Eye Opener

Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV on Sunday said he will file a resolution on seeking a Senate probe into alleged bank records of Pres. Rodrigo Duterte and members of his family. “With this resolution, I am accepting Pres. Duterte’s challenge to investigate his alleged ill-gotten wealth to once and for all reveal the truth on this issue. The public wants to know the truth and it’s in the hands of the Senate to uncover it,” Trillanes said. Trillanes said he will file the resolution on Monday. Before he left for India last January 24, Pres. Duterte said he was willing to let Congress probe his alleged wealth as he wants to put an end to the issue. Trillanes said Duterte "must address this issue squarely once and for all." "If he has nothing to hide, he should bare it all and sign the waiver. On the contrary, he has been dilly-dallying in his statements, and instead has been bluffing the people by publicly ordering AMLC (Anti-Money Laundering Council) to investigate hi...

Kinalampag ng husto kahapon ni Puwersa ng Bayaning Atleta (PBA) Party-list Rep. Jericho Nograles ang Department of Justice (DOJ) upang panghimasukan na ng National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) ang korapsyon sa Metro Rail Transit (MRT) Line 3 para matukoy ang utak ng pagpapalit ng mga pekeng piyesa nito na siyang ugat kung bakit laging may aberya ang operasyon nito. Sinabi ng kongresista na ang pag-usok ng isang bagon ng MRT-3 noong Biyernes, Enero 26,at iba pang aberya ay sinasabing sanhi ng ‘electrical glitch’ na resulta hindi lamang ng hindi maayos na pagmamantine kundi ang pagkakasalpak ng ‘incompatible components’ o hindi akmang piyesa sa MRT-3 system. Si Rep.Nograles ang na­nguna sa paglalantad ng mga anomalya sa likod ng P3.8 billion maintenance deal sa pagitan ng MRT-3 at Busan Universal Rail Inc. (BURI). Binigyang-diin ng kongresista na magpapatuloy ang pagpalya at pagkasira ng MRT-3 kahit tinapos na ang maintenance contract ng BURI dahil ang kritikal at importanteng ...

Sen. Manny Pacquiao on Tuesday said bloggers should not hide behind anonymity and instead be required by the government to acquire licenses. “Do you agree na lahat ng bloggers ay kailangan kumuha ng permit o license para ma-control natin lahat ng mga — siyempre magtatago ka sa ibang anyo, magtatago ka sa ibang mukha tapos magpo-post ng below the belt. Unfair naman yun,” Pacquiao said at the resumption of the Senate hearing on fake news. “Kasi pag hindi na-register 'yan, madadamay 'yung mga may mabubuting intensyon…Para sa’kin, mabuti pa,  i-register na lang lahat ng bloggers,” he added. Sen. Pacquiao also asked resource persons from the media and academe whether media should be “controlled.” He said “We know that in our Constitution, there is freedom of expression but because of this freedom of expression, naabuso na kasi. Do you think the media in the country, we should control it? I think that’s the problem kasi sa technology natin ngayon, iba na,” the neophyte se...

Sen. Richard Gordon on Sunday said that the former President Benigno Aquino III should own up and apologize for the government's P3.5-billion Dengvaxia vaccine purchase during his time. Gordon told Super Radyo dzBB that he has completed the Senate blue ribbom committee's recommendations report on the Dengvaxia controversy. Gordon said that in committee report, Aquino seemed to be trying to avoid responsibility from the Dengvaxia mess. "In fact, I have a statement tomorrow na parang yung Dengvaxia umiiwas talaga ang Pangulo katulad din sa Mamasapano umiwas din siya. Aba'y dapat own up, own up to his responsibility 'di ba. Kinausap niya yung si Alan Purisima, kinausap niya rin yung sa Sanofi na unethical," he said. Senator, however, said an apology will not absolve the former president from possible liability. "No it will not exculpate him eh kasi dapat panagutan 'yan eh," he said, adding that Aquino's meetings with Sanofi Pasteur...

The Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC) will file plunder complaints against ranking officials, who may possibly include the former president Benigno Aquino III and the former Health secretary Janette Garin, for the P3.5-billion dengue vaccine mess. If they filed, it would be the third criminal complaint lodged against the ex-officials for their involvement in the Dengvaxia deal issue. Lawyer Ferdinand Topacio of the VACC told reporters at a news forum on Saturday that while the list of the respondents has yet to be finalized,then Aquino and Garin are among the "persons of interest." The complaint will be filed before the Department of Justice in one to two weeks, Topacio said. “Tapos na po halos lahat ng affidavits ng mga witnesses namin for the plunder case,” he said, adding their evidence is a money trail sniffed out by the National Bureau of Investigation, the details of which he did not disclose. Topacio also said two other persons of interest ha...

MANILA PHILIPPINES - Public satisfaction with the administration of President Rodrigo has risen to a record high that surpassed the record of his predecessor, according to an opinion survey released Wednesday. The Duterte administration scored a net satisfaction rating of +70 in Social Weather Stations' survey of 1,200 respondents from December 8 to 16, 2017. This score qualifies as "EXCELLENT", the highest rating in the SWS scale since 1989. It was 12 points higher than the "very good" +58 in September 2017, SWS said. The latest rating also surpassed the previous record of "very good" score +66 achieved by the previous administration of Benigno Aquino III in June 2013, the pollster added. This net satisfaction is the difference between the satisfaction and dissatisfaction scores. In the most recent survey, 79 percent said they were satisfied with the President, 12 percent were dissatisfied and 9 percent were undecided. RATINGS ACROSS TH...

Pres. Rodrigo Duterte capped this year on a high note, garnering the support of 4 out of 5 Filipinos in the latest Pulse Asia and Social Weather Stations (SWS) surveys last year. He (Duterte) effectively eviscerated whatever reversals he suffered in previous surveys, regaining his support base among the poorest of poor Filipinos (Class E), the college graduates, males, and those in the later-youth-to-middle-age range (35-44 years old). Surely, as historical data shows that Philippine leaders tend to enjoy relatively high approval ratings in their first years in office, reflecting the patience and good will of the broader electorate. As in tropical romance, periods of political honeymoon tend to also be extended in places such as the Philippines. Yet, even by Philippine standards, Duterte enjoys his highest approval ratings. Only President Fidel Ramos, who oversaw an economic renaissance and rapid political consolidation in his earlier years in office, managed to maintain a hi...