Binay tops survey

Vice President Jejomar Binay surged to a top +73 net satisfaction rating, according to the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey as of March 31, 2014. Binay’s excellent rating is 11 percent points higher than his 62 percent approval rating in the previous quarter.

On the other hand, President Aquino’s approval rating decreased to +45 percent in March, from +49 in December.

Binay’s approval rating has been consistently high for the last four years. It is logical to expect that the 73 percent approval rating will translate to a 73 percent voters’ choice, for the 2016 presidential elections.

It’s an 8-point drop from Senate President Franklin Drilon’s +17 net satisfaction ratings. Speaker Sonny Belmonte also decreased from +16 percent approval rating to -1 rating.

The high rating of Vice President Binay shows that the demolition job and an intensified smear campaign against him is not effective.

With about 10 months to go before presidential candidacies are launched, it looks unlikely that any opponent from the Liberal Party (LP) can catch up with him.

Abad charged

Party-list youth groups, headed by Kabataan Party-list and Youth Act Now Rep. Terry Ridon, have filed with the Office of the Ombudsman a plunder case against Department of Budget and Management (DBM) Sec. Butch Abad. They demanded his resignation.

The University Council (UC) of the University of the Philippines (UP) Diliman also called for accountability and transparency in light of the Supreme Court’s ruling on the partial unconstitutionality of the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP).

One of the anti-pork groups, Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) is filing an impeachment case against President Aquino. Bayan Muna Party-list said it will endorse the Bayan complaint.

The youth groups also announced they are filing an impeachment complaint against President Aquino, bringing to four the number of impeachment complaints.

CBCP denies Napoles’ request

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) has denied the request of Janet Lim-Napoles to be placed under their custody.

CBCP president Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas, in a statement, said that while the CBCP is grateful to Napoles for the trust she has shown to the conference, he regrets that they could not grant her request because this would be in violation of regulations governing the church and the state.

Villegas said existing church laws do not allow an episcopal conference to stand as guarantor before civil courts that the accused will not abscond and will be available at every trial date.

Villegas noted that helping Napoles might also establish a precedent. It might result to an acceptance of similar requests from all other accused once they allow to take recognizance of Napoles.

“Not only would this strain CBCP’s resources. It would render impossible the discharge of its principal functions,” he explained.

Justice Ong guilty

The Supreme Court (SC) has found Sandiganbayan Associate Justice Gregory Ong guilty of receiving a payoff to fix a case of Janet Lim-Napoles, involving the sale of 500 Kevlar helmets to the Philippine Marines worth P3.8 million.

The decision was unanimous, but the SC justices are divided whether to expel or suspend him.

Retired SC Associate Justice Angelina Sandoval-Gutierrez, who investigated the case, found Justice Ong guilty of gross misconduct, dishonesty and impropriety, all in violation of the New Code of Judicial Conduct for the Philippine Judiciary and recommended the penalty of dismissal.

In an initial vote, the SC was deadlocked with 6 justices voting for dismissal and 6 for suspension.

Two former colleagues of Ong at the Sandiganbayan — Associate Justices Teresita Leonardo De Castro and Diosdado Peralta inhibited themselves from the case.

GMA suspension order

House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. is studying the case of former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (GMA), who has been ordered suspended by the Sandiganbayan for 90 days.

Cavite Rep. Elpidio Barzaga Jr., an administration ally and officer of the National Unity Party, said the House of Rerepresentatives should honor the Sandiganbayan decision.

This case is important because a motion to suspend Senators Bong Revilla and Jinggoy Estrada has been filed before the Sandiganbayan.

In the case of Senator Antonio Trillanes IV, he was not suspended by the court while under detention.

No decision yet on Gigi

The Sandiganbayan heard the motion of Atty. Gigi Reyes requesting for the anti-graft court to detain her at the Philippine National Police (PNP) Custodial Center at Camp Crame instead of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) facility in Quezon City throughout the duration of the plunder trial.

The prosecutors are opposing her request, for the reason that the custodial center is not a detention facility for the accused in the pork barrel scam.

The Sandiganbayan also did not decide on the motion filed by Senator Juan Ponce Enrile, requesting to place him under hospital confinement at the PNP General Hospital, citing his advance age and frail condition.

Mayor Joseph Estrada visited Gigi Reyes in her temporary detention cell in the Sandiganbayan’s basement.

Interviewed by reporters, Erap said Gigi Reyes’ treatment was very inhuman and pitiful. He also said Reyes’ cell was small and hot and did not provide her privacy. Visitors are limited. Only one at a time is allowed and limited to two hours.

Erap said Reyes should be transferred to a better facility. But it would be worse if she is committed to the Quezon City jail.