Noy's marching orders

President Aquino presided at an LP meeting Monday where a decision was made to make it a party stand to impeach Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez. There are 83 Liberal Party Congressmen out of the 257 Majority coalition supporting Speaker Sonny Belmonte. There will be no mercy for Merci in the House. This is indicated by the 39-9 and 39-6 votes in the Committee on Justice. The plenary vote will be on March 23.

The fight now shifts to the Senate where the LP has only four senators out of 23 incumbent senators. Sixteen votes are needed to convict. If the Lakas and Nacionalista senators decide to contest the LP position, they can get eight votes to stop Merci’s conviction. Pivotal will be the votes of PMP Senators Juan Ponce Enrile and Jinggoy Estrada.

One thing appears to be in favor of Gutierrez, the impeachment process in the House has taken seven months with another month to complete. She’s finishing her term in two years. The Senate trial which will start only on May 9 may take another six months or more. Her term will be almost over by the time the Senate is ready to make a decision. With just a few months to go in her term at that time, she still has the option to resign to prevent a conviction.

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LAUDABLE. . . President Aquino took a regular Cebu Pacific no frills flight to Jakarta, Indonesia Monday night. There are no business class seats in Cebu Pacific. That saved a lot of money. In fact, Executive Secretary Jojo Ochoa announced that only P12.7 million will be spent for the Indonesia/Singapore state visits, a tradition among Asean Heads of State.

Can P-Noy now follow through by requiring his presidential appointees to adopt a simple lifestyle by not frequenting five-star hotels? And also, direct AFP Chief of Staff Eduardo Oban and PNP Director General Raul Bacalzo to limit the foreign trips of their officers, including their wives. Note that the government registered a P314 billion deficit for 2010.

SOO SLOOW. . . The post of Ambassador to Saudi Arabia has been vacant for five months. Fifteen political ambassadors are holding over. COA Chairman Rey Villar ended his term of office Feb. 2. No one has been appointed even with COA under fire for corruption. Two Comelec Commissioners still have to be nominated. The Boards of SBMA, CDC, BCDA and Philippine Postal Bank have not been fully reconstituted. Many judges’ positions are vacant.

With crisis after crisis, with corruption still ongoing, it is a valid complaint that this is an administration slow to act.

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RICE IMPORTS AGAIN. . . At the AFP anniversary rites, President Aquino again mentioned the P177 billion NFA loss due to rice imports with $60-$125 tongpats per metric ton.

NFA Administrator Lito Banayo just announced that 800,000 metric tons will be imported this year despite the good harvest claimed by DA Sec. Proceso Alcala. How much tongpats will be made this time? There are no secrets in the financial circles of Chinatown. Already, the usual brokers are preparing their bids, the Vietnamese and Thai brokers are well known as they have been part of the importation bonanza for the last 18 years. If the same brokers participate, then the tongpats continue.  

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SMUGGLING IN CEBU. . . In his trip to Bacolod, sugar planters complained of the unbridled smuggling of sugar in the port of Cebu.  

The Bureau of Customs missed its target collections again for the month of February. P180,000 per container is still being received for a no inspection and easy release of containers in the port of Manila. Laptops, I-pads, cellphones and TV sets are coming in by the thousands without paying the proper Customs duties.

Unfortunately, because of DOF Sec. Cesar Purisima’s protection of his business partner, Commissioner Angelito Alvarez, the Alabang golf cheat there has been no change in the BOC.

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CRIME WATCH. . . 75-year-old Lucia Sanico was raped and killed inside her house in Maasin, Southern Leyte.

Ex Vice Mayor Ramon Arcinue of Lingayen and his wife, Poblacion Barangay Chairwoman Zorahayda Arcinue were ambushed and wounded by two motorcycle riding gunmen in Binmaley, Pangasinan.

Three workers were accused of raping a 20-year-old woman at the Good Deal resort in Valenzuela City. In San Juan, 13-year-old Sheena Mae Robles was found dead and raped at a grassy lot in Barangay Kabayanan.

GMA TV reporter Bernadette Reyes was held-up and robbed of her Louis Vuitton bag containing P20,000 in cash and her Blackberry cellphone as she alighted from her car in front of her house at Tomas Morato St., QC.

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TIDBITS. . . Former President Jacques Chirac of France is charged with graft as Mayor of Paris due to misuse of public funds.

For receiving a gift of $3,000, Japan’s Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara, resigned. It hasn’t happened here. What happened to DILG Sec. Jessie Robredo’s promise to name the public officer and LTO personnel protecting carnappers? When is Usec Rico E. Puno coming back?

Heidi Mendoza said in Lucena City that she would accept the position of COA Chairman.  

Former DBM Sec. Ben Diokno said that the budget for agriculture and land reform have been reduced by 26 percent to P66 billion for 2011 from P89 Billion in 2010.

Condolence to the family of sportsman Rudy Salud on his passing due to a heart ailment. Also, to Atty. JV Bautista, former senatorial candidate, on the death of his mother, Nelia Larion Bautista in Mariveles, Bataan.

Happy birthday greetings to Lito Lopez, president of the Rusty Lopez chain of stores.

Tune in to our “Mr. Expose” program over DZRJ-AM 810 khz on your dial on Sundays 8 - 9:30 a.m. and Thursdays, 5 - 6 p.m.