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US pledges $26.5M anti-terror aid to PH
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['Jefferson Antiporda']
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2018-07-20 00:09:08+00:00
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THE United States (US) has pledged $26.5 million as part of its commitment to help the Armed Forces of the Philippines improve its counterterrorism capabilities.In a statement, the US Embassy in Manila said the assistance would be used in training, deployment of equipment, and other support to build comprehensive law enforcement capacity within a rule of law framework.“This is to deny terrorist operations, funding, and movement; investigate and prosecute terrorism cases; and counter radicalization to violence and violent extremism,” it said.US Ambassador to the Philippine Kim Sung said the support for non-military rule-of-law approaches to addressing terrorist threats would complement the sustained commitment to building the counterterrorism capabilities of the AFP.“I am proud to announce that the United States will contribute P1.418 billion over the next two years to boost counterterrorism support for Philippine law enforcement agencies,” Kim said.He said the US is a proud ally of the Philippines and will continue to provide support and assistance to Philippine counterterrorism efforts as the two countries work together to address shared threats to peace and security.“Our joint efforts to confront shared threats to the peace and security of both of our countries is another powerful example of the depth and breadth of our relationship as friends, partners, and allies,” Kim added.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/us-pledges-26-5m-anti-terror-aid-to-ph/421249/
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Taiwan eyes regional study, research center as agri partner
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['Leander C. Domingo']
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2018-03-09 00:03:28+00:00
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TAIWAN is looking at the Philippine government-hosted Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (Searca) as major partner and a window to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) in agriculture and rural development.Searca officials, during a recent visit to Taiwan, discussed with the Council of Agriculture (CoA) Executive Yuan, National Taiwan University (NTU) and the Taiwan-based Food and Fertilizer Technology Center (FFTC) common interests and priority concerns that will be the basis for collaborations in research, graduate education and institutional development and knowledge management initiatives.Searca is mandated to promote inclusive and sustainable agricultural and rural development in Asean countries and Timor-Leste through its core programs in graduate education and institutional development, research and knowledge management.The Council of Agriculture is the authority in agriculture, forestry, fisheries, animal husbandry and food affairs in Taiwan, while the NTU is regarded as the most prestigious university in Taiwan with Taiwan President Tsai Ing-Wen among its alumni.Gil Saguiguit Jr., Searca director, said their recent visit to these major agriculture-focused institutions in Taiwan was on the heels of separate visits of NTU and CoA officials to the center in 2017.The visitors, accoding to Saguiguit, sought to renew ties with Searca in light of the Taiwanese government’s New Southbound Policy, which seeks new regional partners to enhance economic cooperation, talent exchange and resource sharing between Taiwan and 18 countries in Southeast Asia, South Asia and Australasia.The CoA and the NTU are pivoting their expertise and resources to benefit developing countries in the Southeast Asian region in support of the New Southbound Policy.“As such, they are looking at Searca as a major partner and a window to the region,” Saguiguit said.He added that in a planning workshop held last February 8-9, the NTU and SEARCA agreed to support scholarships for Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy degrees in biotechnology tenable at the NTU’s Institute of Biotechnology.Saguiguit said both institutions are interested in jointly developing and offering training courses, possibly on sustainable ecological environment, bio-fertilizers, plant factories and biotechnology regulations and policy-making, with a view to draw in the CoA and the FFTC into the collaboration.He noted the NTU’s expressed interest to join the Searca-initiated Southeast Asian University Consortium for Graduate Education in Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC).“As the consortium secretariat, Searca will facilitate conveying such interest and invitation to the NTU as observer in the next UC Executive Board Meeting,” Saguiguit said.In the meantime, he added, the NTU will mull possible areas for joint research with Searca and the UC members, possibly in food and nutrition security and climate change adaptation and mitigation.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/taiwan-eyes-regional-study-research-center-as-agri-partner/384859/
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Abu terrorist not yet off the hook – DND
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['Dempsey Reyes']
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2018-04-05 00:06:05+00:00
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Despite his surrender to the military, Abu Sayyaf sub-leader Nhurhassan Jamiri still needs to face the law for “capital offenses,” according to the Department of National Defense (DND).DND Secretary Delfin Lorenzana on Wednesday said justice should be served those who were victimized by the terrorist Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) that is based in Basilan province in southern Mindanao.Lorenzana pointed out that all members of the ASG without exception are accountable for kidnapping and other crimes.“We will not [let them off the hook]. We still must look at the capital offenses they had committed. We cannot let them escape [from those offenses]. We have to serve justice to those who were killed, those they kidnapped, those they beheaded. We cannot just let them walk freely with those offenses,” he said in a chance interview.Lorenzana said operations by the Armed Forces of the Philippines in Jolo in Sulu province, also in Mindanao, had forced Jamiri to escape to Malaysia, where he was recently caught.“He was being chased there [Malaysia]. They [Philippine military authorities] thought that he was killed there but he was not and maybe, [he] found out that the President [Rodrigo Duterte] was willing to offer some benefits to [him] if [he returns] to the fold of the law,” he told reporters.Last week, Jamiri, along with his 13 of his followers, surrendered to Joint Task Force Basilan and turned over 10 high-powered firearms, 40 assorted ammunition magazines and 651 pieces of live ammunition.Prior to the surrender, President Duterte went to Sulu to meet the Abu Sayyaf rebels who had given up fighting and even committed benefits such as housing.The same commitment was made too to communist New People’s Army (NPA) rebels who had also turned themselves in to the military.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/abu-terrorist-not-yet-off-the-hook-dnd/390462/
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‘Weak justice system breeds crime, corruption’
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['Llanesca T. Panti']
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2018-05-08 00:01:21+00:00
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The prevalence of crime and corruption should not be blamed on human rights workers but on the country’s poor justice system, Dean Jose Manuel Diokno of De La Salle University College of Law said Monday.Diokno, in a speech during the Free the Courts Forum held in UP Diliman, lamented that human rights workers are demonized and blamed for crime incidents and corruption, including the proliferation of drugs.“Human rights work has nothing to do with our problem of crimes and corruption. It has everything to do with our weak justice system,” Diokno said.“Do not blame the human rights lawyers or workers for crimes and corruption. Blame it on the deplorable state of our justice system,” he said. “There is no human rights without justice, and there is no justice without human rights.”Diokno said the judiciary has a 20 percent vacancy rate. The judiciary also only gets two percent of the national budget.He traced the sorry state of the justice system to the “14 years of dictatorship by former President Ferdinand Marcos.”“Those 14 years under [Martial law of] Marcos produced lawyers who became glorified fixers and judges who amassed fortune, and they outlasted the dictatorship. Sadly, they continue to operate today,” Diokno said.He called on the public to stand for the protection of human rights and its workers.“The fight for human rights is about fighting for the dignity of human life and human potential. We should stand for it now, or we won’t have any to stand for later,” Diokno warned.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/weak-justice-system-breeds-crime-corruption/397361/
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PNP raring to rejoin Duterte war on drugs
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['Fernan Marasigan']
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2017-03-01 22:18:09+00:00
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WILL the government’s campaign against illegal drugs turn bloody once more when the Philippine National Police (PNP) rejoins the drive as directed by President Rodrigo Duterte?It depends on the drug suspects, according to the PNP chief, Director General Ronald dela Rosa.“It depends, if they resist and if they want it to be bloody, then we will give it to them. If they do not endanger the lives of our operatives, then why would it be bloody? It is a matter of action and counter-action coming from them,” de la Rosa told reporters in an interview.The PNP chief said no police officers would want any operation to get bloody and, he added, where he is concerned he wants a drug-free society without bloodshed.Noting, however, that drugs is a billion-dollar industry, he added that such society may not be achieved at all.“But it is very impossible to realize since it’s going to be a war because these drug lords will not just surrender, they will not just leave the drug trafficking business just like that. This is a billon-peso industry. They would not just step back but we are determined to win the war on drugs,” dela Rosa pointed out.On Tuesday, the President confirmed that he had ordered the PNP chief to create a new anti-drug task force composed of police personnel with no history of corruption.The President stopped the police from conducting anti-drug operations when several policemen were linked to the kidnapping and killing of South Korean businessman Jee Ick-joo.On same day, the PNP chief announced that he is forming a new group that will continue to carry out the government’s campaign against illegal drugs.Only policemen with clean records will be recruited, according to dela Rosa.He said he will not go to war unprepared.“We have to retool ourselves, reupdate, we have to reassess our units, we have to regroup, we have to reevaluate everything so that when we relaunch, we are prepared,” he said.The recruits, dela Rosa added, may be “[l]acking in experience but [they will join us] with a pure heart and equipped with the fervor to work for the country.”
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/pnp-raring-rejoin-duterte-war-drugs-2/314890/
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Imee cries ‘politics’ over detention of employees
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['Jomar Canlas']
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2017-06-05 21:52:48+00:00
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Ilocos Norte Gov. Imee Marcos has cried “politics” on an order of the House of Representatives to detain six Ilocos Norte provincial government employees at the chamber’s home at the Batasang Pambansa in Quezon City for their reported refusal to shed light on alleged misuse of P66.45 million in tobacco funds to buy vehicles under the governor’s watch.“We know that there is a political angle to the continued detention of our employees. But we think that Congress should not have been dragged into the issue. More important, we are saddened that small employees are paying for claims of wrongdoing against them,” Marcos told the media on Monday before the start of a hearing before the Court of Appeals (CA) on the detention of the six provincial government staff.During the CA hearing of a petition for a writ of habeas corpus filed by the six employees, House Sergeant-at-Arms Roland Detabali failed to appear before the appellate court and present the detained Ilocos Norte officials.Also during the hearing, former Solicitor General Estelito Mendoza, lawyer for the Ilocos Norte employees, assailed the detention, which, he said, was without legal basis since the petitioners answered questions of lawmakers also during hearing last week at the House of Representatives.“Well, we are here to help our employees. What we want most is for them to be released, because we know that their detention rose from a local political problem that should have not been brought here in the first place, with Congress used for political ends. Again, let us not use our small employees, some of whom, we heard, have fallen ill during their detention,” Marcos said.Detabali had been ordered the first time around to present before the court the six Ilocos Norte employees, who have been detained since May 29 after being cited in contempt by the House Committee on GoodGovernment and Public Accountability headed by Ilocos Norte Rep. Rodolfo Farinas during its investigation of the alleged misuse of the tobacco funds.The petition for a writ of habeas corpus was lodged by the provincial employees’ legal counsel, Da Vinci Crisostomo.Farinas did not heed Crisostomo’s petition.The Court of Appeals had asked Congress why the House sergeant-at-arms should not be cited for contempt for failure to comply with the court order.Farinas and Marcos used to be party mates in the Nacionalista Party (NP).The Ilocos Norte governor, however, did not issue a Certificate of Nomination and Acceptance (Cona) to Fariñas for the May 2016 elections–a required document to make Fariñas the official NP candidate for the congressional seat of the 1st District of Ilocos Norte.The six detained at the House Legislative Building are Pedro Agcaoili, Provincial Planning and Development Office chairman; Josephine Calajate, provincial treasurer; Eden Battulayan, Provincial Treasurer’s Office staff; Encarnacion Gaor, Provincial Treasurer’s Office staff; Genedine Jambaro, Provincial Treasurer’s Office staff; and Evangeline Tabulog, Provincial Budget Officer.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/imee-cries-politics-detention-employees-2/331132/
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‘Basyang’ to enter PH anytime soon
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['Mary Gleefer F. Jalea']
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2018-02-12 00:48:07+00:00
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An approaching tropical depression will be named Basyang once it enters the Philippine territory anytime on Sunday, the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said.In the state-run weather bureau’s latest update, the tropical depression was seen 1,355 kilometers east of Mindanao in southern Philippines.It continues to move westward with maximum sustained winds of up to 45 kilometers per hour and gustiness of up to 65 kph.Pagasa’s weather specialist Meno Mendoza said the weather system is expected to make landfall over northern Mindanao or southern Visayas on Monday afternoon or evening and may likely intensify into a tropical storm before the landfall.Meanwhile, the northeast monsoon or amihan will bring cloudy skies with scattered rains over Cagayan Valley and Cordillera Administrative Region.It will also bring partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rains over the Ilocos Region.Metro Manila and the rest of the country will experience the same weather condition caused by localized thunderstorms, Pagasa said.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/basyang-enter-ph-anytime-soon/379609/
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9 govt workers axed for misusing ‘pork’
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['Ma. Reina Leanne Tolentino']
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2017-08-02 21:22:21+00:00
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The Office of the Ombudsman has found nine individuals administratively liable for grave misconduct, serious dishonesty and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service for the allegedly unlawful disbursement of former Misamis Occidental (First District) Rep. Marina Clarete’s 2007 to 2009 Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) or “pork barrel.”These were former National Agribusiness Corp. manager Romulo Relevo and former Nabcor bookkeeper Maria Ninez Guañizo; former National Livelihood Development Corp. directors Emmanuel Alexis Sevidal and Chita Jalandoni as well as former NLDC division chiefs Gregoria Buenaventura, Ofelia Ordoñez and Sofia Cruz; and former Technology Resource Center chief accountant Marivic Jover and former budget specialist Consuelo Espiritu.According to a statement issued on Wednesday, the Ombudsman meted the nine individuals the penalty of dismissal from the service with cancellation of eligibility, forfeiture of retirement benefits and perpetual disqualification from reemployment in the government service.The penalty is convertible to a fine equivalent to their one year’s salary in case they are no longer in the government service.According to the statement, the Ombudsman found that the nine respondents allegedly extended “unusual” accommodation in the release of P47.5 million in PDAF in favor of three non-government organizations (NGOs), which Clarete allegedly specifically chose as project partners in implementing integrated livelihood development projects in Misamis.The three NGOs were Kabuhayan at Kalusugang Alay sa Masa Foundation Inc. (KKAMFI), Kasangga sa Magandang Bukas Foundation Inc. (KMBFI) and Aaron Foundation Philippines Inc. (AFPI).It was found that the projects were allegedly non-existent and that the list of beneficiaries, accomplishments and liquidation reports were allegedly fictitious.The respondents were also found to have allegedly “certified the disbursements and issued checks without verifying the supporting documents,” according to the statement.“Instead of using the PDAF disbursements received by them to implement the livelihood projects, the officers of KKAMFI, KMBFI and AFPI, as well as their suppliers, all acting in conspiracy with Clarete and herein respondents, diverted the PDAF for their own personal benefits,” the Ombudsman said.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/9-govt-workers-axed-for-misusing-pork/342058/
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Palace open to China, Asean war games
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['Catherine S. Valente']
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2018-08-07 00:08:29+00:00
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Malacañang is open to the holding of military drills between China and members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) as proposed by Beijing.China was reported to have proposed the holding of military exercises with Asean countries but these exercises should not include the United States.Speaking to reporters in Malita, Davao Occidental on Monday, Palace spokesman Harry Roque Jr. said China’s objective in pursuing an all-Asian military drill was to have a “closer cooperation among six neighbors.”“We understand the invitation of China. It wants closer cooperation among six neighbors and the US is not its neighbor and therefore we understand that,” Roque said.“We have also said that we are amenable to a joint exploration in the disputed areas and we are pushing for 60-40 sharing, 60 percent accruing to Filipinos of course,” he added.Beijing had reportedly suggested that China and the 10 members of Asean should carry out joint military exercises regularly.However, these drills should not involve countries outside the region “unless the parties concerned are notified beforehand and express no objection.”Beijing also suggested that China and Asean could carry out joint oil and gas exploration but again proposed that firms from countries outside the region be excluded from such activities.Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam have overlapping claims in the South China Sea.“We believe that without any disturbances from the outside, code of conduct consultations will accelerate,” Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said.“We have made leapfrog progress in advancing Asean-China relations from quantity to quality,” he added, saying the first joint maritime exercises would be held in October.Vietnam has offered some of the stiffest resistance to China over the maritime dispute in recent times, regularly complaining about Beijing’s activities on contested islands and in disputed waters.The Philippines, under former president Benigno Aquino 3rd, had also been a leading voice against China’s maritime expansion. The country filed a complaint questioning China’s sea claims before the United Nations arbitral tribunal. The court ruled in favor of the Philippines, invalidating Beijing’s claims on almost the entire South China Sea based on its nine-dash policy.However, President Rodrigo Duterte set aside the ruling as he shifted the Philippines’ policy towards China, adopting instead a friendly stance in pursuit of more vibrant ties with Asia’s largest economy.WITH AFP
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/palace-open-to-china-asean-war-games/427377/
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Sandra Cam, Atong Ang ‘name-droppers’
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['The Manila Times']
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2018-02-01 00:02:38+00:00
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Really?This was the reaction of Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office General Manager Alexander Balutan on the claim of former jueteng (an illegal numbers game) bagwoman-turned-whistleblower Sandra Cam, now a PCSO director, that President Rodrigo Duterte and notorious gambling lord Charlie “Atong” Ang knew each other very well.“Atong Ang and President Duterte are friends,” Cam bragged during a hearing conducted on Wednesday by the House Committee on Games and Amusement led by Parañaque City Second District Rep. Gus Tambunting.Cam and her gambling lord-friend, Balutan said in a statement on Thursday, have been dropping the name of the President and even his Special Assistant Christopher “Bong” Go since they started to attack and vilify the current PCSO leadership with unfounded and baseless allegations of corruption.At the hearing, the PCSO general manager reiterated that Ang, who was accompanied by Cam on September 14, 2016 to his office, made a P200 million monthly offer as payment to operate the Small Town Lottery (STL) nationwide.Balutan said he rejected the offer and immediately reported this to the President.Cam denied that there was such an offer.She said that during her recent trip to Bicol, the President admitted that he asked Ang to go to the PCSO in September 2016 to help them.According to Cam, it was even Duterte’s close aide Go who told her to accompany Ang to meet with PCSO officials.The President visited Albay on January 29 immediately after his trip to India to check on the situation of Mayon Volcano evacuees and the evacuation centers.“I would like to reiterate the offer of Mr. Atong Ang. He is offering P200 million per month for the STL operation of the whole country,” Balutan revealed to the committee.He said Ang went to his office sometime in September 2016 with Cam, claiming they were sent by the President.“[Ang told me that I should come up with a] formula [but he was] offering P200 million a month for the whole operation of the STL,” according to Balutan, who later brought Ang and Cam to then-PCSO Chairman Jose Jorge Corpuz.“’Pag isa lang po ang nag-monopolize nito, walang PMRR [Presumptive Monthly Retail Reciepts], wala tayong usapan na percentage [If only one person will monopolize the STL, no PMRR, we won’t have any percentage to speak of],” the PCSO general manager told Ang.Immediately after the incident, Balutan said he personally reported to the President and asked how he would solve the Ang problem.“He told me: Do not bend your rules. Just follow your rules even if [they involve] my son,” he added, quoting Duterte.A photo and CCTV footage as proofs attest to the incident.Meanwhile, Tarlac Rep. Noel Villanueva commended PCSO officials for the record-breaking increase in the STL revenues and for not accepting “bribe” money.Records show that PCSO-STL made history by generating P15.7-billion revenue (P1.3 billion/month), which is a 143-percent increase.The PCSO used to collect only P4.7 billion revenue a year.Villanueva disclosed that he received information that upon the assumption of Corpuz and Balutan, they were offered a huge sum of money in exchange for disallowing PMRR.Balutan confirmed the information but said he did not receive the offer.“Never in my life your honor,” he told the House committee.Balutan, a retired Marine major general, spent 37 years in the Marine Corps. He survived more than 50 combat encounters with enemies of the state and four ambushes.A member of Philippine Military Academy “Matikas” Class of 1983, he is one of The Outstanding Philippine Soldier Awardees in 2011.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/sandra-cam-atong-ang-name-droppers/377528/
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CoA questions extra pay given to MTRCB board
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['Ma. Reina Leanne Tolentino']
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2018-05-15 00:02:05+00:00
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The Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) granted additional benefits to board members (BMs) amounting to P5.2 million on the basis of minutes of board meetings and board resolutions, according to the Commission on Audit (CoA).The observation was made in CoA’s audit report on the MTRCB for 2017.“Upon examination of Disbursement Vouchers (DVs) and their supporting documents for the period January to December, 2017, we noted that each BM received approximately P41,500 monthly,” it said.The P41,500 was broken down as follows: P10,000 per diem for board meeting, P5,000 representation and transportation allowance (RATA), monitoring expenses (P14,000), P5,000 Optical Media Board (OMB) emolument, and board committee activities (P7,500), based on the audit report.“Per Diems were granted to BMs for attending the regular BM meeting, which was held once a month. RATA covered expenses of BMs incidental to and in connection with the actual performance of their functions,” CoA said.The audit report said board members were granted OMB emolument “for the review of materials in optical media.”“As a basic principle, additional benefits are not allowed for services rendered which are inherent to the functions for which one is already compensated for. The review of motion pictures and television programs in whatever medium is among the powers and functions vested to the Board pursuant to PD No. 1986,” CoA said.According to the audit report, the MTRCB’s basis in the issuances of board resolutions granting additional benefits was Section 20 of PD 1986 which established a sinking fund.But CoA said the Board has no power to grant additional allowances to board members.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/coa-questions-extra-pay-given-to-mtrcb-board/398876/
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De Lima seeks probe of ‘DOA’ police practice
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['Jefferson Antiporda']
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2017-07-06 23:41:56+00:00
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ALARMED by reports about the alleged practice of some police officers to conceal incidents of extrajudicial killings (EJKs) and to tamper with evidence in a crime scene, a lawmaker has asked the Senate to investigate a number of anti-drug operations where drug suspects end up dead before arriving in hospitals.Sen. Leila de Lima, in filing Senate Resolution 421, cited the special report of a foreign news agency that exposed the alleged practice of certain police officers particularly in Quezon City and Manila police districts in using hospitals to hide incidents of EJKs.She said that based on the special report published on June 29, “ police were sending corpses to hospitals to destroy evidence at crime scenes and hide the fact that they were executing drug suspects.”De Lima, who is currently detained at the Philippine National Police Custodial Center in Camp Crame in Quezon City on drug charges, also cited a sharp increase in the number of drug suspects declared “dead on arrival” or “DOA” in the two districts.She said the report showed an 85-percent increase in DOA cases since the drug war of President Rodrigo Duterte started in July.“It was observed that most of the victims rushed by police to the concerned hospitals were killed from lethal wounds to the forehead, chest or heart often fired from less than a meter away…” de Lima stated in her resolution.She said scene of the crime operatives and the National Bureau of Investigation agreed that moving the bodies of the victims effectively obliterates the crime scene.De Lima added that the report points to a distressing yet reparable anomaly where demands for truth and justice are being disregarded by an apparent criminal enterprise within the ranks of the Philippine National Police (PNP).‘In light of these serious claims and allegations, the Senate should review existing legislation and policies and recommend amendments to existing procedures on arrest, search and seizures,” the resolution said.It is imperative to investigate the allegations against certain members of the PNP, the senator said, to determine the veracity of the report and ensuring that lapses or willfully malicious acts are addressed and prevented from being committed with impunity.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/de-lima-seeks-probe-doa-police-practice/336964/
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3 printing shop workers killed in Quiapo fire
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['Ashley Jose']
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2017-12-16 01:51:15+00:00
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Three workers were found dead on Friday morning or a few hours after a fire gutted a printing shop in Manila’s Quiapo district.Fire authorities identified the victims as Joel Iba, 50; Ronald Obiedo; 49; and Benjie Solis, 27.They said the three employees died from suffocation when they were trapped inside the Lumandas Printing Shop and failed to escape when the fire broke out at about 4 a.m. on Friday.According to Senior Insp. Redentor Alumno of the Manila Fire District, a videoke machine that overheated may have been the cause of the fire.“Masyadong sunog yung videoke machine. Sa aming experience kasi, yung mga ganitong anggulo ang posible yung cause of fire [The machine was burned badly. In our experience, typically this may have been the cause of the fire],” he said.Alumno added that they are also looking at lighted cigarettes as another cause of the blaze because employees who were already drunk were smoking before the incident happened.Renato Galicia, the shop owner, said the employees held a Christmas party the night before that lasted until dawn, apparently forcing the workers to stay at the shop overnight.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/3-printing-shop-workers-killed-quiapo-fire/368928/
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Duterte to decide on my Senate run – Go
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['Ralph Villanueva']
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2018-09-10 00:09:55+00:00
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SPECIAL Assistant to the President Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go on Sunday said his possible Senate run will depend on President Rodrigo Duterte.In a text message to The Manila Times, Go said he is still not interested to run for senator but his decision will be based on the advise of the President.“I leave it to the wisdom of the President,” he said.Go added that Duterte asked him if he has decided to join next year’s elections, nate, but he answered that he will leave the decision to the President.“As I have said, I am still doing a lot of things for the President. For now, I will work first,” Go said.During his meeting with the Filipino community in Jordan on Friday, Duterte said Go wanted to run for the Senate.“[Go] said he wants to run. I told him, Bong, let’s look at it first because it would be hard,” Duterte said.“But if the Filipinos in Jordan will allow it, then okay,” the President added.The President’s top aide has repeatedly stressed that he has no intention to run for Senate.However, he changed his tune early this year, saying that he would run if the President wants him to run.Last week, the PDP-Laban held a survey and Sen. Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel 3rd, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio and Go emerged as the top three choices of the ruling party from among 22 senatorial aspirants.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/duterte-to-decide-on-my-senate-run-go/439961/
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Cavite bettor bags P19.8-M lotto pot
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['Jefferson Antiporda']
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2018-05-31 00:01:36+00:00
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A lone bettor from Cavite province hit the P19.9 million Lotto 6/42 jackpot of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) drawn on Tuesday.PCSO General Manager Alexander Balutan said the winner got the six-number combination 14-33-01-13-28-40.The winning ticket was bought from a lotto outlet at Ligtong 1, Rosario, Cavite.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/cavite-bettor-bags-p19-8-m-lotto-pot/402681/
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Groups defend 'terror fronts'
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['The Manila Times']
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2017-07-20 20:27:07+00:00
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Catholic and other religious leaders have rallied behind two non-government organizations running schools in the country after Turkish Ambassador Esra Cankorur last week accused the NGOs of being terrorist fronts.Former Education Secretary and De La Salle University President Bro. Armin Luistro was among those who recently expressed support for the two NGOs in a prepared statement sent from out of town.Also, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) led a group of four religious and lay Catholic organizations during a news conference on Tuesday to lend support to the Integrative Center for Alternative Development Foundation Inc. (ICAD) and Pacific Dialogue Foundation Inc. (PDF), the NGOs that run the Filipino-Turkish Tolerance School in Zamboanga City and the Fountain International Schools in Metro Manila.The Church and lay leaders cited the ICAD and PDF for their numerous programs and projects in partnership with religious groups and the government for charitable causes and to promote peace and understanding among the Christian, Muslim and other major faiths.Also, the group debunked as false the terror charges hurled by Cankorur in the media last week.Among those at the news conference were Fr. Carlos Reyes, executive secretary of the CBCP Episcopal Commission on Inter-religious Dialogue; and Dr.Potre Diampuan, regional coordinator of the United Religions Initiative South East Asia-Pacific.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/groups-defend-terror-fronts/339565/
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Race for ‘barangay,’ SK posts to start in 2 weeks
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['William Depasupil']
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2017-09-07 20:04:34+00:00
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FILING of certificates of candidacy (CoC) for the barangay (village) and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK or Youth Council) elections will start as scheduled this month, according to the Commission on Elections (Comelec).Comelec spokesman James Jimenez on Thursday said the weeklong filing of the CoC will be from September 23 to September 30, while the campaign period will be from October 13 to October 21, 2017.The CoC shall be filed at the office of the election officer of the city, municipality or district where the aspirant seeks to be elected.The twin polls will be held on October 23 unless Congress comes up with an amendatory law postponing the elections.Jimenez said the election period is from September 23 to October 30, 2017, when carrying of firearms and other deadly weapons, use of security personnel or bodyguards by candidates, transfer or detail of officers and employees in the civil service including public school teachers and suspension of any elective provincial, city, municipal or village officer are prohibited.The Comelec, he added, is going on with its preparations for the elections despite strong indications from Congress that they will be postponed again.“Unless Congress gives us the assurance that the polls will be postponed, our preparations will continue. We need to be prepared as mandated by law,” Jimenez said.Earlier, Comelec Chairman Juan Andres Bautista said a late decision by Congress would put to waste ongoing preparations being done by the poll body, particularly the printing of ballots.The law requires that ballots should specify the date of the elections, meaning that if Congress decides to postpone the barangay and SK polls all the ballots will go to waste.The Comelec has alloted P6 billion for the elections, which covers conduct of public bidding and procurement of election paraphernalia.The Comelec needs to print 78 million ballots.Of the number, 57 million are for the village polls and 21 million for the SK polls.On Tuesday, the Comelec en banc issued a resolution suspending the village and SK elections in the whole of Mindanao because of the siege of Marawi City by the terrorist Maute Group.The twin elections were originally scheduled for October 2016 but postponed to October 2017.President Rodrigo Duterte earlier said that he wanted the polls to be postponed because of the purported influence of drug money in the elections, the same reason why Congress postponed the 2016 barangay and SK polls.The President had even broached the idea of declaring all village positions vacant and appointing officials to the vacancies, saying 40 percent of village officials were into drugs.Under Republic Act 9164 or the Local Government Code, the election for barangay officials shall be held on the last Monday of October and every three years thereafter.The House Committee on Suffrage and Electoral Reforms wants the village and SK polls postponed to the second Monday of May 2020.The Comelec said that they have no problem with that because it is a year away from the scheduled May 2019 mid-term elections.WILLIAM B. DEPASUPIL
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/race-barangay-sk-posts-start-2-weeks/349294/
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Senators laud successful Asean Summit
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['Much Fruit']
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15/11/2017 0:00
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Senators on Wednesday lauded the Duterte administration for successfully running the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit even if some contentious issues were not thoroughly raised and discussed.“I think it was a success by most accounts. No unfavorable incidents and well-attended by world leaders,” Sen. Juan Edgardo “Sonny” Angara said in a text message.“Full credit (goes) to the organizers,” Angara said.Angara also said the decisions of world leaders especially on key issues such as the South China Sea issue, counter-terrorism efforts, human rights issues, the Rohingya refugee crisis, among others, are well-taken.“We respect the presidents’ decisions. For counter terrorism efforts, close coordination with our neighbors is essential,” Angara said.Sen. Joseph Victor “JV” Ejercito, echoed Angara’s view, saying “terrorism is a clear and present danger that needs to be given importance.”“This is also agreed upon by the ASEAN leaders. I am proposing that we increase budget for counter terrorism operations,” Ejercito said.Nevertheless, he said it is imperative that the government upholds the country’s rights over its territories particularly its interests on the disputed South China Sea.“We must defend our territorial integrity. The only way we can counter China is for ASEAN member countries to be united in dealing with the South China Sea issue,” the senator added.Meanwhile, opposition Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan thanked Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, and the 270 civil society organizations and leaders worldwide for raising the urgent and vital issue of extra-judicial killings and the so-called war on drugs at the ASEAN.“We talk about killings and human rights here in the country. We wish government would do more. We wish government would actually stop the killings and bring justice for family and friends left behind by these killings driven by the so-called war on drugs,” Pangilinan said.“We wish government would go after those behind the tons of illegal drugs worth billions of pesos and not just those who are ‘caught’ with a handful of grams of shabu,” he pointed out.Pangilinan stressed the right to life, to due process and a fair trial, and to health “are enshrined in our Constitution.”“Expressing concern for these rights is not an infringement on our sovereignty, but in fact a reminder that all uphold our own widely ratified Constitution, as well as a call that all respect the rule of law,” he said.“These issues concern not only heads of state or the international community, but also the people they represent, including our kababayans abroad. They concern investors and tourists, directly affecting the Philippines’ financial and economic health. They concern all of humanity,” Pangilinan added.
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Manila Bulletin
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https://news.mb.com.ph/2017/11/15/senators-laud-successful-asean-summit/
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More Pinoys favor divorce - SWS
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['Catherine S. Valente']
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2018-03-11 00:06:03+00:00
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More Pinoys favor divorce – SWShome/News/Nation/More Pinoys favor divorce – SWSMore Filipinos support legalizing divorce in the country, especially those with live-in partners, according to the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey.The poll, conducted on December 8 to 16, 2017, showed an average 53 percent of adult Filipinos nationwide agree with the statement, “Married couples who have already separated and cannot reconcile anymore should be allowed to divorce so that they can get legally married again.”Thirty-two percent disagreed with the statement while 15 percent were undecided resulting in a net agreement score of +21, classified as “moderately strong.”SWS noted that support for legalization of divorce was “very strong” among women with live-in partners (+44), men with live-in partners (+37) and widowed or separated men (+33).“Support for the legalization of divorce used to be split when SWS first surveyed it in 2005: 43 percent agreed, 12 percent were undecided, and 45 percent disagreed, for a neutral net agreement of -2,” the polling firm said.“The question was asked for the second time six years after in 2011 and obtained moderately strong support. When it was asked for the third time three years after in 2014, it went to very strong and stayed at moderately strong up to 2017,” it added.In terms of geography, support for divorce was strongest in Metro Manila at +35 (“very strong”).Support from the rest of Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao was “moderately strong” at +23, +14 and +15, respectively.For religious groups, support was strongest for Catholics at +23, followed by other Christians at +12.Members of the Iglesia ni Cristo (Church of Christ) felt “neutral” about it at -8.SWS said although it interviewed Muslims, the results were not relevant as divorce is legal under Shari’ah Law.The survey was conducted using face-to-face interviews of 1,200 adults, aged 18 years old and above, nationwide.It has a margin of error of ±3 percent nationwide, ±4 percent for Luzon, and ±6 percent each for Metro Manila, Visayas and Mindanao.The survey results were disclosed after the House Committee on Population and Family Relations approved on February 20 a measure that would allow divorce in the Philippines.Under the bill, married couples may end their marriage for several reasons, including abuse, infidelity and irreconcilable differences.The proposed measure also allows spouses separated for at least five years to file for absolute divorce.No divorce bill has been proposed at the Senate.At present, the Family Code of the Philippines provides two ways for couples to separate.First is legal separation, which allows spouses to split up, but not to remarry.Second is annulment, which allows spouses to remarry because the marriage is considered invalid from the start.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/more-pinoys-favor-divorce-sws/385387/
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Online gaming Pagcor's call – DoJ
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['Jomar Canlas']
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2017-07-24 21:33:22+00:00
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Online gaming Pagcor’s call – DoJhome/News/Nation/Online gaming Pagcor’s call – DoJAny online gaming venture undertaken by a firm operating in Bataan should be subject to the regulatory authority of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor).This was according to the legal opinion of the Department of Justice (DoJ).This legal opinion, signed by DoJ Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre 2nd, was made in view of a letter to the Justice department sent by Emmanuel Pineda, chairman and administrator of the Authority of the Freeport of Bataan (AFAB).Pineda in his letter had requested legal opinion on online gaming at the Freeport of Bataan (FAB).A certain Grand Innovasia Concept Corporation (GICC) was licensed by AFAB to operate in the realm ofBusiness Process Outsourcing (BPO) support of offshore or online gaming.The GICC reportedly caters solely to international clients without access to the local market.But according to Pineda, the GICC has extended its BPO support for online gaming done abroad and that no actual gaming operations take place inside the FAB.In its reply, dated June 6, 2017 but released only recently, Aguirre opined that “unless there is a clear grant upon an ecozone such as AFAB to regulate games of chance, the Pagcor’s statutory regulatory function prevails.”“All told, and for the reasons already stated, we opine that any online gaming venture undertaken by the GICC, despite being limited only to foreign markets, should be subject to the regulatory authority of the Pagcor, not the AFAB,” the legal opinion said.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/online-gaming-pagcors-call-doj/340375/
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Senate chief backs tax reform measure
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['The Manila Times']
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2017-03-29 22:42:08+00:00
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Senate President Aquilino Pimentel 3rd has filed a counterpart measure to the Duterte administration’s pending tax reform bill in the House of Representatives, noting the proposal’s role in raising sufficient revenues for the government’s public investment program and plugging value added tax (VAT) leakages that he estimated to reach P90 billion a year.Pimentel, in a statement, said his own tax reform measure, Senate Bill (SB) 1408, will help the Duterte administration in funding its “Ambisyon Natin 2040” agenda, which aims to eradicate extreme poverty in the country within one generation from now.SB 1408 is similar to House Bill 4774 filed by Quirino Rep. Dakila Carlo Cua, who heads the House ways and means committee that is hammering out a refined version of the first package of the Comprehensive Tax Reform Program (CTRP) of the Department of Finance (DOF)Both bills aim to lower personal income tax rates and enhance revenue collection to make up for an expected reduction in tax collections resulting from hefty PIT cuts.Their accompanying tax reforms include adjusting excise taxes on fuel and automobiles and broadening the VAT base by limiting exemptions to raw food and other necessities such as health and education while keeping the current zero-tax privileges of senior citizens and persons with disability.As in HB 4774, Pimentel’s bill also aims to set a uniform rate for taxes on property transfers by proposing a flat rate of six percent for both estate and donor taxes.SB 1408 eyes a net gain of P100 billion in the first year of its implementation, which will be “earmarked for investments in infrastructure, education and healthcare.”Pimentel said reforms in personal income taxation are long overdue as PIT rates have remained unchanged since the effectivity of the National Internal Revenue Code in 1997, “despite an increase in the rates of minimum wages, consumer price index and the standard costs of living.”Earlier, DOF Secretary Carlos Dominguez 3rd hailed the move of the Cua panel before the Lenten congressional break to “approve in principle” the first phase of the CTRP as outlined in HB 4774.Dominguez said the CTRP bill would “enable the government to make the country’s tax system more progressive, especially for low- and middle-income earners, and at the same time generate sufficient revenues for unmatched higher spending on infrastructure; on education, health and other forms of human capital development; and on social protection for the poorest Filipinos to cushion the initial impact of the proposed adjustments in consumption taxes.”
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/senate-chief-backs-tax-reform-measure/319868/
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Dinner invitation
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['Jr Eutropio Felipe Acma']
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2/4/2017 0:00
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politely volunteered to show the Filipinas around.With nary a word of English, the two Latinos mumbled an impression that all they wanted was a free meal.“Aprobado,” chorused the two excited “maestras.”After an hour of guided tour, the foursome went to a restaurant where the hosts did not only receive “comida gratis” but also insisted on being paid for their services as guides.And now back to the Duterte dinner invitation to VP Leni.“It’s a trap,” boomed Senator Sonny Trillanes. “He will only use you again to improve his spiraling image!”“Then he will boot out the VP again?” asked some fence-sitters.“He will likely do that,” came the reply of the skeptical Latino-looking young senator.But as of last Tuesday, VP Leni had accepted the Duterte invitation. “For the best interest of the nation.”Although, as of the same day too, the Palace had not yet made any mention as to what date the Malacañang dinner will be.
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Manila Bulletin
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https://news.mb.com.ph/2017/04/02/dinner-invitation/
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PCSO defends new budget for charity fund
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['The Manila Times']
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2018-09-14 00:05:50+00:00
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THE Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) has defended the new budget allocation for medical assistance after it drew mixed reactions from patients and relatives.“In as much as we wanted to help everyone, we need to stick with our budget for this year. We are over utilizing our budget. Hopefully this is temporary. Rest assured that we are doing our best to accommodate all your requests,” PCSO General Manager Alexander Balutan said.“In so far as the budget is concerned, it’s always been P4.1 million, but we recognize that there is really a volume of individuals asking for help so we went beyond. What we did is to strictly implement that budget,” said Dr. Larry Cedro, Assistant General Manager for Charity Sector.Recently, the PCSO modified its budget allocation program for its medical assistance services due to overutilization of funds.The Individual Medical Assistance Program (IMAP) has exceeded its utilization by more than P500 million. This is also attributed to the 27.93 percent increase in the number of beneficiaries availing of financial support for the first semester of 2018.In 2016, the Commission on Audit issued an Audit Observation Memorandum (AOM) cautioning the PCSO for overspending. The charity agency was advised to review and prioritize its expenses.“We explained that it’s hard to turn away clients because they rely heavily on PCSO. But we have to acknowledge the fact that we cannot have a repeat on what happened in 2016. If there’s overutilization, it’s doesn’t have to be that big or else, COA will issue another memorandum. That’s why we immediately applied the remedial measure,” Cedro said.Before 2010, Cedro said the agency released around P2 million per day for IMAP. The amount was increased to P4.1 million.“That’s why we really have to implement cut-offs. You have to observe budget allocation. How do you address that? The only solution is to put a cap on the number of patients being attended to,” he said.Cedro also dispelled rumors that the Lung Center of the Philippines, PCSO’s satellite office, is only accepting 100 patients a day.He said more than 200 patients are being accepted every day.While there are lines dedicated for senior citizens, persons with disability, and the regular patients, Cedro said he gave specific instructions to distribute the quota of patients. Once they reached the cap, the social workers have to stop.As for PCSO Branches, Cedro confirmed that the agency has maintained the P18 million daily budget, however, he clarified that the provision of services is anchored on the hospital where the patient is receiving the treatment.“If the patient is coming from Bulacan but the treatment is being done in Manila, then LCP will have to attend to it. That’s the rule,” Cedro explained.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/pcso-defends-new-budget-for-charity-fund/441174/
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LTFRB head faces graft complaint
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['Ma. Reina Leanne Tolentino']
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2018-06-27 00:08:49+00:00
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A complaint for graft was filed on Tuesday against Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board Chairman Martin Delgra 3rd and board member Ronaldo Corpus for allegedly favoring some groups in the issuance of certificates of public convenience.Efren de Luna, who leads the Alliance of Concerned Transport Organizations (ACTO), filed the complaint before the Office of the Ombudsman.The case stemmed from the issuance of Board Resolution 45 that allegedly “gave unwarranted benefits and preference to particular entity and/or groups.”He was referring to the board resolution issued by Delgra and Corpus on May 31, 2018 on the “Opening of Routes for Application for New CPC under the initial implementation of the Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program.”“A perusal of the subject Board Resolution would reveal that in the table of developmental routes mentioned therein, majority of the identified routes has already been given to groups and/or entities who will be the franchise applicant to the exclusion of other group and/or entity,” the complainant said.De Luna claimed that since the board resolution identified groups that can apply for the franchise, no other group or entity can apply for CPC for the said route “as it is already considered close[d] for franchise.”“It cannot be said that the groups and/entities mentioned in the subject Board Resolution have already filed their application for franchise, because why would the LTFRB accept the same if the developmental routes were only open upon issuance of the subject Board Resolution?” he added.De Luna said the respondents showed “bias and favoritism” to some groups to the detriment of other PUV operators.He asked the Ombudsman to suspend Delgra and Corpus pending investigation.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/ltfrb-head-faces-graft-complaint/412835/
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Senate vote recount reveals ‘anomaly’
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['The Manila Times']
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2017-11-16 20:32:21+00:00
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An ongoing vote recount between Francis Tolentino and detained Sen. Leila de Lima at the Senate Electoral Tribunal in Quezon City seemed to have taken another twist recently after the gathering of ten ballot boxes from Pagbilao, Quezon.According to Sara Mawis, a lawyer for Tolentino, most of the ballot boxes from Pagbilao, when opened, exposed ballots used during the 2013 elections.These supposedly mysterious ballots were contained in boxes used during the 2016 senatorial elections.“We are at loss on how to approach this controversy but it really showed irregularities as per revision, as shown by the 2013 ballots,” Mawis said in a statement.Tolentino, a former chairman of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority, placed 13th during the 2016 senatorial race to the Senate, trailing behind 12th placer de Lima.During an initial recount, ballot boxes from Calbayog, Samar, were also found to contain 2013 ballots.De Lima, who did not file a counter-protest, could not be reached for comment, according to the Tolentino camp.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/senate-vote-recount-reveals-anomaly/363309/
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The escalating threat of thermonuclear war
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['Melenggay Laranery', 'Happy Folger']
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8/9/2017 0:00
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How serious, really, is the threat of nuclear war in our part of the world as a result of the exchanges of threats between North Korea and the United States with its allies South Korea and Japan?Kim Jong Un of North Korea (NK) has long taunted the US with its many tests of missiles and nuclear bombs. Last May, he announced that it had tested an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of reaching many cities in the US mainland. It was his response to the joint US-South Korea military exercises and the deployment of three US naval strike forces led by three aircraft carriers.The counter-response came from both the US and the United Nations. US President Trump warned of “fire and fury” the world has never known, while the UN Security Council issued a new series of economic sanctions that would reduce North Korea’s export income by millions of dollars.North Korea then threatened to launch four missiles at the sea around the US territory of Guam in the western Pacific, but it later withdrew this threat. The US went on with its joint exercises with South Korea, including a simulated attack on NK’s missile sites.Last Sunday, North Korea announced that it had developed an advanced hydrogen bomb with thousands of kilotons of explosive yield. Its previous tests had produced 10 to 15- kiloton bombs similar to the bomb dropped by the US on Hiroshima, Japan, in 1945.So far it has just been a war of words. But Japan and South Korea are specially concerned. For if war actually breaks out, these two are likely to suffer the most along with the NK. But the US, although thousands of miles away, fears that NK is really capable of striking its cities. And let us not forget that not too long ago, NK sent a test missile in our direction, which landed in the sea near Batanes.The US still has thousands of nuclear missiles despite its agreement with Russia for a program of mutual demobilization of these weapons. But for all the threat of “fire and fury” from President Trump, it is not likely that it will unleash a first strike. Kim Jong Un appears to be quite capable of taking such action but does it really have the powerful H-bomb it claims to have?There are so many unknowns and so many uncertainties in this angry confrontation. But a misstep on either side would have enormous consequences, not only for the warring nations but also for the rest of the world, especially those countries, including the Philippines, close to where the thermonuclear blast would lead to Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD).Our own Secretary of Foreign Affairs Alan Peter Cayetano has gone to South Korea on an official visit and directed the Philippine Embassy officials there to take steps to ensure the safety of some 65,000 Filipinos now living in South Korea. But this would be an impossible task if a nuclear war breaks out.Secretary Cayetano reiterated the offer of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to play a role in a diplomatic effort to resolve the differences between the two sides. The hopes and prayers of the Filipino people are with these efforts for peace.
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Manila Bulletin
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https://news.mb.com.ph/2017/09/08/the-escalating-threat-of-thermonuclear-war/
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Dole Phils to regularize 5,000 workers – Bello
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['William Depasupil']
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2018-09-01 00:03:02+00:00
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Pineapple giant Dole Philippines, Inc. has committed to regularize almost 5,000 workers in compliance with an earlier directive of the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE).Labor and Employment Secretary Silvestre Bello 3rd disclosed on Friday that the Mindanao-based fruit company signed a Memorandum of Agreement on Hiring Commitment with Dole Kaugnay, the official Labor-Management Council mechanism of Dole Philippines and the workers’ union.Bello said that the Dole firm had already regularized 1,962 workers on top of its commitment in response to the Labor department’s compliance order.Bello expressed confidence that Dole Philippines would promote to permanent status its remaining contractual employees.The Labor department in May released an initial list of 3,777 companies found to have violated or suspected to have violated the law against illegal work contracting involving a total of 224,852 workers.Dole Philippines, Inc., after Jollibee Food Corp, was identified as the top 2 violator establishment with 10,521 affected workers.Labor-only contracting is prohibited under DoLE Department Order (DO) 174, the new guidelines on contractualization that took effect on April 3, 2017. It replaced DO 18-A.The same is also prohibited under an executive order (EO) signed by President Rodrigo Duterte last Labor Day, which sets the government’s policy to fully end illegal contracting and subcontracting practices.Bello had affirmed an earlier ruling of the DoLE Regional Office 12 in South Cotabato, declaring the company to be engaged in labor-only contracting arrangements and its service providers as labor-only contractors and ordered the regularization of more than 9,000 workers.The company was ordered to provide regular status to a total of 9,256 affected workers from its service providers, namely Tibud sa Katibawasan Multi-Purpose Cooperative with 2,270 workers; Polomolok Manpower Services Cooperative (PMSC), 1,583; Cannery Multi-Purpose Cooperative (Campco); 3,131; and Unified Engineering Multi-Purpose Cooperative, 1,364.The Upper Valley Operations branch of Dole Philippines in Tubi-Ala, Surallah, South Cotabato was also directed to regularize 908 workers from its contractor, the Unified Engineering Multi-Purpose Cooperative.Labor-only contracting (LOC) exists when the contractor merely recruits, supplies or places workers to perform a job or work for a principal, but without a substantial capital, investments in the form of tools, equipment, machineries, supervision, work premises, among others; and the contractor’s employees recruited and placed are performing activities which are directly related to the main business operation of the principal; or the contractor does not exercise the right to control over the performance of the work of the employee.In LOC, the employees of the labor-only contracting are considered employees of the principal.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/dole-phils-to-regularize-5000-workers-bello/436661/
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Tondo’s most wanted arrested
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['Jaime Pilapil']
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2017-11-08 23:24:50+00:00
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~Police arrested the most wanted person and alleged hitman of Tondo, Manila. Mario del Rosario Jr. was served with three warrants of arrest in his house in Padre Pio Cacarong, Pandi, Bulacan on Tuesday. Del Rosario arrived on board his Toyota RAV 4 (WNH-661) tried to evade arrest but was subdued by policemen who waited for him at his residence. Confiscated from his possession were a grenade and a wig he uses as disguise in some of his alleged criminal activities. Del Rosario has pending criminal cases before the courts in Manila and Lucena City in Quezon.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/tondos-wanted-arrested/361519/
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Sack Duque, Duterte urged
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['Jomar Canlas']
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2018-11-16 00:06:29+00:00
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Families of victims who reportedly died after being vaccinated with Dengvaxia on Thursday urged President Rodrigo Duterte to sack Health Secretary Francisco Duque 3rd.They said Duque and his predecessor, Janette Garin, were behind the implementation of the P3.5-billion anti-dengue immunization program.Two new cases were filed at the Department of Justice (DoJ) for a total of 29 individual complaints lodged by the Public Attorney’s Office.Aside from Duque and Garin, also charged were other Health officials; officials of the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine who conducted the clinical trials; officials of the Food and Drug Administration who approved the Dengvaxia’s certificate of product registration; officials of Sanofi Pasteur Inc., the maker of Dengvaxia; and officials of Zuellig Pharma Corp., the distributor.PAO Chief Persida Rueda-Acosta assisted in the filing of the two new cases for the death of two children inoculated with the vaccine.The complaints were filed by spouses Felix Noel Vasquez and Honey Dee de Luna Rosal due to the death of their child Gillianne Vasquez.Another complaint was filed by Sonia Cadiog Guerra, mother of Sheila Mae Cadiog.The PAO said Cadiog was inoculated with Dengvaxia at the Las Piñas East National High School on Nov. 28, 2017.Also charged earlier at the DoJ were former President Benigno Aquino 3rd and former Budget Secretary Florencio Abad.The Philippine Anti-Corruption Commission and Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption and the Vanguard of the Philippine Constitution Inc. (VPCI) charged them with technical malversation for conspiring to release savings from fiscal year 2015 Mutual Benefit Personnel Fund and use the same to augment the anti-dengue immunization program.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/sack-duque-duterte-urged/468204/
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DND keen on improving relations with Russia
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['Anthony Vargas']
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2017-01-07 21:57:26+00:00
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THE Department of National Defense (DND) over the weekend expressed optimism that the country’s defense ties with Russia will vastly improve under the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte.Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said in a statement that he is optimistic that relations with the department’s Russian counterpart will improve under the independent foreign policy thrust of the administration.Speaking aboard the Russian anti-submarine ship Admiral Tributs, the defense secretary said that he sees the latest goodwill visit of the Russian Navy in the country as a “start of partnership” between the defense establishments of the country and Russia.Admiral Tributs is an Udaloy class anti-submarine destroyer together with the tanker and supply ship Boris Botoma of the Russian navy were both docked at Pier 15 at the Manila South Harbor for a four-day goodwill visit.Duterte on Friday said he wants Russia to be the Philippine’s “ally and protector” amid wavering relations with the country’s traditional ally, the United States.He made the statement before a Russian Navy contingent during his visit on the Russian warship.“We welcome our Russian friends. Anytime you want to dock here for anything, for play, to replenish supplies or maybe our ally to protect us,” the President said.Lorenzana, for his part, told the Russian delegation: “We thank you sincerely for this cordial gesture and we hope that this will be the start of a partnership between the One Defense Team – Philippines and its counterpart in the Russian Federation.”Broadened borders of supportIn a radio interview on Saturday, Presidential spokesperson Ernesto Abella clarified that Duterte was not confining the Philippines’ partnership to just one country such as Russia.He said the President sought to broaden the “borders of support” the Philippines is getting from all of its allied countries.“So basically, [Duterte’s statement] is not only intended to Russia but also to our neighbor[ing countries]. Kumbaga, sinasabi ng Presidente [In a sense, what the President wants to say] is we are beginning to recognize that our borders are not necessarily limited or confined to simply one country or one geopolitical force,” Abella said in the interview aired over government-run dzRB radio.Earlier, Rear Admiral Eduard Mikhailov, who led the Russian Navy’s Pacific Fleet, said the Russian government was willing to help in advancing the Philippines’ military capabilities, as part of the two countries’ interest of mutual cooperation and enhancement.“As far as I understand the Philippines, there is an objective need to diversify the range of circle of your foreign partners,” Mikhailov said in a press conference on Wednesday.Military to military tiesLorenzana revealed that his trip to Russia early last month, where he met with the Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov and Director Alexander Fomin of the Federal Service of Military Technical Cooperation, was spent discussing mutual concerns such as terrorism and illegal drugs.The possibility of future military to military engagements was also discussed.The defense secretary also said that he conveyed to Russian officials his agreement to continue the pending Memorandum of Understanding between the two defense organizations that was initiated in 2014.The Philippines and Russia agreed that the MOU should be finalized and signed during the upcoming visit of Duterte to Russia.Once signed, the MOU becomes the basis of all future military to military engagements which may include visits, exchange of students, conferences, joint exercises, among others, the defense secretary said.“May our common aspirations for regional and global peace and security enable us to become good partners, cooperating and coordinating towards tranquil and safe seas for all,” Lorenzana said.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/dnd-keen-on-improving-relations-with-russia/305707/
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PH total fertility rate highest in Asean – UN
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['Ed Velasco']
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2018-10-18 00:04:31+00:00
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The Philippines, the second biggest country among members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, has the highest total fertility rate (TFR) in the region, according to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).Iori Kato, UNFPA country representative in the Philippines, said the country’s population is fast growing.“If you ask me if it’s good or bad, you must look at the rate of employed persons,” Kato told The Manila Times in an interview.The Philippine Statistics Authority defines TFR as the average number of children that would be born alive to a woman during her lifetime.The Department of Labor and Employment earlier reported that of the Philippines’ 100.98 million population, roughly 30 percent are employed.“If close to half of population is jobless, it’s for you to decide if the TFR is good or bad for the Philippines,” the UN official said.He said the Philippines’ TFR has always been above the target. The UNFPA said countries with high TFR can reap “demographic dividend.”Demographic dividend, based on the agency’s definition, is the economic growth potential that can result from shifts in a population’s ages structure, mainly when the share of the working age population is larger than the non-working age share.“Over half of Filipinos are 24 years of age or below. For this youthful country to reap a demographic dividend, there is an imminent need to invest more in health, education and employability of young people and on gender equality,” Kato said.He added that many Filipino adolescents are not reaping the fruits of their most productive years.“Millions of Filipinos would benefit from having the power to choose whether and when to have children, and how many children to have. If you can plan your family, you can plan your life,” Kato said.He added that the UNFPA will continue to partner with the Philippines to ensure that all Filipinos have access to sexual and reproductive health information and services.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/ph-total-fertility-rate-highest-in-asean-un/453335/
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Navy sacks ship captain over Viet fishers’ deaths
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['Dempsey Reyes']
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2017-09-27 21:38:40+00:00
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The Philippine Navy has ordered the removal of the ship captain of Miguel Malvar Patrol Ship (PS) 19 with the rest of its crew under restrictive custody to give way to an investigation of the deaths of two Vietnamese fishermen over the weekend in the South China Sea (West Philippine Sea), according to the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).Col. Edgard Arevalo, chief of the AFP public affairs office, on Wednesday said the order was enforced against the ship captain by Vice Adm. Ronald Joseph Mercado, Navy flag officer-in-command,.Arevalo did not identify the ship captain.In a statement, he said AFP chief Gen. Eduardo Año and Mercado also ordered a “thorough and impartial inquiry” into the ship’s alleged ramming of a boat carrying the two Vietnamese fishermen and five others, all also Vietnamese.On Saturday, the seven Vietnamese fishermen were caught poaching 34 nautical miles off Bolinao,Pangasinan, using a super light fish attractor within the exclusive economic zone of the Philippines.Arevalo said an internal investigation of the incident was initiated by the Philippine Navy.“To ensure that such kind of an inquiry will be attained, Vice Adm. Mercado ordered the relief of the ship captain of his command while the rest of the crew were on restrictive custody aboard the Navy ship to make them available for the duration of the investigation; and commissioned third party investigators like the Philippine National Police and the Philippine Coast Guard to do an independent inquiry,” he added.Arevalo said there were six Vietnamese fishing vessels at the time but only one was allegedly rammed by the Philippine Navy patrol ship.“All hitherto statements and issuances we are yielding to the DFA [Department of Foreign Affairs that] will be furnished with appropriate reports. The updates shall be communicated to [the department’s] counterpart in the Republic of Vietnam,” he added.Capt. Lued Lincuna, Navy spokesman, said in an earlier statement on Wednesday that the commanding officer and the crew of the patrol boat were removed to ensure impartiality of the inquiry.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/navy-sacks-ship-captain-viet-fishers-deaths/353173/
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Oil firms implement slight price cut
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['Jordeene Sheex Lagare']
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2018-08-07 00:01:52+00:00
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OIL companies implemented a negligible price rollback on Tuesday, a week after implementing a hefty price increase.The prices of diesel and kerosene were cut by 10 centavos per liter and 25 centavos per liter, respectively. The cost of gasoline was also reduced by ten centavos per liter.Last week, the price of diesel climbed by 95 centavos per liter, while the price of gasoline rose by P1.15 per liter. The cost of kerosene increased by 85 centavos per liter.Seaoil was the first to adjust its pump prices at 12:01 a.m. Flying V, Phoenix Petroleum, Pilipinas Shell, PTT Philippines, and Total adjusted their pump prices at 6 a.m.With the recent price adjustment, the common price of diesel is now P44.75 per liter, gasoline, P58.35 per liter, and kerosene, P50.90 per liter, based on the Department of Energy’s (DoE) weekly monitoring.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/oil-firms-implement-slight-price-cut/427359/
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Raps readied vs saboteur of PNA website
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['Jaime Pilapil']
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2017-09-13 21:24:17+00:00
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The Presidential Communication Operations Office (PCOO) will file cybercrime charges against a saboteur of the Philippine News Agency (PNA) website that brought humiliation to the government.Joel Sy Egco, who was appointed as trouble shooter of PNA on Wednesday, said the National Bureau ofInvestigation is zeroing on a suspect who uploaded confidential information on its website last September 8. It is not yet clear what case based on the cybercrime law will be filed against the culprit.The suspect is yet to be named but Egco described him as veteran news reporter of the agency who seems to be not happy with recent changes being implemented in the agency.“It was not a glitch. The suspect intentionally uploaded it to bring havoc. We will make sure he will be sanctioned and that proper criminal charges will be filed against him,” Egco told a forum in Malate, Manila on Wednesday.The former newspaperman said he sought the help of the Department of Information, Communications and Technology to provide information on how the website was manipulated.The suspect uploaded editorial notes or instruction for the previous months on how to angle or treat news. Notes like these are confidential and for the eyes only of editors.Egco said the IP (Internet Protocol) address has been traced to have been generated from a computer in Pasay City. Some seasoned editors of PNA have access to the website and they could edit, post or take down news articles. The PNA website was started in 2003.“However, this time we took down the old website and placed a new one which no one could manipulate anymore. We are working to make it informative as quick as possible comparative if not better than other news websites,” he added.The suspect, Egco suspected, is not alone in sabotaging the website. “His conspirators will also be identified and proper charges will be filed against them.”He said sanctions were imposed against PNA reporters who committed mistakes, the latest of whom was a culprit who opted to just tender his resignation.PNA is a government-owned news agency that was started in 1973. The early years were regarded as the golden period of the agency since many newspapers, radio and television news outlets, including international firms, were subscribing to its news stories. The stories were deemed influential and many decision-makers rely on the information they provided.The agency now is under the PCOO, headed by Secretary Martin Andanar. Egco is now the alter-ego of Andanar at PNA and he was instructed to solve the problems and bring back its glory days.Egco summarized his task as one who will impose house cleaning, putting it in order and putting in competent people.At present, PNA has 14 reporters with 10 editors. The new PNA is editorial independent. A new PNA will be launched on October 1 in a multi-media telecast to catch up with Internet-based news dissemination.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/raps-readied-vs-saboteur-pna-website/350479/
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Cavite bettor wins P47.8M
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['Jefferson Antiporda']
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2018-08-23 00:01:40+00:00
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A lone bettor from Cavite City bagged the P47.8-million Superlotto 6/49 jackpot of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) drawn on Tuesday night.PCSO General Manager Alexander Balutan said the lucky bettor correctly guessed the winning combination – 29-17-09-19-28-04 – to win P47,841,537.The bettor bought the winning ticket from a lotto outlet in Waltermart, Governor’s Drive, Mabuhay Village, Cavite City.Balutan expressed his gratitude to the public for patronizing PCSO gaming products, thereby allowing the institution to help provide health assistance to Filipinos through its various charity programs and services.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/cavite-bettor-wins-p47-8m/433477/
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10,000 schools to have Internet access
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['Neil Alcober']
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2018-05-06 00:07:52+00:00
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AT least 10,000 public schools in eight pilot regions will have Internet access this year, the Department of Education (DepEd) said.These regions are Cordillera Autonomous Region, Region 2, Region 4-B, Region 8, Region 9, Region 10, Caraga, and Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao,In an interview over the weekend, DepEd Undersecretary Alain Pascua said the agency’s internet connectivity program had an initial budget of P1 billion for this year for the internet connectivity of at least 10,000 schools.“This [budget] is too small, that’s why only 10,000 schools will be connected,” Pascua said.“We selected the poorest schools because this is the first implementation [of internet connectivity in the schools], and if we see that the connections are good then this would be easy if we do the project to other schools,” he added.The project will first be implemented in “outskirt schools” or in the far-flung areas.“Some cities already have access to internet, so we will prioritize schools from remote places and islands,” he said.Pascua said DepEd has asked Congress for another P2 billion budget for next year to further extend the coverage of the program.“We requested P2 billion budget for 20,000 schools, so all schools must be connected after three years,” he said.Based on DepEd’s data, only 26 percent of the 46,000 public schools nationwide have access to internet.“So 74 percent of our schools don’t have internet yet, so when we embarked on this, we said let’s connect all these schools,” the DepEd official added.The Education department has started the distribution of 462,114 computer packages to about 35,241 schools, benefiting 14,289,301 students and 451,118 teachers.As of April this year, 15,622 schools have received their computer packages. An additional 9,301 schools will receive computer packages by the start of classes in June, and another 10,318 schools will get theirs by the end of July.The Education department will start the procurement of 11,000 computers for senior high school this month.It will also procure this month 171,300 tablet computers for all senior high school in Visayas and Mindanao.For selected areas in Luzon, 66,700 tablet computers will be acquired.In 2017, P6.58 billion was allocated for the program, while P9.9 billion was earmarked in 2018, making it a big-ticket item in the DepEd’s annual budget.The DepEd Computerization Program aims to provide public schools with the latest and most relevant ICT equipment to enhance the teaching and learning process and help meet the challenges of the 21st century.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/10000-schools-to-have-internet-access/397101/
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Lawmaker bats for new formula on STL receipts
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['The Manila Times']
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2018-03-03 00:04:48+00:00
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A lawmaker has proposed the creation of a Technical Working Group (TWG) that will come up with a rational formula on computing the Presumptive Monthly Retail Receipts (PMRRs) from operations of the Small Town Lottery (STL) of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO).Davao del Sur Rep. Mercedes Cagas (Lone District) made the proposal during a continuation of hearings on the issue by the House Committee on Games and Amusement on Wednesday.Past hearings noted that supposed losses from the STL operations could have been caused by the PCSO’s existing formula for the computation of the PMRRs.“Let us proceed to the creation of the TWG to amend what needs to be amended and finally organize the STL of the PCSO for the benefit of everyone,” Cagas said during the latest hearing.The creation of the Technical Working Group had been proposed by Quezon Rep. Danilo Suarez.Suarez was the sponsor of House Resolution 546 that sought a probe of supposed proliferation of illegal gambling, including jueteng, a numbers game.Cagas said the primary concern of the committee hearings is to look into the supposed failure of the PCSO to generate projected income, not to act as referee in a bickering during Wednesday’s hearing between a PCSO official and another lawmaker.During the hearing, PCSO Director Sandra Cam accused Negros Oriental Rep. Arnulfo Teves of being an STL operator.Teves denied the accusation and challenged Cam to present legal documentary evidence in the next hearing.If she cannot prove her allegation, he said, then Cam should resign as PCSO director and, according to Teves, he will do the same.Cam was a jueteng bagwoman-turned-whistleblower.The word war prompted Cagas to comment that Wednesday’s hearing was “being used as a venue for personal squabbles of our PCSO officials [and legislators], which [squabbles] frankly [do not] need the attention of the public.”According to her, the “PCSO has an image that [its officials] need to protect to maintain trust [in the agency]. [Such fights] might lead to public questioning of the integrity of the PCSO officials as well as of the PCSO itself.”Cagas suggested that the agency’s officials look into the termination and revocation of license to operate the STL.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/lawmaker-bats-new-formula-stl-receipts/383640/
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Lawmaker to DENR chief: Release mining audit report
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['Llanesca T. Panti']
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2017-03-19 20:02:11+00:00
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Secretary Regina Lopez of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) should release results of her team’s audit report that prompted her to issue a closure order on at least 22 mining companies for supposed violations of the Mining Law, among other laws.Rep. Ace Barbers of Surigao del Norte made the call over the weekend, saying a recent congressional probe of Lopez’s mining closure order revealed that the Mines and Geosciences Bureau, an attached agency of the DENR, is yet to be given a copy of the audit results.All of the 22 mining companies ordered shut down, however, remain in operation since their closure has been appealed before the Office of the President.“The DENR secretary is keeping the audit results to herself and a handful of consultants while the new MGB Director, the highly regarded and well respected Undersecretary Mario Luis Jacinto, was not even furnished a copy. How incredible!” Barbers said in a statement.“How can Undersecretary Jacinto review the findings if he was not courteously furnished a copy? The MGB is the bureau in-charge of all mining operations in the country, so keeping [it] out of the loop is highly suspicious,” the congressman added.Barbers also questioned the presence of anti-mining groups in Lopez’s mining audit team, particularly representatives from the Catholic Church and allies of Alyansa Tigil Mina.“The membership of the audit team is of doubtful impartiality. Instead of putting independent, highly trained technical people like geologists and mining engineers who are not from DENR, the secretary appointed people with zero knowledge on mining,” he claimed.Lopez is in the United States for her annual retreat.Her appointment was recently bypassed by the Commission on Appointments (CA).Rep. Ariel Casilao of Anakpawis earlier slammed the CA panel for bypassing Lopez and other Cabinet members allied with the progressive Makabayan bloc.LLANESCA T. PANTI
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/lawmaker-denr-chief-release-mining-audit-report/318060/
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Taytay priest faces dismissal over ‘child trafficking’
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['The Manila Times']
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2017-07-30 18:41:56+00:00
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TAYTAY (Rizal) parish priest Monsignor Arnel Lagarejos will be removed as priest and stripped of all his Church duties if proven guilty of human trafficking allegations involving a 13-year old girl, according to the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP).“Abuse of minors is very grievous offense. If he is proven grievously immoral for abuse of minors, he will be removed as priest. He will be stripped of all his rights and duties as priest,” former CBCP president and Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Emeritus Oscar Cruz told The Manila Times.“Molestation of minors is the most grievous offense that can be committed by a cleric. That is a serious matter that will be dealt with appropriately by Church authorities,” Cruz said.He has been designated by Antipolo Bishop Francis de Leon to lead the Diocese of Antipolo’s panel of investigators that will determine the veracity of the accusations against Lagarejos.Pending results of the investigation, the embattled priest has already been prohibited from functioning as a priest and also stripped of all his others positions in the diocese, including his being president of Cainta Catholic College.According to Cruz, the results of their investigation will no longer be subject for review by the National Tribunal, which is the CBCP, but “it will go directly to Rome,” for its final decision.“It will pass through a process. After our investigation, it will be forwarded to Rome. It will go to the Rome’s Commission on the Clergy and after a thorough review and scrutiny, the decision will be handed down,” Cruz said.Lagarejos, 55, was caught in a police entrapment over the weekend with a 13-year-old girl he allegedly met through a pimp on social media.The priest was caught when he arrived at the at the Blue Wave Mall in Marikina City on Friday evening, where the entrapment was conducted.He has been subjected to inquest proceedings and facing possible criminal violations.In an official statement, the diocese assured it “respects the necessary procedures as provided by law in order to further investigate this matter.”Pope Francis, in a letter, earlier called on all Church leaders worldwide for the establishment of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors”for the purpose of offering proposals and inititiaves” to improve procedures for protecting minors and vulnerable adults, and to “rid the Church of the scourge of the sexual abuse of minors and to open pathways of reconciliation and health for those who were abused.”Fr. Jerome Secillano, executive secretary, CBCP’s Permanent Committee on Public Affairs, said the creation of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors reminds clerics that sexual misconduct is a serious matter that will be dealt with appropriately by Church authorities.WILLIAM B. DEPASUPIL
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/taytay-priest-faces-dismissal-over-child-trafficking/341526/
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A salute to the fallen heroes of Marawi
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['Parasa Bayan', 'Maka Pili', 'Sam Nicolas', 'Myca Delos Santos']
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1/11/2017 0:00
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Army Scout Rangers who survived the months-long hostilities in Marawi City paid tribute to their fallen comrades at the Libingan ng mga Bayani in Taguig City yesterday, All Saints’ Day.Instead of high-powered firearms, one section leader, accompanied by his three other subordinates, carried baskets of flowers as they visited the graves of Army Scout Ranger Captain Rommel Sandoval and Private First Class Edmond Tibayan.For country“Not everyone is given the opportunity to fight for our country. These men, they sacrificed their lives and paid the ultimate price just to defeat the enemies in Marawi City,” the section leader , who agreed to be interviewed on condition of anonymity, told the Manila Bulletin.Captain Sandoval, company commander of the 11th Scout Ranger Company, was the highest ranking Army officer who was killed in Marawi City.‘Daredevil’Nicknamed “Daredevil,” the 38-year-old captain perished on September 10, 2017.He recalled that one of the team leaders of Sandoval got trapped on the ground floor of “Building 63,” a stronghold of the ISIS-inspired Maute terrorists in the main battle area, when they made a clearing operation on September 10.Trapped with hundreds of terrorists, Sandoval’s team leader was hit by a sniper and couldn’t walk.“We don’t know how he (Sandoval) did it, but he managed to get near his wounded soldier. And then it happened so fast, he was also hit in the hips by a sniper.”Captain Sandoval was critical but he did not back down.SelflessHe was again hit, this time, fatally. Armed with a vest, Sandoval reached out for his wounded soldier and laid on top of him to protect from bullets.Sandoval was the first casualty in his company since the siege erupted on May 23.“He took pride that nobody in his company had been killed. It was four months into the battle and almost all companies had KIA (killed in action). He was the first.”Eventually, the troops managed to take the Building 63 and found the wounded soldiers embraced.Although Captain Sandoval died, the wounded soldier survived.“He (Sandoval) was still alive when he was found but he lost a lot of blood. He sacrificed his life to take that building, which enabled the troops to move forward. That moment was a vital point in the battle,” Sandoval’s colleague recalled.‘Copy that’PFC Tibayan, on the other hand, was under Adam’s section as a radioman. He died on July 25, 2017. He would have turned 30 on November 18.“That was his dream (being a soldier) because we are a family of soldiers and policemen,” said the fallen soldier’s 57-year-old father Emil.“He was always smiling. He would say in the battle, ‘Sir, let’s always be positibs’ with the emphasis on the shortened term of his surname,” Tibayan’s comrade recalled.PFC Tibayan’s primary role was to coordinate the ground on the troops with the orders from the higher officials.His section was conducting an assault on July 25 when the situation got out of control.“We were outnumbered. We don’t know what to do. Being the radioman, he (Tibayan) played a critical role for us to survive because he received information from the top officials and then relayed it to me in front of the firefight. He was supposed to go back, but he didn’t. Instead, he picked up his gun and fought with us,” the anonymous radioman’s comrade said.Unfortunately, PFC Tibayan got hit by a sniper in the right hip with a bullet the size of a 50 millimeter.“He was the type of soldier who will never leave you. That man. His determination and being positive is infectious. It kept us going.”‘Never again’Captain Sandoval and PFC Tibayan are just two of the many soldiers who gave up their lives to bring back the freedom to Marawi City.The scout rangers who survived in the siege had only one wish, that what happened in Marawi City will never happen again.“Even though Hapilon and the Maute brothers were killed, we couldn’t say that we won. Lots of lives have been lost, they were our brothers, our comrades. They were sons and fathers and leaders. We hope this will never happen again,” Sandoval and Tibayan’s comrade said.
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Manila Bulletin
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https://news.mb.com.ph/2017/11/01/a-salute-to-the-fallen-heroes-of-marawi/
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Palace: Halted gun sale is US loss
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['Catherine S. Valente']
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2016-11-03 20:58:02+00:00
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MalacaÑang on Thursday called it a loss for the US if it stops a planned sale of around 26,000 assault rifles to the Philippine National Police (PNP).Speaking to reporters, Presidential Communications Secretary Martin Andanar said the Philippines can still look for other sources of firearms and that the aborted deal will ultimately be the loss of the arms supplier.“But then again, this [sale] is a process that the US government and the US Senate will have to fix themselves,” he added.It was earlier reported that Sen. Ben Cardin, a top-ranking Democrat in the Senate foreign relations committee, would ask for the halt of the firearms deal.The PNP was supposed to receive 27,394 basic assault rifles amounting to P1.7 billion next year.The aborted sale was apparently an offshoot of the American government’s concerns over alleged human rights violations under the Duterte administration, particularly in its war on illegal drugs.President Rodrigo Duterte, in a speech on Wednesday in Pangasinan, indicated that he might turn to Russia and China for the weapons if the US stops its sale.According to the President, he had “lost respect” for the US, calling those behind the decision “fools” and “monkeys.”“Look at these monkeys, the 26,000 firearms we wanted to buy, they don’t want to sell,” Duterte said, adding that Russia and China had shown a willingness to sell arms to the Philippines,He, however, said he would wait to see if his military wanted to continue using US weapons.“Russia, they are inviting us. China also. China is open, anything you want, they sent me brochures, saying we select there, we’ll give you… But I am holding off because I was asking the military if they have any problem. Because if you have, if you want to stick to America, fine.”CATHERINE S. VALENTE
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/palace-halted-gun-sale-us-loss/294658/
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Kerwin Espinosa’s entry in WPP okay with senators
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['Jefferson Antiporda']
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2017-01-06 20:10:06+00:00
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SENATE President Aquilino Pimentel 3rd sees nothing wrong with the admission of confessed drug dealer Rolando “Kerwin” Espinosa Jr. to the witness protection program (WPP), saying the latter seems to be not the “most guilty.”“The concept involved in the WPP is not “least guilty” but “not the most guilty.” The implication is different,” Pimentel explained.According to him, at first he thought that Espinosa was the most guilty and not qualified to be accepted into the WPP.The Senate president said Espinosa testified during a Senate hearing that he gets his drug supply from someone with even bigger illegal drug operations.“Hence, it can be said that Kerwin [Espinosa] is not the most guilty, hence he may be accepted into the program,” he added.Sen. Panfilo Lacson, in a separate statement, said the admission of Espinosa to the protection program is only in consideration of his physical security, not his guilt.Lacson, who heads the Senate Committee on Public Order and Dangerous Drugs, noted that being admitted into the WPP is not a guarantee that a respondent is automatically off the hook.In the end, he said, it is the judge who will decide during the trial if the respondent will qualify to be discharged as a state witness after proper motion has been filed and opposition heard.It was Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre who confirmed the admission of Espinosa to the WPP before Christmas.Espinosa, son of slain Albuera (Leyte) Mayor Rolando Espinosa Sr., claimed that Sen. Leila de Lima received a total of P8 million from him when she was still the secretary of the Department of Justice.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/kerwin-espinosas-entry-wpp-okay-senators-2/305535/
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State-run printer in trouble for sub-contracting e-passport project
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['William Depasupil']
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2017-04-02 21:53:55+00:00
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MALACAñANG has hinted that state-run APO-Productivity Unit Inc. (APO-PU) committed grave abuse of discretion and could be held criminally and administratively liable for engaging the services of a privately-owned printing firm for implementation of the e-passport project of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador Panelo over the weekend pointed it out in a legal opinion he executed over the e-passport controversy after the Philippine Association of Free Labor Unions (Paflu), an umbrella organization of labor unions, expressed concern on the cost implications of the project amid allegations of overpricing in the contract for the new digital passport.Paflu also assailed the DFA’s decision to decommission the Bangko Senral ng Pilipnas (BSP) from the passport project and grant the multibillion-peso contract to APO-PU, which in turn sub-contracted it to the privately-owned United Graphic Expression Corporation (UGEC) without passing through usual procurement procedures.Panelo said APO-PU “should refrain from engaging, sub-contracting or assigning the printing of passports to private entities, including UGEC [United Graphic Expression Corp.]” because it is beyond its authority.If abrogation of the joint venture agreement (JVA) between APO-PU and UGEC would render APO-PU incapable of performing its contractual obligations under a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with the DFA, he added, the DFA “may then have sufficient basis to terminate the same in accordance with its terms and conditions.”Panelo junked the APO-UGEC JVA as invalid or “void for being ultra vires,” meaning it is “an act committed by an entity beyond the powers conferred upon it by law.”The Palace official said under the MOA forged between APO-PU and the DFA on October 5, 2015, APO-PU is “required by law, rules and regulations to use its own facilities, equipment and machinery in printing the passports for the DFA.”Curiously, the JVA was executed by APO and UGEC on November 14, 2014, indicating that the government-owned printing facility had already anticipated the e-passport contract almost one year ahead of the formal signing of the MOA with the DFA.Prior to the execution of the MOA, printing of passports was handled by the BSP.The DFA reportedly vetted APO, a corporation attached to the Presidential Communications Operations Office then headed by Secretary Herminio Coloma, as an authorized supplier/service provider for the production and printing of “accountable forms and sensitive high quality/volume” documents including passports and tax stamps.It turned out, however, that APO-PU did not have the technical capability or the state-of-the-art equipment to perform its contractual obligations to the DFA, hence, it hired the services of UGEC.Panelo clarified that the outsourcing scheme by APO-PU resulted in a breach of a resolution by the Government Procurement Policy Board, as well as pertinent General Appropriations Act and Republic Act (RA) 9184 prescribing the rules on public bidding.“Such sub-contracting arrangement or assignment may subject the APO and/or UGEC officials responsible for the same to criminal and administrative liabilities pursuant to RA 9184 and [RA] 3019, the Administrative Code of 1987, and other applicable procurement and criminal laws,” he stated in his legal opinion.Panelo recommended that the passports should cost only P650 each.The DFA currently charges P950 per, plus P250 for “overtime charges” if the applicant was in a hurry and opted to use the express lane.Many of the passport applicants are Filipino migrant workers.Data indicates that there are 5,000 Filipinos who leave the country every day either as tourists, overseas workers or immigrants.WILLIAM B. DEPASUPIL
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/state-run-printer-trouble-sub-contracting-e-passport-project/320577/
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Emergency powers will be limited – lawmaker
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['Llanesca T. Panti']
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2016-11-05 21:33:56+00:00
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The proposed emergency powers to be granted to President Rodrigo Duterte to enable him to address perennial traffic jams will not be nationwide in scope, Rep. Cesar Sarmiento, head of the transportation committee at the House of Representatives said.Sarmiento said his committee reached this conclusion after 10 hearings on the proposed emergency powers of the Chief Executive.Pursuant to Article VI, Section 23 (2) of the 1987 Constitution, the proposed emergency powers will enable the president “to effectively respond to the multiple problems caused by the worsening and debilitating land and air traffic crisis in the country.”“The TWG (Technical Working Group) will have an easier task [of consolidating the measures] because the committee has narrowed down the scope of the proposed law to certain metropolitan areas, i.e., Metro Manila, Metro Cebu and Davao, and for the necessary projects to cover the land transport sector,” Sarmiento said in a statement.Ten bills were filed seeking to grant emergency powers to Duterte.“The bill [on emergency powers] will focus on the implementation of decongestion programs and ensure coordination of inter-agency offices and local government units,” Sarmiento added.The TWG is also ironing out funding concerns as well as the projected timeline for the implementation of programs and projects that will be included in the proposed traffic crisis law.The Duterte administration wants to tap the P10-billion Motor Vehicle Users’ Charge (MVUC) for the implementation of programs that may be set by virtue of the President’s emergency powers. This was included in the proposal of the Department of Transportation submitted to the House panel.Of the P10 billion MVUC, 7.5 percent or P801 million has been allotted to the Special Vehicle Pollution Control Fund under the proposed 2017 budget on top of the allocation for the Land Transportation Office.The Transportation department is also seeking to fund projects or programs in line with the President’s emergency powers by tapping 10 percent of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation’s annual aggregate gross earnings and the current fiscal year’s appropriation for agencies involved in the implementation of the proposed emergency powers.Rep. Joey Salceda of Albay pitched for the grant of emergency powers for three years with an accompanying P20-billion budget under his version of the Traffic and Congestion Crisis Act of 2016.Salceda’s proposal also authorizes special modes of procurement, installs safeguards through the executive order on Freedom of Information and a Congressional Oversight Committee, mandates the formulation of a Decongestion and Transportation Network Development Reform Plan for land-based transport, rail and toll roads, air transport, and seaports and designates the Transport department as crisis manager.According to the Japan International Cooperation Agency, the Philippines loses P2.4 billion per day, equivalent to $51 million per day, in potential income as a result of lost productivity due to traffic congestion.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/emergency-powers-will-limited-lawmaker-2/294963/
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Transportation office collected P22B in 2016
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['Jing Villamente']
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2017-04-30 20:50:03+00:00
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The Land Transportation Office (LTO) collected a total of P22.2 billion in government fees in 2016, surpassing its own target and collection the previous year by P1 billion.LTO Assistant Secretary Edgar Galvante over the weekend said they had issued more than 5.8 million driver’s licenses and permits last year, representing an increase of 4.44 percent or 249,686 during the same period in 2015.Registration of motor vehicles for 2016 reached 9.2 million (new, 2,005,098; renewal, 7,196,467) compared to previous year of 8.7 million.Of the number, 479,559 new vehicles were registered in Metro Manila while 1.9 million were registration renewals.Galvante said the LTO apprehended 588,676 drivers who violated various traffic rules and regulations and collected fines of P971.1 million or 5 percent higher compared to 2015’s P924 million.To streamline the registration process, he added, the agency is considering decentralization of initial registration of brand-new and other motor vehicles by authorizing district and extension offices to process the same in addition to regional offices.Meanwhile, the Do-It-Yourself Sales Reporting was formulated wherein the dealers will upload their sales in the LTO-IT system to do away with the bulk registration.This reporting system resulted in shorter processing time.Galvante said the LTO cut down the processing time for driver’s license transactions by almost half from more than one hour to 30 minutes.Additional Driver’s License Renewal Offices were set up in various malls in Metro Manila that are open from Monday to Saturday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., in order to cater to clients who are unable to renew their license during the regular operating hours of the licensing office and to accommodate those clients who are working from Monday to Friday.In the fight against corruption, 40 employees were charged administratively for illegal activities.Nine were dismissed from the service, six were suspended and the rest are awaiting resolution of their cases.Galvante promised to adhere to the President’s call to eliminate graft and corruption and abide by the zero corruption campaign of the Department of Transportation.He disclosed that anti-fixing security measures were enhanced by enlisting the support of the Philippine National Police, as well as in the elimination of syndicates involved in manufacture and sale of fake LTO licenses and registration documents.The LTO is also working in close coordination with the Dangerous Drugs Board in an effort to educate drivers on the ill effects of drugs and how the drugs affect their driving ability.It conducted lectures, trainings, workshops and field practicum for LTO law enforcers and deputized agents from other government agencies.Among the programs being pursued by LTO are the repair and rehabilitation of the eight Motor Vehicle Inspection Centers (MVICs) in the National Capital Region (Metro Manila)-North MVIC (Quezon City) and South MVIC (Pasay City); Region I, San Fernando , La Union; Region III, San Fernando, Pampanga; Region IV-A, Alaminos, Laguna; Region VI, Iloilo City; Region VII, Cebu City; and Region XI, Davao City.A memorandum of agreement with the Zamboanga City Economic Zone Authority is being reviewed to establish an MVIC in the Zamboanga Peninsula.Galvante said they are trying to modify questionnaires for the driver’s license examinations to conform with the type and restriction of license being applied for and organize driving schools in the country and require them that only driving instructors with certification from Technical Education and Skills Development Authority will be allowed to become driving instructors.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/transportation-office-collected-p22b-2016/324844/
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AFP open to torture probe
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['Roy Narra']
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2018-03-04 00:08:15+00:00
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The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) is open to investigation of soldiers from the Eastern Mindanao Command (EastMinCom) who have been accused of torturing two farmers from Compostela Valley last year.Maj. Ezra Balagtey, spokesman for the EastMinCom, over the weekend said they do not condone any misbehavior of their soldiers and assured they will sanction and punish those who commit human rights violations.“We welcome any investigation by any legitimate investigating agency and further cooperate as this will provide opportunity for our unit and personnel to answer the allegations squarely and bring closure to this issue the soonest possible time,” he said in a statement.Capt. Jerry Lamosao, spokesman for the Philippine Army’s 10th Infantry Division, said they will also cooperate with concerned authorities regarding the farmers’ allegations.He said they had expected such accusations even before they started their campaign against the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and its armed wing, the New People’s Army (NPA).Lamosao added that they remain steadfast in respecting human rights and adhering to rules of engagement, international human law and rule of law.The two farmers, Janry Mensis and “Jerry,” on Friday filed complaints before the Commission on Human Rights, saying they were abducted, illegally detained and tortured by soldiers from November 28 to December 6, 2017.According to human rights group Karapatan, Mensis and Jerry were kidnapped by the military and the police in Tagum City, Davao del Norte, on November 28 after they were falsely accused as thieves.After they were cleared by the police, they were turned over to the Philippine Army and said they they were tortured for days after they were accused as members of the NPA.Mensis and Jerry were brought on December 6, 2017 to a mountainous area in Compostela Valley and were thrown in a pit where the solders tried to burn them alive.The victims escaped but Mensis suffered from third-degree burns and Jerry sustained several wounds in the body.They were able to go back to their families on December 12, 2017.“Despite the enactment of the Anti-Torture Law in 2009 and the government’s ratification of the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, such practices still prevail.These stem from the military’s dangerous and insidious mindset that they can get away with anything, owing to the climate of impunity in the country,” Karapatan deputy secretary general Roneo Clamor said.Based on documents from Karapatan, there have been 87 persons tortured by military and police authorities.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/afp-open-torture-probe/383925/
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BI nabs 2 Koreans for swindling
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['William Depasupil']
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2017-02-02 20:51:20+00:00
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~BUREAU of Immigration (BI) agents arrested two Koreans wanted by authorities in their country for swindling during separate operations in Metro Manila recently. The bureau’s Fugitive Search Unit chief, lawyer Jak Licas, said first to fall was Jung Jaeyul, 38, at his rented unit in Lanika Building, Ohana Residences,Las Piñas City; and Son Young Jo, 59, arrested at Buma Building along Metropolitan Ave., San Antonio Village, Makati City. Both Jung and Sol are subjects of outstanding arrest warrants issued by Korean courts for fraud cases before they fled to Manila. They became undocumented aliens for failure to renew their expired Korean passports. Both are now detained at the BI detention facility in Camp Bagong Diwa pending their deportation.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/bi-nabs-2-koreans-swindling/310254/
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Firearm registration, licensing go online
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['Fernan Marasigan']
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2017-04-04 20:11:10+00:00
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IN am effort to eliminate corruption and do away with “fixers,” the Philippine National Police (PNP) has introduced the online processing of registration and licensing of firearms.Licensed firearms holders or those who wish to own a new gun need not go through the hassle of waiting in long queues for hours anymore as the PNP launch on Monday the online processing of License to Own and Possess Firearms (LTOPF).The new system, according to Chief Supt. Cesar Hawthorne Binag, chief of the PNP Firearms and Explosives Office, is faster and more efficient, and gun owners will no longer have to pay “fixers” to facilitate the release of their gun licenses.According to him the procedure will not only be more convenient but will also help eliminate corruption in the registration of firearms.By registering at http://onlineltopf.pnp.gov.ph/ and following the video instructions at the web address, Binag said licenses can be released in as fast as 10 minutes based on the schedule given to applicants.The new system will require the payment of the same fees and submission of the same requirements.The Manila Times tried to register on the website given by the PNP but it noted a glitch that prevents it from signing up.Under the “sign in” and “new account” section of the website, a question, “Do you have an existing government ID,” prompts the user to select what government ID he/she wants to use in the registration.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/firearm-registration-licensing-go-online/320978/
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Casinos not welcome in Boracay – Palace
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['Catherine S. Valente']
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2018-08-01 00:05:25+00:00
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All foreign or local investments, except casinos, are welcome in Boracay, Malacañang said on Tuesday amid reports that the construction of casino on the island would push through.Palace spokesman Harry Roque Jr. said President Rodrigo Duterte would never allow any company to open a casino on Boracay Island.“I think what the President has said is that he will not allow casinos. All other investments are otherwise welcome in Boracay,” he told reporters in a news conference.“The President does not like casinos as a matter of public policy. It is contrary to good morals. It encourages a vice, which is gambling,” he added.Last week, Leisure and Resorts World Corporation (LRWC), the local operator of Macau casino giant Galaxy Entertainment Group, said its plan to build a $500-million casino resort in Boracay is on track.But Roque said the casino developer should follow the President’s instruction to stop the project.“The President has said no, and I would hope they would respect that,” he said.There are plans to reopen Boracay in October, six months after it was shut down.But Environment Undersecretary Sherwin Rigor said no date has been set for the island’s reopening, and that officials from the departments of Environment, Tourism and Transportation will meet on August 2 to discuss Boracay’s “soft opening.”“We will plan on that, wala pang (there’s no) definite date. We will open a few hotels. Late September or early October,” Rigor told The Manila Times.“We are targeting more than three million (tourists). We will be having a planning session regarding on how we can bring in more tourists,” he added.Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat said her department is talking with top advertising agencies on how to market Boracay.AND REICELENE JOY N. IGNACIO
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/casinos-not-welcome-in-boracay-palace/425523/
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Senate to ‘cremate’ Cha-cha – Lacson
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['Bernadette E. Tamayo']
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2018-08-03 00:08:03+00:00
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SEN. Panfilo Lacson on Thursday warned that the proposed Charter change to shift to a federal system of government would be “cremated “ at the Senate.He said senators were apprehensive of holding a joint session with the House of Representatives to discuss Cha-cha because they could be “trapped” and compelled to vote jointly and not separately.Lacson made the remark despite the assurances of Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo that she is amenable to separate voting on Cha-cha.“Even if the Speaker says it’s okay for her to vote separately, what is the guarantee [that the Senate and HoR] will vote separately because it is only good for now,” the senator said.“But by the time we adopted a joint resolution and enter into a joint session [with HoR], when we allow ourselves to compose a joint session with the lower house, anything can happen,” Lacson said.“Para kaming mga daga na trap sa mousetrap, hindi na kami makakalabas [We would be like trapped mice, we would not be able to escape],” he added.The Consultative Commission (ConCom) had transmitted to the Senate and House of Representatives the draft federal constitution.Lacson’s statement did not faze ConCom spokesman Ding Generoso.“From the ashes, the Phoenix rises. You cannot kill an idea whose time has come,” Generoso said.Sen. Francis Pangilinan, chairman of the Senate Committee on Constitutional Amendments and Revision of Codes, had conducted public hearings on Cha-cha nationwide.However, he said that it was not clear how the government would fund the shift to federalism.“Who’s gonna pay for it?” he asked.Under the proposed federal government, there will be 18 federated regions, four Supreme Courts, and new constitutional commissions.“A think tank said that it will cost at least P55 billion to create a new layer of regional states. That’s for salaries only. We’re not yet talking about infrastructure,” Pangilinan said in a radio interview.He added that “the tax take of Train 1 (Tax Reform Acceleration and Inclusion) is a little over a hundred billion pesos.”“In other words, the P55 billion is already one half the amount of Train 1. And look at where we’re at in terms of the impact on the economy, the impact on the consumer,” Pangilinan said.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/senate-to-cremate-cha-cha-lacson/426039/
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No term extension for me–PNP chief
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['Roy Narra']
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2018-02-17 20:57:28+00:00
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Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Ronald de la Rosa has assured the public that he will not extend his term unless President Rodrigo Duterte tells him to stay put as the country’s No. 1 law enforcer.If it were only up to him, De la Rosa said at the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) homecoming in Baguio City over the weekend, he would leave his post already because “it feels lonely at the top.”But following only what he wants even if the President wants him to stay in his post would make him “ungrateful,” de la Rosa added.“I am ready to retire,” he said.“My life [as the chief of the PNP] is a misery, to tell you the truth,” according to de la Rosa.He said he is aware that some PNP officials are seeking to be his replacement but that he reminded them not to slander other officials to get the e highest post in the organization.“Everybody wants to be at the top,” de la Rosa added.He believes that those officials eyeing his seat would not smear each other because they, just like him, are all graduates of the elite Philippine Military Academy.De la Rosa was set to retire last month but the President extended his term until April.There is still no word on who will replace him but the PNP chief himself has listed as his personal choices anyone among Gen. Ramon Apolinario, Gen. Archie Francisco Gamboa, Gen. Fernando Mendez, Gen. Camilo Cascolan and Gen. Oscar Albayalde.Four of them are police officers in the PNP: Apolinario, deputy chief for administration; Gamboa, deputy director general; Mendez, deputy chief for operations; and Cascolan, chief of the Directorate for Operation.Albayalde is the chief of the National Capital Region (Metro Manila) Police Office.“Anyone of them can take over. They are all magagaling [good]. In fact, [better compared to me],” de la Rosa said.After his stint in the PNP, he will serve as the director of the Bureau of Corrections.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/no-term-extension-pnp-chief/380916/
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US warship sails near islands Beijing claims in South China Sea
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['John Appleseed']
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11/10/2017 0:00
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A US Navy destroyer sailed near islands claimed by China in the South China Sea on Tuesday, three US officials told Reuters, even as President Donald Trump’s administration seeks Chinese cooperation in dealing with North Korea’s missile and nuclear programs.The operation was the latest attempt to counter what Washington sees as Beijing’s efforts to limit freedom of navigation in the strategic waters. But it was not as provocative as previous ones carried out since Trump took office in January.The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the Chafee, a guided-missile destroyer, carried out normal maneuvering operations that challenged “excessive maritime claims” near the Paracel Islands, among a string of islets, reefs and shoals over which China has territorial disputes with its neighbors.Next month, Trump makes his first visit to Asia as president, including a stop in China, which he has been pressuring to do more to rein in North Korea. China is North Korea’s neighbor and biggest trading partner.Unlike in August, when a US Navy destroyer came within 12 nautical miles of an artificial island built up by China in the South China Sea, officials said the destroyer on Tuesday sailed close to but not within that range of the islands.Twelve nautical miles mark internationally recognized territorial limits. Sailing within that range is meant to show the United States does not recognize territorial claims.The Pentagon did not comment directly on the operation, but said the United States carried out regular freedom-of-navigation operations and would continue to do so.In the past, China has objected to such US operations, saying they harmed Chinese sovereignty and security.China’s claims in the South China Sea, through which about $5 trillion in shipborne trade passes each year are contested by Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam.Experts and some US officials have criticized former President Barack Obama for potentially reinforcing China’s claims by sticking to innocent passage, in which a warship effectively recognized a territorial sea by crossing it speedily without stopping.The US military has a long-standing position that its operations are carried out throughout the world, including in areas claimed by allies, and that they are separate from political considerations.
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Manila Bulletin
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https://news.mb.com.ph/2017/10/11/us-warship-sails-near-islands-beijing-claims-in-south-china-sea/
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Duterte order does not confirm rights abuses – Palace
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['Ralph Villanueva']
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2018-03-04 21:39:13+00:00
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MALACAÑANG on Sunday said President Rodrigo Duterte’s order to police and military forces not to comment on a United Nations’ human rights probe does not confirm human rights violations.Anakpawis party-list Rep. Ariel Casilao said in a statement on Saturday that the order only strengthens claims of abuses in the country.In a text message to The Manila Times, Palace spokesman Harry Roque said such statement has “no basis” since an investigation should come first before a conclusion could be made.“Non-cooperation extends to those who are [the] accuser, prosecutor, judge and executor at the same time. [The] investigator must investigate, not merely conclude,” Roque added.In his statement, Casilao said the order of the President also promotes impunity or non-accountability of state forces committing human rights violations.Last Tuesday, Roque announced that the Philippines is open to an investigation by the United Nations of alleged drug-related killings in the country.He, however, said UN special rapporteur Agnes Callamard will not be allowed to investigate the country because she already has a conclusion even if she has not started a formal investigation yet.In a speech, the President advised soldiers and policemen during the opening of the National SWAT Challenge in Davao City on Thursday not to entertain queries regarding the drug war.“I have announced before that I have your back. When it comes to human rights or any rapporteur inviting you, do not answer. Do not bother,” Duterte said.“Why would we be answering? Why, who are they? And who are you to interfere in the way I would run my country? You know very well that we are being swallowed by drugs,” he added.The Palace announcement of openness to the probe came almost a month after the International Criminal Court in The Hague said it is conducting an initial probe of alleged crimes against humanity committed by Duterte.Roque earlier said he is confident that the preliminary examination filed by lawyer Jude Sabio will not pan out and that the move is a “waste of time and resources” since Duterte “merely employed lawful use of force” against the threats to the State.The war on drugs is one of the flagships of Duterte during the election campaign in 2016, with the then-Davao City mayor initially promising to completely eradicate drugs in “three to six months” upon his assumption into office.The Philippine National Police (PNP) was removed from Oplan Double Barrel in October 2017 after shady drug-related deaths of teenagers Carl Angelo Arnaiz, Kian Lloyd de los Santos and Reynaldo de Guzman.It was brought back by Duterte two months later as a support for the lead agency, Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency.The drug war allegedly resulted in thousands of extrajudicial killings, causing local and international uproar from human rights advocates and concerned citizens.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/Duterte+order+does+not+confirm+rights+abuses+%E2%80%93+Palace
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PNPA cadets face criminal charges
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['Roy Narra']
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2018-03-27 00:02:24+00:00
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Criminal charges will be filed against nine cadets of the Philippine National Police Academy (PNPA) who mauled six new graduates last week.PNPA Director Chief Supt. Joseph Adnol said two of the victims — Police Inspectors Yla Lambenecio and Arjay Divino — will file criminal charges against the nine lower class cadets who mauled them in the PNPA barracks after the graduation rites on March 21.Five of the suspects were identified as Donald Kissing, Jem Peralta, Clint Baguidodol, Paul Macalalad, and Loreto Tuliao Jr. The rest were only identified with their surnames: Calamba, Coplat, Amanon.The other victims — Mark Kevin Villares, Floyd Traqueña, Jan Paul Magmoyao, and Arjay Cuasay – said they will not press charges.Initial investigation showed that at least 13 cadets could have been involved in the incident.Philippine National Police chief Ronald “Bato” de la Rosa called for a stop of the violent “tradition” at the academy.“It’s sad to say, it promotes a cycle of violence because if the tradition is stopped then this would not happen every year,” he said.The six PNPA graduates landed in hospital after they were punched and beaten with arnis sticks.Adnol said the cadets will be dismissed from the Academy if they will be found guilty of grave misconduct and conduct of unbecoming a cadet.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/pnpa-cadets-face-criminal-charges/388667/
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DepEd eyes changes to K-to-12 curriculum
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['Catherine S. Valente']
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2018-07-26 00:02:33+00:00
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The Department of Education (DepEd) plans to change the curriculum in all grade levels under the K-to-12 program amid concerns that the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) will eat into the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry, Education Secreatary Leonor Briones said on Wednesday.Briones said her agency was reviewing the curriculum for students to have better options to improve their education.“We are going to have a thorough review of the curriculum after we have been there for two years already so we have made enough experience. We will review the curriculum from kindergarten to Grade 12 because we have been getting feedback as well,” she said at a Palace briefing.Briones made the statement amid reports that some call center agents are switching jobs and considering computer school to ride the automation wave that threatens to displace thousands in the outsourcing industry.“There was a demand before that we should teach our children more English so that they can compete in the BPO, the call centers, because supposedly these are good jobs. But call centers are now replaced by robots in other countries. This is why we are teaching robotics in high school. This is why we are sending teams abroad, high school kids to other countries, and they are winning in robotics contests,” she added.In January, Socioeconomic Planning Seceatry Ernesto Pernia urged the BPO industry to upgrade its workers’ skills, saying growth in the sector was slowing as companies look increasingly towards artificial intelligence.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/deped-eyes-changes-to-k-to-12-curriculum/423257/
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Lawmaker urges DENR chief to probe ex-official
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['Dempsey Reyes']
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2017-02-05 19:50:23+00:00
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A lawmaker has urged Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Secretary Regina Lopez to investigate former Undersecretary Leo Jasareno for alleged corruption in the department.In a statement, Rep. Robert Barbers of Surigao del Norte (2nd District) Barbers accused Jasareno, former head of the DENR’s Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB), of being “corrupt.”He claimed that the former bureau chief had been dismissed by President Rodrigo Duterte himself.“It is very sad and unfortunate for the country that despite being dismissed by no less than the President, [Lopez] still retained Jasareno as her confidante and consultant,” Barbers said.“Equally disturbing is the fact that she appointed Jasareno to head the audit of these mining firms, when Jasareno knew all too well that the violations were [happening] under his watch – for several years – but he deliberately turned a blind eye to these violations,” he added.Barbers questioned the audit results concerning the other mining companies as the DENR’s auditing team was also headed by the sacked official.He said some of the mining companies that were not closed by Lopez were “known friends” of Jasareno, describing it as a form of “hypocrisy.”“[H]ow about those mining companies which were not closed and whose owners are known friends of Mr. Jasareno?” Barbers asked.“His MGB was supposed to police the mining activities in the country, but now he is saying that these companies committed environmental violations,” he said.Barbers added that the DENR chief should “open her eyes if she really wants to reform the graft-laden agency” and calls her “to be fair” and investigate her confidante “with the same zeal and vigor.”In August 2016, Jasareno tendered his resignation amid calls of several anti-mining groups for him to do so.He also led the audit teams that recommended the suspension of 20 mining operators and has been with the DENR even before Lopez assumed office.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/lawmaker-urges-denr-chief-probe-ex-official/310690/
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Duterte urged to stop giving false ‘endo’ hopes
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['Llanesca T. Panti']
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2018-02-14 00:04:46+00:00
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President Rodrigo Duterte should stop giving false hopes to workers that he will end contractualization, more popularly known as endo, meaning end of contract, the scheme of firing workers every six months or less.Opposition lawmakers Tomasito Villarin of Akbayan party-list and Edcel Lagman of Albay made the call in light of President Duterte’s decision not to sign an Executive Order (EO) that will ban endo and other unlawful contractualization practices.Instead, the President asked for more time, specifically a month, for his legal team to review the measure.“The President is giving our workers false hopes on ending endo, even floating that an EO will be signed to end endo. An EO cannot go beyond what is stated in the Labor Code, so this EO won’t have the teeth [to bite away endo],” Villarin said in a news conference.The House of Representatives approved the bill banning contractualization last January 30.The bill states that probationary employment should not exceed six months from the date the employee started working.More important, the House version deletes the Labor Code provision that allows probationary employment under an apprenticeship agreement stipulating a longer period.The House bill also prohibits hiring employees on fixed-term contracts or definite periods, except in cases of overseas Filipino workers, workers on probation, who are temporary replacements of absent regular employees whose engagement will not exceed six months, project-based employees and seasonal workers.On top of banning fixed-term employment, the House version prohibits labor-only contracting or a situation wherein the person supplying to an employer does not have substantial capital or investment in the form of tools, equipment, machinery, work premises; has no control over the workers’ methods and means of accomplishing their work; and workers recruited and placed by such persons are performing activities which are directly related to the principal business of such employers.The bill against endo, however, is yet to progress in the Senate.“The President’s message [is that] his allies in the Senate should [see to] passage of [this] bill,” Villarin argued.He took offense at the President’s repeated statements that he will subsidize workers with P500 each to help them cope with rising prices of basic commodities.“His character shows that he is only making a joke out of his promise to end endo. He should be careful because the workers will end up frustrated and angry at him,” Villarin said.Lagman argued that the President is just dragging his foot on the matter in favor of his moneyed allies.“He is procrastinating on his campaign promise in favor of the capitalists and investors,” he said.During the 2016 campaign, then-Davao City Mayor Duterte said he will end contractualization.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/duterte-urged-stop-giving-false-endo-hopes/379999/
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SEC official charged over North Harbor deal
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['The Manila Times']
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2017-05-06 01:10:27+00:00
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AN official of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged before the Ombudsman for graft and corruption as well as grave misconduct has admitted to deliberately ignoring letters coming from a former majority stakeholder seeking to prevent an increase in authorized capital stock that led to the alleged anomalously sale of shares of the Manila North Harbor Port Inc. (MNHPI).In a 14-page position paper sent to the Office of the Ombudsman, Ferdinand Sales, SEC Company Registration and Monitoring Department (CRMD) director, said he received a letter from complainant Harbour Centre Port Terminal Inc. (HCPTI) regarding the intra-corporate controversy surrounding MNHPI.HCPTI, which previously had a majority share of 65 percent, asked the SEC to stop the application for capital increase as it would dilute the former’s shareholding in favor of San Miguel Holdings Corp.In January, a Quezon City court barred fugitive 1-Pacman party-list Rep. Michael Romero from claiming ownership of his family-owned HCPTI, exposing challenges in the ownership of MNHPI, which has been taken over by conglomerate San Miguel Corp.The younger Romero, who has gone into hiding since an arrest warrant was issued against him three months ago, lost the legal battle to his father, Reghis, who sued his estranged son for allegedly falsifying ownership of the port facility.Sales said the letter, which he said he received on December 15, 2015, was sent by HCPTI before the application for increase in authorized capital stock and the amendment of the articles of incorporation of MNHPI.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/sec-official-charged-north-harbor-deal/325794/
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Poe to DOTr: Address traffic, don’t wait for emergency powers
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['Jefferson Antiporda']
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2016-10-22 22:36:49+00:00
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THE Department of Transportation (DOTr) should not wait for Congress to pass the bill granting President Duterte emergency powers but should put in place measures to ease traffic congestion, Sen. Grace Poe said.Poe, who chairs that Senate public services committee, noted that while the Senate intends to have the emergency powers bill passed before congress goes on a break in December, the DOTr and the agencies under it should start coming up with solutions to the traffic problem.“There are many things the DOTr can do even without emergency powers, if they will just look for ways,” Poe said.The senator said the DOTr is trying put so much hype on the need for emergency powers but in reality, it would take the government years for it to accomplish the projects and programs under the emergency powers.While Poe agrees that the passage of the emergency powers bill would help government speed up the procurement and the bidding process, the public would not feel the effects of the traffic improvement schemes until the needed infrastructure projects have been completed.This is the reason Poe is calling on transportation and local government officials to act on the congestion problem now while Congress is drafting the measure.The senator said by just enforcing traffic laws seriously, the DOTr and local government units could effectively ease vehicle congestion along major thoroughfares in Metro Manila.Poe cited the practice of some commuters occupying two to three lanes of Edsa while waiting for a ride as one of the causes of traffic slowdown along the highway. She said traffic enforcers could easily address the problem by asking pedestrians to use the designated loading and unloading areas put up by the government.The DOTr according to Senate Minority Leader Ralph Recto would need P1.27 trillion to implement projects and programs under the emergency powers. But Recto learned that the DOTr has yet to come up with a decongestion plan the department would implement once Congress grants emergency powers.It was also revealed that the DOTr wants to expand its traffic management powers to cover air as well as sea traffic not only in Metro Manila but in other urbanized cities nationwide.But when Recto asked if they already have plans or have pinpointed specific areas they would be prioritizing, the DOTr said that they have yet to identify them.The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) recently claimed travel time by private vehicle on Edsa, from Monumento in Caloocan City to Roxas Boulevard in Pasay City was shortened by seven minutes. Based on the speed test conducted by MMDA last September a private car took one hour and 19 minutes to traverse the 26-kilometer Edsa compared to the one hour and 26 minutes last July.The MMDA however did not indicate the exact time it conducted the speed test. Motorists using Edsa normally spend more than two hours from Cubao in Quezon City to Ayala Avenue in Makati City during rush hour.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/poe-dotr-address-traffic-dont-wait-emergency-powers/292635/
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Bank on innovative solutions, LGUs told
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['Jing Villamente']
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2016-11-27 20:48:25+00:00
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The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) challenged local government units (LGUs) to take part in making a pool of solutions readily available for their capacity development needs.DILG Secretary Ismael Sueno said LGUs can now have the opportunity to replicate another community’s successful policies and best practices through the “Innovative Solutions Bank” of the Local Government Academy (LGA).“LGUs and the sovereign Filipino citizenry are in better times nowadays. Exemplar LGUs can systematically share their process of local governance best practice to replicating LGUs through the Innovative Solutions Bank. This is a manifestation of being partners for change with compassion,” Sueno said.With the Innovative Solutions Bank, a system for LGU to LGU policy reproduction is created which consequently hastens collection, dissemination and formulation of practical yet strategic solutions to specific governance challenges faced by local governments. An LGU will also be given training to replicate selected policies of another LGU.Sueno lauded the first three LGUs to “deposit” their solutions in the Bank, namely — Quezon City for its anti-drug and rehabilitation campaign, Tagum City for regulatory simplification and Barangay Hingatungan in Silago, Leyte for its work in Katarungang Pambarangay or barangay justice system.Sune said he hopes LGUs would “dare to innovate and care to share,” which the program also aims to promote as a new norm in local governance.“Let’s start the incoming year with the spirit of sharing and caring for an inclusive nation-building,” he added.The Innovative Solutions Bank is one of the recently launched capacity development programs during the 25th anniversary of the Local Government Code.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/bank-innovative-solutions-lgus-told/298741/
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BIR files tax evasion cases vs ‘fixer,’ trader
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['Ashley Jose']
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2018-01-04 20:27:44+00:00
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The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) on Thursday filed tax evasion cases against Mark Ruben Taguba, allegedly a fixer at the Bureau of Customs (BoC), and businessman Yi Shen Dong aka Kenneth Dong before the Department of Justice (DoJ) on Thursday.BIR Commissioner Caesar Dulay said in a news conference that P850-million tax cases were filed against Taguba while P11.4 million tax cases were filed against Dong.The commissioner added that Taguba and Dong both “willfully attempted” to evade paying taxes by not filing their annual income tax returns.He said Taguba failed to register his business of facilitating the importation of goods at the Customs bureau.“Kenneth Dong did not file any income tax return from 2013 to 2016,” according to Dulay.BIR records showed that Dong also failed to file any value added tax return from 2013 to 2016.Taguba and Dong were both linked to the controversial P6.4-billion shabu shipment that slipped past the BoC in 2017.The cases against Taguba were prompted by separate inquiries conducted by the Senate and the House of Representatives into the shabu shipment smuggled from China.In his sworn affidavit submitted to the Senate, he described himself as a “businessman engaged in the trucking business and in the financing of various ancillary ventures such as logistics, brokerage, lending, trading and agricultural production.”As admitted under oath by Taguba in both congressional inquiries, his clients would pay him an “all-in” sum ranging from P170,000.00 to P190,000.00 per container van.Out of the “all-in” sum, P1,500.00 per container van is paid to an individual who acts as a consignee or importer for the merchandise or products [consignee for hire] while the amount of P500.00 per container van is given to the Customs broker (signing broker) for the import transactions.Also, an amount equivalent to around P27,000.00 per container van is given to various BoC personnel as bribe or tara.Taguba allegedly also charges a trucking fee of P10,000.00 per container van that is also deducted from the “all-in” sum paid by his clients.For his import transactions, he uses EMT Trading, Integrisy Trading and RO & SS Trading as consignees-for-hire.Based on the congressional inquiries and data obtained from the Customs bureau, a total of 7,458 and 7,694 container vans were brought in by Taguba’s consignees for 2016 and 2017, respectively.For 2016 alone, he earned P1,267,860,000.00 (at P170,000.00 per container van).Documents culled by investigators from the Land Transportation Office disclosed that Taguba acquired in 2016 a Chevrolet Trailblazer 4×2 LTX A/T worth P1,568,888.00 and a Yamaha Mio I 125 BB32 priced at P69,900.00.Also, records of the Land Registration Authority showed a total of 18 Transfer Certificates of Title in his name for lots located in Cavite that he purchased from 2014 to 2016.Taguba failed to register his business with the BIR prior to operating his trucking and other “business ventures.”He initially registered with the BIR in 2009 as an Executive Order (EO) 98 taxpayer and as such is not taxable since his registration is solely for purposes of securing a Tax Identification Number to be able to transact with government offices requiring him to present a TIN.It was only in September 2017 that Taguba changed his taxpayer type from EO 98 to single proprietorship with the business name of Golden Strike Trucking Services.He thus did not file any Income Tax Return or Value Added Tax Return for the years 2009 to 2016 as per records of the BIR and thus also failed to declare any income for the period.As a consequence of his acts and omissions, Taguba evaded the payment of taxes for taxable year 2016 in the aggregate amount of P850,574,228.77, inclusive of surcharges and interests, broken down into: Income Tax, P660,758,572.33; and Value Added Tax, P189,815,656.44.The case against him is the 115th filed under the Run After Tax Evaders (RATE) program of the BIR under the leadership of Dulay.It is also a RATE case of Revenue Region No. 6-City of Manila.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/bir-files-tax-evasion-cases-vs-fixer-trader/372253/
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Asean not alarmed on drug-related killings
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['Llanesca T. Panti']
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2017-07-08 22:58:56+00:00
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Drug-related killings in police operations and supposed vigilante attacks in the country have not reached alarming levels, said an official of a group of lawmakers in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean).“Drug menace is a problem for us all, but we are not here to judge any other member countries on how they deal with the drug menace. What we are trying to do is to learn from one another. What methods are working here in the Philippines that could be applied to Thailand, and vice versa,” said Isra Sunthornvut, secretary general of the Asean Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA) in a news conference.“There was no room for criticism…there was no reason for criticism because the Filipino way is the Filipino way. The Thai way is the Thai way,” Isra added.Isra spoke at the end of the second day of the 13th meeting of AIPA’s Fact Finding Committee to Combat the Drug Menace, hosted by Manila.Rep. Robert Barbers of Surigao del Norte echoed Isra’s sentiments.“All Asean member-countries also have problems concerning human rights. Besides, human rights violations are not a result of an order coming from the President. Having said that, I don’t think there is any reason why we should connect that in our war against drugs,” Barbers, chairman of the AIPA meeting, said in the same news conference.Barbers said Asean lawmakers recognized the “success” of the country’s anti-drug war which involved President Rodrigo Duterte naming drug-linked personalities; dismantling drug laboratories, and the Philippine National Police’s Oplan Tokhang wherein police knocked on the residences of drug suspects to convince them to turn themselves in.Oplan Tokhang was suspended in January after it was revealed that South Korean Jee Ick Joo was killed inside the Philippine National Police headquarters in Camp Crame in Quezon City. Qiu Jee was kidnapped in October 2016 by police officers using a fake arrest warrant accusing him of being involved in the illegal drug trade.In January, the South Korean Foreign Ministry revealed that Jee was murdered and his cremated remains were flushed in a toilet.Oplan Tokhang was resumed in March.“As a result of Oplan Tokhang, at least 1.3 million drug personalities surrendered to the authorities. Imagine if we did not have Tokhang, we would have 1.3 million potential criminals in the streets,” Barbers said.“Our effective strategies did curb the problem of addiction and proliferation of illegal drugs, and so other Asean members intimated to myself that our drug war, in one way or the other, could be a template that they might copy,” Barbers added.Meditation for drug usersIsra would not say if Thailand would adopt Oplan Tokhang but clarified that the war against the proliferation of illegal drugs should be waged with compassion and that drug users should use meditation to fight the urge to be a drug user.“We use meditation…this Buddhist concept wherein we train the mind [of a drug user] to stop being so weak, for lack of a better word. Alongside this policy is the idea of our King Rama 9th, wherein he said you can’t fight drugs with anger. You have to be compassionate because it is your countrymen,” Isra told reporters.While he highlighted compassion, Isra did not express reservation on the proposal of the Duterte administration to restore the death penalty on drug-related offenses.“We stand to support all our member-countries in their programs. On a personal level, the drug menace is so huge, and it becomes more elaborate everyday. Whatever methods people can do to help try to fight it, I’m all for it,” Isra said.The Philippines and Cambodia are the only members of the Asean that do not have a death penalty law.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/asean-not-alarmed-drug-related-killings/337314/
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ConCom adopts new preamble for new Charter
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['Bernadette E. Tamayo']
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2018-05-03 00:30:27+00:00
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THE Consultative Committee (ConCom) on Wednesday unanimously adopted the proposed preamble in the draft new Charter that declares the shift to federal form of government.The 22-man body also approved the proposal to ban turncoatism or party switching in order to strengthen the political party system.Voting 18-0, the body approved the following preamble: “We, the sovereign Filipino people, imploring the aid of Almighty God, to build a permanent and indissoluble nation and establish a just, humane, united and progressive society under a federal government that shall embody our shared ideals and aspirations, promote the common good, conserve and develop our patrimony and secure to ourselves and our posterity the blessings of independence and democracy under the rule of law and a regime of truth, justice, freedom, love, equality, and peace, do ordain and promulgate this Constitution of the Federal Republic of the Philippines.”Former chief justice Reynato Puno said there are compelling reasons why he voted to revise some parts of the Preamble of the 1987 Constitution “which was written and is fit for a unitary state albeit democratic and republican in character.”“Stated otherwise, our Preamble must be revised to suit our shift from a unitary to a federal form of government,” Puno said.On the other hand, 14 of the ConCom members voted to approve the proposed provision to prohibit turncoatism while four others gave a “qualified yes” to the same provision.Under the proposed ban on party switching “any member of a political party elected to public office is prohibited from changing political parties within their term of office.”Any candidate for public office or any official of a political party will also be banned from changing political parties within two years immediately after an election and two years before the succeeding election.Those who voted “yes” to ban turncoatism were Julio Teehankee (proponent of the provision), former chief justice Reynato Puno, Arthur Aguilar, Eddie Alih, Antonio Arellano, Virgilio Bautista, Ali Pangalian Balindong, Ferdinand Bocobo, justice Antonio Eduardo Nachura, Susan Ordinario, justice Bienvenido Reyes, Rex Robles, Edmund Tayao and Lawrence Wacnang.Those who voted yes but with some reservations were lawyers Roan Libarios, Jose Martin Loon, and Randolf Parcasio as well as former Senate president Aquilino Pimentel Jr.Absent during the en banc meeting were Fr. Ranhilio Aquino as well as lawyers Reuben Canoy, Victor de la Serna, and Rodolfo Robles.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/concom-adopts-new-preamble-for-new-charter/396542/
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Women's exploitation in PH alarming – DSWD
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['Nelson Badilla']
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2017-02-09 21:21:52+00:00
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Women’s exploitation in PH alarming – DSWDhome/News/Nation/Women’s exploitation in PH alarming – DSWDSocial Welfare Secretary Judy Taguiwalo on Thursday said abuse and exploitation of women in the country is “alarming.”Taguiwalo said the Policy Development and Planning Bureau (PDPB) of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) disclosed that a total of 2,797 women in especially difficult circumstances (WEDC) have been in the care of the department’s residential care facilities from January to September 2016.The department’s Haven for Women also assisted 533 women, the Sanctuary Center helped 232 women and the Haven for Women and Girls has taken care of 74 women.According to Taguiwalo, when it comes to the number of monitored cases of WEDC served by case category and region, the DSWD units have provided assistance to, or monitored the cases of 210,842 WEDC from January to September 2016.A total of 127 were cases of sexual abuse (76 rape, incest 47 and acts of lasciviousness) and 232 were cases of sexual exploitation (227 prostitution, 1 pornography and 4 cyber-pornography).There were 318 cases of physical abuse and maltreatment, 250 cases of psychological and emotional abuse, 179 cases of illegal recruitment and 367 cases of trafficking.Also, 2,273 WEDC clients were served in the residential and non-residential centers and community-based services and 207,096 were cases of WEDC clients provided with services from the crisis intervention unit (CIU) of the Central Office and Field Offices.Taguiwalo expressed belief that abuse and exploitation of women in the country will continue because “many Filipinos including women take women’s rights for granted, and worse, take cases of women abuse and exploitation as ordinary events.”“It is highly lamentable that Philippine society continues to neglect women’s issues, and that for the most part, many view that only militant or activist women should care about these same issues,” she said.The DSWD chief pointed out that “women’s rights are issues that should be supported by all Filipinos, men and women alike. We all have mothers, sisters, wives, aunts, nieces, daughters and partners.”The abuses against women are not acceptable and never will be, she said.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/womens-exploitation-ph-alarming-dswd/311345/
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Delays hound gov’t subsidies for poor under tax reform law
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['The Manila Times']
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2018-06-17 00:03:29+00:00
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ADMINISTRATION Rep. Dakila Cua of Quirino Province has lamented the alleged non-implementation of the government’s promised subsidy for the poorest households under the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (Train) Law.Cua, who heads the House Committee on Ways and Means, said the Train Law, which hiked excise taxes on fuel, was also allegedly marred with delays.Cua said the distribution of social benefits cards to unemployed minimum wage earners and the poorest 50 percent of the population lacked a definite timeframe.He said this prevented the target beneficiaries from availing themselves of discounts on transportation and rice, and free skills training.Cua, however, declined to answer why such delays existed.Opposition senator Paolo Benigno “Bam” Aquino on Friday appealed to the government not to “hold hostage” the free college education program to justify the continued implementation of the Train Law.Aquino said the government could afford to grant free college tuition even without the Train Law, contrary to its statement that free college education would be affected if the Train Law is suspended.Aquino was one of four senators who voted against the ratification of the Train Law, the three others being Senators Antonio Trillanes 4th, Risa Hontiveros, and Panfilo Lacson.In a statement, Cua said the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) was “set to convene an interagency meeting within this month to firm up the details on the social benefits card and its attached benefits. A second roundtable is also expected to be scheduled in July.”Cua’s statement was released a day after his panel had a closed-door meeting with the country’s economic managers.He said the P977-million Pantawid Pasada program under the Train Law, which will grant fuel discount vouchers to public utility jeepneys with franchises to cushion the impact of oil price hikes, will only be released by July this year or six months after the Train Law was passed.“The amount will be loaded into debit cards to be distributed by the LTFRB (Land Transportation, Franchising and Regulatory Board) regional offices,” Cua said in the same statement,“Our discussion yesterday focused on how to move forward and fast track the roll out of services,” Cua told The Manila Times in a text message.Cua also said delays marred the implementation of another government subsidy under the Train Law – the P2,400 unconditional cash transfer (UCT) program for each of the poorest 10 million households.He said the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has so far only released the UCT Fund to 3.5 million households out of the eight million families who were expected to receive the fund by end-July as earlier committed by the agency.The remaining two million households will get their dues in mid-September or eight months after the Train Law was passed, Cua explained.Both administration and opposition lawmakers have pushed for the suspension of the fuel excise tax under the Train Law due to oil price increases, but the Department of Finance insisted that the tax only accounts for 0.4 percent of inflation or the rate at which the prices of goods and services increases.The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) pegged May inflation at 4.6 percent, the highest rate since November 2011.Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez 3rd earlier warned that suspending the Train Law would “possibly negatively affect the government’s ability to fund the free tuition program as well as increase in salaries of the police and the military.”He said the budget for free college education, set at P41 billion this year, would fund free tuition in all of the 112 state universities and colleges, 18 local universities and colleges, technical-vocational schools as well as the tertiary education subsidy and the national student loan program.LLANESCA T. PANTI AND BERNADETTE E. TAMAYO
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/delays-hound-govt-subsidies-for-poor-under-tax-reform-law/409253/
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Palace to intervene in MNLF-MILF feud
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['Catherine S. Valente']
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2016-11-08 20:35:29+00:00
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Malacañang on Tuesday said the Philippine government will intervene between rebel groups Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) to settle their differences so that peace efforts can proceed.Speaking to reporters, presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella said the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) will be in-charge of mediating between the two Moro groups before they sit together in the Bangsamoro Transition Commission (BTC).“It will have to be settled, even before the process takes place. So, they’ll have to sit down together and be able to express their opinions and doubts and difficulties. But it will have to be resolved before they actually sit down,” Abella said during a news conference.“The OPAPP will be in charge of settling those matters… It’s part of the process of peace. You know, resolving difficulties and conflicts [is essential to the peace process]” he added.The Palace official issued the statement after MNLF leader Nur Misuari said he will not participate in peace negotiations alongside a rival group, the MILF.“These are all traitors, that’s why I cannot accept them. I hope the government will dissociate from them, otherwise I can’t forgive them. Why will they associate with traitors? The last thing that will happen I’ll honor them by allowing them to sign it [peace agreement]. They must be put in prison, they are pure and simple criminals,” Misuari told CNN Philippines.His statement came a day after President Rodrigo Duterte signed an Executive Order (EO) reconstituting the BTC, whose 21 members shall comprise of 11 representatives from the MILF and 10 will be nominated by the government, including three from the MNLF side.Abella said the BTC is expected to submit its draft of the rules and regulations to create a Bangsamoro government to Congress by the middle of 2017.Misuari met Duterte in Malacañang last Thursday after Presidential Peace Adviser Jesus Dureza flew him in from Jolo, Sulu after he received the suspension of an arrest warrant against on November 2.In his speech, the MNLF leader claimed that Malaysia is to blame for the kidnappings in Sipadan, Malaysia in 2000.This came, however, just days before Duterte leaves for Kuala Lumpur, where he will have bilateral talks with Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak.The Palace official maintained that the government is not adopting Misuari’s statements as Malacanang’s own.“That was Nur Misuari’s opinion…The President himself did not voice that concern,” he said.The MNLF has sought to create an independent Islamic state in Mindanao.In 1976, it forged the Tripoli deal with the government, which eventually paved the way for the creation of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao in 1996.Some MNLF members, however, had differences with their leaders and broke away with the group to form the MILF.In 2014, the Aquino administration signed a peace agreement with the MILF.The deal, however, did not sit well with Misuari, who believes that it violated previous agreements with the MNLF.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/palace-intervene-mnlf-milf-feud-2/295479/
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DoH: 3,281 hospitalized ‘victims’ of Dengvaxia
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['Kenneth Hare Hernandez']
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2018-04-15 00:08:02+00:00
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A total of 3,281 people had been hospitalized after they were inoculated with the anti-dengue vaccine Dengvaxia between March 2016 and March 2018, according to the Dengue Adverse Events Surveillance of the Department of Health (DoH).In a news briefing on Friday, Health Undersecretary Rolando Domingo said out of the 3,281 cases, 1,967 were found to be dengue.“Of the more than 3,200 patients who reported showing serious adverse events following immunization, 1,967 were found to have contracted dengue as confirmed through clinical and serological tests,” Domingo added.The other 1,314 cases were found to be not related to dengue, including viral infections with 203 cases; acute respiratory infection/influenza-like illness with 189; pneumonia with 96; acute gastroenteritis with 92; and other diseases with 563 cases.Domingo, however, said 98 percent or 3,216 of the patients had been sent home.The remaining two percent or 65 cases, he added, were the documented deaths among those who had been inoculated with Dengvaxia.Out of the 65 deaths, only 13 cases were found to be caused by dengue.The other 52 cases were traced to heart disease, central nervous system infection, pneumonia, leukemia and asthma.Domingo cited the importance of early consultation in order to prevent further complications.“The DoH reiterates the importance of seeking early consultation as soon as signs and symptoms are noted in order to prevent more severe and even fatal complications,” the Health official said.The DoH has allotted an initial P22 million to four regions where the dengue immunization program was mainly implemented, namely, Metro Manila, Central Luzon, Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon) and Central Visayas.It gave Calabarzon P10 million; Central Luzon, P5.2 million; Metro Manila, P2.4 million; and Central Visayas, P481,452.68San Lazaro Hospital, a government hospital in Manila’s Santa Cruz district, was given P4 million.The DoH is awaiting approval by the House of Representatives and the Senate to use the P1.16-billion refunded by French giant Sanofi Pasteur for unused Dengvaxia vaccine.The government suspended its dengue immunization program after Sanofi Pasteur, the maker of Dengvaxia, warned in November last year that the vaccine may cause severe dengue to those who have never been exposed to the dengue virus.The dengue immunization program was initiated in 2016 as a school-based program under then-Health Secretary Janette Garin.At least 830,000 people were said to have been inoculated with the Dengvaxia vaccine.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/doh-3281-hospitalized-victims-of-dengvaxia/392583/
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More funds eyed to save extinct languages
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['Bernadette E. Tamayo']
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2017-10-29 00:54:50+00:00
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SEN. Loren Legarda intends to increase next year the budget of the Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino (KWF) to “comprehensively” document the extinct and endangered languages in the Philippines.She witnessed on Friday the signing of an agreement for the development of the Philippine Studies Program in the School of African and Oriental Studies (SOAS) at the University of London.The agreement signed between the Philippine Embassy in London, represented by Ambassador Antonio Lagdameo, and SOAS, represented by its Director, Baroness Valerie Amos, aims to advance Philippine studies in SOAS from 2017 to 2020 through a series of workshops, publications, research and travel grants.Legarda, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Finance, allocated P5 million under the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) budget in the 2017 General Appropriations Act (GAA) for the advancement of Philippine studies in SOAS.She also welcomed Amos’ proposal to include the languages of over 100 Philippine ethno-linguistic groups in the Native Languages Documentation Project of the Endangered Languages Program.“I extremely support this initiative, especially for an archipelagic country, like ours, that has remote islands with small groups of people whose spoken languages are almost lost,” Legarda said.“We welcome further collaboration with SOAS, through skills trainings and other capacity enhancement activities, in order to comprehensively document all endangered languages of our ethno-linguistic groups in the country,” she added.Legarda said that this would complement the Language Markers Project, a project she funded for P15 million this year, which seeks to install language markers—designed by the artist Junyee from the University of the Philippines Los Baños—in different parts of the country where a specific language was born.“It is exciting that it is now becoming a reality. It all started when I reached out to Dr. Cristina Juan from the Southeast Asia Section, School of Languages, Cultures, and Linguistics of SOAS for the possible inclusion of a Philippine Studies Program,” she said.With the agreement, many more people will have access to studying the rich cultural heritage of the Philippines through the modules offered in the SOAS Curriculum, she said.Amos said that the SOAS shares the same enthusiasm in developing a Philippine Studies Program, noting the long history and tradition of languages and culture between the Philippines and the United Kingdom.Aside from meeting with SOAS officials, Legarda was in London to open the first Hibla ng Lahing Filipino Travelling Exhibition at the Philippine embassy in London, her project with the National Museum, and to deliver a lecture on piña-seda weaving and embroidery in the Philippines at the SOAS-University of London.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/funds-eyed-save-extinct-languages/359391/
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Court orders arrest of Michael Romero
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['Francis Earl Cueto']
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2017-01-08 18:13:19+00:00
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A MANILA Regional Trial Court (RTC) over the weekend ordered the immediate arrest of 1-Pacman party-list Rep. Michael Romero over allegations that he stole P3.4 million from his family-owned Harbour Centre Port Terminal Inc. (HCPTI).A two-page order to effect the arrest for qualified theft and dated January 6, 2017 was issued by Manila RTC Branch 11 Judge Cicero Jurado Jr., who recommended no bail for Romero and two of his co-accused, Edwin Jeremillo and Felicia Aquino.Jurado also denied Romero’s motion for redetermination of probable cause, with an appeal to withhold the issuance of arrest warrant and to dismiss the case outright or suspend proceedingsThe lawmaker has been embroiled in a bitter legal battle with his own father, businessman Reghis Romero 2nd, for the control of HCPTI, which operates the Manila North Harbor terminal.Jerome Canlas, the corporate secretary of Romero’s father, has accused the estranged son of conspiring with Jeremillo and Aquino in stealing corporate funds by issuing 18 checks – with each bearing the amount of P200,000 for a total of P3.4 million – supposedly for “marketing expenses” and payable to the “National Food Authority [NFA] and/or Felicia Aquino.”In a resolution dated July 1, 2016, Manila city prosecutors found probable cause to hold the three accused liable for qualified theft for issuing the checks on April 27, 2007 to non-existent payees.But in September last year, the Department of Justice reversed a resolution to indict Romero and his co-accused before the Manila RTC Branch 28.Canlas then appealed for the presiding judge of Branch 28 to inhibit from the case, which was granted in October and led to the reraffling of the case to Branch 11.“The court rules to deny the urgent Motion for Redetermination of Probable Cause, considering that there is really no redetermination to be spoken of because the RTC of Manila has not yet issued a [previous] warrant of arrest against accused. Hence, there is nothing to redetermine,” Jurado said in his order.“The urgent motion is denied. Let a warrant of arrest be issued,” the judge added.It was Romero and Jeremillo who signed and issued the checks.Manila prosecutors, in their earlier resolution, noted that the transactions for which the checks were issued appeared to be bogus because no evidence was presented to show that NFA had any transactions with Harbour Centre.The prosecutors also found that all checks were encashed not by the NFA but by Aquino herself.Reporters tried but failed to get a reaction from Rep. Romero.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/court-orders-arrest-michael-romero/305829/
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Great Union Day of Romania
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['Radu Media']
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30/11/2016 0:00
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Today the people and government of Romania celebrate its Great Union Day commemorating the union of Transylvania and the provinces of Banat, Bessarabia, and Bukovina with Romania on December 1, 1918, proclaimed during an assembly of delegates and ethnic Romanians in Alba Lulia. Great Union Day is usually celebrated with speeches by the country’s government officials and a grand military parade in Bucharest. Various events are also organized in other parts of the country, including paying tribute to Romanians who died during the First World War and staging of concerts in some cities.Romania is in the southeastern part of Central Europe. It is bordered by Bulgaria, Hungary, Moldova, Serbia, and Ukraine, with the Black Sea to the east. It has magnificent mountains, rolling hills, fertile plains, and pristine rivers and lakes. The Carpathian Mountains (also referred to as the Transylvanian Alps) run across the center of the country. Its fauna, which includes bears, lynx, chamois, and wolves, is considered among the richest in Europe. It hills and plateaus abound with orchards and vineyards.Bucharest is the country’s capital and commercial center. It is famous for the Palace of the Parliament (communist-era Palatul Parlamentului government building), an iconic landmark, which has 1,100 rooms. It is considered the second largest administrative building in the world, after The Pentagon in the United States.Romania has many interesting places to see, including the 14th century Bran Castle, former royal residence and associated with the Count Dracula legend; the Peles Castle, a Neo-Renaissance residence of King Charles I with a museum of national heritage artifacts; and the Corvin Castle, a Renaissance fortress rebuilt in the 19th century, with Gothic towers and a history museum.We congratulate the people and government of Romania led by President Klaus Werner Iohannis on the occasion of its Great Union Day.
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Manila Bulletin
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https://news.mb.com.ph/2016/11/30/great-union-day-of-romania/
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Disaster Resilience department pushed
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['Jing Villamente']
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2018-01-10 22:04:02+00:00
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A lawmaker-economist on Wednesday pushed for the passage of a pending bill that seeks to create the Department of Disaster Resilience (DRR) that will manage a broad climate-disaster program of governance as the country confronts more and more calamities at greater frequency and magnitude.In a news briefing in Quezon City, Albay Rep. Joey Salceda, who authored the principal DRR measure (House Bill 6075), said the new department will be “tasked to carry out a continuous, consistent and fortified calamity defense program and ensure the country’s sustainable development and inclusive growth.”“Now more than ever, we feel the need to create a super government agency, seeing the devastations around us every time disasters strike,” the congressman added.Salceda explained that to face the onslaught of disasters, the country needs “strategic and systematic approaches to disaster prevention, mitigation, preparedness and response,” as well as “effective programs on rehabilitation and recovery” handled by an agency with its own mandate.With an initial budget of P10 billion, the DRR will be accountable and responsible for overseeing, coordinating and implementing a comprehensive disaster risk and vulnerability reduction and management programs and redirecting policy drifts among other agencies handling such tasks.Salceda’s proposed DDR aims to take in at least four government entities critical to an effective disaster planning and operation — the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical Astronomical Services Administration and the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology under the Department of Science and Technology; the Geoscience Bureau of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources; an, the Bureau of Fire Protection under the Department of the Interior and Local Government.He said the idea is akin to the US Department of Homeland Security that has under its operational control major federal agencies to effectively confront security issues and threats in many areas.Salceda said House Bill 6075 is a result of “action research, sharing of experiences and dynamic discussions among various stakeholders from national and local government agencies, organizations and communities and is a product of comparable international experiences.”
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/disaster-resilience-department-pushed/373447/
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Basic services, livelihood to settlers eyed under new bill
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['Jefferson Antiporda']
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2016-11-04 21:04:46+00:00
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SENATOR Grace Poe has filed a bill that will mandate local government units (LGUs) to provide basic services and livelihood components in resettlement sites for informal settler families (ISFs).Poe, in filing Senate Bill 1216, recognizes the essential role of housing in ensuring human dignity, especially for the poor and the need for the government to address the precarious situation that homeless families are facing.The proposed measure seeks to amend Republic Act (RA) 7279 or the Urban Development and Housing Act of 1992, particularly providing for critical mechanisms that empower ISFs and make them active partners in planning and management of their own resettlement.Poe said cited a need for “adequate and genuine consultation” in the process of resettlement of ISFs since existing laws still do not sufficiently protect the rights of ISF particularly lack of consultation with affected ISFs and increasing resort to off-site resettlement.The senator in her proposal is seeking formulation of “people’s plan” by ISF beneficiary-associations containing a site development plan including self-help housing cooperatives, livelihood, self-help development and capacity- building training.Poe noted that there are about 1.5 million ISFs across the Philippines, with 40 percent or 600,000 of homeless families concentrated in Metro Manila.According to the National Housing Authority, 73,723 housing units (85.54 percent) were constructed off-site for ISFs, while only 12,464 units (14.46 percent) were built in-city“ISFs are hardly consulted on their needs and concerns. They are mostly relocated to ‘off-site’ resettlement areas that lack basic services such as electricity, potable water, functional transport systems and adequate employment opportunities, contrary to the intent of RA 7279,” Poe said.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/basic-services-livelihood-settlers-eyed-new-bill/294836/
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SC releases documents on Sereno ‘irregularities’
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['Jomar Canlas']
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2017-08-10 20:05:22+00:00
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The Supreme Court (SC) on Thursday released certified true copies of documents on alleged irregularities committed by Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno that shall be used to possibly impeach her.The Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC) went to the High Court and was able to obtain copies of the documents that it had requested as supposed evidence against Sereno.VACC founding chairman Dante Jimenez cited the SC for its “transparency” in approving the request.“We’re very happy… I understand it was a 14-0 vote [that paved the way for the release of the documents]… [Long live] the Supreme Court,” he said.The request came from VACC and the Vanguard of the Philippine Constitution Incorporated (VPCI), which has filed an impeachment case against Sereno.The case is yet to be endorsed by a lawmaker at the House of Representatives.“We have now done our part. Now it’s up to you guys there in the House of Representatives… please read carefully [our complaint]… you [congressmen], do your job, I [have done] mine as a citizen,” Jimenez said.Among the requested documents were:-“En Banc Resolution in A.M. 12-11-9-SC supposedly adopted on November 27, 2012 creating the Judiciary Decentralized Office (JDO) and reopening the Regional Court Administration Office (RCAO) in Central Visayas;-“Subsequent En Banc Resolution recalling A.M. 12-11-9-SC;• “Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio’s letter on the withdrawal of his signature in the appointment of Atty. Solomon Lumba as Chief Justice Staff Head II;• “Memorandum to the Court en banc dated December 2012 of Associate Justice Teresita Leonardo-de Castro seeking the recall of honorable Sereno’s administrative order creating the new Judiciary Decentralized Office and reopening the Regional Court Administration Office; and• “En Banc Resolution creating the Needs Assessment Committee to determine the need to decentralize the functions of the Supreme Court in support of its power of administrative supervision over lower courts.”The Supreme Court, however, decided not to release the certified true copy of the memorandum of de Castro questioning Sereno’s delayed and questionable appointments without the en banc’s concurrence and the questionable travels abroad of the Chief Justice, including her staff.Lorenzo “Larry” Gadon, a lawyer, has also filed an impeachment case against Sereno in connection with her allegedly anomalous purchase of a bulletproof luxury vehicle and her non-declaration of her earnings from her stint as part of the legal team in the government case against the Philippine International Air Terminals Co. Inc. or Piatco where she acted as a legal researcher.Gadon is also seeking the release of certified true copies of documents on the car procurement and the non-declaration of true income.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/sc-releases-documents-sereno-irregularities/343652/
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DepEd finance reforms taking root
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['Neil Alcober']
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2017-03-18 21:34:10+00:00
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REFORMS in finance management and budget utilization of the Department of Education (DepEd) are already in full swing since Secretary Leonor Briones took office.A longtime advocate of efficient and timely spending of public funds, Briones’ foremost endeavor as the new DepEd chief is to address identified “bottlenecks and budget underutilization.”The DepEd’s Finance-Budget and Performance Monitoring Office reported a substantial increase in obligation rate at 67 percent for combined capital outlay and maintenance and other operating expenses in fiscal year 2016, with P76.160 billion total obligation out of P114.295 billion total funds. The higher obligation rate is an indication of improved absorptive capacities of the Education department.This spike in obligation rate is a remarkable leap from the obligation rate of 53 percent in fiscal year 2015, which saw a total of P43.180 billion spending out of P81.293 billion total funds; and the obligation rate of 55 percent in fiscal year 2014, with P30.044 billion total obligations out of P54.278 billion total funds.The DepEd also saw an upsurge of 171 percent or P48.135 billion in its maintenance and other operating expenses and capital outlay obligation rate based on the June 2016 (26 percent obligation rate or P28.025 billion out of P109.640 billion allotment), and the December 2016 (67 percent obligation rate or P76.160 billion out of P114.295 billion allotment) statement of appropriations, allotments, obligations, disbursements and balances reports.Major programs that underwent significant increases of obligation include Indigenous Peoples Education, School Feeding Program, Textbook and Instructional Materials, Abot-Alam, Madrasah, Basic Education Facilities Fund, and Redesigned Technical-Vocational Tools and Equipment.Comparison of the statement of appropriations, allotments, obligations, disbursements and balances reports as of December 2016 for fiscal year 2015 continuing funds by major programs, activities, and projects yielded an obligation rate that ranges from 34 percent to 98 percent, while the obligation rate for fiscal year 2016 funds ranges from zero percent to 90 percent.The DepEd saved a total of P100.5 million of programs, activities, and projects obligations (July to December 2016) from lapsing by the end of 2016.Steadfast in her vision of the DepEd to consistently and conscientiously appropriate the biggest government allocation, Briones reminded all DepEd personnel, “It is our mission. Because if we are behind in our work, then we under deliver. If we do not account for the resources that government gives us then we do a disservice to our people.”Through the strengthened collaboration with Planning, Procurement, and Finance Services at the management level to push for funds release and utilization, DepEd recorded an improved spending in the second half of 2016.The consistent and frequent monitoring of financial reports from the field increasingly brings in a financial performance mindset, which contributes to the timely delivery of basic education services (i.e. learning materials, teaching and non-teaching positions, and school buildings).The DepEd also encourages the calibration of budget and accounting skills of central and field personnel, through trainings and roll out of the financial management operations manual.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/deped-finance-reforms-taking-root/317899/
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Bello eyes ‘middle ground’ on endo
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['William Depasupil']
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2016-11-27 20:49:22+00:00
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LABOR Secretary Silvestre Bello 3rd called on organized labor groups to reconsider their position calling for a total ban on all forms of contractual work.Bello on Sunday urged workers to opt for a “middle ground” to strike a balance between business and labor.He made the appeal as the Labor department concluded its nationwide consultative summits on contractualization.“While the Department is keen on curbing illegitimate contractualization or ‘endo’ practices as directed by the President, we recognize that there are legitimate forms of contracting and thus may be allowed particularly in seasonal and project employment,” he told labor groups during the last leg of the Labor Summit held in Cebu,Stressing that illegal contractualization and “endo” practices undermine workers’ right to job security, Bello encouraged labor groups to keep an open mind and consider the possibility of finding a middle ground that would be mutually beneficial to workers and employers.He added that just as the Constitution protects the rights and promotes the welfare of workers, it also recognizes the right of employers to reasonable return on investment, and to expansion and growth.“Workers and employers are bound to co-exist. One could not be without the other,” he stressed.Bello said the summit served as an opportunity for labor leaders to identify the priority concerns of workers while the administration is in the process of firming up its national development plan.”I urge labor groups to work hand-in-hand with the Administration in identifying plans, policies and platform of engagement in the next medium term that are anchored on principles of decent work and social justice,” the Labor chief said. “This will also pave the way for the formulation of a Comprehensive Labor Agenda under the Duterte Administration, which would be submitted for consideration in the formulation and finalization of the national development plan.”The Labor Summit was organized to generate inputs and positions on various concerns, particularly on industrial policy and economic roadmap; security of tenure; wage, tax, and price reform; labor rights and standards; migration; informal economy; and women.But Association of Labor Unions (ALU) spokesman Alan Tanjusay said Bello’s proposed “middle ground” offers nothing new.WILLIAM B.DEPASUPIL
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/bello-eyes-middle-ground-endo/298743/
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Govt yet to release P17-B Marawi rehab fund – OCD
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['Llanesca T. Panti']
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2018-05-24 00:08:08+00:00
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The government has yet to release the P17.2-billion budget for the reconstruction, repair and rehabilitation of Marawi City’s most affected area (MAA), the Office of the Civil Defense informed lawmakers on Wednesday.Assistant Secretary James Purisima of the Office of the Civil Defense, who also serves as the spokesman of Bangon Marawi Task Force, made the admission when he was questioned by Rep. Antonio Tinio during a briefing before the House Committee on Muslim Affairs.“The budget for that [MAA] is yet to be funded, your honors,” Purisima told lawmakers.The revelation stunned Tinio.“You said you are awarding the projects [to contractors] next month and apparently you don’t have funding source yet?” he asked.Purisima said the MAA projects could be funded by the P10 billion allotted for the Marawi City rehabilitation under the 2018 budget.“I think P5 billion [out of the P10 billion budget in 2018] has been released and is being used in the non-MAA areas. This budget can also be accessed for MAA, your honors,” Purisima said.But this did not sit well with Rep. Khalid Dimaporo of Lanao del Norte.“The expectation of our people is very high, given the assurances of the President [Rodrigo Duterte]. And their patience is running thin. We are appealing to you, Task Force Bangon Marawi, to bring something to table; bring something tangible already,” Dimaporo said.“What happened was a very painful experience for us. An Islamic City was destroyed, and the pace of your work has been painstakingly too slow,” he added.Dimaporo also took offense that Secretary Eduardo del Rosario of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council, who heads Task Force Bangon Marawi, skipped the congressional briefing for the second time.“Why is Secretary del Rosario not here? In the previous meeting, he already excused himself because he had to go to the Senate. I find it disrespectful that he is not making a courtesy call here in the Committee on Muslim Affairs and the representatives of Lanao provinces,” Dimaporo added.Lawmakers also learned that Task Force Bangon Marawi has yet to identify a resettlement area for Marawi residents who will be affected by the government’s ambitious plan to build a market, promenade, and cultural center in the Marawi City center.“If you are in Marawi, there’s no place for these [new] projects unless you take away the land of the people whose houses once stood there. You have a lot of proposed infrastructure projects here, but what will happen to the people? Where will they live? That [displacing them for your projects] is injustice,” Rep. Mauyag Papandayan Jr. of Lanao del Sur said.Purisima said the plan for the MAA was not yet final.His statement failed to reassure Papandayan.“You are unsure of your plan when the project is about to start on June 18? When will this be final? It has been a year. You have been very slow on working on this,” Papandayan said.CompensationMeanwhile, Sen. Paolo Benigno Aquino 4th sought to provide “tax- free” monetary compensation to displaced Marawi City residents whose homes and commercial properties were destroyed during the Marawi siege.“The Marawi crisis left thousands of Marawi residents without shelter, jobs and other means of livelihood. The attack also destroyed business establishments that served as source of income, livelihood and employment for many Marawi residents,” Aquino said.He filed Senate Bill 1816 or the Marawi Siege Victims Compensation Act of 2018, which aims to grant Marawi residents with money to rebuild their homes and/or commercial properties destroyed during the armed conflict between government forces and the Maute group.with BERNADETTE E. TAMAYO
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/govt-yet-to-release-p17-b-marawi-rehab-fund-ocd/400675/
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Oil price rollback expected next week
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['Catherine S. Valente']
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2018-11-08 00:06:34+00:00
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OIL companies are expected to slash their pump prices next week, Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi said on Wednesday.In a weekly economic press briefing in Malacañang, Cusi said oil prices have gone down in the world market.“We’re projecting that there will be a rollback again next week because of the improvement in the price of oil in the international market. So that is the good news,” he told reporters.This week, oil companies cut cost of gasoline by P1.10 and diesel by P1.Based on the latest data from the Department of Energy, gasoline prices currently range from P50.30 to P64.65 per liter, diesel from P45.05 to P53.69 per liter, and kerosene from P50.07 to P60.20 per liter.Cusi said the production of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries rose to its highest level in October as higher output from Saudi Arabia, Libya and the United Arab Emirates pushed production up to 390,000 barrels per day.“Additionally, oil prices fell this week as the start of US sanction against Iran’s fuel export was softened by waivers that will allow eight major importers to continue buying Iranian crude,” he said.The Philippines imports more than 90 percent of its fuel requirements.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/oil-price-rollback-expected-next-week/464180/
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Ex-Agri chief’s bid to dismiss charges fails
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['Ma. Reina Leanne Tolentino']
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2018-03-11 00:01:22+00:00
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The Sandiganbayan’s Special Third Division has maintained its denial of former Department of Agriculture (DA) Secretary and now Bohol Third District Rep. Arthur Yap’s plea to nullify charge sheets wherein he was accused of graft, malversation through falsification and malversation along with former Misamis Occidental Rep. Marina Clarete and other individuals.Last year, the Office of the Ombudsman filed charges of graft, malversation through falsification and malversation before the Sandiganbayan against Clarete and other individuals over alleged misappropriation of Priority Development Assistance Fund or pork barrel allocation totaling P62.63 million between 2007 and 2009.Yap, who was DA secretary at the time material to the cases, is an accused in two of the 18 counts of graft, in one of the 11 counts of malversation through falsification and in one of the seven counts of malversation filed against Clarete.“In sum, the court finds that accused Yap has failed to present any sound reason for the court to overturn its resolution promulgated on November 28, 2017,” the court said in a resolution promulgated on March 1.In the resolution promulgated on November 28, 2017, the Sandiganbayan’s Special Third Division denied his Motion for Partial Reconsideration (Re: Resolution dated 15 August 2017) with Motion to Quash Informations.The court said in its November 28 ruling that the informations (charge sheets) “in these cases sufficiently allege the elements of the crimes charged.”It added that there was no violation of Yap’s right to speedy disposition of cases because “there was no inordinate delay in the termination of the preliminary investigation in these cases.”The November 28 ruling prompted Yap to file a motion for reconsideration wherein, according to the March resolution, he argued that “the averments in the informations in Criminal Cases Nos. SB-17-CRM-1526 to 1527 do not constitute violations of Section 3(e) of [Republic Act] 3019.”RA 3019 is the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/ex-agri-chiefs-bid-to-dismiss-charges-fails/385383/
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PDEA denies state auditors’ findings of lack of security on seized drugs
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['Roy Narra']
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2018-07-14 00:05:54+00:00
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The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) refuted the 2017 report of Commission of Audit (CoA) citing it lacks security in handling confiscated illegal drugs.PDEA Director General Aaron Aquino said that CoA’s report has no “practical value” since it was based on their old building which was brought down by fire in 2015 instead of on their latest building.“Please bear in mind that these observations were from the old laboratory service. After the fire, no additional CCTV (Closed-circuit television ) cameras were installed apart from the ones existing. Water sprinklers, as firefighting system, are not appropriate for laboratory protection as water may aggravate chemical fire,” Aquino said.The CoA report referred to the evidence room in the old annex building where the confiscated illegal drugs are stored and secure, which was spared from the fire, he said.A fire broke out in the barracks of PDEA on July 8, 2015, which started from the ceiling of the dormitory of PDEA agents.The CoA report said that the security in PDEA’s facility is vulnerable to forced entry as the evidence room is just next to a multilevel parking lot.It indicated that based on PDEA’s inventory, the agency confiscated 1.11 million grams of “shabu” in 2016 and 1.17 million grams in 2017.It stored 68,429 milliliters of liquid shabu in 2016 and 1.11 million milliliter in 2017.PDEA also seized 60,915.78 grams and 14,980.44 grams of cocaine in 2016 and 2017, respectively.Around 45,445.07 grams of marijuana was added to their inventory in 2016 and 135,525,63 grams in 2017.PDEA recovered 9,556.25 grams of ecstasy tablets in 2016 and 669.05 grams in 2017.Auditors also found that PDEA’s laboratory lacked water sprinkler system and surveillance cameras that can detect fires and any forced entry.Aquino explained that their new evidence room has an upgraded security system.Aquino said they already proved that they are up for transparency as they invited a CoA audit team on May 15 to give an ocular inspection of their new evidence room.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/pdea-denies-state-auditors-findings-of-lack-of-security-on-seized-drugs/419135/
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DoLE issues pay rules for 2018 holidays
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['William Depasupil']
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2017-08-11 22:17:15+00:00
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THE Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) on Friday issued the guidelines prescribing the appropriate computation of the salary of workers who report for work during regular holidays and special non-working days for the year 2018.The pay rules were issued pursuant to Proclamation 269, Series of 2017 declaring 11 regular holidays and 8 special non-working days in 2018.Labor Advisory 10, Series of 2017 on “Payment of Wages for the Regular Holidays and Special (Non-Working) Holidays for the Year 2018,” will guide private sector employers on the list of holidays for 2018 and how wages are computed if their workers opt to report for work on such days.Regular holidays are New Year’s Day (January 1), Maundy Thursday (March 29), Good Friday (March 30), Araw ng Kagitingan (April 9), Labor Day (May 1), Independence Day (June 12), National Heroes Day (August 27), Bonifacio Day (November 30), Christmas Day (December 25) and Rizal Day (December 30).Also included are the observance of Eidl Fitr and Eidl Adha, the proclamations of which will be issued after the approximate dates of the Islamic holidays have been determined in accordance with the Islamic calendar or the lunar calendar, or upon Islamic astronomical calculations.For these holidays, work done during these days shall be paid 200 percent of an employee’s regular pay for the first eight hours or [(Daily Rate +COLA or cost of living allowance) x 200 percent]; while work done in excess of eight hours (overtime), shall be paid an additional 30 percent of the employee’s hourly rate or [(Hourly Rate of the basic daily wage x 200 percent x 130 percent x number of hours worked)].Meanwhile, work done during these days that also falls on employee’s rest day shall be paid an additional 30 percent of his/her daily rate of 200 percent or [(Daily Rate + COLA) x 200 percent] + [30 percent (Daily rate x 200 percent)]; while for work done in excess of eight hours (overtime), shall be paid an additional 30 percent of his/her hourly rate, or [(Hourly Rate of the basic daily wage x 200 percent x 130 percent x 130 percent x number of hours worked)].If the employee, however, does not report for work during these days, he/she shall still be paid 100 percent of his/her salary for that day or [(Daily Rate + COLA) x 100 percent].The special (non-working days) are Chinese New Year (February 16), EDSA Revolution Anniversary (February 25), Black Saturday (March 31), Ninoy Aquino Day (August 21), and All Saints Day (November 1).December 31, December 24 and November 2 are additional special non-working days.The pay rules for these holidays provide that for work done, an employee shall be paid an additional 30 percent of his daily rate on the first eight hours or [(Daily Rate x 130 percent) + COLA]; while for work done in excess of eight hours (overtime), he/she shall be paid an additional 30 percent of his hourly rate or [(Hourly Rate of the basic daily wage x 130 percent x 130 percent x number of hours worked)].For work done during these days that also fall on employee’s rest day, he/she shall be paid an additional 50 percent of his/her daily rate on the first eight hours, or [(Daily Rate x 150 percent) + COLA]; while for work done in excess of eight hours (overtime), he/she shall be paid an additional 30 percent of his hourly rate, or [(Hourly Rate of the basic daily wage x 150 percent x 130 percent x number of hours worked)].But if the employee do not work, the ‘no work, no pay’ principle shall apply unless there is a favorable company policy, practice or collective bargaining agreement granting payment on special holidays.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/dole-issues-pay-rules-2018-holidays/343809/
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BFAR lifts Bohol shellfish ban
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['Paul Parenas']
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13/05/2017 0:00
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The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) lifted the ban on shellfish harvested in the waters off Tagbilaran City and the municipality of Dauis in Bohol and declared the same safe for human consumption.BFAR Director Eduardo B. Gongona signed a memorandum announcing the results of the red tide monitoring activities of BFAR and local government units in Tagbilaran City and Dauis town.The tests showed that shellfish samples collected from the coastal waters of Bohol are now negative of the red tide toxin.“Therefore, the public is hereby informed that shellfish samples harvested from coastal wasters of Dauis and Tagbilaran City in Bohol are now safe for human consumption,” Gongona said.Likewise, gathering and/or harvesting and marketing of shellfishes harvested from the above-mentioned area are now permitted, he added.The BFAR and local government units are continuously monitoring the coastal waters of Dauis and Tagbilaran City to safeguard public health and to protect the region’s shellfish industry, the BFAR director added.
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Manila Bulletin
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https://news.mb.com.ph/2017/05/13/bfar-lifts-bohol-shellfish-ban/
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DTI-ARMM LAUNCHES ‘E-PRESYO’
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['Julmunir I. Jannaral']
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2018-07-01 00:02:15+00:00
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COTABATO CITY: The Department of Trade and Industry in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (DTI-ARMM) recently conducted a two-day training and workshop on trade regulation and consumer protection for its employees. One of the highlights was the launching and orientation on the ARMM e-Presyo, DTI’s Online Price Monitoring System that allows consumers to check the suggested retail and prevailing prices of basic necessities and prime commodities. Abubacar Datumanong, DTI–ARMM assistant secretary, pointed out e-Presyo does not include monitoring of prices of agricultural and energy products such as rice and gasoline which are under the Department of Agriculture, the National Food Authority and the Department of Energy. Through the e-Presyo, he said, the consumers would now be protected against unreasonable increases in prices, thus ensuring “value for money.” Project e-Presyo is in accordance with the E-Commerce Act, which states that the DTI is empowered to promulgate rules and regulation in the area of electronic commerce to include the installation of online public information and price monitoring system aimed at protecting the interests of the consumers. The e-Presyo can be accessed via DTI’s website (www.dti.gov.ph), direct URL (www.e-presyo.dti.gov.ph), or via mobile application (installed as ‘DTI e-Presyo’).
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/dti-armm-launches-e-presyo/414674/
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Industry alarmed over decline in seafarers deployment
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['William Depasupil']
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2018-09-17 00:06:26+00:00
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THE decline in the deployment of Filipino seafarers on board international vessels has alarmed the maritime industry as it seeks congressional support to address the problem.Citing statistics from the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration POEA), the 57,000-strong United Filipino Seafarers (UFS), a union of maritime professionals, said a total of 64,748 Filipino seamen lost their jobs last year.POEA records showed that total of 378,072 Filipino sea-based workers were deployed last year compared with 442,820 in 2016. The sizeable drop in deployment was the first since 2010.Aside from international economic turmoil and the swelling of maritime graduates every year, industry leaders blamed the problem on the proliferation of “ambulance chasers,” which they claimed has disappointed and disheartened foreign ship owners.CF Sharp Crew Management president and Chief Executive Officer Miguel Rocha said they lost roughly 1,000 crew from the ambulance chasing controversy.Ambulance peddling is a practice where seafarers pretend to be sick, and with the help of a lawyer, will file a case against the manning agency and ask for a total disability claims, among other means. The settlement usually amounts to millions of pesos.The seafarer’s lawyer, in connivance with corrupt arbiters at the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) and at the National Conciliation and Mediation Board (NCMB), will make sure the ambulance chaser wins the case.The NLRC and NCMB are adjunct agencies of the Department of Labor and Employment.“Filipino maritime professionals are competitive and attractive since they are dependable, hardworking, with good communication skills and are proficient in English. Thus, seafarers has become a significant workforce of the Philippines’ total labor force, bringing in $6 billion in remittances to government coffers, but sadly, things are totally different now,” Rocha said.Principals losing faithBut he said their principals were getting sick and tired of the underhanded practice, prompting some of them to leave the country and hire seafarers from China, Indonesia, Vietnam, Myanmar, Russia, Ukraine and India, among other emerging seafaring counterparts.Maritime captain Rey Casareo of Cargo Safeway Inc., a manning agency, projected that Filipino manning agencies were bound to lose $49 million in revenues by 2019 if ambulance chasers continue with their schemes.The UFS, globally recognized union of maritime professionals with 57,000 members, is also alarmed by the steep decline of Filipino seamen on board international ships.UFS president Nelson Ramirez feared that the deployment drop would continue to worsen unless government stepped in to address the problem.“Imagine 64,748 seafarers lost their jobs? And, God forbids, we expect more of this drop in the near future. It’s alarming. We can expect thousands of seafarers loitering in Kalaw Street if we will lose more principals and foreign ship owners,” he said.Ramirez, a seasoned seafarer, claimed that ambulance chasers were making ship owners and principals their milking cows.“We consider them a mafia which hounds the industry, as these ‘starving beasts’ are waiting for the compensation that is being awarded to seafarers by some ill-fated manning agencies and principals,” he claimed.“There are some older seafarers who pretend to be sick, and there are lawyers ready to take advantage of the situation by convincing the seafarer to file a case against the manning agency and ask for total disability,” Ramirez added in Filipino.He said the while millions were usually paid to the seafarer who files for disability claim, more than half of the compensation is paid to the lawyer.Ramirez said it was time stakeholders united, and the support of Congress be sought to end the practice of ambulance chasing.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/industry-alarmed-over-decline-in-seafarers-deployment/442267/
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DSWD: ‘Yolanda’ victims get full cash aid by June
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['Dempsey Reyes']
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2017-04-21 22:32:37+00:00
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The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) hopes to complete by June the distribution of P 5,000 financial assistance to survivors of Typhoon Yolanda.Hope Hervilla, DSWD undersecretary for Operations and Protective Programs, on Friday said as of April 18, the agency had validated 75 percent or 147,027 of the 196,258 beneficiaries of the financial assistance funded by the socio-civic fund of President Rodrigo Duterte.“We are still in the validation stage in other regions. But after this, we will be able to finalize the total number of eligible households who will be given a cash card, which they will use to claim the financial assistance,” Hervilla added.She said the agency is “very careful” with the validation of beneficiaries of the financial assistance promised by the President during the third year commemoration of the super typhoon that destroyed Tacloban City, Leyte, in November last year.Beneficiaries will be those coming from Western Visayas, Central Visayas, Eastern Visayas and the Negros Island Region (NIR), which were greatly affected by Yolanda.Hervilla said DSWD field offices in Central Visayas and NIR have finished validating the 368 and 7,713 target household-beneficiaries, respectively.The Western Visayas field office, however, has validated 87 percent or 110,252 of the total 126,261 target households while in Eastern Visayas, 46 percent of target beneficiaries or 28,694 of the total 61,916 target households have been validated.According to the DSWD, 55 percent or 81,520 of the total 147,027 validated households are qualified to receive the financial assistance and that NIR had the most number of eligible households at 68 percent of the total target beneficiaries.NIR was followed by Eastern Visayas at 57 percent, Western Visayas at 54 percent and Central Visayas at 29 percent.The DSWD started the distribution of the financial aid to the qualified household-beneficiaries in March.Itreleased on March 1 a total of P1,055,000 for some 211 qualified households in Tacloban City, with the distribution held at the Leyte Pantawid Provincial Office.On April 7, 93 out of the 107 total eligible household-beneficiaries in Central Visayas received the financial aid during a cash distribution event facilitated by the regional field office in Cebu City while the remaining 14 claimed the assistance from April 10 to 14.The DSWD forwarded the names of some 38,502 qualified beneficiaries to the Land Bank of the Philippines for cash card opening and of this number, 30,498 were from Western Visayas, 5,219 from NIR and 2,785 from Eastern Visayas.The cash card is expected to be released 30 days after the submission of the names of qualified beneficiaries to the Land Bank.Hervilla asked beneficiaries in the Visayas to be patient as the DSWD is “doing its best” to speed up the validation process.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/dswd-yolanda-victims-get-full-cash-aid-june/323365/
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DoLE issues rules on hiring of minors
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['The Manila Times']
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2017-11-03 20:27:19+00:00
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EMPLOYERS of child actors and child actresses or entertainers need to secure first a permit from the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) before engaging the young talents in gainful activities.Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello 3rd on Friday issued Department Circular 2, setting guidelines on the issuance of worker permit for children below 15 years of age who are engaged in public entertainment or information.Bello said that generally, the law prohibits the employment of children below 15 years of age, except when a child works directly under the sole responsibility of his/her parents or legal guardian and where only members of his/her family are employed; or where a child’s employment or participation in public entertainment or information is essential.“In said exceptional cases, the employer shall first secure a work permit from the DoLE before engaging the services of the child,” he added.DoLE Department Order 65-04 defines public entertainment or information as “artistic, literary and cultural performances for television show, radio program, cinema or film, theater, commercial advertisement, public relations activities or campaigns, print materials, Internet and other media.”Bello said even if a permit has been issued, it is still subject to certain limitations as provided for by Republic Act (RA) 9231, which provides that a child below 15 years of age may be allowed to work for not more than four hours in any given day and not more than 20 hours a week.A child is not also allowed to work between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m.“When a child’s performance is scheduled beyond 8 p.m. … the television network may tape it prior to the live broadcast and play it at the scheduled time,” the guidelines said.The working child permit application shall be filed by the employer, parent or legal guardian at the DoLE regional/provincial/field office having jurisdiction over the workplace of the child at least three days prior to the shooting/taping/event.Application should bear the signature of the employer and should be countersigned by an authorized network representative in the case of television.It shall also include a copy of the employment contract of the child, stating his/her role, the duration of the child’s participation, salary or compensation, among others.The contract shall also indicate if the child would receive due remuneration for appearances or guestings to promote a product, show or film, and include provisions stating the employer’s compliance with child protection laws.Also required is a medical certificate issued by a licensed physician for the working child.The certificate should also contain the full name and signature of the physician and his/her license number.The guidelines shall take effect on January 1, 2018.WILLIAM B. DEPASUPIL
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/dole-issues-rules-hiring-minors/360551/
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Gas up by P1.50 per liter, diesel by P1.20
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['Aberon Voltaire Palaña']
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2016-11-28 22:11:14+00:00
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In separate advisories on Monday, Pilipinas Shell Petroleum, Phoenix Petroleum, PTT Philippines, Eastern Petroleum, Unioil and Flying V said they will increase gasoline prices by P1.50 per liter and diesel by P1.20 per liter, effective Tuesday morning.Shell and Flying V said they will raise kerosene prices by P1.40 per liter, also effective Tuesday morning.Pilipinas Shell Petroleum, Phoenix Petroleum, PTT Philippines and Unioil said they will implement the price changes at 6 a.m. on Tuesday.Flying V said its price adjustments will take effect at 12:01 a.m. also on Tuesday.Department of Energy (DOE) oil monitoring for Metro Manila as of November 22 showed that diesel prices ranged from P25.75 to P29.32 with a common price of P26.75; gasoline from P34.60 to P44.10 with a common price of P42.18; and LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) in P11-kilogram (kg) cylinder from P430 to P661.Also, the DOE oil monitoring showed that the adjustment for gasoline is now at a net increase of P4.14 per liter while diesel remains at P5.98 per liter.The latest price changes resulted from average price movements for the previous five trading days in the global market.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/gas-p1-50-per-liter-diesel-p1-20-2/298908/
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PH signs treaty on banning of nuclear weapons
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['Jefferson Antiporda']
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2017-09-21 21:00:35+00:00
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THE Philippines has called on UN member-states that possess nuclear weapons to join 121 nations in supporting an agreement that prohibits the use of weapons of mass destruction.Its Foreign Affairs secretary, Alan Peter Cayateno, issued the call after recently signing the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, a legally binding agreement which was adopted by 121 member-states in July.“We call on member-states that possess the world’s largest nuclear arsenals to sign on to the treaty,” Cayetano said in a statement after signing the instrument at the sidelines of the 72nd session of the UN General Assembly in New York.The Philippines, according to him, is ready to contribute to the effort to rid the world of weapons of mass destruction.“Our signing of the treaty today affirms our unequivocal commitment to put nuclear weapons firmly on the path of extinction, a cause of the highest priority embodied in our country’s Constitution,” he said.The Philippines was among 121 UN member-states that adopted the treaty, the first legally binding international agreement to comprehensively prohibit nuclear weapons with the goal of total elimination of such weapons.The treaty will enter into force 90 days after 50 countries have signed, ratified and accepted it.The signing started on September 20.The United States, the United Kingdom and France had refused to take part in the negotiation of the treaty and said they have no intention to sign it.“We do not intend to sign, ratify or ever become party to it. Therefore, there will be no change in the legal obligations on our countries with respect to nuclear weapons,” the three countries said in a joint statement.Under the agreement, each state party under any circumstances should not develop, test, produce, transfer, receive and stockpile nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices.States that already have nuclear weapons are required to cooperate with competent international authorities for the irreversible elimination of their nuclear-weapons program.“This initiative clearly disregards the realities of the international security environment,” said the US, the UK and France in their joint statement.According to them, the treaty will be creating even more divisions “at a time when the world needs to remain united in the face of growing threats, including those from the DPRK’s [Democratic People’s Republic of Korea or North Korea] ongoing proliferation efforts.”Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary Bayani Mercado of the Office of UN and Other International Organizations said the adoption of the treaty not only recognized the catastrophic effects of nuclear weapons on humanity and the environment but also reaffirmed the universal aspiration of a world free from such weapons.The Philippines has been consistent in its nuclear disarmament advocacy.It contributed to the effort when it presided over the 2010 Review Conference of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/ph-signs-treaty-banning-nuclear-weapons/351976/
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Gadon files graft raps vs Sereno
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['Raadee S. Sausa']
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2018-01-27 00:06:33+00:00
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Lawyer Larry Gadon filed a graft complaint against Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno for alleged non-filing of Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN) before the Department of Justice (DoJ) on Friday.Gadon filed the complaint instead of the Office of the Ombudsman, which usually has jurisdiction over high salary grade officials like the Chief Justice.In his three-page complaint, he said Sereno’s missing SALN during her time as a professor at the University of the Philippines violate Section 7 of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act and Section 8(a) of the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees.Both require the disclosure of assets through SALN.Earlier, Rep. Reynaldo Umali of the Second District of Oriental Mindoro recognized that filing a criminal suit against Sereno, an impeachable officer, is a gray area because of the theory of immunity from suit.“Those violations do not matter until or unless she is removed, so we cannot file administrative, criminal or even civil cases because she has immunity, she cannot be removed unless she is impeached,” Umali said.Acknowledging that, Gadon said in his complaint that he is filing the criminal suit anyway to “toll the running of the prescriptive period for the offenses charged.”Jojo Lacanilao, Sereno’s spokesman, said of the complaint, “It’s a laughable move by desperate people.”Legally, in filing the complaint, Gadon wants to stop the countdown of the prescription period.Graft has a prescription period of only 10 years and the last year that Sereno allegedly committed an offense was in 2006, which is over 11 years ago.Meanwhile, Gadon said “Sereno only filed her SALN for the years 1998, 2002 and 2006,” citing the UP College of Law and the Office of the Ombudsman.Both offices told the House Committee on Justice, which is hearing the impeachment complaint against Sereno,that they retrieved only one SALN each.The Ombudsman found only Sereno’s 1998 SALN, while UP found only Sereno’s 2002 SALN.Based on the Chief Justice’s Personal Data Sheets submitted to the committee, Gadon said Sereno worked in UP from 1986 to 2006, or for 20 years.“That means she did not file her SALN 17 times!” he said.Sereno’s camp said the 1986 to 2006 time frame of the Chief Justice’s stint in UP “sounds about right.”Gadon has served as “management and legal consultant” of companies involved in realty development, food manufacturing, information technology, aviation and safety technology and health care, among others.He was admitted to the Bar in 1993.But before he was identified as the man behind the first valid complaint against the country’s Chief Justice, Gadon was widely known as part of the legal team of former president and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/gadon-files-graft-raps-vs-sereno/376581/
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DoJ, OSG to help search for 3rd telco
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['Ralph Daniel Crisostomo']
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2018-09-14 00:06:04+00:00
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THE Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) and the Department of Justice (DoJ) will help in the search of the country’s third telecommunications provider, President Rodrigo Duterte’s top aide said on Thursday.Special Assistant to the President Christopher “Bong” Go said the DoJ and the OSG will ensure that there would be no legal loopholes in the deal.“The terms of reference for the process of choosing, the [Department of Information and Communications Techonology] DICT said they will be able to finalize it next month so we can have the bidding in November,” Go said in an interview aired over dzRH, .“We want to expedite this, but we have to be careful on the bidding. We are not the former administration that… points fingers. So, we are involving the OSG and the DoJ, so there will be no legal loopholes and to expedite [the naming of the third telco] because the President is already impatient,” he added.“What I meant is, if there is a TRO (temporary restraining order), the implementation of the third telco will be slower,” Go said.In his tete-a-tete with Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador Panelo on Tuesday, Duterte said there will be a third telco player in December.“I will resolve it by late October or early November. By Christmas, the people will know the third player,” he said.To break the existing “duopoly” in the country, Duterte in November last year offered China the “privilege” to operate a third telco company in the Philippines.PLDT and Globe Telecom continue to dominate the industry after San Miguel Corp sold its telecommunications assets to the two firms in May 2016.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/doj-osg-to-help-search-for-3rd-telco/441176/
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Parliamentarians urged to push better health care
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['Jefferson Antiporda']
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2018-08-26 00:02:29+00:00
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SEN. Joseph Victor “JV” Ejercito urged legislators from the Asia-Pacific Region to help advance universal health coverage in their respective countries to make quality health care accessible to all.In his welcome address during the recent Asia-Pacific Parliamentarian Forum for Global Health, Ejercito emphasized the important role of parliamentarians in the attainment of sustainable financing and regulations for universal health care.Ejercito, co-chairman of the fourth meeting, said the Philippines is one with the countries in the Asia Pacific in ensuring that the public has access to quality health care.“Today, we open our meeting in support of the global call to advance universal health coverage, or, as we call it here in the Philippines, universal health care,” he said in his welcome address during the gathering held at the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Headquarters in UN Avenue, Manila.The global health forum was established in 2015 to provide parliamentarians platform to exchange ideas, build political will, strengthen capacities and foster collaboration towards sustainable action for health.The forum embodies WHO’s support to member states in achieving health under the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development by enhancing the rule of law in health governance and expanding the role of law in the development, implementation and monitoring of health policy.Ejercito is the author of the “Universal Health Care for All Filipinos Act” bill that seeks to provide equal access of quality and affordable health goods and services for Filipinos.The measure would provide for the automatic inclusion of every Filipino into the National Health Insurance Program of the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth).
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/parliamentarians-urged-to-push-better-health-care/434692/
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Climate change affects all life on Earth – study
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['Agence France-Presse']
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2016-11-12 21:41:21+00:00
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MIAMI: Most life on Earth is already being changed by the warming climate, even though the rise in global temperature since pre-industrial times has been rather slight, researchers warned.The study in the journal Science found that 82 percent of key ecological processes — including genetic diversity and migration patterns — are being altered by global warming.These effects extend to land, oceans and freshwater environments, even though temperatures have risen just about 1.87 degrees Fahrenheit (1 degree Celsius) over pre-industrial times due to fossil fuel burning.“We now have evidence that, with only about one degree C of warming globally, major impacts are already being felt,” said lead study author Brett Scheffers, member of the International Union for Conservation of Nature Climate Change Specialist Group and assistant professor at the University of Florida.“These range from individual genes changing, significant shifts in species’ physiology and physical features such as body size, and species moving to entirely new areas.”These changes will affect humans by causing disease outbreaks, inconsistent crop yields and cutting down on fishery productivity, threatening food security, experts said.The study, which analyzed 94 ecological processes as documented in peer-reviewed literature, also warned that the more ecosystems change, the less likely they may be to guard against the harshest effects of climate change.Unhealthy forests will no longer be able to sequester large amounts of carbon, for instance.Increasingly warm oceans will no longer act as an effective buffer against temperature rise, and climate-related floods, sea-level rise and cyclones will get worse.Since people depend on healthy ecosystems for food and clean water, the more the natural environment changes, the more people’s livelihoods will be at risk.“We are simply astonished at the level of change we observed, which many of us in the scientific community were not expecting for decades,” said senior author James Watson from the University of Queensland and Wildlife Conservation Society, member of the IUCN Climate Change Specialist Group.“It is no longer sensible to consider this a concern for the future, and if we don’t act quickly to curb emissions it is likely that every ecosystem across Earth will fundamentally change in our lifetimes.”
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/climate-change-affects-life-earth-study/296190/
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Robredo’s poll protest fee payment extended
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['Jomar Canlas']
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2017-07-12 19:51:58+00:00
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The Supreme Court (SC), sitting as the Presidential Electoral Tribunal (PET), has granted a request of Vice President Maria Leonor Robredo for an extension of the deadline to pay the remaining P7.43 million for the processing of her election counter-protest against former senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr.The Marcos camp had slammed Robredo for her so-called squid tactics in “delaying the case.”Recently, Marcos, through his lawyer George Erwin Garcia, said Rule 34 of the electoral tribunal provides that “[i]f a party fails to make the cash deposits or additional deposits herein required within the prescribed time limit, the tribunal may dismiss the protest or counter-protest, or take such action as it may deem equitable under the circumstances.”The tribunal, however, gave no date for Robredo to pay the balance even as it ordered her to justify the extension in writing.Marcos made the full payment of the P66.02 million for his protest fee on Monday, four days ahead of the July 14 deadline.In his protest, he assailed the May 2016 election results in 39,221 clustered precincts—36,465 of which he paid for the conduct of manual count and judicial revision and the remaining 2,756 for the annulment of the election results.Based on Commission on Elections data, the 39,221 clustered precincts are composed of 132,446 precincts.The Supreme Court recently ordered the preservation of the “automated election equipment and records such as Vote Counting Machines (VCMs), Consolidation and Canvass System (CCS) units, Secure Digital (SD) cards [main and back-up] and other data storage devices in all of the ninety two thousand five hundred nine (92,509) clustered precincts used in the May 2016 elections, effective immediately and continuing until further orders from the tribunal.”Marcos, who lost to Robredo by 263,473 votes, accused her of “massive electoral fraud, anomalies and irregularities” such as pre-shading of ballots, pre-loaded Secure Digital cards, misreading of ballots, malfunctioning VCMs and an “abnormally high” unaccounted votes/undervotes for the position of Vice President.During a preliminary conference, the electoral tribunal approved the recount of votes in three provinces as requested by Marcos.In these provinces–Camarines Sur, Negros Oriental and Iloilo–Robredo beat Marcos.Robredo’s counter-protest fee is P15.4 million for a recount of results in 8,042 clustered precincts composed of 31,278 established precincts.“It is only reasonable that we wait for the results of the recount because what if the recount won’t be finished anymore since the case will have to be dismissed? Besides, if Mr. Marcos runs for senator [in 2019], then his electoral protest will be null and void. These are the consequences, that’s why we are convinced that Mr. Marcos is in for a tough grind here,” according to Romulo Macalintal, a lawyer for Robredo.A motion to intervene had been filed by Robredo’s fellow The Outstanding Women in Nation’s Service (Towns) awardees, who want to help Robredo pay her counter-protest thru a fund-raiser, PISO Para sa Laban ni Leni.The motion is a test case because at least three laws prohibit Robredo from receiving donation in the course of her official duties or in connection with any operation being regulated or any transaction that may be affected by the Office of the Vice President.These laws are the anti-graft law, the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Presidential Decree 46.So far, Robredo’s supporters have raised at least P400,000.Robredo’s initial deposit of P8 million was her personal money and aid from Vicente Hao Chin, Pablito Chua and Rafael Bundoc, who are relatives of her late husband Jesse Robredo, former Interior secretary and a 2000 Ramon Magsaysay awardee for Good Governance.The Vice President paid her initial deposit of P8 million last May 2.with LLANESCA T. PANTI
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/robredos-poll-protest-fee-payment-extended/338031/
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Duterte rethinking veto on express lane
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['William Depasupil']
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2017-02-20 22:17:47+00:00
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PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte is reconsidering the lifting of his veto on temporary suspension of the use of express lane charges collected by the Bureau of Immigration (BI) in reaction to a letter of appeal from the bureau’s rank-and-file.“It has been referred by Malacañang to the Department of Budget and Management [DBM] for further study and consideration,” BI spokesman Antonette Mangrobang told The Manila Times.Express lane charges are additional costs being paid by a foreigner who wants to fast- track processing of his documents.They are used as a source of funding to pay for the services of the bureau’s confidential agents, contractual employees and other job orders and for overtime pay.According to Mangrobang, lower salary grade employees were the most affected by the presidential veto on the use of the express lane charges, particularly those receiving less than the minimum wage.“There are immigration employees whose salary grade level is only P9,000 a month, which is below the minimum wage,” she said. “Their morale is low.”As a consequence of the President’s veto, immigration employees were no longer paid for overtime work as payments collected from the express lane charges were remitted to the National Treasury.Sources said many employees have already resigned, further depleting the BI’s manpower, while others who opted to remain were either always absent or going under time.Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre 2nd of the Department of Justice (DOJ) in a letter to the President, pointed out that the elimination of express lane fees has serious implications in the delivery of the BI’s mandate.“The deposit of express lane charges to the general fund will automatically result inthe displacement about 1,000 or 73 percent of the bureau’s workforce by next week. The only source of income of these BI personnel is the express lane fees. Without the express lane fees, they will automatically lose their jobs and will join the unemployed population of the country, ” the letter of appeal said.At present, the BI has 2,671 personnel composed of 1,696 organic/permanent, presidential appointees, and 975 confidential agents, job orders and computer personnel.It supposedly needs at least 4,000 workers.The employment of 63 personnel ends when the term of the incumbent commissioner expires.The BI is in danger of losing 81 percent of the remaining personnel because of a meager net pay of about P6,000 to P13,000 for 24/7 duties.Use of express charges collected by the bureau is allowed under the DOJ-BI Special Provision No. 3, which is based on Section 7-A of Commonwealth Act 613 or the Philippine Immigration Act of 1940.The BI fears a collapse or paralysis of its operations anytime, which may compromise national security as a result of the veto that barred the agency from using its income for operational purposes.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/duterte-rethinking-veto-express-lane/313297/
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Airport body scraps P550 terminal fee
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['Benjie Vergara']
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2017-03-12 18:57:06+00:00
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Airlines and the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) will sign a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) aimed to stop collecting terminal fee from overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) that was imposed by the previous airport administration in 2015.MIAA General Manager Ed Monreal over the weekend said the signing will take place on Wednesday and the MOA will take effect in April this year.Monreal came up with the decision after his office worked on technical details and coordinated with international airlines in eliminating the P550 terminal fee.According to the MIAA, the signing will be attended by airlines concerned, Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, Philippine Overseas Employment Administration and Susan Ople Foundation and other OFW advocates.Representatives from some recruitment agencies have been invited to witness the signing.The MIAA had imposed the integration of international terminal fee in airline tickets purportedly to ease congestion in Manila airports.Under the regulation , the OFWs are required to pay the P550 terminal fee when buying plane tickets online or from airline ticket offices.They can claim a refund prior to their departure from or upon their return to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) in Manila.OFW groups had opposed the imposition, saying it is a clear violation of the Migrant Workers Act of 1995 that exempts the OFWs from paying the terminal fee.Reports said that more or less three million OFWs are working abroad and a total of more than a billion pesos in terminal fee that had been collected remains unclaimed by the OFWs.Monreal said the OFWs fail to claim their refund because they have little time to line up at the departure refund counters as they have to catch their flights.The MIAA will refund the terminal fee as long as the OFWs are able to present their e-ticket, boarding pass and passport.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/airport-body-scraps-p550-terminal-fee/316785/
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Abu Sayyaf member surrenders in Sulu
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['Bullet Train']
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21/03/2017 0:00
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Western Mindanao Command (AFP-WestMinCom) Spokesperson Capt. Jo-Ann Petinglay said Absara Mursalin Akbara alias Talin Amsang, 41, and a resident of Talipao, Sulu gave himself up to soldiers of the 41st Infantry Battalion at 10 a.m. Sunday in Sitio Palan, Mampallam, Talipao, Sulu.Petinglay added that Abdul Muhsin Nur a member of the Furuji Indama group, was apprehended by elements of the 18th Infantry Battalion in Sitio Block 4, Barangay Bohe Pahu, Ungkaya Pukan, Basilan Province at 11:30 am, Monday.According to the spokesperson, Akbara also surrendered his M16 rifle to the government authorities. He is said to be a member of the Jihad Susukan group, which operates in the municipalities of Talipao, Maimbung and Indanan in Sulu Province.During the initial investigation, Akbara revealed that he opted to surrender for fear of becoming the next target of sustained military offensives.He also said he no longer felt safe as communities have been tipping-off the sanctuaries and homes of Abu Sayyaf members.Petinglay said: “This is an offshoot of the command’s relentless focused military operations against the ASG inside their strongholds and comfort zones,” Maj. Gen. Carlito G Galvez, Jr, Commander of the AFP-WestMinCom said.This developed as the Basilan Provincial Police Office has accused the ASG of being involved in extortion activities that led to the explosion of an improvised explosive device (IED) at a commercial district in Lamitan City, Sunday night.Basilan City Police Provincial Director Sr. Supt Nickson Muksan said the IED exploded at about 10:05 pm, Sunday, destroying a portion of the KMC Hardware Building owned by Chinchin Yumol, a resident of Lamitan City.
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Manila Bulletin
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https://news.mb.com.ph/2017/03/21/abu-sayyaf-member-surrenders-in-sulu/
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DepEd strengthens anti-drug program
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['Neil Alcober']
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2017-01-21 23:43:19+00:00
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Determined to protect students from the adverse effects of dangerous drugs and to support the Duterte administration’s campaign against illegal drugs, the Department of Education (DepEd) is strengthening its National Drug Education Program (NDEP).The NDEP is a comprehensive educational program that provides a holistic approach in preventing and eliminating the menace of drugs in the country. It also enables all sectors to work collaboratively—with the school system as the core—thereby unifying all sectoral endeavors.The NDEP has five components that the DepEd builds on to create awareness on the ill effects of using illegal drugs: curriculum and instruction; co-curricular and ancillary services; teacher and staff development; parent education and community outreach; and research, monitoring and evaluation.“The DepEd has been implementing the NDEP for years now, to prevent drug use and abuse among students. The department sees the need to continuously strengthen it because of the rampant cases of drug-related incidents in the country,” DepEd NDEP focal person Girlie Azurin said.Education Secretary Leonor Briones, in a recent interview, assured the integration of the effects of illegal drugs lessons in the curriculum will be age-appropriate.“This will be age-appropriate. We are implementing it at the present curriculum but we are developing enhancements. I have already instructed the Undersecretary for Curriculum and Instruction to look into it,” she added.Moreover, the DepEd strengthens the program implementation by establishing Barkada Kontra Droga Chapters in schools; intensifying anti-drug abuse information campaigns; supporting the activities planned by the designated regional and schools division NDEP coordinators; and involving Parent-Teacher-Community Associations and pupil/student organizations in drug abuse prevention activities.The NDEP will be further enriched by allocating funds for the replication of existing modules and teaching aides, and/or by developing other supplementary instructional materials.The DepEd partnered with the Dangerous Drugs Board and other government and non-government agencies for the anti-illegal drug initiative.This effort is pursuant to the DepEd Memorandum No. 200, series of 2016, or the Strengthening the National Drug Education Program in Schools that is available at http://www.deped.gov.ph/node/ 576924.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/deped-strengthens-anti-drug-program/308081/
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Poland needs Filipino workers
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['William Depasupil']
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2018-06-20 00:12:34+00:00
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Poland has opened its labor market to Filipinos and other nationals in its bid to recruit more than 100,000 workers, according to the largest organization of licensed recruitment service providers in the Philippines.“Poland is in need of thousands of workers for its manufacturing and agriculture sectors. Our estimate, based on our meetings with Polish employers, is that this could reach over 100,000,” said Philippine Association of Service Exporters, Inc. (PASEI) president Elsa U. Villa on Tuesday.Villa led a 22-man road show to Poland and three other European countries to promote the professional capabilities and occupational skills of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).But Villa pointed out that while Poland could be an alternative work destination for OFWs being devoutly Catholic as well, the Philippine government, specifically the Departments of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and of Labor and Employment (DoLE), and Polish authorities need to sit down to address differences in labor laws.“The labor market realities in Poland are different, such that many provisions of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) Rules and Regulations do not apply,” she said.Despite these, Villa explained, Poland is very much willing to welcome OFWs because it is in much need of skilled labor, aggravated by an aging population and the exodus of Polish workers to more prosperous EU countries.Villa said Philippine Ambassador to Warsaw Patricia Ann Paez broached in a meeting with the PASEI marketing mission delegation that a bilateral labor agreement would be the “most orderly, the safest, and legal way to deploy OFWs to Poland.”Such agreement would “provide the framework for PASEI member-agencies and other licensed recruitment agencies in the country to conclude recruitment agreements with Polish employers,” she added.The PASEI official said some issues that need to be addressed include recruitment costs; the issue of joint and several liability; transfer during the employment period; and workers’ benefits, such as food and accommodation.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/poland-needs-filipino-workers/410324/
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Evacuees to spend Christmas in ‘transitional shelters’
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['Llanesca T. Panti']
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2017-10-02 21:16:30+00:00
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Evacuees displaced by military operations against terror group Maute in Marawi City are likely to be transferred to transitional shelters before Christmas, an Office of Civil Defense (OCD) official said on Monday.Assistant Secretary Kristoffer Purisima of the OCD noted that the evacuees would be transferred if a significant number of transitional shelters were built, possibly before year-end.The government has allotted 14 hectares of land for 1,500 transitional shelters.“Once an area has been finished, we can transfer the IDPs [internally displaced persons] there. Definitely, it’s possible that the first portion [of the transitional shelter site] will be done before Christmas,” Purisima said.“The flooring of the transitional shelters is made of cement, so the curing of the flooring is ongoing. The NHA [National Housing Authority] is on target. Their target date of construction of transitional shelters was September 8, and the construction started on September 8,” he added.Around 1,500 to 2,000 families have signified intention to avail of the transitional shelters.Each transitional shelter measures 22 square meters and could accommodate a family.“We are still looking for additional transitional shelter sites for the 500 families [who also want to be transferred to such shelters]. If more families would want to avail of them, then we will adjust to accommodate them,” Purisima said.He, however, conceded that the permanent housing program for the affected Marawi residents is yet to be constructed pending the conduct of Post Conflict Needs Assessment (PCNA) by authorities.“We are going to build a permanent shelters, and I have mentioned before that we are going to build condo-type buildings in Marawi to accommodate local government employees and other employees who want to avail of that type of housing. But these are all based on PCNA,” Purisima said.The government is also studying the possibility of granting compensation to Marawi residents whose houses need repairs.President Rodrigo Duterte declared martial law and ordered warrantless arrests in Mindanao last May 23 to suppress a rebellion led by the Maute Group.Congress extended his declaration of martial law until the end of the year during a joint session of Congress last July.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/evacuees-spend-christmas-transitional-shelters/354144/
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SSS allots P1.6B loan aid
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['Mayvelin U. Caraballo']
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2018-10-08 00:05:09+00:00
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THE Social Security System (SSS) has set aside P1.61 billion for its calamity assistance program (CAP) that can be tapped by its 1 million active members and pensioners who were affected by Typhoon “Ompong.”SSS President and Chief Executive Officer Emmanuel Dooc said the pension fund started offering calamity loan, advance three-month pension and direct house repair and improvement loan under the program for affected members since October 5.Eligible for the program were members with home address or property in calamity-stricken areas declared by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.These areas are Abra, Apayao, Benguet, Ifugao, Kalinga, Mountain Province, Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, La Union, Pangasinan, Batanes, Cagayan, Isabela, Nueva Vizcaya, Quirino, Aurora, Bataan, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga,Tarlac, and Zambales.Affected members can apply for calamity loans of up to P16,000 if they are paying contributions based on the maximum monthly salary credit and have at least 36 monthly contributions, six of which must be paid within the 12-month period preceding the date of application.“SSS recognizes that a large number of members residing in Luzon area are currently struggling to recover from the devastation of Typhoon Ompong. That’s why we are always here to give them financial assistance in this way to help pay for their basic necessities and rebuild their houses,” Dooc said in a statement.The SSS reported that more than 800,000 paying members were affected by “Ompong” when it slammed into Northern Luzon in September. Of this number, the pension fund identified over 80,000 potential borrowers with an average monthly salary credit of P10,000.“OFW-members who reside within the declared calamity area are also qualified to avail of the calamity loan. They just have to issue an authorization letter to their representatives who will file the CAP applications on their behalf,” Dooc said.Those who are still paying their loan balance under the Loan Restructuring Program and previous calamity loans, as well as those with final benefit claims, such as for total permanent disability and retirement, are not qualified for the loan program.Besides calamity loan, members with damaged homes can also avail of the Direct House Repair and Improvement Loan Program, which offers interest rate of only 8 percent per annum for a loan up to P450,000, and 9 percent per annum for loan amount of P450,000 up to P1 million, the SSS said.Meanwhile, the SSS said pensioners affected by “Ompong” can get their three-month pension in advance, provided that they presented a village certification as proof that they reside in a calamity area.Applications for calamity loan and advance-three month pension will be until January 4, 2019.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/sss-allots-p1-6b-loan-aid/449478/
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BODY FOUND IN CALOOCAN LOT
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['Jing Villamente']
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2017-06-10 00:20:05+00:00
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An unidentified man believed to be a victim of summary execution was found in a grassy vacant lot at 6:30 a.m. Thursday along Novahills Burol, Brgy. 171 Bagombong, Caloocan City. The victim, about 30 to 35 years old, 5’2” in height, of medium built and wearing a white t-shirt and black shorts was discovered by a concerned citizen. Caloocan Police North Extension Office investigators PO3 Gomer Mappala and PO3 Romel Caburog said that the victim must have been killed somewhere else and was dumped in the area to mislead investigators. The Caloocan Police Community Precinct (PCP) 5 is conducting a follow up operation for possible identification of the victim and arrest of the suspects.
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Manila Times
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https://www.manilatimes.net/body-found-caloocan-lot/331929/
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