(FROM right) Peter Stephens, World Bank regional communication manager for East Asia; Maryse Gautier, WB acting country director; and Finance Secretary Margarito Teves preside at the joint press conference of the Philippine government and the Bank held at the DBP Building in Makati City. --NONIE REYES

MEMBERS of the Joint Congressional Power Commission (PowerCom) are determined to take “coercive measures” to revoke what they insist to be an illegal sale of prime shares of Philippine National Oil Co.-Energy Development Corp. (PNOC-EDC) to Red Vulcan, a private consortium led by the Lopez family-controlled First Gen Corp., for P58.5 billion in an auction held on Wednesday.

THE Philippine National Oil Co.-Energy Development Corp. (PNOC-EDC) Thursday awarded its remaining shares in its geothermal arm to Red Vulcan Holdings Corp. after a bidding where Red Vulcan outbid all others.

SINGAPORE (via PLDT)—Heads of state of the Asean and the European Union Thursday marked the thirtieth year of their ties with a commitment to further enhance their partnership through a five-year master plan, consolidate support for the UN-proposed solution to the Myanmar problem, and expand cooperation in environmental protection.

SINGAPORE (via PLDT)—Malacañang said on Thursday that President Arroyo achieved her goals at the 13th Association of Southeast Nations Summit, which was to see through the signing of an Asean Charter with substantial Philippine input and to express the Philippine demand for an accelerated democratic strong position on the Burma issue.

THE Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) Thursday said the upgrading of the Tagaytay radar facility—crucial to civil aviation—will be completed by July next year. The implication: this busy holiday season will pose a problem to commercial airlines because safety considerations will force air-traffic controllers to keep the longer separation periods between flights.

FINANCE Secretary Margarito Teves disclosed Thursday that the Philippine government may borrow money from multilateral agencies like the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) should the World Bank (WB) decide to cancel the second phase of the controversial National Roads Improvement and Management Project (NRIMP) suspected by the WB officials of being “overpriced.”

WITH the government’s apparent helplessness in controlling rising domestic fuel prices, militant legislators are pushing for the passage of three bills to give government the teeth to loosen the tight grip of the foreign oil oligopoly made up of Shell Philippines, Petron Corp. and Caltex Inc.

BANGKOK—Mariwasa-Siam Ceramics Inc. said the influx of imported tiles and high energy prices in the Philippines is already hurting their business.

INVESTIGATORS declared on Thursday that the explosion that rocked Glorietta 2 mall in Makati on October 19, killing 11 persons and injuring several others, was caused by gas and not by explosives.

ONE of the 14 soldiers who was convicted of killing of former senator Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr. has been granted conditional pardon by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

THE environment group Greenpeace on Thursday raised the alarm over the safety of rural people at risk of drinking water that is contaminated with nitrate, particularly in Thailand and the Philippines.

PROPERTY developer Filinvest Development Corp. wants to do business in the power sector by acquiring existing assets through biddings or building new power plants, president Josephine Gotianun-Yap told reporters.

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