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Lawyer takes up fight of blind masseurs
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['The Manila Times']
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2017-12-17 00:46:42+00:00
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Election lawyer and senior citizens advocate Romulo Macalintal called on the management of Duty Free Shop in Parañaque City to allow blind masseurs in its waiting area.Macalintal lamented the transfer of the blind masseurs to an area where they are hardly noticed.“For the past 14 years, a group of 10 masseurs have been rendering massage services to customers of Duty Free Shop (DFS). A number of chairs are lined up every day at its waiting area where customers would take their seats and enjoy a very relaxing massage while waiting for their relatives shopping at the DFS,” the lawyer said.He said he was surprised to discover last week that the area earlier occupied by blind masseurs have been filled with Christmas décor.The blind masseurs sought the help of DFS management to allow them to work in the shop’s waiting area but their plea was ignored.Macalintal said the meager income and tips the blind masseurs receive from their customers help them send their children to school and defray family expenses.“Perhaps, it is not yet too late to call the attention of DFS officers that the true spirit of Christmas is not shown by the beautiful Christmas decors in our surroundings but by the compassion we extend to our less fortunate fellowmen like these poor blind masseurs.They are the very people sought to be protected by RA 7277 or the Magna Carta for Persons with Disability (PWDs) wherein the state is directed to give them “full support to improve their total well-being and to develop their skills and potentials,” the lawyer said.“If the past administration of DFS had allowed them to stay in its waiting area, there is no reason why the same accommodation could not be extended to them at present. The DFS, being an instrument of the government, is mandated by law to extend all its support to all PWDs like these blind masseurs to insure that they are given all the chances for “rehabilitation, self-development and self-reliance,” he added.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/lawyer-takes-fight-blind-masseurs/369129/
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Faster LRT 1 trains seen
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['Reicelene Joy Ignacio']
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2018-02-03 00:01:04+00:00
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The Light Rail Transit (LRT) 1 is expected to run faster trains beginning “probably in the second quarter” of the year, from 40 kilometer per hour to 60 kph, according to its operator Light Rail Manila Corporation (LRMC).LRT 1 plies the Monumento (Caloocan City)-Baclaran (Pasay City)-Monumento route.“What we are concentrating on is increasing the speed. That may be an improvement in the future, from 40 kph to 60 kph,” LRMC Chief Operating Officer Rodolfo Chansuyco said on Friday.According to Chansuyco, the LRMC has a quality team to certify that all standards will be met before the trains will begin operating at 60 kph.“We need to ensure that they can run at 60 kph,” he said.The LRMC announced that the construction of its P64.9-billion Baclaran to Bacoor (Cavite) extension will begin in the middle of 2018.“We have signed an EPC [engineering, procurement, and construction] contract with Bouygues… We can [start] by the middle of this year,” LRMC President and Chief Executive Officer Juan Alfonso said.The project involves the construction of 11 stations between Baclaran and Bacoor.It is expected to be completed in the last quarter of 2021 and will accommodate 410,000 passengers a day.Alfonso said the LRMC is in continuous discussions with the government on how to implement a pending fare hike, which was stated under their concession agreement.The LRMC earlier proposed that the government subsidize the P300-million fare increase instead of passing the burden to commuters.Meanwhile, it said it served an average of 435,000 commuters daily in 2017, up by six percent from the 410,000 in 2016.It hit the highest ridership of 577,585 on December 1, 2017.The LRMC is a joint venture of the Metro Pacific Light Rail Corporation, AC Infrastructure Holdings Corporatio and Macquarie Infrastructure Holdings PTE Ltd.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/faster-lrt-1-trains-seen/377859/
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Pray for Duterte’s health – CBCP
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['Neil Jayson Servallos']
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2018-10-07 00:05:18+00:00
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The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) on Saturday urged the public to pray for the health of President Rodrigo Duterte, who had hinted that he may have cancer.“It’s sad news, the medical findings, and we would like to really pray for our President that he would be recovering from this found illness,” CBCP Archbishop Romulo Valles said in an interview over Church-run Radio Veritas.Valles called on the public to pray for the President’s health since he plays an important role in the country.“We would pray for him that he would be back to his health so that he can run the affairs of the country,” the Davao archbishop said.On Thursday, the President raised the possibility that he may have stage 3 cancer, admitting that he had tests at the Cardinal Santos Medical Center in San Juan City.“I do not know where I am now physically,” Duterte said during dinner with members of the Philippine Military Academy Alumni Association.“If it’s cancer, it’s cancer. If it’s third stage, no more treatment. I will no longer prolong my agony in this office,” he added.On Friday, Presidential spokesman Harry Roque Jr. revealed that Duterte’s doctors have advised the President to undergo endoscopy. He said a “growth” was found in the President’s digestive tract.CBCP-Episcopal Commission on the Clergy head Bishop Buenaventura Famadico of the San Pablo Diocese said they would pray for the 73-year-old Chief Executive.“We pray for him,” he said in a press briefing at the start of the 21-day visit of the heart of St. Padre Pio in Batangas on Saturday.The incorrupt heart of St. Padre Pio of Pietrelcina will be in the country until October 26.Senators have downplayed reports that Duterte had an endoscopy, saying finding growths in the digestive tract was “normal” for people his age.Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto 3rd said the public has nothing to worry about .“Normal yan sa matatanda, magtanong ka sa matatanda kung may nahanap ba sa kanila sa mga endoscopy at colonoscopy nila. Normal na may nakikitang growth sa digestive [tract],” Sotto said in a radio interview.Sotto added if the President dies, it would be no cause for alarm since the Constitution provides for his succession.“Sa gobyerno naman may succession,” he explained.Sen. Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel 3rd meanwhile said he believes the President was in great health, adding that undergoing endoscopies and colonoscopies at Duterte’s age was normal.“Ask your father, grandfather how he is doing and you would find out what the President is going through,” he said.Pimentel however said the Palace should disclose to the public if the President is having a serious health issue.“Kahit nga sa batas mayroong doctor-patient confidentiality rule e ‘di naman kailangang iannounce sa lahat ‘yan.Pero obligasyon ng Malacañang to disclose if the President has a serious health issue. Pero kunyari kung nasira lang ang tiyan ng Presidente, hindi na siguro kailangang i-aanounce yan,” Pimentel said.The Constitution also mandates that the Cabinet must also be informed of the President’s health.WITH PNA
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/pray-for-dutertes-health-cbcp/449111/
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Airlines told: Account for terminal fee take
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['William Depasupil']
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2017-03-17 21:24:55+00:00
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Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello 3rd on Friday sought an immediate accounting of the “illegal” collection of travel tax and terminal fee from overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) for the last three years.“They [airline companies] have to account to us how much they collected for the last three years and up to now and how much they have remitted to CAAP [Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines]. We will also ask the CAAP to account to us how much has been remitted to them by the airlines, and then ask them to remit this amount immediately to the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration because OWWA is the trustee of the OFWs,” Bello told reporters.According to the Labor secretary, the amount that will be remitted by the airlines will be added to the estimated P200 billion trust fund of the OFWs.OWWA, along with the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA), are adjunct agencies of the Labor department.Bello threatened legal action against the airline companies to compel them to immediately stop the collection of travel tax and terminal fee from the OFWs as they do not have legal basis to do so.“The continuous collection of travel tax and terminal fee from the OFWs is not correct because the law exempting them took effect three years ago. They should have stopped the collection as early as three years ago,” he said.The Labor chief was reacting to reports that the airline companies will only cease collecting the tax and the fee starting April 30.“[We] will confer with the Office of the Solicitor General to come up with the legal action to stop it immediately. Not April 30, but now,” Bello said.Under Presidential Decree 1183 and Republic Act 8042, or the Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipino Act of 1995, as Amended by RA 10022, OFWs are exempted from paying travel tax and terminal fee.The CAAP administers the collection of prescribed charges and fees pertinent to operations of public air services, as well as maintaining national airports and air navigations.Late last month, Bello wrote Director General Jim Sydiongco of the CAAP.A copy of the letter was sent to Secretary Arthur Tugade of the Department of Transportation, General Manager Eddie Monreal of the Manila International Airport Authority and Guiller Asido of the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority, which were asked to make the necessary representation to concerned government offices in various airport terminals to cease and desist from collecting the travel tax and terminal fee from the OFWs.WILLIAM B. DEPASUPIL
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/airlines-told-account-terminal-fee-take/317771/
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Govt welcomes adoption by UN of rights report
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['Catherine S. Valente']
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2017-09-23 20:36:47+00:00
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Malacañang on Saturday welcomed the United Nations Human Rights Council’s (UNHRC) adoption of the Philippines’ human rights report card.In a statement, Palace spokesman Ernesto Abella said the final adoption of the Third Philippine Universal Periodic Review (UPR) Report by the 47-member body affirms Manila’s commitment to its human rights obligations.“We welcome the United Nations Human Rights Council’s final adoption of the Third Philippine Universal Periodic Review Report. The adoption of the Philippine UPR Report in Geneva recognizes the human rights record of the Philippines and our country’s commitment to human rights under the leadership of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte,” Abella said.“This likewise reaffirms our respect for the dignity of the Filipino people and the protection of the Filipino family as we strive for a better life in a society free of illegal drugs and other crimes,” he added.Abella then lauded Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano and all the members of the Philippine government UPR team for successfully presenting the country’s human rights policies to the international community.“We congratulate the efforts of Department of Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano, together with Senior Deputy Executive Secretary Menardo Guevarra, Undersecretary Severo Catura of the Presidential Commission on Human Rights, the rest of the members of the Philippine government UPR team, PH Ambassador to the UN Evan Garcia and the team at the Philippine Mission to the UN in Geneva for their tireless efforts in explaining to the world our policies, practices, commitments and obligations in the area of human rights,” he said.‘Zero tolerance’ on abusesThe Philippines’ human rights report card that states the Duterte government has “zero tolerance” for abuse by law enforcers tasked to pursue its war on drugs.“The final adoption of our UPR Report during the 36th Regular Session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva demonstrates that the Philippines has nothing to hide with its human rights record,” Cayetano said in a statement from New York City where he is attending the 72nd Session of the UN General Assembly.Then Senator Cayetano on May 8, 2017 led the 16-man Philippine delegation to the UPR where he presented to the UNHRC on how the country is dealing with human rights issues.The UNHRC’s UPR is the world’s principal peer review mechanism where UN member-states discuss their human rights policies and plans, and exchange views on how to improve human rights through international cooperation.“The Philippines will remain resolute in its respect for and protection of human rights as it strives to improve the lives and welfare of each and every Filipino by protecting them from the scourges of drugs and criminality,” Cayetano said.“The Philippines remains fully committed to meeting its human rights obligations in compliance with the Constitution and international human rights obligations. The dignity of the Filipino people is uppermost among our priority concerns,” he added.Ambassador Evan Garcia, Philippine permanent representative to the UN in Geneva, said the adoption was the result of the efforts of then Senator Cayetano and Guevarra to clearly explain to the UNHRC the country’s policies, including the Duterte administration’s war on drugs.He said that after a careful review and inclusive consultation with inputs from various stakeholders, especially from representatives from the state’s executive, legislative, and judicial departments were done, the Philippines committed to fully accept 103 out of the 257 recommendations it received.The Philippines accepted the recommendations aimed at enhancing the government’s capacity to protect the right to life, liberty and property through the rule of law and accessibility of victims to justice in pursuit of anti-abortion initiatives, eradication of all forms of slavery, counter-terrorism efforts, and the anti-illegal drugs campaign.Garcia said that Philippines could only note the other 154 recommendations because the country cannot guarantee or commit at this time to their fruition given that the results of processes required to implement them are beyond the sole control of any of the branches of the government.“This is specifically true for recommendations that pertain to legislative action, which would require consultative processes with stakeholders,” he said.Fighhting the drug problemSince taking office in June 2016, Duterte has waged a war on illegal drugs, saying the drug problem that grew rampantly with the connivance of the previous administration are poisoning the youth and devastating the nation.The Philippine National Police bared earlier this month that from July 1, 2016 to August 29, 2017, government agents conducted 70,854 anti-drug operations and arrested 107,156 drug personalities with 3,811 armed suspects killed during police operations.Some international human rights organizations and western media have accused Duterte of encouraging extrajudicial killings, citing unverified reports that claimed over 7,000 were killed by Philippine police.The Philippine government insisted there was no such thing as extrajudicial killings and those killed were suspects who resisted violently arrest by police.Meanwhile, the Palace welcomed the recent survey of the Pew Research Center, an American think tank, which showed that the administration’s campaign against crime and illegal drugs continues to get unwavering support from the public.The recent survey showed that 86 percent of Filipinos have a favorable view of President Duterte, while 78 percent of Filipinos approve of his handling of the illegal drugs issue.The survey also revealed that 62 percent of Filipinos believe that the government is making progress in its campaign against illegal drugs.“The campaign against illegal drugs, as the President said, would be relentless until the drug apparatus is dismantled, the last drug pusher is out of the streets, and the last drug trafficker behind bars,” Abella said.with BERNADETTE E. TAMAYO
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/govt-welcomes-adoption-un-rights-report/352318/
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Suspension of drug tests in schools pushed
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['The Manila Times']
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2017-09-10 19:55:20+00:00
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Random drug tests in schools in the wake of recent drug-related killings of students Kian de Los Santos, Reynaldo de Guzman and Carl Angelo Arnaiz should be suspended.The proposal was made over the weekend by Kabayan party-list Rep. Ron Salo, who asked the Department of Education and Commission on Higher Education to suspend the implementation of policies on drug testing to ensure the privacy of students who test positive for drug use.“The suspension of drug testing implementation by the public and private schools is necessary to make sure that the identities of those who test positive will be protected and that the students and aspiring enrolees will not be targeted either by rogue cops or by the drug lords and traffickers,” Salo said in a statement.“We want the drug testing data/results secured. We want the human rights of all the youth who undergo drug testing respected. Those data must be kept away from the police and anyone else who should not get access to that data,” he added.The Department of Education recently allocated P39 million for the random drug tests on private and public school students, saying it would help address prevalence of drugs in schools.RALPH U. VILLANUEVA
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/suspension-drug-tests-schools-pushed/349891/
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DoH bares P8.1-B anomalous project
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['Kenneth Hare Hernandez']
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2018-06-19 00:20:49+00:00
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THE Department of Health (DoH) said it has uncovered anomalies in the multi-billion peso Barangay Health Station (BHS) project of the previous administration.The P8.1-billion project was supposed to build 5,700 barangay (village) health stations to ensure the access of barangay residents to primary care, using public elementary schools as base stations.“Heads will roll. Big names, small names, past and present. There will be no sacred cows. Heads will definitely roll,” Health Secretary Duque warned in a news briefing.Duque said an investigation was launched in April following a 2017 Commission on Audit (CoA) report regarding the high level of suspicion on alleged anomalies in the procurement process, with officials of the DoH recommending payment without validation and financial requirements.According to Performance Audit Report PAO-2017-05, the project “was obstructed by ineligible and non-workable project sites that were not fully validated before project contracting and implementation due to the absence of specific guidelines.”The report also said the “delayed and non-completion of the total BHS contract again impacts on the procured equipment, which remain idle or undistributed to intended school-based BHS.”The DoH chief has requested the office of the Ombudsman to conduct a fact-finding investigation to hold DoH officials accountable.“I have initiated an investigation into alleged irregularities in the procurement and implementation of the School-based Barangay Health Station Project. I tried to give the persons involved the benefit of the doubt,” Duque said.“I am beyond frustrated. I am saddened and disgusted that the Filipino people are being short-changed by the very people who were supposed to serve them,” he added.Duque said he had submitted documents to the Senate, the House of Representatives and the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC), to allow them to issue requests and subpoenas to aid their own parallel investigations.The Health Secretary also sent a formal request to CoA to conduct a fraud audit of the BHS project, as well as all other projects included in a P9.3-billion Special Allotment Release Order dated December 29, 2015.“First order of business is to clean our house from within. I will continue instituting changes, including reorganization, in the coming days,” Duque said.Former Health officials and former President Benigno Aquino 3rd have been charged for purchasing P3.5-billion worth of anti-dengue vaccines. The massive vaccination program was stopped after Sanofi Pasteur, maker of Dengvaxia, said the vaccine may cause severe dengue in those who have not been exposed to the dengue virus.On Monday, Rep. Karco Nograles, head of the Appropriations panel, renewed his call on Sanofi Pasteur to refund the P3.5 billion amid the findings of New England Journal of Medicine that Dengvaxia is not safe for patients without dengue.The Public Attorney’s Office had claimed that more than 50 people inoculated with Dengvaxia have died.“Sanofi has rejected DoH’s request for a full refund multiple times now even if all Dengvaxia has caused is grief, if not anger, among Filipinos who served as their guinea pig. With this new finding, the government, thru the DoH, should press on in seeking the full refund,” Nograles said.Sanofi returned P1.16 billion to the government for the unused doses of vaccine.Nograles also called on the Senate to approve the P1. 16 billion supplemental budget for the Dengvaxia victims.WITH LLANESCA T. PANTI
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/doh-bares-p8-1-b-anomalous-project/409840/
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No ‘cover up’ of clergy sex abuse cases, Catholic bishops vow
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['Catherine A. Modesto']
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2018-09-01 00:04:40+00:00
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The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) vowed to not “cover up” clergy abuses as it expressed “pain and shame” over alleged sex abuse committed by some of its priest and church leaders.In a pastoral letter titled “We Pray For The Church,” Davao Archbishop Romulo Valles, CBCP president said, “In these recent days, we feel again, with growing intensity, the pain and shame because of the many revelations of sexual misconduct, most particularly those done against minors committed by a significant number of clerics, a number of bishops and consecrated persons.”Valles also said that the CBCP officials would review the “Pastoral Guidelines on Sexual Abuses and Misconduct by the Clergy” it released in 2003 to acknowledge abuse at the clerical level “with renewed resolve” as it committed to “implement them.”The exhortation was in response to an 884-page Pennsylvania grand jury report in early August that more than 1,000 children were molested by 300 Pennsylvania priests since 1940, and succeeding accusations that Pope Francis was aware of the abuses but helped hid these.The report also claimed that Cardinal Theodore McCarrick of Washington DC was one of the clergymen who have “raped” little girls and boys, and that high ranking prelates, including Pope Francis were accused of “covering up” the misconduct.Valles said that the “painful present situation is a good occasion for the bishops to revisit and review the existing guidelines” for the protection of minors and vulnerable adults, and “with renewed resolve and commitment to implement them and not cover them up.”Under the 2003 CBCP guidelines, the church would conduct investigations confidentially. The assigned officials would hear and decide on the case, and only the diocese that has jurisdiction over the case and the Vatican would know the decision to supposedly protect the accused, victim, witnesses and church. Others only play a recommendatory role.The CBCP, which is no stranger to abuse scandals, also called for prayer and fasting, as suggested by Pope Francis.“The penitential dimension of fasting and prayer will help us as God’s people to come before the Lord and our wounded brothers and sisters as sinners imploring forgiveness and the grace of shame and conversion. In this way, we will come up with actions that can generate resources attuned to the Gospel,” Valles cited the Pope as saying in his August 20 letter to the faithful.After being criticized for falling silent over the sex abuse controversy, the Vatican issued a statement, decrying “unequivocally” the sexual abuse of minors, and added it felt “shame and sorrow” over said “horrible crimes.”A staunch critic of Pope Francis and former papal nuncio to the United States, Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, 77, released an 11-page letter, claiming that Pope Francis long knew about the accusations made against McCarrick in 2013.Viganò also said the Pope has helped hid the child molestation allegations against McCarrick, which Valles said was the “most painful and shameful to the Church.”When sought for a comment by Vatican reporters while on a flight to Rome from Dublin about the “testimony,” Pope Francis said: “Read the statement attentively and you make your own judgment. I will not say a single word about this.”He added that sometimes, “silence is not a virtuous act but is the only option, one imposed by circumstances.”President Rodrigo Duterte, critic of the Catholic Church, vowed on Thursday to help “expose” the abuses made by priests.Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo welcomed Duterte’s declaration and said, “We are not like him who does not want to be investigated. It is always good to correct errors.”
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/no-cover-up-of-clergy-sex-abuse-cases-catholic-bishops-vow/436663/
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Govt urged to take up UN on drug-related killings
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['The Manila Times']
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2017-09-24 19:46:48+00:00
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The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) has called on the Philippine government to reconsider the recommendations of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) to act on extrajudicial killings after the council conducted a universal review on human rights conditions in the country.“Very strong recommendations were made by the United Nations to enter the Philippines which have been regularly rejected. We call on the government to reconsider,” CHR commissioner Karen Dumpit said.A Philippine delegation responded to the Universal Public Review (UPR) when it faced the UNHRC in Geneva, Switzerland, on Friday.It fully accepted 103, partly considered 99 and completely rejected 55 out of 257 total recommendations given by the UN that mostly covered the scope of the extrajudicial killings, the death penalty and the safety of human rights defenders.Ghana’s request to allow UN special rapporteur Agnes Callamard to probe extrajudicial killings in the country was also part of the rejected recommendations.GLEE JALEA
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/govt-urged-take-un-drug-related-killings/352579/
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Australia affirms support to Mindanao
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['Michael Joe T. Delizo']
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2017-01-28 21:27:43+00:00
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THE Australian government has pledged more support for development projects in Mindanao.In a reception for journalists earlier this week, Australian Ambassador to the Philippines Amanda Gorely announced a major education development program that will be rolled out this year that will run for nine years.Canberra has been providing assistance towards building the foundations for economic growth in the southern island through investments in education, among others.The education sector enjoys 34 percent of the Australian aid budget to the Philippines, valued at $23 million.“We are already doing a lot in Mindanao, but now, with this administration, the focus has shifted already more to that part of the Philippines. I have officers from the embassy travelling there to Mindanao for various purposes,” she said in a speech.Australia has partnered with the Philippine government on education development since the 1950s when Filipino scholars under the Colombo Plan studied in Australia.“We are also supporting the peace process, that’s something that the Duterte administration put a lot of priority on. We certainly support the efforts of the administration to achieve peace in Mindanao and carry out various activities in support of those goals. Counter-terrorism is also an area of cooperation and of course the purpose of that is in Mindanao. And we are also looking for more commercial opportunities and ways that we can support economic development there,” Gorely added.Meanwhile, the diplomat said she and President Rodrigo Duterte have already “moved on” from last year’s campaign brouhaha when she condemned Duterte’s remark on the rape and death of Australian missionary Jacqueline Hamill during a 1989 jail riot in Davao City.“What a pity. What came to my mind was, ‘They raped her, lined up for her.’ I was mad because she was raped? Yes. That’s also one. But she was so beautiful. The mayor should have been first,” Duterte said in Tagalog.Gorely said she had already talked and settled her differences with Duterte.“My courtesy call on the President was really a great opportunity to sit down for a moment with him and to focus on the future of the bilateral relationship, trade between Australia and the Philippines,” she said.“The President and I were both reacting at the terrible death for Jacqueline Hamil experienced here in the Philippines. We’re both appalled by that. And even though we have different ways of expressing that, we’re coming from the same place and we’ve moved on from that and we focused on the future about bilateral relationship,” Gorely said.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/australia-affirms-support-mindanao/309399/
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Bounty placed on Peter Lim
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['Jomar Canlas']
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2018-09-15 00:10:51+00:00
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The Department of Justice (DoJ) is offering a reward of P500,000 for information leading to the arrest of fugitive businessman and alleged drug lord Peter Lim in connection with the drug charges filed by the Philippine National Police (PNP) before the Makati City Regional Trial Court (RTC).“The government is ready to give a reward of P500,000 to anyone who can give information on the exact whereabouts of accused Peter Go Lim, provided that such information will lead to the actual arrest of said fugitive,” Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said.Guevarra also warned that persons who would be found coddling Lim would be prosecuted for obstruction of justice and punished under the law.The DoJ in August issued a resolution finding probable cause against Lim for conspiring to trade in illegal drugs with self-confessed drug trader Kerwin Espinosa and several other people.Lim’s arrest warrant was issued on August 14 by Judge Gina Bibat-Palamos of the Makati City RTC Branch 65 after probable cause was found to prosecute him for violation of Sections 26 (b) in relation to Section 5, Article 2 of Republic Act 9165 (Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act) or Conspiracy to Commit Illegal Drug Trade.The charges filed against Lim by the Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group involved drug transactions from February 2013 to August 2015, during which at least 90 kilos of shabu were alleged to have come from Lim and Co.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/bounty-placed-on-peter-lim/441617/
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P700-M benefits granted to govt, private workers
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['William Depasupil']
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2017-11-07 23:20:33+00:00
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The Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) has urged workers who were initially denied of their claim for compensation benefits to appeal their cases before the Employees’ Compensation Commission (ECC).Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello 3rd made the call on Tuesday after the ECC granted some P700 million in benefits to private- and public-sector workers who sustained job-related sickness, injury or disability in the first half of 2017.The ECC is an attached agency of the Labor department that provides a package of benefits for public- and private-sector employees and their dependents for work-related sickness, injury, disability or death.Approval and disapproval of workers’ claims are being handled by the Social Security System (SSS) for the private sector and the Government Service Insurance Service (GSIS) for the public sector.But the ECC, after an evaluation process, can overturn the SSS and GSIS decisions and order them to grant benefits and reimbursements of medical expenses.In a report submitted to Bello, the ECC said that under its intensified Employees’ Compensation Program (ECP), the agency approved 142,812 claims with total value of P672,521,916.Releases were made through the SSS and the GSIS.According to ECC Director Stella Zipagan-Banawis, a big chunk of the benefits was released through the SSS with P571.78 million for 122,707 claims.Of the amount, 74 percent or P421.1 million went to death and pension benefits with 97,918 claims.The rest were releases for sickness benefits, disability, medical services reimbursements, funeral benefits and rehabilitation services.The GSIS processed 20,105 benefit claims worth P100 million, of which P75.73 million was for death and pension claims.Banawis said the agency managed to raise the amount of benefits released to 43 percent, while it noted a two-percent decrease in the number of claims processed from January to June 2017, compared with those recorded during the same period last year.“We put premium on the safety and health of our workers, and we continue to emphasize the fact that prevention is always better than compensation,” she added.Banawis reported that the state insurance fund at the SSS has a life beyond 2080 while the GSIS’s fund life is until 2059.The ECC was created to implement the ECP, which provides a package of benefits for public- and private-sector employees and their dependents for work-related incidents such as sickness, injury, disability or death.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/p700-m-benefits-granted-govt-private-workers/361374/
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US, PH ink child protection pact
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['Jaime Pilapil']
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2017-04-16 00:35:29+00:00
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The United States and the Philippines signed a new partnership to enhance efforts to reduce online child sexual exploitation and child labor trafficking in the Philippines.The US-Philippines Child Protection Compact (CPC) Partnership was executed on Tuesday by Justice Secretary and Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) Chairman Vitaliano Aguirre II, and US Embassy Chargé d’Affaires Michael Klecheski.The agreement is a four-year plan aimed at bolstering current efforts to prosecute and convict child traffickers; provide comprehensive, trauma-informed care for child victims of these crimes; and prevent these crimes from occurring in the future.The signing of the partnership facilitates the US Department of State’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons award of up to P149 million in foreign assistance funds to address online child sexual exploitation, as well as an additional P25 million to increase awareness and improve the response to child labor trafficking.The partnership reflects a shared concern about the harmful and lasting impact of online sexual exploitation of Filipino children – especially when undetected – and a mutual interest in partnering to improve efforts to prevent children from becoming exploited in domestic servitude or other forms of child labor trafficking.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/us-ph-ink-child-protection-pact/322384/
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Justice chief ‘lawyering’ for Sulu official
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['The Manila Times']
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2017-05-24 22:07:42+00:00
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Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre 2nd should be investigated for abuse of authority over “lawyering” for Sulu Vice Gov. Abdusakur Tan, a lawmaker said on Wednesday.Rep. Munir Arbison of Sulu made the call under his House Resolution 1014, which seeks a congressional probe of the Department of Justice’s handling of cases involving Aguirre’s former clients and Aguirre’s vulnerability in allowing personal interest of his clients over public interest.Arbison accused Aguirre and his Chief of Staff Paolo Mabazza of coercing government prosecutors to resurrecting the multiple frustrated murder and illegal possession of explosives case against him that was dismissed by the Zamboanga City prosecutor in October 2010.He said he is in possession of a 43-minute audio recording of Aguirre coercing his subordinates to prosecute him by crafting a ruling finding probable cause to charge him in connection with the August 2010 Zamboanga City bombing.“The audio recording was sent to my office here in Congress. It did not have a return address. I don’t know who sent it, but the voice in the recording certainly belongs to Secretary Aguirre. I submitted the audio recording to the House Committee on Justice,” Arbison told reporters.“Justice Secretary Aguirre and his Chief of Staff Mabazza are exerting pressure on the prosecutor to file a case against me despite the lack of probable cause. It was even Atty. Mabazza who prepared Tan’s affidavit, which stated that the issuance of warrant of arrest against me is inevitable,” he said.Arbison added that Aguirre’s actions violate the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, which defines corrupt practices as persuading, inducing or influencing another public officer to perform an act constituting a violation of rules and regulations duly promulgated by competent authority or an offense in connection with the official duties of the latter, or allowing himself to be persuaded, induced or influenced to commit such violation or offense.He also accused Aguirre of violating the Code of Professional Responsibility for Lawyers that states, “A lawyer in the government service shall not use his public position to promote or advance his private interests, nor allow the latter to interfere with his public duties.”“Our 43-minute recording is a damning evidence against Secretary Aguirre,” Arbison’s lawyer, Mary Arnado, said.“We have no choice but to put this out because this is clearly conflict of interest on the part of Secretary Aguirre and a warrant of arrest could be issued against an innocent man,” Arnado added.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/justice-chief-lawyering-sulu-official/329026/
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‘High prices of vegetables to remain until year-end’
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['Eireene Jairee Gomez']
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2018-09-15 00:01:40+00:00
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CONSUMERS may expect the sky-high prices of vegetables to remain for the rest of the year, driven by the reduced production in the highlands that is now bracing for the impact of super typhoon “Ompong” (“Mangkhut”).While harvesting is ongoing in some areas in the country, it is impossible for 100 percent of the vegetables, particularly the high-value crops, to be harvested as the super typhoon approaches, according to Shen Maglinte, deputy director of Sibol ng Agham at Teknolohiya (Sibat).“We doubt [that we will have enough supply in the market]. There will be fluctuations in the supply of our vegetables,” Maglinte told reporters in a press conference on Thursday in Quezon City.“If we’re still working on a 100-percent supply on different types of vegetables, I hope we’ll not go to 50-percent, given the damage of the typhoon. I hope we’ll just go about 60 percent so we can supply the market and prevent very high prices on our commodities,” he added.However, Maglinte emphasized that while Baguio still has a normal rate of production, the damage due to the typhoon “which the agriculture sector has no control over,” cannot prevent the possible spike on prices of basic vegetables at the retail level.For the remaining months of the year, Maglinte said that consumers may expect skyrocketing prices on high-value crops including garlic, onion, cauliflower, cabbage, broccoli, carrots and pechay.This, as the vegetable sector is anticipating a tighter supply during the coming holidays later this year, he added.Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority showed that as of the first week of September, vegetables sold in NCR markets were priced as follows: sitaw at P120 per kilo, cabbage at P200/kg, carrots at P130/kg, tomato at P120/kg, red onion at P120/kg, pechay at P100/kg, white potato at P80/kg and eggplant at P100/kg.Recently, consumers were alarmed by the price spike of red chili peppers or siling labuyo from around P150/kg in February to about P1,000/kg in previous weeks.Maglinte said, lowering the cost of production might help ease the increasing prices of vegetables across public and private markets in the country.“One factor would be the cost of production. Sometimes, we lack local seed varieties as most of our seeds are imported. Normally, imported seeds really cost much higher,” Maglinte said.He noted that prices tend to “jack up” when cost of production is computed starting from the land preparation, water [management], chemical inputs and labor adding that subsidy from the government is a “big help” to lower this cost.While shifting to chemical farming technology is seen as a solution to produce immediate supply, Maglinte said the government should also look at the nutritional quality of food as it ensures enough supply for Filipinos nationwide.“If we’re going to use chemical farming technology, the vegetables will not grow if you won’t use synthetic chemicals to hybridize. The trade off there is that we don’t have good quality of food. We don’t know how much DDT is inside the vegetable,” he said.DDT or dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane is a colorless, tasteless, and almost odorless crystalline chemical compound, originally developed as an insecticide and but has becoming infamous for its environmental impact.Sibat is a nongovernmental and non-profit organization engaged in the promotion and development of appropriate technology for village level sustainable development in the Philippines.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/high-prices-of-vegetables-to-remain-until-year-end/441597/
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PNP declares total war vs illegal gambling
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['Fernan Marasigan']
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2017-02-13 22:29:22+00:00
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SAYING that it breeds corruption and may mutate into other forms of organized crime, including drug-trafficking, illegal vices, money-laundering and kidnapping, the Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Ronald dela Rosa on Monday declared an all-out war against all forms of illegal gambling.At the same time, de la Rosa warned that local officials, including governors, congressman and barangay (village) chairmen would not be spared in the implementation of Executive Order (EO) 13 issued recently by President Rodrigo Duterte.“[They are all included. We will go to war against them if they are hard-headed. It does not matter if they are local chief executives… they will be targets if they block the anti-illegal gambling campaign],” he told reporters at Camp Crame, the PNP’s main headquarters in Quezon City.He also warned police officers who are protecting gambling lords that they would be targeted by the PNP’s Counter-Intelligence Task Force (CITF) since their act is tantamount to corruption.The CITF was recently created to go after rogue policemen.“[Any policeman found to be involved in illegal gambling will be sent to Basilan],” dela Rosa said.Malacañang earlier officially designated Basilan in southern Philippines as a deployment destination for rogue policemen.EO 13 directs the PNP, the National Bureau of Investigation and other law enforcement agencies to intensify the national campaign against illegal gambling in coordination with the Department of Justice, Department of the Interior and Local Government and Department of Information and Communications Technology.De la Rosa said the PNP Directorate for Operations is preparing adjustments in the campaign plan against illegal gambling that will now cover illegal online gambling activities as defined under EO 13.The PNP, according to the PNP chief, will concentrate first on the illegal numbers game jueteng because the huge revenue from it that is supposed to go the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office is going to illegal bookies instead.According to dela Rosa, the Directorate for Operations has alerted all police regional offices to conduct “One-Time-Big-Time” operations against illegal gambling in their respective areas.“The bottom line is the national advocacy to rid the country of all forms of illegal gambling activities that contribute to moral decay and provide an economic support system that sustains other forms of illegal activity,” he noted.When asked if the total war against illegal gambling would be “bloody” just like the government’s war on drugs, de la Rosa said, “[It will not be bloody because illegal gambling involves only money while drug-dealing involves killing by mentally deranged people].”
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/pnp-declares-total-war-vs-illegal-gambling/312058/
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Senators close ranks, reject joint voting
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['Jefferson Antiporda']
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2018-07-25 00:10:19+00:00
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WITH the change in leadership at the House of Representatives, senators on Tuesday closed ranks to insist that when it comes to Charter change (Cha-cha), the chamber will vote separately.“The Senate will really make a stand as one regarding Cha-cha. We will assert our role in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution, as simple as that,” Sen. Panfilo Lacson said.He said the Senate would not enter into a joint session or convene into a joint session with the House of Representatives if there is no clear agreement that Congress would be voting separately.“There are also ideas that we won’t make ourselves open to any possibility of a joint session, just to make sure,” he added.Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon agreed that the Senate should vote separately.“In so far as voting jointly or separately the position the Senate is firming up that we vote separately,” Drilon said.Lacson said what happened at the House on Monday, when Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez was unceremoniously removed from his post, was a strong argument against a parliamentary form of government.Pampaga Rep. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo replaced Alvarez.“If GMA’s ascension to the speakership is a prelude to becoming Prime Minister, they better think twice because the Senate, both majority and minority (senators), have agreed to close ranks to defend and assert our role under the 1987 Constitution in revising or amending the same. That, I can say with certainty and conviction,” Lacson said.The House of Representatives has been pushing for Cha-cha to pave the way for the shift to a federal form of government.Lacson said rece nt developments at the House were discussed by senators on Tuesday.He said the leadership change was discussed at length, particularly its implications on Cha-cha.Senate President Vicente Sotto 3rd said the President was displeased with what happened at the House on Monday and threatened not to proceed with his (State of the Nation Address (SONA).“He gave a threat to that effect (walk out),” Sotto said.Sen. Grace Poe warned against the possibility of Arroyo becoming prime minister if the proposed shift to parliamentary form of government pushes through.Poe said Arroyo would again be in power, pointing out that under a parliamentary system, the authority would be given to the parliament which is headed by the prime minister.“There is no denying that Gloria Arroyo is efficient and when they want to pursue something she could be effective in doing so. But Congress was not created to pursue political agenda but for the good of the people,” Poe said.Sen. Joseph Victor “JV” Ejercito said the ascension of Arroyo as speaker would not look good for the Duterte administration.Ejercito said the former president has pending plunder and corruption cases.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/senators-close-ranks-reject-joint-voting/423010/
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Sandigan halts proceedings vs former MWSS official
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['Ma. Reina Leanne Tolentino']
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2016-10-23 21:21:07+00:00
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The anti-graft court Sandiganbayan’s First Division has suspended proceedings in a graft case filed against former Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System Administrator Diosdado Jose Allado in connection with an allegedly anomalous award of a lease deal over an MWSS property, pending final resolution of a related or similar civil case at Branch 85 of the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Quezon City.In a six-page resolution promulgated last October 14, the court granted the Motion to Suspend Proceedings Due to Prejudicial Question, which Allado filed in August.“Prescinding from the foregoing and pursuant to Section 6, Rule 111 of the Revised Rules of Criminal Procedure, this court must give way to the RTC to resolve the core issue and await its disposal decisive of the fate of the present criminal proceedings. Otherwise, two conflicting decisions may possibly arise,” it said in part.Both cases stemmed form the award of a lease contract to SM Prime Holdings Inc. (SPHI) over an MWSS property along Katipunan Avenue in Quezon City allegedly without authority from the MWSS Board of Trustees (BOT) and allegedly without subjecting the firm’s lease proposal to the required Competitive Swiss Challenge.The civil case seeks declaration of nullity of the deal.Swiss Challenge is a “form of public procurement in some jurisdictions which requires a public authority (usually an agency of government) which has received an unsolicited bid for a public project (such as port, road or railway) or services to be provided to government, to publish the bid and invite third parties to match or exceed it.”The prosecution opposed Allado’s move for the suspension of the proceedings at the Sandiganbayan but the anti-graft court found his motion impressed with merit.The anti-graft court thus ordered that the criminal case proceedings be suspended pending final resolution of the civil case.“In the meanwhile, the instant case is hereby ordered archived,” it said.Associate Justice Efren dela Cruz, who leads the anti-graft court’s First Division, penned the ruling, which was concurred in by Associate Justices Reynaldo Cruz and Michael Frederick Musngi.REINA TOLENTINO
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/sandigan-halts-proceedings-vs-former-mwss-official/292748/
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Thousands venerate St. Padre Pio relic
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['Liezelle Roy']
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2018-10-10 00:02:35+00:00
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Thousands of devotees braved the suffocating heat and sudden downpour for a chance to see and venerate the incorrupt heart relic of Saint Padre Pio of Pietrelcina on display at the Manila Cathedral.Over 4,000 devotees lined up outside the Cathedral, causing traffic gridlocks in Intramuros, Manila.Most of the devotees came as early as 4 a.m. but were dismayed by the chaos around them.The Intramuros Administration (IA) ordered the closure of Cabildo Street to vehicles to give devotees more open space.The Archdiocese of Manila held masses in the afternoon. The heart relic will stay at the Cathedral until October 11.Virgilio Guevarra, 66, an unemployed steelmaker from Caloocan City, told The Manila Times that he would pray to the heart relic of Saint Padre Pio for the healing of his swollen legs.“Malaki na yung gastos ko dito pero hindi ako gumagaling. Kaya nagmamakaawa ako kay Padre Pio na pagbigyan ako (I have spent so much but I am not getting well. That’s why I pray to Padre Pio to heal me),” said Guevarra.Noel Paje, a government employee from San Juan City, said he prayed for the healing of his kidney disease.“Marami akong nakikitang pinagaling ni Padre Pio, kaya andito ako [at] nagbabakasakali (I have seen a lot of people healed by Padre Pio. That is why I am here, hoping.)” Paje said.Meanwhile, Luzviminda Pe of Las Piñas, said, he prayed to the saint to help her son who will have surgery next month for a congenital problem.Kimberly Comia said she got to know Padre Pio through a radio program and has been a devotee since.“Every time I feel sick, I pray and put his healing oil on the aching part of my body, and it works. If it doesn’t, I know that it is God’s way of saying ‘not yet’,” she said.Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo asked the faithful to also pray for the Philippines.“Isama din natin sa ating pagdadasal kay Padre Pio ang ating bayan. Kung sugatan po ang buhay natin, sugatan din ang bayan natin. Napakaraming problema (Let’s include our country in our prayers. If our lives are wounded, so is our country. It has so many problems),” Pabillo said.“Ipagdasal natin ang bayan na tulungan tayo ni Padre Pio at pabanalin tayo, lalong lalo na ang ating mga leaders. Sama sama tayong magdasal (Let’s pray for our country, ask Padre Pio to help us be holy, most especially our leaders),” he added.WITH REPORTS FROM CATHERINE MODESTO, KYLE PERALTA, ZACARIAN SARAO, ROME LAGUIO, AND JAIRA BALBOA
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/thousands-venerate-st-padre-pio-relic/450214/
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Collapse of death penalty bill in Senate hailed
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['Jefferson Antiporda']
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2017-04-27 21:12:23+00:00
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Buhay party-list Rep. Lito Atienza on Thursday hailed reports that a bill reviving the death penalty is dead in the Senate‘’If Senator Franklin Drilon’s claim is true, then that is very good news. We’ve always maintained that the death penalty is useless in fighting crime, it does not serve any purpose that is not already being served by the punishment of long-term imprisonment,” Atienza said in a statement.“The certainty of capture and incarceration of criminal offenders is our best deterrence to other would-be felons,” according to the congressman, also House senior deputy minority leader.Atienza was among those who fought hard against the passage of the death penalty bill in the House of Representatives, arguing forcefully that the extreme punishment is anti-poor and violates the sanctity of human life.Voting 217 in favor, 54 against with a lone abstention on March 7, the House approved on final reading House Bill (HB) 4727, which would impose death sentences on drug-related offenses.“Our sense is, even Senate President Aquilino Pimentel 3rd will likely vote against the death penalty in the event of a deadlock in the Senate,” Atienza said.Pimentel’s father, former Senate President Aquilino Pimentel Jr., is a staunch human rights crusader, and vehemently opposed the death penalty during his time, he pointed out.The younger Pimentel has repeatedly said the bill reinstating capital punishment is not among the Senate’s priority measures.President Rodrigo Duterte has publicly said on several occasions that he intends to send hundreds of convicts to the gallows once Congress brings back death sentences.“The death penalty is a travesty. Only indigent citizens inadequately represented at trial will receive death sentences. Wealthy defendants who are able to retain the best criminal defense lawyers will always escape conviction, or get the lesser punishment of life imprisonment,” Atienza said.HB 4727 would give trial judges the leeway to hand out either the lighter sentence of 30 years’ imprisonment, or the heavier punishment of death, to those found guilty of drug-related crimes.“If their expensive lawyers are not enough, the rich will simply buy their way out of death sentences, or even out of prison, by bribing corrupt prosecutors and judges,” Atienza said.Buying extravagance“If they can’t buy their way out of incarceration, they will surely buy themselves extravagant lives in detention, as we’ve clearly seen in the cases of convicted big-time drug traffickers having the time of their lives at the New Bilibid Prisons,” he added.The New Bilibid Prisons (NBP) is the national penitentiary located in Muntinlupa City (Metro Manila).Some members of the Senate majority bloc also on Thursday said a recent survey of the Social Weather Stations (SWS) showing 61 percent of Filipino favor the restoration of the death penalty should serve as message to lawmakers on what to do with the proposed measure on capital punishment.Senator Joseph Victor “JV” Ejercito noted that results of the survey have indicated the position of most of the people on the death penalty and lawmakers being the representatives of the people should listen to it.He said anti-death penalty senators have more numbers in the Senate because of the Liberal Party members and the woman lawmakers but that would not stop him and other chamber members who are for death penalty to push for it.“We will fight for what is right and put an end to this drug menace,” Ejercito added.He said the Philippines became the hub of the international drug trade because it is the only country in Southeast Asia that does not impose capital punishment.Senate Majority Leader Vicente Sotto 3rd said the SWS survey could help influence senators into supporting the proposal to reinstate death penalty especially those who are running for reelection.There are six incumbent senators can still seek a second term in 2019 namely Paolo Benigno Aquino 4th, Juan Edgardo Angara, Nancy Binay, Grace Poe, Cynthia Villar and Ejercito.It is not clear if Senate President Aquilino Pimentel 3rd could still run for reelection because he is on his second term as senator after he won his election protest against Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri and was declared the winner in the 2007 senatorial race.From the six reelectionists, only Aquino and Poe have expressed their opposition to death penalty while the rest were either in favor or are yet to come up with a stand.Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian said the support of other senators for capital punishment will depend on the number of crimes that will be included in the bill.He noted that most of the senators support the administration’s fight against illegal drugs and, if the imposition of death penalty would only be limited to that, more senators might be convinced to back it.“If the death penalty will be limited to drug-related crimes, then it will get ample support from the senators,” according to Gatchalian, who is in favor of the reinstatement of death penalty.Sen. Francis Pangilinan, president of the Liberal Party, said the survey can’t change his stand against capital punishment, adding that it does not address criminality.Drilon said the recent SWS poll is a mere reflection of the people’s frustration over a poor justice system.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/collapse-death-penalty-bill-senate-hailed-2/324410/
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Paolo Duterte faces SALN investigation
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['Ma. Reina Leanne Tolentino']
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2018-06-12 00:02:12+00:00
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Former Davao City Vice Mayor Paolo Duterte is facing investigation before the Office of the Ombudsman in connection with his Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN), according to Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales.“I think it has to do with his SALN,” Morales said in an interview with CNN Philippines’s The Source.“If I recall it correctly, it was raffled to the MOLEO,” she said, referring to the Ombudsman’s Military and Other Law Enforcement Offices.Morales, an aunt-in-law of Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio, has inhibited from the case.“You see, I had inhibited early on even during the time that the President now was mayor. I had inhibited in cases involving…the then-mayor and his family,” she said.Last month, Morales told reporters that Paolo is facing investigation before the Office of the Ombudsman but was unable to say what the case was about.Morales, whose seven-year term ends in July, also admitted that the Office of the Ombudsman will have difficulty resolving all all complaints pending before it in connection with the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) or pork barrel scam.“Unfortunately, given the volume of cases that the office is handling, I am afraid we may not able to finish all PDAF cases. There are several of them,” she said.The Department of Justice filed the first batch of PDAF-related complaints in September 2013 against former Senators Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr., Juan Ponce Enrile, and Jose “Jinggoy” Estrada as well as Janet Lim-Napoles and others individuals.In December of the same year, the DoJ also filed PDAF-related complaints against Muntinlupa Rep. Rozzano Rufino “Ruffy” Biazon and other individuals.The Ombudsman, in June 2014, filed plunder and graft charges before the Sandiganbayan in June 2014 against Revilla, Enrile, and Estrada. Napoles and other individuals were included in the charge sheetsIn February 2015, the Ombudsman filed separate plunder and graft charges against former Masbate representative Rizalina Seachon-Lanete and Edgar Valdez, former representative of the Association of Philippine Electric Cooperatives (APEC).The Ombudsman also filed graft and malversation charges against Biazon.It also filed graft and malversation charges against former Albay Rep. Reno Lim and other individuals.Last year, the Ombudsman filed graft charges against Sen. Gregorio Honasan 2nd and several others in connection with the alleged misuse of his PDAF allocation totaling P29.1 million in 2012.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/paolo-duterte-faces-saln-investigation/407086/
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Court grants ex-lawmaker's plea for separate trials
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['Ma. Reina Leanne Tolentino']
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2016-11-21 21:23:55+00:00
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Court grants ex-lawmaker’s plea for separate trialsThe Sandiganbayan’s Fifth Division has granted a petition of former Rep. Edgar Valdez of the Association of Philippine Electric Cooperatives (APEC) to conduct separate trials for plunder and the graft cases filed against him and several others in connection with the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) or pork barrel scam. Valdez, filed an omnibus motion seeking separate trials citing “apparent differences” between the cases. “In Criminal Case No. SB15-CRM-0008 for plunder, there are only three persons charged in the Information. In Criminal Cases No. SB15-CRM-0009 to 0015, each Information charged different sets of accused, most of whom are not indicted in the criminal case for plunder,” he said in the motion, which was granted in open court on Monday. Valdez was named respondent in the plunder case along with Janet Lim-Napoles, John Raymund de Asis and 26 others also charged with graft. Valdez allegedly received P57.787 million kickbacks from 2004 to 2010 from his PDAF.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/court-grants-ex-lawmakers-plea-separate-trials/297706/
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Case vs Pichay should not be dismissed – prosecution
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['Ma. Reina Leanne Tolentino']
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2018-09-30 00:03:57+00:00
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The prosecution has asked the Sandiganbayan’s Fifth Division to deny the plea of House Deputy Speaker Prospero Pichay Jr. to dismiss the breach of conduct case filed against him in connection with the release by the Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA) of P1.5 million to the National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP).Pichay, former acting chairman of the Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA) board of trustees, earlier filed a demurrer to evidence with the court’s permission. If the demurrer is denied, the trial will continue with the defense taking its turn to present evidence.“The Prosecution maintains that it has convincingly proven (a) the commission of the crime, and (b) the precise degree of participation therein by the accused Pichay. Thus, accused Pichay runs the risk of being convicted for violating Section 7(a) of RA6713. It then becomes necessary to examine the evidence of the defense to determine whether it can successfully neutralize the damaging effects and circumstances that may exempt or justify the accused without which he is liable to suffer the penalty imposed by law,” the prosecution said in its Comment/Opposition.It asked the court to deny Pichay’s demurrer for lack of merit.The Office of the Ombudsman claimed that Pichay violated the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees.Pichay, it added, had financial or material interest in the release of the money because he “concurrently served” as president of NCFP and chairman of LWUA.The P1.5 million was given by LWUA for the tournament billeted as the 2nd Chairman Prospero Pichay, Jr. Cup International Chess Championship.Pichay said the complaint should be dismissed for lack of evidence.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/case-vs-pichay-should-not-be-dismissed-prosecution/446682/
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Lawmaker hits P27-B govt grant to car firms
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['Ralph Villanueva']
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2017-10-18 23:15:43+00:00
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A LAWMAKER on Wednesday called on the House Committee on Transportation to investigate the Duterte administration’s planned phaseout of public utility jeepneys (PUJs) under a modernization program.Bayan Muna party-list Rep. Carlos Zarate, in airing his appeal to fellow lawmakers, contrasted the plan to the government’s P27-billion subsidy to two giant Japanese car companies.According to Zarate, the government subsidizes Toyota and Mitsubishi through the Comprehensive Automotive Resurgence Strategy (CARS), which requires car firms to produce within six years a minimum of 200,000 units of a certain vehicle.“This is ironic as it is tragic. Ang mga pobreng drayber at opereytor na nagpapahayag ng kanilang pagtutol sa pagtanggal sa kanilang trabaho at kabuhayan ay sasabihan na lang na magtiis at bahala kayo sa buhay nyo samantalang ang malalaking kumpanya ng kotse may subsidy [Poor PUJ drivers and operators who protest against the potential loss of their livelihood are just told to sacrifice and fend for themselves while big car companies are given subsidy by the government],” he said in a statement.The Duterte administration, according to Zarate, should instead subsidize “the rehabilitation and maintenance of currently operating jeepneys.”He said “[t]hreats, Red-tagging and ultimatums cannot hide the fact that this [modernization] scheme will result in massive livelihood displacement of poor drivers and small operators.”Zarate was alluding to President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday telling critics of the PUJ phaseout to go hungry and stay poor.Malacañang did not issue an apology over Duterte’s comment that jeepney drivers who won’t avail of modern jeepneys worth P1.6 million each should just endure hunger, among other things.Also in a statement, Palace spokesman Ernesto Abella noted that the President’s comment was merely an underscoring of the national leadership’s strong political will and decisive stance to initiate reform in the public transportation sector.The planned phaseout seeks to ban all PUJs and other public utility vehicles (PUVs) 15 years old and above from plying the roads.“[W]hen public good is at stake, the Duterte administration will not compromise. This is the message of the President’s speech on [Tuesday],” Abella said.The President’s statement on Tuesday night in a speech in federalism forum in Camarines Sur went: January 1, pag ‘di niyo na modernize ‘yan, umalis kayo. Mahirap kayo? P…….a magtiis kayo sa hirap at gutom, wala akong pakialam [If you don’t modernize your jeepneys by January 1, then leave. You’re poor? Son of a whore, then be in dire straits and deal with hunger. I don’t care].”Abella argued that drivers, operators and commuters would benefit under the modernization program.He said the government is open to more healthy dialogues and responsible engagements with transport groups that wish to learn and contribute to the development of the program.“This is a wide window of opportunity for everyone. Let us move forward toward the comfortable life that President Duterte is fighting for,” Abella added.Piston and other groups critical of the modernization program on October 16-17 went on strike nationwide and said they were “90 percent successful” in their protest.The mass action forced Malacañang to suspend classes and work in government offices.WITH LLANESCA T. PANTI
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/lawmaker-hits-p27-b-govt-grant-car-firms/357355/
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Filipina trafficker behind ‘Daisy’ video arrested
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['Richard Burton']
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28/01/2017 0:00
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A Filipina child trafficker who was an accomplice and partner of an accused Australian pedophile was arrested in Cebu on Tuesday, January 24, culminating a nearly two-year manhunt against her.Liezyl Margallo, 23, was arrested by agents of the National Bureau of Investigation Region 7 on Malapascua Island, Daanbantayan in Cebu. She was tracked down with the help of Australian police.Her Australian live-in partner, 53-year-old Peter Scully, is now detained in a Cagayan de Oro City jail after his arrest in 2015 for multiple child sex violation charges, including one involving an 18-month-old infant.She has 16 standing arrest warrants for charges of human trafficking, anti-photo and video voyeurism, and child abuse.Margallo and Scully recruited young girls to appear for cybersex activities, going brutally as far as torturing them to death.The suspects produced the controversial “Destruction of Daisy” as well as other horrifying videos of sadistically exploiting young Filipina victims for money.They were running an international cyberpornography syndicate with clients mostly from the United States, United Kingdom, Brazil and Germany.Margallo and Scully have 59 other cases of child sex offenses, while Margallo has 14 arrest warrants served by the NBI.Margallo was supposed to be detained in Cagayan de Oro City Jail on Friday, but due to lack of time, she was temporarily jailed at the NBI Region 10.
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Manila Bulletin
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https://news.mb.com.ph/2017/01/28/filipina-trafficker-behind-daisy-video-arrested/
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September 1 declared Muslim holiday
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['Llanesca T. Panti']
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2017-08-29 21:18:00+00:00
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President Rodrigo Duterte has declared September 1, Friday, as a regular holiday in commemoration of the Muslims’ Eid’l Adha or Feast of Sacrifice.Eid’l Adha is considered one of the two greatest feasts in Islam but is regarded as the holier one since it commemorates the sacrifice of prophet Abraham who was willing to give up his son’s life to prove his faith, signifying his utmost obedience to God.It was the National Commission for Muslim Filipinos that recommended September 1 as the day corresponding to the observance of Eid’l Adha.At least five million of 100 million Filipinos are Muslims.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/september-1-declared-muslim-holiday/347497/
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CHED sets rules on free tuition in state schools
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['Neil Alcober']
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2016-12-23 21:42:26+00:00
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THE Commission on Higher Education (CHED) is set to craft guidelines for implementation of the P8-billion budget for free tuition in all state universities and colleges (SUCs) for the next academic year, CHED Chairman Patricia Licuanan said on Friday.“To bring the country closer to the reality of free college education, the commission will work overtime to ensure that the wisdom and specific intentions of lawmakers will be accurately reflected in the free tuition guidelines it is set to create,” Licuanan added in a statement.“The Commission on Higher Education supports the inclusion of an P8-billion budget for free tuition for all undergraduate students in all state universities and colleges as a special provision in the 2017 General Appropriations Act,” she said.Licuanan added that the commission will coordinate with other oversight government agencies to ensure the legality of all proposed processes and procedures in the guidelines.“CHED will also coordinate with all private higher education institutions, both individually and through their various associations, to help ensure their role under this new policy regime. CHED will also work closely with the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority for improved complementation,” she said.“In the short term, this will incrementally improve enrolment rates, and will help free up financial resources for other college expenses and needs of the students. From a wider perspective, this amount will eventually increase the available income of families,” the CHED chairman added.Fund spending “will be guided by fairness, cost recovery and alignment of incentives,” she said.“CHED will ensure that the wide-reaching implications of this major reform in higher education will be brought about effectively, and any negative consequences will be minimized. The timing of this reform is fortunate, as a strong political will and a robust economy allow the country to embark on major reforms that were not possible in the past,” the CHED chairman added.NEIL A. ALCOBER
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/ched-sets-rules-free-tuition-state-schools-2/303432/
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Reopen Aquino-Galman case, President urged
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['Neil Alcober']
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2017-02-26 00:00:59+00:00
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President Rodrigo Duterte was urged to reinvestigate the killing of Sen. Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr. and his alleged assassin, Rolando Galman.In a petition letter that the Movement for National Salvation (MNS) plans to send to Malacañang, the group said that it is high time that the government should revisit and reinvestigate the case that has spanned four administrations and put 16 men in jail.Retired Colonel Reynaldo Cabauatan, MNS president and Marcos loyalist, said more than three decades have passed and many people are still interested to know the truth behind the controversy hounding the Aquino- Galman double murder case.Cabauatan said that the case had been investigated so many times by previous administrations but the people do not believe the results of the investigations.“The Agrava Commission in 1983 which resulted in minority and majority reports being separately submitted by its chairman and members respectively; and the reopening of the trial upon orders of a post –Edsa Supreme Court led by Chief Justice Claudio Teehankee after it reversed the acquittal of all accused by Sandiganbayan under Justice Manuel Pamaran in the first trial which eventually led to the conviction of the 16 accused in 1990, the public’s interest in the truth has never been truly served,” he said.The retired colonel added that former Air Force Captain Felipe Valerio can help shed light to the case.Cabauatan said the government can compel Valerio to return home because the arrest warrant issued by the Sandiganbayan against the former Air Force official is still in effect.The group also asked the chief executive to create a body tasked to reinvestigate the Aquino-Galman double murder case.“It’s time to correct our history,” Cabautan said.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/reopen-aquino-galman-case-president-urged/314159/
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NPO officials charged for graft
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['Francis Earl Cueto']
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2017-07-21 21:35:33+00:00
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TWO days before the State of the Nation Address (SONA) of President Rodrigo Duterte, National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Director Dante Gierran recommended the prosecution of several officials of the National Printing Office (NPO) led by its Deputy Director Sherwin Prose Castañeda over the controversial issuance of work orders to private printing companies. In a letter to the Office of the Ombudsman, the NBI Anti-Fraud Division recommended the filing of charges against Castañeda, former NPO officer-in-charge Rolando Caluag, Myralyn Soriano, retired NPO employee Ruben Dancel; Edwin Malapajo, vice president of Western Visayas Printing Corporation; Bestforms Inc. president Benjamin Yam, Triprint Corp. president Ramil Tamayo and Metrocolor Corp. general manager Celso Viray. “They committed violation of Republic Act No. 3019 otherwise known as the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act,” stated in the NBI letter to Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales signed by Deputy Dir. Vicente de Guzman 3rd of Investigation Service. Gierran said the NBI is committed to obey the marching order of President Duterte against graft and corruption.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/npo-officials-charged-graft/339697/
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Confusion mars 5th round of talks
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['Ros Feliciano']
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27/05/2017 0:00
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that it will not proceed to participate in the scheduled fifth round of peace negotiations,” said Dureza, reading from his prepared statement.WHY GRP IS PULLING OUTDureza’s prepared statement was confirmed in Manila by Presidential spokesperson Ernesto Abella, who said the decision was reached when the CPP ordered the NPA to accelerate and intensify its attacks against the government due to President Duterte’s declaration of martial law in Mindanao.Duterte declared martial law and suspended the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus in Mindanao for 60 days due to the ongoing clashes between the Maute Group and government security forces in Marawi City, Lanao del Sur.Dureza underscored that Duterte’s declaration of martial law was “principally directed at extremists and terrorists who openly and defiantly challenged the government and put to harm the Filipino people triggered by the still ongoing violent incident in the Islamic city of Marawi in Mindanao.”“We question the sincerity of the CPP-NPA-NDFP, if they truly are in pursuit of peaceful coexistence,” Abella said in a statement Saturday evening.“The Duterte administration would rather pursue the path of genuine dialogue to build a nation worthy of its citizens,” he added.Bello also told mediamen that he could not comment on Abella’s remarks from the Palace, saying he has yet to receive any formal communication from the presidential spokesman.“If there is any announcement that (the fifth round) is off, it will come from this panel,” he maintained.But Dureza reiterated that his statement and that of Malacañang was final. “That’s it, it’s cancelled as what I said from my statement.”Dureza said the government side was pulling out of the talks “until such time as there are clear indications that an enabling environment conducive to achieving just and sustainable peace in the land through peace negotiations across this table shall prevail.”OPEN DEFIANCEApart from the recent pronouncements from the CPP-NPA that were made in connection with the martial law declaration, Dureza also noted the “noticeable upscale of incidents of offensive attacks by the NPAs throughout the country” and the “seeming perception of the bigger public that these NPA operations are in open and public defiance of President Duterte, who has consistently accommodated them in unprecedented ways” as among the “serious challenges” to Duterte’s commitment to pursue the talks.He also pointed out that there have been “public admissions of some panel members of the CPP, NPA, and NDF that they have no control over their forces on the ground.”Duterte likewise cited “the sudden and perceptible erosion of public support to the peace talks with strong messages received from the public to altogether stop peace negotiations.”In the same press conference, the GRP said emphasized that only the fifth round of the talks will be cancelled should the NDFP fail to respond to its request, and that all standing agreements, including the safety and immunity guarantees for NDFP negotiators, will continue to be honored.Both sides also remain open to return to the negotiating table that could possibly be restarted with another fifth round of talks.“We could always talk and fight, as we did in the time of President FVR (Fidel V. Ramos) when we returned to the peace table,” said Jalandoni.“Let’s all stay the course in this not-so-easy road to peace in our land,” Dureza said.In the meantime, both parties are staying put. None has checked out of their hotel rooms, no one has re-booked any flight.But as of 1 p.m. here (7 p.m. Manila time), there was still no formal response from the NDFP.
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Manila Bulletin
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https://news.mb.com.ph/2017/05/27/confusion-mars-5th-round-of-talks/
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House leaders downplay ‘plot’ to oust Duterte
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['The Manila Times']
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2016-11-23 21:40:29+00:00
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ADMINISTRATION and opposition leaders of the House of Representatives on Wednesday downplayed an apparent plot of government critics, including the “yellow forces” allied with the previous administration, to use the burial of remains of former President Ferdinand Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani (LMNB) in Taguig City (Metro Manila) as launching pad to oust President Rodrigo Duterte from power.In separate interviews, Deputy Speaker Raneo Abu of Batangas and House Minority Leader Danilo Suarez of Quezon belittled a planned broad protest rally to greet President Duterte on his return tomorrow (Friday) from Lima, Peru to show the people’s supposed indignation over the interment of the remains of the former leader at the LMNB or Heroes Cemetery last Friday.Abu, in a statement, said the political enemies of the President will fail in their attempt to pull down President Duterte’s trust and approval ratings.“They will not succeed. Still the President enjoys support from the great majority of the Filipino people. When these noisy people [plotters] filed petitions before the Supreme Court asking [to declare] the burial [illegal], the President said he will follow whatever decision of the SC is, the tribunal being the interpreter of the law,” he pointed out.“The SC decided that there’s no reason to prohibit the burial. So what is the reason of these critics for trying to oust the President when he only followed what is the rule of law?” Abu said.Suarez, meanwhile, said protest rallies as an “offshoot” of the burial of Marcos’ remains at the Heroes Cemetery will not prosper into bigger ones that could topple the Duterte administration.“The President continues to enjoy widespread and overwhelming support from the people and he is doing his very best to address the problems of the country, especially the illegal drug trade,” he added.“Attempts to oust him [Duterte] is just a figment of their imagination,” Suarez said, referring to the President’s political enemies.The people, according to the lawmaker, will not support any attempt by any group to remove the President, a move that he said would only create chaos in the country.Bonifacio Ilagan, convenor of the Campaign Against the Return of the Marcoses to Malacañang or Carmma, said Marcos’ burial on November 18 at the LNMB was an affront to victims of martial law and activists who fought against strongman rule.Earlier, Deputy Speaker and Capiz Rep. Fredenil Castro said President Duterte’s men and the Marcos family did not violate any law when the remains of the former president were interred at the Heroes Cemetery.Castro explained that there is no more order from the High Court that bars the government’s issuance of the “green light” for the Marcoses to bury the family patriarch at the LNMB because an status quo ante order had been lifted.He said the SC will not reverse its ruling–nine against five and one abstention–that paved the way for the burial at the Heroes Cemetery.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/house-leaders-downplay-plot-oust-duterte/298017/
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SC scolds 2 litigants for disrespect to courts
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['Jomar Canlas']
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2017-03-17 21:23:10+00:00
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LITIGANTS do not have unrestrained freedom of choice on how to set up their cause before the court and also on the court to which their cause is to be directed.Thus, the Supreme Court (SC) junked a position paper of litigants Jose Beso Gulmatico Sr., and Normal Gulmatico Estampador, alleged heirs of the plaintiffs-appellants in a case that was already dismissed by the Court of Appeals (CA) in 1954.According to court records, the CA received on February 23, 2016 a position paper requesting reopening of the case and for judgment of the case entitled “Tiburcio Estampador and Matilde Gulmatico vs. Patricio delos Reyes and Pablo Rada.”It was found out that a judgment in the case was already issued on April 22, 1954 and that it became final on May 5 of the same year.CA Presiding Justice Andres Reyes Jr. informed Gulmatico and Estampador that the CA cannot reopen the case since it had no jurisdiction to reopen a final judgment.Reyes suggested to the litigants to consult their lawyer so that they can file the appropriate pleading or case before the proper court.The litigants, however, asked Reyes to forward their position paper to the High Court for appropriate action.In its decision dated January 10, 2017 that was released to the media just recently, the full court held that “they should file the proper case in a proper court within allowable time frame and pay the corresponding docket and filing fees.”“They cannot circumvent this by the simple expedient of filing a position paper with the CA and after being informed by the latter that it has no jurisdiction to grant them the relief being sought, by asking it to instead forward the same to this court,” the SC opined in its ruling promulgated by clerk of court Felipa Anama.“It is well to remind Gulmatico and [Estampador] that this kind of attitude toward the CA, or to any other court for that matter, cannot be tolerated. He is, thus, enjoined to be more mindful of the respect due to courts and to avoid actions bordering on disrespect.”JOMAR CANLAS
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/sc-scolds-2-litigants-disrespect-courts/317767/
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Ex-Defense chief Abat, 92
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['Dempsey Reyes']
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2018-03-09 00:04:47+00:00
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Former Defense Secretary Fortunato Abat died on Wednesday night, the Department of National Defense (DND) confirmed on Thursday.DND spokesman Arsenio Andolong said Abat passed away at 7 p.m. t the Veterans Memorial Medical Center in Quezon City.“The Department of National Defense mourns the loss of former Defense Secretary and Commanding General of the Philippine Army, Fortunato Abat,” Andolong added.He said the remains of Abat will lie in state at the Loyola Chapels along Commonwealth Avenue, also in Quezon City, and will be ready for public viewing today.Abat will be laid to rest on a tentative schedule at the Libingan ng mga Bayani at Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City, where he will be given full military honors with necrological service yet to be announced.In a statement, the Philippine Army described Abat as a “fine officer and a gentleman.”“He has served in many military campaigns particularly during the martial law era in Mindanao. He is very much respected by our organization because of his accomplishments and legacy that he has provided for the Philippine Army,” said Lt. Col. Louie Villanueva, Army spokesman.Meanwhile, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) also mourned the passing of Abat, praising his accomplishments for the military and among civilians as well.“His contributions to the AFP and the Defense department as a unit commander, leader and mentor serve as lasting legacy to the men and women he has worked with and guided all throughout his military and civilian career,” Brig. Gen. Bienvenido Datuin Jr., AFP spokesman, said.“Noteworthy to mention are his various designations under different administrations that bespeak highly of his reputation as a public servant. The AFP will always be thankful for his service to the country and the Filipino people,” he added.Abat started his military career as an enlisted man in 1944 during World War II.After the war, he entered the Philippine Military Academy as a cadet in 1947 and graduated in 1951.He was also part of the Philippine Expeditionary Forces to Korea.For five years, Abat served as the Army chief during the martial law years under then-President Ferdinand Marcos.Right after his retirement, he joined the Ministry of Human Settlements and months later, he was designated by Marcos as ambassador to China, a position he held for four years until the EDSAuprising in 1986.Abat served as the secretary of the Department of National Defense under the Ramos administration.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/ex-defense-chief-abat-92-2/384860/
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Govt, employers ‘delaying’ wage hike for NCR workers
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['William Depasupil']
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2017-09-04 21:53:48+00:00
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A labor group has accused the government and employers’ representatives to the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productive Board-National Capital Region (RTWPB-NCR) of delaying the release of a new wage hike order for private-sector workers in Metro Manila or NCR.Wage hike petitioner Associated Labor Unions-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (ALU-TUCP), through spokesman Alan Tanjusay, on Monday pointed out that it has been almost a month since the RTWP-NCR concluded its consultations with stakeholders but it still failed to come up with a new wage order.“As inflation continues to overtake real wages, the wage board is becoming more obsolete and irrelevant to the needs of the workers in delaying for several weeks now the announcement of a new wage order. The board is showing bias and preference in favor of abusive employers and capitalists by delaying and changing the pattern of wage increases. They should be held responsible to the poverty experienced by workers. The wage board is causing the misery of the people,” Tanjusay said.On June 6, the labor group filed with the wage board a wage increase petition of P184 daily to restore the purchasing power of P491 daily minimum wage to P675. The board completed the required public consultations with employers and labor groups on August 7.The NCR wage board is composed of five representatives each from the Department of Labor and Employment as chairman, Department of Trade and Industry, National Economic and Development Authority, Employers’ Confederation of the Philippines and two representatives from the labor sector.Citing government data, Tanjusay said there are at least six million minimum wage earners in Metro Manila who are dependent on a significant wage increase to cope with the sharp rise in the cost of living.The group said the purchasing power of the P491 daily minimum wage in the NCR has eroded to only P357 because of inflation brought about by the increases in power and water rates, in health and education costs, the prices of oil and its products and of basic goods and services.“With the 27 percent erosion of the current daily minimum wage rate, we surmise that, as of today, there are millions of workers including their dependents who are deeply mired in poverty because they cannot cope with high prices of goods and services. They need a significant wage increase. But if the wage board is delaying the decision on a wage increase, it is a very serious matter altogether,” Tanjusay said.Labor Undersecretary Joel Maglungsod, however, earlier said the P184 across-the-board daily wage increase is unlikely to be granted because of its effect in general on businesses and the employers.“Extensive study and consultation between business, labor and other concerned sectors are needed as the said proposed increase will give substantial relief to the workers and their families but will also have implications on the side of the business and employers,” he added.Tanjusay said they were not really expecting a P184 daily wage increase, adding that they received information that the RTWPB-NCR is likely to grant only a P16 to P17 increase.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/govt-employers-delaying-wage-hike-ncr-workers/348634/
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Duterte names de Vera CHEd chairman
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['Ralph Villanueva']
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2018-10-18 00:08:09+00:00
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PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte has appointed Prospero de Vera 3rd as chairman of the Commission on Higher Education (Ched).De Vera, who had sought more subsidy for higher education, will serve until July 21, 2022.He replaced Patricia Licuanan.De Vera was a commissioner of the agency from Sept. 13, 2016 and served as its officer-in-charge since January 24 this year.He shepherded the formulation of the Implementing Rules and Regulations of Republic Act 10931, or the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act of 2017, and the fast-tracking of its implementation, Ched Officer-in-Charge Executive Director Cinderella Filipina Benitez-Jaro said in a statement on Monday.De Vera was the University of the Philippines’ vice president for public affairs, from 2011 to 2016.He obtained his Bachelor of Arts, major in History and Doctorate on Public Administration from UP.He was a Senior Fulbright Visiting Professor/Fellow at the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland in 2000 to 2001.He also specialized in Higher Education administration at the Rossier School of Education of the University of Southern California (USC), as a Fulbright Hays Visiting Scholar.On Wednesday, Malacañang also released the appointment letters of Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro “Teddy Boy” Locsin Jr. and Social Welfare Secretary Rolando Bautista.Both appointment letters were signed by Duterte on Wednesday.Locsin replaced Alan Peter Cayetano, who will be running in next year’s mid-term elections.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/duterte-names-de-vera-ched-chairman/453329/
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2 ‘Most Wanted’ suspects nabbed
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['Chilito Naviamos']
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23/03/2017 0:00
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The No. 1 drug personality in Calamba City, Laguna and the Most Wanted Man in Cainta, Rizal have fallen in the hands of police in separate operations waged last Wednesday.In Laguna, Enojario D. Amlon, alias “Ninoy,” 32, a native of Samar and resident of Barangay Parian, Calamba City, was collared in a buy-bust operation at 1:20 p.m. in Masikap, Barangay Real, Calamba.Listed as the No. 1 drug target of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) in the city, Amlon yielded eight sachets of “shabu;” the P500 marked money used in the bust, and a loaded .38-caliber revolver, said Supt. Fernando R. Ortega, city police chief.Meanwhile in Rizal, police arrested Benjie F. Revilla, alias “Louie Monterte,” 39, at his house in PFCI Eastbank Road, Barangay San Andres, Cainta at 2 p.m. last Tuesday.Supt. Elpidio A. Ramirez, Officer-in-Charge (OIC) of the Cainta Municipal Police Station, said Revilla was arrested on the strength of a warrant issued by Judge Miguel S. Asuncion of the Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 99 in Antipolo City, where the suspect is charged with murder.
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Manila Bulletin
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https://news.mb.com.ph/2017/03/23/2-most-wanted-suspects-nabbed/
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4 TMTC grads pass 2016 Bar exams
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['The Manila Times']
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2017-05-05 22:56:50+00:00
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THE Manila Times College (TMTC) congratulates four of its journalism graduates who pursued law studies and passed the 2016 Bar examinations.Therese Claire Federigan Carbero, Tasnem Asdala Hamdain, Katrina April Mennen Apalisok Valdez and Suzette Mortera Longboy were among the 3,747 successful Bar examinees announced by the Supreme Court on Wednesday.Carbero, Hamdain and Valdez were in the first batch of graduates of AB Journalism course at TMTC in 2006 while Longboy belonged to the third batch in 2008.Carbero and Valdez then pursued and finished their law studies at San Sebastian College – Recoletos de Manila, Longboy graduated from Arellano University College of Law while Hamdain took three years of law at Arellano and completed the course at the Philippine Law School in Pasay City.The 3, 747 Bar passers comprising 59.06 percent of the 6, 344 examinees hold the distinction of belonging to the batch with the highest passing rate in 16 years.Valdez once worked as reporter for The Manila Times covering the business beat.Carbero now works as executive assistant at the office of Justice Jose C. Reyes Jr., Court of Appeals-Manila.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/4-tmtc-grads-pass-2016-bar-exams-2/325721/
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LRTA, PNP sign pact on passengers safety, security
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['Ma. Lisbet K. Esmael']
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2017-10-03 22:09:19+00:00
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The Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) om Tuesday signed a memorandum of agreement to ensure passenger safety and security.Under the agreement, the PNP will heighten its presence and provide aid to LRT-2 commuters in need of assistance.The agreement also calls for establishment of a women’s desk in selected LRT stations, the holding of quarterly emergency drills for LRT-2 employees, security personnel and passengers, increased police visibility during LRT-2 operating hours, free ride for police officers in uniform and posting or airing of information materials on crime prevention, safety and security awareness, among others.Women’s Desk would be stationed in Cubao, Santolan and Recto.“We will have Women’s Desk so that everyone, especially our passengers, can approach and consult our police officers. The visibility of our police officers is preemptive for possible occurence of criminalities,” LRTA Administrator Reynaldo Berroya said following the signing of the pact at LRT-2 Cubao station.“These are effective efforts to prevent sexual advances inside the stations and trains especially that most of our passengers are students,” Berroya added.PNP Chief Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa echoed the same sentiment, saying the agreement will give LRT-2 commuters access to police assistance.The agreement was signed by Berroya, dela Rosa and National Capital Region Police Office chief Oscar Albayalde.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/lrta-pnp-sign-pact-passengers-safety-security/354339/
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Harsher punishment sought for cybercrimes
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['The Manila Times']
|
2016-12-23 21:40:52+00:00
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A lawmaker has sought stiffer penalties for cybercrimes.“All over the world, incidents of cybercrime like hacking and computer fraud have become rampant. Bank depositors are losing money from their ATM accounts. Private corporations and even government offices are also falling victims to various forms of cyber scams and hacking. These crimes are tantamount to economic sabotage, causing irreparable damage to personal and company finances, as well as government economies,” Buhay party-list Rep. Lito Atienza said on Friday.Atienza, also senior deputy minority leader, pointed out that government’s efforts to catch and prosecute these scammers have so far failed because of the meager fines imposed on them.“We filed House Bill 4702 to amend and put in place stiffer penalties for those who will violate Republic Act 8484 or the Access Devices Regulation Act of 1998. Currently, violators are merely fined P10,000, which enables them to go scot-free after paying the said amount. Foreigners involved in these scams, when caught, pay the same amount then pack up and leave, transferring their base of operations elsewhere,” he added.In Atienza’s proposed bill, fines for this offense will be increased anywhere from P3,000,000 to P5,000,000 and imprisonment of not less than 20 years.The bill will also make cybercrimes non-bailable if the evidence of guilt is strong.“Increasing the penalties and making it non-bailable will make it harder for these cyber criminals to slip away and guaranteeing that they will be prosecuted and made to answer for their crimes,” Atienza said.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/harsher-punishment-sought-cybercrimes/303430/
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Fight for gas exploration in West PH Sea, Duterte urged
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['Jefferson Antiporda']
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2016-10-16 18:47:32+00:00
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PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte should insist on the Philippines’ right to exploit the resource-rich West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) when he visits China this week, with the Malampaya field off Palawan set to run out of natural gas in less than a decade, a neophyte senator said.Senator Sherwin Gatchalian said the impending depletion of the Malampaya Gas Field – one of Luzon’s primary power sources – and the forthcoming expiration of the Malampaya service contract meant that the government should be looking for new natural gas sources in other areas including the West Philippine Sea.“We will need to further discuss the prospects of our oil and gas industries in relation to the exploration of the West Philippine Sea, where abundant energy resources sit untapped beneath contested waters,” Gatchalian said in a privilege speech delivered last week.Gatchalian, who heads the Senate energy committee, said reducing the country’s dependence on foreign energy sources would be determined by how the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte handles the dispute over West Philippine Sea.Duterte is scheduled to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping and other Chinese officials when he visits Beijing this week.“I hope this administration’s emerging independent foreign policy agenda will also serve as a catalyst for achieving Philippine energy independence, by vigorously upholding and defending our exclusive sovereign rights to explore and develop resources in the West Philippine Sea,” Gatchalian said.The Department of Energy earlier told the Senate energy committee that the country would need additional sources of energy ahead of the scheduled shutdown of old power plants and the depletion of the Malampaya field in 2024.Malampaya fuels three power plants generating a combined 2,700 megawatts of electricity.Nuclear powerThe Energy department is also looking at nuclear power and has raised the possibility of reviving the $2.3-billion Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP) constructed during the time of former president Ferdinand Marcos.Senators Joseph Victor Ejercito, Juan Edgardo Angara and Nancy Binay have expressed openness to the idea but insisted that a thorough study be made first.Gatchalian is opposed to the idea of reviving the BNPP, saying it is tainted by corruption and is too old to use. It is also close to an earthquake fault.The energy committee chief however clarified that he was not against nuclear power. But the government must use the latest technology available, he said.Gatchalian, in his speech, also called for legislation that would help clear roadblocks in existing laws that hinder progress in the energy sector.The senator has filed a bill that will significantly cut red tape involved in power infrastructure projects.Based on the data from PhilHydro Association, Inc., the regulatory process for a run-of-river hydro plant could take 1,340 days. The proponent of the plant will have to secure at least 359 signatures from 74 regulatory agencies and attached bureaus.“They will also have to make sense of 20 different laws governing the entire process as they attempt to accomplish 43 different contracts, certifications, endorsements and licenses,” Gatchalian said.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/fight-gas-exploration-west-ph-sea-duterte-urged/291570/
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Ex-PACU head endorsed as CHEd commissioner
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['Neil Alcober']
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2018-10-31 00:05:44+00:00
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THE Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) is looking for a commissioner who would fill the post left vacant by Prospero de Vera 3rd, who was appointed by President Rodrigo Duterte as chairman of the agency.“With my appointment as chair, there is one commissioner position vacant. It would be good if the President would appoint a representative from private universities and colleges,” de Vera toldThe Manila Times at the sidelines of the board meeting of the Coordinating Council of Private Educational Associations of the Philippines (Cocopea) at the Manila Polo Club in Makati City on Monday.“There is no commissioner coming from the private universities and colleges, and we need them to make sure that when we make policies, the interests, concerns, and the expertise of private higher education is in every Commission en banc position,” de Vera added.Cocopea has endorsed Dhanna Bautista-Rodas, former president of the Philippine Association of Colleges and Universities (PACU), as its representative in the commission en banc.“We have endorsed her [Dr. Rodas] to Dr. de Vera. He said that he did not yet receive the document but he wants to endorse that name to the President. I’m very happy that he is taking the initiative to make sure that a representative from a private sector is named,” Fr. Joel Tabora, president of the Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines (CEAP), said.Cocopea, one of the country’s largest umbrella organizations of private schools, is composed of Association of Christian Schools, Colleges and Universities; CEAP; Philippine Association of Colleges and Universities; Philippine Association of Private Schools, Colleges and Universities; and Technical-Vocational Schools Associations of the Philippines.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/ex-pacu-head-endorsed-as-ched-commissioner/460046/
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No bidding for China firm as 3rd telco player
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['Llanesca T. Panti']
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2018-01-03 23:08:41+00:00
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A Chinese firm, China Telecom, would not undergo public bidding in its bid to make an investment as the third telecommunications or telco company in the country, Malacañang spokesman Harry Roque said on Wednesday.“Let me be clear on this. The offer to China was made in a bilateral talk between the President [Rodrigo Duterte] and the Chinese Premier [Li Keqiang]. It appears to have been accepted because the Chinese government nominated China Telecom. It was offered and accepted, [and] we will honor our word,” Roque told reporters.The bilateral meeting between Duterte and Li happened after Manila’s hosting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Summit in November 2017.Under the 1987 Constitution, foreign companies can only own 40 percent at most of public utility companies such as telecommunications firms.Roque said the Chinese side has been informed that its entry should be compliant with this constitutional provision.The country, according to the Palace spokesman, will only be open to the entry of other foreign players if the Chinese firm would not be amenable to complying with the 40 percent restriction of the Constitution.“Chinese ownership will be limited to 40 percent and the Department of Information and Communications already said that they would want a Filipino consortium to own the 60 percent majority stake in this third telecommunications firm. If for any reason this is not acceptable to China Telecom, then we have no choice. We will have to look for other players because we will have to honor what the Constitution provides,” Roque said.He, however, maintained that the Chinese firm is not walking away from the deal.“We do not know if it will actually push through. As you know, the devil is always in the details. But there are no indications that China Telecom does not want to push through with the project. But unless it is actually up and going, I guess there is always a possibility that others may be involved if, for any reason, China Telecom or China decides not to push through with their commitment,” Roque said.President Duterte ordered government regulatory agencies in December 2017 to speed up the entry of China Telecom in the Philippine market, saying the Chinese firm should be operating in the country within 90 days or less.Opposition lawmakers, including former police chief and now Sen. Panfilo Lacson and ex-Marine Gary Alejano have warned the government against tapping a Chinese firm for telecommunications since it could jeopardize the country’s national security.There are only two telecommunications firms in the country, PLDT (which also operates Smart Communications) and Globe.The entry of Chinese firms in public utility services in the country, however, has always been marred with controversies.The $329-million National Broadband Network project with Chinese firm ZTE was canceled by then-President Gloria Arroyo in 2007 over allegations of overpricing.Another derailed project with a Chinese firm was NorthRail, which was supposed to connect Caloocan City (Metro Manila) to Bulacan but was shelved because of alleged irregularities in the contract.Based on Commission on Audit findings, the Philippine government overpaid the Chinese contractor for the project by at least $129 million.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/no-bidding-china-firm-3rd-telco-player/372090/
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Ombudsman absolves DOJ deputy chief fiscal
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['Jomar Canlas']
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2016-12-20 21:42:07+00:00
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The Office of the Ombudsman has exonerated Senior Deputy State Prosecutor Severino Gaña Jr. of the Department of Justice (DOJ) in connection with administrative charges filed against him by a litigant in 2012.A seven-page decision, signed and approved by Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales, copies of which were sent to the Department of Justice (DOJ), found no substantial evidence against the DOJ deputy chief prosecutor for charges of grave misconduct and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service.The ruling was penned by Graft Investigation and Prosecution Officer II Fatima Kristine Franco-Ilao who ordered the dismissal of the complaint against Gaña.Then-Justice secretary and now Sen. Leila de Lima caused the filing of the charges against him and even pushed for his suspension despite lack of evidence.“This Office finds no substantial evidence to demonstrate respondent’s use or misuse of authority, or transgression of some established rule of law nor a showing that respondent’s actions in the context they were made tarnished the image and integrity of his public service,” the decision stated.The case stemmed from the administrative complaint filed by one Nuriza Jr. G. Abeja.Abeja was a respondent in an adultery case filed before the Prosecutor’s Office of Makati City (Mmetro Manila).The case was subsequently dismissed but was elevated to the DOJ on a petition for review.During the pendency of the petition, one of the office staff of Gaña—Mutya Santiago-Tobes—allegedly informed Abeja that she could help fix the case for P300,000 until the price was lowered to P250,000.On August 17, 2012, Abeja reported the matter to de Lima, who referred her to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), which conducted an entrapment against Mutya.A robbery (extortion) case was filed against Mutya before the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Manila, Branch 54 but the case was eventually dismissed after granting her demurrer to evidence.In his counter-affidavit, Gaña explained that he met Abeja, who introduced herself as a member of a non-government organization (NGO) affiliated with Unicef, in one of the programs of the Anti-Human Trafficking Task Force, which he headed from 2006 to 2011.He thought that Abeja’s visits were only by reason of their interactions in the programs but never mentioned to him that she had a pending case on appeal before the DOJ.In the ruling dated November 25, 2016 that was released to the media only recently, Morales gave weigh to Gaña’s allegations “that he was not privy to the supposed transactions between complainant and Mutya.”
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/ombudsman-absolves-doj-deputy-chief-fiscal-2/302874/
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Ex-BoC deputy commissioner faces raps over SALN
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['Ma. Reina Leanne Tolentino']
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2018-06-30 00:03:23+00:00
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Former Bureau of Customs (BoC) Deputy Commissioner Prudencio Reyes Jr. is facing breach of conduct charges before the Sandiganbayan for allegedly failing to disclose business interests and assets in three Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALNs) and for falsifying documents.The Office of the Ombudsman accused Reyes of violating Section 8 of Republic Act (RA) 6713 or the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees.The Ombudsman alleged that Reyes “willfully, unlawfully and criminally fail[ed] to disclose” his supposed business interests in All in One Entertainment Corp. and in Prudence Group of Companies, Inc. in his SALNs for 2010 and 2011.He also failed to declare a 2005 Honda TMX125 motorcycle in his SALN of February 23, 2010 which was an entry SALN and in his SALN for 2010, the Ombudsman said.Reyes was also charged with falsification for allegedly stating in 2009 in his personal data sheet, under the Civil Service Eligibility section, that he was a Career Executive Service Officer, Rank 1.According to the charge sheet, he “knew for a fact” that he was not a Career Executive Service eligible since his request with the Career Executive Service Board to note and record his CESO 1 appointment was denied in a 2001 resolution.The Ombudsman recommended bail totaling P40,000 for Reyes.The cases were filed before the Sandiganbayan on June 18 and were designated to the Sixth Division.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/ex-boc-deputy-commissioner-faces-raps-over-saln/414151/
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Palace to allies: Don’t ask for special treatment
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['Llanesca T. Panti']
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2017-09-19 22:21:02+00:00
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Allies of President Rodrigo Duterte, including those in Congress, should not seek special treatment over anything, including traffic laws, Malacañang spokesman Ernesto Abella said on Tuesday.Abella sounded off the call in response to a request of House Majority Leader Rodolfo Fariñas of Ilocos Norte that authorities should not apprehend lawmakers over minor traffic violations.Fariñas was quoted as saying “Pag nagpakilalang congressman siya at maipakitang talagang congressman, huwag ‘niyong dalhin sa presinto. Kasi ‘pag dinala sa presinto, hindi na siya makakapag-perform ng kanyang functions. Halimbawa, eh nakasagasa. Nasugatan ‘yung tao. ‘Pag nagpakilalang congressman yan, eh ‘di ‘tsaka na huhulihin [When a lawmaker introduces himself as a member of the House, don’t take the lawmaker to the precinct because he or she can’t perform legislative functions anymore. For example, the lawmaker’s vehicle ran into somebody and the victim was wounded. If the lawmaker presents himself/herself as a House member, you can arrest him or her later].”Fariñas, a lawyer, added, “In minor offenses, especially in traffic [jams], if we introduced ourselves as lawmakers and made an appeal to you, provide us an escort. If the House member will argue that he is rushing to an important work in Congress, you should be of assistance so that we can do our jobs.”“The President continues to live a modest lifestyle. He does not seek special treatment inside or outside the Palace. I hope our colleagues in Congress, especially our allies, could bring themselves to do the same,” Abella told reporters.“The law is the law. [There should be] no special treatment,” he said.Abella clarified that there is no directive from the Office of the President requiring the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) or the Department of Transportation (DOTr) not to heed Fariñas’ request.Both the MMDA and the Transportation department are under the supervision of the Office of the President.“At this stage, there are no actions regarding that matter. Well, let them [MMDA and DOTr], you know… let them proceed as necessary,” Abella said.The Revised Penal Code states that reckless imprudence consists in voluntarily, but without malice, doing or failing to do an act from which material damage results by reason of inexcusable lack of precaution on the part of the person performing or failing to perform such act, taking into consideration his employment or occupation, degree of intelligence, physical condition and other circumstances regarding persons, time and place.The country’s penal code provides that “any person who, by reckless imprudence, will commit any act which, had it been intentional, would constitute a grave felony” will be imprisoned from six months to three years.Fariñas has invoked Article 4, Section 11 of the Philippine Constitution, which states, “A senator or member of the House of Representatives should, in all offenses punishable by not more than six years’ imprisonment, be privileged from arrest while Congress is in session.”Also, the 1987 Charter says, “No member shall be questioned nor be held liable in any other place for any speech or debate in Congress or in any committee thereof.”Rep. Carlos Zarate of Bayan Muna said Fariñas’ suggestion only galvanizes the prevailing situation wherein the law tends to favor the rich.“Our lawmakers should be honorable, starting by following our laws. Everyone is affected by horrible traffic jams, everybody has to attend to something important every day. We can’t give favors to anybody,” Zarate added in a statement.Farinas’ proposal came under fire from Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman.In a news briefing also on Tuesday at the House of Representatives, Lagman said there is no need for the proposal since a congressman being detained or arrested for a traffic violation is unheard of.WITH REPORT FROM
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/palace-allies-dont-ask-special-treatment/351554/
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Farm experts call for soil conservation
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['The Manila Times']
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2017-04-30 01:53:53+00:00
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The Philippine Society of Agricultural Engineers (PSAE) is urging the use of farm mechanization and renewable energy, and to undertake soil and water conservation and management to help secure the country’s food needs.The PSAE concluded its 67th PSAE Annual National Convention in Legazpi City on Saturday, where experts presented their views on how the Philippine agricultural sector can harness modern technologies to produce more food. The theme of the convention was “Agricultural and Biosystems Engineers: Pr“The event aimd to provide the participants with the development and trends of agricultural engineering practices and technologies in the area of farm power and agricultural machinery, post harvest and agro-processing, renewable energy, agricultural buildings and structures and irrigation, soil and water conservation and management; and upgrade their professional capabilities in line with the practice of their profession,” the group said in a statement.Based on data from the Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization (PhilMech), the country’s farm mechanization level is 1.02 per hectare, while China’s is 4.10 hp/ha and Vietnam 1.56 hp/ha.Soil and water conservation efforts have also been slow, with too much water available during the rainy season and none during the dry season.CMC
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/farm-experts-call-soil-conservation/324728/
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STL created 300,000 jobs – Balutan
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['The Manila Times']
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2018-06-28 00:06:32+00:00
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The expanded Small Town Lottery (STL) provided 309,436 jobs and generated P2 billion a month for President Rodrigo Duterte’s medical program for the poor, Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) General Manager Alexander Balutan said Wednesday.“Apart from providing economic activity to the province, the established and existing STL corporations provide regular medical mission and educational assistance to their towns and municipalities. The goal of STL expansion is to spread out the system of corporate social responsibility to all the provinces with STL licenses and operators,” Balutan said.He added that in 2017, 1,640 STL workers were enrolled in the Social Security System, PhilHealth and Pag-ibig.“These are all reflections of the STL corporations’ desire to have concrete corporate social responsibility program in the communities where they conduct business; unfortunately, gambling lords are desperate to kick them out of the picture,” Balutan said.“Majority of these STL employees are those who could not pass the nitty-gritty of job fairs because of their old age or because they are physically impaired. At least they are now earning more than P7,000 a month to feed their families rather than we will see these less fortunate sector in our society running for illegal drug syndicates and other criminal activities just to earn money to live,” he added.Balutan said the PCSO earns almost P2 billion a month from STL operations, a potent revenue-collection machine of the government.“From January to May 2018, STL has already provided the government P9.7 billion revenues. At present, we have 83 Authorized Agent Corporations (AACs) playing STL nationwide. These corporations are doing great for us especially in providing additional fund for our charity services to the people,” he said.The charity agency, he added, spent more than P3 billion for the hospital bills and medicines of almost 154,000 patients.Balutan said PCSO paid the government P3.5 billion in taxes for the first quarter of 2018.“PCSO will continue to help the national government to eradicate any illegal numbers game in the country by aggressively promoting STL and other lottery products such as Lotto, Keno, digital games as prescribed in President Rodrigo Duterte’s Executive Order 13,” he said.EO-13, which strengthens the fight against illegal gambling, was signed into law on February 2, 2017.Balutan said STL is gaining ground in jueteng-infested areas in Luzon and swertres and masiao in Visayas and Mindanao, respectively, as many gambling lords have already opted to join the government’s legal numbers game.“In STL, we did not only provide the government billions of pesos of tax money but most of all providing financial assistance to indigent patients in line with President Duterte’s Malasakit program. In jueteng, nobody benefits from the loot except gambling lords and their protectors in government,” he said.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/stl-created-300000-jobs-balutan/413242/
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Labor group presses demand for P500 subsidy
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['William Depasupil']
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2018-03-11 22:17:55+00:00
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ORGANIZED labor has pressed its demand for a P500 monthly cash or voucher subsidy for the estimated four million minimum wage earners around the country as the value of the minimum wage had fallen down by six percent during the first two months of implementation of the Tax Reform Acceleration and Inclusion Act or Train Law.The country’s biggest labor coalition, the Association of Labor Unions-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (ALU-TUCP), on Sunday said based on monitoring of prevailing prices made by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas and the National Wages and Productivity Commission released on February 9, the real value or the buying power of the country’s 17 regions’ total average daily nominal minimum wage of P329.35 is now only P210 a day.ALU-TUCP made the subsidy demand even as they were scheduled for a meeting with President Rodrigo Duterte in Malacañang on March 22 to present their study on the merits of their P500 monthly subsidy proposal.Its spokesman, Alan Tanjusay, said inflationary effect of the new tax reform law brought about by increases in prices of goods and services is catching up with the minimum wage earners and informal-sector workers.“We noticed the erosion of purchasing power [of the minimum wage]… by 6 percent in just a matter of two months from January to February upon the effectivity of the Train Law. This extraordinary devaluation of the monthly salary is significant to the informal-sector workers earning less than P12,000 a month and the minimum wage earners receiving less than the same amount,” he noted.In Metro Manila, which has the highest minimum wage, the buying power of the P512 daily minimum pay fell to P357.29, according to Tanjusay.On the other hand, he said, the real value or purchasing power of the country’s lowest minimum pay of P265 a day in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao is P152.12 a day.As of March 1, 2018, the total purchasing power of workers for a month fell to P8,575.But, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), the published standard amount needed by a family of five to get past the poverty line in 2015 was P9,064.“We want the government’s immediate and quality response to save and prevent these workers, who help build our economy and who are producers of goods and services to make our economy competitive, from falling through the cracks,” Tanjusay said.With the inflation rate hitting 3.9 percent by the end of February 2018, the ALU-TUCP expects it to rise by the end of the month in the light of impending increases in costs of electricity, rice, fish, sardines, vegetables, condiments and gasoline.Tanjusay said an ALU-TUCP study group, composed of economic experts from the academe and private sector, are completing their figures, among other details, on the proposed P500 monthly subsidy for presentation to the President and his economic team when they meet on March 22.The subsidy, he added, would help the four million minimum wage earners and their families cope with the rising inflation and surging cost of living that resulted from additional excise tax imposed on fuel and sweetened beverages.Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello 3rd earlier said he was not against the proposal, adding that he is only willing to recommend a P100 to P200 a month cash subsidy.The labor group’s P500 proposal, he added, may take a heavy toll on the government’s finances that may prejudice other vital infrastructure and development programs.“I am willing only to recommend a P100 to P200 a month cash subsidy but it is still subject to the approval of the Department of Finance and the Department of Budget and Management,” Bello said.Labor organizations brought out the subsidy proposal to the President during their meeting on February 9, prompting him to direct the labor sector to form a four-member study group.If approved, the P500 monthly subsidy for four million minimum wage earners is equivalent to P2 billion a month or P24 billion a year.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/labor-group-presses-demand-for-p500-subsidy/385533/
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Transport group puts on hold 3-day strike
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['Reicelene Joy Ignacio']
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2017-04-02 21:54:30+00:00
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Transport group Stop & Go Coalition clarified that they did not cancel their planned three-day transport strike but are only putting it on hold pending results of the group’s exclusive dialogue with the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB).The dialogue will have taken place on Friday last week.According to Stop & Go president Jun Magno, LTFRB Chairman Martin Delgra 3rd said jeepneys facing phaseout only need to undergo rehabilitation, and there would be no need to buy new jeepneys if the existing ones are in proper condition.Magno denounced a television report that said transport group Alliance of Concerned Transport Organization will not push through with the three-day transport strike.Magno said he disagrees with the fleet management concept, which seeks to give jeepney drivers a fixed monthly salary because the concept would only make drivers lax.He added that he also disagrees with a loan program of financial institutions in the country to assist jeepney operators to purchase new vehicles, offering a lower equity of between five to seven percent.“[Why should we borrow when we still have our jeepneys]?” he said.Magno said he will lead a strike of around 5,000 taxi drivers against Uber and Grab but he gave no date for the strike.According to him, Uber and Grab are not properly regulated and are competing unfairly with taxi drivers.REICELENE JOY IGNACIO
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/transport-group-puts-hold-3-day-strike/320578/
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Proposed cellphone law up for ratification
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['The Manila Times']
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2018-11-14 00:02:33+00:00
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THE proposed Lifetime cellphone Number Act may soon be signed by President Rodrigo Duterte into law since the Bicameral Conference Committee tasked to reconcile the disagreeing provisions of Senate Bill 1632 and House Bill 7652 agreed to submit for ratification by the Senate and the House of Representatives the reconciled version of the measure, which is to be known as the “Mobile Number Portability Act.”Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian, chairman of the Senate economic affairs committee, and principal author of the Senate version said the basic premise behind a nationwide Mobile Number Portability system is to promote consumer welfare. He explained that it fosters the freedom to choose and to respond to quality, price and other relevant considerations without the consumers having to change their mobile numbers whenever they change mobile service providers or subscription plans.Under the reconciled version of the measure, Mobile Number Portability is envisioned to encourage mobile service providers to compete to provide consumers the best value thus encouraging technological innovation that will stimulate even greater demand for telecommunications products and services.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/proposed-cellphone-law-up-for-ratification/467099/
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Palace vows to push back vs NPA rebels
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['Ralph Villanueva']
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2018-02-06 00:05:34+00:00
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THE Philippine government will not back down in its campaign against members of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army-National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF), Malacañang warned on Monday amid the threat of CPP founder Jose Ma. Sison that the rebel group would kill one soldier per day to force the government to revive the peace talks.“We will not kneel. What does he think of our Armed Forces? That we will not push back? Watch us,” Palace spokesman Harry Roque said.“There is no difference in the position of the NPA because even during the height of the peace talks, they were killing soldiers. What’s new?” he added.Col. Edgard Arevalo, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) spokesman, said Sison’s threats only shows the “true colors” of the communists.“Such threat will not diminish our resolve to further enhance our services especially peace and development efforts; and infrastructure development particularly in the countryside,” Arevalo said in a statement.“To live in constant danger is part of the sworn duty of every serviceman. With or without threat to the lives of our soldiers, our troops will be there for our people in the communities where they are most needed,” he added.Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said Sison’s statement cleared battle lines.“What else is new? They have been killing our men in greater [number] before. That’s good so that the battle lines are clear.”According to Sison, the NPA has the “advantage” since it enjoys the support of the people and can launch ambushes and raids “by surprise.”“In sharp contrast, the reactionary troops are hated by the people, are exposed to public view and are practically deaf and blind in operations against the NPA most of the time,” he said.Roque warned Sison to stop threatening the government.“The President does not want any blood to drop but he [Sison] should not threaten the government like he controls the Philippines. The government had peace talks because we want to let all Filipinos live in peace. But they did not want to, [they broke ceasefires].”“Even during peace talks and even if they were given free passes, all expenses paid trips to Norway, they continued killing our soldiers,” Roque said.The peace talks between the CPP/NDF and the government were cancelled in November last year.with
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/palace-vows-push-back-vs-npa-rebels/378382/
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‘Drop box’ budget eyed for other projects
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['Rj Carbonell']
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2017-10-14 22:53:28+00:00
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The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) can use its budget for the “drop box” project for other purposes, Officer-In-Charge Catalino Cuy said on Saturday.Cuy made the pronouncement as the drop box project was grilled in the Senate plenary debate for the DILG’s budget, where it was deemed “prone to malice and abuse which can possibly lead to unnecessary deaths.”“We can do away with the drop box but not the whole budget earmarked for the mechanism,” Cuy said.He acknowledged the negative reactions on the drop box project but maintained it was meant to get “feedback” that would encourage people to be active in helping ensure “peace and order” in their areas.“The drop box is not meant for ‘Tokhang’ as claimed by different groups. We just want the people to be on board in the government’s efforts for peaceful and progressive communities,” Cuy said.He also clarified there was no final proposal yet on how much would be spent to purchase the controversial drop boxes, though proposals were lobbied for consideration.“Even prior to the issue becoming public, there was no tag price for the drop boxes,” Cuy said.According to him, instead of removing the budget for the drop box, it is better that some of the funds be allocated to other DILG programs related to the monitoring of peace and order, data-gathering and surveillance.Cuy said the department currently has existing programs where the concept of the “drop box” can be used. He said these programs were “cut from the same cloth” as the drop box idea.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/drop-box-budget-eyed-projects/356445/
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ROBBERY-HOLDUP GANG MEMBER KILLED
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['Nelson Badilla']
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2017-06-10 00:18:49+00:00
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An alleged member of a notorious robbery-holdup gang in Parañaque City was shot dead at dawn on Friday. The unidentified person sustained several gunshot wounds after he engaged policemen in a firefight. Senior Supt. Lemor Modequillo said his men went to Pelaez St. in Barangay San Dionisio at around 2:30 a.m. after they received a call from a victim that he was robbed by a man who was carrying a gun. Modequillo said the suspect who was wearing a blue t-shirt and short pants fired at the responding policemen prompting the latter to shoot back resulting in the suspect’s death. Modequillo said the suspect was a member of a notorious robbery-hold-up gandg that has been victimizing city residents.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/robbery-holdup-gang-member-killed/331927/
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Cases filed vs Mamasapano carnage ‘brains’ consolidated
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['Ma. Reina Leanne Tolentino']
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2017-12-02 20:46:30+00:00
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The Sandiganbayan’s Third Division has granted the prosecution’s plea to consolidate the graft case and the charge of usurpation of official functions filed against former President Benigno Aquino 3rd with the cases filed against former Philippine National Police Director General Alan Purisima and former PNP-Special Action Force Director Getulio Napeñas.On Friday (December 1), Aquino’s camp submitted the matter to the court’s discretion. The court found the grounds raised by the prosecution to be “meritorious” and thus granted the prosecution’s motion in open court.The cases–which were filed by the Office of the Ombudsman against Aquino before the Sandiganbayan in November in connection with the police operation in Mamasapano, Maguindanao, in 2015, and which were designated by raffle to the court’s Third Division–will be transferred to the court’s Fourth Division.The Sandiganbayan’s Fourth Division is where the charge of usurpation of official functions (docketed as SB-17-CRM-0120) and the graft case (docketed as SB-17-CRM-0121) filed by the Ombudsman in January against Purisima and Napeñas are pending.In its motion for consolidation, the prosecution had said in part that “it is irrefutable that the present cases are closely related to SB-17-CRM-0120 and SB-17-CRM-0121, hence, the necessity to be joined and tried together.”The graft case and the charge of usurpation of official functions filed against Aquino were docketed as SB-17-CRM-2144 and SB-17-CRM-2145, respectively.“Consolidation of the present cases should be permitted to accord accused Aquino, Purisima and Napeñas the benefit of saving time and litigation costs considering that they will appear before a single court, which shall hear the totality of the Mamasapano incident. In the same manner, that the prosecution will be not unduly burdened with the separate presentation of the same witnesses and same set of documents before two different courts trying virtually the same case,” the prosecution said.“More [important], consolidation will allow the 4th Division to issue orders, resolutions or decision which are based on a complete or holistic appreciation of the cases from a complete set of facts with all the alleged perpetrators thereof–accused Aquino, Purisima and Napeñas, all before a single division of the Sandiganbayan,” it added.Chain of commandIn accusing Aquino of graft, the Ombudsman alleged in the charge sheet that he “persuade[d], induce[d] or influence[d]” Purisima “to violate the” PNP chain of command, the Ombudsman’s preventive suspension order and then-OIC [Officer-in- Charge] PNP chief Leonardo Espina’s order for Purisima and other then-suspended police officers to stop performing their respective offices’ duties and functions.The Ombudsman preventively suspended Purisima for six months in December 2014 pending investigation of an allegedly anomalous courier deal forged by the PNP with Werfast Documentation Agency Inc. in 2011. The PNP terminated the deal in March 2014.Aquino allegedly “utiliz[ed] the services of Purisima for Oplan Exodus prior to and during its implementation” and allegedly gave “instructions to, receiv[ed] reports and recommendations from and approv[ed] the actions of” Napeñas thru Purisima relative to the preparation, conduct and implementation of Oplan Exodus,” according to the same charge sheet.In another charge sheet, the Ombudsman accused Aquino of usurpation of official functions under Article 177 of the Revised Penal Code.It alleged in part that he, “in conspiracy with” Purisima and Napeñas, “cause[d] Purisima to perform and/or exercise the function of the chief of the PNP over Oplan Exodus prior to and during its implementation… despite accused Aquino [3rd] having knowledge that Purisima was under preventive suspension from office… thereby Purisima was under pretense of official position and without being lawfully entitled to do so at the time…”In filing the cases against Purisima and Napeñas in January, the Ombudsman alleged that Purisima “persuade[d], induce[d] or influence[d]” Napeñas “with Napeñas allowing himself to be persuaded, induced or influenced to violate the PNP chain of command, the Ombudsman’s preventive suspension order and Espina’s order which directed Purisima and other then-suspended police officers to stop performing their respective offices’ duties and functions.”Section 3(a) of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act prohibits a public officer from persuading, inducing or influencing another public officer to perform an act constituting a violation of rules and regulations duly promulgated by competent authority or allowing himself to be persuaded, induced or influenced to commit such violation or offense.In accusing Purisima and Napeñas of usurpation of official functions, the Ombudsman alleged that Purisima, conspiring with Napeñas, “perform[ed] the function of the chief of the PNP by participating in the mission planning and supervision over the execution of Oplan Exodus… by, among other things, constantly asking and receiving pre-operational updates of Oplan Exodus from Napeñas… and approving the final date of the operation and the time-on-target coordination of the operation…”Oplan ExodusThe operation, known as Oplan Exodus, was aimed at the capture of Zulkifli bin Hir alias Marwan and his protégé Abdulbasit Usman. Marwan was killed while Usman escaped.Over 60 people, including 44 PNP-SAF members, were killed in a gunbattle that ensued.Usman was later killed by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) forces in a chance encounter.In February 2015, the Ombudsman’s office initiated a fact-finding probe, which looked into possible persons responsible in, among others, the planning and conduct of the police operation.It later approved the recommendation of its special panel of field investigators to initiate preliminaryinvestigation against Purisima, Napeñas and nine others.The fact-finding investigation stemmed from news reports and separate complaints filed by Fernando Perito, Pedrito Nepomuceno and Augusto Syjuco Jr. before the office.While the complaints did not implead Aquino, the Ombudsman motu proprio (on its own) looked into the allegations or reports on his participation.“And the special panel found that whatever participation the President may have had in the Mamasapano incident does not amount to prima facie [based on a first impression] to a criminal offense, neither was his participation analogous to any of the impeachable offenses,” Assistant Ombudsman Asryman Rafanan said in 2015.In April 2016, the Ombudsman found basis to charge Purisima and Napeñas who then filed motions for reconsideration but the Ombudsman’s office maintained its ruling.Three separate complaints accusing Aquino, Purisima and Napeñas of reckless imprudence resulting in multiple homicide were filed at the Office of the Ombudsman after Aquino’s term ended last year.In a consolidated resolution approved by Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales in July, the office dismissed for lack of probable cause the complaint for reckless imprudence resulting in multiple homicide.It said the proximate cause of the death of the 44 SAF men was the “intentional act” of shooting by hostile forces including the MILF, Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters and private armed groups.The Ombudsman, however, found probable cause to charge Aquino with graft and usurpation of official functions.This prompted the former President and the complainants to seek reconsideration.‘Within the bounds’In his motion for partial reconsideration, Aquino said his actions during the briefing for Oplan Exodus and its implementation “were perfectly within the bounds” of his powers and functions as then-President.He maintained that Purisima’s supposed involvement was limited to being a resource person.Aquino said Purisima had intimate knowledge of the intelligence on Zulkifli bin Hir alias Marwan including detailed information on previous operations to capture the latter.“To stress, there is nothing irregular, much less illegal, about my act of utilizing all the resources available at my disposal, including sourcing information and inputs from anyone – whether they are in active service or not.Certainly, it would be the height of negligence had I not used any and all assets and resources available to me at the time to ensure that I had the full grasp of the operation to be carried out, including the risks and hazards associated with such an operation,” he added.But the Ombudsman—which, in a consolidated order approved by Morales in September, denied the pleas for reconsideration–alleged that “[t]o this office… the evidence on record regarding the extent of Purisima’s actual participation in Oplan Exodus… shows that he was certainly much more than being a mere resource person.”
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/cases-filed-vs-mamasapano-carnage-brains-consolidated/366229/
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French frigate to visit Manila
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['Dempsey Reyes']
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2018-03-11 00:03:01+00:00
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A light patrol frigate of the French Navy is set to arrive next week in the country for a “goodwill visit,” according to the Philippine Navy.Capt. Lued Lincuna, Navy spokesman, over the weekend said the French Navy ship, Vendemiaire, is scheduled to dock on Monday and will be welcomed by the Philippine Navy at Pier 9, South Harbor in Manila.Lincuna added that the “goodwill visit” will be from March 12 to 16.“The vessel is a Floréal-classlight surveillance frigate of the French Marine Nationale [French Navy],” he said, adding that Philippine Navy delegates will render the customary welcome ceremony arrival for the visiting vessel.The French Navy’s Vendemiaire is under the command of Commander Alexander Blonce.The warship will come from Brunei Darussalam where it stopped for a two-day visit.The visit of the French frigate came a month after the USS Carl Vinson, carrying more than 5,500 US sailors, arrived in the Philippines before it went to Vietnam for its first port visit since the Vietnam war in the 1960s.The US super carrier also went on a patrol in the South China Sea (West Philippine Sea), launching its jet fighters and helicopters there.The visit of the longest-serving ship of the United States to Vietnam upset China, saying that such “will not generate any special tools to pressure” the country, which reportedly has been building military bases in the West Philippine Sea.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/french-frigate-to-visit-manila/385385/
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Lawmakers seek stronger rules on delivery services
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['Ralph Villanueva']
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2017-10-04 20:57:01+00:00
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THE HOUSE Committee on Dangerous Drugs is pushing for stronger rules on deliveries made by drivers of transport network vehicle services (TNVS) in wake of recent cases of illegal drugs being sent through such means.“It seems that the drug traffickers are being bolder and bolder, [becoming] ingenious. They’ve been using the Internet, they’ve been using the TNVS [and other means to deliver drugs to buyers],” Rep. Robert Ace Barbers of Surigao del Norte said on Wednesday.Catanduanes Rep. Cesar Sarmiento proposed to write a letter to the TNVS to cease their door-to-door deliveries to prevent further cases of drug trafficking.“From now on, nobody should be allowed to tell these drivers to carry a package from one point to another because these [vehicles] are designed to carry passengers, not [to serve] as mail couriers,” Sarmiento said.Negros Oriental Rep. Arnulfo Teves Jr. said it would be difficult to catch the sources of the illegal drugs especially when they use fake accounts for their transactions.“[None of the authorities can file any case against you because your account cannot be traced to any individual, institution or corporation],” Teves said.Last year, he filed House Bill 4093, or the Online and Social Media Membership Accountability Act, which seeks to eradicate the prevalence of fake online and social media accounts by mandating their authentication through registration of the accounts using government-issued identification or barangay (village) certificates.Barbers also proposed to regulate the use of private planes and helicopters, also in wake of reports of drug traffickers using these aircraft to transport drugs.He cited the case of the late Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar who used private planes to smuggle illegal drugs out of Colombia and Mexico.“[We should have control, strict control, on private aircraft. In fact, there is no PDEA presence on private hangars. If they (drug traffickers) will put drugs on private planes, nobody can check],” Barbers said, referring to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/lawmakers-seek-stronger-rules-delivery-services/354539/
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Stop ‘tokhang’ ops, SC asked
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['Jomar Canlas']
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2017-01-26 21:35:46+00:00
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The Supreme Court (SC) on Thursday was asked by a survivor and relatives of four slain garbage collectors to stop the Philippine National Police (PNP) from conducting so-called tokhang operations in enforcing the government’s war on drugs.Members of the Quezon City Police District (QCPD) were implicated in the death of the four employees in the 2016 incident.The demand came after a petition for a writ of amparo was lodged before the High Court, seeking protection from the tribunal against alleged abuses of some members of the PNP.The writ of amparo is a remedy available to any person whose right to life, liberty and security is violated or threatened with violation by an unlawful act or omission of a public official or employee, or of a private individual or entity.The petitioners are Efren Morillo, 28, and the lone survivor in a police anti-drug operation, and relatives of fatalities Marcelo Daa, 31; Jessie Cule, 20-25; Raffy Gabo, 23; and Anthony Comendo, 26.Named respondents to the case are the PNP headed by Director General Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa; Senior Supt. Guillermo Lorenzo Eleazar, QCPD director; Supt. Lito Patay, QCPD Station 6 commander; Senior Inspector Emil Garcia; Police Officer 3 Allan Formilleza; PO1 James Aggarao; and PO1 Melchor Navisaga.The petitioners alleged that there was a tokhang operation in the house of victim Daa on August 21, 2016 at Group 9, Area B, Payatas, Quezon City.It was stated that a group of five armed men and two women wearing civilian clothes entered their house and accused the victims of involvement in illegal drugs.According to the petitioners, the intruders ransacked the house, planted drug evidence against the fatalities, took personal belongings and mercilessly shot Daa, Cule, Gabo, Comendo and Morillo, execution style.Morillo survived by playing dead.“Thus, respondents [QCPD policemen] had no authority to conduct ‘Oplan: Tokhang’ in Barangay Payatas, where the incident occurred. It is thus quite obvious that they fabricated evidence to make it appear that they had jurisdiction to conduct ‘Oplan: Tokhang’ operations where the incident occurred.“Otherwise, if it were indeed a legimate operation, there is no need to lie about the place of the incident,” the petition read.The petitioners said the PNP claimed before the media that its men killed the alleged drug suspects in a legitimate tokhang operation, branding the four garbage collectors as notorious drug suspects and robbers.They denied the allegations, calling them lies fabricated by the Quezon City police.The petitioners said “the incident on 21 August 2016 was not a legitimate police operation that resulted in a shootout between suspects and policemen” but a “summary execution that was enabled by ‘Oplan: Tokhang.’”“The attempt to cover up the crime and glorify it as a police achievement is achieved through a systematic conspiracy among different units of the same police district, part of which is to silence and frighten possible witnesses and aggrieved parties from speaking up in the name of justice,” their petition read.Around 7,000 individuals have died in the anti-drug war declared by President Rodrigo Duterte when he assumed office in July this year.The petitioners sought the High Court’s intervention for immediate issuance of a temporary protection order (TPO) directing respondents to refrain from issuing or carrying out any threat to the life, liberty and security of petitioners; and prohibition against entering within a radius of 5-kilometers of the residences and work addresses of petitioners.Also sought was a “TPO against the implementation of ‘Oplan: Tokhang’ in Area B, Barangay Payatas, and all areas under QCPD Station 6; production order directing respondents to produce and permit the inspection and copying or photographing of intelligence and surveillance reports, police blotters, coordination, video and all other official and unofficial documents and materials pertaining to the police operations on the day of the subject incident; and privilege of the writ of amparo for the long-term protection of petitioners.”
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/stop-tokhang-ops-sc-asked-2/308918/
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‘Build, Build, Build’ to transform PH into Asian economic power
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['Kirikiri Togo', 'Duterte Betrayed Public Trust']
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23/07/2017 0:00
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‘The Duterte administration’s massive infrastructure development program, “Build, Build, Build,” will transform the Philippines into Asia’s next economic powerhouse, Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III said.“We will usher in President (Rodrigo Roa) Duterte’s golden age of infrastructure with a sense of urgency. We now have a leader who has strong political will, enough to realize ambitious goals set to transform country into Asia’s next economic powerhouse,” Dominguez told over 540 delegates attending the Davao Investment Conference at the SMX Convention Center here Saturday.He said Duterte’s economic team has laid out ambitious strategies on how they will improve infrastructure efficiency in all economic sectors, while taking into consideration the importance of developing public infrastructure to boost the country’s economy.“The improved efficiency will mean less congestion, lower transport cost, improved investment effectiveness. In order to grow, grow, grow, we have to build, build, build,” Dominguez said.He said foremost among their plans are the proposed comprehensive tax reform program and the hybrid public-private partnership (PPP) to immediately begin with the construction of government projects.“The government shall undertake the planning, building, and financing of government projects or we could begin using ODA (official development assistance) from our friends in the region to get them started while the private sector will focus on operations and maintenance or buy the projects from the government after we complete them,” he said.Meanwhile, Dominguez pointed out the tax reform program was part of a series of five reform packages aimed at making the tax system simpler, fairer and more efficient.“The first tranche of this program, which will create P133.8 billion in incremental revenues, has passed the House, and is now under consideration by Senate,” he said.“We expect package one to be implemented in the third or fourth quarter of this year, the end goal of economic strategy is to bring down poverty incidence from the present 22 percent to only 14 percent by 2022,” the Finance chief noted.He added the President’s economic team was also engaging in sustainable borrowing to fund their strategy with ODA funds to initially start the infrastructure projects.“ODA financing will not only involve lower financing cost, the projects can be started and completed faster. Time is not important element in the interest of economic development the quicker you can complete these projects that better we can sustain our pace of economy expansion,” Dominguez explained.But he maintained that it can longer afford to spend another 30 months to gestate projects within the PPP framework.
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Manila Bulletin
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https://news.mb.com.ph/2017/07/23/build-build-build-to-transform-ph-into-asian-economic-power/
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Sotto asks PNP to allow de Lima hold committee hearings
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['Jefferson Antiporda']
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2018-07-07 00:02:07+00:00
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SENATE President Vicente “Tito” Sotto 3rd has requested the Philippine National Police (PNP) to allow detained Sen. Leila de Lima to conduct committee hearings inside the custodial center in Camp Crame.In a letter to PNP Chief Oscar Albayalde dated July 2, 2018, a copy of which was released to the media Friday, Sotto asked that de Lima be allowed to do her duties as a senator of the country by conducting hearing on pending measures referred to her committee inside the PNP Custodial Center.De Lima is currently the chair of the Senate Committee on Social Justice Welfare and Rural Development, with seven bills pending on her committee.“As the Senate president, I am giving Sen. De Lima full authority to discharge her duties as chair of the committee, particularly to conduct and personally preside over its hearings — similar to what had been done by Sen. Antonio Trillanes 4th during his detention,” Sotto stated in his letter.Trillanes ran his campaign and was elected as senator in 2007 while detained at the PNP Custodial Center for leading a coup against then President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.He was allowed by the PNP leadership to conduct committee hearings inside the premises of the custodial center.Sotto assured Albayalde that the Senate contingent would abide by the internal rules and regulation of the institution and that necessary coordination would be made prior to the scheduled hearing.Sotto made the request after visiting de Lima on June 28 to check on her condition and discuss matters related to their work in the Senate.In a separate text message, he said that de Lima did not ask him to make such request adding that it was part of their mutual concern to act on several house bills referred to her committee.In a statement, the PNP said: “We acknowledged receipt of the letter of Senate President Vicente C. Sotto III requesting the PNP to allow detained Sen. Leila de Lima to exercise her functions to conduct hearings of herCommittee inside the premises of the PNP Custodial Center.”“We took note of the desire of the Senate President that relevant bills under the Committee of Senator de Lima be heard and deliberated inside a custodial facility with due considerations to its security implications and in deference to the relevant court,” it added.Proposed measures pending on de Lima’s committee include the Public Solicitation Act, National Rotary Day, February 23 of every year, Magna Carta of the Poor, Magna Carta of Day Care Workers, Emergency Volunteer Protection Act, Social Welfare and Development Agencies Act and Rural Employment Assistance Program Act.De Lima in 2017 requested then Senate president Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel 3rd to be allowed to participate and vote in crucial landmark laws while in detention, pointing out in a letter that she has not been stripped of her office.Pimentel in response to de Lima’s requests said that her lawyers should “work hard” so that the court may rule in their client’s favor.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/sotto-asks-pnp-to-allow-de-lima-hold-committee-hearings/416643/
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Philippines’ CHR to probe Duterte killing boast
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['Just Me', 'Lance Ceellot']
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22/12/2016 0:00
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PresseThe Philippines’ Commission on Human Rights said Thursday, December 22 it will investigate President Rodrigo Duterte’s admission he killed three criminals years ago, after the United Nations’ rights chief called for a murder probe.Duterte, who is waging an anti-drugs war that has left thousands dead, said last week that he helped police kill three suspected kidnappers early in the first of his several terms as mayor of the southern city of Davao.U.N. rights chief Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein said Tuesday that Duterte’s killings, by his own admission, “clearly constitute murder” and Philippine judicial authorities must launch an investigation.CHR chairman Jose Gascon said he has formed a team of investigators to look into the matter, even as Duterte’s spokesman Ernesto Abella dismissed the U.N. call as mere “opinion.”“Law enforcement agencies… must investigate as a matter of course any information that suggests that a crime may have been committed with the view to ensuring that perpetrators are ultimately held accountable should the evidence warrant it,” Gascon said in a statement.The commission is an independent government body that prosecutes law enforcers or other officials who commit torture, extrajudicial killings or violate Filipinos’ constitutional rights.The commission had investigated then Davao mayor Duterte over allegations he ran death squads that killed more than a thousand petty criminals there.Duterte has variously denied or confirmed the allegations. The commission did not file any criminal charges after completing its inquiry.Gascon said his agency has “reconstituted a team to further investigate (Davao death squads) to look into the new revelations and public admissions that may shed light on our previous findings.”“The team will look into any matter that may further shed light on the killings in Davao that was the subject matter of our previous investigation.”Duterte easily won presidential elections in May largely on a promise to eradicate illegal drugs in society by launching an unprecedented campaign in which tens of thousands of people would be killed.More than 5,300 people have died since he took office in late June, including 2,124 at the hands of police. The commission has said it is investigating several cases where police were responsible.Duterte insists police have not violated any law in killing drug suspects.On Wednesday Abella said Duterte’s admission about the killing of three people referred to “legitimate police action” but did not address the fact the then mayor was not a police officer.Duterte has said he routinely carried a gun during his early years as mayor of Davao to protect himself from crime. He has not said if the weapon used in the ambush was licensed.
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Manila Bulletin
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https://news.mb.com.ph/2016/12/22/philippines-chr-to-probe-duterte-killing-boast/
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Reconsider DBM official’s suspension, court urged
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['The Manila Times']
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2016-11-06 22:17:40+00:00
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Department of Budget and Management Undersecretary Mario Relampagos and DBM employees Rosario Nuñez, Lalaine Paule and Marilou Bare are asking the Sandiganbayan’s Seventh Division to reconsider its ruling that ordered their preventive suspension.Earlier, the court ordered their 90-day suspension as well as that of Muntinlupa City (Metro Manila) Rep. Rozzano Rufino “Ruffy” Biazon pending litigation of graft and malversation cases filed against them and several others in connection with the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) or pork barrel scam.“The evidence against herein accused does not preliminarily indicate the likelihood of, or potential for eventual guilt or liability,” the camp of Relampagos, Nuñez, Paule and Bare argued in a joint motion for reconsideration.According to the defense, the only evidence was pork scam witness Benhur Luy’s statement in his September 12, 2013 affidavit.Luy testified in the affidavit that they allegedly followed up the issuance of Special Allotment Release Orders with Relampagos’ office where, to Luy’s knowledge, SAROs were prepared.The defense said the case involves a SARO, which Relampagos did not sign.The SARO, solely issued by the DBM, is a document that authorizes implementing agencies to bid out projects funded by, for example, the pork barrel of lawmakers.It needs to be obligated by the Budget department before it can issue a Notice of Cash Allocation which, in turn, authorizes the release of the fund for the projects.“All of herein accused have no participation whatsoever in the subject SARO,” the defense said.It thus asked the court to reconsider and set aside its ruling that granted the prosecution’s plea for the preventive suspension, and to issue a new one denying the prosecution’s motion “for utter lack of merit.”Earlier, the Office of the Ombudsman filed the cases as it alleged that Biazon endorsed the non-government organization (NGO) Philippine Social Development Foundation Inc. as project partner in implementing a livelihood project for barangay (villages) in Muntinlupa City funded by PDAF worth P3 million in 2007.The livelihood project allegedly turned out to be non-existent.Biazon has categorically denied having received alleged kickbacks as a result of the transactions entered into by any government agency with NGOs supposedly run by businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles, also among the case respondents.Former Energy Regulatory Commission Chairman Zenaida Ducut; former Technology Resource Center Director General Antonio Ortiz; former TRC Deputy Director General Dennis Cunanan; then-TRC employees Maria Rosalinda Lacsamana, Consuelo Lilian Espiritu, Francisco Figura, Marivic Jover and Maurine Dimaranan; and private individual Evelyn de Leon were also charged.All the respondents are out on bail except Ortiz, who remains at large, and Napoles who is serving life sentence at the Correctional Institute for Women in Mandaluyong City (Metro Manila) after a Makati City (Metro Manila) court found her guilty in a serious illegal detention case filed against her by Luy.REINA C. TOLENTINO
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/reconsider-dbm-officials-suspension-court-urged/295144/
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It’s business as usual in Palawan
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['Ramon B. Mitra']
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12/5/2017 0:00
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It’s business as usual in the Puerto Princesa Underground River (PPUR), the country’s most popular river, despite the travel advisory issued by the US Embassy alerting its residents about possible kidnappings by the terrorist Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG).The world-famous underground river is still fully-booked today, Elizabeth Maclang, the park superintendent, said Thursday.But this does not mean the travel advisory has no effect. “We are not feeling it as of now. In fact, right now we are fully-booked, and tomorrow, only a few slots are remaining before the underground river is fully-booked,” she said.Although there have been recorded cancellations, such as 30 cadets of the Mabalasik Class of 2019 of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) on May 10, and three guests on package tours of travel agencies in Puerto Princesa, their slots were immediately filled up by walk-ins.“Booking cancellations were replaced by walk-ins, so we’re not feeling the effect,” Maclang stated.But the park superintendent is not sure if the negative effect of the travel advisory will be felt in the next coming weeks.Maclang said if there would indeed be a negative effect, the lean season is approaching, so if there would be any decrease in the number of visitors, it could also be attributed to this.Maclang clarified that during the peak season, they accommodate around 1,200 guests per day, and not less than 700 guests during low season.“Parang wala na nga kami low season, eh (It appears we don’t even have a lean season now),” she said.City Tourism Department (CTD) head Aileen Cynthia Amurao, on the other hand, said the travel advisory would have an undeniable effect in the local tourism industry, but clarified that it will be tolerable.
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Manila Bulletin
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https://news.mb.com.ph/2017/05/12/its-business-as-usual-in-palawan/
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China lands aircraft on another PH reef
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['Dempsey Reyes']
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2018-05-11 00:16:19+00:00
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A Chinese military aircraft has landed on the last of three airstrips it had built at the disputed Spratly Islands, at a reef claimed by the Philippines that is close to an island occupied by Filipino troops.The Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative (AMTI) of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, aWashington-based think-tank, released satellite photos of the April 28 landing of the Shaanxi Y-8 military transport aircraft at Subi (Zamora) Reef on Wednesday (Thursday in Manila), and said the Philippines should be concerned.“With this deployment, military aircraft have now verifiably landed on all three of China’s airstrips in the Spratly Islands,” the AMTI said in a report.“This should be particularly concerning to the Philippines, which has about 100 civilians and a small military garrison on Thitu (Pag-asa) Island just 12 nautical miles away,” it said.“The first was a ‘naval patrol aircraft,’ possibly a Y-8 or similar plane, which landed at Fiery Cross (Kagitingan) Reef in April 2016 to evacuate three personnel who had fallen ill,” it noted.The second involved two Xian Y-7 military transport aircraft on Mischief Reef in January.“That landing was especially galling for the Philippines because an arbitral tribunal in 2016 ruled that Mischief (Panganiban) Reef is a piece of the Philippine continental shelf,” AMTI pointed out.‘Big 3’AMTI, in its report titled “An Accounting of China’s Deployments to the Spratly Islands,” said that in addition to patrol and transport planes, “China has recently deployed other military platforms to the ‘Big Three’ outposts at Fiery Cross, Mischief, and Subi Reefs.”It cited the April 9 Wall Street Journal report that military jamming equipment were mounted on three trucks on Mischief Reef in March and Fiery Cross Reef.“AMTI has confirmed the systems were visible in satellite imagery of Mischief from at least mid-February, and were still present as of May 6, although placed under covers,” it said.“Then on May 2, CNBC, citing US intelligence sources, reported that China had deployed YJ-12B anti-ship cruise missiles and HQ-9B surface-to-air missile systems on each of the reefs as part of military exercises in early April,” it added.Moreover, 15 classes of Chinese naval and coast guard vessels and warships have been identified as having visited the three main islands owned by the Philippines.At least eight frigates from the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) and seven Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) ships have been docking and roaming within the vicinity of Subi, Mischief and Fiery Cross reefs.According to the AMTI study, the Chinese navy frigates were: Luhai Destroyer (Type 051B), Dongdiao Agi (Type 815G), Jiangkai Frigate (Type 054), Hai Yang Agi, Jiangdao Corvette (Type 056), Jianghu-I frigate (Type 053H), Yuting II Landing Ship Tank (Type 072A) and Yunshu Landing Ship Medium (Type 073A).For the CCG vessels: Shuoshi II Class; Tuzhong Class; Shucha II Class; Zhongyang Class; Zhaoyu Class; Jianghu I Class; and Zhaotim Class.The vessels of PLAN and CCG monitored by the AMTI were seen “regularly visiting” the “Big 3” reefs within the Spratly archipelago, alongside auxiliary and logistic vessels.Signal intelAMTI also reported two AGI signal intelligence gathering ships—Hai Yang and a Type 815G—located near Mischief and Fiery Cross reefs as of March 2017.In April, a Zhongyang class of the CCG was seen docked in Subi reef while in 2017, the Zhaotim and Shuoshi II were seen in Subi and Fiery Cross, respectively.The AMTI said the “Big 3” reefs play hosts to air and naval bases of the PLAN and support the “ever-growing” PLAN, CCG and fishing fleet presence across the southern portion of the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea).“Admittedly, relying on satellite imagery, which captures only those ships that happen to be in port as opposed to out on patrol at a specific moment in time, provides limited picture of naval and coast guard deployments.“But the ubiquity of PLAN and CCG ships in images of Fiery Cross, Mischief and Subi reefs since the start of 2017 suggests how robust the PLAN and CCG presence at the island bases has become,” the AMTI explained in the study.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/china-lands-aircraft-on-another-ph-reef/398080/
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Probe lease of govt houses – Malacañang
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['Catherine S. Valente']
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2018-02-02 00:02:36+00:00
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The government will investigate reports that some members of urban poor group Kadamay are allegedly putting a number of government-awarded housing units in Pandi, Bulacan, up for rent, Malacañang said on Thursday.“[If we verify this report that they are not occupying those houses, we will investigate],” Palace spokesman Harry Roque said in a news conference in Baguio City.“[They should not use it as a business. What the President gave to them is for the fulfillment of the rights to housing of every members of Kadamay],” he added.Roque made the statement after a report on GMA News quoted the National Housing Authority (NHA) as warning beneficiaries of government housing projects that they could not pawn, sell or rent out the property.The NHA made the revelation after obtaining a video, which showed Kadamay member Jerry Lavado supposedly trying to sell a government-issued unit located in Barangay Sitio Cacarong Bata, Pandi.Lavado denied this, insisting he only helped pawn the unit as his neighbor needs money for the hospitalization of his child.President Rodrigo Duterte allowed Kadamay members to stay in the houses they occupied in Pandi last year.Kadamay members occupied close to 6,000 of the more than 10,000 housing units in the town.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/probe-lease-govt-houses-malacanang/377650/
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PH ready to assist Laos – Palace
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['Catherine S. Valente']
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2018-07-29 00:01:10+00:00
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The Philippine government is ready to help Laos, which was hit by floods following the collapse of a dam that left scores of people dead and hundreds missing.“The Philippine government is ready to extend any humanitarian assistance in whatever way we can,” Palace spokesman Harry Roque Jr. said in a statrment.Roque said the Philippines conveyed its heartfelt condolences to neighboring Laos.“We express our sincerest condolences to the government and people of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic following the collapse of the hydroelectric power dam,” he said.“Our thoughts are with our Southeast Asian neighbor in these trying times and we pray for the immediate recovery of those who are still missing and unaccounted for,” he added.Thousands of Cambodians living along the Sekong River have been evacuated amid the torrent of water unleashed by the dam collapse in Laos.Laos Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith said the collapse of the hydropower dam was the worst disaster to hit the small Southeast Asian nation in decades.According to the Department of Foreign Affairs, all of the 10 Filipinos living near the affected area were safe.Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano has also extended the country’s sympathies to Laos.“Our thoughts are with the government and people of Laos as they cope with this tragedy,” Cayetano said in a statement.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/ph-ready-to-assist-laos-palace/424476/
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Duterte: No plans to kill ‘lumad‘ kids
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['Catherine S. Valente']
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2017-07-28 22:09:30+00:00
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President Rodrigo Duterte has clarified that he had no plans of killing lumad (indigenous people) children when he ordered the bombing of indigenous schools operating without a permit from the Department of Education (DepEd).In a media interview in Negros Oriental on Thursday, Duterte said he merely warned to burn lumad schools that foment rebellion against the government.“Wala akong sinabi na bombahan ko ‘yang may tao kaya sinabi ko umalis kayo diyan. Ibig sabihin, sisirain ko ‘yan [I did not say that I’ll bomb that while there are people inside. That’s why I said ‘Leave, I will destroy that] because you are using a school without a license from the Department of Education.’ Dito sa Pilipinas may batas.Bago ka makabukas ng eskwelahan [Here in the Philippines, there’s a law. Before you open a school], you have to have the necessary clearances and everything from government. You are using a building there,” Duterte told reporters.“Hindi ko sinabi patayin ko ‘yung mga bata [I did not say I’ll kill the children]. Far from it actually. Librehin ko ang bata sa perdition ninyo because they will learn to be pareho sa inyo [I will free the children from perdition because they will learn that from you],” he said.On Thursday, the President said he issued the warning because the lumad schools are being used to exploit the children, causing them to “hate government and eventually go to war.”“[I will destroy that because you are using the school] to destroy the mental attitude, the mental health of the children. They grow up there hating government and going to war. You are perpetuating the violence in this country and I have to stop it,” Duterte added.“I have every reason to stop it because you are producing another generation of haters. [Do not fool me. You’re just teaching socialism and killings],” he said.On Friday, Presidential Communications Assistant Secretary Marie Banaag said the President was merely condemning those who are urging the lumad children to join the insurgency against the government.“It is clear from the President’s remarks that he is not referring to all lumad schools but to those that don’t have permits from the Department of Education and refuse to comply with DepEd requirements on curriculum,” Banaag said in a news conference.“It is the illegal lumad schools that drew the President’s adverse reaction,”she added.Armed Forces spokesman Restituto Padilla Jr. said Duterte was only “communicating a strong position” against illegal educational centers that are not complying with government regulations.“Now, it is not bad to teach communism per se because we, in college, learned about it. We read books about Marxism, Leninism, socialism and the like. And it’s part of liberal education. So teaching it… But, if you target very young minds, vulnerable minds, and try to sway them to a certain kind of thinking, that is like brainwashing,” he noted.“What is right? Fear of God, love of country, love of family, the appreciation of correct values that you want your citizens to have. And these schools are not teaching that. This is an issue that has been going on since before the elections and you know that, I’m sure of it. It was an issue that was escalated and it was exaggerated by many cause-oriented groups whose minds and line of thinking, we cannot fathom because it’s so evil. Why do you want to brainwash a child? Because you want them to perpetuate what you want them to do. It is not good,” Padilla said.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/duterte-no-plans-to-kill-lumad-kids-2/341112/
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Gringo’s co-accused says projects were above-board
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['Ibrahim Barambangan']
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12/8/2017 0:00
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The former Secretary of the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos (NCMF), who was accused with Senator Gregorio Honasan for the alleged misuse of his P30-million pork barrel funds in 2012, has maintained that these were ““used properly for projects in six Muslim communities, all of which projects were later duly liquidated.”This was the contention of Mehol Sadain, who also assured his supporters not to worry about him being arrested in connection with the indictment of Honasan for the alleged misuse of the funds.“Please do not worry as this is part of the judicial process that will allow us to clear ourselves. Even before the Second Division of the Sandiganbayan issued the warrant of arrest, I and four of my NCMF colleagues already posted bail when we knew that the information has already been filed,” Sadain said in his message to family and friends in his Facebook account.Charged with Sadain were NCMF officials Director III Galay Makalinggan, acting finance head Aurora Aragon-Mabang, acting chief accountant Fedelina Aldanese and cashier Olga Galido.Sadain, a lawyer, did not mention the amounts of bail they posted.He reiterated that he “personally welcomed the filing of the case before the Sandiganbayan…because we can also show that there was no conspiracy and no fraud.”Honasan on Friday posted a P60,000-bail bond set by the Sandiganbayan for his provisional liberty for two counts of graft in connection with the alleged misuse of P30 million in pork barrel funds in 2012.Honasan surrendered then posted his bail before Presiding Judge Teodoro N. Solis of the Biñan City Regional Trial Court Branch 25, according to published reports.A day earlier, the anti-graft court’s Second Division ordered the arrest of Honasan and eight co-accused after it found “probable cause” to hold them on trial for two courts of violation of Section 3 (e) of Republic Act 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.
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Manila Bulletin
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https://news.mb.com.ph/2017/08/12/gringos-co-accused-says-projects-were-above-board/
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DOLE mulls moratorium on household workers deployment to Kuwait
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['Micah Yvana M. Vardeleon']
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2017-01-28 21:21:38+00:00
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Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello 3rd said they consider imposing temporary suspension of Filipino household service workers (HSW) deployment to Kuwait over increasing calls of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) for a moratorium. “We will make a decision on the proposed moratorium soon,” he said. Meanwhile, the labor chief directed the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) to fast-track the facilitation of documents needed by the family of Jakatia Pawa for them to visit her grave in Kuwait. Pawa was executed on January 25 for killing her employer’s 22-year-old daughter in May 2007. Bello also instructed OWWA to provide financial and livelihood assistance to the family of Pawa.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/dole-mulls-moratorium-household-workers-deployment-kuwait/309385/
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Pimentel reminds Executive to act on implementing rules and regulations of Ease of Doing Business Act
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['Anna Leah E. Gonzales']
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2018-11-16 13:12:39+00:00
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REELECTIONIST Sen. Aquilino Pimentel 3rd on Friday urged the Executive branch to immediately act on the pending Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of the Ease of Doing Business Act.“It [IRR] is pending in the Office of the President. I think if he approves that this year, it will be felt starting first quarter of the year because that is usually the time for filing permits and applications so there is a need to immediately take action,” Pimentel said on the sidelines of the Innovation and Best Practices in Achieving Ease of Doing Business held on Friday at the Conrad Manila.“One of the outputs of this conference is to remind the executive branch to act on the pending IRR,” he said.The Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Service Delivery Act of 2018 signed into law earlier this year reduces the prescribed processing time for business transactions.The law mandates government agencies to comply with the prescribed processing time for business transactions, which ranges from three to 20 working days.The Trade department submitted the draft of the IRR to Malacanang last October 22.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/pimentel-reminds-executive-to-act-on-implementing-rules-and-regulations-of-ease-of-doing-business-act/468578/
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DOLE chief vows to run after corrupt officials
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['William Depasupil']
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2016-12-25 22:44:28+00:00
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A department-wide revamp is forthcoming at the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to get rid of incompetent and corrupt officials who are coddling and protecting the interest of unscrupulous employers in exchange for bribe money.Labor and Employment Secretary Silvestre Bello 3rd disclosed on Sunday that “heads will roll” and administrative charges will be filed against erring labor inspectors and officials as part of the cleansing process, which will be implemented early next year.Bello issued the warning in wake of reports that some labor inspectors have turned blind and deaf to rampant violations of labor and safety standards in workplaces.“I will reorganize some of the people in the department, including labor inspectors,” he said.“Aside from losing their jobs, inspectors will face administrative charges if found guilty of accepting bribes from employers,” the Labor secretary said.Bello has also ordered a performance audit to validate all derogatory reports and information he received about some labor officials, particularly those performing quasi-judicial functions.He, however, gave his assurance that all those who honestly and diligently perform their duties would remain but those with derogatory reports should go based on results of the validation process.Reported violations include the current working states of salesladies in big malls and other establishments who are prohibited to sit down or take short breaks while on duty.The Labor department is looking at abuses of various hospitals in the country where on-the-job trainees are being compelled to do regular jobs and do extended work despite their prescribed training hours without being paid.The department has received reports that there are private hospitals that require nurses to pay before the latter are allowed to undergo training with and gain experience from them.“This is a clear violation of labor standards… Hospitals should be screened properly by our labor inspectors,” an irate Bello said.“For our inspectors to allow that is the highest form of incompetence and dishonesty,” he added.Bello assured that the Labor department will continue to fight for the rights and protection of workers.He urged the public to report or file a complaint at Hotline 1349 on erring labor officials for immediate action.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/dole-chief-vows-run-corrupt-officials/303642/
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More US patrols in disputed sea ‘purely’ Pentagon’s call
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['The Manila Times']
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2017-09-03 20:23:24+00:00
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The Pentagon conducting more regular patrols in the South China Sea (West Philippine Sea) is “purely” its decision, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said on Sunday.The Wall Street Journal had reported that the United States military is eyeing to deploy two to three “freedom of navigation” patrols a month in waters disputed by China and the Philippines, among others.Such patrols would see US warships and military aircraft in contested areas in the South China Sea.Lorenzana said the Philippines has not been consulted about the Pentagon plan.During Barack Obama’s presidency, the US Navy conducted patrols in the South China Sea, where China has been building artificial islands, runways, ports and other facilities.Three other Southeast Asian countries–Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei Darussalam–and Taiwan also claims areas in the South China Sea.In his second State of the Nation Address in July, President Rodrigo Duterte said the Philippines will conduct joint exploration with China in the contested waters, adding that the country cannot wage a war with the Asian giant.In 2016, a UN arbitral court ruled that China has no legal basis in claiming the entire South China Sea, a decision that Beijing has dismissed.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/us-patrols-disputed-sea-purely-pentagons-call/348444/
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DepEd chief satisfied with senior high rollout
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['Neil Alcober']
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2018-05-11 00:03:30+00:00
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EDUCATION Secretary Leonor Briones on Thursday said results of the first two years of implementation of the Senior High School (SHS) program exceeded expectations.“But we still have challenges catching up with facilities; we still have to provide for the computers which we are now buying; we are also catching up with the recruitment of teachers, and so on,” Briones told reporters in a press briefing.Briones also highlighted the overwhelming response of the public and the support from the government for the SHS program.When it was implemented in school year 2016-2017, the education department expected 700,000 enrollees in Grade 11, but about 1.5 million students enrolled.The DepEd has provided either free or highly subsidized SHS education to 2,733,460 students in public and private schools for school year 2017-2018. The agency supplemented the free public school system with financial subsidies amounting to a total of P21,567,932,876 in school year 2017-2018.Of the total amount, P20,692,903,776 funded the education of 1,207,416 SHS Voucher Program beneficiaries in private schools, state universities and colleges, and local government universities and colleges.Moreover, 54,604 SHS students taking the technical-vocational-livelihood (TVL) track were able to take their specialization subjects in private schools through the joint delivery voucher program, costing P875,029,100.As regards the transition rate following the implementation of SHS, the proportion of Grade 10 students who proceeded to Grade 11 reached 93 percent, compared with the transition rate of fourth-year high school graduates to college, which has been consistently below 50 percent.The end of school year 2017-2018 welcomed the first batch of 1,252,357 SHS graduates. All SHS students, especially the 38 percent who finished the TVL track, gained significant workplace exposure through work immersion.Of the 1,252,357 SHS graduates, 61.13 percent or 765,588 took the Academic track; 38.32 percent or 479,866 took the TVL track; 0.38 percent or 4,758 took the Arts and Design track; and 0.17 percent or 2,145 took the Sports track.The Education department said it had taken steps to ensure SHS graduates’ employment prospects, such as job fairs, introduction of new tracks, and campaigns for the public sector to re-evaluate hiring guidelines.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/deped-chief-satisfied-with-senior-high-rollout/398068/
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‘How stupid can Canada get?’
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['Ralph Villanueva']
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2018-03-22 00:39:47+00:00
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PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday night called Canada “very stupid” in connection with a canceled $233-million helicopter deal.“You saw the order of the military, Air Force, of attack helicopters. Look at how stupid the Canadians are, very stupid. They already approved the deal. When they delivered it, they said, ‘But you cannot use these for military or punitive actions by the police. This is only good for evacuation and [things] humanitarian,’” Duterte said in a speech during a general assembly of the League of Municipalities of the Philippines in Manila.“Oh, how foolish. ‘You cannot use these against your own citizens.’ My God, you Canadians how stupid can you get? Our citizens are joining the ISIS so we have every right to kill our citizens because we do not want to destroy the community with apathy,” Duterte said.ISIS, the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, is also referred to as Islamic State or IS.Duterte said Canada has also treated the Philippines “like garbage.”“The entire community of the world should know that there is a Republic of the Philippines which you [Canada] cannot just f***** s***. Do not do it to us because I will insult you. Anyway, who are you? You are already toppling,” he added.Duterte said the Marawi conflict should have justified the purchase of the helicopters since there were deaths on the government side.That conflict erupted in Marawi City, capital of Lanao del Sur province in southern Philippines, in May 2017 and put down by the government in October of the same year.“And these idiots there said, ‘You cannot use it against your citizens.’ [You can say this] because you are not encountering the same problem there,” Duterte said.The Philippine government canceled the deal after the Canadian government ordered a review of the helicopter deal amid human rights concerns.“[Canada] said they will sell [the helicopters] but only for evacuation and emergency. We cannot use [them] for anti-insurgency because if [they are] used against Filipino rebels, they will not sell [them],” the President said during a news conference on February 9.Duterte earlier said he “respected” Canada’s position and that the Philippines will just move on and would look for other deals.“We respect the stand of Canada. I want to tell the Armed Forces to cut the deal. Do not push it… and somehow, we will look for another supplier,” he added in the same news conference.On February 13, Malacañang spokesman Harry Roque Jr. said the Philippines is looking at China, South Korea and Russia as potential suppliers of new helicopters.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/how-stupid-can-canada-get/387711/
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Ex-envoy leads Magsaysay awardees
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['Neil Jayson Servallos']
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2018-09-02 00:07:03+00:00
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Howard Dee, former Philippine ambassador to the Vatican and Malta, led five other “Heroes of Hope in Asia” who received the coveted Ramon Magsaysay Awards on Friday in Pasay City.The other awardees were Vo Thi Hoang Yen of Vietnam, Maria de Lourdes Martins Cruz of East Timor, Sonam Wangchuk and Bharat Vatwani of India, and Youk Chhang of Cambodia.Dee served as ambassador from 1986 to 1990 under former president Corazon Aquino. He was also the lead convenor of the National Peace Conference in 1990. He was the cabinet secretary under the Office of the President in 2002 and was also the adviser on Indigenous Peoples Affairs. He also served as chairman of the government negotiating team for peace talks with communist rebels.He was honored for his “quietly heroic half-century of service to the Filipino people.”Dee said the country is faced with dark times but peace is not impossible to attain.“I detect a general sense of discouragement and even despair during these difficult times, but do not be discouraged for it is in these times that justice and peace will reign in our land,” he said in his speechMeanwhile, Hoang Yen was cited for her “brave” work in breaking down physical and mental barriers that have discriminated persons with disabilities in Vietnam.Chhang was honored for his efforts to preserve the truth and the memory of the Cambodian genocide in the 1970s.Cruz, meanwhile, was lauded for his humanitarian effort in uplifting Timor Leste’s marginalized people.Vatwani was recognized for helping the mentally ill who wander the streets of India by giving them shelter, food and psychiatric assistance. He helped them return to their families who abandoned them.Wangchuk was honored for his community-driven reform of learning systems in remote northern India that helped improve the lives of the youth.The six awardees were selected for their moral courage and quiet bravery in addressing issues of human development in Asia.Vice President Maria Leonor Robredo, who presented the awards, said the awardees embody the rich legacy of leadership.“The Asia we know carries a rich legacy of leadership where leaders inspire courage rather than fear, bringing the best in our people,” she said.She said the courage of the oppressed is what makes a country resilient, which is manifested by the people the awardees were able to help.“The age that we know carries a rich legacy of humanity that despite the threats and attacks on humankind we remain resilient, ensuring that no tyrant may snuff out these rights. We have had a long history of bloody struggles in dark times and I refuse to believe that we suffer them for nothing,” she added.Each of the six awardees received a certificate, a medallion bearing the likeness of President Magsaysay, and cash prize.Ramon Magsaysay Foundation President Carmencita Abella said the 60th Ramon Magsaysay Awards, the Asian equivalent of the Nobel Peace Prize, was made special by the awardees who were “unafraid to take on large causes.”
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/ex-envoy-leads-magsaysay-awardees/437199/
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SBMA exec welcomes criminal raps
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['Patrick Roxas']
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2018-09-29 00:01:04+00:00
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SUBIC BAY FREEPORT: Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Director Brian Gordon welcomed the filing of administrative and criminal complaints against him before the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC) for alleged graft, threats and blackmail, saying the investigation would clear his name.“I am happy with this development,” Gordon, son of Sen. Richard Gordon, told The Manila Times on Friday.“I have nothing to hide and I am confident that this investigation will clear my name,” he said, adding “the truth shall prevail.”Lawyer Raymund Palad filed the complaint against Gordon on Thursday, accusing the SBMA executive of gross misconduct and acts prejudicial to the best interest of the service under Republic Act 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act and RA 6713 or the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees.Byoungjun Lim, a Korean locator in Subic, earlier filed a complaint at the office of SBMA Chairman and Administrator Wilma Eisma, saying Gordon offered to buy his restaurant for P2 million and threatened him whenhe refused.The Manila Times obtained a copy of Lim’s November 3, 2017 letter to Eisma where he said Gordon talked to him inside the “director’s room” before the board meeting on August 24, 2017 and told him that he had a friend who was interested in buying and operating his restaurant for P2 millionPalad said he filed the complaint at the PACC because nothing came out of the investigation conducted after the Korean locator wrote Eisma.“Unfortunately, until this day, there is no result on the investigation against Brian Gordon so we decided to file this complaint so we could help this Korean locator bring this matter to the attention of the PACC for investigation,” he said.Palad added that the complaint was filed so that “this matter could be investigated as soon as possible because it concerns investments inside the SBMA.”
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/sbma-exec-welcomes-criminal-raps/446165/
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Palace congratulates Putin on poll win
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['Catherine S. Valente']
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2018-03-20 00:02:25+00:00
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Malacañang congratulated Russian President Vladimir Putin for his election victory on Sunday.Putin, who has dominated the political landscape for 18 years, won his fourth term by a wide margin on Sunday.“We can only congratulate him because we don’t meddle in the affairs of other states,” Palace spokesman Harry Roque said during a news conference in Camarines Sur on Monday.Roque issued the statement as the Philippines and Russia continued to enhance relations under President Rodrigo Duterte’s administration.In May this year, Duterte went on an official visit to Russia but had to cut short his trip amid clashes in Marawi City between government forces and Islamic State-linked terror groups.Duterte met his “favorite hero” Putin during his short visit to Moscow.“We discussed everything. I said, I come here not really to ask for anything, but I ask that we be friends and allow me to do trade and commerce via your country, in the eastern side of Europe,” Duterte had said.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/palace-congratulates-putin-on-poll-win/387226/
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Sandigan asked to deny ‘plunderers’ PNP custody
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['Ma. Reina Leanne Tolentino']
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2018-04-14 00:03:05+00:00
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The prosecution is asking the Sandiganbayan’s Sixth Division to deny a plea of former Bureau of Immigration (BI) Deputy Commissioners Al Argosino and Michael Robles as well as Wenceslao “Wally” Sombero Jr. for detention at the Philippine National Police (PNP) Custodial Center in Camp Crame in Quezon City.Argosino, Robles and Sombero–detained at the Quezon City Jail Annex in Camp Bagong Diwa, Taguig City–are facing a plunder case before the anti-graft court in connection with the P50 million that Argosino and Robles allegedly received allegedly through Sombero in November 2016 in exchange for the release of allegedly illegal Chinese workers.“It is undisputed that accused-movants are persons detained awaiting trial, thus, there is no doubt that their detention should be at the institution controlled by the BJMP as decreed in the above-quoted statute,” the prosecution said in part in a consolidated opposition wherein it cited Section 63, Chapter V of Republic Act (RA) 6975.BJMP is Bureau of Jail Management and Penology.In a motion dated April 11, Argosino and Robles asked the court to issue a commitment order directing the transfer of their temporary detention to the PNP Custodial Center.Argosino and Robles have submitted to the court a certification, signed by Officer-in-Charge Jail Chief Inspector Luis Franco Cleofe of the Quezon City Jail Annex, stating that there are 419 detainees in the Quezon City Jail Annex charged with violation of RA 9165 (Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002).Meanwhille, Sombero—who was president of the Asian Gaming Service Provider Association, Inc. at the time material to the case—is seeking detention at the PNP Custodial Center while the plunder case is pending “[b]ecause of security concerns and health issues.”According to the motion filed by his camp on Wednesday, he was “a decorated police officer” who retired in 2000.The prosecution thus asked the court to deny for lack of merit the motion filed by Argosino and Robles as well as the motion filed by Sombero.Police Chief Insp. Romulo Flores 2nd—chief of the PNP Custodial Center—also asked the court to deny the motions.Flores said in part that “for reasons of practicality, frugality in using public funds and ensuring the safety and security of both accused and government personnel, accused Argosino, Robles and Sombero should be detained in an appropriate detention facility under the authority and supervision of the” BJMP.The Office of the Ombudsman filed the plunder case, a graft case and a bribery case before the Sandiganbayan on March 23.The Ombudsman’s office also charged Argosino, Robles, Sombero and Jack Lam a.k.a. Lam Yin Lok with violation of Presidential Decree (PD) 46.It recommended P30,000 bail for each accused in the graft case and P20,000 bail for each accused in the bribery case.In the case wherein Argosino, Robles, Sombero and Lam were accused of violation of PD 46, the Ombudsman recommended P10,000 bail for each accused.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/sandigan-asked-to-deny-plunderers-pnp-custody/392402/
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Lawmaker blames PNP for husband’s killing
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['Llanesca T. Panti']
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2018-06-04 00:38:53+00:00
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The widow of former La Union Representative Eufranio Eriguel said the failure of the Philippine National Police to respond to the grave threats against her family led to the killing of her husband last month.Rep. Sandra Eriguel of La Union claimed that her husband became an easy target after the PNP, through Chief Supt. Romulo Sapitula, pulled out her family’s security detail.Days after Sapitula ordered the pullout, the former lawmaker was shot dead.Eriguel was delivering a speech in Barangay Capas on May 12 when he was attacked by unidentified men.The lawmaker also accused Chief Inspector Alfredo Padilla, the former police chief of Agoo, of failing to act on the request of the barangay chairman of Capas to provide security assistance during their ‘miting de avance’ on May 12, 2018.“If it were not for the orders of RD Sapitula to pull out our police security detail and the ineptness of then COP Padilla for failing to act on the letter of Barangay Capas for security assistance, the shooting incident could have been prevented and my husband would be alive today,” Eriguel said.She said her husband called Senior Supt. Genaro Sapiera hours before he was killed “to plead for police security due to active threats on his and his family’s lives.”“In response to the barangay captain’s request, RD Sapitula said the security detail was pulled out from Franny Eriguel because he was no longer an incumbent government official. [But] the primordial duty of the PNP is to serve and protect the people, regardless of position or stature. Any citizen, whether an elective official, a former official or an ordinary citizen, is entitled to police assistance whenever there is a sense of danger on their lives because it is only proper that our police should assess the threat and immediately act thereon to prevent any untoward incidents. ” Eriguel said in a separate statement.“This is not about courtesy, but policy. Life is sacred,” she added.Eriguel called for a congressional inquiry on her husband’s killing in aid of legislation.“We should end political violence. We [in Congress] can prevent this type of senseless killing,” she said.The lawmaker earlier claimed that her husband’s killing was politically motivated.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/lawmaker-blames-pnp-for-husbands-killing/404263/
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Robredo backs suspension of OFW deployment to Kuwait
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['Llanesca T. Panti']
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2018-02-12 00:47:19+00:00
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Vice President Maria Leonor Robredo on Sunday backed President Rodrigo Duterte’s suspension of deploying Filipino workers to Kuwait amid increased incidence of violence, including sexual abuse, committed against Filipino workers in the Gulf nation.Recently, the body of a missing Filipino household worker was discovered in a freezer inside an abandoned apartment in Kuwait City.“The President made the right call. This is a strong statement against violence,” Robredo said in her weekly radio show, BISErbisyong Leni.In the radio show, she expressed support to the government’s move of pushing forward the signing of bilateral agreement between the Philippines and Kuwait that will protect the rights of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).Lawyer Hans Cacdac, the administrator of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), disclosed in Robredo’s program that the bilateral pact has been sent to the Kuwaiti government for its approval.Cacdac said the Kuwaiti government’s invitation for President Duterte to visit the country is an indicator that talks over such agreement are over.“I hope that the President’s visit will be enough pressure for the Kuwaiti government to sign the agreement. The reality is, even if the threat of violence is there, many OFWs still refuse to go home because they think of their employment. We need to protect them,” Robredo pointed out.Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello 3rd earlier said Kuwaiti Ambassador to the Philippines Saleh Ahmad Althwaikh had met with President Duterte and has committed to help expedite the signing of the agreement.Rep. Ancieto Bertiz 3rd of ACTS-OFW party-list urged Labor officials to shrug off lobbyists who want to lift the suspension of deployment of Filipino workers to Kuwait and launch a crackdown on illegal recruiters who will take advantage of the situation.Bertiz said he has received information that illegal recruiters and licensed recruitment agencies are willing to shell out as much as P50,000 to P70,000 grease money per household service worker just to get around thetemporary deployment ban.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/robredo-backs-suspension-ofw-deployment-kuwait/379608/
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‘Pork’ banned under federal govt
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['Bernadette E. Tamayo']
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2018-07-05 00:10:38+00:00
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RETIRED chief justice Reynato Puno, chairman of the Consultative Committee (ConCom) tasked to draft a new charter, said the allocation of pork barrel funds would no longer be allowed under the federal form of government.The 22-man ConCom approved on Tuesday the 78-page draft constitution for the proposed Federal Republic of the Philippines.Puno on Wednesday said under federalism, local governments would no longer receive pork barrel funds from the national government.“If our proposal will be approved, there will be no more pork barrel from the national government because they will be given the power to generate their own funds,” he said in a radio interview.“Meron na silang sariling (They have their own) power to tax at di sila aasa dun sa binibigay na salapi ng (and they will no longer be dependent on) national government including ‘yung mga pork barrel na ‘yan,” he added.Puno revealed that one of the highly debated provisions in the proposed charter was the structure of the federal government.“One of the biggest debates is whether we must have federal presidential form of government or federal parliamentary form or semi-parliamentary form. Hating-hati ‘yung mga miyembro dun. At sa bandang huli ang nanalo ay ‘yung federal presidential form of government (The members were divided on that issue. In the end, those in favor of federal presidential form of government won),” Puno said.The draft charter states that the federal government has the power to levy and collect all taxes, duties, fees, charges and other impositions except those granted to the federated regions.The federated regions would have the power to levy and collect real property tax; estate tax; donor’s tax; documentary stamp tax; professional tax; franchise tax; environmental tax, pollution tax, and similar taxes; road user’s tax; vehicle registration fees; transport franchise fees; and local taxes and other taxes which may be granted by federal law.The federal government and the federated regions must ensure that taxation shall be uniform, equitable and progressive. No double taxation shall be allowed.The federated regions would be given a share of not less than 50 percent of all collected taxes on income, excise, VAT (value added tax), and customs duties, which shall be equally divided among them and automatically released.The Supreme Court in November 2013 declared the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) or pork barrel “unconstitutional.”
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/pork-banned-under-federal-govt/416063/
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‘Great countries need strong institutions’
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['Ma. Reina Leanne Tolentino']
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2018-05-27 00:10:17+00:00
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Not strongmen, says Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-MoralesOUTGOING Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales urged Filipinos on Friday to “remain steadfast and vigilant in asserting full adherence to the rule of law,” as she warned against creeping authoritarianism in the country under the Duterte government.Speaking before the Makati City chapter of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines, Morales lamented that the public seemed to have “grown inured to perennial acts of corruption.”“What is preventing us from doing something about the situation? Could it be the daily struggle to survive, on the part of the less fortunate? Could it be the comforts of a corner office, on the part of the more fortunate?” she said.“Could it be the persistent manipulation of the public mind by certain drumbeaters that numb the sensitivities of an otherwise freedom-loving law-abiding citizenry?” she said.“It is in this light that the Office of the Ombudsman enjoins everyone, especially the legal commune, to remain steadfast and vigilant in asserting full adherence to the rule of law at this time and clime,” Morales added.Morales said the rule of law “assures us that we are free to express different opinions, practice our faith in safety, and strive for the quality of life we want for ourselves and our children and grandchildren.”Ensuring the rule of law means building strong institutions, not reliance on elected officials, she said. She called on lawyers to help protect the Office of the Ombudsman, which prosecutes corrupt government officials.“Great countries do not need strongmen. They need strong institutions. Great men eventually perish but great institutions outlast them all. By protecting great institutions like the Office of the Ombudsman, you are protecting the people.”“Let us help the Office remain a strong and credible institution that would continue to act, by constitutional fiat, as the ‘protector of the people.’ There lies the very heart of defending its independence without fear or favor,” she said.Morales had been in the crosshairs of President Rodrigo Duterte, who ordered the creation of the Presidential Anti-Crime Commission in October ostensibly to check on supposed abuses at the Office of the Ombudsman.This was after the Ombudsman ordered an investigation into the wealth of the Duterte family.Duterte and Carpio are related by affinity, as Duterte’s son in law, lawyer Manases Carpio, is a nephew of the Ombudsman. Manases is married to the President’s outspoken daughter Sara, the mayor of Davao City.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/great-countries-need-strong-institutions/401373/
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ConCom to vote on draft charter
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['Bernadette E. Tamayo']
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2018-07-03 00:05:35+00:00
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THE Consultative Committee (ConCom) will vote on Tuesday, July 3, on the draft charter that proposes the creation of 18 federated regions, ConCom spokesman Ding Generoso said on Monday.“We have come to the homestretch. This is the most awaited part. This is the federal structure of the federal system. So, tomorrow we will have the en banc nominal voting on the core draft of the constitution. Every member will rise and explain their vote on the entire draft,” he said in a briefing.“After that we will prepare several copies for submission to the President (Rodrigo Duterte), hopefully on or before July 9,” Generoso said.The commission will then hold regional consultations until August 19.“Whatever feedback that will be gathered in the regional consultations will form part of the final report. We will still have to make a final report to the President,” he said.The final report will serve as basis for the crafting of the Constitution, and will contain the research papers, the studies presented by different agencies and organizations including the studies submitted by the economic agencies.“We have come to the most awaited part of the (proposed draft new) constitution which is the design of the federal system or the federated region as we call them,” Generoso said. “We are looking at 18 regions as decided. We have 16 symmetrical regions that will be the existing regions plus the Negrosanon and federated region which will include the province of Siquijor. And then we have two asymmetrical regions: Bangsamoro and Cordillera.”The proposed federated regions are Ilocos (Region 1), Cagayan Valley (Region 2), Central Luzon (Region 3), Calabarzon (Region 4-A), Mimaropa (Region 4-B), Bicol (Region 5), Western Visayas (Region 6), Central Visayas (Region 7), Easter Visayas (Region 8), Zamboanga peninsula (Region 9), Northern Mindanao (Region 10), Davao region (Region 11), Soccsargen (Region 12), National Capital Region (NCR), Negrosanon federated region (formerly the Negros island group), Bangsamoro Autonomous Region (BAR), and Cordillera Autonomous Region (CAR).He explained that the ConCom retained the 18 regions to avoid “disruption.”“Why is that designed this way? The Bangsamoro and the Cordillera have ethnic-based or identity-based demands that have to be met. This is one of the problems that we have had for so long,” he said.Under the proposal, every federated region will have a regional governor and a regional vice governor.“The federated government and federated regions shall ensure that taxation shall be uniform, equitable and progressive. No double taxation shall be allowed,” Generoso said.Federated regions will be given a share of not less than 50% of all the collected taxes on income, excise, VAT (value added tax), and customs duties, which will be “equally divided” among them and automatically released.The draft charter also proposed the creation of an “equalization fund” that must not be less than 4 percent of the annual General Appropriations Act (GAA).The fund will be distributed based on the needs of each region.Under the draft charter, the federal government will have exclusive power over defense, security of land, sea, and air territory; foreign affairs; international trade; customs and tariffs; citizenship, immigration, naturalization; national socio-economic planning; monetary policy and federal fiscal policy, banking: currency; competition and competition regulation bodies; inter-regional infrastructure and public utilities; postal service; time regulation, standards of weights and measures; promotion and protection of human rights; basic education; social security benefits; federal crimes and justice system; law and order; civil, family, property and commercial laws except as may be otherwise provided for in the constitution; prosecution of graft and corruption cases; intellectual property; and elections.The federated region will have exclusive power over socio-economic development planning; creation of sources of revenue; financial administration and management; tourism, investment and trade development; infrastructure, public utilities and public works; economic zones; land use and housing; justice system; local government units; business permits and licenses; municipal waters; indigenous people’s (IPs) rights and welfare; culture and language development; sports development; and parks and recreation.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/concom-to-vote-on-draft-charter/415269/
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Italians charged with illegal recruitment
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['Jomar Canlas']
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2018-09-24 00:02:56+00:00
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~The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has filed criminal charges before the Mandaluyong Prosecutor’s Office against two Italians and three Filipino officials of a shipping company for recruiting applicants despite lacking a license to do so. In a nine-page complaint, the NBI charged with syndicated and large-scale illegal recruitment Italians Sergio Constantini and Maurizio Caselli, incorporators of True Alliance Shipping Corp., and Henry James Avecilla, Judith Cabrera and Lucky Philip Cabrera. The complaint was dated September 7, 2018, signed by lawyer Cesar A.Bacani, NBI NCR Director, and addressed to Mandaluyong City Prosecutor Bernabe Augustus Solis and furnished the Department of Justice (DoJ) . The case originated from a complaint affidavit filed by Capt. Leopoldo Arcilla Sr., president and general manager of Eagle Clarc Shipping Philippines Inc., that alleged a conspiracy between True Alliance and maritime crewing service Oceanus in falsifying documents. Also implicated in the case are Mama Shipping SARL and Marine Partners Monaco that contracted the services of Oceanus as their agent in the Philippines and enticed the employees of Eagle Clarc to transfer to them. True Alliance operates under the command of its principal owner, Grimaldi and Giuseppe Bottiglieri Shipping Co. of Italy. The NBI filed the charges of syndicated illegal recruitment since three or more persons conspired in the commission of the offense and the crime of large-scale illegal recruitment was committed since three or more persons became victims of the scheme.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/italians-charged-with-illegal-recruitment/444498/
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Puyat orders all DoT execs to resign
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['Reicelene Joy Ignacio']
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2018-05-16 00:02:37+00:00
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ALL undersecretaries and assistant secretaries of the Department of Tourism were told to submit their courtesy resignations to give Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat a free hand in implementing reforms.“In the exigency of service, and in order to give the undersigned a free hand to perform the mandate given to her by the President, all incumbent undersecretaries and assistant secretaries of this Department are hereby directed to tender their unqualified courtesy resignations to the President, through the undersigned, starting on May 15,2018 to May 21, 2018, except career officials as defined by pertinent civil service laws, rules and regulations,” Puyat said in a memorandum sent to DoT officials.“Until any action is taken by the President on such courtesy resignations, all undersecretaries and assistant secretaries shall continue to report for work and perform their usual duties and responsibilities, subject to any modification that the undersigned may deem proper to adopt in the meantime,” she added.Puyat took her oath as Tourism secretary on May 14, replacing Wanda Tulfo-Teo who resigned over the controversial P60-million ad placement by the DoT on the television show of her brothers, Erwin and Ben, aired on government-run PTV 4.Meanwhile, Puyat said Tourism Promotions Board (TPB) chairman Cesar Montano will be summoned to explain why he allegedly paid P80 million in full for the “Buhay Carinderia” project, one of the government’s food tourism programs, even if the project has not been completed.The Tourism chief said Montano should explain why he paid P80 million to Linda Legaspi in full when the usual government procedure is that the last payment should be made when a project has been completed.“ I have to ask whoever the organizer is, did it go through proper bidding?” Romulo-Puyat said.“I have to look at all the contracts because I’ll be implementing all these programs. If I find out there’s a contract that did not undergo bidding, I will have to cancel,” she added.Montano, Puyat said, should put to rest allegations that he attended an official speaking engagement in the United States but cut short his speech to catch a Broadway show.“I have to ask Cesar himself what happened. Did you really just talk for two minutes? I believe there are two sides to the story. I’m sure he has the proper explanation,” she said.with FRANCIS EARL CUETO
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/puyat-orders-all-dot-execs-to-resign/399048/
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Woman gunned down in Manila
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['Paul Parenas', 'Romeo Siervo']
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11/5/2017 0:00
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old woman was shot dead by motorcycle-riding gunmen in Tondo, Manila the other day.Initial investigation showed that Lea Ruth Contreras was in front of their house at 1326 Quiricada Street about 4 p.m. when neighbors heard two successive gunshots.When they looked outside to check, witnesses said they saw a man standing in front of the fallen Contreras and two other men on board a motorcycle.The man standing in front of the victim later boarded the motorcycle which sped off.Contreras sustained gunshot wounds to the head and arm.Authorities said the motive might be personal grudge, but did not elaborate.Further investigation is ongoing.
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Manila Bulletin
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https://news.mb.com.ph/2017/05/11/woman-gunned-down-in-manila/
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5 Customs personnel fail lifestyle check
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['Mayvelin U. Caraballo']
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2018-10-04 00:03:26+00:00
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Five Customs personnel were dismissed from their posts after failing the Department of Finance (DoF) lifestyle check.The Finance department’s Revenue Integrity Protection Service (RIPS) said the dismissed personnel “were found to have owned properties that they did not report in their respective SALN (Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth).”Dismissed were Uthman Mamadra and his wife Rosalinda Mamadra, Delia Morala, Orlando Sangid, and Guillermo Roxas.The Mamadras “were found guilty of serious dishonesty and grave misconduct for their failure to declare a complete, true and detailed inventory of their real properties,” the DoF said in a statement.Morala was also found guilty of serious dishonesty for filing an “untruthful SALN.”It said Special Agent I Sangid failed to submit his SALN for the years 2000 to 2003, 2005 to 2006, and 2008 to 2009.“Sangid also omitted from, and misdeclared, several real properties, motor vehicles and business interests in his SALN for the years 2004, 2007, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014,” the statement said.Roxas, meanwhile was, found liable for grave misconduct.Last year, the RIPS started investigating 104 cases against suspected erring officials and employees, and several have been either dismissed or suspended.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/5-customs-personnel-fail-lifestyle-check/448059/
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Briones starts corruption investigation at DepEd
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['Francis Earl Cueto']
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2016-11-26 20:25:25+00:00
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Education Secretary Leonor Briones has formed an investigating team to look into reported corruption in the agency, involving the bidding of projects and travels abroad by several of its officials.Meanwhile, the good governance group Filipino Alliance for Transparency and Empowerment appealed to Briones to look into reports that Multifocus Corp., a supplier to the Department of Education (DepEd), sponsored a junket to China for some of the agency’s inspectors to check “cabinets for bidding.”“We are calling the attention of our good Secretary Briones to investigate the report. We will start our own investigation. This should stop at once. Did the DepEd inspectors involved change the specifications to accommodate the bidder? When did the trip happen? What was the China trip for? Who were involved?” the group said in a statement.A report from radio station DZBB said Briones has ordered an investigation on the irregularities in the bidding of some DepEd projects and travels abroad.Briones tasked the investigating team to check reports that the expenses for travel to China, which was supposedly sponsored by private individuals, was actually shouldered by the department.Earlier, Multifocus threatened to file charges against the DepEd Bids and Awards Committee led by DepEd Assistant Secretary Jesus Mateo, over alleged inaction on its complaint.Multifocus claimed to have lost P1.5 billion in various contracts at DepEd.Reporters tried but failed to get a reaction from officials of Multifocus.The DepEd is one of the government agencies bombarded with complaints from losing bidders.Briones earlier imposed a one-year suspension against a supplier from its alleged non-compliance with its P113.4-million contract with the DepEd last year.Healthcare and education company Philab Industries Inc. previously bagged billions of pesos worth of contracts with DepEd, with its steady service to the projects it contracted for with the government, particularly in the delivery of science and mathematics equipment to public elementary and high schools.Briones, however, said she had informed Philab Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Hector Thomas Navasero of their decision not to allow the company to participate in bidding for projects with the DepEd.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/briones-starts-corruption-investigation-deped/298541/
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PAO files 12th Dengvaxia case
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['Jomar Canlas']
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2018-08-02 00:03:41+00:00
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The Public Attorney’s Office (PAO) on Wednesday filed its 12th Dengvaxia-related criminal case before the Department of Justice (DoJ).The respondents were former Health Secretary Janette Garin, Health Undersecretaries Vicente Belizario, Jr. and Kenneth Hartigan-Go, officers of vaccine manufacturer Sanofi Pasteur and its distributor, Zuellig Pharma.PAO Chief Persida Acosta said the charges of reckless imprudence resulting in homicide, torture resulting in death and torture committed against children were filed by Manuel Ramirez Jr. and Kristina Ramirez, whose 11-year- old nephew, John Paul Rafael, died on April 11, 2016, 11 days after receiving his first dose of Dengvaxia.The complainants said John Paul was inoculated with Dengvaxia on March 31, 2016. Several days after, he had fever and stomach ache.“Prior to receiving the vaccine, John Paul was a healthy, strong and active kid who seldom got sick. He was even engaged in track and field activities in school. He never had any serious illness, including dengue, and had never been hospitalized. He received no notable medication other than Dengvaxia. After receiving the vaccine, John Paul had fever. On April 3, 2016, John Paul started to have stomach ache,” the complainants said. They said the child was taken to Bagac Community and Medicare Hospital where he died after a week.A separate complaint was filed before the DoJ against former President Benigno Aquino 3rd in connection with the graft charges lodged against him on the complaint filed by two anti-crime advocacy groups over the controversial anti-dengue vaccination program.Graft and malversation charges were also filed against Aquino, Garin and former Budget Secretary Florencio Abad.The PAO has claimed that more than a dozen children inoculated with Dengvaxia had died.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/pao-files-12th-dengvaxia-case/425754/
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Kerwin Espinosa pleads not guilty
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['Jaime Pilapil']
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2017-10-20 21:39:43+00:00
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Self-confessed drug lord Kerwin Espinosa of Albuera, Leyte, on Friday morning entered a not guilty plea in connection with drug charges against him.Espinosa, son of slain Albuera Mayor Rolando Espinosa, maintained his innocence of the charges filed against him before Judge Silvino Pampilo Jr. of the Manila Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 26.He was charged with violating Section 5 Article 2 of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act (Republic Act 9165) after a police raid in his residence in Binolho village in Albuera on July 28, 2016, yielded illegal drugs and assorted firearms.Kerwin is also facing separate cases for illegal possession of explosives and firearms before Judge Marivic Balisi-Umali of the Manila RTC Branch 20.He left the country after the President tagged him and his family as big-time drug lords in Eastern Visayas.Kerwin returned to the country on November 18 after he was arrested in Abu Dhabi.The court earlier dismissed the cases for possession of dangerous drugs, illegal drug trading and illegal possession of firearms and explosives against him and his father.The elder Espinosa was killed during a bloody police operation at a Leyte jail on November 5 last year.The cases against the younger Espinosa were first handled by Judge Carlos Arguelles of the Baybay City RTC Branch 14.The Supreme Court, however, allowed the cases to be transferred to Manila for security reasons.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/kerwin-espinosa-pleads-not-guilty/357663/
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Suspected terrorist charged
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['Jomar Canlas']
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2018-02-19 23:06:44+00:00
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~Criminal charges were filed against a suspected member of the International terrorist group ISIS on Monday, two days after his arrest in Ermita, Manila.Fehmi Lassqued alias John Rasheed Lassoned, a Tunisian, was charged at the Department of Justice.Lassqued underwent inquest proceedings on Sunday at the Philippine Army headquarters. He was taken to the DoJ to sign his waiver of detention since he did not have a lawyer.The Regional Police Intelligence Operation Unit filed the complaint against Lassqued and Anabel Moncera Salipada for violation of Republic Act 9516 or the Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunition Regulation Act.Salpida, a native of Upi, Maguindanao, was reported to be Lassqued’s girlfriend.The charge sheet was signed by Supt. Carlito A. Narag Jr., chief of the RPOU.Lassqued and Salipada were arrested in an apartment in Adriatico Street, Ermita, Manila at 3 p.m. on Friday.Seized from them were several materials for explosives, firearms and an ISIS flag.The search warrant was issued by Makati City Judge Benjamin Pozon.According to reports, Lassqued first arrived in the country from Iran in July 2016 using a fake passport.Philippine National Police chief Ronald “Bato” de la Rosa said Lassqued came here to recruit Filipinos.Lassqued was a former negotiator of IS in Syria and Turkey, de la Rosa added.National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) chief Oscar Albayalde said Lassqued usually targets people affected by conflicts such.Albayalde added Lassqued got most of his recruits from Mindanao and Metro Manila.The Metro Manila police chief said it is possible that Salipada may not have been aware of Lassqued’s activities.However, she is not off the hook yet, he said.Salipada said she has never been to Mindanao.De la Rosa gave assurances that the country is safe from terrorists.He added that investigators will establish the link between Lassqued and Taha Mohamed Al-Jabouri, a member of terror group Hamas. Al-Jabouri was arrested in Pampanga on Jan. 22.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/suspected-terrorist-charged/381386/
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Palace defends threat to bomb ‘lumad’ schools
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['Catherine S. Valente']
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2017-07-25 22:23:05+00:00
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Malacañang on Tuesday came to the defense of President Rodrigo Duterte over his threat to bomb lumad (indigenous people) schools in Mindanao after the indigenous people joined an anti-administration protest during his State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Monday.In a statement, Palace spokesman Ernesto Abella said Duterte issued the threats as he linked the lumad schools to the rebellion against the government.“The President notes that certain indigenous schools are being used to foment rebellion against the government. [He] warns them in the strongest terms to discontinue these actions; persistence will warrant appropriate government action,” Abella added.“[Duterte] highlights the need to protect our youth and doing so entails ensuring they get the correct education that reinforces the right values that instill love of country and respect for our laws among others, not rebellion,” he added.The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) on Tuesday blasted Duterte and called him a “madman” over his threat to bomb schools built for the lumad.“To the Madman Duterte: Nice try. You thought you could still fool the people with your grandstanding and phrase-mongering. Having been rebuked by the people’s jeers, you threaten to drop bombs on the lumad schools. You threaten to kill the children. You are the lowest of the low,” the CPP said in a statement.“You are a madman with bombs. You are a bully. An arrogant street thug intoxicated with power,” the communist rebel group added.During a news conference after his second SONA, Duterte threatened to bomb lumad schools as they supposedly teach students to “rebel against government.”The President said he would order the bombing of the lumad schools since they are functioning without the Education department’s authorization.“The schools of lumad, they’re operating without the Department of Education’s permit. In their schools, they are teaching subversion, communism, and everything. Umalis kayo dyan, sabihin ko sa mga lumad. Bobombahan ko iyan, isali ko iyang mga istraktura [So better leave. I’ll tell the lumad now, leave because I will bomb those structures],” Duterte said
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/palace-defends-threat-to-bomb-lumad-schools/340597/
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Schools open doors to displaced Lanao students
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['Neil Alcober']
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2017-06-07 21:18:34+00:00
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A number of public schools inside and outside Mindanao has begun accommodating school children displaced from Marawi City in Lanao del Sur province on the first day of classes despite facing challenges, the Department of Education (DepEd) said on Wednesday.“We thank Region 10 and neighboring provinces of Marawi, even before we came in, they already acted to reach out to learners and teachers . . . Just like what [DepEd Secretary Leonor Briones] was saying, we will not deprive [them of] education whatever their religion, whatever their belief, whoever their parents are, all Filipino children will be accepted to our schools,” the deparment said.As of 6 p.m. of June 6, partial reports from the field gathered by the DepEd, through the Office of the Undersecretary for Planning and Field Operations, show that 2,428 displaced students from Marawi City have been already enrolled in eight regions: Region 1 (1 student), Region 3 (8), National Capital Region or Metro Manila (171), Region 5 (1), Region 7 (54), Region 9 (25), Region 10 (1,999) and Region 12 (169).Briones said around 22,000 students and 2,205 teachers were among those who had to flee their homes because of ongoing armed clashes between government forces and the terrorist Maute Group in Marawi City.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/schools-open-doors-displaced-lanao-students/331474/
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93% of La Union’s politicians take big leap to PDP-Laban
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['Jeff Jaramillo']
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2/6/2017 0:00
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Ninety-three percent of the elected officials in this province, led by Governor Francisco Emmanuel “Pacoy” Ortega III, joined the other day President Duterte’s Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban).Ortega, along with other incumbent officials, nearly filled the Eriguel Covered Court, here, where they pledged allegiance to their new party on Thursday.House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez, who is the PDP-Laban secretary general, officiated the oath-taking ceremony for the administration party’s new members who included 18 of the 20 mayors in the provinc; incumbent provincial board members; vice mayors; city and municipal councilors, and other local politicians.“This only shows that most of our local leaders in the provinces are supporting the President’s agenda and his programs for our country,” Alvarez said.Most of the new PDP-Laban members in La Union bailed out from the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC) and the Liberal Party (LP).PDP-Laban National Executive Director Glen Badon said that the party is “now super strong because almost all the political leaders in the provinces have joined the administration party.”Asked why this was so, Badon said the new party members expressed that they want to help in the President’s advocacy of good governance.“PDP-Laban will support the main objective of the administration of Federalism. We fully support all the government’s agenda for the good of the country,” Badon said.It was learned that La Union 2nd District Representative Sandra Young-Eriguel and 1st Rep. Pablo C. Ortega were the first officials to join the party right after the elections in May, 2016.“In line with our goals to help and serve our constituents, we join the party of our President because we want to support his plans and programs for the progress of our country and our locality,” said Rep. Eriguel, PDP-Laban district chairman.The oath-taking coincided with the Congressional Caravan where members of the House of Representatives are conducting assessment on various projects, especially infrastructure, in northern and central Luzon.
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Manila Bulletin
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https://news.mb.com.ph/2017/06/02/93-of-la-unions-politicians-take-big-leap-to-pdp-laban/
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Senate foregoes November 13-15 sessions; budget, TRAIN delayed
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['Rey David', 'Lucas Temoteo', 'Kwak Kwak Kwak', 'Berdugo Katapang']
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2/11/2017 0:00
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two priority legislation of the administration.However, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) announced that several routes in Pasay City and Manila would be locked down from November 8 to November 15 to pave way for the 31st ASEAN Summit activities.Pimentel said he and Majority Floor Leader Sen. Vicente Sotto III are “still working” on the new schedule for the proposed TRAIN which awaits approval on second reading.Sotto, in a separate text message, said, however, that they might pass the tax reform bill on third and final reading by November 24.Meanwhile, Sotto said they will resume deliberations on P3.76-trillion proposed 2018 national budget on November 16. He said they plan to approve the priority measure also on the third week of the month.
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Manila Bulletin
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https://news.mb.com.ph/2017/11/02/senate-foregoes-november-13-15-sessions-budget-train-delayed/
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Duterte a believer of lies peddled by his allies – Robredo
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['Llanesca T. Panti']
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2017-01-03 22:28:51+00:00
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President Rodrigo Duterte is a believer of lies, Vice President Maria Leonor Robredo said on Tuesday.Robredo issued the statement in connection with remarks made by the President last week after he earlier barred Robredo from attending Cabinet meetings as the chief of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) for participating in protest actions against the hero’s burial for former president Ferdinand Marcos.The Vice President, however, did not attend the last three huge rallies against the hero’s burial for the country’s former leader.“I did not join any rally and it is a fact. I recall at least two rallies [against the burial], but I did not join those. I was invited to join because the main subject is the position against the hero’s burial for Marcos. While I was vocal about my opposition to it, I deliberately did not join rallies in deference to the President because I am a member of his Cabinet,” Robredo said in Filipino in a chance interview in her home province of Camarines Sur where she visited Typhoon Nina victims.Marcos’ martial law regime supposedly left at least 70,000 victims of torture, enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings from 1972 to 1986.“It’s just sad that he believed those lies [that I joined the rallies against Marcos and called for his ouster] because the public knows that such claims are false. They are people in position, and they supervise all the intelligence agencies. It is so simple. They could easily verify such claims. Why would they believe lies, instead?” Robredo, a lawyer, said.The Vice President was barred from attending Cabinet meetings “until further notice” by Cabinet Secretary Jun Evasco on orders of President Duterte last December 2.Robredo tried to reach out to Duterte for clarification thru Special Assistant to the President Christopher “Bong” Go but she did not get a response.She eventually decided to quit her HUDCC post on December 4, 2016.“I tried to reach out to him [President] at the time because I didn’t know why I was being barred from Cabinet meetings. If I reach out again now, it would be pointless. As far as I am concerned, I will do my best to be of help but I won’t force myself to be a part of the Cabinet,” Robredo said.“A Cabinet post is a position of confidence. The President needs to completely trust me. But since the President believes lies, it shows that his level of trust in me is so low,” she added.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/duterte-believer-lies-peddled-allies-robredo/305021/
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Pasay City bettor bags P36-M megalotto pot
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['The Manila Times']
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2017-09-28 20:10:51+00:00
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A lone bettor from Pasay City has bagged the P36.3-million Megalotto 6/45 jackpot of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO).Alexander Balutan, PCSO general manager, said the bettor correctly guessed the six-number winning combination 06-16-09-12 -13-29 during Wednesday night’s draw.Balutan added that the winning lotto ticket was bought from an outlet at Victory Mall in Pasay City.Total sales for Wednesday’s 6/45 lotto draw reached P18,309,300.Apart from the lone jackpot winner, 62 other bettors will receive P14,760 each for getting five of the six-number combination right.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/pasay-city-bettor-bags-p36-m-megalotto-pot/353463/
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Piston leads transport strike tomorrow
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['Nelson Badilla']
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2017-06-03 21:40:51+00:00
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A big transportation group is set to hold a strike in Metro Manila and several provinces on Monday, the opening of classes.The transport strike headed by the Pagkakaisa ng mga Samahan ng mga Tsuper at Operators Nationwide (Piston) would be the third to protest the government’s plan to phase out the 15-year-old jeepney units.George San Mateo, Piston president, said the transport strike will be held simultaneously in Metro Manila, Aklan, Capiz, Iloilo, Negros Occidental, Bicol, several provinces in Luzon, and in some provinces in Mindanao.San Mateo said Piston will still lead the transport strike in Mindanao despite the declaration of martial law by President Rodrigo Duterte.He strongly maintained the opposition of Piston to the plan of the Department of Transportation (DOTr) to get rid of the old models of jeepneys saying the public transportation modernization plan is not to the best interest of poor drivers and small operators. San Mateo added that operator of an electric jeepney fleet should have 20 units and a capitalization of at least P7 million under the jeepney modernization program.He also said that the phase outof old units will result in higher fares because the cost of replacing jeepneys with cleaner and more fuel-efficient units —Euro 4 compliant engines or electric engines — is extremely high.San Mateo emphasized that Piston will continue to hold transport strikes if the DOTr will not stop its modernization plan.The DOTr public transport modernization plan started in the previous government. Transport Secretary Arthur Tugade decided to proceed with the plan after finding it beneficial to the commuting public.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/piston-leads-transport-strike-tomorrow/330787/
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Palace won’t stop CHR budget cut
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['Llanesca T. Panti']
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2017-09-11 20:53:26+00:00
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MalacaÑang won’t stand in the way of Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez’s proposal to reduce the 2018 budget of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) to P1,000, a Palace official said on Monday.“None that I know of,” was Malacañang spokesman Ernesto Abella’s reply when asked if the Palace will oppose Alvarez’s proposal.“I will have to refer that [matter] to the Office of the [Executive Secretary], and we can find what the President’s formal position is,” Abella said.The Department of Budget and Management has proposed a P65-million budget for CHR for 2018–a reduction of its 2017 budget of P724.9 million.Alvarez earlier threatened to give zero budget to the CHR for allegedly being partisan against the Duterte administration.He accused CHR chief Chino Gaston of being biased since Gaston was one of the CHR officials who made a visit to Sen. Leila de Lima, who is detained on drug-related charges.Alvarez also took offense that the CHR is calling out state agents, including the police, over alleged extrajudicial killings when the commission does not call out criminals.“When it’s the police who could be involved in extrajudicial killings, they make so much noise. Human rights are for all. They should also look at the victims of the criminals. What is CHR doing for the crime victims? If you ask me, we should reduce their budget. They even deserve zero with their performance,” he said.“The CHR is not fair. Look at your attitude. You are partial. You visit a special person. That is the reality,” Alvarez added, apparently referring to de Lima.Under Section 18, Article 13 of the 1987 Constitution, the CHR is mandated, among others, to investigate all forms of human rights violations committed by government agents involving civil and political rights; provide appropriate legal measures for the protection of human rights of all persons within the Philippines, as well as Filipinos residing abroad, and provide for preventive measures and legal aid services to the underprivileged whose human rights have been violated or need protection; exercise visitorial powers over jails, prisons or detention facilities; recommend to Congress effective measures to promote human rights and to provide for compensation to victims of violations of human rights, or their families; monitor the Philippine government’s compliance with international treaty obligations on human rights; grant immunity from prosecution to any person whose testimony or whose possession of documents or other evidence is necessary or convenient to determine the truth in any investigation conducted by it or under its authority.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/palace-wont-stop-chr-budget-cut/350055/
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Marawi rehab to start April
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['Ralph Villanueva']
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2018-02-09 23:55:38+00:00
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Rehabilitation efforts of the government for war-torn Marawi City in Lanao de Sur will be completed by the end of 2021, the Undersecretary of Task Force Bangon Marawi said on Friday.During the Bangon Marawi news briefing at Malacañang, Falconi Ace Millar, also the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) secretary general, added that the task force has already published guidelines for unsolicited proposals for development of the most affected areas in the city, covering 24 barangay or villages.President Rodrigo Duterte signed Executive Order 49 on Monday, designating the National Housing Authority (NHA) to be the lead implementing agency in master development of such areas.“The [joint venture] guidelines published show the minimum parameters for the master development. We are expecting that that would signal the start of the rehabilitation of the most affected areas, which are composed of 24 barangay in Marawi. [Based on the guidelines of our timeframe of the entire construction, we expect the rehabilitation to be finished] no later than December 2021,” Millar said.He, however, said a proponent is yet to come forward but there are already informal commitments.“Based on the informal communication that we received, we expect about 5 or 6 proponents who will be submitting unsolicited proposals on Monday. That’s going to be on February 12. That’s the deadline that we have, we told them that the deadline would be February 12,” Millar added.He said foreign companies have signified their intention to participate in the master development of Marawi, with China and Malaysia being part of the informal communications.The European Union, which earlier said it will be providing €55 million or roughly P3.5 billion for the rehabilitation efforts of Marawi but was swatted away by the President, did not express intention to participate so far, according to Millar.He promised that no anomalies will take place in the process.The five-month-long Marawi siege, which ended in October of last year, resulted in the deaths of 942 extremists, 168 government soldiers and 47 civilians.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/marawi-rehab-start-april/379281/
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PNP, PDEA, BoC urged to act On drug info leaks
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['Mary Gleefer F. Jalea']
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2018-10-05 00:04:01+00:00
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The sharing of confidential intelligence information on illegal drugs should be limited to top government officials to prevent leaks, Rep. Robert Ace Barbers said on Thursday.Barbers, who heads the House Committee on Dangerous Drugs that is investigating the entry of a P6.8-billion shabu shipment, said intelligence information, particularly those shared by other countries, must be kept confidential and should not be shared with low-level intelligence personnel until after the anti-drug operations.Barbers said that it is clear how the intelligence information “was shared irresponsibly with people of questionable character or those who were not supposed to have it.”He called on top officials of the Bureau of Customs, Philippine National Police and Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency to stop the leakage of drug information.“I hope the top leaders of the BoC, PDEA and the PNP will do something about this problem of leakage of intelligence information about illegal drugs,” he said.“We have to make sure that sensitive and verified intelligence information must be handled with utmost care so it will not fall into the wrong hands,” Barbers added.A Customs official who refused to be named echoed the lawmaker’s statement, saying “corrupt officials” from the BoC, PNP and PDEA “managed to manipulate the entry” of the shabu shipment.LeakedThe Customs official lamented that corrupt officials and employees from different government agencies colluded to embarrass Customs and port officials who were just doing their jobs.This collusion was evident during the inquiry held by the House last week, he added.The official said the public hearing showed how intelligence information on the illegal drugs shipment was leaked to certain individuals.“You can see how unscrupulous individuals had no qualms about humiliating any BoC officials to show how powerful they are. They want to show the world that they can easily destroy the reputation and cause the removal of any commissioner or top official who wanted to stop them,” he said.He added that a drug shipment could enter the country through different ports, not just the Manila International Container Port, as long as there was connivance among port officials and personnel.“It’s a pity that men of good character are being subjected to public ridicule. We hope that in the end, the findings of the House committees and the Senate blue ribbon committee will give justice to those who were not involved in the supposed drug shipment and severely punish those who were responsible for it,” the official said.A week ago, the joint public hearing of the House committees on dangerous drugs and good government discovered that dismissed Senior Supt. Eduardo Acierto and PDEA Deputy Director General Ismael Fajardo had knowledge of the alleged P6.8-billion drug shipment contained in four magnetic lifters that slipped past the BoC.The House cited Jimmy Guban of the Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service cited in contempt for issuing conflicting statements about his role in the smuggling of illegal drugs.The Senate blue ribbon committee also ordered the detention of Guban in the Senate for lying.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/pnp-pdea-boc-urged-to-act-on-drug-info-leaks/448395/
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