LOS ANGELES • ORANGE COUNTY • INLAND EMPIRE


VOL. XIX, NO. 104 Since 1992


FEBRUARY 29 - MARCH 2, 2012 e


.com e


CJ Corona prosecutors rest case


‘Pasinaya’ Festival


Students in colorful attires perform during a “Pasinaya” Festival in Manila, February 26, 2012. Pasinaya is one of the largest multi-arts festival in the country involving almost 5,000 artists and 300 shows in a single day,


according to organizers. (MNS photo)


MANILA, Feb 28 (Mabuhay) – The House prosecution team has rested its impeachment case against Chief Justice Renato Corona, dropping five of the eight articles of impeachment against the magistrate.


Lead prosecutor Niel Tupas Jr. said the panel will no longer present evidence on the five other articles of impeachment against the chief justice. Tupas said that thus far they have presented a total of 25 witnesses and marked 397 documents as evidence for Articles of Impeachment 2, 3 and 7. “It is our humble submission we have already presented a strong case and evidence we have laid down suffice for removal of office of the Chief Justice,” Tupas said.


He however said that the prosecution reserves its right to present evidence on Corona’s dollar See CORONA PROSECUTORS, page 6


Beleaguered couple: CJ & Mrs. Corona


Infl uential Iglesia Ni Cristo shows force As sect’s ties with Palace appears to sour


MANILA, February 28, 2012


(AFP) – About a million mem- bers of an influential sect held rallies in the Philippines Tuesday, police said, in a show of force amid perceived political tension with once staunch ally President Benigno Aquino.


Police shut major roads from midday (0400 GMT) and de-


1,913 hurdle 2011 Bar examinations


BY PERFECTO T. RAYMUNDO JR. MANILA, Feb. 28 (PNA) - A total of 1,913 out of 5,990 exam- inees passed the 2011 Bar tests conducted at the University of Santo Tomas for four Sundays last November, the Supreme Court announced on Tuesday.


Supreme Court (SC) Spokes- man and Court Administrator Atty. Jose Midas Marquez said that the number of successful


See BAR EXAMS, page 6


Filipino activists scuffl e with security personnel during a protest in front of a hotel in Manila where Deputy US Trade Representative Demetrios Marantis is giving a talk about US-Philipines trade relations on February 28, 2012. The activists condemned THE renewed US push to expand its role in the Philippines and the Pacifi c-Asia.


ployed hundreds of officers as the religious group Iglesia ni Cristo (Church of Christ) gath- ered at a Manila seaside park. National police spokes-


man Agrimero Cruz said up to 600,000 people joined the rally in the capital, which ended peace- fully in early evening.


He said police monitored


similar gatherings in two other cities, including one of 400,000 people massed in Tarlac, Aquino’s home province, and another of 7,000 at a park in the major central port of Cebu.


The three million-strong sect is one of a handful of religious groups courted by politicians of all stripes during election campaigns,


with its massive vote block in- creasing its political clout. Local media said Aquino’s previously strong ties with the sect have soured since Supreme Court chief justice Renato Co- rona -- who has indirect links to the Iglesia -- was impeached in December, stirring condemna- tion from the group.


The Philippine Daily Inquirer


on Tuesday quoted an unnamed sect insider saying despite the group’s public statements to the contrary, the rallies were meant to show its unhappiness with Aquino.


“It seems Malacanang (presi- dential palace) is not getting the


See IGLESIA NI CRISTO, page 6


U.S. Commander: China friction ebbs


BY SHAUN TANDON WASHINGTON, February 28, 2012 (AFP) - A top US com- mander said Tuesday that China has been entering fewer confron- tations with its neighbors as he credited a firm line by Washington and its allies with changing Bei- jing’s thinking.


President Barack Obama’s administration has put a growing focus on Asia, stepping up trade ties and moving to maintain the strength of US forces in the region despite overall cuts to the military


budget.


But Admiral Robert Willard, the outgoing head of the US Pacific Command which covers Asia, offered conciliatory words toward China in an appearance before Congress, saying that Bei- jing’s rise was in the US interest. “We’ve seen fewer confron- tations in 2012 than we did in previous years. 2010 was quite landmark in terms of the confron- tations” in the South China Sea, Willard told the Senate Armed See CHINA FRICTION, page 6


remembers scrimping for loose coins


Pop Princess Sarah See story on Page 19


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