Disagreement in Malacañang

After Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma said that President Aquino is not keen on extending his term, Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda and Deputy Spokesperson Abigail Valte gave a different comment saying the President will “listen to his bosses”; and may accept a people’s draft to run again after a constitutional amendment.

What is surprising is Valte's statement to the Malacañang Press to ask the President himself to say whether he is open to the idea. That is Lacierda and Valte’s job to get the President’s view on any issue being discussed in the newspaper front page and TV news programs. Why pass the buck to the President?

Valte said it is ultimately the President who could clear things up on the matter.

The bottom line, there is no definite word as yet that the President is not open to extension of his term.

Meanwhile, Vice President Jejomar Binay said he is open to the suggestion of a Binay-Roxas team-up. Roxas, however, issued a statement immediately that he rejected the proposal. He said it was clear that the agenda of United Alliance Nationalist (UNA) remained diametrically opposed to the “Daang Matuwid” governance that the Liberal Party (LP) was pursuing.

Roxas said that the UNA opposed the position taken by President Aquino and the LP on the impeachment trial of then Chief Justice Renato Corona in 2012 and the prosecution of those who pocketed allocations from the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF).

Roxas also said that the UNA was against the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) and budget reforms of the administration.

“We in LP are fully committed to the leadership and platform of P-Noy and his anti-corruption agenda as well as his covenant with our bosses [the people],” Roxas said, implying that Binay and the UNA are not.

Communications Secretary Coloma asked politicians not to second guess Mr. Aquino on his choice of the administration’s standard bearer in the 2016 elections, saying politics was not a priority for Mr. Aquino at this point.

Red flags for Cayetano

The Commission on Audit (CoA), in a report of state auditors for 2012, has found irregularities in the use of PDAF funds by Senator Alan Peter Cayetano and his wife, Mayor Lani Cayetano of Taguig.

CoA found ghost purchases of “firebusters” for a barangay worth P400,000 which were actually mere container drums with pails, far from being fire extinguishers.  The supplier, aside from not being licensed to conduct business, had denied entering into a contract to sell “firebusters.”

CoA also questioned a house numbering program billed as a “poverty alleviation program” for a barangay, which did not undergo a required public bidding.

The CoA also cited the questionable purchase of handheld radios without public bidding.

The said projects were not even qualified under the menu of programs issued by DBM to be funded by PDAF.

The same is true for the purchase of uniforms for barangay employees that was not bidded, for there was no request made by the barangay itself.

Purchases of a mini-ambulance, motorcycles with sidecar, and an ambulance were also not supported by any request.

CoA annual report also questioned the hiring of 3,188 casuals by the  city government of the senator’s wife, for which the City of Taguig spent P320 million; raising the probability that many of them were ghost employees.

The huge number of casuals in the city also raised the question on how 3,188 employees were accommodated in the city government’s offices.

No chicken?

The price of chicken in Metro Manila markets have spiked to P130-140 per kilo from P110-120 per kilo.

This could be partly due to the damage inflicted on chicken farms by Typhoon Yolanda.

It may also be due to importation of chicken being held at the congested port of Manila.

Besides the lack of self-sufficiency in rice, there has long been a short supply of chicken.

Incidentally, S & R and Puregold supermarkets are selling chicken, mostly from Australia and New Zealand.

Even Jollibee ran out of Chickenjoy in its stores.

Unfinished repairs

Teachers of the Tolosa National High School in Leyte are complaining about the unfinished repair of their school building.

Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Regional Director Rolando Asis explained that they have difficulty procuring good lumber. He also said that no money has been received from Department of Education (DepEd) to pay suppliers.

Killings everywhere

Atty. Cristobal Fernandez was shot dead inside his house in San Fabian, Pangasinan by two men riding-in-tandem who barged into his house.

Raya Mirchandani, 35, Indian-Filipino businessman, was shot dead by four men on two motorcycles in Dagupan City, Pangasinan.

Mary Li Cua, 53, a businesswoman, was shot dead by two riding-in-tandem suspects in Sampaloc, Manila.

Police Officer 2 Rowen Clerigo was shot dead by suspect Michael  Hernandez in Batangas City.

Construction foreman Ariel Tejada was shot dead in Nasugbu, Batangas while Gaudencio Caviteño was shot dead in Balayan.

Tidbits

Senator Tito Sotto has filed a bill outlawing riding-in-tandem on motorcycles except for immediate family members.

My condolences to former Governor Vic Magsaysay and his family on the passing of Roselyn Magsaysay, founding president of the Ina Poonbato Global Ministry, who died of cancer.