P10M price cut for Chief Justice Corona voluntary, says Megaworld

MANILA, Philippines – An official of Megaworld Corp. told the impeachment court on Tuesday that they voluntarily gave Chief Justice Renato Corona a P10-million price reduction for his penthouse unit in The Bellagio, Taguig City due to “force majeure” and not for any consideration from a high-ranking government official.

Megaworld senior vice-president for marketing and sales Noli Hernandez said the penthouse sold to the Coronas was originally priced at P24 million, but “unfortunately, a typhoon struck and the unit sustained damages.”

He said they gave a nearly P5-million price reduction–from P24 million to P19.6 million–to the chief justice. Hernandez said the price reduction would have been given regardless of who the buyer was.

Hernandez added the selling price was later reduced by another P5 million, representing discounts and other factors because the Coronas were prompt payers. They paid in four installments in about a year.

Hernandez said he did not even know it was the Coronas who were buying the penthouse unit. –ABS-CBN News

EDSA not passable to light vehicles due to floods, says MMDA

A part of Epifanio delos Santos Avenue (EDSA) in southern Metro Manila were flooded Tuesday afternoon, after rain fell on parts of Metro Manila.

The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) said flood waters were as high as 13 inches at the corner of EDSA and Pasong Tamo Extension.

In a flood alert posted on its Twitter account, the MMDA said the corner of EDSA and Pasong Tamo Extension northbound was not passable to light vehicles.

Rain had fallen on parts of Metro Manila at noon Tuesday, with some areas having poor visibility.

But the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration maintained the rain was not due to a cyclone.

Instead, PAGASA said the rainshowers are caused by the southward surge of the Northeast Monsoon occurring over eastern sections of Northern Luzon. — KBK, GMA News

Presidential political adviser denies he was the emissary who pressured INC to talk to Cuevas

Presidential political adviser Ronald Llamas on Tuesday denied that he was the one who allegedly pressured the Iglesia Ni Cristo to ask retired Justice Serafin Cuevas to withdraw as the lead counsel of impeached Chief Justice Renato Corona.

In a press statement, Llamas said no one from Malacañang talked with the INC to exert pressure on Cuevas.

“There was no emissary from the Palace — not I nor anyone else — for the simple reason that there was no pressure exerted whatsoever by Malacañang either on Justice Cuevas or the INC,” he said.

A report in The Manila Times on Tuesday named Llamas as the one who supposedly approached a spiritual minister of INC to talk to Cuevas.

Earlier, Cuevas was quoted in a report by the Philippine Daily Inquirer that Malacañang pressured him to quit Corona’s camp in exchange for the case of sacked National Bureau of Investigation director Magtanggol Gatdula, who is an INC member.

But the retired justice, in an interview with dzBB, denied making the statement. The Inquirer, however, stood by its story.

Llamas said Cuevas supposedly initially claimed the emissary was a former student of his. Another from the Cuevas camp identified Llamas as the emissary.

“I was never a student of Cuevas, so how can I be that emissary,” he asked.

“It’s funny how the Corona propagandists are not tripping over one another with the lies they are trying to peddle to the public to divert attention from the damning pieces of evidence being unearthed against Corona,” Llamas added.

Malacañang earlier called Cuevas’ claim and retraction as diversionary tactic. — Amita Legaspi/RSJ, GMA News

Phone of Ronald Llamas still cannot be reached

MANILA, Philippines – Even the Malacanang communications team can’t get hold of Presidential Adviser for Political Affairs Ronald Llamas after getting embroiled anew in a controversy.

In an interview with radio dzRB, Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Abigail Valte said they have already tried to contact Llamas to get his side of the matter. “No, he did not [take the calls]. Ako, I coordinated with his staff because I could not personally reach him. But I coordinated with his staff…”

She also does not know if President Benigno Aquino III has already talked to Llamas. “Well, una, hindi pa naman po kasi namin din naitatanong sa Pangulong Aquino, dahil marami rin po kasing iniintindi ang Pangulo. And pangalawa, dahil nai-utos naman na po ‘yung  imbestigasyon, ‘yun na po ‘yung hinihintay din namin,” she said.

Llamas came under fire after Bandera Associate Editor Dona Policar released on Wednesday pictures of him buying P2,000 worth of pirated DVDs at the Circle C Mall along Congressional Avenue in Quezon City last Monday.

Some quarters are already calling for his resignation, saying he is not a good example to government officials.

The media have also tried to contact Llamas, to no avail.

“At para maitanong niyo na po lahat ng tinatanong niyo sa amin ni Secretary Lacierda na hindi naman po kami nasa posisyon para sagutin,” Valte said.

She said, however, that an investigation is already being done to check into the administrative liabilities of Llamas.

“Naiintindihan po natin na marami ngang sector ang nanawagan para doon sa resignation o sa pag-alis ni Secretary Llamas, dahil nga po doon sa nakaraang insidente doon sa DVD. Gumugulong na po ‘yung imbestigasyon at hintayin na lang po muna natin ‘yung magiging resulta,” she said.

She asked the public to just wait for the results of the investigation.

She said the President is also dealing with bigger problems. “Yung personal decision ni Secretary Llamas will pale in comparison to the other bigger problems that the President is dealing with,” she said.–ABS-CBN News

Number of witnesses vs Corona a cause for concern – Kiko

MANILA, Philippines – Senator-judge Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan on Saturday expressed concern over the number of witnesses that the prosecution plans to present for the impeachment trial of Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona.

The senator said it could take 10 months for the prosecution to present a hundred witnesses excluding defense witnesses.

“We have had six witnesses in the last two weeks. If we maintain this pace, 100 witnesses will require 10 months of trial. This doesn’t include the witnesses for the defense,” Pangilinan said in a press statement.

He also said that a lengthy trial could affect their other duties as lawmakers.

“Going by this lengthy route is pushing to the limit our ability to effectively govern the nation,” he said.

Pangilinan added that although the Senate impeachment court is open to giving both sides enough leeway to present their case, it is also the duty of the court “to strike a healthy balance between the demands of the trial and that of the national interest.”

The prosecution panel submitted to the Senate on Friday a list of possible witnesses, which include several journalists and members of the Supreme Court.–ABS-CBN News

Malacañang is engaging in overkill, fishing expedition vs Chief Justice Corona

Malacañang on Sunday deflected claims by its critics that it is engaging in “overkill” and a “fishing expedition” to dig up dirt on impeached Chief Justice Renato Corona as his trial before the Senate continues.

Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte contested Sen. Joker Arroyo’s claim that the Aquino administration is using the entire government machinery to pin down Corona.

“Doon sa makinarya ng gobyerno, tandaan natin lahat na myembro ng ehekutibo na pinatawag ay pumunta doon dahil sa subpoena na ipinadala ng [Senate],” she said on government-run dzRB radio.

These officials included Bureau of Internal Revenue commissioner Kim Jacinto Henares and the register of deeds.

All of them testified not because they volunteered. “Subpoenaed sila… Sumusunod lang tayo sa compulsion ng impeachment court, that was manifested via subpoena,” she said.

As to Joker Arroyo’s claims of an overkill, Valte said, “we will leave that to the judgment of Sen. Arroyo … We do it because we were subpoenaed, it is a courtesy and sign of respect to the impeachment court.”

Sen. Arroyo was earlier quoted as saying President Benigno Aquino III was using the House of Representatives, the Senate and now the Bureau of Internal Revenue to expose Corona’s alleged ill-gotten wealth after Henares said her bureau would investigate the chief justice for possible tax violations. — LBG, GMA News

Peñalosa Jr. kayoes Singmanasak in one round

Dodie Boy Peñalosa Jr. did a quick job in disposing Thai opponent Superjames Singmanasak as he sent him to the canvas with a quick left hook and finishing him off with a left straight in the very first round.

The undefeated Peñalosa showcased his power and speed as he circled around his opponent before releasing his power shots. He improves his record to W8 KO8 L0 D0.

In the co-featured bout, Marvin Mabait snatched the Philippine GAB Superflyweight Championship Belt from defending champion Rey Perez.

Mabait used his ring intelligence in outpointing the equally experienced Perez. The fighters had an accidental clash of heads in the mid rounds thus opening a not so serious cut on the head of Perez while another non-intentional head-butt in the later rounds opened a cut on the left eyebrow of Mabait. The Zamboanga native dominated almost all rounds of the fight gaining the nod of all judges and giving him a unanimous decision victory.

In another highlighted match-up, IBF Pan Pacific Flyweight Champion Sonny Boy Jaro knocked out Samuel Apuya midway in the very first round.

Jaro came in with strong wild hooks knocking down Apuya once before finishing him with a power left hook to the face throwing Apuya out of the ropes to the GAB table and prompting referee Virgilio Garcia to stop the fight. Jaro will now prepare for his WBC championship fight with Pongsaklek Wonjongkam of Thailand.

In a very exciting match up, flyweights Carlo Maquinto of Shape Up Boxing Gym traded an all out ring war against Jaro Stable Warrior Mark Joseph Costa. The boxers traded power shots absorbing each other’s punishment. Maquinto was knocked down twice in the first round bout recovered and engaged with the very game Costa. Costa was deducted one point for intentional spitting of mouth guard but went on bringing in Maquinto to his game. The crowd went wild in appreciation of the action packed fight up to the very last round. In the end, the judges scored it even with a Majority Draw.

In the undercard, Dave Peñalosa showed much improvement from his debut fight as he showcased poise and new pack of power on the ring against Raymond Colambot of Caloocan. Dave showed excellent defense in evading the strong shots of Colambot while hitting his opponent with clean and sharp straights and uppercuts. A solid left uppercut to the chin caught Colambot for good in 0:28 of the second round giving Peñalosa a new W2 KO1 L0 record.

In the other match-ups, Ren-Ren Tesorio versus Roy Albaera ended in a technical draw after Albaera suffered a deep cut caused by an accidental headbutt in the third round. Derek Rabang of Planet Jupiter Stable versus Gerald Cortez ended in a Majority Draw. Sonny Katiangdagho of Wakee Salud Stable knocked out Albert Gonzales of the Tiger City Gym in the third round.

Cebu City’s Raymond Empic won via unanimous decision against Jonathan Caguiran. Rex Tso of Hong Kong dominated Mabert Paulino and took home a unanimous decision victory. Larry Abarra of Shape Up Boxing knocked out Llaminado Bismanos in the very first round. Jason Barleo won via unanimous decision against Gerry Pateno.

The Recom Dome in Amparo Subdivision, Brgy. 179, Caloocan City was jampacked and not a single seat was vacant. In attendance were Mayor Recom and RJ Echiverri, City Administrator Russel Ramirez, Brgy. Officials of the different Barangays of Caloocan and other City Officials. Also in the crowd were Congressman Erbie Fabian of Zamboanga and comedian Bayani Agbayani.–Chito Yu Katangkatang, PhilBoxing

Pinoy boxer Melindo stops Mexican Esquer

WBO #1 flyweight Milan “El Metodico” Melindo of the Philippines kept his Intercontinental crown via a 7th round TKO over a game but outclassed Mexican Juan “Panterita” Esquer Saturday night at the Waterfront Hotel in Lahug, Cebu.

Melindo, 23, peppered Esquer with stiff jabs, uppercuts and punishing 4 to 5-punch combinations, all in precision manner. In round five Esquer got floored with a low blow that saw the Mexican wince in pain and rolled around the ring.

Esquer tried to stand up at least six times but fell each time. After a few minutes Esquer continued fighting and survived the round.

In the 7th canto Esquer trapped Melindo in the neutral corner but threw a clear low blow. Referee Danrex Tapdasan came in for a momentary halt but Esquer surprisingly fell down and claimed he was hit by a low blow.

Replays through a wide screen inside the venue however showed Esquer not being hit by any punch. Tapdasan waived off the fight after Esquer refused to stand up. Official time was 2:16.

With the win Melindo improves to 26-0 with 10 knockouts while Esquer drops to 27-10-2 with 21 KO’s.

In other bouts of this fight card dubbed “Pinoy Pride XI: Philippines vs. The World”, WBO #5 Lorenzo “Thunderbolt” Villanueva floored Mexican Diego Ledesma twice with thundering left straights en route to a first round stoppage. Villanueva ups his record to 23-0, 22 KO’s.

Super flyweight Mar Jhun Macahilig kayoed Kaichon Sor Vorapin in the second round while OPBF minimumweight champion Merlito Sabillo scored a hard-earned 8-round verdict over Sofyan Effendi of Indonesia.

Super featherweight Joseph Von Minoza completed a 5-0 shutout for Team Philippines as he decisioned Yoo Shim Kim of Korea in their own 8-round battle.–Dennis Principe, Fight News
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Canadian teens launch Lego Man into space

A tiny Lego man clutching a Canadian flag has made history of sorts, making the first space flight for Lego-kind aboard a weather balloon rigged by two high school students from Toronto, Canada.

Canadian teenagers Mathew Ho and Asad Muhammad, both 17, attached the figurine – and four cameras – to a helium balloon that went up 80,000 feet into the air, the Toronto Star reported.

When the Lego man and the cameras returned to Earth 97 minutes later, they brought footage from some 24 km above sea level, or three times the typical cruising altitude of a commercial aircraft, the Toronto Star said.

“We didn’t really believe we could do it until we did,” said Ho.

“It shows a tremendous degree of resourcefulness … For two 17-year-olds to accomplish this on their own is pretty impressive,” said University of Toronto astrophysics professor Dr. Michael Reid.

$400 project

The $400 project, which took four months of free Saturdays, was not a school assignment, though the two teens thought it would be cool.

Ho, who has applied to Queen’s University and University of British Columbia for commerce, thought of the project two years ago when he saw an online video of a balloon sent to near space by some Massachusetts Institute of Technology students.

He approached Muhammad – who has a passion for all things flight-related and has applied to an engineering programs at U of T and Centennial College – in the hallway of Agincourt Collegiate Institute, where they are both Grade 12 students.

Since last September, the two spent Saturdays at Ho’s kitchen table in Scarborough, drawing up plans and building the balloon.

Built from scratch

“People would walk into the house and see us building this fantastical thing with a parachute from scratch, and they would be like, ‘What are you doing?’ We’d be like, ‘We’re sending cameras to space.’ They’d be like, ‘Oh, okayyyyy…,’” Ho said.

While Ho assembled a super-light Styrofoam box to carry the cameras, the two scoured Craigslist and Kijiji for used point-and-shoot cameras.

They also produced a rip-stop nylon parachute that they tested by throwing off the roof of Ho’s father’s 40-story condominium unit.

Other parts included an $85 weather balloon ordered online, and $160 worth of helium from a party supply store. Ho bought a special wide-angle video camera.

After assembling the balloon, the boys loaded the Lego man and the cameras, along with a cell phone with a downloaded GPS app.

When the balloon passed seven km above sea level – out of cellphone-tower range – the GPS signal cut out, prompting the boys to go home and make dumplings.

But at 4:12 p.m., Ho’s iPad started to beep, indicating their “Lego-naut” had re-entered the atmosphere. The balloon touched down in a field near Rice Lake, 122 km from its launch point.

The teens calculated the craft had climbed to about 80,000 feet in one hour and five minutes before the balloon exploded, beginning the Lego man’s 32-minute descent.

Reviewing the footage

When the teens got home and uploaded the two videos and 1,500 photos onto a computer for review, they started screaming.

The YouTube footage shows the Lego man spinning at an altitude three times higher than the peak of Mount Everest, before the balloon bursts and he starts to plummet.

“We never knew it would be this good,” says Ho, who turned to Muhammad and said, “Congratulations Asad, we did it,” then shook his hand.

Official congratulations from Lego

UK’s The Guardian said Lego sent a note of congratulations to the boys.

“We are always amazed by the creative ways in which Lego fans use our products, and humbled by how many unsuspecting places we appear, like attached to a helium balloon in … space,” The Guardian quoted the company’s brand relations director, Michael McNally, as saying. — TJD, GMA News

Senate impeachment court junks call for Senator Drilon inhibition

MANILA, Philippines – The Senate impeachment court will not act on the request of Chief Justice Renato Corona’s camp to remove Senator-judge Franklin Drilon from the trial for his alleged bias for the prosecution panel.

Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, the court’s presiding officer, said it’s up to the person being asked to inhibit himself to decide whether he will still participate in the trial or not.

“We will not act on that. I don’t know if they want to discuss it. I will not even present that to the members of the court,” he told reporters on Friday, referring to the defense panel’s motion to inhibit Drilon.

Drilon has said he will not inhibit himself from the impeachment trial.

Enrile said not even the impeachment court can remove Drilon.

“He’s an elected representative of the people. Under the Constitution, he’s entitled to sit in all proceedings in the Senate unless he’s removed in accordance with our rules on ethics,” Enrile said.

“The inhibition is personal to each senator of the republic,” he added.

The defense asked for Drilon’s inhibition because he allegedly helped the prosecution by using his authority to question witnesses in at least two instances: First, when he made the Supreme Court clerk of court admit that she had with her copies of Corona’s statements of assets, liabilities and net worth, which she eventually turned over to the Senate; and second, when he made a registrar of deeds confirm that Corona acted as attorney-in-fact for his daughter when she bought a property.

Enrile said senators are free to ask any kind of question, and that he may not restrict them.

“You cannot guide them how to ask their questions. They can ask leading questions. They can ask vague questions if they want,” he said.Ryan Chua, ABS-CBN News

 

Enrile reminds senator-judges to ‘control emotions’

Enrile on Friday reminded his fellow senator-judges in the impeachment trial of Chief Justice Corona to control their emotions during the proceedings.

Enrile was reacting to Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago’s outburst on Thursday, when she had to go home because of hypertension after berating a member of the prosecution panel on the Senate floor.

“I would like to caution my colleagues to exercise greater civility in dealing with the witnesses, with the lawyers on both sides, as well as with one another in the Senate,” said Enrile, the impeachment court’s presiding officer. “As much as possible we should control our emotions so that we can perform our work in such a manner that there’s no impression that we are for or against anyone.

He added, however, that he understands Santiago’s situation. “She is suffering from some ailment. If you are in that condition, your threshold of stress is very shallow.”

In his case, Enrile said he tries his best to relax and not to be angry or during the trial.

He said he doesn’t feel any stress even if he has to sit long hours and maintain order in the court.

“Sanay ako diyan,” Enrile told reporters. “‘Pag napipikon ka sa husgado, talo ka.”–Ryan Chua, ABS-CBN News