LACSON SPOTTED IN ROME / EX-BUDGET CHIEF EMILIA
BONCODIN DIES AT 55
MANILA, MARCH 17, 2010
(STAR) Acting Justice Secretary Alberto Agra said yesterday
fugitive Sen. Panfilo Lacson was last spotted in Rome, Italy.
“The latest information we got is that Lacson went there or passed by Rome. I don’t know if he is still there,” he told reporters when asked for updates on Lacson’s location.
The senator is accused of being involved in the killing of publicist Salvador “Bubby” Dacer and his driver Emmanuel Corbito in November 2000.
“We’re closely monitoring this (case),” Agra said.
Lacson left for Hong Kong last Jan. 5, a month before Manila Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 18 ordered his arrest in connection with a complaint filed by the Department of Justice implicating him as mastermind in the Dacer-Corbito killing.
The government, through the National Bureau of Investigation, has been coordinating with the Interpol in hunting down Lacson to make him stand trial for the double murder case. – Edu Punay
Boncodin dies of cardiac arrest By Sheila Crisostomo (The Philippine Star) Updated March 16, 2010 12:00 AM
[PHOTO
AT LEFT - Former Budget secretary Emilia Boncodin]
MANILA, Philippines - Former Budget secretary Emilia Boncodin died of cardiac arrest yesterday at the National Kidney and Transplant Institute (NKTI) in Quezon City. She was 55.
In a medical bulletin, NKTI executive director Dr. Enrique Ona said Boncodin passed away at 2:05 p.m.
Ona said Boncodin was rushed to the NKTI last March 10 “for difficulty of breathing and anemia and was diagnosed to be on end-stage renal disease after her kidney transplant done on Feb. 3, 2005 went into chronic rejection and had completely failed to function.”
The transplant was performed months before Boncodin, along with nine other Cabinet secretaries, resigned to protest the involvement of President Arroyo and some of her officials in corruption cases. The group, later called the Hyatt 10 because they announced their resignation at the Hyatt Hotel in Pasay City, demanded Mrs. Arroyo also step down in July 2005 in the wake of the “Hello, Garci” scandal.
After her resignation, Boncodin was named board member of Petron Corp.
The nine officials who resigned with Boncodin were Florencio Abad of Education, Corazon Soliman of Social Welfare, Rene Villa of Agrarian Reform, Imelda Nicolas of National Anti-Poverty Commission, Cesar Purisima of Finance, Juan Santos of Trade and Industry, Alberto Lina of Customs, Guillermo Parayno of Internal Revenue and peace adviser Teresita Deles.
Passing mourned
President Arroyo mourned the death of Boncodin and is expected to pay her last respects to her former budget chief.
Deputy presidential spokesman Gary Olivar said Mrs. Arroyo is extending her condolences to Boncodin’s family and loved ones.
“We are deeply saddened at the passing of our esteemed former budget secretary and governance educator Emilia Boncodin,” presidential spokesman Ricardo Saludo said in a statement.
“In her decades of public service, Secretary Boncodin was widely respected for her dedication, integrity and professionalism,” Saludo said.
He said Boncodin “exemplified the lofty ideals of our government service... she will be sorely missed.”
Olivar described Boncodin as “a true professional and a recognized expert in budgets and public finance, and played a key role especially in the fiscal reforms initiated during the initial years of the administration.”
Liberal Party vice presidential candidate Sen. Mar Roxas expressed “deep sorrow” for the death of “a reformer.”
“My deepest sympathies to her family,” Roxas said.
“Emy was a good friend. Her passing robs our nation of a bright mind who remained loyal to her principles of good governance and efficient government,” he added. – With Aurea Calica and Paolo Romero
FVR condoles with Boncodin family (The Philippine Star) Updated March 17, 2010 12:00 AM
MANILA, Philippines - Former President Fidel Ramos yesterday condoled with the family of the late budget secretary Emilia Boncodin, who he said “epitomized devotion to duty, unstinted hard work, unquestioned integrity and exemplary humility in public service, a rarity these days and a great loss to our country.”
Boncodin died of cardiac arrest last Monday at the National Institute. She was 55.
Boncodin served as budget undersecretary, then secretary, under the Ramos administration. After June 1998, she returned to teaching at the University of the Philippines.
In 2001, she became budget secretary again under the Arroyo administration and held the position until July 2005, when she resigned, along with nine other cabinet secretaries, to protest President Arroyo’s alleged involvement in election fraud.
Liberal Party standard Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III said Boncodin had been helping him evaluate the country’s financial situation and he was thinking of naming her to the Cabinet if elected.
Aquino visited Boncodin’s wake at the Resurreccion Chapel in Sta. Maria Della Strada Parish in Quezon City yesterday. – Aurea Calica