Arangkada Uban Ni Leo Lastimosa: May 19, 2005

Thursday, May 19, 2005

Peso Down

Peso down at 54.665:$; stocks up
The peso ended lower Thursday at 54.665 against the US dollar, notches below than Wednesday's 54.59. At the stocks market, share prices closed 0.729 percent higher as the main index gained 13.70 points to 1,893.09.
abs-cbnNEWS.com

GSIS e-Card

GSIS defends 'e-Card' project, insists report has no COA chief's OK
The Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) denied Thursday a Commission on Audit report finding its e-Card project with the Union Bank of the Philippines illegal.
abs-cbnNEWS.com

Arangkada for May 20, 2005

HANAP BANG GPRA?

Wa gyod untay dag-anan si Cebu Provincial Board Member Luigi Quisumbing ni
Capitol Legal Consultant Pablo John Garcia. Si Garcia, nga topnotcher sa
bar examination, dunay tanang katungod pagkuwestiyon sa kasuhito sa balaod
ni Quisumbing nga, ug may katungod sab si Garcia nga kanunay ning
balikbalikon, mao pay pagsugod og eskuyla sa abogasiya.
Maong kon lalis lang sa balaod ang hisgutan, klarong kuniskunison unta ni
Garcia si Quisumbing. Unta.
Kay ning nagbaga nilang engkuwentro, klarong mas suhito si Quisumbing sa
gilalisan nga mga probisyon sa Local Government Code (LGC) ug sa Government
Procurement Reform Act (GPRA).
-o0o-
Ang kalig-on sa mga argumento ni Quisumbing nanukad sa ilang kayano ug
kamakanunayon:
 Nga wa magkasungi ang Section 22, paragraph C, sa
LGC ug ang GPRA ug busa wa ni mausab ni mapapas sa mas bag-ong balaod;
 Nga ang pagsubasta sa security ug janitorial
services nahimo niadto pang Oktubre, tulo ka buwan sa wa pa aprobahi ang
2005 budget sa Sugbo niadtong Enero; ug
 Nga ang subasta sa security services nga balor og P6
milyones niadtong Oktubre di mahimong ipasikad sa reenacted nga 2003 budget
nga nigahin lag P3 milyones.
Ug bisan di pa abogado si Quisumbing, nitakdo ang iyang
mga argumento sa baruganan di lang sa mga sakop sa SP nga abogado kon dili
hastang may direktang papel pagpatuman sa GPRA�silang COA Regional Legal and
Adjudication Director Roy Ursal ug Bryan Begabal sa Procurement Policy Board
(PPB).
-o0o-
Sa pikas nga bahin, ang mga argumento ni Pablo John naklarong huyang bisan
sa abundang gisagolan og mabulukong mga insulto tungod sa ilang
kamausab-usabon:
 Una, niinsistir siya nga napapas nang Section 22,
paragraph C, sa LGC sa GPRA;
 Ikaduha, bisan wa pa ma-repeal ang Section 22, dunay
laing mga probisyon sa LGC (iyang maguwang nga si Gwen nihisgot sa sections
306 ug 346) nga nagtugot sa gobernador paglaktaw sa SP; ug
 Ikatulo, gihimong subasta niadtong Oktubre aron di
maputol ang security ug janitorial services sa Kapitolyo (kini human
napamatud-an ni Quisumbing nga wa katuman ang subasta sa panginahanglan sa
aprobadong budget, nga usa sa mga panginahanglan ubos sa GPRA).
-o0o-
Gipasabot ko sa duha ka nagsunod nga mga gobernador, si Gwen ug iyang
amahang si Pablo, nga gilaktawan nilang SP bisan wa pa masegurong legalidad
sa ilang hubad sa GPRA kay kinahanglan silang motuman sa trabaho pinasikad
sa ilang gitoohang husto inay magpagapos sa pagsige og pangonsulta sa
Department of Justice (DOJ).
Kon mao, nganong mora mang gisilian ang mga Garcia dihang nasakpan ni
Quisumbing ang ilang mga transaksiyon? Nganong hangtod karon wa pa man
moboluntaryo pagtug-an sa mga transaksiyon nga ilang gisudlan nga way
pagtugot sa SP? [30]

Email: leo_lastimosa@abs-cbn.com

_________________________________________________________________
Express yourself instantly with MSN Messenger! Download today it's FREE!
http://messenger.msn.click-url.com/go/onm00200471ave/direct/01/

Network War

AFTER the chaos, a more orderly show. Onstage is Bituin Escalante.

Stampede in Cebu
Posted 10:23pm (Mla time) May 05, 2005
By Bayani San Diego
Inquirer News Service

CEBU CITY -- Fans stampeded in Ayala Center right before an ABS-CBN mall show on Saturday, second day of the network's promo blitz in the southern capital.

Monobloc chairs and pieces of metal railings flew as waves of zealous spectators surged toward the stage.

No one was reported hurt, but the melee left a wailing child or two in its wake, and a frantic lola searched the grounds for her missing bakya.

The same couldn't be said of the stars, who suffered bruises and scratches.

Amy Perez, Roderick Paulate, Nikki Gil, and Angelica Panganiban were among the casualties. But they all shrugged it off as "evidence of the Cebuanos' love and warmth."

"There were so many people, everywhere we went," guest star Rachel Alejandro told the media later in Tambuli Resort, which was likewise swarming with fans even though it was on faraway Mactan island.

To think that homegrown ABS-CBN talents Angela Calina and Jude Bacalso earlier claimed that Cebuano fans "are really not showy (demonstrative)."

On this weekend they were, definitely.

It was obvious that the showdown here between ABS-CBN and GMA 7 (April 29 to May 1) had charged up the local crowd.

The collision has been described variously as "a miting de avance" and "all-out war."

Strewn all over the city were streamers and posters of the two giant networks.

"It really is a lot like an election," said a source from ABS-CBN, "or a fiesta."

"Some of our Cebuano friends were saying this event was bigger than Sinulog," said Charo Santos-Concio, ABS-CBN EVP and Entertainment head. She added: "At the airport in Manila, I told some of our GMA-7 friends: 'This [weekend] will be fun!'"

The revelry, however, smacked of politics.

It was as if the Visayan viewers were being asked to vote which of the country's two top networks is No. 1.

GMA 7 claimed it was No. 1 in Mega Manila; ABS-CBN countered that they were No. 1 all over the country.

Throughout the weekend, they were clearly monitoring each other's movements.

Case in point: Over merienda, "TV Patrol" Central Visayas anchor Leo Lastimosa fumed: "It's sad that our competitor had to resort to dirty tactics, ferrying audiences to the venues in a fleet of buses."

The following day at breakfast, GMA insiders were denying the "dirty tactics" allegation.

It was also a war of words. Charges and counter-charges flew thick and fast.

The GMA camp insisted that ABS-CBN's decision to invade Cebu was a last-minute decision.

ABS-CBN, through Santos-Concio, explained that summer specials have always been a part of the station's annual calendar.

"Every year, we bring our different musical-variety shows like 'ASAP' and 'MTB' to the provinces. It's just that this year, we planned something bigger," Santos-Concio said.

GMA 7, through president and CEO Felipe L. Gozon, reportedly approved a P40-million budget for the blitz only after the head-on collision with ABS-CBN was confirmed.

On the other hand, Santos-Concio insisted: "We just spent our regular budgets [and] got a little help from our friends in Cebu."

Food flowed from host restaurants and vehicles were lent by said Cebuano friends, who also donated streamers and giveaways.

"Aggressiveness is also a function of competition," Santos-Concio said, unperturbed. "And there is nothing wrong with competition."

"Surreal," a talent manager called the Cebu confrontation. "It's palpable proof that there is a raging network war."

Guess who's caught in the crossfire? The hapless masses, of course, who would risk life and limb and brave a stampede for a glimpse of Jericho Rosales and Shaina Magdayao.