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Trump meeting with Apple’s Tim Cook on trade | President Donald Trump says he’s “looking forward” to meeting with Apple CEO Tim Cook at the White House Wednesday.Trump says in a tweet that they “will be talking about many things, including how the U.S. has been treated unfairly for many years, by many countries, on trade.”The president is set to host Cook in the Oval Office a day after Cook attended Trump’s state dinner Tuesday night for French President Emmanuel Macron.Trump has had a fraught relationship with the electronics company, criticizing Apple on Twitter over its decision not to cooperate with law enforcement on breaching its phone encryption and the size of the screens on iPhones.But Trump has praised the company’s planned investment in the U.S. after the passage of last year’s tax cuts. | [] | 25/04/2018 0:00 | https://news.mb.com.ph/2018/04/25/trump-meeting-with-apples-tim-cook-on-trade/ | Manila Bulletin |
Employers urged to hire reformed drug dependents | Employers should hire former drug dependents who finish skills-training courses under the state-run Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, Tesda chief Guiling Mamondiong said on Tuesday.In making the appeal, The Tesda director general mentioned that the agency has already provided skills training to 20,000 former drug dependents in support of the Duterte administration’s drug rehabilitation program.“We encourage the employers to take in the former drug dependents who have the necessary skills. They are people. We have to make sure that that they are able to exercise their right of having a dignified life. We can’t close our doors on them just because they were victims of drug use. I don’t think we should make restrictions [in hiring them],” Mamondiong said.“We are coordinating with the Department of Trade and Industry as well as the Department of Social Welfare and Development to make sure that jobs and other means of livelihood will be available for the former drug dependents after they finish their skills training program,” he added.The Duterte administration’s centerpiece program is the war on drugs, which already left at least 3,800 people dead in supposedly legitimate operations alone.On the other hand, over a million self-confessed drug dependents have surrendered to authorities.“We should accept them [drug dependents in the labor force]. We should not make a distinction [between those who have a history of using drugs or and those who do not]. If these drug dependents meet the skill set that we need, then they should be accepted,” Mamondiong said.He, however, conceded that the government cannot force those in the private sector to welcome the reformed former drug dependents to its fold.“We can do that [forge memorandum of agreement, memorandum of understanding], but we cannot force the industry to accept them because hiring people is within their [private sector’s purview)]. But we will be talking to the private sector; encourage them to accept them [former drug dependents] provided that they have the skill that the industry would need,” Mamondiong said. | ['Llanesca T. Panti'] | 2017-10-03 22:27:41+00:00 | https://www.manilatimes.net/employers-urged-hire-reformed-drug-dependents/354344/ | Manila Times |
Guess who’s coming to Windsor? Royal ceremony weds cultures | were a fashion highlight. And Markle’s dress, designed by Givenchy, was reminiscent of the dress Princess Angela of Liechtentein wore when she wed Prince Maximillian in their groundbreaking January 2000 ceremony.Sanya Brown, already a fan of the royals who watched Princess Diana’s funeral, as well as Prince William’s wedding to Kate Middleton, initially planned to watch alone in her pajamas, but made a last-minute decision this week to watch with a girlfriend at her house in the west Philadelphia suburb of Wynnefield.“In the time of the ‘black girl magic’ moment we are currently living in … for this black girl from Los Angeles to be marrying into the royal family is a really dope and historic moment, so why not have that with someone and celebrate her magic?” she explained.“We’ve seen (Harry), but never like this,” Brown said. “This is different. She is different.” | [] | 19/05/2018 0:00 | https://news.mb.com.ph/2018/05/19/guess-whos-coming-to-windsor-royal-ceremony-weds-cultures/ | Manila Bulletin |
Escudero: Comelec exec a threat to democracy | SEN. FRANCIS Escudero Sunday called Election Commissioner Rowena Guanzon a “threat to democracy” after the poll official made a defiant stand against a directive from the chief of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to explain the filing of an unauthorized comment to Sen. Grace Poe’s petitions to the Supreme Court to overturn two decisions of the election watchdog to disqualify her from May’s presidential race.In a statement, Escudero, Poe’s running mate, also asked Comelec Chair Andres Bautista to fight internal attempts to undermine the integrity of the election commission and expose the officials who were trying to “sabotage the electoral process.”A memorandum issued by Bautista on Friday showed that the comment filed by Guanzon in the Supreme Court on behalf of the Comelec had no authorization from the full commission.In that comment, the Comelec asked the Supreme Court to throw out Poe’s pleading to overturn the decisions of the First and Second Divisions of the poll body to disqualify her from the presidential election for her failure to prove that she was a native-born Filipino and to meet the 10-year Philippine residency requirement for candidates.Bautista said Guanzon put his name on the document but he had not read or signed it.Order to explainThe Comelec chief issued a memorandum directing Guanzon and Maria Norina Tangaro-Casingal, director of the poll body’s law department, to explain within 24 hours “under whose authority the comment was filed.”Bautista said that if the explanation was unsatisfactory, he would be “constrained to inform the Supreme Court that the filing of the comment was unauthorized.”Guanzon took to Twitter to defend herself. She posted a statement claiming that she had the authority to file the comment.“I must emphasize that as a commissioner, I am not a subordinate or [an] employee of Chair Bautista and he has no administrative supervision or control over me,” Guanzon said.She said the preparation and filing of the comment “had the imprimatur of the Comelec en banc.”Bautista declined to comment on Guanzon’s statements on Saturday, saying he would take up the matter at a full session of the Comelec.‘Insubordination’In his statement Sunday, Escudero said he was appalled at the “insubordination and disrespect” shown by Guanzon toward Bautista.“Even assuming [in the course of the argument] that she is not a subordinate of the chair as she claims, the Comelec is a collegial body that always acts collectively, and not individually,” Escudero said.“This validates our observation that Commissioner Guanzon is a threat to democracy and the conduct of the elections come May,” he said.He asked Bautista to fight attempts from within the Comelec to undermine the integrity of the poll body and to “expose these people who are seeking to sabotage the electoral process.”“It is his duty to the Filipino people if only to reassure voters that their sacred right to vote, to choose the next leaders of the country, is protected,” Escudero said.He also urged Guanzon to make public the full-commission resolution that she claimed authorized her to file the comment and use the names of the other election commissioners in the document.Investigative powerValenzuela City Mayor Rex Gatchalian, a spokesperson for Poe, Sunday insisted that Bautista had the authority to investigate members of the commission.“[A]s head of the institution, [Bautista] has the mandate to put the house in order,” Gatchalian said, commenting on Guanzon’s statement that Bautista had no administrative supervision or control over her.“What’s happening [in the] Comelec is a source of concern for the public,” Gatchalian said.If the Comelec, tasked with overseeing orderly elections, is in disarray, he said, “the public interest is placed in danger.”Speaking in an interview on dzBB radio Sunday, Guanzon railed against Gatchalian’s statement on Saturday that the Comelec was in disarray and his asking Bautista to expose members of the commission who had their own “political agenda” and working for Poe’s elimination from the presidential race.‘Losers’“You name us. All you do is talk and complain, because you are losers,” Guanzon said.“Mr. Gatchalian, are you [saying] that the commissioners will tell on each other? What do you think of us? We are respectable, independent and intelligent people. Do not sow intrigue among us because we are not politicians,” she said.“Who are you to tell us to name each other? We are not those Filipinos who ratted on fellow Filipinos during World War II,” she said, referring to makapili (traitors) who betrayed guerrillas to the Japanese during the war.“There’s a difference between selling out your colleagues and giving the public the real score on what’s happening,” Gatchalian replied.He lamented that Guanzon, being a former elected official, had “low regard for elected public officials.”“Her statement seems to imply that,” he said.On Twitter, Guanzon said it was improper for Poe’s camp to urge Bautista to investigate the election commissioners, as the Comelec chief had no power to do it and doing it would be perceived by the public as retaliation.She said the power of the Comelec emanated from the full commission, not from the chair alone.“We are an independent constitutional commission. Politicians should respect the Constitution and our independence,” she said.No commentMalacañang on Sunday refused to be drawn into the fray.Presidential Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. declined to comment, but noted that Bautista had said he would take up the matter at a full session of the commission.“The Comelec is an independent body. That is why it would be appropriate to just wait for the results of that meeting,” Coloma said.Liberal Party standard-bearer Mar Roxas, one of Poe’s rivals for Malacañang, said the election commissioners were “mature” people who could resolve the controversy among themselves.“Let us leave it to them. We have nothing to do with it. They are the ones to decide,” Roxas told reporters in Imus City, Cavite province, where he spoke at a meeting of the Pentecostal Ministry Church of Christ. With reports from Jerry E. Esplanada and DJ Yap | ['Christine O. Avendaño', 'Jocelyn R. Uy'] | 07/06/2018 0:00 | https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/754359/escudero-comelec-exec-a-threat-to-democracy | Inquirer |
House GOP in eleventh-hour attempt for immigration accord | Divided on immigration, House Republicans are huddling privately as leaders try pushing them toward consensus on the issue, racing the clock and trying to defuse a civil war within the party that threatens their effort to keep control of the chamber in November’s elections.But even as they gathered in a Capitol basement meeting room, there were no indications that a deal mending the party’s chasm over immigration was at hand and no definitive details of where middle ground might be. If leaders fail to find a solution, that would give momentum to moderates seeking to stage election-year votes in just three weeks on the issue, a showdown that leaders want to head off.Both conservative and moderate lawmakers, the two factions at odds over the issue, said they didn’t know what to expect as they entered the session.“I don’t know. That’s why I’m on time here, for once,” joked Rep. Leonard Lance, R-N.J., a moderate who’s joined the leadership-opposed rebellion aimed at forcing immigration votes.GOP lawmakers emerged from the office of Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., on Wednesday saying he would present the rank and file with broad ideas for resolving a dispute that has split Republicans for years, damaging the party with Hispanic and moderate voters.“There’s some loose consensus right now,” said Rep. Carlos Curbelo, R-Fla., a leader of centrists threatening to force votes if they can’t strike a deal with conservatives. He said leaders would unveil “an outline of a potential bill,” while conservative leader Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., said Ryan would present “concepts.”Curbelo, Rep. Jeff Denham, R-Calif., and other moderates need just two more GOP signatures on a petition to require immigration votes, assuming all Democrats sign on. If Thursday’s meeting doesn’t produce an accord, the moderates could reach that threshold quickly.The major hang-up in GOP talks has been how, as the moderates have demanded, to offer a chance for citizenship to young “Dreamer” immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally as children. Conservatives have opposed creating a special pathway for them to become citizens, calling it amnesty.“We’ve got the rule of law in this country, and nobody gets special consideration,” said Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., a member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus.Rep. Mark Walker, R-N.C., said a large group of conservatives he leads has discussed providing a pathway to citizenship to Dreamers in exchange for giving President Donald Trump nearly all the $25 billion he wants to build his proposed wall with Mexico. In addition, the conservatives want to end a lottery that grants visas to countries with few immigrants to the U.S. and curb the relatives who can be brought over by immigrants, Walker said.Democrats and at least some moderates would likely oppose such measures, giving it little chance of surviving in the more centrist Senate.Walker said the more Dreamers who’d be given an opportunity for citizenship, the tighter curbs on family-based migration would be. Roughly 700,000 people are protected under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA, an Obama-era policy that Trump has halted. But by some estimates, 1 million or more other people qualify for that program but haven’t applied.The moderates’ petition would force House votes on four immigration bills, ranging from a liberal one helping Dreamers win citizenship to a conservative version curbing legal immigration.GOP leaders and conservatives say the votes the moderates would force would probably produce legislation that is too liberal, with all Democrats joining a handful of Republicans to push it through the House.Senate Republicans would block such a measure, and Trump would veto it if it went that far. But such an outcome could alienate conservative voters, damaging GOP chances for holding the House.Because of those divisions, averting the issue completely unless an agreement is reached has been the GOP leadership’s preference all year, until their hand was forced by moderates wielding the rarely used petition process. | [] | 07/06/2018 0:00 | https://news.mb.com.ph/2018/06/07/house-gop-in-eleventh-hour-attempt-for-immigration-accord/ | Manila Bulletin |
High risk, low pay for reef fish catchers | (First of two parts)VERDE ISLAND, BATANGAS—Work peaks every Wednesday for 52-year-old Sandro Pagkaliwagan. As early as 3 a.m., he starts his chores, changing seawater in clear plastic bags thick enough not to tear and pumping oxygen for the live fish inside. He loads the bags onto a boat for transport from Verde Island to Batangas City by noon.“It’s as if (there’s an occasion) that keeps everyone around busy,” he said.For aquarium fish traders like Pagkaliwagan, it’s a long—and painstaking—day to ship their harvest safely from Batangas province to Manila, hoping that their week’s catch from diving at risk to reefs at the sea bottom could be sold at pet shops and would bring money to buy food and other things for their families.The industry, dominated by men, remains the primary, if not the only, source of livelihood in Barangay San Andres, a backward community of 300 families on Verde Island in Batangas. There is hardly any flat land to till or sandy beaches to lure investors.Verde Island lies in the middle of the Verde Island Passage (VIP), a 1.14 million-hectare strait in the Mindoro-Calavite-Tablas triangle which was declared the “center of the center of marine shore fish biodiversity” by scientists Kent Carpenter and Victor Springer in 2005. Their finding was supported by a 2006 study of the University of the Philippines Visayas Foundation Inc. and the Marine Science Institute showing “high densities of fish eggs and larvae” around it.Global demandThough they are aware of the bounty in the surrounding seas, the people of San Andres are at the extreme end of the multimillion-dollar tropical fish industry. They get just a thin slice of the revenue pie from their harvest of clownfish, damselfish, anthias, tomato anemonefish, wrasse, butterflyfish, lionfish, moorish idol, parrotfish and other species.For one, the clownfish has become the market favorite, its global demand spurred by the 2003 movie “Finding Nemo,” but which the fish collectors sell for only P15 apiece.Angelfish costs P100 to P120 each; lionfish, P40; wrasses, P20; and fishes of the genus Chromis, the cheapest at P5.In the United States, online price lists of pet shops show that common species, like angelfish, are each sold for $30 to $50, or P1,620 to P2,700.“We don’t have a say on the price and we don’t really ask the ‘amo’ (boss.) All we know is that (the fish) must be shipped out by Thursday, Friday, or Saturday,” said Pagkaliwagan, who has mastered the routine from decades of collecting and selling wild reef fish for ornament.They are, however, not allowed to deliver more than what the wholesaler had ordered for the week as the warehouse could only stock as much. On Verde Island, the fish are usually kept in roughly made concrete storerooms until the following Wednesday.Manila pet shopsFish collectors and traders earn from P5,000 to P10,000 a month. Traders allow a 10- to 15-percent price markup for wholesalers, who export the fish to retailers in the United States, European countries and Japan.Manila is speckled with hundreds of wholesalers and pet shops, most of them located near the international airport. But a Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) list showed only 21 registered tropical fish exporters, mostly are in Muntinlupa, Las Piñas and Parañaque cities.Excesses in stock or fish of poor quality end up in the popular pet complex in Pasay City, fish collectors say.Globally, marine aquarium is a multimillion-dollar trade, with the Philippines among the top export countries. (The UN Environment Programme, or UNEP, in 2003 estimated it at $200 million to $330 million, while the World Wide Fund for Nature-Philippines in 2013 said it could be over $1 billion.)In 2008, the Philippines exported about $7 million worth of live ornamental fish, 98 percent of which were caught in the wild, according to a 2010 report by the Globefish Research Programme.“Trade in marine fish or any marine product is often called a cutflower industry. When it dies or (in the case of a flower) withers, you just buy a new one. And usually, nothing (fish) survives that long in captivity—probably just weeks or months unlike when they are in the wild,” said Emerson Sy of the Philippine Center for Terrestrial and Aquatic Research.Sy also described aquarium fishing as a “demand-driven” industry, though there has been no study yet showing of particular species traded that are in danger of extinction.Conservation effortsWhile several organizations acknowledge the economic contribution of the industry, especially in developing countries, conservationists frown upon its unsustainable and destructive ways.The city government of Batangas plans to ban aquarium fishing by 2020 and replace it with a more sustainable livelihood, said city fisheries chief Gerry Peralta.While there is as yet no study to show the direct impact of aquarium fishing to ecological imbalance, Peralta noted a downtrend of fish stock in Batangas. BFAR records showed a “remarkable decline” from 21,000 metric tons to 4,000 MT from 1987 to 1995 due to coral bleaching, pollution and unsustainable and excessive fishing.Compressor-diving also poses a lot of risks to fish collectors on Verde Island.In skin-tight clothes and improvised wooden fins, they dive 15 to 45 meters deep in search of their targets. The rarer the fish, the higher its price in the market, they say.A compressor on a boat pumps the oxygen through a hose that serves as the divers’ underwater lifeline.Cyanide use“It’s not like how a scuba tank works,” said San Andres village leader, Arnold Briton, who was once a fish collector himself. “The oxygen (from the compressor) is not even filtered, you’d sometimes (get a) taste of the oil.”In many cases when the compressor fails, fishermen race up to the surface, resulting in “bends” or nitrogen buildup in their bodies. Many suffer from decompression sickness, develop hearing or lung problems, or end up paralyzed or dead, Briton said.Aquarium fishing is globally known for the use of sodium cyanide. The toxic chemical squirted on the reefs stuns the fish making it easier for the fisherman to snag it.The International Marinelife Alliance (IMA) traced early use of cyanide in the Philippines in 1962, adding that for every cyanide-caught fish, about a square yard of coral was destroyed.In 1989, the IMA and the Haribon Foundation trained Verde Island fishermen to shift from cyanide-fishing to using handheld dip nets.Fish collector Tranquelino Mariano, 63, swore they had abandoned the use of the chemical since, realizing that the captured fish were disfigured (a fin lost or its scales damaged) or died easily.Often, Briton said aquarium collectors run into trouble with the Bantay Dagat (sea patrols) personnel, who believe they still practice cyanide fishing.Fishing bans and marine sanctuaries on the VIP have reduced their fishing grounds, forcing them to go farther out and deeper into the seas to meet the industry demand.“We understand (the predicament) because it’s their livelihood at stake. That’s why what has been agreed to is a gradual phaseout,” Peralta said.Dialogues with the community have been going on for the last 18 years with proposals for in-captive fish breeding or tourism projects on Verde Island.But without a concrete alternative, Briton said aquarium fish collectors can’t help but worry about the future. | ['Maricar Cinco'] | 2016-11-24 23:51:34+08:00 | https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1045020/high-risk-low-pay-for-reef-fish-catchers | Inquirer |
It’s more fun–and profitable–with farm tourism, Puyat hopes | Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat has sought to ease the concerns of ordinary farmers as farm tourism take a foothold in the country.Farm tourism will help boost the agriculture sector, which constitutes just 9 percent of the country’s gross domestic product, Puyat said at the Meet Inquirer Multimedia forum last week.“Farm tourism sites can only help agriculture. Number one because (it) encourages the tourists to go to the farms,” she said.Puyat, who served as agriculture undersecretary before being appointed to head the Department of Tourism (DOT), said the enactment of the Farm Tourism Development Act of 2016 also helped promote agriculture.“When I entered the DA (Department of Agriculture), nobody was really interested in agriculture. It wasn’t considered cool, honestly. Now everybody wants to buy local, everybody wants to support local,” she said.Accredited farms“Now people just don’t look at the beaches, they just don’t go shopping. They also like to go to the farms and harvest [the produce] themselves,” Puyat said.Puyat said at least 10 accredited farm sites joined the recent food and travel expo Philippine Harvest, which showcased local products from different parts of the country.In July, the DOT and the International School of Sustainable Tourism (ISST) also hosted the first Global Farm Tourism Summit that sought to promote the emerging trend among farm owners, local governments and the academe.Dr. Mina Gabor, ISST president, said converting farmlands into tourist destinations “has changed completely the whole scenario of farming.”Grapes, orangesGabor said that ever since the farm tourism law was enacted, they had seen “indications” of an uptrend in the sector. She conceded, though, that it was “too early” to come up with figures on farm tourism arrivals and the revenues generated.The DOT coordinates with the regional agriculture offices in identifying farm tourism sites in the provinces, Puyat said.Among the existing destinations, she said, are the grape farms in La Union, an orange farm in Sagada, Mountain Province; and the Costales Nature Farm in Majayjay, Laguna.Farm tourism also helps promote indigenous products like the adlai grains that are being produced in Mindanao.At the summit, Cavite State University (CvSU) president Dr. Ruperto Sangalang said there were about 32 accredited farm tourism projects in the Philippines, about half of which are located in the Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon region.“Inclusiveness [of the poor farmers is also] an important concern … How can they benefit from this booming farm tourism projects,” Sangalang said.CvSu plans to open an 8- to 10-hectare farm in Indang, Cavite, as a university-run farm tourism site.Cluster destinationsThe Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture, with headquarters at the University of the Philippines Los Baños in Laguna, will also open an agricultural museum to highlight the importance of food security.Gabor said they would encourage the creation of “cluster destinations” wherein a single destination could offer a variety of products.“Even the youth are more interested in agriculture. The Philippines is so beautiful, it’s so easy to sell,” Puyat said. | ['Maricar Cinco'] | 2017-05-26 21:10:59+00:00 | https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1027248/its-more-fun-and-profitable-with-farm-tourism-puyat-hopes | Inquirer |
Congress should hold joint session – senator | Congress needs to hold a joint session because the reasons given by President Rodrigo Duterte in his report to the legislature justifying his decision to place Mindanao under martial law were not enough, opposition Sen. Risa Hontiveros said on Friday.According to the senator, the reasons enumerated by President Duterte were shallow and unresponsive.The President, Hontiveros said, failed to convince her that the declaration and the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus were appropriate and proportional responses to the threat of the Maute Group that attacked Marawi City on Friday.She added that the Duterte report was only limited to incidents in Marawi City and Lanao del Sur, giving her more reasons to doubt the need for the declaration and the suspensionHontiveros said the President mobilizing the Armed Forces is enough to address “lawless violence, invasion and rebellion.”She called on Congress to convene its members to discuss the report to decide on whether to revoke it.“With all due respect to the leaders of the two chambers of the legislature, but how can we get the exact sense of the majority of the lawmakers if we don’t convene in a joint session? I hope the legislature is not taking the declaration of martial law lightly,” Hontiveros said.Senate President Aquilino Pimentel 3rd and House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez both said there is no need for a joint session if the majority of its members agree with the declaration of martial law.Hontiveros, however, said the Constitution does not say that convening a joint session on the declaration of martial law is optional.Sen. Francis Pangilinan, Liberal Party president, said Congress must hold a joint session on the declaration in a public and transparent manner and in an official proceeding.Pangilinan added that Congress could go into executive session to prevent sensitive matters that may compromise ongoing military operations and safety of security forces from being discussed in public.While, Article VII, Section 18 of the Constitution does not mandate Congress to approve these two extraordinary executive powers, he said, public accountability, transparency and the right of the people to be informed of matters of public interest are all constitutional tenets, and thus form constitutional bases for the joint session. | ['Jefferson Antiporda'] | 2017-05-26 21:10:59+00:00 | https://www.manilatimes.net/congress-hold-joint-session-senator/329473/ | Manila Times |
Amtrak service between Philly, Washington slowly resuming | Amtrak service is slowly being restored between Philadelphia and Washington after a freight train derailment in southeastern Pennsylvania caused track damage that the regional transportation agency said will need extensive repair.Amtrak had suspended its service between Philadelphia and Washington on Thursday, hours after two cars of a Norfolk Southern freight train left the tracks late Wednesday night. The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority also suspended its Wilmington/Newark line and used extra trains on alternative routes.Media reports say two cars from an 88-car train dumped loads of stone onto the tracks when they derailed late Wednesday. No injuries have been reported.Amtrak suspended service shortly after 5 a.m. Thursday, but said on its Twitter account that service was starting to resume with significant delays remaining on many lines.There was no estimate from Amtrak or SEPTA on when services would be completely restored. Both said they expected residual delays throughout Thursday. | [] | 03/05/2018 0:00 | https://news.mb.com.ph/2018/05/03/amtrak-service-between-philly-washington-slowly-resuming/ | Manila Bulletin |
Lacson warns of revolution if prices are not checked | “When the stomach protests, prepare for revolution.”Sen. Panfilo Lacson issued this warning on Sunday, urging the government to do something to arrest price increases being blamed on the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Act.“This is the experience not only in our country but in countries in Latin America,” Lacson said in an interview with radio station dzBB.In the House of Representatives, the chair of the powerful ways and means committee expressed willingness to discuss proposals to suspend the collection of additional excise on fuel, but not the enforcement of the entire TRAIN law.“What we do not want is to hastily stop the TRAIN law,” Quirino Rep. Dakila Carlo Cua said in an interview, also with dzBB.Different storyLacson said it was a different story when the people’s stomachs began complaining. “Let us not wait for things to go badly.”He urged the government to do something to arrest the rise in prices of almost everything.The senator said that while he was not encouraging protests, “it’s a fact of life.”Lacson said he had predicted the inflationary effect of the TRAIN law in the course of opposing the measure. The tax law was passed last year and took effect on Jan. 1.“I don’t regret voting against the measure,” he said in a tweet.Advice to DOFHe recalled that he advised the Department of Finance (DOF) last year against raising the excise on fuel and instead review 143 exemptions to the 12-percent value-added tax (VAT).He said Malaysia’s 6-percent VAT had only 14 exemptions and Thailand’s 7-percent VAT had only 25 exemptions.Lacson said eliminating many of the VAT exemptions could have generated an additional revenue of P117.5 billion a year.He said his proposals “would hit ecozones, power, housing, cooperatives and other industries.”“As you know, some of my colleagues had stakes in the industries that would be affected,” he said.VAT exemptionsLacson repeated his proposal to remove several VAT exemptions and said he would consult with finance officials for a bill with that objective.On suspending the collection of increased excise on fuel, the senator said the problem would be how to fill the revenue gap that such a move would create.“The problem there is revenue erosion,” he said. “Where will you find the revenue to compensate for it? We need to study it so it is holistic.”“It is easy to call for the suspension of excise on fuel. That is not only popular, it’s an easy solution, but how will you fill the shortfall?” he said.Cua said stopping the whole TRAIN law would not be beneficial to the people.Excise on fuelBut he added that it should be proven first that additional excise on fuel really caused a “huge pressure for prices to increase.”Cua echoed the government economic managers’ claim that only 0.4 percent of the 4.5-percent inflation rate in April was due to the TRAIN law’s effects.He said “the government would lose double” if the reduction of income taxes continued but the collection of increased excise on fuel and other goods stopped.The TRAIN law, which overhauled the income tax regime and increased the ceiling for tax-exempt salaries, imposed a new P3 tax for every liter of kerosene, P2.50 for every liter of diesel and bunker fuel, and P1 for every kilogram of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).Tax rates on kerosene, diesel, bunker fuel and LPG would be further adjusted to P4, P4.50 and P2 in 2019 and P5, P6 and P3 in 2020.The TRAIN law also imposed tax rates of P7 per liter of unleaded premium gasoline, naphtha, regular gasoline and pyrolysis gasoline.The effects of the TRAIN law on consumer prices coincided with the steady increase of crude oil prices in the world market.In a separate statement, Magdalo Rep. Gary Alejano reiterated his call for an urgent review of the TRAIN law and the suspension of the excise collection “if necessary.”Alejano noted that there had been forewarnings about the TRAIN law’s negative impact on the poor but these were brushed aside due to assurances that the poorest families would be given unconditional cash transfers of P2,400 each for the entire year.“However, we are seeing that safety nets are still promises while the poor are being [battered] by high prices of commodities,” he said. | ['Philippine Daily Inquirer'] | 04/01/2017 0:00 | https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/994808/lacson-warns-of-revolution-if-prices-are-not-checked | Inquirer |
Water recedes in Pangasinan but floods hit Ecija town | Floodwaters receded in 75 villages in the towns of Calasiao, Santa Barbara, Agno, Lingayen, Bugallon and Binmaley and Dagupan City in Pangasinan province on Sunday, even as flash floods hit Gabaldon town in Nueva Ecija province.Last week’s rains left one person dead and destroyed P268 million worth of infrastructure in Pangasinan, according to the provincial disaster risk reduction and management office here.The lone casualty was Jhared Gumapos, 6, who drowned in a river in Barangay Calit in Binmaley on Aug. 18. More than 200 families, who sought refuge in evacuation centers, had returned home.In Nueva Ecija, hundreds of commuters and motorists were stranded for hours as sections of the highway linking Gabaldon and Dingalan town in Aurora were rendered impassable on Saturday when rocks from eroded mountainsides blocked the road. A heavy downpour also flooded most parts of the highway.Leopoldo Ordoñez, a village councilman, said rocks fell on the highway at 3 p.m. Traffic began flowing at 9 p.m.The flash floods prompted Gabaldon officials to relocate 38 people to Calabasa Elementary School and 20 people to Bagting Elementary School in the town.In Pampanga province, the number of flooded villages in the City of San Fernando and in 10 towns dropped from 192 to 111 on Friday when good weather prevailed over Central Luzon.Floods persisted in communities beside the banks of the Pampanga River in Arayat and Candaba towns as water draining from upstream went near or past the critical levels, data from the Pampanga River Flood Forecasting and Warning Center showed. Gabriel Cardinoza, Inquirer Northern Luzon, and Armand Galang and Tonette Orejas, Inquirer Central Luzon | ['Inquirer Central Luzon', 'Inquirer Northern Luzon'] | 04/01/2017 0:00 | https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/808246/water-recedes-in-pangasinan-but-floods-hit-ecija-town | Inquirer |
Duterte to drug users: Stay home or I’ll kill you if I see you | President Rodrigo Duterte said on Saturday he was planning to order drug users to stay in their homes to keep them off the streets and stop them from turning to crime to fund their habit. If they defy him, they would have to face dire consequences.In his speech during the San Beda College of Law Alumni Homecoming, Duterte cited observations that drug users who would rob or kill others to get money for their fix were no longer loitering in the streets at night, apparently afraid of being caught.“How do we make it permanent in the coming days?” he said. “I will make it a must, a mandate that all of you affected by drugs, do not leave your homes. I do not have prisons. Go inside your homes and lock the doors.”“Pag lumabas kayo, putang ina kayo, papatayin ko kayo pag makita ko kaya sa labas,” he said.(If you go out, you sons of bitches, I will kill you if I see you outside.)He said these drug users could not just be treated lightly by tapping them on the shoulder and appealing to them to stop their habit for the sake of other Filipinos.“Can we legislate fear, respect for the law?” he said.He defended his administration’s war against illegal drugs in his speech, saying he was doing it for the next generation.He also said he was planning to send copies of the report on the illegal drug trade to the National Security Council and the leaders of Congress so that they could formulate a plan on how to handle the problem. | ['Leila B. Salaverria'] | 01/04/2018 0:00 | https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/848238/duterte-to-drug-users-stay-home-or-ill-kill-you-if-i-see-you | Inquirer |
Bangsamoro Organic Law still faces serious challenges | A Cotabato City think tank has advised against too much rejoicing over the enactment of the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL), saying the charter of a proposed new autonomous region for Muslims in Mindanao still needs to clear a plebiscite and beat a possible legal challenge.President Rodrigo Duterte last week signed the BOL, a key step to ending a Muslim rebellion in the south that had claimed more than 150,000 lives since the 1970s.Tens of thousands of Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) members, supporters and local residents from various parts of Mindanao, including women in headscarves and fighters carrying firearms, trooped to the main MILF camp in Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao province, for a consultation on Sunday.‘Most people want peace’Their leaders are seeking support for the law ahead of a plebiscite on the measure, which establishes an expanded autonomous region for Muslims in Mindanao and is aimed at ending one of Asia’s longest and deadliest conflicts.“This is our dream. If we end this [fighting], hopefully we can live in peace,” Nasser Samama, a 61-year-old veteran rebel fighter, said inside the MILF’s headquarters in Camp Darapanan.“Most people want peace and so do we in the MILF forces. What the MILF has achieved is not just for our group but for the whole of Mindanao,” Samama said.The BOL aims to enforce a 2014 peace deal between the government and the MILF, under which the rebel group vowed to give up its quest for independence and lay down the weapons of its 30,000 fighters in return for self-rule.Under the BOL, a new political entity called Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) would replace the current Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) established following a 1996 deal with another rebel group, the Moro National Liberation Front.The BARMM will have more powers and cover a bigger area.Last week’s signing of the BOL was met with rejoicing in Mindanao.But on Sunday lawyer Benedicto Bacani, executive director of the Institute for Autonomy and Governance, cautioned against too much excitement about the BOL, citing the challenges facing the measure.“The initial challenges [for the BOL] is to hurdle [possible] constitutional challenges and for its ratification in the plebiscite,” Bacani said.He stressed that the charter for the BARMM must first be ratified by the people in the proposed expanded Muslim autonomous region.The BOL provides that a plebiscite will be held three to five months after the law is approved to legalize the creation of the BARMM.Besides the ARMM, which encompasses the provinces of Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur, Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi, the plebiscite will be held in 39 villages in North Cotabato, six towns in Lanao del Norte, and the cities of Cotabato and Isabela.But the BOL may not get that far before the Philippine Constitution Association and the group of former Sulu Gov. Abdusakur Tan question the constitutionality of the law in the Supreme Court.Bacani said one of the constitutional issues the two groups may raise could be the parliamentary system of government.The 1987 Constitution provides for a presidential system of government for all of the Philippines.While the BARMM would be an integral part of the Philippines, the region would have a parliamentary government that some people see as putting it parallel to the national government, effectively making it a state within a state.Resolving a challenge could take years.But once the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) and the BARMM are in place, Bacani said the two entities should ensure that peace dividends and better security must be felt in the communities.For the BARMM to succeed, he said, it is vital for the regional government to be efficient, accountable and transparent in handling the region’s finances, and for the national government to make sure that committed funds are delivered on time.Upright governmentIn interview with Radyo Inquirer 990 AM on Sunday, Bangsamoro Transition Commission Chair Ghadzali Jaafar gave assurance that the regional government would be upright.“[W]e give our assurance that this government is different from the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao,” Jaafar said, without elaborating.Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Undersecretary Nabil Tan described the BOL as “an inclusive law that will provide equal protection to all constituents in the region and not just one sector.” | ['Bong S. Sarmiento'] | 01/04/2018 0:00 | https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1015657/bangsamoro-organic-law-still-faces-serious-challenges | Inquirer |
Binay, Duterte, Poe, Roxas square off in delay-marred Cebu debate | Despite a delay which lasted for more than an hour, the second government-organized presidential debate finally kicked off in Cebu City on Sunday evening with four of the five official presidential candidates taking the stage and sharing their plans should they become the country’s next leader.READ: Longer, feistier second presidential debate vowedVice President Jejomar Binay, Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, Senator Grace Poe and former Interior Secretary Manuel “Mar” Roxas II were in the city to participate in the Visayas leg of the presidential debates organized by the Commission on Elections (Comelec).Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago opted to skip Sunday’s debate to participate in a clinical trial of a new anticancer drug.READ: Santiago to skip Comelec debate to try new anticancer pillThe debate, which is being held at the University of the Philippines (UP) Cebu Performing Arts Hall, was scheduled for 5 p.m. but started at 6:31 p.m. It is expected to last for three hours.READ: Row over rules delays second presidential debateThe delay was allegedly caused by confusion in the rules if candidates are allowed to bring their notes on stage or not.The Cebu debate, hosted by TV 5 and the Philippine Star, will feature two rounds: the first round is panel format while the second round will allow interaction among candidates.Both rounds of the debate will be moderated by veteran journalist Luchi Cruz-Valdes.The second round will zero in on discussions on climate change and disaster risk reduction, education, healthcare and corruption.The first leg of the debate, which was in dual moderator format, was hosted by GMA 7 and the Philippine Daily Inquirer. AJHRELATED VIDEOS | [] | 01/04/2018 0:00 | https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/775226/binay-duterte-poe-roxas-square-off-in-delay-marred-cebu-debate | Inquirer |
OrMin officials urge CA to confirm Lopez | Local government officials here have urged members of the powerful Commission on Appointments (CA) to allow the confirmation of Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Secretary Regina “Gina” Paz L. Lopez whose appointment in the said special constitutional body remains stalled since January 17.Oriental Mindoro Governor Alfonso V. Umali Jr. and Occidental Mindoro Gov. Mario Gene J. Mendiola both expressed their full support to Lopez whom they consider as the right person to occupy the said Cabinet position to protect areas in the country from destructive large-scale mining operations.The call of the two governors were echoed by Calapan City Mayor Arnan C. Panaligan, Calapan City Vice Mayor Gil Ramirez, Naujan Mayor Mark Marcos, and ex-Victoria Mayor Jun Ortega who all vouched for the fitness of Lopez to head the DENR during a multi-sectoral anti-mining rally held last Monday at Oriental Mindoro National High School in Calapan City.The local government officials got the solid backing of the Catholic church headed by Bishop Warlito Cajandig, city and provincial capitol employees, non-governmental organizations, students, environment activists and Mangyan indigenous tribesmen. | [] | 02/03/2017 0:00 | https://news.mb.com.ph/2017/03/02/ormin-officials-urge-ca-to-confirm-lopez/ | Manila Bulletin |
Duterte-Misuari meeting seen to spur peace process | The recent meeting between President Rodrigo Duterte and Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) chairman Nur Misuari will spur the peace process with separatist rebels based mostly in Mindanao, a youth leader said on Saturday.Sol Bayam, a member of MNLF-Youth, said the meeting “provided a dramatic symbolism in the commitment between President Duterte and chairman Misuari in achieving a lasting peace solution in Mindanao.”He said that it is “the most correct way” to achieve peace in the South.Bayam said that Duterte’s move to invite Misuari and other MNLF leaders in Malacañang showed that the president has a clear understanding of the historical and political backdrop of armed conflict in Mindanao.“I had cleared this also with my elders—kasi ang nangyari doon sa [because what happened with the] BBL (Bangsamoro Basic Law), with the previous administration, ang kinausap lang nila ‘yung [they only talked to the] MILF (Moro Islamic Liberation Front). Para sa akin, bilang taga Mindanao, hindi puwede ang selective approach [for me, being from Mindanao, a selective approach will not work],” he said.“Kasi kung tutuusin [Because, in reality], with all due respect, mas binding ang signatory ng MNLF na hinahawakan ni Misuari [the approval of the MNLF faction that Misuari leads is more binding],” Bayam noted.The MNLF founder arrived met Duterte on Thursday after the Regional Trial Court of Pasig City suspended for six months the enforcement of his arrest warrant.“I came here to thank him for restoring my freedom, if only partially. I am so happy to be free again, owing to the initiative of our President,” the MNLF founder said.“Just allow me to reiterate my sense of gratitude to the President and I promise that should he need our cooperation in his campaign for peace, you can count on us, Mr. President,” he added. | ['Angelica Ballesteros'] | 2016-11-05 21:28:51+00:00 | https://www.manilatimes.net/duterte-misuari-meeting-seen-spur-peace-process/294959/ | Manila Times |
PDEA gives out P4.6-M rewards | The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) marked its 15th anniversary on Wednesday by giving cash rewards totaling P4,620,609 to three informants responsible for the dismantling of a “shabu” laboratory and the arrest of six drug suspects, including two Chinese nationals.Two of the informants received P2 million each while another was rewarded P620,609 under the PDEA’s Operation Private Eye, an incentive scheme to motivate private citizens to report illegal drug activities in their neighborhoods.During the anniversary rites at the PDEA headquarters in Quezon City, PDEA Director General Isidro Lapeña also credited the agency’s personnel and officials for their successful antinarcotics campaign.The three informants, identified only as “Jun,” “Hasmin,” and “Kagawad,” wore ski masks during the awarding ceremonies led by the PDEA chief.Jun, who was given P2 million, tipped off the PDEA special enforcement service and the PNP Anti-Illegal Drugs Group special operations unit in Central Luzon about the activities of a Bulacan-based narcotics syndicate which resulted in the confiscation of some 58 kilograms of shabu, and the arrest of four suspects in Sta. Maria town on May 15 last year.Hasmin got a P2-million reward for providing information to the PDEA’s Metro Manila-based office, which resulted in the seizure of some P100-million worth of shabu and the arrest of a Chinese national in an Aug. 5, 2016 raid at a warehouse in Hensonville, Malabañas, Angeles City.Kagawad was given P620,609 cash after providing the PDEA National Capital Region office information leading to the confiscation of 7,483.8 grams of shabu and the arrest of a Chinese national in a July 5, 2016 antidrug operation in Executive Villagers Society, Phase 5 in Parañaque City.PDEA public information office chief Derrick Arnold Carreon explained that while the two informants were given rewards in round figures, Kagawad’s cash reward was based on the quantity and quality of the shabu.He said cash rewards were usually computed based on the type of illegal drug seized, the amount and its purity. Information leading to the discovery and dismantling of shabu laboratories carry a higher reward.In his speech, Lapeña cited the accomplishments of the PDEA personnel and other law enforcement agencies in the war on drugs from July 1, 2016 to May 15 this year.According to Lapeña, 57,892 antidrug operations resulted in the arrest of 73,125 drug suspects, the seizure of P14.5-billion worth of dangerous drugs, the dismantling of eight shabu laboratories and 139 drug dens, as well as the filing of over 35,000 drug cases.Lapeña described as a “phenomenon” the voluntary surrender of drug users, saying it was a first anywhere in the world.He said this translated to an “instant disruption of the illegal drug distribution channel and a 26.45-percent reduction of the estimated total drug market of 4.7 million drug users in the country.” | ['Jeannette I. Andrade'] | 09/11/2016 0:00 | https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/905998/pdea-gives-out-p4-6-m-rewards | Inquirer |
18 fishers rescued in Visayas | Eighteen fishermen were rescued by the Philippine Coast Guard in separate incidents in the Visayas over the weekend, the Coast Guard reported yesterday.Fourteen fishermen were picked by the Coast Guard Substation in Padre Burgos and the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office (MDRRMO) last Saturday from two capsized boats in Southern Leyte.The group was sailing to Bontoc, Southern Leyte, when they encountered strong winds and their boats were battered by strong waves.Rescuers found the fishermen clinging to their boats in the waters of Barangay Cabulihan, Limasawa Island.The Coast Guard said all 14 were in good physical condition and were given medical attention by the municipal health officer. The boats are now under MDRRMO custody.Four stranded fishermen were rescued by the Coast Guard substation in Libertad from their damaged boat in Antique last Sunday.Nolmer Juanico, Noel Juanico, Jerald Juanico and Eddie Sarancanlao were on an unnamed motor boat when a seaborne patrol team from CGSS Libertad heard their screams for help. | [] | 09/11/2016 0:00 | https://news.mb.com.ph/2016/11/09/18-fishers-rescued-in-visayas/ | Manila Bulletin |
Cemeteries sacred ground to celebrate life–bishops | Caloocan Bishop Pablo David has urged the faithful to preserve the sacredness of cemeteries during the annual commemoration of All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day.In an interview over the Church-run Radyo Veritas, David reminded Filipinos, who typically honor their dead in festive fashion, to give respect to the tombs of their departed loved ones.“Please, let us not disrespect the graves of the departed by littering,” he said. “Please let us be more mindful of the holiness the sacredness of our cemeteries. Cemeteries are also called Kampo Santo, it means ‘sacred ground.’”“Let us pray. Let us make our visit to our departed loved ones sacred, David added.Solemn occasionWhile the observance of the day of the dead is supposed to be solemn, many Filipinos use the occasion to plan family gatherings at the tombs, where drinking and even open-air karaoke singing sessions are held.Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo also reminded the faithful that the commemoration of All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day should be a “celebration of life” and not a time for spooky and scary stories.“What do we bring to the cemeteries? We bring fresh flowers, not plastic ones. We light candles. We bring food. Fresh flower, lighted candles, food—all of these are symbols of life. Hence, we bring life to the cemeteries. It is our Christian belief that there is life beyond death,” said Pabillo in his blog.He urged the faithful to pray for their departed loved ones.‘Secular’ Halloween“We do not go to the cemeteries just to eat and see each other, not even just to remember the dead. We go there to pray for them … We ask their help through our prayers. In fact, the lighting of the candle and the putting of fresh flowers are done reverently. They signify our prayers,” the prelate said.Pabillo, chair of the Episcopal Commission on the Laity, said Catholics should not follow the “secular way” of observing Halloween. Scary costumes make Halloween a “celebration of death” instead of life, he said.“[D]ue to commercialism and pagan influences, the celebration of life and holiness is being turned into time of fear, horror and death. This is the Halloween culture that many are unwittingly embracing, as if it is funny and cool,” he said. | ['Tina G. Santos'] | 11/05/2017 0:00 | https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1049148/cemeteries-sacred-ground-to-celebrate-life-bishops | Inquirer |
SC to SolGen: Submit reports on drug kills | Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio on Tuesday ordered the Philippine National Police and Solicitor General Jose Calida to submit to the tribunal the police investigation reports on the killing of 3,806 suspects in President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs.That will not be easy to do for Calida and the PNP.The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) tried to get copies of the investigation reports in September, but the CHR was told by the Department of the Interior and Local Government and the PNP that release of the reports needed clearance from President Duterte.The CHR was investigating the drug killings but Mr. Duterte, speaking at a news conference, said, “You address your request through me because the Armed Forces is under me and the police is under me.”Now, with the Supreme Court order coming down on Tuesday at the close of oral arguments on two challenges to Mr. Duterte’s war on drugs, Calida and PNP Director General Ronald dela Rosa have to convince Mr. Duterte to release the reports.Names and allCarpio said the documents should contain the names, addresses, police operational plans and other important information of the entire “Oplan Tokhang” operations from July 1, 2016, to Nov. 30.Carpio said he also wanted the names of the police officers who took part in the operations and the members of the PNP crime scene investigators who processed the bodies and gathered the evidence at the crime scenes.“The records must be there because these are supposedly legitimate drug operations. I want the names, addresses and all these reports. You must know them because you are investigating them,” Carpio told Calida.Some suspects ‘silenced’“On the deaths under investigation, since they are under investigation, you must have the names, addresses, ages and gender of those who were killed. Even the date, time and place of the killing,” he added.Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno granted Calida’s request to give the government 60 days to comply with the tribunal’s order.Earlier in the proceedings, Associate Justice Samuel Martires observed that some of the drug suspects slain in Mr. Duterte’s war on drugs appeared to have been “silenced” by the police.Martires and other justices on the tribunal cast doubts on the questionable circumstances surrounding the deaths of some drug suspects.He took note of the inconsistencies in the official police report on the supposed “buy-bust” operation that led to the killing of Ryan Dave Almora, an alleged drug pusher in Baguio City.The death of Almora was cited in the petition brought by the Free Legal Assistance Group urging the Supreme Court to declare unconstitutional Command Memorandum Circular (CMC) 16-2016 of the PNP that gave birth to Oplan Tokhang, under which police raided slum communities to arrest drug users and pushers, and killed those who put up resistance.“We have always been asking you about the use of the word ‘neutralize.’ But the way I look at it, some of these [drug suspects] were silenced by police officers,” Martires told Calida.“‘Silencing’ and ‘neutralizing’ are two different things. To ‘neutralize’ is not to ‘silence.’ To ‘silence’ [means] that the police officers are involved in the drug operations and they want to silence the alleged suspect,” he said.No kill policyCalida said the PNP Internal Affairs Office had been investigating the alleged involvement of some policemen in summary killings of drug suspects, as he assured the justices that the Duterte administration had not sanctioned a “kill policy” in carrying out the war on drugs.“All fingers point to the Office of the President as the one involved in the extrajudicial killings that’s why we are asking these questions,” said Martires, Mr. Duterte’s first appointee to the Supreme Court.Citing the official police report, Martires questioned why the PNP sent eight different units in conducting a sting operation on July 28, 2016, against Almora.Calida claimed that Almora was not the only target of the operation. He said the Baguio police mounted the operation to get the members of the “Lakay Group.”Martires, a Baguio resident who had served on the Regional Trial Court in Agoo, La Union, pointed out that the police report and the local media reports did not mention the name of the supposed criminal gang.“There were two police chief inspectors involved, eight units from the PNP in a buy-bust operation. Was this not an overkill?” Martires asked Calida.“Eight police units, not eight personnel. Eight units, meaning to say, eight different units from the Philippine National Police,” he stressed. “And they were all in combat uniform. How could one act as poseur buyer if you are in police uniform?”Apparently stunned by Martires’ questions, Calida replied: “Maybe [Almora] has a sixth sense that [he realized] those are police officers out to buy-bust him.”But Martires was not amused by the Solicitor General’s answer, as he directed him to submit all documents pertinent to Almora’s killing. | ['Marlon Ramos'] | 11/05/2017 0:00 | https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/950452/sc-to-solgen-submit-reports-on-drug-kills | Inquirer |
MPD steps up probe on Quiapo twin blasts | Crimes Against Persons Investigation Section (CAPIS), said that the identities of the three individuals, two men and a woman, will not be divulged because they are not yet considered as suspects.Anicete said that the three individuals were only invited to the MPD headquarters to give statements, believing that they could shed light on the incident, which could help the on-going investigation.Prior to the said invitation, authorities again cordoned off the blast site for a follow- up investigation, yesterday morning.The twin explosions on Norzagaray Street killed two people and wounded six others. | [] | 11/05/2017 0:00 | https://news.mb.com.ph/2017/05/11/mpd-steps-up-probe-on-quiapo-twin-blasts/ | Manila Bulletin |
2nd day of canvass: Bongbong leads Leni | Sen. Ferdinand Marcos Jr. led Camarines Rep. Leni Robredo by fewer than 100,000 votes in the partial, official count in the vice presidential race as of 9:55 p.m. on the second day of canvassing.At the end of the canvassing last night, Marcos had a lead of 83,480 over Robredo in the partial, official tally of the joint canvassing committee.Marcos had 13,214,810 votes while Robredo had 13,131,330 votes.At one point during the canvassing, Marcos’ lead jumped to more than 2 million votes, especially after the canvassing of many of the certificates of canvass (COCs) from provinces in northern Luzon, including Ilocos Sur and Ilocos Norte, which are known bailiwicks of his family.READ: Marcos overtakes Robredo as ‘Solid North’ votes canvassedBut Robredo was able to whittle down Marcos’ lead after the COC from Camarines Sur, Eastern Samar, Cebu, Negros Occidental, Samar, and Agusan del Sur were counted.The canvassing committee has counted 113 COCs so far— 45 on Wednesday, and 68 on Thursday.Four COCs—Iloilo, Antique, Canada, and Kuwait— were suspended.There are a total of 165 COCs.The camp of Marcos repeatedly raised the matter of undervoting in the vice presidential election on the second day of the canvassing for the presidential and vice presidential races by the national board of canvassers.But the camp of Robredo downplayed the undervoting, stating there was nothing unusual about voters abstaining from voting for a Vice President.The 94 canvassed COCs included the three from Laguna, Ilocos Sur and Davao del Norte, the canvassing of which was suspended on Wednesday due to questions about their transmission.The chairs of the board of canvassers in these three provinces explained that they corrected discrepancies after being granted authority by the Commission on Elections (Comelec).Suspension of canvassingThe canvassing of two COCs in Antique and Kuwait were suspended by the joint committee of the NBOC.It suspended the canvass of the COC from Antique due to the discrepancy in the manual and electronically transmitted COCs and pending the appearance within 24 hours of the provincial board of canvassers there before the joint committee for their explanation.‘Unaccounted’ votesAs for the COC of Kuwait, it was mailed to Manila but was awaiting customs clearance.At Thursday’s canvassing, Marcos lawyers George Garcia and Didagen Dilangalen cited figures of undervoting in most of the COCs that were opened.For instance, they reported undervoting or “unaccounted votes” in the province of Compostella Valley of 38,536 votes or 10.80 percent of the total votes.Also with unaccounted votes were the provinces or Occidental Mindoro, Bulacan, Misamis Oriental, Catanduanes and Agusan del Norte.After Dilangalen raised the undervoting figures in Compostela, Robredo’s lawyer stood up to say that the matter of undervoting “has no legal basis,” noting that this was not even contained in the COCs.“Some voters abstained from voting for a position. That happens to all positions,” Romulo Macalintal told the joint committee.“Undervoting is not a manifestation of any fraud, error or irregularity,” he also said, citing that this was the decision in the Comelec case of Mathay versus Castelo.But Dilangalen stood up again, noting that the case mentioned by Macalintal “does not involved automated elections but manual elections.”Out to create doubtMacalintal told the Inquirer later the Marcos camp was apparently out “to create doubt regarding the elections” with its continued raising of the undervoting issue.“It’s not unusual,” he said. In undervotes, the “total voters who actually voted minus total votes actually received by candidates equals to undervotes,” said Robredo’s lawyer.‘Quite improbable’Sen. Vicente Sotto III, a member of the Senate panel, said Marcos’ lawyers “just want to make it known that its quite improbable that a certain number of people did not vote for a Vice President.”The Senate panel chair, Sen. Koko Pimentel, made a personal manifestation during the exchange between Dilangalen and Macalintal, saying he would welcome any memorandum from any of the political parties of the total number of undervotes recorded.On Monday, Marcos raised the matter of undervotes in the May 9 polls, saying there were 3 million undervotes.RELATED STORIESMacalintal: Nothing irregular with undervotes in VP fightRobredo, Marcos counsels clash on undervotes | ['Christine O. Avendaño', 'Leila B. Salaverria'] | 2017-03-26 01:06:02+00:00 | https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/787765/2nd-day-of-canvass-bongbong-leads-leni | Inquirer |
DepEd probes mercury leak in Manila Science High School | THE Department of Education (DepEd) has ordered the continuous monitoring of the students, teachers and personnel affected by the mercury leak at the Manila Science High School (MSHS) as it directed officials to probe the incident. DepEd-NCR Regional Director Ponciano Andal Menguito said that teachers and students will undergo screening and tests to be conducted jointly by the East Avenue Medical Center in Quezon City and the Manila City Health Office. Based on the monitoring of the school division office’s nurses, the two teachers and two students who were exposed to the chemical did not show any sign of dizziness or breathing difficulties. MSHS principal Eva Nacion said 60 ml of mercury was spilled on the corridor of the laboratory on March 18. The school suspect classed on March 20. | ['Neil Alcober'] | 2017-03-26 01:06:02+00:00 | https://www.manilatimes.net/deped-probes-mercury-leak-manila-science-high-school/319245/ | Manila Times |
Ombudsman set to wrap up Mamasapano probe | Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales expects her office to wrap up its probe on the Jan. 25 bloody encounter in Mamasapano, Maguindanao province, next month even as she cited an “urgent need to unearth the truth in the name of peace.”Morales, this year’s recipient of the 16th Annual Peace Awards from Rotary International District 3830, told Rotarians on Thursday that the fall of 44 Philippine National Police Special Action Force commandos in the line of duty a month ago had sparked instantaneous reactions from various quarters suggesting a possible delay or even derailment of the ongoing peace process.“This is truly a difficult time for the entire nation,” she said during her acceptance speech at the awarding ceremonies held at SMX in SM Aura, Taguig City.Low-profileHer office seeks to contribute to the search for the truth through the Office of the Deputy Ombudsman for the Military and other Law Enforcement Offices (Moleo). She said the Moleo has been conducting for the past 29 days its own fact-finding investigation “in a low-profile manner away from the limelight that focuses on the sometimes dimming atmosphere in other fora.”“I expect to receive the Moleo report next month,” Morales said.The Ombudsman’s main task is to promote integrity and efficiency and high ethical standards in public service through proactive approaches in graft prevention and public assistance, prompt investigation of complaints and aggressive prosecution of cases filed against erring public officials and employees. Morales vowed to continue waging war against corruption.Major threat to peace“Among other snags to attaining genuine and lasting accord, corruption is one of the major threats to stability and peace,” she said.Quoting a study by the Transparency International Netherlands in 2014, she said corruption increases the risk of conflict and conflict increases the risk of corruption.“The widely accepted proposition is that less corruption helps build a stronger pace. The most peaceful countries are often the least corrupt,” she said.In accepting the Peace Award, Morales said she has observed that the distinction seemed to be bestowed each year to persons waging various wars, whether it be against a dictatorship, against environmental degradation or against poverty and other social inequities.“I am honored to be included in the company of eminent Peace Awardees including two presidents, two Cabinet secretaries, two cardinals, two priests, two Red Cross officials, two lawmakers, among other proponents of peace,” she said.The Rotary Peace awards was instituted by the Makati Clubs of then Rotary District 3810, spearheaded by Rotary Club of Makati San Lorenzo in 1999 to give recognition to persons who embody Rotary’s ideals of peace, fellowship and world understanding, whose actions and advocacies promote peace and international understanding through their selfless service to humanity.The first recipient of this award was the late President Corazon Aquino in 1999. The others are: President Fidel V. Ramos (2000); the late Jaime Cardinal Sin (2001); the late Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief of Staff General Angelo Reyes and Ricardo Cardinal Vidal (2002); environmentalist and ABS-CBN Foundation president Gina Lopez (2003); the late Fr. James Reuter, SJ (2004); Philippine Red Cross governor Rosa Rosal (2005);Tuloy sa Don Bosco Foundation founder Fr. Rocky Evangelista (2006); the late Pro Life-Philippines founder Sr. Pilar Versoza (2007); Gawad Kalinga founder Tony Meloto (2008); Former Isabela Governor and Comelec Commissioner Grace Padaca (2009); Philippine Red Cross Chair Dick Gordon (2012); Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Secretary Teresita Deles (2013); and the late Local Government Secretary Jessie Robredo and Rep. Leni Robredo (2014).The program aims to “ignite the sparks that will lead to consciousness and actions toward peace on a daily basis.” | ['Doris Dumlao-Abadilla'] | 2017-05-06 01:13:11+00:00 | https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/675871/ombudsman-set-to-wrap-up-mamasapano-probe | Inquirer |
DoLE beefs up pool of labor inspectors | THE Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) is hiring at least 200 more labor law compliance officers (LLCOs) as it steps up its campaign against illegal forms of contracting and sub-contracting amid reports of non-compliance by some abusive employers, including some big-ticket corporations.DoLE Secretary Silvestre Bello 3rd on Friday disclosed that he has already requested the creation of 200 plantilla positions to augment the department’s existing pool of labor inspectors.At present, the Labor department has only 550 LLCOs, as against the more than 90,000 establishments and firms.“We will create regional inspection teams that directly report to the Office of the Secretary,” Bello said, adding that he has also tasked Undersecretaries Joel Maglunsod and Bernard Olalia to supervise the regional inspection teams.Earlier, he issued Admistrative Order (AO) 164 deputizing as labor inspectors qualified members of Legitimate Labor Organizations (LLO), Labor Associations (LA), Chartered Locals (CLs), National Union/Federation (NUF), Accredited Integrated Professional Organization/Accredited Professional Organization (AIPO/APO), Non-Government Organization (NGO) and Employer’s Organization (EO).President Rodrigo Duterte gave his imprimatur to the deputization of labor federations and trade union participation in government inspection of workplaces in the face of growing employers’ non-compliance with general labor standards and occupational safety and health.The DoLE has intensified its efforts in conducting Special Assessment and Visit to Establishments (SAVE) and Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) inspections of various companies and employers in the country to ensure that they comply with Department Order (DO) 174, the new guidelines on contracting and sub-contracting.Taking part in the initiative are DoLE-attached agencies such as the Bureau of Working Conditions (BWC) and Occupational Safety and Health Center (OSHC).As of April, around 47,000 workers had been regularized by their principals or employers in accordance with DO 174.“DoLE will make sure that companies and employers nationwide will strictly abide by the labor standards most especially in regularizing their employees. On top of that, workers should also be entitled to proper wages and benefits under the law,” Bello said.At least two big corporations, Philippine Long Distance Corp. (PLDT) and Philippine Airlines (PAL) and sister firm PAL Express (Palex), have been branded as among the top violators of labor laws after they were subjected to SAVE.Both firms though had assured the Labor department of full compliance with existing labor laws and regulations.But the Manggawa sa Komunikasyon ng Pilipinas (MKP), PLDT’s rank-and- file union, has disclosed that the communications company continues to violate DO 174.“While PLDT declares that it will continue to fully cooperate with the DoLE, the resolution has not been implemented, yet it announced the outsourcing of its IT [information technology] services which is utterly illegal,” said MKP in a statement.“This is so, not only because IT services are necessary and desirable to PLDT’s business but also because its IT services are manned by regular employees. It is downright illegal to outsource jobs of regular employees,” MKP president Arthur Castillo said.PLDT has been declared earlier to have engaged in labor-only contracting and ordered to regularize 10,000 workers and pay the necessary amount pertinent to violations of general labor standards. | ['William Depasupil'] | 2017-05-06 01:13:11+00:00 | https://www.manilatimes.net/dole-beefs-pool-labor-inspectors-2/325797/ | Manila Times |
Mandatory contributions hit hard on PCSO’s charity fund | Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) General Manager Alexander Balutan revealed in a press conference last week here that the mandatory contributions to various government agencies have hurt the agency’s charity fund.“We are appealing to the Congress to repeal our mandate on mandatory contributions because it is eating up our funds for medical service. ‘Wag naman ibawas dun pati sports, education, at fertilizer,” said Balutan during the Sama-samang Talakayan at Linawan media forum held at the Fort Ilocandia in Laoag City, Ilocos Norte.This is in response to Commission on Audit’s (COA) warning against the agency over its “questionable” transactions worth more than P10.17 billion intended for charity programs and medical assistance.“Let this be an eye opener to our legislators unless laws are repealed, billions of pesos intended for health services will be siphoned by these mandatory contributions na hindi naman related sa health services,” said Balutan.“We cannot stop these remittances unless Congress repeals laws governing us to stop these mandatory contributions. Hindi namin pwedeng i-violate ‘yun eh. Hooked up kami sa sitwasyon. Nahihirapan din kami.”PCSO is a principal agency tasked to generate funds for health services and programs of national character through lotto, digit games, Instant Sweepstakes, and Small Town Lottery (STL).The PCSO Charter states that from the gross receipts generated from the sale of sweepstakes tickets, whether for sweepstakes races, lotteries, or other similar activities, the printing cost of such tickets is deducted to arrive at the net receipts.Pursuant to Section 6, Republic Act No. 1169, as amended (PCSO Charter), the net receipts shall be divided into 55 percent (Prize Fund), 30 percent (Charity Fund) and 15 percent (Operating Fund).The agency also provides funding support to various government agencies commissioned to receive part of the agency’s earnings.As of 2nd quarter of 2018, PCSO has already released P71.4 million or P71,452,785.50 to be exact for the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) alone, which is 1 percent of the gross sales of Lotto.As of June 2018, the total shares/obligations for mandatory contributions is P14,048,632,664.99. From 1998 to 2017, PCSO has already released a total of P12.198 billion with an outstanding balance of P1.8 billion.From January to June 2018, PCSO has released another P443 million and now the agency has an outstanding balance of P1.8 billion.“Lahat ng bagong ahensya ng gobyerno na i-e-establish eh nanghihingi ng funding from PCSO kaya dumami ng dumami ‘yan. Wala tayong magawa kasi batas yan. Nakikita nilang pagkukunan lagi ng pondo ang PCSO at PAGCOR (Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation) kaya nagkakaganyan ang ating charity fund at prize fund distribution,” revealed Balutan.The 28 recipients of mandatory contributions of PCSO, seven of which are under Executive Order, 20 under Republic Act, and one under Commonwealth Act, include CHED, Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB), Philippine Sports Commission, Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation, National Commission on Indigenous People (Ancestral Domain Fund), National Museum, Department of Health, Overseas Worker Welfare Administration-Congressional Migrant Workers Scholarship Program.It also includes Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Information System on Migration, Quirino Memorial Medical Center, Shelter and Urban Development Programs, National Endowment Fund for Children TV, National Book Development Act, Department of Justice, Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency operations, SARS Awareness and Prevention, local government units, PhilHealth, Philippine International Trading Corporation, Avian Flu Fund, Ligtas Buntis, Nutrition Foundation of the Philippines, Philippine Red Cross, Girl Scouts of the Philippines, National Council on Disability Affairs, Quezon Institute, and Boy Scouts of the Philippines.Apart from the mandatory contributions, PCSO also pays taxes to the government.As of January 2018, the agency is paying P1 billion a month for the taxes. Last year, the agency paid P14 billion for the arrears and penalties of the previous years. | [] | 23/07/2018 0:00 | https://news.mb.com.ph/2018/07/23/mandatory-contributions-hit-hard-on-pcsos-charity-fund/ | Manila Bulletin |
Arrested violators in MM nears 100K; intensified campaign wages on | the most number among other violators.It was followed by 12,328 minors who were caught violating the curfew hour; 12,180 street loiterers or “tambays” without shirts (half-naked); and 8,666 drunks who were caught drinking in public places.Exactly 26,882 or a big chunk of those arrested were caught violating other city ordinances including urinating and spitting in public places; use of karaoke on the wee hours of the night; ban on barkers; and traffic-related regulations.To address jail congestion, Eleazar said most of the arrested ordinance violators were only given warning or fined.Warned, fined, chargedOf the total number of apprehended violators, Eleazar said 58,924 of them were only given warning.Meanwhile, 24,368 arrested violators were fined for their offenses.Eleazar previously said first-time violators with minor offense, like violation of curfew hour or loitering the streets half-naked, could be given either warning or a corresponding fine.The remaining 9,556 violators who have heavier offenses were locked up in detention facilities and charged with corresponding cases.Eleazar said the police have coordinated with city prosecutors to expedite the resolution of the cases of ordinance violators.As a result,only eight violators remain locked up in detention centers as of this writing while all the others have already served their sentences. All detained violators were held in various detention centers under the jurisdiction of the Quezon City Police District (QCPD).Eleazar vowed that the intensified operations against ordinance violators will continue to deter street crimes.President Duterte first ordered a crackdown on tambays on June 13, saying they are potential troublemakers.After receiving criticisms, the police clarified that only those who violate city ordinances are being arrested since being a tambay does not necessarily equate to being a law violator.Vagrancy had already been decriminalized in 2012. | [] | 04/08/2018 0:00 | https://news.mb.com.ph/2018/08/04/arrested-violators-in-mm-nears-100k-intensified-campaign-wages-on/ | Manila Bulletin |
What now, VP Binay? | VICE PRESIDENT Jejomar Binay may have lost his bid for the presidency but his family’s recapture of Makati City Hall means he remains to be a political force in the country, according to his erstwhile ally former Sen. Aquilino Pimentel Jr.Binay placed fourth in the presidential race based on the unofficial count of the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting.His daughter, former Makati Rep. Abigail Binay, won the mayoral race over Palace-backed Kid Peña, who served as acting mayor of the city for a year since the suspension and eventual dismissal from office of Jejomar Erwin Binay over corruption charges.Abigail Binay’s win reestablished her family’s foothold in City Hall and the city itself, after her husband, Luis Campos, became her successor in the House.Binay’s eldest daughter, Nancy Binay, has three years more to go as senator.Last weekend, Vice President Binay conceded defeat to Duterte and congratulated the Davao City mayor for winning the presidency. He also called for national unity.Pimentel, who broke ties with Binay during the height of the Senate investigation of corruption allegations against the Vice President, said the accusations should be dealt with frontally.He said that Binay’s general answer to the accusations against him as nothing more than politics was one of the major factors for his “downfall.”So is Binay’s political career over?“Dreams never die,” Pimentel said in a phone interview. “Considering he has established his control of Makati, at least in that level, he will still be a force to reckon with.”A De la Salle political science professor, Richard Heydarian, said the Binays would continue to play a role in Philippine politics.“I think for Binay himself, I doubt there will be a second act on the national level. But his family, and protégé daughter like Abby, will remain a force in Philippine politics,” Heydarian told the Inquirer, when asked if the Vice President could be considered politically dead after his devastating loss in the presidential race.Heydarian pointed out that Binay’s immunity from suit would expire after he steps down from office on June 30 and thus, he would be “vulnerable to imprisonment on grounds of corruption.”The Ombudsman has found Binay, like his son, criminally liable for the overpricing of Makati City Hall Building II on his watch.Heydarian said it was still unclear if the incoming Duterte administration would pursue charges against Binay.“In fact, toward the end of the race, we saw a more cordial interaction between Duterte and Binay. It’s possible that Duterte may prefer to push for national unity rather than divisive litigation against former high level officials. But it’s also possible that Binay may end up as the primary example of Duterte’s clean governance motto,” Heydarian said. | ['Christine O. Avendaño'] | 2016-11-10 21:28:53+00:00 | https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/785757/what-now-vp-binay | Inquirer |
Two sellers of fake cigarettes arrested | Two persons found in possession of counterfeit Mighty cigarettes were recently arrested in Barangay Cut-cot, Pulilan, Bulacan.Police identified the suspects as Wilfredo Dimaano, 22, and Laarni Leslie Bautista, 21, who were caught with more than 60 reams of Mighty cigarette variants.A Mighty Corp. representative certified the products to be fake, citing inconsistencies in the packaging.Both suspects were charged with violating Section 155 (trademark infringement) in relation to Section 170 of Republic Act 8293, or the Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines, under Case No. III-04-INV-16K-02327.The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) has repeatedly warned that any violator caught in possession of any product proven to be fake will incur a penalty of two to five years’ imprisonment and a fine ranging from P50,000 to P200,000.According to the World Health Organization (WHO), illicit cigarettes generally fall under three classifications:• contraband, cigarettes smuggled from overseas without local duties paid;• counterfeit, cigarettes manufactured without rightful owners’ authorization and with deceptive intentions as well as avoiding duties; and•illicit whites, brands manufactured legitimately in one country but smuggled and sold to another while avoiding duties.These illicit cigarettes undercut the government in due taxes and are subject to penalties as prescribed by existing laws.Industry observers said counterfeit cigarettes tempt retailers because they turn in higher profit returns while deceiving non-discerning buyers as the products also carry fake cigarette tax stamps.Last month, authorities arrested two vendors in Isabela for also selling counterfeit cigarettes to add to the string of arrests and seizures by the combined efforts of the BIR, Philippine National Police, Bureau of Customs and National Bureau of Investigation over the past two years. | ['The Manila Times'] | 2016-11-10 21:28:53+00:00 | https://www.manilatimes.net/two-sellers-fake-cigarettes-arrested/295875/ | Manila Times |
P424B pork in 2015 budget–Lacson | Lump-sum or discretionary funds, which are prone to corruption, can still be found in the national budget for this year, according to former Sen. Panfilo Lacson.Lacson has placed the lump-sum appropriations at P424 billion, an amount that could still go up.The former senator said he and his team discovered lump-sum appropriations in the national budget while they were reviewing the 2015 General Appropriations Act (GAA).“To date… we have already discovered a total of P424 billion worth of lump-sum appropriations, a.k.a. discretionary funds, parked in the budget of just 11 of the 21 major line agencies of the national government. Hold your breath. It is still counting,” Lacson said in a speech before the Philippine Institute of Certified Public Accountants at the Intercontinental Hotel in Makati City.“As professional accountants serving the interest of the public, I may speak on your behalf when I frown upon discretionary funds as these are prone to misuse and corruption,” Lacson said.He said the government lost P10 billion in the scam allegedly perpetuated by Janet Lim-Napoles with the connivance of lawmakers in misusing their pork barrel fund, or the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF).UnconstitutionalAmid protests nationwide for the scrapping of PDAF and other corruption-prone lump-sum budget items, the Supreme Court declared the PDAF unconstitutional in November 2013.In July last year, the high court declared unconstitutional parts of the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP), pooled funds from savings of agencies that financed projects outside the approved national budget.Lump-sum funds included the President’s Social Fund, Special Purpose Funds and Malampaya Fund, the People’s Initiative against Pork Barrel said last year.The group’s proposed Pork Barrel Abolition Act sought to prohibit the inclusion of pork barrel or lump-sum funds in the budget, except calamity and intelligence or confidential funds. It also sought to require line-item appropriations for all proposed budgets.The bill proposed to abolish the President’s Social Fund and require all unspent, unobligated and unreleased funds to revert to the general fund by the end of the fiscal year.Missing budget codesLacson said his team looked into the appropriations of the agencies in the 2015 budget when they were analyzing the new coding system, or the United Accounts Code Structure (UACS), in the government financial processes.In a random analysis of the coding system of the National Irrigation Administration (NIA), the team found missing codes, the former senator said.For insertions“To our surprise, such ‘missing codes’ were utilized to insert some projects during the budget deliberations in the House of Representatives,” he said.Lacson said his team discovered a lump sum of P11.3 billion in the NIA budget.Curious about the discovery, Lacson said his group looked into the appropriations of other agencies.Of the P39 billion budget of the Department of Agriculture, for instance, P6.25 billion for farm-to-market roads were lump sums, he said.Lacson said this budget, based on the national expenditures program as well as the Senate and House versions of the GAA bill, should have been allocated to regional offices.Lacson said his group was surprised when it found out that these “regional lump sums” disappeared in the 2015 GAA and were replaced by 1,389 line budget items for farm-to-market road projects in different parts of the country.“Does this mean the return of the ghost of PDAF, which had earlier been declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in a landmark ruling on July 1, 2014?” he said.Lump sums by departmentLump sums of different departments, an agency and the police that Lacson’s group found | ['Christine O. Avendaño', 'Jerry E. Esplanada'] | 05/10/2016 0:00 | https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/704965/p424b-pork-in-2015-budget-lacson | Inquirer |
The requirements for sustaining momentum | could not have been delivered on schedule and above target.The City of Butuan can move towards fuller institutionalization of the governance elements it had already installed by continuing to use the lessons it has learned these past few years from travelling on the PGS pathway. It already knows that transformation is a long journey, one that takes more than a few years. But by applying the lessons it has already learned, it can further speed up the pace at which it has been travelling, and achieve many more breakthrough results that it needs to deliver for all its constituencies. | [] | 05/10/2016 0:00 | https://news.mb.com.ph/2016/10/05/the-requirements-for-sustaining-momentum/ | Manila Bulletin |
Expect ‘Nina’ for Noche Buena, Pagasa warns | The low pressure area (LPA) expected to enter the Philippine area of responsibility on Thursday might develop into a tropical storm over the weekend.The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said the LPA, which as of Wednesday morning was located 1,800 kilometers east of Mindanao, is expected to enter the Philippines tonight as Tropical Depression “Nina,” the 14th tropical cyclone to enter the Philippines in 2016.Nina is expected to intensify into a tropical storm and make landall over the Bicol region and Samar area, and directly affect areas from Quezon province to eastern Visayas, on Dec. 24 or 25, said forecaster Chris Perez.“There’s a big chance it will cross [land] and a lot of areas will be affected,” Perez said. He warned of moderate to heavy rains, which may trigger flash floods and landslides along and around Nina’s path.Pagasa administrator Vicente Malano said that from 1948 to 2015, seven tropical cyclones hit the Philippines between Dec. 21 and 31.“Out of seven, six made landfall, and at this time of year, [it usually hits] Visayas or central Philippines, including the southern part of Luzon,” Malano said.Nina, at its strongest, is expected to develop only into a severe tropical storm, but Malano warned the public, who may be caught up in a “festive mood,” to remain alert, recalling Tropical Storm “Seniang” in December 2014, which caused 66 deaths.In Metro Manila, “we are expecting to have a wet Christmas,” Malano said. “This weather disturbance Nina will be having noche buena with us.”The storm is expected to exit the Philippine area of responsibility on Monday evening or Tuesday morning. | ['Jaymee T. Gamil'] | 01/12/2017 0:00 | https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/855477/expect-nina-for-noche-buena-pagasa-warns | Inquirer |
More LP solons jump ship to join ruling party | Stalwarts of the ruling Liberal Party joined the exodus to President-elect Rodrigo Duterte’s Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) as an LP leader, Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr., hemmed and hawed on whether he himself should join the majority coalition in the House of Representatives.Incoming Davao del Norte Rep. Pantaleon Alvarez, Duterte’s handpicked Speaker in the 17th Congress, told reporters on Thursday that he had been waiting for Belmonte’s final decision either to join the coalition or lead the minority.Belmonte has so far held his cards close to his chest, declining to reveal his game plan under the incoming Duterte administration that has announced a far-reaching legislative agenda that includes amending the 1987 Constitution and shifting the country to the federal system.On Thursday, Alvarez swore in 13 new members to PDP-Laban, 10 of whom were from the LP—Iloilo City Rep. Jerry P. Treñas, leader of the Visayas bloc and one of the biggest supporters of losing presidential candidate Mar Roxas; Oriental Mindoro Rep. Reynaldo V. Umali, chair of the House committee on energy and brother of President Aquino’s best friend, Oriental Mindoro Rep. Alfonso Umali; Catanduanes Rep. Cesar V. Sarmiento, chair of the House committee on transportation; Leyte Rep. Lucy Torres Gomez; Camarines Norte Rep. Renato Unico Jr.; Sorsogon Rep. Deogracias B. Ramos Jr.; Guimaras Rep. Ma. Lucille Nava; Zamboanga del Norte Rep. Glona Labadlabad; North Cotabato Rep. Jesus N. Sacdalan; Maguindanao Rep. Zajid G. Mangudadatu.The new PDP-Laban members who were sworn in at a simple ceremony at the Dusit Hotel were Negros Oriental Rep. Arnolfo Teves Jr. and La Union Rep. Sandra Eriguel of the Nationalist People’s Coalition; and Leyte Rep. Vicente Sofronio Veloso of the National Unity Party.DisagreementAlvarez said he was supposed to meet with Belmonte yesterday but it was canceled at the last minute. “He is still probably gathering data,” Alvarez said.He reiterated that the LP could join the coalition without leaving the party provided that none of them would join the minority.Alvarez said he did not agree with Belmonte’s plan for the bulk of LP members to join the House majority while he and a small contingent of LP members would take control of the minority bloc. He said any LP member joining the majority would have to switch to PDP-Laban if Belmonte insisted on running the minority bloc.Aquino approvalBelmonte himself said Mr. Aquino had approved the plan of most LP members to join the Duterte coalition in order to get a proportionate share of the committee chairmanships and memberships.An LP member, who requested anonymity for lack of authority to speak for the party, said while Belmonte had kept party mates guessing on his plans, most LP members had decided to jump ship to ensure that they get first crack or priority in the distribution of congressional posts.Among the first to leave the LP was Ilocos Sur Rep. Rodolfo Fariñas who Alvarez said would be his majority floor leader.PDP-Laban vice chair Alfonso Cusi estimated that at least 60 members had been added to PDP-Laban’s House roster which started with only three members. Cusi said the bulk of the new PDP-Laban members were from the LP.Alvarez expected PDP-Laban to have 80-100 members at the end of its recruitment.The LP is the only major party left in the House which has not signed a coalition agreement to support Duterte’s legislative agenda and Alvarez as Speaker made up of the Nacionalista Party, Nationalist People’s Coalition, Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats, Makabayan bloc and Party-List Coalition bloc, the Coalition for Change is expected to have as much 90 percent, or 260 of the 290, members in the 17th Congress.No conditional allianceOn Thursday, Alvarez signed a coalition agreement with the National Unity Party (made up of members of Kampi party who were originally allied with former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s Lakas-CMD).Alvarez said former Interior Secretary and NUP founding chair Ronaldo Puno would be a “valuable asset” to any group and “an institution by himself.”Puno, the campaign strategist of losing presidential candidate Jejomar Binay, agreed with Alvarez’s hard line stance on LP’s participation in the coalition.“It doesn’t only look bad (LP members joining both majority and minority), any party joining PDP-Laban has obligations to the coalition. Just like us (NUP), we allied with PDP-Laban and the first step we did was invite and elect Alvarez as honorary chair. If (the LP) will not do that, it will be an empty gesture,” Puno said in an interview.He said the LP could not have its cake and eat it too even if it had the most number of elected members in the 17th Congress with 115.“There is no such thing as conditional alliance when talking about House realities. Either you are with us or against us,” Puno said.RELATED STORIESTurncoatism: a bane to checks and balancesAquino expected LP members’ defection to PDP-Laban | ['Gil C. Cabacungan'] | 25/06/2018 0:00 | https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/788962/more-lp-solons-jump-ship-to-join-ruling-party | Inquirer |
Congress to discuss martial law extension | Members of the Senate and House of Representatives will discuss President Rodrigo Duterte’s request to extend martial law in Mindanao for another year on Dec. 13, Wednesday.Senate President Aquilino Pimentel 3rd said the two chambers will hold a joint session to tackle the President’s letter asking congress to extend martial law.Before the joint session, security officials will explain to senators why martial law should not be lifted.Sen. Panfilo Lacson, chairman of the Senate Committee on Public Order and Dangerous Drugs, said Armed Forces chief Rey Leonardo Guerrero and Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana will conduct the briefing.“We’ll find out what is the reason why there is need to extend,” Lacson told reporters.Lacson said he is not opposed to martial law extension because it would help security forces address other threats particularly the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters.But Senate minority leader Franklin Drilon said same standards should be observed if martial law is extended. He explained the extension must be in accordance with the Constitution.The President wants to extend martial law because of the continuing threat by armed groups in the area, but Drilon noted that it is not among the requirements stated in the constitution, such as there should be an actual [rebellion].In his letter request sent to congress, Duterte cited the threats posed by “communist terrorists” whom he said took advantage of the situation to intensify their attacks against the government.Palace spokesman Harry Roque said martial law will be used to quell the possible intensified attacks of the New People’s Army (NPA) in Mindanao.“For as long as there are acts of rebellion being committed in the island province of Mindanao, yes, he (Duterte) will use a full force of martial law against the NPA as well,” Roque said in a news conference.“We expect an intensified fighting on the part of the NPA. In fact, they have been exhibiting more intense targeting of ours soldiers and civilians after the President has already classified them as terrorist group,” he added.Duterte through Proclamation 374 declared the Communist Party of the Philippines and its armed wing, the NPA, as terrorist groups.Roque said the act of rebellion perpetrated by NPA insurgents is a “continuing crime” that needs to be addressed by the government.“We engaged them in peace talks and we hoped that in fact, there would be eventual peace between the government and the NPA. We were frustrated because as you know, they never stopped attacking soldiers and civilians,” Roque said. “Act of rebellion is a continuing crime. So for as long as they don’t lay down their grounds, they are committing a criminal act.”Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman however strongly opposing the military’s proposal to extend martial law, saying it is unconstitutional.In a statement on Monday, Lagman said the extension of martial law is a “patent violation of the safeguards which the 1987 Constitution imposes for the limited grounds and duration of martial law and its extension.”[It is a] malevolent perpetuation of the subjugation of the supermajority in the Congress by the President even against the unequivocal provisions of the Constitution protecting civil liberties and the rule of law and blatant mockery of the liberality of the majority of the Supreme Court in upholding the President’s past questionable actions,” he added.Lagman said that the extension cannot be backed by the Constitution because there is no actual invasion or rebellion in the Mindanao region.with | ['Catherine S. Valente'] | 2017-12-11 22:34:08+00:00 | https://www.manilatimes.net/congress-discuss-martial-law-extension/368105/ | Manila Times |
Take your pick: Real or artificial Christmas trees? | real or artificial?It’s not possible to say that real or artificial Christmas trees are better.Both natural and fake trees have an environmental impact. Most people don’t know, but artificial trees have a slightly larger negative impact, requiring more energy, polluting and even posing potential health hazards.The Pros and Cons of ArtificialGuilt. Many have made it the sole reason to invest in an artificial tree. The thought of cutting down a new tree each year can put a damper on the holidays for some.Also, cost, convenience and environmental impact are other reasons consumers opt for an artificial tree.Given the current economic climate, artificial trees may be especially appealing for their investment value when compared with the recurrent, annual expense of a real Christmas tree. Their convenience is also appealing to consumers as they don’t need watering, don’t leave pine needles all over the floor and transportation from tree farm to home isn’t an issue.But many experts believe artificial trees actually have a greater negative environmental impact when all aspects of their life cycle are considered.Today’s artificial trees are typically manufactured with metal and polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a non-biodegradable, petroleum-derived plastic. In addition, many older varieties may contain lead, used as a stabilizer in the manufacturing process.Despite their PVC contents, artificial trees are non-recyclable and non-biodegradable, meaning they will sit in a landfill for centuries after disposal.Furthermore, approximately 85 percent of artificial trees sold in the U.S. are imported from China, according to the National Christmas Tree Association (NCTA), adding to their overall environmental footprint.The Pros and Cons of RealApproximately 33 million real Christmas trees are sold in North America each year, according to the U.S. EPA. Luckily, about 93 percent of those trees are recycled through more than 4,000 available recycling programs.Also known as “treecycling,” the act of recycling a Christmas tree is a leading reason many experts agree they are more environmentally friendly than their plastic counterparts.Treecycling is an easy way to return a renewable and natural source back to the environment instead of disposing it in a landfill, where decomposition rates are slowed due to lack of oxygen.Christmas trees are recycled into mulch and used in landscaping and gardening or chipped and used for playground material, hiking trails, paths and walkways. They can be used for beachfront erosion prevention, lake and river shoreline stabilization and fish and wildlife habitat.A single farmed tree absorbs more than 1 ton of CO2 throughout its lifetime. With more than 350 million real Christmas tress growing in U.S. tree farms alone, you can imagine the yearly amount of carbon sequestering associated with the trees. Additionally, each acre of trees produces enough oxygen for the daily needs of 18 people. | [] | 29/11/2017 0:00 | https://news.mb.com.ph/2017/11/29/take-your-pick-real-or-artificial-christmas-trees/ | Manila Bulletin |
Bong Go seeks better evacuation centers | President Rodrigo Duterte’s former special assistant — Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go — called for better evacuation centers as he extended assistance to fire victims in Manila.“Panahon na po para magkaroon tayo ng mga maayos na evacuation centers para sa ating mga kababayan na biktima ng mga sakuna. Natutunan ko kay Pangulong Duterte na obligasyon ng gobyerno na alagaan ang mga mamamayan lalo na sa panahon ng kanilang pangangailangan (It’s time for the country to build better evacuation centers for victims of calamities. I learned from President Duterte that it is the government’s obligation to take care of its citizens especially in time of need),” Go said after visiting the more than 170 families affected by the fire that hit Sta. Mesa, Manila on October 31.In his visit to victims of a fire in Pandacan, Manila, Go witnessed how evacuees had to sleep in makeshift tents on the sidewalk.“Unang-una kailangan natin magkaroon ng safe at malinis na evacuation center. Mayroong pasilidad katulad ng CR, may maayos na higaan at nang makapag-pahinga sila bago sila makabalik sa dati nilang tinitirhan (We have to have safe and clean evacuation centers with bathrooms and beds so that calamity victims can rest well),” he said.If elected in the Senate, Go vowed to push for reforms to improve fire safety measures. This includes formulating better fire prevention awareness programs and establishing quality emergency response facilities in times of natural and man-made calamities.“Kailangan palakasin ang information awareness para maiwasan ang mga aksidente tulad ng sunog. Dapat rin maging handa ang gobyerno na tumugon sa ganitong sitwasyon para mabilis na makabalik sa normal na pamumuhay ang mga biktima (Information awareness should be improved. The government should be better able to respond so that calamity victims can go back to their normal lives soonest),” he said.Go said his appreciation of legislative work is not only about making laws, but also the need to review and improve existing ones to make government more responsive to the needs of the people.“Aaralin natin ang mga batas na mukhang hindi naiimplementa ng mabuti na nagiging rason rin kung bakit mas nahihirapan makaahon ang mga Pilipino sa hirap lalo na sa panahon ng sakuna tulad ng sunog (We will study the laws that have not been fully implemented, those that could have eased the suffering of victims of calamities like fire),” he added.Go had said that he will not stop helping fire victims even if he is no longer the President’s top aide. He and his friends had provided relief assistance to fire victims, and assisted them in getting aid from various government agencies.Go also committed to provide uniforms for children and other fire victims. He vowed to assist those who want to go back to the province and those seeking relocation.Go also encouraged fire victims in need of medical attention to seek help in the nearest Malasakit Center, a one-stop shop program to hasten the delivery of medical services and give poor patients access to free medicine.Go added that he would be the Special Assistant to the People — bringing help and assistance to Filipinos in need. | ['The Manila Times'] | 2018-11-06 00:04:22+00:00 | https://www.manilatimes.net/bong-go-seeks-better-evacuation-centers/462734/ | Manila Times |
President’s treat: Ex-rebels ready for HK holiday | The government is helping process the passports and other travel documents of about 90 female former communist rebels who had been promised a trip to Hong Kong by President Duterte after their surrender, a military spokesperson said on Tuesday.Maj. Ezra Balagtey of the military’s Eastern Mindanao Command said the date had yet to be set for the trip, which, he stressed, was a way for the government to “reintegrate the former enemies of the state to mainstream society.”The women were among the 683 members of the communist New People’s Army (NPA) who had earlier surrendered and whom the President had earlier met in Davao City.Dinner in MalacañangThey later dined with Mr. Duterte in Malacañang during a military-sponsored trip to Manila last month.On Feb. 7, when he met with some of the former rebels in Malacañang, the President asked them about going to Hong Kong, one of China’s special administrative regions.“You want to go to Hong Kong? All my female soldiers who fought in Marawi, from the police and the military, I sent them to Hong Kong for a vacation. And it may be the same for you,” he said.Mr. Duterte praised the surrendered rebels, saying they made a good decision because the NPA was fighting for a dying and flawed cause.Changes adopted by ChinaHe said the Hong Kong trip was aimed at showing the former rebels the changes adopted by China, which previously inspired Maoist insurgents in the Philippines and other countries.He said communism was no longer relevant as major former communist powers, such as Russia and China, “embraced capitalism and became successful.”The President, known for cracking jokes, said male rebels could also join the Hong Kong trip but they had to take a military aircraft.“When you’re up in the air above the China Sea, I’ll tell the Air Force to throw you out of the plane,” he said in jest. | ['Frinston Lim'] | 2017-07-29 21:57:12+00:00 | https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/973367/presidents-treat-ex-rebels-ready-for-hk-holiday | Inquirer |
Poe bats for ride-sharing integration | SENATOR Grace Poe on Saturday urged the government to integrate ride-sharing services into the public transport system to address the needs of commuters.“The government must be forward-looking. We should tap available technology,” said Poe, chair of the Senate Committee on Public Services.She is set to conduct a public hearing on August 3 on the franchise rules on ride-sharing services such as Uber and Grab, and the government crackdown on “colorum” units of transport network vehicle services (TNVS).Poe noted that the popularity of Uber and Grab should provide an impetus for franchise holders in public transportation to improve their services.“Our commuters deserve to be given more choices. Many of our commuters now rely on ride-sharing services such as Uber, Grab and U-Hop to travel around the city,” she said.Poe said the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) should strike a balance between regulating TNVS and ensuring the public’s need for safe, comfortable and reliable transportation “is met.”The senator said TNV companies provide services that taxi operators “have inadequately provided in the past decade – point-to-point pick-up and delivery standardized fare, safe and comfortable.”The LTFRB has decided to suspend its earlier decision to impound colorum TNVS plying Metro Manila after Poe set a dialog between between LTFRB officials and TNVS representatives.Among the measures to be tackled in the public hearing are Senate Bill 340 and 375 authored separately by Poe and Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian seeking to establish a Taxi Passenger Bill of Rights.In 2015, the LTFRB issued Department Order No. 2015-011 that encourages “innovation across all forms of public land transport in order to increase mobility on major thoroughfares, boost travel times, improve the quality, sustainability and reliability of public transport services, and respond to the needs of the modern commuter.”However, Poe said this objective has “quite changed when LTFRB later issued Memorandum Circular 2016-008, which directed its technical division and regional offices not to accept any application for TNVS proposing to ply the route within Metro Manila or entering Metro Manila.” | ['Bernadette E. Tamayo'] | 2017-07-29 21:57:12+00:00 | https://www.manilatimes.net/poe-bats-for-ride-sharing-integration/341352/ | Manila Times |
Palace denies Aquino in Zamboanga for Marwan | President Benigno Aquino III on Friday took exception to an Inquirer report that claimed he went to Zamboanga City on Jan. 25 to receive Malaysian terrorist Zulkifli bin Hir, alias “Marwan,” dead or alive.A top Palace official told the Inquirer that the President had disputed the allegation “a long time ago” and several times in the aftermath of the bungled police operation to capture the Malaysian-born Marwan, his compatriot Amin Baco and their Filipino associate Basit Usman.“He has said so many times before why he flew to Zamboanga City. He went there because he wanted to look into the bombing incident himself,” the official said.The President has a number of other arguments against the Inquirer report filed from Zamboanga City, the official said.One of these was it did not make sense for the President to fly to Zamboanga City if indeed Marwan would be presented when he could go direct to Cotabato City, the official said.READ: Sources say Aquino in Zamboanga for turnover of MarwanBut most of all, the official said, the President wanted to emphasize that he flew to Zamboanga City that day because his concern for the “safety of the civilians” in the city was “paramount,” following the car-bomb explosion on Jan. 23 that killed two people and injured dozens.The al-Qaida linked terrorist group Abu Sayyaf was tagged as the one behind the blast, reportedly part of a planned jailbreak for its detained members.In September 2013, members of the Moro National Liberation Front, disgruntled over peace talks between its rival, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, and the government, tried to take over Zamboanga City, but were repelled by government forces.On Jan. 25, police and military officials gave the President a security briefing on the Abu Sayyaf threat.He also met with Zamboanga City Mayor Ma. Isabelle Climaco, Social Welfare Secretary Dinky Soliman, Budget Secretary Butch Abad and National Housing Authority Chair Chito Cruz for an update on the rehabilitation program for the city after the Zamboanga siege. | ['Nikko Dizon'] | 2016-09-14 22:38:27+00:00 | https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/681965/palace-denies-aquino-in-zamboanga-for-marwan | Inquirer |
ML made South more vulnerable, says US antiterror exec | Imposing martial law may make places like Mindanao more vulnerable to terrorism and create safe havens for extremists, a US Department of State official told visiting journalists here on Wednesday.Irfan Saeed, director of the Office of Countering Violent Extremism under the State Department’s Bureau of Counterterrorism and Countering Violent Terrorism, said a community approach, rather than a military one, might be a better tool at a time when Islamic State (IS) fighters were turning to Southeast Asia as a refuge for their activities.Asked if martial law had been effective in combating terrorism in Mindanao, Saeed said: “No. That is the short answer.”He added: “The response to terrorism and our efforts in countering violent extremism cannot be an excuse for an overly aggressive law enforcement approach.”The US State official said the “suppression of basic human rights (was) a potential driver of terrorism … (because) you’re actually bringing a greater ability to recruit people to violent extremism.”‘Safe havens’During a briefing for the 2018 East-West Center Senior Journalists Seminar, Saeed noted that the Philippines, especially Mindanao, was at a pivotal point considering the risks it faces from IS recruits.Saeed said an approach increasing the community’s awareness and responsibility in denying safe havens to terrorists might be more appropriate, “because when you have (only the) government being responsible for (this), you have the possibility of an overly aggressive approach, and that, as we know, does not work.”An alarming trend has emerged among IS-inspired foreign fighters who, instead of returning to their home countries upon radicalization, go to third countries where “they feel they can have safe havens,” Saeed told the visiting media fellows in the East-West Center program.Mindanao has been under martial law since mid-2017 in the aftermath of the May 2017 siege of Marawi City by IS-inspired militants. Congress later approved two extensions of military rule and the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus in the region.Despite martial law, Mindanao has seen a number of violent attacks in recent months, the latest in late August when homemade bombs killed at least two persons and injured dozens of others in Isulan, Sultan Kudarat.Conflict’s rising tollCol. Romeo Brawner Jr., deputy commander of Joint Task Force Ranao, acknowledged that, despite intensified operations, the military has failed to catch and arrest the leaders of the Maute group in Lanao del Sur.One of the surviving leaders, Owayda Benito Marohombsar, also known as Abu Dar, was earlier reported to have escaped with dozens of Maute gunmen and has reportedly been active in recruiting new members, Brawner added.The conflict continues to exact its toll, with six people killed, including a soldier and two civilians, in a clash early Thursday morning between troops of the the 49th Infantry Battalion and remnants of the Maute in Sultan Dumalondong, Lanao del Sur.Brawner said two of the three bodies recovered after the encounter were identified as those of minor leaders of the Maute group under Abu Dar, namely alias Mubarak Manalao and alias Popular.The military is also facing the IS-inspired forces of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) in Maguindanao, with sporadic fighting erupting between government troops and the BIFF in parts of Maguindanao known as the SPMS box, for the adjacent towns of Shariff Aguak, Pagatin (Datu Piang), Mamasapano and Salibo. | ['Dj Yap'] | 2016-09-14 22:38:27+00:00 | https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1029694/ml-made-south-more-vulnerable-says-us-antiterror-exec | Inquirer |
House committee approves impeach rap against Sereno | The House justice committee has deemed sufficient the grounds cited in the impeachment complaint against Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno, clearing the way for the case to proceed to the next stage.The panel, by a 25-2 vote, found that the complaint filed by lawyer Lorenzo Gadon satisfied the requirement of sufficiency of grounds under House impeachment rules, despite the objections of some lawmakers who questioned whether the listed offenses were even impeachable.Gadon has accused Sereno of, among other charges, failing to declare her real wealth, buying a luxury car with government funds and making questionable decisions without consulting her fellow magistrates.President Duterte said on Wednesday that he wanted to file a new impeachment complaint against Sereno aside from the one tackled on Thursday by the House justice committee and also to file an impeachment case against Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales.Mr. Duterte earlier accused Sereno and Morales of allowing themselves to be used to discredit his administration. Both officials have denied any wrongdoing.“We are disappointed that the committee approved the complaint on sufficiency of grounds because of the simple reason, as we have repeatedly said, that there is not enough basis,” said Sereno’s lawyer, Josa Deinla.Probable causeThe next stage is the determination of probable cause, referring to reasonable suspicion that the respondent may be guilty of the charges.If probable cause is determined, the articles of impeachment derived from the impeachment grounds will be submitted to the plenary for approval.A vote of one-third of the 293 members of the House of Representatives sends the impeachment articles to the Senate, whose members will serve as judges in a public trial.In determining sufficiency of grounds, Oriental Mindoro Rep. Reynaldo Umali, the committee chair, said the panel was supposed to “take into consideration not only the complaint but the answer, reply andrejoinder” earlier filed by Sereno’s lawyers and Gadon.Committee members, according to Umali, were supposed to answer the question: “Based on the pleadings filed, are there sufficient grounds for the impeachment of Sereno or are there grounds to conduct further hearings thereon?”Ethical issuesIn questioning the grounds in the Gadon complaint, Dinagat Islands Rep. Kaka Bag-ao cited portions in the complainant’s verified answer to Sereno’s reply, in which Gadon admitted that the Chief Justice’s supposed transgressions were ethical and that propriety issues did not violate any law, let alone the Constitution.For instance, Bag-ao noted that the Chief Justice, along with the President, the Vice President and other top officials, were exempt from the prohibition on the purchase of luxury vehicles. Thus, the lawmaker said the allegation that Sereno misused government funds by buying a Toyota Land Cruiser for her personal use was empty.Bag-ao said Gadon, too, had acknowledged that Sereno’s supposed acts of taking business-class flights were not legal but were issues of propriety.Sereno’s supposed manipulation of the short list of vacancies in the judiciary, as well as the decisions and processes of the Judicial and Bar Council were “internal” to the court, the lawmaker said.“He has many allegations [that] he only says are ‘evidentiary and will be established later.’ Why should we not dismiss this on insufficiency of grounds?” Bag-ao said of Gadon.Quezon City Rep. Jose Christopher Belmonte raised a couple of other points against the Gadon complaint, arguing it failed to establish his allegations, including the charge that Sereno had falsified a temporary restraining order.But Bag-ao’s and Belmonte’s objections were for naught in the face of the majority.Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman and Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Zarate, both of whom are not members of the committee, attempted to interpose objections and manifestations during the hearing, but were overruled.This led to a back-and-forth about whether nonmembers had the right to participate in the deliberations, prompting Umali to ask members to submit their position papers on the matter before making a decision.Confronting witnessesThe House panel also discussed two letters sent by Sereno’s lawyers invoking her right to confront and cross-examine through her counsel the witnesses who would testify against her.Majority Leader Rodolfo Fariñas took exception to the lawyers’ use of simple letters to address the committee chair in raising their request, saying the panel should not even take action on the communications.Again, Umali sought position papers from the members.Belmonte, for his part, indicated his decision to make a motion allowing Sereno’s lawyers to cross-examine witnesses on her behalf. He cited the House’s own impeachment rules that allowed direct and cross-examination of witnesses.ShameDeinla said it was a shame that the House committee did not take up the letters “on the mere basis of a technicality,” considering the legal and substantial points raised in them.In a statement, Gadon said Sereno should just resign to “preserve her dignity and avoid the embarrassment and humiliation of the trial.”He said he was “very elated” by the House committee’s vote.If impeached, Sereno would be the second Chief Justice to suffer such a fate following her predecessor, the late Renato Corona, who was impeached in December 2011 and found guilty by the Senate in May 2012 for failing to disclose his real wealth in his statement of assets, liabilities and net worth.Corona died of a heart attack in April last year. | ['Dj Yap'] | 26/02/2018 0:00 | https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/935969/house-committee-approves-impeach-rap-against-sereno | Inquirer |
Minimum wage, maximum woes | On the 30th of every month, Leo Cabigting gets his pay as head of the volunteer watchmen in his village. But hardly has the money touched his palm before creditors take a hold of it. The creditors regularly loan Cabigting the cash he needs to manage his household expenses as he waits for his salary at month’s end.Cabigting (not his real name) heads a 97-member Barangay Public Safety Office (BPSO) in Quezon City. He works seven days a week, from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m.For the 63-year-old father of 10 and grandfather of three, getting loans to get by and paying them back promptly is the only option he has, given his meager pay.“When I get my salary, I immediately pay my loans so I can get another loan,” said Cabigting. He needs the fresh infusion of loans to augment the salary that barely covers their expenses, he added.Most of his P12,000 monthly pay go to food, utilities, and his children’s allowances and jeepney fare for school. When the Inquirer interviewed him in January, Cabigting said he had an outstanding loan of between P20,000 to P25,000, not counting the interest piled on it.“There’s nothing left at the end of the month,” he added. His wage isn’t enough. “It’s really, really lacking,” the village watchman said.Poverty thresholdCabigting is one of millions of Filipinos living below the country’s poverty threshold. His salary is well below the Metro Manila standard of P14,730 for 30 days of work.As of June 2, 2016, the National Wages and Productivity Commission pegged the minimum wage for nonagriculture workers in Metro Manila at P491 for an average workday of eight hours, or 40 hours a week.In comparison, Cabigting earns only P400 a day for 17 hours of work. To make ends meet, his wife washes their neighbors’ clothes for P60 per kilogram. The family also rents out a videoke machine gifted by the barangay chair for P500 to P700 a night.The barangay chair, who appointed Cabigting because of his excellent work ethic, also gives him cash assistance when it comes time to pay the tuition of five of his children still in school.Unlike some parents, Cabigting does not rely on his children for financial help. He doesn’t even ask how much they’re making, preferring instead to ask their mother’s help in handling their expenses. One daughter works at a call center, another earns P3,000 a month as his secretary at BPSO. His other grown-up children, on the other hand, work odd jobs.Responsibilities“I have to provide for my kids until they finish schooling, while I still have the strength,” he said. “That’s my responsibility as a parent.”Cabigting’s job means he has to be on call at all hours and ready to serve the community he has lived in for close to 27 years.On any given day, the head of the village watchmen starts his day at 5 a.m. After getting ready for work, he’s off by 6 a.m. to the barangay outpost where he eats a free breakfast of bread and coffee at his desk, before checking the previous night’s blotter.“I let my children finish our breakfast at home,” he said. Sharing it would mean less food for everybody, he added.On slow days, Cabigting would spend his time writing reports on petty crimes that he submits to the Quezon City Hall at the end of the month. “Everything I have to do, including the paperwork, have to be finished so I can submit them in the morning. What’s left to do the next morning is the next day’s work,” he said.Most days, however, aren’t slow.The morning after the Inquirer spent the night at his home, Cabigting rose from bed an hour earlier to oversee the demolition of illegal shanties in the barangay. The months prior to the demolition have been busy, what with the current administration’s war on drugs.“Our drive now with the barangay captain—like that with addicts—is to give them a new life, to let them know that what they’re doing is wrong, to give them a new direction in life. (Also, to let them know) they won’t be punished, that they’re saved,” he said. “We’ve just started so we don’t know if we’d be successful. But we’ve had a good start and the people are receptive.”Other jobsAfter work hours, it’s not uncommon for him to hear the crackle of the office walkie-talkie by his bed, whether early in the morning or late at night.“My radio stays open so I know what’s happening at all times,” he said. If his men arrested a suspected drug pusher or if any work needed to be finished, Cabigting was always on call.Cabigting held other jobs in the past, among them being a security guard and later, a personal bodyguard for several politicians. But while the pay was good, he admitted to doing things he now wish he hadn’t.“I was not a good person before,” he said. “And that’s why I have to pay for my actions and give back to society.” No matter if the pay was low, he added.He wished though that President Duterte would also increase the salary of BPSO members, just like he promised the police.“If you compare the (number of) people that police here have caught to the number that we (in BPSO) did, there’s no match. Most of the petty criminals were caught by us,” Cabigting said.“(The police) may be ahead because they’re degree holders and they passed the civil service (examinations), but when it comes to service to the community, we’re equals,” he added.This story is part of the Inquirer’s contribution to the minimum wage special report by members of the Asia News Network.“This story is part of the Inquirer’s contribution to the minimum wage special report by members of the Asia News Network. For more, go to http | ['Sara Isabelle Pacia'] | 26/02/2018 0:00 | https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/893029/minimum-wage-maximum-woes | Inquirer |
CHED told to restore Filipino, Panitikan subjects | MalipotThe Commission on Higher Education (CHED) is being asked to completely implement the order of the Supreme Court (SC) to restore Filipino and Panitikan courses in the tertiary level with the full implementation of the new General Education Curriculum (GEC) by Academic Year 2018-2019.The Alyansa ng mga Tagapagtanggol ng Wikang Filipino (Alliance of Defenders of the National Language) or Tanggol Wika, an alliance of schools, colleges, universities, linguistic and cultural organizations, and concerned citizens, filed a case and secured a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) against the abolition of Filipino and Panitikan (Literature) as mandatory core courses in the new General Education Curriculum in Philippine colleges and universities in 2015.Tanggol Wika Convenor David Michael San Juan, however, said that despite the SC’s ruling, CHED never implemented the order.In 2013, CHED issued the CMO No. 20, series of 2013 or the General Education Curriculum: Holistic Understandings, Intellectual and Civic Competencies, which is the policy cover for the revised General Education Curriculum (GEC).The new GEC was crafted for the implementation of the K to 12 Education Program – particularly for those who have completed Senior High School (SHS).Compared to the old one, the new GEC has been reduced from 63 units (for Humanities and Social Science majors) or 51 units (for Science, Engineering and Math majors) to a total of 36 units for all students – regardless of discipline. | [] | 26/02/2018 0:00 | https://news.mb.com.ph/2018/02/26/ched-told-to-restore-filipino-panitikan-subjects/ | Manila Bulletin |
Protests vs martial law also staged in provinces | Survivors of martial law and activists on Wednesday joined protest actions in the cities of Bacolod and Iloilo to mark the 44th an niversary of the declaration of martial law and denounce plans to bury the remains of dictator Ferdinand Marcos at Libingan ng mga Bayani.In Bacolod, about 50 of around 1,000 victims of martial law who brought indemnification claims against the Marcos estate for abuses they suffered during the dictatorship gathered in front of the Fountain of Justice on Araneta Street to protest the burial plan.They carried streamers that said “Marcos not a Hero” and “Justice for the victims of martial law.”Many of those who joined the mass action were relatives of victims of extrajudicial killings, imprisonment and torture during martial law.In Iloilo City, about 70 activists, including martial law victims, held a rally at Plazoletaga to oppose the burial of Marcos at Libingan ng mga Bayani.They carried placards and streamers denouncing the refusal of the Marcoses to acknowledge widespread torture, killings and other human rights violations during martial law and the culpability of their family for those abuses.Rallies in BicolIn Bicol, members of militant groups allied with Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) held rallies in the six provinces in the region to demand justice for victims of human rights violations during martial law.Vince Casilihan, spokesperson for Bayan, said rallies were held in the cities of Naga in Camarines Sur province, Legazpi in Albay, Sorsogon in Sorsogon province, and Masbate in Masbate province, and in the towns of Virac in Catanduanes province and Daet in Camarines Norte.In Cagayan de Oro City, people who were not even born yet when martial law was declared joined those who have experienced state brutality in a march-rally to mark the anniversary of martial law.Deemz Badilla, 18, a community development student at Tagoloan Community College in Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental province, and Anakbayan area coordinator, had to skip class so she could participate in the protest to condemn the atrocities of martial law.“I don’t want it to happen again during my generation. I hope President Rodrigo Duterte will not declare it,” Badilla said referring to talks that the President is considering on proclaiming a state of martial rule in the country. Reports from Carla P. Gomez and Nestor P. Burgos Jr., Inquirer Visayas; Mar S. Arguelles, Inquirer Southern Luzon; and Jigger J. Jerusalem, Inquirer Mindanao | ['Philippine Daily Inquirer'] | 2018-04-21 00:04:15+00:00 | https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/817738/protests-vs-martial-law-also-staged-in-provinces | Inquirer |
PNP chief wants cadets to intern at SAF school | Aspiring police personnel will have their on-the-job training (OJT) or internship at the training school of the elite Special Action Force (SAF), according to Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Oscar Albayalde.In his first news conference on Friday as the head of the police organization, Albayalde, a former SAF member, said the recruits will have their six months of training at the school located in Santa Rosa, Laguna.He said he had sought the help of Sen. Panfilo Lacson, a former PNP chief, to help them strengthen the SAF training school.“First six months, basic recruitment [is done by the Philippine Public Safety College or PPSC], and then another six months of OJT, but instead of just standing outside without any firearm, they [trainees] are going to be in the SAF training school and they will undergo the basic internal security operations course for six months,” Albayalde added in Filipino.He said entering the SAF school “will develop [the OJTs’] skills, especially the will to fight like a SAF troop” against insurgenst and terrorists.If these recruits failed at the SAF school, Albayalde said, they would not be recruited as full-fledged policemen.Under the law, only the PPSC is authorized to train aspiring policemen.“I already talked about this with the President about my plan in putting them under SAF training. He supported it and said he already gave instructions in amending the law but, for the meantime, this is what we are going to do,” Albayalde said.In his inaugural speech on Thursday, he noted that policemen who received SAF training are more disciplined and “more willing to fight” compared to those who only received basic training.“We shall impose and breathe discipline 24/7 and implement reforms in all levels in the PNP. First, we will show respect both to ourselves and to the public. Because genuine public service I believe is anchored on respect,” the PNP chief said.Matching the popularity of his predecessor, Ronald de la Rosa, Albayalde said, would be hard for him to achieve.He and De la Rosa were batchmates from the Philippine Military Academy Sinagtala Class of 1986.Albayalde said he will continue De la Rosa’s programs on internal cleansing and the war on drugs.De la Rosa officially retired on April 19. | ['Roy Narra'] | 2018-04-21 00:04:15+00:00 | https://www.manilatimes.net/pnp-chief-wants-cadets-to-intern-at-saf-school/393757/ | Manila Times |
Duterte renames Benham Rise Philippine Rise | From now on, Benham Rise will be known as Philippine Rise.President Duterte, through Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea, signed last week an executive order (EO) changing the name of Benham Rise, a resource-rich submerged landmass off the eastern coast of the Philippines, to Philippine Rise.Benham Rise became controversial early this year after Mr. Duterte admitted that he had allowed China to send ships to the 24-million-hectare undersea feature, which the United Nations has declared part of the Philippine continental shelf.Following the controversy, the President announced plans to rename Benham Rise to emphasize Philippine sovereign right and jurisdiction over the area.In Executive Order No. 25, dated May 16, Mr. Duterte said the country could rename Benham Rise “in its exercise of sovereign rights and jurisdiction.”The country has sovereign rights and jurisdiction over the Benham Rise region in accordance with the 1987 Constitution, national legislation, the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos) and applicable international laws, according to EO 25.The UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf ruled in 2012 that Benham Rise was part of the country’s extended continental shelf and thus the country could explore, exploit, conserve and manage natural resources there.Under the 1982 Unclos, a coastal state’s exclusive economic zone extends 370 kilometers from its continental shelf, while its extended continental shelf extends for another 278 km.Namria mapsEO 25 said Philippine Rise would now be the name that would appear on maps and charts produced by the National Mapping and Resource Information Authority (Namria).It directed the Department of Foreign Affairs to notify concerned international organizations on the new name of the submerged landmass.Government agencies were also directed to use Philippine Rise in official documents.‘Kalipungawan’The landmass, the shallowest part of which is 50 meters, is a rich fishing ground for fishermen from Aurora, Quezon, and the Bicol provinces. It is called “Kalipungawan” (loneliness) by fishermen from Catanduanes, who can reach the area after a 12-hour boat ride.Bigger than Luzon, Philippine Rise extends eastward off the provinces of Aurora and Isabela, and the Bicol region. The extended continental shelf in Philippine Rise has an area of 135,506 sq km (13.5 million hectares), equivalent to about half of the country’s land area. | ['Christine O. Avendaño'] | 2016-09-16 21:11:54+08:00 | https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/898607/duterte-renames-benham-rise-philippine-rise | Inquirer |
Arrest order sought vs 17 people tied to VP Binay | Seventeen people who failed to show up in the Senate blue ribbon subcommittee hearings on the expanded inquiry into corruption allegations against Vice President Jejomar Binay since he was mayor of Makati City face arrest after they were cited for contempt.Among those facing arrest were Binay’s financial adviser Gerry Limlingan and his longtime secretary Ebeng Baloloy who were found to have joint bank accounts with the Vice President that were recently ordered frozen by the Court of Appeals on suspicion these were involved in illegal activities.At press time on Monday, Senate President Franklin Drilon had yet to approve the recommendation for their arrest by the Senate blue ribbon committee chair, Sen. Teofisto Guingona III.“I will have to see the recommendation first,” Drilon told reporters.“The action of the committee to cite an individual/group of persons for contempt does not require the approval of the Senate President,” Drilon’s office said. “However, when the committee orders the issuance of the arrest and/or the detention order, the approval of the Senate resident would be needed or would become necessary.”Guingona on Monday met with Sen. Aquilino Pimentel III, the subcommittee chair, to discuss the panel’s recommendation to cite for contempt 17 people who had snubbed its hearings.They were Limlingan, Baloloy, Tomas Lopez, Antonio Tiu, Vissia Marie Aldon, Danilo Villas, Aida Alcantara, Mario Badillo, Hirene Lopez, Irene Chong, Imee Chong, Kim Tun Chong, Iris Chong, Erlinda Chong, Kimsfer Chong, Anne Lorraine Buencamino-Tiu and James Tiu.But during the meeting, Pimentel asked Guingona not to include Tomas Lopez, president of the University of Makati, who attended the hearing of the subcommittee on May 8, and Badillo who wrote the subcommittee on MONday that he would attend the next hearing set on May 28.Ordered arrested earlier were engineer Line de la Peña, Bernadette Portallano and Baloloy.The Senate sergeant at arms could arrest the 17 persons once the arrest orders are approved by Drilon, Pimentel said. They are to be detained in the Senate or alternative venues.Justice Secretary Leila de Lima on Monday said the National Bureau of Investigation would join the hunt for those ordered arrested.“The assistance originally requested from the NBI was to trace their whereabouts so the NBI tried to find out their known addresses and other possible addresses. But it’s up to that (extent) only. They could not apprehend them or even summon them because there was still no case against them. So the most they could do is just to try to monitor and locate their whereabouts,” she said.De Lima, however, said the NBI agents did not see “eye to eye” regarding Limlingan, Baloloy and other personalities sought by the Senate.“They never saw these personalities, meaning they have not seen even their shadows. They found their addresses, but the warm bodies of their personalities, they did not see them so far,” she said.The justice secretary, citing records from the Bureau of Immigration, said both Limlingan and Baloloy were still in the country since there were no records of their departure.– | ['Christine O. Avendaño'] | 2016-09-16 21:11:54+08:00 | https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/692169/arrest-order-sought-vs-17-people-tied-to-vp-binay | Inquirer |
Eastwood, Bronson films inspired Duterte | IF YOU FIND the Duterte administration’s war on drugs ruthless, blame Clint Eastwood and Charles Bronson.Amid the public outcry over the unbridled killings, President Duterte has offered a thespic explanation for the deaths of drug users and pushers in vigilante attacks and police operations.“If I were a policeman and you killed my son, could I measure (my) anger by just (ending) about 200 lives? Even the Americans taught us it’s good. Charles Bronson. (Was that in) ‘Death Wish?’” the President said at his early morning news briefing in Davao City last Sunday.“What was the movie about? He was a cop. He was a vigilante just like Clint Eastwood,” he added. “They are the mirrors of life. They mirror the lives of everybody.”Far differentEastwood, an 86-year-old American actor-director, rose to stardom in the 1970s with his box-office hit “Dirty Harry” series as the maverick, albeit brutal, homicide investigator Harry Callahan.Bronson played the character of architect-turned-vigilante Paul Kersey in the “Death Wish’’ movie series.While he was also known by his moniker “Duterte Harry,” the President maintained that his ways in dealing with criminality was far different from that of Eastwood’s alter ego.A longtime mayor of Davao City, Mr. Duterte won the support of Filipino voters on a single platform of ending criminality and illegal drugs in three to six months.Since he was sworn in as the country’s 16th President on June 30, about 1,500 suspected drug pushers and addicts have been killed by policemen and unidentified gunmen. Many of the deaths were said to be summary killings.“I do not believe (in) the crusading justice. It’s far different,” the President said. “He (Dirty Harry) has his own duty… Mine is larger. I have to protect a country.”“He is simply appalled and he has pity for the fellow Americans who died needlessly in the hands of (criminals). They are law-abiding citizens. They do not carry (guns) because they obey the law and yet they are waylaid. They are killed for nothing,” he said.While Hollywood films were just work of fiction, Mr. Duterte said “what is true there, is true here.”“The mirror of life is portrayed before us. That’s what I’m saying,” he said. “(But just what) I’ve been telling everybody, you cannot build a nation over the bones of your citizens.”The sharp-tongued President said there was nothing wrong with issuing shoot-to-kill orders, pointing out that American cowboys actually “invented” the concept.‘Stupid instruction’He said the American authorities also started the system of offering cash rewards for killing wanted criminals.“What’s wrong with giving orders to shoot-to-kill? I cannot give the order to ‘shoot but be sure that (the criminal) is alive,’” said the President, admitting that he had given the order to his subordinates when he was a mayor.Chuckling, he added: “(It’s) crazy. The policemen would just say, ‘I’d rather shoot you mayor for giving us stupid instruction.’”He said the concept of “wanted, dead or alive” was not introduced by Philippine authorities, but by “the cowboy marshals of the United States.”“When we copied it, we are bad. But they are good. They never made an apology for teaching us the words ‘shoot-to-kill’ and ‘reward.’ We got it from the movies and they sometimes use it against terrorists,” the President said.“We only follow the Americans, but now we are the evil ones. (If) the Americans use it, why can’t I use it? They taught us English to understand words so I understand it to be this way.” | ['Marlon Ramos'] | 2017-09-06 20:05:52+08:00 | https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/808639/eastwood-bronson-films-inspired-duterte | Inquirer |
Candidates for next chief justice to undergo public interview | The Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) ordered on Friday the five candidates vying for the position of the country’s next Chief Justice to undergo a public interview on August 16.The JBC, in its first deliberation for the post on Friday, also set the deadline for accepting all the objections and recommendations for each candidate until August 10.Bidding for the post of Chief Justice are Supreme Court (SC) Justices Teresita Leonardo-De Castro, Diosdado Peralta and Lucas Bersamin, Andres Reyes Jr., and Tagum City, Davao del Norte Regional Trial Court Branch 1 Judge Virginia Tejano-Ang.The SC Public Information Office (PIO), in its Twitter account, said “Public interviews for all nominees for the post of Chief Justice on Aug 16, 9 a.m. onwards at the Division Hearing Room, SC New Building.”Acting Chief Justice Antonio Carpio, who did not apply for the post, will be the acting chairman of the JBC.In the straw voting by the SC en banc, Bersamin got 10 votes, followed by De Castro and Peralta with nine votes each, and Reyes with two votes.The top three choices of the en banc are expected to be carried on by Carpio to the JBC.The post of Chief Justice became vacant after Maria Lourdes Aranal-Sereno was ousted by the SC en banc with a vote of 8 against 6 through quo warranto proceedings. | ['Jomar Canlas'] | 2018-08-04 00:01:20+00:00 | https://www.manilatimes.net/candidates-for-next-chief-justice-to-undergo-public-interview/426346/ | Manila Times |
UP student wins world’s largest public speaking competition | In chilly London last week, Johanne Jazmin Tan Jabines was given five minutes onstage. It was all the time the 20-year-old needed to share her meeting with a dearly missed relative and wow the competition’s judges and her global audience.Jabines bagged the top prize at the English Speaking Union’s International Public Speaking Competition on Friday, besting 51 other young public speakers from different countries.Her winning speech, titled “One Hour at A Time,” spoke of the lives of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and undocumented immigrants.The grand finalists | ['Jhesset O. Enano'] | 2016-05-18 14:08:53+00:00 | https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/993394/up-student-wins-worlds-largest-public-speaking-competition | Inquirer |
Gov’t accuses Reds of breaking the truce | The government on Wednesday challenged the communists to “walk their talk” toward resuming peace talks after a series of incidents that the presidential peace adviser said had undermined their Christmas ceasefire.“In blatant disregard of the Christmas season, when our people desire and expect peace and goodwill, the CPP-NPA-NDF (Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army-National Democratic Front) reciprocated the government’s gesture of a month-long unilateral ceasefire with acts of senseless violence,” Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Teresita Deles said in a statement.Deles cited three recent incidents in a span of one week that not only caused destruction to property, but also resulted in the loss of lives.A unilateral suspension of military and police operations took effect on Dec. 19 to end on Jan. 19, the day Pope Francis wraps up his four-day visit to the Philippines.Deles denounced the NPA’s torching of building construction equipment in Camarines Norte, and the burning of a civilian vehicle in Agusan del Sur on Dec. 22.“Both acts were committed in retaliation of the civilians’ refusal to give in to their extortion,” Deles said.The next day, communist rebels abducted Compostela Valley jail warden Jose Mervin Gementiza Coquilla in Panabo City, Davao del Norte.On Dec. 29, the NPA was suspected in the killing of 1st Lt. Ronald Bautista, Pfc. Albert Amor and military volunteer Renel Baluca in Sitio (settlement) Barigyan, Mabini, Compostela Valley.Deles said the three men were “unarmed soldiers in civilian clothes on their way to spend the holidays with their families when they were shot point-blank by members of the NPA. | ['Philippine Daily Inquirer'] | 2016-05-18 14:08:53+00:00 | https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/661193/govt-accuses-reds-of-breaking-the-truce | Inquirer |
Speaker backs down on sex video showing | SPEAKER Pantaleon Alvarez is changing his tune after saying last week he found nothing wrong with the public showing of a sex tape purportedly featuring Sen. Leila de Lima.On Monday, Alvarez said he was leaving it up to the House of Representatives’ committee on justice to decide if it was necessary to watch the video at a hearing scheduled for Thursday.At a press conference, the congressional leader acknowledged that “many women’s groups reacted” to his statement about having to show the supposed sex video of De Lima, who is being linked by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to illegal drug trafficking at New Bilibid Prison (NBP) through the testimonies of convicts there.De Lima, a former justice secretary, is one of the harshest critics of the Duterte administration’s war on drugs that is marred by extrajudicial killings.Alvarez said he had met with Representatives Kaka Bag-ao of Dinagat Islands, Dina Abad of Batanes and Josephine Sato of Occidental Mindoro to assure them that “I have nothing against women.”“I am part of the women’s advocacies, the same way that I am one with the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) community,” he said.Alvarez noted that at the time he made his remarks last week that the sex video could be shown at the hearing “there was no objection to it.”The showing, he added, would violate no law, as “[w]e are doing this in aid of legislation.”“If Senator De Lima does not want to appear here at the House of Representatives, we will let the people, the public, judge whether that sex video is true or not,” he told reporters then.Firestorm of protestThe Speaker’s statements triggered a firestorm of protest—from women’s groups to online statements, to female legislators, along with a handful of their male counterparts, signing a statement expressing their objections to the showing of the video.They said it was immaterial to the congressional investigation aimed at putting together legislation that would stop the illegal drug trade at NBP.Senators also objected to the plan to show the video at a public hearing.Senate President Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III warned representatives that they would pay a political price for reckless actions.Fake, porn siteSenators Panfilo Lacson and Antonio Trillanes IV said it would be “highly inappropriate” and “foul” to show the video.Sen. Grace Poe said playing the video would violate the Anti-Photo and Video Voyeurism Act of 2009.But the sex video itself was fake, according to people whom the Inquirer asked to watch a version of the tape purportedly showing De Lima and her former driver, Ronnie Dayan, who is accused of collecting payoffs for her from drug lords inside NBP.As it turned out, the video’s source is a porn site. The video was splattered with the watermark title, “Senator Leila de Lima Scandal Pak Ganern,” with the video’s website source, http | ['Nikko Dizon'] | 2016-05-18 14:08:53+00:00 | https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/821471/speaker-backs-down-on-sex-video-showing | Inquirer |
Senators grill DepEd officials over unspent 2016 budget | The Senate Committee on Finance on Monday grilled the Department of Education (DepEd) over an unspent budget of P21.5 billion last year as it weighed in on the agency’s capacity to fully spend its proposed P613.1 billion budget for 2018.At the hearing, finance committee chair Sen. Loren Legarda asked the agency to submit a memo listing the programs and infrastructures that were affected when the money was reverted to unappropriated surplus of the government’s general fund and specifying the reasons for incurring such amount.“Before we even talk about giving you a new budget, we want to know why you returned P21.5 billion. Last week, we were very disappointed, saddened by the Department of Transportation returning P11.5 billion. Now we see DepEd returning P21.5 billion,” said Legarda.Unserved“When we return funds to the Treasury, that means there are people unserved, there are classrooms not rehabilitated, there are books not printed and there are children not helped,” she said.The DepEd broke down the P21.5 billion as the following: P12 billion for teacher positions; P5 billion for the Government Assistance to Students and Teachers in Private Education (Gastpe); P1.3 billion for the provision and maintenance of basic education facilities, P1 billion for technical-vocational supplies and P3.6 billion for the provision of textbooks and instructional materials.The P21.5 billion were 2015 allocations that were carried over last year.Education Secretary Leonor Briones told the panel that the agency had difficulty keeping up with its backlog in 2015 as it was also catching up with the utilization of its 2016 budget.“Now we are catching up with 2017 and we can only do it in phases,” said Briones, noting that the agency has introduced reforms, restructured its management system and tightened its cooperation with the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to address classroom backlogs.The DepEd also said the DPWH had a remaining balance of P76 billion or 70 percent of the P109 billion in the 2017 budget to be obligated for the construction of classrooms before December 2017. Legarda wondered if it could be done in a span of three months.“If the DepEd is having hard time with the two-year cycle, now it’s a 12-month cycle. I’m really just worried that you may not be able to spend all. So I am asking you to do an internal housekeeping,” said Legarda. | ['Jocelyn R. Uy'] | 2016-05-18 14:08:53+00:00 | https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/931629/senate-deped-department-of-education-2018-national-budget-unspent-deped-budget-loren-legarda | Inquirer |
No more terminal fee for OFWs by March 2017 | Overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) will no longer be queuing for refund of terminal fees starting March next year.This was disclosed by General Manager Ed Monreal of the Manila International Airport Authority during the Samahang Plaridel news forum at Manila Hotel on Monday.The P550 terminal fee, known as the International Passenger Service Charge (IPSC), is included in the airline ticket upon purchased whether in airline ticket offices or bought online.The IPSC was imposed by the Aquino administration purportedly to decongest the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) pre-departure areas.The Filipino workers can claim their refund upon departure at the airport terminals.Monreal, according to recruitment consultant Emmanuel Geslani, said his office is finishing technical details with international airlines to eliminate the obnoxious fee that has been opposed by millions of OFWs all over the world.The terminal fee was also opposed by both Houses of Congress that passed strong resolutions urging the former administration to stop collection of the fee.Airport sources said more than a billion pesos has been collected since the inclusion of the terminal fee in the airline ticket and half of this amount remains unclaimed by some OFWs, making it part of the general fund of the NAIA.Monreal said his office is ready to give the refund to those who have not been able to get their money as long as the OFWs possess the e-ticket, boarding pass and passport regardless of the date they were purchased or stamped.“Anytime they [OFWs] can [ask for the] refund as long as they present the usual requirements,” he added. | ['Benjie Vergara'] | 2016-11-28 22:12:04+00:00 | https://www.manilatimes.net/no-terminal-fee-ofws-march-2017/298909/ | Manila Times |
Who was Jesse Javier Carlos? | Jessie Javier Carlos was a gun dealer and sometimes carried a gun, but was not known in his neighborhood in Santa Cruz, Manila, as a troublemaker.“He was a decent man with no record of violence,” said Edgar Abrigo, head of Barangay 339 Zone 34.Abrigo said Carlos also owned an employment agency and a nursery school and gave donations to the barangay to help it sponsor basketball tournaments in the neighborhood.Boyet Torres, a neighbor, said Carlos was a generous man.“He was a quiet man,” Torres said. “You’d rarely see him on the street. And if you saw him, he’d just nod at you. He’s that type. We rarely talked, except when he’d ask me to watch his car. Then he’d give me P100 tip.”House for saleCarlos’ house on Felix Huertas Street was located about 10 meters from the barangay hall. It has a narrow gate and beside it stands the nursery school mentioned by Abrigo.The barangay chief said the family tried to sell the house last month to a “good buyer” for P10 million.The buyer was ready, he said, but during the negotiations the bank found out that the property was the subject of litigation.“We didn’t know that,” said Abrigo, who was the middleman in the transaction. “We’re not sure what case exactly.”RELATED VIDEO | ['Aie Balagtas See'] | 2017-08-07 00:56:36+00:00 | https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/902706/who-was-jesse-javier-carlos | Inquirer |
P17-B budget for train expansion projects hailed | A lawmaker over the weekend said he supports President Rodrigo Duterte’s plan to invest an additional P17 billion to expand capacity of trains that would ferry passengers to and from Metro Manila.“Fresh government subsidies to passenger trains are imperative to cope with the growing demand for high-speed and affordable public transportation,” according to Buhay party-list Rep. Lito Atienza, also House senior deputy minority leader.“Once we have more trains all around, people are bound to rely less on cars when going to work or school, simply because they are able to save a lot of time and cut down on fuel as well as parking expenses,” Atienza said in a statement.Atienza said the proposed P3.767-trillion national budget for 2018 has some P17 billion in new appropriations to support rail projects.Among these projects are the capacity increase for Metro Rail Transit 3; Light Rail Transit Line 1 Cavite Extension Project; Unified Common Station Project; LRT Line 2 Rizal Extension Project; LRT Line 2 Manila Extension Project from Recto Avenue to Pier 4 North Harbor; and North-South Railway Project Phase 2.Atienza noted environmental benefits of using electrical trains such as improving air quality in Metro Manila.“As we open up our energy markets, we also look forward to the day when our elevated commuter trains will be driven not just by any electricity, but by electricity specially generated from clean renewable sources,” he said.The Philippines earlier was able to secure an official development assistance from Japan amounting to P1.48 trillion to fund infrastructure projects including the Metro Manila Subway Project and the Philippine National Railway Commuter Railway Project. | ['Reicelene Joy Ignacio'] | 2017-08-07 00:56:36+00:00 | https://www.manilatimes.net/p17-b-budget-train-expansion-projects-hailed/342904/ | Manila Times |
Duterte on plotters: ‘I wish them success’ | President Rodrigo Duterte has shrugged off a supposed ouster plot against him that is allegedly organized by and linked to Vice President Maria Leonor “Leni” Robredo’s allies.In an interview on Tuesday, Presidential Communications Secretary Martin Andanar said that Duterte, at the sidelines of Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting, had been able to discuss with him, National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr. and Information and Communications Technology Rodolfo Salalima a supposed leaked conversation, now dubbed as “LeniLeaks.”During their talk, Andanar added, the President had wished his opponents “success” in destabilizing him.“I wish them all the success,” Duterte told Robredo’s supporters planning to kick him out of office as quoted by Andanar.The alleged ouster plot came to fore after a blogger posted over the weekend emails that allegedly showed exchanges between some supporters of the Liberal Party such as immigration lawyer Ted Laguatan and certain individuals in the Philippines.The emails were supposedly posted on the Yahoo! group Global Filipino Diaspora Council, whose members reportedly include Loida Nicolas-Lewis.Lewis has denied concocting a plan to remove Duterte from Malacañang even as she clarified that her call for Duterte to quit was based on the President’s promise that he would resign if drugs are still rampant six months after his inauguration in June last year.Esperon has said “Lenileaks” was not on the agenda of the Cabinet meeting on Monday because Duterte and the secretaries had more important matters to discuss.“We have other more important matters… This should not be the flavor of the day or the month since this is just something that we already know,” Esperon said.In a news conference, Presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella said the “LeniLeaks” issue was not taken up during Monday’s Cabinet meeting.“No. There was no discussion there and if there was any pull-aside, I was not privy to it,” Abella told reporters. “It was not mentioned at all. Not during the Cabinet meeting.”But Andanar, in another interview, said he discussed the “LeniLeaks” with the President together with Esperon and Salalima.“It was discussed in the Cabinet pull-aside. This was when we pulledthe President to one side and we talked to the President privately,” Andanar told ABS-CBN News Channel (ANC). | ['Catherine S. Valente'] | 2017-01-10 21:17:42+00:00 | https://www.manilatimes.net/duterte-plotters-wish-success/306212/ | Manila Times |
Consumer groups: WHO has flawed info on e-cigs | Consumer groups criticized local antitobacco advocates for rehashing findings by the World Health Organization (WHO) that are flawed and old.WHO is seeking to ban the indoor use of electronic cigarettes or “vapes” based on rehashed flawed information, they said.Health Secretary Paulyn Ubial had said the Department of Health was open to adopting the recommendation of WHO.“Local antitobacco groups should realize that the WHO is not infallible and repeating wrong information on e-cigarettes will not make it correct. The WHO, which believes that the only way to reduce smoking is for smokers to ‘quit or die,’ should open its eyes to the evidence and consider the potential for new technologies, such as e-cigarettes, to reduce smoking-related harms,” said Tom Pinlac, president of The Vapers Philippines.“Local health experts and antitobacco advocates should look beyond the WHO and consider the findings of independent studies on e-cigarettes. There is strong evidence that e-cigarettes can serve as a safer alternative to tobacco. Let us provide smokers trying to quit with accurate information on e-cigarettes,” said Joey Dulay, president of the Philippine E-Cigarette Industry Association.WHO’s recommendation is based on its report on Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems in August 2016 which claims, among others, that metals exposures among e-cigarette users are higher than in second-hand smoke and could be harmful to bystanders. | ['Philippine Daily Inquirer'] | 2016-10-11 12:29:10+00:00 | https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/915954/consumer-groups-who-has-flawed-info-on-e-cigs | Inquirer |
Aquino teased on romance with Wurtzbach | PRESIDENT Aquino appeared to be avoiding any talk about newly crowned Miss Universe Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach whom he briefly dated earlier this year, evading questions from the media and ignoring the good-natured ribbing of Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa.On Tuesday, when Ochoa introduced the President before his speech at the signing of the 2016 national budget at the Rizal Hall in Malacañang, he addressed the other officials with a crowd-pleasing, “Isang magandang Miss Universe sa inyong lahat (A beautiful Miss Universe to you all).”But the President would not be baited. Responding to Ochoa, he said, “Executive Secretary na, kumpare ko pa, na nagmula ang relasyon natin sa aking mga magulang, sinira mo itong araw na ito (Executive Secretary, my good friend, with whom I share a relationship dating back to our parents’ day, you ruined this day).”Mr. Aquino did not elaborate.He also did not seem inclined to talk about the 26-year-old Wurtzbach, who was now officially the most beautiful woman in the world, or rather, the universe.Cabinet members and journalists who were inclined to tease the bachelor President about his brief romance with the beauty queen held their peace, however, out of respect for Mr. Aquino’s privacy.ReticentAt the 80th anniversary of the Armed Forces of the Philippines in Clark Air Base, Pampanga province, on Monday, President Aquino was as reticent and did not grant any interview with the Malacañang press corps, deviating from his usual practice on previous AFP Day ceremonies.At 55, Mr. Aquino was likely to remain the country’s most eligible bachelor when he ends his six-year term next year. Despite regular updates on his various dates, he remains largely unattached.At the Senate, a resolution had been filed commending Wurtzbach for her Miss Universe feat.“The Filipina beauty queen’s positive attitude and strong determination to fulfill her dream of winning the 2015 Miss Universe title are indeed a positive example and great inspiration to her countrymen, particularly the youth, that no dream is impossible as long as he or she puts his or her mind and heart in it,” Senate President Franklin Drilon said in his measure.UndauntedDrilon said Wurtzbach was undaunted in her quest for the beauty title despite two previous attempts to win the top spot in the Binibining Pilipinas pageant.The Senate President also praised the newly crowned Miss Universe for her statement that showed concern over issues affecting her country, including HIV awareness.“For winning the Miss Universe crown, which was last worn by a Filipina 42 years ago, she has brought great honor and glory to the country and the Filipino people worthy of the praise and commendation of this august chamber,” he said.Sen. Aquilino Pimentel III also commended Wurtzbach on how she handled the wrong announcement that led to Miss Colombia being crowned the winner of the Miss Universe pageant.Miss Universe host Steve Harvey had initially announced Miss Colombia as the 2015 Miss Universe and Wurtzbach as the first runner-up. After Miss Colombia had been crowned, the “Family Feud” host came back onstage to correct his wrong announcement, saying he had misread the cue card.Through all the chaos that followed, the Philippine representative kept her poise, her big smile after initially being declared first-runner-up a reflection of her humility and grace under pressure, Pimentel said.“It was destiny and determination because she had dreamed of the crown since childhood and after three attempts at the (Binibining Pilipinas) pageant. And suddenly the moment had come. She was just persevering and hard working,” the senator said in a statement. | ['Nikko Dizon'] | 2016-10-11 12:29:10+00:00 | https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/749639/aquino-teased-on-romance-with-wurtzbach | Inquirer |
All cops to get refresher courses on human rights | THE PHILIPPINE National Police’s human rights affairs office (HRAO) is intensifying efforts to give refresher courses on human rights to all lawmen amid President Duterte’s campaign against illegal drugs and his declaration of a national emergency due to lawless violence.Chief Supt. Dennis Siervo, HRAO head, told reporters on Friday that only about half or around 79,000 of the 160,000 policemen in the country had taken the refresher course since last year.Siervo said the HRAO this year trained nearly 1,400 policemen at its office at PNP Headquarters in Camp Crame and between 33,000 and 37,000 policemen in the regional offices. Last year, 500 to 700 cops were trained at the HRAO office and about 40,000 more in the regions. The number excludes the training of trainers.Siervo said the human rights review course focuses on police operational procedures, particularly how to conduct arrests and enforce search warrants, how to implement checkpoints and how to hail traffic violators.Also reviewed during the training are methods and circumstances for applying reasonable force to subdue suspects. Siervo said most of the complaints of human rights violations received by his office involved the manhandling of arrested suspects. TVJRELATED STORIES | ['Jerome Aning'] | 2016-10-11 12:29:10+00:00 | https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/821169/all-cops-to-get-refresher-courses-on-human-rights | Inquirer |
Faces of the News: Aaron Aquino | Shortly after intercepting P4.3 billion worth of “shabu” (crystal meth) in two magnetic lifters at a Manila port on Aug. 7, Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) Director General Aaron Aquino tangled with Customs Commissioner Isidro Lapeña over four similar lifters found in a Cavite warehouse.Though empty when found, Aquino said at a congressional hearing that the sniffer dogs’ reaction andother circumstantial evidence showed that the lifters had been used to smuggle some P6.8 billion worth of shabu.Stung by Aquino’s insinuation that customs had been negligent, Lapeña countered that they could have intercepted it had the PDEA given them timely intelligence.President Rodrigo Duterte waded into the fray and said that the PDEA’s assessment was “pure speculation.”Asked by the Inquirer if he still maintained that the lifters had contained shabu, Aquino replied with a firm “Yes.” | ['Philippine Daily Inquirer'] | 2017-01-31 20:56:27+00:00 | https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1022746/faces-of-the-news-aaron-aquino | Inquirer |
OSG slams Morales’ ‘double standard’ | The Office of the Ombudsman is not a separate branch of government.Solicitor General Jose Calida on Friday issued this scathing rebuttal to Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales’ insistence that Malacañang’s 90-day suspension order on Overall Deputy Ombudsman Melchor Arthur Carandang undermined the antigraft body’s independence.Stopping short of calling her a hypocrite, Calida dismissed Morales’ claim that the directive disrespected a 2014 Supreme Court ruling as he reminded her that she previously ignored the so-called “Aguinaldo doctrine” in indicting former Makati City Mayor Junjun Binay for graft three years ago.‘Look who’s talking?’“When the Ombudsman skewered … Binay by finding him guilty of graft over the Makati parking building, did she respect the Aguinaldo doctrine, which was the prevailing jurisprudence at the time? No,” Calida said in a statement.“Now, she chides the Office of the President for ordering the preventive suspension of … Carandang, which she characterized as ‘a clear affront to the Supreme Court.’ Look who’s talking?” he said.The Aguinaldo doctrine, which the high court issued in 1959, clears elected public officials of administrative charges once they are reelected.Binay had invoked the condonation rule in securing a temporary injunction from the Court of Appeals, which briefly prevented the Ombudsman from suspending him in connection with the alleged anomalies in the construction of Makati City Hall Building II.56-year-old rulingIn November 2015, the high court dropped the 56-year-old ruling as they declared that such policy had no “legal authority” and that it was “rendered obsolete by the current legal regime.”On Monday, Malacañang meted out Carandang’s suspension for grave misconduct after he allegedly made public Mr. Duterte’s supposed bank records.In defending the order suspending Carandang, Calida said Section 2, Article XI of the 1987 Constitution did not include the deputy Ombudsman as among the public officials who may be unseated only through an impeachment.Moreover, he said Section 20, Chapter 7 of the 1987 Administrative Code gave Mr. Duterte “residual powers” in disciplining government officers who are not impeachable. | ['Marlon Ramos'] | 2017-01-31 20:56:27+00:00 | https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/965712/osg-slams-morales-double-standard | Inquirer |
Alvarez: Sereno’s statements outside hearing ‘invalid’ | Whatever argument Chief Justice Maria Lourdes raises in media cannot be considered a valid defense in the impeachment charges against her because it is not the proper forum, Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez said on Friday.“What I’m saying is, she does not appear in the hearing [so] how can she defend herself properly? Then she will issue statements to the media, but those are not valid,” Alvarez said in a dzMM radio interview.Alvarez said Sereno’s statements during public appearances at the University of the Philippines in Quezon City last Thursday could not be considered valid because the engagements were not the proper forums.“This is why she needs to attend [the House hearing] to disprove the allegations and the evidence laid out against her. She knows this since she is a lawyer herself,” the speaker said. | ['Dj Yap'] | 2017-01-31 20:56:27+00:00 | https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/949203/philippine-news-updates-speaker-pantaleon-alvarez-sereno-impeachment | Inquirer |
Abad, aide face DAP probe | The Office of the Ombudsman has cleared the way for the investigation of Budget Secretary Florencio Abad and his deputy, Undersecretary Mario Relampagos, in connection with the alleged irregular release of P393.7 million in Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) funds from 2011 to 2012.In a statement issued on Wednesday, the Ombudsman said Abad and Relampagos, who is already facing a string of graft, malversation and bribery cases in the Sandiganbayan in connection with the P10-billion pork barrel scam, would undergo a preliminary investigation for technical malversation and administrative charges.Technical malversation “is committed by a public officer who disburses public funds or property for a purpose different from which they were originally appropriated by law or ordinance,” the Ombudsman said, citing Article 220 of the Revised Penal Code.Abad denied wrongdoing, adding he welcomed the investigation.“Technical malversation does not suggest that the individuals in question committed acts of graft and corruption,” he said in a statement.‘Good faith’Abad said he and Relampagos “acted in good faith and with regularity in the performance of their official duties” and their action helped accelerate public spending and boosted the economy.The Ombudsman refused to provide a copy of the resolution of its Field Investigation Office (FIO) to the media.Instead, the Ombudsman issued a press release about its approval of the FIO’s recommendation to place Abad and Relampagos under investigation.The statement did not say if President Aquino had been cleared of complicity in the implementation of the DAP, an economic stimulus program that the Supreme Court had declared unconstitutional.‘Technically absolved’But a senior official in the Office of the Ombudsman said the President had been “technically absolved” from charges relating to the contentious cross-border transfer of some P31.9 billion in unobligated appropriations without congressional approval from 2011 to 2012.“The FIO investigators believed that the President should not be held liable for the DAP disbursements,” said the source, who asked not to be named for lack of authority to talk to the media.The Ombudsman said a special panel of government lawyers had been formed to investigate Abad and Relampagos.It also asked the Commission on Audit (COA) to conduct a special audit of all DAP-financed projects that the executive department had approved.“The special panel of field investigators disclosed that Secretary Abad and Relampagos authorized the DAP sourced from pooled savings as ‘a plan to boost disbursements’ and ‘to jumpstart the implementation’ of the government’s expenditure program,” the Ombudsman said.“As authorized, the DAP projects were identified based on their ‘multiplier impact on the economy and infrastructure benefit, beneficial effect on the poor and translation into disbursements,’” it added.Irregularities foundAccording to the antigraft body, documents gathered by the FIO “noted irregularities” in the release of P250 million in DAP funds to the House of Representatives and P143.7 million to the COA.The House used the funds for the “construction of its legislative library and archive building/congressional e-library,” the Ombudsman said.But the FIO said the project was not “among those approved by the President.”The COA used its DAP allocation to bankroll the improvement in its “IT (information technology) infrastructure program and hiring of additional litigation experts,” as shown in the special allotment release orders (Saros).“Abad prepared and signed all memoranda and issuances concerning [the] DAP implementation while Relampagos signed the corresponding Saros to [the] COA and [the House],” the Ombudsman said.Remaining issuesAbad said the investigation would “enable the parties to present their views on all remaining issues involving [the] DAP.”“[W]e likewise trust that the Ombudsman will conduct the investigation with the soundest judgment,” he said.Abad said the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) would cooperate with the Ombudsman in the investigation.“We look forward as well to the inquiry’s swift and fair conclusion,” he said.Abad said the investigation involved the application of excess or unused public funds to existing priority government projects and programs that required additional funding.“The investigation seeks to determine whether these uses of public funds constitute technical malversation, where public funds are used for a public purpose that differed—in a very technical sense—from the original plan,” he said.Abad insisted that the declaration of the public funds that were used through the DAP, “to augment deficient items of appropriations, were authorized under the General Appropriations Act and other laws.”Not unconstitutionalHe also reiterated that the Supreme Court did not declare the DAP unconstitutional.“[T]he final Supreme Court ruling stresses that the doctrine of operative fact holds sway over the implementation of [the] DAP. In other words, the program’s authors, sponsors and implementers must be presumed to have acted in good faith and with regularity in the performance of their official duties,” Abad said.“It is also worth noting that [the] DAP is not a novel program. Its implementation only followed precedents set by previous Presidents and their respective budget secretaries,” he added.Abad defended the DAP, saying its “positive impact” on the economy must not be overlooked.“The Supreme Court itself observed that [the] DAP was instrumental in accelerating public spending, and in such a manner that allowed the country to achieve significant economic progress,” he said.Communication Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said the Ombudsman investigation would provide “an opportunity to clarify the legal issues in the implementation of [the] DAP.”Coloma said the Supreme Court, on the government’s appeal, “upheld the principle of operative fact.”“We affirm our position that the government acted in the public interest,” he said.Not linked to pork scamSpeaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. said the DAP should not be associated with the pork barrel controversy.Belmonte said the pork barrel scam was about public money going into private pockets instead of to government projects.“[The] DAP is a different thing from the [Priority Development Assistance Fund] issue, [which] involved [public funds ending] up in private hands. You give them to (Janet) Napoles, who doesn’t do the job or does only part of it and yet money is expended. In the case of [the] DAP, there is no such implication,” Belmonte said.He said Abad’s goal in introducing the DAP was to “use money appropriated for a certain purpose [that] in his mind or in his judgment was no longer as important as before or had been accomplished or to the point these [were] now savings and realigning them to other public use, which [did] not end up in anybody’s pocket.”Belmonte said the DAP spending had resulted in infrastructure and other projects.Abad, he said, only wanted to use idle funds for the public good.“As far as [the] DAP is concerned,it is really more of the infringement on the powers of Congress and in fact the Supreme Court said this. If Congress was part of the decision-making, there was nothing wrong with it,” Belmonte said.He said Abad might have decided to do it on his own, but he did it in “good faith. | ['Gil C. Cabacungan', 'Marlon Ramos', 'Nikko Dizon'] | 2017-01-31 20:56:27+00:00 | https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/726874/abad-aide-face-dap-probe | Inquirer |
‘Coco levy first, not death penalty’ | SENATOR Francis Pangilinan has urged lawmakers from the House of Representatives to fast-track the passage of the coconut levy trust fund instead of the death penalty bill.In a statement read to reporters during a forum in Quezon City, Pangilinan disclosed that the Senate has started the discussions over the passage of the coconut levy fund bill in the chamber and has “made good progress.”“Tomorrow… is the schedule of the third set of interpellations on this measure. We hope that our representatives in the [House of Representatives] would focus on this problem of poverty [of] and injustice [to] our coconut farmers instead of on the death penalty,” he said“Let’s eliminate hunger, not the hungry,” the senator added.Pangilinan mentioned that they were told in the Senate that there have been meetings going on between technical working groups but there have been no such hearings, according to him.The Liberal Party president said the campaign promises by then-Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte and Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano during the national elections in 2016 where the two vowed that in their first 100 days, the over P76-billion coco levy fund will benefit coconut farmers.He added that the two signed a manifesto in front of coconut farmers “to open a new and happy chapter in the lives of our coconut industry and small coconut farmers” and “to support going after the remaining funds left with cronies.”Pangilinan, Senate committee chairman on agriculture and food, said lawmakers from Congress “need to enact a legislation that will allow for these funds to be utilized.”During the forum, a coconut farmer from Quezon province urged an “urgent” order from President Duterte.“He [Duterte] needs to come up with an urgent executive order for the coco levy funds provision for farmers,” Jansept Geronimo said.In November 2016, Pangilinan sponsored his committee’s report on a consolidated bill creating trust funds for coconut farmers and the coconut industry.In 2012, the Supreme Court ruled that the coco levy fund is public fund and awarded it to the government solely for the development of the coconut industry. | ['Dempsey Reyes'] | 2017-01-31 20:56:27+00:00 | https://www.manilatimes.net/coco-levy-first-not-death-penalty-2/309901/ | Manila Times |
Social Security coverage of househelp | Dear PAO,My husband is planning to get a yaya/helper for my mother-in-law because she is already old and fragile. She is used to living on her own and although she still has a sharp mind, she now needs help as she is already having a hard time preparing her own food, eating, dressing up and bathing. He plans to give the helper a salary of P4,200.00 as long as she is stay-in. He just wants to know if, with that amount of salary, he still needs to pay for the helper’s Social Security System (SSS) contributions. If so, how much does he need to pay? Your advice will be greatly appreciated.VernaDear Verna,Household or domestic helpers are compulsorily covered under the Social Security Law. Section 9 of Republic Act (RA) No. 8282, otherwise known as the Social Security Law, clearly impresses the mandate that, “(a) Coverage in the SSS shall be compulsory upon all employees not over 60 years of age and their employers: Provided, that in the case of domestic helpers, their monthly income shall not be less than P1,000 a month: x x x”With the passage of the Domestic Workers Act or Batas Kasambahay (RA 10361), the coverage of domestic helpers under Social Security remains intact. Although it eliminated the salary base (not less than P1,000 a month), RA 10361 requires that the concerned domestic helper must have rendered at least one month of service so as to oblige the employer from paying and remitting proper contributions. (Section 30, Id.) Said law, likewise, provides for the minimum wage of domestic workers, which may be reviewed, and if proper, determined and adjusted a year from the effectivity thereof and periodically thereafter. (Section 24, Id.)Should your husband hire a household helper for his mother, he will be required to pay and remit the monthly SSS contributions, once said helper has rendered at least one month of service, notwithstanding the fact that the salary grants to the latter amounts to P4,200. Such obligation is imposed upon by law and there are no exceptions. In fact, Section 30 of the said law expressly states that premium payments or contributions are to be shouldered by the employer. It is only when the monthly salary of the domestic helper amounts to or exceeds P5,000 that they are required to pay the proportionate share in the premium payments or contributions, as provided by law.Corollary, your husband will be required to pay and remit monthly premium payments or contributions of P440 as SSS contributions, plus P10 as Employees’ Compensation contributions, in consonance with the SSS revised schedule of contributions. (https://www.sss.gov.ph/sss/appmanager/pages.jsp?page=scheduleofcontribution)We hope that we were able to answer your queries. Please be reminded that this advice is based solely on the facts you have narrated and our appreciation of the same. Our opinion may vary when other facts are changed or elaborated.Editor’s note: Dear PAO is a daily column of the Public Attorney’s Office. Questions for Chief Acosta may be sent to dearpao@manilatimes.net | ['Persida Acosta'] | 2016-11-26 20:23:18+00:00 | https://www.manilatimes.net/social-security-coverage-househelp/298543/ | Manila Times |
Cybersecurity; a legend passes away | for regard for the rule of law and the Constitution, her colorful language and persona, for oftentimes, an unorthodox way of putting across her advocacy. At times she went beyond the limits, but perhaps that was her way of emphasizing her impatience, her desire to make people more aware about our responsibility as citizens.Will there be more Miriams? Maybe, but her message is that we must not be complacent and that when we are confronted by evil and injustice, we must speak out. We may not have her eloquence and her way of communicating that attracts attention, but there are other ways of sharing ideas that would enable us to act in solidarity with others. Rest in peace.My email, Florangel.braid@gmail.com | [] | 30/09/2016 0:00 | https://news.mb.com.ph/2016/09/30/cybersecurity-a-legend-passes-away/ | Manila Bulletin |
12 barong choices for Rody | What to wear to his inauguration on June 30 is the last thing on President-elect Rodrigo “Rody” Duterte’s mind: He has at least a dozen barong Tagalog to choose from.But his son, Sebastian, will make a fashion statement with a barong made of Mindanao silk.The staff at Chardin, a high-end clothes shop in Davao City, said on Saturday that they had sent six barong to Duterte.“We’re finishing six more,” said Bobby Castillo, one of the clothesmakers.“It’s up to the President to choose which one from the 12 barong Tagalog to wear to the inauguration,” said Bonnie Adaza, another clothesmaker at the shop.No order for 12Castillo said Duterte did not order 12 barong.“We’re just doing it because we know that what to wear to his inauguration is the least of his concerns,” he said.“We can even do duplicates—one for his functions in Malacañang and another for him to wear here,” he added.Hermenigildo Balagon, master cutter at Chardin who has been making clothes for Duterte since 2003, said no changes were made to the design of the barong for the President-elect.“It’s still the same pattern, the same cut. If I were to decide, I would make some changes so that he’d look different from the rest. But the mayor won’t like it, so there won’t be changes,” Balagon said, referring to Duterte, who has been mayor of Davao City for most of the past two decades.All the 12 barong for Duterte will be made of jusi, he said.“It’s piña-looking jusi because the mayor has sensitive skin. He finds piña itchy to the skin,” he added.Helping silk industrySebastian, or Baste, will wear a barong designed and made by the Davao Fashion and Design Council (DFDC).Aztec Barba, DFDC president, said his group decided to use Mindanao silk to help revive the island’s silk industry.“We hope that Baste, in wearing Mindanao silk, can help the industry,” Barba said.Mindanao silk is woven by members of Ayala Beneficiaries Association Inc., based in Laguindingan, Misamis Oriental.Farmers belonging to the Claveria Agricultural Producers Cooperative in Claveria, Misamis Oriental, grow silkworms and process the silk into yarn.In recent years, production of Mindanao silk has declined because of low demand and lack of marketing.“We want to help revive the use of Mindanao silk so that farmers and workers who produce it will have a stable livelihood,” Barba said.“And we are happy that Baste is willing to wear it,” he added.Baste runs a shop in Davao that sells locally made, hand-printed Reefside shirts.Sara’s gownSara Duterte-Carpio, daughter of the President-elect and the incoming mayor of Davao, has already gotten the royal blue gown that she will wear to the inauguration from her favorite local designer, Silverio Anglacer.Anglacer also made the baby pink gown for Elizabeth Zimmerman, Duterte’s former wife.Paolo, Duterte’s son and the incoming vice mayor of Davao, will wear a barong made by local designer Erwin Lee Tan. | ['Nico Alconaba'] | 05/10/2017 0:00 | https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/791431/12-barong-choices-for-rody | Inquirer |
Surprise inspection at Cebu jail | Police launched a surprise raid at the Cebu Provincial Rehabilitation and Detention Center (CPDRC) Thursday and seized illegal drugs, electronic gadgets, deadly weapons and other contraband.Around 3,000 male inmates were gathered at the jail’s quadrangle and told to strip from the waist up while policemen searched their cells.The three-hour inspected by the Cebu Provincial Police Office and the Special Weapons and Tactics group (SWAT) yielded illegal drugs worth P71,890, five tablets of suspected Valium, and cash amounting to P2,450 believed to be from illegal numbers game.PPSC commander Mario Baquiran Jr. said it’s been a month since the detention center was last inspected.Cells from 25 and 26 along with 97 to 119 were raided, including those occupied by drug lord Alvaro “Barok” Alvaro.Police found a portable DVD player but no drugs in Alvaro’s cell. | [] | 05/10/2017 0:00 | https://news.mb.com.ph/2017/10/05/surprise-inspection-at-cebu-jail/ | Manila Bulletin |
Suspect in priest’s slay freed; he was wrong guy | THE primary suspect behind the killing of Father Richmond Nilo was released from detention, a spokesman for the Philippine National Police (PNP) said on Friday.Adell Roll Milan was freed after the Regional Trial Court Branch 27 in Cabanatuan City filed a motion to withdraw information, said Senior Supt. Benigno Durana in an interview with reporters.Milan’s lawyer, Larry Gadon, had said that this was a case of mistaken identity and based on “hearsay.”Gadon even showed a CCTV footage where his client was wearing red, debunking the testimony of an altar boy who pointed to Milan as the gunman and claimed that he was in blue when the shooting happened on June 10.Milan’s family, however, denied that he was in the area when Nilo was shot as he was preparing for a 6:30 p.m.Mass inside the Nuestra Señora de la Nieve Chapel in Barangay Mayamot on Sunday.Friends of Milan said he was drinking with them at the time of the shooting.Nelson John Oreo said that he and other friends were willing to testify for him.Philippine National Police (PMP) Chief Oscar Albayalde said that aside from Milan, authorities were looking at five to six other suspects.On Thursday, Albayalde assured the Catholic Bishops’ Conference (CBCP) in a meeting that the clergy would have an “open line” to police.Fr. Jerome Secillano, CBCP executive secretary for the public affairs committee, said that personal numbers were exchanged with the director general of the PNP for help when needed.Nilo was the third priest to be gunned down in six months.Other victims were Fr. Mark Anthony Ventura from Gattaran town, Cagayan in April and Fr. Marcelito Paez of Jaen town, also in Nueva Ecija in December 2017.President Rodrigo Duterte had hinted that some of these priests were killed for reasons outside of their pastoral duties but did not elaborate. | ['Roy Narra'] | 2018-06-30 00:10:45+00:00 | https://www.manilatimes.net/suspect-in-priests-slay-freed-he-was-wrong-guy-2/414160/ | Manila Times |
Incoming DOJ chief vows to probe ‘midnight resolutions’ | Incoming Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II on Thursday said he would look into the alleged involvement of prosecutors and other officials in “midnight resolutions” or last-minute rulings on criminal complaints in exchange for hefty bribes.“We will find out who are involved in this. We will not consent to this, but, of course, the group that divulged this should also provide evidence, especially since the ones they’re accusing is a high-ranking Department of Justice (DOJ) official,” Aguirre told reporters.Outgoing Justice Secretary Emmanuel Caparas, in a press conference, denied the allegations made by the anticorruption watchdog Filipino Alliance for Transparency and Empowerment (Fate), saying the DOJ and its prosecutors are all professionals and that resolutions were being issued in compliance with deadlines and to resolve the backlog of cases.“We’re just doing our job and we do it the best way we know and if anybody wishes to say anything other than that, accuse us, while you are free to do that, please be responsible about it because if you don’t know how to be responsible about it, you might as well shut up,” he said.Fate secretary general Jo Perez said “rewritten rulings” were being “antedated” and being sold for “millions of pesos” to parties in the case. She did not name the cases involved or where and how they got their information.Perez said the resolutions were being sold from P5 million to P10 million and P20 million for big cases. She accused Caparas of “meddling” in various cases, even instructing his subordinates—undersecretaries and state prosecutors—to stop issuing resolutions by June 3 so that he would be the one to rewrite or reverse resolutions favoring some parties.Aguirre said he would form a team to coordinate with Fate to look into the allegation and is willing to talk to the group.Caparas said issuing resolutions are part of his and the prosecutors’ jobs so any insinuation that the DOJ’s processes have been compromised should be dealt with.The outgoing secretary said he won’t be writing decisions up to the very end of his tenure on June 30. He said he would be visiting DOJ offices in the provinces after June 15, and won’t be signing resolutions from then on.He said among the last resolutions the DOJ prosecutors would issue was for the complaint of murder, direct assault and theft of government property against more than 90 Moro guerrilla fighters and individuals accused of killing police commandos in Mamasapano, Maguindanao, in January last year.The resolution could still be subjected to a motion for reconsideration and still be appealable to the office of the secretary through a petition for review. A party dissatisfied with the ruling can still elevate the case to the Office of the President, the Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court. | ['Jerome Aning'] | 2017-07-04 22:27:13+00:00 | https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/789964/incoming-doj-chief-vows-to-probe-midnight-resolutions | Inquirer |
DOF conducts lifestyle checks on all its employees | Employees of the Department of Finance (DOF) are playing catch me if you can with their employer.The DOF is faced with the challenge of discovering the unexplained wealth of its employees, who it says are better at hiding assets the higher they are in the bureaucracy.“Our problem is, the higher the rank, the smarter they get in hiding assets. We just have to outthink them,” said Finance Undersecretary Bayani Agabin.The DOF is conducting lifestyle checks on its employees and on those working at its attached agencies after finding out that some workers own expensive condominium units and cars despite their meager salaries.Review of SALNs“So what we do is to look up the SALNs [statements of assets, liabilities and net worth] of everyone under our umbrella.” Agabin told reporters on Friday night. “And then we compare, look at the trend and [their SALN] declaration.”The DOF’s attached agencies are the Bureau of Customs, Bureau of Internal Revenue, Bureau of Local Government Finance, Securities and Exchange Commission, Insurance Commission and all local treasurers.“Some are, let’s say, earning P20,000 a month, but you can see year-on-year jump in their SALNs … We discovered also, for instance, that they do not declare properties in their SALNs,” Agabin said.Some officials and employees also collect cars, expensive bags and watches, as well as guns, Agabin added.Condos“Recently, we secured four or five [employees] for dismissal. Some of them, even if they earn only P40,000 a month they have two condos in Makati, expensive properties,” Agabin said.The finance official said the DOF was investigating “many” employees, but declined to identify them.“A couple” of high-ranking officials were also being investigated, he said. “Personally, it’s better if we investigate high-ranked officials, or else we will be accused of targeting only lower-level [employees].”But Agabin admitted that higher-ranked officials were getting better at hiding their unexplained wealth.The DOF has a unit called Revenue Integrity Protection Service (RIPS), which investigates and files charges against erring revenue officials.On its website, RIPS said that on the watch of Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III, the DOF as of July had taken “punitive action against at least 19 erring local treasurers and other officials under its supervision, in line with President Duterte’s commitment to public accountability and transparency in government under his administration.”Since its inception in 2003 until September this year, RIPS had investigated a total of 576 people, filed 250 cases, charged 305 people, dismissed 47 from service and suspended 96 others. | ['Ben O. De Vera'] | 2017-07-04 22:27:13+00:00 | https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/938184/dof-conducts-lifestyle-checks-on-all-its-employees | Inquirer |
Retired graft court chief named special prosecutor | PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte has appointed retired Sandiganbayan presiding justice Edilberto Sandoval as the top prosecutor of the Office of the Ombudsman.This was contained in a transmittal from Malacañang, through Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea to the Supreme Court (SC) and the Office of the Ombdusman, appointing Sandoval.In an interview with The Manila Times, Sandoval thanked the President for choosing him from the list of six nominees prepared by the screening body Judicial and Bar Council (JBC).Sandoval succeeds Wendell Barreras-Sulit who vacated the post last March 11.A known criminal law expert, Sandoval was appointed to the Sandiganbayan in 1996 and became its presiding justice in 2010.He was a judge of the Court of First Instance of Manila, now the Regional Trial Court, before he became a sandiganbayan magistrate.He was the only non-SC justice included in the shortlist for Chief Justice in May 2010.Under the Ombudsman Act of 1989, the special prosecutor has a fixed term of seven years.The special prosecutor is empowered to conduct preliminary investigation and prosecute criminal cases cognizable by the Sandiganbayan and enter into a plea bargaining agreement.The JBC recommended Sandoval from the shortlist that it is constitutionally mandated to screen and vet nominees to the President for vacant posts in the judiciary, the offices of the Ombudsman and Deputy Ombudsman. It is headed by Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Aranal-Sereno with ex-officio members, Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguierre 2nd, along with the legislative branch—Sen. Richard Gordon and Mindoro Oriental Rep. Reynaldo Umali—who shall have a term sharing seat in the JBC.Retired SC Justice Angelina Sandoval-Gutierrez is the head of the executive committee, with lawyer Jose Mejia representing the academe and Milagros Fernan-Cayosa representing the Integrated Bar of the Philippines, while the newest member retired judge Toribio Ilao represents the private sector, as the other regular members of the JBC. | ['Jomar Canlas'] | 2017-07-04 22:27:13+00:00 | https://www.manilatimes.net/retired-graft-court-chief-named-special-prosecutor/336500/ | Manila Times |
US advisory group urges hepatitis A shots for homeless | For the first time, a U.S. advisory committee is recommending a routine vaccination for homeless people, voting Wednesday to urge hepatitis A shots to prevent future outbreaks of the contagious liver disease.The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices made the recommendation at a meeting in Atlanta. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is expected to adopt it and send guidance to health care providers.Homeless encampments can contribute to disease through unsanitary conditions. Hepatitis A spreads person to person through contaminated food or dirty needles used for injection drugs. The virus also can spread from sexual contact with an infected person.The recommendation would make it easier for shelters, emergency rooms and clinics that serve the homeless to offer hepatitis A shots along with other services.Hepatitis A vaccinations already are recommended for children at age 1 and for others in danger of infection, such as drug users, some international travelers and men who have sex with men.The committee of health experts voted unanimously to add homeless people to those groups. The panel is charged with developing recommendations for the CDC on the use of vaccines in the United States.Health experts have seen an increase in hepatitis A outbreaks and suspected exposures, caused in part by homelessness and drug use.Twelve states have reported more than 7,500 hepatitis A infections from January 2017 to October 2018, according to the CDC. There were more than 4,300 hospitalizations and about 74 deaths.Homeless people have made up a large percentage of the cases in San Diego and Utah. Michigan, Kentucky, West Virginia and Tennessee have also reported cases among homeless people.With even low rates of routine vaccination, the spread of hepatitis A can be slowed, Dr. Noele Nelson of the CDC told the committee before the vote. The recommendation is for a two-dose series of shots, but even one dose can provide immunity for 11 years, Nelson said.At $28 per dose, a price available through the public health system, the cost of routine vaccination could be in the millions of dollars, Nelson said, but fighting a prolonged outbreak can be even more expensive and disruptive to the health care system.The nation’s homeless population increased last year for the first time since 2010, driven by a surge in the number of people living on the streets in Los Angeles and other West Coast cities where rising rents are the main cause.Homelessness affects men, women and children of all ages and ethnicities. About 3 million people, or 1 percent of the population, are homeless in a given year, according to the government.Hepatitis A virus can cause a mild to severe illness lasting a few weeks to several months and, rarely, can lead to death. Symptoms include fatigue, fever, loss of appetite and nausea. | [] | 24/10/2018 0:00 | https://news.mb.com.ph/2018/10/24/us-advisory-group-urges-hepatitis-a-shots-for-homeless/ | Manila Bulletin |
Oil companies cut diesel, kerosene prices | A week after raising the pump prices of petroleum products, oil companies slashed the cost of diesel and kerosene but retained the price of gasoline.Flying V was the first to adjust its prices, lowering the prices of diesel and kerosene by 30 centavos per liter effective at 12:01 a.m. on Tuesday.Eastern Petroleum, Phoenix Petroleum, Pilipinas Shell, PTT Philippines, and Seaoil left the price of gasoline unchanged, but reduced the price of diesel by 30 centavos per liter, effective at 6 a.m.Pilipinas Shell and Seaoil also decreased the price of gasoline by 30 centavos per liter.Eastern Petroleum, Petron, Phoenix Petroleum, Pilipinas Shell, PTT Philippines, and Seaoil left the price of gasoline unchanged, but reduced the price of diesel by 30 centavos per liter, effective at 6 a.m.Meanwhile, Petron, Pilipinas Shell, and Seaoil decreased the price of gasoline by 30 centavos per liter. | ['Jordeene Sheex Lagare'] | 2017-12-04 21:38:50+00:00 | https://www.manilatimes.net/oil-companies-cut-diesel-kerosene-prices/366659/ | Manila Times |
Only 18% out of 28K pass police examinations | A total of 5,236 or 18.27 percent out of the 28,654 examinees passed the Philippine National Police (PNP) entrance examinations conducted by the National Police Commission (Napolcom) on October 22 last year in designated schools in Metro Manila and other testing centers nationwide.This was announced by Rogelio Casurao, Napolcom vice chairman and executive officer, as the commission released the partial list of successful examinees in the PNP Entrance and Promotional Examinations [Police Officer (PO) and Senior Police Officer (SPO) categories only].Casurao said out of the 5,196 who took the PO Exam, 2,545 (48.98 percent) passed while 2,427 (34.45 percent) out of the 7,045 examinees hurdled the SPO tests.Results of the Police Inspector and Police Superintendent examination categories shall be released soon.“The immediate release of the results of police exams is in consonance with the commission’s commitment with the PNP and the Department of Budget and Management to make the examination results in synch with the police recruitment process,” Casurao said.He added that the Napolcom’s earlier warning for applicants of the PNP Entrance and Promotional Examinations not to commit any form of examination irregularity, such as cheating, impersonation, perjury or violation of examination rules, since the Napolcom has a computer system that keeps track of the answer patterns of examinees.Casurao said the list of successful examinees will be posted at the Napolcom central office located at the Department of the Interior and Local Government-Napolcom Center, Napolcom Bldg., Edsa and Quezon Avenue, West Triangle, Quezon City.The list can be viewed at the Napolcom website at www.napolcom.gov.ph.Individual reports of rating will be mailed to all examinees.Verification of test results is being entertained at the Napolcom central office and its regional offices nationwide. | ['The Manila Times'] | 2018-01-18 18:25:05+00:00 | https://www.manilatimes.net/18-28k-pass-police-examinations/375103/ | Manila Times |
Giant iceberg poised to snap off from Antarctica: scientists | at 3,250 square kilometres, it was the size of Rhode Island.The Larsen B event had no precedent since the end of the last Ice Age some 12,000 years ago, according to glaciologists.“It is widely accepted that warming ocean and atmospheric temperatures have been a factor in earlier disintegrations of ice shelves elsewhere on the Antarctic Peninsula,” the Swansea team said.Antarctica is one of the fastest warming places on the planet, they added, “a feature which will certainly not have hindered the development of the rift.”Ice shelves break up naturally, but global warming is thought to have accelerated the process, though this has not been scientifically proven.Scores of countries committed to the 2015 Paris Agreement, which calls for efforts to cap global warming at “well under” two degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) over pre-industrial era levels.Temperatures have already increased by 1.1 degrees Celsius from those levels.On the campaign trail, Trump threatened to “cancel” the global pact, and he has said he will announce his final decision later Thursday. | [] | 01/06/2017 0:00 | https://news.mb.com.ph/2017/06/01/giant-iceberg-poised-to-snap-off-from-antarctica-scientists/ | Manila Bulletin |
Bayan Muna leaders urged to surrender | PHILIPPINE National Police (PNP) Chief Oscar Albayalde on Monday appealed to seven militant leaders to turn themselves in to authorities to face murder charges filed against them.Albayalde said the PNP would give enough time for former Bayan Muna party-list representatives Satur Ocampo and Teddy Casiño, National Anti-Poverty Commission Secretary Liza Maza and former agrarian reform secretary Rafael Mariano to surrender to authorities within this week after the Palayan City Regional Trial Court Branch 40 issued arrest warrants against them.Albayalde also included other Bayan Muna members Vicente Cayetano, Delfin Pimentel and Emeterio Antalan in his appeal.The arrest warrants are for the alleged murders of farmers Danilo Felipe in 2001, Jimmy Peralta in 2003 and Carlito Bayudang in 2004.The three victims were said to be supporters of Akbayan, the rival party-list of Bayan Muna.Albayalde ordered the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group over the weekend to immediately send out arresting police units to serve the warrant of arrest.“We give them the respect due them as government officials, so we made an appeal today for them to personally appear,” Albayalde said.Leftists groups protestAfter Albayalde’s press briefing, various leftist groups protested outside Camp Crame to call for dropping the “false charges” against the leftist leaders.Bayan Muna, Kilusang Mayo Uno, Gabriela and Kadamay were some of the groups that protested outside, chanting “Hands off Satur, Liza, Paeng and Teddy”.“We call on the Duterte government to respect the rights of Liza, Ka Paeng (Mariano), Ka Satur, and Teddy. No harm must come to them, especially from quarters who wish to take advantage of this situation,” Bagong Alyansang Makabayan said in a statement.The four Bayan Muna leaders denounced the warrants in a news briefing last July 28, claiming this was an example of political persecution.Maza also said the arrest warrants came right after former president and Pampanga representative Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo claimed the position as house speaker is no coincidence. | ['Roy Narra'] | 2018-07-31 00:08:16+00:00 | https://www.manilatimes.net/bayan-muna-leaders-urged-to-surrender/425067/ | Manila Times |
Sotto: Inflation? Hike interest rates | Senate President Vicente Sotto III said on Saturday that the country should raise its interest rates amid rising prices of goods and commodities.In a radio interview, Sotto, a former comedian, said that this was the “solution” to high inflation.He said investors worldwide flocked to the United States after Washington raised its interest rates because this meant more earnings for their investments.“So the solution is for us to raise our interest rates,” Sotto said, adding that he heard from banks that the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas would take action on this.He said people should not blame the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion Act for the rising prices of basic goods and commodities. | ['Philippine Daily Inquirer'] | 11/01/2017 0:00 | https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1008009/sotto-inflation-hike-interest-rates | Inquirer |
Digong vs Leila: A battle over death | Sen. Leila de Lima, arrested on Friday on drug trafficking charges, has waged a decade-long crusade to expose President Duterte as the leader of death squads that have killed thousands of people.She insists Mr. Duterte’s administration has manufactured the charges to silence her investigations into the killings allegedly orchestrated by Mr. Duterte during his time as mayor of Davao City, then for the past eight months as President.Here are key moments in the battle between De Lima and Mr. Duterte:March 2009. De Lima, then head of the government’s Commission on Human Rights, flies to Davao and begins a public inquiry into the alleged death squads.“I am bothered by statements attributed to him (Mr. Duterte) … which tend to condone this phenomenon of illegal or vigilante-style killings,” De Lima says at the inquiry.Mr. Duterte responds: “If there is an iota of evidence that we are involved in the killings, I will submit to you, at the end of the day, my resignation as city mayor.”June 2012. The commission, after De Lima has stepped down to become justice secretary, finds that “there was a systematic practice of extrajudicial killings” in Davao.De Lima orders the National Bureau of Investigation, which is part of the justice department, to launch a probe into the alleged death squads.May 2016. Mr. Duterte is elected President after pledging during the campaign to kill 100,000 criminals. De Lima separately wins a seat in the Senate.Days after the election, the Department of Justice announces it has closed its investigation into the death squads because the last witness had fled a safehouse run by the department’s witness protection program.August 2016. Mr. Duterte accuses De Lima of running a drug trafficking ring with criminals in New Bilibid Prison to help fund her Senate election campaign.De Lima, as head of the Senate justice and human rights committee, launches public hearings on alleged extrajudicial killings in Mr. Duterte’s drug war.A self-declared Davao Death Squad assassin testifies that he and others killed about 1,000 people from 1998 to 2013 on Duterte’s orders.Duterte allies in the Senate depose De Lima as committee head days later.September 2016. The Senate drug war inquiry, now chaired by a Duterte ally, Richard Gordon, concludes the President and the state are not responsible for extrajudicial killings.Feb. 17, 2017. The justice department files drug trafficking charges against De Lima. Four days later she brands Mr. Duterte a “serial killer” and calls for people to show courage and oppose him.Feb. 24, 2017. De Lima is arrested. | ['Philippine Daily Inquirer'] | 11/01/2017 0:00 | https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/875173/digong-vs-leila-a-battle-over-death | Inquirer |
PH to fast-track talks on South China Sea code of conduct in ASEAN 2017 | THE Philippine government will fast-track discussions on the implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) and the possible completion of the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea (COC) during the its chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEA) this year.What the government will refrain from doing during its ASEAN chairmanship is raising the July 2016 award issued by the Permanent Court of Arbitration on the South China Sea, Foreign Affairs Secretary Perfecto Yasay Jr. said in a news briefing Wednesday.Member states of ASEAN and China signed the DOC in November 2002 in Cambodia after several years of prolonged negotiations. The DOC was essentially a compromise between the two positions of doing nothing and having a legally- binding agreement. The text of the DOC reveals three purposes: promoting confidence-building measures, engaging in practical maritime cooperation, and setting the stage for the discussion and conclusion of a formal and binding COC.According to Yasay, discussions on the DOC are ongoing on the ministerial level which is precisely why the Philippines is hopeful the regional grouping will be able to come up with a COC by mid-2017.At the same time, Yasay said China has been “very cooperative” in coming up with a COC.“China has always been part of the discussion,” he said. “We are sitting down with China in the formulation of the COC. They are part of the process. We’ll not take them by suprise.”He pointed out that once the COC is unanimously approved, all the parties will be bound by it.At the same time, Yasay said the government will also bring to the table a number of measures that the Duterte administration helped pushed forward including the return of Filipino fishermen to the Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea as a “victory of the rule of law.”“The Philippines is internationally known for its firm and constant advocacy of the rule of law,” he said. “The return to the shoal proves the effectiveness of pragmatic approach in dealing with China.”On the other hand, while PCA ruling is “something that is there” and that it is a final and binding decision to the parties, the Philippines will not raise the matter.“There is really no useful benefit,” he said. “This matter will be raised with China at a future time. A discussion of this issue will be counter-productive.”Last year, ASEAN and Chinese foreign ministers issued a joint statement in Lao PDR wherein they reaffirmed the importance of the DOC which “embodies the collective commitment of the Parties to promote peace, stability, mutual trust and confidence in the region, in accordance with the UN Charter and universally recognized principles of international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).”They further stated their belief in the need to maintain peace and stability in the South China Sea region which “serves the fundamental interests of ASEAN Member States and China as well as the international community.” | [] | 11/01/2017 0:00 | https://news.mb.com.ph/2017/01/11/ph-to-fast-track-talks-on-south-china-sea-code-of-conduct-in-asean-2017/ | Manila Bulletin |
Investor support seen as key to success of AEC | Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez on Thursday stressed that that support of the investor community in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will be a major factor in the success of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC).Speaking at the opening of the 12th ASEAN Finance Ministers’ Investor Seminar (AFMIS) at the Shangri-La Mactan, Dominguez said a dynamic regional economy can be achieved in less than a decade but this will require massive investments.“The regional economy we envision is a truly ambitious undertaking that will require massive investments. But we have momentum and opportunity on our side. The support of the investor community will be indispensable for this undertaking to succeed,” Dominguez said.Participants of the AFMIS, part of the five-day ASEAN meetings that started last Monday, are discussing infrastructure investments to sustain growth of the region’s 10 member-economies.ASEAN finance ministers are also exchanging views on further harnessing investment opportunities within the regional bloc amid slowing global growth.Among the panelists at the infrastructure forum are: Colin Chen, deputy general manager of the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd.; Yin Zaw Myo, managing director, Myanmar Economic Bank; Luo Yang, managing director, Silk Road Fund Co. Ltd.; Boonchai Charassangsomboon, international economic advisor, Fiscal Policy Office, Ministry of Finance of Thailand; Jose Maria Lim, president and CEO, Metro Pacific Investment Corporation; and Mr. Yee Ping Yi, deputy secretary (policy), Ministry of Finance of Singapore.An ASEAN + 3 Finance and Central Deputies Meeting with China, Japan and Korea and a separate ASEAN-US Treasury Deputies Meeting was held last Wednesday, while the BSP-Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum Debate was held last Monday. | [] | 06/04/2017 0:00 | https://news.mb.com.ph/2017/04/06/investor-support-seen-as-key-to-success-of-aec/ | Manila Bulletin |
What Went Before: Gov’t hospital privatization | In February 2014, then Health Secretary Enrique Ona said that all 72 hospitals operated by the Department of Health (DOH) were candidates for privatization under the government’s public-private partnership (PPP) program.The PPP is broadly defined as a contractual agreement between the government and a private firm targeted toward financing, designing, implementing and operating infrastructure facilities and services that are traditionally provided by the public sector.The program was launched in 2010 as a flagship program of the Aquino administration. In the healthcare sector, it was a strategy to modernize public hospitals.The P5.6-billion modernization program of the Philippine Orthopedic Center, approved by President Aquino in September 2012, was the first health-related project under the PPP scheme.Two months later, the DOH issued an invitation to qualify to bid and held a prebidding conference in January 2013 with nine prospective bidders. The project was awarded to Megawide Construction Corp. and World Citi Consortium.The Aquino administration has allotted P3 billion as its equity in the PPP Strategic Support Fund program for the DOH-run hospitals.Among the other government hospitals under the PPP are Dr.Jose Fabella Memorial Hospital and Baguio General Hospital and Medical Center.Source: Inquirer Archives | ['Philippine Daily Inquirer'] | 2016-11-19 23:58:58+00:00 | https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/697590/what-went-before-govt-hospital-privatization | Inquirer |
Ex-Misamis Oriental mayor charged with graft | State prosecutors have formally charged a former Misamis Oriental mayor with graft for the purchase of P4.999-million worth of fertilizers without public bidding in June 2004.Former Libertad Mayor Alberto Acain and seven others were charged at the Sandiganbayan for two counts of violation of Section 3(e) of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act. The town’s officials allegedly gave unwarranted benefits to Green’s International Enterprises during the procurement of two batches of 2,500 and 1,166 liters of Macro Micro Liquid Foliar Fertilizer, worth P3.25 million and P1.749 million respectively.Named coaccused were bids and awards committee chair Oscar Benlot, and members Lucia Almeñe, Isidro Gervacio, Elizabeth Pagalan, and Sergio Jacalan Jr. Also charged were GIE proprietor Ricardo Mendoza Jr. and representative Ma. Lourdes Mendoza. | ['Philippine Daily Inquirer'] | 2016-11-19 23:58:58+00:00 | https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/877354/ex-misamis-oriental-mayor-charged-with-graft | Inquirer |
Expelled Russian diplomats leave London embassy | and though we will scornfully deny our guilt, the world will know that Russia did it,” he wrote in The Daily Telegraph newspaper.Meanwhile Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe voiced his “outrage” over the attack and urged Moscow to respond in a serious manner, in a phone call with British Prime Minister Theresa May.Abe “condemned the incident” and said Japan “shared our outrage” according to a spokesman for May’s Downing Street office.They agreed that Russia “must respond in a serious manner, including by cooperating fully with the OPCW investigation”. | [] | 20/03/2018 0:00 | https://news.mb.com.ph/2018/03/20/expelled-russian-diplomats-leave-london-embassy/ | Manila Bulletin |
Christmas heroes: Workers skip the holidays to serve disaster-hit Moro villagers | Regional and provincial relief workers skipped their Christmas celebrations to serve villagers in Lanao del Sur and Maguindanao affected by typhoon Vinta and renewed atrocities by guerillas of the outlawed Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF).Catholic workers of the Humanitarian Emergency Action and Response Team (HEART) of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) and the People’s Medical and Relief Mission (PMRM) of Maguindanao joined their Muslim counterparts to pack and distribute relief goods for typhoon and armed conflict-affected residents on Dec. 23-28.HEART-ARMM media liaison worker Myrna Jo Henry said she has “no regrets” with regard to the six days of work she and her peers rendered in the “humanitarian-driven line of duty.”“After all, the essence of Christmas celebration is promoting love and care,” said Henry, who accompanied teams of HEART-ARMM workers in serving more than 24,000 typhoon-Vinta affected families in Balindong, Tugaya, Bacolod-Kalawi, Madalum and Piagapo and three other towns in Lanao del Sur.Typhoon Vinta left 29 people dead, 33 others injured and 16 still missing in the Maranao-dominated province, reports from local disaster risk reduction and management councils said.Henry said ARMM Gov. Mujiv Hataman and Vice Governor Haroun Al-Rashid Lucman, concurrent regional social welfare secretary, helped in the distribution of relief goods in Lanao del Sur, and thanked the workers for “spending Christmas with the needy residents.”In Maguindanao, typhoon Vinta displaced more than 21,000 persons in five towns with one farmer-resident missing in Montawal town, according to HEART-ARMM statistics.The body of missing farmer Tato Montawal was discovered in Rio Grande de Mindanao on Dec. 26, according to Maguindanao provincial budget office chief Lynette Estandarte, concurrent PMRM focal person.Estandarte said the PMRM relief works proved more extensive because apart from storm Vinta, hundreds of families in four Maguindanao towns were affected by renewed clashes between BIFF combatants and military forces on Christmas Day.“Our humanitarian missions are continuing,” Estandarte said.Born a Catholic but who embraced Islam, Estandarte said their 24/7 humanitarian missions were “tiresome yet more gratifying than ordinary family gatherings on Christmas.” | [] | 28/12/2017 0:00 | https://news.mb.com.ph/2017/12/28/christmas-heroes-workers-skip-the-holidays-to-serve-disaster-hit-moro-villagers/ | Manila Bulletin |
Boy killed, 7 injured in Isulan bomb explosion | Unidentified men set off another improvised bomb here that killed an 18-year-old boy and injured seven other people, police said on Sunday.Supt. Aldrin Gonzales, speaking for police in Region 12, said the improvised bomb exploded just outside Prince internet café along Valdez Street in Barangay Kalawag 2 at 7:28 p.m.Eight people, many of whom sustained leg injuries, were rushed to the Sultan Kudarat provincial hospital, according to an initial police report.One of the victims, 18-year-old Jan Mark Palencia Lupa, died from his injuries, Gonzales said.One of the other victims was in critical condition, he said.Gonzales said police scene of the crime operatives were working at the blast site.Sunday’s bombing came after a man set off a powerful improvised bomb along rows of used-clothing stores in Barangay Kalawag 3 on Aug. 28 that left three people dead and 36 injured.The bombing came while the town was celebrating its foundation anniversary and Hamungaya Festival.Sultan Kudarat Gov. Pax Mangudadatu has offered a P1-million reward for any information that would lead to the arrest of the Aug. 28 bombers. | ['Edwin O. Fernandez'] | 06/08/2018 0:00 | https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1027474/boy-killed-7-injured-in-isulan-bomb-explosion | Inquirer |
Trillanes amnesty row: ’Twas Calida ab initio | President Rodrigo Duterte on Saturday admitted that he issued Proclamation No. 572 voiding the amnesty granted to Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV in 2011 and ordering the former rebel military officer’s arrest based on a research conducted by Solicitor General Jose Calida.In a speech at Davao International Airport upon his arrival from official visits to Israel and Jordan, the President defended his proclamation while raising new arguments against the grant of amnesty to Trillanes.“The truth is, it was Calida who did the research on Trillanes’ case. When the SolGen says there’s something wrong, it has to be corrected. I cannot refuse,” said the President, who described Calida as “bright and matino (straight).”“He is the government lawyer, I am not. Even if I’m a mayor or President, I cannot insist, especially if it is already recorded as a public paper. So I have to believe in him,” he added.The spokesperson for the Armed Forces of the Philippines, Col. Edgard Arevalo, had earlier said it was Calida who initiated the proceedings that led to the revocation of the senator’s amnesty.In his new arguments, the President said Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin usurped the authority of then President Benigno Aquino III by recommending and then approving Trillanes’ amnesty.Trillanes, the President said, also failed to submit an affidavit narrating his wrongdoing in connection with his participation in the 2006 Oakwood mutiny and the 2007 Manila Peninsula hotel siege by rebel soldiers.According to the Chief Executive, it is the president who has the power to grant amnesty with the concurrence of Congress.Usurpation of authority“The power to pardon and the power to grant amnesty with the concurrence of Congress is a presidential power. It cannot be delegated to anybody else,” he said.The President pointed out that it was Gazmin who recomended that a general amnesty be given to rebel soldiers, including Trillanes, and then approved it.“So what’s the crime of Volts? I will tell you — usurpation of authority,” he said. “Imagine, you pardon criminals in the country and you can delegate it to just somebody [else].”But Department of National Defense documents show that it was the Ad Hoc Amnesty Committee that recommended to Gazmin the approval of amnesty applications and informed Aquino about the development.The President also said Trillanes should have submitted an affidavit to go with the amnesty application.The Chief Executive’s fresh arguments were not mentioned in his proclamation, which said that the senator did not file a proper application and admit guilt for his role in coup attempts against former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.In a decision that eased tension between him and Trillanes on Friday, the President said he would not seek the senator’s arrest without a warrant from a civilian court.Trillanes said the President’s statements indicated that he was scrambling to patch the holes in the proclamation.‘Patching holes’“It just shows that [Mr. Duterte] is not just an evil person, he also has a weak mind,” he told reporters at the Senate, where he has been holed up since last Tuesday to avoid arrest.“Look, they’re patching the holes that Calida left,” he added.The mutineer-turned-politician also said the filing of a libel case against him by the President’s son, Paolo, and Labor Undersecretary Jacinto Paras’ threat to take him to court on a complaint of inciting to sedition showed the weakness of the amnesty revocation.The President denied that he revoked Trillanes’ amnesty to silence him.Asked if he ordered Calida to do the research on the grant of amnesty to his fiercest critic, the President said the senator had it coming.Golden rule“Do not do unto others what you don’t want others do unto you,” the President said. “Did I target him? I did not. It was Calida who found something wrong in [Trillanes’] documents. I don’t have problems with the others [who were granted amnesty].Trillanes said he was “shocked” by the President’s allegation against Gazmin.Aquino’s former Solicitor General, Florin Hilbay, called the government’s shifting tones on the revocation of Trillanes’ amnesty as a “dawning realization” that the President may have made a mistake.“I think it’s a dawning realization that they made a mistake with [Proclamation No. 572], Hilbay told reporters when he visited the senator at the Senate on Friday night. | ['Philippine Daily Inquirer'] | 06/08/2018 0:00 | https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1029933/trillanes-amnesty-row-twas-calida-ab-initio | Inquirer |
Baguio city hall workers urged to quit smoking | The city government is training its sights on smoking city government workers in a bid to convince them to cease or at least minimize tobacco consumption, the city human resource officer told Philippine News Agency (PNA) on Monday.Atty. Augustine Laban, City Human Resource Officer, said they will be doing an inventory of the actual number of “smokers” in the city government.“It’s a plan but we do not have an inventory yet of the actual number of self-proclaimed smokers,” he said.The city, being the implementer of Ordinance No. 34 series of 2017, needs to be the first to comply with the rules.He said out of the 1,509 employees, there are 1,209 regular civil service employees. The others are either co-terminus, casual or job order employees.He reiterated that it is not really to make them stop, but the program the city is planning is to convince them to quit smoking.Anti-smoking task force head Dr. Donnabel Tubera, in a separate interview, said they are encouraging “smoking” government employees to undergo the smoke cessation program for compliance with the city’s smoking ban ordinance.Tubera said the effort is to curb the chronic smoking problem, adding that “smoking addiction is one lifestyle vice that often causes health problems,” which can be prevented.The city government started implementing its Smoke-Free Baguio ordinance in May 2017, after the passage of the local ordinance – in line with President Rodrigo Duterte’s Executive Order 26, which provides for the establishment of smoke-free environments in public and enclosed places.Baguio’s Ordinance No. 34 series of 2017 designates certain smoking areas, which must be located in open space outside a building, with no permanent or temporary roof or walls, and not located in or within 10 meters from entrances and exits of any establishment.Tubera said Baguio’s anti-smoking task force had apprehended 1,384 violators as of May 2018, a year after the ordinance took effect.Aside from the Executive Order and the smoking ban ordinance, the task force is also using the Philippine Clean Air Act of 1999, which declares the right of every citizen to breathe clean air, and prohibits smoking inside enclosed public places including public vehicles and other means of transport.Under the local ordinance, violators are slapped with a fine ranging from PHP1,000 to PHP3,000 for the first to third offense, respectively.An establishment found violating the ordinance is fined PHP2,000, PHP3,000, and PHP5000 for the first to third offense, plus revocation of business license. Most of the establishments nabbed are operating at the central business district.“We urge everyone to join this bandwagon in Baguio, especially our government employees now that we have stabilized the implementation and enforcement of our ordinance,” Tubera said. | [] | 06/08/2018 0:00 | https://news.mb.com.ph/2018/08/06/baguio-city-hall-workers-urged-to-quit-smoking/ | Manila Bulletin |
AFP: Kids forced to fight with terrorists | Children, including those taken as hostages, are being forced to fight alongside Islamic State-inspired terrorists battling government forces for control of Marawi City, the military said on Monday.The terrorists seized Marawi on May 23 in a bid to establish an enclave for the Middle East-based Islamic State (IS) jihadist group in Southeast Asia, and about 80-100 remained holed up in the city despite intense military efforts to oust them.TeenagersSome of the terrorists are teenagers who may have been recruited and trained to use guns when they were still children, Brig. Gen. Restituto Padilla Jr., spokesperson for the Armed Forces of the Philippines, told reporters in Malacañang.“We continuously get disturbing narratives from [escaped residents] that children as well as hostages are being employed in the firefight,” Padilla said.He said the military did not know exactly how many children had been taken by the terrorists as hostages.Casualties among children and adult hostages forced to take up arms could not be ruled out, Padilla said.“As disturbing as it is, our troops are doing their best to avoid any casualty among these children that are being employed,” he said.“But in the event that they are armed and they bear arms and are involved in the fighting, there’s nothing much that we can do. Similarly with the hostages being forced [to fight],” he added.HostagesShortly after seizing Marawi, the terrorists from the Maute and Abu Sayyaf groups took at least a dozen hostages, including a Catholic priest.Some of the estimated 300 other civilians still trapped in the battle zone may have also been taken captive, Padilla said.The military earlier said civilians had been forced to help the terrorists by carrying supplies and ammunition, bearing their wounded, helping them loot the city and fighting government forces.Escaped hostages, the military said, reported that the terrorists executed at least six hostages for refusing to take up arms against the security forces.Asked how the military would engage the child warriors, Padilla said soldiers, while allowed to take defensive action when their lives are at risk, would endeavor to rescue “a child or an individual who is being forced into the fight.”“During engagements, if there are wounded and [we] see they are children, we help them right away. We are not in a rush to shoot a child who is running even if they are armed. If we could disable them, but we will not kill them,” he said.More than 500 killedMore than 500 people have been killed in the fighting, including 379 terrorists, 89 soldiers and police, and 39 civilians, according to figures released by the government on Monday.Most of Marawi’s more than 200,000 residents have fled their homes.Daily airstrikes and artillery barrages against terrorist snipers who control tall buildings have left the city’s central business district a ghost town.Padilla expressed hope that the fighting would soon be concluded.“We continue to gain headway with our operations on the ground,” he said. | ['Christine O. Avendaño'] | 2017-08-22 20:41:36+00:00 | https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/912748/afp-kids-forced-to-fight-with-terrorists | Inquirer |
PH won’t stop Chinese patrols in disputed cay | President Rodrigo Duterte won’t stop China from what he described was a patrolling activity in Sandy Cay near the Pag-asa island in the South China Sea (West Philippine Sea) that is within the country’s exclusive economic zone.The President made the decision in connection with a warning made by Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonio Carpio that China has been invading Sandy Cay–a sandbar located between Pag-asa island and the Subi Reef in the West Philippine Sea.“Our Navy is also there, fronting them. Why would I do that [filing of diplomatic protest]? It’s a sandbar. They [Chinese] don’t occupy it,” Duterte said.“I have China’s assurance that they won’t occupy anything [in the West Philippine Sea]. I believe them. If theybreak our agreement, then I won’t believe them anymore,” he added.Carpio said there are two Chinese frigates, a Coast Guard vessel and two military fishing boats seen around Sandy Cay.Just less than a week ago, Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi said China has stopped its reclamation activities in the West Philippine Sea and the rest of the South China Sea islands claimed by various countries.But satellite pictures provided by the Washington-based think tank Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative of the Center for Strategic and International Studies showed continued reclamation activities by China.China claims the entire South China Sea under its so-called nine-dash line theory.A UN court, however, declared that Filipino fishermen should enjoy fishing rights at Panatag Shoal (Scarborough Shoal) and that the Spratly Islands, Panganiban (Mischief) Reef, Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal and Recto (Reed) Bank are all within the exclusive economic zone of the Philippines.Pag-asa island or Thitu island is part of the Spratly Islands.On Sunday night, Duterte echoed Cayetano’s statement on the reclamation stoppage despite being informed about the satellite images.“China assured me that they would not be building anything there. They are just patrolling there. Why? Because we are friends. But they are not claiming anything. I was assured by the Chinese Ambassador and the Foreign Minister,” the President said.Duterte maintained that Chinese fishing boats are not preventing Philippine fishing boats from fishing in the area.He, however, conceded that the sandbar was a result of construction activities of the Chinese.The Asean has an existing Declaration of Conduct (DOC) on the South China Sea inked in 2002.The DOC provides that parties should “undertake to exercise self-restraint in the conduct of activities that would complicate or escalate disputes and affect peace and stability including, among others, refraining from action of inhabiting on the presently uninhabited islands, reefs, shoals, cays and other features and to handle their differences in a constructive manner.”It, however, did not prevent Chinese incursions because the declaration is a non-binding pact. | ['Llanesca T. Panti'] | 2017-08-22 20:41:36+00:00 | https://www.manilatimes.net/ph-wont-stop-chinese-patrols-disputed-cay/346111/ | Manila Times |
S. Koreans want new leader to create jobs minus corruption | South Korea’s presidential hopefuls made a final push for votes Monday, with the left-leaning candidate a clear favorite, as the North assailed the outgoing conservative government a day before the polls.A former pro-democracy activist and human rights lawyer, Moon Jae-In of the Democratic Party – who favors engagement with Pyongyang – has been leading opinion polls for months.The final Gallup Korea survey of the campaign ahead of Tuesday’s vote gave him 38 percent, far ahead of centrist Ahn Cheol-Soo on 20 percent.Tuesday’s vote was called to choose a successor to Park Geun-Hye after her impeachment for corruption and abuse of power.The campaign has focused largely on jobs and the economy, with North Korea less prominent despite high diplomatic tensions between Washington and Pyongyang over its nuclear and missile ambitions.Moon has promised to reinvigorate the South’s sluggish growth and create more jobs, and hinted at a more flexible approach towards its nuclear-armed neighbor.The front-runner advocates dialogue and reconciliation with the North to defuse the situation and eventually lure it into negotiations that have been at a standstill for years – an approach criticized by his conservative opponents.Pyongyang on Monday slammed the South’s conservatives – who have been in power for a decade – as ‘’senseless traitors seeking only confrontation and war’’ who were responsible for the ‘’tragic’’ state of North-South relations.An editorial in Rodong Sinmun – the mouthpiece of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea – acknowledged that an election was taking place, and said conservatives were scheming to retain power.The North has carried out two nuclear tests and a series of missile launches since the start of last year and Washington has said military action was an option, sending tensions spiraling.Moon – who lost to Park in the last election in 2012 – has benefited electorally from the anger over the scandal that brought her down, which saw millions of South Koreans taking to the streets in candle-lit demonstrations to demand her removal.Ahead of a packed day of last-minute rallies across the country, Moon asked voters to deliver him a hefty mandate.“With landslide support with tens of thousands of votes, a miraculous change like a natural cataclysm is possible,’’ he said at his campaign headquarters in Seoul.“I will work as the people’s president from the day I am selected by the people.’’Centrist Ahn similarly vowed to ‘’head straight to work at the presidential office of Cheong Wa Dae’’ if he wins and address urgent issues regarding the country’s security, diplomacy, and economy.Hong, from the ousted Park’s Liberty Korea party – who placed level with Ahn in some surveys last week, the last ones available under South Korean law – said security would top the agenda if he won.‘’Tomorrow is judgment day for the pro-North, leftist forces,’’ Hong said. ‘’Please help me win by a landslide so it’s impossible for them to pick a fight.’’A high turnout is expected – even more than the last vote’s 75.8 percent – with over a quarter of South Koreans already having voted in early ballots last week. | [] | 08/05/2017 0:00 | https://news.mb.com.ph/2017/05/08/s-koreans-want-new-leader-to-create-jobs-minus-corruption/ | Manila Bulletin |
Rody open to ‘hybrid’ federalism | President Duterte is open to the idea of a “hybrid” federal form of government if the public will not accept full federalism.Mr. Duterte on Thursday night said he would accept some concessions if that was the only way a federal form of government could take shape.“If you do not like federalism through and through, let’s have a hybrid form like that of Hong Kong and China,” Mr. Duterte told over 900 Mindanao “lumad” leaders.Under China’s “one-country, two-systems” concept, Beijing maintains sovereignty over Hong Kong, which it calls the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR).Hong Kong, a former British territory, enjoys certain political, judicial and economic freedoms but the central government in Beijing controls the SAR’s defense and security.Macau, the former Portuguese enclave, also operates as Macau SAR with the same privileges enjoyed by its neighbor Hong Kong. The concept is intended to facilitate the reintegration of Taiwan with China while preserving its unique political and economic systems.Make concessions“If everyone does not approve (of full federalism), we make concessions. That is my only concern, I don’t want trouble,” Mr. Duterte said.Earlier, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) expressed reservations over plans to amend the 1987 Constitution for a shift to a federal form of government.Suspicions rifeThe CBCP said that suspicions were rife because of the government’s lack of transparency and talk about “no elections” and term extensions.Bishops also warned that turning Congress into a constituent assembly “is bound to be deficient of widespread peoples’ participation.”“It would be totally rash for members of Congress to presume the reasoned approval of their constituents on so grave an issue as the move to overhaul the nation’s Charter,” they said.Changing the 1987 Constitution was not necessary to devolve power, the CBCP said.“Moreover, a … federal system that devolves power to the federal states on an equal basis would not satisfactorily address the aspirations of the Muslims and lumads in Mindanao for self-determination and respect for ancestral rights,” it added.Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said on Thursday that Malacañang understood “the sentiments of the Catholic bishops for their aversion to Charter change and federalism.”“We, however, assure our bishops that the President has no interest to extend his term nor will he push for no election,” Roque said in Baguio City.Mr. Duterte himself said he would not stay in power beyond his term. | ['Frinston Lim'] | 02/11/2016 0:00 | https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/965710/rody-open-to-hybrid-federalism | Inquirer |
Water in Antique town not potable | The Sibalom Water District has advised residents that water in the area is still not potable, after it was contaminated by a chemical substance last week.The agency advised consumers not to drink tap water from faucets. The water district serves 2,700 households in 14 barangays of Sibalom.Jonathan de Gracia, general manager of the Sibalom Water District, said in an interview on Wednesday that they are following up the results of the water analysis by the Central Philippine University in Iloilo City.“We are advising our consumers to refrain from drinking or using it for cooking until we get the result,” De Gracia said.Last Thursday, the reservoir in Barangay Pasong in Sibalom was contaminated with a chemical substance, possibly by a prankster. The water district had to cleanse the reservoir and build a barb wire fence around it.De Gracia said the incident had been reported to the police. | [] | 02/11/2016 0:00 | https://news.mb.com.ph/2016/11/02/water-in-antique-town-not-potable/ | Manila Bulletin |
3 Abu Sayyaf fighters surrender in Sulu | Three members of the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) operating in the hinterland of Patikul in Sulu surrendered to the Joint Task Force Sulu (JTF-Sulu) Sunday as the military pressed on with its massive operations against the terrorists even with the coming Yuletide season.JTF-Sulu Commander Brig Gen Cirilito Sobejana yesterday said that two ASG fighters initially surrendered to the troops of the Fourth Special Forces Company in Barangay Kanaway, Parang, Sulu at 8:30 pm last Sunday and turned over two M1 Garand rifles.Sobejana identified them as Amin Asjad Ismula, alias Amin, 37, a resident of Barangay Taglibi, Patikul, Sulu; and Aldissar Bara Jurrani, alias Boy Aldis, 24, a resident of Barangay Buanza, Indanan, Sulu.“Appropriate documentation was undertaken and, thereafter, the surrendered members of the ASG underwent a custodial debriefing and physical examination at the headquarters of the Joint Task Force Sulu,” Sobejana said.Ismula is a follower of the late ASG sub-leader Alhabsy Misaya and ranks number two in the Periodic Status Report of the Armed Forces of the Philippines under ASG sub-leader Apoh Mike, while Jurrani is a follower of ASG sub-leader Magdal Jumdail.According to Sobejana that with the recent surrender, there is a total of 138 Abu Sayyaf members who capitulated to military troops in Western Mindanao this year.Sobejana said another ASG member Persing Abdurasid, alias Lito, surrendered to the military in Barangay Kanaway, Parang, Sulu last December 11.Military records showed that Abdurasid, 41, a resident of Barangay Wanni, Pianjihan, Parang, Sulu is a trusted follower of Hatib Hajan Sawadjaan, a notorious ASG leader operating in Sulu, | [] | 19/12/2017 0:00 | https://news.mb.com.ph/2017/12/19/3-abu-sayyaf-fighters-surrender-in-sulu/ | Manila Bulletin |
Court lets PT&T back out of search for 3rd telco | The Makati Regional Trail Court has granted the plea of Philippine Telegraph & Telephone Corp. (PT&T) to withdraw its case against the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) in relation to the bidding for the third telecommunications company (telco) in the country.Makati RTC Judge Redentor Cardenas of Branch 134 approved the Notice of Withdrawal of PT&T, which had sought to stop the NTC from conducting the bidding process for the third telco on Wednesday.The bidding was won by the Mislatel Consortium, whose bid documents were deemed “qualified” and “complete” by the NTC.PT&T has manifested that its case has become moot and academic after the NTC’s New Major Players Selection Committee found their submission package to be incomplete, as it was unsuccessful in securing a certification proving it has a 10-year technical experience on a national level.Meanwhile, the Court of Appeals (CA) is expected to act on the petition for certiorari filed by Now Telecom, which suffered a loss before the Manila RTC and sought refuge with the appellate court.The case was raffled off to the CA 12th Division with its chairman, Justice Ricardo Rosario, serving as ponente of the case, along with division members Justices Malou Padilla and Gabriel Robeniol.Manila RTC Branch 42 Judge Dinnah Aguila-Topacio on Tuesday junked the plea of Now Telecom, which also sought to stop the bidding process scheduled by the government last November 7 for the third telco.Now Telecom has assailed the terms of reference set by the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT).In an order dated Nov. 5, 2018, the Manila RTC stood pat on its earlier ruling denying the prayer for TRO as asked by Now Telecom as no grave and irreparable injury was seen by the court to stop the bidding process.In the case before the CA, it lodged a petition for certiorari, which assailed the orders of Judge Topacio for grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess or jurisdiction after denying the plea for TRO and Injunction.Now Telecom has alleged that the provisions in the Terms of Reference were not taken up during a series of public consultations, particularly the P700-million participation security, the P14- to P24-billion performance security, and a P10-million non-refundable appeal fee are barriers to entry and are “money-making schemes” imposed against the third telco.Sear Telecom also on Friday filed its motion for reconsideration before the NTC.The Sear Consortium, led by Chavit Singson’s LCS Group of Companies, and Davao-based TierOne Communications did not qualify in the bidding due to the absence of the P700-million participation security requirement.Singson in an interview with dzBB on Thursday described the proceeding as “unfair,” insisting his group had “no violation.”Sear Consortium claimed Mislatel had existing agreement with DigiPhil, a unit of TierOne and a member of the Sear Consortium.“The bigger issue that the public should look at is the fact that Mislatel, the congressional franchise holder tapped by the Udenna Group, is contractually barred from partnering with Udenna or any third party participating in the Selection Process for the Third Major Telco,” the group said in a statement.The legal team of Sear Consortium is looking to file a case against Mislatel before the Makati or Pasig Regional Trial Court.‘Transparent’ processAnalysts interviewed by The Manila Times said on Thursday the search was “transparent” despite alleged irregularities in the process.“[O]n the whole, the bidding process was transparent enough. I don’t recall having any other bidding process that was live-streamed in the same manner as yesterday’s (Wednesday),” said PNB Securities Inc. President Manuel Antonio Lisbona.“But rather than potentially delaying the project, a more positive approach for the losing bidders would be to offer to join the winning consortium,” he added.Internet Society Philippines Chair Winthrop Yu echoed Lisbona’s statement, saying “the process itself was very transparent with inputs from various stakeholders.”New player to heighten competitionThe entry of a third telco player could fire up competition in the market, forcing existing carriers Globe Telecom and PLDT to invest more in their networks, debt watcher Fitch Ratings said Thursday.The credit watcher also projected the entrant’s presence may “temper revenue growth and raise the capex (capital expenditures) pressure on PLDT Inc. and Globe Telecom.”PLDT Chairman Manuel Pangilinan was confident the impact of the third player during the first year would “not be significant.”“On our part the significant portion of our revenues are in fixed. So, we think the impact on the fixed line revenue would be modest. On the mobile side, again, it depends on how fast the third telco player develops and builds its infrastructures and services,” he told a press briefing.For its capex, Pangilinan said the PLDT group was thinking of allotting P58 billion to P60 billion for 2019.Globe has increased spending for network upgrades even before the announcement of the provisional third telco, with $950 million set for this year. | ['Jomar Canlas'] | 2018-11-10 00:10:50+00:00 | https://www.manilatimes.net/court-lets-ptt-back-out-of-search-for-3rd-telco/465075/ | Manila Times |
PNP: 5 Cordillera region provinces drug-free | Five provinces in the Cordillera region were simultaneously declared drug-free, leaving only Benguet province and this city as drug-affected communities regionwide.Senior Superintendent Angelito Casimiro, deputy regional director for operations of the Police Regional Office-Cordillera said the five provinces which were consecutively declared “drug-free” are Ifugao province on February 10, followed by Kalinga on February 12, Apayao on February 13 and Mt Province on February 14.Abra was the first to be declared drug-free last January 26.The ceremony declaring the provinces drug-free was led by Chief Supt. Elmo Sarona, regional director and his directorial staff, Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and local government officials of the five provinces.Casimiro explained that there is a process before an area is declared drug-free.“Before declaring a province drug-cleared, in collaboration with PDEA, BADAC, PADAC, LGUs and concerned members of the community initiated various programs, projects, activities and intensified its illegal drug operations within their respective barangays in support to the anti-illegal drugs campaign of the national government. This hard work resulted in the influx of drug surrenderees and drug personalities,” he said.The said provinces complied with the 14 parameters set by the Dangerous Drugs Board such as the absence of drug supply, drug laboratory, clandestine drug warehouse, clandestine chemical warehouse; marijuana cultivation site; drug den, pusher, user, protector and financier.Casimiro explained that in Baguio City, there are still 13 barangays out of the 128 and 3 barangays in Benguet which have not been cleared yet by the city police director in provincial police director.He said that Baguio and Benguet were given a December 31, 2016 deadline which was again extended to January 30, 2017 to further intensify its anti-illegal drugs initiatives.The officer said that with President Duterte’s suspension of the Oplan Double Barrel, the PDEA is left with the responsibility of pursuing the goal for Baguio and Benguet. | [] | 15/02/2017 0:00 | https://news.mb.com.ph/2017/02/15/pnp-5-cordillera-region-provinces-drug-free/ | Manila Bulletin |
De Lima: Bong Go helped PNP exec linked to mayor’s killing | Christopher “Bong” Go, President Duterte’s special assistant, interceded for the reinstatement of Supt. Marvin Marcos, who was implicated in what had been described as the “premeditated” killing of Mayor Rolando Espinosa in a Leyte jail on Nov. 5, Sen. Leila de Lima disclosed on Thursday.Go, 43, called Philippine National Police Director General Ronald dela Rosa and told him to reinstate Marcos, regional head of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG), and his men involved in the raid on a subprovincial jail in which Espinosa and another inmate, Raul Yap, were killed, De Lima said.“That’s an open secret among PNP officials, that it’s Bong Go,” De Lima said.She said the information came from a PNP source whom she did not name.‘Pure hearsay’Go denied as “pure hearsay and unsubstantiated” De Lima’s claim. “I do not interfere with the affairs and functions of the PNP.”Dela Rosa had issued the relief order sometime after Espinosa’s son Kerwin, a suspected drug lord, was arrested on Oct. 17 in the United Arab Emirates.Marcos, Kerwin claimed, was one of the police officials to whom he was giving protection money.Kerwin’s confession led to the relief order that De Lima referred to in which Go purportedly had intervened that had led to the reinstatement of Marcos.Marcos and his CIDG men, armed with a court order, were supposed to search the Baybay subprovincial jail for drugs and firearms on Nov. 5, but Espinosa resisted and was gunned down.Senators conducting an inquiry called the killing of the Albuera mayor “premeditated.”A second relief order was issued after the mayor’s killing and Kerwin’s return on Nov. 18. He later testified before the Senate, confirming his allegation against Marcos and his group. The CIDG officials are now under restricted custody at Camp Crame.Dela Rosa said on Monday that a Malacañang “kumpare”—a sponsor in a wedding, baptism or confirmation—had requested him to reinstate Marcos the first time he was relieved. He declined to name the man, but said he was not the President who he said was his godfather.Humanitarian considerations“He asked for consideration as he said the group of Marcos called him up and sought help from him if they can remain in their posts because their families will suffer because a lot of them will be transferred to Camp Crame,” Dela Rosa recounted. “I said yes, no problem, for humanitarian considerations.”Dela Rosa spoke to reporters at a PNP gift-giving party for children of drug pushers and users at a mall in Mandaluyong City.He earlier said he was prepared to reveal in an executive session the man who had interceded for Marcos and his men the first time around.Dela Rosa said he was ready to accept the consequences of his decision. “I didn’t see any problem letting them stay there [in Region 8], so that’s my decision. I may be hounded, I may be praised for that decision, I will accept it. That’s my own decision, my own volition to reinstate them,” he said.De Lima told reporters that PNP officials were unhappy about Dela Rosa’s action.“Some of these PNP officials did not like that the hierarchy of the PNP was bypassed when Marcos was reinstated without clearing it with them or without asking them,” she said, adding the head of the CIDG at headquarters was unaware of Dela Rosa’s action.De Lima, an outspoken critic of the Duterte administration’s bloody war on drugs, said Dela Rosa and Go could be liable for abuse of authority and conduct prejudicial to the interest of the service.De Lima also is facing accusations she protected drug lords when she was justice secretary and received money from them for her senatorial campaign.Command responsibilityAsked for comment, Sen. Panfilo Lacson said that regardless of who requested Dela Rosa to reinstate Marcos, “all assignments and designations of police officers are his responsibility being the one making the decision, unless he was ordered to do so by a higher authority.”“That is the essence of the principle of command responsibility,” said Lacson, a former PNP chief and head of the Senate committee looking into the Espinosa killing.He described as improper Dela Rosa’s action, noting that the PNP chief himself admitted that “there was prior information linking Marcos and some of his team members to the illegal drugs trade in Eastern Visayas, particularly with the Espinosas of Albuera.”“Therefore, it’s kind of no-brainer that they should be uprooted from that area and reassigned to the regional or national holding group and undergo investigation,” Lacson said.He said those entering the police or military service were aware that they would be sent on assignments that would separate them from their families.“Therefore, no humanitarian considerations can be invoked when it comes to assignments. Director General Dela Rosa knows that or at least was supposed to know that,” he added. | ['Christine O. Avendaño', 'Jerome Aning'] | 2017-09-05 21:57:34+00:00 | https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/849919/de-lima-duterte-aide-helped-pnp-exec-linked-to-mayors-killing | Inquirer |
Anti-Hazing Law up for major revisions | WITH ONLY one conviction in 22 years, a bill revising Republic Act (RA) 8049 or the Anti-Hazing Law was presented before the House Committee on Justice on Tuesday by Quezon City Rep. Bernadette Herrera-Dy.According to Dy, RA 8049 or An Act Regulating Hazing and Other Forms of Initiation Rites In Fraternities, Sororities And Other Organizations And Providing Penalties Therefore had a lot of holes.She said her proposal wishes to “make all hazing illegal.”A total of 22 deaths was caused by hazing from 2000 to 2014.“This must change. The current Anti-Hazing Law passed in 1995 [after] the clamor [over] the death of Lenny Villa is simply not enough to stop the practice,” Dy said.She pointed to the deaths from hazing of Mark Andre Marcos, Marvin Reglos, Noel Borja Jr., Glacy Monique Dimaranan and Elvin Sinaluan.“Unfortunately, so many more have died. They were students of law, medicine, engineering, criminology and economics,” Dy said.Beyond the physical abuse, according to her, the victim also experiences emotional and sexual abuse from hazing.“[The bill] also recognizes the psychological suffering of the hazing victim. It opens up perpetrators to civil and criminal liabilities. Additional aggravating circumstances are included to make sure the maximum sentences are imposed.” Dy said.A member of the University of the Philippines’ law sorority Delta Lambda, she added that there are many sororities and fraternities that do not conduct hazing.RALPH EDWIN U. VILLANUEVA | ['The Manila Times'] | 2017-09-05 21:57:34+00:00 | https://www.manilatimes.net/anti-hazing-law-major-revisions/348880/ | Manila Times |
Duterte’s Sona ‘heart-wrenching’ | President Rodrigo Duterte is expected to outline a road map for his six years in office in what is touted to be a stirring 38-minute address to Congress today that his aide said would “awaken the patriot in every Filipino.”On the eve of his first State of the Nation Address (Sona), the Palace announced that Mr. Duterte had signed an executive order adopting the long pending freedom of information (FOI) bill, signaling his determination to put substance in his campaign promise of radical change.“The speech is really moving,” Presidential Communications Secretary Martin Andanar told the Inquirer by phone yesterday.“It’s nothing like any of the Sona speeches that we’ve heard before. This one will ask the nation, every citizen to march on and build the country. That’s how it’s like,” he said.“The address of the President, personally written by the President, will be a very powerful speech that will awaken the patriot in every Filipino,” Andanar said.“I don’t want to exaggerate. But the first time I read the speech, it made me cry. That’s how beautiful and heart-wrenching the President’s speech is,” he said.The President’s message, he added, is “really about the country, the flag.”“It’s not about you, me or the President,” he said. “Everything is bigger than us. That’s why I turned emotional … Your patriotic spirit will really be ignited when you read his speech.”War on drugsAndanar declined to provide details, but he said the Sona would mention the government’s sweeping war against illegal drugs, which has so far claimed the lives of more than 300 people since Mr. Duterte took office on June 30, and which has sparked outrage among human rights activists.Mr. Duterte, who has won a resounding 91-percent approval rating in the Pulse Asia popularity survey released last week, barely three weeks into his presidency, would discuss the blueprint of the policies and directions his administration would take.“It’s the road map for the whole six years,” Andanar said of the Sona at 4:30 p.m. at the tightly guarded House of Representatives. “You should listen intently. There will be surprises.”In a news briefing in Davao City, Andanar said Mr. Duterte himself wrote the speech, which would last for about 38 minutes—minus the “applause and some ad libs by the President.”He said it took about 10 revisions before the President, who had opted not to read prepared speeches in his previous speaking engagements, approved the final draft.Finance Undersecretary Paola Alvarez earlier said Mr. Duterte would present his administration’s “tax reform package” in his Sona.Alvarez, daughter of incoming Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez who was tasked with helping in the Sona preparations, also said the President would not blame his predecessor, Benigno Aquino III, for the massive problems confronting the nation—the drug menace, public transport paralysis and widespread poverty.Instead, she said the President would ask lawmakers to work on the proposed measures amending the 1987 Constitution and reimposing the death penalty for heinous crimes.Dress codeIn an e-mailed statement, Malacañang yesterday reminded lawmakers, their spouses and other guests to the President’s Sona to observe the dress code “in order to downplay the display of opulence criticized as insensitive and immoral by the public.”It said Mr. Duterte’s address “is keeping everyone excited and grounded, and mindful of the work ahead, a complete departure from the procession of glitz and glamour, and lavishness that used to mark the ceremony in previous administrations.”Malacañang earlier said those attending the Sona should wear business attire. Female guests would be prohibited from wearing gowns and other long dresses.“We see change knocking at the doors of the 17th Congress,” the Palace said. “The Sona’s highlight is the President’s speech.” | ['Marlon Ramos'] | 2016-12-14 20:42:01+00:00 | https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/798726/dutertes-sona-heart-wrenching | Inquirer |
Subsets and Splits