MANILA - SENATOR Benigno Aquino, soon to be named Philippine president, will have to negotiate alliances to govern effectively because his Liberal Party will not have a majority in either house of Congress, lawmakers said on Sunday.
Mr Aquino has a decisive lead in the presidential election, based on unofficial tallies of Monday's vote, but a hostile House of Representatives and Senate could thwart his policy agenda. olitical infighting could also distract him from trying to reduce a fiscal deficit that is expected to be around 300 billion pesos (S$9.2 billion) this year, as well as other efforts to reinvigorate the economy.
Mr Aquino is likely to see Liberal Party candidates battling outgoing president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo for the job of Speaker of the House of Representatives and beaten presidential candidate Manny Villar for the Senate presidency. 'If the opposition controls both houses, it will be difficult for Aquino to push his legislative agenda,'re-elected Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago said in a radio interview.
Defensor Santiago ran on the ticket of Nacionalista Party and said Mr Villar, the party's presidential candidate, would stand for the Senate presidency because he is still a Senator. 'We have the numbers to get Senator Villar back as Senate President and we have allies in other parties,' said Defensor Santiago.
With winners declared in 9 of the 12 Senate seats that were open at Monday's vote, analysts estimate Mr Aquino, who will relinquish his Senate seat, can muster support of about 10 Senators in the 24-member chamber.
President Arroyo won a lower house seat in Monday's election, and is widely expected to run for the position of Speaker, the fourth most senior political position in the country. On paper, Mrs Arroyo has a solid base with her Lakas-Kampi-CMD coalition expected to win close to 110 of the 229 electorate seats. The Liberal Party has around 45 seats, based on election commission counting. There are also 57 seats for party-list groups, which cover sectors such as women, labour, and farmers, in the lower house. A total of 144 seats is needed for a majority. -- REUTERS
Showing posts with label santiago. Show all posts
Showing posts with label santiago. Show all posts
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
News Update Communist rebels in Philippines kill 4 police
MANILA, Philippines – Communist rebels opened fire on a police patrol on a mountain road east of the Philippine capital Tuesday, killing four officers and wounding five in the latest clash in a decades-old insurgency.
About 20 New People's Army rebels hid along the road in the township of Baras in Rizal province near Manila, opened fire on the police patrol then detonated a land mine, officials said. The brazen ambush was the latest flare-up in rural insurgency that has left thousands dead and stunted economic development since the 1970s.
The outnumbered police commandos returned fire, but four died and five were wounded in the clash, said police Special Action Force commander Leocadio Santiago.
At least two officers were missing, but it was not clear whether they were abducted by the rebels or had escaped the attack, army brigade commander Col. Aurelio Baladad said.
The rebels fled after seizing at least nine M16 rifles, Santiago said. Government troops joined police in a massive manhunt for the assailants and were searching hospitals for wounded guerrillas, said regional police director Rolando Anonuevo.
The ambush followed an earlier encounter between troops and rebels in neighboring Laguna province that left a 2-year-old girl wounded Monday, said police spokesman Leonardo Espina. The girl was hit by shrapnel and was recovering in a hospital, he said.
The rebels say they are fighting to set up a Marxist state. After reaching their peak strength during Ferdinand Marcos' dictatorship that ended in 1986, they failed to come to terms with a new democratic government, blaming it for deep social divisions and abject poverty.
Their ranks have thinned to about 4,000 from more than 25,000 in the mid-1980s because of battle setbacks, surrenders and factionalism.
Peace talks between the rebels and the government brokered by Norway collapsed in 2004 after the rebels accused President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's administration of instigating their inclusion on U.S. and European terrorist blacklists.
Arroyo has ordered the military to defeat the rebels by the end of her term in June, but on Internet postings the rebels have dismissed the deadline as propaganda.
New People's Army of the Philippines
About 20 New People's Army rebels hid along the road in the township of Baras in Rizal province near Manila, opened fire on the police patrol then detonated a land mine, officials said. The brazen ambush was the latest flare-up in rural insurgency that has left thousands dead and stunted economic development since the 1970s.
The outnumbered police commandos returned fire, but four died and five were wounded in the clash, said police Special Action Force commander Leocadio Santiago.
At least two officers were missing, but it was not clear whether they were abducted by the rebels or had escaped the attack, army brigade commander Col. Aurelio Baladad said.
The rebels fled after seizing at least nine M16 rifles, Santiago said. Government troops joined police in a massive manhunt for the assailants and were searching hospitals for wounded guerrillas, said regional police director Rolando Anonuevo.
The ambush followed an earlier encounter between troops and rebels in neighboring Laguna province that left a 2-year-old girl wounded Monday, said police spokesman Leonardo Espina. The girl was hit by shrapnel and was recovering in a hospital, he said.
The rebels say they are fighting to set up a Marxist state. After reaching their peak strength during Ferdinand Marcos' dictatorship that ended in 1986, they failed to come to terms with a new democratic government, blaming it for deep social divisions and abject poverty.
Their ranks have thinned to about 4,000 from more than 25,000 in the mid-1980s because of battle setbacks, surrenders and factionalism.
Peace talks between the rebels and the government brokered by Norway collapsed in 2004 after the rebels accused President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's administration of instigating their inclusion on U.S. and European terrorist blacklists.
Arroyo has ordered the military to defeat the rebels by the end of her term in June, but on Internet postings the rebels have dismissed the deadline as propaganda.
New People's Army of the Philippines
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