Headline
stringlengths 5
161
| Authors
stringclasses 507
values | Date
stringlengths 8
29
| Content
stringlengths 72
29.6k
| Brand
stringclasses 12
values | URL
stringlengths 37
766
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
MILITARY ‘ON TRACK’ TO WIPE OUT SAYYAF
|
['Fernan Marasigan']
|
2017-05-03 20:25:22+00:00
|
WITH less than two months left on its self-imposed deadline to defeat the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) and other terrorist bands in the South, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) on Wednesday said it is confident that it will accomplish the mission.Brig. Gen. Restituto Padilla Jr., AFP spokesman, cited the killing of some ASG leaders and the capture of terrorist camps during massive military operations and the surrender of other terrorists.“The AFP is right on track. We have achieved important milestones through deliberate military action backed by intense stakeholder engagements,” Padilla pointed out.He was referring to among others the recent killing of Alhabsi Misaya, one of the notorious sub-leaders of the ASG, and Muammar Askali alias Abu Rami, whose group entered Bohol province last month to sow terror there but was foiled by government forces.“Besides the neutralization of key terrorist leaders and other lawless elements, the number of firearms and IED [improvised explosives device] recovered, as well as the increasing number of surrenderers and those sending word of wanting to do so, is a significant indicator that demoralization has seeped into the enemies’ ranks and it won’t be long before we see their demise,” Padilla said.“All the AFP needs to do is see through the completion of its plans against these bandits,” he added.AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Eduardo Año earlier said the neutralization of these leaders is a devastating blow to the terrorist group .
|
Manila Times
|
https://www.manilatimes.net/military-track-wipe-sayyaf/325345/
|
PDEA seizes P500K in drugs in Antipolo
|
['Rj Carbonell']
|
2017-12-16 01:50:20+00:00
|
The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) seized P500,000 worth of shabu, marijuana and cocaine from a married couple and their cohorts in a house raid on Thursday in Cogeo, Antipolo City in Rizal.The PDEA Special Enforcement Service (PDEA-SES) on Friday reported that Junjie Chavez, 30, and Malome Amahan, 38, were nabbed at Log Com Village in Barangay De la Paz.Also apprehended were Boy Chavez, 20, sibling of Junjie; Jhon-jhon Chavez, 25; and Jessie Marcaida, 18.According to the PDEA-SES, four kilos of marijuana, 20 plastic sachets of shabu and a plastic sachet of cocaine and drug equipment and ammunition were recovered from the house on Thursday morning.Most of the marijuana found reportedly was packed ready to be sold to residents of the barangay (village), especially to young students going in and out of their schools.Police Officer 2 Francisco Biadora said the suspects were under surveillance for two months before they got a search warrant from the court.Inside the house, PDEA-SES agents, led by Director Levi Ortiz, reportedly pushed away a bed that revealed a hidden annex that led to a shabu laboratory.Aside from the annex, the house seemed normal.According to the PDEA, the suspects may be connected to armed groups in the north of the country.The agency said the suspects have been in the drug trade for a long time before they were nabbed.
|
Manila Times
|
https://www.manilatimes.net/pdea-seizes-p500k-drugs-antipolo/368936/
|
‘Thirst for change’ continues – Pimentel
|
['Jefferson Antiporda']
|
2017-02-26 00:01:37+00:00
|
THIRTY-ONE years after the peaceful EDSA People Power revolt, Filipinos continue to thirst for change, Senate President Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel 3rd said on Saturday.Pimentel stressed that the revolt happened because people desired change. But today, the senator said people can achieve change without sacrificing their freedom and their lives.“This time, we achieved change through peaceful elections. Before, it was not as easy. We should never forget those who made it possible by paying for freedom and democracy with their lives,” he said.The senator conceded that not all the problems of the country were solved by the EDSA revolt. He noted, however, that it prompted people to hold the government accountable for its failures.He also said that before the revolt, criticizing the government was almost impossible without risking one’s life.Although the struggle for truth, transparency and respect for human rights continues, Pimentel said people now have a voice and the freedom to demand changes in government.“I will always be a partner for change. I will never abandon the dream of making life better for every Filipino,” the Senate chief added.Senator Leila de Lima, who was detained on Friday on drug charges, called on the people to keep the spirit of the EDSA revolt alive amid perceived looming threats of another dictatorship and the continuing disregard for human rights.She lamented that some sectors are trying to dilute the achievements of the EDSA revolt while trying to suppress democracy.“We have a President who threatens to bring back Martial Law, and openly encourage the killing of thousands of individuals. The horrific reality is that there were more people killed during the past seven months of the Duterte administration than the 14 years of Martial Law under the Marcos regime,” said the senator, who is being held at the custodial center of the Philippine National Police.“Let us remember: no People Power, no democracy, no real freedom if people will remain silent in the face of rampant irregularities in the government, violence and abuse of power.”For Vice President Maria Leonor “Leni” Robredo, the peaceful uprising in EDSA that toppled the government of former President Ferdinand Marcos showed that people power is possible.“We can do so much because of people power,” Robredo said on Saturday during an open forum at the Breakfast Kuwentuhan of Kaya Natin and the Jesse M. Robredo Foundation, Inc. Network.“So what I can say is live the spirit of EDSA. Let us not be resigned to the evil that is happening. Let us acknowledge that real power lies in the hearts and minds of the ordinary Filipinos and we should harness it,” she said.“If we were able to do it during the Marcos dictatorship, there is no reason why we can’t do it now,” Robredo added.REINA TOLENTINO
|
Manila Times
|
https://www.manilatimes.net/thirst-change-continues-pimentel/314158/
|
Pagasa monitoring 2 LPAs outside PH
|
['Mary Gleefer F. Jalea']
|
2018-06-19 00:11:17+00:00
|
Two low pressure areas spotted outside the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) on Monday morning are being monitored but these have no direct impact on the country so far, the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said.One was spotted 675 kilometers (km) west of Basco, Batanes while the other was located east of Mindanao as of 9 a.m.“We are continuously monitoring their behavior,” weather specialist Shelly Ignacio told The Manila Times.Meanwhile, the southwest monsoon or habagat will bring moderate to occasional heavy rains over Pangasinan, Bataan, and Zambales.It will also bring cloudy skies with light to moderate rains and isolated thunderstorms over Metro Manila, the rest of Ilocos region, Cordillera Administrative Region, Batanes, Babuyan Group of Islands, Cavite, Batangas, and rest of Luzon.The northern and western section of Northern Luzon and the western section of Central Luzon will have strong to gale force winds from the southwest direction with rough to very rough coastal waters.The weather bureau said around 10 to 13 tropical cyclones may enter the Philippines from June to November this year.“The remaining days of June will have generally near to above normal amount of rainfall over most parts of the country,” chief information office chief Venus Valdemoro said.She said two to four cyclones may hit the country each month until November.
|
Manila Times
|
https://www.manilatimes.net/pagasa-monitoring-2-lpas-outside-ph/409991/
|
Composer and Katipunero Julio Nakpil honored on 150th birthday
|
['Kenneth Hare Hernandez']
|
2017-05-22 21:06:01+00:00
|
Julio Nakpil, Katipunero and composer of the first Philippine National Anthem, on Monday was remembered on his 150th birth anniversary by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines at Bahay Nakpil-Bautista in Quiapo, Manila.Nakpil as a member of the Katipunan fought and was in charge of one command in the revolution against the Spanish colonizers.The first Philippine National Anthem that he composed is entitled “Marangal na Dalit ng Katagalugan.”He was also the second husband of Gregoria de Jesus when she remarried after grieving the loss of her husband and Katipunan founder Andres Bonifacio, who was supposedly murdered by men of then-President Emilio Aguinaldo in Maragondon, Cavite.Maria Lourdes Gaston, great granddaughter of Nakpil, expressed her gratitude that his great grandfather is being recognized for his contribution to the country’s history.“We are grateful that there is a hype now on my [grandfather’s] sesquicentennial celebration. Before he was recognized but not as much as we wanted to,” Gaston said.“He was recognized in Hanoi [Vietnam], for his Recuerdos de Capiz composition, but as an important composer of the Filipino revolution, he’s not that recognized,” she added.Gaston said the music of Julio Nakpil is inspired by real-life events in history.“My lolo grandfather] is the only composer who has captured history in his music. Like Biak-na-Bato, the death of Jose Rizal, what happened in Pasig, so he’s a historian through music and, according to research, he is the only Filipino composer who has done this,” she added.“Also, what he proposed should be the National Anthem because Andres Bonifacio asked him to compose a national anthem. But as you know, there was a feud between Aguinaldo and Bonifacio,” Gaston said.She added that the historical significance of her great grandfather’s compositions in the revolution should be recognized by the new generation.“He should be remembered as a backstage personality of the revolution, but now he should now be at the front stage. His kind of music was Filipino music, really for the love of the country,” Gaston said.“The young ones should emulate him for the kind of music that he composed and love for the country,” she added.There will be a lecture series on June 16 for Nakpil’s works that will be delivered by Julio Nakpil researcher Dr. Sandy Chua at the Ayala Museum in Makati City.
|
Manila Times
|
https://www.manilatimes.net/composer-katipunero-julio-nakpil-honored-150th-birthday/328625/
|
Even President Duterte can’t resist huge Ultra Lotto prize
|
['Catherine S. Valente']
|
2018-10-05 00:01:07+00:00
|
Even President Rodrigo Duterte could not resist placing a bet for Ultra Lotto, whose prize reached P809 million on Wednesday, a record in Philippine lottery.Special Assistant to the President Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go confirmed that Duterte placed his bet for the Ultra Lotto 6/58 of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office.He said it was not the first time the President bought a lotto ticket.“Nung last time po, 18 po yung combinations na pinataya niya sa akin last week. Hindi nanalo (Last time, he asked me to place a lotto bet for 18 combinations, last week. He did not win),” Go told reporters.The President’s top aide said he also placed his bet for the lotto draw.“Ako rin tumaya e. Actually ako dalawa last week tapos siya 18. Kasi nag-usap nga kami, sabi ko malay mo manalo tayo dahil si Mayor Digong, nung Mayor siya nanalo siya e (I also placed bet. Actually, I had two [bets] last week, he had 18. We talked about it, we said maybe we’ll win, because when he was mayor, he won),” Go said.Duterte’s daughter, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio, also tried her luck.In an Instagram post, the younger Duterte showed her lotto ticket and a list of people she plans to bestow money on if she wins the lottery.At the bottom of the list was Sen. Antonio Trillanes 4th. She said she would give him P121 million for his legal fees.Trillanes and the the President are locked in a legal battle after the latter issued a proclamation voiding the senator’s amnesty.
|
Manila Times
|
https://www.manilatimes.net/even-president-duterte-cant-resist-huge-ultra-lotto-prize/448389/
|
OFWs warned on ‘3rd country’ job schemes
|
['William Depasupil']
|
2017-10-29 20:22:29+00:00
|
The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) has warned overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who are employed at present against so-called “third country” recruitment schemes.The POEA, in a report to Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello 3rd, issued the warning over the weekend on complaints from Filipino household service workers (HSWs) in Hong Kong, Singapore and Cyprus who were lured by recruiters into transferring to Dubai, Mongolia, Turkey, Russia and other countries but later found out that the working environment there was far from ideal or, worse, the jobs offered are non-existent.The recruiters are mostly citizens of the third country who have Filipino partners in their illegal activities.Dominador Say, Labor undersecretary and acting POEA administrator, said the OFWs should be careful in accepting offers of employment in another country.According to Say, recruitment through a third country is considered illegal recruitment because neither the recruiter nor the employer has proper authorization from the Philippine government.Earlier, Susan Ople, founder and president of the Blas Ople Policy Center, disclosed in a radio interview that one of the recruiters is a Russian-based Pakistani married to a Filipino woman.According to Ople, recruitment is being done through the Internet and hundreds had already been victimized, mostly unsuspecting Filipino household workers in Hong Kong and other countries.She said the victims were made to pay as much as $5,000 and, in exchange, an invitation would be sent to them to come to Russia.Once in Russia, Ople added, the hapless victims are herded in one room of the two-room house of the Pakistani recruiter, for a fee.“The victims are are on their own to look for a job, and have to pay a certain percentage of their earnings to the Pakistani,” she said.Reports said those who found employment are sometimes abused by the employers and, for lack of proper work documents, the workers are arrested and deported by immigration authorities.For their own protection, applicants for overseas jobs should have the appropriate work permit, visa or employment contract approved by the Philippine Overseas Labor Office and processed by the POEA before leaving the country.
|
Manila Times
|
https://www.manilatimes.net/fws-warned-3rd-country-job-schemes/359506/
|
Rice stocks sufficient for Nina-hit areas – NFA
|
['James Konstantin Galvez']
|
2016-12-26 21:59:40+00:00
|
State-run National Food Authority (NFA) on Monday assured that it has enough stocks in its warehouses, particularly in areas directly hit by Typhoon Nina.In a statement, NFA Officer-in-Charge Tomas Escarez said he has already put on alert status all NFA local offices in the Bicol Region, Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon) and Metro Manila for the smooth disbursement of rice requirements.The grains agency is working together with the Department of Social Welfare and Development, Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council at the provincial and regional levels, local government units (LGUs) and Philippine Red Cross, Escarez added.“We are ready to issue their rice requirements anytime. We have a standing memorandum of agreement with these relief agencies so they can withdraw rice from the NFA during calamities and emergencies,” he said.According to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration, Typhoon Nina made landfall in Catanduanes in the Bicol Region on Christmas Day and continued to bring heavy rains and gusty winds as it crossed the Southern Tagalog provinces toward the National Capital Region (NCR or Metro Manila) on Monday.The NFA local office in the Bicol Region has issued a total of 10,804 bags to the LGUs broken down as follows: Albay, 2,550; Camarines Norte, 144; Camarines Sur, 6,673 bags; Catanduanes, 35 bags; Masbate, 325 bags; and Sorsogon, 1,077 bags.Escarez said the NFA’s rice inventory in Region 5 stands at 360,651 bags, Region 4 at 820,000 bags and 2,759,603 bags for NCR.The agency’s nationwide rice inventory is 11,283,567 bags as of December 24, 2016.Escarez said field offices in these regions were instructed to issue the best quality rice to LGUs and relief agencies.“Likewise, the food agency’s Operations Center nationwide has been activated to ensure a 24-hour response and regularly monitor weather bulletins,” he added.
|
Manila Times
|
https://www.manilatimes.net/rice-stocks-sufficient-nina-hit-areas-nfa-2/303822/
|
PH may push for Joma Sison’s removal from US terror list
|
['Jorens Leong']
|
24/01/2017 0:00
|
The Philippine Government (GRP) is willing to request the United States to take National Democratic Front (NDF) Chief Political Consultant Jose Maria Sison off its terrorist watch list so that the 77-year-old Founding Chairman of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) could meet with President Rodrigo Duterte.This was disclosed by GRP peace panel chairman Silvestre Bello III here, Tuesday, as he bared that the commitment to work for the delisting of Sison from the US terror watch list will be included in a joint statement that the government and NDF will sign Wednesday afternoon at the close of the third round of their peace talks at the Holiday Inn-Parco de Medici here.Also expected to be signed Wednesday morning will be the ground rules that will govern the implementation of the Comprehensive Agreement on Socio-Economic Reforms (CASER), which is said to be the “heart and soul” of the peace negotiations.“It is important for Joma to be able to go to the Philippines in response to the President’s statement that he wants to meet Joma in any neutral country,” said Bello.Sison accompanied the NDF peace panel for the talks here, but has reportedly been sick as he has rarely been seen in the meetings and caucuses for the last six days since delivering the opening statement at the start of the third round of talks last January 19.Sison has been considered as a “person supporting terrorism” by the US since August 2002, together with the CPP which has been tagged as a “foreign terrorist organization.”Bello made it clear that the GRP will only “request and recommend” the delisting of Sison from the watch list, and not the CPP.He said the GRP peace panel will make representations with the US government on the basis that since Sison has been actively participating in the ongoing peace process, “this negates the character of a terrorist.”However, Bello refused to “speculate” on the kind of response the GRP peace panel will get from the US government, considering that the country has a new president in Donald Trump who has struck warm and cordial relations with Duterte in their initial talks prior to the former’s inauguration as America’s 45th president.The concurrent Labor Secretary also said both panels were hoping that the meeting between Duterte and Sison will happen in the Philippines.“(If Sison is delisted), he can join us anywhere now. If that happens, siguro ang venue sa Philippines na (maybe the venue would already be in the Philippines),” Bello said.And should that happen, it will not also be far-fetched that the next round of peace negotiations could also be held in the Philippines. The first two rounds were held in Oslo, Norway in August and October of last year.“If it was possible, we would really prefer that the talks be held in the Philippines,” Bello added.News of the GRP peace panel’s offer to work for the delisting of Sison eased grinding tension between the two parties, Tuesday, as they scrambled to mend broken fences brought about the by an encounter between government forces and New People’s Army (NPA) rebels in Makilala, North Cotabato last Saturday. The clash reportedly resulted in the death of eight soldiers and a communist insurgent.According to Bello, the GRP panel submitted a draft of its proposed joint, bilateral ceasefire agreement to the NDF in a special meeting it asked for Tuesday.He also disclosed that the two parties have agreed to include the discussions on the bilateral ceasefire agreement on February 22 to 24 in Utrecht, The Netherlands where they will be scheduled to witness the deposit of the documents bearing the real identity of NDF consultants and other participants to the peace process, who are carrying aliases or assumed names.Bello said they were hoping that the draft for the bilateral ceasefire agreement would be initialed by the two panels in Utrecht, and this could later be the focal point in the meeting between Duterte and Sison.“The two principals may sign it during the occasion of their meeting. That’s the scenario we’re thinking of,” he added.In that February meeting in Utrecht, which will not be part of the formal round of talks, the document bearing the real identities of NDF consultants and members involved in the peace process will be deposited with a bank, with a Dutch bishop being tasked to hold the key to the safety deposit box.The bishop was the same caretaker of a third key to a deposit box which contained the list in 2001.Bello also stated that he believed the NDF will continue to implement its own order of a unilateral ceasefire even after the communist group’s peace panel chairman Fidel Agcaoli said Monday that “they were leaving it to revolutionary forces on the ground to withdraw” from the group’s self-imposed truce.Agcaoili had said that ground forces have grown impatient about the delivery of promised concessions from the government, such as the release of 392 political prisoners, and have complained of the growing presence of the military in the countryside.“Hopefully it will hold, otherwise what is the idea of having unilateral ceasefires,” he stressed.If at all, Bello said that “incidents like (the Makilala encounter) underscore the need for a bilateral ceasefire agreement so that there will be definition of terms.”“Because in the absence of any definition, you cannot complain. To whom will you complain? You can agree on what monitoring committee, or referee would handle complaints of violations, he explained.In fact, this was already included in the draft of the proposed joint ceasefire that the GRP submitted to the NDF Tuesday.“The fact that (the NDF) agreed to discuss (the joint ceasefire agreement) is already a positive development in the process. It is a move forward, kahit wala pa yung (even if there is still no) agreement,” Bello said.Read more: NDFP open to Duterte–Sison meeting
|
Manila Bulletin
|
https://news.mb.com.ph/2017/01/24/ph-may-push-for-joma-sisons-removal-from-us-terror-list/
|
Palace to Iloilo mayor: Rule of law will prevail
|
['Catherine S. Valente']
|
2017-10-03 22:31:18+00:00
|
Malacañang on Tuesday assured Iloilo City Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog of his safety amid “present threat” to his security.In a news conference, Palace spokesman Ernesto Abella said Mabilog would be properly secured when he returns home from abroad.“Of course [Mabilog would be safe],” Abella replied when asked about the Iloilo mayor’s concerns over his safety.“This is a pretty democratic country. As far as the evidence shows, rule of law prevails,” the Malacañang spokesman said.Abella gave the assurance after Mabilog’s wife, Maria Victoria, on Monday admitted that the Iloilo mayor is not returning to the Philippines anytime soon because of “the present threat, veiled or otherwise.”In an interview with Panay News, Maria Victoria said she was keeping her husband from returning over security concerns.“Better be healthy first and safe than sorry,” she added.Mabilog, his wife, and their two children, left the country on August 31 amid repeated public accusations by President Rodrigo Duterte that Mabilog is a drug protector, an allegation that the mayor has repeatedly denied.The President ordered a lifestyle check on Mabilog.He also ordered the assignment of controversial police official Chief Insp. Jovie Espenido to Iloilo City but the deployment was later canceled by the Philippine National Police.Mabilog’s spokesman, lawyer Mark Piad, earlier said the mayor filed a sick leave from September 11 to 30 because he needed rest and is seeking treatment for Type 2 Diabetes.When asked about Mabilog’s move to extend his leave, Abella said, “That we need to refer to the Office of the Executive Secretary to find out their opinion regarding the matter.”On Monday, Piad was quoted as saying that Mabilog filed an extension of his leave on Friday for another 30 days.He said the mayor’s family has been receiving reports from their friends on possible threats on their lives.“We have to continuously validate these reports with the police,” Piad added.
|
Manila Times
|
https://www.manilatimes.net/palace-iloilo-mayor-rule-law-will-prevail/354347/
|
Senate snubs policeman's wife’s request to testify
|
['Jefferson Antiporda']
|
2017-01-24 21:44:03+00:00
|
Senate snubs policeman’s wife’s request to testifyhome/News/Nation/Senate snubs policeman’s wife’s request to testifyTHE Senate Committee on Public Order and Dangerous Drugs on Tuesday turned down a request of the wife of Senior Police Officer 3 Ricky Santa Isabel, the alleged mastermind in the kidnapping and killing of a South Korean businessman, to testify before the committee on Thursday, saying her testimony might put the committee in trouble.According to Sen. Panfilo Lacson, he decided not to allow Santa Isabel’s wife, Jinky, to testify tomorrow because apart from her testimony being mere hearsay, the committee may be made liable for wiretapping.Lacson has called for a Senate inquiry, in aid of legislation, into the case of Jee Ick Joo, who was killed by alleged members of the Anti-illegal Drugs Group (AIDG) of the Philippine National Police inside Camp Crame–PNP general headquarters in Quezon City, last October.The committee has invited to the Senate hearing PNP chief Ronald dela Rosa, the PNP Anti-Kidnapping Group(AKG) head Glen Dumlao, lawyer Rafael Dumlao of the AIDG, SPO4 Rey Villegas, who was among those who joined the operation, and the wife of Jee.“I did not allow her [Jinky] because her testimony will only be based on hearsay,” Lacson explained.Jinky has been giving media interviews insisting that her husband is innocent and that he is being made a fall guy to protect those who are really responsible for the crime.She claimed having an audio recording of her conversation with Rafael Dumlao that according to her would reveal a supposed plan to cover up the involvement of Glen Dumlao.But Lacson said he is not interested in the supposedly recorded conversation because the committee might even be accused of wiretapping if it listened to the recording.“We cannot allow that [recording] to be played here because we are prohibited [from] participating in an illegal act because that is illegal wiretapping,” he told reporters.Instead of allowing the wife to testify, Lacson said, the committee would just invite Santa Isabel himself, if the PNP would allow it.“We want to hear from the person himself rather than listening to hearsay,” he added.Lacson said the committee wants to find out if the case of the slain South Korean was isolated or there were similar cases that happened in the past that were not reported to the police.The senator said they have been receiving information about incidents similar to Jee’s case and they want to find out the truth behind them.
|
Manila Times
|
https://www.manilatimes.net/senate-snubs-policemans-wifes-request-testify/308546/
|
Manila had no say on ‘comfort women’ statue
|
['Raadee S. Sausa']
|
2018-01-12 21:22:59+00:00
|
THE National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP), not the Manila city government, was the one that allowed the putting up of a statue to Filipino “comfort women,” an official said on Friday.Jojo Alcovendaz, city administrator, was reacting to a statement made by Malacañang spokesman Harry Roque, who had said a planned removal of the statue is an issue that could be raised with Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada.“The city goverment of Manila has nothing to do with the ‘comfort women’ statue, they [proponents] just asked for space, we just provided it to them,” Alcovendaz said in a telephone interview with The Manila Times.“The city’s main role here was to provide them with a place where they can unveil the statue,” he added.The NHCP, as the approving authority, allowed Tulay Foundation to install the statue.“We told them [Tulay Foundation] to get the necessary approval from the different national government agencies because this has international implications. But since the NHCP was involved, I thought the national government already approved it,” Alcovendaz said.The historical marker, which includes a 2.1-meter statue of a blindfolded woman with a shawl covering her head and with both hands clutching her clothes to her chest, was unveiled on December 8, 2017 on a promenade along Roxas Boulevard near the Japanese Embassy.It was commissioned by Tulay Foundation, a group of Chinese-Filipinos based in Manila, and done by artist Jonas Roces as a tribute to the Filipino women who were forced into sexual servitude by Japanese occupation forces in the Second World War.The statue raised hackles at the Japanese Embassy, which was said to have asked the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Manila city government for explanations.Roque said the matter was not a diplomatic issue and President Rodrigo Duterte would not act on it.
|
Manila Times
|
https://www.manilatimes.net/manila-no-say-comfort-women-statue/373889/
|
SC sets orals on de Lima drug case
|
['Jomar Canlas']
|
2017-03-09 22:19:16+00:00
|
The two justices appointed to the Supreme Court (SC) by President Rodrigo Duterte will take part in oral arguments on the drug trafficking case against embattled Sen. Leila de Lima.Newly appointed SC Justices Samuel Martires and Noel Tijam are expected to attend the oral arguments on March 14, Tuesday.The SC on Thursday set a conference on Friday for pre-oral arguments.The oral arguments will be heard by Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno and the 14 SC justices.Parties from the camps of the petitioners and the respondents, however, shall not be allowed to participate.Martires took his oath before Duterte on Wednesday in Malacañang and Tijam before SC Justice Presbitero Velasco Jr. on Thursday morning.Last February 28, the High Court ruled to keep de Lima detained after refusing to issue a stay order on her plea to stop the trial of her drug trafficking case pending before a Muntinlupa City (Metro Manila) court.The senator argued that there was no iota of proof presented by the Department of Justice linking her to the illegal drug trade.She said she could be charged only with “direct bribery,” not drug trafficking, under Article 210 of the Revised Penal Code.
|
Manila Times
|
https://www.manilatimes.net/sc-sets-orals-de-lima-drug-case/316362/
|
3 ex-DSWD officials plead not guilty to graft
|
['Ma. Reina Leanne Tolentino']
|
2017-11-18 23:57:26+00:00
|
Former Social Welfare secretary Esperanza Cabral, former undersecretary Mateo Montaño, and former chief accountant Leonila Hayahay have pleaded not guilty to charges of graft, malversation, malversation through falsification.They entered not guilty pleas during their arraignment before the Sandiganbayan’s Third Division on Friday afternoon.Cabral, Montaño, and Hayahay were earlier charged by the Office of the Ombudsman along with dismissed North Cotabato Vice Governor Gregorio Ipong over the alleged misappropriation of Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) worth P9.4 million in 2007 when Ipong was a congressional representative.Roberto Solon, who allegedly “operated and/or controlled” the Economic and Social Cooperation for Local Development Foundation Inc. (Ecosoc) then, was also charged. Solon is at large.Meanwhile, the court has scheduled Ipong’s arraignment on December 1.According to the charge sheets, Ipong allegedly endorsed the “unaccredited and unqualified” Ecosoc as project partner in the implementation of the “Integrated Social Development Project [Health, Capacity Building, and Capital Assistance] [KALAHI-CIDSS].”Kalahi-CIDSS, or Kapit-bisig Laban Sa Kahirapan-Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services, was one of the government’s poverty alleviation programs implemented by the Department of Social Welfare and Development.Ipong, Cabral, and Solon allegedly then entered into a memorandum of agreement on the implementation the PDAF-funded project.The Ombudsman alleged that “Montaño also facilitated, processed and approved the disbursement of the subject PDAF release” by signing two disbursement vouchers “along with Hayahay, thus certifying that the documents are complete and proper, with Solon then depositing” two checks in the amount of P2.82 million and P6.58 million, respectively, “to ECOSOCs accounts, without” the accused then-DSWD officers and then-employees “having carefully examined and verified the accreditation and qualification of ECOSOC as well as the transaction’s supporting documents.”It also alleged that “[b]y their above acts, Cabral, Montaño and Hayahay…allowed Solon…to take possession and thus misappropriate PDAF-drawn public funds, instead of implementing the PDAF-funded projects” which allegedly “turned out to be non-existent.”Further, it alleged that Solon “issued official receipts, participated in the preparation and signing of the acceptance and delivery reports, disbursement reports, project proposals and other liquidation documents to conceal the” supposedly “fictitious nature of the transaction, to the damage and prejudice of the Republic of the Philippines.”
|
Manila Times
|
https://www.manilatimes.net/3-ex-dswd-officials-plead-not-guilty-graft/363732/
|
Ex-Palace spokesman now with DFA
|
['Llanesca T. Panti']
|
2017-11-23 20:30:19+00:00
|
Former Malacañang spokesman Ernesto Abella is back in the loop after President Rodrigo Duterte appointed him as an undersecretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).Abella’s appointment papers were released on Wednesday, November 23, but were dated October 27.He was fired as Palace spokesman in the last week of October supposedly because President Duterte was not satisfied with how he defended the President amid an 18-point decline in net satisfaction rating based on a Social Weather Stations survey, as well as the President’s call to expel envoys of the 28-member European Union that is critical of the administration’s war on drugs.Duterte immediately replaced Abella with former human rights lawyer and Kabayan party-list Rep. Harry Roque.Roque’s appointment was announced October 27, the same day that Abella was later learned to have been appointed to a DFA post.Abella’s appointment papers did not specify the specific DFA unit he will be heading as an undersecretary.There are five undersecretaries serving in the DFA: Linglingay Lacanlale (Administration); Manuel Antonio Teehankee (International Economic Relations); Sarah Lou Arriola (Migrant Workers Affairs); Enrique Manalo (Policy) and Jose Luis Montales (Civilian Security and Consular Concerns).The Foreign Affairs secretary is former Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano.Some senators viewed the new appointment of Abella as a good move, noting that his respectable demeanor could really help the department.Senators Francis Escudero and Sherwin Gatchalian said the former spokesman could help strengthen President Duterte’s independent foreign policy.“I am in full agreement… he will do exceptionally well as DFA spokesperson given his calm and respectable demeanor,” Escudero said in a text message.Gatchalian said such demeanor, plus strong diplomatic instincts, would make Abella an asset to the DFA as it works to strengthen the independent foreign policy of the Duterte administration.
|
Manila Times
|
https://www.manilatimes.net/ex-palace-spokesman-now-dfa/364664/
|
Typhoon ‘Gorio’ exits country today
|
['Elshamae Robles']
|
2017-07-29 22:03:22+00:00
|
Typhoon “Gorio” will leave the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) today, according to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA).“We still keep track of the tropical storm [Gorio] as it comes near to the Taiwan area,” PAGASA forecaster Obet Badrina said on Saturday, adding it was last spotted at 215 kilometers Northeast of Basco, Batanes bringing stormy weather to the area.Badrina noted another tropical depression will possibly enter the PAR as Gorio moves to Taiwan in the afternoon today.PAGASA raised storm warning signal No. 2 in Bataan while signal No. 1 was raised over the Babuyan Group of Islands.Monsoon rains may trigger flashfloods and landslides affecting the Ilocos and Cordillera regions, and the provinces of Zambales and Bataan.Metro Manila and the rest of Luzon experienced cloudy skies and light to moderate rains and thunderstorms on Saturday.The state weather bureau issued a gale warning signal No. 3 to the seaboards of Luzon advising the fishing boats and small seacraft not to venture out into the sea while larger sea vessels were warned against big waves.Fisher folk were also advised not to venture out into the sea because of rough sea conditions and moderate to occasionally strong winds coming from the southwest.DSWD assisting storm-affected familiesThe Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) continues to monitor the situation of the families affected by Gorio.DSWD-Disaster Response and Management Bureau Assistant Director Carlos Padolina said 183 affected families made up of 664 individuals from Malabon City and Valenzuela City have been evacuated to eight designated centers.According to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, Gorio has affected 326 families or 1,254 people from Metro Manila and Central Luzon.The agency said 60 areas in the Metro Manila remain flooded.Meanwhile, the DSWD has distributed P1.722 million worth of relief goods for the families affected by the storm. The food packs contain rice, cans of sardines, corned beef, coffee and non-food items.with GEIAN ESPAÑOL
|
Manila Times
|
https://www.manilatimes.net/typhoon-gorio-exits-country-today/341369/
|
‘FDA head cannot reassign directors’
|
['Jomar Canlas']
|
2017-08-04 21:56:52+00:00
|
IT is the secretary of the Department of Health (DoH) who has the authority to reshuffle, transfer, detail and reassign directors and assistant directors of center and field offices of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).This was the legal opinion made by Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre 2nd of the Department of Justice (DoJ) in connection with a request of Director General and Undersecretary Nela Charade Puno, head of the FDA.Aguirre pointed out that only the Health chief has the power to initiate reassignments, among others, of various officials who had been appointed by the DoJ secretary pursuant to Republic Act (RA) 9711 or the Food and Drug Administration Act of 2009.He said Section 8 of RA 9711 provides that “the FDA shall review its staffing pattern and position titles subject to the approval of the secretary of Health.”“This department is of the view that the power to appoint entails the power to reshuffle, transfer, detail or reassign those appointed by the appointing authority,” Aguirre said in his legal opinion, dated May 19, 2017 that was released only recently.
|
Manila Times
|
https://www.manilatimes.net/fda-head-cannot-reassign-directors/342433/
|
Oil firms to cut pump prices
|
['Jordeene Sheex Lagare']
|
2018-10-14 00:03:20+00:00
|
Oil companies will roll back prices of petroleum products on Monday, after nine weeks of imposing price increases.Eastern Petroleum and Petro Gazz announced over the weekend that the prices of diesel and kerosene would go down by 60 centavos per liter and 85 centavos per liter, respectively, at 6 a.m. on Monday.In separate advisories, Petron and Pilipinas Shell said they would cut the price of diesel by 65 centavos per liter, gasoline by 85 centavos per liter, and kerosene by 20 centavos per liter also on Monday.Seaoil reduced the price of diesel by 65 centavos per liter, gasoline by 85 centavos per liter, and kerosene by 20 centavos per liter on Saturday.Unioil also lowered prices of diesel and gasoline by 60 centavos per liter and 80 centavos per liter, respectively, on Saturday.Phoenix Petroleum was the first to adjust its pump prices, cutting the price of diesel by 60 centavos per liter and gasoline by 80 centavos per liter at 12:01 a.m. on Saturday.Last week, oil companies raised diesel prices by P1.45 per liter, gasoline prices by P1 per liter and kerosene by P1.35 per liter.
|
Manila Times
|
https://www.manilatimes.net/oil-firms-to-cut-pump-prices-2/451955/
|
Duterte hints at possible compromise on ‘endo’
|
['Ralph Villanueva']
|
2018-02-28 00:06:17+00:00
|
PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte said he is having a hard time ending endo immediately, adding that a compromise is the most feasible solution for the calls of labor groups to end contractualization.“I do not think that I can really give [the workers] all [they want] because we cannot force the capitalists to… if there is no money, or if they do not want to or if the workers are lazy,” Duterte said during the inauguration of the Armscor shooting range in Davao on Monday night.Endo, or end of contract, is done by giving only five-month contracts to workers so the employers will not have the need to regularize them on the sixth month.“Don’t make it hard for [business owners] to run the business the way they like it because that’s their money, so something of a compromise must be [agreed upon], maybe acceptable to everybody,” Duterte said.Since there is a “sheer number” of Filipinos competing for limited number of local jobs, the President added, the demand for workers is low.“In other countries, be it in Hong Kong, America, you work for a certain guy and if he does not like the quality that you produce, you get out, you get paid, separated and that’s it. [That is what I prefer but] there are few businesses to absorb the human resource. That is why they want some radical changes,” Duterte said.He is set to sign an executive order on endo, which was drafted by the leaders of Kilusang Mayo Uno, Nagkakaisa Labor Coalition, Associated Labor Unions, Sentro ng Nagkakaisa at Progresibong Manggagawa, Partido Manggagawa, National Labor Union, Trade Union Congress of the Philippines and National Confederation of Labor earlier this year.Malacañang spokesman Harry Roque, in a news briefing on Tuesday morning, said a possible compromise is cooking but he declined to elaborate.He added that he leaves it up to Duterte to announce if any plan materializes.Terminating contractualization was one of the promises made by Duterte during the campaign period in 2016.In March 2017, the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) issued Department Order 174, which bans labor-only contracting, outsourcing work due to a strike and endo.The order, however, was met with criticism from different labor groups because it still allowed certain types of contractualization.Last year, Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello 3rd said what Duterte meant by “terminating contractualization” was banning “unlawful, illegitimate contractualization.”
|
Manila Times
|
https://www.manilatimes.net/duterte-hints-possible-compromise-endo/383051/
|
‘Impeach complaint sufficient in form’
|
['Mary Gleefer F. Jalea']
|
2018-09-05 00:08:11+00:00
|
The House Committee on Justice on Tuesday found an impeachment complaint filed against seven justices of the Supreme Court who voted to oust then Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno sufficient in form.The panel upheld the complaint through a vote of 21-0 during a hearing led by Oriental Mindoro First District Rep. Salvador Leachon.Representatives Edcel Lagman of Albay, Teddy Baguilat of Ifugao and Gary Alejano of Magdalo party-list filed the complaints on August 23 against the seven magistrates who favored the quo warranto case filed by the Office of the Solicitor General against Sereno.Akbayan party-list Tom Villarin, who was one of the complainants, was excluded from the hearing for failing tosign the impeachment complaint, Leachon said.“Does it make any difference if Villarin will be a complainant or not? The same allegations that he wanted to sign was actually signed already by the three congressmen, so I think it does not matter,” Leachon added.Charged in the impeachment complaint were Associate Justices Diosdado Peralta, Lucas Bersamin, Francis Jardeleza, Noel Tijam, Andres Reyes Jr., Alexander Gesmundo and newly appointed Chief Justice Teresita Leonardo-de Castro.The committee will determine whether the complaints are sufficient in substance in the next hearing on September 11.
|
Manila Times
|
https://www.manilatimes.net/impeach-complaint-sufficient-in-form/438150/
|
Printing of 18M new ballots in full swing
|
['William Depasupil']
|
2018-02-17 00:05:13+00:00
|
PRINTING of additional 18 million ballots for the coming barangay (village) and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK or Youth Council) elections has pushed through despite strong indications from a leaders of Congress that the two polls would again be postponed.Commission on Elections (Comelec) spokesman James Jimenez said the additional ballots were for new voters who registered during the 25-day continuing registration held last November 2017 and also for voters of Mindanao in southern Philippines.The printing of the new ballots for Mindanao, he explained, was necessitated by a recent ruling of the Comelec en banc that the synchronized village and youth elections will push through as scheduled in the whole of Mindanao, except Marawi City (Lanao del Sur), in spite of the one-year extension of martial law in the whole of Mindanao.On September 5, 2017, the Comelec en banc suspended the twin polls in the whole of Mindanao because of theMarawi crisis, which forced President Duterte to impose military rule in the region.With the suspension, no ballots were printed for the entire Mindanao area.The scheduled October 2017 elections were eventually postponed to May 2018.The printing of the 18 million new ballots started February 15.The National Printing Office is capable of printing 800,000 ballots a day and up to one million at optimum capacity.The Comelec will use the already printed October 23, 2017 official ballots, accountable and non-accountable forms for purposes of the May 14, 2018 village and SK elections in an effort to save public funds and government resources.Under Resolution 10248, voters in the National Capital Region (NCR or Metro Manila), Luzon and Visayasregions will be using the 59,578,346 official ballots that were printed from August 9, 2017 to September 30, 2017.To avoid confusion, these ballots will bear October 23, 2017 as the date of the elections.The ballots and accountable and non-accountable forms being printed for the Mindanao region, however, will bear May 14, 2018 as the date of the elections.Earlier, Oriental Mindoro Rep. Reynaldo Umali said he had already filed a bill seeking to again postpone the village and SK polls this May to coincide with the planned plebiscite for the proposed Constitution for a federalform of government.
|
Manila Times
|
https://www.manilatimes.net/printing-18m-new-ballots-full-swing/380707/
|
Yasay irons out Duterte Russia visit
|
['Michael Joe T. Delizo']
|
2016-12-06 22:26:32+00:00
|
Foreign Affairs Secretary Perfecto Yasay Jr. has firmed up a substantive agenda for a significant meeting between President Rodrigo Duterte and Russian President Vladimir Putin, who had invited his Philippine counterpart to visit Moscow.Yasay on Monday met with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, in the Russian capital.The two foreign ministers discussed the current state of bilateral relations and the prospects to enhance cooperation on a broad range of areas, spanning the political, security, economic, cultural and people-to-people spheres, according to a statement from the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).The statement said Yasay and Lavrov agreed to redouble efforts to conclude a number of agreements that wouldform part of the legal framework on which to build relations.They also agreed that their respective ministries would undertake preparations for the visit of Duterte next year.During the official lunch tendered by the Russian Foreign Ministry, the DFA disclosed that there were discussions on regional and global issues including the priorities of the Philippine chairmanship of Asean in 2017, regional security architecture and United Nations issues.This was the first visit to Russia of Yasay, which happened on the heels of a meeting between Duterte and Putin at the sidelines of the recently concluded APEC Summit in Lima, Peru.In the joint news conference held after the bilateral meeting, Yasay said the engagement was part of continuing efforts to strengthen Philippine-Russian bilateral partnership.“I am pleased and honored to be in Moscow and to be part of this new stage in our relations,” he was quoted as saying.
|
Manila Times
|
https://www.manilatimes.net/yasay-irons-duterte-russia-visit/300322/
|
Duterte eyes arming village officials
|
['Catherine S. Valente']
|
2018-06-13 00:10:12+00:00
|
CLARK, PAMPANGA: President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday said he was considering arming barangay (village) officials as he sought their help in the government’s fight against illegal drugs and criminality.Speaking before newly elected barangay officials in Central Luzon, Duterte said the support of barangay captains was crucial in the campaign against the illegal drugs trade. He also reiterated his warning to them to stay away from illegal activities.“I trust that you will uphold excellence, accountability, and transparency in your respective offices. Keep in mind that you are operating within the context of a nation. Let us set aside our personal interests as we selflessly and tirelessly fulfill the duties and responsibilities that come with our positions. We owe it to the Filipino people to serve with humility and live with integrity,” the President said in his speech.“I might consider arming you. If I think in my assessment and evaluation at tatanungin ko ‘yung pulis pati ‘yung intelligence community, if you are really into it, in (combatting) crime, I will support you. I might grant you possession and to carry your firearms,” he added.The President said he was willing to take the cudgels for barangay officials.“Our fight against criminality, corruption and illegal drugs continues. As you advocate for the sectors, you represent and join the newly elected barangay officials to ensure the implementation of the anti-illegal drug efforts such as the establishment and operation of the barangay anti-drug abuse council,” Duterte said.“Kapag nakita ko na talagang lumalaban ka (If I see you fighting drugs), you do not only have the Philippine National Police, the military but me and the secretary will see you through. Hindi ko kayo pababayaan. At kung sakali man at kayo ay madisgrasya, magtatanong ako at reresbak ako. Tandaan niyo iyan (I will not leave you. If some harm befalls you, I will seek your vindication. Remember that),” he added. “Just an assurance that you will have my support and I will take the cudgels for you. I’m willing to go to jail if need be.”Duterte earlier declared his plan to initiate “radical changes” in law enforcement, as he expressed alarm over rising violence.
|
Manila Times
|
https://www.manilatimes.net/duterte-eyes-arming-village-officials/407423/
|
CA poised to confirm Puyat appointment
|
['Bernadette E. Tamayo']
|
2018-05-30 00:10:49+00:00
|
THE Commission on Appointments is expected to confirm the appointment of Tourism Secretary Bernadette Fatima Romulo Puyat on Wednesday, May 30, 2018, after she got the support of the members of the CA’s Committee on Tourism and National Development.The panel only took 15 minutes to deliberate Puyat’s appointment as Senators Cynthia Villar and Juan Miguel Zubiri moved to approve her confirmation.Puyat vowed to work with the Boracay Task Force, business sector and local communities to transform Boracay island “into a champion of sustainable and responsible tourism.”“We will bring to the table my experience as an economist, educator and government executive. My advocacy on food, farmers, and farming will play a major part in my full entry into tourism,” she told the panel chaired by Villar.“We will pursue the roll out of RA (Republic Act) 10816 or the Farm Tourism Development Act of 2016 which was sponsored by Sen. Cynthia Villar that will ultimately preserve our farms, increase revenues to the countryside, create new markets, and increase arrivals,” Puyat said.The President on May 8 named Puyat, an undersecretary at the Department of Agriculture (DA), to head the Department of Tourism (DoT) following the resignation of Wanda Teo.“Our tasks ahead are plenty. And we remain optimistic about your kind support to tourism. Every challenge will be a chance to effect your contribution to the growth of tourism and the Philippine economy. It will also define our love of country and the Filipino people,” she said.She said the Duterte administration believes tourism is an important driver of the economy. “It is expressed in our 10-point socio-economic agenda highlighting the promotion of rural tourism.”“We will faithfully pursue the mandate of RA 9593 or Tourism Act of 2009 which was sponsored by Sen. Richard Gordon that is a national policy for tourism as an engine for investments, employment, growth and national development,” Puyat said.She vowed to review the implementation of the National Tourism Development Plan that serves as the road map in developing tourism.“We will prioritize improving policies on access, connectivity, and security as well as enhanced programs on tourism infrastructure. We will continue regular consultations with the industry groups such as the Tourism Congress of the Philippines and partners in the legislature and executive branches of government,” she said.Asked what other issues she intend to investigate, Puyat said, “Let’s focus on work first. If I see something irregular I will just give it quietly to CoA (Commission on Audit). We must focus on work.”
|
Manila Times
|
https://www.manilatimes.net/ca-poised-to-confirm-puyat-appointment/402281/
|
Rights body backs court ruling on drug war data
|
['Mary Gleefer F. Jalea']
|
2018-04-08 20:01:26+00:00
|
The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) is supporting a decision of the Supreme Court (SC) requiring the Philippine National Police (PNP) to submit data on the government’s war on drugs.“We welcome and support the decision of the Supreme Court ordering the PNP to submit data on the administration’s campaign against illegal drugs. It is a step forward in ensuring that the rule of law will prevail in our country,” the CHR said in a statement over the weekend.It added that the decision will bring the agency “closer to knowing the truth and pursuing justice” for the victims of the drug crackdown and their families.Twelve justices of the High Court had asked the PNP to provide a documentation of police operations and policemen involved in “Operation Tokhang” from July 2016 to November 30, 2017.Back in December, the PNP initially agreed to turn over data of drug-related killings to the CHR after the agency requested its assistance on the status of each drug-related death.CHR spokesman Jackielyn de Guia previously said the PNP never collaborated with them in their investigations by sharing their case folders to establish transparency for each case. GLEE JALEAShe added that these case folders include police blotters, spot reports, investigation documents, forensic records, inventory reports and affidavits, among others.“We look forward to the police force’s cooperation without condition on this matter. We believe that their swift action would allow the wheels of justice to turn faster given the clamor for transparency and accountability for alleged human rights violations linked to the government’s anti-drug campaign,” the CHR said.The commission added that it is “hopeful” that the Supreme Court decision will help them in their independent probe of alleged cases of extrajudicial killings through its data sharing with the PNP.Meanwhile, incoming PNP chief Oscar Albayalde on April 6 promised that they will comply with the decision.“Of course, we will follow the SC’s order although I know that the PNP is already fixing the papers for it,” Albayalde said in a previous interview.The government’s #RealNumbersPH campaign showed that out of 91,704 anti-drug operations conducted, only 4,075 drug suspects were killed as of March 2018.Human right groupsclaim that deaths have reached 13,000 since the government launched the drug war in 2016.
|
Manila Times
|
https://www.manilatimes.net/rights-body-backs-court-ruling-on-drug-war-data/391374/
|
DepEd hailed for stopping condom giving in schools
|
['The Manila Times']
|
2017-01-31 20:57:07+00:00
|
A party-list lawmaker on Tuesday hailed a decision of the Department of Education (DepEd) to stop the Duterte administration from distributing comdoms in public high schools across the country.“We welcome the decision of Department of Education Secretary Leonor Briones to block the plan of the Department of Health (DOH) to distribute condoms in high schools,” Rep. Lito Atienza of Buhay party-list said in a statement.“We thank her [Briones] for listening to reason and public clamor against such a move,” according to Atienza, also a fierce opponent of the restoration of death penalty in the Philippines.DOH Secretary Paulyn Ubial had said Malacañang has set aside P1 billion to kick off the condom distribution.“Sa halip na mamigay ng condoms sa mga estudyante, dapat hikayatin natin ang mga magulang na siyang magbigay ng edukasyon sa kanilang mga anak tungkol sa sex. Good manners and right conduct, at character-building ang dapat na ituro upang maging mas responsible ang mga kabataan [Instead of giving condoms to students, we should persuade their parents themselves to teach their children sex education. Good manners and right conduct, and character-building should be taught so that the youth would become responsible citizens],” Atienza said.The former mayor of Manila and former Environment secretary added that “distributing condoms among high school students would not only distort traditional Filipino values that we hold dear, but it would also encourage more promiscuity.”
|
Manila Times
|
https://www.manilatimes.net/deped-hailed-stopping-condom-giving-schools/309902/
|
Duterte signs EO on nat’l drugs strategy
|
['Catherine S. Valente']
|
2018-11-01 00:05:04+00:00
|
President Rodrigo Duterte institutionalized the Philippine Anti-Illegal Drugs Strategy (PADS) with the signing on October 29 of Executive Order 66 which directs all government agencies, bureaus, and offices, including government-owned or -controlled corporations (GOCCs) and state universities and colleges (SUCs) to implement the national strategy on drug prevention and control.The anti-drug strategy includes the implementation of “drug-free workplace programs” and “authorized drug testing.”The President encouraged non-government organizations, civil society organizations, and private institutions to actively support the anti-drug programs.“The proliferation of prohibited drugs and their precursors is a serious national concern, encompassing social, economic, psychological and economic interests, which necessitates the active and unified involvement of various government and non-government agencies,” the order said.“To ensure the successful implementation of the PADS and to demonstrate our country’s resolve in confronting the issue on illegal drugs, it is necessary to ensure that government and non-government entities carry out their respective functions and tasks under the PADS,” it added.The PADS, formulated by the Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB), outlines the government’s comprehensive and integrated efforts to strengthen the campaign against illegal drugs and contribute to global efforts to counter the drug problem.Under EO 66, the President designated the DDB as the lead agency in the implementation of the PADS.All government departments and agencies were directed to formulate and submit to the DDB their respective implementing and operational plans relative to the PADS, within 60 days from the implementation of EO 66.They were also required to formulate and adopt drug-free workplace programs, and conduct authorized drug testing among their respective officials and personnel, in accordance with the provisions of Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act.The Department of Labor and Employment, on the other hand, was instructed to ensure the formulation and implementation of drug-free workplace programs.EO 66 also urged local government units (LGUs) to formulate and submit their own implementation and operation plans and establish or strengthen their Anti-Drug Abuse Councils.LGUs were also asked to work in partnership with the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency and the Philippine National Police in implementing the PADS.The President also directed the DDB, in consultation with concerned government entries and LGUs, to develop performance standards to ensure compliance of concerned agencies with PADS.“The PADS shall be continuously reviewed and studied by the DDB. For this purpose, all government entities shall submit to the DDB every month of February of each year, an Annual Report outlining or detailing accomplishments relative to their respective tasks, undertakings, programs and projects under the PADS,” the order said.
|
Manila Times
|
https://www.manilatimes.net/duterte-signs-eo-on-natl-drugs-strategy/460324/
|
Oil firms again increase prices
|
['Jordeene Sheex Lagare']
|
2018-05-01 00:02:13+00:00
|
The cost of diesel, gasoline and kerosene will again go up this week even if oil prices dipped in the global market.Eastern Petroleum, Flying V, Jetti Petroleum, Phoenix Petroleum, Pilipinas Shell, PTT Philippines, Seaoil, and Total increased the price of diesel by 70 centavos per liter effective at 6 a.m. Tuesday.They also hiked the price of gasoline by 85 centavos per liter and kerosene by 70 centavos per liter.Meanwhile, Unioil raised the prices of diesel and gasoline by 70 centavos per liter and 85 centavos per liter, respectively, effective at 6:01 a.m.Reports said Brent crude futures fell 50 cents or 0.7 percent to close at $74.14 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures dipped 28 cents or 0.4 percent to end at $67.82 a barrel.
|
Manila Times
|
https://www.manilatimes.net/oil-firms-again-increase-prices/396018/
|
Caloocan Ash Wednesday probe rules out sabotage
|
['Ashley Jose']
|
2018-02-17 20:41:28+00:00
|
Caloocan Bishop Pablo Virgilio David said an investigation on the incident where churchgoers at San Roque Cathedral in the city ended up with rashes and blisters on their forehead after being marked with a cross on Ash Wednesday ruled out sabotage and found the ashes to contain high acidity level. “We apologize for whatever harm inadvertently caused by what should have been a solemn ritual marking the beginning of Lent,” he said. The prelate said they have sent the ashes they mixed with holy water to a chemical laboratory for testing. He disclosed that the laboratory tests result showed that the ashes had a high level of acidity and ruled out possibility of any sabotage. The burns and blisters were caused by “overcooked charcoal turned into caustic ashes that produce high acidity when mixed with water.” He explained that they traditionally burned palm fronds in earthen pots and the gradual adding of leaves led to over burning which produced dark charcoal. Earlier, the prelate has ordered Church staff to review Closed-circuit Television footage specifically during the burning of ashes on Tuesday night to check for any possibility of sabotage.
|
Manila Times
|
https://www.manilatimes.net/caloocan-ash-wednesday-probe-rules-sabotage/380891/
|
Customs bureau raises alert on agri-produce smuggling
|
['William Depasupil']
|
2017-02-04 01:16:29+00:00
|
UNSCRUPULOUS importers of agricultural products are now sourcing their goods from non-traditional sources to avoid suspicion from authorities, the Bureau of Custom (BoC) said.This surfaced after alert operatives of the Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service (CIIS) intercepted the entry at the Manila International Container Port (MICP) of 11 40-footer container vans of red onions from India worth at least P15 million.The discovery prompted Customs Commissioner Nicanor Faeldon on Friday to raise the alarm on imports of farm products.“It is my first time to hear of onions imported from India since I took office in July 2017,” Faeldon said.“I have directed the officers of 17 ports and sub-ports to give due attention to importation of agricultural products and closely verify, authenticate, and double check its documents and required permits so that BOC and the inter-agency will be able to protect the interest and welfare of Filipino farmers and stop all forms of economic sabotage,” he added.Records show that commonly-apprehended smuggled onions and other farm yields come from China and other Asian countries.BOC is a member of the inter-agency committee on anti-agricultural smuggling composed of the National Food Authority, Department of Agriculture, and the Office of the President through the Office of the Cabinet Secretary.The onion shipments arrived on January 1, 2017 and was found to have no import permit from the DA in violation of t Republic Act No. 10845, otherwise known as the Anti-Agricultural Smuggling Act of 2016.CIIS Director Neil L. Estrella said that the contraband were consigned to Meriban Sales Corporation (MSC) and Malaya Multi-Purpose Cooperative (MMPC).
|
Manila Times
|
https://www.manilatimes.net/customs-bureau-raises-alert-agri-produce-smuggling/310400/
|
Mandatory contributions depleting PCSO fund – Balutan
|
['The Manila Times']
|
2018-07-24 00:03:46+00:00
|
Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) General Manager Alexander Balutan has urged Congress to repeal laws mandating the charity agency to contribute funds to various government agencies.Balutan said these contributions are depleting the agency’s charity fund.He said mandatory contributions are “eating up funds” for medical service. Balutan said instead of being used for charity, PCSO funds are being used for sports, education and the purchase of fertilizer.The PCSO official made the appeal in response to Commission on Audit’s (CoA) warning over “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 that are in fact not related to health services,” Balutan said in a mix of English and Filipino during the recent Sama-samang Talakayan at Linawan media forum at the Fort Ilocandia in Laoag City, Ilocos Norte.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.Under Republic Act 1169, as amended (PCSO Charter), the net receipts shall be divided: 55 percent for prize fund, 30 percent for charity fund and 15 percent for operating fund.The agency also provides funding support to various government agencies commissioned to receive part of the agency’s earnings.As of the second quarter of 2018, the PCSO has released P71.4 million for the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), which is 1 percent of the gross sales of Lotto.As of June 2018, the total shares/obligations for mandatory contributions was P14,048,632,664.99. From 1998 to 2017, the PCSO released P12.198 billion with an outstanding balance of P1.8 billion.From January to June 2018, the agency released another P443 million, but it still has an outstanding balance of P1.8 billion.“All new government agencies that are established are asking funds from the PCSO, so they continue to increase. We cannot do anything because it is the law. They see the PCSO and PAGCOR (Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation) as sources of funding, so our charity fund and prize fund distribution are such, “ Balutan said.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 the Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB), Philippine Sports Commission, Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation, National Commission on Indigenous People, National Museum, Department of Health, and Overseas Workers Welfare Administration.The other agencies and programs being funded by the PCSO are the Department of Foreign Affairs’ 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, 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.Balutan said the agency pays P1 billion a month in taxes.However, the PCSO official said the “biggest challenge” to the agency is the additional 20- documentary stamp tax (DST) imposed by the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion Law.
|
Manila Times
|
https://www.manilatimes.net/mandatory-contributions-depleting-pcso-fund-balutan/422633/
|
House eyes deployment of 150 judges-at-large
|
['Llanesca T. Panti']
|
2018-03-31 00:05:23+00:00
|
The House of Representatives is pushing for the deployment of at least 150 judges-at-large across the country to address backlogs in court cases.The move came in light of recent approval on second reading of House Bill 7309, which creates posts for 100 Regional Trial Court (RTC) judges-at-large who are entitled to salaries, privileges, allowances, emoluments, benefits, rank and title of a Regional Trial Court judge and 50 Municipal Trial Court (MTC) judges-at-large who will receive such compensation and allowances as may be authorized by the President, subject to certain guidelines.“This is to address the problem of court congestion since judges need not be assigned to a permanent sala,” the committee report on the bill read.An RTC judge-at-large should be a natural-born Filipino citizen, at least 35 years old and engaged in the practice of law in the Philippines for at least 10 years or has held a public office in the Philippines requiring admission to the practice of law as an indispensable requisite.An MTC judgs-at-large, on the other hand, should be a natural-born Filipino citizen, at least 30 years of age and engaged in the practice of law in the Philippines for at least five years or has held a public office in the Philippines requiring admission to the practice of law as an indispensable requisite.The bill provides for a longevity pay of judges-at-large that will amount to equivalent to five percent of the monthly basic pay to be paid to the justices and judges of the courts created for each five years of continuous, efficient and meritorious service rendered in the judiciary, provided that in no case will the total salary of each justice or judge concerned, after this longevity pay is added, exceed the salary of the justice or judge next in rank.Also, the proposed measure states that a displacement allowance for each judge-at-large will be determined by the Supreme Court upon the recommendation of the Court Administrator and the Plantilla Committee.The displacement allowance will cover housing, food, transportation and other necessary expenses incurred during their detail to courts located outside their permanent residences.The overall amount necessary for the implementation of the proposed law will be charged against the available appropriations of the judiciary under the national budget.The measure was proposed by Representatives Lord Allan Velasco of Marinduque, Tricia Nicole Velasco-Catera of Mata party-list and Karlo Nograles of Davao City.The Velascos’ father is Supreme Court Associate Justice Presbitero Velasco.
|
Manila Times
|
https://www.manilatimes.net/house-eyes-deployment-of-150-judges-at-large/389528/
|
‘No free tuition for moneyed students’
|
['Jefferson Antiporda']
|
2017-08-13 19:21:42+00:00
|
Student organizations particularly in state universities and colleges (SUCs) should help the government in ensuring that poor college students would be given priority under the free college education program.The call was made over the weekend by Francis Escudero, chairman of the Senate Committee on Education, Arts and Culture, who said student organizations that have been demanding free education from the government should also raise their voice against rich students who can afford to pay tuition but are taking advantage of the state’s subsidy for tuition.He noted that the government budget for education is limited and it is only proper to make sure that student who really cannot afford to pay tuition should be given priority in SUCs as well as local state universities and colleges (LSUCs).Escudero said student organizations could launch a humiliation campaign and identify rich college students to force them to pay for tuition instead of availing of the free college education program of the government.President Rodrigo Duterte on August 3 signed Republic Act (RA) 10931 or the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act that would provide full government subsidy for tuition in SUCs, LSUCs and Technical Education and Skills Development Authority-accredited institutions.But funds for implementing the law are not included in the 2018 national budget submitted by Malacañang to the House of Representatives.“We have to make sure that poor students will be able to avail of this program so it will be better if there will be a humiliation campaign or a campaign that those who can afford to pay tuition should pay,” Escudero said.Parking lots at the state-run University of Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City, according to Escudero, is a clear example on how rich students are taking advantage of government subsidy for tuition in SUCs.“If your father is a congressman and you want to study in UP, then you pay for your tuition,” he said.Escudero also noted that although the Budget department and the Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) could include in the implementing rules and regulations of RA 10931 a provision that would give priority to poor students, it would be better if such move would come from the students themselves.Students “driving a Porsche going to school” should pay tuition, he said.Congress is yet to find the source of P30 billion required to cover the tuition of college students enrolled in 114 SUCs, 16 LSUCs and 122 vocational schools in the country for a year.The House appropriations committee is looking at various scholarship programs being implemented in different SUCs, CHEd and other government agencies as the source of the needed funding.The plan is to consolidate all scholarship program funds and spend them to bankroll RA 10931.Sen. Panfilo Lacson is eyeing realignment of “pork-like” allotment in the proposed 2018 national budget, which was submitted by the President to Congress in July.
|
Manila Times
|
https://www.manilatimes.net/no-free-tuition-moneyed-students/344255/
|
Robredo thumbs down ‘no-el,’ term extension
|
['The Manila Times']
|
2018-01-07 19:08:03+00:00
|
Vice President Maria Leonor Robredo has expressed strong opposition to a no-election or “no-el” scenario in May 2019 and term extension for incumbent elected officials.Robredo, in her weekly radio show Biserbisyong Leni, made the stand in light of a statement made by Senate President Aquilino Pimentel 3rd that Congress can extend President Rodrigo Duterte’s term “if the President is amenable to it.”“I am strongly against a no-election scenario because elections [are] the bedrock of our democracy. It is the only time that the people get to choose their leaders. Elected officials are not the boss here,” Robredo said in Filipino.Under the 1987 Constitution, local-post and Senate races are held every three years, while those for President and Vice President are held every six years.“We are the voice of the people. If we don’t let the people elect their leaders, then how is that a democracy?” according to Robredo, a Camarines Sur lawmaker prior to her election as Vice President.The Vice President said while incumbent elected officials would tend to favor the no-election scenario and subsequently, term extension, because of the huge cost of running a campaign, that, she added, is not an excuse to compromise the will of the electorate.“The issue is simple. As for me, when I ran for office in May 2016, it is for a contract that I will serve as Vice President for six years. It is not to serve six years and possibly more. Having said that, incumbent officials should not benefit from proposals of term extension,” Robredo, a lawyer, argued.“Otherwise, the intention of the incumbent officials will also be in question. The term extension will look like a self-serving move,” she said.The Duterte administration is envisioning a federal form of government wherein the country will be divided into 11 independent states under a federal government with each state having the authority to craft its laws, as well as manage its resources.Under a federal system, such states would still have to split their income with 25 percent going to the national government and 75 percent for the perusal of the concerned region since the national government will retain its full jurisdiction on foreign affairs, national defense, policing and the monetary policy.The President’s allies in Congress are pushing for a Constituent Assembly to amend the Constitution, meaning the House of Representatives and the Senate will convene as one chamber to propose amendments to the 1987 Constitution, which amendments are subject to ratification by the electorate thru a plebiscite.Palace communications chief Martin Andanar earlier assured that the shift to a federal form of government would not mean perpetuating President Duterte in power, considering that the President himself has repeatedly said he will step down from office once the federal government is in place.“The President has already said that he will not cling to power. What more assurance do we want?” Andanar said in a radio interview on Saturday.Election lawyer Romulo Macalintal had warned that extending Duterte’s term should also apply to that of Robredo.The terms of President Duterte and Vice President Robredo end on June 30, 2022, based on the 1987 Constitution.LLANESCA T. PANTI
|
Manila Times
|
https://www.manilatimes.net/robredo-thumbs-no-el-term-extension/372863/
|
Petron cuts LPG price by P7.50/kg
|
['Anna Leah E. Gonzales']
|
2018-11-01 00:02:37+00:00
|
Petron Corp. will slash the price of its liquefied petroleum gas by P7.50 per kilogram effective 12:01 a.m. on Thursday, November 1.“This is equivalent to a P82.50 decrease for a standard 11-kg Gasul tank,” Petron said.The company will also decrease AutoLPG prices by P4.20 per liter.“These reflect movements in the international contract price of LPG for the month of November,” it said.
|
Manila Times
|
https://www.manilatimes.net/petron-cuts-lpg-price-by-p7-50-kg/460321/
|
Record for overseas voting registration
|
['Jaime Pilapil']
|
2017-03-18 21:35:34+00:00
|
The Department of Foreign Affairs – Overseas Voting Secretariat (DFA-OVS), announced on Wednesday afternoon that the 2016-2018 overseas voter (OV) registration that commenced on December 1 last year and will end on September 30 next year, has set a new record for first quarter performance, garnering a total of 67,497 new OV registrants for the 2019 elections.It surpassed the number in the first three months of 2014-2015 OV registration that had a total of 64,074 new OV registrants and the previous record of 64,917 that was set in 2009.The overseas voter registration in preparation for the 2016 elections netted a cumulative total of 1.376 million active registered overseas voters. The 826,881 new registrants for the 2016 elections were more than a 100-percent increase over the 398,554 new registrants for the 2013 elections.Of the almost 1.4 million registered overseas voters, 590,440 were in the Middle East and Africa, 334,215 in the Asia Pacific, 263,316 in the Americas, 138,757 in Europe, and 49,339 were sea-based.The attainable target for this registration period is 1.1 million OV registrants, which would net a cumulative total of 2.13 million active registered voters for the coming national elections.“This new milestone can be mostly attributed to the hard-work and dedication of the men and women of our Foreign Service who are aggressively campaigning to encourage more overseas Filipinos to participate in this ongoing electoral exercise. Our media partners and other OV stakeholders are also playing a vital role in disseminating overseas voting awareness among our kababayans [countrymen] abroad,” said Undersecretary Ariel Abadilla, who is concurrently chairman of DFA-OVS.“There are still plenty of overseas Filipinos that have yet to register and vote so it’s the duty of DFA-OVS along with the Foreign Service Posts to encourage them to register and vote because this coming midterm elections is important specially if constitutional amendment bill will be approved by the Philippine Congress,” Abadilla added.All Filipino citizens who expect to be abroad from April 13 to May 13, 2019 during the overseas voting period for the 2019 elections, at least 18 years old on May 13, 2019, and not otherwise disqualified by law, may register as an overseas voter, at all Philippine Foreign Service Posts including the three Manila Economic and Cultural Offices in Taiwan and Philippine Overseas Labor Office in Al-Khobar.
|
Manila Times
|
https://www.manilatimes.net/record-overseas-voting-registration/317904/
|
Senate OKs P1.16B Dengvaxia fund
|
['Jefferson Antiporda']
|
2018-09-06 00:10:15+00:00
|
THE Senate on Wednesday approved a measure that seeks to provide assistance to thousands of individuals, mostly children, inoculated with the anti-dengue vaccine Dengvaxia.Voting 18-0, the Senate unanimously passed on third and final reading House Bill 7449, which allots P1.1 billion for Dengvaxia patients.The P1.1 billion was the money refunded by French pharmaceutical company Sanofi Pasteur to the Department of Health for the unused vaccines it purchased.The bill, which was sponsored by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Loren Legarda, will establish a medical assistance program for those inoculated with Dengvaxia.Of the amount, P945 million will be allocated for health assistance program; P148 million for public health management and P67 million for the deployment of human resources.Health assistance will include hospitalization and out-patient care services, the purchase of medical kits and the cost of laboratory tests.The fund will also be used in hiring 1,250 nurses to be deployed in Central Luzon, Southern Tagalog, Central Visayas and Metro Manila regions.The House of Representatives approved its version of the measure in May.The measure will be deliberated on by the bicameral conference committee and ratified by both houses of Congress before it is transmitted to President Rodrigo Duterte for his signature.The P3.5 billion anti-dengue immunization program was launched during the administration of former president Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino 3rd.The Aquino government purchased Dengvaxia, the world’s first dengue vaccine, from French pharmaceutical company Sanofi Pasteur. In November 2017, Sanofi admitted that Dengvaxia could hike the risk of dengue for those who have not been previously infected by the disease.The Senate Blue Ribbon Committee recommended the filing of graft cases against Aquino, former budget secretary Florencio Abad and former health secretary Janette Garin.
|
Manila Times
|
https://www.manilatimes.net/senate-oks-p1-16b-dengvaxia-fund/438547/
|
PACC to step up drive vs corruption
|
['Jefferson Antiporda']
|
2018-07-25 00:07:03+00:00
|
President Rodrigo Duterte’s State of the Nation Address (SONA) inspired officials of the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission to step up the campaign against corruption, PACC Chairman Dante Jimenez said on Tuesday.“So it (anti-corruption drive) will be continuous. In fact, we have a number of cases that are currently undergoing complete staff work and will soon be filed before the Office of the Ombudsman.” Jimenez said in an interview.Duterte in his third SONA stressed the need to stop corruption, which he likened to a “leech” that sucks government resources.He also warned corrupt officials not to be complacent because justice would catch up with those who steal government funds.Jimenez said the President’s address gave them more reason to go after corrupt government officials.“We were inspired by the President’s message and we are urging corrupt officials in government to shape up because there will be no sacred cows,” the PACC commissioner added.Among the cases being handled by the commission are the graft and corruption complaints filed against Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello 3rd.Jimenez said the PACC is currently handling 374 complaints of corruption involving officials in the executive branch.
|
Manila Times
|
https://www.manilatimes.net/pacc-to-step-up-drive-vs-corruption/423003/
|
Manila waives parking fees for senior citizens
|
['William Depasupil']
|
2018-03-01 00:01:58+00:00
|
SENIOR citizens will no longer have to pay parking fees in the city of Manila, Mayor Joseph Estrada said on Wednesday.“The council and I have agreed that the elderly, who are 60 years old and above, be exempted from parking charges and (the) color coding scheme,” Estrada in a statement.The directive, he added, is covered by a city ordinance.“We must reward our elderly and this ordinance shall further give them enjoyment in their twilight years,” he added.Manila’s senior citizens are entitled to free medical services and laboratory tests in city-run hospitals and health care facilities. They are also given free maintenance medicines for hypertension, diabetes, arthritis, high cholesterol, cough and colds.Dr. Benjamin Yson, chief of the Manila Health Department, said this year, the city appropriated P70 million for free maintenance medicines such as Losartan, Amlodipine and Metoprolol, Simvastatin and Gliclazide for high cholesterol; Metformin for diabetes.A sick and indigent elderly could get P3,000 worth of medicines for one month, as well as free regular physical examination, cardiac stress test, endoscopy and other laboratory tests.Efren Manangan, Office for Senior Citizens Affairs (OSCA) head, said that as of December 2017, there are about 145,830 registered senior citizens in the city and 20 percent of them or 29,166 need medication for their sicknesses.Other benefits given to senior citizens are a birthday cash gift of P500; an annual P6,000 social pension and free movies.A P100,000 cash gift is awarded to citizens who reached the age of 100 years and above.
|
Manila Times
|
https://www.manilatimes.net/manila-waives-parking-fees-senior-citizens/383307/
|
House okays measure promoting children’s safety
|
['Ralph Villanueva']
|
2017-12-26 20:22:04+00:00
|
A BILL regulating the importation, manufacture, distribution and sale of children’s products containing hazardous chemicals has been approved by the House of Representatives on third and final reading.House Bill 6702, or the Safe and Non-Hazardous Children’s Products Act, was unanimously approved by 189 lawmakers.The bill states that it is the policy of the State to ensure the right to health of the children, as enshrined in Presidential Decree 603 or The Child and Youth Welfare Code, Convention on the Rights of the Child and other conventions on hazardous substances to which the Philippines is a signatory.It seeks to identify the hazardous chemicals commonly used in the production of children’s products, as well as the biennial updating of the list.The list will be prepared by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), along with the Environmental ManagementBureau of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).Products which contain more than the allowable levels of the chemicals or with chemicals banned or withdrawn it their country of manufacture will be banned.The Bureau of Product Standards-Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in collaboration with other government agencies, will lay down the standards, rules and processes to be followed by the importers, manufacturers, distributors and sellers of the children’s products.Under the bill, an import system will be established to promote compliance with the act, by placing the burden of proof of product safety upon the importers, manufacturers and distributors.A Children’s Product Safety Council (CPSC) will also be created, which will serve as the primary link and coordinator for its member institutions such as the Business Processing and Licensing Office of Local Government Units, the private sector and other stakeholders, in order to engage in studies and researches on hazardous chemicals and provide the necessary information materials on the same and conduct and facilitate consultations and dialogues within and among all concerned stakeholders in the industry.The CPSC will be comprised of the Secretaries of the DENR, DTI, Department of Health, Department of the Interior and Local Government, Department of Education and Department of Finance.The director general of the FDA, a member of the National Consumer Affairs Council, the executive directors of the Council for the Welfare of Children and the Early Childhood Care and Development Council and a representative from a non-government organization engaged in consumer safety and environment protection and health groups complete the cast of the CPSC.Those caught committing prohibited acts is liable for imprisonment for one year to 10 years as well as a fine of P50,000 to P500,000 in accordance with Section 11 of the Food and Drug Administration Act of 2009.If the offender is a manufacturer, importer or distributor of any product covered under the bill, the penalty of at five to 10 years’ imprisonment, and a fine of P500,000 to P5 million shall be imposed.An additional fine of one percent of the economic value/cost of the violative product or violation, or P1,000, whichever is higher, shall be imposed for each day of continuing violation after reasonable notice of such violation.
|
Manila Times
|
https://www.manilatimes.net/house-okays-measure-promoting-childrens-safety/370721/
|
DoH, contractor collusion seen
|
['Jefferson Antiporda']
|
2018-07-06 00:10:46+00:00
|
SEN. Joseph Victor “JV” Ejercito on Thursday suspects that some officials of the Department of Health (DoH) may have been in cahoots with executives of JBROS Construction Corp., the private contractor of the unfinished P8.1-billion barangay (village) health station (BSH) project.Ejercito, chairman of the Senate Committee on Health and Demography, cited as proof of his suspicion the discrepancies in the data presented by the DoH and JBROS during the investigation conducted by his panel on Thursday.JBROS in March billed the DoH P2.9 billion for the 429 barangay health stations but the task force created by the Health department to validate the claim found that only 218 units were completed.“Those who prepared the validation and recommendations for payment of progress billing, I suspect they are the ones in cahoots with JBROS,” Ejercito said.It was learned during the Senate hearing that DoH officials Maximo Adan Jr., Maria Rebecca Peñafiel, and Criselda Abesamis were behind the preparation and checking of the validation report. They also recommended the approval of the billing.Supposedly, the validation report made by the three officials would be the basis for the release of payment to JBROS.Officials discovered that many units the contractor declared completed were either not functional, unfinished or could not be found.JBROS representatives told senators during the hearing that the documents and pictures of the units they submitted to DoH were not used by the department when they conducted the validation of BHS progress.JBROS representative Julienne Jorge claimed that the DoH conducted the validation of projects independently, thus there were differences in the reports submitted by the agency and the construction firm.Jorge also insisted that the DoH should pay the company because it completed more than 20 percent of the project in May 2017.She noted that under the contract, the first payment may be made when the contractor finishes at least 20 percent of the project.But Health Secretary Francisco Duque 3rd said the contractor should first finish the construction of 20 percent of the number of targeted BHS or 640 of the total 3,200 units before the first payment could be made.Ejercito said proponents of the school-based BHS project prioritized the release of funds instead of ensuring the proper planning and implementation of the project.“It was very clear that proponents prioritized the release of the funds instead of its implementation… more than1,000 sites out of the 5,000 sites are unworkable or not fit for construction,” the senator said.He added that site investigations were only done after contract execution and Notice to Proceed were issued.The funds used in the project was sourced from the Miscellaneous and Personnel Benefits Fund of the government because there was no allotment for it in the 2015 General Appropriations Act.This means that former heath secretary Janette Garin was able to fund the multibillion-peso project without even getting the approval of congress.
|
Manila Times
|
https://www.manilatimes.net/doh-contractor-collusion-seen/416337/
|
Court asked to transfer cases of Parojinog siblings to QC
|
['Jomar Canlas']
|
2017-08-28 21:24:15+00:00
|
The Department of Justice (DoJ) has asked the Supreme Court (SC) for the transfer of cases involving Ozamiz City Vice Mayor Nova Princess Parojinog and her brother Reynaldo Jr. from Ozamiz to Metro Manila.This was the plea made in a letter by Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre 2nd to Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno on August 17, citing the political influence that the Parojinogs still maintain in the province.“I would like to stress that notwithstanding the death of Mayor [Reynaldo] Parojinog, their clout should not be underestimated. The fact that they have been in power in Ozamiz City for so long is a clear indication that they have the capacity to influence, if not threaten the prosecution witnesses, the judges and the prosecutors and subvert the criminal proceedings in Ozamiz City in their favor,” Aguirre pointed out.He said even judges and prosecutors in the province are hesitant to try the cases for fear for their lives.“In addition, not only are the judges in Ozamiz City hesitant to try their cases in their sala, the Office of the City Prosecutor of Ozamiz City has likewise expressed concern and fear of threats in the event that they will be tasked to prosecute the cases in the Ozamiz City courts,” Aguirre added.He pleaded that the cases must be transferred to Metro Manila, particularly the Quezon City Regional Trial Court (RTC). This, Aguirre said, would eliminate the need for additional security personnel for witnesses and prison guards.The transfer, according to Aguirre, “will deter the accused’s agents from possibly threatening, inflicting harm or influencing the prosecution witnesses.”Nova is facing cases for illegal possession of firearms and ammunition and possession of dangerous drugs before the sala of Judge Edmundo Pintac of the Ozamiz RTC Branch 15.Reynaldo Jr.’s cases for possession of dangerous drugs, illegal possession of firearms and ammunition and illegal possession of explosives, on the other hand, are pending before Judge Salome Dungog of the Ozamiz RTC Branch 35.Dungog has inhibited from the case, pointing to her compulsory retirement this month.
|
Manila Times
|
https://www.manilatimes.net/court-asked-transfer-cases-parojinog-siblings-qc/347284/
|
Ultra lotto jackpot soars to P765M
|
['The Manila Times']
|
2018-09-27 00:03:50+00:00
|
The jackpot for Ultra Lotto 6/58 has soared to P765 million, the highest prize in lotto history, Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) General Manager Alexander Balutan said on Wednesday.“It was in February 2018 when Ultra Lotto jackpot prize worth P331,971,464 million was won by two lucky persons. It’s been seven months of waiting. So you can feel the excitement of the people,” he said.The P765-million jackpot prize will be up for grabs on Friday.The big prize surpassed the P741.1 million Grand Lotto 6/55 pot in November 2010 won by a “balikbayan” in Olongapo City, Zambales.Balutan encouraged the gaming public to buy tickets for Super Lotto 6/49 whose prize has reached P60 million and Lotto 6/42 which now has a P35 million jackpot. The prize for Grand Lotto 6/55 has reached P53 million and Mega Lotto 6/45, P26 million.“Remember to keep your tickets and keep these in a safe place. You might not win the entire six digits, but you have a prize if you get the five to three winning combinations correctly,” he said.Balutan said he has been swamped with messages from the public asking him for “lucky” numbers.“We don’t give out ‘winning’ numbers. There’s no such thing. Our games are automated, which means the machine picks the winning combination. We must remember, lottery is a game of chance or ‘luck’. You cannot win the lottery if you don’t buy a ticket, and buy more tickets if you must,” he added.“Everyone has a fair chance of winning. The agency has strict implementation when it comes to draw procedures, making sure the money that you bought for tickets are really there. But even if you don’t win, at least you know that part of your money goes to charity and sick patients,” Balutan said.Those who hit the winning combination should sign the winning ticket.“Whoever holds the ticket is the winner. Take a photo and video of yourself with the winning ticket. But keep it to yourself first, you don’t want strangers or people knocking at your door unannounced asking for ‘balato’ or do you harm. Be mindful of your security and your family as well,” the PCSO chief said.“Don’t lose yourself. Winning a huge amount of jackpot prize will definitely change your lives, especially your lifestyle and outlook. Many lottery winners are one-day millionaires. After winning the jackpot prizes, their lives are turned upside down. Money is best when you use it to improve your life, your family, and your community,” he added.
|
Manila Times
|
https://www.manilatimes.net/ultra-lotto-jackpot-soars-to-p765m/445678/
|
Homeowners prepare vs Kadamay
|
['Athena Lucasan']
|
2018-06-15 23:25:04+00:00
|
Rodriguez, Rizal: Residents of a government housing site in Rizal, which an urban poor group tried to occupy on Wednesday, vowed to fight back if the group returns and adopted measures to secure the area.In a meeting between the homeowners’ association and officials, led by Senior Supt. Lou Frias Evangelista, Rizal provincial director; the National Housing Authority (NHA), and site developers, each family agreed to contribute P1,000 for a fence around the site and conduct regular patrols at night, and requested troops to stay “indefinitely” in case members of the Kalipunan ng Damayang Mahihirap (Kadamay) come back.The residents also noted the lack of electricity in the neighborhood although it was not clarified how the problem could be addressed.The Rizal Mobile Force Company said it would continue to watch over the neighborhood as long as the Kadamay threat remained.An unidentified resident said that Kadamay members should not force the NHA to give them houses, but should learn to comply with the system.“They are allowed to occupy the houses. There is no discrimination from the community wherever they may come from. The housing was developed for the police, soldiers, and the homeless; they would just have to go through the necessary screening and submit the documents for processing,” the resident said.He said the houses in Barangay San Isidro have been awarded to police and soldiers and that Joint Resolution 2, which Kadamay was using as basis to occupy government-built homes, was only applicable if there were vacancies.Signed by President Rodrigo Duterte on May 9, Joint Resolution 2 allowed the NHA to award unoccupied housing units by personnel of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), Philippine National Police (PNP), Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP), Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP), and Bureau of Corrections (BuCor).Also covered were units whose ownership and possession were surrendered by awardees and respective awards were cancelled.The resolution cited the 2016 Commission on Audit (COA) report, which noted the low occupancy rate of completed housing units.Corporal Reytz Gordon Esparagoza, a resident, claimed that Kadamay members had no documents, making their occupation of the housing units illegal.He also said that these were not members of the urban poor group but were former residences of the South Bill BF Subdivision across the river who sold their houses.Apprised of the situation last Wednesday, Duterte gave Kadamay members until noontime on Friday to leave and warned them that he would not be responsible for the consequences if they refused.Interviewed by The Manila Times, troops and residents in the area said the militants had left even before Duterte’s warning.Gloria Arellano, chairman of the Kadamay group, said in a media interview on Wednesday that some members had applied for housing units through the Rodriguezlocal government unit and the NHA.“We are holding a rally to force them to act on our requests,” Arellano said.The Kadamay members who had barricaded the San Isidro housing site were those who applied for relocation based on a supposed Palace resolution to be signed by the President to provide affordable housing units to the poor, she said.
|
Manila Times
|
https://www.manilatimes.net/homeowners-prepare-vs-kadamay/408564/
|
Bistoyong appointed DAR officer-in-charge
|
['Neil Alcober']
|
2017-09-09 21:29:47+00:00
|
Department of Agrarian Reform Undersecretary Rosalina Bistoyong has been designated the officer-in-charge (OIC) of DAR, following the rejection of farmers’ advocate Rafael Mariano’s appointment by the Commission on Appointments (CA).Bistoyong, a career executive service professional, has been in government service for the past 28 years. She has been with DAR as undersecretary from 2010.Upon the instruction of President Rodrigo Duterte, Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea designated Bistoyong to “ensure the effective delivery of public service,” as stated in the Malacanang memorandum.Bistoyong has hands-on experience in supporting the agrarian reform beneficiaries and indigenous peoples in elevating their way of life.As undersecretary for DAR’s support services office, she has led and orchestrated numerous support services projects for agrarian reform beneficiaries. She provides policy directions for agencies involved in the delivery of support services for the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP).She is also credited fro implementing support services for former landowners under the CARP.“We also should help those landowners who gave up their land for our agrarian reform beneficiaries” Bistoyong said.One of her advocacies is addressing the pressing problems brought by climate change in rural communities. So she took steps in strengthening, diversifying and enhancing agrarian reform projects in climate stricken areas.“We in the department continue to climate-proof our agrarian reform communities to help mitigate the bad effects of climate change. Also to help our farmers adapt to it by identifying the problems they face and creating options so that steps can be taken to solve them,” Bistoyong explained.Among her outstanding achievements are: provision of credit to agrarian reform beneficiaries and smallholder farmers though the agrarian production credit program, which facilitated the increase in membership of more than 20,000 agrarian reform beneficiaries to DAR cooperatives; assisted more than 50,000 agrarian reform beneficiaries in accessing micro-finance services for their agri-business; and provided capacity trainings in agrarian reform communities and non- agrarian reform communities.
|
Manila Times
|
https://www.manilatimes.net/bistoyong-appointed-dar-officer-charge/349701/
|
COA to pre-audit tourism projects
|
['Reicelene Joy Ignacio']
|
2018-06-20 00:09:25+00:00
|
The Commission on Audit will pre-audit projects of the Department of Tourism that did not undergo proper bidding, Secretary Bernadette Romulo Puyat said on Tuesday.“COA only does post-audit but when I approached Chairman Michael Aguinaldo, he agreed that all the contracts without bidding of the DoT will go through their pre-audit. They will be sending a team to the office to review all contracts without bidding. They will be strengthening our internal control system to make sure that money is not wasted,” Puyat said in her speech during the meeting of the Makati Business Club.In a press interview, Puyat said all projects that are being reviewed are suspended. She refused to identify the projects, but one of these was the P80-million “Buhay Carinderia” that was awarded by former Tourism Promotions Board Chief Operating Officer Cesar Montano to advertising company Marylindbert International without bidding.“Will there be other projects that will push through? Yes, there are. Those that were properly bidded, they will push through,” Puyat said.However, she admitted that the country will not be holding the Madrid Fusion Manila this year. Madrid Fusion Manila is an annual international gastronomy event showcasing different foods around the world. Puyat said the event will be held in 2019.“It was supposed to be in April this year. Then, it was moved to July, then it was moved again to September. But when I was looking at the timeline, we need to bid, no venue yet for the organizer. So we’ve decided not to pursue it this year because by the time we end the bidding, it might have been August already. No more time. I already talked to Madrid Fusion to make it next year April. Let us not rush it. Go through the proper process,” Puyat said.
|
Manila Times
|
https://www.manilatimes.net/coa-to-pre-audit-tourism-projects/410315/
|
BoC sets P42-B record collection
|
['William Depasupil']
|
2017-11-05 18:59:26+00:00
|
The Bureau of Customs (BoC) has set another milestone after achieving more than P42 billion in revenue collection last month, according to the Bureau of Customs-Financial Service (BoC-FS).It was the second month in a row that the BoC exceeded its collection target since Customs Commissioner Isidro Lapeña took office in September.Customs records showed that it is “the highest monthly collection in the agency’s history,” although the BoC is still P124 billion away from meeting its 2017 assigned collection target of P468 billion.Based on initial report, the agency improved its cash collection for October to P42.006 billion, beating the earlier P40.182 billion posted in September.The amount is equivalent to 98 percent of the target cash of P42.54 billion based on Budget of Expenditures and Sources of Financing (BESF).Prior to Lapeña’s assumption as Customs chief, the average monthly collection was only at P35 billion.“Although the month of October was marked with [a fewer] number of working days and volume of imports, growth was still achieved because of increase in the value of imports brought by the higher exchange rate, oil price and improved valuation and classification,” he said.“Slowly, the reforms we have started are gaining ground,” Lapeña added.The BoC is on a seven-year collection slump, which started in 2010 or during the incumbency of the Aquino administration that resulted in four changes in the BoC leadership.Lapeña expressed confidence that this time around, the bureau would be able to meet its target for the year despite the odds.“Our latest revenue performance only shows that if we work together, nothing is impossible,” he pointed out.Upon his assumption on August 30, one of Lapeña’s five priorities is to discontinue the benchmarking of duties and taxes and to strictly adhere to the World Trade Organization (WTO) Valuation Code and classification of goods.The WTO valuation provides a system primarily anchored on the transaction value of the imported goods, which is the actual price paid or payable for the goods when sold for export to the country of importation with certain adjustments as incorporated in Section 700-706 of the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act.Lapeña said the bureau is coming up with a uniform application of the rules in valuation to provide a fair playing field among stakeholders, which is seen to boost confidence of the business sector, leading to more investment and more employment opportunities.The Customs chief has issued a marching order to everyone in the bureau and among the stakeholders to do away with tara or grease money.This order aims to shorten business processes and lower business costs.“I believe that if there is difficulty and [there are] slow processes, people look for faster service, that’s why there is tara, and there will always be corruption. I am ensuring faster service and reduced requirements in doing business with the bureau,” Lapeña said.
|
Manila Times
|
https://www.manilatimes.net/boc-sets-p42-b-record-collection/360864/
|
Makati gives free meds to 294,00 patients
|
['The Manila Times']
|
2017-09-15 23:34:48+00:00
|
The free medicines program of the Makati city government dubbed as Libreng Gamot Para sa Mamamay” has served 294,412 patients in the past eight months, according to a report of the Makati Health Department (MHD) to Mayor Abby Binay. MHD chief Dr. Bernard Sese said the program’s authorized distributor, Planet Drugstore, dispensed the free medicines, vitamins and other pharmaceutical products through its eight outlets which cater to their respective clusters. Sese also reported that the city government spent around P358.7 million for the program, which has benefited active members of the Makati Health Program (Yellow Card) and their qualified dependents. These include Ospital ng Makati patients, city government employees, selected Makati-based national government personnel, and residents from the 33 barangays of the city. The program covers medicines for hypertension, diabetes mellitus, cardio-vascular diseases, dyslipidemia, enlarged prostate, gout, cough and colds, sexually transmitted infections, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, seizure disorder, allergy, ulcer, vertigo, gastro-intestinal problems, and more. It also provides free multivitamins for children, adults and pregnant patients, as well as oral and injectable contraceptives. Under the program, senior citizens aged 70 and above are entitled to receive the full dose of their monthly prescription of maintenance medicines. For August alone, the Makati Action Center has made door-to-door deliveries of medicines worth around P7.8 million to over 4,300 recipients. These include seniors in the said age group and bed-ridden beneficiaries identified by the MHD for the special service.
|
Manila Times
|
https://www.manilatimes.net/makati-gives-free-meds-29400-patients/350878/
|
Top PNP officials named
|
['Roy Narra']
|
2018-09-02 00:04:23+00:00
|
Deputy Director General Fernando Mendez Jr. was appointed as deputy chief for administration, making him the second highest official of the Philippine National Police (PNP).Mendez replaced Deputy Director General Ramon Apolinario who retired on August 31.Deputy Director General Archie Francisco Gamboa will replace Mendez as the deputy chief for operations.Director Camilo Pancratios Cascolan was named acting chief of the Directorial Staff while Chief Supt. Reynaldo Biay was appointed as the acting director of the Civil Security Group.Chief Supt. Mariel Magaway was named deputy director of intelligence.In a statement, the Philippine National Police said seniority, competence and service reputation were considered in the appointments of the officials.
|
Manila Times
|
https://www.manilatimes.net/top-pnp-officials-named/437193/
|
'Phone giant owes workers P77M'
|
['Angelica Ballesteros']
|
2017-07-24 21:35:35+00:00
|
‘Phone giant owes workers P77M’home/News/Nation/‘Phone giant owes workers P77M’LISTED telecommunications giant PLDT Inc. on Monday said it filed an appeal with the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) on July 17 after it was ordered by the government agency to pay more than P77 million for allegedly violating labor standards.PLDT said it received a compliance order from DoLE’s National Capital Region Office on July 3 saying the company and 48 of its third-party service contractors did not fully pay their workers and therefore owe contractual employees approximately P77.5 million for various statutory monetary benefits.The DoLE further alleged that PLDT violated Labor Order 18-A on contractualization “and therefore PLDT must issue regular employment positions to approximately 8,720 contractor workers.”“PLDT is contesting these conclusions and has filed an appeal with the Secretary of Labor,” the company said.Last Thursday, Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello 3rd said he directed the company and the contractors to regularize the nealy 9,000 employees as well as to pay P77.5 million for overtime, holiday and 13th month pay as well as other incentives to more than 2,000 employees.“PLDT and its contractors have been violating labor standards and they failed to refute the findings on the labor-only contracting activities. These employees must be regularized and entitled to security of tenure,” Bello pointed out.The company’s appeal questions DoLE’s “absence of evidence” and the use of template findings, the disregard of PLDT’s and its contractors’ evidence, the erroneous computation of the P77.5-million monetary award and violation of PLDT’s and its contractors’ right to due process.PLDT is the telecommunications arm of tycoon Manuel V. Pangilinan.
|
Manila Times
|
https://www.manilatimes.net/phone-giant-owes-workers-p77m/340377/
|
New Senate building not overpriced – Gatchalian
|
['Bernadette E. Tamayo']
|
2018-06-06 00:03:50+00:00
|
SEN. Sherwin Gatchalian on Tuesday gave assurances that the construction of the new Senate building in Taguig City will not be overpriced.The new Senate building will rise on the 18,320-square meter land owned by the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) located at the Navy Village in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig.Gatchalian was reacting to the column of Rigoberto Tiglao that appeared at The Manila Times on Monday wherein he questioned the propriety of allotting P10 billion to build an “opulent” Senate building.“Filipino taxpayers will be spending P10 billion to house the meeting place and offices of 24 wannabe presidents—in a location that is of course close to BGC’s posh hotels, restaurants, bars, luxury-goods shops, and luxury-car dealers,” Tiglao said.“Actually, the Senate is very conscious about allotting funds for the construction of the building. The highest building at Fort Bonifacio costs about P80,000 per square meter (sq.m.),” Gatchalian said.He added that a regular government building costs about P45,000 per sq.m. “So, the P50,000 per sq.m. budget (for the new Senate building) is within the range of reasonableness.”“The important thing here is to ensure that the materials to be used in constructing it are not overpriced and of good quality,” the senator said in an interview.Sen. Panfilo Lacson on Monday defended the senators’ decision to transfer to BGC from their current rented building owned by the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) in Pasay City.Lacson, chairman of the Senate Committee on Accounts, handled the public hearings on the proposal to construct a new home for the Senate.Tiglao said the winning bidder, Los Angeles-based AECOM, is one of the world’s top, but “expensive,” engineering and construction companies.“With all due respect to Mr. Bobi Tiglao, he got his info wrong. One major consideration why AECOM won over Henning Larsen, their nearest competitor, and the three other finalists is their project cost which is the lowest at P4.58 billion, if I remember correctly,” Lacson said.“Anyway, the P127-million-per-year rental that the Senate is paying GSIS for a subpar legislative building is our main reason for finding a need to look for a new and permanent home,” he added.The senators on Nov. 21, 2017 adopted Resolution 293 allotting an initial P1.5 billion budget to construct an “iconic” Senate building in Taguig City.The Senate has been renting the use of its building from the GSIS and the use of parking lot from the Social Security System (SSS) in Pasay City since 1996.“Upon checking the figures, we found out that from May 1, 1996 to December 31, 2017, the total amount of office rental fees paid to GSIS and SSS have reached P2.24 billion,” Lacson said.
|
Manila Times
|
https://www.manilatimes.net/new-senate-building-not-overpriced-gatchalian/404850/
|
ConCom member up in arms vs Mocha
|
['Aric John Sy Cua']
|
2018-08-01 00:04:46+00:00
|
A member of the Constitutional Commission (ConCom) threatened to stop writing his draft primer because of the news that Mocha Uson was among those tapped to promote the shift to a federal system of government.“I will stop writing my Primer on the ConCom draft because I have been told that Mocha Uson will explain it to the nation for us,” San Beda Law dean Fr. Ranhilio Aquino said in his Facebook account on Tuesday.Uson, Presidential Communications Operations Office assistant secretary, was tapped by the commission to promote the proposed shift to a federal form of government.Ding Generoso, ConCom spokesman, defended the move, saying it was for awareness and dissemination.“She can write about it in her column in the [Philippine] Star and blog which have a wide reach. That would help increase awareness,” Generoso said in a text message to reporters on Monday.But Aquino said he knew how “bad things are” when the controversial Cabinet official was tapped to discuss the new Constitution.“You use actors, actresses and Mocha when you want something raved about,” he said. “But when you want people to understand and to discern, you get serious and you ask the clowns to return for the intermission.”A June survey conducted by Pulse Asia showed that 62 percent of Filipinos are not in favor of charter change, and 69 percent know little or nothing about the proposed shift to federalism.WITH A REPORT FROM RALPH EDWIN U. VILLANUEVA
|
Manila Times
|
https://www.manilatimes.net/concom-member-up-in-arms-vs-mocha/425520/
|
200 Muslims victims of fake pilgrimage
|
['Jaime Pilapil']
|
2017-08-28 21:25:30+00:00
|
Some 200 Muslims on Monday trooped to the Manila Police District (MPD) headquarters on United Nations Avenue to file complaints against three persons who allegedly took their money but failed to provide them travel documents for Mecca in Saudi Arabia.The suspects — Salamah Dibarusan, Alma Carreon and Usman Adel Tah — were charged before the Manila Prosecutor’s Office with violating the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act and estafa. They were arrested on Monday.Mohammad Imam Manda, 54, said he was contacted by the three suspects and was asked to recruit individuals to join the hajj pilgrimage.“Some of us paid P5,000 cash. Others already paid P75,000. But usually, the [cost of the] pilgrimage is pegged at P50,000,” Manda told The Manila Times. Most of the victims were from Mindanao.He said the suspects may have duped them of some P10 million.Police Officer 3 Alonso Layugan of the MPD-General Assignment Section said four of the victims are from Quiapo, Manila.The victims said they were told by the suspects to be in Quiapo on August 24, the day they were supposed to leave for Mecca.“But we were surprised to discover that we have no documents or plane tickets,” they added.
|
Manila Times
|
https://www.manilatimes.net/200-muslims-victims-fake-pilgrimage/347286/
|
Private schools reject 100-day maternity leave
|
['Neil Alcober']
|
2017-01-02 22:20:00+00:00
|
~A private schools’ organization on Monday rejected a proposed 100-day maternity leave for female employees in the public and private sectors, including teachers, calling it a big blow to education. “The Federation of Associations of Private Schools and Administrators (Fapsa) rejects House Bill 4113 of Rep. Emmelin Aglipay-Villar of Diwa party-list that intends to increase the maternity leave to 100 days with pay, that it is bound to be approved following the nod of President Rodrigo Duterte,” Fapsa president Eleazardo Kasilag said. Kasilag noted that the 100-day maternity leave accounts for five months, which is 50 percent loss of class days in the school calendar. “If this happens, the private school may not hire newly married teachers and may not look kindly at those in the faculty who co-teachers tease taon- taon buntis (pregnant every year),” he said. According to him, the Department of Education allows 180 days as one full school year. “There are eight ladies out of 10 teachers in every school in the country. How would it be if there will be three pregnant teachers in one school? What would happen to the students who would be left without teachers, the 50 percent learning loss in our education? What else could be learned by her advisory students and the other classes assigned under her subject?” he asked.
|
Manila Times
|
https://www.manilatimes.net/private-schools-reject-100-day-maternity-leave/304821/
|
LTFRB suspends jeepney operator over killer crash
|
['Reicelene Joy Ignacio']
|
2017-12-28 19:59:50+00:00
|
The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) has issued a 30-day preventive suspension order (PSO) to an operator one of whose jeepneys was involved in a recent road crash in La Union, leading to the death of 20 people.The order was issued to Ronald Ducusin and covered his jeepneys with license plates AVV 505 and AEU 701 plying the San Fernando-Aringay and San Fernando-Agoo routes, respectively.The franchising board also directed Ducusin to comply with the following within the 30-day suspension: inspection of all his jeepneys so that the Motor Vehicle Inspection Service of the Land Transportation Office could determine the vehicles’ road worthiness; attendance in a road safety seminar to be conducted by the LTFRB and/or its authorized seminar provider; drug testing; and submission of certificates of registration and latest LTO official receipts of the units with drivers’ names, video clippings of road worthiness inspection and clearances from the National Bureau of Investigation, Philippine National Police and barangay (village) authorities of all Ducusin’s authorized drivers and system of hiring and supervision of authorized drivers.The operator was ordered to show cause in writing why his certificate of public convenience should not be canceled, suspended or revoked.The LTFRB also issued a PSO to seven buses of Partas plying the Pagudpod-Manila route.On Christmas Day, 20 persons died after a Partas bus crashed into an Isuzu jeepney operated by Ducusin in Agoo, La Union.The LTFRB has requested Agoo Mayor Stefanie Eriguel to give it a copy of the CCTV footage of the incident, to be coursed through the Department of the Interior and Local Government.“It has come to the attention of the board that you have CCTV footage of the place where the road crash between a Partas bus and an Isuzu [jeepney] happened,” it said in a letter sent to Eriguel.
|
Manila Times
|
https://www.manilatimes.net/ltfrb-suspends-jeepney-operator-killer-crash/371014/
|
Be vigilant, princess calls on tausug
|
['The Manila Times']
|
2017-03-01 22:13:18+00:00
|
A princess from Sulu province in southern Philippines has called on her fellow Tausug to be vigilant in the wake of the recent beheading of a 70-year-old German hostage, whose family failed to deliver a multimillion ransom that his captors from the terrorist Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) had demanded.Jacel Kiram, in a statement, expressed concern that the good name of the Tausug would be compromised by the horrific death of Jurgen Kantner last week in the hands of the ASG, a local jihadist group with links to the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria or ISIS.At the same time, the princess condemned the killing, saying, “We abhor to the highest level this gruesome act of kidnapping and beheading of people in our territory.”She added that as a Tausug, she “take[s] pride in belonging to this strong minority who are historically known as honorable, fearless warriors, standing and fighting only for a good cause.”According to Princess Jacel, “The truth is, this fight embraced by the Armed Forces of the Philippines in Sulu must also be the same fight for every Tausug who seeks peace and a safe future for the sake of our children’s children.”She cited the need “to strive harder in order to secure and leave a good legacy for our next generation.”The Sulu princess said Filipinos, including the Tausug of Mindanao, “have to be vigilant in protecting the reputation of the Philippines in the eyes of the international community by giving due respect and honor to the sacredness of the Tausug.”She also called for unity for “peace, progress and prosperity for our country and the world.”Princess Jacel Kiram, daughter of the late 33rd Sulu King Sultan Jamalul Kiram 3rd, is the president of both the Philsilat Sports Association and KIRAM Inc. (Kristiano’t Islam Repormang Aagapay sa Mamamayan), an inter-faith organization geared toward livelihood and sustainability for Muslim communities.She is also the vice president for Mindanao of the People’s National Movement for Federalism or Penamed.
|
Manila Times
|
https://www.manilatimes.net/vigilant-princess-calls-tausug/314887/
|
Lawyer to Roque: Err on side of caution
|
['Ma. Reina Leanne Tolentino']
|
2018-01-13 21:40:24+00:00
|
Malacañang spokesman Harry Roque “should be more circumspect in his statements” if he chooses to remain in public service, a lawyer said on Saturday.Ferdinand Topacio made the statement during the Saturday Forum at Annabel’s restaurant in Quezon City.According to Topacio, Roque “has to choose. If he wants to continue his advocacies as a [former] congressman with respect to [the] Dengvaxia [vaccine] and the cases he handled when he was a private lawyer… then he should leave public service. But if he chooses to remain in public service, he should be more circumspect in his statements.”On Thursday, former Palawan governor Joel Reyes filed a petition for indirect contempt against Roque before the Court of Appeals (CA) in connection with the Palace spokesman’s statements over the court’s grant of a petition filed by Reyes.The former governor was released from the Puerto Princesa City Jail on January 5 after the CA granted his petition, which had challenged a finding of the Puerto Princesa Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 52 of probable cause in the murder case that was filed against him in connection with the death in 2011 of environmentalist and broadcaster Gerry Ortega, according to his lawyer Demetrio Custodio.Meanwhile, prosecutors under the Office of the Ombudsman are asking the Sandiganbayan’s Third Division to cancel Reyes’ bail and are seeking his immediate commitment to prison “in view of his conviction” of graft in connection with the renewal of a firm’s small-scale mining permit in 2006.Roque, former lawyer of Ortega’s family, has commended the Office of the Ombudsman’s move.“Considering accused Reyes’ previous record and to prevent its recurrence, the cancelation of his bail and his immediate commitment to prison are warranted,” the prosecution, which recalled the arrest of Reyes and his brother in Thailand in 2015, said in part in an urgent omnibus motion.In a hearing on Thursday, the court gave the defense until Monday to comment on the prosecution’s plea, and the prosecution until Wednesday to reply to the defense’s comment.After this, the urgent omnibus motion shall be deemed submitted for resolution.During the hearing, Sandiganbayan Presiding Justice Amparo Cabotaje-Tang, who leads the Sandiganbayan’s Third Division, asked Custodio if he could guarantee that Reyes will not flee until the court has resolved all pending matters in the case.The lawyer answered in the affirmative.In a decision promulgated on August 29, 2017, the Sandiganbayan’s Third Division convicted Reyes in the graft case, which was filed against him and another individual in 2011 in connection with the renewal of a firm’s small-scale mining permit in 2006.The court, which sentenced Reyes to six years up to eight years in prison with perpetual disqualification from holding public office, is yet to rule on the motion for reconsideration.Meanwhile, it acquitted Andronico Baguyo–who was then a mining operations officer and then-head of the Provincial Mining Regulatory Board Technical Secretariat–for the prosecution’s failure to establish his guilt beyond reasonable doubt.
|
Manila Times
|
https://www.manilatimes.net/lawyer-roque-err-side-caution/374121/
|
Bertiz to surrender airport pass
|
['Mary Gleefer F. Jalea']
|
2018-10-03 00:05:11+00:00
|
ACTS-OFW Rep. Aniceto “John” Bertiz on Tuesday said he would surrender his airport security pass and would face congressional investigation for harassing a personnel and refusing to follow procedures at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.“Sinasabi ko na kay [General Manager] Ed Monreal na ipapasurrender ko na to para kasi nga, to defer, kasi I don’t want my fellow congressmen and other holders of the ID na madamay pa. (I told GM Ed Monreal that I will surrender this because I don’t want my fellow congressmen and other holders of the ID caught in this issue),” he said in a television interview.“Meron nang proseso dun na I need to write an official letter. And then it’s either they will revoke it permanently or suspend it. Sa akin po sa part ko, [this is] showing my sincere at taos pusong paumanhin sa taong bayan at yung inasal ko po sa airport (There is a process that I need to write them a letter. And then they will either revoke or permanently suspend it. This is my way of showing my sincere apology to the public because of how I behaved at the airport),” Bertiz added.The lawmaker said he initiated the filing of a resolution so that the House committee on ethics can start a motu propio investigation of the airport incident.Monreal said the security pass given to government officials is not an excuse to violate security procedures.Footage from a closed circuit television, showed Bertiz refusing to remove his shoes at the NAIA Terminal 2.Bertiz had apologized for his “inexcusable behavior.”
|
Manila Times
|
https://www.manilatimes.net/bertiz-to-surrender-airport-pass/447774/
|
Wanted: 4,000 recruits for SAF
|
['Ramon Carbonell Jr.']
|
2017-09-26 20:48:25+00:00
|
The Special Action Force (SAF) of the Philippine National Police (PNP) is looking for 4,000 recruits nationwide.“We are calling on able-bodied men [to apply]. We’re giving you an opportunity to serve the country through patriotic deeds,” Senior Insp. San Roget Ho, the head of SAF Region 7 Mobile Recruitment, said in a statement on TuesdayAccording to the SAF’s recruitment page on Facebook, the elite police force is seeking candidates from among those who have passed the PNP’s entrance examinations conducted by the National Police Commission.The recruitment page said applicants should be Filipino citizens, at least 21 years old but not older than 30, at least 5’4 for male and 5’2 for female and should have no criminal record.“We would bring the applicants to Camp Bagong Diwa [in Taguig City] for oath- taking. Basically, all the processing of application would happen there,” Ho said.He added that the recruitment of the 4,000 police officers took off from President Rodrigo Duterte’s observation that there was a shortage of SAF officers.“The mere fact that the President sees that SAF is undermanned is the reason we need to have more personnel,” Ho said.The SAF officers, he added, are expected to be more equipped and more well-trained than ordinary policemen.Ho said the Special Action Force specializes in anti-terrorism efforts, including defusing of bombs.“The SAF was originally created as an intervention unit. It is a unit that does operations against high-value targets,” he added.The recruitment page said a SAF member would earn P22,354 a month.He or she would also have P35,000 worth of benefits a year.The SAF member would also be able to visit many places as part of his or her job.
|
Manila Times
|
https://www.manilatimes.net/wanted-4000-recruits-saf/352971/
|
Bangsamoro can’t procure firearms
|
['Bernadette E. Tamayo']
|
2018-07-11 00:10:59+00:00
|
~A sub-panel of the bicameral conference committee tasked to finalize the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) retained the provision disallowing the Bangsamoro parliament to use public funds to buy military equipment.The bicam on Monday night created small groups to simultaneously tackle contentious issues hampering the crafting of the final version of the BBL.The BBL, crafted by the Bangsamoro Transition Commission (BTC), aims to abolish the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) and replace it with the Autonomous Region for the Bangsamoro (ARB).Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri, head of the Senate contingent to the bicam, said the subcommittee on public order and national security retained Section 20 under Article 12 concerning the use of a block grant.The provision, included in the Senate’s version of the BBL, reads: “The Bangsamoro parliament shall not include the procurement of firearms, ammunition, explosives in its annual appropriations law.”“We’re insisting on that. We don’t want to make a big deal out of it. But I know some of them felt slighted about it,” Zubiri said in a briefing.“But you know, what if it is a different leadership? What if 30 years down the line, when we are already old and gray, there’s a new brand of leadership that goes in the Bangsamoro and they radicalized and want to secede or try to do some foolishness? And they buy firearms, tanks, airplanes with these funds?” he stressed.Some of the BTC members are ranking officials of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), who waged war with the government to seek independence.“This law will now allow it. This provision will not allow that. We’re okay as of now. We are all in this agreement including the BTC and all those who are fighting for this,” Zubiri said.“But what if 20 years down the line, the next batch of leaders think differently? So, we have to put this provision to safeguard that the funds cannot be misappropriated,” he said.Zubiri added, “This goes for other purchases that we feel will be contrary to achieving peace and development in the region.”However, the said provision needs to get the approval of the main body or the entire bicam.Under BBL, the Bangsamoro parliament “shall appropriate in its annual budget no less than 40 percent of its block grant for development projects.”Asked for an update on the BBL bicam, Zubiri said, “We already finished the subcommittee report on taxes and fiscal matters as well as public order national security.”“On the provision on territory and plebiscite we decide to hold it on last day (July 11). Medyo mainit at napakatindi ng discussions na nangyari dun (There’s a heated discussion on these issues),” he said.“So, we said, ‘lets put this on hold until the last part and we are looking at tomorrow to resolve this and hopefully by tomorrow evening we will have a clean copy and approved version the bicam report,” he said.He said that there were some opposition from House members on the inclusion of 39 barangays and six municipalities in the “territorial jurisdiction” of the ARB.Under the BBL, the 39 barangays and municipalities of Kabacan, Carmen, Aleosan, Pigkawayan, Pikit, and Midsayap in the province of North Cotabato that voted for inclusion in the ARMM during the 2001 plebiscte under Republic Act 9054 or the amended Organic Act of ARMM will be included in the ARB.He noted that under the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB), signed in 2014, the previous Aquino addministration promised the MILF that there would be democratic process in which the 39 barangays including the 6 municipalities of Lanao Norte could participate and be part of the Bangsamoro.Asked who were opposed to their inclusion in the ARB, Zubiri said, “So far those who raised the protest concerning the inclusion of six municipalities are the district representatives.”
|
Manila Times
|
https://www.manilatimes.net/bangsamoro-cant-procure-firearms/418141/
|
Bishop cites tax measure for favoring poor Pinoys
|
['The Manila Times']
|
2016-12-22 20:17:24+00:00
|
Most Rev. Ricardo L. Baccay of the Diocese of Alaminos, Pangasinan has called on the Roman Catholic faithful to shun vices and be wiser in spending money that may be used in more fruitful endeavors.Baccay cited developments in the sin tax law where lawmakers proposed House Bill (HB) 4144, which imposes higher sin tax rates than intended in original provisions of the law.“In addition to what Archbishop [Oscar] Cruz said earlier, if you smoke a pack of cigarettes daily, you more or less spend P45.00 each time. That equates to P1,350.00 a month that may be added to your family’s monthly spendings,” he said in a statement.Earlier reports said Dagupan Archbishop Emeritus Oscar Cruz had praised HB 4144 as a “pro-health” measure in his Radio Veritas program.The vocal archbishop cited data from the Social Weather Stations (SWS) that 10 Filipinos die every hour daily from smoking-related diseases.He said the government’s objective is to ultimately stop vices and he urged citizens to spend their money on more important needs.Archbishop Emeritus Diosdado Talamayan of the Archdiocese of Tuguegarao, meanwhile, commended lawmakers for passing the bill since it helps Filipino farmers in their livelihood.Talamayan hails from Cagayan, one of the North’s tobacco-rich provinces and where many churchgoers are tobacco farmers who depend on the crop to support their families.
|
Manila Times
|
https://www.manilatimes.net/bishop-cites-tax-measure-favoring-poor-pinoys/303267/
|
AFP spokesman gets new key post
|
['The Manila Times']
|
2017-08-31 19:05:42+00:00
|
The spokesman for the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) has assumed one of the key positions within the military on Thursday.Brig. Gen. Restituto Padilla Jr. is the new AFP Deputy Chief of Staff for Plans (J5) but will remain as the official spokesman for the military.He replaced Maj. Gen. Guillermo Molina Jr., who is set to hang his uniform on September 5.Padilla, an Air Force pilot, is a member of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) “Sandiwa” Class of 1985 and is the batchmate of Southern Luzon Command chief Maj. Gen. Benjamin Madrigal, who recently took over the position.The J5 is the AFP’s lead policy and strategy formulator, strategic planner and overseer of international military affairs. It is also responsible for all strategies, plans and policy recommendations supporting the AFP Chief of Staff’.Prior to this position, Padilla was the assistant deputy chief of staff for Civil-Military Operations (J7), which he handled since November 2014.He was formerly the AFP Liaison Officer of the United States Pacific Command in Honolulu, Hawaii from 2011 to 2014.Upon graduation from the PMA, Padilla entered the Philippine Air Force and earned his Aviator (Pilot) Wings from the PAF Flying School in 1987.He is also an academic instructor, having completed his Academic Instructor Training at the Air University in Maxwell Air Force Base in Alabama.The concurrent military spokesman obtained his master’s degree in Development Management from the Asian Institute of Management.This is not the first time Padilla will be entering the office of J5 since he was formerly the chief of its International Affairs Division.He is a recipient of awards and commendations from the military and civilian sectors including the Distinguished Aviation Cross, the highest award for an airman in the Philippine Air Force for “superb and gallant airmanship in a rescue and recovery incident.”Among his priorities in his new position, Padilla said, are international relations and capability development.
|
Manila Times
|
https://www.manilatimes.net/afp-spokesman-gets-new-key-post/347883/
|
PCSO chief to employees: Prove detractors wrong
|
['The Manila Times']
|
2018-01-24 00:01:59+00:00
|
The new chairman of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office challenged PCSO employees to have an “open mind” on exposés and prove critics of the organization wrong during turnover of leadership of the office on Monday.Public service, according to Anselmo Simeon Patron Pinili, is serving the people and serving them well.“We should not be oppressive and think we are somebody… I think it will be our shield if we serve the people well,” Pinili said.A retired general, he served under the Philippine National Police and was the head of the Office of the Special Envoy on Transnational Crime prior to his appointment at PCSO.Pinili replaced Jose Jorge Elizalde Corpuz, a member of Philippine Military Academy (PMA) “Sandigan” Class of 1982, who resigned for health reasons.He said he serves at the pleasure of the President, whom “[w]e can defend… if we follow his marching order: to stop or end corruption.”Moreover, Pinili added, he hopes that he would be “at par” with Corpus in managing the PCSO.Corpuz, who was present during the turnover, revealed that after suffering a stroke two months ago, he suffered partial blindness (blind spot) that he had to choose his health and family over work.“It’s nice to be alive. It’s very rare for a person like me to be given this privilege,” he said.“Do not take your health for granted, it’s no joke! There will come a time it will hit you. It’s a life-threatening sickness. I realized what’s important now is health, life and family.”Apart from thanking the PCSO leadership and its personnel for the support, he welcomed Pinili to the offfice and called for everyone to support him as well.PCSO General Manager Alexander Balutan also welcomed the appointment of Pinili, who is from Davao and a classmate from PMA Matikas” Class of 1983.
|
Manila Times
|
https://www.manilatimes.net/pcso-chief-employees-prove-detractors-wrong/376009/
|
Army’s Solcom gets new chief
|
['Dempsey Reyes']
|
2017-08-17 23:00:30+00:00
|
The commander of the Philippine Army’s 4th Infantry Division will be sitting as the new chief of the military’s Southern Luzon Command (Solcom).Maj. Gen. Benjamin Madrigal served as the commander of the 4th Infantry Division but prior to that he was the chief of staff of the Philippine Army and was designated as acting division commander of the 10th Infantry Division.Madrigal has a master’s degree in Management Studies from the University of South Wales in Canberra, Australia, in 1999 and a master’s degree in Public Administration from the Philippine Christian University in 2006.He will be replacing Lt. Gen. Ferdinand Quidilla, a member of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) “Matikas” Class of 1983.Madrigal is a member of the PMA “Sandiwa” Class of 1985.A source told reporters that President Rodrigo Duterte signed the appointment papers of Madrigal early last week, designating him as the new chief of the “security-sensitive” part of the country, the Solcom.Solcom is a unified command unit under the Armed Forces of the Philippines that has battled communist rebels from the New Ppeople’s Army since the 1970s in Southern Luzon, a hotbed of Maoist insurgency.For Madrigal, a native of Los Banos, Laguna, “unified” efforts among Solcom men would be of assistance for the whole command to develop and has expressed confidence that he can “suppress” the NPA rebels.“It’s easier to do here than in Mindanao. In Mindanao, lots of enemies are there, in Southern Luzon, it’s basically what is remaining here [Solcom] are remnants,” he said.“Of course, the atmosphere of development is also important. The government is working and [enemy] propaganda will not take effect. Everybody will have their own goal and everybody is contributing,” Madrigal added.The Army general sought assistance from stakeholders and residents in addressing possible security threats in Southern Luzon.“I am envisioning participation coming from stakeholders here in our campaign against lawless elements surrounding the area,” according to Madrigal.But despite his campaign in neutralizing NPA rebels in Solcom, Madrigal said there is nothing to fear with his leadership.A military source told reporters that Maj. Gen. Ronald Villanueva of the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP) will be assuming the previous position of Madrigal as commander of the 4th Infantry Division.Brig. Gen. Macairog Alberto of the 1001st Infantry Brigade will sit as the new chief of the ISAFP.Aside from Quidilla, Lt. Gen. Romeo Tanalgo of the Northern Luzon Command will be retiring in September but his replacement is yet to be announced.
|
Manila Times
|
https://www.manilatimes.net/armys-solcom-gets-new-chief/345112/
|
Senate to restore school repair fund
|
['Jefferson Antiporda']
|
2017-09-18 20:45:49+00:00
|
LAWMAKERS on Monday expressed willingness to help bring back the Quick Response Fund (QRF) item on the Department of Education’s budget for 2018 to speed up the repair of school buildings damaged by calamities.They gave the assurance after Education Secretary Leonor Briones told members of the Senate finance committee about the huge backlog on school repairs amounting to P1.8 billion.The DepEd used to have its own QRF fund used to repair or reconstruct school buildings damaged by typhoons and other calamities. The fund was removed from the department’s budget in 2017 and was transferred to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC).“Since I came in (last year) we have not received a single centavo,” Briones told senators when asked if the agency got QRF fund from the NDRRMC.Sen. Paolo Benigno “Bam” Aquino 4th asked Briones if it is possible for the Senate to create a QRF fund that would be added to the department’s 2018 budget.Briones said it is possible and thanked the lawmakers for supporting the DepEd.Briones said they would need at least P2 billion per year, plus the P1.8 billion that was not given by the Budget department.DepEd is in charge of the repair of school buildings nationwide while the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) handles the construction of new schools.
|
Manila Times
|
https://www.manilatimes.net/senate-restore-school-repair-fund/351383/
|
Detained senator decries ‘suspicious’ CHR visit
|
['Jefferson Antiporda']
|
2017-05-21 19:31:40+00:00
|
FORMER senator Jose “Jinggoy” Estrada blasted members of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) who recently visited him and fellow ex-senator Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. to supposedly check on their condition.Estrada and Revilla are detained at the Philippine National Police (PNP) Custodial Center in Camp Crame in Quezon City, in connection with their alleged involvement in the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) or pork barrel scam.In a statement posted on Facebook, Estrada said around eight members of the CHR visited their detention cell last week and he added that he was not happy about it since he suspects that the visit had ulterior motives.He said his suspicion was strengthened after learning that some of the CHR members who visited him and Revilla were appointees of Sen. Leila de Lima, who also served as CHR chairman during the time of former president and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.De Lima is also now detained at the PNP Custodial Center on drug-related charges.Estrada said he confronted the CHR members and asked them what they want and he was told that they were there to visit them and conduct an inspection.The former senator said he was displeased by the response of the CHR personnel considering that they have been detained for almost three years and the CHR has not paid them a visit.He noted that when De Lima was ordered arrested and detained, the CHR immediately paid her a visit and even informed the media about it.“Where were you when during our first months of detention? Did you bother to find out our situation and how the guards treated us?” Estrada told the CHR visitors.“Let’s face reality. The reason why you are here [is] de Lima. Maybe she instructed you guys to pay us a visit and to compare our living conditions,” he said.Estrada added that he discouraged the CHR members from visiting them again because they would get the same tongue-lashing and dressing down from him.Estrada and de Lima are detained in separate areas where they would not see each other.It was de Lima who charged Estrada, Revilla and former Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile with plunder and other graft-related cases before the Office of the Ombudsman in connection with the PDAF controversy.Meanwhile, the chairman of the Senate blue ribbon committee on Sunday expressed willingness to reinvestigate the multi-million peso scam if new evidence will be presented.Senator Richard Gordon said the new probe possibly would cover non-government organizations and personnel not connected with businesswomen Janet Lim-Napoles, the alleged mastermind of the scam.“As long as there’s new evidence that will be presented, I am willing to investigate, but we will make sure that we don’t waste our time,” he added.
|
Manila Times
|
https://www.manilatimes.net/detained-senator-decries-suspicious-chr-visit/328447/
|
Defense chief wants scaled down war games
|
['Jefferson Antiporda']
|
2016-10-19 22:06:59+00:00
|
DEFENSE Secretary Delfin Lorenzana on Wednesday said he would recommend to President Rodrigo Duterte the scaling down of war games between the Philippines and the United States instead of terminating the joint drills for good.Lorenzana added that there is no decision to suspend the military exercises for next year but the President has told him to make a presentation on the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA), Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) and the war games in a Cabinet meeting next month.“The VFA is still on. Everything else is going on,” Lorenzana told members of the Commission on Appointments during a hearing on his ad interim appointment as Defense secretary.Senate President Pro Tempore Franklin Drilon was inquiring about the status of the military defense agreements with the US and if there is already a decision to terminate or suspend them.“If the President is really intent on what he is telling the media, I think I will recommend the scaling down of [the military] exercises next year,” Lorenzana said.Duterte last month announced that there would be no more joint PH-US war games after the Philippines Amphibious Landing Exercise or Phiblex, which was held in several locations in Luzon and Palawan last October 4 to 12.Suspension of the joint military exercises with the US, according to the President, would not only be for this year but throughout his six-year term, or until 2022.Duterte said the government would maintain the military alliance with the US as provided in the Mutual DefenseTreaty (MDT) but would establish new alliances for trade and commerce particularly with China and Russia.Lorenzana said he might recommend to the President the suspension of Phiblex, as well as the Balikatan (shoulder-to-shoulder) military exercises also with the US, and concentrate on human assistance disaster response and counter-terrorism, among others.He admitted that joint drills like Phiblex and Balikatan and are benefitting local troops, although American are getting more from the war games.Lorenzana did not elaborate.Drilon asked Lorenzana why the government wants to terminate the war games when the Philippines is also gaining from them.“I really don’t know because the President has been issuing these statements without first consulting the Cabinet,” Lorenzana said.On a supposed plan of the government to veer away from the US and reach out to China and Russia, the Defense chief said the Philippines is just expanding its sources of materials.He, however, also admitted that the move would result in an inter-operability issue as most of the equipment of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) are US-made or made by allies of the US.
|
Manila Times
|
https://www.manilatimes.net/defense-chief-wants-scaled-war-games/292116/
|
Bill declaring January 23 holiday passed
|
['Bernadette E. Tamayo']
|
2018-01-29 23:07:23+00:00
|
THE Senate on Monday passed on third and final reading a bill that would declare January 23 as special “working” national holiday to commemorate the inauguration of the First Philippine Republic.The senators unanimously approved Senate Bill 1525 or “The First Philippine Republic Day” sponsored by Sen. Francis Escudero, chairman of the Senate Committee on Education, Arts and Culture.Escudero said the First Philippine Republic, also known as the Malolos Republic, which was inaugurated at the Barasoain Church in Malolos, Bulacan on January 23, 1989, paved the way for the Philippines to be known as the “first independent republic in Asia.”He said the passage of the bill into law would increase public awareness of the importance of the momentous event in Philippine history.Sen. Joel Villanueva, who introduced SB 1525, said it was important to commemorate January 23 of every year as the inauguration of the First Philippine Republic to “remind us of the beginning of Filipino democracy and the fight towards our freedom.”
|
Manila Times
|
https://www.manilatimes.net/bill-declaring-january-23-holiday-passed/377218/
|
De Lima: Expect more bad language from govt
|
['Jefferson Antiporda']
|
2017-10-30 21:37:28+00:00
|
DETAINED Sen. Leila de Lima on Monday expressed serious concern over the decision to replace Malacanang spokesman Ernesto Abella, saying it could lower the level of discourse and language expected from President Rodrigo Duterte and his officials.De Lima, in a hand-written statement, said the move to let Abella go clearly showed that Duterte is a leader who revels in his men’s obnoxious character and depravity.The President on Friday named Kabayan party-list Rep. Harry Roque as his new spokesman, replacing Abella, an evangelical pastor.“With the departure of Secretary Abella, I fear the even further decline of the level of discourse and language we could expect from now on from the President and his men,” de Lima said.The senator is currently detained at the Philippine National Police Custodial Center in Camp Crame in Quezon City on drug charges.Roque in February filed an ethics complaint against de Lima for allegedly conspiring with her partymate Rep. Ron Salo to carry out her illegal activities inside the New Bilibid Prisons —the national penitentiary—in Muntinlupa City.He said de Lima, through the help of the BuCor (Bureau of Corrections) Love Foundation Inc., a non-government organization, was able to go on with her drug-related activities inside the national penitentiary.The BuCor Love Foundation, headed by Salo, was involved in providing inmates set to be released from prison with appropriate technical, livelihood, management and entrepreneurial skills that help them land a job outside.Roque said de Lima and Salo conspired to silence him in questioning their involvement in the drug trade.De Lima, however, denied knowing Salo, saying she cannot even recall any instance that she had worked or dealt with him.She expressed alarm over the worsening corruption in government, not only in the national coffers but also on Filipino values that affect national identity.The senator said the well-preserved values are being corrupted by officials of the Duterte administration whom she said has no place in a civilized society.“Grabe na ang korapsyon sa gobyerno [The corruption in government so grave]. No, I don’t just mean corruption in government in the usual sense, but a more pervasive and invasive corruption of Filipino values that affect, not just our national coffers, but our national identity,” de Lima noted.She cited Presidential legal counsel Salvador Panelo, who made a sexual joke in a recent interview with two woman journalists.Panelo even accused the journalists of taking the joke wrongly to put him and the President in a bad light.“His lack of self-awareness, or perhaps his lack of shame, even prompted him to drag the image of unsuspecting female students of a well-known Catholic school for girls as having been subjected to his verbal acts of lasciviousness,” de Lima said.The senator also mentioned an incident involving Martin Andanar, chief of the Presidential Communications Operations Office, who rudely spoke against European organizations critical of Duterte during a recent public gathering in the United Kingdom“But their actions and apparent mental state seem to be symptomatic of a prevalent corrupted mindset in our so-called government officials today: Why be right when you can be wrong? Why be a good public servant when you can be a bad one? After all, even the President seems to get away with it,” she said.“Who do those people think they are to reverse several centuries’ worth of honing, preserving and passing on of our Filipino values?” de Lima added.Panelo, Andanar and the other officials, she said, should have no place in a civilized society, much less in the ranks of Philippine government officialdom.“In a world that makes sense, they would already have been censured. In a world where these people even have an ounce of self-respect, they would have already publicly apologized and resigned,” de Lima added.
|
Manila Times
|
https://www.manilatimes.net/de-lima-expect-bad-language-govt/359627/
|
DICT launches ‘Pipol Konek’ in Tarlac
|
['Jerry Hernandez']
|
2017-06-15 21:38:18+00:00
|
TARLAC CITY: The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) launched free public wifi here to provide and improve communication, stimulate socio-economic growth, and accelerate social and educational opportunities. This city is the first in Central Luzon to benefit from the project, dubbed as “Pipol Konek” or Free Wi-Fi Internet Access in Public Places. Pablito dela Peña of the DICT said the free wifi has an average speed of 512 kbps to 50 mbps, depending on the location, the number of people connected, and other related factors. Meanwhile, city officials spearheaded the signing of a memorandum of agreement with the DICT and conducted a test-run of the free wifi access to the public. Public hotspot is currently available at the city plazuela and at the Business One-Stop Shop.
|
Manila Times
|
https://www.manilatimes.net/dict-launches-pipol-konek-tarlac/332908/
|
Return money or face raps, Tulfos warned
|
['Llanesca T. Panti']
|
2018-08-09 00:10:13+00:00
|
Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat warned that criminal charges would be filed against her predecessor, Wanda Tulfo Teo, and her brothers Ben and Erwin Tulfo if they would not return the P60 million paid by the Tourism department for advertisements placed on the brother’s television program Kilos Pronto aired over state-run PTV-4.Romulo-Puyat made the warning when she presented her department’s proposed P3 billion budget for 2019 before the House Appropriations panel chaired by Rep. Karlo Nograles of Davao City on Wednesday.“If they do not pay [it back] in six months, it will go to the Ombudsman],” she said.The P60-million fund mess prompted President Rodrigo Duterte to fire Teo and appoint Romulo-Puyat to take her place. Teo had claimed that there was no conflict of interest in the placement of the Tourism ads on her brothers’ television program.When the controversy broke, the Tulfos said they would give back the P60 million. However, in July, Ben declared that they would not return the money.Nograles called on the DoT to spend its budget well, considering that 6.6 million foreign tourists who visited the Philippines in 2017 contributed P3.35 trillion to the economy based on World Travel and Tourism Council Report.The tourism sector also created 2.3 million jobs.“While these figures are impressive, this could still be improved. If this is the revenue we can generate with 6.6 million tourists, imagine how much more benefit we can get if we can bring in even half of the 35.3 million tourists who visit Thailand,” Nograles said.In July, the Commission on Audit flagged former Tourism Promotions Board Chief Operating Officer Cesar Montano and his deputy over their extravagant and excessive foreign travels last year.Based on the CoA report, Montano and his deputy incurred travel expenses worth P2.3 million and P1.9 million, respectively, while Montano’s private secretary and executive assistant’s travel expenses in accompanying Montano reached P2.9 million.Montano travelled abroad 14 times, while his deputy went out of the country 16 times. They went to Asia, Europe, Australia and North America.Romulo-Puyat assured the public that such irregularities would not happen under her watch.“We will be setting up guidelines on who really needs to travel. As for the ad placement, we will bid it out and let an advertising agency select the winning bidder based on their studies. The DoT won’t have the discretion on where will we place our advertising placements,” she said.
|
Manila Times
|
https://www.manilatimes.net/return-money-or-face-raps-tulfos-warned/428141/
|
SC drops charges vs 3 magistrates
|
['Jomar Canlas']
|
2017-09-15 23:41:26+00:00
|
THE Supreme Court (SC) has dismissed an administrative complaint filed by an engineer against three magistrates of the Court of Appeals (CA).In a full-court decision promulgated by clerk of court Felipa Anama, the SC junked for lack of merit engineer Ramil Morales’ complaint against Associate Justices Celia Librea-Leagogo, Amy Lazaro-Javier and Melchor Sadang.The case stemmed from the administrative complaint filed by one Roland Pidlaoan in 2008 against Morales, as acting chief of the Building Plan Processing Section, Bureau of Fire Protection Quezon City, for dishonesty before the Office of the Deputy Ombudsman for the Military and Other Law Enforcement Office.Pidlaon alleged that Morales introduced himself as an employee of Quezon City Hall and asked for P89,000 representing payment for inspection clearance. It was found out later that the amount paid by Morales to the treasurer’s office was only P89.00.The local court rejected the criminal charges for estafa through falsification against Morales, but ODO-MOLEO found him guilty of serious dishonesty and was meted out the penalty of dismissal from the service for the same allegations.Morales sought reconsideration before the Ombudsman but to no avail, prompting him to elevate his case to the CA, which sided with the anti-graft office.It prompted Morales to file administrative charges against the justices.“From the foregoing, it is clear that the case should be dismissed for utter lack of merit,” the SC held.“Morales failed to overcome his burden of proof to show that respondents committed an offense. The presumption that respondents regularly performed their duties will prevail.”The SC, in its July 18, 2017 ruling that was released only recently, opined that Morales was not deprived of his right to due process.
|
Manila Times
|
https://www.manilatimes.net/sc-drops-charges-vs-3-magistrates/350889/
|
Senate pays tribute to Eva Estrada-Kalaw
|
['Jefferson Antiporda']
|
2017-06-01 21:28:33+00:00
|
SENATORS from past and present Congresses gathered on Thursday at the Senate Office to pay tribute to their former colleague, ex-senator Eva Estrada Kalaw, who passed away last week.Kalaw, 96, was first elected to office in 1965 as a senatorial candidate of Nacionalista Party and was reelected in 1969, earning her the title as the first woman who served the Senate for two consecutive terms.Senate President Aquilino Pimentel 3rd led the presentation of Senate Resolution (SR) 399, expressing the Senate’s sympathy and condolences to the family of the former senator, who was also an outstanding volunteer social worker.SR 399 described Kalaw as “a fighter for freedom and democracy,” being one of the major voices against the Marcos regime for which she was imprisoned twice on false charges.“Even before martial law was declared in 1972, she was already active in [opposing] [then-] President [Ferdinand] Marcos. She hosted meetings of opposition stalwarts like Ninoy Aquino and Jovy Salonga in her house. She was injured in the Plaza Miranda blast,” Pimentel said in his eulogy.Ninoy was late former senator Benigno Aquino Jr. and Jovy was another late former senator, Jovito SalongaThe Plaza Miranda bombing in 1972 nearly wiped out top leaders of the opposition Liberal Party.Pimentel cited Kalaw’s role in the Senate as chairman of the Committee on Games, Amusement and Tourism and of the Committee on National Minorities, where she pushed for creation of a single government office to handle national policy for tourism.“Truly, hers was a life well-lived. And by her choice, it was well-lived in the service of the Filipino people,” he said.Pimentel added that apart from being a lawmaker, Kalaw worked with organizations that sought to help children in conflict with the law and special children.She also joined hands with groups that helped people with tuberculosis and those that helped the youth and the community.“She may have been born in a different era, but the values of integrity, respect for the rule of law and dedicated service to the people that she believed in and practiced remain as relevant as ever. Tita [Aunt] Eva, we are here to continue your causes,” the Senate president said.Former senator Eddie Illarde, a colleague of Kalaw in the 7th Congress, described the late senator as a “model public servant, beautiful in mind and in spirit, sincere in her ardent desire to dedicate her life in the service of our people.”“She was our muse, a term which she hated when we were together campaigning. She was our older sister. She was our mentor, our team leader. She was an inspiration in our quest for political victory. She was one of the boys, with much courage in fighting for what is right, for the good of our country and our people,” Ilarde said.For former senator Rene Saguisag, Kalaw was a voice during their time and Congress needs lawmakers like her who will be asking questions.“Unfortunately, what we see now are echoes, not voices. She was a voice in our time,” he said.Senator Gregorio Honasan 2nd, who first met Kalaw when he graduated from the Philippine Military Academy in 1971, said that as a public servant the late senator was “ideologically and politically blind, reaching out and finding common cause across the imaginary partisan political divide.”“She eloquently spoke by clear example, decisive action and reflective silence, driven by rational and responsible choices that motivated her to demand that any government, must above all, protect life, liberty and property,” he said.Buhay party-list Rep. Lito Atienza mourned the passing of the former senator.“We have lost a dedicated freedom fighter—a leader of the democratic system in our continuing struggle for a better Philippines,”Atienza said in a statement.“We will always cherish the years we spent with Tita Eva in the struggle to liberate our country from martial law. She was a guiding light, a steady hand, a courageous fighter who not only led our group of oppositionists from Manila in the Batasang Pambansa elections in 1984, but also led our battles on the floor of the Batasan as we fought to remove 14 years of martial rule. She had developed such a reputation as a brave and tireless freedom fighter that she could very well be considered as the Filipino Joan of Arc,” he added.
|
Manila Times
|
https://www.manilatimes.net/senate-pays-tribute-eva-estrada-kalaw/330432/
|
Duterte in good health, says Abella
|
['Lance Ceellot', 'Delinquent Druglord Duterte', 'Paul Parenas', 'Just Me', 'Sait Tonado']
|
13/06/2017 0:00
|
President Duterte remains healthy but opted to take a rest on Tuesday following his recent heavy schedule dealing with the Marawi conflict.Presidential Spokesman Ernesto Abella gave an update on the President’s health condition after he skipped the traditional commemoration of the country’s Independence Day activities last Monday.“The President is actually in excellent good health except for the fact that his schedules have been brutal,” Abella said in a Palace press briefing. ”Today (Tuesday), he’s resting. It’s private time,” he added.Abella said the President would have wanted to attend the June 12 celebration but needed to take some rest. Duterte was reportedly tired from his many visits to military camps, including the wake of soldiers killed in the fighting in Marawi City.“You have to credit to the President considering everything that he has been actually honoring the military dead, civilian dead and he has been actually going around,” Abella said.“I think we need to allow him a few rest. He was actually top of the situation however he also needed rest,” he said.The President was supposed to lead the flag-raising and wreath-laying activity at the Rizal Park to kick off the Independence Day last Monday. Vice President Leni Robredo and Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano instead led the freedom rites after the President was a no-show.
|
Manila Bulletin
|
https://news.mb.com.ph/2017/06/13/duterte-in-good-health-says-abella/
|
Court consolidates ICC petitions
|
['Jomar Canlas']
|
2018-06-27 00:01:25+00:00
|
The Supreme Court (SC) has ordered the consolidation of two petitions seeking the invalidation of the Philippine government’s withdrawal from the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC).The court, during deliberations en banc, ruled to merge the petitions filed by opposition senators and the Philippine Coalition for the International Criminal Court (PCICC).Oral arguments will be held on July 24, 2018. The petitioners include Senators Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan, Franklin Drilon, Paolo Benigno “Bam” Aquino, Leila de Lima, Risa Hontiveros, and Antonio Trillanes 4th.Named respondents were Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano, Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea, United Nations Ambassador Teodoro Locsin Jr., and Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador Panelo.The two petitions argued that the withdrawal violates the 1987 Constitution for lack of Senate concurrence.The PCICC pointed out that President Rodrigo Duterte “gravely abused his discretion in an act tantamount to an absence or a lack of jurisdiction, when he unilaterally decided to withdraw the membership of the Philippines from the International Criminal court, as his act violated the constitutional system of checks and balances in treaty making under Article VII, Sec. 21 of the 1987 Charter.”The group pointed out that the Rome Statute is a treaty validly entered into by the Philippines and has the same status as a law enacted by Congress.
|
Manila Times
|
https://www.manilatimes.net/court-consolidates-icc-petitions/412826/
|
Cambodia’s Hun Sen calls for closure of rival’s rights group
|
['Happy Folger']
|
26/11/2017 0:00
|
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen on Sunday called for the closure of one of the country’s main human rights groups because it was founded by detained opposition leader Kem Sokha.A crackdown on critics of Hun Sen, the world’s longest serving prime minister, has already led to the dissolution of the main opposition party and curbs on some independent media, prompting criticism from Western donors.“The Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR) must be shut down because it was created by foreigners not Cambodians. The ministry of the interior should look into this,” Hun Sen told a group of garment workers.Hun Sen described the opposition as “children” of the United States and said he told this to US President Donald Trump when they met in the Philippines earlier this month.The CCHR was founded by Kem Sokha in 2002 before he returned to a political career in 2007.Kem Sokha was arrested in September and charged with treason for an alleged plot to take power with American help. His Cambodia National Rescue Party was dissolved on Nov. 16 by the Supreme Court, acting at the government’s request.Kem Sokha has rejected the charges against him, which the opposition calls a ploy to ensure Hun Sen extended over three decades in power in next year’s election.Western countries have condemned the crackdown. The United States has stopped funding for the election and the European Union has raised a potential threat to Cambodia’s duty free access if it does not respect human rights.Hun Sen has brushed off the criticism. Cambodia’s biggest donor is now China, which has voiced support for measures to ensure stability.
|
Manila Bulletin
|
https://news.mb.com.ph/2017/11/26/cambodias-hun-sen-calls-for-closure-of-rivals-rights-group/
|
100 policemen secure Libingan
|
['Anthony Vargas']
|
2016-11-22 20:14:00+00:00
|
THE Southern Police District (SPD) on Tuesday said it has deployed a company of civil disturbance management (CDM) policemen to secure the perimeter of the Libingan ng mga Bayani (LNMB or Heroes’ Cemetery) where former President Ferdinand Marcos was laid to rest last Friday.“At any one time, we have a company of CDM personnel that are deployed to secure the LNMB. We have regular security force deployed there,” SPD director and Senior Supt. Tomas Apolinario Jr. told a press briefing at Camp Crame in Quezon City.Apolinario said they have no time frame on how long the CDM numbering 100 policemen will be securing the LNMB.He added that the policemen are posted at the cemetery from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. and expressed hope that there would not be any violent rally to happen at the LNMB.The police official said most of those who are visiting the cemetery are supporters of the former president.Meanwhile, a graduate of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) said majority of his fellow alumni at the premiere school support the ruling of the Supreme Court dismissing petitions filed against the burial of the former president at the Libingan.Rodolfo Mendoza was an intelligence officer when he retired from the Philippine National Police in 2008.Mendoza said the Roman Catholic Church is “slightly” divided on the issue of Marcos’ burial at the Libingan ng mga Bayani.
|
Manila Times
|
https://www.manilatimes.net/100-policemen-secure-libingan/297831/
|
Muntinlupa ties up with PTV 4 for city’s centenary
|
['The Manila Times']
|
2017-01-16 21:08:38+00:00
|
The Muntinlupa city government has tied up with the People’s Television Network Channel 4, or PTV4, through the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO), for the promotion and advertising of the city’s centennial celebration in December.Tez Navarro, Muntinlupa Public Information Officer, paid a courtesy visit to PCOO Secretary Martin Andanar to discuss the partnership in the marketing of Muntinlupa’s 100th founding anniversary.Andanar, a resident of Muntinlupa City (Metro Manila), committed to extend help to local festivities and to promote the centennial celebration in the government-owned broadcasting network PTV 4.City Mayor Jaime Fresnedi tanked the national government for helping Muntinlupa mark its founding anniversary.Commercial establishment owners were also requested to support and adopt all the projects, programs and activities created by the Muntinlupa Centennial Commission, headed by City Administrator Allan Cachuela, for the centennial celebration.Members of the private sector were urged through City Council Resolution 16-133to install centennial arches/logo in front of their buildings or premises.Activities for the 100th anniversary include centennial roadshow caravan, centennial women’s congress, sale extravaganza, centennial bancathon, centennial travel expo, Lakbay Bulilit, Serenata sa Plaza and LGBT Parangal.For more information about te Muntinlupa Centennial, visit fb.com/officialmuntinlupacity and muntinlupacity.gov.ph.
|
Manila Times
|
https://www.manilatimes.net/muntinlupa-ties-ptv-4-citys-centenary/307241/
|
Palace: peace talks not scuttled
|
['Yolanda Santos']
|
3/2/2017 0:00
|
Malacañang on Thursday, February 2 said that despite both parties lifting ceasefire, the peace talks between the government and the rebels will still continue.Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella said there was an apparent disconnect between the rebel leaders negotiating with the government and the leaders on the ground, leading to the lifting of the ceasefire.“Despite the untenable circumstances on the ground, the peace talks have not yet been scuttled. The road to peace is not an easy journey,” Abella said in a text message, Friday night, February 3.“Some progress had already been made during the third round of peace talks in Rome, but apparently there is some disconnect between dissident leaders negotiating at the table and their forces on the ground. It would be deeply regrettable that the otherwise positive developments now might have to be set aside,” he added.On Friday, President Duterte lifted the unilateral ceasefire with Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army-National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF), just two days after the rebels announced that they will withdraw their unilateral ceasefire next week.However, despite saying that he will take his time to think what he should do next, Duterte lifted the ceasefire after three soldiers were killed in an ambush on February 1.“Peace with the communists cannot be achieved in our generation. I have lost so many soldiers in the past 48 hours, I think to continue with the ceasefire will not produce anything,” Duterte lamented during the launching of Solar Powered Irrigation System Area in M’lang, North Cotabato.He also apologized to the military and ordered them to return to their camps, clean their rifles, and prepared to fight.According to Abella, the soldiers, who had just received their wages, were shot and killed viciously by the rebels.Abella also quoted an unnamed army officer commented that the ambush was a “complete disregard” for NPA’s announcement that they would recall its ceasefire only by 10 February.
|
Manila Bulletin
|
https://news.mb.com.ph/2017/02/03/palace-peace-talks-not-scuttled/
|
Aguirre defends actions
|
['William Depasupil']
|
2018-04-11 00:02:05+00:00
|
Saying he has done nothing wrong, former Department of Justice (DoJ) Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre 2nd maintained his stand on two crucial issues that may have convinced President Rodrigo Duterte to accept his resignation after serving the Cabinet for almost two years.In a farewell speech before officials and employees of the Justice department on Tuesday, Aguirre explained his side on the controversial resolution of government prosecutors dismissing drug charges against self-confessed drug lord Erwin Espinosa and other co-accused, and his equally controversial decision to placed alleged pork barrel scam mastermind Janet Lim Napoles under the Witness Protection Program (WPP) of the DoJ, saying they were all in accordance with the law.The dismissal of the drug charges against Espinosa et al was the last straw that made the President lose his cool with a stern warning that he would put Aguirre in jail if Espinosa and company were freed.Aguirre said he has explained to the President how the dismissal came about, which he pointed out was not yet final because of a pending motion for resolution and was still subject for review by his office.“In the process of the investigation at the first level, I did not interfere. You can ask the prosecutors. I never told them to dismiss the case. I told them to do it or decide it in accordance with what is right, with what you thought is right and that’s what they did,” he added.Aguirre maintained that allegations that he had a hand in the dismissal of the case was nothing but “black propaganda” concocted by people who wanted him out of the DoJ, and conveniently picked up by some members of the media without first understanding the processes from the National Prosecution Service (NPS) to the Office of the Justice Secretary.“The office has nothing to do with the resolution of the prosecutors. I told the President that there are still two processes that I have to make. The motion for reconsideration is still pending before the NPS, they could have cured it. But somebody prematurely leaked this resolution, this resolution is not final,” he said.
|
Manila Times
|
https://www.manilatimes.net/aguirre-defends-actions/391725/
|
Rebuilding Marawi needs coordination – Robredo
|
['Melenggay Laranery']
|
1/11/2017 0:00
|
na iyong lahat na mga plano, pag-isahin na lang. Pag-usapan, mayroon lang isang plano,” she said.Robredo underscored the importance of convergence in the rehabilitation, stressing that there should be a central command that will process assistance from all agencies and organizations, both in government and the private sector.The Vice President has been present in Marawi, one of its partner local government units under Angat Buhay, during the 153-day war.
|
Manila Bulletin
|
https://news.mb.com.ph/2017/11/01/rebuilding-marawi-needs-coordination-robredo/
|
Gordon, Trillanes trade barbs over committee report on killings
|
['John Puruntong', 'Marx Perfecto Garcia', 'Zel Zerimar']
|
9/12/2016 0:00
|
Senators Richard J. Gordon and Antonio Trillanes IV yesterday clashed anew over the Senate justice and human rights panel’s controversial committee report that effectively cleared President Duterte from involvement in extrajudicial killings in the country.A defiant Trillanes called Gordon a Duterte “lackey” and said he won’t waste his time on committee’s rushed findings which he regarded a “piece of garbage.”In particular, Trillanes blasted Gordon, who replaced Senator Leila de Lima as head of the justice and human rights committee after ousting her, for dismissing Edgar Matobato’s testimony during the hearing about the existence of the so-called Davao Death Squad (DDS)“That’s the part where in Sen. Gordon shows he is indeed a lackey of President Duterte. The whole country saw the testimony of Edgar Matobato (and how) he was able to show evidence of his links to the (Davao) mayor’s office,” Trillanes said in an interview over ANC Headstart.“He has the gun issued to him, by the policemen involved in the heinous investigation section and he was already charged with kidnapping and murder and yet he continued to be part of that office of the city mayor,” Trillanes said.Matobato had earlier confessed to the Senate he was a member of the infamous DDS which the President himself formed when he was still Davao City Mayor.Gordon, on the other hand, said Trillanes and De Lima should have presented enough evidence to prove Matobato is a credible witness and sufficient proof that the DDS really existed.“Well they were not able to present evidence to prove that. And if they have a long running feud with the President they should not take it out on the committee. Why treat the committee report as garbage (and saying) lackey kami, lackey ako (that we are lackeys, I’m a lackey). Why is it so personal?” Gordon lamented when also sought to react on Trillanes’ statements.“Can this man not argue on the matter of issues? Is he so weak of mind, so weak of integrity that he could not argue on the floor? Because we tried to do that before, he goes out of the Senate and starts attacking us, and that is not the purpose of the Senate,” Gordon stressed.
|
Manila Bulletin
|
https://news.mb.com.ph/2016/12/09/gordon-trillanes-trade-barbs-over-committee-report-on-killings/
|
Military to crack down on fake info in social media
|
['Dempsey Reyes']
|
2017-05-26 21:11:25+00:00
|
The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) is coming up with guidelines on use of social media, citing widespread disinformation in cyber space since the start of clashes between government troops and Islamist terrorists in Marawi City, Lanao del Sur, in southern Philippines on Tuesday.“The reason these guidelines have to be set and to be given [out] and [to have a] censure part [stems from] the things we have been seeing [online about] the operational environment [that the AFP is playing in],” Brig. Gen. Restituto Padilla Jr., AFP spokesman, said on Friday.“[You have seen] that tremendous disinformation clouds or creates a thick fog of war that does not allow [for] or provide a better operational picture of the battlefield and this is one that creates a lot of collateral damage, which we want to avoid,” Padilla added.Meanwhile, the Department of National Defense has released do’s and don’ts addressed to the chiefs of the AFP and the Philippine National Police for the duration of martial law, which President Rodrigo Duterte declared on the whole island of Mindanao also on Tuesday.Amid martial law, the military will “highly encourage” groups such as the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) to reconsider their announcement on stepping up their attacks on government forces during martial law in Mindanao.In a televised news briefing in Davao City, Padilla, along with Solicitor General Jose Calida and presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella, said the announcement “saddens” the Armed Forces.Shortly after the declaration, the CPP ordered its supposedly 4,000-strong armed wing, the New People’s Army (NPA), to conduct more offensives as a way of resisting martial law.“[I]f the NPA will insist [on doing]what they want… we will enforce the law uniformly, no matter who [these] groups are,” Padilla said.Such attacks that will be initiated by the NPA would only worsen the situation in Mindanao, particularly in Marawi City, according to the Commission on Human Rights (CHR).If the CPP made good its threat, CHR Commissioner Gwendolyn Pimentel-Gana also on Friday told The Manila Times in a phone interview, the government would have an additional “enemy” to deal with.
|
Manila Times
|
https://www.manilatimes.net/military-crack-fake-info-social-media/329474/
|
House urged to approve new maternity leave bill
|
['Ako C Juan']
|
7/3/2017 0:00
|
Senators are urging their counterparts at the House of Representatives to expedite the approval of the Expanded Maternity Leave bill which they believe must be prioritized instead of measures that seek to restore the death penalty.Senator Risa Hontiveros, who lost the Senate health committee when she joined the Senate minority, appealed to Congress to reciprocate the action of the Senate which voted 22-0 and approved the measure granting working women 120 days maternity leave and150 days for solo mothers, on third and final reading last Monday.“What the people need are policies that would radically improve their quality of life not laws that will bring death,” Hontiveros said.“What the people demand are adequate protections and safeguards that would lead to welfare enhancing outcomes at par with international standards,” she stressed.Still as chair of the Senate committee on women, children, family relations and gender equality, Hontiveros said the passage of this measure in the Senate “is a clear triumph of women over antiquated thinking and policies.”“The last time the number of maternity leave was increased was 25 years ago, or in 1992,” she pointed out.Other senators who backed the measure include Senators Nancy Binay, Sonny Angara, Loren Legarda, Francis Pangilinan, Manny Pacquiao and Antonio Trillanes IV.
|
Manila Bulletin
|
https://news.mb.com.ph/2017/03/07/house-urged-to-approve-new-maternity-leave-bill/
|
Groups buck lowering age of criminal liability
|
['Jing Villamente']
|
2017-01-25 21:24:16+00:00
|
Various child rights groups have banded together to fight a proposed legislative move to lower the minimum age of criminal responsibility of children in conflict with the law to nine from 15 at present.In a news conference at the Kamuning Bakery in Quezon City on Wednesday, different stakeholders contended that is “indeed the entrenched poverty in the country that [leads] to children getting into conflict with the law.”“We believe that the goverment should not regard juvenile offenders as criminals, they are victims of poverty and state neglect. These poor children have been condemned miserably [to] a condition where they need to commit crimes in order to survive,” according to Kahrlo Manano, spokesman for Salinlahi, an alliance for children’s concerns.Referring to data from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) data that say most children in conflict with the law belong to low-earning families of six members on the average, have stopped schooling and were charged with property-related crimes, Manano said the House of Representatives has even moved for the lowering the age of criminal responsibility of children.“House Speaker [Pantaleon] Alvarez and members of the House Committee on Justice should give weight to the clamor of the public opposing such proposal. Jailing children, as young as nine years old, will not address the problem of child offenders. Instead the goverment should prioritize crafting responsive programs and policies that will address poverty that should include job generation for poor families, genuine land reform for farmers and access to free basic social services such as health and education,” he added.The UNCHAIN Children (Unity of Child Rights Advocates Against Inhumane Treatment and Neglect of Children), a network composed of mutli-stakeholders who are against the proposed legislation, was launched during the news conference.Manano said the objective of the UNCHAIN Children is to unify the call of different stakeholders in opposing the move to lower the minimum age of criminal responsibility (MACR) and strengthen their initiatives in pushing the government to address the problem of child offenders.
|
Manila Times
|
https://www.manilatimes.net/groups-buck-lowering-age-criminal-liability/308713/
|
US Navy pushes Asean sea code
|
['Dempsey Reyes']
|
2018-11-02 00:02:40+00:00
|
The United States Navy is pushing for the Code of Conduct between Southeast Asian countries and China to prevent any miscalculations in the South China Sea.Admiral John Richardson, US Navy chief of naval operations, said in a telephonic press conference that Washington will welcome the drafting of the Code of Conduct, which is considered as a “very positive development.”“These codes of conduct serve to, as I said before, with this operational arrangement, the Code for Unplanned Encounters at Sea (Cues), they serve a tremendous benefit in terms of providing for safe and professional passage (in) high seas,” Richardson said, noting that the US Navy and the Chinese Navy had been sailing in the same waters.Richardson explained that it was “not uncommon” for Washington and Beijing to encounter each other in high seas.The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) and China have not concluded the formation of the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea.In August, Singapore Minister of Defense Ng Eng Hen urged Asean and China to conclude the formation of the Code of Conduct for maritime stability and maintenance of centrality.Richardson, meanwhile, highlighted the importance of understanding freedom of navigation, since it is being used to contest maritime claims.The South China Sea is being claimed in whole and in part by China, Taiwan, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam.
|
Manila Times
|
https://www.manilatimes.net/us-navy-pushes-asean-sea-code/460877/
|
4 ex-military men named to top Customs posts
|
['The Manila Times']
|
2017-01-22 18:17:20+00:00
|
FOUR more ex-military officers, all identified with Customs Commissioner Nicanor Faeldon, were appointed to top Customs posts.The four were identified as former captains Gerardo Gambala, Nilo Maestrocampo and Alvin Ebreo, and former Southern Luzon Command spokesman Neil Anthony Estrella.Their designations, along with those of four others, were contained in a Customs personnel order signed by Faeldon last January 11. It was approved by Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez 3rd.Gambala is the new deputy commissioner for management information systems and technology; Maestrocampo, director, Import Assessment Service; Ebreo, director, Legal Service; and Estrella, director, Customs Intelligence and Investigation Services.Gambala, Maestrocampo and Ebreo were among nine members of the rebel Magdalo group found guilty in connection with the July 2003 failed Oakwood rebellion in Makati City.Faeldon is also a member of the Magdalo Group.Gambala and Maestrocampo were meted life sentences for leading the short-lived rebellion, while Ebreo and the others were sentenced to 6 to 12 years in prison as accomplices.They were given executive clemency by former president and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.Faeldon, a former Marine captain, applied for amnesty in 2011, along with former Marine commandant Maj. Gen. Renato Miranda.The four others who were given new assignments were James Layug, director, Port Operations Service; Henry Anthony Torres, director, Financial Management Office; Marites Martin, district collector, Port of Clark; and Elvira Cruz, district collector, Port of Cebu.Earlier, Malacañang named retired Maj. Gen. Natalio Ecarma 3rd, a former defense undersecretary, deputy commissioner for revenue collection; and Ariel Nepomuceno, deputy commissioner for enforcement.Faldon said there was nothing wrong in appointing former military officials to the bureau.The bureau has law enforcement functions, and Customs agencies in other countries even have Armed Forces-like structures, he pointed out.In other countries, the head of Customs is a director general with a four-star rank, unlike in the Philippines where the title is “commissioner.”“It’s really wrong to question why there are military people in the [bureau]. Try to imagine if one has a law enforcement function but you don’t have training in the military. You cannot,” Faeldon said.“We coordinate with our counterparts all over the world and they are all military-trained also,” he added.WILLIAM B. DEPASUPIL
|
Manila Times
|
https://www.manilatimes.net/4-ex-military-men-named-top-customs-posts/308226/
|
‘Urduja’ : More areas under storm signal
|
['Mary Gleefer F. Jalea']
|
2017-12-14 20:12:01+00:00
|
Over 15 areas have been placed under storm Signal No.1 as tropical depression Urduja (international code name: Kaitak) slightly intensified on Thursday, according to the state-run weather bureau.The Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) on Thursday morning said these areas in Luzon are Catanduanes, Camarines Sur, Albay, Sorsogon, Masbate and Romblon.Affected areas in the Visayas include Eastern Samar, Northern Samar, Samar, Biliran, Leyte, Southern Leyte, northern Cebu including Bantay Island, Capiz, Aklan and northern Iloilo.According to Pagasa, these areas may experience winds of up to 30-60 kilometers per hour in the next 36 hours as Urduja may turn into a tropical storm.The tropical depression was located at 120 kilometers east of Guiuan, Eastern Samar, packing maximum sustained winds of up to 60 kph and gustiness of up to 80 kph.Because of the bad weather, classes were canceled in five provinces, according to #WALANGPASOK: Albay – pre-school to elementary (public and private); Naval, Biliran – pre-school to high school (public and private); Camarines Sur – all levels (public and private); Ormoc City, Leyte – elementary (public and private); and Sorsogon – pre-school to elementary levels (public and private).Moderate to heavy rainfall is expected within a 400-km diameter of the tropical depression.Urduja is expected to move westward at 7 kph and make landfall over Eastern Samar on Thursday night or Friday morning.Mindanao, Mimaropa (Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon and Palawan), Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon), the rest of the Bicol Region and the rest of the Visayas will experience cloudy skies with scattered rainshowers and thunderstorms caused by Urduja.Metro Manila and the rest of Luzon will experience cloudy skies with scattered rains caused by the northeast monsoon, Pagasa said.It warned of moderate to heavy rainshowers and thunderstorms, which may trigger flashfloods and landslides over the Visayas, Bicol Region and northeastern Mindanao that could result from the combined effect of Urduja and the tail end of a cold front.
|
Manila Times
|
https://www.manilatimes.net/urduja-areas-storm-signal/368662/
|
House approves Magna Carta of Filipino Seafarers
|
['Philippines News Agency']
|
2017-07-29 21:59:29+00:00
|
The House of Representatives has unanimously approved on third and final reading the proposed Magna Carta of Filipino Seafarers.With a 236-0 votings, the lower chamber approved House Bill 5685, which seeks to improve seafarers’ working conditions and terms of employment and career prospects and to uplift the socio-economic well-being of their families.HB 5685 covers all Filipino seafarers engaged, employed, or working in any capacity on board Philippine registered ships operating domestically or internationally, as well as those on board foreign registered ships.However, it does not cover warships and naval auxiliaries, government ships not engaged in commercial operations, ships of traditional build and fishing vessels.Under the bill, seafarers shall have the right to a safe and secure workplace that complies with safety standards, as well as decent working and living conditions on board a ship.Furthermore, seafarers shall be provided with medical care, welfare measures, and other forms of health and social protection.The bill also provides for fair terms and conditions of employment including salary commensurate with their rank, hours of work, basis for wage computation, minimum number of working hours, and rest period consistent with Philippine laws or international maritime conventions.The measure mandates the government to establish an integrated document processing center where seafarers and the general public can transact with at least 15 government agencies.
|
Manila Times
|
https://www.manilatimes.net/house-approves-magna-carta-of-filipino-seafarers/341360/
|
Typhoon ‘Paolo’ maintains strength
|
['Mary Gleefer F. Jalea']
|
2017-10-18 23:10:07+00:00
|
Typhoon Paolo has maintained its strength, while a low pressure area (LPA) continues to bring scattered rains over Palawan, the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said on Wednesday.The state-run weather bureau added that Paolo was located at 735 kilometers east of Guiuan, Eastern Samar, packing maximum sustained winds of up to 120 kilometers per hour and gustiness of up to 145 kph.It is forecast to move further north-northwest at 20 kph and will be 1,035 km east of Baler, Aurora, within 24 hours.The typhoon’s outer rainbands continued to bring scattered moderate to occasionally heavy rains over Bicol Region, Eastern Visayas and Caraga, becoming light to moderate rains over the rest of Southern Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao.Cloudy skies with rain showers and thunderstorms will be experienced over Metro Manila and Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon).The LPA was located at 280 km west of Puerto Princesa and will bring scattered light to moderate with possible occasional heavy rains over Palawan.Pagasa alerted residents in affected areas against possible flashfloods and landslides.
|
Manila Times
|
https://www.manilatimes.net/typhoon-paolo-maintains-strength/357352/
|
Seek amnesty, bishop urges unregistered OFWs
|
['Kimberly Malait']
|
2018-08-05 00:02:05+00:00
|
Bishop Ruperto Santos, chairman of the Episcopal Commission on Migration and Itinerant People (ECMI), urged undocumented Filipino workers in the United Arab Emirates to return to the Philippines and legalize their immigration status by availing themselves of the amnesty program offered by the UAE government.“We appeal to our Overseas Filipino Workers to avail of this amnesty so as to regularize their residency status to seek new employment status,” Santos said.The bishop added that OFWs who plan to continue living or working in the UAE should take advantage of the three-month amnesty program offered by the Gulf state to correct their immigration status without penalty.The amnesty program that will end on October 31 allows foreign workers to leave the country without being charged or fined.It also grants a temporary visa to those who will avail of the program, which gives them six months to search for new jobs.The ECMI is a group under the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) that develops pastoral and social programs and services for OFWs and conducts studies on the phenomenon of migration, particularly for economic purposes.
|
Manila Times
|
https://www.manilatimes.net/seek-amnesty-bishop-urges-unregistered-ofws/426690/
|
Cardema named youth commission head
|
['Ralph Villanueva']
|
2018-08-29 00:12:08+00:00
|
PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte has appointed Ronald Cardema as chairman of the National Youth Commission (NYC), Malacañang said on Tuesday.Cardema replaced Aiza Seguerra, who resigned from her post in March this year.Prior to his appointment, Cardema was the commis-sioner of the NYC representing Luzon.His term will be for three years.After Seguerra’s resignation, Cardema was named as the commission’s officer in charge.Shortly after, he announced that he would be cutting ties with Sen. Paolo Benigno Aquino 4th’s Ten Accomplished Youth Organizations (TAYO) Awards after 15 years of partnership.In 2016, Cardema received a Plaque of Recognition from the Armed Forces of the Philippines for helping the military lobby for the return of the mandatory Reserve Officers’ Training Corps.Duterte also appointed former justice undersecretary Antonio Kho Jr. as the new Commission on Elections commissioner, replacing Sheriff Abas.Kho’s term will be until February 2, 2022.
|
Manila Times
|
https://www.manilatimes.net/cardema-named-youth-commission-head/435648/
|
LRT 2 first trip starts at 4:30 a.m. today
|
['Reicelene Joy Ignacio']
|
2017-07-02 22:36:47+00:00
|
The first trip of Light Rail Transit (LRT) 2 from Santolan to Recto (via Aurora Boulevard) will start at 4:30 a.m. instead of the usual 5 a.m. beginning July 3.According to its operator Light Rail Transit Authority, the LRT 2 decided to adjust its operating hours to match schedules of the LRT 1 (North Avenue to Baclaran, via Rizal Avenue and Taft Avenue) and the Metro Rail Transit 3 (North Avenue to Baclaran, via EDSA) and also to keep abreast of consumers’ riding preferences.“We have observed that train riders have shifted to new commuting patterns these days. They prefer to leave earlier to avoid the monstrous traffic and the hustle and bustle of peak hours,” LRTA Administrator Reynaldo Berroya said in a statement last Friday.Based on the 2016 Ridership Data, about 800,000 commuters use Line 1 and Line 2 daily.Around 20,000 or 10 percent of regular LRT 2 commuters also take the LRT 1 and 10,000 or 5 percent of them take the MRT 3 daily.Berroya encouraged commuters to start using the LRT 2 as early as 4:30 a.m. to avoid long lines especially during peak hours in the morning which are 7 a.m. to 9 a.m.The MRT 3 also starts its first trip at 4:30 a.m. and the last trip at 10:30 p.m.REICELENE JOY N. IGNACIO
|
Manila Times
|
https://www.manilatimes.net/lrt-2-first-trip-starts-430-m-today/336201/
|
PH Army holds own war games
|
['Fernan Marasigan']
|
2016-12-22 20:18:53+00:00
|
THE Philippine Army is expecting to strengthen the war-fighting capabilities of its troops through military exercises of its own such as the Joint Combined Arms Training Exercise (JCATEX) held in Fort Ramon Magsaysay, Nueva Ecija, recently.The Army’s Training and Doctrine Command (Tradoc) under Brig. Gen. Herminigildo Francisco Aquino led the JCATEX that was participated in by 694 students of different career courses from various schools under the command such as combat arms school; combat support school; combat service support school; Army leadership development center; armor school; Intelligence School; and Civil-Military Operations School.According to Capt. Alberto Caber, chief of the Tradoc’s public affairs office, highlights of the activity were military operation in urban terrain; battle drills and situational exercises; field training exercises; live fire exercises of 105 howitzers and mortars; and command post exercises.Two engineer platoon students of the Philippine Navy also took part in the exercise while the Philippine Air Force also performed close air support, troop insertion and casualty evacuation exercises.“By synchronizing combined arms and applying them simultaneously, maneuver units can achieve a greater effect. To integrate all arms into the fight, maneuver leaders must have an understanding of systems capabilities and employment methods that go beyond individual branch competencies. Importantly, maneuver leaders must be able to integrate, not only Army, but also Air Force and Navy service capabilities into operations with a particular emphasis on joint intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and fire capabilities,” Aquino explained.The Army official said the implementation of the training is in compliance with a directive of higher headquarters to infuse in each participant realistic scenarios that measure their preparedness for real-life combat.
|
Manila Times
|
https://www.manilatimes.net/ph-army-holds-war-games-2/303262/
|
President creates agency for OFWs
|
['Paul Parenas', 'Lance Ceellot']
|
15/04/2017 0:00
|
President Duterte has announced the creation of a government agency that will attend solely to the concerns of Filipino migrant workers.President Duterte made the announcement during his meeting with the Filipino community here Friday night (early Saturday morning, Manila time).“(You) overseas (Filipino workers) in a few months will have a department of OFW only,” the President said in his speech amid applause from thousands of Filipinos who attended the meeting held at the Khalifa Sports Stadium.According to President Duterte, through this new department, the processing time for the deployment of OFWs will be reduced from six weeks to three weeks.“You can go online if you want to look for an employment overseas,” he said. “You just check the list available, choose, then you apply online. You (don’t) have to go through fake employment agencies, you can go direct. And then they (the department) will take care of the rest for your convenience.”The President said the government of Bahrain has offered to help and make it easy for OFWs to get employed here.“I think the spirit or the heart of Bahrain is with you,” he said. “What I want you to avoid are those fly-by-night employment agencies who ask for exorbitant fees.”Likewise, Duterte said OFWs who return home for their vacation, especially during Christmas, will no longer have their baggage inspected by airport authorities.He pointed out that the baggage of local government officials is not inspected at airports. Such privilege should also be accorded to OFWs.“You are not just heroes,” said Duterte. “Our gross national product, good parts of it, actually your remittances…are keeping our economy alive. A good part of the money of our economy comes from you.”Duterte also said Immigration officials are no longer allowed to detain OFWs or (to) ask them more than the usual questions.“I already restricted that,” he said. “If they persist in opening your baggage, you tell them: ‘No, do not open my baggage. Just make sure that you will find something illegal in my belongings or I will slap your face.’ You create a scene, because I will know about the incident. Once I do, let us just see what will happen”
|
Manila Bulletin
|
https://news.mb.com.ph/2017/04/15/president-creates-agency-for-ofws/
|
Greenpeace lauds Senate over coal tax
|
['Leander C. Domingo']
|
2017-12-02 21:02:17+00:00
|
IT is all praises from an environmental group as the Senate has proposed a higher tax on coal, saying it is a “long overdue gift to the Filipino people” and an indication of the end of the age of coal in the country.Khevin Yu, Greenpeace climate and energy campaigner, over the weekend said “the sound of the passing bellhas been heard” for the coal industry.“The Senate has sent a strong signal that the end of the age of coal is forthcoming for Filipinos,” Yu added.The proposal, which was scheduled to go through a bicameral session on Friday in the Senate, seeks to increase the tax imposed on coal from P10 to P300 per metric ton by 2020.Pushed by Senators Loren Legarda, Joel Villanueva and Ralph Recto, it also seeks to update the P10 tax rate imposed since 1977 or 40 years ago.Voted on by the Senate on November 27, the proposal was coursed through Senate Bill 1592, or the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (Ttrain), which laid out tax reforms in various sectors and industries, including coal.“Greenpeace supports this bold move by the Senate to stand by Filipinos, who are long suffering from the impacts of coal, [and] decided that it’s time to stop coddling an industry that has caused so much destruction on our health and our country’s natural resources,” Yu said.He added that the coal industry cannot continue amassing wealth at the expense of “destroying our environment, our climate and our people.”Coal industry players, according to Yu, have been benefiting from an outdated taxation policy that has bias for the promotion of coal to the disadvantage of other sources of energy.“Such policies contribute to the illusion that coal is the cheapest source of energy. But uncovering the true cost of coal is important because it is the more expensive, destructive and deadly option for energy generation,” he said.“It is high time we instead increase support toward a diversified renewable energy system based on technologies and resources that are clearly cheaper than coal and highly abundant in our country,” Yu added.He said Greenpeace and its allies remain vigilant and joins coal-resisting communities in lending support to the Senate’s initiative.Senators, according to Yu, especially those who earlier on supported the renewable energy revolution, must prove their leadership, honesty and loyalty to their words.“We have suffered enough, and big polluters, like the coal industry, must pay. This is long overdue,” he said.
|
Manila Times
|
https://www.manilatimes.net/greenpeace-lauds-senate-coal-tax/366230/
|
Poet, essayist Rogelio Mangahas dies at 79
|
['Alvin I. Dacanay']
|
2018-07-05 00:01:35+00:00
|
AWARD-WINNING poet and essayist Rogelio G. Mangahas, whose poems in the 1960s and 1970s made him a major force in Filipino modernist poetry, died on Wednesday at the age of 79.Mangahas died at 6:14 a.m. at the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Hospital in Manila, where he had been confined after suffering a massive stroke on Monday, according to his widow, historian and professor Fe Mangahas, and poet Vim Nadera.Fellow writers paid tributes on Facebook after news of Mangahas’ death broke.The Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino (KWF or the Commission on the Filipino Language) said in Filipino that Mangahas was a promoter of Filipino modernist poetry, together with Lamberto E. Antonio and National Artist for Literature Virgilio S. Almario.“Siya ay [isang] premyadong makata, manunulat, kritiko, guro, aktibista, makabayan, at tagapagsulong ng panitikan at wikang Filipino (He is a prize-winning poet, writer, critic, teacher, activist, nationalist, and promoter of Filipino literature and language),” it added.Alma Cruz-Miclat, wife of author Mario Miclat, described Mangahas as a “people’s poet,” and “staunch nationalist and activist.”Essayist-critic Roland Tolentino regarded the poet as one of his first writing mentors when he studied at the De La Salle University (DLSU), calling him “mabait (kind), gentlemanly, malumanay magsalita, matipid ngumiti at mas matipid tumawa (softspoken who smiled and laughed sparingly).”“Isa sa pinakamalalim na minamahal at iginagalang na makata at kapwa tao (One of the most deeply loved and respected poets and fellow human beings),” poet and professor Rebecca Añonuevo wrote of Mangahas.Other writers, including Perfecto Martin and Michael Coroza, posted Mangahas’ poems on their respective Facebook accounts in his honor.Mangahas was born in Palasinan village, Cabiao, Nueva Ejica on May 9, 1939. He finished AB Filipino at the University of the East (UE), where he met and became associated with Almario and Antonio. He also studied MA Philippine Literature at the University of the Philippines (UP).The author was editor-in-chief of Phoenix Publishing House and of SIBS Publishing House and taught Filipino language and literature at DLSU, UE, UP Manila and Saint Scholastica’s College.Mangahas was best known for co-authoring and editing the anthology Manlilikha: Mga Piling Tula 1961–1967 (Creator: Selected Poems 1961–1967; 1967), which some literary critics regard as a major accomplishment in Filipino modernist poetry in the 1960s, and for Mga Duguang Plakard at Iba Pang Tula (Bloody Placards and Other Poems). This poetry collection won first prize at the Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature in 1971.He also won third prize for his poetry collection “Tinig Mula sa Kung Saan (Voice from Wherever)” in 1966 and first prize for his essay on the author of Sa Mga Kuko ng Liwanag (In the Claws of Light), “Si Edgardo Reyes: Ang Manunulat, Kanyang Akda at Panahon (Edgardo Reyes: The Writer, His Work and Era),” in 1986 from the same literary competition.The Surian ng Wikang Pambansa (Institute of National Language) named Mangahas as its Makata ng Taon (Poet of the Year) in 1969 and the KWF bestowed on him the Gawad Dangal ni Balagtas (Honor of Balagtas Prize) in 2015, the latter named after the poet and author of the epic Florante at Laura (Florante and Laura).For his contributions to Philippine literature, Mangahas received the Gawad Pambansang Alagad ni Balagtas (National Disciple of Balagtas Prize) from the Unyon ng mga Manunulat ng Pilipinas (Umpil, or Writers Union of the Philippines).Mangahas’ wake is at Saint Peter’s Chapels on Quezon Avenue. His remains will be moved to Cabiao on Saturday.
|
Manila Times
|
https://www.manilatimes.net/poet-essayist-rogelio-mangahas-dies-at-79/416057/
|
ERC ‘connives’ with Meralco
|
['Jing Villamente']
|
2017-05-12 21:04:06+00:00
|
The United Filipino Consumers and Commuters (UFCC) is calling on Congress to probe the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) for its allegedly questionable dealings with the country’s largest distribution utility Meralco by attempting to water down the immediate refund of P6.9 billion to consumers.“We have learned that the four ERC commissioners had a closed-door meeting with top honchos of Meralco on May 9. There is no record of their discussion because the Secretariat was asked to leave, but two days later, in a special commission meeting, Commissioner Josefina Magpale-Asirit pushed for a ‘re-deliberation’ of the Meralco refund order that had been approved by the commission en banc on May 2,” Rodolfo Javellana, president of UFCC, said.In its decision on May 2, the ERC directed Meralco to refund the P6.9 billion within three months, from May 2017 to July 2017.The amount represents over-recoveries that the utility collected from January 2014 to December 2016.While Meralco had proposed a 36-month schedule for the refund, ERC went with an immediate payout, or within three months, upon the urging of ERC Chairman and CEO Jose Vicente Salazar.Noting that the over-recoveries occurred from 2014 to 2016 and that the utility is already in possession of the money, Salazar maintained it would be to the best interest of Meralco’s consumers to have their money returned sooner.ERC announced its decision on the Meralco refund on May 3.Malacañang, however, announced Salazar’s preventive suspension the following day.Asirit took this occasion to return the Meralco refund order to ERC’s legal service, citing the “supervening event” of Salazar’s suspension.By May 5, ERC’s press release on the Meralco refund could no longer be found on the ERC website.According to sources, Asirit had the announcement taken down and had even accosted ERC personnel over the posting of the press release.As a result of the special meeting of May 11, the insiders say the refund period may be lengthened to 12 months, instead of the three-month period approved by the commission on May 2.“This isn’t the first time Commissioner Asirit has reportedly thwarted the commission to favor Meralco. During the congressional hearing last February, it was established that she also initiated the delay of the competitive selection process [CSP]. Her continued presence at the ERC places all consumers at risk,” Javellana said.Calculated at P0.7541/kilowatt-hour per month, the Meralco refund would have offered immediate relief to consumers, who have been paying an extra P0.22/kWh since March 2017 and until May 2017 because of increased generation cost incurred by Meralco as a result of the Malampaya shutdown.
|
Manila Times
|
https://www.manilatimes.net/erc-connives-meralco/326897/
|
Duterte open to Senate tweaking of tax package
|
['Bernadette E. Tamayo']
|
2017-08-02 21:20:11+00:00
|
PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte is amenable to the senators’ planned move to tweak the comprehensive tax reform package to make it more acceptable to the public.Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon on Wednesday said the President has realized that the Senate as collegial body will have to seek the views of each senator. “He is open to amendments.”The President, during his second State of the Nation Address (SONA), had asked Congress to pass the proposed tax reform measure “in full.”He specifically singled out Sen. Juan Edgardo Angara, chairman of the Senate Committee on Ways and Means.“The President accepted that the Senate will retain flexibility insofar as finally deciding the amounts of taxes. Generally, the need for a reform in our tax structure is accepted,” Drilon said in an interview.“My impression is that the President left it to the good judgment of the legislature, in consultation of course with the Department of Finance, as to what is the appropriate tax structure that we will finally pass,” he added.Angara said the proposed tax reform measure will be easier to pass if the Senate will be allowed to revise some of its provisions. “We can find ways to make it more acceptable.”The President met with eight senators, including Drilon and Angara, on Tuesday afternoon to discuss his legislative agenda and brief them on the peace and order situation in Mindanao.Senate Majority Leader Vicente Sotto 3rd believes that the President is amenable to tweaking the tax reform bill after he told Angara not to take seriously his “warning” during the SONA.Ang dating sa akin, personal reading ko kay Presidente, payag siya sa tweak. Payag siyang likutin namin. Hindi niya sinasabi na ipasa in full [My personal reading of the President was that he is amenable to tweak the bill. He will allow us to scrutinize it. He did not say to pass it in full],” Sotto said in a radio interview.Drilon said the President did not request the Senate to pass the tax reform package in haste. “There was no such thing. We will deliberate on it. He did not impose any deadline.”
|
Manila Times
|
https://www.manilatimes.net/duterte-open-to-senate-tweaking-of-tax-package/342054/
|
Abellera mulls raps vs Taguba
|
['Martini Hillary']
|
6/9/2017 0:00
|
Councilor Nilo “Small” Abellera is considering the filing of a case against Customs broker Mark Taguba for implicating him in the alleged “Davao Group” tagged in smuggling activities in the city.But Abellera said his legal team would like to focus first on clearing his name and in the ongoing hearing of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee on alleged drug smuggling and bribery at the Bureau of Customs (BoC).“We are now thinking about the possibility of filing charges, but for now there is no finality yet because we are still focusing on the Senate hearing since I need to clear my name first,” he said.Abellera, who is now in his last term as a city councilor, admitted he was offended by Taguba’s allegation, especially that he has no knowledge about the issue. He said the controversy has also affected his family.“I have no business related to import or export or anything that has something to do with the Bureau of Customs. I do not involve myself in the national agency especially if I have nothing to do with them,” Abellera said.Abellera stands firm that he has nothing to do with Taguba and the alleged smuggling in the city. He earlier admitted to have met Taguba through a certain “Jack” but denied receiving P5 million bribe money from him.“Maybe he (Taguba) doesn’t have any evidence against me that is why we are just relying on his mere statement. If he has evidences against me, that I received money from him, then he should have presented it in the senate hearing,” Abellera said.Abellera also questioned the inconsistencies in Taguba’s statement, saying, “I don’t know what he can get if he changes his statement every now and then.”Abellera said he would not hesitate to attend another hearing if the Senate invites him so he could clear his name.
|
Manila Bulletin
|
https://news.mb.com.ph/2017/09/06/abellera-mulls-raps-vs-taguba/
|
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.