Paris Hilton

Malacañang announced that President Benigno Aquino III will not be meeting socialite Paris Hilton while she is in the country this week.

The announcement was made after a series of tweets came out last week saying that the president will meet the hotel heiress this week for her courtesy call but Presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda denied it.

Lacierda said that President Aquino will be busy this week prioritizing state matters and is also busy for his scheduled trip to China this month.

Paris Hilton will be staying in the country for five days to do some promotions for Century Properties and to meet her friends Manny and Jinkee Pacquiao.

The statement was given by the president after the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) leadership said that they will push their claim for an independent state if the current government will not approve their “sub state” proposal for Mindanao.

“Malaking bahagi ng mandato natin ang isulong ang interes ni Juan at Juana dela Cruz, at ipagtanggol sila sa anumang banta ng terorismo o karahasan, mula man sa mga dayuhan o sa mga rebeldeng grupo sa loob ng bansa. Kapag sinabi nating soberenya, walang puwedeng mang-angkin ng mga islang sa atin naman talaga,” Noynoy said yesterday during the Alumni Homecoming of the National Defense College of the Philippines Alumni Association Inc. at the Shangri-La Hotel in Makati City.

This is the first time that the president made a statement about the “sub state” issue after meeting with MILF chairman Al Haj Murad in Tokyo, Japan couple of weeks ago.

Malacañang doesn’t want to give full details about the meeting between the chief executive with Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Liu Jianchao andAsst. Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin.

“At the request of the Chinese embassy and the delegation, the details of the meeting be regarded as internal communications between the two sides,” presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said in an interview.

There are rumors that Aquino has also plans on going to China this month but Malacañang hasn’t confirmed it yet.

“We are getting ready to govern, so why would I not utilize the talents of Senator Roxas?” he added.

Incoming president Noynoy Aquino tapped Mar Roxas to take charge of the presidential transition coordination team to ensure a smooth transition of power on June 30.

Aquino also included former Trade Secretary Cesar Purisima, Executive Secretary-designate Paquito Ochoa Jr., Liberal Party campaign manager Florencio Abad, and his daughter Julia Abad as part of the five-man transition team.

That is why Albay Gov. Joey Salceda must explain to a thwarted President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo his choice to defect to the camp of Liberal Party (LP) presidential bet Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III, according to Malacañang.

“I would imagine she would be disappointed by the decision of the governor. Of course she’d prefer to have him with her chosen successor and not against,” Gary Olivar, the President’s deputy spokesperson, said at a briefing Thursday.

Salceda, an economic adviser to the President, stunned Lakas Kampi when he flew out and acknowledged Noynoy’s proposal to serve as Liberal Party chair in the Region 5. The formal announcement of his defection is set for April 20, on his return from a medical check-up out of the country.

“It’s not my place to evaluate the degree of betrayal. He has to talk to the President and explain himself. I’m sure they have a lot to talk about,” Olivar later said.

On the other hand, Ms Arroyo was in Madrid Thursday on the last leg of her two-nation foreign trip. According to Olivar, the President, upon her return, will organize the national executive committee of Lakas-Kampi-CMD to unite party-mates furthermore behind administration standard bearer Gilberto “Gibo” Teodoro Jr.

“She’s expected to attend the executive committee meeting. Perhaps on that occasion, she will take the opportunity, as you put it, to crack the whip and take a firmer hand,” he said.

Aquino could also be betrayed by his latest collaborator, Salceda, said Antique Gov. Salvacion Zaldivar Perez. Salceda’s former supporters in the recently established National Caucus of Governors (NCG) have come out criticizing him for junking Teodoro.

“Noynoy, be careful of Governor Salceda. If he can do it to Gibo, he can do it to you,” Perez said by phone, addressing Aquino.

The former first-son criticized Aquino for flipping on the issue in a press conference last Wednesday for his product endorsement, “Blackwater” cologne and deodorant by Ever Bilena.

“Nagtataka ako dahil bago na naman ang (sinasabi niya). Dahil noong nasa Isabela siya at tinanong siya tungkol sa paglibing sa aking ama sa Libingan ng mga Bayani eh sinabi niya na he will put his personal feelings aside at magpapatayo siya ng komisyon upang mapag-aralan ang isyung ito,” the congressman said.

Marcos also stated that Aquino’s testimonial may have somewhat to do with his [Marcos'] statement that the EDSA 1 people power was a “failure.”

“Siguro, mayroon akong nasabi na hindi niya nagustuhan, nagbago na naman ang isip niya at sasabihin na huwag akong umasa na ililibing ang tatay ko sa Libingan ng mga Bayani, which is a little bit surprising for me because I thought that he has taken a position that he will put up a commission. So I’m just wandering kung ano ‘yong thought process niya. So siguro, kapag pinuri ko siya ay babalik na naman at sasabihin na ililibing ang ama ko sa Libingan ng mga Bayani,” Marcos said.

He explained: “So it’s dependent on whether you are nice to the position he makes, it’s dependent whether he likes what you say or he doesn’t like what you say… ito ay karapatan ng isang pangulo, isang naging bayani na sundalo na lumaban sa giyera, at kung anuman ang sabihin mo at ng ibang tao does not change the past that he was the president for 20 years, that he was a soldier who fought for his country and the most decorated soldier in World War II in the Philippines, and that is clear that that is the right na dapat ilibing siya sa Libingan ng mga Bayani. What other people say should not make a difference.

‘Don’t let your emotions rule’

Marcos also advised Liberal Party frontrunner Sen. Noynoy Aquino, to make policy decisions based on reason rather than emotion.

“If you are going to aspire for an influential and higher position in government, in any endeavor, you cannot allow your emotions to rule your mind, you have to use your mind, you have to understand the rational the objective, and it’s a little surprising for me that rationality and objectivity has left, parang umalis na doon sa usaping ito. I don’t know why he changed his position. Like I said, maybe he didn’t like what I said.

“The policy of a person in high office should not be determined by his own personal emotion. That is not the way to govern, and that’s not the way to find the best way to help the people.”

– Yahoo! News

According to The Social Weather Station (SWS), 2,100 respondents across the Philippines were asked to pick out from a list of presidential candidates who they were likely to vote for President if the polls took place on the day the survey was set. The special survey was covered from December 27-29, 2009 which was released last Friday. Aquino got 44 percent, down from 46 percent in the Dec. 5-10 national survey, according to SWS. Manny Villar stood second garnering 33 percent, up from 27 percent in the earlier surveys which was conducted from December 5 to 10.

But the biggest surprise in the survey results was that Manny Villar was the pick of the Northern Central Luzon voters, where Aquino delightfully relished a big support in the past SWS surveys. Villar earned 41.33 percent in the area according to SWS, walloping NoyNoy Aquino who managed to get 31.33 percent. Northern-Central Luzon represents 22.16 percent of the overall respondents who took the latest survey from SWS.

Noynoy conquered it over in the region when he notched 43.33 percent to Villar’s 30.67 percent in the past Dec. 5-10 SWS survey. On the other hand, the number of “undecided” respondents decreased from 4% in the Dec. 5-10 to only 1% in Dec. 27-28. The SWS survey titled ”Presidential Preference for the 2010 Elections,” had a margin of safety of plus or minus 2.2 percent. House Minority Leader San Juan Rep. Ronaldo Zamora commissioned the latest SWS survey.

According to Remulla, the Arroyo goverment agreed to pay right of way into 83 hectares of Hacienda Luisita amounting to P100.00 per square meter wherein the regular rate should only be P6.00-P8.00. Due to it, the government paid P83 million to the Aquino family plus the additional P170 million for the road interchange in the middle of Hacienda Luisita.

Arroyo ally Bases Conversion Development Authority (BCDA) general manager ret. General Robert Geronimo made the expose.

Jacob’s resignation was the latest sign of cracks of the administration unity and came two months short before the official start of the campaign for the upcoming 2010 national elections. Meanwhile, Romulo was in London to accompany the president in her three-nation foreign trip when he said his support for Noynoy.

“In 2007, I voted for Noynoy Aquino [for senator], so my ties with the Aquino family have been deep and lasting,” Romulo said in an interview with ABS-CBN. “I’ve always been with Tita Cory and voted for the Aquinos.”

Asked if he would support Noynoy, Romulo answered: “I have voted for the Aquinos all the time.”

Romulo however refused to comment when he arrived with Arroyo last Monday in Saudi Arabia. “Per boss, no further comment,” a Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) spokesperson said in a text message to the Inquirer, which had asked to talk with the foreign secretary.

During the Cory Aquino administration, Romulo was the budget secretary and like the Aquinos, he also hails from Tarlac.

Because of some of the cabinet members’ show of support to Noynoy, Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Anthony Golez said that administration officials would have to declare their unequivocal support behind the presidential bid of the administration once the choice became “official.”

“Definitely, when this administration officially supports a candidate, everybody must toe the line,” Golez said in a media briefing.

And if Romulo indeed decided to support Aquino, it would be a hard decision for him according to his son, Pasig Rep. Roman Romulo. Roman is a member of the administration party and there is no denying of his father’s closeness for Cory Aquino. He also said that his father is not affiliated with any political party.

The Marcoses are known political rivals of the Aquino family as it was former president Ferdinand Marcos who is blamed for the death of Ninoy Aquino, while it was Cory who is the cause of the Marcos exile.

Bongbong and Imee declined interview attempts by the media telling that they were just there to show their sympathy to the Aquino family.

“Wala, nakikiramay kami (We are only condoling with them),” Bongbong told reporters when asked what their visit meant.

In response, Senator Benigno “Noynoy”Aquino III, Mrs. Aquino’s only son, said that his family has always been open to the idea of reconciliation with the Marcoses.

“Kami ay napapasalamat at siguro nga ho pwede maging isang daan yan na baka magkalapitan ng pananaw para sa ikabubuti ng ating bansa [We are thankful, and perhaps this can be a way for us to understand each other more for the sake of the country],” said Senator Noynoy Aquino.