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Swedish PM calls far-right party racist on election eve

up from the 13 percent it won in 2014.A 20 percent share of Sunday’s vote would not be enough for the party to lead a government, but a strong show of support would give more power to pressure the next administration.Some Swedes fear the party’s more moderate image is superficial and have expressed anxieties about its anti-European Union views and support for lowering the legal limit for abortions from the current 18 weeks to 12.Prime Minister Stefan Lofven stumped Saturday for his party, the Social Democrats, while portraying the Sweden Democrats as racist. Lofven accused some of his opponents of being prepared to work with the far-right party, which he vowed his party would not to.“We are not going to retreat one millimeter in the face of hatred and extremism wherever it shows itself,” Lofven said. “Again and again and again, they show their Nazi and racist roots and they are trying to destroy the EU at a time when we need that cooperation the most.”Ulf Kristersson, leader of the Moderate Party, stressed the importance of integrating newcomers.“We can’t have a situation when you come to Sweden and not integrate in society,” he told voters. Integration is one of the biggest questions for the future in Sweden.”Carl Bildt, a former prime minister from the Moderate Party, said he thinks the extreme right’s worrisome rise can be contained, but takes it as “a warning signal that we need to take these particular sentiments more seriously.”Swedish leaders should “address the concerns that are there, address the anti-European sentiments they are expressing as well, in order to be more resilient as a society against these sorts of trends in the future,” Bildt said.

[]

08/09/2018 0:00

https://news.mb.com.ph/2018/09/08/swedish-pm-calls-far-right-party-racist-on-election-eve/

Manila Bulletin

Inflation, poor infrastructure are Pinoys’ most urgent issues

Inflation and poor road infrastructure are the most urgent national and local issues, respectively, for five out of 10 Filipinos, according to a poll by Pulse Asia.The Ulat ng Bayan poll of 1,200 respondents nationwide, done from Sept. 24 to 30, also showed that the other urgent national concerns include increasing workers’ pay (42 percent) and fighting criminality (36 percent).In Malacañang, presidential spokesperson Ernesto Abella said the administration was on the right track when it made fighting criminality and corruption its priorities.“Filipinos consider these two issues as among their most urgent national concerns, and we thank our people for recognizing the efforts of the current government in delivering on this front,” Abella said in a statement.“The survey results indeed underscore (that) the President’s promise of genuine change to have safe neighborhoods and peaceful communities under a trustworthy government has been felt by people on the ground,” he added.Abella said the Palace hoped this would translate to increased investments and better economic prospects for the nation, so that urgent concerns such a reducing poverty, controlling inflation, creating jobs, improving the pay of workers could be addressed.Majority approval ratingsResults of the survey released on Friday also indicated that the Duterte administration scored majority approval ratings ranging from 58 percent to 78 percent, in handling most of 12 selected national issues.It got 78 percent on fighting criminality and responding to the needs of those affected by calamities, and 70 percent in fighting corruption. Both ratings however showed six-point declines which Pulse Asia said was not considered significant because of the survey’s overall margin of error of plus or negative 3 percentage points.The administration also got a 67 percent approval rating in enforcing the rule of law equally on all citizens, that again represented a seven-point decline from previous results.Malacañang did not comment on the decrease.Concern over inflation was the major sentiment among respondents in the Visayas and Mindanao (both 51 percent), and the rest of Luzon (52 percent).Local concernsMetro Manila respondents meanwhile registered similar percentages of concern when it comes to workers’ salary (45 percent), inflation (38 percent), jobs (36 percent) and criminality (34 percent).Among Class ABC, the top concerns were inflation (50 percent), workers’ pay (37 percent), and criminality (36 percent).Class D respondents considered inflation and workers’ pay their top concerns at 48 percent and 41 percent, respectively. Majority of those in Class E were also concerned about inflation (56 percent).When it comes to local issues, 15.9 percent of the respondents cited poor or insufficient roads as the most urgent concern, followed by flooding and clogged drainage (11.2 percent) and illegal drug use and addiction (10.2 percent).Metro Manilans were most concerned about illegal drugs (18.3 percent), while respondents in the Visayas and Mindanao cited road infrastructure as their most urgent concern at 28.5 percent and 23.5 percent, respectively. Those in the rest of Luzon (30 percent) did not cite any local urgent concern.Among Class ABC, road infrastructure was also considered the most urgent local concern (16.2 percent), although a similar percentage (16.3) did not mention any.The same issue was cited as the most urgent local concern among Class D (14.6 percent) and Class E (20.9 percent).

['Inquirer Research', 'Leila B. Salaverria']

2016-11-22 07:49:41+08:00

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/939575/philippine-news-updates-pulse-asia-crime-jobs

Inquirer

IN THE KNOW

THE MAUTE group is one of several gangs in Mindanao that have reportedly pledged allegiance to the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group in Syria and Iraq.Estimated to have 80-100 members in February, the group is led by brothers Omar and Abdullah Maute. According to an earlier report quoting military intelligence, the Mautes are also believed to be involved in the illegal drug trade.The group is also known as part of the emerging Khilafah Islamiya Movement, reportedly composed of radicalized Moros.It has been blamed for kidnappings and bomb attacks in parts of Mindanao, such as the bombings of power transmission lines and towers, and the abduction of six sawmill workers from Iligan City earlier this year. Inquirer ResearchSources: Inquirer Archives

['Philippine Daily Inquirer']

2016-11-22 07:49:41+08:00

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/810556/in-the-know-26

Inquirer

Maldivian authorities assure free vote amid fears of rigging

formed an alliance in exile with the aim of unseating him.Supporters of the opposition presidential candidate, Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, and the president gathered Saturday at their respective party campaign offices in Male, the capital, for final campaign rallies, as pink and green campaign banners hung across the city’s streets.“I don’t agree with the policies of this government and also some corrupt activities,” said 19-year-old Scifulla Waheed, who is looking to vote for the first time on Sunday. “It is high time that we should rise to change the government.”Waheed, who believes Yameen has weekend democracy in the Maldives, said a free and fair election “will change this regime.”Yameen’s supporters were also vocal.“Under President Yameen, everything has improved,” said Latheef, who gave only one name. “If the opposition comes into power, the economy will be in doldrums and we will have to face hardships.”

[]

22/09/2018 0:00

https://news.mb.com.ph/2018/09/22/maldivian-authorities-assure-free-vote-amid-fears-of-rigging/

Manila Bulletin

Barangay chairman and ABC president surrenders to Ilocos police

An Association of Barangay Councils (ABC) president and barangay chairman in Balaweg, Nagbukel, Ilocos Sur, marked as an “identified drug personality” surrendered to the police on Monday.Nagbukel police chief, Senior Inspector Pol Ariola, identified the self-confessed drug user as Ernesto D. Corrales Jr.Corrales surrendered to the police around 3:30 p.m. He was accompanied by a group composed of members of the religious sector, barangay officials, and police.Meanwhile, Senior Superintendent Clint Bayacsan, Ilocos Sur Police provincial director, said the drug offender will undergo evaluation, counseling, and signing of an Affidavit of Undertaking and Oath.Bayacsan added that concerned agencies will determine how long Corrales will have to undergo the recovery and wellness program.

[]

24/09/2018 0:00

https://news.mb.com.ph/2018/09/24/barangay-chairman-and-abc-president-surrenders-to-ilocos-police/

Manila Bulletin

Expletives light up Davao party for Duterte

There were no fireworks at President-elect Rodrigo Duterte’s victory party on Saturday, as pyrotechnics are banned in Davao City. But who needed them when Duterte himself was there?“You sons of bitches, I will really kill you,” Duterte warned drug dealers in a speech to 200,000 supporters celebrating his electoral victory at Crocodile Park.The crowd cheered as the first expletive of the evening exploded from the mouth of the trash-talking city mayor, who will be inaugurated as the Philippines’ 16th President on June 30.“If you destroy my country, I will kill you. If you destroy the youth, I will kill you,” Duterte warned drug dealers, drawing more cheers from his supporters who started gathering at the park at 1 p.m. to hear him.He aired the same warning during the campaign, and it helped him win the votes of 16.6 million Filipinos fed up with rampant crime in the country.On Saturday night, he restated his anticrime program, encouraging the public to help him fight criminals and urging armed citizens to shoot and kill drug dealers who would resist arrest and fight back in their neighborhoods.“Please feel free to call us, the police, or do it yourselves if you have guns, you have my support,” Duterte said.He warned about an extensive illegal drugs trade in the country that involved even police.If a drug dealer would resist arrest or refuse to be taken to a police station and would threaten a citizen with a gun or a knife, “you can kill him,” Duterte said.“Shoot and I’ll give you a medal,” he added.Bounty raisedEarlier, Duterte announced bounties of P3 million for drug bosses.On Saturday, he announced that he was raising the bounty to P5 million for every drug boss. “But he has to be dead,” he said.He also offered smaller bounties for drug dealers down the rung of crime syndicates.Duterte also asked three police directors based at Philippine National Police headquarters in Camp Crame, Quezon City, to resign for involvement in crimes that he did not specify.He threatened to humiliate the three police officials in public if they did not quit. He did not disclose their names, though.Duterte said dismissed cases against policemen would be reviewed to flush out law enforcers who get away by disappearing until there were no more witnesses against them and asking judges to dismiss the cases against them.Clean up PNPIn Quezon City, Chief Supt. Wilben Mayor, spokesperson for the PNP, said the police supported Duterte’s anticrime program and assured the President-elect that there was no place for rogue policemen in the service.“We will work hand in hand with the incoming administration to strengthen and enhance this policy and ensure that those involved will be prosecuted and separated from the service,” Mayor said.Malacañang said it was the prerogative of the incoming President to clean up the PNP but reminded Duterte that even the war against drugs and corrupt policemen required due process.“Any action against corruption needs to follow due process in accordance with law,” Presidential Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said on state-run radio.Duterte also cited corruption in public education, the sector that receives the largest chunk of the national budget.Problem with K-12“But there’s a problem now, there’s an aberration created by K-12,” he said, referring to the Aquino administration’s flagship program that added two years to the basic education cycle to meet international standards.He said many parents could not afford the additional burden and thousands of teachers were “marginalized” by the new system.Duterte promised to build more schools.“If there are 35-50 students in a barangay, then you will have a national high school. No need to walk 20 to 30 kilometers to go to school. I will bring the school to your place,” he said.UnderspendingDuterte also said he expected government agencies to fully spend their budgets, a dig at the outgoing Aquino administration’s underspending that slows down economic growth.“Use it all up. Whether you underspend or overspend, it means there was corruption. If you spend less, it means you did not do your job. At the end of the day, when there’s an audit, there shouldn’t be an expense of a peso more or a peso less,” he said.“If you spent more, you’re stupid. If you spent less, you’re also stupid,” he added.Losses from corruptionAs for money, he said the government would have all the money it needed if only it would get all the taxes collected.But, he said, the government loses P300 million a day because of corruption at the Bureau of Customs.The government loses another P200 a day—a “very conservative” estimate—because of corruption at the Bureau of Internal Revenue, he said.He said the losses at the customs bureau could be used for land reform.The money, he said, could be used to finance the acquisition of land for the beneficiaries of the land reform program. It could also be used to buy farm implements, fertilizers and other equipment needed by farmers.Duterte also hit out at crop conversion for the benefit of multinational companies.“We have a problem with rice. We have given so much to the multinationals. They are planting banana, pineapple, coffee, and it is a corporate endeavor that only big firms can afford,” he said. “So we have run out of land to plant [rice].”Duterte also promised to make health his “No.1 priority.”“I will commit all the earnings of Pagcor (Philippine Gaming Corp.), which run into billions, to hospitals for medicines and hospitalization,” he said, drawing applause from the crowd. With reports from Julie M. Aurelio and Christine O. Avendaño in Manila and AP

['Nico Alconaba', 'Tarra Quismundo']

13/07/2017 0:00

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/789268/expletives-light-up-davao-party-for-duterte

Inquirer

Typhoon ‘Ineng’ death toll reaches 14

A weakened Typhoon “Ineng” (international name: Goni) headed toward Taiwan on Sunday after battering northern Philippines, leaving at least 14 people dead, 10 others injured and 16 missing.The state weather bureau lifted all storm warnings hours before Ineng swirled out of the country on Sunday night.Though weakened, Ineng still packed sustained winds of up to 140 kilometers per hour and gusts of up to 170 kph as it swept past Batanes province, headed toward Taiwan, where thousands of people living on the east coast were evacuated.The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said Ineng continued to enhance the southwest monsoon, causing rains in Metro Manila, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, the Ilocos Region, Zambales and Bataan provinces, and the Calayaan and Babuyan Islands off Cagayan province.Deadly landslidesIneng hit northern Luzon hard, causing landslides and floods. Most of the deaths were caused by landslides.The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said the deaths were reported in Mountain Province, Benguet and Ilocos Norte.At least three of the missing were from La Union, Ilocos Norte and Cagayan. At least 10 people were reported injured in Mountain Province, Benguet, Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, Batanes and Cagayan, the NDRRMC said.The NDRRMC reported at least nine landslides in Mountain Province, Benguet and Oriental Mindoro; 15 flash floods in Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, Pangasinan, Cagayan, Oriental Mindoro and Metro Manila; five tornadoes in Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, Nueva Ecija and Laguna; two river swellings in Ilocos Sur; and the collapse of a bailey bridge in Ilocos Sur.The council said 32,648 people were evacuated in Ilocos, Cagayan, Cordillera and Calabarzon regions and relief goods worth P481,574.40 were distributed to the evacuees.The Ambuklao, Binga and San Roque dams, all on the Agno River Basin, released water as they neared their spilling levels, the NDRRMC said.Ineng affected 119 municipalities in 19 provinces, the council said.Small-scale minersIn Benguet, Gov. Nestor Fongwan called the province’s electricity distributor, Benguet Electric Cooperative (Beneco), on Sunday and asked it to speed up the restoration of power to the mining town of Mankayan, where miners, soldiers and policemen were frantically searching for survivors of a massive landslide on Saturday that swept away several small-scale miners’ shanties.Ineng was unexpectedly fierce because it dumped heavy rains and its winds toppled trees and electric posts, particularly in Mankayan, said Gerardo Verzosa, Beneco general manager.Because there was no electricity, rescue efforts were stalled on Saturday night and when the creek began to swell due to heavy rain in the province.But some residents did not let up their own search.Lilian Faliao, a resident, said the victims where encamped in shanties put up for small-scale miners when the waterlogged mountainside gave way at 3 a.m. on Saturday in Sitio (settlement) Elizabeth, Barangay (village) Taneg.Taneg residents and volunteers began digging through mud, rocks and debris, while other rescuers scanned the creek below, Faliao said.Authorities said 18 people were initially listed as missing, but two of them—Joni Tomalban Foster and Marpite Tomalban—were not at the pocket mining site when the accident happened, Mankayan Mayor Materno Luspian said.On Sunday, rescuers found the bodies of Crispin Ablao, Armando Dayao and Felimon Adcapan.In a separate incident in Kalinga, rescuers in Tabuk City recovered the body of Julius Gumisa, 23, who was swept away by a strong current in the Chico River in nearby Mountain Province.Mankayan has lost more lives to the typhoon than any other Cordillera town this week.Earlier on Saturday, Noel Lubante Jr., 21, and his partner, Nora Mae Diaz, 17, who was 6 months pregnant, were found dead after a landslide buried their house in Sitio Cotcot in Barangay Bulalacao in Mankayan, police said.These incidents in Benguet and Kalinga raised the death toll from Ineng to 14.On Friday, separate landslides in Mankayan killed pocket miner Glen Poloc Baldasan, 27, who was on his way home, and Michael Martin Lagasan, 59, when his vehicle was buried by mud and rocks.Road cutsDamage due to road cuts along Halsema Highway in the Cordillera reached P1.9 million, according to the Benguet police. Halsema Highway is the main road used by truckers to transport vegetables from Benguet farms to Baguio City and Metro Manila.Kennon Road, a major route to and from Baguio City, remained closed on Sunday as government personnel cleared a massive landslide. Marcos Highway and Naguilian Road, the other routes to the summer capital, were open on Sunday amid heavy rain in the area.The NDRRMC said Ineng destroyed over P124 million in infrastructure and agriculture.Damage to infrastructure was P121,480,000 and to agriculture, P3,338,483.33, the council said.Floods, outagesIn the Ilocos Region, Ilocos Norte and the first congressional district of Ilocos Sur, from Vigan City to Sinait town, lost power on Sunday due to the toppling of a 115-kilovolt steel tower along the Santa Maria River in Barangay Nagtupacan in Santa Maria, Ilocos Sur.Lilibeth Gaydowen, northern Luzon corporate communications and public affairs officer of the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines, said repairs had started but workers had to wait for the swollen Santa Maria River to subside to complete all work needed to restore power.Portions of the national highway in Candon City and Narvacan, Ilocos Sur, were flooded and remained impassable on Sunday.Governors Imee Marcos (Ilocos Norte), Ryan Singson (Ilocos Sur) and Eustaquio Bersamin (Abra) ordered the suspension of classes at all levels in their provinces on Monday due to the impact of the typhoon.Ineng left more than P401 million in infrastructure damage and more than P55 million in farm damage in Ilocos Norte, records from the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council showed.Marcos on Sunday urged the Department of Energy and generating companies in the Ilocos Region to get together and work out a faster way of redirecting power to the province, fearful that the blackout may last for two weeks.She also directed local gasoline stations to stock up in preparation for a rise in demand from commercial establishments, hospitals and government offices that would operate using generator sets.Reports said roads in eight villages in Solsona town, six in Dingras, two in Bacarra and one in Banna remained impassable due to floods.NDRRMC Executive Director Alexander Pama said responders were concentrating on the towns of Santa and Caoayan in Ilocos Sur, which were isolated after the collapse of a bridge there.The villages of Puro, Pantay-Tamurong and Villamar in Caoayan, and Oribin, Dammay, Calumbuyan, Casiber and Rancho in Santa were isolated after the Calumbuyan bailey bridge collapsed, Pama said.“We are concentrating on sending food and medicines there, which should have been done earlier but our helicopters can’t make it because of the foul weather. Our choppers will fly as soon as the weather clears,” he said.Interior Secretary Mar Roxas said 700 to 1,000 families were isolated in the two towns, which are near the Abra River.Social Welfare Secretary Corazon Soliman said 10,000 food packs in La Union were on their way to Santa and Caoayan and 50,000 more would be loaded on Philippine Navy ships at Sangley Point, Cavite province, for the two towns.Angat Dam levelThe water levels at dams in Central Luzon rose fast as Ineng dumped rain in the region, data from the Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council showed.In Bulacan, water in Angat Dam increased from 180.60 meters above sea level (masl) on Friday to 181.79 masl as of 6 a.m. on Sunday. The dam, which provides more than 90 percent of Metro Manila’s supply, was still below its 210 masl spilling level.Water elevation in the Ipo Dam, also in Bulacan, increased from 99.80 masl on Friday to 100.40 masl, putting it close to the 101 masl spilling level.The Pantabangan Dam in Nueva Ecija took in more water, with reservoir levels climbing from 181.39 masl to 184.22 masl. The elevation, however, was still below the dam’s 216 masl spilling level.In Carranglan, Nueva Ecija, 37 residents in Barangay Piut remained in a school after a tornado destroyed their houses on Friday.In Olongapo City, a mudslide damaged two houses in Purok 13 in Barangay Barreto while a tree fell on a house in Barangay Kalaklanalso on Friday.In Zambales, rescuers on Saturday afternoon began a search for Alim Adaoag, 18, who disappeared while helping pull one of several dredge floater assemblies to shore in Barangay Santo Rosario in Iba town.On Friday, fishermen started removing the dredge floater assembly from their village’s shoreline because they feared huge waves would push the equipment and hit their houses.As of Saturday, only 17 of 39 dredge floater assemblies, which were found in waters off Zambales in July, were moved to the shore.At least nine domestic flights were canceled on Sunday due to bad weather.The Manila International Airport Authority said six flights of Philippine Airlines, two Cebu Pacific flights, and an AirAsia Zest flight were canceled.–Reports from Kimberlie Quitasol, Leoncio Balbin Jr., Leilanie Adriano and Vincent Cabreza, Inquirer Northern Luzon; Tonette Orejas and Allan Macatuno, Inquirer Central Luzon; Donna Z. Pazzibugan and Jeannette I. Andrade in Manila; and AFP

['Inquirer Northern Luzon']

13/07/2017 0:00

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/715669/typhoon-ineng-death-toll-reaches-14

Inquirer

‘It’s the mother in me, the pain in my heart, I’m sorry’

If only to save her daughter, Celia Veloso is willing to offer her life.“It’s because of all the pain my heart, here,” she said in Filipino, her hand on her chest.She did not exactly apologize for her harsh words against President Benigno Aquino III when the family returned from Jakarta, Indonesia, but Celia acknowledged that lack of sleep, fatigue and emotional exhaustion might have led her to say the wrong word that earned the ire of Netizens on social media last week.More than anything, Veloso said, it was a mother’s heart that spoke that day and candidly revealed her true feelings.“I am sorry. It must have been me just being a parent,” she said. “As I’ve said before, I will do anything for my daughter. Even in Indonesia, I said that they can execute me, just send my daughter home,” Veloso added.Despite her plea for understanding, the older woman stood by the sentiments she expressed last week and largely blamed slow government action for her daughter’s death sentence.On May 1, three days after Mary Jane Veloso was granted a last-minute reprieve—the only death convict out of nine saved from a firing squad for drug trafficking in Indonesia—the elder Veloso joined a Labor Day protest rally and lambasted the Aquino government for her daughter’s fate.“Dumating na kami dito sa Pilipinas para maningil. Maniningil kami … sa gobyerno dahil hanggang sa huli, niloko pa rin kami (We came home to collect from the government that, until the end, had tricked us),” Veloso said, adding that President Aquino had been claiming credit for saving her daughter’s life.Her words immediately provoked stinging rebukes on Twitter and Facebook, with most postings calling the 55-year-old Veloso an “ingrate.”READ: Velosos home with KO punch at Aquino

['Tarra Quismundo']

13/07/2017 0:00

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/690371/its-the-mother-in-me-the-pain-in-my-heart-im-sorry

Inquirer

PNP, AFP to submit papers on martial law extension

The police and military leaderships are now preparing their respective position papers to justify the extension of martial law implementation in Mindanao.Director General Ronald dela Rosa, chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP), said the position papers will be submitted to President Duterte possibly today and would contain reasons on why martial law should be extended.Dela Rosa, however, said that the timeframe on the extended martial law recommendation may not be discussed.“We cannot still say how many days but we will cite reasons on why there is a need to extend the martial law from the law enforcement perspective,” said Dela Rosa.He said the military position paper will discuss the tactical and strategic reasons.Both Dela Rosa and Gen. Eduardo Ano of the Armed Forces of the Philippines are keen to recommending the extension of martial law. The Chief PNP said one of the things they discussed is whether or not some areas in Mindanao would no longer be covered by the martial law.But he said the decision remains with the President.Duterte earlier said that he would only listen to the police and the military as to when the martial law would be lifted amid criticisms on its declaration.Dela Rosa said they expect that they would be asked soon by the President as the 60-day martial law implementation is expected to end. So far, he said Duterte has not yet personally asked him about his thoughts on martial law extension.

[]

13/07/2017 0:00

https://news.mb.com.ph/2017/07/13/pnp-afp-to-submit-papers-on-martial-law-extension/

Manila Bulletin

Imelda: My son will make PH great

If you vote for Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., you will make this country great again.That’s the campaign pitch of Imelda Marcos for her son, who is leading popularity surveys in the vice presidential race barely two weeks before the May 9 elections.Speaking before a crowd of 1,500 at the Remedios Trinidad Romualdez gymnasium in downtown Tacloban, the former first lady said the Solid North of the Ilocano-speaking region and the Warays of Eastern Visayas “should unite so that our nation will be great again.”“I am campaigning for us to unite, which is the theme of my son Bongbong,” she said.On the stage with Imelda were Marcos Jr., her nephew Leyte Rep. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, who is running for senator, Tacloban mayoral candidate Cristina Romualdez and Yedda Romualdez, who is seeking a congressional seat in Leyte’s first district.In her 15-minute speech, Imelda recounted the “persecution” her family suffered after the 1986 Edsa People Power Revolution ousted the Marcoses after a 20-year rule.She recalled how she and her family were “kidnapped,” exiled to Hawaii and slapped with string of charges filed by the government allegedly for amassing ill-gotten wealth.Bongbong has been singled out for vilification by the Aquino administration and his vice presidential rivals for refusing to apologize for the human rights abuses of the Ferdinand Marcos dictatorship and shrugging off demands that he return billions of dollars in ill-gotten wealth that the family had allegedly amassed in 14 years of martial law.In his speech, Bongbong said he was happy to set foot in Leyte which he considered his home. He said he was happy that his campaign platform had been well-received during his campaign throughout the country.“Our leaders, instead of uniting us, are causing division for the sake of politics. What is happening now is that we cannot be together because we belong to different parties. That is not right,” the senator said.Present times, he pointed out, call for the country’s oneness by reviving the “bayanihan” spirit. He said that if all Filipinos used their skills, talent, good traits and hard work to the country’s benefit, progress will be felt in all levels of society.“I am now 86 years old but my heart is still here and my love remains strong for my fellow Filipinos, especially for the country,” said the former first lady.“There is really no reason for the country to suffer. We really need to have a leader who cares for the Philippines and who has the intellect to know what is good for the Filipinos,” she pointed out, adding that her marriage to her late husband unified the Waray and the Ilocano peoples.She said, “We need to love each other not only for our nation’s future but also so our nation will be great again.”The Ilocos Norte representative urged the people of Eastern Visayas, with more than 2.6 million registered voters, to vote for her son, saying that he has “heart, compassion and wisdom.”“If you vote for Marcos and Romualdez, you will have Imelda as your mother whose love is boundless for all. You can be sure that if Marcos and Romualdez win, everybody wins because we are here not for us, but for you,” she said.

['Jeannette I. Andrade', 'Joey A. Gabieta']

21/04/2017 0:00

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/781473/imelda-my-son-will-make-ph-great

Inquirer

Stony-faced SAF 44 kin get awards from Aquino

THE CEREMONY was intended to honor their loved ones but the relatives hardly looked appeased.Exactly a year after their deaths, no less than President Aquino conferred the highest military awards—the Medal of Valor and the Medal of Distinguished Conduct—to the 44 Special Action Force (SAF) commandos killed in “Oplan Exodus,” the operation to take down international terrorist Zulkifli bin Hir, alias Marwan in Mamasapano, Maguindanao province.But there was no trace of joy, relief or gratitude in the family members who Monday received the posthumous awards at the Philippine National Police headquarters in Camp Crame, Quezon City, on Monday morning.One pair after another, the relatives went up the stage at the Camp Crame Multipurpose Center, wearing formal Filipiniana attire and stony or somber expressions.Hardly any eye contactThey hardly made eye contact with the President—much less smiled—as he handed them the medals and framed certificates.Six of the families were conspicuously absent in the ceremonies—three of the SAF 44 were not represented at all. Another three were represented only by their classmates from the SAF.The commemoration of the tragedy comes amid complaints from some of the SAF 44’s beneficiaries that they have not been receiving the benefits promised them by the government.It also comes amid reports that some of the families had been pressured into attending the awarding ceremonies.Aside from the SAF commandos, 17 Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) guerrillas, five Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters and three civilians were killed during the fire fight.Tabdi’s infant sonThe ceremonies were attended at least by the immediate kin of the two Medal of Valor awardees. Receiving the medal for ChiefInsp. Gednat Tabdi, from Benguet province, was his wife and his brother. Tabdi’s brother carried to the stage Tabdi’s infant son, who was not born yet when Oplan Exodus happened.Mr. Aquino, in his speech during the ceremonies, hailed Tabdi, the team leader of the SAF 84th Special Action Company, which acted as the “main assault” during Oplan Exodus, for “leading the team in facing the enemy forces, even if they were outnumbered.”“[Tabdi’s] courage served as the strength and inspiration of his comrades to survive certain death,” the President said.Receiving the Medal of Valor for PO2 Romeo Cempron, from the 55th Special Action Company in Zamboanga province, was his wife and his mother.No surrenderThe President, in his speech, heaped praise on Cempron: “Despite being surrounded by more or less 700 enemies, PO2 Cempron fought fiercely. Until the end, he did not surrender. When he ran out of bullets and no longer had any firearms left, he used his own body to shield his comrades from the bullets.”Cempron was originally slated to be posthumously awarded the Medal of Valor during the 114th PNP anniversary in August last year, but his name was removed from the original awardees’ list, allegedly on orders of Malacañang.Of the 42 slain commandos who were posthumously conferred the Medal of Distinguished Conduct, three—Insp. Rennie Tayrus, SPO1 Lover Inocencio and PO2 Nicky Nacino—were not represented at all.Three other Medal of Distinguished Conduct awardees—Chief Insp. Max Jim Tria, PO2 Mark Lory Clemencio and PO3 Franklin Danao—were represented not by any kin, but by SAF classmates.Five other SAF commandos, who were wounded in Oplan Exodus, were also conferred the Medal of Distinguished Conduct, but their names were no longer announced “due to security matters,” said the PNP spokesperson, Chief Supt. Wilben Mayor.Earlier, however, the National Police Commission had revealed that one of the five commanders was Supt. Raymund Train, the team leader of Oplan Exodus. Train was not present during the awarding ceremonies.Twenty-five other SAF survivors in the fire fight earlier received special promotions, according to a Malacañang statement.In an eight-minute speech, the President did not only praise the heroism of the late SAF team members but also spoke about the government’s “continuing quest for justice” for the departed PNP personnel.Noting “justice delayed is justice denied,” Mr. Aquino lamented that like the families of the fallen commandos, “I myself get impatient with the slow pace of the justice system in the country.”His administration, he said, was “doing its best to seek justice (for the fallen SAF members).”At the same time, he urged Congress to study closely the Philippine National Police law, particularly any provisions that blocked the immediate imposition of penalties for erring governments officials who were remiss in performing their duties.Not following orders“We should prevent a repeat of tragedies resulting from incidents where certain officials did not follow the orders of their superiors,” he said.The President did not name names, but Palace sources, who asked not to be named for lack of authority to speak to media, said he was apparently referring to suspended SAF Director Getulio Napeñas, who was relieved of his post shortly after the Mamasapano incident.Napeñas reportedly ignored ceasefire mechanisms between the government and the MILF.He later claimed his men could have survived if military reinforcements and rescue teams arrived at the clash site immediately.The former SAF chief admitted that he did not inform both the Army and the MILF about the operation to get Marwan because he did not trust both organizations supposedly after a series of compromised operations.Continuing assistanceOn Monday, Mr. Aquino also vowed to continue providing assistance to the families of the SAF commandos.The government has, so far, provided more than P151 million in financial aid to these families, according to Presidential Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr.“From tuition and housing aid to healthcare, livelihood and employment assistance, the government continues to extend support not only to their immediate families but also to other beneficiaries,” presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda told reporters.Meeting with familiesAfter the PNP event, the President had a private meeting with the families, their third in the past 12 months.“Their first meeting was held at Camp Bagong Diwa, Taguig City, on Jan. 30, 2015, followed by another meeting sometime in February last year,” Coloma recalled.Last year, the President declared Jan. 30 a National Day of Mourning to honor the SAF commandos.FalloutThe fallout from the otherwise successful counterterrorism operation derailed the peace process between the government and the MILF, endangering the passage of the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL), the fate of which in Congress continues to hang in the balance.The Mamasapano massacre also dealt the biggest blow to Mr. Aquino’s popularity with his numbers dropping to an all-time low after the debacle.The Senate committee on public order’s report on the debacle called the death of the 44 SAF troopers a “massacre” and found the President ultimately responsible for the disaster as it recommended criminal charges against both MILF members and PNP officials.Tomorrow, the Senate panel, chaired by Sen. Grace Poe, a presidential aspirant, is scheduled to reopen its investigation of the Mamasapano incident to tackle “possibly new evidence” on the clash.Unlearn dualismThe Mamasapano tragedy has “brought out many Filipinos’ long-stemmed antipathy and discrimination toward the Muslim-Filipino community,” said Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Teresita Quintos-Deles.Deles on Monday said “we must unlearn this dualism so we can move beyond our superficial analyses to a more discerning view of the peace process and our stakes in it.”In a statement, she noted that “the unfortunate incident in Mamasapano, which plunged the nation in deep grief, showed the fragility of the path to peace.”“The forcible deconstruction triggered by the tragedy compels us to a reconstruction, a recovery, a rethinking that must go deep and far and wide if we are to do justice to the truth and the pursuit for peace,” she said.Deles also said, “the bloodbath at Mamasapano does not debunk the imperative of peace. On the contrary, it tells us and may I paraphrase the poet E.E. Cummings, that of peace, we must be more careful than of anything else.”“It is a beacon, but it is also a fragile flower. It lives in the hearts of men and women but, stunted, it can also turn toxic,” she added.

['Jaymee T. Gamil']

21/04/2017 0:00

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/758671/stony-faced-saf-44-kin-get-awards-from-aquino

Inquirer

Myths and fables we tell ourselves

except maybe in doing another MRT under even worse terms.The middle class and the poor have a stake in the radical reform of the public housing policies. Free shelter for the poor would bring sense to skyrocketing rent and prices that siphon off their hard-earned money. Kadamay should inspire the middle class to unite and demand adequate protections for them like rent control, checks on bank loan policies, improved standards for condos and houses, and better procedures and rates for obtaining PAGIBIG loans. Making sure that the poor have electricity and water should also propel the middle class to fight the illegal resale of water and power by condo and subdivision developers.Yes, the biggest myth is that the middle class can do social change alone or with the ruling class, and the worst fable is that the poor are enemies of change.The moment we reject these myths and fables is precisely the moment we achieve the national democratic unity needed to achieve the progressive and positive changes most of us want and need.Follow me on Twitter and check out my blog tonyocruz.com

[]

21/04/2017 0:00

https://news.mb.com.ph/2017/04/21/myths-and-fables-we-tell-ourselves/

Manila Bulletin

De Lima on Estrada’s bail: We may as well decriminalize plunder

Congress might as well do away with the crime of plunder and the antigraft law for being useless following the release from detention of former Sen. Jinggoy Estrada, who was allowed to post bail on plunder and graft charges, according to Sen. Leila de Lima.Jose Maria Sison, founder of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), also assailed the release of Estrada, saying President Rodrigo Duterte’s anticorruption campaign is a farce.Estrada was accused of conspiring with businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles in funneling his Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) from 2004 to 2010 into alleged ghost projects in exchange for P183 million in kickbacks.In a statement, De Lima said: “The exoneration of plunderers under this administration is almost complete.”She cited the outcome of plunder cases of certain personalities that went in their favor under the Duterte administration.She was referring to former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and even the Marcoses, whose cases are reportedly under review in exchange for the return of their hidden wealth.Plunder is supposed to be a nonbailable offense.Voting 3-2, the Fifth Division of the Sandiganbayan accepted Estrada’s argument in his motion that the prosecution had failed to prove that he was the “main plunderer,” or mastermind in the pork barrel scam.Arroyo used the same argument in winning an acquittal from the Supreme Court in 2016 on charges she plundered funds of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office.“ … (C)ongress might as well decriminalize the crime of plunder and repeal the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act because they have become useless and worthless under (Mr.) Duterte and his virtual amnesty program for the country’s top plunderers,” De Lima said.The senator is detained on drug charges at the same facility in Camp Crame, where Estrada and former Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile used to be detained and where former Sen. Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. is still being held.As justice secretary of the Aquino administration, De Lima led the prosecution of Enrile, Estrada and Revilla in connection with the alleged misuse of their pork barrel funds and of Napoles.She said Revilla and the alleged pork barrel scam mastermind, Napoles, might also be released.False promiseIn a statement, Sison said Mr. Duterte’s promise of anticorruption drive was false.“By undermining the corruption charges against the big shots, Mr. Duterte has been paying his political debts to the Arroyo, Marcos and Estrada dynasties for the Luzon bailiwick votes that added to his own Mindanao bailiwick vote,” he said.Like De Lima, Sison also expected Napoles to be released.“Napoles can be expected to get off the hook, too, because she contributed a huge amount to the campaign of Mr. Duterte,” he said.The CPP founder said the Filipino people were “victims of one corrupt regime after another.”ImpunityDe Lima also found “doubly alarming” the “trademark impunity” of the executive branch finding its way into the judiciary.She said the release of Estrada, who got out after three years of detention as he awaited the outcome of his plunder trial, came after his bail was initially denied by the Sandiganbayan on the ground that the evidence against him was strong.“ … (A) reconstituted Sandiganbayan division with Duterte appointees suddenly finds cause to set Estrada free not because they now find the evidence weak, but because the court thinks that Estrada is not a flight risk,” De Lima said.“Is the judiciary now introducing new procedure and doctrines just to accommodate the whims of the President?” she said.De Lima said if this was the new reason of the antigraft court, then she was qualified to be granted bail by the court since she had shown she was not a flight risk.She noted that she had returned home from a trip abroad despite knowing she wouldbe arrested for the illegal drug trafficking case to be filed against her.“When the time of my arrest came, I voluntarily surrendered to the arresting officers. If that is not being a flight risk, then I don’t know what is,” she said.De Lima said the country was under an “absolute dictatorship” because Mr. Duterte was able to dictate on Congress and now the judiciary.She expressed that fear the country was going back to a cowed judiciary similar to that during the martial law years.With officials saying the President would declare martial law this week, she said there was no need for Mr. Duterte to do so.“We are already under a dictatorship, with Congress and the judiciary under Duterte’s thumb. A martial law proclamation would just be a formality,” De Lima said.

['Philippine Daily Inquirer']

20/10/2017 0:00

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/931377/de-lima-on-estradas-bail-we-may-as-well-decriminalize-plunder

Inquirer

GSP holds 40th national camp

Almost 1,500 girl scout delegates from the various troops and councils all over the Philippines are here for the 40th National Camp at the Marina Yulo Vargas Regional Program and Training Center in Cebu City.Ruth Jarantilla, chairperson of the GSP-Visayas region said girl scouting prepares the girls in developing their skills, discipline, leadership and survival issues as they journey and prepare them to life.Susan Locsin, GSP national president in her opening remarks told the girl scouts to cherish every moment and experiences during the four-day camp. She said all activities were chosen to prepare the girls for core values of girl scouting, that of helping and serving others.Locsin said 77 years and 40 national camps uphold the GSP motto of service to God, country and mankind. “Nothing is impossible in girl scouting. Camping is a valuable cause connecting girl scouts in the country to develop socially while contributing to the community. Camp experiences always serve well for the girls,” she said.Dr. Kathryn Roa, guest speaker of the 40th National Camp here, focused her message on how the girls can equip themselves by joining activities such as camping that challenge themselves away from their comfort zones.Roa said when we are removed from our comfort zones, we realize our limits and we begin to understand there are people outside of us and many of them are better than ourselves.According to the regional camp organizers in 50 years, no less than 400,000 girl scouts and non-girl scouts have enjoyed this camp and training center. The Girl Scouting Region of Visayas has grown from 12 to 14 provincial and city councils in regions 6, 7 and 8.Camp activities include arts and crafts such as bracelet and necklace making, mural painting; disaster preparedness events like first aid, fire and earthquake drill, typhoon preparedness and response; outdoor challenges as rock climbing, repelling, martial arts and other science, technology, engineering and math topics.

[]

02/12/2017 0:00

https://news.mb.com.ph/2017/12/02/gsp-holds-40th-national-camp/

Manila Bulletin

P1.5-B infra projects set for Bataan

Some P1.5 billion worth of infrastructure projects will be constructed next year in this province’s 2nd District through a budget allocation from Congress.Speaking at a news briefing here yesterday, Bataan 2nd District Rep. Joet S. Garcia said the amount, which is the biggest-ever allocated for the district, is also bigger than the budget for District 1 next year.However, Garcia said he is still not satisfied because there are a lot of projects that need to be done in the province as part of the so-called “barangay master plan” program.“Di pa tayo masaya sa budget na ito dahil maliit pa ito, kung ikukumpara sa Iloilo (We are not yet happy with this budget; it’s smaller compared with that of Iloilo),” said Garcia, citing how the bigger budget for the Western Visayan province was cornered by Sen. Franklin Drilon.At any rate, Garcia said the budget will be used so that every barangay in District 2 will be given enough infrastructure projects; the Bataan General Hospital is upgraded; and health programs and education programs are implemented.

[]

02/12/2016 0:00

https://news.mb.com.ph/2016/12/02/p1-5-b-infra-projects-set-for-bataan/

Manila Bulletin

Comelec OKs voting in 86 malls nationwide

Some 200,000 voters can enjoy the convenience of casting their votes in air-conditioned shopping malls.Commission on Election (Comelec) Chair Andres Bautista told reporters on Saturday night that 86 malls all over the country had been authorized to serve as voting precincts for the May 9 balloting.In recent consultations in 120 towns, 86 favored voting in malls while 34 others were against it. Those against said they were more comfortable voting in their hometowns.He cited one case at SM Mall in Baguio City where voters did not agree to hold voting there since they had to go up the hill just to vote.The list of precincts in malls will be released shortly, Bautista said.In the mall voting, persons with disabilities and senior citizens may be given a separate lane instead of a separate polling precinct for them.Bautista also said the Comelec was looking at opening precincts earlier—7 a.m. or earlier—following the decision of the Supreme Court that ordered the poll body to issue voter receipts.“We’ll see whether we should extend it. I like the elections to happen on daylight,” he told reporters.ReconfiguringThe court voted 13-0 last week and dismissed with finality the appeal of the Comelec to forego issuing voter receipts.Bautista said the ruling would mean additional voting hours, which could delay the transmission of election results.He said the Comelec was now reconfiguring the SD cards and had also started the bidding process for thermal papers, receptacles and scissors that will be used for the printing of voter receipts.He said the Comelec would need P1.2 million to purchase the scissors at P10 to P12 each.Bautista said new receptacles also had to be purchased because the ballot boxes on hand could accommodate only 600 voter receipts.The Comelec is also looking into the possibility of having a civil society group guard the receipt box since employing a person to look after it would be costly to cover the 92,509 clustered precincts all over the country.Bautista said there was insufficient time to ask Congress to ask for a supplemental budget to cover the cost since the congressmen and senators were busy with their own campaign sorties.“We have to make do with the budget that was given to us,” he said.

['Carmel Loise Matus']

2017-06-24 23:44:59+00:00

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/775393/comelec-oks-voting-in-86-malls-nationwide

Inquirer

Bulacan raid yields more fake stamps

The Bureau of Customs (BOC) seized P3.2 billion worth of cigarettes with fake tax stamps in a raid on Friday on two warehouses operated by Mighty Corp. in San Ildefonso, Bulacan province.Recovered were 160,000 master cases of Mighty cigarettes stored in the company’s warehouses in Barangay Matimbubong.“Using the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) stamp verifier, the team confirmed that the cigarettes had been marked with fake tax stamps,” the BOC said in a statement.A BOC team led by Joenel Pogoy conducted the raid, in coordination with the BIR, barangay officials and the police, it said.The operation, personally led by Customs Commissioner Nicanor Faeldon, was carried out following a tip that cigarettes with fake tax stamps were stored in the warehouses.The first warehouse yielded 145,000 master cases of cigarettes worth P2.9 billion, while the second warehouse had 15,000 master cases worth around P300 million.The BOC said Friday’s raid yielded a larger volume of cigarettes than the earlier raid in San Simon, Pampanga province.The raid came after the expiration of a 20-day temporary restraining order issued by Judge Tita Bughao Alisuag of Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 1 against the BOC’s raid and inspections on Mighty Corp.’s warehouses.The BIR has filed charges against Mighty Corp. for allegedly evading payment of around P9.6 billion in excise taxes by using fake cigarette tax stamps.Mighty Corp’s lawyer, Sigfrid Fortun, protested the raids, saying the customs bureau had no authority to inspect excise stamp taxes as it was exclusively vested in the revenue bureau.“As no fake imported goods or smuggled cigarettes were found inside the warehouse, any action the BOC may take on them will be legally infirm,” he said.Faeldon said the BOC would step up its campaign against smuggling and all other forms of illicit trade by investigating companies, including those in the oil and motor vehicle trade.Pogoy ran the cigarette boxes through a tax stamp verifier and found that the stamps glued to the boxes were fake.Each master case contained 500 packs of cigarettes. A P30 excise tax would have been collected from each pack, which meant that all 80 million packs represented P2.4 billion in unpaid excise taxes.The BOC padlocked the warehouses pending the filing of a complaint against the cigarette manufacturer based in the City of Malolos in nearby Bulacan province.Rosalinda Manzon, Matimbubong village chair, said she did not know who owned the warehouses and said the buildings were known to villagers as being used as “a badminton court where they see people playing and partying.”Three representatives of Mighty Corp. were present during the raid but they declined to issue any statement.

['Julie M. Aurelio']

2017-06-24 23:44:59+00:00

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/883618/bulacan-raid-yields-more-fake-stamps

Inquirer

Sandiganbayan orders trial of Binays to proceed

The Sandiganbayan has found sufficient basis to proceed with the trial of former Vice President Jejomar Binay over alleged irregularities in the first three phases of construction of the Makati City Hall Building when he was the mayor.In a resolution dated Aug. 31, the antigraft court’s Third Division also issued a finding of probable cause against his son, then Councilor and later Mayor Jejomar Erwin “Junjun” Binay Jr., as well as 17 other city officials and two private persons.The court affirmed the sufficiency of the Ombudsman’s indictment and found that “more likely than not,” the crimes of malversation, falsification of public documents and violation of Section 3(e) of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act were committed.“There is probable cause to issue warrants of arrest against all the accused and to hold them for trial,” the court ruled.ArraignmentBut, since most of the accused, including the Binays, have posted bail, the court no longer saw the need to issue warrants of arrest. Instead, the accused would be arraigned on the morning of Sept. 29.Daniel Subido, legal counsel of the Binay camp, said the court resolution meant that the case would go to trial in which the prosecution must present evidence.“We anticipate that prosecution’s so-called evidence would be weak and insufficient. Thus, the case will eventually be dismissed,” Subido said.Prosecutors said the Binays and their coaccused manipulated the bidding for the contracts in favor of Mana Architecture and Interior Design Co. and Hilmarc’s Construction Corp.The construction contracts awarded to Hilmarc’s cost P1.486 billion (broken down into P387 million, P499.36 million and P599.4 million for the first three phases), while the architectural design and engineering services contract awarded to Mana amounted to P11.01 million.The court affirmed the regularity of the Ombudsman’s investigation even if it was done without “adverse findings” by the Commission on Audit (COA).Bid invitations“A finding of probable cause does not derive its veracity from the findings of COA, but from the independent determination of the Ombudsman,” read the resolution penned by Associate Justice Sarah Jane T. Fernandez.The court said the Ombudsman sufficiently showed the questionable publication of bid invitations for the Makati City Hall car park building, which also cast doubt on whether a public bidding was really held as claimed by the bids and awards committee. Yet, Hilmarc’s received the payments despite the apparent irregularities.The payment to Mana was questioned because of procurement violations and the firm’s alleged failure to deliver the approved plans and specifications under the contract.The court said “it would appear” that Mana was “preselected” and Binay Sr. was “privy to the plan to ensure the award of the contract,” citing the sworn statement of the former general services division head, Mario Hechanova.Prosecutors also amply showed documents to support the allegation that the payments were released despite Mana’s failure to deliver on its obligations.The accused invoked good faith and the presumption of regularity in the performance of their duties. They also said that their tasks were passive, supportive and clerical in nature.But the court said those arguments were “matters of defense which are best threshed out during the trial of the case.”The Binays’ coaccused include City Administrator Marjorie de Veyra, city legal officer Pio Kenneth Dasal, city budget officer Lorenza Amores, city engineer Mario Badillo, city accountants Cecilio Lim III and Leonila Querijero, acting city accountant Raydes Pestaño, city treasurer Nelia Barlis, central planning management office (CPMO) chiefs Virginia Hernandez and Line dela Peña, CPMO engineer Arnel Cadangan, CPMO project inspector Emerito Magat and general services division computer operator Norman Flores.As for the bids and awards committee, the following members were charged: vice chair Ulysses Orienza, secretary Giovanni Condes, secretariat head Manolito Uyaco and technical working group head Rodel Nayve.The accused private individuals were Mana senior partner Orlando Mateo and Hilmarc’s chair Efren Canlas.Immunity lostThe cases regarding the first three phases of the City Hall car park building’s construction was the second batch of charges filed by the Ombudsman.These were brought to the Sandiganbayan only on July 14, 2016, after Binay Sr. lost his immunity from suit upon the end of his vice presidency.The charges concerning Phases IV and V of construction, which cost P790.73 million and implemented under the mayoralty of Binay Jr., were earlier filed on Feb. 19, 2016, since the father still had his immunity.The Sandiganbayan Third Division on April 18 this year found probable cause to proceed with the trial regarding this set of cases.Science High buildingOn Aug. 1, the Ombudsman found probable cause to indict the Binays for new graft and falsification cases in connection with alleged procurement anomalies over the P1.3-billion Makati Science High School building. The cases have yet to be brought by prosecutors to the Sandiganbayan.The alleged procurement anomalies hounding Makati’s public infrastructure projects came to the fore during a long-running inquiry by the Senate blue ribbon subcommittee as Binay Sr. prepared for his presidential candidacy. He placed fourth out of five candidates in the May 2016 elections.

['Vince F. Nonato']

2017-06-24 23:44:59+00:00

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/928228/sandiganbayan-orders-trial-of-binays-to-proceed

Inquirer

‘Peace is justice for all’: Aquino calls anew for passage of BBL

Drawing from the lessons of World War II, President Benigno Aquino III made another pitch for peace in Mindanao and appealed anew for the passage of a law that would establish an autonomous Bangsamoro region.“Conflict can only lead to more suffering and misunderstanding, while solidarity brings widespread benefit. This is the same lesson that leads us to champion lasting peace in Mindanao, and to call for the passage of the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL),” Mr. Aquino said.The President led the 73rd anniversary of Araw ng Kagitingan (Day of Valor) at the Mt. Samat National Shrine in Pilar, Bataan province, recognizing the heroism of the Filipino and American forces who fought Japanese invaders in 1942.READ: Aquino, veterans mark ‘Araw ng Kagitingan’ in BataanA handful of surviving veterans and their families were present at the commemoration of the Fall of Bataan.Following tradition, the President laid a wreath for the fallen heroes at the shrine.US Ambassador Philip Goldberg and Japanese Ambassador Kazuhide Ishikawa also offered wreaths at the shrine’s colonnade.The Philippines and the United States were allies in the war, with hundreds of Filipino and American troops dying in the infamous Death March that followed the capture of Bataan by the Japanese.Partners in peacemakingEmphasizing that adversaries could become friends as shown by the strong relationship shared by the Philippines, the United States and Japan today, Mr. Aquino said “those who were once our enemies are today our partners in realizing a just peace for all,” referring to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), which has signed a peace agreement with the government.“In coming together to foster stability in Mindanao, all the more are we able to widen the scope of opportunities available to our countrymen. In doing this, no one will be driven to join radical factions, terrorist groups, and others interested only in pursuing their selfish agendas,” Mr. Aquino said.Mamasapano clash“Two generations have already suffered due to the violence that has dominated Mindanao. Now that we are here, we will not allow succeeding generations to suffer the same fate. However hard our task may be, whatever challenges we may face, we will continue to pursue peace, because this is the way to obtain justice for all,” he added.The peace process between the government and the MILF has been disrupted by a clash between police commandos and Moro rebels in Mamasapano, Maguindanao province, on Jan. 25.Forty-four SAF commandos, 17 MILF guerrillas and three civilians were killed in the fighting, sparking widespread public anger that led to the suspension of discussions in Congress of the BBL, delaying the passage of the proposed charter that would establish an autonomous Bangsamoro region in Mindanao.

['Nikko Dizon']

2017-06-24 23:44:59+00:00

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/684593/peace-is-justice-for-all-aquino-calls-anew-for-passage-of-bbl

Inquirer

Enrile insists on recusal of Sandigan justice

Former Senator Juan Ponce Enrile’s camp has said that doubts are always resolved in favor of recusal, in response to the prosecution’s opposition to his plea for the voluntary inhibition of Sandiganbayan Presiding Justice Amparo Cabotaje-Tang “as Chairperson of the Special Third Division” from the plunder case filed against him and several others in connection with the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) or pork barrel scam.The prosecution earlier argued that his motion “does not cite just or valid grounds” to warrant Cabotaje-Tang’s recusal and asked the court to deny Enrile’s motion for lack of merit.It added that Enrile “does not even claim or impute bias or partiality on the part of” the magistrate and also argued that his motion “is not based on clear and convincing evidence,” describing the circumstances he cited as “pure speculations and conjectures.”In a reply, Enrile’s camp said in part that “In matters of judicial disqualification or recusal, possibilities or doubts are always resolved in favor of recusal. The duty to recuse and the duty to continue hearing a case do not exert equal pull, the balance being tipped in favor of recusal. Thus, the standard for recusal always used by the Supreme Court is not just reasonable doubt, or substantial doubt, as to the impartiality of the judge, but ‘any’ doubt.”In the motion it filed earlier, the defense said Cabotaje-Tang’s appointment in 2013 by former President Benigno Aquino 3rd as the Sandiganbayan’s presiding justice notwithstanding being the most junior of the court’s justices at the time, “forms part of what [former United States Supreme Court Associate] Justice Benjamin Cardozo describes as the ‘subconscious forces’ which affects the verdicts she renders in the momentous cases she decides.”The defense quoted excerpts from Aquino’s State of the Nation Address in 2015.In part, the defense quoted the former president as saying in the 2015 speech, “If there is anyone who still doubts that justice is blind in the Philippines, it would be best if they turned their attention to the three senators currently detained…”But the prosecution said that Aquino’s statements do not prove or demonstrate the alleged “subconscious force” that affects the verdicts which Cabotaje-Tang renders, adding that it was not even explained how the statements operate as a “subconscious force.”The defense also mentioned the proceedings on Enrile’s arraignment on July 11, 2014 when the court denied his motion for a bill of particulars that was filed on July 10, 2014.‘With reasonable dispatch’In response, the prosecution said that “[t]he proceedings were not conducted at an extraordinary speed. The action of the court was in line with the goal of the courts to resolve cases with reasonable dispatch.”It further argued that Cabotaje-Tang’s recusal will unduly delay the proceedings.“The present case had long been filed with the Sandiganbayan, and if the present Motion to Recuse is granted such will unnecessarily delay the proceedings because the inhibition of Chairperson Cabotaje-Tang will necessarily lead to the re-raffling of the case to another Division under the Sandiganbayan’s internal rules,” the prosecution said.Under the court’s internal rules, inhibition by the chairperson or all three members of the court division would mean a re-raffling of the case to another division.“While voluntary inhibition rests on the discretion of the judge or magistrate, it must be done with caution, lest it become a resort of litigants trying to delay the resolution of the cases against them or of those parties who, in seeking other venues that maybe ‘friendlier’ to their cause, would attempt to smear the reputation of a member of the Bench,” the prosecution said.Enrile is one of three former senators namely, Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. and Jose “Jinggoy” Estrada, whom the Office of the Ombudsman charged along with Janet Lim-Napoles and several other individuals in 2014 in connection with the PDAF scam.

['Ma. Reina Leanne Tolentino']

2017-06-24 23:44:59+00:00

https://www.manilatimes.net/enrile-insists-recusal-sandigan-justice/334724/

Manila Times

Wanted posters put Davao militants on edge

Progressive activists expressed alarm over the circulation of wanted posters bearing the names and photos of eight leaders of various organizations.In a press conference held at the United Church of Christ of the Philippines (UCCP) Haran compound here Friday, Mary Ann Sapar, secretary general of Gabriela Davao said her younger brother saw the poster Thursday along Agdao Public Market here.“My brother asked me whether I am facing new charges after he saw my picture and my name on the said poster,” she said.The same poster was seen in San Pedro Street, said Sapar.The posters included seven other activists namely: Hanimay Suazo, former secretary general of human rights group Karapatan; Kharlo Manano, national secretary general of Salinlahi; Sheena Duazo, secretary general of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan; United Church of Christ of the Philippines Reverend Jurie Jaime, convener of the Exodus for Justice and Peace; Rius Valle, spokesperson of Save Our Schools Network-Mindanao; Kerlan Fanagel, spokesperson of Pasaka Confederation of Lumad Organizations; and Sr. Stella Matutina of Panalipdan Mindanao.Sapar said six of them are from Davao City, while Manano is based in Manila and Matutina is now in Germany.The poster showed the photo of the eight leaders, and a copy of the warrant of arrest filed against them two years ago.The charges were related to an alleged violation of Republic Act (RA) 267 or Kidnapping, Serious and Illegal Detention and RA 9208 or the Anti-trafficking in persons Act of 2003 as amended by RA 10364 or the Expanded Anti-trafficking of Persons Act of 2012 after hundreds of indigenous people from Bukidnon and Davao del Norte provinces evacuated at the UCCP Haran compound in 2015.However, Sapar said the cases that were filed against them were already dismissed.In a copy of the resolution from the Department of Justice (DOJ) in Manila dated July 18, 2016, the court dismissed the charges after finding that there was no deprivation of liberty against the IPs and no probable cause for the commission of the crime.

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01/12/2017 0:00

https://news.mb.com.ph/2017/12/01/wanted-posters-put-davao-militants-on-edge/

Manila Bulletin

Seven more Manila markets get facelift

Seven more public markets in Manila have been renovated to give people an alternative to shopping malls.“We have completed the renovation in time for Christmas because we want to provide market-goers and shoppers comfort and convenience when shopping for their Christmas needs,” Mayor Joseph Estrada said.The markets that have been upgraded are Obrero Public Market in Blumentritt Street at a cost of P16.97 million, Pampanga Public Market in Pampanga Street, Tondo (P10.44 million); Dagonoy Market in Onyx Street, San Andres (P47.70 million); Wagas Market in Wagas Street, Tondo (P12.85 million); Base P8.35 million); Bambang Market in Bambang Street, Tondo (P7.87 million); and Pandacan Market (P8.24 million).A total of P112.42 million was earmarked for the renovation–part of the administration’s multi-million peso public markets rehabilitation program.Estrada said the city government has so far been successful in converting the city’s 17 dirty and smelly public markets to mall-like shopping places.Renovation work included repainting; rewiring and installation of new lightings; construction of new drainage, water, and sewer lines; installation of floor tiles, refurbishment of toilets, installation of brand-new roll-up doors and windows, and replacement of roofs, according to City Market Administrator Annie Balboa.“We want to erase the stereotype that public markets are dirty and smelly,” Balboa pointed out.

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01/12/2017 0:00

https://news.mb.com.ph/2017/12/01/seven-more-manila-markets-get-facelift/

Manila Bulletin

8 more charged in Korean’s kidnap-slay

Three senior officials of the National Bureau of Investigation and five employees of a funeral parlor have been included in the criminal cases filed by the Philippine National Police in the kidnap-slaying of South Korean executive Jee Ick-joo.In an 11-page complaint it filed before the Department of Justice, the PNP’s Anti-Kidnapping Group (AKG) brought four more charges against primary suspects Supt. Rafael Dumlao, SPO3 Ricky Sta. Isabel and six other accused in Jee’s gruesome killing, which showed that President Rodrigo Duterte’s unyielding narcotics crackdown was prone to abuses as feared by human rights groups.Added as respondents were sacked NBI-National Capital Region chief Ricardo Diaz, former NBI deputy director for investigative services Jose Yap and Roel Bolivar, erstwhile head of the NBI Task Force Against Illegal Drugs.NBI director Dante Gierran relieved the officials from their posts after Dumlao accused them of having a hand in Jee’s abduction and murder, which also prompted Duterte to bar the NBI and the PNP from conducting drug raids.

['Philippine Daily Inquirer']

16/11/2017 0:00

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/874344/8-more-charged-in-koreans-kidnap-slay

Inquirer

UN, China to help ASEAN; DU30 OKs deals with allies

The United Nations (UN) has vowed to help the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in the fight against terrorism and other transnational crimes while China vowed to begin discussions on the fine print of the Code of Conduct for the South China Sea.The ASEAN Summit drew cooperation and assistance pledges for regional stability.***President Duterte, this year’s chairman of the ASEAN, welcomed vows of support for the Philippines and the signing agreements with allied countries.PH scores, too, at the regional gathering with friends.***UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres made his assistance offer at the ASEAN-UN Summit after greeting President Duterte before the opening of the 31st ASEAN Summit in Manila last November 13.“The United Nations stands ready to provide technical support to ASEAN and its member-countries in their efforts to counter terrorism and violent extremism, and to combat transnational crime,” Guterres declared.***The UN chief said assistance against transnational crimes include “drug trafficking and people trafficking, through policies able to protect their citizens with effective law enforcement and respect for human rights.”Drug and human trafficking also drew UN concern.***Gutteres also welcomed the adoption of the Manila Declaration to Counter the Rise of Radicalization and Violent Extremism during the 11th ASEAN ministerial meeting.“I am heartened by the recent liberation of Marawi from ISIS,” he added.***Likewise, China said it will begin discussions with the ASEAN on the fine print of a Code of Conduct (COC) for the disputed South China Sea.The move will stabilize the region, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang assured.***“China’s greatest hope is for peace and stability in the South China Sea,” Li told ASEAN leaders at the summit.“We hope the talks on the code of conduct will bolster mutual understanding and trust. We will strive under the agreement, to reach a consensus on achieving early implementation of the Code of Conduct,” Li vowed.***Concerned ASEAN countries, noting China’s building of man-made islands in disputed waters and ban on fishing, said the issue shouldn’t be taken for granted.Let’s peacefully resolve the issue as soon as possible, they suggested.***The Philippines also welcomed pledges of support or the signing of bilateral agreements with the United States, Japan, Russia, Canada, and India on the sidelines of the ASEAN summit.Friendship bloomed and deals were signed at the ASEAN gathering.***“Now we have a very, very strong relations with the Philippines,” US President Donald Trump said after a one-on-one meeting with Duterte.DU30 was able to please POTUS and other friends. Hooray!

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16/11/2017 0:00

https://news.mb.com.ph/2017/11/16/un-china-to-help-asean-du30-oks-deals-with-allies/

Manila Bulletin

5 more convicts testify

Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II presented five more convicts at the House of Representatives on Wednesday in his bid to tighten the noose on President Duterte’s No. 1 critic, Sen. Leila de Lima, who was linked to the illicit drug trade at New Bilibid Prison (NBP) during her term as justice secretary.For the second day in a row, NBP inmates faced the House justice committee to accuse De Lima of complicity in clandestine multibillion-peso drug operations at the national penitentiary and of receiving millions of pesos in drug money to bankroll her senatorial campaign in May.But there appeared to be little new information during the 10-hour hearing besides details apparently corroborating the testimonies of the previous witnesses against De Lima, who has clashed with Mr. Duterte and his allies over alleged extrajudicial killings in the administration’s war on illegal drugs. No date was set for the next hearing.The new witnesses did not claim they directly gave De Lima money but said they either deposited cash or asked their referrals to make deposits to bank accounts controlled by her trusted lieutenants, including Jaybee Sebastian, a gang leader who emerged as the “king of drug lords” after centralizing drug operations at NBP in 2014.Murder convict Jojo Baligad, an “adviser” of Batang City Jail, said he gave payments from the drug operations amounting to P3.8 million from January 2013 to September 2014.“Of this amount, I know P1.5 million was directly given to Secretary De Lima, as this was directly admitted to me by Herbert Colanggo,” one of Aguirre’s witnesses, Baligad said.Colanggo, a convicted bank robber, previously testified that he gave De Lima P60 million in total, including regular monthly payoffs of P3 million, plus P1 million for each of the lavish concerts he organized until he was transferred to the National Bureau of Investigation as part of the so-called Bilibid 19.Colanggo’s surname was previously mistakenly spelled as “Colangco.” He told Tuesday’s hearing he was not of Chinese descent as many people assumed, though he admitted letting the misimpression go uncorrected.Bilibid 19 refers to the group of high-profile inmates who were discovered during a De Lima-led raid to be living lavish lifestyles in NBP, and were thus transferred to the custody of the NBI in December 2014.Most of Aguirre’s witnesses, including Baligad and Colanggo, were part of this group that had an ax to grind against Sebastian, who allegedly monopolized the drug operations for eight months after the Bilibid 19 were transferred.Sebastian, according to Aguirre, has declined to testify on the drug operations at NBP. In the meantime, the House committee has issued a subpoena compelling him to appear at the hearing.No rehearsalsAguirre took exception to comments that his witnesses seemed “rehearsed.”Citing the case of inmate Rodolfo Magleo, his first witness who testified on Tuesday, the Cabinet member said: “I haven’t even talked to him that day, except in the morning for 10 minutes, except when I visited him on Sunday.”“I don’t rehearse my witnesses, and if I do, I would only ask them to speak the truth,” Aguirre said.Lawyer Ferdinand Topacio, counsel of five of Aguirre’s witnesses, also denied De Lima’s accusation that they had been coerced into testifying against her.“My clients have neither been threatened, cajoled, tortured nor intimidated, nor have they been subjected to torture, either physical or psychological,” he said in a statement.Aguirre earlier told the panel he planned to file a criminal complaint against De Lima, though the investigation was still in the preliminary stage.On Monday, De Lima was stripped of her chairmanship of the Senate justice and human rights committee after the panel heard the testimony of confessed hit man Edgar Matobato, who implicated the President in summary killings by a notorious death squad in his hometown Davao City.BuCor payoffsAt Wednesday’s hearing, Baligad said P1.7 million was given to then Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) Director Franklin Bucayu and his aide, who identified himself only as “Colonel Elie,” while P600,000 went to former BuCor officer in charge Rafael Ragos, another witness presented by Aguirre.Baligad narrated the series of events that led to him making payments to people allegedly connected to De Lima.In May 2013, when Ragos was replaced by Bucayu at BuCor, Colonel Elie called him to his office where he met with “about six other Chinese and high-profile inmates like Amin Boratong, Vicente Sy and Ben Marcelo.”“I recognized some of them but was not sure about the others,” he said.“In mid-2014, Herbert Colanggo asked me three times for P50,000 in different occasions, saying it was for Secretary De Lima,” Baligad said.There were also occasions when Colonel Elie asked him for P50,000 or P100,000 “for the boys,” the witness said.Another witness, Noel Martinez, a commander of the Genuine Ilocano Group, one of the biggest gangs in the maximum security compound, said the drug trade flourished under Sebastian’s leadership until November 2014.Martinez said Sebastian introduced him to De Lima. “I saw her three to four times. There was a time they went around the maximum security compound then he would drop by Jaybee Sebastian’s hut. She knows he was the highest among the commanders,” he said.AccomplishmentMartinez said Sebastian asked him for help to sell “shabu” (methamphetamine hydrochloride), but to protect himself and his family, he negotiated that he only make referrals of people who could do it for him, instead of entering the transactions himself.“All their transactions were done between themselves but I was privy to the details because they [referrals] were texting them to me. This was my basis to make sure my referrals were really working,” Martinez said.“I wasn’t remitting the money, I was only monitoring the people I referred to JB making remittances,” he said.Martinez said he communicated with his referrals by cell phone, and they sent him bank receipts. “Jaybee would reply ‘OK, ’pre (buddy).’”He said the people he referred ended up selling as much as 200 kilos of shabu for Sebastian from 2013 to 2014.In December 2014, Martinez was one of the 19 high-profile detainees forcibly removed from NBP during a De Lima-led raid and taken to the NBI.“It’s noticeable that Jaybee was not in this group. Secretary De Lima was boasting of this raid as one of her accomplishments in dismantling the drug operation in Bilibid,” he said.ExtortionAlso presented on Wednesday were Froilan “Poypoy” Trestiza and Hans Anton Tan.Tan claimed that a certain Jose Adrian Dera, described as a “nephew and close-in aide” of De Lima, helped in the release of the niece of drug lord Peter Co, and her husband, who were supposedly arrested in a buy-bust operation on March 25, 2016.Co, through Tan, gave Dera P1 million at a casino hotel in Manila for the release of his relatives. Tan claimed he also learned that Co gave Dera “a total of P5 million throughout the entire time until the senatorial elections.”Tan also claimed having helped Dera “acquire” 5 kilograms of shabu “during the entire campaign period.”Trestiza said Danilo Martinez, a religious volunteer at NBP, began to ask him amounts from P10,000 to P50,000 soon after he claimed to be an aide of De Lima.However, Trestiza said Martinez accused him of taking part in a grenade-throwing incident at NBP. Trestiza said he asked for help from an NBI agent named John Herra, who eventually told him to talk to one Jun Ablen who was “close” to Ragos.Ablen and Ragos were also among the DOJ’s witnesses. Through Ablen, Ragos supposedly extorted P200,000 from Trestiza in exchange for his not being transferred to a different prison facility.Ragos, according to Trestiza, continued to demand P100,000 weekly from him. When he could not pay, Trestiza said he, his brother Mark Anthony, and another inmate, were transferred to the San Ramon Prison and Penal Farm in Zamboanga City. With reports from Nikko Dizon and Vince F. Nonato

['Dj Yap']

18/11/2016 0:00

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/817724/5-more-convicts-testify

Inquirer

Hundreds aborted; nurse nabbed – PNP

A registered nurse arrested last Wednesday for allegedly assisting a licensed doctor in performing abortions at a clinic in Laoag City, Ilocos Norte, could be responsible for the death of hundreds of unborn babies, the police said yesterday.Superintendent Edwin Balles, chief of police of Laoag City, said the investigation continues into the operation of the Vigare Clinic in Laoag City which has been shut down, following the arrest of Mary Jean Lagmay, 48, a nurse who allegedly assisted abortions.Balles said the clinic, owned and operated by Dr. Teresita Vigare, has allegedly been operating as an abortion clinic since 2009.He said Lagmay was entrapped at 6 p.m. last Wednesday and caught red-handed dispensing abortive to a pregnant woman working undercover for the police.Balles said he has received information that hundreds of unborn babies from conception to eight months age of gestation or even term babies have been aborted at the clinic.“Nasa P12,000 hanggang P15,000 ang sinisingil sa mga gustong magpalaglag na karamihan ay mga teenager na nabubuntis (Between P12,000 and P15,000 is being charged to those seeking assisted abortions; most of them are pregnant teenagers),” an independent source told the Manila Bulletin.Balles said the operation against the clinic stemmed from the recovery of a fetus last week at Saint William Cathedral in Laoag City. The hunt for Dr. Vigare is ongoing, he added.

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18/11/2016 0:00

https://news.mb.com.ph/2016/11/18/hundreds-aborted-nurse-nabbed-pnp/

Manila Bulletin

Binay sues PDI, 3 lawmakers, 9 others

Vice President Jejomar Binay on Monday filed a P200-million damage suit against the Philippine Daily Inquirer, Senators Alan Peter Cayetano and Antonio Trillanes IV, Caloocan Rep. Edgar Erice, Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales, and eight others for alleged concerted efforts to malign him and derail his campaign for the presidency next year.In a 41-page complaint-affidavit filed in the Makati Regional Trial Court (RTC), Binay accused the 13 of “orchestrated persecution” to “malign and discredit” the Vice President in the 2016 elections in bringing up charges of graft, corruption and other illegal activities to amass ill-gotten wealth when he was still mayor of Makati City.Among the 13 charged were former Makati Vice Mayor Ernesto Mercado, former city general services department chief Mario Hechanova, ex-barangay (village) captain Renato Bondal, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas head Amado Tetangco Jr., and Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) Deputy Director Julia Bacay-Abad.Binay asked the respondents for P100 million in moral damages and another P100 million in exemplary damages. In addition, Binay also demanded from the defendants P1 million for lawyer’s fees and litigation expenses.Claro Certeza, Binay’s lawyer, who filed the complaint in the City Prosecutor’s Office, said the Vice President had long considered filing the complaint but earlier thought that he did not want to create disorder but noted that Binay could not anymore take the baseless accusations against him.“This damage suit will allow the Vice President to prove what he has been saying all long—that the charges made against him are solely intended to malign his character and destroy his chances of being elected President,” Certeza said.Trillanes initiated the Senate blue ribbon subcommittee inquiry in November, accusing the Vice President of illegally enriching himself while he was mayor of Makati City.“Before the courts, both the [Vice President] and his detractors will be given equal chances to prove all their claims where strict rules on evidence are applied in search for the truth,” Certeza noted.Binay and his son, Makati Mayor Jejomar Erwin Binay, have both been charged with graft and corruption over allegations of overpricing of both the Makati City Hall Building II and the Makati Science High School building.The younger Binay is now on a six-month preventive suspension while the Ombudsman is conducting an investigation of the charges against him.The Binays have denied wrongdoing.Attack dogsThe complaint said that Cayetano, Trillanes and Erice were the designated “attack dogs” against him.Binay accused Mercado, Hechanova, Bondal and Nicolas Enciso of being “paid witnesses” during the Senate inquiry on the alleged irregular transactions during his term as Makati mayor, including the controversial cake-gifting program for senior citizens.Tetangco, Abad, Emmanuel Dooc and Teresita Herbosa, he said, were behind the AMLC decision approved by the Court of Appeals to freeze Binay’s bank accounts totaling P600 million, suspecting the money was tainted with corruption.The Inquirer, also named a respondent in Binay’s complaint for allegedly publishing defamatory news and frequent screaming headlines against the Vice President, published the contents of the AMLC report, which revealed, among others, that the deposits of Binay and his dummies reached P11 billion.Bondal, who happened to be at Makati City Hall for a case hearing, claimed that he and the other named respondents in the case had the freedom to express themselves.He welcomed the filing of the case, saying he would carry “a badge of honor” because of this.RELATED STORIESBinay files damage suit vs Trillanes, Cayetano, Morales, InquirerBinay files P200-M suit vs Ombudsman, senators, Inquirer

['Maricar B. Brizuela']

28/11/2016 0:00

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/706498/binay-sues-pdi-3-lawmakers-9-others

Inquirer

Recto: Let’s save on rent, study ‘rent-to-own’ scheme

The government’s budget for rent and lease payments has surged by 33.8 percent from P13 billion this year to P17.4 billion next year, prompting Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto to urge Malacañang to study “rent-to-own” options.“There should be a plan in which chosen government offices can graduate from being renters to owners,” said Recto in a statement yesterday.He noted that the amount earmarked for property and equipment rentals and leases for this year was already 55 percent higher than last year’s P8.4 billion allocation.He said the national budget should also classify lease and rental payments into real estate and equipment in the spirit of transparency and accuracy.“But what can’t be denied is that the government is one of the biggest property lessees today,” he pointed out.“There are a lot of ‘forever tenants,’ [including] the Senate, which is renting a portion of the building of the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS),” he added.The Senate has been renting a part of the GSIS Building in Pasay City for more than P100 million for 20 years since May 1997.Like the Senate, Recto said many government agencies have stayed in the same buildings for a long time and if paid rentals are summed up, it would have been enough to finance the construction of their own buildings.

['Jocelyn R. Uy']

28/11/2016 0:00

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/932905/rent-to-own-options-in-government-ralph-recto-2018-national-budget

Inquirer

House digs up telling details

Not so much like a circus this time, the House of Representatives on Tuesday resumed its joint inquiry into the Jan. 25 Mamasapano debacle in a more orderly fashion, filling gaps left by previous probes and making sense of the telling details.The panel raised new questions and uncovered a number of little-known information, such as the following:The so-called “mushroom” diplomacyWhy the police turned over the finger of Malaysian terrorist Zulkifli bin Hir, alias “Marwan,” to the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) first.Whether the return of a warrant for the arrest of Marwan and his associate Basit Usman was ever transmitted to the courts that issued them.The map used by the Philippine National Police Special Action Force (SAF) for “Oplan Exodus” was provided by its “US counterpart.”Mohagher Iqbal, chief negotiator of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), is using a “nom de guerre.”Under the watchful eye of Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr., the lawmakers were on their best behavior, avoiding repetitive questions or talking on top of each other, which characterized the first hearing on Feb. 11.“Let us not be too emotional,” Basilan Rep. Jim Hataman-Salliman, chair of the House committee on peace, reconciliation and unity, reminded the lawmakers at one point.The other chair, Negros Occidental Rep. Jeffrey Ferrer, who heads the public order and safety committee, also warned the panel members ahead of time against any “grandstanding, chaotic conduct and nonobservance of decorum.”

['Dj Yap', 'Gil C. Cabacungan']

28/11/2016 0:00

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/684146/house-digs-up-telling-details

Inquirer

Cavite open dumpsites to be closed

All open dumpsites in Cavite province would be closed and rehabilitated in compliance to Republic Act 9003 or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act.Provincial Government-Environment and Natural Resources Office (PG-RNRO) Chief Rolinio P. Pozas said the move was made after the seven cities and 16 municipalities of the province were required to submit their waste management or garbage disposal plan.The solid waste management plan for cities and municipalities would have to be consistent with the National Solid Waste Management Framework and approved by the National Solid Waste Management Commission (NSWMC).The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Commission on Audit (COA) and other agencies are monitoring closely the actions being taken against open dumpsites in the province and elsewhere in the country.The solid waste management plan would have to be consistent with the National Solid Waste Management Framework and approved by the National Solid Waste Management Commission (NSWMC).

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28/11/2016 0:00

https://news.mb.com.ph/2016/11/28/cavite-open-dumpsites-to-be-closed/

Manila Bulletin

Binay can’t just brush aside charges–Belmonte

Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. on Sunday cautioned Vice President Jejomar Binay against treating in a cavalier manner the allegations of kickbacks, ill-gotten wealth, bid rigging, use of dummies and money laundering against him because these could be verified or confirmed by the public.Binay has dismissed the corruption allegations as part of a demolition job against him because of his announcement that he would run for President in 2016.“The charges against Jojo are formidable and provable. He should not brush them aside as dirty politics,” Belmonte, a vice chair of the ruling Liberal Party (LP), said in a text message.Belmonte noted that Binay’s ratings, based on the latest Pulse Asia survey, had dropped by nearly half from a peak of 41 percent in June 2014 to 22 percent early this month.The Vice President’s ratings slump coincided with the Senate blue ribbon subcommittee’s long-running probe of Binay, his family and his cronies, which began in August last year with the allegedly overpriced Makati City Hall Building II.The probe expanded to other allegations of corruption against Binay when he was Makati mayor, such as the construction of the Makati Science High School building, the deal between the Boy Scouts of the Philippines (BSP) and Alphaland Corp. to develop the BSP’s one-hectare property in Makati, the security and janitorial services firm that was given contracts by the Makati government, and a 350-hectare agricultural estate in Batangas province.Binay reacted to the drop in his once sizable rating as a “wake-up call.”Belmonte said Binay should look deeper into what the surveys were telling him. “Polls are not static. They change from time to time. What is important is the trend and how to sustain or reverse them,” the Speaker said.While Binay’s numbers have declined, those of Sen. Grace Poe have surged—from 12 percent in June last year to 42 percent this month.Belmonte expected the political heat to shift from Binay to the junior senator as the deadline for filing of candidacy neared.Everybody’s target“Grace will be everybody’s target,” said the Speaker, whose political party is wooing Poe to be part of the administration ticket in next year’s general elections.Belmonte does not see Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte as much of a threat because of his declaration to kill all criminals and to abolish Congress.“Is Digong (Duterte) serious? Is that the way to run a country?” Belmonte asked.Duterte has emerged as a serious contender in next year’s polls with a 15-percent rating.Belmonte said Interior Secretary Mar Roxas, the presumptive standard-bearer of the LP, was “moving up.” His rating jumped from 4 percent in March to 10 percent early this month.Roxas is tied in fourth place with former President and now Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada.No effectCaloocan Rep. Edgar Erice, Roxas’ most vocal backer in the LP, said an endorsement from President Aquino would give Roxas the boost needed to catapult him to the top.But Sen. Serge Osmeña earlier said that the President’s endorsement would have “almost no effect” on voters based on the last four presidential elections.In a text message, Erice said Poe’s rise was understandable given that she had become a “darling of the press.”Erice said the only takeaway from the survey results was that the presidential race was far from settled.“The numbers reveal that everything is volatile. One valid issue may cause a dip. People are answering based on their heart’s sentiments. But when the elections come near, they will use their minds,” Erice said.The lawmaker, however, pointed out that Binay’s presidential ambition was “doomed” as the drop in his ratings had been consistent since last year.Erice expected Duterte to drop out of the race to protect his turf in Davao City while he believes that Estrada’s 10 percent share was “[up] for grabs.”Poll doubtedLakas-CMD cochair and former Quezon Rep. Danilo Suarez cast doubts on the accuracy of the Pulse Asia survey results.“I can’t see how Grace can beat VP Binay, especially in Luzon and the class D segment. It’s also surprising that Binay has a bigger share in the AB segment than Poe,” Suarez said in a phone interview.National Unity Party secretary general Reginald Velasco said Poe’s lead was encouraging but it was by no means a “sure thing.”Binay’s drop was not “irreversible” as he still has a year left to rebound, Velasco said.“Only VP Binay has declared [his plan to run for President] among those cited in the survey. Once the posers are weeded out, we will know for sure the real pulse of the public. That will probably come in the first survey after the deadline for the filing of candidacy in October,” Velasco said.He said both Roxas and Duterte still had a chance to climb in the surveys should they officially run for President.–With Inquirer ResearchRELATED STORIESBinay on alleged ill-gotten wealth: I have nothing to returnIt’s another work of fiction, says Binay campRELATED VIDEOS

['Gil C. Cabacungan']

27/06/2016 0:00

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/699960/binay-cant-just-brush-aside-charges-belmonte

Inquirer

Son, please surrender, Leyte town mayor pleads on TV

“Son, if you are seeing me now on television, you can see I’m suffering. Just surrender. Just surrender because the President [Duterte] and PNP Chief [Ronald] dela Rosa will help us. I believe that if you surrender, they will help you.”Mayor Rolando Espinosa Sr., tears streaming down his face, made a plea for his son, Kerwin, a suspected drug lord, to turn himself in as he himself did on Tuesday following shoot-on-sight orders from President Duterte if he did not surrender within 24 hours.The elder Espinosa went to the Philippine National Police headquarters for questioning on whether the presence of armed men in his hometown of Albuera, Leyte province, had something to do with the allegations that he was involved or was protecting the illegal activities of his son.“It would depend on the investigation of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG). Just in case he won’t be charged, he will be allowed to go home,” Dela Rosa told reporters when asked if Espinosa would be charged in connection with the predawn gun battle in Albuera on Wednesday.“He can’t be charged with illegal possession of firearms since the firearms were in the possession of those who were killed. He was not in Albuera, he is not in constructive possession of those firearms. The chicken farm [where the shootout took place] near his house belongs to him, but he is here [in Manila] all along. So we’ll see how we can connect it (shootout) to him,” Dela Rosa explained.Senior Supt. Dionardo Carlos said that based on the records from the Firearms and Explosives Office, there were only three firearms registered to the mayor—a shotgun and two handguns.Expired registrationThe registrations for the handguns have expired, the PNP spokesperson said, but he added that investigators were still going to find out if any of the mayor’s guns were in the possession of those killed.Carlos said guns with expired registrations must be surrendered for safekeeping to the nearest police station.He said the investigation would also determine if the armed group encountered by the police were just a “security force” of the mayor or could be regarded as a private army.Dela Rosa pointed out that Espinosa had earlier denied coddling Kerwin but he said if the son were apprehended and he tagged his father as his protector, it would be a different matter.“What if we catch the son and he says he’s just the manager and that his father is the real owner of the business? They will just point at each other,” he said.Back to CrameThe mayor, accompanied by his wife, daughter and lawyer, arrived at the CIDG headquarters in Camp Crame on Wednesday. The group did not speak to the media. The meeting with the CIDG was held closed doors.The mayor was to undergo “processing” over the accusations that he was a drug lord himself or was protecting his son. Espinosa was also expected to sign an affidavit of undertaking as proof of the commitment he made before Dela Rosa on Tuesday that Espinosa would work hard to rid Albuera of illegal drugs.Espinosa left the CIDG office at 6 p.m. Close to tears, he aired a plea, in Cebuano, to his son to surrender so he would not be killed.AffidavitThe mayor executed a seven-page judicial affidavit on the situation in his town and his son’s activities. He even repeated his earlier statement that Kerwin’s possible supplier was Peter Co, a convicted drug lord detained at the New Bilibid Prison.As for the shootout in Albuera and the raid on his house, Espinosa said he was informed about it at 5 a.m. He denied knowing the two men who were killed at the garage of his house.Chief Insp. Roque Merdegia Jr., a lawyer and officer in charge of the antitransnational crime unit of the CIDG, asked questions to the mayor in the affidavit.Romeo Esmero said his client would not yet go back to Leyte.He said the mayor had been in Manila since July 22 owing to death threats he received after rounding up some 300 drug suspects in the town.The mayor accused the local chief of police of threatening to kill him over his alleged links to illegal drug activities.‘No control’Asked if the family knew where Kerwin is, the lawyer replied, “They don’t know where he is.” The mayor, in his affidavit, said he last saw his son in May.Esmero also said Espinosa no longer had any control over his son after he warned Kerwin about his alleged involvement in illegal drugs.“He (Kerwin) no longer lives with his father. But he (Espinosa) admonished his son,” the lawyer said, adding that the investigators were not able to show proof of the mayor’s links to any illegal drug activities.

['Jerome Aning']

27/02/2018 0:00

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/802725/son-please-surrender-leyte-town-mayor-pleads-on-tv

Inquirer

May seeks EU backing against Russia on spy attack

from repeated cyber attacks, particularly in the Baltics, to what the EU has called an “orchestrated strategy” of disinformation aimed at destabilising the bloc.– Trade, Facebook talks –Further exposing EU divisions, Tusk said Wednesday he was “not in the mood to celebrate President Putin’s reappointment”, a day after European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker sent the Russian strongman a congratulatory letter.Aside from Salisbury, the two-day summit will also discuss trade. As the leaders gathered, news emerged from Washington that Europe would be excluded for now from new US tariffs on steel and aluminium imports.The leaders will also discuss the scandal over harvested data from Facebook used by a British consulting firm employed by Trump’s 2016 campaign team. Tusk said this was “particularly relevant” in the light of broader threats such as election meddling.May will depart the summit on Thursday evening, leaving the remaining 27 on Friday to approve a post-Brexit transition period and adopt guidelines for talks on future relations including a trade deal.

[]

22/03/2018 0:00

https://news.mb.com.ph/2018/03/22/may-seeks-eu-backing-against-russia-on-spy-attack/

Manila Bulletin

NY-based rights group pushes for UN probe of EJKs

An international human rights watchdog is pushing for an independent investigation by the United Nations (UN) into the Duterte administration’s bloody war on drugs and the “alarming” rash of killings of minors allegedly perpetrated by policemen.In a statement on Saturday, the New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) said a total of 54 minors had been killed in brutal police antidrug operations across the country.“The apparent willingness of the Philippine police to deliberately target children for execution marks an appalling new level of depravity in this so-called drug war,” said Phelim Kine, deputy Asia director of HRW.These killings demonstrate that [President] Duterte’s rejection of the rule of law has made all Filipinos potential ‘drug war’ victims, no matter how young.”Teens’ killingsThe group issued the statement in the wake of the recent killings during police operations of 17-year-old Kian delos Santos, 19-year-old Carl Arnaiz and 14-year-old Reynaldo de Guzman, Arnaiz’s last known companion.Policemen claimed that Delos Santos was a drug courier who shot it out with them, while Arnaiz was killed after he allegedly robbed a taxi driver at gunpoint. De Guzman’s body was fished out of a river in Gapan, Nueva Ecija, with 31 stab wounds, a few days after Arnaiz was shot dead.De Guzman’s head was wrapped in packaging tape, in the style of purported “vigilante killings” of drug suspects.“A fundamental obligation of every government is to protect the lives of its children, not to empower police and their agents to murder them,” Kine said.“Until Duterte ends his abusive drug war and allows a UN-led international probe, child killers among the police will continue to get away with murder,” he added.Citing the count of non-government organization Children’s Legal Rights and Development Center, HRW said 54 minors had been killed in police operations and vigilante killings related to the antidrug campaign since July 2016, when Mr. Duterte took office.The government placed the number of “drug personalities” who have “died in antidrug operations” at 3,811 over the same period.The President and Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II have described the deaths of children in the war on drugs as “collateral damage.”Pressure onThe human rights group urged the UN to put pressure on the Duterte administration so it would accept an independent probe into allegations of extrajudicial killings in the country.“Concerted action by the UN Human Rights Council to address Duterte’s abusive drug war is crucial,” the HRW said.“The council should press the Philippine government to accept an independent international investigation into all allegations of extrajudicial killings and to hold those responsible to account,” it added.Kine also expressed apprehensions over the government’s plan to subject students and applicants to random drug testing, saying it would “effectively allow the police to extend their abusive antidrug operations to college and university campuses, placing students at grave risk.”Capacity for impartialityThe HRW expressed concerns about “the willingness and capacity of the Philippine authorities to conduct thorough, impartial and transparent investigations” into drug war-related killings.“The UN council should also press the government to cooperate with the UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions [Agnes Callamard], grant unfettered and unconditional access to the rapporteur, and immediately stop all official incitement and instigation of drug war killings,” the HRW said.The President has villified those that question his war on drugs, including Callamard.Last year, Mr. Duterte imposed conditions before allowing Callamard to hold a fact-finding mission. Callamard refused these terms, saying an official visit was “not a vehicle for entertainment, theatrics or politicking.”Call for end to EJKsMeanwhile, the Department of Social Welfare and Development has also called for an end to the killings of minors.“Connected or not to the campaign against illegal drugs, these senseless killings should stop. We beg for the lives of Filipino children—they should be spared from violence and protected at all costs,” said Social Welfare Undersecretary Hope Hervilla in a statement.“This culture of impunity should not be tolerated, especially now that the targets are children and young Filipinos. What does it say about our society that we are allowing our children to fall victim to brutal killings, at the hands of individuals who have no respect whatsoever for human rights, much less the rights of children?” the statement added.

['Jaymee T. Gamil']

21/02/2018 0:00

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/929275/human-rights-watch-hrw-war-on-drugs-drug-killings-extrajudicial-killings-rodrigo-duterte-kian-loyd-dela-cruz-carl-angelo-arnaiz-reynaldo-de-guzman-phelim-kline-un-probe

Inquirer

MGB satellite office to be established in Dinagat Islands

With the objective of strictly enforcing mining laws, rules and regulations, Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Roy A. Cimatu ordered the establishment of a satellite office of the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) in the Province of Dinagat Islands (PDI), it was learned yesterday.The directive to establish a satellite office in that new province of PDI is pursuant to DENR Administrative Order (AO) No. 2018-01 recently issued by the DENR Secretary.The new AO also provides that the PDI MGB satellite office would be under the direct supervision and management of the regional director of MGB-Caraga Region 13. The MGB central office, meanwhile, would provide funds to support the creation of the satellite office.The regional officials and technical men of MGB 13 based in Surigao City have been directed to look for a site where the MGB satellite office will be constructed.The AO is expected to strengthen the enforcement of mining laws and regulations in PDI, which was already declared a mineral reservation area.The establishment of satellite office in PDI will ensure a people-oriented mining sector that would protect the environment, contribute more significantly to the national income and be world-class and competitive, it was also learned.PDI has abundant mineral deposits, particularly nickel and chromite. It is also blessed with a rich biological diversity.The province has a high ecotourism potential with its beautiful islands and beaches. It has been included in the list of key biodiversity areas for being sanctuary to a number of endemic species of animals and plants, including the critically endangered Dinagat bushy-tailed cloud rat, writhed hornbill and Philippine Tarsier.An amazing 200-hectare natural bonsai forest can also be found straddling Mt. Redondo and Kambinliw in Loreto town. The forest has a pending application for declaration as a World Heritage Site of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization or UNESCO.

[]

21/02/2018 0:00

https://news.mb.com.ph/2018/02/21/mgb-satellite-office-to-be-established-in-dinagat-islands/

Manila Bulletin

Who is Wally Sombero?

He is a multiawarded police officer, a writer and a self-styled gaming industry “expert” with only the best of intentions for the country.Such was how retired Senior Supt. Wenceslao “Wally” Sombero presented himself at the Senate blue ribbon committee hearing on the bribery scandal surrounding the release of 1,300 Chinese nationals arrested at the Clark Freeport Zone in November, saying he stepped in to save them from dire detention conditions.But for Sen. Leila de Lima, Sombero is “a fixer, an operator, a wheeler-dealer.”Sen. Joel Villanueva called him a “scumbag.”Verbose and smug as he faced the Senate for the first time, Sombero said he had served as resource person in briefings of various government agencies on online gaming, saying he had waged a “lonely one-man crusade” to help develop the Philippines as a viable market for online gaming.He said he had conducted studies showing how the Philippines could serve as a global online gaming industry leader, given the slump in North America and Europe due to “rigid online gaming laws” and market saturation.“Believe it or not, I truly wanted to help President Duterte’s administration in as much as I was totally convinced that the Filipino people have finally elected a President who is sincerely committed to reform and have the political will to execute the necessary actions,” he said.“I have been consistently and humbly offering my services to the national government in so far as crafting the implementing guidelines for the full regulation of the gaming industry,” he said.Evasive responsesHis evasive responses at Thursday’s Senate hearing, however, drew the ire of several senators.De Lima called him a “glib talker” and a “fixer.” Villanueva made an indirect reference to him as a “scumbag” for asserting that there was nothing illegal in the presence in the country of the Chinese workers.Sen. Richard Gordon, the committee chair, several times reprimanded him for being a “smart aleck.”After 27 years in the military and law enforcement, Sombero said he retired at age 44 “virtually at the height of my career” to pursue his passion for “investigative writing.”He immersed himself in the “underground gambling industry” believing that it “was the most organized syndicated crime group” and eventually established a network here and overseas.Sombero said he had published his investigative reports, served as resource speaker in congressional inquiries and appeared on several television and radio programs.He, along with other partners and stakeholders, founded Asian Gaming Service Provider Association Inc. or Agspa. He was eventually tapped to help the group of gaming magnate Jack Lam to secure the release of the arrested Chinese workers.Sombero came into the picture through one Gigi Rodriguez of the North Cagayan Gaming at the Cagayan Economic Zone Authority, an agency that had issued the operating license for Next Games.Next Games, a locator at Lam’s Fontana Leisure Parks and Casino, had sought the magnate’s help to take the arrested Chinese nationals out of detention.Lam’s business partner, Charlie “Atong” Ang, said Rodriguez had recommended Sombero to help Next Games, and this was why the retired officer was called to broker the bail settlement.Into the seventh hour of the hearing, as he was still being grilled about his role in the payoff, Sombero cut off Sen. Risa Hontiveros in the course of her questioning. “We are not given the chance to answer,” he complained.Questions overlapped and answers were cut off, said Sombero, who was threatened with arrest for skipping earlier hearings.“You are insulting this committee. You try to put form over substance. You come up with half-truths, hairsplitting answers. You better say your sorry properly,” an angry Gordon told Sombero, who apologized.

['Jeannette I. Andrade', 'Tarra Quismundo']

15/06/2018 0:00

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/872441/who-is-wally-sombero

Inquirer

MWSS projects: New water sources being eyed

The Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) has unveiled plans to tap new water sources for the next 10 to 25 years.At the recent Management Association of the Philippines (MAP) CEO Forum at the Peninsula Manila, MWSS Administrator Reynaldo Velasco presented a new set of water projects that could produce 3,000 million liters daily in the next five years.These included the 600 MLD Kaliwa Dam, the 500 MLD Montalban Dam and the development of 1,950 MLD “ABC” projects as alternative sources of water.The ABC projects, Velasco said, involved tapping water wastage in Angat Dam, reviving the Bayabas Dam project and pushing for the Candaba multipurpose impounding dam project in Pampanga.Combined, the so-called ABC projects have a potential of producing 1,950 million liters of water per day, which would complement the existing capacity of Angat Dam, the main source of water of Metro Manila.Long-term impactVelasco said unlike other major water projects that would take many years to complete, the ABC projects could be started and completed in three to four years, well within the term of President Duterte.According to Velasco, Angat Dam had been rehabilitated to withstand a 7.2-magnitude earthquake.The Bayabas Dam project in Doña Remedios Trinidad town in Bulacan province could produce 250 MLD.Another project that must be seriously considered, he said, was the Candaba multipurpose impounding dam, which could serve as a flood control and irrigation facility and promote ecotourism.The Candaba project can produce 500 MLD of potable water for the provinces of Pampanga, Bulacan and Tarlac.Among the legacy water projects being pursued now by the MWSS was the Kaliwa Dam in General Nakar and Infanta towns in Quezon province.

['Philippine Daily Inquirer']

18/08/2018 0:00

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1029913/mwss-projects-new-water-sources-being-eyed

Inquirer

What drives them to seek VP post?

WHAT is driving the half-dozen politicians running to be a “spare tire” in the next six years?Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr., a veteran politician, professed to be puzzled: “I don’t really know what’s in it for them.”Barely a week before the deadline for the filing of candidacy certificates for the 2016 elections, at least six candidates are expected to be candidates for Vice President (VP

['Gil C. Cabacungan']

18/08/2018 0:00

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/728537/what-drives-them-to-seek-vp-post

Inquirer

Duterte frustrated at red tape – Palace

President Rodrigo Duterte was just expressing his frustration at red tape and inefficiency in the bureaucracy, which foster corruption, when he said he wanted erring officials to kneel down before the public and promise to improve their service, Malacañang said on Saturday.The President also said he wanted to “destroy the government” and replace it with a new system.Mr. Duterte is an action man known for being a strong and decisive leader, presidential spokesperson Ernesto Abella said.“The President’s remarks at the Davao Investment Conference therefore show his displeasure and impatience with the bureaucratic red tape and the slow delivery of services, which often become sources of government corruption,” Abella said.What the President wants is a “proactive, ethical, efficient and systems-oriented government,” he said.Speaking to businessmen on Friday, Mr. Duterte expressed his dissatisfaction with the government and his wish to replace it with something more efficient.“I would like to destroy government itself,” he said.“We can have less powers but more efficient organization. If there’s an ideal setup that we can follow, I’d be glad to destroy government and put in place something of a bureaucratic authority that would move by itself automatically without the need of an authority there and an authority here,” he added.According to him, he kept on hearing reports that people transacting with the government were being asked to return repeatedly to the office and to provide numerous documents.The President had already spoken of his desire for a more efficient government in earlier speeches.

['Leila B. Salaverria']

18/08/2018 0:00

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/916274/duterte-frustrated-at-red-tape-palace

Inquirer

WHAT WENT BEFORE: Review of officials dismissed by Ombudsman

Several local government officials have been dismissed permanently by the Ombudsman and barred from public service permanently for grave misconduct, unexplained wealth, abuse of authority and corruption.In October 2017, Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales dismissed then Mayor Aniano Antalan of the Island Garden City of Samal for accepting a P200,000 “cash gift” from a multipurpose cooperative that was awarded a pork barrel-funded project in 2012.In August 2017, former Mayor Edwin Pangilinan of Famy, Laguna province, was dismissed after being found guilty of grave misconduct and serious dishonesty in relation to his participation in a convention on Boracay Island in 2010.Morales also banned Damian Mercado, former Southern Leyte governor, over an irregular purchase in 2007 of three secondhand vehicles, including one he had previously owned and was more than a decade old, for P2.3 million.In July 2017, the Ombudsman perpetually barred former Cebu City Councilor Gerardo Carillo from holding public office for making an administrative aide moonlight as a cook at his girlfriend’s restaurant during office hours.In June 2017, former Cagayan de Oro City Mayor Oscar Moreno and seven procurement officials of Misamis Oriental province were dismissed over the misuse of P1.41 million paid to lease heavy equipment without public bidding.In February 2017, former Tuguegarao City Mayor Jefferson Soriano was dismissed for allowing the operation of a parking terminal without the city council’s consent.In November 2016, Edgardo Tallado, former Camarines Norte governor, was dismissed for grave misconduct and abuse of authority, in a case filed by provincial employees whose appointments he did not honor.In October 2016, Gregorio Ipong, former Cotabato vice governor, was dismissed over irregularities in the release of his pork barrel funds in 2007.In August 2016, former Mayor Hadji Nasser Imam of Matanog, Maguindanao province, was dismissed for defaulting on a P30-million loan after the town was hit by a series of typhoons in 2012.In June 2016, former Gov. Roel Degamo of Negros Oriental province was dismissed for the unauthorized release of P480 million in calamity funds in 2012 despite the withdrawal of the special allotment release order for the fund disbursement.In January 2016, former Mayor Jose Villarosa of San Jose, Occidental Mindoro, was banned from reentering public service over the unlawful use of P2.9 million in the town’s share of tobacco excise taxes in 2010.

['Inquirer Research']

18/08/2018 0:00

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/968612/what-went-before-review-of-officials-dismissed-by-ombudsman

Inquirer

Sister Fox gets reprieve; DOJ lets her stay in PH until June 18

Australian missionary nun Patricia Fox on Friday won a reprieve after Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra acted favorably on her petition and allowed her to stay in the country until June 18.Fox on Friday filed a 24-page petition at the justice department, asking it to annul the Bureau of Immigration’s (BI) decision to kick her out of the country after President Duterte had accused her of committing “disorderly conduct” for allegedly participating in partisan political activities.Acting swiftly on Fox’s petition for review, Guevarra said the 30-day period that the BI had given the Catholic nun to leave the country was “interrupted” when she filed an appeal five days after her missionary visa was revoked.The justice secretary said the BI’s decision to deny Fox’s motion for reconsideration gave the nun another 25 days, or until June 18, to stay in the Philippines.Guevarra also directed the immigration bureau to answer Fox’s petition within 10 days and for her to submit a reply in five days.Clarificatory hearings“This office reserves the right to call such clarificatory hearings as may be necessary to arrive at a just resolution of this appeal,” Guevarra said in a two-page order.Accompanied by her counsel, Katherine Panguban of the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers, as well as members of militant groups, Fox reiterated that the immigration bureau had arbitrarily revoked her missionary visa and downgraded it to a temporary visitor’s visa.“I wish to continue my missionary work to help the poor and my work as a human rights defender,” Fox told reporters after filing her petition.Lawyer Jobert I. Pahilga of Sentro Para sa Tunay na Repormang Agraryo said Fox’s passport was also returned to the Australian missionary on Friday, with no annotation.BI order defiedThe nun, who was arrested by immigration agents on April 16, said she was not given a chance to answer the allegations against her as the BI immediately ordered her to leave the country within 30 days.Fox, 71, who had been doing missionary work in the Philippines since 1990 as a member of Sisters of Our Lady of Sion, defied the BI’s order to fly out of the country on Friday.“With all due respect, the board of commissioners of the [BI] decided a question of substance and procedure, which is not in accord with the Constitution, the law and jurisprudence,” Fox said in her petition.She said the immigration officials also gravely abused their discretion when they ordered the cancellation of her missionary visa.‘No basis in fact, in law’“It is worthwhile to state that the visa of a foreigner sojourning in the Philippines may only be canceled or downgraded based on the grounds provided for by law and/or administrative/implementing issuances,” Fox’s petition stressed.“Obviously, the cancellation [of my visa] has no basis in fact and in law, especially so that [I] was not given the chance to refute the charges against [me],” the petition added.Fox had initially filed an appeal at the BI that contested its order to forfeit her missionary visa and to deport her within 30 days, but her lawyers said they received the immigration bureau’s response junking Fox’s appeal only on Thursday.In its response, the BI also claimed that its order was “final and executory,” and that Fox’s tourist visa had expired on Friday.Fox’s lawyers questioned the BI order, saying it would only be final and executory 15 days after notice to the concerned foreigner, who could still extend the period by filing an appeal at the Department of Justice (DOJ) or even at the Supreme Court.‘Antigovernment’ actsFox was with members of the religious and Makabayan bloc Representatives Carlos Zarate of Bayan Muna party-list, and Emmi de Jesus of Gabriela Women’s party-list when she filed her petition with the DOJ.Fox’s lawyers had questioned the BI’s April 23 order, saying that the report presented by the BI intelligence division “did not show Fox was engaged in antigovernment activities but are consistent with her missionary work of promoting peace, social justice and human rights.”The report, they said, had an attached photo showing Fox holding a placard that said “Free all political prisoners.”“The place, context and even source of the photograph were not duly established as required by the rules of evidence,” Fox’s motion added.The lawyers said the photos did not comprise a prohibited act or a crime but was “a legitimate expression of Fox’s solidarity as a missionary nun to the people’s redress of grievances regarding the plight of political prisoners who were mostly peasants, trade unionist, indigenous peoples, human rights defenders and [those from] oppressed sectors of society.”

['Jodee A. Agoncillo', 'Marlon Ramos']

18/08/2018 0:00

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/994422/sister-fox-gets-reprieve-doj-lets-her-stay-in-ph-until-june-18

Inquirer

Putin attends Austria wedding, to meet Merkel for gas talks

Russian President Vladimir Putin is flying to Austria to attend the wedding Saturday of the country’s foreign minister, before heading to Berlin for talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.Austrian authorities have imposed tight security measures around the site of the ceremony near the southern town of Graz of Foreign Minister Karin Kneissl, who was nominated by the pro-Russia Austrian Freedom Party.Putin’s meeting with Merkel late Saturday takes place at the German government’s guesthouse in Meseberg, north of Berlin. Topics during the bilateral talks include Ukraine, Syria and the planned Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia to Germany that the United States and some European countries object to.The two leaders planned to make statements before the talks.

[]

18/08/2018 0:00

https://news.mb.com.ph/2018/08/18/putin-attends-austria-wedding-to-meet-merkel-for-gas-talks/

Manila Bulletin

Ending gov’t ‘endo’ complicated–Roque

Ending the practice of hiring contractual employees in the government is not that simple, Malacañang said on Saturday amid continued calls for it to heed what it wanted the private sector to do on contractual labor.Senators have called out the administration for having the most contractual and job order employees.Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said the administration was governed by a different set of rules when it came to hiring people.According to Roque, the government would need plantilla or regular positions.But for these to be in place, Congress would have to allocate funds for these in the yearly general appropriations act.The government must be able to identify a funding source, he added.“It is more complicated when it comes to the government,” Roque said.

['Philippine Daily Inquirer']

2017-09-28 20:16:51+00:00

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/987861/ending-govt-endo-complicated-roque

Inquirer

Rivals gang up on Binay

His rivals for the presidency ganged up on Vice President Jejomar Binay, trying to pin him down on corruption allegations against him during the second presidential debate in Cebu City on Sunday night.The air crackled with electricity, tempers flared and angry words flew as independent candidate Sen. Grace Poe, the ruling Liberal Party’s Mar Roxas and Partido Demokratikong Pilipino-Laban ng Bayan standard-bearer Rodrigo Duterte took turns whacking Binay, who is accused in the Office of the Ombudsman of pocketing billions of pesos in graft money from overpriced infrastructure contracts when he was mayor of Makati City.Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago, presidential candidate of the People’s Reform Party, was not there to join the battering of Binay. She announced last week that she was skipping the second debate to participate in a clinical trial for a new cancer treatment.The graft charges against Binay dominated the debate, overshadowing other issues raised, including national security, climate change and tax reforms.The debate at the University of the Philippines Cebu was supposed to start at 5 p.m., but it was delayed by more than an hour because of a fracas over the use of notes.Binay wanted to use notes during the debate, but Roxas, Poe and Duterte protested, citing debate rules prohibiting notes.The head of the TV5 news and public affairs department and debate moderator, Luchi Cruz-Valdez, apologized for the delay, calling it a serious case of “miscommunication.”She took responsibility of the delay, and the debate began at 6:35 p.m.Brawl eruptsWithin minutes of the confrontation, the candidates showed that they were ready for a brawl, unlike in the first presidential debate in Cagayan de Oro City on Feb. 21 when they were nice to each other.Binay found himself on the receiving end of accusations of dirty deals and transactions during his decades-long stint as the mayor of Makati City, drawing punches from Poe, who engaged him in a bruising exchange, Roxas and Duterte.In one of the most hostile exchanges, Binay and Poe butted heads over the Vice President’s corruption cases and the junior senator’s citizenship.Poe got the ball rolling by making an analogy about Binay’s refusal to abide by debate rules by bringing notes to the forum to his respect—or lack of it—for rule of law.CitizenshipIn retaliation, Binay brought up Poe’s citizenship woes.“We’re talking about rule of law, but you always say you’re a true Filipino. How can you be called a true Filipino if you swore allegiance [to the United States], and you are ashamed of your origins?” he said.“How can you say I am ashamed of being a Filipino? You say you are No. 1 in protecting OFWs (overseas Filipino workers), and you are saying those who live abroad have no right to serve,” Poe retorted“I’m not saying you’re an OFW,” Binay began again.But Poe cut him: “I’m not saying I’m an OFW. I’m saying I am someone who went to another land because I wanted the opportunity for a better life. This is not about color. You may be living here, yet you stole money.”“You speak as if there is already a ruling against me,” Binay said.Poe retorted: “Did I say it was you who stole? I did not say it was you.”Binay accused Poe of being “part of the conspiracy” against him.Roxas launched into the details of the corruption allegations against Binay.He cited some of the findings of the Commission on Audit, such as hospital beds that supposedly cost P16,000 but were purchased at P1.5 million, and ultrasound machine worth P1.3 million but was bought for P1.5 million.Binay did not answer the question point by point, noting instead that “in the Sandiganbayan, many cases have been defeated because they were only doing table surveys.”“You don’t look at the price in assessing the quality of what you buy. Let me repeat, only the courts can judge,” he said.Selective justiceRoxas also found himself defending the Aquino administration on allegations of corruption and selective justice.Poe said the administration’s “kung walang corrupt, walang mahirap” slogan remained just that.Administration allies get projects and are spared from charges. Only those from the opposition are charged, she said.Roxas disputed Poe’s statement. “LP, non-LP, all face charges were are removed from their posts. You can see that. That is the record, that is the truth, that is not a figment of the imagination,” he said.Lost to corruptionDuterte said allocations in the budget were good, but part of the money was lost to corruption.The pugnacious mayor of Davao City reserved much of his ammunition for Roxas, whom he called at one point “a fraud,” accusing President Aquino’s chosen presidential candidate of faking his economics degree from University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School.Roxas said the problem with Duterte was that he only looked at the “truth” in his own mind without checking the facts.He said Wharton had already confirmed that he graduated from that school.Climate changeOn climate change and the Philippines’ commitment to reduce carbon emissions while depending on coal plants for energy, Duterte said the Philippines was not a major contributor to carbon emissions.Duterte said First World countries, which are highly industrialized, are the bigger offenders.Roxas said it was important to begin the transition to clean energy because the Philippines bore the brunt of the effects of climate change.Poe said the first thing that needed to be done was to evacuate 13 million residents in high-risk areas and build dams, water entrapment facilities and flood control projects.Roxas said Poe’s suggestions were just mitigation measures. If he becomes President, he said, he would give incentives to those who would pursue renewable energy projects.Security for tight for the debate organized by the Commission on Elections, Philippine Star and TV5. Some 780 policemen were deployed to UP Cebu and the surroundings of the venue to ensure public safety. With reports from Kristine Angeli Sabillo, Inquirer.net; and Connie E. Fernandez, Ador Vincent Mayol, Victor Silva and Michelle Padayhag, Inquirer VisayasRELATED VIDEOSWho’s winning the second presidential debate?

['Connie E. Fernandez', 'Dj Yap', 'Leila B. Salaverria']

2017-09-28 20:16:51+00:00

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/775368/rivals-gang-up-on-binay

Inquirer

Trillanes wants Pimentel replaced as Senate head

SENATOR Antonio Trillanes 4th on Friday sought a major revamp in the Senate leadership to remove obstacles hindering the chamber in investigating irregularities in government.He said Senate President Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel 3rd must be replaced since he will serve as the “key” to expel Sen. Richard Gordon as chairman of the Senate blue ribbon committee, which probes corruption and other forms of wrongdoings in the government.“I hope there will be change in the leadership because right now the independence of the Senate is affected and it is reflected in the committee of Gordon,” Trillanes said in a media forum.“Ang hinihingi ko lang ‘pag mag-iimbestiga ang Senado dapat ‘di pinipigilan dapat kinakalkal palalim hanggang sa wala nang makita. Hindi ‘yung may ina-abswelto o pinoprotektahan [I just wish that the Senate will not be prevented from conducting a deeper investigation (of scandals in government). It should not clear or protect (anyone)],” he added.Trillanes said Gordon’s blue ribbon committee is the center of investigation on mischiefs in government. “He represents Koko [Pimentel]. So, for as long as Sen. Gordon is there, you will really see that the Senate’s independence is affected.”The former Navy captain said Pimentel is “very passive.”Sought for comment on Trillanes’ wish, Pimentel, in a text message said, “He can go ahead with his plan. This is a free country.”Gordon said he will not dignify Trillanes’ allegation against him. “Why is it that he acts like somebody who keeps on lying. But that’s his problem. It’s not my problem. I will just pray for him,” he said in a phone patch interview.Trillanes said, “For as long Sen. Gordon is there at [the helm of] the [blue ribbon committee], I will put the blame and responsibility on Sen. Koko. If they will not remove him [Gordon] I will work hard to compel Sen. Koko to remove Sen. Gordon as [committee chairman].”“Wala na bang mas magaling dyan? Ang [blue ribbon chairman] kailangan objective s’ya. Wala siyang kinatatakutan. Dapat imbestigador ang mindset [Can’t we find a smarter one? The committee chairman must be objective. He is not afraid of anyone. He must have the mindset of an investigator,” he added.Gordon defended Pimentel’s brand of leadership."Koko is doing a good job. Koko is trying to be fair to everybody. What is he talking about? Why he is so unfair to his colleagues that if you go against him, you are bad?”

['Bernadette E. Tamayo']

2017-09-28 20:16:51+00:00

https://www.manilatimes.net/trillanes-wants-pimentel-replaced-senate-head/353467/

Manila Times

De Lima: I don’t know Espinosas

SEN. LEILA de Lima on Tuesday denied any relationship with a wanted drug suspect, Kerwin Espinosa, saying a photograph taken with him and a woman was just one of those many photo opportunities during the election campaign.“I don’t remember this honestly,” De Lima told reporters.“I don’t know Espinosa, even the father,” she said, referring to Mayor Rolando Espinosa Sr. of Albuera, Leyte province.The elder Espinosa had earlier surrendered to police after he and his son were identified as drug pushers in Leyte. He was later able to go back to public office. His son, meanwhile, remains at large.“They are good at digging up dirt,” an incredulous De Lima said when shown the photo.“They were just among those who asked to take a photo with me. That’s not something like an arranged meeting or what. That was just a chance meeting, if that was in Baguio,” the senator said.She said one of the women in the background of the photo was a member of her staff.“I think we were just going around and they approached me. I don’t know him. I don’t remember this. I’m sure of that,” she said.De Lima has been accused by President Duterte of receiving drug money from convicted narcotics traders who had allegedly turned the New Bilibid Prison as the nerve center of their illegal activities outside. She has denied the charges.In Albuera on Tuesday, Mayor Espinosa called a news conference at the local police station and reiterated that he feared for his life after he executed last week a seven-page affidavit naming “powerful” individuals allegedly involved in his son’s illegal drug operation.The mayor, who has been staying at the police station, said some of his son’s protectors were top police officials, congressmen and a senator, among others.He added that he did not want to publicly name these officials pending his request to be placed under the government’s Witness Protection Program.The affidavit was a condition set by the police in exchange for protection after the mayor complained that he had been receiving death threats made through calls from unidentified individuals in his cellular phone.Chief Insp. Jovie Espenido, Albuera police chief, told theInquirer that the affidavit would be used as basis in filing a complaint against the officials and media personalities identified by the mayor.Patrick Ceniza, spokesperson of the mayor, said the elder Espinosa had a reason to be scared because he was not linking ordinary individuals in the illegal drug trade.He cited the female senator in the photo with Kerwin and a woman that was taken in Baguio City in March.“It’s up to you to answer that question,” he replied when asked if De Lima was involved.Espenido said all those named in the affidavit would be formally charged at the Leyte provincial prosecutor’s office today.A teary-eyed Espinosa reiterated his appeal to his son to surrender.He said he was grateful for Espenido for granting his request to place him under his custody.He also expressed his gratitude to President Duterte and PNP Director General Ronald dela Rosa for extending assistance to him.Mayor Espinosa also called on his son’s partners, whom he identified as Galo Bobares, Max Miro, Tonypet Zaldivar and Ferdinand Rondina, to surrender.

['Tarra Quismundo']

21/12/2016 0:00

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/811261/de-lima-i-dont-know-espinosas

Inquirer

Erosion threatens birds’ Tubbataha breeding grounds

Around 100 species of birds in the Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park (TRNP) in Cagayancillo, Palawan are at risk of losing breeding grounds following observations that the bird islet on the North Atoll is progressively eroding.“If the erosion of the bird islet continues, we might lose it, and the birds will no longer have a home, a place for breeding,” Retch Pagliawan, Tubbataha Management Office (TMO) researcher said.Pagliawan said its vegetation area has also decreased, hence, speeding up the erosion.“The main impact of that is actually for the breeding birds,” she said, adding that Tubbataha is the last intact seabird habitat in the Philippines.The erosion, particularly on the northeastern part of the 1.5-hectare bird islet, has alerted the TMO, prompting it to seek help from the University of the Philippines-Marine Science Institute (UP-MSI).Pagliawan explained that this natural phenomenon, being brought by the movements of waves and currents was already observed in 2004, since they began measuring the islet.An important nesting ground, Latest TMO data shows that the two islets in TNRP – the Bird Islet in North Atoll and South Islet in South Atoll – now support at least 38,500 seabirds.It is the main rookery and breeding ground of the seabird species Red-footed Booby, Brown Booby, Great crested Tern, Sooty Tern, Black Noddy, and Brown Noddy.

[]

21/12/2016 0:00

https://news.mb.com.ph/2016/12/21/erosion-threatens-birds-tubbataha-breeding-grounds/

Manila Bulletin

‘Let’s just stay fabulous’: SC drama too much even for ‘Ate Vi’

She could barely breathe.Batangas Rep. Vilma Santos-Recto learned what it was like to be caught in a crossfire as she sat between embattled Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno and Associate Justice Teresita Leonardo-de Castro, one of the top magistrate’s fiercest critics.The actress-turned-politician was moments from delivering her speech as one of the guest speakers during the convention of the Philippine Women Judges Association on Thursday at Manila Hotel when the tension between the two magistrates snapped.Sereno had just finished her speech where she lashed out at her detractors and criticized the moves to oust her when De Castro got up, took the microphone and rebuked the Chief Justice for raising a matter that she said was sub judice, or still pending before the courts whose merits should not be discussed in public.“The tension was palpable. The entire hall felt it,” Recto recalled in a phone interview with the Inquirer.“That is why the first thing that came out of my mouth was ‘I can’t breathe,’” she said.Time for some levityRecto said she was supposed to speak after Sereno, but De Castro, who had testified in the House impeachment hearings against the Chief Justice, abruptly took the podium to reprove the Chief Justice.When the former Batangas governor finally spoke, she said she tried to inject some levity into the atmosphere.“I said, ‘Let’s just stay fabulous,’ to make the environment much lighter,” Recto recalled. “I think the audience appreciated it because they applauded.”Toward the end of the event, Recto hugged Sereno and told her, “You’re facing many trials. I will pray for you.”But Recto said she did not mean she was taking any side.Neither did her words mean she would vote in favor of the Chief Justice after the House of Representatives concluded the plenary debates on the impeachment complaint against Sereno, she said.The House justice committee on Thursday found probable cause to impeach Sereno.“Impeachment is no joke. It is my obligation to thoroughly study the committee report, whether this is just personal or administrative or whatever,” Recto said.The Batangas congresswoman, like her husband Sen. Ralph Recto, belongs to the Liberal Party, though she is allied with the administration-backed supermajority in Congress.

['Dj Yap']

2016-12-01 21:17:50+00:00

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/974162/lets-just-stay-fabulous-sc-drama-too-much-even-for-ate-vi

Inquirer

PWD won’t lose discounts on basic services, vitamins

Persons with Disability (PWD) will continue to enjoy their value added tax (VAT) exemption on basic social services, recreation and even their vitamins, according to Sen. Juan Edgardo Angara and former Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez, authors of the bill. The Department of Finance had planned to scrap the VAT exemptions for PWD and senior citizens as part of proposed tax reforms. Under the law, PWD are eligible for a 20-percent discount and VAT exemption on medical and dental services; purchase of medicines in all drugstores; public railway, skyway and bus fares; admission fees charged by theaters, cinema houses, concert halls, circuses, carnivals and other places of culture, leisure and amusement; and all services in hotels and similar lodging establishments, restaurants, recreation centers, funeral and burial expenses. The discount and tax break also cover vitamins and minerals as well as food for special medical purposes. The Duterte administration’s tax reform package seeks to cut individual and corporate income taxes to 25 percent and offsetting revenue loss by raising excise tax on petroleum products and scrapping the discounts for PWD and senior citizens.

['Llanesca T. Panti']

2016-12-01 21:17:50+00:00

https://www.manilatimes.net/pwd-wont-lose-discounts-basic-services-vitamins/299417/

Manila Times

Supermarkets to sell NFA rice

Consumers will soon be able to able to buy National Food Authority (NFA) rice from some supermarkets, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) announced on Saturday.Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said his department would sign on Monday a memorandum of agreement with the Philippine Amalgamated Supermarkets Association Inc. whose members would be designated outlets of NFA rice.“We asked the supermarket association to be outlets of NFA rice so we have additional access to affordable rice,” Lopez said.“They will pick up from NFA warehouses,” he said.Quick executionLopez said NFA Deputy Administrator Judy Dansal had already agreed to implement the agreement in the same week that the deal would be signed.The supermarket group has more than 20 member-supermarkets, its website showed.This, however, does not include more popular stores, like SM Supermarket.The agreement was one of the solutions formulated by the DTI to make affordable rice available to more people, particularly because of the spike in inflation and the potential impact of Typhoon “Ompong,” (international name: Mangkhut).The government was moving to address possible critical shortages of food in areas caught in the path of the typhoon.Premium sellersThe initiative also included releasing smuggled rice and other food items for immediate distribution.Lopez said the DTI requested the NFA to exert its authority in requiring rice retailers to always sell regular and well-milled rice.“NFA will issue an order on this,” he added.

['Roy Stephen C. Canivel']

08/06/2017 0:00

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1032850/supermarkets-to-sell-nfa-rice

Inquirer

2 cases filed in Palace vs Ombudsman probers

Office of the Ombudsman officials investigating President Duterte and his family’s bank transactions allegedly amounting to more than a billion pesos are facing possible ouster from the antigraft agency after two administrative complaints were filed against them in Malacañang on Tuesday.Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV has claimed that transactions of Mr. Duterte in three banks (two in Metro Manila and one in Davao) from 2006 to 2015 totaled more than P2 billion.The complaints against officials of the antigraft agency came days after Mr. Duterte challenged Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales and Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno

['Leila B. Salaverria']

08/06/2017 0:00

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/935363/2-cases-filed-in-palace-vs-ombudsman-probers

Inquirer

‘Shabu’ shipment consignee detained at Senate

The Senate blue ribbon committee on Wednesday cited in contempt the “consignee on record” of the shipment of magnetic lifters suspected to have contained some P6.8 billion worth of “shabu” (crystal meth).Sen. Richard Gordon, the committee chair, moved to cite Marina Signapan of SMYD Trading for contempt and ordered her detained at the Senate after he refused to believe her statement on who had paid her P180,000 to be the consignee on record.Signapan was the second witness to be cited for contempt by Gordon in connection with the controversial cargo.Held in contemptEarlier held in contempt and detained at the Senate was Jimmy Guban, an officer of the Bureau of Customs’ intelligence and investigation service.Gordon alleged that Guban was lying about his role in the handling of the cargo.It was found that Guban was the one who sought out SYMD Trading to be the consignee of the shipment to facilitate its entry, supposedly to help an operation against another shipment.Later, Guban tapped scrapper Joel Maritana to sign an affidavit that would protect Signapan.On Wednesday, Signapan said it was Maritana who paid her to use SMYD Trading’s name as consignee of the magnetic lifters.But Maritana denied this.Gordon noted that Maritana had said he could not afford the P180,000.Investigators also found that Maritana was a man of modest means.

['Leila B. Salaverria']

08/06/2017 0:00

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1034332/shabu-shipment-consignee-detained-at-senate

Inquirer

Duterte, Rappler clash over fake news, press freedom

President Rodrigo Duterte and Rappler locked horns over fake news and press freedom after the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) decided to shut down the online news site for alleged violations of the Constitution and corporate regulations.In a scathing attack against Rappler a day after the SEC made public its decision, the President on Tuesday called it a “fake news outlet” that published stories “rife with innuendos and pregnant with falsity.”“Since you are a fake news outlet, then I am not surprised that your articles are also fake,” he said. “We can debate now. Tell me where is our lies and I’ll tell you where are yours.”“You’re not only throwing toilet paper. You’re throwing shit at us. You have gone too far,” he added.Rappler’s responseResponding to Mr. Duterte’s outburst, Rappler’s managing editor, Glenda Gloria, threw back the President’s accusations at him.“The President knows who produces fake news in the Philippines, and it certainly is not Rappler,” Gloria said. “He doesn’t have to look far from where he sits in Malacañang.”Mocha Uson, Presidential Communications Operations Office assistant secretary, has been accused of spreading fake news.She has denied the charge, saying she herself has been a victim of fake news.Rappler’s reports have included allegations that the Duterte administration has “weaponized” social media to discredit and generate online hate against his most vocal detractors.The SEC revoked Rappler’s certificates of incorporation and registration for allegedly violating the constitutional restriction on 100-percent Filipino ownership and control of mass media entities.Rappler has denied any foreign control over its operations and would appeal the decision.Francis Lim, a lawyer for Rappler, cited a Supreme Court ruling saying that “control … is done through [the] board of directors who manages the company.”“If there is any violation at all, we believe that the penalty meted out by the SEC is too severe,” Lim said in an interview with ANC television on Wednesday.‘I don’t even know SEC’Mr. Duterte said he couldn’t care less whether Rappler continued to operate or not, and challenged it to prove that he was behind the SEC’s move against it.“Why would I have it closed? I don’t even know that son of a bitch SEC. They are all Aquino appointees,” he said.Solicitor General Jose Calida on Dec. 22, 2016, requested an inquiry into the “possible contravention of the strict requirements of the 1987 Constitution,” the SEC said.Lengthy rantCalida denied Malacañang ordered him to pursue the case against Rappler, saying he was “just doing [his] job.”Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque on Wednesday defended Mr. Duterte’s lengthy rant the day before against Rappler and other news organizations he considered unfair to him and said he did not mean to threaten the press.“The President is a lawyer, he honors the Bill of Rights, he has no problem with the Bill of Rights,” Roque told reporters.“What you are seeing from the President—or what you saw for instance from the President last night—is also the exercise of free speech on the part of a President who feels that he has not been getting the right kind of treatment from the media,” he added.Mr. Duterte ridiculed Rappler’s argument that the SEC decision constituted harassment. “Look, why should you complain if I am critical against media? Are you not critical of me?” he said.“Don’t abuse it (press freedom) too much. It’s a privilege in a democratic state. You have overused and abused that privilege in the guise of press freedom,” he said.Foreign press organizations and human rights groups have rallied behind Rappler, joining a chorus of domestic outrage among the media and political opposition at what they see as moves to muzzle those scrutinizing Mr. Duterte.Shawn Crispin, the senior Southeast Asia representative of the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists, on Wednesday said the “politicized” move by the SEC represented “a clear and immediate danger to press freedom in the Philippines.”The Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism said the SEC’s “harsh” decision came with “horrifying implications on the full and untrammeled exercise of press freedom.”

['Leila B. Salaverria']

08/06/2017 0:00

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/961414/duterte-rappler-clash-over-fake-news-press-freedom

Inquirer

Power generation deficiency causes brownouts in Ilocos, CAR

The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) has reported that the power generation deficiency has caused the unscheduled power outages in the past two days in some areas in Regions 1 and Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR).On June 6, 2017, the manual load dropping affected some areas in the provinces of Ilocos Norte and Ilocos Sur started at 7:12 p.m., but the power was restored at 10:36 p.m.On June 7, 2017, the manual load dropping affected again some areas in Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, La Union, Pangasinan, and Abra at 7 p.m.“Actually, the restorations of power were not followed as scheduled as the electricity was restored at 9 p.m. or before 10 p.m.,” the NGCP said.It said the three causes of the unscheduled power outage were generation deficiency of wind farms; power overloading as the peak demand for electricity is between 7 p.m. and 10 p.m.; and the 15-day scheduled shutdown of the tower of the 230 Kilovolts (KV) lines 1 and 2 traversing San Esteban, Ilocos Sur to Laoag City.

[]

08/06/2017 0:00

https://news.mb.com.ph/2017/06/08/power-generation-deficiency-causes-brownouts-in-ilocos-car/

Manila Bulletin

Train 2 may lead to job losses

THE implementation of the second phase of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (Train) law might result in “minimal” job losses, an official of the Department of Finance (DoF) said on Wednesday.Finance Undersecretary Karl Chua said some sectors might be hit by job losses once the comprehensive tax reform, also known as Tax Reform for Attracting Better and Higher Quality Opportunities (Trabaho) bill, takes effect. However, he said Congress would allot a P500-million “adjustment fund” per year for five years for cash grants to workers laid off.“For us, if there is a job loss, [it will be] very minimal. What the Trabaho bill did was to allocate an adjustment fund to retool and provide cash grants to workers who may be affected,” Chua said.Chua said a P500-million budget would be allotted for skills upgrading.“Overall, even if there is job loss in one or two sectors, the overall economy, for me, has a positive job contribution. They will just transfer,” he said.Chua said overall job production would be better in the long run since about 97,000 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) would generate greater income because of lowered taxes.This, he said, would lead to the expansion of businesses, thus, generating more jobs.“For me, if there will be job losses, it will be temporary but the long-term effect is very positive,” Chua said.Finance Assistant Secretary Tony Lambino also on Wednesday said the Trabaho bill was job-positive, since 60 percent of Filipino workers are hired by micro small and medium enterprises.“Majority of Filipino workers [are covered,] so when we lower the tax rate for MSMEs, in this case, they will have more money to increase the productivity, so they can expand,” Lambino explained.“If they expand, they will hire even more workers so when we forecasted on balance, the Trabaho bill is jobs positive, which is why Congress called it Trabaho in the first place,” he added.Chua said the Finance department was confident that the measure would be passed by Congress.“They are also reviewing and evaluating the budget and that also means there’s also a need for this tax reform because how can they fund their budget if there is no tax reform and there is bigger loss?” he said.“Whether or not an election will happen, I think this is an important reform that many in Congress understand especially once you see the budget that needs to be funded well,” he added.

['Ralph Villanueva']

2018-08-23 00:08:47+00:00

https://www.manilatimes.net/train-2-may-lead-to-job-losses/433489/

Manila Times

Bello warns against Boracay layoffs

Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III on Monday warned employers in Boracay against terminating their employees during the six-month closure of the resort island starting April 26.In an advisory, Bello said the “temporary suspension of business operations should not and must not result in the termination or separation of any employee.”Weeks before the start of the closure, business establishments, including inns, have started laying off workers.While saying the closure of Boracay as ordered by the President would compel the temporary suspension of business operations, Bello notified employers that they could only “observe the principle of ‘no work, no pay,’ or require the employees to go on forced leave by utilizing their leave credits, if any.”He said employees were expected to be called back to work upon the lifting of the temporary closure of Boracay.The labor advisory is for “strict observance and compliance.”Bello earlier said the labor department would extend assistance, including the provision of emergency employment, to affected workers.He said some 5,000 informal sector workers and members of the indigenous community on the island would be employed in the cleanup of the 1,032-hectare island.The labor secretary has set aside an initial P60 million for the emergency employment assistance program.Labor group Partido Manggagawa called on the labor department to initiate a dialogue with affected workers on the terms of emergency assistance.

['Philippine Daily Inquirer']

17/05/2017 0:00

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/981306/bello-warns-against-boracay-layoffs

Inquirer

Panelo blasts Aquino indictment over DAP

President Duterte’s chief legal counsel has downplayed the case former President Benigno Aquino III is facing over the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) as a mere “consuelo de bobo” indictment.While Aquino’s indictment may be a development in the fight against graft and corruption, the charge filed is not enough, said chief presidential legal counsel Salvador Panelo.“While in the narrow sense, the indictment is a welcome development or push in [the] relentless campaign against graft and corruption, it must be noted, however, that the charge is but a consuelo de bobo indictment,” he said on Friday.Panelo issued the statement days after the Ombudsman indicted Aquino for allegedly usurping the budgetary powers of Congress when he approved the DAP.The Ombudsman found probable cause to indict the former president on charges of usurpation of legislative authority. The case will be filed in the Sandiganbayan.More grave crimeIf convicted by the antigraft court, Aquino could face a prison term ranging from six months to six years.Panelo pointed out that the charge should not have been usurpation of legislative authority, but the grave crime of plunder or, at the very least, graft and corruption.This is because “it involves P36 billion of the people’s money with the Supreme Court no less declaring that the disbursement was in violation of the 1987 Constitution,” he said.“There is a glaring discrepancy of the act committed as against the complaint filed,” the presidential legal counsel said.He noted that the latest case against Aquino was “a repeat of the anomalous previous charge against him” over the 2015 Mamasapano incident.”Panelo recalled that Aquino, instead of being charged with reckless imprudence resulting in multiple homicide, ended up with an indictment for usurpation of authority.“There must be a rectification of this omission and the process of reversing such indictments is in progress,” he said.

['Julie M. Aurelio']

17/05/2017 0:00

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1003425/panelo-blasts-aquino-indictment-over-dap

Inquirer

Balikatan improves learning facilities

Balikatan 2017 has given opportunity for Philippine and US troops to do meaningful work, learn from each other, and build personal ties.The training between the two forces has forged strong ties and relationships to work together in responding to emergencies, said Lt. Col. Ryan Scott, commander of the Coalition Joint Civil-Military Task Force.This year’s military exercise constructed a school building, renovated a school stage, and built a water catchment facility at Surok Elementary School. The campus in this town was heavily devastated by super typhoon Yolanda in 2013.On Tuesday, the US Armed Forces and the Philippine Army turned over the projects to the local government and schools officials.“This will help in the cultivation of education ideals for young generation that they will hold on for years to come,” said Lt. Col. Scott. “I am confident that if we quickly mitigate future effects of disaster to education because of the Balikatan Exercise.”Surok village, located within the national road leading to the town center, is home to 1,487 residents who suffered the brunt of the super typhoon.

[]

17/05/2017 0:00

https://news.mb.com.ph/2017/05/17/balikatan-improves-learning-facilities/

Manila Bulletin

Israel’s use of live fire in Gaza protests faces legal test

in the event of a life-threatening situation. The groups said that in several cases caught on video, protesters were targeted while standing dozens of meters from the fence, or while trying to take cover. Among those killed were four minors and two journalists.The Israeli military said Hamas has used the protests as cover to damage the fence and carry out attacks. On Sunday night, Israeli troops fatally shot two Palestinians who infiltrated from Gaza and attacked soldiers with explosives, the military said. A third Palestinian was killed during an attempted border breach, it said.

[]

30/04/2018 0:00

https://news.mb.com.ph/2018/04/30/israels-use-of-live-fire-in-gaza-protests-faces-legal-test/

Manila Bulletin

Bicol takes a beating from ‘Nina’

Typhoon “Nina” roared over southern Luzon with slightly weaker but still fierce winds on Monday after battering the Bicol region on Christmas Day, leaving five people dead and destroying thousands of homes.Nina, internationally known as Nock-ten, cut power to five provinces in Bicol at the height of Christmas celebrations, displaced tens of thousands of villagers and stranded thousands of holiday travelers.A farmer died after being pinned by a fallen coconut tree in Quezon province and three other villagers, including a couple who were swept by strong current in Viga River, died in Albay province after Nina made landfall in Bato, Catanduanes province, at 6:30 p.m. on Christmas Day.Disaster officials identified the farmer as Gregorio Reforma, 43, who died in Santa Rosa town, Quezon, and the drowned couple as Antonio Calingacion, 73, and Teresita Calingacion, 70, of Balinad village in Polangui, Albay.The third villager was identified as Espelita Marilad, 57, who was pinned by a falling concrete wall inside her house in Balangibag village, also in Polangui.A fisherman died and two others were injured when they stepped on live wires in Lopez, Quezon province.The fisherman who died was identified as Christopher Sanchez, but authorities had not declared his death as typhoon-related.Eight landfallsWith maximum winds of 185 kilometers per hour and gusts of 255 kph, Nina blew west-northwest, hopscotching over mountainous and island provinces, damaging homes, uprooting trees and knocking down power and communication lines.The typhoon made a second landfall in Sagnay, Camarines Sur province, at 9:30 p.m. on Sunday, and hit land for a third time in San Andres, Quezon province, at 2 a.m. on Monday.From there, it made five more landfalls—in Torrijos, Marinduque province at 4:30 a.m.; Verde Island, Batangas province, at 9:15 a.m.; Tingloy Island, Batangas, at 10:10 a.m.; Calatagan, in the same province, at 11 a.m., and on Lubang Island, Occidental Mindoro province, at 1 p.m.By the time Nina hit land for the eighth time on Lubang Island, it had weakened slightly and had sustained winds of up to 130 kph and gusts of 215 kph as it blew over the provinces of Batangas and Cavite on Monday morning, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said.Metro Manila sparedMetro Manila, which had been forecast to be struck, received only light rain on Monday, but many residents stayed indoors as the typhoon lashed neighboring provinces.Two cargo vessels sank off Batangas as the typhoon hit the province, the Philippine Coast Guard reported.The MV Starlite Atlantic sank off Tingloy and the MV Shuttle Roro 5 sank off Mabini.The Coast Guard said 14 people were rescued after the Starlite Atlantic sank. It said 25 crew members of the Shuttle Roro 5 were rescued.Eight crew members of the Starlite Atlantic were missing, it said.In a statement, Starlite Ferries Inc., the owner of the vessel, said 15 crew members were rescued while 19 were missing.It said the vessel was not carrying passengers, but Senior Supt. Leopoldo Cabanag, Batangas police director, said a female passenger, Lyca Banaynal, died.The Coast Guard, however, refused to confirm the report about Banaynal’s death.Civil defense officials said 80 domestic and international flights had been canceled, and all sailings in storm-affected regions had been held, spoiling the holiday plans of thousands of people.Nina was one of the strongest typhoons to hit the Philippines since Supertyphoon “Yolanda” (Haiyan) left more than 7,300 people dead or missing and displaced more than 5 million in Eastern Visayas in November 2013.About 20 typhoons and storms hit the Philippines each year.8th Christmas typhoonNina was the eighth Christmas typhoon to hit the Philippines in the past 65 years.Officials in some provinces in Bicol said they found it difficult to convince people to abandon their Christmas celebrations and head for the shelters before Nina hit.Some officials said they had to impose forced evacuations.“Some residents just refused to leave their homes even when I warned them that you can face what amounts to a death penalty,” Cedric Daep, a top disaster-response official in Albay, said by phone.Shopping malls and stores were ordered to close early on Christmas Day to encourage people to remain indoors, “but at the height of the typhoon, many cars were still being driven around and people were out walking,” Daep said.“We warned them enough, but we just can’t control their mind,” he said.Officials in Albay, where more than 150,000 villagers were displaced by the typhoon, declared a state of calamity on Christmas Day to allow faster disbursement of emergency funds.Albay Rep. Joey Salceda reported more than 15,800 houses either destroyed or damaged in Polangui town, with P213.6 million in damage to infrastructure and P99 million in damage to agriculture.He said more than 6,800 houses were either destroyed or damaged in Libon town, which also suffered more than P300 million in damage to infrastructure and P128.7 million in damage to agriculture.The provincial government of Catanduanes also declared a state of calamity as it reported 21 landslides and extensive damage to private and public property and infrastruture.Military camps damagedThe Armed Forces of the Philippines reported severe damage to its camps and outposts in Bicol, Southern Tagalog, Eastern Visayas, Mimaropa, Central Luzon and Metro Manila.Pagasa said Nina exited the Luzon landmass at around 3 p.m. on Monday and started blowing into the West Philippine Sea.As of 5 p.m., the typhoon was located 75 km southwest of Subic, Olongapo City, heading north.By early evening, only Lubang Island and western Batangas were under storm signal No. 2.Southern Zambales, Bataan, the rest of Batangas, Cavite and the northern parts of Occidental and Oriental Mindoro remained under storm signal No. 1.Nina was expected to weaken further but speed up as it blew into the sea, Pagasa said.“The worst is over,” Pagasa forecaster Robert Badrina said. “For the areas Nina crossed, they can now start again after this deluge.”

['Philippine Daily Inquirer']

2016-11-08 20:30:13+00:00

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/856949/bicol-takes-a-beating-from-nina

Inquirer

4 top police officers survive chopper crash

CHIEF Supt. Wilben Mayor, police director of Mimaropa (Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon and Palawan), and three other Philippine National Police (PNP) officers were injured in a helicopter crash in Puerto Princesa City in Palawan on Tuesday afternoon, a military official reported.Lt. Cherry Tindog, spokesman for the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Western Command (Westcom), said Mayor and the three police officers were aboard an Air Force Sokol 926 when the aircraft developed a mechanical problem and crash-landed at Sitio Sabang in Barangay Cabayugan in Puerto Princesa City.The military is yet to identify the three companions of Mayor, a former PNP spokesman.Tindog said the police officers were conducting reconnaissance in preparation for a November 10 conference of Asean justices when the incident happened around 3 p.m.The Westcom sent an air ambulance and another aircraft to the area and airlifted Mayor and company his companions to an undisclosed hospital.“The passengers are reportedly safe with minor injuries. We will give updates once the official report from our air unit is already transmitted to headquarters,” Tindog said.

['Fernan Marasigan']

2016-11-08 20:30:13+00:00

https://www.manilatimes.net/4-top-police-officers-survive-chopper-crash/295467/

Manila Times

The theology of money and banking

the last one to put make-up on you will be the funeraria! (Laughter) You will be at the mercy of the embalsa­mador, and then we will realize that everything has a purpose and that everything has an end. And in the end, what matters is: Did I use every­thing according to God’s purpose?It is not ironic. In fact, it is how it should be. That for 167 years of man­aging money, the highlight of our day is the worship of God. Because as I said, money can bring you to heaven. But only if you use it for God and with God. Money, separated from God, will become our curse.I have been asked from outside BPI: Why is the Church linked to BPI all these years? And no flattery. This is the truth. I have only one answer: Because the trademark of BPI is you operate the bank according to the highest ethical, moral standards. And please, keep it that way.There will come a time when BPI will collapse. As the planets will disappear. As the sun will disappear. As the universe will disappear. But when all those disappeared, there is only one thing that will endure. And it is your observance of highest ethical standards in everything that you do.But after God, there is one more that you must remember if you want the money of BPI to bring you to heaven. And what is that? Man.. humanity…. Because money is an invention of man, money can not be put on top of man. Money must be used at the service of humanity. Not humanity enslaved by money.It is when money is used in the service of humanity, for the promotion of humanity that money becomes sal­vific. It becomes saving. It becomes heavenly. It becomes Godly.But then, I was hesitating to tell you about this. Because you have been doing this all these years. All these 167 years, you have been do­ing it.Now I am telling you: Money, without God, is a curse. Money, without humanity, would be a curse for humanity.I am telling you this not because you are not doing it. But because I want to affirm and to congratulate you for what you have been doing for the past 167 years.There are no banks in heaven. But bankers can go to heaven. And bankers should go to heaven. Be­cause your mission is to put God in this bank. Your mission is to put this bank at the service of humanity.So as I say to you “Congratula­tions,” I also whisper to God and say: “Lord, thank You for BPI.”***Note: You may email us at totingbunye2000@gmail.com. You may also like us on Facebook at “Speaking Out.”(The writer is an Independent director of BPI and two of its wholly owned subsidiaries: BPI Asset Man­agement and Trust Corporation and BPI Direct BanKo. The Roman Catholic Archbishop of Manila ben­eficially owns 8.3 percent of BPI.)

[]

05/08/2018 0:00

https://news.mb.com.ph/2018/08/05/the-theology-of-money-and-banking/

Manila Bulletin

Duterte may send frigate to secure release of hostages

President Rodrigo Duterte is considering the deployment of a Philippine Navy frigate to Libya to help secure the release of three Filipino engineers who were kidnapped by gunmen there.Speaking on Friday night in Malaybalay City, Bukidnon, the President made reference to the abduction of the three Filipinos and a South Korean national at a water project site in Western Libya.“[South] Korea has sent a ship there. You know I’m not joking, I will also send a frigate if they begin to hurt the three Filipinos there. I will really send one there,” he said in a mix of English and Filipino.‘I’ll send two’“Korea sent one … So I might send one, too. What should we send … A frigate. I’ll send two,” the President added.The Navy has three 50-year-old frigates, all Hamilton-class former cutters acquired from the US Coast Guard. Unlike the sophisticated Korean frigate, “Munmu the Great,” not one of the Philippine warships boasts a missile system.Mr. Duterte said he would discuss his proposal with the military and police during a joint command conference next week.‘Blast those pirates’Addressing the Filipinos’ kidnappers, Mr. Duterte said, “Don’t treat us like that, [or] I will cut your heads off.”The President warned that he would order the Navy to seek out the kidnappers if they harmed the hostages.“I’ll tell them to blast them,” he said. “Those pirates, blast them … if they don’t want to release the hostages.”Armed men abducted the three Filipino engineers and the South Korean project consultant during a July 6 attack on a water project site in the Libyan desert.

['Philippine Daily Inquirer']

01/05/2018 0:00

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1017533/duterte-may-send-frigate-to-secure-release-of-hostages

Inquirer

Binay got slogan wrong, says Abad

“Tama na, sobra na?”“Out of context,” said Liberal Party stalwart and Budget Secretary Florencio Abad.“Sour-graping,” said Western LP secretary general and Samar Rep. Mel Senen Sarmiento.These were among the immediate responses to presidential challenger Jejomar Binay’s use of a popular slogan of the anti-dictatorship struggle led by President Benigno Aquino III’s mother, the late President Corazon Aquino, when he announced his resignation from the Cabinet last week.Abad said that Binay “missed the important historical context” of the anti-dictatorship slogan, emphasizing that the battlecry was used to drive away the dictator, Ferdinand Marcos, and his family.“It was rather careless of him to say that, because the logical next phrase is palitan na (change him),” Abad told the Inquirer on Friday.Abad said it was because of this lack of context that President Aquino was “hurting” over Binay’s attacks.Sarmiento said Binay’s attacks on the Aquino administration were “mere sour-graping,” adding that Binay lacked the credibility to be the opposition figurehead.He said Binay’s statements after quitting the Cabinet were “patently dubious coming from a person who used to heap praise on President Aquino’s leadership.”“In his keynote speech at the Philippine Capital Markets Investment Forum in May 2014, he even talked about the country’s unparalleled economic growth,” Sarmiento said. Nikko Dizon and DJ YapRELATED VIDEOS

['Philippine Daily Inquirer']

29/08/2018 0:00

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/701178/binay-got-slogan-wrong-says-abad

Inquirer

Final farewells to Sen. John McCain begin at Arizona Capitol

Family, friends and constituents were gathering Wednesday at Arizona’s Capitol to pay their respects to Sen. John McCain, the first of two days of services here before he departs the state he has represented since the 1980s.A private ceremony was set for later Wednesday morning at the Arizona State Capitol Museum rotunda, where McCain will lie in state. McCain died of brain cancer last Saturday at age 81.Two hours before that ceremony was set to start, several dozen veterans and active military members had taken spots on the sidewalk to watch the hearse that will bring McCain’s body from a funeral home to the Capitol.Veteran Judith Hatch handed out flags to those assembled, saying Arizona lost a champion for the military.“We definitely have lost a strong advocate, so we’ll need someone who is going to step up to the plate,” Hatch said.The ceremony will include remarks from Gov. Doug Ducey and former U.S. Sen. Jon Kyl, plus a benediction from Sen. Jeff Flake. It will also mark the first appearance of McCain’s family members since the longtime Arizona senator died of brain cancer on Saturday at age 81.Later in the afternoon, the Capitol will be open to members of the public who want to pay their respects. The viewing will go on as long as people are waiting in line, Rick Davis, McCain’s former presidential campaign manager, said Monday.For some Arizona residents, McCain has been a political fixture in the state for their entire lives. He took office in Arizona in the early 1980s, first as a congressman and then as a senator in the seat once held by Sen. Barry Goldwater.Crews spent the past several days preparing the Capitol for the visitors, hauling in chairs, cleaning up the building and assembling dozens of flags. McCain is the third person to lie in state in the rotunda in the last 40 years; others were Arizona State Senator Marilyn Jarrett in 2006 and Olympic gold medalist Jesse Owens, a Tucson resident, in 1980.Thursday morning will see a procession through Phoenix on the way to a memorial service at North Phoenix Baptist Church, with the public invited to line the route along Interstate 17.The memorial service will see multiple tributes, readings and musical performances, including a tribute from former Vice President Joe Biden. Musical choices include a performance of “Amazing Grace” by the Brophy Student Ensemble and a recessional to “My Way” by Frank Sinatra.From there, McCain will depart Arizona for the last time from Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport.Another viewing will be at the U.S. Capitol on Friday, with a final memorial service at the Washington National Cathedral.A website laying out details for the services says to send any flowers to a local VA hospital.

[]

29/08/2018 0:00

https://news.mb.com.ph/2018/08/29/final-farewells-to-sen-john-mccain-begin-at-arizona-capitol/

Manila Bulletin

NBP drug lords still top shabu suppliers

Drug lords detained at the New Bilibid Prisons (NBP) whom President Rodrigo Duterte identified last year as the sources of methamphetamine hydrochloride or shabu that reaches various parts of the country, including Metro Manila (National Capital Region or NCR), have remained as principal sources of the illegal drug.This revelation was made by Derrick Carreon of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) on Tuesday or a few days after the agency reported the confiscation of P2.9 million worth of shabu from two NBP personnel who were arrested in a drug buy-bust led by PDEA-NCR agents inside the Mall of Asia in Pasay City last Sunday.Carreon said Randy Gardula and Marita Macatanga admitted during interrogation that they get their shabu supplies, including those confiscated by PDEA-NCR agents, with an estimated value of P2.9 million, from the drug lords inside the NBP.PDEA head Aaron Aquino earlier described Gatdula and Macatanga as “high-value” targets of the agency.After their arrest, the two said they were guards at the maximum security building of the NBP that houses prisoners who are serving life sentences.They, however, refused to identify their shabu supplier from the NBP.In the first month of his administration’s anti-drug campaign, Duterte divulged to the media that NBP prisoners Peter Co and Herbert Colangco were the sources of shabu of big-time drug lords operating in IloIlo, Cebu, Leyte and Pangasinan.The President even said Sen. Leila de Lima was part of the drug business of Co and Colangco.De Lima is detained at the Philippine National Police Custodial Center in Camp Crame in Quezon City as she and other former government officials and drug lords were charged with drug offenses before the Muntinlupa City Regional Trial Court.Also last year, Duterte presented to the media a drug matrix where Pangasinan provincial government officials were linked to de Lima’s drug connection at the NBP.Among these officials were Amado Espino, former Pangasinan governor and now one of the six congressmen from the province in the House of Representatives.Espino denied the accusation.Duterte later on corrected himself, saying the former governor was innocent.He and Espino are long-time friends.Carreon said there is “no confirmation” that there is a shabu-manufacturing machine inside the NBP.Previous media reports said the NBP drug lords have their own shabu-making equipment inside the national penitentiary.“The usual modus [operandi] is that people [drug lords] from inside the NBP call the shots using gadgets [such as] wifi, then they contact couriers who get the item [shabu] from their warehouse,” Carreon said.He added that PDEA agents assigned to the case are still trying to pinpoint the exact location of the shabu warehouse of the NBP drug lords.Carreon’s information to The Manila Times appeared to be a concrete proof that the NBP remains a principal source of shabu despite a serious and bloody campaign against illegal drugs under the Duterte administration.The President’s critics assert that there are more than 14,000 drug suspects, including a few mayors, who were killed in police operations.With the return of the Philippine National Police to the anti-drug campaign, Duterte’s critics, including the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, expressed alarm that the bloody crackdown on drug suspects will also return, especially now that the President has asked for one more year to end the drug menace in the country.

['Nelson Badilla']

2017-12-12 21:09:32+00:00

https://www.manilatimes.net/nbp-drug-lords-still-top-shabu-suppliers/368259/

Manila Times

40% of OVP budget for poor unspent

Vice President Leni Robredo spent only about 60 percent of the budget that was given to her office in 2016 to help poor Filipinos, the Commission on Audit (COA) reported.In its annual audit report for 2016, COA said Robredo spent only P130.7 million of her P220 million financial assistance budget.The COA said the underspending led to “undelivered services.”In the second half of 2016, COA said the Office of the Vice President (OVP) extended medical and burial aid to 10,892 beneficiaries.Robredo’s staff blamed the underspending on several factors, like manpower shortage and technical requirements.They said indigents in provinces would need to travel long distances to apply for aid at the OVP.But COA also noted that low absorptive capacity was not unique to the OVP.

['Dj Yap']

07/11/2017 0:00

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/910059/40-of-ovp-budget-for-poor-unspent

Inquirer

Airport workers honored, admonished

BEING GRADED poorly by a Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) official was probably the last thing airport workers expected in a ceremony intended to honor their good deeds.Among the awardees during Monday’s flag-raising ceremony were a security guard who returned a trolley bag containing $3,025 (approximately P144,000) and P53,000 in cash; two maintenance workers who turned over bags with nearly P250,000, also in cash; and a security screening officer, who helped intercept a passenger carrying 500 grams of “shabu” (methamphetamine hydrochloride).The MIAA senior assistant general manager, Vicente Guerzon Jr., took the commendation ceremony for over 70 employees as a chance to deliver his valedictory, including his evaluation of what happened at Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) in the past five years.Guerzon’s stint ended along with that of MIAA General Manager Jose Angel Honrado, an appointee of President Aquino.‘Barely passed’On a scale of 1 to 10, Guerzon gave the attitude and work ethic of Naia employees a “3.”“Barely passed,” he said in his speech, clarifying that it was his own assessment of developments at the airport in the past five years.“I have barely five months, or to be exact 151 days, to be with you. This is my last opportunity to deliver a message,” Guerzon said.He categorized workers into three groups: Those willing and able; very able but unwilling; and unwilling and unable.Guerzon explained that those willing and able “love the job and are committed to it and have passion for MIAA.” They are reliable workers, he said.The second group of “very able but unwilling” are “competent but their motivation for work is personal and selfish,” he said.“They work for their own good, own interest and to cover their tracks,” he said.Guerzon said that the last category were the fence-sitters—those who go with the flow of things and care nothing for Naia.“It is up to you to choose which group you belong to,” he told the MIAA workers.In giving his “3” rating, Guerzon explained that the “majority of MIAA personnel have the propensity to procrastinate.”While the workers received a generally poor grade, he was all praise for the development of facilities, infrastructure and operations at Naia—to which he gave a “9” for “excellent.”He assessed overall the MIAA’s performance in the past five years as an outstanding “8.”‘We survived’In his message and basic appraisal of Honrado’s leadership, Guerzon put it in two words: “We survived.” Then he thanked the workers for making his stint at MIAA memorable.At Monday’s commendation ceremony, less than half of the 79 awardees—most of them security guards, shuttle drivers, maintenance workers, Office for Transportation Security (OTS) personnel and public affairs office employees—were present.Among those cited were security guard Wilson Bagarra, assigned at Naia Terminal 1, who returned a trolley bag with nearly P200,000 in dollars and pesos left behind on Jan. 8 at the arrival area; and Jennilyn Cruz, a janitress at Terminal 3, who turned over a sling bag containing P96,060 in cash and a computer tablet which she found on Dec. 4 last year.Also cited was janitor Christian Almoguera, assigned at Naia Terminal 4, who recovered on Dec. 28, 2015, a pouch with 350,000 yen (approximately P138,000) and P19,000 in cash from the departure area and who gave it back to its owner.Similarly cited was a security screening officer, Adrin Tampoco, of the OTS, who helped catch last Dec. 9 a departing passenger with 500 grams of shabu in his baggage at the initial security checkpoint of Naia Terminal 3 departure area.

['Jeannette I. Andrade']

2017-08-14 22:04:41+00:00

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/760662/airport-workers-honored-admonished

Inquirer

Wanted: 10,000 policemen to battle terrorists

The country lacks policemen and a massive recruitment for them in part to fight terrorists is underway, Acting Secretary Catalino Cuy of the Department of the Interior and Local Government told the Philippine Councilors’ League (PCL) recently.“We really lack policemen. That is why there is an ongoing massive recruitment for [new members of the Philippine National Police [PNP] but we cannot go beyond 10,000 [policemen]. Our training facilities will be too burdened if we go beyond that number,” Cuy said.The PCL brought up the issue, saying the ideal police-to-population ratio has not been attained yet.It noted a shortage of jail personnel and firefighters in the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) and the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP).“Two-thousand recruits would be processed in the BFP, while we will get additional 1,000 recruits for the BJMP,” Cuy said.Assistant Director Vivian Suansing of Bureau of Local Government Supervision said the councilors’ league supports the “massive recruitment” because terrorism is a major concern in the country.“We added one more thing . So it is not just the campaign against drugs, corruption and criminality but, this time, ‘violent extremism [as a driving force behind the massive recruitment of policemen],’” Suansing added.

['Rj Carbonell']

2017-08-14 22:04:41+00:00

https://www.manilatimes.net/wanted-10000-policemen-battle-terrorists/344438/

Manila Times

Drop in chikungunya cases in PH reported

The Department of Health (DoH)-Epidemiology Bureau recorded a reduction of more than half of chikungunya cases nationwide from January 1 to November 4, 2017.In a report, the DoH said 2,025 cases have been recorded in the country, or a 64.9 percent decrease from the same period last year with 5,771 cases.Majority of the cases came from Central Luzon (34.5 percent), Calabarzon (22.2 percent), Bicol Region (12.1 percent), Mimaropa (10.6 percent) and Eastern Visayas (7.2 percent).Calabarzon is composed of the provinces of Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon.Mindoro (Oriental and Occidental), Marinduque, Romblon and Palawan make up Mimaropa.Provinces most affected are Aurora (29.28 percent), Masbate (11.65 percent), Batangas (7.60 percent), Romblon (7.41 percent) and Leyte (7.21 percent).Cases range from the ages of 1 to 95, with most cases being women (61.1 percent).Most cases came from the 25-29 age group.Four deaths were recorded.Chikungunya or chikingunya fever is a disease that resembles dengue, which occurs especially in parts of Africa, India and southeastern Asia, and is caused by a virus of the genus Alphavirus transmitted by mosquitoes.

['Kenneth Hare Hernandez']

2017-12-28 19:55:49+00:00

https://www.manilatimes.net/drop-chikungunya-cases-ph-reported/371010/

Manila Times

Concern grows for 150 migrants stuck on ship for 10th day

Concerns mounted Saturday about the medical and psychological health of 150 migrants who were spending their 10th day stuck aboard an Italian coast guard ship while the government insists that other European Union nations must take them.After an onboard visit to the Diciotti coast guard ship, which is docked in Catania, Sicily, 16 migrants were reportedly ordered taken off for medical reasons, including two with suspected tuberculosis.The standoff prompted an impassioned appeal by the U.N. refugee agency’s chief to Italy to let them disembark and to EU countries to take responsibility for the asylum-seekers, most of them young men fleeing harsh conditions in Eritrea.U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi, speaking in Geneva, said it’s time to end a “race to the bottom on who can take the least responsibility for people rescued at sea.”He urged European countries “to do the right thing and offer places of asylum for people rescued from the Mediterranean Sea in their time of need.”But Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini has been adamant that the migrants be kept on the ship until fellow EU nations pledge to take them.Meanwhile, Sicily-based prosecutors took their investigation of the migrant standoff to Rome. Prosecutor Luigi Patronaggio on Saturday reportedly questioned several Interior Ministry officials at the Italian capital’s prosecutors’ office.Prosecutors could decide to investigate suspected kidnapping, after the government’s rights office for detained persons concluded this week that the migrants were being unjustly held by the governmentSalvini, who leads the anti-migrant League party, has said he’s ready to defend his reasons for ordering the migrants kept aboard.“If someone wants to investigate me, investigate me,” Salvini tweeted.Prosecutors would have to seek the government’s permission to question a minister.Local Italian Red Cross official Stefano Principato told reporters that Italy’s health minister ordered an inspection of sanitary conditions for the migrants, who have been sleeping on the ship’s deck and coping since Aug. 16 with a baking sun and limited toilet facilities.After the inspection, Catania’s maritime health office ordered immediate disembarking for all 11 women aboard and five of the men, including two with suspected tuberculosis, the Italian news agency ANSA reported.Doctors have said many of the migrants on the ship have scabies but “more than a health emergency, it would be better to speak of a psychological emergency,” Principato said.Many of the migrants, including 27 unaccompanied minors who were allowed to disembark earlier in the week, have told Italian authorities they endured beatings and other cruelties while in Libyan detention facilities for months or even years, waiting to leave in human traffickers’ unseaworthy boats toward Europe.At least they have reached a European port. The International Organization for Migration says over 1,520 people have died so far this year trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea to get to Europe.

[]

25/08/2018 0:00

https://news.mb.com.ph/2018/08/25/concern-grows-for-150-migrants-stuck-on-ship-for-10th-day/

Manila Bulletin

Zambo City solon ready to wage new fight vs Moro ‘superstate’

In the last Congress, Zamboanga City Rep. Celso Lobregat had vigorously opposed the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL).Now he seems ready to wage the same battle.On Wednesday, Lobregat raised fears that the BBL might create a “superstate” in Mindanao that would reap more rights and resources than other Philippine substates to be formed under pending federalism measures in Congress.“This is probably why we need to tackle federalism first before ARMM (Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao), because if we tackle ARMM first before federalism, what will happen when they become a state?” he said.“They will become a superstate,” said Lobregat, the most vocal critic of earlier versions of BBL in the previous Congress.The Mindanao congressman made his sentiments known during Wednesday’s hearing of a subcommittee of the House constitutional amendments panel discussing models to federalize the Philippines.He said one issue that might complicate the federalism measure was the case of ARMM, which would be replaced by a new self-governing body under the BBL.Based on the draft submitted by the Bangsamoro Transition Council to President Duterte, the BBL has been officially filed as a bill by House leaders. It is poised to undergo committee deliberations once referred in plenary.Possible end to conflictThe measure will give flesh to peace agreements signed by the government and Moro rebels and is hoped to end decades of fighting in Muslim-majority areas of Mindanao.The BBL was well on its way to passage at the House during the Aquino administration but was derailed in the fallout of the Mamasapano incident in January 2015, when 44 Special Action Force men were killed in clashes with insurgents.On the other hand, the House constitutional amendments committee is deliberating on two federalism measures that seek to give greater autonomy and resources to new regional governments, including the envisioned Bangsamoro area.Lobregat suggested that this might pose problems, particularly in revenue collection.“ARMM was sort of created so there will be more autonomy, but what has happened? Even if you now have ARMM and the Bangsamoro, they cannot stand on their own. There are hardly any taxes collected in ARMM provinces,” he said.Subsidize ARMM?“So what will happen? It will be now the federal government subsidizing ARMM as usual for the next how many years. Again. And if you look at the present BBL, what they’re asking now is 6 percent of total [tax] collections, not four. Before it was four, now it’s six,” Lobregat said.He said a P100-billion development fund was to be set aside for the new Bangsamoro region besides a block grant.But Jonathan Malaya, executive director of the PDP-Laban Federalism Institute, did not agree with Lobregat.“First of all, there are signed peace agreements already with the various fronts, like those with MILF (Moro Islamic Liberation Front), MNLF (Moro National Liberation Front). You can’t set those aside,” he told the Inquirer.Malaya said the BBL would fit perfectly within his group’s federal system model.“We call that asymmetric. [The Bangsamoro region] won’t be the same [as the other regions],” he said.“They have deep reasons for their struggle. It’s not simply about resource allocation or their culture. It’s about historical injustice as mentioned by the President. Those deep reasons have to be respected. For us, we can continue the BBL, however it happens,” he said.

['Dj Yap']

2017-04-27 23:30:40+08:00

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/936364/zambo-city-solon-ready-to-wage-new-fight-vs-moro-superstate

Inquirer

Juicy posts for LP turncoats

JUICY posts await certain reelected members of the House of Representatives who switch allegiance from the Liberal Party (LP) to PDP-Laban—the political party of presumptive President-elect Rodrigo Duterte.Erstwhile LP stalwart Ilocos Norte Rep. Rodolfo Fariñas, for instance, took his oath as a PDP-Laban member in preparation for his assumption as majority leader of the House of Representatives.Another former LP member who took his oath as a PDP-Laban member was Camarines Sur Rep. Rolando Andaya Jr., who is reportedly being groomed to assume his old post as chair of the powerful House appropriations committee.A political butterfly like many of his colleagues, Andaya switched from the LP to the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC) in October last year in preparation for the 2016 elections.80 LP membersA number of LP members are jumping ship as some 80-90 of the 116 members of President Aquino’s political party in the House wanted to join the incoming Duterte administration’s Coalition for Change to be part of the majority but would like to remain affiliated with the LP.A smaller number of LP members are expected to become the House minority and stick it out with Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr., who has already conceded the speakership fight to incoming Davao del Norte Rep. Pantaleon Alvarez of PDP-Laban, Duterte’s anointed Speaker.But Alvarez was adamant that all House members joining the Coalition for Change switch to PDP-Laban, like Fariñas and Andaya.“It will be best if they join PDP-Laban,” said Alvarez, who noted that it would be awkward if the LP would lead the House minority while the bulk of its members were allied with the majority.Belmonte appealed to Alvarez on Monday that LP members who would align with PDP-Laban be allowed to remain as members of the LP, according to outgoing Majority Leader Neptali Gonzales II.Belmonte noted that this was the same deal that Alvarez had given to other coalition partners, such as the NPC, according to Gonzales.“This is not uncharted territory. There have been instances in the past when members belonging to the same party were aligned with the minority and majority at the same time,” Gonzales said.READ: 80 LP members hop on Rody bandwagonTalk with AlvarezGonzales said Belmonte had spoken with Alvarez on Monday morning before at least 71 LP members met at the office of the Speaker to discuss a plan to express support for Duterte’s administration and their commitment to back Alvarez as the next Speaker.Speaking on behalf of Belmonte who declined to talk to the press, Gonzales said the Speaker spoke about the importance of being an ally of the incoming President.Based on their plan, between 80-90 LP members are expected to join the Coalition for Change with Belmonte, his loyal allies in Quezon City districts and a handful of other LP members sliding down to the minority in the next Congress.The LP members signed a manifesto supporting Duterte and Alvarez.READ: LP backs Alvarez’s Speaker bidMinority leaderBelmonte has not made a commitment to stand as minority leader for the LP in the next Congress, leading to speculation that returning Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman would play the role.Lagman said returning to his role as minority leader was indeed an option for him.“But the situation is still fluid. An option hangs until it becomes a choice,” Lagman said in a text message.Returning Quezon Rep. Danilo Suarez said that Lakas-CMD and the United Nationalist Alliance would also vie for the minority leadership post.By tradition, the loser in the speakership race automatically assumes the mantle of minority leader.Alvarez’s requirement that LP members joining the coalition swear allegiance to PDP-Laban would decimate the LP.Visayas blocSeveral LP members, including those belonging to the Visayas bloc, earlier declared support for the incoming Duterte administration and the speakership bid of Alvarez.Earlier, several parties signed coalition agreements with PDP-Laban. These included the Nacionalista Party, National Unity Party (NUP), NPC, Lakas-CMD and several party-list groups.Representatives Francisco Matugas of Surigao del Norte and Franz Alvarez of Palawan, until recently LP members, joined Fariñas and Andaya in the oath-taking as PDP-Laban members.Fariñas said he was honored to be invited to Duterte’s party.“With the resounding victory of Mayor Digong, even in my province and district, we have to respect this mandate to lead our country in the next six years and support his (Duterte’s) administration,” he said.Fariñas, however, refused to comment on what position he would get in the 17th Congress.PDP-Laban has only three elected members in the 17th Congress—Erik Martinez of Valenzuela, Jun Papandayan of Lanao del Sur, and Alvarez—all of whom have little experience in running a committee much less the entire Congress.READ: LP members to align with PDP-LabanFariñas and Andaya would provide the experience and political savvy for Duterte to ensure that his priority bills—shift to federalism and reimposing the death penalty—would be fast-tracked.The coalition with PDP-Laban is expected to be formalized within the week, said Capiz Rep. Emmanuel Billones, a close political ally of defeated LP standard-bearer Mar Roxas.Iloilo City Rep. Jerry Treñas and Billones said they were among the LP lawmakers who attended a meeting led by Belmonte at Batasang Pambansa on Monday morning when the move to join the Coalition for Change was agreed upon.Treñas said that even with the forging of a coalition with PDP-Laban, it would be up to LP members whether they would join Duterte’s party.In Western Visayas, an LP bailiwick for the past six years, all 11 congressional district representatives have voiced support for the new administration and Alvarez.

['Gil C. Cabacungan', 'Nestor P. Burgos Jr.', 'Victor Anthony V. Silva']

2017-04-27 23:30:40+08:00

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/787188/juicy-posts-for-lp-turncoats

Inquirer

Junk SolGen quo warranto petition, Sereno tells SC

Resorting to a quo warranto petition to take out an impeachable public official is akin to supplanting the 1987 Constitution and existing jurisprudence, Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno told her Supreme Court colleagues on Monday.Sereno pleaded with her fellow magistrates to block the attempt of Solicitor General Jose Calida to unseat her through an administrative complaint for lack of merit and jurisdiction.More than two weeks after she was forced to take an indefinite break by her peers, the Chief Justice answered Calida’s pleading, which challenged the legality of her appointment in 2012.Only by impeachmentSereno argued that Section 2, Article XI of the Constitution, unequivocally states that all members of the country’s highest judicial body may only be removed through an impeachment proceeding in Congress, like all other impeachable government officers.“[T]he Chief Justice deserves her day in court before the Senate sitting as an impeachment tribunal,” Sereno said in a 77-page comment filed by her lawyer, Justine Mendoza.“To rule otherwise, and to preempt the impeachment process by summarily ousting the Chief Justice via quo warranto, would be tantamount to overthrowing the Constitution itself,” she argued, adding that the Supreme Court had “consistently applied this provision as a limitation on its power to remove public officers.”“[The court] cannot take cognizance of or give due course to [Calida’s petition] without running afoul of the plain dictates of the fundamental law and established judicial precedents,” she stressed.The Chief Justice also turned the tables on one of her accusers, Supreme Court Associate Justice Teresita Leonardo-De Castro, who testified against her in the impeachment hearings held by the House of Representatives’ justice committee.According to Sereno, De Castro was among the 13 candidates who failed to present all their statements of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN) to the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) when they applied for the top judicial post.JBC authoritySereno insisted that the JBC had the authority to relax the requirement on complete SALNs.Besides De Castro, she said retired Associate Justices Roberto Abad and Arturo Brion, Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio (now the acting Chief Justice), former law deans Raul Pangalangan and Amado Valdez, and San Juan City Rep. Ronaldo Zamora also failed to submit all their SALNs to the JBC.Nonetheless, Sereno maintained that she was able to fully disclose her real wealth while she was a law professor at the University of the Philippines before she was appointed to serve on the Supreme Court as associate justice in 2010 and as Chief Justice of the Philippines two years later by then President Benigno Aquino III.She chided the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) for claiming that she failed to prove her integrity when she allegedly did not present all her SALNs to the JBC.The Chief Justice said she was ready to controvert this allegation, which was not originally in the impeachment complaint filed by lawyer Lorenzo Gadon, in her impending trial in the Senate.Moreover, she reiterated that only the JBC was mandated by the Constitution to vet the qualifications of those applying for positions in the judiciary and that “such question is a purely political one.”“There is no authority for the judicial review of a purely political question as the OSG cannot substitute its judgment for the discretion of the JBC to include a name [on] the short list for the position of Chief Justice,” she said.“[C]ertainly the OSG cannot overturn the then President’s decision to appoint [me] to that position,” she added.Belated petitionSereno also argued that Section 11, Rule 66 of the Rules of Court, which spell out the process in filing a quo warranto petition, clearly mandates that such pleading should be brought “within one year from the ‘cause of ouster.’”The justices, she said, should outrightly junk Calida’s petition for being brought beyond the allowable period.“There is no authority to commence a quo warranto proceeding more than four years after the expiration of the one-year statute of limitations,” she said.

['Marlon Ramos']

04/05/2018 0:00

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/976590/junk-solgen-quo-warranto-petition-sereno-tells-sc

Inquirer

Malolos Bishop Oliveros dies after lingering illness

Bulacan province mourned the loss on Friday of Malolos Bishop Jose Oliveros who died after a lingering illness at the Mary Immaculate Hospital here.He was 71. Oliveros was the first bishop of the Diocese of Malolos who died in office. A native of Quezon province, he assumed the diocese’s post in August 2004.Born on Sept. 11, 1946, Oliveros was ordained by Pope Paul VI on Nov. 28, 1970, in Rizal Park in Manila.Pope John Paul II appointed him bishop of the Diocese of Boac on Feb. 2, 2000, and was consecrated by Archbishop Antonio Franco, former apostolic nuncio to the Philippines.Oliveros’ remains lie at the Basilica Minore of the Immaculate Concepcion here. Interment is on May 17 after a 9 a.m. Mass

['Philippine Daily Inquirer']

04/05/2018 0:00

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/989703/malolos-bishop-oliveros-dies-after-lingering-illness

Inquirer

Aquino-Wurtzbach meeting ‘closely watched’

AS IN MOST “telenovelas,” the first meeting between former, estranged, or imagined lovers is bound to be tense, avidly awaited and closely watched.“Closely watched” turned out to be the case when Miss Universe 2015 Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach paid a courtesy call on President Aquino in Malacañang on Tuesday morning.The beauty queen and the bachelor President were said to have dated last year, a rumor they had neither confirmed nor denied.But except for that brief nervous moment when the two shook hands and posed side by side as cameras clicked, the couple appeared completely at ease, with Wurtzbach being her usual “confidently beautiful” self.“It’s an honor to be in the presence of the President, of course, especially now that I am here as Miss Universe, bringing home the crown for Filipinos,” a smiling Miss Universe told Palace reporters in a press conference.The President had congratulated her right after she won the crown last Dec. 20, Wurtzbach said, adding that she read his congratulatory message on the government’s official website.5-way conversationSo relaxed were the couple that the courtesy call, originally set for only five minutes, stretched to an hourlong, five-way conversation among Mr. Aquino, Wurtzbach, Bb. Pilipinas Charities Inc. (BPCI) founding director, Stella Marquez-Araneta, Miss Universe president Paula Shugart, and Wurtzbach’s mother, Cheryll Alonzo-Tyndall.While she looked self-conscious in front of the media during the photo-op with Mr. Aquino, Wurtzbach soon found her bearings and had a “warm and engaging, candid and heartfelt” interaction with the President, observed Inquirer Lifestyle editor Thelma Sioson San Juan who was present at the event.“We talked about Miss Universe for a little bit, also what he has been doing, how he’s been doing, how I’ve been doing… He congratulated me [and] I also congratulated him for a successful term,” Wurtzbach said.San Juan said Mr. Aquino also shared with his guests the challenges he faced as the country’s President, while Wurtzbach talked about her experiences so far as Miss Universe and living in New York City, her temporary home during her yearlong reign.Shugart was “equally impressed” with how the conversation turned out, and told San Juan that her own inspiration had been the late President Corazon Aquino, whom she had always wanted to meet. But meeting her son had made her happy, Shugart added.Ideal manPresident Aquino had apparently enjoyed the conversation so much that he seemed unmindful of reminders about his other appointments from his protocol officers, among them personally welcoming Japan’s Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko who were to start their historic five-day visit Tuesday afternoon.In her Albert Andrada pink and white terno, Wurtzbach answered wide-ranging questions from the Malacañang press corps, including the qualities she was seeking in her ideal man.“Smart with a good sense of humor,” she responded.Wurtzbach also said she was “very excited” to be a special correspondent for the US TV show’s Inside Edition, covering the Super Bowl, one of the biggest, if not the biggest, sporting event in America.“I see it as a compliment because they wouldn’t trust me with the microphone if they didn’t think that I could do well or speak [well]. So I think that’s a pretty good sign, a great way [for me to connect] to more people … and [be] recognized not just as a Miss Universe, not just as Pia, but also as a Filipina,” Wurtzbach said.Asked whether it was her heart or head that prevailed when she tackled the Miss Universe question and answer portion, the beauty queen said: “I have the thought in my head but I don’t memorize it word per word. That’s not how I do it. So, when I answered ‘confidently beautiful with a heart,’ that just came to me at that moment and, you know, luckily, it was a hit,” she said.Election reminderShe also had a reminder about the coming elections: “I hope that we elect the right people because it’s going to shape the country for the next couple of years, so it’s very important… You should vote for people you are at ease with… It should not be a hasty decision,” she said.To keep herself grounded, Wurtzbach said she always talked to everybody. “I try not to make it all about me, just about me. I want to get involved with other people as well and talk to them and communicate with them.”Rare quorumAlso on Tuesday, the House of Representatives achieved a rare quorum when Wurtzbach appeared to receive her congressional medal of distinction for winning the country’s only third Miss Universe title in 42 years.The 26-year-old beauty queen was mobbed by House members, staff and media every step of the way, with many of them asking for selfies. Session was suspended in the chamber to give way to lawmakers who wished to personally greet her.The House ways and means committee also approved on Tuesday a resolution seeking to exempt Wurtzbach from paying some P4 million in taxes for her Miss Universe winnings.Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. presented the medal to Wurtzbach, the highest honor that the House can bestow on exemplary individuals.In response, the beauty queen said: “I know that the welfare of the country is always on your mind in making laws. On that note, we have the same inspiration—the Philippines.”

['Nikko Dizon']

04/05/2018 0:00

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/759060/aquino-wurtzbach-meeting-closely-watched

Inquirer

Palestinians head to Gaza-Israel border for weekly protests

Thousands of Palestinians staged a sixth weekly protest Friday near Gaza’s border with Israel, some throwing stones and burning tires as Israeli soldiers fired live rounds and volleys of tear gas from across the border fence.Gaza’s ruling Hamas group, which has organized the marches, has said the protests might culminate in a mass breach of the border fence later this month.By late afternoon Friday, at least 40 protesters had been hurt by live fire or tear gas, according to Gaza health officials who did not provide a breakdown. Since late March, 39 protesters have been killed and more than 1,700 wounded by Israeli fire.

[]

04/05/2018 0:00

https://news.mb.com.ph/2018/05/04/palestinians-head-to-gaza-israel-border-for-weekly-protests/

Manila Bulletin

More time requested on EO on ‘endo’ tack

PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte has asked for more time to study an Executive Order (EO) drafted by labor groups that seeks to eliminate labor contracting amid alleged threats by foreign investors to pull out if changes will be effected in the existing labor policy, also known as ‘endo’ or end of contract.The President on Wednesday met with leaders of the labor groups from various ideoogical backgrounds in Malacañang, who were all expecting Duterte to sign the EO that would put a stop to contractualization and other schemes that employers use to avoid regularizing workers.Luis Manuel Corral, vice president, Trade Union Congress of the Philippines, dislcosed on Thursday that Duterte appealed to give him another chance to study the draft EO so that he could clearly address the concerns of foreign investors.Based on what the President said, Corral said, the investors appear to be threatening to pull out their investments if changes were made in the country’s labor relations.“He told us that the [foreign] investors were not used to this kind of prohibition on contracting and sub-contracting because the norm worldwide, based on their experience, is that contracting and sub-contracting [are] normal,” he said.“This is what the President fears, that it would become a deal breaker and the investors would pull out. That is why he appealed to us to give him more time,” Corral added.He quoted the President as saying, “I have to educate these people. I’m actually worried that they will pull out.”But the President, according to Corral, has assured them that he wanted the issue on contractualization to be acted upon within the year even as the labor leaders said a decision has to be made soonest because it has been long overdue and the workers are already restive.“He [President] has not pulled out of the commitment. He did not ask the language to be changed, he did not comment on the language of the EO,” he said.The draft EO is entitled Implemnting the Prohibition of Contractualization Under Article 106 of the Labor Code of the Philippines, as amended to Protect the Right to Security of Tenure of all Workers Based on Social Justice Enshrined in the 1987 Philippine Constitution.The salient point was in Section 2.It states, “Contracting or sub-contracting when undertaken to circumvent the worker’s rights to security of tenure, self-organization and collective bargaining and peaceful concerted activities pursuant to the 1987 Philippine Constitution is hereby strictly prohibited. Security of tenure refers to the direct hiring relationship between the principal employer and employee.”Corral pointed out that they have abandoned their earlier stance of total ban on contracting and sub-contracting, saying they were amenable to certain forms of work contracting or sub-contracting.The draft EO was submitted by the labor groups to Malacanang on May 9, 2017 on instructions of the President after their Labor Day meeting in Davao City.

['William Depasupil']

2018-02-09 00:00:00+00:00

https://www.manilatimes.net/time-requested-eo-endo-tack/379062/

Manila Times

Israeli forces begin evacuation of West Bank outpost

a position that has wide international backing. Much of the territory has deep religious and historical significance for many devout Jews, who see it as their biblical heartland and heritage.The election of Donald Trump, who has promised to be far more supportive of Israel than his predecessor, has emboldened Israel’s settlement movement. His campaign platform made no mention of a Palestinian state, a cornerstone of two decades of international diplomacy in the region, and he has signaled that he will be far more tolerant of Israeli settlement construction.

[]

01/02/2017 0:00

https://news.mb.com.ph/2017/02/01/israeli-forces-begin-evacuation-of-west-bank-outpost/

Manila Bulletin

Dengue fever cases down 64 percent in Central Visayas

Dengue fever cases in Central Visayas dropped significantly in the first five months of the year, the regional office of the Department of Health (DOH) reported.From January 1 to June 2, 2018, a total of 2,320 dengue fever cases and 19 deaths were reported and recorded by the region’s disease reporting units (DRUs), said Dr. Ronald Jarvik Buscato, DOH-7 dengue health program coordinator.The number of cases this year represents a 64 percent decline from dengue fever cases in the first foive months of 2017, which reached 6,373 and 66 deaths.Majority of the cases were recorded in Cebu City (22.4 percent), followed by Lapu-Lapu City (10.3 percent), Mandaue City (7.2 percent) , Minglanilla town (3.1 percent) and Dumaguete City (2.6 percent).Buscato said 52.4 percent of the victims are males, and 47.6 percent are females.Buscato said commonly affected by dengue are those in the 6-10 and 21-and-above age groups.The significant decrease is attributed to the four 4’oclock habit and the 4s strategies.“We have enhanced our vector surveillance and continued the four (4) o’clock habit and 4S strategy,” said Buscato.The four o’clock habit is a strategy that mobilizes communities to take time out to search and destroy the breeding places of mosquitoes at 4 p.m. everyday.The 4S strategy in dengue prevention stands for Search and destroy the possible breeding place of Aedes aegypti, Seek early consultation, Self-protective measures and Say no to indiscriminate fogging.(with a report from CNU Intern Sharon Rose Flores)

[]

10/06/2018 0:00

https://news.mb.com.ph/2018/06/10/dengue-fever-cases-down-64-percent-in-central-visayas/

Manila Bulletin

No ‘Flores de Mayo’ but antityranny protest in UP

Instead of wearing flowers in their hair and silken gowns like those worn by beauty queens in the traditional “Flores de Mayo” (Flowers of May), the five women wore signs of injustice as they paraded around the Sunken Garden on the campus of the University of the Philippines Diliman on Saturday in what organizers called “Protesta de Mayo Laban sa Tiraniya” (May Protest Against Tyranny).Eleanor de Guzman, daughter of detained National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) consultant Rafael Baylosis and partner of Tondo trade union organizer Marklen Maojo Maga, marched as “Reina de la Justicia” (Queen of Justice).Dressed in black and gold and carrying scales, De Guzman represented the sufferings of political prisoners under the Duterte administration who, according to organizers, had been illegally and arbitrarily arrested on trumped-up charges.Instead of flowers, she wore a headdress designed like a sunburst, representing the struggle of the oppressed, and the shackles that bound her hands stood for the persecution of those who stood for truth and justice.“It’s different when you are an advocate for human rights and a victim yourself. I was really in shock. I broke down. I cried,” De Guzman told the Inquirer as she processed.“But I know this is not the end, especially that I see the support of the people. This is part of a bigger fight . . . for human rights against tyranny . . . The only way to overcome this is to fight,” she said.‘Stop the killings’With De Guzman, a UP graduate, was her 9-year-old son Julius Raphael Li, who wore a Katipunero costume.“We want to show the truth, to stop the killings, to [free] political prisoners . . . They are innocent. This was done to them to make their families suffer,” the boy said.De Guzman called for the immediate release of all political prisoners, including her father and partner who were arrested earlier this year.She denounced the filing of fake charges against activists and peace advocates to silence them, and expressed hope the resumption of peace talks between the government and the NDFP in June would deal with the roots of conflict and lead to compliance with signed agreements for the pursuit of a just and lasting peace.Deborah Escudero marched as “Reina de los Martires” (Queen of Martyrs), wearing a blood-spattered gown with a bullet hole in the chest and a yellow sash slung over her right shoulder marked “Police Line Do Not Cross,” representing the fight for justice for the victims of alleged extrajudicial killings in President Rodrigo Duterte’s brutal war on drugs, including her 18-year-old brother, Ephraim.“It hurts up to now,” Escudero said after the procession.She denied that her brother was into drugs. “But even people who really use drugs do not deserve to be killed. They are human beings,” she said.‘They are human beings’She said joining the protest at UP was her own way of pressing for justice for her brother, who left behind two children aged 3 and 2.Miranda Dacillo marched as “Reina de Verdad” (Queen of Truth), her mouth gagged, representing slain journalists, while Maria Teresa Omano paraded as “Reina Esperanza” (Queen of Hope) on behalf of development workers, peace advocates and activists who had been listed by the government as terrorists.Gleeza Joy Alvarez, a “lumad” teenager, marched as “Reina de la Paz” (Queen of Peace), representing the people of Mindanao and their calls for an end to martial law on their home island.Maria Sol Taule, a lawyer for the human rights group Karapatan, designed and handpainted the gowns of Omano and Alvarez.Omano’s gown had the image of the revolutionary leader Gabriela Silang on the skirt, intended to show that activism is not a crime, Taule said.The gown of Alvarez had prints depicting the indigenous peoples’ struggle for peace and symbolizing their right to their ancestral land and self-determination, she said.‘Babae Ako, Lalaban Ako’Organized by human rights groups Karapatan and Hustisya, the protest, according to Karapatan secretary general Cristina Palabay, was part of “Babae Ako, Lalaban Ako” campaign against the President’s “misogyny and sexism.”Palabay said Saturday’s event was the third Protesta de Mayo to be held since the administration of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

['Jodee A. Agoncillo']

2017-06-22 13:13:47+08:00

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/994802/no-flores-de-mayo-but-antityranny-protest-in-up

Inquirer

COA: BFAR boats poorly maintained

The Commission on Audit (COA) has found that some patrol boats of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) could not be used due to poor maintenance caused by lack of funding, while other vessels were misused for tourism activities.In its 2017 annual audit report, the COA urged the BFAR to monitor the local government’s use of patrol boats and provide adequate budget for their immediate repair.The COA found that of the 14 fisheries management patrol vessels for monitoring, control and surveillance, seven had no operational navigational and communications equipment.CompromisedThe vessels were procured in 2001.Auditors pointed out that the safety of the crew conducting surveillance operations in the high seas “may be compromised or at risk.”“Any distress signals cannot be received/sent as the VHF/UHF all mode transceivers were not operational. In case the operating auxiliary machinery had bogged down during the operations, their mission will not be pursued, as there was no available [boat],” the COA said.On the practical side, the COA pointed out that the failure to spend on the boats’ maintenance would only put to waste the loan payments made by the government.The COA report also assessed the status of 43 patrol boats procured from 2009 to 2011 under the United States’ Public Law 480 program.Used for tourismThe US government funded the boats’ acquisition for local governments’ food security.But five of these boats were used for tourism activities, aside from their original purpose of enforcing fishery laws and conducting coastal resource management activities. The COA did not identify the local governments that misused the boats.Auditors said this was “contrary” to the memorandum of agreement’s provision requiring the beneficiary local governments to use the boats “exclusively” for activities related to fishery laws, coastal resource management and disaster relief operations.The COA also found that four local governments

['Vince F. Nonato']

03/11/2016 0:00

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1033113/coa-bfar-boats-poorly-maintained

Inquirer

Hospital group seeks justice for slain doc

The Philippine Hospital Association (PHA) condemned the murder of Dr. George Repique Jr., the Cavite provincial health officer who was gunned down on Tuesday in Trece Martires City.In a statement, the organization urged authorities to conduct a thorough and speedy investigation on the killing of Repique, who served as Cavite’s provincial health officer for seven years.“We demand swift retributive justice for our beloved colleague, not only to give his life of service no less than what it deserves and a peace [to] his family,” said PHA president Dr. Jesus Jardin.Jardin said ensuring justice for Repique would also “make a firm stance for physicians and all the health professionals working tirelessly for the underprivileged.”Repique was shot dead by motorcycle-riding gunmen in Trece Martires City on Tuesday evening, the third government physician to be killed this year.In March, Dr. Dreyfus Perlas was gunned down in Kapatagan, Lanao del Norte while ophthalmologist Dr. Sajid “Jaja” Sinolinding was killed in Cotabato City in April.The PHA condemned “in the strongest terms” the death of Repique, whom they described as a “progressive, strong-willed person” and a “compassionate physician and educator.”For its part, the Department of Health extended its sympathies to Repique’s family as Health secretary Paulyn Jean Ubial expressed her grief over the murder.“We have lost yet another dedicated health worker and I am extremely saddened by the fact that he was the third victim in a row after the still unresolved killings early this year,” Ubial said in a statement.The health secretary also appealed to local government units to offer better protection to its doctors and health workers.“We ask our local governments to please protect our doctors and health workers! Help them so they can serve you better,” Ubial said.

['Julie M. Aurelio']

03/11/2016 0:00

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/914237/hospital-group-seeks-justice-for-slain-doc

Inquirer

Bulacan wins best LGU in coop dev’t

The Cooperative Development Authority has awarded Bulacan’s Provincial Cooperative and Enterprise Development Office (PCEDO) the Best Performing Local Government Unit-Cooperative Development Office (provincial level) in the recent Gawad Parangal 2016 held in Makati City.Governor Wilhelmino M. Sy-Alvarado said the province has always been supportive to the cooperative development programs of the province and continuously gives out complete package of enterprise services.“We have been supportive of the 278 cooperatives/associations, granting them P18.9 million in funds under the ‘Tulong ni Gob sa Negosyo ng Koop’ (NegosKoop), a loan assistance program that has been extended to 200 MSEs (micro and small enterprises) which has reached P6.98 million,” Alvarado said.The CDA also cited both as third placers, the San Jose Del Monte Savings and Credit and Coop from the City of San Jose Del Monte was recognized as the Most Outstanding Primary Cooperative for the large-scale category and the Bagong Barrio MPC from Pandi for the medium scale category.Meanwhile, the PCEDO has also recognized outstanding cooperatives with notable contributions in the economic development of the province at the close of the observance of Cooperative Month.With the theme “Bulacan Cooperative: Exceeding Limits. Sustaining Excellence,” the PCDO honored 29 cooperatives at the Gawad Galing Kooperatiba 2016, citing them for their exemplifying cooperative advancement in their areas of operation.Two cooperatives from the town of Pandi including the Bagong Barrio Multi-Purpose Coop and Paschal Multi-Purpose Coop were hailed as the Gawad Galing Kooperatiba Awardees in Large and Medium-Scale Category while the Umpucan Palay and Vegetable Farmers Multi-Purpose Coop from San Ildefonso was cited as the Gawad Galing Kooperatiba Awardee in Small-Scale Category.

[]

03/11/2016 0:00

https://news.mb.com.ph/2016/11/03/bulacan-wins-best-lgu-in-coop-devt/

Manila Bulletin

Foreign investors to attend Davao meet despite martial law

Organizers of the Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industry Inc. (DCCCII) will push through with the Davao Investment Conference (Davao iCon) on July 21 to 22 where European investors and top executives of the Philippines’s largest companies have committed to participate.Art Millan, chairperson of the Davao iCon who is also a DCCCII trustee, said the businessmen’s two-day gathering will be held as scheduled despite the negative perceptions of the imposition of martial law in Mindanao.“Amid the negative perceptions about the declaration of martial law, we should be in the forefront of showing that nothing has changed and business as usual in Davao,” he said.Martial law in Mindanao was declare at around 10 p.m. on May 23 after skirmishes broke out between government troops and local terrorist Maute Group, who attempted to occupy Marawi City.He said delegations from the British Chamber of Commerce (BCC) and the European Union Chamber of Commerce (EUCC) have already committed to participate in the investment conference.Among the country’s top companies which are expected to participate in the conference include San Miguel Corp., Lafarge Holcim, AboitizPower, MVP Group of Companies, BDO, Landbank of the Philippines, Development Bank of the Philippines, Security Bank, Metrobank, Globe Telecommunications, Anflocor, and 8990 Housing Development Corp.He said they were expecting around 700 participants in the event.Different executives of the local government units and top government officials will also participate, he said.President Rodrigo R. Duterte is expected to grace the second day of the conference.“So far, we have not received any advice of backing out but we, in the organizing committee, is pursuing to proceed with Davao Investment Conference. The one who should allay the fears prevailing in the country with regard to the proclamation of Martial law, it should be us in Davao. We should not fear to define our lives here,” he said.Millan, who is consultant for Mindanao of Aboitiz Equity Ventures, maintained the impact of martial law was short-term, and investors will always look at the long-term opportunities here in Mindanao.

[]

14/06/2017 0:00

https://news.mb.com.ph/2017/06/14/foreign-investors-to-attend-davao-meet-despite-martial-law/

Manila Bulletin

QC cinemas to charge P1 extra

The Quezon City government will impose P1 increase per admission ticket in cinemas for the entire October in support of the Boy Scouts (BSP) and Girl Scouts of the Philippines (GSP)–Quezon City Council. The increase is embodied in two city ordinances filed by Councilor Elizabeth Delarmente mandating that the one-peso increase will go to the BSP and GSP fund for its programs and activities. All cinema owners and operators are required to transmit and turn-over to the BSP and GSP-Quezon City Council the collected proceeds to the City Treasurer’s Office which will then submit a report to the City Council. Fathers of the BSP include Carlos P. Romulo, General Vicente Lim, Gabriel A. Daza, Arsenio N. Luz, Judge Manuel Camus, Jorge B. Vargas and Joseph Emile H. Stevenot.

['The Manila Times']

2017-08-25 21:54:59+00:00

https://www.manilatimes.net/qc-cinemas-charge-p1-extra/346720/

Manila Times

Drilon calls for review of intel fund utilization

Senate minority leader Franklin Drilon on Monday expressed belief there is a need to thoroughly study the government’s utilization of intelligence funds to ascertain where the funds are being used.Drilon made this suggestion following fresh reports of bombing in General Santos City last Sunday, which was followed with another blast a few hours later in North Cotabato.These were the latest bombing incident after the August 28 in Isulan, Sultan Kudarat and in September 2 in the same town.“We need to revisit the utilization of the intelligence budget because the first corner is to see where the intelligence fund is being utilized,” Drilon told reporters in an interview.“And that is why, I think it is about time that we activate the committee on intelligence fund,” said the senator.The minority leader though believes, Senator Gregorio Honasan II, chair of the Senate committee on national defense and security, is already investigating the utilization of intelligence funds.“We should continue. This should be an item for discussion on select committee for intelligence fund to find out behind closed doors how the budget is being utilized,” he said.Asked if he believes martial law is still necessary in Mindanao, Drilon said the “implementation is what is important. This is basically an intelligence work.”But when asked if such incident would work against the possible extension of martial law, Drilon said: “We will discuss it when the time comes.”In his Twitter account, Sen. Panfilo “Ping” Lacson lamented the latest bombing attacks especially after Congress worked hard for the passage of the Bangsamoro Organic Law to fast track the peace process in Mindanao.“With a promise of peace in Mindanao, we burned candles to pass the Bangsamoro Organic Law. That is after we supported the extension of martial law,” Lacson said.“The recent bombings make us doubt if Congress’ cooperation with Malacañang is all worth it. It’s their turn to prove us wrong,” he said. [Hannah L. Torregoza]

[]

17/09/2018 0:00

https://news.mb.com.ph/2018/09/17/drilon-calls-for-review-of-intel-fund-utilization/

Manila Bulletin

Duterte widens break with Reds, declares CPP-NPA terrorists

President Rodrigo Duterte further widened his break with communist insurgents by formally declaring as terrorist organizations the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and its armed wing, the New People’s Army (NPA).The declaration followed the President’s decision to cut all peace negotiations with the rebels, saying he was fed up with their attacks on government forces and civilians.The National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP), the political arm of the CPP, was not included in the proclamation that the President signed on Tuesday, said presidential spokesperson Harry Roque. He did not explain why the group was spared.The Department of Justice has been directed to file the petition in the Regional Trial Court to legally declare the CPP and NPA terrorist organizations under the Human Security Act.Roque said this was “[i]n view of the continued violent acts of the CPP-NPA, which sow and create a condition of widespread and extraordinary fear and panic among the populace.”“It is not automatic that just because the executive has classified the group as a terrorist organization, it will be considered a terrorist organization under the domestic law and under relevant security council resolutions,” he said.The President also directed the Department of Foreign Affairs to publish the designation of CPP-NPA as terrorist organizations.While a court order is needed to legally recognize the groups as terrorists, the President’s proclamation has an effect because the government does not negotiate with terrorists, Roque said.He also said that state forces would be able to go after CPP or NPA members for terrorism if they were committing the predicate crimes listed under the Human Security Act, with the additional element that their act was intended to sow fear and panic in the minds of the public.The government would also go after those providing financial support to terrorist organizations, he said. These include mining firms and other businesses.“Take note that the domestic statute and the UN Security Council prohibit the giving of funds to terrorist organizations. This will enable law enforcement agencies to run after individuals who will, in any way, provide financial support to the NPA now that it has been described as a terrorist organization,” he said.In his proclamation, Mr. Duterte declared the CPP-NPA a designated or identified terrorist organization pursuant to the Terrorism Financing Prevention and Suppression Act of 2012.It defines a terrorist financier as “any person or entity designated and/or identified as a terrorist, one who finances terrorism, or a terrorist organization or group under the applicable United Nations Security Council resolution or by another jurisdiction or supranational jurisdiction.”Roque said the petition to declare the CPP and the NPA terrorist organizations would be subject to a hearing, with the rebel groups to be afforded the chance to argue why they should not be deemed terrorist groups.For purposes of the Human Security Act, the CPP and the NPA would be considered terrorist organizations after the court issued a ruling saying so.ACT Teachers Rep. Antonio Tinio said declaring the CPP and the NPA terrorist organizations would usher in more human rights abuses against critics of the Duterte administration.

['Leila B. Salaverria']

2018-06-13 22:28:40+00:00

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/950187/duterte-widens-break-with-reds-declares-cpp-npa-terrorists

Inquirer

President twits Binay: See your eye doctor

Vice President Jejomar Binay needs to see his optometrist and President Aquino is willing to chip in so the opposition leader can see what the administration has done for Cebu.In his message during a briefing on government projects in the province, Aquino said P22.848 billion had been allocated to Cebu since 2011 for major infrastructure projects, including roads, bridges, flood control, airport improvement, port improvement, irrigation and farm-to-market roads.“Is this what they mean that we have left out and didn’t focus on Cebu?” Aquino said, referring to Binay’s attacks on his administration.Aquino said he could give a copy of the briefer from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to Binay so the Vice President could read it.He said he was willing to chip in to get new glasses so Binay could read the briefer well.“Problem is, those who pretend to be blind will not see anything even if we give them good glasses,” he said.“If they want to live the world that he has created, that is his problem. But a reminder, there is free medical treatment,” he added.Binay’s claimAquino’s rebuke was in answer to Binay’s claim that the national government had failed to provide Cebu its rightful share in national taxes and major infrastructure projects in the last five years.Because of the lack of support from the national government, Binay said Cebu fell in the competitive index from No. 1 to No. 3 next to Davao del Sur and Misamis Oriental.“The infrastructure projects in Cebu are lacking. And because of this, the streets have become narrow due to the traffic. It usually floods here. As a result, the businesses are affected (as well as) the livelihood of people in Cebu,” he said.Binay slammed what he called selective treatment of the Liberal Party, saying that under the present administration, some provinces are luckier than others.He cited the case of Batanes, the home province of Budget Secretary Florencio Abad, which received billions of pesos in national funds.Public Works Secretary Rogelio Singson said several infrastructure projects in Cebu would be completed before the end of President Aquino’s term.These include the widening and concreting of the Mactan Circumferential Road, the rehabilitation of the Serging Osmeña Boulevard Port Corridor and the rehabilitation of the road from Barangay (village) Curva in Medellin town to Barangay Poblacion in Daanbantayan town leading to Maya Port.Aquino inspected the progress of the work on the Mactan Circumferential Road and Serging Osmeña Boulevard Port Corridor before going to the briefing.Run for VP?During the news conference that followed, a reporter asked Aquino about the suggestion of Cavite Rep. Elpidio Barzaga that he run for Vice President with Interior Secretary Mar Roxas, the Liberal Party’s presidential candidate in next year’s national elections.The President replied: “As you were asking me that, I could see my sisters, my nephews and nieces crying. Even Yolly (Yabes), my longtime house help, might suddenly retire.”Barzaga suggested last week that Aquino run for Vice President should Sen. Grace Poe, whom the LP had been trying to get as a running mate for Roxas, refuse to come aboard.He said a Mar-Noy team would be a “dream ticket.”Malacañang shot down the idea, saying Aquino had already said he was looking forward to retirement from politics after he step down from office.–

['Carmel Loise Matus', 'Jhunnex Napallacan']

2018-06-13 22:28:40+00:00

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/715920/president-twits-binay-see-your-eye-doctor

Inquirer

8 arrested in Manila anti-drug operations

~By KIMBERLY MALAITEight persons, including two gang members, were apprehended on Wednesday in separate anti-drug operations conducted by various police stations under the Manila Police District (MPD). Arrested by elements of the Meisic Police Station Drug Enforcement Team, in coordination with the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, was Jizan Salafranca, 39, of Binondo. Confiscated from her were 10 heat-sealed sachets of suspected shabu and three P100 bills that served as buy-bust money. Arrested by members of the Pandacan Police Station were Darwin Levantino, 27, and Ahn Almero, 38, both of Pandacan. Two heat-sealed sachets containing suspected shabu were recovered from the suspects.Three others were nabbed by elements of the Santa Cruz Police Station and the Blumentritt Police Community Precinct: Jesus Valencia, 59; Josefino Ruiz, 35; and Ramil de la Cruz, 48. The suspects were gambling when caught. Three heat-sealed sachets containing suspected shabu were recovered from them along with three P1 coins used as flippers for cara y cruz. The buy-bust conducted by the Santa Ana Police Station along New Panaderos Street, Punta, resulted in the arrest of Sputnik Gang member Edwin Labanda, 44, and Bahala Na Gang member Lauro Gonzaga, 51. Confiscated from them were five heat-sealed sachets of suspected shabu with an estimated street value of P1,500.00. Charges for violation of Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 are expected to be filed against the suspects before the Manila City Prosecutor’s Office. Meanwhile, additional charges for violation of Presidential Decree 1602 that punishes illegal gambling will be filed against Valencia and Ruiz.

['Kimberly Malait']

2018-06-13 22:28:40+00:00

https://www.manilatimes.net/8-arrested-in-manila-anti-drug-operations/407825/

Manila Times

7 draw jail terms for tax credit scam

SEVEN former Department of Finance (DOF) officials and employees, and the owners of three garment firms have been sentenced by the Sandiganbayan to prison terms ranging from six to 50 years in connection with a tax credit scam in 1997 and 1998.The antigraft court’s Special First and Fifth Divisions have found the DOF personnel guilty of defrauding the government of millions of pesos when they allowed the three garment firms to make fraudulent tax claims, the Office of the Ombudsman announced on Monday.The DOF officers issued the three garment firms tax credit certificates (TCCs) from 1997 to 1998 without legal basis and without the required supporting documents, the Sandiganbayan said.Fake, forgedA TCC acts as a tax refund that the government grants to a company, usually an exporter, as incentive.Led by then Deputy Executive Director Uldarico Andutan Jr., the DOF officers “blatantly disregarded” established procedures when they accepted and approved the garment companies’ tax claims, although the three firms submitted mere photocopies of import, export and bank documents, prosecutors showed.The documents were reportedly later found to be fake and full of forged signatures.In some TCC applications, the same sets of documents were reportedly “recycled” or repeatedly used by different tax claimants.“The defects are noticeable even without having to pay a closer look (at) the documents,” the Sandiganbayan said. “The acts (of the accused) did not simply suggest negligence and bad judgment but a conscious doing of a wrong.”Andutan was found guilty of five counts of graft. As each count carried six to 10 years of imprisonment, he would serve 30 up to 50 years in prison.Supervising tax specialist Raul de Vera was convicted of one count of graft; senior tax specialist Rosanna Diala and garment division reviewer officer in charge Miriam Tasarra, with four counts; and evaluators Gladys Olaño, Irene Magbojos and Lucila Cueto with one count each.EstafaAlso convicted were businessmen Mukesh Uttamchandani and Olivia Demetrio of Precision Garments International and Kuldip Singh of J.K. Apparel Manufacturing Inc. and United Apparel Manufacturing Inc.The Ombudsman said Andutan, De Vera, Uttamchandani and Demetrio were also convicted of estafa and sentenced to another four up to 20 years imprisonment.All the accused were ordered to pay a total of P28,514,371 as civil liability.The Ombudsman said the court shelved the criminal cases against another principal accused in the tax credit scam, former Finance Undersecretary Antonio Beliceña, reportedly “due to his mental condition.”The court reportedly based its order on findings of the National Center for Mental Health.Beliceña has been slapped with several counts of graft along with Andutan and other DOF officers and employees for a series of tax credit fraud from 1993 to 1998.In March 2012, the Ombudsman dismissed 13 DOF officials, including Beliceña and Andutan, in connection with the tax credit scam cases.Though Beliceña had already retired, his benefits were forfeited. He was perpetually disqualified from holding public office.

['Dona Z. Pazzibugan']

18/12/2016 0:00

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/806506/7-draw-jail-terms-for-tax-credit-scam

Inquirer

Menorca free, faces 3rd case

Lowell Menorca II, the expelled minister of Iglesia ni Cristo sect who was arrested on libel charges under highly irregular circumstances last Wednesday, was released from jail on Friday, and promptly threatened to file countercharges against those he deemed responsible for the “harassment.”READ: Menorca released on bail“I am appealing to those who filed the libel case to drop the charges. These cases wouldn’t prosper without the guidance of Iglesia. I’m asking them to drop the cases or else I will counter-sue,” he said before leaving the Ermita police station.Menorca said the information that the Society of Communicators and Networks International (SCAN) had used to file various libel cases against him “was out of context.”He said SCAN has alleged that he (Menorca) had accused SCAN members of being used by INC for illegal activities.“That’s not how I said it,” Menorca reiterated, adding that he had “proof” that would show how the interview where he was supposed to have made the accusation was spliced and twisted.More libel casesManila Judge Silverio Castillo ordered Menorca’s release after the latter’s brother Anthony, together with lawyers from the Free Legal Assistance Group, paid the bail of P20,000, or P10,000 for each libel charge.Meanwhile, another subpoena for yet another libel case in Cavite City was served on Menorca at 10:45 a.m. on Friday by lawyer Arnel Hanabajal of the Cavite provincial prosecutor’s office.The subpoena required Menorca to appear before the Cavite office on March 4, 2016.READ: 3rd libel case filed vs Lowell Menorca IIMore warrants?The latest complainant was 26-year-old Irilyn Candelaria Yuvienco of Naic, Cavite. She filed the case on Nov. 8, 2015, for a libel that was allegedly committed on Oct. 28, 2015. She listed Jerson Mangubat and Rodney Ray Catalasan as her witnesses.Before stepping out of the Ermita police station at 3.40 p.m. on Friday, Menorca said in jest: “Wait, wait, are there more arrest warrants?” He looked out the door as if to check whether the road was clear, eliciting laughter from the crowd.“I just want to make sure it’s already safe to go out because they might order my arrest again,” he said.Immediately after stepping out of the police station, Menorca looked up and said: “Fresh air.”He said he wanted to see his wife. Then he issued a tough warning that he would file countercharges against those “harassing” him through the legal system.He said his two-day imprisonment made him appreciate freedom more and cemented his resolve to reveal “the truth” against certain INC officials and members.“I am silent no more,” he said.He said he reflected and prayed while he was in jail. He even thought of just keeping silent about the issue, but then decided that he should “go for it.”Menorca, his wife Jinky Otsuka and their 2-year-old daughter were accosted in a Manila street on Wednesday morning by policemen in plainclothes who said they were implementing a warrant of arrest issued by a Lanao del Norte court.The Menorcas said they resisted the policemen, who refused to show their badges and give their names. They also declined to show him a copy of the warrant, according to Menorca.The policemen were later identified as Arnel Santos, Samson Sison and Dennis Ramos, said to be members of a tracker team from the MPD Pandacan station under Supt. Edilberto Leonardo, a member of the INC sect.Santos, Ramos and Sison have been recommended for awards and commendation by the MPD.Menorca was on his way to the Court of Appeals for a scheduled cross-examination on his request for lifetime protection against INC when he was arrested.Menorca had earlier accused the sect of ordering his abduction in Sorsogon province in July 2015. He claimed that he, together with his wife and infant daughter, were detained for three months at the INC Central Office in Diliman, Quezon City.The Menorcas were rescued last October just as the Surpreme Court ordered INC to produce them in court for proceedings on their plea for amparo (protection). The high court remanded the case to the Court of Appeals for hearings.Asked to comment on Menorca’s claim that INC was behind his legal woes, Edwil Zabala, the INC spokesperson said: “We will not dignify his allegations.”“Our legal team is eagerly waiting for the resumption of the Court of Appeals hearing. If he has any additional allegations then we will answer these once these are brought to court,” Zabala added.PNP asked to explainThe Commission on Human Rights (CHR) on Friday demanded an official explanation from the Philippine National Police about what it said was the use of “excessive force” in the arrest of Menorca on a libel charge.“There was clearly overreach, and perhaps abuse of authority,” CHR Chair Jose Luis Martin Gascon said.Gascon said that after watching a video of Menorca’s arrest on the Internet, he deployed a team to monitor and investigate the case.“We need to go to the bottom of this,” he said.In a phone interview, the CHR head said the members of the Manila Police District seemed not to be following the protocol in effecting the arrest, noting that Menorca had been scheduled to appear in court when the police officers “pounced on him.”“What is sad about this is he was on the way to court from a safe house,” Gascon said.He said it would appear that the police officers’ actions were aimed at preventing Menorca from testifying at the Court of Appeals, where he was seeking lifetime protection from the INC.Although the CHR has no prosecution powers and “this is a justice concern,” Gascon said the agency can monitor and speak out against any violation of human rights.Asked if President Aquino should intervene, Gascon said he had faith that the Department of Justice would be able to resolve the case on its own. With reports from DJ Yap and Tina G. SantosRELATED STORIESLowell Menorca II ‘expecting more’ arrest warrants for cases filed by INCThe Iglesia’s long arm?

[]

09/06/2016 0:00

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/757977/menorca-free-faces-3rd-case

Inquirer

Aquino to Comelec: Do the right thing, dismiss case

Former President Benigno “Noy” Aquino III has called on the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to “do the right thing” by dismissing the election offense case filed against him, in connection with the controversial dengue vaccination program.Aquino, in a statement issued on Thursday, said the case was based on “make-believe” allegations and “ill motive.”In the case, the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption and other complainants accused Aquino, former Health Secretary Janette Garin, former Budget Secretary Florencio Abad, and several Department of Health officials of violating the Election Code when they embarked on the project on April 4, 2016.45-day banThe complainants said the date was within the 45-day ban on the disbursement of public funds prior to the May 9 polls.“I reiterate, under the correct and worthy justice system, the mandate of the law to the complainant is to … show concrete proof. It’s clear that it failed in all standards of the law and truth. It’s also clear that the destiny of a complaint like this is the trash bin,” Aquino said.“I expect the Comelec to do the right thing and that is to dismiss the complaint in the soonest possible time,” he added.The former President maintained that two of his accusers, doctors Francis Cruz and Clarito Cairo Jr., made wrongful allegations in their complaint.‘Just harassment’“It’s clear that the aim of this is just harassment. Maybe it’s true … that the aim of this is not justice, but to attract attention to get appointed to a position [in government],” he said.Aquino and Garin showed up at the Comelec on Thursday in response to a summons.He said the purchase order for the vaccine Dengvaxia was issued on Mar. 9, 2016, or 16 days before the Mar. 25 poll ban.Aquino also denied claims that the inoculation program was launched during a political activity because Aquino and others present wore yellow shirts, the color of the Liberal Party.“Does it mean every government employee who wore yellow, whether inside or outside their homes, within the 45 days before the election, also committed the offense?” he asked.

['Jerome Aning']

26/06/2018 0:00

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/975970/aquino-to-comelec-do-the-right-thing-dismiss-case

Inquirer

Dead SAF’s kin ask why, how

Merlyn Gamutan had been trying to reach her husband, Insp. Joel Gamutan, through her mobile phone since Saturday.It was their wedding anniversary but he had not called her, which was unusual.Merlyn said she suspected that her husband was in trouble.“I tried calling his number but he was not taking my calls,” she said.Joel, commander of the 55th Special Action Force (SAF) Company, called up on Sunday.It was not to greet her but to inform her that he and his team were in deep trouble and that he was trying to survive the situation he was in.“I am trying to fight but there are many of them, we cannot hold on,” she quoted him as saying.It was the last time she heard from him.Shot at close rangeThe next thing she heard was Joel had died along with 43 other policemen in a clash between SAF commandos and Moro rebels in Mamasapano town, Maguindanao province.Equally painful, Merlyn said, was that up to now, nobody has offered her an explanation of what happened.“No one from his mother unit or from the government can give a clear explanation of how the Mamasapano incident happened,” she said.Like Merlyn, the families of the other slain SAF commandos said pledges of benefits from the government were not the answers to their questions.“We want justice. Benefits, alms and other monetary considerations are normal. What is difficult for us is not understanding how they ended like that,” said Ibrahim Asjali, brother of PO3 Jedz-in Asjali, who served on Gamutan’s team.Their 60-year-old mother, Rohermina, after watching President Aquino’s televised statement on Wednesday night, said she had more questions.“It seems they were shot at close range. It appears there was treachery,” she said.And the manner by which they learned about Jedz-in’s death was also too unusual.Ibrahim, the youngest in a brood of five, said the family learned of his brother’s death from the wife of his killer. “She informed us through my brother’s cell phone that her husband killed my brother,” he said.Chief Insp. Flint Depnag, deputy commander of the 5th Special Action Battalion, said he, too, lost a cousin in Mamasapano.PO2 Noble Sungay Kiangan was the lone bomb expert on the SAF team that went to Mamasapano.Of the 44 dead, “35 were under our unit and it was so difficult to move around informing families due to lack of personnel handling and assisting administrative work,” he said.“We apologize to the families if we were not able to inform them appropriately of the incident,” Depnag said.Terrified residentsIn Mamasapano, residents are not only asking how the incident happened but are also living in fear and anxiety, especially those who lost relatives in the crossfire.Nineteen-year-old Sarah Lawani said her husband, Badrudin Nanganlan, 21, was killed on his way to Tukanalipao village to have his cell phone charged.Their two sons were with him but the children were not injured.Lawani said it was only on Monday that she learned her husband was killed in the fighting.Aside from Nanganlan, a child was also killed when she was hit by stray bullets during the firefight.Five-year-old Samrah Sampulna Panangulon was killed while fleeing with her parents, Sarah and Tot. The parents were wounded.The Community and Family Services International (CFSI) reported that another civilian, Said Pasawilan, was hit by stray bullets on Sunday morning while he and his family were fleeing the site of the clash.“Everything happened so fast,” Amida Muda, a resident of Tukanalipao, said.Muda is staying in an evacuation center in Poblacion, Mamasapano, along with hundreds of others.

['Edwin Fernandez', 'Julie S. Alipala']

26/06/2018 0:00

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/669066/dead-safs-kin-ask-why-how

Inquirer

PDP-Laban keeps door open for Duterte in 2016

Never say die.Unfazed by Rodrigo Duterte’s repeated declarations that he would not run for President, Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) has decided to name the Davao City mayor as its “replacement” candidate in the 2016 presidential election.PDP-Laban national chair and former South Cotabato Gov. Ismael “Mike” Sueno said on Tuesday that while the party was confident of its choice of Martin Diño as its presidential candidate, anything could happen in the run-up to next year’s elections.Diño, a former Quezon City barangay captain, is secretary general of PDP-Laban.Sueno told the Inquirer that the PDP-Laban national council’s first resolution was to nominate Duterte as a replacement candidate should Diño, for some reason, withdraw from the presidential race.Duterte has repeatedly denied he plans to run for President.“PDP-Laban has only two choices for its presidential candidate—Diño and Duterte. So Duterte is the only one who can replace Diño,” Sueno said.Unanimous choiceIn Tuesday’s PDP-Laban national council meeting, attended by some 40 regional officials, Sueno said Duterte was the unanimous choice as replacement candidate.“In choosing him as the replacement bet, we took into consideration his popularity and the nationwide support he enjoys, as well as his track record of serving as Davao City mayor,” Sueno said.Among the country’s political groups, PDP-Laban is the only party—so far—to name a replacement presidential candidate.Asked if Diño planned to bow out of the race, thus the need for a substitute, Sueno said: “No. He has no plan to drop out of the race.”“The purpose of Duterte’s nomination is for us to still have a presidential candidate in case Diño withdraws,” he stressed.Eight timesDuterte has said that he is not running for President at least eight times.In a March 2014 television program, he said no one could make him run for President because he did not have the money for such a campaign.In another TV show later that year, he reiterated he was not interested in the presidency, saying, “I would rather die early than enter Malacañang.”In February this year in Baguio City, he told reporters he might run for a Senate seat but not for President, “at least for now.”Begin and end in DavaoAt the anniversary of the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption in July, Duterte told reporters what he would do if elected President but said he was speaking of “hypothetical scenarios” and again stated, “I won’t run.”In an interview with Inquirer editors and reporters on Aug. 25, Duterte again said he was not running for President.He repeated this at a press conference in Davao City on Sept. 7, saying he would “retire from public life” in 2016.Two days later in San Juan City, Duterte said only one thing would make him run for President—if Vice President Jejomar Binay, Sen. Grace Poe and former Interior Secretary Mar Roxas “suddenly disappear—[probably] abducted by aliens.”Finally, on Sept. 30, he said that if he changed his mind, he would declare his presidential candidacy in Davao City. “I started here and I’ll finish here.”

['Jeannette I. Andrade']

26/06/2018 0:00

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/734864/pdp-laban-keeps-door-open-for-duterte-in-2016

Inquirer

Malta to accept stranded migrant ship if EU states help

PresseMalta said Tuesday it would only allow a stranded rescue ship carrying over 200 migrants to dock in its port if other EU states agreed to take in some of those onboard. The fate of the Lifeline ship, run by a German NGO, hung in the balance as EU states remained at loggerheads over how to handle the influx of people trying to reach the continent.The vessel had rescued the 234 migrants, including children and pregnant women, on Thursday but Malta and Italy initially refused to take it in.“I just got off the phone with (Maltese) Prime Minister (Joseph) Muscat: the NGO ship Lifeline will dock in Malta,” Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said, without specifying when.“Italy will do its part and welcome some of the migrants who are onboard the Lifeline.”However, Malta said it would only allow disembarkation if other European Union countries took their quota of migrants, adding that “four member states have already confirmed their participation”.The government also warned it would launch an investigation and possibly take action against the Lifeline once it entered Maltese waters.The Lifeline NGO, meanwhile, tweeted that “we now need EU countries to welcome the people. That was what Malta asked for, and that is what we asked for.”Italy’s far-right Interior Minister Matteo Salvini quickly hailed the news that a second migrant ship he had turned away would be taken in elsewhere. Earlier this month, Rome rejected the Aquarius ship carrying 630 migrants, forcing it to eventually dock in Spain. “For women and children really fleeing the war the doors are open, for everyone else they are not!” he tweeted.Salvini has repeatedly warned foreign charities to stop rescuing migrants off Libya, insisting Italian ports “are and will be closed to those who aid human traffickers”.– ‘Ready to help’ –The decision by Italy’s new hardline government and Malta to turn away rescue vessels has plunged Europe into a political crisis over how to collectively handle the huge numbers of people fleeing war and misery in Africa, the Middle East and Asia.French government spokesman Benjamin Griveaux earlier told RTL radio that “a European solution seems to be emerging”.He insisted there was no migrant “crisis” but urged leaders “to respond quickly to an urgent situation”. “France is ready to send a team on site to process (asylum) requests on a case-by-case basis,” as it did for migrants aboard the Aquarius once it docked in Spain.Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said Madrid would take part in a “joint response” over Lifeline, but “several countries must participate”.Italy and Malta say they are unfairly bearing the brunt of the new arrivals, while other European countries are urging more forceful policies to block their entry.During a surprise visit to Libya on Monday, Salvini called for processing centres to be set up in various unnamed African countries to deal with potential migrants in a move “to help Libya as well as Italy block migration”.Similarly, France has proposed setting up EU asylum processing centres in Africa aimed at discouraging people to attempt dangerous trips. Libya is a gateway for thousands of refugees and migrants hoping to reach Europe. Hundreds drown each year attempting the perilous crossing over the Mediterranean in often rickety boats.Its coastguard said it had rescued nearly 1,000 people on Sunday, and Spanish authorities said they had picked up more than 600 others on Monday.– War of words –On Sunday, 16 EU leaders held emergency talks in Brussels in a bid to break a longstanding deadlock over who should take in the migrants, the bulk of whom have been landing in Italy and Greece.A full summit is scheduled for Thursday and Friday.The war of words saw French President Emmanuel Macron accuse Rome of “irresponsibility” for turning away the boat, while Italy denounced Paris for hypocrisy in pushing migrants back across their shared border.The issue was raised during a meeting at the Vatican Tuesday between Macron and Pope Francis, who has called for “solidarity” with migrants.In Germany, Chancellor Angela Merkel is facing an ultimatum from her hardline interior minister who has given her until the end of June to find a European deal to curb new arrivals.

[]

26/06/2018 0:00

https://news.mb.com.ph/2018/06/26/malta-to-accept-stranded-migrant-ship-if-eu-states-help/

Manila Bulletin

2 boys die in Lipa fire

Two little boys were killed in a two-hour fire that gutted down six houses and damaged four others in Barangay 2, this city around noon last Saturday.Senior Inspector Ferdinand Von Nicasio, city fire marshall, said the charred bodies of cousins Bryle Xander Lalucis, 4, and Christopher Lalucis Masim, 5, were found in the ruins of their neighboring houses at 12:30 p.m.Nicasio said initial investigation showed the fire started at the second floor of the house of one Susan Lalucis at 11:40 a.m. and was contained by 1:30 p.m.“Naiwan po ng nag-aalaga ’yung dalawang bata sa bahay noong nagkaroon na po ng stampede, sa takot po siguro (The two boys were left inside the house as a stampede broke out due to panic),” said Nicasio.Arson probers said the fire was caused by an electrical short circuit and quickly spread through 10 houses made of light materials.The initial cost of damage was put at P10 million, said Nicasio.Mayor Meynard Sabili had visited the 13 families who lost their homes and vowed to extend to them some government assistance.“We are one today in prayers for the family of those perished and affected by the fire… I shall update you all on how we can all help,” said Sabili on his Facebook post.

[]

14/05/2017 0:00

https://news.mb.com.ph/2017/05/14/2-boys-die-in-lipa-fire/

Manila Bulletin

Defense team eyed for poor offenders facing death penalty

A Capital Defense Unit with a budget of P260 million that would provide legal assistance to convicts who will be meted death penalty has been proposed in the House of Representatives.Rep. Luis Campos Jr. of Makati City (Metro Manila) made the proposal in light of ongoing debates on restoration of capital punishment for heinous crimes in the chamber.Campos over the weekend noted that there should be a state-funded CDU that will provide topnotch private attorneys to poor convicts facing execution to ensure that nobody gets wrongfully doomed on account of his or her simply being poor and inability to obtain superior legal representation.“Assuming Congress decides to revive death verdicts for the worst criminal offenders, we have to ensure that disadvantaged individuals accused of capital felonies receive the best legal defense available,” he said in a statement.According to Campos, the CDU is in accordance with Section 11, Article 3 of the 1987 Constitution that reads, “Adequate legal assistance shall not be denied to any person by reason of poverty.”He suggested that the CDU be run by the University of the Philippines College of Law’s Institute of Human Rights and the Integrated Bar of the Philippines, with the university paying for all the legal fees of poor defendants facing potential death sentences.The Department of Social Welfare and Development, Campos said, will determine the beneficiaries of the CDU, which will be a different office from the Public Attorney’s Office.“We have to acknowledge that getting hold of adequate legal remedies has a price not everybody can pay,” Campos said.House leaders have announced that administration lawmakers are likely to vote for the passage of death penalty if the measure will provide that penalties for heinous crimes will range from lifetime imprisonment to death, depending on the judge’s discretion.But House Senior Deputy Minority Leader and Rep. Lito Atienza of Buhay party-list would not agree to such compromise, warning that only impoverished citizens inadequately represented at trial would get death sentences.“Moneyed people who are able to retain high-priced lawyers would always escape conviction. Sadly, the quality of legal representation is still the single biggest factor that would determine whether a defendant receives or dodges the death sentence,” Atienza said.LLANESCA T. PANTI

['Llanesca T. Panti']

2017-02-12 20:50:47+00:00

https://www.manilatimes.net/defense-team-eyed-poor-offenders-facing-death-penalty/311880/

Manila Times

‘Savage’ sexual predator falls after 2-year manhunt

A woman described as a sexual predator who lured children and forced them to perform lewd acts was arrested by government agents in Cebu, ending a manhunt that lasted nearly two years.Liezyl Margallo, 23, was arrested on Wednesday by agents of the National Bureau of Investigation while strolling on the beach of Malapascua Island, a famed tourist spot off the Cebu town of Daanbantayan.Her Australian boyfriend and accomplice, Peter Gerard Scully, 53, was arrested in February 2015 and is now in a Cagayan de Oro City jail.Both are accused of child trafficking and of running a lucrative international cyberpornography trade, a global syndicate with members coming from from Brazil, Germany and Britain, authorities said.Margallo has 16 pending arrest warrants in Cagayan de Oro City for luring female street children and young scavengers and then forcing them to perform sexual acts. She also tortured them while videotaping the sexual acts. One victim was later killed, her remains found buried near a bathroom.Worst videoA video provided by the Dutch police showed a naked 1-year-old girl who was hung upside down with her hands tied and legs drawn apart.The girl, known in the video as “Daisy,” was crying while being tortured and sexually assaulted by a masked older girl, later identified as Margallo.She repeatedly whipped the toddler with a belt, taped her lips to silence her and dripped candle wax on her private parts. Agents had described it as the “worst video” they had seen in their years of fighting child pornography.The couple allegedly victimized at least nine children, including a 12-year-old girl, whose remains were exhumed in Scully’s apartment in Surigao City. The eight others, aged one to 12 years old, were rescued in 2015 and are currently in government custody. Two others were later rescued by the police in a separate operation.“It was too much. There are really just some people who are not afraid of God. Children were treated like dolls. They were tortured and exposed to too much pain,” said Janet Francisco, head of the NBI’s Anti-Human Trafficking Division. “Anyone who (does) that is not normal. I could not help but cry when I saw the video.”Margallo was to be flown to Cagayan de Oro city where she would be charged with violating Republic Act No. 9995 or the Anti-Photo and Video Voyeurism Act of 2009; Republic Act No. 9610 or the Special Protection of Children Against Child Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act; and Republic Act No. 9208 or the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003.Since the victims are minors, the offense falls under qualified trafficking—a nonbailable crime. If convicted, the couple could spend life in prison and be fined anywhere from P2 million to P5 million.The videos Scully uploaded to the internet sparked a global manhunt.A Filipino member of the Interpol first noticed that one of the girls on the video spoke Visayan, and from there focused the investigation in the Philippines, said NBI-7 Assistant Director Dominador Cimafranca.SavageThe NBI tracked down Margallo with the help of the Australian Federal Police, and this week, pounced on her on Malapascua Island, where she was with two British nationals. They were briefly questioned, but later freed after presenting valid travel documents.“If I were to describe her (Margallo), I would call her a ‘savage girl’ for what she has done to the kids. I think that description fits her,” Cimafranca said.He said Margallo had first identified herself as Shannon Carpio when confronted, but later admitted her identity when shown a copy of the arrest warrants and her picture. Recovered from her were a laptop and a cell phone, which would be submitted for forensic examination.Francisco said Margallo was arrested along with Scully in 2015, and admitted her participation in the Australian’s sex video racket. She later led the NBI to Scully’s rented home in Surigao City, where the body of the 12-year-old girl was buried.The NBI, however, did not have an arrest warrant against Margallo at the time so they let her go. Arrest warrants against her were issued only the following year, by which time she had gone on the lam.Francisco said the deceased young girl was molested and tortured by Scully sometime in August 2012. She was a scavenger from Cagayan de Oro City entrusted to Margallo, who promised her guardians she would be well looked after.“But the girl eventually became a slave, treated like a dog, and videotaped while being tortured. In fact, a bolo was inserted into the child’s butt,” Francisco said. The girl, identified only as “Cindy,” died due to strangulation and internal bleeding.Her remains were found covered with concrete near the bathroom of Scully’s rented home.Scully, a father of two, was under investigation by the Australian Securities and Investment Commission for defrauding more than $2.68 million from 20 investors in an investment scheme.He slipped out of Melbourne and fled to Manila in 2011 where he allegedly established a lucrative business by videotaping lewd actions of minors.Francisco said Scully would cater to child predators from across the globe, who paid as much as $10,000 each for live-stream videos of children being tortured and sexually abused.

['Ador Vincent S. Mayol']

14/05/2018 0:00

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/866157/savage-sexual-predator-falls-after-2-year-manhunt

Inquirer

Marcelino presents Army certification during inquest

“I will never betray my country,” former drug buster Lt. Col. Ferdinand Marcelino declared on Friday, a day after he was arrested during a drug raid in Manila that yielded P320 million worth of high-grade “shabu” (methamphetamine hydrochloride).Although handcuffed, Marcelino, a former head of the Special Enforcement Service of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), raised his fists defiantly, insisting he was on a mission when police and his former colleagues pounced on him and his Chinese companion in an apartment in Sta. Cruz district that turned out to be a clandestine drug laboratory.“This is the price I have to pay for doing my job for this country. Rest assured that I will never betray this nation,” Marcelino, an officer in the Marines, told reporters as he left the Department of Justice, where he was taken yesterday morning for investigation.“This is also the price I have to pay for being passionate and for my love to rid this country of illegal drugs. I’m just doing my job. The truth will prevail,” said the former top antinarcotics agent, surrounded by police and PDEA officers.Inquest proceedingsDressed in an orange detainee’s shirt and wearing slippers, Marcelino underwent six-hour inquest proceedings before Senior State Prosecutor Theodore Villanueva.He sat beside Yan Yi Shou, a Chinese citizen who was arrested with him during the raid on Celadon Residence apartment block at Felix Huertas and Batangas early on Thursday. Yan is a former interpreter for the PDEA.The two are facing no-bail charges for manufacturing, conspiring to manufacture and possession of illegal drugs.Police and PDEA agents seized 64 kilos of shabu (also known as crystal meth), chemicals and equipment for making the illegal drug in the Sta. Cruz apartment.During the proceedings, Villanueva told Marcelino that he could be readily released if he could show an order authorizing his presence at the drug laboratory. Such an order would prove that he was there on an official mission.It took hours for Marcelino to obtain a certification from the Philippine Army’s Intelligence Security Group that he was indeed working as an intelligence agent for the military.The certification, signed by Col. Marlo Guloy, the group commander, and sent to the inquest prosecutor just before 5 p.m., said Marcelino “has shared intelligence information to this unit from November to December 2015 with regard to suspected Philippine Army personnel engaged in the use of drugs and other illegal drug activities.”Marcelino was given the task as part of the military’s efforts to stamp out drug use among soldiers through mandatory random drug testing.‘Immaterial’But Chief Insp. Roque Merdegia, spokesperson for the Philippine National Police Anti-Illegal Drugs Group (PNP-AIDG), said the Army certification was “immaterial.”“It did not categorically [say] that he was authorized to operate [in Manila],” Merdegia said.Villanueva said the document was too broad, and he wanted a more explicit certification. Marcelino agreed to remain detained while undergoing preliminary investigation.Villanueva set the first hearing for Jan. 27 at 2 p.m.Later, in an interview, Marcelino expressed confidence that he could obtain a certification from the military.“It’s not that it (the certification filed) was not honored. The [prosecutor] just requested [a more detailed one] until Wednesday. But that’s OK,” he said.Pressed if an order indeed exists, Marcelino said: “I have nothing to hide. Although there are some confidential papers, you know how it is.”Earlier in the day, Marcelino’s lawyer, Dennis Manalo, said the document would “come from the military officer who will be authorized for this purpose.”“Right now he’s in the process of providing documentation as to his status as a military intelligence [agent],” Manalo told reporters.‘Misencounter’“This is clearly a misencounter on the part of the agents of the PDEA and on the part of his efforts to help in curbing illegal drugs in the country,” he said.Reached by phone, Marcelino’s former PDEA boss, retired Gen. Dionisio Santiago, vouched for his former top agent’s honesty.“I can vouch for him. [On] my watch, I knew that he was upright. There were situations when he [needed] money to help his family, but he never asked help from us,” said Santiago, recalling family emergencies when Marcelino refused to seek financial aid from the PDEA.“I remember him once saying “I am handling a lot of funds (for PDEA operations) but that’s not my money. That’s [public] money,” Santiago said.He said he did not believe Marcelino could be corrupted. “If during the time he needed money he did not do anything illegal, how much more now that he is in no condition to require so much money,” he said.No mission for the ArmySenior Supt. Antonio Gardiola Jr., PNP-AIDG head, said Marcelino cited a “statement of support” from Maj. Gen. Eduardo Año, chief of the Philippine Army, during the inquest.Gardiola said the statement did not amount to a mission order.Sent to reporters by text message, the statement said Año “vouched for [Marcelino’s] integrity.”Año said, however, that his “official relationship” with Marcelino ended when he left the military intelligence service in 2013.He said the Army would cooperate in the investigation of Marcelino.He’s with the NavyCol. Benjamin Hao, spokesperson for the Army, said it was unlikely Año signed a mission order for Marcelino, as Marcelino was now assigned to the Philippine Navy, not the Army.Marcelino is superintendent at the Navy Officer Candidate School. He took the job only on Monday.The Philippine Navy said on Thursday that Marcelino’s job did not involve drug operations.Marcelino cannot turn to the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) for a mission order. The PAOCC said yesterday that Marcelino had never been one of its agents.“Our records likewise show that no ongoing PAOCC operations involve Lieutenant Colonel Marcelino,” Gen. Reginald Villasanta, PAOCC executive director, said in a statement released by Malacañang. With reports from Jaymee T. Gamil and Nikko DizonRELATED STORIESBusted ex-PDEA official Marcelino not under Palace orders–PAOCCTop narc busted: Say it ain’t so, Col. Marcelino

['Tarra Quismundo']

14/05/2018 0:00

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/757987/marcelino-presents-army-certification-during-inquest

Inquirer