News Briefs

Gov’t correct to suspend fuel excise tax hike–Gatchalian

Even if global oil prices continue to fall in the coming weeks, the government has made the right move in suspending the next round of fuel excise tax increases in January, Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian said on Friday. The chair of the Senate economic affairs committee said the deferment of tax hike provisions of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion law would give breathing room for Filipinos reeling from high prices of goods. “Indeed, the suspension of the second round of the excise tax on petroleum products is very timely and will help everyone, especially the bottom 30-percent income families,” Gatchalian said in a statement. In addition, he said the decision would be a boon to small businesses that suffered losses as a result of higher prices of goods. Even if oil prices went down, he said, he still supported the suspension “to give the people a reprieve from the effects of the high inflation.” —DJ YAP

DOJ, Trillanes motions vs Makati RTC ruling up for resolution

The partial motions for reconsideration of the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV seeking the reversal of parts of the decision by the Makati City Regional Trial Court (RTC) are deemed up for resolution. This came after Trillanes’ lawyer, Reynaldo Robles, submitted a rejoinder to the DOJ’s opposition to factual fndings of Judge Andres Soriano of Makati RTC Branch 148 on Oct. 22 that Trillanes filed his amnesty application in January 2011 and admitted guilt for his involvement in the 2003 Oakwood mutiny and 2007 Manila Peninsula siege. At the same time Soriano also upheld “as a purely executive act” President Duterte’s Proclamation No. 572, which voided the amnesty granted to the senator by then President Benigno Aquino III through Proclamation No. 75. —DEXTER CABALZA

Metrobank opens nomination for 10 Outstanding Filipinos

The Metrobank Foundation on Friday announced the opening of nominations for 10 Outstanding Filipinos. The career service award recognizes soldiers, police and teachers with extraordinary commitment to their work and to the community, said Aniceto Sobrepeña, Metrobank Foundation president. Awardees will receive a P1-million cash prize, a gold medallion and a trophy. The foundation’s recognition of exemplary soldiers, policemen and teachers is “very appropriate as they are the ones who are least noticed,” said Education Secretary Leonor Briones. “We tend to look at them as part of the scenery. [We] hardly notice the quiet protection of our lives, the nurturing of our lives, the fighting for our freedoms… we take them for granted.” The foundation has awarded over 660 uniformed men and teachers. Most of the awardees were trailblazers in their fields, or honored for extraordinary valor and heroism. —KRIXIA SUBINGSUBING

3 Georgians nabbed over bogus Canadian visas

The Bureau of Immigration (BI) foiled the attempt of three Georgian nationals to enter Canada via the Philippines after they were found to be in possession of fake Canadian visas. Grifton Medina, chief of port operations division, said on Friday that while the foreigners had valid Philippine visas, “irregularities” were found on their Canadian visas. Officials of the Canadian embassy later confirmed that the visas were “nonexistent in their system.” Medina said the Georgians, who posed as humanitarian workers, arrived from Abu Dhabi recently and attempted to use Manila as their jump-off point to illegally enter Canada. He noted that after their two-day stay in the country, the three foreigners were headed to Qatar, Azerbaijan and then Canada. The three Georgians were brought to the BI’s detention facility at Camp Bagong Diwa.  —JOVIC YEE