, Rizal where he was on house arrest.

Arroyo was elected to a full six-year presidential term in the May 10, 2004 elections and stepped down from office on June 30, 2010.

At around 4 p.m. on December 12, 2004, a bomb detonated in the main public market in General Santos City in Mindanao. The bomb, placed near some food stalls where meat and sausages were sold, killed at least 15 people and injured over 60 others.

Actor Fernando Poe, Jr. died at the age of 65 on December 14, 2004 at 12:01 am, without regaining consciousness.

The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake occurred at 8:58:53 a.m. on December 26, 2004 with an epicentre off the west coast of northern Sumatra. It was an undersea megathrust earthquake that registered a magnitude of 9.1–9.3 Mw, reaching a Mercalli intensity up to IX in certain areas. The earthquake was caused by a rupture along the fault between the Burma Plate and the Indian Plate. A series of large tsunamis up to 30 metres (100 ft) high were created by the underwater seismic activity that became known collectively as the Boxing Day tsunamis. Communities along the surrounding coasts of the Indian Ocean were seriously affected, and the tsunamis killed an estimated 227,898 people in 14 countries. The Indonesian city of Banda Aceh reported the largest number of victims. The earthquake was one of the deadliest natural disasters in recorded history. The direct results caused major disruptions to living conditions and commerce particularly in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, and Thailand.

On February 14, 2005, between 6:00 and 8:30 p.m., three separate bombs were detonated across the Philippines, one on a bus in Metro Manila, another in General Santos City, and another in Davao City. Four people were killed in Manila, three in General Santos, and one in Davao; over 100 people were wounded. Human Rights Watch interviewed witnesses to and survivors of all three attacks.

On the death of Pope John Paul II on April 2, 2005, President Arroyo declared three days of national mourning, and was one of many dignitaries at his funeral in Vatican City.

On November 27, 2005, the 23rd Southeast Asian Games was opened at the Quirino Grandstand, Rizal Park, Manila.

On December 5, 2005, the 23rd Southeast Asian Games in Manila was closed. The flame of the games' cauldron was extinguished and the Federation flag was lowered. The final medal tally was led by host country, close to 112 gold medals.

After a lengthy trial at the Sandiganbayan, the anti-graft court ruled that Estrada was not guilty of perjury, but was guilty of plunder. He was sentenced to lifetime imprisonment. All his co-accused were acquitted.

On October 19, an explosion in Glorietta 2 left eleven people dead and injured more than a hundred. Initially, authorities said that it was caused by a liquefied petroleum gas explosion at a restaurant, but later began investigating the possibility that the explosion may have been a C-4 bomb.

On October 26, President Arroyo granted Estrada a presidential pardon. He was 70.