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THE huge door
that was opened (top photo) to welcome back the public
Monday was wood, replacing the elegant glass entrance
where an armored personnel carrier (above photo) rammed
through during Thursday’s standoff with the Trillanes
group. Still, Peninsula Manila general manager David
Batchelor (right) told the press the hotel with the
famously beautiful lobby is more than prepared to welcome
back its guests and patrons with rooms and suites fit for
the holiday season.
--NONIE REYES, RHOY COBILLA |
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It’s
final: Government has 72% UCPB shares
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THE First
Division of the Sandiganbayan has blocked the attempt of
businessman Eduardo “Danding” Cojuangco to regain his
majority ownership of the United Coconut Planter’s Bank (UCPB)
by denying with finality his appeal on the court’s earlier
resolution that declared his more than 70-percent shares as
owned by the Republic, having been bought with coconut-levy
funds. |
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With
Christmas cheer aplenty, The Peninsula is back in business |
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WITH initial
assessment of damage to its premises at $1.2 million from
Thursday’s six-hour standoff between government and rebel
soldiers, Manila Peninsula Hotel Inc. in Hong Kong is
finalizing plans to file a legal claim. |
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US
lone holdout as Australia OKs Kyoto |
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BALI,
Indonesia— Thousands of delegates at the UN climate-change
summit here hailed Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s
move to finally sign the paperwork for the ratification of
the Kyoto Protocol in his first official act after being
sworn in as leader on Monday. The move leaves the
US
as the only remaining major emitter-country to have refused
to sign the treaty, aimed at curbing the emission of
greenhouse gases blamed for global warming. |
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Government offers warrants to ROP investors in bid to
sweeten pot |
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THE
government has thrown an appetizer for current holders of
its foreign currency-denominated bonds, mostly in US dollars
and Japanese yen, potentially making them more attractive
than the returns the IOUs represent. |
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No
takers for long-dated T-bills |
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NO one wants
to bet on long-dated interest rates if they can help it, and
this clearly showed on Monday’s bid rates for Treasury bills
when the banks tried to push the rates higher. In the case
of the 91-day benchmark used for fixing local loans, the
banks tested the Treasury’s resolve by bidding it up 13.7
basis points to 3.809 percent, but were thwarted. |
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P180-B funding unlocked for Mindanao development |
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HOUSE
leaders on Monday revealed a 30-percent lump-sum provision
for Mindanao in the 2008 General Appropriations Act, which
they claimed to be a significant increase that would go into
the building of projects and programs to trigger island-wide
development. |
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Government moves to woo media |
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GOVERNMENT
officials and leaders of the media have agreed to meet on
Wednesday to hammer out “mutually acceptable” ground rules
in the coverage of crisis situations to address issues that
arose between law enforcers and some media personalities at
last week’s Peninsula standoff. |
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Madrid backs GMA against power grab |
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AS the
Spanish government condemned the latest “coup attempt” and
praised the government’s handling of the November 29
situation, President Arroyo on Monday assured Filipinos
working in Spain that all is well in the Philippines, where
authorities are bent on punishing those responsible for the
one-day standoff at a luxury hotel in Makati City last week. |
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RP
falters in adult literacy, gender parity |
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THE
Philippines is at risk of not achieving the adult literacy
and gender parity targets in the Millennium Development
Goals (MDGs) by 2015, according to a report recently
released by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organization (Unesco). |
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