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»Philippines takes on Myanmar in Suzuki Cup SportsA8 Trusted since 1898


»Inflation bottoms out as Nov. prices pick up BusinessB1 NewsA3


WIKILEAKS’ ASSANGE ARRESTED IN LONDON


WorldB5 www.manilatimes.net


★ ★ Php18.00


WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 8, 2010


2 SECTIONS 14 PAGES VOL. 112 NO. 059


Truth body unconstitutional T


SC ruling sets back govt war against graft


BY ROMMEL C. LONTAYAO REPORTER


HE Supreme Court (SC) on Tuesday


declared


unconstitutional Executive Order (EO) 1 through which President Benigno Aquino 3rd had created the Truth Commission.


The High Court decision, according to Malacañang, will not hamper the govern- ment’s efforts to hold accountable those engaged in alleged corruption during the immediate past Arroyo administration. During a Palace briefing, spokes- man Edwin Lacierda admitted that they were disappointed with the High Tribunal ruling.


➤UnconstitutionalA2


■ A file photo taken on October 15 shows (from left) Flerida Ruth Romero, former Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr. and Romeo Callejo of the Truth Commission meeting with reporters in Manila. AFP PHOTO


CHINA BUILDS LIGHTHOUSE ON SPRATLY ISLANDS


BY TESSA JAMANDRE VERA FILES First of two parts


CHINA has constructed a lighthouse on Subi Reef in the disputed areas in the South China Sea which Chinese troops are occupying but are being claimed by the Philippines and Vietnam.


Aerial shots taken in October by the Philippine Air Force on routine recon- naissance flights show the 20-by-20- meter structure complemented by parabolic antennas and domes on the reef, which the Philippine government calls “Zamora” and lies only 26 kilometers southwest of Pag-asa that is part of Kalayaan town.


The lighthouse is intended to ex- pand and fortify China’s claim to the hotly contested Spratly group of is- lands, experts said.


Under international law, a light- house is a recognized base point from where a state can measure its maritime regimes, including territorial sea (12 nautical miles from the baseline), con-


tiguous zone (24nm), economic ex- clusive zone (200nm), continental shelf (200nm) and extended conti- nental shelf (350nm).


Malacañang and the Department of


Foreign Affairs declined to comment on the information when asked for their reaction. An official, who asked


➤BuildsA6 Palea workers’ union voting points to likely strike


BY DARWIN G. AMOJELAR SENIOR REPORTER


THE Philippine Airlines Employees’ Association (Palea) on Tuesday said


PCSO tapped for funding of foster program


BY ZARI MACATUNAO CONTRIBUTOR


THE Philippine Charity Sweep- stakes Office (PCSO) has been identified as a source of funding for a proposed foster-care program for abandoned and neglected children, and other children with special needs. During a recent hearing, members of the House Commit- tee on the Welfare of Children supported a move of Rep. Lani Mercado-Revilla of Cavite to add PCSO as a funding source for the proposed program, on the heels of the agency’s P4 billion earnings from the recent Grand Lotto draw, in which a single bettor won the P760-million jackpot.


REACH US AT: E-mail: newsboy1@ manilatimes.net Tel. Nos.: 524-5664 to 67 Address: 2/F Dante Ang and Associates Building, 409 A. Soriano Avenue, Intramuros, Manila 1020


that many of its members voted “yes” for a planned strike against the spin- off of the Lucio Tan-led airline’s three non-core businesses.


“The partial results of the Palea


strike vote show a large turnout and an overwhelming yes vote,” Palea added in a statement. Some 3,700 members of the em- ployees’ association started voting on


whether to go on strike at 9 a.m. of Tuesday in different work sites of Phil- ippine Airlines (PAL) nationwide. The group said that the balloting


➤VotingA6


Senate concurs with amnesty proclamation


BY EFREN L. DANAO SENIOR REPORTER


THE Senate on Tuesday concurred with Proclamation 75 granting amnesty to participants to and supporters of the Oakwood mu- tiny, the Marines standoff and the Peninsula Manila hotel siege. The vote was 14 in favor, one against and one abstention. Sen. Joker Arroyo cast the lone dissenting vote and Sen.


➤AmnestyA6


VACC starts raising cash for Ping bounty


BY JEFFERSON ANTIPORDA REPORTER


THE Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC) on Tues- day formally began a drive to raise funds for a bounty, which they plan to offer to anyone who could provide information


➤BountyA6


Police victim opting for witness program


»SMASHING SCENE ➤ProgramA6 BY ROSELLE R. AQUINO CORRESPONDENT


People at the railroad tracks in Pandacan, Manila, on Tuesday gather near a smashed taxi after a south-bound Philippine National Railway train ran into it, killing one and injuring five. PHOTO BY JESSIE LAURETA


»See story on A3


BRITISH researchers on Monday said that they may have found a way to reverse damage in the central nervous system caused by multiple sclerosis (MS), in a study hailed by campaigners as a major breakthrough.


The study by scientists at the universities of


Cambridge and Edinburgh has raised hopes of a new treatment within 15 years for the disabling neurological condition, which affects millions of people worldwide.


SANTA CRUZ, Laguna: Grace “Gleng-Gleng” Capistrano, 22, is recu- perating fast from the 24 stab wounds and a gunshot wound in the thigh that she sustained when two policemen and their


➤WitnessA6 British scientists find key to repairing multiple sclerosis damage The team identified a mechanism essential to


regenerating myelin sheaths—the layers of insulation that protect nerve fibers in the brain— and showed how it could be used to make the brain’s own stem cells undertake this repair.


The loss of myelin in MS sufferers leads to damage to the nerve fibers in the brain that send messages to other parts of the body, leading to symptoms ranging from mild


➤RepairingA2


SUBI REEF (Zamora)


THUTI ISLAND (Pag-asa)


Military chief defends deal with Beijing


THE chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines left for China on Tuesday to sign a logistics deal to source military equipment from the region’s economic powerhouse to combat do- mestic security threats.


Gen. Ricardo David, who said that his


trip was devoid of “politics,” was ex- pected to meet with senior military of- ficials in Beijing as well as visit facilities there, in a visit that the military said was aimed at “building bridges of goodwill.” Armed Forces spokesman Brig. Gen. Jose Mabanta said that no specific de- tails of the deal were readily available, although he described its benefits as “very substantial” for the 130,000- strong Philippine military. “It would formalize the very good rela- tionship between our countries in terms of exchange of logistics, which the Phil- ippines will be greatly benefiting from,” Mabanta told Agence France-Presse. He said that the trip was purely meant to beef up the ill-equipped and often


➤DefendsA2


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