SENATORS Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa and Christopher "Bong" Go on Saturday withdrew their certificates of candidacy (COC) for president and vice president respectively under the Partido Demokratikong Pilipino-Laban (Cusi Wing).
"It is a party decision," Dela Rosa said before filing his certificate of withdrawal before the Commission on Elections (Comelec).
Dela Rosa and Go were accompanied by President Rodriog Duterte.
Other officials who joined the President were Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea and Presidential Communications Secretary Martin Andanar.
Dela Rosa has indicated his willingness to drop out of the race should the president's daughter, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Caprio, decide to run for the country's top post in the upcoming elections.
Duterte-Carpio however, on Saturday filed her CoC for vice president under the Lakas-Christian Muslim Decmocrats (Lakas-CMD) party as its substitute candidate.
Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio has filed for substitution as one of the Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats’ (Lakas-CMD) of former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo alleged “placeholders” withdrew her Certificate of Candidacy (COC), formalizing the mayor’s vice presidential bid, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) announced on Saturday, Nov. 13.
Duterte-Carpio before the filing, has not minced her words in dousing earlier speculations that she will run for national post. These rumors finally ended as she substituted for Lyle Fernando Uy who filed her COC for Vice President on Oct. 8 who was reportedly a “placeholder” for the Davao mayor. They were represented by Atty. Charo Munsayac
The decision came a day before the deadline of filing for withdrawals and substitution before the Comelec on Nov. 15. After that, only involuntary substitution will be allowed. In Resolution No. 10717, the Comelec said an aspirant from a duly registered political party or coalition, who dies, withdraws, or is disqualified for any cause after the last day for the filing of COCs, may be substituted by an aspirant belonging to, and nominated by, the same political party or coalition.
The poll body said a substitute for an aspirant/candidate, who died or was disqualified by final judgment, may file a COC up to mid-day of Election Day.
Comelec Education and Information Department Director Elaiza Sabile-David has earlier explained that for Duterte-Carpio to be able to substitute for someone, she has to be a party-mate of the one who withdrew his or her filed COC.
According to Sabile-David, it is possible for a person who belongs to a different political party to change their current party affiliation the next day in order to substitute for someone the following day.
“Hindi po problema na ang isang kandidato ay kabilang sa kunyari partido A and then ang gusto niyang isubstitute na kandidato na nag withdraw ay kabilang sa Partido B (It’s not a problem if an aspiring candidate will switch from Party A to Party B to substitute a candidate from that party who withdrew their COC),” Sabile-David explained.
“Hindi po yun hadlang para siya po ay mag substitute ang kailangan lang po magkaroon siya ng nomination from partido B para po masubstitute niya yung kandidatong nag-withdraw doon (It’s not a hindrance for someone to substitute if they belong to Party A for they just need a nomination from Party B to substitute for the aspiring candidate),” she added.
She further mentioned that as long as there is a nomination from a party and that the person was acknowledged such as Duterte-Carpio as a member of the party, she may substitute for the candidate Comelec Spokesperson James Jimenez has also explained that she is qualified to substitute but not under Hugpong ng Pagbabago which is also a political party but regional.
In a series of political moves over the week, Duterte-Carpio first withdrew her candidacy as re-electionist mayor of Davao City, before her resignation from the Hugpong ng Pagbabago, a regional political party in Mindanao which she formed in 2018.
On Thursday, Nov. 11, Duterte-Carpio was sworn in as new member of the Lakas-CMD by its president and House Majority Leader Martin Romualdez at the Revilla Farm in Silang, Cavite and was witnessed by Senator Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. who was hosting the wedding of her daughter at the time.
Sabile-David has reminded that after an aspiring candidate has successfully substituted for someone, it is still not final and that petitions may still be filed against them.
MANILA, Philippines — Tycoon Ramon Ang is open to proposals to put Petron Corp. back to government control, which some lawmakers see as among the solutions to high local pump prices.
During a hearing at the House of Representatives on Monday, Ang, president and CEO of Petron, said the government can make an offer “anytime” if it’s really interested in buying back the oil giant.
“Any time, it could be loaned to the Philippine government, they could buy it with over five years to pay. I swear, if the government is looking to buy Petron, they should prepare now,” Ang told legislators in Filipino.
“Just tell me, I will sell it immediately. Tell them to make the valuation immediately, no more nitpicking. Last year, we lost P18 billion. You can check that,” he added.
House lawmakers met on Monday to tackle proposals to address stubbornly high oil prices that’s fanning inflation, which could derail the Philippines’ delicate recovery from the pandemic. Some suggestions include suspending excise taxes on petroleum products and amending the Ramos-era Oil Deregulation Law.
But last month, Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Isagani Zarate renewed his call to pass House Bill 244 or the proposed Petron Renationalization Act, which has been pending with the House Committee on Energy since July 2019. Zarate is among the principal authors of the bill.
Under the bill, state-owned Philippine National Oil Company (PNOC) would buy a majority stake or 51% of subscribed stocks of Petron upon the first year of its effectivity, if ever the measure is signed into law. PNOC should reacquire 100% full ownership of the company within a period of four years.
PNOC acquired Esso Philippines — Petron’s old name — at the height of the first oil crisis in 1973 and renamed it Petrophil Corp. In 1994, PNOC and Saudi Aramco signed a stock purchase agreement that gave the latter 40% ownership in Petron. In the same year, 20% of PNOC shares were sold in what was dubbed as the “mother of all initial public offerings (IPOs)” in the Philippines.
Ang's San Miguel Corp. started managing Petron in 2009.
Oil that Petron purchases only lands in one port, at their refinery in Bataan. There, Petron produces 180,000 barrels daily and supplies 30% of the Philippines' total fuel requirements. Petron registered a 18.60% share in the local market, as of end-June 2021, according to data from the Department of Energy.
In 2020, Petron reported a net loss of P11.4 billion, a turnaround from the preceding year’s P2.3 billion net income, after pandemic restrictions pushed down oil prices amid weak demand from locked-down consumers. Earnings have since recovered amid rallying oil prices as curbs were eased.
Shares in Petron gained 1.86% on Monday to close at P3.83 apiece
LA TRINIDAD, Benguet––The provincial board on Monday (Nov. 8) declared lawyer Ana Maria Paz Rafael, former assistant secretary of the Presidential Communications Operations Office, as persona non grata (unwelcome) in Benguet after the recent armed takeover of the power utility serving the province and Baguio City.
Voting 13 in favor and one abstention, the provincial board issued a resolution for the declaration.
Vice Gov. Johnny Waguis said Rafael lied when she told the board during the Nov. 3 session that she arrived at the headquarters of the Benguet Electric Cooperative (Beneco) in South Drive around 7 a.m. during the takeover on Oct. 18
Waguis said video footage with time stamps showed that Rafael was at the compound as early as 5 a.m.
The National Electrification Administration (NEA) had designated Rafael as manager of Beneco to replace Melchor Licoben.
Licoben, who assumed the leadership of Beneco by succession last year, was slapped a 90-day preventive suspension by the NEA, along with Beneco’s board president and six directors, who voted to reject Rafael’s appointment due to her alleged ineligibility.
Lawyer Omar Mayo, legal officer of NEA, designated by the regulator as Beneco “caretaker,” had also been declared persona non grata in Benguet last week.
Mayo reportedly led the forcible takeover of the Beneco office backed by NEA-deputized policemen.
During the provincial board session last week, Rafael was asked why she should not be declared persona non grata, to which she replied: “up to you to decide.”
The board also asked her if she could give way and respect the public clamor, Rafael said: “I just want to work … unless and until my appointment is annulled, I need to work as the general manager.”
In an interview last week, Board Member Juan Nazaro said they did not initially include Rafael in the persona non grata declaration saying they still had to verify her statement that she was not present during the armed takeover.
This was the Chief Executive’s comeback on Wednesday, Nov. 3 , against Senator Richard Gordon and the rest of the senators who have continued to hold hearings via the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee on the alleged anomalies in the administration’s procurement of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) supplies in 2020.
Speaking in his pre-recorded “Talk to the People” public briefing, Duterte took exception to the claims of certain senators that he has been “lawyering” for officials of Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corp., which served as a major contractor in the government’s procurement activities last year.
“Wag po kayong magpadala dyan sa mga intriga na ako raw abugado, ako raw ano…Alam mo sa totoo lang Gordon, pati [Senator Franklin] Drilon, hindi ako aabot sa presidency, from my mayorship to the presidency, kung corrupt ako kagaya ninyo…Kung tumatanggap ako ng mga…p*t*ng-*n*…ng mga campaign funds dyan sa mga tao na alam ninyo na gumagawa ng kalokohan kasama yung mga miyembro ng Congress (Do not believe in their intrigues that I’m the lawyer, I’m this…You know what Gordon and Drilon, the truth is, I would not have made it to the presidency, from my mayorship to the presidency, had I been corrupt like you…had I been taking campaign funds from people who do dubious things along with members of Congress),” Duterte said.
Gordon chairs the Blue Ribbon panel, while Drilon is the Senate Minority Leader.
“Kayo dyan ang merong butas. Wala kayong makuha sa amin (You are the ones who have misdeeds. You won’t find any with us). It’s not in my system, about corruption and money. Ibang bagay siguro, masabi mo meron akong…pero hindi sa pera (Maybe about other things, you can say that I have…but not with money),” the President said.
Poltical pundits refer to the Senate as the chamber of “presidentiables”, given how close they are to the Palace in terms of hierchary and stature. Then-Davao City Mayor Duterte somewhat upended this notion when he won the presidential race via landslide in 2016.
“But my personal life, well there are some, those who would like to criticize me. And as a public official I would have to accept the criticisms.
“Pero kung yung sinasabi niyo, ako yung abugado, ako ay…lumang tugtugin na yan. Alam mo sa totoo lang sabi ko, I would not be President Duterte kung corrupt ako kagaya ninyo (But if you’re saying that I’m lawyering for people…that’s already an old tune, like what I said, I would not be President Duterte if I were corrupt like you),” Duterte said.
The Chief Executive reiterated the Commission on Audit’s (COA) findings that it saw no instance of overprincing in the medical supply deals. He said procurement rules under the Bayanihan law were also properly followed.
Duterte has said in the past that he doesn’t care what happens to Pharmally and its executives during the Senate investigation.
Gordon, as per Dutere’s claims, owes the government some P86 million stemming from the disallowed funds he failed to account for during his time as Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) chairman
Today at Connect 2021, CEO Mark Zuckerberg introduced Meta, which brings together our apps and technologies under one new company brand. Meta’s focus will be to bring the metaverse to life and help people connect, find communities and grow businesses.
The metaverse will feel like a hybrid of today’s online social experiences, sometimes expanded into three dimensions or projected into the physical world. It will let you share immersive experiences with other people even when you can’t be together — and do things together you couldn’t do in the physical world. It’s the next evolution in a long line of social technologies, and it’s ushering in a new chapter for our company. Mark shared more about this vision in a founder’s letter.
Our annual Connect conference brings together augmented and virtual reality developers, content creators, marketers and others to celebrate the industry’s momentum and growth. This year’s virtual event explored what experiences in the metaverse could feel like over the next decade — from social connection, to entertainment, gaming, fitness, work, education and commerce. We also announced new tools to help people build for the metaverse, including Presence Platform, which will enable new mixed reality experiences on Quest 2, and a $150-million investment in immersive learning to train the next generation of creators.
You can watch the full Connect keynote and learn more about how the metaverse will unlock new opportunities at meta.com. You can also learn more about our work over the past several months to develop the Meta brand on our design blog. Read all our news in the posts below:
Connect 2021: Our Vision for the Metaverse
Horizon Home, the Future of Work, Presence Platform, and More
Project Aria Update
How VR Is Changing the Way We Collaborate and Get Things Done
Gaming News
‘Blade & Sorcery: Nomad’ Is Coming to Oculus Quest
Spark AR Roundup
Spark AR Certification & Professional Course Preview
Our corporate structure is not changing, however, how we report on our financials will. Starting with our results for the fourth quarter of 2021, we plan to report on two operating segments: Family of Apps and Reality Labs. We also intend to start trading under the new stock ticker we have reserved, MVRS, on December 1. Today’s announcement does not affect how we use or share data.
See also: Building the Metaverse Responsibly, Expanding Horizon: New Funding to Support Creators, Introducing Our New Company Brand (2019)
Meta builds technologies that help people connect, find communities, and grow businesses. When Facebook launched in 2004, it changed the way people connect. Apps like Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp further empowered billions around the world. Now, Meta is moving beyond 2D screens toward immersive experiences like augmented and virtual reality to help build the next evolution in social technology.
IMPASUGONG, Bukidnon – Justice has been served after the death of Jorge “Ka Oris” Madlos, the commander and spokesperson of the National Operations Command (NOC) of the New People’s Army (NPA) in the hinterlands of Sitio Gabunan, Impasugong, Bukidnon on Oct. 30.
For decades, the 74-year-old Madlos led terroristic activities, especially in Mindanao, and was recorded as the most wanted NPA commander in the country.
He faced multiple criminal cases such as robbery with double homicide, damage to properties, murder, and frustrated murder that involved countless innocent civilians, including indigenous peoples (IP) members, Citizen Armed Force Geographical Unit Active Auxiliary (CAA) members, and soldiers.
“Sa pagpanguna ni Ka Oris sa una, ang mga lumad nailad nga mokuyog kanila, duna pay namatay apil nga tribal leaders nga matud pa dunay kalapasan kanila ug naa usab mga equipment nga ilang gipang sunog. Isip IPMR sa syudad sa Malaybalay nagatuo ako nga nakab-ot na namo ang hustisya sa iyang kamatayon (Headed by Ka Oris before, the IPs were deceived to join them, there were tribal leaders killed because of alleged violations against them, and there were many equipment burned. I believe that we have already received justice after his death),” Datu Renato Sumbongan, the IP Mandatory Representative (IPMR) of Malaybalay City, said in a news release of the Philippine Army’s 8th Infantry Battalion (8IB) on Sunday.
Lt. Col. Edgardo Talaroc Jr,, 8IB commander, also said in the vernacular that IP members, soldiers, and the CAA have long been waiting for justice.
Salvador H. Laurel was Cory Aquino's vice-president and running mate in the 1986 snap elections. Laurel wrote Aquino on August 13, 1988 to signify his intention to leave her administration. The letter below is featured in the book by Cecilio T. Arillo "Greed and Betrayal". This also appeared in the opinion section of February 19, 2014 issue of the Manila Standard Today newspaper.
Republic of the Philippines
Office of the Vice-President
Executive House, Manila
August 13, 1988
Dear President Aquino:
I write at a time of deep anguish for our people. And so I shall not burden you with undue sentiment. I shall go straight to the point.
You and I were called by Providence to serve at a turning point in our history. Our call to service was unique. We had sought our people’s vote in an election, but they gave us something more in a bloodless revolution that was to astound the world. At EDSA, we forged a covenant with God, country and people.
Kahimyang Project website discusses Why Leni should initiate a Definitive Inquiry on Her Husbands Death. This can be read through the webpage link below:
