Estrada in clear for now – DOJ

Saturday, 10 October 2009

By Ruben D. Manahan 4th, Reporter

Acting Justice Secretary Agnes Devanadera on Friday said that former President Joseph “Erap” Estrada was not yet liable for any charges after declaring that he would run again for president in the 2010 elections.

Devanadera told a press conference that a manifestation of Estrada’s intention to contest the presidency for the second time was not a violation of anything, not even of the conditions of the pardon granted him by President Gloria Arroyo.

“All he did was express his intention to run. Let the people debate on it, or whether he could run since there is no case yet,” the Justice secretary said.

Malacañang on Thursday said that Estrada, who was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment for plunder or large-scale corruption in 2007 after a six-year trial, would be facing numerous petitions once he files his certificate of candidacy.

Devanadera refused to comment when asked if there were any legal impediments to Estrada running in next year’s polls, but she cited the pardon that Estrada signed for his liberty.

“He [Estrada] signed the document, which includes the whereas clause,” she said.

Palace position

Earlier, Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said that President Arroyo’s grant of executive clemency to Estrada in 2007 contains a prohibition against the former leader running again for any public posts.

The pardon, according to Ermita, has a provision that states, “Whereas Joseph Ejercito Estrada has publicly committed to no longer seek any elective position or office.”

The Executive secretary expressed belief that since this is a “whereas” clause, Estrada is prevented from running again for the presidency or for any public posts.

The grant of pardon, however, also restored Estrada’s civil and political rights, making him eligible to seek government office.

A possible rival of the former president in the 2010 balloting is already facing a problem in connection with his own bid to become the country’s leader.

Teodoro’s plans

Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro also on Friday said that his job as the concurrent chairman of the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) has hampered his plan to resign from his post so that he would be able to concentrate on being the standard-bearer of the administration coalition in the 2010 elections.

During a radio interview aired over dzMM, Teodoro cited recent devastating typhoons that had his political ambition taking a back seat to relief and rehabilitation efforts.

He said that because of tropical storm Ondoy, Typhoon Pepeng and Typhoon Ramil—which is expected to make landfall in Northern Luzon today—and the arrival of international humanitarian assistance, he decided to defer his resignation as Defense chief in order for him to focus on his job as council chairman.

“We need to establish first the process for the entry of foreign assistance because apart from donations, [my job] also involves several activities here in the country, I will resign the moment these issues have been resolved,” Teodoro added. On Thursday, the ruling party said that the Defense secretary was resigning mid-November.

The deadline for filling of candidacy in next year’s polls is November 30.

Teodoro said that he has not given attention to who would be his running mate and that he would just let the administration party choose whoever candidate it wants to be his vice president.

“I am much preoccupied with the relief and disaster preparations as well as matters regarding the Defense department. I want to finish these tasks first before I leave,” he added.

‘Gibo’ on Ebdane

Meanwhile, Teodoro said that he sees nothing wrong with the recent announcement of former Public Works and Highways Secretary Hemogenes Ebdane Jr. to join the presidential race next year. Ebdane joining the race to Malacañang, he added, would give the electorate more options on who they want to lead them.

Most incumbent mayors and vice mayors have assured their support for Teodoro, according to Reggie Velasco, the deputy secretary general of the ruling coalition Lakas-Kampi Christian Muslim Democrats.
Velasco said that their party only bases its statements on facts, not on surveys, the recent ones of which showed Teodoro trailing the Top 3—Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino 3rd, Sen. Manuel Villar Jr. and Estrada.

”Our goal is not to [top] the surveys but to win the elections, unlike other parties, they base everything on surveys,” he added.

Teodoro, according to Velasco, gained more supporters after the onslaught of the typhoons.
“Before this tragedy [caused by Ondoy and Pepeng] happened, Gibo [Teodoro’s nickname] can walk on the streets without being recognized by the people. But now, he’s like a movie star,” he said during a weekly media forum in Hotel Rembrandt forum also on Friday.

The coalition’s secretary general was equally upbeat about Teodoro’s chances.
“We are confident that our mayors and governors are going to deliver their expected support for our presidential candidate,” said Rey Roquero.

On Monday, the party will launch infomercials about Teodoro, according to Roquero.
With Reports From Jefferson Antiporda, Camille Bianca Lopez And Madelaine B. Miraflor

http://www.manilatimes.net/index.php/top-stories/4567-estrada-in-clear-for-now-doj

Leptospirosis deaths hit 89

Saturday, 17 October 2009

With 1,027 new cases, DOH declares outbreak
By Rommel C. Lontayao, Reporter

The Department of Health (DOH) on Friday said that it has declared a leptospirosis outbreak in three villages in Marikina City, and that the total number of cases in Metro Manila has surged to 1,027 with 89 fatalities. Barangay Tumana, Malanday and Concepcion I of Marikina had at least five cases each of leptospirosis.

Health Secretary Francisco Duque 3rd said, “We have declared an outbreak there, but by outbreak, we do not necessarily mean that we have a big number of cases. We can declare an outbreak if previously, the place had no case of the disease, then suddenly, several cases were reported.”

Parts of the Philippine shoe capital are still flooded, which serves as the main avenue for the disease-causing bacteria to enter through human skin.

Some areas in Metro Manila and Region IV-A (particularly Calabarzon or the provinces of Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon) were like Marikina, one of the most affected by the heavy rains brought by tropical storm Ondoy three weeks ago.

Weather reports said that Ondoy dumped more than a month’s worth of rain in about nine hours.

Meanwhile on Friday, Undersecretary Romeo Momo of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) said that some areas in Marikina and Pasig were expected to remain flooded for up to five more months—even longer if there were more rains.

“[Waters would go down by] 1.3 centimeters per day with the assumption that there will be no more rains,” he added.

Reported cases

The total number of leptospirosis cases in Metro Manila alone as of October 15 (1,027) has already surpassed last year’s total number of cases nationwide (769). Metro Manila, or the National Capital Region, is comprised of 16 cities and a municipality and is home to about 8 to 10 million people.

Quezon City has the most number of cases in the capital region with 122, followed by Marikina, 82. Manila has 49 and the most number of patients (273) were admitted to the San Lazaro Hospital.

Rizal province, one of worst areas affected by Ondoy, also reported 54 cases.

Officials alarmed

Health authorities are alarmed by the sudden increase in leptospirosis cases in just four days, especially in Metro Manila.

Duque said that on Monday, there were only 140 reported cases in Metro Manila. The figure shot up to 344 after a day and surged to 700 by Wednesday.

On Friday, the Health department convened its Task Force Ondoy and resolved to provide prophylaxis to 1.3 million people in Metro Manila and in Calabarzon where people are exposed or at risk of contracting the disease. The floodwaters in some parts of those areas, particularly communities around Laguna de Bay, are not expected to recede until December.

The Health department has allotted P30.4 million, half of which would be provided for the health needs of 760 projected complicated cases, and the other half to the needs of the projected 3,040 uncomplicated ones.

Duque also said that 19 private hospitals would also admit leptospirosis incidents if in case the 12 Health department-run hospitals and those operated by the local governments could not accommodate the surge of patients.

Deadly disease

Leptospirosis is caused by swallowing the bacteria directly from water, absorbing it through cuts in the skin, or through food. The disease, which is commonly associated with rat urine, can also come from animals like cattle, pigs, horses, dogs and wild animals.

The disease can also be passed from human-to-human contact, said Dr. Lyndon Lee Suy of the Health department’s emerging and reemerging infectious diseases. He was the guest at the weekly media forum in Rembrandt Hotel in Quezon City on Friday.

He advised people to be vigilant, given the surge in cases suggest an epidemic. But he also said that people needed to remain calm.

Symptoms of the disease may appear suddenly—sometimes as early as four days after exposure, or other times as late as 21 days. Common signs and symptoms are flu-like and include fever, a red skin rash and general weakness. Headaches, reaction to light, muscle and joint pains, vomiting and fatigue are also common. Incubation period may last up to a month.

Duque said, “We strongly advise anyone who had a history of wading in the recent floods and who has the symptoms of the disease to consult at once at the nearest doctor or health facility for treatment.”
With Reports From Camille Bianca Lopez, Immanuel Pastolero And Jan Erick Tutaan

http://www.manilatimes.net/index.php/top-stories/4116-leptospirosis-deaths-hit-89

RELOCATION OF FLOOD VICTIMS MEETS DELAY

Saturday, 17 October 2009

Relocation of those displaced by recent typhoons would take longer than what had been projected, Malacañang said Friday.

The government also admitted to hitches in transporting goods to typhoon-devastated areas in Northern Luzon but otherwise, it said, relief and rehabilitation efforts there were moving along according to plan.
Press Secretary Cerge Remonde said, “We are very much on track. We don’t have serious problems on the relief aspect because as per the report of Secretary [Esperanza] Cabral of the DSWD [Department of Social Welfare and Development], we really have very sufficient supply of relief goods.”

He added, though, that Cabral reported some minor problems in transporting the relief goods as well as equipment to Northern Luzon.

The government also admitted that it would take time to relocate the hundreds of thousands displaced by tropical storm Ondoy and Typhoon Pepeng.

“We have determined three stages as a response to the problem [of relocation]. The first stage is relief, which will take one month to three months. Second is immediate recovery, which will take three months to six months. Third is relocation and rehabilitation, which will take six months or more. So, I think the actual major relocation will still take place maybe three months or six months from now or much longer,” Remonde said.

Meanwhile, Cabinet Secretary Silvestre Bello 3rd said that the government and the private sector have agreed to lead relief caravans to the victims of Ondoy and Pepeng, which claimed hundreds of lives and billions in crops and property in Northern Luzon, particularly Benguet province, including the resort city of Baguio.

The caravans are expected to leave Manila 6 a.m. of Monday, Bello added, and go to Benguet and Baguio City and the other typhoon-hit areas: Bulacan and Nueva Ecija provinces in Central Luzon; Cagayan and Isabela provinces in Cagayan Valley; and Abra, Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, La Union and Pangasinan provinces, also in Northern Luzon.

Calamity funds

The private sector, according to Remonde, will play a big role in assuring that the P12-billion calamity fund recently approved by Congress would be used wisely.

Reacting to a concern raised by Sen. Edgardo Angara on the use of the P12-billion fund, the Press secretary said that the government was taking Angara’s warning seriously.

“The warning of Sen. Angara is very well-taken. We welcome that statement and we would like to assure him that this will be done with utmost transparency and partly, this is also in fact part of the . . . I understand they are creating congressional oversight committees to look into this and that is welcome,” Remonde added.

“And the Reconstruction Commission will also have some oversight on this. We agree with Sen. Angara that the use of this [calamity fund] should be judiciously and wisely done and should really go to intended beneficiaries,” he said.

Remonde added that the P12 billion would be allocated for immediate rehabilitation of damaged roads and bridges and relocation of those displaced by the typhoons.

Besides the oversight committees being set up, he said that existing government rules and procedures are in place to ensure that there will be transparency in spending the money.

“We already have the government procurement and transparency board and all other related systems and procedures. In addition to this, we have the congressional oversight committees looking into this . . . we have the Reconstruction Commission and of course, most of all, we have the ever-vigilant media that will help ensure that all these will not go to waste,” Remonde added.

The participation of the private sector will be a guarantee in assuring that the money is spent wisely.
Businessman Manny Pangilinan heads the commission, Cardinal Ricardo Vidal of Cebu and Finance Secretary Margarito Teves as co-chairmen.

The commission will not only be overseer but also implementor of all reconstruction activities, Remonde said.

Foreign donations

Foreign aid to those displaced by Ondoy and Pepeng seemed to keep flowing.
The Japanese government has given the nongovernment organization Christian Aid P4.4 million in grant particularly for Ondoy’s victims.

Japanese Ambassador to the Philippines Makoto Katsura and Daphne Dajoras Villanueva, the country director of Christian Aid, signed the grant contract at the Japanese Embassy also on Friday.
The grant will provide packs of food and non-food items to around 3,200 households or approximately 19,000 people in Bagong Silangan village in Quezon City and three villages in Rodriguez town (formerly Montalban) in Rizal province.

Based on reports from the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) as of October 13, more than 800,000 families were affected by floodwaters and mudslides caused by Ondoy.
Also according to the reports, 45,129 families are still in evacuation centers.

The reports said that Ondoy caused the death of 337 people and 37 others to remain missing.
Japan delivered P10 million in emergency relief goods to the Philippine government on September 30.

Then on October 9, it gave P210 million in food assistance through the United Nations World Food Programme as a response to the United Nations Flash Appeal made on October 3.
Moreover, the nongovernment organization Japan Platform had contributed P50 million for relief operations and medical missions.

Malaysia also on Friday sent 43 tons of relief goods to the typhoon victims.
Two Royal Malaysian Air Force C-130s transported blankets, clothes and rice, according to a report of Malaysian news agency Bernama.

Two more flights are expected to take off on Sunday, the report said.

Thajudeen Abdul Wahab, the secretary of Malaysia’s National Security Council, told a news conference that Kuala Lumpur would continue humanitarian aid to disaster-hit countries, like the Philippines.
From South Korea also on Friday, Secretary Cabral received donations consisting 3,000 fifty-kilo sacks of rice, clothes, blankets, shelter materials and assorted medicines from South Korean Ambassador to the Philippines Choi Jung-kyung.

The donations for both Ondoy and Pepeng victims were coursed through the Korea International Cooperation Agency.

Angelo S. Samonte, Immanuel Pastolero, Camille Bianca Lopez, Llanesca T. Panti, Sammy Martin And Xinhua

http://www.manilatimes.net/index.php/tech-times/4128-relocation-of-flood-victims-meets-delay

US SOLDIERS HELP ‘PEPENG’ VICTIMS

Saturday, 10 October 2009

US forces bringing aid to flooded areas around Metro Manila were deploying troops to the northern part of the country on Friday to help people devastated by Typhoon Parma (local name Pepeng), officials said Friday.

At least four heavy-lift helicopters along with 18 teams of water-borne rescue units are moving to help Filipino forces with rescue efforts in the Ilocos and Cordillera regions on the north of the main island of Luzon, according to the Philippine military.

The Japan-based dock landing ship USS Harpers Ferry was bringing two of the aircraft along with other rescue equipment to the area, Gen. Victor Ibrado, the chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, announced on local television.

US forces have been helping Filipino troops bring emergency relief as well as conducting medical missions and clearing rubble from floods caused by tropical storm Ketsana (local name Ondoy), which killed 337 people in and around Manila and displaced more than four million on September 26.

Lt. Col. Ernesto Torres, the spokesman for the Philippines’ National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC), told reporters that the US government had “pledged or offered the use of its resources in the Northern Luzon area.”
He said that the Americans had offered helicopters along with 18 watercrafts.

“Based on the agreement last night, they will start the deployment of their personnel this morning [Friday],” Torres added.

Donations reach P4.4 billion

Foreign donations for Ondoy victims reached $94,703,203 (around P4.4 billion) as of October 8.

This figure that included $75 million in pledges from the United Nations Development Fund, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs, was a 616-percent increase from the $13.22 million (about P634.76 million) three days earlier.
It did not include assistance in kind, such as medical missions, personnel and equipment deployment for search and rescue operations and assessment of damaged caused by Ondoy.

Also on Friday, the US government authorized $2 million in additional relief not only to Ondoy’s victims but also Pepeng’s, according to US Embassy Chargé d’Affaires Leslie Bassett.

The $2 million was in addition to $1.9 million in grants and $400,000 in non-food goods donated earlier by the US Agency for International Development.

It was meant to assure, US President Barack Obama said, the US government’s continued support for the Philippines that has been reeling from Ondoy and until Friday, from Pepeng.

“As a longstanding friend and partner of the Philippines, we stand ready to continue our cooperation and assistance in the coming days,” he added.

The American president expressed condolences for the loss of life and the devastation caused by recent storms that hit the country, particularly Ondoy.

“[First Lady] Michelle and I feel great sorrow over the hundreds of people who have died from the storms and resulting flooding and the hundreds of thousands more who have been displaced,” Obama said in a statement released by the White House.

But as Manila grappled with the destruction of Ondoy, Pepeng dumped rains for days in most of the northern provinces, causing record floods and landslides that have led to at least 90 deaths.

Thanks to Obama

Philippine Ambassador to the United States Willy Gaa thanked Obama for his assurance of continued US assistance and cooperation.

“I appreciate President Obama’s statement of concern for the Philippines and the Filipino people following the destruction caused by Typhoon Ondoy and for his commitment for continued US assistance and cooperation,” Gaa said.

He added that the Philippine Embassy was ready to coordinate with the US government in facilitating US aid for the Philippines.

Also on Friday, London said that it would hand over 500,000 pound to the Philippines for Ondoy’s victims
International Development Secretary Douglas Alexander said the amount was expected to come from the British government and individual citizens.

Opposition and local officials

Ondoy’s victims, apparently would also benefit from the United Opposition’s (UNO) announcement that it was suspending all of its political activities starting Friday to help provide relief to survivors of the storms.
Mayor Jejomar Binay of Makati City, also UNO president, and former President Joseph Estrada would lead in extending relief assistance to calamity victims in affected areas starting next week.

Help from the municipal government of Rodriguez (formerly Montalban) seemed to have come with a condition.

Ondoy’s victims from other areas who want to settle in Rodriguez can do so but, according to its mayor, Pedro Cuerpo, they would have to bring to the town the schools, teachers and clinics in their former communities.

Also during the Balitaan forum at Hotel Rembrandt on Friday, Cuerpo denied causing the delay in the resettlement of the victims in Rodriguez, one of the hardest hit towns in Rizal province.

A direct assistance of P20,000 each to members of the Social Security System who survived Ondoy would enable the victims to recover faster from the disaster, according to militant labor group Kilusang Mayo Uno.
“Surely, P20,000 is not enough, but it will help workers’ families to start over and move on with their lives. It can be easily granted by the government if it prioritizes the interests of the people,” Elmer Labog, the group’s chairman, said in a statement.

Department of Agriculture

The government, through the Department of Agriculture, for one, was apparently giving priority to two towns in Rizal province—Cainta and Taytay—and Metro Manila’s Pasig City.

Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap also on Friday kicked off the department’s Adopt-an-Evacuation Site Project for Ondoy’s victims by leading the distribution of an initial 1,000 packs of relief goods in the chosen disaster areas.

Picked were Taytay itself and San Andres village in Cainta and San Miguel village in Pasig.

In Taytay, Yap was accompanied by Mayor Ricardo Gacula in the distribution of the relief packs that the Agriculture department coordinated with Secretary Esperanza Cabral and Undersecretary Celia Yangco of the Department of Social Welfare and Development.

The department has also put in place a P100-million emergency loan (in kind) for vendors in flood-hit public markets of Metro Manila.

Yap has ordered strict monitoring of price movements in the entire food supply chain to trace and stop any undue spike in the costs of basic commodities as a result of Ondoy and Pepeng.

NFA and relief centers

The Agriculture department-attached National Food Authority (NFA) continued to operate four relief centers accepting donations from the public for distribution to evacuees in government evacuation centers.

The authority has turned four of its major warehouses into temporary relief centers— Uniden Warehouse at Food Terminal Inc. Compound in Taguig City, NFA Visayas Warehouse at Visayas Avenue in Quezon City, NFA Kingswood Warehouse at 22 Quirino Avenue, Baesa, Quezon City and NFA Antipolo Warehouse at Manuel L. Quezon Avenue Extension, Antipolo City.

Llanesca T. Panti, Jun Medina, Cris G. Odronia, Camille Bianca Lopez, Ruben D. Manahan 4th And Ira Karen Ap

http://www.manilatimes.net/index.php/top-stories/3681-us-soldiers-help-pepeng-victims

‘Mar’ better than ‘Noynoy’

Saturday, September 05, 2009

Polls not a popularity contest – lawmaker

Sen. Manuel “Mar” Roxas 2nd may have made a grievous mistake in abandoning his own bid for the presidency in the 2010 elections in favor of Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino 3rd.

In seemingly berating Roxas for his decision on Wednesday to give way to Noynoy, Rep. Matias Defensor of Quezon City said that between the two senators, Roxas was the more capable of running for the highest position in the land.

“I believe that Sen. Roxas has a good chance of winning, but he’s stepping down to give way to Sen. Aquino,” added Defensor, a close ally of Malacañang.

During the Balitaan sa Hotel Rembrandt forum on Friday, he cited Roxas’ being in the thick of preparations for next year’s polls when he announced that he was quitting the race to Malacañang.

Besides, the congressman said, Noynoy could not make up his mind on whether he was running in the 2010 balloting, adding that the 2010 polls are not about piling up brownie points.

“Bakit papalitan ang nakahandang tumakbo dahil lang sa winnability at euphoria? Dapat hindi gawing popularity contest. Dapat it should be based on the qualifications and the readiness for the position [Why replace a ready and qualified candidate for the sake of win nability and euphoria? We should not turn this into a popularity contest. The candidacy should be based on qualifications and the readiness for the position],” Defensor added.

Administration bet

Also undecided on whether he would contest next year’s polls was Vice President Noli de Castro.

Gabriel Claudio, presidential adviser on political affairs, also on Friday said that de Castro would announce his plans for the 2010 elections in the second week of September.

Claudio, also the Lakas-Kampi Christian Muslim Democrats (Lakas-Kampi CMD) secretary-general, said that he talked to de Castro and told him that the administration party will come up with a standard-bearer on September 15.

Big sacrifice

In apparently disagreeing with Roxas’ decision to accommodate Noynoy, Defensor said that making popularity a criterion for choosing a standard-bearer reeked of old politics.

Former Rep. Florencio “Butch” Abad, the campaign manager for the Liberal Party, which also counts Roxas and Noynoy as members, also during the forum acknowledged Roxas’ generosity

“It [dropping out of the 2010 race] was a huge sacrifice for Sen. Roxas. He’s been preparing for two years, but he chose to step down,” Abad said.

Apparently thinking that Noynoy would make a better presidential candidate, the former congressman from Batanes province added, “We believe that in a Noynoy-Mar team-up. We have a very competitive tandem.”

Abad said that he also believes that Noynoy would catch the imagination of the people about the right leader for them.

Defensor hinted that Roxas may have been pressured by the Liberal Party into giving up his own presidential ambitions. He did not elaborate.

Going and staying

This early, the 2010 elections have lost another presidential contender in Gov. Ed Panlilio of Pampanga.

Bro. Eddie Villanueva also on Friday said that he respected the decision of Panlilio to back out from the race.

“Just as I respected the decision of [Roxas] as he gave way to the presidential candidacy of [Noynoy], I also respect the decision of [Panlilio],” Villanueva said in a statement.

On Thursday, the TV evangelist maintained that he will stay on in the presidential race because it “is the only way to achieve Bangon Pilipinas’ vision of a new Philippines and platform of righteous governance.”

During a press conference at the Club Filipino in Greenhills, San Juan City (Metro Manila) also on Friday, Panlilio, along with three local chief executives announced their full support for Noynoy to ensure the legacy of his parents, late former President Corazon “Cory” Aquino and late former Sen. Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr.

If Roxas “could sacrifice all he had done and his own dream to be president, it should be easier for all of us to make the same sacrifice,” the priest-turned-governor read from a prepared speech.

He urged other presidential candidates, particularly former President Joseph Estrada, to follow suit and sacrifice their own presidential aspirations for Noynoy.

Earlier, Estrada said that he was 99.9 percent certain of seeking the presidency for the second time in 2010.

During a radio interview also on Friday, the former president noted that Panlilio’s decision has “no bearing” on the presidential race, saying that the governor’s name was hardly being mentioned in the surveys.

Panlilio said that the only chance for the political opposition to win next year’s voting is to support a single candidate can win against the administration bet and unite the people.

“Noynoy may not be the best for the presidency but at this point we need to unite as a country and he could be the right person,” he added.

Uniting the opposition

Now that Panlilio and Gov. Grace Padaca of Isabela have withdrawn their names from the 2010 presidential race, there is more reason for the opposition to pursue unity talks and field a common presidential candidate for next year’s elections, the United Opposition (UNO) said also on Friday.

Mayor Jejomar Binay of Makati City, also UNO president, said that with the decision of the two governors to support Noynoy, there is more reason for them to pursue unity talks within the opposition and “consider the possibility of forming a coalition party” for the 2010 elections.”

Uniting behind Teodoro

Meanwhile, the League of Provinces of the Philippines (LPP) has unanimously approved a resolution endorsing Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro as the Lakas-Kampi Christian Muslim Democrats standard-bearer in the 2010 elections.

Ben Evardone, the League secretary-general and the governor of Eastern Samar, said that the decision to declare Teodoro as the presidential candidate was reached after a meeting in Pasig City (Metro Manila) on Friday.

Gabriel Claudio, the Lakas secretary-general and President Gloria Arroyo’s political adviser, confirmed the league resolution endorsing Teodoro.

Catherine S. Valente, Angelo S. Samonte, Camille Bianca E. Lopez, Bernice Camille V. Bauzon, James Konstantin Galvez And Cris G. Odronia

http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2009/sept/05/yehey/top_stories/20090905top1.html