Where did debts go? Members of a 30-man citizens independent audit commission which was organized yesterday vow to uncover projects funded by foreign loans, which they said were marred by anomalies and fraud. Story on Page 6.
'Treason' probe pressed
Sellout of territory seen as 'greed without moderation'
THE United Opposition yesterday asked
the Senate to act on a resolution filed by detained Sen.
Antonio Trillanes IV calling for an inquiry into the "Spratly
Deal" allegedly entered into by the Arroyo
administration with China "in exchange for dirty loans."
Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay, UNO
president, said if Arroyo has indeed signed the deal
allowing China to explore Philippine territorial waters,
"she has given away our sovereignty to a foreign power
in exchange for loans that are the source of
multi-million-peso kickbacks and a campaign war chest
for the 2010 elections."
The opposition call came as the
Department of Foreign Affairs said a Joint Marine
Seismic Undertaking (JMSU) signed on Sept. 1, 2004 with
China "does not impinge on the sovereignty and
territorial integrity of the Philippines."
CLARK FIELD, Pampanga. - Armed Forces
chief Gen. Hermogenes Esperon Jr. and Army chief Lt. Gen.
Alexander Yano on Monday rejected the call of NBN-ZTE
witness Rodolfo Noel Lozada for the military and the PNP
to make a stand on the issue of corruption in the Arroyo
government.
The corruption allegations are fuelling
calls for President Arroyo's resignation or removal from
office.
"We are making a stand that the
military should not be drawn into this... It would be
better for us to stick to our mandate... We have been
clear about it. There have been calls for our elements to
join the fray. Our stand is we'd rather remain a
constitutional organization following the chain of
command, obeying the duly constituted authorities,"
Esperon said after the closing ceremonies for a three-week
Balikatan exercise with US forces.
AROUND seven in 10 Metro Manilans (69
percent) said they will support legal protest actions like
prayer rallies and demonstrations calling for the resignation of
government officials linked to the NBN-ZTE scandal, the February
21-24 survey of Pulse Asia showed.
The survey, which involved 300 respondents
from Metro Manila, also showed that six in 10 Metro Manilans (61
percent) believe there is a big possibility that the testimony
of ZTE star witness Rodolfo Noel Lozada Jr. could result in the
downfall of the Arroyo administration.
However, only 16 percent are willing to join
protest actions, with majority of them (61 percent) coming from
the "masa" Class D, followed by the poorest Class E (42
percent). Willingness to join prayer rallies is most pronounced
among those in Class ABC (24 percent).
