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I did not receive money – Bello

Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello 3rd on Tuesday maintained his innocence amid allegations of corruption, saying he did not receive any money from recruitment agencies.He admitted that there were attempts to bribe him but he returned the money.“I did not receive any money. There were those who tried but I have them returned and told them not to do it,” Bello said in Filipino in a radio interview.The Labor chief said he treasures his friendship with President Rodrigo Duterte and would not do anything to destroy it.In his State of the Nation Address, Duterte warned his friends in government not to give him reasons to sack them.“I value friendship, make no mistake about it. But it has its limits,” the President said.“This is a lonely place I am hemmed in. Do not make it lonelier by forcing me to end our friendship because you gave me the reason to end it. It pains me to end — the loss of friendships. And that is why I appeal to you to help me in my cause so that our friendship will endure.”Bello is facing two graft complaints before the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission. In both cases, Bello and former Labor undersecretary Dominador Say were accused of extortion.

['William Depasupil']

2018-07-25 00:05:17+00:00

https://www.manilatimes.net/i-did-not-receive-money-bello/422998/

Manila Times

Wailing wall becomes mural of untold history

Visual artist Emil Yap vividly described the vacant lot inside a church compound in Baclaran as “the saddest place.”It was a dump, he recalled of the area, while the southern wall of the National Shrine of Our Mother of Perpetual Help in Baclaran, Parañaque, used to be the hangout of people down on their luck.Most of them were overseas Filipino workers who had been duped by illegal recruiters, househelp kicked out of their employers’ home, and abused women and their children.Today, after two years of hard work, that drab wall has become the country’s longest mosaic mural called “Panagpo,” a place of “convergence among devotees and God,” Yap said.The mural, which opens to the public today to mark International Human Rights Day, has also become therapy to the families of victims of extrajudicial killings (EJK) in the government’s war on illegal drugs.For 10 months, family members of drug war victims, some of them young mothers with toddlers in tow, helped paint the mural and laid down the mosaic tiles.Bro. Geraldino Loyola, the project’s spiritual director, said the Redemptorist shrine was among the few churches that provided temporary shelter and livelihood to the families who feared for their lives.The church’s resident psychologist also asked Yap to tap the families as part of “art therapy” to help them overcome their trauma.BrokenLoyola and Yap said they would never forget how the families cried for joy when they finished a portion of the mosaic mural: “Our lives are like these tiles,” they said. “We are all broken, but when we are pieced together, we become a beautiful work of art.”Said Loyola: “That is the message we want to tell them and other Christians: that despite their sufferings, it is not yet the end of their lives. There will always be people who would help them build their hopes back.”Sculptor Manilito Mondejar, who previously carved the statue “Flame of Courage” in the Baclaran church compound for desaparecidos, created another art in memory of child victims of EJK.Loyola described the unnamed sculpture as “like the usual scene in tokhang drug operations (police summary executions). A father carries the body of his young son while holding a mallet to symbolize the workers and the poor who make up most of the victims in this senseless war.”Others might see the church’s action as political, but Loyola described it simply as “a Christian responsibility.”He explained: “As Christians, we should all believe that every human has a right to life. We should condemn oppression.” He added: “As Christians, when someone is oppressed, we should not keep silent but help them.”The “Panagpo” mural does just that.The idea for the mural was first brought up in August 2015 by Fr. Joseph Echano, then the rector of the church. Echano asked Yap to conceptualize a work of art based on Pope Francis’ encyclical, “Laudato Sí” (Praise be to you), that would also be a way to celebrate the 150th jubilee year of the icon of the Mother of Perpetual Help.Common homeThe Pope’s encyclical urged Catholics to take care of their common home, the Earth, that “now cries because of the harm we [have] inflicted on her by our irresponsible use and abuse of the goods which God has endowed her.”The mural stands 3-meter (10-feet) high and 213-meter (700-feet) long, much shorter but no less symbolic that the 6.5-kilometer-long Hanoi Ceramic Mosaic Mural by the dyke walls of Red River in Vietnam.The mosaic mural’s two main sections are based on the Canticle of the Sun written by Saint Francis of Assisi, which was also cited by Pope Francis in “Laudato Sí”: “Brother Son” which tells the history of the country from the pre-Spanish colonization era to the contemporary years, and “Sister Moon” which depicts the lives of the “untold, silenced and marginalized sectors.”At the foot of the mural are the country’s flora and fauna, whose names are written in ancient baybayin (prehispanic alphabet).From a blue and green scheme to represent the myth of creation and the colonization years, the panels turn red and orange as it moves further down the country’s history.“Our history is full of bloodshed and sacrifice for our freedom. It is through armed struggle that our society evolves and changes for the better,” Yap said, pointing out on the panels the killing of the Gomburza martyrs that led to the Philippine Revolution, the Balangiga massacre, and the Japaneseinvasion during World War II.‘Salvation’The more contemporary scenes show countless faces of women and children crying, with a mother pushing a luggage trolley on her way to a flight out of the country, armed men pointing guns at protesters, and the island of Mindanao sitting on a number of dead bodies.“But there’s salvation,” Yap said, pointing at the figure of the Redeemer Father near the end of the mural with his hands reaching out.Sculptures of the “Madonna and Child

['Dexter Cabalza']

03/02/2017 0:00

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/951064/emil-yap-national-shrine-of-our-mother-of-perpetual-help-baclaran-church-panagpo-international-human-rights-day-extrajudicial-killings

Inquirer

PCSO officials face P50-B plunder case

Members of the board of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) and small town lottery (STL) operators are set to be charged today (Thursday) with plunder for allegedly conspiring to defraud the government.Interestingly, PCSO Chair Erineo “Ayong” Maliksi, a former Cavite governor, was not included in the P50-billion plunder case to be filed in the Office of the Ombudsman.Maliksi, who was named chair on April 22, 2015, reportedly does not get along with other members of the PCSO.Diego Magpantay, a former teacher and now the head of Citizens Crime Watch, said that Inquirer reports and the public hearing in the House of Representatives on alleged fraud in the state-sanctioned lottery were eye-openers that prodded his group to look into the supposed anomaly.“The news reports and the Congress hearings caught our attention. When we conducted our own research, we discovered the huge anomaly in the PCSO operation of the STL,” Magpantay told the Inquirer.The government started STL in 1987 in hopes that it would stamp out “jueteng,” an illegal numbers racket. Both involved betting on two-number combinations.Magpantay claimed he was a close associate of antipork activist Quintin Paredes San Diego, who was killed by hired gunmen in Dingalan, Aurora province, in November last year.RespondentsRespondents in the complaint are members of the PCSO board—General Manager Jose Ferdinand Rojas II, Francisco Manuel Joaquin III, Mabel Mamba and Betty Nantes, and Remeliza Gatbuyo.In a text message to the Inquirer, Rojas described the charges against the PCSO board members as “baseless.”“There are 80 plus provinces nationwide and we conduct STL in only 14 provinces,” Rojas said. “Any and all kinds of numbers game activity in the 70 plus provinces [such as jueteng or masiao] are not sanctioned by the PCSO [and as such] are all illegal.”The PCSO board’s performance, he said, is “closely monitored” by the Governance Commission for government-owned and -controlled corporations.“As such, we believe the case filed against the board will be dismissed for lack of merit,” Rojas said.Asked why PCSO Chair Maliksi was not included in the complaint, Magpantay said: “Maliksi had acted in the interest of the PCSO and even asked the [National Bureau of Investigation] to conduct an investigation. I believe he is not party to the anomaly because he asked for an investigation.”Case against MaliksiLast month, a group called the Filipino Alliance for Transparency and Empowerment said it would file corruption charges against Maliksi in the Office of the Ombudsman for reportedly hiring ghost consultants and giving unwarranted favor to his driver under the agency’s financial assistance program to patients.The STL operators named in the complaint were CTG Prime Ventures Inc. (for the province of Nueva Ecija), Ramloid Gaming Corp. (Laguna), Batangas Enhanced Technology Systems Inc. (Batangas), Diamond Gaming and Research Center Corp. (Bulacan), Piroutte Corp. (Quezon) and Golden Matrix Gaming and Amusement Center (Zambales).“In our research, we got hold of special audit reports of the Commission on Audit (COA) that show huge anomalies in the STL sales and remittances. We also have PCSO resolutions that show the supposed connivance between the board of directors and the STL operators,” Magpantay said.

['Nancy C. Carvajal']

03/02/2017 0:00

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/763708/pcso-officials-face-p50-b-plunder-case

Inquirer

DILG: All systems go for Boracay reopening

A week before Boracay’s “soft reopening” to tourists, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) said everything was in order for the big day.The big difference this time?“There will be a lot of laws and ordinances to be implemented in Boracay under [DILG] supervision to make sure that there will be no repeat of what happened before,” Interior Secretary Eduardo M. Año said in a statement on Friday.Sewerage treatmentFor instance, he said, only business establishments accredited by the interagency task force that have sewerage treatment plants and secured environmental compliance certificates would be allowed to operate by the Oct. 26 reopening.The “no floating structure” ban within 3 kilometers of the shoreline will also be in effect.Earlier, administrative cases were filed against 18 erring local government officials for alleged negligence and mismanagement of the island.Año said the six-month closure of the island allowed the authorities to fix Boracay’s “immediate” environmental problems. Still, he said, it would take two years for the island to be completely rehabilitated.

['Philippine Daily Inquirer']

03/02/2017 0:00

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1044994/dilg-all-systems-go-for-boracay-reopening

Inquirer

Sona promises: Has Aquino improved the energy sector?

When President Aquino delivers his final State of the Nation Address (Sona), those most concerned about electricity need only to refer to the Department of Energy’s (DOE) accomplishments.The DOE officer in charge, Zenaida Y. Monsada, said 102 power generation projects had been commissioned and committed (work ongoing) under the administration, with a total capacity of 6,549.45 megawatts.That is a big leap from the nine power projects (with total capacity of 1,338 MW) credited under the previous administration.READ: First Gen raises P7.5B for power projectsWhether a supply of 6,549 MW is enough may not be as much a source of concern as whether the volume is sufficient to prevent outages in the future.In Aquino’s 2014 Sona, he gave no indication that he would declare a state of power emergency to gain special powers to avert a supply shortage last summer. It turned out he did not have to.The President said he ordered then Energy Secretary Carlos Jericho Petilla to coordinate with stakeholders to address the tightness in supply that raised the possibility of outages.Petilla projected a reserve shortfall of about 200 MW in Luzon from March to May this year. He said a buffer of 400 MW to 500 MW was needed.The President blamed the shortage on legacy power plants that may experience unexpected outages due to old age, regular maintenance shutdowns and delay in the construction of new ones. The El Niño phenomenon was also a threat to hydropower plants.READ: Luzon, Visayas may face 800MW power shortage in 2015Luzon did not experience widespread brownouts over the summer. While a number of tight-supply situations are expected to occur over the second half of this year, the DOE has assured that new power plants are opening.Backup measureThere is also a back-up measure in the form of the interruptible load program (ILP) in which businesses with generator sets may generate power to ease demand from the grid in exchange for compensation.So far, so good, it seems.Petilla, who recently quit as energy secretary, has said he believes Luzon and the Visayas can survive the next tight spots in power supply, especially if committed power projects are delivered on time.Processing time cutThe carrot-and-stick approach of the DOE has drawn more investors to the energy and power sectors, he said. He noted that the processing time for service contracts had been cut to 45 days (particularly for renewable energy, or RE) from two years.Petilla said there had been a huge uptake in RE not only due to faster processing of applications but also due to the recent implementation of guidelines for incentives under the feed-in-tariff (FIT) scheme.FIT incentivesPetilla said encouraging projects to qualify for FIT incentives was so successful that the installation capacity for solar had been expanded to 500 MW from 50 MW and there was a proposal for wind capacity expansion to 400 MW from 200 MW.READ: FIT race heats up in solar, wind segmentsResolving the dispute between Korean firm Kepco and the state-owned Manila Waterworks and Sewerage System over the Angat hydroelectric complex is another accomplishment cited by the DOE. Kepco’s partnership with San Miguel Corp. was formalized.Supply, demand updateBesides the backup capacity under the ILP and energy-saving information campaign, the DOE established regular updates on the grid’s supply/demand outlook, Petilla said.“Now we can predict what kind of prices will be in the spot market and we can be on the lookout,” he said.READ: WESM seeks P814M from customersWhile addressing the power issue in Luzon, the DOE has improved the outlook and capacity of cooperatives by instituting discipline and making it known that nonpaying cooperatives will be disconnected from the grid, Petilla said.CircularsBefore leaving his post, he issued several circulars, including one that impose penalties on power suppliers who fail to deliver promised power projects or energy supply. The circular is seen to benefit Mindanao, which is experiencing lingering power outages due to poor contracting by electricity cooperatives.One circular tightens the implementation of open access by requiring big users to find alternative suppliers besides their current distribution utility. Another circular seeks to ensure a 30-percent share of RE in the country’s energy mix.Bidding for supply contractsA circular, which focuses on lowering electricity rates, requires competitive bidding for supply contracts of distribution utilities, such as Manila Electric Co. That means they will no longer “self-negotiate” the generation charges that are eventually passed on to consumers.Another often volatile issue that the DOE deals with is oil price, but that is a nonissue given the oversupply in the global markets.Unresolved issuesOn Luzon’s electricity price shock in late 2013, Petilla said the DOE had done “everything that needed to be done.” It is now up to the Energy Regulatory Commission to resolve the issue and put it to rest, he said.Where the DOE has not made headway given the hit taken by oil firms from soft demand since 2014, as well as geopolitical issues in the oil-and-gas-rich West Philippine Sea, is the bidding of new oil exploration sites. Few investors applied for such areas, raising concerns on new investments in the sector.Ongoing is the privatization of the assets of National Power Corp. (Napocor) so it can pay off its debts and restore its financial health.READ: ‘Consumers to shoulder P62-billion Napocor settlement’In his first Sona in 2010, the President criticized the previous administration for making Napocor sell electricity at a loss to prevent increases in electricity rates from 2001 to 2004. He said this resulted in huge debts that the nation had to pay and inefficiencies that adversely affected customers.Fast forward to April 2015. Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) said privatization had helped trim down the financial obligations assumed from Napocor by 42 percent to P698.9 billion as of end-2014 from P1.2 trillion as of end-December 2000 (inclusive of interest).PSALM, which is tasked with privatizing Napocor assets and managing its debts, is ticking off more items on its privatization list between now and 2017.AuctionsPSALM is set to auction off contracts for the management of the bulk energy output from Leyte and output from the Mindanao coal-fired power plant.The tender for the Independent Power Producer Administrator (IPPA) for the bulk energy of the Unified Leyte Geothermal Power Plants (ULGPP Bulk) is tentatively set on Aug. 12.The tender for the IPPA of the 200-MW Mindanao coal-fired power plant is on Sept. 23.The ULGPP is composed of the 125-MW Upper Mahiao, 232.5-MW Malitbog and180-MW Mahanagdong power plants, and the 51-MW optimization plants. The ULGPP is covered by power purchase agreements between Napocor and Energy Development Corp.Also up for auction this year are Power Barge 104 and the decommissioned Sucat Thermal Power Plant.Next year, the IPPA contract for the Caliraya-Botocan-Kalayaan hydro-electric power power (HEPP) is up for bidding.READ: NDC, PNOC Renewables sign to build P90M mini-hydropower plant in Nueva EcijaAgus-Pulangi complexIn 2017, the Agus-Pulangi HEPP complex may be up for bidding, subject to consultation with Congress as stated in the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (Epira) of 2001.This one is a tricky matter. The continuing deterioration of the Agus and Pulangi plants, along with questions on whether it would be privatized (and if so, how), is the subject of many groups’ opinions given that the hydro plants supply half of Mindanao’s power.With a combined capacity of 982-MW installed capacity and the top supplier in Mindanao’s grid, it is too large to sell to a lone owner. That would result in a near-monopoly, which is against Epira.For now, the hydropower complex is under Napocor’s care.The remaining power generation assets that are not scheduled for auction are the Malaya Thermal Power Plant and the Casecnan Multipurpose Project.According to PSALM, the privatization of Malaya, a must-run facility, is subject to instructions from the DOE.The privatization of the Casecnan facility is under the Department of Finance’s review.Missionary electrificationNapocor, meanwhile, is establishing new Small Power Utilities Group (Spug) areas on Calaguas Island in Camarines Norte province and Camandag Island in Western Samar province.On top of managing 296 Spug plants across the archipelago, Napocor continues to identify and assess new areas—islands and sitios (settlements) that are not connected to the main grid for missionary electrification.READ: P5.4B earmarked for NEA electrification programThe DOE’s qualified third party program allows and sets the criteria for private companies to participate in missionary electrification projects, Napocor said.

['Riza T. Olchondra']

03/02/2017 0:00

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/707641/sona-promises-has-aquino-improved-the-energy-sector

Inquirer

‘Junjun Binay can still run for office’

SUSPENDED Makati Mayor Jejomar Erwin “Junjun” Binay Jr. may still pursue his reelection bid and file his certificate of candidacy (COC) this week despite an order from the Office of the Ombudsman perpetually disqualifying him from holding public office, according to election law experts.Former Commission on Elections Chair Sixto Brillantes Jr. said that Binay could still file a motion for reconsideration with the Ombudsman. Should that fail as well, Binay may elevate his case to the Court of Appeals to seek a temporary restraining order.“If, for example, the Court of Appeals sustains his dismissal, Binay can still elevate the case to the Supreme Court,” Brillantes told reporters.In the meantime, he said Binay may still file his COC between today (Monday) and Friday.“If he (Binay) files his COC this week, that’s still okay. The Comelec will receive it [or] they can refuse it,” Brillantes added.According to him, although the Ombudsman’s dismissal was “immediately executory,” it could not be enforced right away because Binay was still serving a six-month suspension over a separate case involving alleged irregularities in the construction of the Makati City Science High School building.“The dismissal can’t be implemented yet. No one can be removed because he remains suspended until now. Once the suspension period ends, only then can he be dismissed,” Brillantes said.The preventive suspension was issued last July and would end in January. Currently serving as acting Makati mayor is Vice Mayor Romulo “Kid” Peña.Former University of the East law dean Amado Valdez, former University of the Philippines law dean Pacifico Agabin and election lawyer Romulo Macalintal also agreed that the dismissal order, though immediately executory, was not yet final and may still be subject to judicial review before implementation.“[Junjun Binay] can file his COC and argue that the decision is not yet final,” Valdez said.Agabin said the same thing in a text message to the Inquirer: “Yes, he can file his COC if he appeals the Ombudsman order.”“We have a lot of cases where a candidate under custody… or in jail was allowed to file a COC and won the elections. He could file a motion for reconsideration and appeal to Court of Appeals if denied,” Macalintal said.

['Jerome Aning']

19/06/2017 0:00

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/729989/junjun-binay-can-still-run-for-office

Inquirer

Vice President’s side was ignored, Binay camp laments

The camp of Vice President Jejomar Binay on Friday denied the claim of the Senate blue ribbon subcommittee that he did not answer allegations of overpricing in the construction of Makati City Hall Building II.Lawyer Rico Quicho, spokesperson for Binay, reminded the senators that Binay submitted a notarized affidavit on Nov. 6, 2014, “debunking and answering point [by] point” the accusations against him and members of his family.Quicho was commenting on reports that the blue ribbon subcommittee, in a partial report on its investigation of corruption allegations against Binay, said the Vice President did not take advantage of the offer to him to defend himself at the hearings.“It is a validation of our position that the Senate has, from the very start, already prejudged the issue. They have made up their minds even before the hearing started and will not listen, tolerate, or entertain statements and facts contradicting them,” Quicho said in a statement.Sen. Aquilino Pimentel III, Senate blue ribbon subcommittee chair, acknowledged that Binay submitted an affidavit to the inquiry, which he said was considered in the preparation of the panel’s partial report.READ: Binay camp: Anticlimactic after 21 one-sided hearings“It was not enough to sway the arguments, the ideas, the points. It was not enough to sway the conclusion,” Pimentel said.He said the subcommittee received so many records and testimonies that not all could be mentioned in the report. But this does not mean, he said, that they were not considered.While Binay submitted a statement, Pimentel said, he did not back it up with testimony before the subcommittee.Had Binay done so, there would have been a greater chance of him being quoted in the report, Pimentel said.“The question is, would it change the conclusion?” Pimentel said.He said Binay’s affidavit was more like a legal memorandum, full of legal arguments.The points raised were covered and considered, he said, but the other side had stronger points.“Unfortunately for him, [it was] not enough to persuade and change minds because the other side of the argument or issue had more credible, substantive, and logical evidence and arguments,” Pimentel said.The Senate blue ribbon subcommittee recommended the filing of plunder and graft charges against Binay, his son, Makati Mayor Jejomar Erwin “Junjun” Binay, Makati City Hall officials, resident auditors, contractors and his longtime aides Gerardo “Gerry” Limlingan and Eduviges “Ebeng” Baloloy.Former Makati Vice Mayor Ernesto Mercado alleged at the hearings that Makati City Hall Building II was overpriced at P2.3 billion.In his eight-page affidavit, the Vice President said “there was no overprice of the Makati City Hall Building II nor any irregularity committed.”Binay said: “Constructing the Makati City Hall Building II into five phases or splitting the contracts, with the conduct of bidding for each phase, is not prohibited by the Procurement Act (Republic Act No. 9184). Section 65.1(d), Rule 21 of the IRR (Implementing Rules and Regulations) of RA 9184 provides that splitting of contracts is prohibited only if the purpose is to avoid bidding, circumvent rules on alternative procurement, or circumvent limits of approving authorities.”Annex “C” of the RA 9184 IRR allows for a minimum of 28 calendar days and a maximum of 144 days for the conduct of the entire procurement process for projects costing more than P50 million. “Thus, the claim of the Commission on Audit (COA) Chair Grace Pulido-Tan that the process should take six months is not correct.”“[B]ased on the records, the procurement or bidding process for each phase of the Makati City Hall Building II project was conducted within the allowable periods of the law.”“The awarding of contracts to a lone bidder after the conduct of biddings is not prohibited by the Procurement Act.”“In Phase 1 of the Makati City Hall Building II project, the winning bidder bested (two) other bidders. For Phases 2 to 5, the lone bidder was the same contractor. Based on the records, there was no reason to disqualify the contractor.”The subcommittee report said Hilmarc’s Construction Inc. was a “favored contractor” that had bagged several multimillion-peso contracts from Makati City Hall.On the alleged overpricing of the building, Binay said:National Statistics Office (NSO) data cannot prove that the building is overpriced because “there are different scopes of work, specifications, design and bills of material.”“NSO data cannot prove that the Makati City Hall Building II is overpriced. The NSO data has inherent limitations. The NSO based its computations on approved building applications and documentary requirements and not on actual construction cost.“The market value appraisals cannot likewise prove that the Makati City Hall Building II is overpriced. As admitted by Mr. Federico Cuervo, the resource person of the Senate, his testimony was only hypothetical costing.”The Davis Langdon & Seah Handbook cannot prove that the building is overpriced because the handbook “expressly states that its data is subject to limitations.”Mere ocular inspection of the building, even by experts, cannot prove overpricing. “As held by the Supreme Court in the case of Ariola v. Commission on Audit, there must be an actual canvass or price quotations on the subject materials from accredited suppliers to prove there was an overprice.”Rights violatedBinay also said that his constitutional rights “were and continue to be violated,” including his constitutional right not to be subjected to a congressional inquiry if the rules of the Senate are not complied with, the right to due process of law, and the right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty.“The hearing has veered toward false criminal accusations against me. It must be emphasized, the Senate shall constitute as the impeachment court in case the House of Representatives initiates impeachment proceedings. Therefore, the senators are unmindful of their role as potential senators-judges. Worst, these senators are acting as prosecutors, judges and even as witnesses,” he said.“As declared by Sen. [Antonio] Trillanes IV, among other things, his objective is to put me in jail,” Binay said.Trillanes said on multiple occasions that he would not stop until Binay was jailed for his alleged crimes.

['Niña P. Calleja']

2016-12-26 21:55:56+00:00

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/694799/vice-presidents-side-was-ignored-binay-camp-laments

Inquirer

Martial law victims lose again in court

The Court of Appeals (CA) has affirmed its earlier decision to dismiss a petition by victims of human rights violations under the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos to enforce a Hawaii court ruling that awarded them $2 billion in compensation from the strongman’s estate.In a three-page resolution dated Jan. 3, the court’s former 12th Division stood by its July 2017 decision to uphold the ruling of the Makati Regional Trial Court (RTC) that the claims on the Marcos estate could not prosper due to a lack of jurisdiction and a violation of due process.“Consequently, the final judgment rendered therein [by the Hawaii court] is not binding,” said the CA’s resolution, written by Justice Normandie Pizzaro.The other division members, Justices Joseph Lopez and Manuel Gaerlan, concurred.The martial law victims said they would appeal the CA’s decision in the Supreme Court.The case originated from a class suit filed in April 1986 by more than 9,500 Filipinos who claimed damages for human rights violations under Marcos in the US District Court in Hawaii.The petitioners were led by former Commission on Human Rights Chair Etta Rosales, film director Joel Lamangan and retired judge Priscilla Mijares.Final judgmentOn Sept. 24, 1992, after a three-week trial on liability, the court found the Marcos estate liable for torture, death and disappearances. The jury awarded the plaintiffs about $1.97 billion in total damages.On Feb. 3, 1995, the federal district court entered final judgment in the class action, which was affirmed by the US Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in December 1996.The compensation was to be paid by the Marcos estate, a juridical entity that arose after the execution of the late dictator’s last will and testament following his death in 1989 in Hawaii, where he had fled with his family after his ouster in the 1986 Edsa People Power Revolution.The claimants sought recognition and enforcement of the Hawaii ruling from the Makati RTC, but the Marcos estate protested.The appeals tribunal affirmed the lower court’s view that the Hawaii ruling was null and void for failing to meet the standards of what a valid judgment is in the Philippines.The court said that applying Philippine judicial processes, the Hawaii court would have no jurisdiction on the matter because the complaint was erroneously filed as a class suit and the bulk of claimants remained unidentified.“In merely using a scheme of statistical sampling to determine a compensation schedule and to compute an aggregate judgment for compensatory damages, the Hawaii court gave no opportunity to the unnamed claimants the full rehabilitative potential litigation and overlooks the individual harms purportedly suffered, as well as giving no opportunity for the Marcos estate to confront each and every claimant. Consequently, the final judgment rendered therein is not binding as to the right to due process of both parties was violated,” the appeals court said in its Jan. 3 ruling.No to foreign impositions“Further, the final judgment was constitutionally infirm because, although the complaint in MDL 840 was filed under the Alien Torts Statute, also called the Alien Torts Claims Act, the same was disposed of on the basis of a different law (presumably the Torture Victim Protection Act). This invalidates the disposition considering that a decision that does not conform to the form and substance required by the Constitution and the law is void and deemed legally nonexistent,” it added.The court said in its July 2017 decision that the “rules of comity should not be made to prevail over our Constitution and we cannot allow foreign impositions to trample upon our sovereignty.”Despite the nonrecognition of the Hawaii court’s ruling, lawyers for the martial law victims over the years provided compensation for the plaintiffs from the alleged ill-gotten and hidden wealth of the Marcos family that had been recovered.Rosales was disappointed that the appellate court twice refused to recognize the historic Hawaii court decision, but assured that the martial law victims would not back down and would ask the Supreme Court to overturn the CA ruling.“There is no basis not to grant the enforcement. This is a legitimate, historical decision by the United States court—the first time that Marcos was deemed guilty of human rights violations,” Rosales told the Inquirer on Friday.She pointed out that the Hawaii class suit had been legitimized and cited in court decisions internationally and in the Philippines, especially in the July 15, 2003 Supreme Court decision which said the Marcoses’ accumulated ill-gotten wealth and ordered the forfeiture of $658 million of their Swiss deposits in favor of the Philippine government.Rights victims claims boardThe seized deposits have become the source of funding for the compensation of martial law victims under the Human Rights Victims Claims Board (HRVCB).The claims board has received more than 75,000 claims and processed nearly 60,000. It is expected to announce the final number of legitimate claims, estimated to be more than the 9,539 Hawaii plaintiffs, before its term ends in May.Under the law creating the HRVCB, petitioners in the Hawaii class suit enjoy “conclusive presumption” as acknowledged claimants, Rosales said.“Who is the Court of Appeals acting for? Is this because human rights victims are ordinary people and are not in power? Is it because the other party (Marcos family) want to be Vice President or President of the Philippines? Is this an issue of justice or power?” Rosales said.Lamangan, who was a torture victim, told the Inquirer that the victims had the right to receive the Hawaii court’s damage award.“These are the people who were killed, imprisoned, maimed, tortured during that regime,” he said. “Some of those who disappeared were never found at all. Some of the victims are getting old, some of them have already died … and it is only right for them to be given the $2B now.”

['Jerome Aning']

2016-12-26 21:55:56+00:00

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/957862/martial-law-victims-lose-again-in-court

Inquirer

Estrada had asthma, not pneumonia – son

FORMER senator Jose “Jinggoy” Estrada on Monday dismissed reports that his father, former President and now Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada, had pneumonia.“Contrary to what had been said and reported in the media, my father has no pneumonia,” Jinggoy said in a prepared statement.According to the former senator, his father suffered an asthma attack caused by fatigue and the weather.Jinggoy made the clarification after news reports came out that said the Manila mayor had been confined for three days at Cardinal Santos Medical Center because of pneumonia.The reports quoted Jinggoy’s younger brother, Sen. Joseph Victor Ejecito, in a radio interview on December 23.According to Ejercito, his father contracted pneumonia likely because of fatigue.“My father is now well, and is resting after he was discharged from the hospital,” Jinggoy said.The Estrada family thanked the public who prayed for the immediate recovery of the former president.Ejercito was recently absolved by the Sandiganbayan of charges of graft in relation to the purchase of P2.1 million in firearms for the police in San Juan City (Metro Manila) when he was still the mayor there.

['Jefferson Antiporda']

2016-12-26 21:55:56+00:00

https://www.manilatimes.net/estrada-asthma-not-pneumonia-son/303819/

Manila Times

Senator seeks ban on plastic straws

IN a bid to reduce the country’s contribution to marine plastic pollution, Sen. Risa Hontiveros on Thursday filed a bill that seeks to ban single-use plastic straws and stirrers in all establishments serving beverages.She filed Senate Bill 1866 otherwise known as “The Plastic Straw and Stirrer Ban of 2018.”SB 1866 prohibits food service establishments that serve beverages from using any single-use beverage straw and stirrer made of plastic or any other non-biodegradable material.“Through this bill, we hope to start a national conversation on the need to reduce plastic pollution in our landfills and the oceans by discouraging people from using single-use plastic materials,” Hontiveros said in a statement.The measure also mandates food service establishments and other service providers occupying fixed spaces, such as sari-sari stores, to prominently display signs informing their customers of their “no plastic straw and stirrer” policy.Violators will be fined P50,000 for the first offense, P80,000 for the second offense and P150,000 plus suspension of business permits for a period of one year for the third offense.Hontiveros noted that based on a recent waste audit, the Philippines was found to be the third biggest contributor of plastic wastes to the world’s oceans, behind China and Indonesia.She said trash is of such magnitude that it has created six garbage patches in the world’s oceans, with the Great Pacific Garbage Patch as the largest containing about 79,000 tons of plastic debris that spans 1.6 million square kilometers, twice the size of France.Among the most common plastic products found in oceans are beverage straws and stirrers.“If we can persuade the people of the positive effects of not using plastic straws and stirrers, we can also encourage them not to use other single-use plastics such as bags and bottles,” Hontiveros said.

['Jefferson Antiporda']

2018-07-06 00:02:00+00:00

https://www.manilatimes.net/senator-seeks-ban-on-plastic-straws/416329/

Manila Times

Robredo gets rousing welcome in Negros

Government officials, the clergy, students and civil society gave Camarines Sur Rep. Leni Robredo a rousing welcome in Negros Occidental province on her first sortie outside Metro Manila a day after her declaration of her bid for the vice presidency.After Robredo called on him at the Bishop’s House in Bacolod, Bacolod Bishop Vicente Navarra said, “I think the scenario is favorable for her as can be gleaned from the sentiments of the people.”“I just wish her all the best in her campaign and for the people of the Philippines to be able to judge for themselves with the Grace of God in order that we will have the leader that we deserve,” he said.Robredo had been invited to speak at Sacred Heart Seminary long before she decided to run for Vice President, the bishop said.Robredo said she asked the priests to pray for her because “every day will be a constant struggle. The campaign will be difficult.”“I’m diving into this with no bullets, no resources, without anything, with no political capital, my machinery I will rely on the party,” she said.Robredo also spoke to students at Carlos Hilado Memorial State College in Talisay City, a gathering of friends that included top officials of Negros Occidental and Bacolod City at the Capitol and before civil society supporters at the L’Fisher Hotel in Bacolod City.Robredo said she had worked closely with her husband, the late Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo, who as a public official served the people without calling attention to himself.Working as a public defender for the poor, and with nongovernment organizations and civil society serving farmers, fishermen and the urban poor prepared her for the challenge she has taken on today, Robredo said.“If we love what we do, we do not measure the cost,” she said, adding that her husband’s inspiration gives her the strength to believe that the challenge ahead is not impossible.Among the political leaders supporting Robredo in Negros Occidental are Gov. Alfredo Marañon who wields formidable political clout in the province, and former Negros Occidental Gov. Daniel Lacson Jr. and Rafael Coscolluela.Robredo speaks from the heart, Marañon said. Her sincerity and her track record at helping the poor make her a formidable candidate, he said. As a lawyer, she did not join a big law firm, but instead worked for the rights for the poor who could not afford to pay for legal help, he said.It is important that she cares for those who have less in life, he said. The governor said while the Liberal Party was initially courting Grace Poe to be its vice presidential bet, he believed Robredo is much more qualified than Poe and has the capability as Vice President to step in as President should the need arise.Robredo’s running for Vice President is recognition that something that has been good ought to be continued, Lacson said, citing not only the legacy of President Aquino but that of Jesse Robredo.Coscolluela said Robredo brought a new element to the 2016 elections. “She is a combination of heart, sincerity, the legacy of Jesse Robredo’s good governance and everything good,” he said.She will be a very positive addition to the campaign of LP standard-bearer Mar Roxas, he said.Given her experience, training, education and six years as Vice President if she wins would make her a potential president in the future, he said.Also at the gathering of friends were Rep. Evelio Leonardia, Mayor Monico Puentevella, councilors of Bacolod City, and officials of various towns and cities of Negros Occidental.

['Carla P. Gomez']

05/02/2017 0:00

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/728570/robredo-gets-rousing-welcome-in-negros

Inquirer

Estrada disowns Ng, Yenko transactions

Sen. Jinggoy Estrada on Monday distanced himself from transactions of businessman Juan Ng and former San Juan City Administrator Francis Yenko involving his pork barrel funds, saying he had never authorized them or anybody else to undertake any such deal.In a statement, Estrada described as “misleading” an Inquirer report saying he had received kickbacks from his Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) that were coursed through “conduits.”“First of all as I have repeatedly mentioned before, I never authorized anybody, Mr. Ng, Mr. Yenko, or whoever to transact with my PDAF. So whatever transactions that they may have, if they have any, I have nothing to do with it,” Estrada said.“Any supposition that they acted as my conduits in the alleged PDAF scam is mere speculation,” said the senator, who has been detained at the Philippine National Police Custodial Center at Camp Crame since June last year following his indictment for plunder and graft.“As the prosecution has so far presented zero concrete evidence against me during the course of the six-month bail proceedings, they now resort to black propaganda and unfair media tactics to make it appear that the evidence against me is overwhelming when in fact and in truth there is none,” Estrada said.Insisting his claim of innocence, he said the Inquirer article “was clearly a ploy to condition the minds of the public that I stole public funds.”“This accusation is totally untrue,” Estrada said. “Why was the report first leaked to the media, before being presented to the court or before providing a copy to the respondent…? Clearly we are being tried by publicity here.”Speaking with reporters after his bail hearing Monday, Estrada said the prosecutors were trying to portray the accused as “thieves.”“I think that is unfair,” Estrada lamentedThe Inquirer report stated that there was no direct transfer to Estrada from the bank accounts of alleged pork barrel scam mastermind Janet Lim-Napoles or her nongovernment organizations (NGOs). But it said that there were “significant check deposits or transactions” from Napoles or her NGOs to Estrada’s alleged conduits, and these amounts were supposedly later traced to his bank accounts.Most of the checks from Napoles and her NGOs allegedly went to the accounts of Ng and Yenko.According to him, the Inquirer’s “malicious headline” was intended to condition the public to think that he had pocketed public funds.“This accusation is totally untrue,” he said.Estrada also blasted the leak to the media of the Anti-Money Laundering Council’s financial investigation report on the transactions involving his PDAF allocations, which he said was apparently the source of the Inquirer story.He said he had formally and repeatedly sought such reports and other documents so that he would be apprised of the allegations against him and could issue a proper response.“Clearly we are being tried by publicity here,” he added.He also said that when the Office of the Ombudsman was investigating him and other respondents, they were not given the chance to rebut the allegations against them.They were also denied copies of the affidavits of corespondents or witnesses which were cited as basis in filing criminal charges against them, he added.

['Leila B. Salaverria', 'Marlon Ramos']

05/02/2017 0:00

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/664166/estrada-disowns-ng-yenko-transactions

Inquirer

Junjun Binay P25M loan unpaid, renewed 25x

Makati City Mayor Jejomar Erwin “Junjun” Binay has deposits in various banks not commensurate to his declared income in his statement of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN), according to the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) report to the Court of Appeals.The AMLC said Binay took out a P25-million loan on Dec. 28, 2011, from BDO Unibank Inc., which he renewed monthly 25 times.“Said loan availment was renewed/repriced on a monthly basis from Jan. 27, 2012, to June 24, 2013. However, there is no evidence of payment,” the AMLC report said.The net proceeds of the loan—P24,877.054.79—were credited to his account on Dec. 28, 2011.The following day, five withdrawals were made totaling P24 million, the report said.The report also said Binay had two other loans amounting to P25,990,00

['Nancy C. Carvajal']

05/02/2017 0:00

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/692862/junjun-binay-p25m-loan-unpaid-renewed-25x

Inquirer

BJMP hiring jail officers

Central Luzon is in need of personnel to beef up its regional operations.“Applicants for Jail Officer 1must be Filipino citizens aged 21-30 years old who are holders of a bachelor’s degree, of good moral character, and must have passed the neuro-psychiatric evaluation, medical examination, and drug test,” BJMP Regional Director J/CSupt. Romeo Ogoy said.Male applicants must be at least 1.62m tall and females at least 1.57m tall.They must also weigh not more or less than 5kgs from the standard weight corresponding to his/her height, age, and gender.“A waiver for age and height requirements shall automatically be granted to applicants belonging to cultural communities,” Ogoy added.Applicants must likewise have not been dishonorably discharged from previous employment nor have been convicted by final judgment of an offense or crime involving moral turpitude.“Those who are interested and qualified may visit our Administration Office at the BJMP Regional Office in the Regional Government Center, Maimpis, City of San Fernando, Pampanga,” Ogoy announced.They may also contact (045) 455-3901or 09274120978 for more information.

[]

05/02/2017 0:00

https://news.mb.com.ph/2017/02/05/bjmp-hiring-jail-officers/

Manila Bulletin

‘Kagawad’ slain in Calapan City

‘A motorcycle-riding gunman shot and killed a village councilman in Barangay Isabel, here, last Friday, the city police chief said.Superintendent Jonathan P. Paguio confirmed that Kagawad Roberto D. Abrigo, 47, of Barangay Isabel was killed at 2:18 p.m. Friday after being shot by the gunman who quickly fled in the direction of northern Baco town.Paguio said investigators were working on the motive in Abrigo’s killing as he was an upright citizen and not involved in illegal drugs.

[]

29/07/2017 0:00

https://news.mb.com.ph/2017/07/29/kagawad-slain-in-calapan-city/

Manila Bulletin

No Labor Day breakfast at Palace with Aquino

President Aquino is flying to Cebu province for the 113th Labor Day rites in the country on Friday, a departure from the holding of a breakfast meeting with selected members of moderate workers’ groups in Malacañang last year.Asked why the President was going to Cebu, Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. on Thursday said Aquino “wishes to spend time with members of the workforce not just in Metro Manila but also in other regions and provinces nationwide.”Coloma denied claims by some of the President’s critics that he was just avoiding the usual antigovernment rallies and other May 1 mass actions.“Not once did he evade expressions of sentiments by the people, whom he considers his bosses,” Coloma added.Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said the government dialogue with labor groups would continue even with no formal Labor Day meeting with the President.Malacañang was mum if Aquino has any surprise gifts for both state workers and minimum wage earners as the nation marks Labor Day.Instead, Coloma said “the President and his Cabinet have been doing their homework” during the past four years and 10 months.In a text message, he pointed out “since the President assumed his post (in July 2010), the government has provided many work-related benefits to the country’s labor force.”These include an “increase in the take-home pay due to the increased tax exemption for workers’ 13th-month pay, as well as additional livelihood opportunities,” he told the Inquirer.Coloma, head of the Presidential Communications Operations Office, also cited the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey that found that unemployed Filipinos had dropped by 3.4 million in the first quarter of 2015.The SWS poll showed the country’s joblessness rate falling from 27 percent, or an estimated 12.4 million adults, in December 2014 to 19.1 percent, or about 9 million adults in March this year.This was the lowest unemployment figure during the past four-and-a-half years, according to SWS.The survey also found that more Filipinos were optimistic about job opportunities in the next 12 months.Coloma said that under the Aquino administration, “there has been an increase in the quality of the workplace due to the strict implementation of the country’s labor laws and standards.”“Add to that the strong support the government has been giving to overseas Filipino workers and those in the vulnerable sectors,” he said.Baldoz also assured workers and labor groups that their demands were being addressed by the government.“On the issue, for example, of protecting the income of minimum wage earners, Baldoz said the President has already signed into law Republic Act No. 10653 last Feb. 12 increasing the tax exemption of 13th-month pay and other benefits to P82,000,” she said.The Bureau of Internal Revenue has also issued Revenue Regulation No. 1-2015 expanding the list of “de minimis” (minimal) benefits to include collective bargaining agreement-derived and productivity incentives amounting to P10,000, she added.She said the request of the labor sector for assistance to minimum wage earners through the proposed Labor Empowerment Assistance Program, in the form of rice, medicine and other basic needs subsidy, was still up for discussion with the Development Budget Coordinating Committee.Productive dialogueIn a statement, Baldoz said productive dialogue between the government and organized labor transcended the time frame of the Labor Day commemoration.“Members of President Aquino’s Cabinet, as instructed, continue to meet and dialogue with our workers even beyond the Labor Day commemoration, and this is a commitment that we have with them,” Baldoz said in response to questions why there was no dialogue between the President and labor leaders on May 1 just like last year.“Some of the Labor Day dialogue issues have already been resolved, and our dialogue partners acknowledge the government responses to these issues,” she added.Baldoz shrugged off insinuations that the President was commemorating Labor Day in Cebu to avoid the sight of workers’ marches and rallies.“Many seem to forget that under the administration, workers have become our development partners, not the nemesis. They are very much welcome to commemorate Labor Day through their own tradition of peaceful and orderly rallies and street marches.‘Entering the lions’ den’“That’s guaranteed by the Constitution and our laws. The President is going to the territory of the ALU-TUCP (Associated Labor Unions-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines), one of the country’s largest labor federations, so he is entering the lions’ den, so to speak,” she said.Baldoz added that she had deployed top officials of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) nationwide to attend to workers’ concerns, observe Labor Day events and dialogue with workers.Aquino is scheduled to attend a JobStart Employers forum at J. Center Mall in Mandaue City. He will be accompanied by Baldoz and Undersecretary Ciriaco Lagunzad III.Also expected to attend the forum are Richard Bolt, Asian Development Bank country director, and Canadian Ambassador to the Philippines Neil Reeder.Job fairs will also be held at the DOLE provincial office and the Abellana Sports Complex, both in Cebu City; Hoops Dome in Lapu-Lapu City and the SM malls in Cebu City and Consolacion town.There are about 220,000 unemployed people in Cebu and other Central Visayas provinces, according to DOLE records.RELATED STORIESPNP units on heightened alert amid expected Labor Day protestsLabor groups to raise joblessness, cheap wages when they meet Aquino Tuesday

['Jerry E. Esplanada', 'Tina G. Santos']

16/05/2017 0:00

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/688674/no-labor-day-breakfast-at-palace-with-aquino

Inquirer

‘It’s either heaven or hell for PH in 2016 polls’

The Philippines can be heaven- or hell-bound, depending on how Filipinos cast their votes in 2016.Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) president and Lingayen Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas made this statement as he urged Filipino voters to make prayer and discernment the prerequisites in choosing their candidates.“Make your vote a product of your prayer and discernment…Remember, your vote can bring heaven to the Philippines. Your vote can also bring hell to the Philippines,” Villegas said in a video presentation during Thursday’s launch of “One Good Vote,” the education campaign of the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV).“Think of what Jesus would do…If Jesus will vote, how will he vote? Make sure your vote comes from God, a product of your prayer and discernment,” he said.The PPCRV program aims to help Filipinos choose the right leaders and combat vote-buying and vote-selling.“Let us stop the culture of vote-buying. But it’s not enough that we avoid or stop vote-buying. Let’s also make one good vote. One good vote means one intelligent vote, one discerned vote,” he said.Villegas also urged prospective candidates in the 2016 elections to join the “tipanan” or gathering in every ecclesiastical territory, which is one of the features of the One Good Vote Program.The tipanan may include the creation of covenants or agreements among the candidates for peaceful elections.Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle also urged Filipinos planning to run in next year’s elections not to take advantage of the “vulnerable” sector in society just to get elected.“I appeal to all, especially the candidates: Let us not take advantage of the vulnerable, including the poor and destitute—those who almost have nothing in life. It’s like violating or trampling on one’s dignity when you capitalize on the need of somebody in order to manipulate emotionally, spiritually,” Tagle said, referring to the culture of vote-buying and -selling rampant among the poor.Tagle also appealed to Filipino voters to choose the country’s next leaders according to their conscience.“We should vote according to our conscience. This is the most sacred part of our being because we believe that through our conscience, we are able to hear the voice of God. That is why voting based on our conscience is a sacred act,” Tagle said.Meanwhile, PPCRV chair Henrietta de Villa said the One Good Vote drive aims to pave the way for a “clean, honest and peaceful” 2016 national elections.The former ambassador to the Holy See expressed hope that the campaign will lead to the eradication of rampant vote-buying in the country, which has perennially polluted the national political arena down to the smallest barangay.“It is specialized. It is people-driven. It is community-conscience based,” De Villa said at the campaign’s launch.RELATED STORIESSenators in 2016: Who’s running for whatPDP-Laban to vet Duterte for 2016Roxas says no to BinayBinay: Next President should not be a newbie in gov’t

['Tina G. Santos']

16/05/2017 0:00

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/686293/its-either-heaven-or-hell-for-ph-in-2016-polls

Inquirer

Bongbong demands 3 hearing officers for poll case vs Leni

Former Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. is demanding that three hearing officers be designated to tackle each of the main issues he raised in his election protest against the victory of Vice President Ma. Leonor “Leni” Robredo in last year’s national polls.Speaking as the guest of honor at Monday’s opening of the Pahiyas Festival here, Marcos said his lawyers have asked the Supreme Court (SC), sitting as the Presidental Electoral Tribunal (PET), to designate at least three hearing officers to assist the Tribunal during the preliminary conference in a bid to expedite the much-delayed election protest proceedings.He said the seven-page Urgent Ex-Parte Motion to Designate Hearing Commissioners was filed through his counsel George Erwin Garcia. Earlier, the Tribunal had set the preliminary conference on June 21, 2017 at 2 p.m.Marcos had raised three main issues in his election protest: The “flawed” Automated Election System (AES); the failure of elections in several provinces in Mindanao; and the unauthorized introduction by Smartmatic’s Marlon Garcia of a new hash code (or a new script/program) into the Transparency Server on the day of the elections.Marcos said the designation of at least three hearing commissioners “will better facilitate an orderly, simplified and expeditious disposition of this electoral contest considering that there are three causes of action raised in this election protest.”

[]

16/05/2017 0:00

https://news.mb.com.ph/2017/05/16/bongbong-demands-3-hearing-officers-for-poll-case-vs-leni/

Manila Bulletin

Amid war dance, calls for calm

Local and tribal leaders on Sunday appealed for calm amid calls for vengeance from family, friends and sympathizers for the deaths of three Ifugao Special Action Force (SAF) commandos at the hands of Moro rebels in Maguindanao province.Ifugao Rep. Teodoro Baguilat Jr. dismissed speculation that the relatives and friends of the slain troopers were out to exact revenge, following the staging of a “him-ong,” a tribal ritual said to be equivalent to a war dance.“We appeal to our people not to put extra meaning to rituals like [the him-ong] because this is not the way to honor our departed heroes,” he said in a telephone interview.Baguilat said he was trying to quell misconception, especially on social media, that the Ifugao had pledged to avenge the deaths of PO3 Robert Allaga, PO3 Franklin Danao and PO2 Joel Dulnuan.They were among the 44 SAF troopers slain in clashes with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) on Jan. 25.Dancing ‘warriors’On Feb. 3, tribal leaders and family members in the upland village of Poitan in Banaue town staged a him-ong during burial rites for Allaga, regarded as a hero for giving up his life for another SAF commando, PO3 Robert Lalam of Kiangan town, his distant cousin.Photos of the ritual went viral online with media reports and online comments claiming the Ifugao people were out to seek revenge.The website of Nurturing Indigenous Knowledge Experts (Nike), a cultural preservation program in Ifugao, defines the him-ong as a dance performed during burial rites of an Ifugao who has been killed.In this ritual, community members dressed in native attire perform a dance that simulates actions in battle between spear-wielding warriors, Nike said.As they approach the burial site, performers dance to the beat of a “bangibang,” a wooden percussion instrument, and to chants, usually by women, that narrate the story of the battle and beseech the gods to bring misery to those responsible for the death of a tribal member.The ritual is traditionally staged by Ifugao people not necessarily to vow revenge but mainly to appease the gods and ask that such a tragic death be the last in the community, Baguilat said.He said the people’s expressions of outrage should be taken only as “part of the healing process” and these should not foment further animosity among Filipinos.“We know of many stories of how Cordillerans and other tribes have been living peacefully with Muslims,” he said.Supt. John Luglug, Nueva Vizcaya police director and a cousin of Allaga, said that while their clan was deeply hurt by Allaga’s violent death, exacting revenge had no place in modern times.“I don’t think there is a need for revenge. As God has said, ‘Revenge is mine,’” he said.Family members of Dulnuan also dismissed sentiments of vengeance but hoped the government would show its resolve to make the perpetrators answer for their crimes.“We will just let the wheels of justice take its course. We will closely follow what the government will do about this,” said Carmen Dulnuan, the slain SAF commando’s mother.Mourning in IsabelaIn Isabela province, at least 2,000 people in Aurora town on Sunday joined the funeral march for PO3 Andres Duque Jr., one of the slain troopers.Duque’s wife, Melanie, said she would cherish the memory of her husband for offering his life for the country.“Their heroism is for the next generation. This is our only consolation as we grieve,” she said.Duque, 37, left behind three children, ages 13, 12 and four months. He served at SAF for eight years.“We are grieving. I could barely say the word ‘beautiful’ due to my father’s fate. However, I thank everyone for the sympathy as we mourn our father’s loss,” said Duque’s daughter, Nicole Andrea Lein, 13.Two other slain SAF commandos from Isabela—PO3 Rodrigo Acob Jr. and PO1 Loreto Capinding II—were buried in their hometowns last week.In a statement, Interior Secretary Manuel Roxas II said the government had not been “selective” in extending help and compassion to the families of the slain SAF troopers.“All the financial, educational, livelihood, medical, housing and other forms of assistance were offered to the families. They were the ones who decided how we could help them most,” he said.Roxas condolencesRoxas also went to Bataan province early morning on Feb. 5 to visit the wake of PO3 John Lloyd Sumbilla and talk to the slain trooper’s mother and wife.After his Bataan visit, Roxas said, he proceeded to the wake of PO3 Junrel Kibete in San Jose del Monte City in Bulacan province and condoled with his family.Earlier, Sumbilla’s mother, Telly, said the family was informed Roxas would visit the wake of her son on Feb. 3 but this was reset to Feb. 4.She fumed when Roxas failed to show up on Feb. 4 and voiced her frustration to police officials who came that day.Roxas said he failed to go to Bataan and Bulacan on Feb. 4 because he was called to a meeting by President Aquino.–

['Melvin Gascon']

02/10/2017 0:00

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/671444/amid-war-dance-calls-for-calm

Inquirer

BuCor: Surprise Bilibid raid nets contraband, luxury items

Authorities swooped in on the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa on Saturday, resulting in what the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) director said was the confiscation of “illegal contraband.”Director Franklin Jesus Bucayu said the raid held jointly by the BuCor, the National Bureau of Investigation, the Special Action Force, the Muntinlupa police and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency around 6 a.m. led to the seizure of cash amounting in the thousands, ledgers and notebooks used in “illegal transactions,” and mobile phones, among others.Bucayu initially said the amount of cash confiscated was P600,000, but later said he would verify this.He could not immediately say if illegal drugs were recovered from the raid.“This was a surprise inspection. Several kubols of inmates who were on suspicion of possessing illegal contraband and luxurious items were the ones raided,” Bucayu said over the phone.He identified these five inmates as Noel Arnejo, Gianfranco Pasco, Edelberto Durano, Brando Ramirez and Joselito Valiente.The BuCor director said none of them was a suspect in the blast that killed one inmate and injured 19 others on Thursday.“They will be investigated and those who had contraband we seized will be charged (at kakasuhan yung mga nakuhaan natin ng contraband),” he said.But a member of the NBI’s criminal investigation division who was among those who took part in the raid but refused to be identified for lack of authority to speak on the matter later told the Philippine Daily Inquirer three inmates who were rounded up by authorities were “witnesses” to Thursday’s incident.“No, no one is a suspect. But they saw the blast,” he said.Reporters who tried to confirm this information were made to wait outside the NBP headquarters until an official spoke to them, but no one came as of 2 p.m.Calls to Supt. Richard Schwarzkopf, NBP officer in charge, during that time were answered by a female who said he was in a meeting.RELATED STORIES1 dead, 19 hurt in Bilibid blastBilibid VIPs tipped off on raid

['Kristine Felisse Mangunay']

2017-12-14 06:14:03+08:00

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/663724/bucor-surprise-bilibid-raid-nets-contraband-luxury-items

Inquirer

Drilon: No need for LP meet to proclaim Roxas

With Interior Secretary Mar Roxas the only party member signifying any interest in running for President, there will be no need for the Liberal Party (LP) to hold a convention to choose its standard-bearer, according to Senate President Franklin Drilon.Drilon, the LP’s vice chair, said nobody has contested Roxas’ status as the party’s presumptive standard-bearer. What needs to be discussed is who will be on the party’s senatorial slate, he said.“There is a convention mentioned in our laws, but given the reality that only Secretary Roxas has expressed an intention to run for the presidency, I don’t see any need for a convention,” Drilon told a forum at the Luneta Hotel.Only when another LP member says that he or she also wants to run for president will there be a need for the party to convene, he said.Roxas himself has yet to declare that he would seek the presidency, but in an earlier interview, Drilon disclosed that Roxas was interested in becoming the party’s standard-bearer.President Aquino, the LP’s titular head, is expected to announce his anointed one after he delivers his last State of the Nation Address on July 27.In the meantime, the President has met with Sen. Grace Poe and is scheduled to meet with Sen. Francis Escudero, two senators who do not belong to any political party.Poe, who has emerged as a contender in the presidential preference surveys, is being urged by her supporters to run for President. There are LP members who want Poe to be the Roxas’ vice presidential running mate.But Poe has said she would be “comfortable” teaming up with Escudero. Neither Poe nor Escudero has made a final decision on whether or not to run in 2016.Drilon said Aquino “is entitled to throw a wider net.”“The President is not only the chair of the Liberal Party, he is also the President of the country. He had a platform when he came into power, and that is the platform of good governance, and it is natural for him to look for candidates who in his judgment can continue the platform and principles on which he has governed the country for the last five years,” he said.

['Leila B. Salaverria']

2016-01-19 17:38:11+08:00

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/699196/drilon-no-need-for-lp-meet-to-proclaim-roxas

Inquirer

P1.2B chopper deal crooked, says BIR whistle-blower

A P1.2-billion military contract for the purchase of refurbished helicopters was tailor-made for a specific company to ensure that it would win the deal, a Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) officer who helped facilitate the transaction has alleged.Rhodora Alvarez, a BIR revenue district officer who claimed to have been involved in the negotiations, accused Department of National Defense (DND) officials of adjusting the terms of reference and contract requirements for the purchase of 21 helicopters in order to favor Rice Aircraft Services Inc. (Rasi), which thrice had failed the bidding.The contract was eventually awarded to a joint venture of Rasi and Eagle Copters, Ltd.Blue ribbon probeAt a hearing of the Senate blue ribbon committee on Wednesday, Alvarez identified Undersecretary Fernando Manalo and Assistant Secretary Patrick Velez of the DND special bids and awards committee as the officials involved in customizing the contract to favor Rasi.Rasi delivered seven of the 21 UH-1 helicopters that had been contracted, but some of them allegedly only have limited use because of defects, putting the lives of Air Force men at risk, said Sen. JV Ejercito.Manalo and Velez immediately disputed Alvarez’s allegations and said they can present documents of their own to disprove her claims.Manalo alleged that Alvarez was fabricating stories because she had tried but failed to extort money from Rasi, after failing to explain to the company the allegedly huge expenses she had incurred in facilitating the deal.“In the statement given by Rice Aircraft Services, Ms Rhodora is trying to extort money from Rice. When Rice discovered a huge amount she spent that she could not explain, she demanded 15 percent, otherwise she would have the contract canceled,” he said.As for the allegations that DND officials customized the terms of reference for Rasi, Manalo said these were part of Alvarez’s lies.According to Manalo, Alvarez had been introduced to him as the local representative of Rasi and was one of those defending the project on the company’s behalf.Velez, meanwhile, said he had never had meetings with Rasi representatives outside of the office.He said the items changed in the terms of reference, which Alvarez cited in her testimony, were not mandatory requirements and only necessary in certain instances.In her testimony, Alvarez said that she came to be involved in the helicopter deal after she met and befriended Rasi’s former country manager, Thach Nguyen.She said that after she helped Nguyen to obtain clearances, the latter began confiding in her about the helicopter contract and bringing her along to meetings at the DND.Eventually, she became involved in negotiating the helicopter deal on behalf of Rasi and worked closely with Manalo and Velez, Alvarez said. She said she also worked later with Robert Rice, the Rasi president.UnpaidAlvarez said she was not paid for these services and even used her own car.“My intention really at the start was service. I just want our country to have the best 21 refurbished helicopters,” she said.Alvarez alleged that the contract provision for a pre-delivery inspection was removed in the terms of reference by Manalo and Velez, with the concurrence of the defense secretary, she said.Had the inspection been required, authorities would have found that Rasi’s units were not compliant with the required specifications and the aircraft would not have been delivered to the country, she said.According to Alvarez, the initial plan was for the supplier to deliver six refurbished helicopters, make seven helicopters operational, and upgrade eight helicopters.But since Rasi could not deliver on this plan, the deal was adjusted to the delivery of 21 helicopters, she said.

['Leila B. Salaverria']

2018-08-15 00:05:18+00:00

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/692662/p1-2b-chopper-deal-crooked-says-bir-whistle-blower

Inquirer

Proposed P1,000 budget for NCIP scored, hailed

Slashing the budget of the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) will cripple the titling of ancestral lands to which indigenous peoples (“lumad”) are entitled, according to Lakas at Alyansa ng Nagkakaisang Ayta ng Sambales (Lakas).“This so little budget will further slow down the research, documentation and issuance of titles for ancestral lands. It will paralyze the NCIP,” Carlito Domulot, Lakas adviser, told the Inquirer by telephone from Zambales province on Wednesday.But a group advocating lumad rights and education hailed the decision of the House of Representatives on Tuesday to give the NCIP just P1,000 for 2018.The agency has failed to protect indigenous peoples (IPs) from human rights abuses and is even “complicit” in attacks on national minorities, according to the Save our Schools (SOS) Network.The budget slash for the NCIP was proposed by Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Zarate, who said the agency had failed to prevent the killing of lumad leaders.Ancestral domainThe NCIP enforces the protection granted to indigenous peoples by the 1997 Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act (Ipra) and grants certificates of ancestral domain title and certificates of ancestral land title.According to Domulot, the House decision may be the “revenge of lawmakers who have mining interests in the domains of indigenous peoples since they cannot remove the provision of free and prior informed consent [which is enforced by Ipra, or Republic Act No. 8371].”“Do these lawmakers want us to go on our knees and beg them to help NCIP?” he asked.Ricardo Guiao, an Aeta who organizes communities in Porac town in Pampanga province, said the House decision was unjust. “If they proceed to give the NCIP just P1,000, there won’t be government services for indigenous peoples’ communities,” he said.Guiao said Congress should give priority to the NCIP now that the agency was implementing the mandatory representation of indigenous peoples on councils at the barangay, town, city and provincial levels.“I hope the lawmakers would reconsider their decision,” he added.Abolish NCIPIn Tagum City, SOS Network spokesperson Rius Valle said the group had long called for the abolition of the NCIP because of its role in the military’s counterinsurgency campaign that brought violence and disaster to lumad communities.“The NCIP failed not only in responding to the plight of the lumad, but it has also become instrumental in grabbing land of and deceiving the [national minorities],” Valle said.Through free, prior and informed consent under Ipra, Valle said the NCIP had given foreign mining firms an opportunity to rob lumad farmers of their lands and destroy their communal ways of owning land by enabling a handful of lumad leaders ownership of vast tracts of tribal land.Bishop Modesto Villasanta of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines in Surigao del Sur and coconvenor of Friends of the Lumad said what was really needed was a review of the law that created the NCIP.Villasanta said that despite its existence, the NCIP had not helped the sector that it was meant to uplift and protect.

['Chris Panganiban', 'Frinston Lim', 'Julie Alipala', 'Tonette Orejas']

2018-08-15 00:05:18+00:00

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/930550/proposed-p1000-budget-for-ncip-scored-hailed

Inquirer

SC clips Congress power on detention

The Supreme Court (SC) has clipped the power of Congress to detain persons cited in contempt during legislative inquiries.The high court set a precedent when it ruled against the Senate in connection with the case of Aegis Juris fraternity leader Arvin Balag, who was detained at the Senate on October 18, 2017 during the legislative inquiry on the hazing death of University of Santo Tomas (UST) law freshman Horacio “Atio” Castillo 3rd.Balag was cited in contempt for refusing to answer questions about the hazing in September 2017. He filed a petition asking the high court to order his release, arguing among others that the investigation was not in aid of legislation but “in aid of prosecution.”The SC ordered his release in December 2017.In a 21-page en banc decision penned by Associate Justice Alexander Gesmundo, the tribunal said the period of imprisonment under the inherent power of contempt of the Senate should end at the conclusion of the legislative inquiry.“As long as there is a legitimate legislative inquiry, then the inherent power of contempt by the Senate may be properly exercised. Conversely, once the said legislative inquiry concludes, the exercise of the inherent power of contempt ceases and there is no more genuine necessity to penalize the detained witness,” the court said.It added that the indefinite detention of persons cited in contempt impairs their constitutional right to liberty.The 15-man court opined that legislative inquiry in aid of legislation shall end upon the approval or disapproval of the committee report or upon the term expiration of Congress.Without a limit to the period of detention, the court said there would be a possibility of life detention against witnesses since the Senate is a continuing body.However, the SC did not order the Senate to set up a period of detention. Instead, it advised Congress to enact a law or amend the existing law for such matter if it wants to supplement its power of contempt by extending the period of imprisonment beyond the conduct of its legislative inquiry.

['Jomar Canlas']

2018-08-15 00:05:18+00:00

https://www.manilatimes.net/sc-clips-congress-power-on-detention/430431/

Manila Times

FOI order covers executive branch

Fulfilling a campaign promise of transparency, President Duterte has signed an executive order (EO) allowing public access to documents and information in all government agencies under the Office of the President.Presidential Communications Secretary Martin Andanar said Mr. Duterte signed on Saturday the executive order adopting the long-pending freedom of information (FOI) bill that would cover for a start the executive branch of government.READ: Lawmakers push for FOI lawSenators vowed to reintroduce the FOI bill that they had failed to pass at the close of the Aquino administration.Aquino had vowed to pass the bill—which had undergone various incarnations even before his term—but failed to get it done despite his much-ballyhooed “daang matuwid,” or righteous path, governance.Sen. Aquilino Pimentel III, who is likely to be elected Senate President today, promised yesterday: “The FOI bill will push through. That’s what we will do.”“The executive order is like a law in the executive department,” Pimentel said.But for this to be applicable to the other government branches, a law is required.Andanar said there was “substantive pushing and pulling” for two weeks before the President signed the order.He said the President’s move would be welcomed by “champions of good governance who … fought tooth and nail for the last 29 years to strengthen the right to information as inscribed in our 1987 Constitution.”“After 29 years and only (after) 25 days (into the presidency) of Rody Duterte, this is already a record-breaking speed of cornerstone or milestone or a landmark executive order being signed,” he added.Media boycottJournalists, however, should not expect Mr. Duterte to end his “cold war” with them anytime soon.Neither should the public look forward to him certifying as urgent the passage of the FOI bill to include state offices under the judiciary and legislative branches.According to Andanar, the President’s FOI order in the executive branch had nothing to do with his decision to shun media interviews.The former Davao City mayor, known for his uncouth behavior and expletive-ridden rants, verbally attacked the press on June 2 after an international media watchdog called for a boycott of his press briefings. This followed his statement that corrupt journalists are legitimate targets of assassination.“The President has [more than] 30 Cabinet members. He has a working executive department and he has alter egos to answer for the questions that the media has for the President,” he added.Full disclosureThe executive order, titled “Operationalizing in the Executive Branch the People’s Constitutional Right to Information and the State Policies of Full Public Disclosure and Transparency in the Public Service and Providing Guidelines Therefor,” said it was consistent with the Constitution.“Every Filipino shall have access to information, official records, public records, and to documents and papers pertaining to official acts, transactions or decisions, as well as to government research data used as basis for public-development,” according to the directive.Reading the order, Andanar said, information would refer to “any records, documents, papers, reports, letters, contracts, minutes and transcripts of official meetings, maps, books, photographs, data, research materials, films, sound and video recording, magnetic or other tapes, electronic data, computer stored data, or other like or similar data or materials recorded, stored or archived in whatever format.”However, requests would be denied regarding information that “falls under any of the exceptions enshrined in the Constitution, existing law or jurisprudence.”The President also instructed every agency in the executive branch to “formulate their respective implementing details” 120 days after the effectivity of the FOI order.MilestoneMr. Duterte said government agencies should not charge any fee for granting the requests, except for “reasonable fee to reimburse necessary costs.”Sen. Grace Poe, while calling Mr. Duterte’s order “a milestone,” said the executive branch must be clear about exceptions to the open access and penalties to officials who would fail to comply.“There are several exceptions that are mentioned I believe in the Constitution, especially when it comes to the right to privacy, which you will also have to trade off once you’re in government,” she said.Sen. Francis Pangilinan said: “Transparency is key in a country with a history of corrupt government officials. We need transparency to hold our officials more accountable to their actions. Once we achieve that, public servants will always have the trust of the people.”“There’s one important benchmark by which this FOI order should be measured, on how fast government permits can be secured. Clear, concise, cheaper way of getting government documents like passports and licenses,” Sen. Ralph Recto said in a statement. With reports from Tarra Quismundo and Nico Alconaba, Inquirer Mindanao/TVJRELATED STORIESMedia groups welcome Duterte EO on FOIDuterte signs FOI order

['Marlon Ramos']

01/03/2017 0:00

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/798766/foi-order-covers-executive-branch

Inquirer

Solon calls for sustainable forest management strategy

A solon is calling for the implementation of a sustainability strategy for the country’s forests to ensure it benefits both for present and future generations.Senator Loren Legarda, head of the Senate committee on climate change, said the government should develop and adopt a sustainable forest management strategy based on a rational allocation of the forestland uses and promotion of land use practices that increase productivity and conserve soil, water, and other forestland resources.“Our forests provide various ecosystem services, the most basic of which is a production of food and supply of water. Certainly, we need to manage our forests in a manner that would ensure that these ecosystem services would be sufficiently provided to our people now as well as to the future Filipinos,” said Legarda.“Aside from the rational allocation of forestland uses, we should protect existing forest resources and conserve biodiversity, rehabilitate or develop denuded areas to expand the forest resource base and promote food production activities,” she added.The lawmaker has included these proposals in Senate Bill 402, the proposed Sustainable Forest Management Act.This bill seeks to establish a plan for sustainable forest management guided by several principles, principally through community-based forest management (CBFM) and watershed as the basic forestland management unit.The CBFM strategy is providing access rights and responsibilities to forest resident families, local communities, and indigenous peoples to undertake the management of appropriate forestland resources on a sustainable basis.

[]

01/03/2017 0:00

https://news.mb.com.ph/2017/03/01/solon-calls-for-sustainable-forest-management-strategy/

Manila Bulletin

Carandang’s accuser barred from law practice for 2 years

The lawyer who brought the complaint that led to Malacañang’s suspension of Overall Deputy Ombudsman Melchor Arthur Carandang has been barred by the Supreme Court from practicing his profession for two years for unethical conduct.His misdeed? Endlessly blocking the enforcement of a lower court’s ruling arising from his failure to settle a P34,000 loan he took out from the Government Service and Insurance System (GSIS) 50 years ago.The high court said Eligio Mallari violated the lawyer’s oath by resorting to “dilatory moves” in preventing the GSIS from foreclosing two parcels of lands which he used as mortgage for a loan he got in 1968.The suspension order was meted out on Mallari on Jan. 10 but was made public only on Friday

['Philippine Daily Inquirer']

27/10/2016 0:00

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/967621/carandangs-accuser-barred-from-law-practice-for-2-years

Inquirer

Mabilogs defend ‘white house’

Mayor Jed Patrick E. Mabilog and his wife, Marivic, are staunchly denying that their house next a river park was built from ill-gotten wealth.Mabilog, who has been named by President Rodrigo Duterte as a drug syndicate protector, has been fending off allegations that he had enriched himself since being elected mayor in 2010.The house was the focus of graft and plunder complaints filed against Mabilog in June, 2015 by former Iloilo provincial administrator Manuel Mejorada before the Office of the Ombudsman Visayas.Mejorada alleged the house and its furnishings could be worth more than R50-million.But Mabilog said it was mainly his wife who had spent for the construction of what city residents have come to refer to the “white house.”Marivic Mabilog said she and her husband decided to invite Iloilo media representatives to the house earlier this week following recurring criticisms on social media, particularly on Facebook.She said she was hurt by the postings and the insinuations.“We saved for this house. This is the fruits of our labor. This is to tell everyone the truth about this house,” said Mrs. Mabilog, who worked as accountant and comptroller for geodetic engineering firm in Calgary, Canada for 21 years.She estimated that the house is worth only R8-million, not R50-million as Mejorada claims. She added the house was declared in the statement of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN) of her husband.The house sits on a 200-meter property which is part of the Mabilogs’ ancestral land.Mejorada alleges that the property covers 555 square meters.

[]

27/10/2016 0:00

https://news.mb.com.ph/2016/10/27/mabilogs-defend-white-house/

Manila Bulletin

De Lima seeks to junk case due to mistrial

The continuous verbal attacks of President Duterte against Sen. Leila de Lima will be added to the list of reasons why the “trumped up” charges against her in a Muntinlupa City court should be dismissed, according to the lawmaker’s legal counsel.The lawyer said the De Lima legal team had withdrawn on Friday its motion to quash the illegal drug trade case against her at Branch 205 of the Muntinlupa Regional Trial Court (RTC) filed on Tuesday.“Aside from the previous reasons we have cited, we will add the prejudicial statements of Mr. Duterte in our motion for the judge to dismiss the case due to mistrial,” said one of De Lima’s lawyers.In a court order dated Aug. 17, 2017, Judge Amelia Fabros-Corpuz granted the prosecution’s “urgent motion for extension of time with motion to reset” the hearing to file its rejoinder to De Lima’s reply. The prosecutors were given 15 days, deferring De Lima’s arraignment to Sept. 15.Former Sen. Rene Saguisag, who has been attending De Lima’s hearing, said he recommended the defense lawyers to file a motion to dismiss the case on grounds of mistrial.He said there was no way De Lima could get a fair trial since the President and his men, particularly Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II and presidential chief legal counsel Salvador Panelo, would not stop giving the lady senator a guilty verdict.“And for the President to keep condemning someone being tried by the court, it will really sway policemen, prosecutors and judges to toe the line,” the 78-year-old Saguisag said.The illegal drug trade case against De Lima and coaccused Jose Adrian Dera stemmed from the complaint of the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption filed in the Department of Justice.The complaint used the statements of drug convicts during a series of hearings by the House of Representatives investigating the illegal drug trade in New Bilibid Prison allegedly committed by De Lima and Dera in March last year.De Lima’s camp maintained that the senator at that time was already a private citizen, as she resigned as justice secretary on Oct. 12, 2015, to run for senator.Meanwhile, De Lima will be spending her 57th birthday in detention for the first time on Aug. 27.Her birthday wish? “My vindication to come soon, that’s my birthday wish,” De Lima said in an interview after attending a hearing at the Muntinlupa RTC on Friday.

['Dexter Cabalza', 'Julliane Love De Jesus']

2016-11-04 21:05:20+00:00

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/923883/de-lima-seeks-to-junk-case-due-to-mistrial

Inquirer

Wheelchair attendant returns P102,457

An airport worker was commended by a Nueva Ecija congresswoman for returning a lost plastic pouch containing more than a hundred-thousand-peso cash and bank cards.The pouch found by Valiente Namion was left unattended on a pushcart at the Arrival Conveyor Area of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 1.Namion, a wheelchair attendant of the Integrated Workers Services Cooperative, immediately turned over his find to the Lost and Found Section of the Intelligence and Investigation Division.During inventory, the pouch yielded 102 pieces of one thousand peso bills, four pieces of one hundred peso bills, 1 piece of twenty-peso bill, three pieces of five centavo coins, 21 pieces of one peso coins, six pieces of 25 centavo coins and two pieces of ten centavo coins with a total amount of P102,457.70.The Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) Media Affairs Division said around 9: 20 a.m., a certain Wendell Tagapulot from the office of Nueva Ecija Rep. Magnolia Antonino-Nadres claimed that the congresswoman owned the pouch, which had been unintentionally left on the pushcart when she met her granddaughter at NAIA Terminal 1.General Manager Ed Monreal of the Manila International Airport Authority and NAIA Terminal 1 Manager Dante Basanta lauded Namion for his honesty.BENJIE L. VERGARA

['Benjie Vergara']

2016-11-04 21:05:20+00:00

https://www.manilatimes.net/wheelchair-attendant-returns-p102457/294838/

Manila Times

IN THE KNOW: The Inter-Parliamentary Union

Formed in 1889, the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) is a group of foreign parliamentarians committed to promoting democracy, equality, human rights and peace through political dialogue and concrete action.The IPU has 178 member parliaments, which include countries such as China, Russia, India, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Australia and the Philippines. Its headquarters is in Geneva, Switzerland.In April last year, the IPU Committee on Human Rights of Parliamentarians received approval from then Senate President Aquilino Pimentel III to check on the condition of Sen. Leila de Lima, who is detained on drug charges.De Lima is facing three counts of violation of Section No. 5 of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 in relation to trafficking and criminal liability of government officials.The charges, filed by the Department of Justice in February 2017, were raffled off to three branches of the Muntinlupa City Regional Trial Court.The committee, in its resolution, said De Lima “is targeted due to her outspoken criticism of the impact of the current government’s policies on human rights in the Philippines.”A month later, three members of the IPU went on a three-day mission to examine De Lima’s case. They also met with Pimentel and asked the then Senate President to ensure De Lima’s rights were not violated.In its 16-page report released in July, the IPU cast doubt on the evidence presented in each of the three drug charges filed against De Lima.Another lawmaker and outspoken critic of President Rodrigo Duterte, Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV, is facing revived rebellion charges after Mr. Duterte voided his 2011 amnesty on the grounds that the former Navy officer who staged a mutiny 15 years ago failed to apply for amnesty.Trillanes later said his arrest was a clear example of Mr. Duterte harassing his critics, “the ones telling the truth whom he could not face.”

[]

17/07/2018 0:00

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1045420/in-the-know-the-inter-parliamentary-union

Inquirer

Filipinos back MILF peace talks—SWS

Most Filipinos believe peaceful negotiations are more effective in dealing with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), a Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey showed, but the number of adults who held this opinion declined from last year.“Despite the recent drop in March 2015, the ratio of those who prefer peaceful negotiations to those who prefer military operations is 2 to 1,” SWS said.In the survey, conducted from March 20 to 23, two months after the Mamasapano incident, 45 percent of the respondents said peaceful negotiations were more effective, 20 percent said military operations were more effective and 35 percent said peaceful negotiations and military operations were equally effective.Compared to the same month last year, those who believed that peaceful negotiations were more effective decreased by 17 points from 62 percent while those who said military operations were more effective rose by 11 points from 9 percent. Those who said military operations and peaceful negotiations were equally effective rose by 6 points from 29 percent.Since 1999, there have been 12 national surveys on the effective means in dealing with the MILF. SWS noted that peaceful negotiations had been consistently seen as the more effective way compared to military operations.On Jan. 25, Special Action Force commandos went to Moro rebel-controlled Mamasapano to arrest Malaysian terrorists Zulkifli bin Hir, alias “Marwan,” and Amin Baco, alias “Jihad,” and their Filipino associate, Basit Usman. The commandos killed Marwan but the mission left 44 commandos, 17 MILF fighters and three civilians dead.Usman was killed in a military operation in Guindulungan town, Maguindanao on Sunday.A previous report on the same survey also found lower satisfaction with the government’s performance on 12 out of the 16 issues rated. In particular, ratings on issues concerning peace efforts fell.The score on the issue of defending the country’s territorial rights dropped from plus 40 last December to plus 22 in March, while the issue on reconciliation with Muslim rebels was scored minus 3 in March, down from plus 15 in December 2014, and the government’s performance on the issue of reconciliation with Communist rebels declined from plus 17 to minus 3.Overall, the Aquino administration got a plus 19 net satisfaction score, down 15 points from plus 34 in December last year and one grade from “good” to “moderate.”The survey used face-to-face interviews of 1,200 adults nationwide and had a margin of error of plus-or-minus 3 percentage points for national percentages.The question on the effective means in dealing with the MILF is part of a module on the Mamasapano incident and the Bangsamoro Basic Law which were included in the SWS survey in partnership with The Asia Foundation. The full results of the module will be presented in a public forum on May 15 at the Balay Kalinaw Conference Hall at UP Diliman.–Inquirer ResearchRELATED STORIES‘If peace talks fail, there will be more Marwans’Mindanao business, civil society groups: Continue peace process

['Philippine Daily Inquirer']

20/02/2017 0:00

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/689245/filipinos-back-milf-peace-talks-sws

Inquirer

A personal governance charter

Individuals may be persuaded to observe the personal governance discipline in the domains of their personal life. They may specify a few key strategic initiatives to pursue; a performance measure to use for assessing progress; and a performance target to attain for any given year.Observance of a strict governance discipline, however, can be dreary. It would require a struggle, one which needs to be carried out day in and day out. This may be essential; however, many individuals also find the need for “something” that will help them sustain their struggle.That “something” is once again the big picture they need to have in very clear terms about their entire life, and more specifically their life of work. The big picture is painted in bold strokes by the following:Personal Vision. Individuals have to ask themselves, what is it that I want to accomplish in 5 years? The question may be framed somewhat differently: what do I want to become in about 5 years’ time; or simply, what do I dream of achieving within that time frame of 5 years or so?Personal Mission. This question, which individuals are encouraged to confront and answer, takes them way beyond a mere 5-year time horizon. It asks: at the end of a life time of work, what positive difference do I expect to make in the world around me? Or more dramatically, at the end of my life, what may I be known for as my distinctive contribution to family, friends, and community?Personal Core Values. It is essential for individuals to think deeply and get to one’s personal core, and there discover the deepest convictions they personally hold and believe in, and wish to hang on to. This need not be a litany. Indeed, a focus on three personal core values, for as long as they represent one’s personal ideals, by which they wish their life to be shaped and formed, is highly recommended.The bigger picture, drawn by the “better spirits” that every individual has, can provide cohesion and encouragement to the day-to-day struggle to observe personal governance discipline. Somehow, this bigger picture helps pull all the initiatives, performance measurements, and performance targets together; it helps provide sense, meaning, and direction to them.Then, there too is the encouragement and motivational aspect that the bigger picture gives. Precisely because individuals have a clear dream of what they wish to accomplish, and a life-long mission they need to carry out, then they should find the needed motivation and continuing encouragement to keep struggling and observing personal governance discipline, so as to better align their work and all the domains of their life with their personal core values.A personal governance charter can be a powerful tool placed at the hands of individuals who keep trying to become good governance assets in the enterprise where they work.

[]

20/02/2017 0:00

https://news.mb.com.ph/2017/02/20/a-personal-governance-charter/

Manila Bulletin

Civilians, military get ready for ‘Big One’

As part of the preparation for the “Big One” in Metro Manila, the national government on Thursday tested the readiness of the Philippine Air Force (PAF) facility here as a backup command center for disaster response.The PAF’s Haribon hangar, reused after the United States left the former Clark Air Base in June 1991, served as site of the exercise in the event a 7.2-magnitude earthquake expected in Metro Manila because of the Valley Fault System (VFS).A siren that rang for five minutes signaled the start of the 9 a.m. drill.Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin, chair of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), and Social Welfare Secretary Corazon “Dinky” Soliman joined the exercise.“The drill is the people’s response here and the command center operation in Clark is in response to severe damage in Metro Manila,” said Renato Solidum, chief of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs).“You need to have a backup command center,” he said.Clark, 100 kilometers north of Metro Manila, would “not be significantly affected” by a 7.2-magnitude temblor.Haribon hosts several hangars and repair centers and stands next to the Clark International Airport, making the movement of personnel, equipment and goods faster, according to Josefina Timoteo, regional head of the NDRRMC.The East Valley Fault straddles 10 kilometers in Rizal province, while the West Valley Fault runs more than 100 km through Metro Manila and Rizal, Bulacan, Cavite and Laguna provinces.Solidum said the potential risks from a 7.2-magnitude quake were higher in Metro Manila, with a population of more than 10 million.Without any interventions and should it strike at night, the Big One in Metro Manila could kill 31,000 people and seriously injure 130,000 people, Phivolcs said.Experts believe the valley fault is “ripe,” based on its pattern of movement every 600 years.Solidum said the NDRRMC had scheduled more earthquake drills. “It is already in the mindset of the NDRRMC to continue the earthquake drills. There is a planned drill for Metro Manila and surrounding provinces,” he added.Government agencies and private companies participated in the drill, with people practicing the duck-cover-hold technique.“There is no right time to be prepared than now,” Timoteo said.At the regional police headquarters in Camp Olivas in Pampanga province, police and fire protection personnel conducted the drill. Some 200 of them evacuated to the parade ground after dropping to the ground, finding cover and holding on.Soliman said a lesson learned from the 2013 Supertyphoon “Yolanda” (international name: Haiyan), which devastated the Visayas was the need for a large space where assets and aid could be accommodated.“In Tacloban City, the airport can fit only two C-130 planes. Here, we could fit in as many as we want,” she noted.For the first time, the NDRRMC operations center was placed outside Metro Manila for the quarterly drill as organizers wanted to consider the possibility that a 7.2-magnitude quake can level the seat of government and paralyze even disaster response operations.Corazon Jimenez, general manager of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority, said the second Metro Manila earthquake drill would be held in June. The provinces of Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna and Rizal will join the event.“We are already planning the next drill and we want to incorporate our past experiences so we can improve our response. For one, there is a need to improve the communication, I had a hard time making contact,” she noted.

['Tonette Orejas']

23/09/2018 0:00

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/780834/civilians-military-get-ready-for-big-one

Inquirer

Erice texts Grace Poe, denies involvement in smear campaign

Caloocan Rep. Edgar Erice has taken matters into his own hands and has personally texted Senator Grace Poe for a meeting about her plans for the 2016 elections.The Liberal Party (LP) official said he texted Poe and asked for a meeting to also assure her that he was not behind the actions of Rizalito David who filed disqualification cases against Poe before the Commission on Elections and the Senate Electoral Tribunal over her citizenship.Erice also texted Poe to advise her regarding her readiness for the 2016 presidency, as LP bet Interior Secretary Manuel “Mar” Roxas II is set to gun for the position.“Sen. Grace (ma’am). May I respectfully seek an audience so I can personally assure you that I am not part of those who (question) your being a Filipino, as being maliciously peddled in the social media. I have some information that I can share with you regarding this,” Erice’s text message to Poe read.“I made it clear in my other comments that it should be taken as an (advice) and advocacy rather than criticism. Last year, I was the first one who (espoused) the idea of a (Mar-Poe) tandem as the perfect team and up to now it is my belief. I am sorry but it is my opinion that you are not yet ready for the presidency, but I will respect whatever will be your opinion and decisions. After all, we are accountable for whatever we say or do as (public officials),” the text message further read.“We can agree or disagree on issues but I will always respect you. Thanks (ma’am),” Erice concluded.Poe seemed to have dumped Roxas’ offer to become his running mate when she told him in a meeting Sunday night that he has other options for vice president.In an interview Monday, Poe confirmed that Roxas visited her at her home in San Juan City on Sunday night, and that among the things they discussed was his offer for her to be his running mate.Previously, Roxas also made an appeal to Poe on national television for her to be his vice president.“I told [him] he had many potential vice presidential candidates to choose from,” Poe said.

['Marc Jayson Cayabyab']

03/11/2017 0:00

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/714741/erice-texts-grace-poe-for-meeting-on-2016-plans

Inquirer

Duterte to look into ‘grandiose’ PCSO party

President Duterte, who dislikes extravagance, will look into the alleged lavish Christmas party of the government-run charity agency, according to presidential spokesperson Harry Roque.Roque himself, however, could not immediately say if the reported P6-million to P10-million price tag for the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) party at the posh Edsa Shangri-La Hotel’s Isla Ballroom was extravagant.“Well, I think you know that the President does not tolerate extravagance, so we do not know yet. I’m sure the President will look into the matter. As you know, he’s very sensitive to what is reported by his own people in the different branches of government,” he told reporters on Thursday.“Let’s just say that with or without an order, the President takes heed,” he added.Sandra CamThe allegedly extravagant party on Tuesday was reported by newly appointed PCSO board member and former “jueteng” whistle-blower Sandra Cam, who criticized it and refused to join the “very grandiose” festivities in protest.PCSO General Manager Alexander Balutan told the Inquirer the party had cost P6 million, not P10 million as Cam had claimed.Asked if he considered even the smaller amount still too much, Roque said he could not immediately say. He said he would have to first check how much was spent by PCSO officials.He noted that the PCSO was a “nationwide organization.”Funds for the poorThe PCSO is tasked with raising and providing funds for health programs, medical assistance and services, and charities of national character for the poor, mainly through lotteries.The amount spent for the party was smaller than the P14 million that had been approved by the budget department, Balutan said. The money saved would be used for victims of recent calamities, he added.PCSO Chair Jose Jorge Corpuz said the P6 million was for 1,580 employees nationwide.Balutan said PCSO employees worked hard to raise the agency’s earnings from P37.4 billion to a record high of P51 billion this year.“They were already stripped of their Christmas bonuses, 13th month pay. What they get are only basic salaries,” he added.

['Jodee A. Agoncillo', 'Leila B. Salaverria']

03/11/2017 0:00

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/954297/duterte-to-look-into-grandiose-pcso-party

Inquirer

Boracay locals say algal bloom just a natural phenomenon

Locals are defending the presence of the algal bloom in the shorelines of this world-renowned island.Septuagenarian Mila Yap-Sumndad said there is nothing to be alarmed about in the occurrence of green algae in the shores of the white sand beaches in the island.Sumndad said the green algae normally appear in January, and peaks in the summer months.She believed that the algal bloom was not caused by the increasing tourist population in the island.“It is there every year and usually becomes thick starting from March until May,” she said.Barangay Captain Lilibeth Sacapaño of Balabag said the algae have been present even before the development in the islands started.The 51-year-old Boracay local said the algae were even believed as the source of the island’s white sandy beaches.“We even used to play with these algae during our younger years. They are already here decades ago,” she stressed.Sangguniang Bayan Member Datu Yap-Sumndad likewise stressed that Boracay’s water is not polluted, contrary to reports aired by a television network.The SB member stressed that algae formation is not only present in Boracay but even in nearby non-touristy beaches.He said that algae are also present in some beaches in Buruanga town and Hambil or Carabao Island in Romblon, which are not frequented by tourists.The councilor said the local government unit of Malay is also working together with other organizations in the island to mitigate the impact of tourism on the environment.The councilor urged the public to disregard the false information on the algal bloom in Boracay.“We should work together to protect the image of Boracay,” he said, noting that Boracay could also “primarily impact the tourism industry of the country as well.”

['I Dont Care', '_O', 'Boracay Eco Watch']

15/03/2017 0:00

https://news.mb.com.ph/2017/03/15/boracay-locals-say-algal-bloom-just-a-natural-phenomenon/

Manila Bulletin

‘NFA rice may end up with rice traders again’

OPPOSITION Sen. Paolo Benigno Aquino 4th on Friday expressed concern about the possibility of the imported rice procured by the National Food Authority (NFA) ending up in the hands of rice traders again, leaving the buffer stock of the grains agency depleted.Aquino raised such possibility since the corruption allegation surrounding NFA Administrator Jason Aquino has not been acted upon by Malacañang.“The government should look into allegations against Aquino rather than entrust him with the task of importing thousands of metric tons of rice,” the opposition senator said.The NFA administrator was blamed for the depletion of NFA buffer stock early this year, which led to the sudden spike on the prices of commercial rice in the market.“It was his blunder that caused the rice price increase and added to the burden of Filipino families,” Sen. Aqiuno pointed out.The initial shipments of the 250,000 metric tons of imported rice approved by the NFA council last February arrived in the country early this month in Subic and Surigao.The 16,000 tons of rice were distributed in provinces surrounding Subic and Surigao to stabilize rice prices in the area. The supply for Metro Manila and other regions in the country are expected to arrive in succeeding trenches.“What happened to the allegations against the NFA leadership? Now the imported rice has started to arrive, we should make sure that things would not happen again wherein the NFA rice and its buffer stock would just end up in hands of rice traders,” Aquino added.During a Senate hearing on the rice issue, the NFA admitted it failed to comply with the required 15-day buffer stock since last year because of natural and man-made calamities experienced by the country in 2017, including the five-month Marawi siege.The NFA head claimed that the agency anticipated the rice shortage and submitted a request for rice importation as early as October 2017 to the NFA Council, but its request to import 250,000 metric tons (MT) of rice in January was denied due to the stable price in commercial rice and the good local rice production forecast.But some resource persons who attended the hearing alleged that while the NFA is only allowed to sell rice to retailers, the agency allowed its stocks to be sold to favored rice traders through dummy rice retailers.Allegations were also made that the NFA rice was illegally sold to traders who then re-bagged and sold it as commercial rice at P42 to P45, or about 55 to 66 percent higher than the NFA selling price of P27 to P32.Mayor Teresa Alegado of Cebu during the hearing noted that the practice was so blatant that traders were selling the NFA rice without even bothering to re-bag this.Rice watchdog Bantay Bigas also pointed out that smugglers are taking advantage of the entry of the rice imported by the NFA fromVietnam and Thailand as it coincides with the scheduled arrival of the rice imports.“Rice importation only breeds rice smuggling,” Bantay Bigas spokesperson Cathy Estavillo said in reaction to the interception Thursday of shipment of 100,000 sacks of Thailand rice worth P187 million by the Bureau of Customs (BoC) at the Manila International Container Port (MICP).Based on BoC’s assessment, the shipments came from Vietnam and consigned to Sta. Rosa Farm Products Corporation.The current rice importation policy is causing the increasing number of smuggling cases in the country as it only gives opportunity for illegal rice imports from private traders to enter the Philippines, Bantay Bigas said.Experience tells us that rice importation permits sold to private traders were used to create an opportunity for illegally imported rice to enter the country,” Estavillo said.According to her, the proposed rice tariffication would even worsen rice smuggling as the government welcomes any private trader who can afford to import rice.Despite the NFA controversies President Rodrigo Duterte has retained Aquino as NFA head but returned the agency under the control of the Department of Agriculture.The president also ordered the removal of the powers of NFA Council chairman and Cabinet Secretary Leoncio Evasco Jr., a move which Sen. Aquino said was unnecessary and leaves the NFA even more prone to corruption and impunity.Evasco was pushing for a government-to-private mode of procurement to make the process more transparent while Aquino wanted a government-to-government mode, which is prone to corruption.WITH EIREENE JAIREE GOMEZ

['Jefferson Antiporda']

2018-06-15 23:22:58+00:00

https://www.manilatimes.net/nfa-rice-may-end-up-with-rice-traders-again/408549/

Manila Times

Lacson exposes more police scams

Close circuit television footage of a police officer planting “shabu” (crystal meth) in table drawers inside an office was presented by Sen. Panfilo Lacson on Thursday to show that the kidnapping and murder of South Korean Jee Ick-joo was not an isolated case of “tokhang-for-ransom,” or police extortion under cover of President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on illegal drugs.During a Senate hearing on Jee’s grisly slaying, Lacson cited other similar cases of officers demanding money from people allegedly being pursued in the government’s war on drugs.Lacson told Philippine National Police Director General Ronald dela Rosa that he did not want to put the PNP on the spot by showing the video “but to impress upon you that this is not an isolated case.”The chair of the Senate committee on dangerous drugs and public order said the video was given to him by a “very scared” source whose office was raided by policemen on Oct. 26, 2016.Lacson said that according to his source the planting of shabu was done by a man with a cap and backpack who also robbed the office the equivalent of P7 million before the raid. He said his source also had to “cough up P2 million” following the raid.The former PNP chief said he decided to present the video because there was no case graver than that of Jee as well as “to [put] it on record that this was not isolated and many similar cases are happening.”Dela Rosa asked Lacson where the supposed police raid happened. Lacson said he would disclose details “in confidence” but added the source would not file any complaint out of fear.Lacson said the officers who raided the office were from the PNP Special Operations Task Group.Dela Rosa said the faces of the men in the video were clear and that he would act immediately to investigate the case.Lacson also said anticrime advocate Teresita Ang See had told him there were 12 other cases of police arresting people for alleged involvement in illegal drugs and demanding money for their release but that the shakedown “did not prosper.”But he cited the case of a 46-year-old Chinese-Filipino who was kidnapped by eight policemen who demanded money from him in exchange for being cleared of alleged involvement in illegal drugs. The man’s uncle gave P1 million to the policemen, who also were able to get money from his ATM account at a bank on Ongpin Street in Binondo, Manila, Lacson said. Later, he said, the policemen demanded an additional P3 million.In spite of the payoffs, he said, an illegal drug case was filed against the victim.Lacson said another man, taken from Muntinlupa and brought to Pasay City by the police last Oct. 24, was also charged even after his family was able to produce P200,000 of the P500,000 demanded.The man remains in jail.Lacson said there were other similar cases in Bulacan and Makati.“These are incidents to show that there are excesses committed by our policemen and if this is not monitored and the PNP doesn’t know about it and no action is taken, then you cannot arrest the situation,” Lacson said.Lacson urged Dela Rosa to strengthen counterintelligence efforts as he underscored the need for a special unit or composite team to “check on our people.”The team—which can have 100 members—can come from various PNP units that can conduct counterintelligence and pounce on people committing shenanigans, he said.Lacson said Ang See did not go to the police to report the cases.“Trust is something you must earn, it cannot be demanded,” he said. “I hope you know where I am coming from, I love the PNP and I want you to succeed for obvious reasons.”RELATED VIDEO

['Christine O. Avendaño']

2017-06-29 21:04:17+00:00

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/865896/lacson-exposes-more-police-scams

Inquirer

Palace disputes HRW drug findings

Malacañang on Friday slammed a report recently released by an international human rights group, which said President Rodrigo Duterte triggered a “human rights calamity” as he waged a bloody war on drugs during his first year in power.In a news conference, Presidential Communications Secretary Ana Maria Paz Banaag said the government’s war against illegal drugs cannot be considered a human rights calamity as it seeks to protect the people.“We don’t feel good about the comments of the Human Rights Watch [HRW] report but we also have to be firm that and we have to realize that the President stood and won on a platform of genuine change. He wanted a better life for the Filipino people, of course,” Banaag told reporters.She said the HRW should acknowledge the number of drug dependents that had surrendered to authorities and subject themselves to a rehabilitation program.“Human Rights Watch should not brush aside all the programs especially the enforcement side. How many operations had been conducted by the enforcement agencies and anti-drug agencies? It is not a joke to enforce 62,000 anti-drug operations. That’s so much sacrifice and of course also we have around 1.3 million drug surrenderers. These things, the government is doing something about this through the inter-agency committee against illegal drugs,” Banaag added.She assured the public that the Duterte administration was working to address alleged extrajudicial killings in the country.“The government is not sitting down, watching lives being wasted just this way. So with this one, of course, we say that the President had only wanted so much for his countrymen,” Banaag said.The New York-based Human Rights Watch, in a statement, said Duterte has “unleashed a human rights calamity on the Philippines in his first year in office.”“President Duterte took office promising to protect human rights but has instead spent his first year in office as a boisterous instigator for an unlawful killing campaign,” Phelim Kine, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said.“Duterte has supported and incited ‘drug war’ killings while retaliating against those fearless enough to challenge his assault on human rights,” Kine added.Human Rights Watch cited its field research in March, which found that “government claims that the deaths of suspected drug users and dealers were lawful were blatant falsehoods. Interviews with witnesses and victims’ relatives and analysis of police records expose a pattern of unlawful police conduct designed to paint a veneer of legality over extrajudicial executions that may amount to crimes against humanity.”Official data from the Philippine National Police (PNP) pegged the total number of homicide cases at 9,432 from July 2016 to March 2017.Of this number, 1,847 deaths were said to be drug-related, while 1,894 were not.The remaining 5,691 cases, approximately 60 percent of the total figure, were still under investigation.Duterte’s anti-narcotics drive has also resulted in a 26.45 percent drop in the estimated total drug market and 28.57 percent reduction in index crime, according to the PNP data.

['Catherine S. Valente']

2017-06-29 21:04:17+00:00

https://www.manilatimes.net/palace-disputes-hrw-drug-findings/335629/

Manila Times

SC on trial: Bersamin lashes back at Leonen

Associate Justice Lucas Bersamin, who wrote the Supreme Court’s decision that allowed Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile to post bail last week, has taken exception to a dissenting magistrate’s “gross distortions” over how the majority ruling on the plunder case was reached.In a one-page letter sent Monday to Chief Justice Ma. Lourdes Sereno and furnished all the other members of the court, Bersamin also accused Justice Marvic Leonen of “unprecedented invasion of the autonomy of the majority in arriving at its main opinion.”Bersamin also sought “rectification of the gross distortions contained in Justice Leonen’s dissent that have not only put me in a bad light but worse also impugned the integrity of the seven members of the Court who joined my ponencia (majority opinion) by claiming they signed the ponencia without knowing the version they were joining.”Bersamin asked that the two issues be discussed in Tuesday’s en banc session. He said he also circulated on Monday a “rejoinder” that would contain the two issues which he would submit for discussion Tuesday.The apparent spat stemmed from Leonen’s account in his 29-page dissenting opinion as to how the majority opinion on the grant of bail came about.The justice said a draft decision originally circulated by Bersamin early this year adopted mainly the legal arguments raised by Enrile, which was centered on the Supreme Court taking judicial notice of evidence to establish two generic mitigating circumstances that would lower the penalty to be imposed even before trial or a hearing for the determination of whether the evidence of guilt is strong happened in the Sandiganbayan.However, Leonen said that when the case was deliberated during the en banc session on Aug. 11, Bersamin proposed the idea of dropping all discussions on the legal points pertaining to whether bail was a matter of right and focusing instead on the grant of bail on “humanitarian” grounds.Bersamin then committed to circulate a revised draft, which he did so on Aug. 14. The new draft granted bail to Enrile based on his medical condition by which Leonen aired concerns about, saying the basis of the grant of bail gave rise to new issues that must be further discussed.In the Aug. 18 en banc, Leonen said Bersamin insisted on vote and said he would agree to wait for a more extensive written reflection of the issues raised by Leonen.Bersamin, according to Leonen, declared that he was abandoning the Aug. 14 draft in favor of his earlier version, which was premised on the idea that bail was a matter of right based on judicial notice and the judicial declaration of the existence of two mitigating circumstances—his age and his voluntary surrender.After increasing the bail from P500,000 to P1 million, the court voted 8-4 in favor of Bersamin’s latest version.Leonen said that later in the afternoon, Bersamin passed around the final copy of the majority opinion. However, Leonen said this was not the version voted upon in the morning deliberation but “substantially” the same as the Aug. 14 version that granted bail on humanitarian grounds.Leonen later issued his dissent which was joined by Sereno and Justices Antonio Carpio and Estela Perlas-Bernabe. Bersamin’s ponencia was joined by Justices Presbitero Velasco Jr., Teresita Leonardo-de Castro, Arturo Brion, Diosdado Peralta, Mariano del Castillo, Jose Perez and Jose Mendoza.Enrile, who has been detained for about a year, was charged with plunder in the Sandiganbayan in connection with the P10-billion Priority Development Assistance Fund scam allegedly orchestrated by businesswoman Janet Lim Napoles.The Supreme Court earlier granted the senator’s motion for a bill of particulars, which would allow him to secure specific details of the crime imputed to him.

['Jerome Aning']

30/05/2017 0:00

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/715923/sc-on-trial-bersamin-lashes-back-at-leonen

Inquirer

Roque: Duterte will not order the killing of priests

President Duterte does not want Catholic priests killed, presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said on Thursday.Roque made the statement after Mr. Duterte’s critics likened the President’s tirades against the Catholic Church to an invitation to attack Church people.“When it comes to the killings of priests, the President will never say that you should kill priests,” Roque said at a press briefing.Roque said Mr. Duterte was amenable to a dialogue with the Church.

['Philippine Daily Inquirer']

30/05/2017 0:00

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1001004/roque-duterte-will-not-order-the-killing-of-priests

Inquirer

Four slain in Bulacan buy-bust ops

Four armed drug peddlers were killed in a fire fight with police during three separate buy-bust operations in the province over the weekend.Senior Supt. Romeo Caramat Jr., acting Bulacan police director, identified two of the slain suspects in as Rolando Paraiso of Barangay Mambog, Malolos City, and a certain “Allen” from Bocaue.Supt. Hyrell Bruno, city police chief, said the suspects tried to flee on board a motorcycle after realizing that they were transacting with an undercover buyer in Barangay Longos.A running gun battle ensued which resulted in the death of the duo. Seized from them were a caliber .38 revolver, a hand grenade, and four sachets of suspected “shabu.”Also reported killed were suspects Jeffrey Maningas Tabianan alias “Teptep” and Richard Ramos Felipe alias “Balat,” a farmer, of Barangay Batasan Matanda, San Miguel this province.Citing the report of Pandi town police chief, Chief Insp. Manuel de Vera, Caramat said Tabianan was killed following a similar buy-bust operation conducted at Mayumi St., Saint Dominique, Barangay San Roque, Pandi.Tabianan’s cohort, identified only as “Eseng” eluded arrest.It appeared that Eseng recognized one of the cops conducting the buy-bust, causing him to make a run for it. On the other hand, Tabianan opened fire at the police, who then retaliated and killed him.Seized from the crime scene were an improvised handgun loaded with ammunitions, two caliber 9mm cartridges cases, one deformed fired bullet, two open transparent plastic sachets with alleged shabu residue, four caliber 38 live ammunitions, and two P100 bills used as buy-bust money.Meanwhile, the Drug Enforcement Team of San Miguel town here also conducted a buy-bust operation in Barangay Batasan Matanda. Supt. Isagani Enriquez, town police chief, said that the operation resulted in the death of Ramos.Ramos reportedly resisted arrest and fired at the cops. He was then shot.Seized from the suspect were three transparent plastic sachets of suspected shabu, one caliber 38 revolver loaded with three live ammunition and two fired cartridge cases in its cylinder, six ammunitions of a caliber 38, and one open transparent plastic sachet containing white powder.Aside from the neutralization of the drug pushers, Caramat added that 27 other drug suspects were arrested during different buy-bust operations in the cities of San Jose del Monte and Meycauayan as well as the towns of Guigunito, Pulilan, San Miguel, Bocaue, Paombong, Baliwag, Santa Maria, and Marilao.Some 72 plastic sachets of suspected shabu were collected during this series of operations.

[]

30/05/2017 0:00

https://news.mb.com.ph/2017/05/30/four-slain-in-bulacan-buy-bust-ops/

Manila Bulletin

Labor group demands dismissal of DTI chief amid soaring prices

A moderate labor group is planning to ask President Rodrigo Duterte at their scheduled meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 9, to fire Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez for his supposed failure to monitor and control the price of basic commodities.The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) said it was time for Lopez to leave his post as he had “done nothing to protect the people from profiteers who are taking advantage of the vulnerable situation we are in right now.”The Federation of Free Workers (FFW) echoed the TUCP’s sentiment, noting the Duterte administration’s lack of political will to put in place a price ceiling on basic commodities.“We don’t understand why the Department of Trade and Industry wants to maintain the income of companies instead of looking after the welfare of Filipinos,” FFW vice president Julius Cainglet said on Monday.Last week, the Philippine Statistics Authority reported that the nationwide inflation rate in September soared to a new nine-year high of 6.7 percent.The increase was mainly driven by the higher cost of food and nonalcoholic beverages, which rose by 9.7 percent last month.Gov’t measuresResearch group Ibon Foundation said putting a price ceiling and suspending the excise on fuel were key steps the government could take to help arrest the surging prices.“If the government does that it would show that it is serious in addressing inflation,” said Ibon executive director Sonny Africa.Metro Manila was the only region that saw inflation rate decline, from 7 percent in August to 6.3 percent last month.Inflation in all other regions are rising, with Bicol posting a 10.1-percent inflation, the highest level in the country.Africa said he believed inflation decelerated in Metro Manila because products were being diverted to the capital region to moderate the political impact of inflation.“It’s damage control at the expense of the regions. There is really a need to support consumers in Metro Manila, but this should go alongside with the same kind of support for the regions,” he said.Apart from calling for Lopez’s sacking, TUCP president Raymond Mendoza said the group would also urge the President to act on its proposed P320 across-the-board wage increase.To date, wage boards in most parts of the country have implemented measly wage adjustments of P9 to P56.

['Philippine Daily Inquirer']

27/02/2018 0:00

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1040534/labor-group-demands-dismissal-of-dti-chief-amid-soaring-prices

Inquirer

Why the rush?

lifting term limits, creating more elective posts, imposing clear restrictions on press freedom, and granting the sitting President the sole power to enact laws during a still undetermined transition period.These proposals are disturbing, to say the least. And while I have high hopes that the Constitutional Commission created by the President will come up with a draft constitution tempered by sobriety and their collective wisdom, legislative leaders have made it clear that the legislators comprising the Constituent Assembly will have the final say. In fact, several legislators and the ruling party think tank have crafted their own versions of the proposed federal charter. A House sub-committee is currently working on a supposed harmonized version of the new charter.Which prompts me to ask the obvious: Why the rush? Shouldn’t a matter of grave importance to the nation and the future generation of Filipinos be handled with sobriety, caution, intensive study, and open discussion?Why not consider, for example, an honest to goodness assessment of how the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) has fared as an autonomous regional grouping?Since its creation in 1989, the ARMM has received a generous slice of the national budget. In the 2018 budget, for example, the ARMM is among the top ten recipients with P24.9 billion. Over decades, the region received substantial amounts from foreign countries and development agencies for various infrastructure, social and development projects. If we add to these the PDAF of the ARMM congressmen, we can say that the region could hardly be considered cash strapped.Yet, according to the 2015 poverty targeting survey of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), the ARMM is the poorest region in the country.At least 11 percent or 573,446 of the 5.1 million poorest households are in Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur, Basilan, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi, according to the same survey which was released in 2016. These provinces comprise the ARMM.An honest-to-goodness assessment of the ARMM experience would help us uncover factors and issues that inform the dynamics of governance in an autonomous region.We need to uncover the levels of efficiency in management practices, particularly transparency and accountability in transactions, or the lack of it. We need to look into the extent of the central government’s influence on the affairs of the region, the dynamics between the professional bureaucracy and the traditional and political elites, the existence of an informal or “shadow” economy, and the impact of a local culture that gives importance to the interest of clans and social hierarchies.The chronic poverty and underdevelopment in the ARMM remind us that the issue of empowered and developed local governments go beyond the mere grant of self-governance. The ARMM has been in existence for the last 29 years yet the region remains poor and underdeveloped. Will we have to wait for more than 29 years for lesser developed States under a federal system to break free from poverty? And what will it take for these states not to fall into the same pit as ARMM?Each province or region has its distinct social and political culture that influences local governance. Such an assessment would provide important learnings for those who want to rush us into federalism. Whether they are interested in learning is another matter.jcbinay11@gmail.com

[]

27/02/2018 0:00

https://news.mb.com.ph/2018/02/27/why-the-rush/

Manila Bulletin

‘PH shrimp farming needs boost’

‘Thailand and Philippines are working closely on boosting local shrimp farming to help meet growing global demand, Thai Ambassador Thanatip Upatising said here during the opening of the 11th National Shrimp Congress at the SMX Convention Center.Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol, who graced the event, turned over a R20-million loan package to farmers from southern Negros.Upatising said that it is time for the Philippines to boost its shrimp production because it has a long shoreline, adding that it will not just be good for the country but for the neighboring Southeast Asian countries as well.“This is something we want to bring you back. Thailand is not a competitor because we are in ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations),” he said, referring to the shrimp production as part of the initiatives to address food security in the region.“If it’s good for the Philippines, it will also be good for Thailand,” Upatising added.Thailand is one of the biggest exporters of shrimp in the region.It has exported 150,000 metric tons so far this year.He also said that during 1980s, the Philippines was the top exporter of shrimp and the government should revive it by giving the farmers more technological assistance.Upatising said technology and assistance from the government must be provided to these shrimp growers, as well as letting more private investments come in to give farmers more benefits.“As you can see, the Philippine industry is controlled only by small groups and players (investors). We need to let more people come in to have a fair market competition,” he said, adding that it would be beneficial to the farmers as the private sector will give them everything they needed to boost their production.He said that if the government cannot extend assistance to all sectors, the private sector could step in.The Thai ambassador likewise expressed that shrimp diseases like white spot syndrome have affected the industry in terms of production.

[]

17/11/2017 0:00

https://news.mb.com.ph/2017/11/17/ph-shrimp-farming-needs-boost/

Manila Bulletin

Comelec sets P695M for barangay, SK poll materials

THE COMMISSION on Elections (Comelec) has earmarked P695 million for the printing and delivery of election forms and ballot boxes for the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections later this year.Suppliers are being invited to bid for three separate contracts to cover the logistical preparations for the village polls to be conducted using the old manual voting and counting method on Oct. 31.These contracts involve the printing and delivery of envelopes for the voting and counting materials worth P21.5 million; the printing and delivery of election forms worth P31.3 million; and the supply and delivery of ballot boxes worth P642.1 million.The bid invitations indicated that the contracts also include envelopes to be used for official ballots, election returns, minutes of voting and for the ballot box keys; election forms and ballot boxes.Interested suppliers are required to pay nonrefundable fees ranging from P5,000 to P75,000 in order to participate in the bidding.The Comelec will hold a prebid conference on July 11 at 10 a.m. at the Palacio del Gobernador building, while the pre-bid conferences for the two other contracts are on July 13.The submission of bids for the ballot boxes contract is set for July 25 at 9 a.m. at the Comelec’s bids and awards secretariat office.The deadline for the envelopes and election forms contracts is on July 27 at 9 a.m. at the same venue.The barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections will come five months after this year’s general elections in May.‘Election fatigue’Comelec Chair Andres Bautista had wanted to postpone the October elections, citing election fatigue after the intensive automated polls in May.He also faces the possibility of running the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections sans three election commissioners who said they would boycott the elections.Commissioners Rowena Guanzon, Christian Robert Lim and Luie Guia expressed their intention not to participate in the elections in order to focus on the pending cases in their division.They and three other election commissioners signed a strongly worded memorandum slamming Bautista for his “failed leadership” on several election issues, including the delay in the release of honoraria for election workers and a shopping mall company’s “demand for damages” after the Comelec canceled mall voting.

['Philippine Daily Inquirer']

2016-03-30 03:13:06+00:00

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/793978/comelec-sets-p695m-for-barangay-sk-poll-materials

Inquirer

Spy funds ‘reward’ for rogue police

THOUGH he admits that it still needs validation, Sen. Antonio Trillanes 4th has claimed that Malacañang’s intelligence funds were being used as “reward money” for rogue policemen involved in extrajudicial killings of drug suspects.Trillanes made the allegation on Thursday as he also claimed that a certain “Supt. Leonardo,” who belongs to Philippine National Police Academy (PNPA) Class of 1996, oversees the operation of the “Philippine Death Squad” under President Rodrigo Duterte.He said Leonardo, supposedly close to Davao City Vice Mayor Paolo Duterte, serves as the President’s “point person” or “disbursement officer” for the reward money for his alleged death squads nationwide.When asked what was the source of the reward money, Trillanes replied, “There were many theories being given. We don’t have anything official yet. But as of now, they have intelligence funds which they get from Malacañang.”He said, “I have yet to validate that formally. But they have funding sources and the one who disburses [these funds] is Leonardo.”Trillanes added that Leonardo is the “Sonny Buenaventura” of Duterte’s “Philippine Death Squad.”A self-confessed hired killer, retired police officer Arthur Lascañas, has testified at the Senate that he was involved in the assassination plot of broadcaster Jun Pala in 2003.Lascañas also claimed that Buenaventura, a trusted aide and driver of then-Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, paid him P3 million for the job.“I have to validate this information, Leonardo is a close friend of Paolo Duterte. Leonardo has classmates at PNPA who contacted some rouge cops. They will then secure assignments within the PNP [Philippine National Police] and this Marcos had been assigned to Region 8. So, they already have a designated target,” Trillanes said.Marcos is Supt. Marvin Marcos, who is facing homicide charges along with 18 other police officers involved in the killing in November 2016 of Albuera (Leyte) Mayor Rolando Espinosa and another inmate, Raul Yap, inside their cell at the Baybay (Leyte) sub-provincial jail.Trillanes said he believes that the President had a hand in the move of Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre 2nd to downgrade to homicide the murder charges filed against the Marcos group.“I believe that this is the order of President Duterte because if we recall during the testimony here of PNP chief [Ronald de la Rosa] he said that he relieved Marcos and his group because they are not qualified to be with CIDG [Criminal Investigation and Detection Group],” the senator added.But de la Rosa said that days later, the President called him, through his special assistant Bong Go, and ordered him to reinstate Marcos and his group.“One month later, Mayor Espinosa was killed. So, they really had a mission,” Trillanes said.The senator pointed out that from the very start, the President had said he will help his policemen who will face criminal charges for implementing his war on drugs.Marcos, chief of CIDG-Region 8, had been accused of killing Espinosa.He and his co-accused police officers are out on bail as a result of the Department of Justice downgrading to homicide the murder charges filed against them.

['Bernadette E. Tamayo']

2017-06-23 20:53:05+00:00

https://www.manilatimes.net/spy-funds-reward-rogue-police/334512/

Manila Times

Home alone in Bahay Pangarap

BAHAY Pangarap has not been a dream house so far for President Duterte, who has spent a lonely night there and found the place too big to his liking.The President had already slept at his official residence in Manila, according to his spokesperson, Ernesto Abella, and “he said it was lonely there.”Abella recalled the President as saying that “he had nobody there with him” and felt that the house was too big for him alone.Mr. Duterte’s family is based in his hometown of Davao City and returns to the place every week. But when he needs to govern the country from its capital, he stays at Bahay Pangarap.It was the same bungalow that his bachelor predecessor, President Benigno Aquino III, used as his official residence during his six-year term.The place was renovated for Mr. Aquino in 2010, but no major changes were made for its most recent occupant. A source had earlier said only minor repairs were undertaken and new curtains would be installed.Before he became the Chief Executive, Mr. Duterte said he did not want to sleep in Malacañang and planned to go home to his relatively modest, two-story home in Davao City every day.He had said that he knew ghosts haunted the Malacañang grounds and that his Davao home was his comfort zone.House blessingOn Tuesday afternoon, Mr. Duterte attended the blessing of Bahay Pangarap, photos from Presidential Management Staff Chief Christopher Go showed.The photos showed the President standing beside two priests and holding a candle. He was in a white polo shirt, jeans and fluffy slippers.A “Welcome Mr. President” banner greeted him.Bahay Pangarap was originally a rest house opposite the Palace across from the Pasig River.It was intended to be the venue for informal activities and social functions of the President and the First Family during then President Manuel Quezon’s term, according to the Malacañang website.The rest house was renamed Bahay Pangarap in the early 1960s by then President Diosdado Macapagal’s wife, Evangeline. It was restored during the term of President Fidel V. Ramos and became the club house of the Malacañang Golf Club.In 2008, it was demolished and rebuilt in the contemporary style. A new modern swimming pool was installed to replace the Commonwealth-era facility.Bedrooms were added when the house was renovated anew during Aquino’s stay.

['Leila B. Salaverria']

02/10/2018 0:00

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/795702/home-alone-in-bahay-pangarap

Inquirer

Senate: Expand 20% student fare discount

THE decision of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) to allow students to avail of their 20-percent fare discount even during weekends and holidays was a laudable move but lawmakers said they want to further expand it and cover air, sea and rail transport.Senate Bill 1597 or the Student Fare Act is pending on second reading after it was sponsored by Senators Juan Edgardo Angara and Francis Escudero.If enacted, all students enrolled in basic and tertiary schools, including technical-vocational institutions, will be entitled to a 20-percent discount on regular domestic travel fares upon presentation of their duly-issued school ID or current validated enrollment forms.Angara said students taking up post-graduate studies such as medicine, law, masteral and doctoral degrees and short-term courses will not be qualified to avail of the discount.“Students need not wait for promo fares for them to save some cash when going back to their province and the family can then use the savings from the fare discount for other school fees,” according to the senator, the vice chairman of the education committee.The bill exempts Filipino students who will travel abroad for education, training and competition from payment of travel tax upon proper showing of proof or documentation of intended purpose.In order to protect public transport operators and companies from individuals who might take advantage of the discounts, the measure prohibits the availment of double discounts or combination of the student fare discount with other discount programs.Also, individuals who avail or attempt to avail of the privileges under the student fare law bill through the use of falsified identification documents, fraud or any form of misrepresentation will be subjected to civil and penal liabilities.Meanwhile, land, water, air and rail transportation utilities that refuse to grant student discount will be penalized with a fine ranging from P5,000 to P200,000.The LTFRB, starting today, will implement a memorandum that entitles students to a 20- percent fare discount all-year round including weekends, summer breaks and holidays.“We commend the LTFRB for recognizing the needs of our students. We have long been pushing for the passage of such measure,” Angara said.

['Jefferson Antiporda']

2017-10-27 22:39:49+00:00

https://www.manilatimes.net/senate-expand-20-student-fare-discount/359045/

Manila Times

Wanted: 200 new immigration officers

The Bureau of Immigration (BI) is hiring more than 200 new immigration officers to help address perennial queues at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) immigration counters brought about by manpower shortage and abolition of payment of overtime fees of its employees from the Express Lane Fund (ELF).“We have started the process of selecting these new personnel by administering written tests and interviewing thousands of applicants who hail from different places, including the Visayas and Mindanao,” Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente said on Tuesday.Morente pointed out though that the hiring of the new immigration officers would only provide relief to passenger congestion at the premier airport but would not totally address the problem.He said only the enactment of a new immigration law can provide a feasible and lasting solution to the decades-old problem of lack of manpower in the BI and the low salary of its workers.Morente added that several lawmakers have assured the bureau that a new Philippine immigration law will be passed during the current Congress.The BI recently deployed 37 newly-hired immigration officers to augment the bureau’s workforce at the NAIA Terminals I, II and III after completing their training on immigration laws, rules and procedures.Passenger queues at the NAIA’s immigration counter became a subject of controversy in recent months as some immigration officers resigned or went on indefinite leave as a result of the discontinuance of their overtime pay from the Express Lane Fund.This had forced the BI management to reassign to the NAIA immigration employees stationed at its main office in Manila and other field offices in the provinces.According to Morente, the queues lessened in recent days as fewer immigration officers have been skipping work since the Palace assured that steps will be undertaken to upgrade the take-home pay of BI employees.Effective last month, the bureau cut down its office hours from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily instead of 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. as a result of the discontinuance of the payment of overtime fees of its employees from the ELF.Express lane charges are additional cost being paid by foreigners who want to fast-track processing of their documents.They are the source of funding to pay for the services of the bureau’s confidential agents, contractual employees and other job orders and for overtime fees.President Rodrigo Duterte, however, vetoed the use of the ELF even as the Department of Budget and Management provided P235 million for the overtime pay of BI employees in the General Appropriations Act or national budget.

['William Depasupil']

2017-06-13 22:10:46+00:00

https://www.manilatimes.net/wanted-200-new-immigration-officers-2/332557/

Manila Times

Mindanao needs more economic zones

Mindanao needs to have more economic zones to accommodate the expected influx of investors, Philippine Institute of Real Estate Services-Davao (PIRES-Davao) President Dr. Maria Lourdes G. Monteverde said.Monteverde, in an interview, said Mindanao needs the additional economic zones to complement the Duterte administration’s determined move to push for industrialization in the island.She added that it will also prepare the island when the country transitions into a federal form of government to accommodate investors as they start doing business in each federal state.“The thrust now of the Philippines is towards industrialization for the whole country. The eco zone development is timely because this drives with trade and commerce and invite foreign direct investments and increase productivity with facilitation of having warehouses logistics located in eco zones,” she said.She said the island has a comparative advantage in terms of industrialization and agro-forestry compared to Luzon and Visayas.She said that she believed that Mindanao stands to benefit from the appointment of former Butuan Rep. Charity Booc Plaza as Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) Director General.She said, in PIRES-Davao’s last meeting with Plaza, the first batch of economic zone development areas were identified in the Caraga and Davao regions.

[]

18/12/2016 0:00

https://news.mb.com.ph/2016/12/18/mindanao-needs-more-economic-zones/

Manila Bulletin

Siquijor villagers work together to build toilets

Remote communities in Upper Cabancalan in this town are coming together to help one another build toilets in every home.They are doing it with assistance from the Kapitbisig Laban sa Kahirapan-Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (Kalahi-CIDSS) program of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in Central Visayas.DSWD Regional Information officer Leah Quintana said a 2016 barangay household survey found that many people in Lazi defecate in the open because they lack water and toilets.The survey showed that 67 houses in Upper Cabancalan did not have toilets.Quintana said Kalahi-CIDSS has finally provided those households with toilets.Rural health midwife of Lazi, Gemma Lumingkit said people in Upper Cabancalan usually defecate in open spaces outside their homes, such as cornfields.

[]

01/04/2018 0:00

https://news.mb.com.ph/2018/04/01/siquijor-villagers-work-together-to-build-toilets/

Manila Bulletin

CHR chief won’t quit

Despite suggestions that he resign, Commission on Human Rights (CHR) Chair Jose Luis “Chito” Gascon refuses to throw in the towel and vows to continue performing duties mandated by the Constitution.“I will, to the best of my ability, perform my lawful mandate as head of an independent non-partisan constitutional office given the duty to protect and promote human rights in this country,” Gascon said in a statement on Thursday.“I will continue to do so without fear or favor and shall always speak truth to power,” Gascon said in response to chief presidential legal counsel Salvador Panelo.Panelo had earlier suggested that Gascon resign because he was biased in the performance of his duties.Panelo made the suggestion after President Duterte remarked in a press conference after his State of the Nation Address on Monday that the CHR was “better abolished.”When he was mayor of Davao City, Mr. Duterte was investigated for alleged human rights violations.While the claims were revived when he was campaigning for the presidency, no charges were filed against him.Since then, Mr. Duterte has repeatedly complained of the bias of the agency, noting that the CHR was quick to fight for the rights of criminals but slow to “raise a whimper” in cases of law enforcers killed on duty.Gascon, however, said “none of my previous or future actions in public office would ever be motivated by vengefulness, vindictiveness, or subjectivity.”The CHR will “always abide by constitutional and human rights precepts in the performance of our duties as we shall keep faith that truth and justice shall ultimately prevail,” he added.“Secretary Panelo should focus on his job of trying to give the best legal advice he can muster for the Office of the President as I will do what I can in doing my job as best as I can,” Gascon said.Gascon also reacted to Mr. Duterte’s remark that CHR was “better abolished,” saying the abolition of the CHR would require an amendment to the 1987 Constitution.“Any discussion to abolish CHR or any other institution for that matter can be taken in the proposed constitutional reform process,” he said, adding he would “cross the bridge when we get there.”Gascon said Mr. Duterte’s statements removed “any doubt regarding the attitude his administration will take toward respecting the human rights guarantees enshrined in the Constitution.”“The actions during the first year of his presidency coupled with his words said over the same period exhibits an utter disregard for due process, equal protection, and other civil liberties. This has encouraged the deepening of impunity,” Gascon said.Gascon said Mr. Duterte’s pronouncements “encourage the security forces to act beyond established operations protocols without any attendant safeguards or effective accountability mechanisms to guard against abuse.”Vice President Leni Robredo also opposed Mr. Duterte’s suggestion to abolish the CHR because it would strip ordinary Filipinos, especially the poor, of protection against abuses.“If the CHR is abolished, it’s as if we’re really not giving protection to those who have long been suffering in our society,” Robredo said in a school building inauguration in Calabanga, Camarines Sur province.Robredo said the agency was purposely created and enshrined in the 1987 Constitution because of the country’s experience with human rights abuses at the hands of the government.“It is enshrined in our Constitution because of our experience with human rights abuses, which our own government officials have committed,” she said.

['Jaymee T. Gamil']

09/10/2017 0:00

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/918541/chr-chief-wont-quit

Inquirer

Eastern Visayas police intensifies drive vs illegal logging and fishing

The Philippine National Police (PNP) in Eastern Visayas has included in its list of priorities the intensified drive against illegal logging and illegal fishing.Eastern Visayas regional police director Chief Supt. Gilbert DC Cruz said the intensified campaign against illegal logging and illegal fishing is his top priority as the new regional director of the police force in Leyte and Samar.Cruz said the campaign against illegal logging and illegal fishing is in support of the campaign of the national government to help preserve the environment.From October 5 to 8, various police stations in the region conducted 69 anti-illegal logging operations which resulted in the arrest of 12 individuals and confiscation of P758,224 worth of illegally- cut lumber and two chainsaws, Cruz said.In the campaign against illegal fishing, 47 operations were conducted, and resulted in the arrest of 80 fishermen and confiscation of 14 fine mesh nets, two active gear compressors and 32 fishing boats.Cruz said criminal charges have been filed by the various police stations against the arrested individuals.

[]

09/10/2017 0:00

https://news.mb.com.ph/2017/10/09/eastern-visayas-police-intensifies-drive-vs-illegal-logging-and-fishing/

Manila Bulletin

Duck raisers laud, thank gov’t for lifting poultry ban

Duck raisers here expressed their profound gratitude to the government for lifting the ban on the trade and transport of live poultry and its by-products, which help them recover from financial loses.The Candaba Duck Raisers and Farmers Multi-Purpose Cooperative specifically lauded the efforts of the Department of Agriculture (DA), the provincial government of Pampanga and concerned local government units, saying all the stakeholders were concerned with their predicament as they faced millions of peso losses in the duck industry following the bird flu outbreak in San Luis town.“Maraming salamat sa tulong ninyo at hindi ninyo kami pinabayaan sa gitna ng krisis,’’ said Benedicta Baylon, president of the cooperative.She particularly cited Pampanga Gov. Lilia Pineda for her efforts in ensuring that the duck industry bounces back and recovers.Candaba Mayor Danilo Baylon also lauded the DA’s lifting of the ban as he expressed hope that this will encourage poultry farm owners to continue or restart their business.He said the bird flu outbreak in San Luis town resulted in massive losses at least P5-million a day to duck egg raisers as 80 percent of their egg production is shipped to Visayas and Mindanao, and only 20 percent are distributed in the island of Luzon.He also stressed that the avian outbreak also significantly affected poultry feed sales.“Sa totoo nyan 30 pesos nalang ang farm gate price ng mga manok sa buong Central Luzon,” the mayor said.The mayor further appealed to the national government for the financial assistance to be provided to the poultry farmers and displaced farm workers in the province.The Department of Agriculture (DA) lifted the poultry ban from Luzon to other parts of the country based on the recommendations of biosecurity experts that it is now safe to move the poultry products.Also, DA said the avian flu outbreak had been contained in San Luis town.The DA, however, clarified that restriction remains on poultry products from within the 7-kilometer control area in Barangay San Carlos in San Luis town.

[]

23/08/2017 0:00

https://news.mb.com.ph/2017/08/23/duck-raisers-laud-thank-govt-for-lifting-poultry-ban/

Manila Bulletin

WHAT WENT BEFORE: Christian sect linked to several controversies

Apollo Quiboloy, a televangelist and founder of a Christian sect called Kingdom of Jesus Christ, the Name Above Every Name, has been linked to several controversies including land-grabbing cases, a custody dispute and the recent attempt to smuggle cash out of Hawaii.In 2005, Quiboloy and his group was investigated following a demand by a mother in Baguio City to reclaim custody of her daughter from his group.Erlinda Rillon alleged that Quiboloy lured Baguio teenagers and young adults, like her daughter, Arlene, who refused to return home.The Rillons sued the sect’s Baguio coordinators for abducting and detaining their daughter, but a Baguio Regional Trial Court judge dismissed the case when Arlene turned 19 in August 2004.In May 2005 the sect filed libel charges against the Rillon couple, who were arrested three months later but were released on bail.Three years later, Rillon finally saw her daughter. But Arlene sued her parents and three government social workers for forcing her to return to Baguio.Killing of datuIn 2008, Quiboloy was tagged as the brains behind the killing of Datu Dominador Diarog, a leader of the Bagobo-K’lata tribe in Davao City’s Tugbok district.On April 29, 2008, unidentified men fired at Diarog’s house, wounding him, his wife and two of their children.He died the next day at the hospital.His wife believes her husband was killed for refusing to sell 2 hectares of their property for P50,000 to followers of Quiboloy.Planted to several crops, the property is within the 700-ha ancestral domain claimed by the Bagobos in Tugbok. It is nestled on a hilltop that Quiboloy’s congregation reportedly wanted to develop into a highland resort.Quiboloy published a statement in various Davao City newspapers denying any involvement in the killing.In February 2014, Quiboloy and his sect were again caught in another land-grabbing controversy involving ancestral land in another part of Tugbok.According to the victims, armed men forced them from their homes at Sitio Diolo, telling them their land had been sold to Quiboloy.Sitio Diolo, home to 20 “lumad” households, is part of the 6,800-ha ancestral domain claim of the Bagobo-K’lata tribe and includes 10 lumad communities at Tugbok’s Barangay Manuel Guianga.Members of the sect, however, said Quiboloy had nothing to do with the land dispute. They said former Sitio Diolo residents had turned over their rights to the Jesus Christ Workers and Members Cooperative, in exchange for cash or goods.Source: Inquirer Archives

['Inquirer Research']

16/12/2016 0:00

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/979937/what-went-before-christian-sect-linked-to-several-controversies

Inquirer

Tacloban thanks DILG for post-Yolanda projects

The city government thanked the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) for stepping up recovery efforts in this typhoon-hit city under the new administration.Mayor Cristina Romualdez on Friday said the city government is lucky to be a recipient of DILG-funded projects after the devastation of super typhoon Yolanda.Romualdez was referring to the Reconstruction Assistance on Yolanda (RAY) funded projects such as city hall rehabilitation, court office, and repair of village facilities.“DILG has lived up to its mandate to promote public safety and strengthen local government capability toward effective delivery of basic services to the citizenry,” she said.The mayor issued the statement after DILG Secretary Ismael Sueno visited the city on Thursday to lead the inauguration of the Tacloban City Court office building.The city trial court located at the city hall grounds has two rooms at the first floor. The upper floor is the office of the City Civil Registrar.Sueno lauded the resiliency of Tacloban residents who recovered right after the typhoon.The DILG chief also went to the Leyte provincial capitol to unveil the Seal of Good Local Governance (SGLG) marker for the province.Leyte Governor Leopoldo Dominico Petilla described the award as a product of the collaborative effort of all employees of the provincial government.As recipient of the SGLG award, the province of Leyte will receive Performance Challenge Fund, an incentive to local government units implementing projects addressing the basic needs of residents.

[]

16/12/2016 0:00

https://news.mb.com.ph/2016/12/16/tacloban-thanks-dilg-for-post-yolanda-projects/

Manila Bulletin

Liliosa Hilao: First Martial Law detainee killed

(Second of a series)Liliosa Hilao, who died at the age of 23, was the first reported case of a student activist who died in detention during martial law.Her asthma may have prevented Lilli—as friends called her—from joining rallies but she found other ways to express her conviction.A consistent honor student in elementary and high school, she studied communication arts at Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila (PLM), where she became an editor at PLM’s school paper, “Hasik.”An active student despite being sickly, Lilli was a leader, the student president of the communication arts department and a representative to PLM’s student central government.A secretary of the Women’s Club of Pamantasan, Lilli organized the Communication Arts Club in PLM. She was also a member of the College Editors Guild of the Philippines.Death came for Lilli in April 1973 when she was abducted by drunken soldiers looking for her brother. Troopers from the Constabulary Anti-Narcotics Unit (Canu) raided the family’s house and Lilli demanded a search warrant. In response, the soldiers slapped her.She was later handcuffed and taken in for questioning. When a brother-in-law came to see her at the camp, her face was swollen. She said she was tortured.The following day, Lilli was dead.According to an official Canu report, Lilli committed suicide by drinking muriatic acid. But postmortem findings showed she was tortured.Her face was severely swollen. Her lips bore cigarette burns. She had 11 injection marks in her arms and deep handcuff marks on her wrists. Her torso was badly bruised with finger marks and gun-barrel marks. It was also possible she was sexually abused.Lilli died before she could graduate. Because she was a consistent scholar, a vacant seat was reserved for her during the ceremonies. She was given posthumous cum laude honors.Another young activist, Jan Quimpo, was at the Hilao residence when soldiers from Canu abducted him, along with Lilli and two other Philippine Science High School (PSHS) students.Jan, along with his brother Ishmael “Jun” Quimpo, was exposed to student demonstrations that marked the turbulent days of the early 1970s after their family moved near Manila’s university belt.Jan, the first activist of the family, was described as a mild-mannered boy with an occasional rebellious streak. He was 13 when he was awarded a scholarship at PSHS.After being exposed to rundown facilities, late monthly stipends and substandard living conditions in what was supposed to be a highly regarded institution, he joined his fellow scholars in protesting their poor conditions.Alliances formedWhen the student protests in Metro Manila against the abuses of the Marcos administration escalated in 1970, several PSHS students, including Jan, joined the rallies. They forged alliances with college activists from the University of the Philippines (UP), particularly Kabataang Makabayan (KM).Jan’s ambition changed to being a “kadre,” or someone dedicated to serving the masses in a revolutionary way. He started spending time with squatter families, eking out a living mostly by quarrying adobe blocks.In 1971, an increase in gas prices triggered widespread demonstrations by students and transport workers. In UP Diliman, a student was shot dead at a student barricade.Students responded by blockading the university gates from police and soldiers, triggering the putting up of what was called the Diliman Commune. Jan, a high school senior at PSHS at that time, took part in that event.Recruitment workWithin PSHS, students held daily protests and walked out of their classes. The faculty could not find enough students to fill the classrooms. Eventually, school officials simply allowed the two most senior batches to graduate. Jan was among them.While Jan passed the entrance exams for college at UP Diliman, he went to school not to attend classes but to meet fellow activists and recruit others. Soon, he dropped out and worked full-time as an activist.Packing his bags, he left home and lived at the KM headquarters.On April 4, 1973, Jan was at the house of schoolmate Marie Hilao when a group of antinarcotics troopers came demanding to see Marie’s brother, who was also an activist. Failing to find their target, they took Jan, two other PSHS students and two of Marie’s sisters.All were subjected to physical and psychological torture. Marie’s sister Lilli died as a result.After Lilli’s death, the torture sessions ceased. Jan was moved to a detention cell and, three months later, was released.Never seen againIn October 1977, Constabulary troopers raided the Quimpo house looking for Jan’s brother Jun, who was out at the time. The troopers left without arresting anyone.Two weeks later, Jan left home, saying he was coming back for dinner. He never returned. All attempts by the family to find him failed.They received reports that Jan was seen in several public places, curiously turning away if a friend tried to approach him. The conclusion they made was that he had been arrested and was likely being used to trace other activists.But these reports stopped coming in not long after. Jan was never seen again. He was 23.Jan’s brother Jun is remembered by friends and family as a talented college dropout who chose to work for the poor and devote his life to the cause of the downtrodden.Only 13 when the First Quarter Storm erupted, Jun was caught in the spirit of his time. He wanted to participate, and felt he was spoiled by his easy life.In 1971, 14-year-old Jun joined the KM chapter in San Beda and participated in rallies.First exposureWhen martial law was declared, Jun was enrolled at UP Diliman. He joined the youth committee of the Consultative Committee on Student Affairs—an alternative to the Marcos-banned student councils.But Jun was more interested in community work. His first community exposure was at Constitution Hills in Quezon City, then a relocation area for squatters. It is now the site of the House of Representatives.He also became a member of Alyansa ng Maralita sa Tatalon, a big slum community in Quezon City, where he continued his organizing work, engaging residents in political discussions and urging them to step out of their idleness, hopelessness, and beer-drinking sprees, and take responsibility for their future.It was during this time that Jun began writing songs, through which he expressed his views and dreams.At first, he would take existing protest songs and change their lyrics, like those for the Sanggunian, a song composed in 1975 which advocated the restoration of the student councils under martial law.With a guitar, he would sing for hours, inspiring people and making them feel strong.After Jun was arrested and detained for 10 days in 1976 for participating in a rally of 5,000 informal settlers in front of Manila Cathedral, he decided to leave the city, give up college and join the antimartial law underground movement in the rural areas, where he worked for the next five years.In December 1981, in Kalasitan, Muñoz, Nueva Ecija province, Jun was having a meal when someone shot him from the back several times.A certain Juan Simon, Jun’s former comrade who had surrendered to the Constabulary, admitted responsibility for the slaying. Jun was 24 years old.Jun’s family came up with a collection of his songs, “Ang Awit ni Jun (The Songs of Jun),” in his honor and memory. Marielle Medina and Kate Pedroso, Inquirer ResearchSources: Subversive Lives: A Family Memoir of the Marcos Years, Bantayog.orgRELATED STORIESNever too young to be heroesLawmaker proposes heroes’ cemeteries in provinces

['Kate Pedroso', 'Marielle Medina']

19/01/2017 0:00

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/718061/liliosa-hilao-first-martial-law-detainee-killed

Inquirer

Miss New Zealand’s special place in the hearts of Baguioans

The very warm and hospitable people of this city might have gone awestruck over the visit of 28 of the most beautiful ladies in the world competing for the Miss Universe crown, but in their hearts, they were cheering very especially for two candidates – Miss Philippines Maxine Medina and Miss New Zealand Tania Dawson.“We are very proud that there is someone from Baguio who is competing in the Miss Universe and we pray for the best in this pageant,” said Baguio City Mayor Mauricio Domogan, referring to Dawson who is half-Filipino.Dawson, 24, is a daughter of Margarita Palabay who was born in Baguio and raised in Sta. Maria, Pangasinan before marrying a New Zealander.Tania’s family led by her mother, together with their friends, had a homecoming and showed their full support for her joining one of the most glamorous and prestigious beauty pageants in the world.“Masayang-masaya kami at lahat ng pamilya at kaibigan ko ng anak ko ay naandito ngayon (We’re very happy that all of my family members, my friends and my daughters friends are here today),” said Margarita as they held up banners on the roadside where the floral floats carrying the candidates passed by last Wednesday.Domogan said he was wishing both Dawson and Medina the best outcome in the pageant on January 30.

[]

19/01/2017 0:00

https://news.mb.com.ph/2017/01/19/miss-new-zealands-special-place-in-the-hearts-of-baguioans/

Manila Bulletin

Two Catholic bishops pass away on same day

THE 131-member Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) has lost two of its members on the same day to cancer.Bishop Leopoldo Tumulak of the Military Ordinariate of the Philippines (MOP) and San Fernando City (La Union) Bishop Rodolfo Beltran both passed away on Saturday.Tumulak,72, died of pancreatic cancer at the Cardinal Santos Medical Center in Mandaluyong City at 1:26 p.m., while Bautista, 68, expired six hours later of prostrate cancer at the University of Santo Tomas Hospital in Manila.The MOP is a personal diocese for the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the Philippine National Police and the Philippine Coast Guard.At the time of his death, Tumulak was also chairman of the CBCP’s Episcopal Commission on Prison Pastoral Care.He also served as the first chairman of the bishops’ Commission for the Cultural Heritage of the Church from 1996 to 2005.In 2000, Pope John Paul II appointed him as a Consultor to the Vatican’s Pontifical Commission for the Cultural Heritage of the Church, a position he held until 2005.A native of Santander town in Cebu province, Tumulak was ordained priest in March 1971.In January 1987, he was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Cebu and served at the post for five years until 1992 when he was named the bishop of Tagbilaran City (Bohol).Beltran was serving his fourth year as bishop of San Fernando at the time of his death.He was born on November 13, 1948 in Gattaran, Cagayan and was ordained priest on March 25, 1976.Beltran served as parish priest of Saint Anne Parish, Buguey, Cagayan (1997-1999) and of Saint Peter Cathedral, Tuguegarao City (also in Cagayan) from 1999 to 2005.On March 18, 2006, Pope Benedict XVI appointed him Vicar Apostolic of Bontoc-Lagawe.On October 30, 2012, he was appointed as the bishop of San Fernando City, La Union.Pope Francis is expected to name the two bishops’ replacements in accordance with the Vatican’s rules on succession.The Supreme Pontiff or the Pope has the ultimate decision whom to choose based on a list of candidates forwarded by the Philippine Apostolic Nuncio to the Congregation for Bishops in Rome.WILLIAM B. DEPASUPIL

['William Depasupil']

2017-06-18 19:32:47+00:00

https://www.manilatimes.net/two-catholic-bishops-pass-away-day/333518/

Manila Times

Nightmare finally over for PH domestic workers

Seila Rasid smiled as she looked out the glass window of Gate 12 at Terminal 1 of Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) on Monday. She was home.She sneaked into Kuwait in 2012 to get some “alone time or a vacation” after learning that she was an adopted child.But instead of vacationing, she illegally worked in Kuwait as a domestic helper and went through five years of hell at the hands of brutal employers.Now 22 and six months pregnant by her Syrian boyfriend, Rasid could smile as she pronounced her “nightmare finally over.”Rasid was one of 377 migrants brought home by the government on Monday as President Duterte clamped a ban on deployment of workers to Kuwait due to reports of abuse against Filipinos by Kuwait employers.Protest urgedThe migrants arrived home as the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) urged the government to file a diplomatic protest over the maltreatment of Filipinos in Kuwait.Balanga Bishop Ruperto Santos, chair of the CBCP’s Episcopal Commission on Migrants and Itinerant Peoples, backed the government’s decision to ban the deployment of workers to the emirate following the discovery of the body of a Filipino woman in a freezer at an abandoned apartment.“It’s only right to file a diplomatic protest. Ensure that those responsible be made accountable, and stop the deployment of [workers] and take care of [the] Filipino workers there,” Santos said on Church-run Radio Veritas.The Overseas Workers Welfare Administration is expecting more than 2,500 migrants to return home by Feb. 22, according to its chief, Hans Leo Cacdac.The migrants flown in on Monday had either escaped from abusive employers and sought help from the Philippine Embassy in Kuwait or had overstayed there, he said.Cacdac said he believed more Filipinos wanted to go home but could not get in touch with the embassy for help. They could be illegal workers whose movements are restricted by their employers.Fake passportRasid, a native of Malabang town in Lanao del Sur, had been one of them. She had traveled to Kuwait on a fake passport that showed she was born in 1946.That she got past immigration both in Manila and in Kuwait indicated the hand of unscrupulous people whose work had landed tens of thousands of Filipinos like her in the homes of foreigners who treated them like animals.“You won’t recognize me years ago because my face was covered with bruises,” she said, as she spoke of her experience at the hands of her first employer, an old Kuwaiti man.“He never called me by my name. He called me ‘hayman’ (animal) or ‘mar’ (monster) and even ‘kelb’ (dog),” she said. “But that was all right. I needed the job and the money.”She said she was punched, kicked and had her head smashed on a wall. “They are demons there in Kuwait,” she said.She said she was sold to a Syrian family, who sold her to a labor agency. When she got the chance, she escaped with only the clothes on her back and was adopted by a group of Filipinos.Rasid vowed never to return to Kuwait, but 41-year-old Alma Cabarles, who was also among those repatriated on Monday, would do so “if the offer is right.”

['Dexter Cabalza']

21/06/2017 0:00

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/968280/nightmare-finally-over-for-ph-domestic-workers

Inquirer

He was my human rights lawyer

I AM STILL a bit shaky after learning from Inquirer editor in chief Letty J. Magsanoc that Joker Arroyo has “passed on to the highest court in the great beyond,” but I am under orders “to write a personal tribute,” so I write.When an Army general of the Marcos dictatorship slapped me with a P10-million libel suit in 1983 for my Panorama magazine article on human rights violations committed against rural folks in Bataan province, the publication gave me a lawyer, and from the Siguion-Reyna Law Office no less.And then I got a call from Joker Arroyo whom I had never spoken to personally but whom I knew as a tough human rights lawyer and defender of big-name Marcos victims as well as unknown ones languishing in the dungeons of martial rule. I had been familiar with cases documented by the Task Force Detainees of the Philippines (TFDP), a mission partner of the Association of Major Religious Superiors in the Philippines, and had helped in some of their publications, so his name rang loud.His face was familiar too because he was among those often photographed with bigwigs of the anti-Marcos forces in rallies. He was also in photographs taken at the court trial of Ninoy Aquino that showed the defense team that included him and Sen. Lorenzo Tañada.Could he have a word with me? Joker said on the phone. Could we meet somewhere?Joker came alone to a small restaurant in Quezon City and offered to be my lawyer. Pro bono, of course. I told him that I already had a lawyer, Saklolo Leano of Siguion-Reyna. He said he knew “Sak,” that they would work together to defend me. He was insistent and I couldn’t help wondering why my case meant the world to him. Perhaps because his late sister Nimia was a writer, I mused.Defending women writersJust a little backgrounder. I had been the first writer to be interrogated by the defense department (1980) and later was one of several women writers who went through a series of interrogations conducted by a military tribunal (1983). “National Intelligence Board” was how the military officers called themselves. It was the brainchild of Gen. Fabian Ver, then the Armed Forces chief of staff. I called them the Sanhedrin.And then my case became like a trial balloon. In street-corner lingo, “sasampolan.” That was after our group, Women Writers in Media Now, routed the “National Intelligence Board” at the Supreme Court. We had a battery of human rights Mabini lawyers, with Tañada leading the pack, and Joker was among them.We thought it was over. All of a sudden, Brig. Gen. Artemio Tadiar, commander of the 3rd Marine Brigade, came out of the woodwork to claim he had been maligned by the article. He had become a military attaché somewhere, but a P10-million libel suit was staring me in the face. It was pure harassment.Rosary in his pocketI said yes to Joker defending my case. While saying goodbye after our talk, he pulled out something from his pocket, a handkerchief, I think, and out fell his rosary.The case was filed in Manila. I remember Joker telling me to make myself unobtrusive until bail had been posted, else I’d be handcuffed by the sheriff right there. At the preliminary hearing, Joker and Rene Saguisag clashed swords with then fiscal Jose Flaminiano (Joe Flame, Joker called him).Well, to my chagrin, the Joe Flame filed the case for hearing. I don’t recall the name of the legal maneuver Joker did to make the case hibernate but it did. Thankfully, it did not progress to see me impoverished and in prison because the 1986 Edsa People Power Revolution happened.Still, I made sure the case was finally dropped. Joker, President Cory Aquino’s executive secretary, made sure that would happen.I was assigned to do a Sunday Inquirer Magazine cover story on Joker, the executive secretary (“Joker Arroyo Looks Back,” Feb. 24, 1991) for the fifth anniversary of the triumph of people power that saw the Marcos dictatorship crashing down. The Q & A is still quite a read.‘Humanized’Joker sent a handwritten letter dated Feb. 21, 1991, tucked inside a long white envelope with a Post-It on the flap. So old-school, I thought. He sent it through then Inquirer publisher Eggie Apostol.It read:“Eggie was indulgent enough to send me an advance copy. I felt great, being alternately humanized, then made bigger than life, then being combative, then supposedly humble in a stylish play of words and format only you can craft. Thanks really.“I kept reading and rereading it like a priest reads and rereads the breviary in blind faith. And the paper didn’t soil. Has the color any preservative?“Why don’t you, Lorna (then magazine editor), Bullit (Marquez, Associated Press photojournalist) and I meet for Chinese or Japanese, Filipino or Thai, Italian or Spanish lunch? Do set the date a week ahead or whatever. If mater publisher will condescend, it will be nice for her to join and stifle the fun. Most sincerely, Joker. P.S. Your handwriting is the trademark of a school.”A faxed letter, now fading on thermal paper, was his reaction to my feature article on the exhibit of medieval torture instruments and King Ludwig’s castle that I visited in Germany. It continued with a letter to magazine editor Lorna Kalaw-Tirol congratulating her.“Why my interest in this (the Inquirer magazine)? I was editor of the Chinese Commercial News, a pre-martial law Chinese language paper. When the Yuyitung brothers, Quintin and Rizal, owners, were deported in 1970, I took over as editor so the show (newspaper) will go on. Advertising became my concern and was illiterate in Chinese. I was their lawyer.”(The names of the Yuyitung brothers are now carved on the granite Wall of Remembrance of Bantayog ng mga Bayani dedicated to heroes and martyrs who fought, died or were imprisoned during the martial law years, a number of whom Joker had defended.)‘Equipoise’Another note, written on Civil Liberties Union of the Philippines/Free Legal Assistance Group stationery said: “Your answers conveyed unabashed humility and plain grit. Very searing. I just thought I should let you know.” I think it was about an article on me. Printed at the bottom of the stationery were the names Lorenzo M. Tañada, Jose W. Diokno and Joker P. Arroyo. The Mabini brotherhood of lawyers was not yet in existence then.From Joker, I learned the meaning of “equipoise” that he used to describe a trait of Sr. Mariani Dimaranan SFIC, human rights defender and founder of TFDP. After she died and I was writing an article on her, I asked Joker for a quote and he obliged. What a tribute he gave.So many years have passed but the women writers and the Mabini lawyers continued to keep in touch with each other, our way of expressing our appreciation for their stand and struggle to defend the oppressed and see justice prevail. A number of them later occupied elective and appointive positions in government, among them, Joker Arroyo (executive secretary, congressman, senator), Rene Saguisag (senator), Fulgencio Factoran (environment secretary), Augusto Sanchez (labor secretary), but they did not enrich themselves. (Joker, you know why I am saying this.)When we came together to wine and dine, there would be lots of reminiscences, political gossip, teasing, jokes and laughter. We would also speak about painful and crushing incidents in the past. Joker would come with his wry sense of humor but would occasionally give in to cajoling and break open his thoughts even while feigning disinterest in silly, mundane matters.No goodbyesThe second to the last time we lunched with Mabini lawyers Joker, Saguisag and Factoran was sometime in 2013. Joker ordered Chinese food and paid for it. When reminiscing time came, I suddenly remembered and narrated that small rosary incident with Joker when I was an endangered species. What do you know, the three formidable human rights lawyers, food in their mouths, instantly dug into their pockets and brought out their rosaries. Joker, too, had his.No goodbyes, Joker. You left on the month of the rosary. My prayers and sympathies to your daughters and your lawyer-wife Fely.I had written about persons who mattered to the lives of many and to my own, persons who are listed in my book. If I may quote myself, let me say and apply this to you, too: “You will be reborn in my words/ On the pages I write you will rise/ You will die say goodbye/ But I will remember/ I will make you live again in my words.”

['Ma. Ceres P. Doyo']

21/06/2017 0:00

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/728925/he-was-my-human-rights-lawyer

Inquirer

Luistro: Working with media like training dragon

In his six-year stint as head of the Department of Education (DepEd), Secretary Armin Luistro’s relationship with the media since he first joined the DepEd in 2010 may be likened to that of the animated movie “How To Train Your Dragon.”“Over the past six years, I think the engagement with the media is like befriending a dragon. At first, as a dragon, you spit out fire and you look like you’re out to eat us all,” a calm and relaxed Luistro said in his speech at the farewell lunch that the DepEd hosted for the media at its headquarters in Pasig City.Luistro, who admitted to being “necessarily cautious if not suspicious” of the media in the early years of his term, said it was only after he listened to media’s countless questions that he eventually learned to understand that “you don’t need to kill the dragon and that you can befriend the dragon.”“That wasn’t easy for me—someone who’s new to government [service] and accustomed to private life,” said Luistro, president of De La Salle University before he accepted the education portfolio in 2010.Not all rosyLuistro’s engagements with the media since he took office weren’t all rosy, especially during his first interview in June 2010 after he officially became the head of the DepEd. Luistro even described that moment as a “very, very bad encounter.”At that time, the proposed sex education in schools was a hot topic. After then Education Secretary Mona Valisno turned over the post to him, Luistro was asked by reporters on his position on the proposal.Luistro was caught on camera saying: “You know, the media is not helping resolve the issues. They’ll pit us against each other and they won’t discuss the issues properly, calmly. We will talk about it without media, so don’t ask me about sex education because you’re not giving any help.”Media literacyHe told reporters covering the DepEd that because of that incident, President Aquino ordered Cabinet secretaries to undergo a media literacy program.“I was blamed by the new secretaries. It was because of me that we needed to undergo such seminar,” Luistro said, drawing laughter from the DepEd officials and around 40 reporters at the event.“It was toward the end of my term that I realized that you were actually doing your job. For you not to ask questions will make you lazy. For us who are new [to government], it was a bit hard to see. Over time, I realized that the engagement is also a relationship,” he said.Great rideHe pointed out that if it were not for media’s incessant questioning, the public would have not known of the reforms they have initiated in the department, most especially the landmark K-12 education reform program.Luistro, who steps down on Friday as the first education secretary to finish a six-year term, described his journey with the media at the DepEd as “a great ride.”

['Jovic Yee']

2017-03-31 15:01:03+00:00

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/792991/luistro-working-with-media-like-training-dragon

Inquirer

Angara urges jobs for Marawi residents

SENATOR Juan Edgardo Angara on Saturday urged the public employment service offices (PESOs) in neighboring areas of Marawi City to provide jobs to displaced workers due to the ongoing conflict between government forces and the Maute extremist group.He said that until the Marawi residents are not allowed to go back to their place of work in the city, due to security concerns, they will remain jobless.“The PESOs in the region should be active in providing employment assistance to the displaced workers so that they will be able to provide for their families,” said Angara, vice chairman of the Senate labor committee.Since violence erupted on May 23, around 400,000 people have been displaced, with many living in host communities or in evacuation centers across Mindanao.Most of the displaced families took refuge in neighboring communities in Lanao Del Norte, Iligan and Cagayan De Oro.Angara has worked for the passage of Republic Act 10691 that strengthens the PESO Act to ensure that all provinces, municipalities, cities and other strategic areas throughout the country will have their respective public employment service offices.He lauded the Department of Labor and Employment for allocating P30 million for its Tulong Pangkabuhayan sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced (TUPAD) workers program, which now provides emergency employment assistance to nearly 2,300 displaced workers

['Bernadette E. Tamayo']

2017-08-19 20:51:55+00:00

https://www.manilatimes.net/angara-urges-jobs-marawi-residents/345500/

Manila Times

Poe tops Radio Veritas’ ‘truth survey’

Sen. Grace Poe has emerged as the top choice of Filipinos in the latest “truth survey” conducted by Catholic Church-run Radio Veritas that screened all five presidential candidates based on 10 qualities of a servant-leader.Poe was on the top spot in nine out of the 10 standards with an overall score of 59 percent.Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago came in second, consistently ranking second in half of the given traits with an overall percentage of 51 percent.Liberal Party standard-bearer Mar Roxas and Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte tied for the third spot, each garnering 44 percent.Vice President Jejomar Binay took the last spot, obtaining an average score of 41 percent. He placed last when respondents were asked if he had the qualities of healing, persuasion, foresight, stewardship and commitment to the growth of the people.The candidates were ranked based on the qualities of listening, empathy, healing, awareness, persuasion, conceptualization, foresight, stewardship, commitment to the growth of the people and building community.These criteria were adopted from the servant-leadership theoretical framework of Robert Greenleaf, the founder of the modern servant leadership movement and the Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership.The survey, conducted by the research department of Radio Veritas, interviewed 1,200 respondents from urban and rural areas nationwide from February to mid-March chosen on the basis of stratified random sampling with a margin of error of plus-or-minus 3 percentage points.AwarenessRadio Veritas consultant Clifford Sorita, a sociologist, said the respondents were asked to answer “yes” or “no” if they think a candidate has each of the 10 characteristics of a “servant-leader.”Poe consistently took the first spot in all the qualities except for “awareness,” where she placed last with 48.7 percent.She was the most favored presidential candidate with listening skills, empathy, healing, persuasion, conceptualization, foresight, stewardship, commitment to the growth of the people and community building.The “awareness” trait was defined as having sufficient knowledge and experience for the position, which reflects the programs he or she has implemented during his or her previous government post. Santiago got the nod of 75.1 percent of the respondents on this trait, Binay second with 65 percent, Roxas 61.7 percent, and Duterte 56 percent.For listening, three out of four or 76.5 percent of the respondents chose Poe, followed by Roxas with 54.3 percent, Santiago 53.9 percent, and Binay 50 percent. Duterte ranked last in this area.The longtime Davao City mayor, who has been under fire for his remarks about the rape and killing of 36-year-old Australian Jacqueline Hamill, also scored poorly in community building, or the capacity to unite various institutions of the society to collaborate in problem solving.Poe was the most emphatic among the presidential candidates with 70.8 percent, followed by Binay with 52.5 percent, Duterte 46.5 percent, Roxas 45 percent, and Santiago 40.9 percent.Not a popularity pollHalf of the respondents also believed that Poe has a “healing” quality. Only 29.2 percent and 24.5 percent of the respondents said Duterte and Binay, respectively, possess this characteristic.At a press conference Wednesday, the Radio Veritas president, Fr. Anton Pascual, emphasized that the study was not a popularity survey but an evaluation of the presidential candidates according to the characteristics of servant-leadership.“A servant leader, according to Greenleaf, puts the needs of others first and helps people develop and perform as highly as possible,” Pascual said.Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo also said the results of the survey were not being endorsed by the Catholic Church.“These candidates were not ranked by the Church. The survey did not ask priests and nuns but ordinary people based on their perception,” he said.Pabillo said Radio Veritas initiated the survey to help Filipino voters examine the candidates in many aspects before they cast their ballots on May 9.Poe’s spokesperson Rex Gatchalian welcomed the survey results. “She is thankful to our public for appreciating the brand of service she puts in her work as a legislator and servant of the people,” he said.

['Jocelyn R. Uy']

25/04/2018 0:00

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/780632/poe-tops-radio-veritas-truth-survey

Inquirer

New suspect held in Nilo’s killing

The Nueva Ecija prosecutor’s office has dropped the murder charge it filed against Adel Roll Milan, 26, who was accused of killing Fr. Richmond Nilo on June 10 in Zaragoza town.On Friday, Milan said he was freed after authorities learned that police would charge a new suspect, identified only as “Omar or Arman,” allegedly a hired gun who was arrested by the police in Arayat town, Pampanga province.The Central Luzon police declined to comment on the new arrest.“I resemble the [new] suspect,” said Milan, after he saw the new suspect at the Nueva Ecija Justice Hall in Cabanatuan City shortly after he was released.Shot before MassNilo, parish priest of St. Vincent Ferrer in Zaragoza, was shot dead as he prepared for Mass at the Nuestra Señora de la Nieve chapel.He was killed in front of parishioners.On the eve of Nilo’s burial on June 15, police arrested Milan in San Isidro town after a witness identified him from the police rogue’s gallery.But Milan’s relatives and neighbors in the village of Malapit in San Isidro said police got the wrong man.They said Milan had been drinking with them from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. on June 10.A barangay council member also vouched for Milan’s innocence.Milan had been detained at the Nueva Ecija police station here for 16 days.“I was innocent and I always prayed that they would find the culprit,” he said.No injusticePolice had described Milan as a drug suspect but he said he quit using drugs in 2015 and had been living with his grandmother.He said police kept asking him questions regarding the murder until he was formally charged by the prosecutor.“I kept saying I did not know anything [about the murder],” he said, adding that he was not harmed during interrogations.The information on the new suspect prompted the Diocese of Cabanatuan to ask for a briefing from the police.Fr. Noel Jetajobe, the diocese’s vicar general, said the Church received updates about the case through text messages and telephone calls but the investigation had yet to uncover the people who ordered Nilo’s death.Jetajobe said no member of Milan’s family had talked to the diocese about the case.“But we wouldn’t want to have double injustices in this case. We don’t want to prosecute innocents,” he said.

['Armand Galang']

2016-12-19 22:31:56+00:00

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1005568/new-suspect-held-in-nilos-killing

Inquirer

Power back in Bohol, but only briefly

There was only one way resident Jenalyn Castro would know if electricity had returned to her home — flick the switch.To her surprise, the light in her living room came to life, a sign that power was back.“I hope this continues,” said Castro. The first thing she did was charge her cellular phone.While electricity returned to Bohol on Friday, it was confined only to this capital city and only for several hours.Power had to be cut for at least six hours a day as supply fell sharply when geothermal plants in Leyte, the main source of electricity in Bohol, had to be temporarily shut down for repairs following the 6.5-magnitude quake that struck Leyte.In a statement, the Energy Development Corp. (EDC) said all its plants in Leyte were still not operating as an assessment of the extent of the damage was being done.It said that Unit 1 of Tongonan Geothermal Power Plant “may not be operational for some time due to cooling tower damage.”But one plant, Upper Mahiao, would be in operation in up to seven days, bringing 132 megawatts “back to the grid.”“We are still working to clear landslide debris,” said the EDC.In 10 days, the EDC said that at least 317 MW of power would be back to the grid.The Bohol Light Company Inc. (BLCI), the main power distributor in Tagbilaran City, tapped the Bohol Diesel Power Plant (BDPP) in the village of Dampas here for additional electricity.But the BDPP does not have the capacity to supply the province’s entire power needs.EDC said access to one of its geothermal plants, Mahanagdong, “remains difficult.”According to May Hope Arcenal, BLCI spokesperson, power demand in Bohol peaks at 80 MW.The province has three hydropower plants in three towns—Balihan, Loboc and Sevilla—with a combined capacity of less than 10 MW. Some areas in Tagbilaran City had power for only an hour.Arcenal said that mall owners and big establishments in the city used generator sets.The Bohol Electric Cooperative also started to ration electricity to consumers in Maribojoc and Calape towns on Friday night

['Leo Udtohan']

2016-12-19 22:31:56+00:00

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/912148/power-back-in-bohol-but-only-briefly

Inquirer

New BOC deputy chief takes oath

Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez 3rd has sworn into office Edward James Dy Buco as deputy commissioner of the Bureau of Customs (BOC) replacing Peter Manzano.Buco was a private lawyer prior to his appointment as Customs deputy commissioner but had served at the bureau’s provincial districts in various capacities for almost 12 years starting in 2002.He had served as Deputy Collector for Operations of the BOC’s Davao district from November 2012 to January 2014.Buco was also named officer-in-charge of the Davao district from April to June of 2013 and was chief of staff of the same district from November 2011 up to November 2012.Prior to his Davao assignment, he was assigned in Cebu City, where he was Deputy Collector for Administration at the Cebu Port and chief of its Auction and Cargo Disposal Committee. He was also the chief of the port’s legal division and accounting head of its bonds section.Buco was a managing partner of the Mosquera Dy Buco Law Office based in General Santos City and legal practitioner at the Dy Buco Law Office in San Jose, Antique.He was once a provincial board member representing the North District of Antique and had taught law at the Mindanao State University College of Law in General Santos City.Buco completed his law degree at the Ateneo de Manila University and his bachelor of arts degree at the West Visayas State College in Iloilo City.

['The Manila Times']

2016-12-19 22:31:56+00:00

https://www.manilatimes.net/new-boc-deputy-chief-takes-oath-2/302672/

Manila Times

Lost at sea: ‘Thousands’ of dead migrants never identified

sometimes with tragic outcomes.And rescuing victims from the sea can make identification much harder because “bodies which have been taken out of the water have often started rotting,” a security official in Saint-Louis told AFP.In such cases, they are buried on the beach, he said.Across the globe, the number of migrants who have died at sea is “enormous” but the rate at which they are identified remains “very low,” said Jose Baraybar, a Paris-based forensic expert who works for the International Committee of the Red Cross and was addressing a meeting in Dakar.So local residents have teamed up to do their own investigations.“We discuss the disappeared, how to identify them from their clothes, watches, faces, identity papers,” Dieye told AFP, saying her village was working with people from another village near Dakar.Lucky charmsWhen two local boys died at sea in April, their relatives recognized them through the clothes and lucky charms they were wearing, Ndiebene-Gandiol’s mayor said.And in the neighboring village of Pilote-Bar, bracelets, and rings were found on corpses which helped with identification, according to Issa Wade, who heads another support group for the families of missing migrants.But it gets significantly harder when the deaths occur hundreds or even thousands of miles away.“The main issue is having information about the victims before they die,” explained Baraybar.“Without knowing who they were, if they were 1.80 meters tall, what they were wearing or whether they were wearing a ring or a bracelet, without having this information from the relatives, it is impossible.”The puzzle continues for forensic experts in places like Greece or Italy when bodies are found in the Mediterranean.In transit countries like Tunisia, “migrants conceal all information about themselves to avoid being sent back to their country” if arrested, said Moncef Hamdoun, who heads the forensic department at Charles-Nicolle hospital in Tunis.“We have a database for Tunisians,” but not for people from elsewhere, he said.And when bodies end up in the sea, pictures are of little use, he said.

[]

30/08/2018 0:00

https://news.mb.com.ph/2018/08/30/lost-at-sea-thousands-of-dead-migrants-never-identified/

Manila Bulletin

P470-M projects for best performing LGUs

senior citizens, persons with disabilities (PWDs) or indigenous peoples (IPs). One of the PCF projects in Concepcion town, Iloilo province is a P3-million Senior Citizen and PWD Center.The PCF can also be used to augment LGUs in completing local road projects.The SGLG awards LGUs with good performance in fiscal management, basic social services, disaster preparedness, business-friendly climate, and peace and order.

[]

07/11/2017 0:00

https://news.mb.com.ph/2017/11/07/p470-m-projects-for-best-performing-lgus/

Manila Bulletin

Pinoys would have to make do with lunar eclipse

Filipinos may have missed the first total solar eclipse that unfolded from coast to coast of the United States in nearly a century, but they will witness another celestial spectacle on Jan. 31 next year — a lunar eclipse called a full “blood moon.”Lunar eclipses are usually characterized by the moon or a portion of it turning reddish, as the sun, Earth and full moon align or nearly align, earning the phenomenon the name blood moon.The Philippines will be missing out on this year’s biggest astronomical event — a total solar eclipse — but skywatchers can tune in to live video streams and images of the event online, courtesy of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa).The program for the total solar eclipse on Aug. 21 will start at noontime Eastern daylight time (EDT), starting with a “preview show” hosted from Charleston, South Carolina, according to the Nasa website (www.nasa.gov).Images taken by 11 spacecraft—including three Nasa aircraft, 50 high-altitude balloons and astronauts aboard the International Space Station—will also be uploaded to the website before, during and after the eclipse.All of North America will be able to view the eclipse, but viewers in other parts of the world, such as the Philippines, where the eclipse will not be visible, can monitor the Nasa website’s photo galleries and live video feeds.The video feeds may also be viewed on Nasa’s social media accounts including on Facebook, Twitter, Twitch TV, Ustream and YouTube.The Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa), in its astronomical diary for August, said the solar eclipse would happen starting 11:46 p.m. Philippine Standard Time on Aug. 21 (Monday).The eclipse will be visible in Hawaii, the Americas except southern parts of South America, westernmost Europe and West Africa, Pagasa said.After weeks of anticipation, the sight of the moon’s shadow passing directly in front of the sun, blotting out all but the halo-like solar corona, will draw one of the largest audiences in human history, experts say.Smashing recordsWhen those watching via social and broadcast media are included, the spectacle will likely smash records.Some 12 million people live in the 113-kilometer-wide, 4,000-km-long zone in the United States where the total eclipse will appear on Monday. Millions of others have traveled to spots along the route to bask in its full glory.Murphy, North Carolina, in the Smoky Mountains about two hours north of Atlanta, is among hundreds of small towns that are preparing for a huge influx of visitors.“The weather forecast for Monday is beautiful, probably not a cloud in the sky all day,” said Dave Vanderlaan, 61, a retired landscaper.“We’re busy, but tomorrow anybody in Atlanta who says they want to see total, they’re going to come up to this area, so it could be crazy,” Vanderlaan added.The phenomenon will first appear at 10:15 a.m. Pacific daylight time (1715 GMT) near Depoe Bay, Oregon. Some 94 minutes later, at 2:49 p.m. EDT (1849 GMT), totality will take its final bow near Charleston, South Carolina.1918 spectacleThe last time such a spectacle unfolded from the Pacific to the Atlantic coast was in 1918. The last total eclipse seen anywhere in the United States took place in 1979.In Depoe Bay, a town of about 1,500 people, clear skies on Sunday raised hopes that the corona would be visible and not obscured by coastal haze or cloud.Lisa Black, from Vancouver, Canada, said she and her party planned to have breakfast on the beach and be ready with their glasses.“And, yeah, it will be cool to be able to look out at the ocean and just have the openness when it goes totally dark,” she said.For millions of others who can’t get there, a partial eclipse of the sun will appear throughout North America if there is no local cloud cover.Eclipse chaserPerhaps never before have so many people had the opportunity to see a total eclipse, said Michael Zeiler, a self-described “eclipse chaser” who on Monday would notch his ninth time seeing “totality.”Weeks of publicity have fanned excitement, he said, and might have persuaded many families to make last-minute plans for a road trip to the zone.Zeiler, who runs GreatAmericanEclipse.com, a website devoted to the event, estimates that up to 7.4 million people will travel to the zone to observe the total eclipse, which takes place in the peak vacation month of August.Many people have trekked to remote national forests and parks of Oregon, Idaho and Wyoming, while others have bought tickets to watch the show en masse in a Carbondale, Illinois, football stadium, a two-hour drive southeast of St. Louis.In South Carolina, Charleston County’s more than 16,000 hotel rooms are booked, tourism officials say. Police expect up to 100,000 visitors to the area on Monday.Those who live along the path, which cuts through a few population centers like Kansas City and Nashville, Tennessee, can simply walk out their homes and look skyward.Avoid eye damageFor all but the couple of minutes of totality, observers must wear specially designed solar-safe sunglasses or filters to avoid severe eye damage. It is never safe to gaze directly at a partial eclipse with the naked eye.Unlike many other astronomical events, such as comets and meteor showers, that often fail to live up to their hype, a total eclipse is nearly a sure thing, so long as the weather cooperates, experts say.

['Philippine Daily Inquirer']

2016-11-08 20:32:41+00:00

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/924565/pinoys-would-have-to-make-do-with-lunar-eclipse

Inquirer

PH, US set talks on ‘reduced’ war games

SECURITY officials are set to discuss before the Mutual Defense Board-Security Engagement Board (MDB-SEB) a “reduced” number of joint exercises between the Philippines and the US that was recently approved by President Rodrigo Duterte, a Defense official disclosed on Tuesday.Arsenio Andolong, director of the Public Affairs Service of the Department of National Defense (DND), said Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana has recommended the reduction of war games to fewer than 10.Before, according to Andolong, there had been about 28 exercises every year but the previous administration had reduced it to about 13.“So now with the new administration, it will come down to about half of that, so it would be half a dozen, There is no definite figure yet because it is still being discussed,” he said.Technically, Andolong added, there were more exercises terminated during the time of then-president Benigno Aquino 3rd than under the Duterte administration.A source said this was not disclosed because the Aquino administration was hiding it from the “enemy.”Lorenzana said on Monday that the President approved his Cabinet’s recommendations to continue implementation of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) and some joint exercises between the Philippines and the US.Among others that would be terminated are naval exercises called Philippines Amphibious Landing Exercise (Phiblex) and Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (Carat).The Balikatan (shoulder-to-shoulder), a signature element of the Philippine-US alliance, and others will continue but they will be refocused on non-traditional operations such as Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Response (HADR) and counter-terrorism, Andolong said.There will also be some aspects of anti-narcotics operation, he added.MDB-SEB is a series of defense and security-related meetings held each year between the Philippines and the United States.The meetings foster strong relationships between the Philippines and the US military and improve their abilities to work together on mutual defense and security that includes HADR, cyber-security and anti-terrorism.When asked if the US is insisting on retaining Phiblex and Carat, Andolong said, “We will have to tell them that that is not the direction that we want to take because the President has already specified what he wants and Ithink that he was very vocal about that. If they want to be treated as allies, they should listen to what our needs are and what they also require.”

['Fernan Marasigan']

2016-11-08 20:32:41+00:00

https://www.manilatimes.net/ph-us-set-talks-reduced-war-games-2/295474/

Manila Times

Release 13th month pay, DOLE 13 appeals to employers

With just three days before Christmas, Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE 13) Regional Director Evelyn R. Ramos reiterated her call for private employers to release their workers’ 13th month pay.The official issued the appeal during the Regional Coordinating Committee (RCC) meeting and its last media briefing for this year.She renewed the call for employers to immediately release their workers’ 13month pay after learning that there were still some who have yet to comply with general labor standard.“We appeal to them to pay their employees and workers now,” stressed the DOLE 13 official.In the same forum, the official ordered the region’s legal department, including those in the provincial and city labor offices, to conduct an investigation on employers who will not comply with the law.Ramos said all employers are mandated by law to pay their workers their 13th month pay on or before December 24, regardless of the nature of their employment and irrespective of the methods by which their wages are paid, provided they worked for at least one month during a calendar year.The Labor Code provides that every covered employer is required to make a report of compliance with the law to the nearest DOLE regional office not later than January 15 of each year.The 13th month pay is defined to mean one-twelfth (1/12) of the basic salary of an employee within a calendar year, she said.

[]

21/12/2016 0:00

https://news.mb.com.ph/2016/12/21/release-13th-month-pay-dole-13-appeals-to-employers/

Manila Bulletin

Amen: A Black Nazarene devotion that leads to healing

year-old Armin “Amen” Macalagay yesterday joined the crowd of thousands who braved the blazing heat of the sun to join the procession of replicas of the Black Nazarene from the different parts of the country around the Quiapo area in Manila.Macalagay, a retired seaman, is keeping four replicas of the Black Nazarene in his humble abode in Tondo, Manila. He said his devotion came naturally as he was from a family of devotees.He said he earned his nickname “Amen” because he was a sickly kid who later became fit enough to join the crowd attempting to touch the image of the Black Nazarene.“Nagsimula ako bilang mamamasan nung 17 years old ako, tapos hanggang sa nakapagtrabaho na ako bilang seaman, dun na lumalim ang kaalaman ko dahil kung saan saan ako nakapunta, katulad sa Jerusalem,” he said.He said he gave up all the luxury he had in order to purchase the custom-made replicas from Paete, Laguna.The first Nazareno he bought was “Senyor Bulilit,” who is now 51 years old. In 2012, he bought “Boss,” a 10 feet replica, which he said is miraculous.“Tinamaan ako ng sakit na pneumonia, 50/50 na ako. Sa kanya lang nagdasal ang pamilya ko, ‘yung luha niya, pinahid ko lang sa akin, gumaling ako,” Macalagay narrated.Macalagay said “Bossing” also healed countless others.“Ang di ko makakalimutan, ‘yung bedridden na, dahil dina-dialysis. Lumapit sa amin ang pamilya at dahil din sa kanya ay gumaling,” he said. “Sa aming pamilya rin, walang may sakit kaya mabuti na rin kaysa may pera pero napupunta lang sa pagpapagamot.”Macalagay also bought two other replicas, which they dubbed “Bossing” and a smaller one called ‘Andas.’He said “Andas” was requested by the younger members of Anak ng Diyos, Ama Sa Langit (ANDAS), which he founded in 2012, and now has different chapters in the country.“Gusto nung mga bata na may bubuhatin din sila kaya pinasadya naming itong maliit,” he said.Macalagay said it is important to start training the youth so that they will have someone to pass on the devotion.“Malaking bagay na nagagabayan sila, para lumalaki sila, natututo. Kasi ngayon, ‘yung mga mamamasan, malayo na sa dati. Nandiyan na ‘yung nag-aaway away kaya kailangan talaga may patnubay,” he said. “Mahirap din kasing mangako pero hanggang kaya ng katawan ko, ipagpapatuloy ko itong debosyon na ito.”The Manila Police District placed the crowd estimate at 80,000 at the beginning of the procession at 2 p.m.

[]

07/01/2018 0:00

https://news.mb.com.ph/2018/01/07/amen-a-black-nazarene-devotion-that-leads-to-healing/

Manila Bulletin

Obituary: Journalist Christine Herrera, 49

Journalist Christine Herrera, 49, will be laid to rest today, Sunday, at the Heritage Park in Taguig.A native of Odiongan, Romblon, Herrera is survived by her husband, Lito, their daughters Nikki and Abby, son-in-law Jaybee Baraquel, and grandson Malcolm.A former reporter of the Philippine Daily Inquirer, Herrera died of cardiac aneurysm last Nov. 19, while on vacation with friends in Thailand.Newspaper editor Jullie Yap-Daza, in an opinion piece, called Herrera “a warrior masquerading as a reporter. A fighter. A subversive.”“She saw only black and white, never gray. She was driven by hunger, the hunger for news and to tell the story well, even if it could mean another libel suit. She lived for her scoops, the deadline kept her going,” Daza wrote of Herrera.Herrera wrote investigative reports, including an Inquirer series in 1998 in which former First Lady Imelda Marcos acknowledged for the first time that her late husband owned a large amount of the country’s wealth.Herrera also testified in the Senate impeachment trial of then President Joseph Estrada in 2000, after she and a colleague exposed the alleged illegal wiretapping of senator-judges by the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Task Force using paid assets at a telecommunications firm.Herrera endured multiple libel suits while she was reporting for the Inquirer and later, for other newspapers.Herrera and a colleague, along with the Inquirer editors, were slapped with a libel case in 1995 in connection with a story on the Vizconde massacre.She also faced down a contempt threat from lawmakers in 2015, after she refused to reveal the sources for her newspaper report that House members received a P440-million bribe to vote in favor of the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law.Herrera was among the first winners of the Luis R. Prieto Journalism Award in 1996 for her story on Melinda de Vera, a girl who for the first 16 years of her life dwelled with her mother and niece in a kariton of wooden tomato crates in Manila.The award cited Herrera “for excellence in news/feature writing.”Before joining the Inquirer, Herrera worked for the now-defunct Philippine Daily Globe and two community papers in Cebu, Newstime Daily and Sun Star.

['Philippine Daily Inquirer']

27/10/2017 0:00

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/947647/journalist-christine-herrera-49

Inquirer

Sereno ouster worries UN expert; he’s misinformed, says Palace

A UN human rights expert has expressed grave concern about the country’s judicial independence following the dismissal of Supreme Court Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno last month, saying her ouster sent a “chilling message” to other members of the judiciary and could lead to the “deterioration of the rule of law.”In an interview with reporters at Manila Polo Club in Makati City late on Thursday afternoon, Diego Garcia-Sayan, UN special rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, said that based on his observations, the independence of the judiciary and the rule of law in the Philippines were being “liquidated” following President Duterte’s public attacks against Sereno and the filing of the quo warranto petition against her.SC decisionOn May 11, the Supreme Court voted 8-6 to remove Sereno as Chief Justice, saying she had failed an “integrity test” for not filing some of her statements of assets, liabilities and net worth when she was being considered for the post in 2010.“The decision of the Supreme Court was issued two days after the President of the Philippines publicly threatened the Chief Justice by saying that she was his enemy and that she should be removed from her job or resign,” Garcia-Sayan said.‘Derogatory language’On April 13, Mr. Duterte called the Chief Justice “ignorant,” “dumb” and a “coward” after recalling how Sereno had called on judges, whom the President had publicly declared to be involved in illegal drug activities, not to surrender to authorities unless arrest warrants were issued against them.The President was quoted as saying of Sereno: “You really should be removed. You should have been removed way before. You are dumb. Your mother is a whore. Give way. If I were you, I will resign.”“The use of such derogatory language against the highest-ranking magistrate in the country sends a clear message to all judges of the Philippines: in the so-called war on drugs, you’re either with me or against me,” the UN expert said.Palace points to CJ colleaguesGarcia-Sayan called for the reversal of the Supreme Court decision that ousted Sereno and for the continuation of the impeachment process to address questions about the validity of her appointment.On Friday, Malacañang said it was unfortunate that Garcia-Sayan had been “misinformed” about Sereno’s case, with presidential spokesperson Harry Roque saying that “the President’s dislike of the ousted Chief Justice [was] not an attack [on] the judiciary or an affront to judicial independence.”The President, he added, recognized and respected the independence of the Supreme Court, as well as the separation of powers among the three branches of government.“It [was] ex-CJ Sereno’s colleagues, associate justices known for their independence and unassailable integrity, who voted for her to be ousted,” Roque said.Academic visitGarcia-Sayan, who said he was in the country for an “academic visit,” maintained that he was not meddling in the country’s internal affairs but felt “morally [and] ethically obliged” to speak about the situation in the country because of his job as a UN rapporteur.There are international standards pertaining to judicial independence that must be complied with by the world community, he added.Appointed UN special rapporteur in 2016, Garcia-Sayan was Peru’s former foreign and justice minister during his country’s transition to democracy following the ouster of longtime President Alberto Fujimori.Checks and balancesHe is currently a member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, Netherlands, and of the Washington-based think tank Inter-American Dialogue.Garcia-Sayan warned that based on his experiences as a Latin American and as UN rapporteur, interference in judicial independence would result in the degradation of the principle of checks and balances in the government and ultimately lead to authoritarian rule.“Checks and balances is not a question of lawyers and academia; it is a question of the daily democratic rights of society,” he said.The UN expert said he had relayed his concerns to the Philippine government and would continue following up events related to this sensitive matter.

['Dj Yap', 'Jerome Aning']

27/10/2017 0:00

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/996711/sereno-ouster-worries-un-expert-hes-misinformed-says-palace

Inquirer

Even without Lopez, gov’t to implement mining laws fairly, says DOF chief

The rejection of Gina Lopez’s appointment as environment secretary will allow the government to implement mining laws fairly and in accordance with due process, the head of the Duterte administration’s economic team said on Thursday.“I have to say this: ‘I fully support her [Lopez’s] actions to make sure that the rules are followed. And I’m fully supportive of closing mines that are noncompliant,’” Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III told reporters on the sidelines of Asian Development Bank’s 50th annual meeting.“However, there are laws that govern the relations of mines with the government. And those laws and regulations have to be followed and they cannot be ignored,” he said.Lopez in February ordered the closure of 23 mining operations as well as the suspension of five others in 10 provinces. A week later, she ordered the cancellation of 75 mineral production sharing agreements entered into by the government with mining companies.Affected companies had complained that the orders of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) were issued without due process, although Lopez had claimed that the agency had informed them of the audits.The interagency Mining Industry Coordinating Council (MICC), cochaired by the finance and environment secretaries, is undertaking a three-month review of Lopez’s orders, on top of the review of all other mining contracts across the country as mandated under the law.Dominguez, referring to Lopez, said: “You may not like them [laws and regulations], but you have to follow them because if you don’t follow, what happens is that these [mining companies] will go to court, and the court will read the rules within the complaint and say, ‘you did not follow the rules’ so [the mines] will open again. So all that effort is for naught.”Company risk“Plus, you take a risk that these [mines that] were closed outside of the rules and the due process will sue us. And you know, as the guy who has to worry about money, I’m really worried because these things involve enormous amounts of money. So we want to make sure that the laws are implemented fairly and in accordance with due process, that’s all. That’s nothing new,” Dominguez said.The government will move forward with a second review of the country’s mines despite the removal of Lopez as environment secretary, a finance official said on Thursday.The MICC ordered a review in February of the operations and the environmental and social impact of the country’s mines.“Definitely, it will continue because it’s the mandate of the MICC to do just that regardless of who’s in the (DENR),” Finance Undersecretary Bayani Agabin said in a statement issued in Manila.Independent expertsThe MICC is hiring independent experts to reassess the operations of all 311 mining contracts in the country in keeping with the directive of President Duterte to conduct a comprehensive review during a Cabinet meeting in February.Acting on that presidential order for a reassessment of the 2016 audit done by the DENR that led to the closure or suspension of the 28 mines, the council subsequently held two meetings that resulted in the unanimous adoption of MICC Resolution No. 6.The resolution provides for a multistakeholder review of all mining operations, and an agreement to seek a P50-million allocation from the Department of Budget and Management to fund this activity over a three-month period.Chamber of MinesThe MICC ordered the review following criticism from miners that Lopez’s decision was baseless and lacked due process.The Chamber of Mines of the Philippines has said it will seek to undo Lopez’s moves when a new environment secretary is appointed.Lopez earlier asked Mr. Duterte to halt the second mine review, challenging its legality despite initially supporting it.

['Ben O. De Vera']

06/10/2016 0:00

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/894478/even-without-lopez-govt-to-implement-mining-laws-fairly-says-dof-chief

Inquirer

Duterte to call special session on draft BBL

President Duterte on Monday said he would call a special session of Congress to tackle the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL).Speaking at the culmination of the Bangsamoro Assembly at Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao province, Mr. Duterte said Congress, scheduled to go on recess on Dec. 15, could hold a special session for one or two days to hear BBL proponents.“I will work very hard for it. I will ask Congress to [hold] a special session just to hear you talk about this issue. I said this is sacred. This is important and valuable. It would involve eventually, if the people wish it, a new structure for the entire country,” Mr. Duterte said.“If not, then let us work out a way as long as we make sure that we can give our brothers and sisters, especially the Moros, an arrangement that is acceptable to them. I know you are realists,” he added.The proposed BBL, which would serve as the charter of a new autonomous region for Muslims in Mindanao, was drawn up by the Bangsamoro Transition Commission (BTC), whose members come from the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), the largest separatist group on the island that has signed a peace agreement with the government.Moro rebels have been waging an insurgency since the 1970s seeking autonomy or independence in areas of Mindanao that they consider their homeland.The conflict has claimed more than 120,000 lives.Building supportThe MILF signed a peace agreement with the government in 2014 but the proposed BBL, which would complete the peace deal, has not been able to get through Congress.The immediate objective of Monday’s assembly was to build support for the proposed law.If the proposed BBL is passed into law, the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) would be constituted in 2019 in preparation for the first election of the officials of the new autonomous region in 2022, BTC Chair Ghadzali Jaafar said earlier.The new parliament under the BTA will be composed of 80 members, who will all be appointed by the President.Monday’s gathering was held after three postponements due to Mr. Duterte’s unavailability.The President asked for more patience from the MILF, which is observing a ceasefire with the military as both sides try to enforce the peace agreement.“Me, I support you. That is my promise. Do not ever, ever question me,” Mr. Duterte said.“Delay? Of course, it entails delay. You know that … It takes forever to move. Somebody has to push it because there are thousands of concerns,” he said.“But I will impress upon them (Congress), that you’ll have to devote even one day or two days to hear them out. Hear us from Mindanao,” he added.Other proposalsThe President said other Bangsamoro leaders like Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) chair Nur Misuari could also present their case to Congress.Mr. Duterte said he wanted a BBL that was “inclusive” and dealt with the concerns of Muslims, Christians and “lumad” in Mindanao.He said there was a need to “correct the injustice committed on the Moro and the lumad” while preserving the “unity of the republic.”“There must be one nation for all—one republic for us Moro and Christian. That I cannot bargain away. I am doing everything to avoid a breakage,” he said.Mr. Duterte said “just compensation” could be tackled later on through separate legislation but the proposed BBL should ensure autonomy for the Bangsamoro and the right to “enjoy all your natural resources.”“As far as I’m concerned, actually what is at stake here is the preservation of the Filipino republic and to correct historical injustice,” he said.Last month, Mr. Duterte urged Congress to hasten the approval of the proposed BBL, warning that the Moro partners of the government in peacemaking were getting impatient.End to tribal biasesCardinal Orlando Quevedo, the archbishop of Cotabato, spoke at Monday’s gathering and said the inclusivity of the proposed BBL would end tribal biases and religious prejudices in Mindanao.“Its passage would mean peace and coexistence in Mindanao,” he said.Gov. Mujiv Hataman of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao said he attended the assembly “not as a mere supporter” of the proposed BBL but as “a believer of its embodiment, true and lasting peace.”Muslimin Sema, former Cotabato City mayor and chair of the MNLF, said: “Our hope is in Allah as we look back in the long armed struggle for self-determination, which dream and aspiration we find in the [proposed] BBL.”Before Mr. Duterte arrived, Mohagher Iqbal, chair of the MILF peace agreement implementing committee, read statements and resolutions of support from various sectors, mostly from Mindanao.“We hope our lawmakers may give due consideration to these several endorsements toward the [proposed] BBL’s early passage,” Iqbal said.

['Philip C. Tubeza']

06/10/2016 0:00

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/948099/duterte-to-call-special-session-on-draft-bbl

Inquirer

North Korea at center of coming Asia-US talks

When United States President Donald Trump visits our part of the world on November 3-14, he will be attending to many American concerns in the region where it has long maintained a position of leadership and military strength.Near Japan is the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan with its strike force of guided missile destroyers and cruisers. To the south near Singapore is the aircraft carrier USS America with its jet fighters and Marine landing craft. Near Australia is the USS Bonhomme Richard. With these strike forces, the US does not really need any land base in the Pacific.President Trump has said that in this coming visit, he wants to see what he can do about the US trade deficit with China, Asia’s growing economic power, but his main concern is the threat posed by North Korea and the US needs China to help keep this nation in check.The coming meetings in Japan, South Korea, China, and Vietnam on November 3-9 and in Manila for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit on November 10-14 will, in all likelihood, be dominated by the North Korea issue. For this is the one issue that poses a threat to the US in the most basic way— a nuclear attack via an intercontinental ballistic missile.North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un has exchanged outright nuclear threats with President Trump, aside from the most undiplomatic insults. Both North and South Korea would most certainly be devastated in any outbreak of war and Japan has denounced the direct threat posed by North Korea’s missiles passing directly overhead on their way to the Pacific. But Kim says its missiles can now reach the US mainland.President Trump’s threats of “fire and fury” have been met by Kim blasting the US president as “mentally deranged.” For a while in the US, there was a rift between Trump and his Secretary of State Rex Tillerson who had been calling for a diplomatic solution.The rest of East Asia and the Pacific have not been directly involved in the (so-far) war of words but if a nuclear war should break out, the entire world would suffer and not just from the radioactive fallout. It is this fear that is at the back of everyone’s mind as the Pacific nations meet this November with President Trump. The series of meetings will end right here in Manila at the ASEAN Summit.Meetings in previous years have been largely goodwill affairs among the leaders of friendly nations, with arms clasping one another in photos. But this one will be facing right in front of it the ominous threat of nuclear war and devastation.

[]

27/10/2017 0:00

https://news.mb.com.ph/2017/10/27/north-korea-at-center-of-coming-asia-us-talks/

Manila Bulletin

Rare supermoon sky show seen in PH

It’s a sky show the entire planet can enjoy, weather permitting.The Philippines can enjoy a rare “supermoon” on the night of Nov. 14 since there is no weather disturbance in the country.Monday’s full moon, called supermoon for its larger than usual size, is not only the biggest and brightest this year but also the closest full moon in nearly seven decades.The entire country is expected to have partly cloudy skies on Monday, so the supermoon will likely be visible, according to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa).The moon will reach its closest point to Earth for any given month, at 7:21 p.m. on Monday, or two hours and 31 minutesbefore going full moon at 9:52 p.m., Pagasa said.“This means we’ll be seeing a closer and larger apparent diameter moon this year, a supermoon. This supermoon is one of the closest and biggest in 68 years and it won’t happen again until 2034,” Pagasa said.The term supermoon is a modern astrological term coined by American astrologer Richard Nole.In astronomy however, the event is called perigee full moon, or a full moon that is closer to Earth than average.Both terms refer to when a full moon occurs “when the moon is within 90 percent of its closest approach to Earth in a given orbit.”The moon doesn’t get much bigger and brighter than this. A supermoon can be 14 percent bigger and 30 percent brighter than a full moon that occurs when the moon is farthest to Earth, according to the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa).But it takes a real expert to notice the difference.Nasa planetary geologist Noah Petro said that even he wouldn’t be able to see much difference in size and luminosity.What counts, he said, was getting people “talking, thinking and caring about the moon.”“Everyone gets to see the moon,” said Petro, deputy project scientist for the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter circling the moon. “It’s a great shared resource for all humanity.”

['Dona Z. Pazzibugan']

25/10/2017 0:00

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/843963/rare-supermoon-sky-show-seen-in-ph

Inquirer

Growing up with 6 mothers

Cinderella had two stepsisters, but I’ve had two stepmothers. That doesn’t sound like the formula for fairy-tale endings, but it sure makes for a complicated family tree.Even before my parents’ marriage was annulled, I found myself running out of ways to call a mother. Mama, Mommy, Nanay—all these titles were taken.My Auntie Mei and Lola Erlinda insisted on being called Nanay and Mommy, respectively, and I’ve never called them by another name.Then there’s the assortment of relatives who also consider me their eldest, including my uncles’ girlfriends who would call me anak (child).As if I wasn’t blessed enough with a surfeit of maternal care, I also have Auntie Rory, Auntie Pinky and Auntie Janette who had individual ways of mothering me when I was younger.One took care of my medical appointments, another took charge of babysitting chores, and the last spoiled me with craft hobbies and geeky merchandise.NontraditionalMy godmother, Ninang Peema, was initially reluctant to take up the title out of fear that her religion might be a problem. But my biological mother was stubborn and quite nontraditional, and insisted that a godmother need only be someone whom parents trusted enough with their child should anything happen to them.I grew up considering Nanay Mei as my mother. She has remained single for the past 25 years and, after a couple of surgeries, was told that she could never bear a child.But those who know us would understand that she already has a daughter, one for whom she’d open the door when I come home late at night, and whose subtlest rebellion she could detect.PremonitionRunners-up for the title are Mommy Erlinda and Ninang Peema and together, the three of them are like my real-life Flora, Fauna and Merryweather, the fairy godmothers of Sleeping Beauty.Mere differences in age and religion and the lack of blood ties do not deter them from feeling and loving like a mother.Looking back, it seemed like my mother already had a premonition of our separation, so she left me in the care of surrogate mothers who could fill in her spot.I’d like to think this eased her departure when I was only 3, and helped me cope with the pain of having a broken family as well.My father struggled to find a lifelong partner and make a home. I did not object when he dated whom he wished, and reassured him countless times that he has his own life to live.All the loveI met most of the girls he had dated, but never found the need to validate myself and my position in my dad’s life with their existence.I felt so loved by my father and assorted mothers that I found it superfluous to seek more affection from strangers. I already had all the love I needed.Most people think it’s harder to live with and love a stepmother. But I always thought it was harder for a stepmother to accept a man who refuses to give up his responsibility for an undeniable past, while seeking a future with her. Wouldn’t that make it more difficult to be a stepmom than a stepchild?A few months before my father finally proposed marriage to his then longtime girlfriend, he asked me a seemingly random and unusual question: “You’ve never felt a mother’s love, have you?”Puzzled, I looked at him and said, “Yes, I did. I have Nanay!”AbsurdI found his question unbelievably absurd. But at that time, I also understood it was his subtle way of tellingme I would be having a new mother soon. “Yes, there’s that,” he continued, “but you’ve never had a mom you could say really took care of you, and loved you.”On normal days, I would have agreed quickly with my father to keep the conversation short, and then retreat to the comfort of silence. But that day was different: his words made my chest burst with defiance. I took no time to think of a response—I simply knew.“But isn’t it a greater kind of love to treat and love someone as if they were already your own?” I told him. “That’s how Nanay is.”My father’s response was mere silence. In a lot of ways, he and I are alike

['Vinz Lamorena']

25/10/2017 0:00

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/894871/growing-up-with-6-mothers

Inquirer

Binay to Chinoys: No Kim Henares in my gov’t

FOR THE second time this month, Vice President Jejomar Binay yesterday wooed the Chinese-Filipino community for support, assuring businessmen there would be “no Kim Henares” in his administration.The standard-bearer of the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA), his running mate Sen. Gregorio Honasan and their senatorial candidates were invited to speak at Chinese General Hospital in Manila by Binay’s friend, Chinese-Filipino businessman James Dy.It was the second time in less than a month that Binay had made a public pledge to name right away a new Bureau of Internal Revenue chief upon assuming the presidency, should he win the May presidential election.He gave the same pledge in a meeting with the Federation of Filipino-Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry Inc. on Feb. 15.Speaking in Filipino, Binay said yesterday: “Because there are businessmen here, I don’t want you to have any worries. Within 30 minutes, you will no longer have any Kim Henares (Sa loob ng trenta minutos … wala na kayong Kim Henares).”Binay drew an applause.No selective justiceHenares is known to go after big business and other business establishments for their tax dues.Binay also promised that if they voted for Honasan, the senator could solve the peace and order problem in the country—something Honasan also promised in his speech before Binay spoke.The UNA standard-bearer promised that his administration would observe the rule of law in filing cases against people.Binay harped anew on the practice of “selective justice,” as well as on the scare tactics supposedly employed by the present administration.He also promised similar programs, particularly for the benefit of the poor, that he came up with when he was Makati City mayor.This would include implementing a national “yellow card” program that, UNA said in a statement, would provide free maternal, child and elderly care, free outpatient consultations and medicines.‘Decisive’ leadership“In Makati, no one dies from ailments because they are poor,” Binay said, adding the city government takes care of the indigents.Binay also promised to establish health centers in the country and that there would be a rural health worker for every health center.The Vice President said people would not regret voting for him in May because he would be a “decisive leader.”“The Mamasapano incident will not happen (under my presidency),” he said in a dig at President Aquino, who has been criticized for the way he handled the Special Action Force (SAF) operation to capture terrorists in Mamasapano, Maguindanao province, last year.Forty-four SAF commandos were killed in clashes with Moro rebels during the operation to capture Zulkifli bin Hir, alias Marwan, who was also killed.100-percent supportBinay thanked Dy for inviting him and for being a friend.Dy pledged his support and that of Philippine Chinese Charitable Association Inc., Chinese General Hospital and Medical Center, and Filipino-Chinese General Chamber of Commerce Inc., as well as “my entire clan and the 1.5 million-strong” Chinese-Filipino community behind Binay.“We will give you our 100 percent support to make a difference in our future,” Dy said.

['Christine O. Avendaño']

25/10/2017 0:00

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/769380/binay-to-chinoys-no-kim-henares-in-my-govt

Inquirer

Duterte threatens rights activists

President Duterte has threatened to kill human rights activists critical of his war on illegal drugs and called warnings he could be charged in the International Criminal Court (ICC) for the bloody campaign “bullshit.”In a speech in Malacañang on Monday night, Mr. Duterte said those accusing him of ordering the summary execution of drug suspects should be blamed if the country’s drug problem worsened.“The human rights (defenders) said I ordered the killings. I told them ‘OK. Let’s stop. We’ll let them (drug users) multiply so that when it’s harvest time, more people will die,” the President said at the inaugural switch-on of a coal-fired power plant.“I will include you because you are the reason why their numbers swell,” he said in Filipino.Official figures show that police antidrug operations have left 2,500 dead since Mr. Duterte took office on June 30. Another 2,500 drug-related deaths mainly attributed to vigilantes have been reported.An ICC prosecutor last month said The Hague-based tribunal may have jurisdiction to prosecute the perpetrators of the drug-related killings.ICC, US“You threaten me that you will jail me? International Criminal Court? Bullshit,” Mr. Duterte said on Monday.He scolded the United States for what he called hypocritical threats to try him in the ICC, to which Washington itself is not a signatory. He did not specify when the US threat was made.The United States chose not to sign the Rome Statute to protect former President George W. Bush, Mr. Duterte said, without elaborating.“America itself is threatening to jail me in the International Criminal Court,” Mr. Duterte said. “It is not a signatory of that body. Why? Because at that time, they were afraid Bush would face it.”For months, the President has been ridiculing concerns that extrajudicial killings could be taking place in his antidrug war, and the United States, European Union and United Nations have been the preferred targets of his comments.The brash former mayor and prosecutor said lawyers in Europe were “rotten,” “stupid” and had a “brain like a pea.”This month, Mr. Duterte said he might follow Russia’s move to withdraw from the ICC, describing it as “useless.”According to Mr. Duterte, the West has failed to comprehend the gravity of the Philippines’ drug problem. He has said he is ready to “rot in jail” to achieve his goals.There is nothing wrong with threatening to kill bad elements, he said on Monday.“I will never allow my country to be thrown to the dogs,” the President said. “I said, when I was a mayor, ‘If you destroy my city with drugs I will kill you.’“Simple as that …. When was it a crime to say, ‘I will kill you,’ in protecting my country?”Validated listMr. Duterte showed his audience a 10-centimeter-thick pile of documents containing the “validated list” of about 5,000 public officials allegedly behind the illegal drug trade.He said most of those benefiting from the illicit business were village officials who were earning “easy money.”“[That’s why] I acceded to [the postponement of] an election this year for the barangay captains. We would have lost to the money of the drug industry,” he said.Mr. Duterte said he also showed the documents to former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo during a one-on-one meeting.The President had blamed Arroyo and his predecessor, Benigno Aquino III, for allowing the drug trade to proliferate during their incumbency.“I am not trying to scare you,” he said.“This is the drug industry of the Philippines. These are all the names,” he said.“I showed this to [former] President Arroyo. I said, ‘Ma’am, we are in a bind. I really do not know how to [handle this]. I surrender. I cannot do this.’”Even if he wanted to kill all those on the list, Mr. Duterte said he “would not have the time and resources to do it.”He said “narcopolitics” was already existing in the Philippines “given the so many thousands of policemen and mayors involved” in the sale and distribution of illegal drugs.

['Marlon Ramos']

2018-11-02 00:10:09+00:00

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/849192/duterte-threatens-rights-activists

Inquirer

Locsin attunes PH foreign policy to ‘changing times’

Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. has tweaked the Duterte administration’s foreign policy to a more belligerent tone due to “changing realities.”Hosting his first vin d’honneur at the Department of Foreign Affairs on Nov. 7, Locsin told the diplomatic corps that he had refined his department’s previous policy of “Friends to all, enemies to none.”“We are moving on to a refinement, which addresses changing realities. It is now ‘Friends to friends, enemies to enemies, and worse enemies to false friends,’” Locsin said.He also gave his interpretation of the administration’s “independent” foreign policy.True independence“It is not independent foreign policy if you simply switch the master before whom you are kneeling; you are still on your knees. Independent foreign policy means getting off your knees and on your feet and standing up for our country. That is true independence,” he said.He cited among the country’s diplomatic successes the handling of the West Philippine Sea dispute, mainly with China; the country’s reelection to the United Nations Human Rights Council despite some nations’ outcry against Mr. Duterte’s war on drugs; and the international cooperation to rehabilitate Marawi City.Without surrendering“The country was able to advance its interests, derive economic benefits, and contribute to peace and stability in the South China Sea, without surrendering an iota of Philippine sovereignty and sovereign rights, not retreating one inch from its rightful and inalienable ownership of everything within the lawful territorial reach of our sovereignty,” Locsin said.He said he had told his Chinese counterpart, Foreign Minister Wang Yi, that “these differences need not stand in the way of mutually beneficial cooperation in other areas of common endeavor.”Locsin served as the country’s representative to the United Nations from September 2016 until his appointment three weeks ago as the country’s No. 1 diplomat, replacing Alan Peter Cayetano, who resigned to run for Congress.

['Dona Z. Pazzibugan']

2018-11-02 00:10:09+00:00

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1052035/locsin-attunes-ph-foreign-policy-to-changing-times

Inquirer

Rescuers race to find landslide survivors

Natonin, Mountain Province: Hundreds of rescuers on Thursday raced to save 22 persons buried alive when an avalanche of rocks and mud swamped a four-storey building of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) at Hacrang, Banauel on Tuesday.Mayor Mateo Chiyawan said 300 rescuers from the Philippine Army, Philippine National Police and Bureau of Fire Protection were working round the clock searching for survivors and retrieving victims of the landslide triggered by Typhoon Rosita.“We need all the support from concerned government agencies but our major concern now is our town remains isolated because of the numerous landslides along national roads leading to the locality. We have sufficient supply of food but we fear that it will not be sufficient if roads leading to our place will remain closed for a number of days,” Chiyawan said.“The landslide is much bigger compared to the landslide that recently happened in Itogon. Rescuers are having a difficult time conducting manual search and rescue operation because of the volume of rocks and mud that buried the structure and the houses of people living near the said office,” he added.Authorities on Thursday said the death toll rose to 22 as more bodies were found in Natonin, Mountain Province.Public Works Secretary Mark Villar said 10 bodies have been recovered from the DPWH building.On Wednesday, the Mountain Province Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Managament Council said eight cadavers were recovered from the collapsed building.It reported that 14 persons survived the landslide.Help arrivesA caravan of the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) arrived in Natonin on Thursday after travelling for more than a day.“After going through 40 landslides and waist-deep mud, our Red Cross caravan has finally arrived in Mt. Province. After assessing the site, they now start with the search, retrieval and clearing operations. Praying for everyone’s safety,” Sen. Richard Gordon, PRC chairman, said.The caravan, composed of two ambulances, payloaders, one tractor, a truck loaded with three portable generators and vans full of hot meals and bottled water, left Mandaluyong City at 2 a.m. on October 31.Hours earlier, 20 Red Cross volunteers from the Bontoc, Mt. Province armed with shovels showed up at the landslide area to help search for survivors.WITH ED VELASCO

['Dexter A. See']

2018-11-02 00:10:09+00:00

https://www.manilatimes.net/rescuers-race-to-find-landslide-survivors/460889/

Manila Times

Duterte is ‘most trusted’; Pinoys hopeful on better life

in both Malacanang de Manila and Malacanang de Davao.***More Filipinos are, likewise, hopeful that their quality of life will improve in the next 12 months.49 percent of Pinoys say they expect their personal quality of life to improve while 3 percent say it could get worse.***Pulse Asia says that its nationwide survey conducted last Dec. 10-15 found 80 percent of Filipinos appreciative of the work done by Duterte while 7 percent expressed their disapproval.“Excellent” rating for Digong Bughaw.***The same survey says 82 percent of Filipinos expressed continued trust in President Duterte, while only 6 percent expressed distrust in him.Translation: Mapapagkatiwalaan pa rin si Digong.***Pulse Asia says that among the country’s top government officials, Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno obtained the highest disapproval and distrust ratings of 26 percent and 33 percent, respectively.Sereno’s approval rating has declined from 35 percent in the third quarter to 31 percent in the fourth quarter, Pulse Asia notes.***The survey company adds that most Filipinos remain appreciative of the work done by Vice President Leni Robredo (59 percent from 57 percent) and Senate President Aquilino Pimentel III (57 percent from 55 percent in the last quarter of 2017.)Similarly,most Filipinos trust Robredo (58 percent from 55 percent) and Pimentel (53 percent from 52 percent).***Pulse Asia points out that Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez has almost the same approval and indecision ratings of 42 percent versus 37 percent.Trust and indecision scores stands at 37 percent versus 43 percent, it added.***Across geographic areas and socio-economic classes, Pulse Asia notes that only President Duterte succeeded in scoring majority approval ratings (72 to 93 percent and 77 to 85 percent, respectively) and trust figures (74 to 94 percent and 78 to 85 percent, respectively).Malacañang boys are jumping in joy.***Malacanang also cites a separate survey conducted by the Social Weather Stations (SWS) December 8-16, with 70 percent believing that President Duterte has worked better than former President Benigno S. Aquino III.Duterte enjoys highest approval in Mindanao at 86 percent, followed by Metro Manila at 73 percent,Visayas at 64 percent, and the rest of Luzon, 63 percent, the Palace adds.***Malacañang rejoices at the result of the latest Pulse Asia survey which showed that Duterte is still the country’s most trusted and most approved government official.“This number showed that our people are aware of and recognized the significant strides that the President undertook in his one year and a half month in office,” presidential spokesman Harry Roque says.***“We assure our people that he will continue to discharge his duties with the nation’s interest foremost in his mind,..we will continue to address the problem of poverty, illegal drugs, criminality, and corruption,” Roque adds.Yes to good governance and better service. Yes to a better quality of life that Pinoys wish.

[]

11/01/2018 0:00

https://news.mb.com.ph/2018/01/11/duterte-is-most-trusted-pinoys-hopeful-on-better-life/

Manila Bulletin

China invites PHilippine firms to export fish

FUZHOU, Fujian, China: The Chinese government is inviting Philippine companies to export fish to the mainland that will be processed by China Asean Marine Product Exchange (Campe), which transacts online, delivers offline and settles cross-border trade.AManila-based company, Sinocom, is already exporting milkfish (bangus), according to Campe official Jian Zhou.“We import milkfish from Philippines and one of these companies is Sinocom,” Jian said, adding that the Chinese love the Philippine fish.He said the annual trade volume is about 2,000,000 metric tons and annual value of trade is pegged at not less than 30 billion yuan.The marine products, according to Jian, are mostly shipped to various areas in China to help feed the country’s more than 1 billion people.“But we want Philippine companies to start exporting their products to us,” he said.Current Chinese President Xi Jinping was once secretary of Fuzhou Municipal Party before he became Fujian governor.Campe was started only in 2013 but now handles about fifty percent of marine trading in the world.Together with the establishment of Campe, a huge storage called Mandy Group handles cold chain logistics from ice-making, warehousing, processing, testing and processing of aquatic products.Ten journalists from Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore and the Philippines were invited by the Fujian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to tour them to various companies in the province, especially those directly related to the Maritime Silk Route.The Silk Route was established during the early dynasties in China wherein spices from around the world were brought into the country in exchange for vintage Chinese porcelain, among others.Fujian, with a 38.74 million population, is the starting point of the ancient Maritime Silk Route more than 1,000 years ago.More than 60,000 seafarers come from this province.Fujian is on the southeast coast of the Chinese mainland or about 1 hour and 15 minutes from Hong Kong.In 2016, its gross domestic product (GDP) totaled RMB 73,617 and government revenue was RMB 414.3 billion.Foreign trade volume reached RMB 1.04 billion.Well-known Filipinos like Henry Sy, Lucio Tan, the Cojuangco family and even national hero Jose Rizal trace their roots to Fujian.“So, the Philippines and China are actually brothers. We have so much in common and we have dealing [with each other] since time immemorial. We have people to people connections ever since,” said Li Lin, deputy director general of the Foreign Affairs Office of Fujian Provincial People’s Government.JAIME R. PILAPIL

['Jaime Pilapil']

2017-04-26 20:11:01+00:00

https://www.manilatimes.net/china-invites-philippine-firms-export-fish/324209/

Manila Times

It’s now up to Congress to abolish ‘endo,’ says Escudero

The ball is now in the court of Congress to decide the fate of “endo” (end of contract), Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero said on Wednesday.Employers who practice endo offer tenures shorter than six months, the threshold at which a worker must be made permanent and entitled to benefits.Escudero made the statement a day after President Rodrigo Duterte signed Executive Order No. 51 prohibiting certain forms of short-term employment while allowing schemes, like seasonal or project-based jobs of janitors and maintenance workers, to continue.The executive order (EO) basically reiterated existing policies on contracting, and the President called on Congress to amend the Labor Code of the Philippines for more substantive changes.Labor groups said the EO offered nothing new and left millions of endo workers without benefits.‘Political will’Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque acknowledged that EO 51 was a reiteration of an existing law, but said it underlined the President’s determination to improve job security and deliver on his promises.“What is new is the political will of the President to end contractualization,” he told dzMM radio.Contractualization is a scheme used by employers to avoid regularizing workers.Although Malacañang could by itself have ended the practice of endo, “it instead opted to let Congress set the direction,” Escudero said in a television interview.Escudero, a member of the Senate committee on labor and employment, said “essentially, the Labor Code did not prohibit contractualization, but the executive department can regulate it or prohibit it outright.”Malacañang’s choice“The law gives the executive department the choice. Now the President, perhaps, wants to tell the Congress, ‘if you want to prohibit it, why don’t you prohibit it?’” the senator said.Escudero noted that while the Labor Code had gone through a number of amendments in Congress, the provision on contractualization had not yet been touched.“So, perhaps it is about time the Congress indeed [looked] into it and [decided] once and for all whether to [prohibit it] or we remain in the same regime we [have been] for the past 40 years, which is it is the choice of the executive,” he said.The EO issued by the President, according to Escudero, may not have ended endo per se but “provided certain rules and set off a policy direction along the line,” which is a “big push to put an end to contractualization.”Gov’t contractualsEscudero, however, lamented that the government remained the “biggest employer of contractual employees, both national and local.”He recalled that this started during efforts to streamline the bloated government bureaucracy.Escudero said the government should lead by example and fix the problem of contracting in the public sector first, “before slamming the private sector.”Unfair labor practiceBased on the 2016 Integrated Survey on Labor and Employment, there were 1.19 million nonregular workers in the country, including probationary, casual, contractual/project-based and seasonal workers.Labor groups on Wednesday said that instead of putting an end to contractualization, the EO would only serve to promote the unfair labor practice.The EO was based on the Department of Trade and Industry’s “win-win formula” meant to legitimize labor contracting since the task of regularizing workers would fall to third-party service providers, or manpower agencies, said Nagkaisa Labor Coalition spokesperson Rene Magtubo.There is no security of tenure because when a principal employer cuts ties with the third-party service provider, “workers would automatically lose their jobs,” Magtubo said.Compared with the fifth draft submitted by labor groups, the EO omitted the provision that would make direct hiring the norm in employment relations.Because of the omission, the President “did not end precarious work arrangements, such as endo and abusive contractualization,” said Alan Tanjusay, spokesperson for the Associated Labor Unions-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines.Campaign promiseRoque, however, said that with the signing of EO 51, the President fulfilled his campaign promise to stop the practice of endo.“[H]e never promised to stop all contractualization even if you go back to his speeches and the statements he made during the campaign,” he said.Roque noted that the President had said in his Labor Day speech that only Congress could address the labor groups’ call to prohibit all forms of contractualization.

['Philippine Daily Inquirer']

2018-02-25 22:29:46+00:00

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/987265/its-now-up-to-congress-to-abolish-endo-says-escudero

Inquirer

OFWs seek lifting of Kuwait ban

CITING economic reasons, hundreds of skilled overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) affected by the total deployment ban to Kuwait have appealed to Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello 3rd to exempt them from the ban and allow them to leave immediately so as not to lose their jobs.In a dialogue over the weekend at the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) office in Manila, the affected workers, which included first time workers and returning old timers who signed contracts with different employers, said that they were not household service workers (HSWS) or domestic helpers (DH) but company workers, and were amply protected by Kuwait labor laws.The workers appealed to Bello to limit the ban to HSWS or DHs, the most abused workers not only in Kuwait but in other Middle East countries as well.Administrative Order (AO) N0.54A, which sets the guidelines on the implementation of total deployment to Kuwait, covers all types of workers being deployed for the first time for overseas employment in Kuwait, without distinction as to skill, profession, or type of work.Exempted are Balik-Manggagawa or the OFWs who are vacationing in the Philippines and will be returning to the same employer to finish their contacts, at the end of his/her vacation; and OFWs who are returning to Kuwait on a new contract with the same employer.Also exempted are seafarers who will be transiting through or boarding in Kuwait to join their principals.Some of the workers claimed that they were already knee-deep in debts while the others have already sold their properties, adding that they need to leave before their visas expire or their employers would replace them with workers from other countries.These skilled workers are oil and gas engineers, IT professionals, nurses, medical and laboratory technicians, store mangers, sales personnel, communication technicians, maintenance personnel electricians, plumbers, and carpenters who have been issued visas and are just awaiting their plane tickers from their employers.But Bello has remained steadfast and instead appealed for understanding, saying that it is his responsibility to ensure the safety and interest of Filipino workers, regardless of whether they are HSWs or skilled workers.“We are appealing for your understanding. We need to ensure first the safety of all Filipino workers through the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that will give added protection to Filipino workers,” he added.According to Bello, the Kuwait government is very receptive to the MOU and have signified its willingness to sign it by next month after the Philippines and Kuwait panels discussed the merits of the proposed labor policy, which will prohibit the confiscation of the passports and mobile phones of Filipino workers.President Rodrigo Duterte ordered the deployment ban more than two weeks ago following the discovery of the body of Joanna Demafelis, a Filipina domestic helper, inside a freezer in an unoccupied apartment unit in Kuwait.Prior to that, the DOLE also ordered the probe on the cause of death of seven other Filipino household workers who died in Kuwait.

['William Depasupil']

2018-02-25 22:29:46+00:00

https://www.manilatimes.net/ofws-seek-lifting-kuwait-ban/382672/

Manila Times

Duterte seen breaking traditions

FROM his venue of choice to the magistrate he picked to administer his oath, incoming President-elect Rodrigo Duterte will be breaking traditions in his inauguration.Duterte will take his oath at Malacañang before a schoolmate and fraternity brother on June 30, in austere rites seen as historic.Duterte, the first politician from Mindanao to be elected President and the first city mayor to jump straight to the highest office in the land, will be sworn in as the country’s 16th President by Supreme Court Associate Justice Bienvenido Reyes, according to the Davao City mayor’s executive assistant, Christopher Go.Go did not specify Duterte’s reason for his choice, but both Reyes and Duterte are graduates of San Beda College of Law. They are also members of the same fraternity, Lex Talionis.Duterte had earlier appointed schoolmates to his Cabinet: Vitaliano Aguirre as secretary of justice and Arthur Tugade as transportation and communications secretary.Presidents traditionally take their oath of office before the Chief Justice. But President Aquino famously broke tradition in 2010 when he took his oath of office before then Supreme Court Associate Justice Conchita Carpio Morales in protest against what he believed was the midnight appointment of then Chief Justice Renato Corona.But Mr. Aquino kept the tradition of being inaugurated at Quirino Grandstand in Rizal Park.Malacañang ritesDuterte is the first to break that tradition since Vice President Carlos P. Garcia, who first assumed the presidency through succession following the sudden death of President Ramon Magsaysay. He took his oath on March 17, 1957, in the Council of State Room at Malacañang’s Executive Building.Duterte’s inauguration will be held at Rizal Hall, the largest room in the Palace where special state events are held.The President-elect has refused to be inaugurated together with Vice President-elect Leni Robredo, who belongs to a different political party.But former Senate President Aquilino Pimentel Jr. on Friday said Duterte and Robredo should be jointly inaugurated as a symbol of unity after the highly divisive national elections.“It will relay the message to the people that the President and the Vice President, even if they belong to different parties, have one common goal and that is the good of the people,” Pimentel, chair emeritus of Duterte’s party, Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban), told reporters.Incoming Presidential Communications Operations Office head Martin Andanar said Cabinet members would take their oaths together during Duterte’s inauguration.‘Maruya,’ coco juiceUp to 500 guests, including foreign diplomats and lawmakers, will be invited to the event.Andanar said maruya—fried battered cardava banana—and coconut juice would be served for snacks.He said Duterte’s speech was already being prepared, and that the incoming President might use a teleprompter. The longtime mayor of Davao City is used to speaking extemporaneously and is notorious for profanity-laced rhetoric.

['Tarra Quismundo']

31/01/2017 0:00

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/791236/duterte-seen-breaking-traditions

Inquirer

Macalintal confirms Senate run

Romulo Macalintal, the legal counsel of Vice President Maria Leonor “Leni” Robredo, confirmed that he would seek a Senate seat in next year’s elections.Macalintal, a veteran election lawyer, said he would run as an independent candidate and as guest candidate of Robredo’s opposition coalition.He vowed to represent senior citizens and persons with disabilities (PWDs).“Maraming pangangailangan ang ating mga kapatid na senior citizens at persons with disabilities. Mula sa kanilang kalusugan, kabuhayan, pati na rin kapakanan (Senior citizens and persons with disabilities have plenty of needs ranging from their health, livelihood, to their individual rights),” he said.“Kaya sa 2019 elections, save your last vote for me para sa ating mga kapatid na senior citizen at PWDs (so in the 2019 elections, save your last vote for me for the senior citizens and PWDs),” he said.Sen. Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan also confirmed Macalintal’s Senate run.“Atty. Mac, being the lawyer of the vice president, has been consistent in his position on the case of the vice president and other related matters,” Pangilinan said.Macalintal earlier said that he was “considering entering politics.”“I had been assisting politicians winning the elections, perhaps I could try if I apply it to myself,” he said in a news briefing last week.Aside from Macalintal, the Liberal Party will also be fielding Sen. Paolo Benigno “Bam” Aquino 4th, former House Deputy Speaker Lorenzo Tañada 3rd, and human rights lawyer Jose Manuel Diokno.

['Mary Gleefer F. Jalea']

2018-10-05 00:10:31+00:00

https://www.manilatimes.net/macalintal-confirms-senate-run/448397/

Manila Times

BIR: Avoid April 16 ITR filing deadline

The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) yesterday reminded self-employed professionals and businessmen and other individual taxpayers to submit their 2017 income tax returns (ITR) early and avoid the deadline rush on April 16, 2018.BIR Commissioner Caesar R. Dulay stressed that the deadline will not be extended and late filers will be assessed the usual penalties, including the one-time 25 percent surcharge on the amount due and 20 percent annual interest.The last day of filing has been moved to April 16 because the original April 15 deadline falls on a Sunday.Metro Manila revenue regional directors told filers to use the old ITR schedule and not the new one mandated by the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) law which will be applied in 2019 to cover income earned this year.A salaried worker need not file ITR as the chore is handled by their employer under the so-called substituted filing system.He or she is, however, required to file if he has two or more employers.Also exempted from submitting ITR are individuals whose annual gross income does not exceed his personal and additional exemption as well as others whose sole income has been subjected to final withholding tax like interest on bank deposits and sale of real estate properties.A married working couple may claim P50,000 each as personal exemption, but only one can claim the additional exemption of P25,000 for up to four dependent children.

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09/04/2018 0:00

https://news.mb.com.ph/2018/04/09/bir-avoid-april-16-itr-filing-deadline/

Manila Bulletin

Trillanes, De Lima want Andanar probed

Senators Antonio Trillanes IV and Leila de Lima may just investigate the claim of Communications Secretary Martin Andanar of information that Senate reporters were offered $1,000 each to cover a retired Davao City policeman who confessed to being a hit man of then mayor and now President Duterte.SPO3 Arturo Lascañas had accused President Rodrigo Duterte of being behind the Davao Death Squad, a group of policemen and rebel returnees, which killed hundreds of criminal suspects and other people when Duterte was still mayor.De Lima said she believed the Senate should take a stand on Andanar’s claim, which the Senate media had denounced as “fake news” and had demanded an apology from the communications secretary.But Andanar did not apologize, saying he never said reporters accepted the alleged bribe.“If we can also investigate him, we will investigate him,” De Lima told reporters.

['Philippine Daily Inquirer']

29/10/2018 0:00

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/874338/trillanes-de-lima-want-andanar-probed

Inquirer

Saudi, Turkish prosecutors discuss Khashoggi killing probe

Top Saudi and Turkish prosecutors on Monday discussed the investigation into the killing of Saudi writer Jamal Khashoggi, a show of cooperation amid Turkish demands that Saudi Arabia turn over 18 detained suspects for a murder trial.Saudi Arabia’s top prosecutor, Saud al-Mojeb, met with Istanbul’s chief public prosecutor, Irfan Fidan, for an hour and 15 minutes at Istanbul’s main courthouse, Turkey’s state-run Anadolu news agency said.The two countries have announced a joint investigation of the journalist’s killing in Saudi Arabia’s consulate in Istanbul, although Turkey has leaked evidence to the media in an apparent effort to pressure its regional rival over the crime committed by Saudi officials.Turkey alleges a hit squad from Saudi Arabia traveled to Istanbul to kill the journalist who was critical of the Saudi leadership and then tried to cover it up.Under mounting international pressure, Saudi Arabia has changed its narrative about Khashoggi’s killing several times, only recently acknowledging that Turkish evidence shows it was premeditated.Turkey says a trial in Turkey would be transparent, reflecting concerns about Saudi attempts to dodge responsibility for the killing.Turkey’s foreign minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu, on Monday welcomed the cooperation between Turkish and Saudi investigators and said he hoped there would be no further delays.“The investigation should be concluded as soon as possible,” Cavusoglu said. “The whole world is curious. All the truth should be revealed.”Turkey has been pushing Saudi Arabia to help locate Khashoggi’s body, which has not been found.Turkey is seeking the extradition of the Saudi suspects detained for the killing, which happened after Khashoggi entered the consulate on Oct. 2. Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir, however, says the kingdom will try the perpetrators and bring them to justice after the investigation is completed.Saudi officials characterize the killing as a rogue operation carried out by Saudi agents who exceeded their authority.Yet some of those implicated in the killing are close to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom’s heir-apparent whose condemnation of the killing has failed to ease suspicions that he was involved.Khashoggi, a onetime Saudi insider and U.S. resident who lived in self-imposed exile for almost a year before his death, had written critically of the crown prince in columns for The Washington Post.Al-Mojeb, the prosecutor visiting Istanbul, was named attorney general by Saudi King Salman last year after a palace shakeup that saw Prince Mohammed sideline his elder, more experienced cousin, Mohammed bin Nayef, for the title of crown prince.Months later, al-Mojeb played a key role when high-level Saudi princes, businessmen, government officials and military officers were detained and stripped of significant sums of their wealth in exchange for freedom. The sweep, described by Prince Mohammed bin Salman and his backers as an anti-corruption drive, helped the new crown prince consolidate his power and weaken potential rivals.Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says his country will reveal more evidence about the killing but is not in any rush to do so. U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis has said the killing undermines regional stability and has urged Saudi Arabia to conduct a full and complete investigation.In a video released Monday, journalists from a number of media organizations read extracts from Khashoggi’s last Washington Post column, titled “What the Arab world needs most is free expression.”“We will continue to campaign for truth and accountability for his horrific murder, by those who planned, ordered and executed it,” said Kumi Naidoo, secretary general of Amnesty International, which released the video.

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29/10/2018 0:00

https://news.mb.com.ph/2018/10/29/saudi-turkish-prosecutors-discuss-khashoggi-killing-probe/

Manila Bulletin

Roxas camp working on Pacquiao to leave Binay, UNA

The camp of Interior Secretary Mar Roxas is trying to woo the boxing icon, Sarangani Rep. Manny Pacquiao, to leave the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) of Vice President Jejomar Binay and join the Liberal Party (LP) as a senatorial candidate in the 2016 elections.Yacap Rep. Carol Jayne Lopez, a friend of Pacquiao and a Roxas supporter, said the boxer seemed receptive to the offer but was “keeping his options open.”“We’re hoping he makes the right decision,” she told reporters.Lopez is a member of the minority in the House of Representatives but has actively supported the presumed candidacy of Roxas under the LP.She said Pacquiao seemed to still be weighing a lot of things “about where he wants to go in life.”“It is his decision. We just want to make sure we did not miss out on inviting him,” Lopez said.If Pacquiao agrees, he will be part of the LP senatorial slate, she said.At 36, he is still too young to run for Vice President, open only to those at the age of 40.But Buhay Rep. Lito Atienza, who is closely identified with Pacquiao, said he saw no way the boxer would leave UNA for the LP.He told a news forum that he did not see Pacquiao as a “balimbing,” or turncoat. Atienza plans to run for senator under the UNA banner.Pacquiao, a member of the majority coalition, is an underperformer at the House and is one of its top absentees. In the 16th Congress, he has sponsored or authored 15 bills or resolutions, five of which are related to sports or boxing, while four are local bills.He attended the formal launch of Binay’s UNA party on July 1.Pacquiao said then that he was still in the process of deciding whether to run for senator.Asked if he would campaign for Binay, Pacquiao had been evasive: “That depends. We have not talked about that. I am here to support the party declarations.”RELATED STORIESBinay asks Pacquiao to run for senator in UNA slateINQUIRER.net poll: Pacquiao should stick to boxing

['Dj Yap']

2018-06-02 00:04:16+00:00

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/708980/roxas-camp-working-on-pacquiao-to-leave-binay-una

Inquirer

SC warned vs usurping Comelec authority

THE Supreme Court will be usurping the authority of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) if it won’t follow a Comelec Resolution setting a 25-percent threshold for the manual counting of votes for the 2016 Vice Presidential race, according to a group led by former solicitor general Florin Hilbay.“Manindigan Na” issued the statement in connection with a pending appeal by Vice President Maria Leonor Robredo to the Supreme Court, sitting as Presidential Electoral Tribunal (PET), to set the valid vote threshold at 25 percent based on Comelec’s September 2016 Resolution for manual counting and for Vote Counting Machines in the 2016 automated polls.The manual recount in Camarines Sur, Negros Oriental and Iloilo stemmed from former Sen. Ferdinand“Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s protest against Robredo who defeated him by over 200,000 votes.“The Comelec’s September 2016 Resolution set the minimum threshold at 25 percent. There is no logical reason for the PET to use a different threshold. By insisting on their own rules, the PET is subverting the will of the voters and usurping the constitutional mandate of the Comelec,” the Hilbay-led group said.The group was referring to PET’s 50-percent threshold for a valid vote, which was set in the 2010 automated polls.“We find this move a manipulation to take away votes that were rightly cast for the duly-elected Vice President,” Hilbay said.Marcos accused Robredo of winning based on fraud, which Robredo denied.

['Llanesca T. Panti']

2018-06-02 00:04:16+00:00

https://www.manilatimes.net/sc-warned-vs-usurping-comelec-authority/403261/

Manila Times

Joint graduation eyed in BIFF areas

The Armed Forces of the Philippines is considering holding joint graduation exercises for schools in the areas affected by the massive military offensive against the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) rebel group in Maguindanao.AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Gregorio Pio Catapang Jr. said he would support the decision of the ground commander, Maj. Gen Edmundo Pangilinan, commander of the 6th Infantry Division, on the matter.“We are considering a proposal to identify a safe area where the joint graduation ceremonies can be conducted. We need to discuss and take collective decisions together with our partners,” Catapang said.He said local government units and other government agencies like the Philippine National Police and the Department of Education will be consulted.“We would like to see schoolchildren flocking to the schools in pursuit of education and better lives. We are delighted to see them finish school and receive their diplomas and recognition,” Catapang said.“We understand the plight of the people who have fled to evacuation centers, especially the women, children and old people,” he added.As of Saturday, the AFP placed the BIFF casualties of its offensive at 139 killed, 53 wounded and 12 arrested.Catapang said the government forces would continue to conduct focused military operations against armed threats like the BIFF and the terrorists that they have been coddling in their communities.He said the AFP had gained the momentum in the fight against lawlessness and would never abandon its mandate to protect the people.ReinforcementsMeanwhile, the 6th Infantry Division has welcomed the arrival of the 34th Infantry (Reliable) Battalion of the 8th Infantry Division at Camp Siongco, Awang, Datu Odin Sinsuat, to reinforce the troops in the campaign against the BIFF.Brig. Gen. Manolito Orense, the assistant division commander of the 6th Infantry Division, led the Kampilan troops in welcoming the newly deployed unit from Samar province.The 34th Infantry Battalion, under Lt. Col. Edgar de los Reyes, will help in maintaining peace and security in the division’s area of responsibility covering the provinces of Maguindanao and parts of North Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat and Lanao del Sur.The AFP said the deployment marks the start of the holding phase wherein government forces will establish encampments in former BIFF areas to prevent the armed lawless group from returning. It will also pave the way for the implementation of various development projects in the different communities in the affected areas, it said.

['Cynthia D. Balana']

21/09/2018 0:00

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/680492/joint-graduation-eyed-in-biff-areas

Inquirer

SWS: 66% satisfied with Duterte

President Duterte achieved a personal best in public approval ratings last month after the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey showed a “very good” net satisfaction rating of +66.In its June 23 to 26 poll of 1,200 respondents nationwide, SWS said 78 percent said they were satisfied with the President’s work while 12 percent were dissatisfied, for a net satisfaction rating (satisfied minus dissatisfied) of +66 in June.The satisfaction rating, which has a three-point margin of error, was up three points from Mr. Duterte’s net rating of +63 (75 percent satisfied, 12 percent dissatisfied) in March.But his satisfaction rating in Mindanao dropped 12 points from +87 in March to +75 June although this was offset by gains in other parts of the country, the survey found.In particular, Mr. Duterte’s net satisfaction rating was highest in the Visayas where it increased from +62 to an “excellent” +73.His satisfaction also rose by seven points +51 to +58 in Luzon areas outside Metro Manila and also increased from +63 to +64 to +63 in Metro Manila itself.The survey was conducted a month after Mr. Duterte signed Proclamation No. 216, declaring martial law, and Malacañang claimed the survey proved public support for martial law.“It shows tacit public support to the President’s action following the rebellion in Marawi,” said Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella.“This positive acknowledgement of the Filipino people further motivates the administration to work for the restoration of normalcy in Marawi and to start its rehabilitation as well as bring a comfortable life for all Filipinos, including Muslim Filipinos,” he added.The President’s net satisfaction score rose and was classified “very good” in all socioeconomic classes: from +56 to +59, among classes ABC; from +64 to +66 among class D and from +60 to +67 among class E.By locale, net scores rose in urban areas from a “very good” +63 in March to “very good” +68 in June. It was the same in rural areas at “very good” +63.Among males, it remained “very good” but dipped from +65 to +63. It also stayed “very good” among females but increased from +61 to +69.SWS considers a rating of plus 70 and above as “excellent”; plus 50 to plus 69, “very good”; plus 30 to plus 49, “good”; plus 10 to plus 29, “moderate”; plus 9 to minus 9, “neutral”; minus 10 to minus 29, “poor.”

['Philippine Daily Inquirer']

21/09/2018 0:00

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/911980/sws-66-satisfied-with-duterte

Inquirer

At least 126 dead in Lake Victoria ferry disaster

when it capsized close to the pier on Ukara Island on Thursday, according to reports on state media.Witnesses reached by AFP said the ferry sank when passengers rushed to one side to disembark as it approached the dock.The death toll rose to 126 by mid-afternoon Friday, according to Tanzania’s transport minister.“We are sad to report there are 126 dead,” Isack Kamwele told state television, adding that a further update would be provided at 6pm local time (1500 GMT).Mwanza governor John Mongella had earlier said the number of survivors was 40, but it was unclear whether any new survivors had been found since rescue operations resumed with police and army divers on Friday morning.“Operations are continuing,” he said.Rescue operations were suspended overnight Thursday and hopes are fading that more survivors might still be found.State television cited witnesses reporting that more than 200 people had boarded the ferry at Bugolora, a town on the larger Ukerewe Island, where it was market day when locals said the vessel was usually packed with people and goods.“I have not heard from either my father or my younger brother who were on the ferry. They had gone to the market in Bugolora to buy a school uniform and other supplies for the new school term,” said Domina Maua, who was among those seeking information about loved ones.Davita Ngenda, an elderly woman in Ukara, had already received bad news.“My son is among the bodies recovered,” she said, weeping. “He had gone with his wife but she has not been found yet. My God, what did I do to deserve this?”Sebastian John, a teacher, said such tragedies had become part of life for those living on the lake.“Since my birth, people have gone to their deaths on this lake, but what are we to do? We did not choose to be born here, we have nowhere to go,” he said.– Overloading and ‘negligence’ –It remains unclear how many people are still missing.Tanzania’s Electrical, Mechanical and Services Agency, which is responsible for ferry services, said it was unknown how many passengers were aboard the MV Nyerere.The ageing ferry, whose hull and propellers were all that remained visible after it overturned, was also carrying cargo, including sacks of maize, bananas and cement, when it capsized around 50 metres (55 yards) from Ukara dock.The cause of the accident was not immediately clear, but overloading is frequently to blame for such incidents.President John Magufuli was “deeply saddened” by the disaster and called on Tanzanians to “stay calm during these difficult times,” according to spokesman Gerson Msigwa.The country’s opposition, however, accused the government of “negligence”.“We have often raised concerns about the poor condition of this ferry, but the government turned a deaf ear. We have repeatedly denounced this negligence,” said John Mnyika, deputy secretary general of Chadema, the main opposition party.Mnyika said overloading was “another failure of the authorities” and criticised “inadequate relief efforts as well as delays” in the rescue operation.With a surface area of 70,000 square kilometres (27,000 square miles), oval-shaped Lake Victoria is roughly the size of Ireland and is shared by Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya.Capsizes are not uncommon in the massive lake, and the number of fatalities is often high due to a shortage of life jackets and the fact that many people in the region cannot swim.The deadliest such accident in recent decades was in May 1996, when around 800 people died after their ferry sank on the way to Mwanza in Tanzania.

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21/09/2018 0:00

https://news.mb.com.ph/2018/09/21/at-least-126-dead-in-lake-victoria-ferry-disaster/

Manila Bulletin