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[
"Manila Times"
]
| 2016-08-30T04:50:12 | null | 2016-08-30T11:03:26 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fapple-to-show-off-new-offerings-on-sept-7%2F282922%2F.json | http://14255-presscdn-0-60.pagely.netdna-cdn.com//wp-content/uploads/2016/08/MNL-Times_250-x-250-logo.jpg | en | null | Apple to show off new offerings on Sept. 7 | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | SAN FRANCISCO: Apple on Monday sent out invitations to a “special event” on September 7 in San Francisco, where it is expected to unveil a new iPhone model.
In the company’s usual enigmatic style, it provided little more that the date, time and place to the invitation-only gathering set for the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium near San Francisco City Hall.
Apple has maintained a rhythm of introducing updated iPhone models on an annual basis, timing introductions to coincide with the year-end holiday shopping season.
Rumors include talk of an ‘iPhone 7’ that will boast improvements to software, cameras and processing speed along with doing away with jacks for plugging in wired headphones.
California-based Apple could also use the event to showcase updates to other products, such as its smartwatch and laptop computers. AFP
AFP/CC | http://www.manilatimes.net/apple-to-show-off-new-offerings-on-sept-7/282922/ | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/8ed65b1b9cadc91c5618d0669d28bbb0fa15e52d46ecc216b3c344a9d8016174.json |
[
"Llanesca T. Panti",
"Mayvelin U. Caraballo",
"Ma. Reina Leanne Tolentino"
]
| 2016-08-28T18:49:53 | null | 2016-08-29T01:01:42 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fpalace-taps-brillante-for-anti-drug-ads%2F282691%2F.json | http://14255-presscdn-0-60.pagely.netdna-cdn.com//wp-content/uploads/2016/08/MNL-Times_250-x-250-logo.jpg | en | null | Palace taps Brillante for anti-drug ads | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | MALACAÑANG has again tapped the services of 2009 Cannes Best Director Brillante Mendoza, this time for public service announcements (PSAs)warning the public against the perils of illegal drug use.
Palace Communications Secretary Martin Andanar made the announcement over state-run Radyo ng Bayan, and at the same time revealed that television network ABS-CBN and SM Cinemas had agreed to air the ads for free.
The first public service announcements (PSAs) of the Duterte administration will have two versions of two minutes and thirty seconds each, and four others that are each 30 seconds long, the Cabinet official said.
“These will start airing this week and show the ills brought about by illegal drugs and their effect on our society,” Andanar said.
SM Cinemas and the Lopez-led ABS-CBN will air the ads for free.
“The SM Cinemas’ commitment is to show it in its 300 cinemas. And the best part of it is it is free. It will run from September 1 to December 30 this year,” Andanar said.
“It’s the same case with ABS-CBN. Through Gabby and Secretary Gina Lopez, they expressed interest in airing the PSAs for free. Thankfully, Direk Brillante also didn’t charge us with a fee,” Andanar added.
Andanar was referring to ABS-CBN Chairman Eugenio “Gabby” Lopez 3rd and Secretary Regina Lopez of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
Andanar said he would work out a similar deal with GMA Network Chairman Felipe Gozon and TV5 chief Manuel Pangilinan.
Andanar was an anchor in TV5 before he was named Palace Communications chief.
Other media platforms expected to air the government anti-drug advertisements include state-run PTV 4 and Radyo ng Bayan, Brigada Network, Radio Mindanao Network and Manila Broadcasting Company.
Andanar earlier tapped Mendoza to direct the first State of the Nation Address of President Rodrigo Duterte last July 25.
Mendoza’s unconventional camera angles earned mixed reviews on social media. | http://www.manilatimes.net/palace-taps-brillante-for-anti-drug-ads/282691/ | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/f1d56ef70be29112c16ce69334b8f7389b7a6a290d8510d9487c944538f0b185.json |
[
"Manila Times"
]
| 2016-08-29T02:49:49 | null | 2016-08-29T10:43:42 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fpope-mulls-italy-quake-visit-as-survivors-dig-in%2F282705%2F.json | http://14255-presscdn-0-60.pagely.netdna-cdn.com//wp-content/uploads/2016/08/MNL-Times_250-x-250-logo.jpg | en | null | Pope mulls Italy quake visit as survivors dig in | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | AMATRICE, Italy: Pope Francis said Sunday he wanted to visit the quake-hit villages of central Italy, as survivors and rescue workers dug in for the long haul with colder weather approaching.
Speaking to worshippers in St Peter’s Square in Rome, Francis said he wanted to visit those hit by Wednesday’s deadly earthquake which brought devastation to a string of mountain villages in a remote area straddling the Umbria, Marche and Lazio regions.
“As soon as possible, I hope to come and see you, to bring you the comfort of faith, the tenderness of a father and a brother,” he said.
Nearly 300 people died in the quake and hundreds more were injured, and although rescue efforts were winding down, officials warned it was feasible there are still a dozen or so bodies under the rubble.
With hopes of finding anyone else still alive fading fast, rescue workers and survivors were turning their attention to the future as temperatures start to fall.
“We’re getting ready for winter. Given what’s happened in other quakes, we’re going to spend winter here,” said Emidio Chiappini from the devastated village of Sant’Angelo.
The government has pledged to support immediate reconstruction and Chiappini said he hoped authorities would send pre-fabricated housing to stave off the frost that will soon descend on the mountainous region.
The Italian government has freed up around 60 million euros ($67 million) in immediate aid, which will be bolstered by approximately 10 million euros in donations.
“Basically, we know we’re going to be here for three or four months. That’s not official, but we have got the equipment for that,” said a volunteer for the civil protection agency who gave his name as Nicola.
The government is reportedly poised to name a special commissioner to oversee the huge reconstruction operation, which is being hampered by aftershocks, with two more, measuring 3.7 and 4.4, hitting the region on Sunday afternoon.
Since the pre-dawn quake on Wednesday, residents’ nerves have been rattled by more than 1,800 aftershocks.
Workmanship under scrutiny
With the immediate grief fading, the focus was switching to how such damage could have been wrought in an area so close (50 kilometres/32 miles) to L’Aquila, which was hit by a 2009 earthquake in which more than 300 people perished.
Back then, the civil protection agency had to care for some 65,000 people. Nine months later, 10,000 of them were still living in temporary accommodation.
By comparison, there are only 5,000 permanent residents living in the areas affected by Wednesday’s earthquake.
Prosecutor Giuseppe Saieva has indicated that property owners who commissioned building work suspected of being sub-standard could be held responsible for contributing to the quake’s deadly impact.
“If the buildings had been constructed as they are in Japan they wouldn’t have collapsed,” he told La Repubblica daily.
“If it emerges that individuals cut corners, they will be pursued and those that have made mistakes will pay a price,” the prosecutor said.
Corruption concerns
On Monday, experts were expected to visit all the local schools to decide if any were still safe and to draw up plans for alternatives in time for the start of the new term in mid-September.
“The lessons from Aquila in 2009 have not been learned,” fumed Adriana Cavaglia, a member of the national council of geologists as she surveyed the ruins in Sant’Angelo.
Not far away, property developer Sergio Evangelista is happy to be able to finally go back and sleep in his own home, which was built in line with the building regulations and was almost untouched.
The village church, however, which was inaugurated on August 13 following a clumsy renovation, collapsed.
Atemio Scienzo, a craftsman who survived the quake, said he was concerned that endemic corruption could hamper reconstruction efforts.
“After the emergency comes the period of reconstruction and that’s the important bit. It has to happen quickly and the funds have to arrive,” he said.
“If half of it gets lost en route, as often happens, there will be a problem.”
Meanwhile, demonstrations of solidarity continued across the country with thousands turning out in Turin to eat pasta all’amatriciana, the famous dish which originated in Amatrice, with the proceeds of the meal to be sent to the survivors. AFP
AFP/CC | http://www.manilatimes.net/pope-mulls-italy-quake-visit-as-survivors-dig-in/282705/ | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/418912669a19b0841c1c20c3bb6b7ca626c4ef6876038e90929df98aab798596.json |
[
"Manila Times"
]
| 2016-08-27T06:48:58 | null | 2016-08-27T14:42:43 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Ffrench-resorts-defiant-as-top-court-suspends-burkini-ban-2%2F282367%2F.json | http://14255-presscdn-0-60.pagely.netdna-cdn.com//wp-content/uploads/2016/08/MNL-Times_250-x-250-logo.jpg | en | null | French resorts defiant as top court suspends burkini ban | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | MARSEILLE, France: French resorts were defiant after a ban on the burkini in a Riviera town was overturned, vowing to keep the restrictions in place and continue imposing fines on women who wear the full-body swimsuit.
In a judgement expected to lead to bans being overturned in around 30 coastal towns, the State Council, France’s highest administrative court, ruled Friday the measure was a “serious and clearly illegal violation of fundamental freedoms”.
The suspension of the ban on the Islamic swimsuit, which has triggered a fierce debate in France and sparked critical headlines around the world, was welcomed by the UN, and a French Muslim group said it was a “victory for common sense”.
But the ruling, which only applied to the ban imposed by Villeneuve-Loubet, was quickly dismissed by several other towns, including Nice, which vowed to keep the restrictions in place and continue imposing fines on women who wear the full-body swimsuit.
In its decision, the court said local authorities could only introduce measures restricting individual freedoms if wearing the swimsuit on beaches represented a “proven risk” to public order.
The judges said there was no such risk in the case before the court concerning Villeneuve-Loubet, a resort between Nice and Cannes.
Police action to fine Muslim women for wearing burkinis on beaches in several towns, including in the tourist resorts of Nice and Cannes, has triggered a fierce debate about women’s rights and the French state’s strictly-guarded secularism.
“From now on, it is up to everyone to take responsibility for cooling off, which is the only way to avoid public order disturbances and to try and live together,” Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said.
Restrictions ‘still valid’
But the ruling provoked defiance from several Riviera resorts, which pledged to continue imposing fines.
In recent weeks, around 30 French municipalities decided to ban access to public beaches “by anyone not wearing proper attire, which is respectful of good morality and the principle of secularism and not respectful of the rules of hygiene and bathing security”.
Nice town hall said it would “continue to fine” women wearing the burkini and the far-right mayor of Frejus, David Rachline, insisted his ban was “still valid”, telling Agence France-Presse there was “no legal procedure” against his ruling.
Ange-Pierre Vivoni, Socialist mayor of the Corsican town of Sisco, said his burkini ban, introduced this month following a confrontation between Moroccan bathers and locals, would also remain “for the safety of property and people in the town because I risked having deaths on my hands.”
Amnesty International said Friday’s court decision had “drawn an important line in the sand.”
“These bans do nothing to increase public safety but do a lot to promote public humiliation,” said Amnesty’s Europe director John Dalhuisen, who added it was time that the French authorities “drop the pretence” that the ban was about protecting women’s rights.
The debate has split both the left and the right, with former president Nicolas Sarkozy calling for a nationwide ban on the burkini, while former premier Alain Juppe has expressed opposition to “an exceptional law.”
‘Fundamental debate’
The ruling Socialists are also divided, with Education Minister Najat Vallaud-Belkacem and Health Minister Marisol Touraine concerned over the “drift” in the local orders, while Prime Minister Manuel Valls backed the mayors.
He stuck to his guns Friday evening, saying the State Council’s ruling “does not end the debate which has been opened”.
“It is a fundamental debate, which follows on from others,” he said, recalling that France was the first country in Europe to ban the full veil in public spaces in 2010. The headscarf was banned from schools in 2004.
Anger over the issue was further inflamed this week when photographs in the British media showed police surrounding a woman in a headscarf on a beach in Nice.
The mayor’s office denied the woman had been forced to remove clothing, telling Agence France-Presse she was showing police the swimsuit she was wearing under her top, over a pair of leggings, when the picture was taken.
In its ruling, the State Council said: “The emotion and the concerns arising from terrorist attacks, especially the attack in Nice on July 14, are not sufficient to legally justify a ban.” AFP
AFP/CC | http://www.manilatimes.net/french-resorts-defiant-as-top-court-suspends-burkini-ban-2/282367/ | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/81a90a3fa2a76eb107e0135a835033d43b05bf17f1e16542a769c784df82ed92.json |
[
"Frederick Silverio",
"William Depasupil",
"The Manila Times",
"Julmunir I. Jannaral"
]
| 2016-08-29T14:50:04 | null | 2016-08-29T22:12:11 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fmissing-pilots-chopper-found%2F282858%2F.json | http://14255-presscdn-0-60.pagely.netdna-cdn.com//wp-content/uploads/2016/08/MNL-Times_250-x-250-logo.jpg | en | null | Missing pilots, chopper found | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | SAN RAFAEL, Bulacan: The bodies of two pilots – Retired Colonel Miguel Logronio and and Jay Gregorio – and their wrecked helicopter (RPC2688), which was reported missing a week ago were found in Sitio Macua, Barangay Kabayunan in Doña Remedio Trinidad town here on Saturday afternoon. Troops led by 2nd Lt.
Roberto Apelado Jr. of Alpha Company, 48th Infantry (Guardians) Battalion, found the missing civilian helicopter and its pilots around 3:30 p.m. The Philippine Air Force Rescue Team and equipment were airlifted to extricate the remains. The helicopter was used in the previous search, rescue and retrieval operation for the personnel of CAVDEAL trapped inside the Sumag River Diversion Project tunnel last August 22. It flew from MWSS Compound in Barangay Bigte, Norzagaray toward Sumag River Diversion Project but lost contact with Air Transportation Office Control Tower after a few minutes. | http://www.manilatimes.net/missing-pilots-chopper-found/282858/ | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/6915cbeb956474335b10d2d5620cbd1b3da7c0991eaf31430206919d46436370.json |
[
"The Manila Times",
"Fernan Marasigan",
"Catherine S. Valente",
"Jefferson Antiporda"
]
| 2016-08-26T18:50:18 | null | 2016-08-08T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fnew-pact-2%2F282342%2F.json | http://14255-presscdn-0-60.pagely.netdna-cdn.com//wp-content/uploads/2016/08/08272016_A8_STANDALONE-300x190.jpg | en | null | NEW PACT | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | null | http://www.manilatimes.net/new-pact-2/282342/ | en | 2016-08-08T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/32ecff14c173c32bd5b6c5981bb4d1c8bd356e5eba295aded9467cd4a0c8a4b3.json |
[
"Maria Laura Margherita Angeles",
"Philippines News Agency",
"Anthony Vargas",
"The Manila Times"
]
| 2016-08-27T16:49:08 | null | 2016-08-17T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fdeadly-campaign-smokes-out-drug-dependents%2F282535%2F.json | http://14255-presscdn-0-60.pagely.netdna-cdn.com//wp-content/uploads/2016/08/170816_crime-4-2-300x200.jpg | en | null | Deadly campaign smokes out drug dependents | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | SELF-CONFESSED drug dependent Robert Coronel (not his real name) is holding out even if tens of thousands of people have already turned themselves in to authorities for drug-related offenses.
Coronel, 39, who works as a tricycle driver in Tondo, Manila, is worried that no one will look after his wife and three kids if he surrenders.
For the first time, however, Coronel is also scared for his life, and thinks there’s no choice but to yield to the police amid the deadly campaign against illegal drugs being waged by President Rodrigo Duterte.
“Nakakatakot. Ilan sa amin nahuli na, `yung iba napatay na [It is scary. Some of us have been caught. Some have been killed],” Coronel told The Manila Times in an interview.
Coronel claims to have struggled to overcome his drug addiction, which he labels as a “curse.” He acquired the habit in his late teens.
“Mahirap po talaga kasi sanay na ako. Ayun na po ang buhay na alam ko [It’s hard to quit because I have gotten so used to it. It’s the life that I know],” he said.
The fact that he lives in a community where almost everyone has involvement in the drug trade does not help.
The “change” brought by Duterte, however, may be the opportunity to finally get rid of the curse that has afflicted more than a million drug dependents in the Philippines.
“Ngayon iba na. Mapipilitan kang magbago kung hindi lagot ka kay Duterte [It’s different now. You’re forced to change, if not Duterte will punish you],” Coronel said.
Fear driving surrenderers
Psychologists however caution that some drug dependents may have turned themselves in out of fear, not because of a genuine desire to kick out their habit.
“We can’t really say they are truthful because they want to survive, ” said Milagros Cortez- Arrevillaga, psychology professor at the University of Santo Tomas and a registered guidance counselor.
“It’s different when you say, ‘I want to change and I need help,’” she added.
The current spotlight on drugs also reveals the complicated situation that arises when drug dependency becomes intertwined with poverty.
“Addiction to drugs will spare no one, regardless of age, gender, status and culture. A victim of drugs may start from a strong belief that these drugs are answers to their problems, would make them happier, more complete, and satisfied with their lives,” said Dr. Joseph C. Francisco, a clinical psychologist from TRIAD Psychological Services and St. Luke’s Medical Center in Quezon City.
Cortez-Arrevillaga said poor drug dependents usually took to drugs to forget about their hunger.
“Because when you take drugs, you do not get hungry,” she explained.
Drugs give instant relief, she added. “The problem with instant relief is it leaves behind a mark, and you’ll keep on looking for it,” Cortez-Arrevillaga said.
Authorities have proclaimed the fearsome anti-drug campaign a clear success. In last week’s Senate probe into the growing number of drug related killings, Director General Ronald “Bato” de la Rosa, chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP), said 673,978 drug suspects have yielded nationwide.
Someone’s watching
Sociologist Clifford Sorita however warns that the large number of surrenderers produced by the fear-driven anti-drug campaign is a sort of success that could backfire, eventually.
“At its core, if you do an act for the wrong reason, you get the wrong results. The genuine act of drug rehabilitation must emanate from a personal desire to change and not just because of fear,” he said in an interview.
“Because in so doing, the road to recovery from drug addiction becomes more effective and transformative,” Sorita added.
Coronel points to the climate of fear and uncertainty that has pervaded his community in Tondo.
It’s hard to distinguish who can and can’t be trusted, he said.
“Parang lahat ng kilos mo may nagbabantay [It’s as if someone’s always watching your every move],” he said.
Merly Tolentino, 65, a laundry woman from Tagaytay City, recounts how his son was arrested a few days after Duterte was sworn in.
Tolentino said her son, a drug dependent, was falsely accused of being a drug trafficker.
“Hindi naman pusher ang anak ko. User siya pero hindi pusher. Tulong ang kailangan niya, hindi dapat siya ikinulong [My son is not a drug pusher. He is a user but not a pusher. He needs help. He shouldn’t have been thrown in jail],” she said.
Tolentino claims her son tried hard to fight off drug dependence, but her family is poor and could not afford to pay for her son’s rehabilitation.
Snuffed out
Others, however, have simply been snuffed out.
To date, 756 suspected drug suspects have been killed in police operations nationwide. Worse, 1,160 deaths have been recorded “outside police operations,” likely killings by vigilantes or drug syndicates who want to cover their tracks.
Research by The Manila Times has found that the killings are mostly an urban phenomenon.
Of the 364 cases of deaths outside police operations reviewed by The Manila Times for the period May 10 to
August 26, 36.3 percent occurred in Metro Manila.
Seventy-three deaths were found in Central Visayas, accounting for 20.1 percent of the total number.
Mindanao had the least number of summary killings, with Regions 11, 12, 13 and the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao accounting for only 1.6 percent, 1.4 percent, 0.5 percent and 0.3 percent, respectively, of the total.
Of the reported deaths, suspected drug pushers or users topped the list, followed by people killed with no established motive.
Nearly 18 percent of the people killed were reported as being in police watch lists.
Also killed were alleged police informants, people involved in the anti-illegal drugs campaign, accomplices of drug suspects and those who were accidentally killed.
There were also those who were self-confessed drug users and pushers and those who surrendered to the police, yet were still killed later on.
For Sorita, the government has to look beyond the statistics of surrenderers and killings of drug suspects.
The government’s anti-drug crusade maybe initially effective, but to bring genuine change it has to be integrated with a rehabilitation program, he said.
“A genuine anti-illegal drug campaign must integrate law enforcement with a comprehensive drug rehabilitation program in order to effect real change,” Sorita said.
REICELENE JOY IGNACIO | http://www.manilatimes.net/deadly-campaign-smokes-out-drug-dependents/282535/ | en | 2016-08-17T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/d145bb9ad5089ae71597b595e99a3d2d3524479e51f6cfeee41e42237d7d1e4d.json |
[
"Manila Times"
]
| 2016-08-30T08:50:08 | null | 2016-08-30T15:29:31 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Feu-ruling-expected-tuesday-on-possible-fines-for-apple%2F282942%2F.json | http://14255-presscdn-0-60.pagely.netdna-cdn.com//wp-content/uploads/2016/08/MNL-Times_250-x-250-logo.jpg | en | null | EU ruling expected Tuesday on possible fines for Apple | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | BRUSSELS: The EU is expected to announce on Tuesday its decision on possible fines against American tech giant Apple, which is suspected of receiving preferential treatment from Ireland on taxes, sources said.
For weeks reports have emerged saying that the European Commission, the bloc’s competition watchdog, was gearing up to hit Apple with a hefty penalty over tax agreements with the Irish government.
A source close to the matter told Agence France-Presse on condition of anonymity that a decision was expected on Tuesday, while another source also cited that date.
Under European Union rules, which deem state tax aid illegal, the firm could be ordered to pay back taxes to Ireland.
A commission spokeswoman and Apple both declined to comment on news that a decision was forthcoming.
Apple CEO Tim Cook, in a Washington Post interview published August 13, said he hoped to “get a fair hearing” on the matter.
“If we don’t, then we would obviously appeal it,” he added.
The US stepped up its fight last Wednesday against the commission’s crackdown on tax avoidance by Apple and other multinational companies, accusing it of unilateralism and overstepping its mandate.
In a white paper, the US Treasury said the commission probe into alleged special tax treatment that certain EU countries gave Apple, Amazon, Starbucks and Fiat Chrysler “undermines the international tax system.”
‘Defend our reputation’
A US Treasury spokeswoman declined to comment on a possible ruling Tuesday from the commission.
The US has acknowledged the problems around the issue of multinational firms obtaining state aid, in the form of secret and extremely lucrative tax breaks, from Ireland, Belgium and Luxembourg for setting up business in those countries.
But it said those deals were made under international treaties and accepted tax practices. The Treasury accused the commission in the white paper of taking a “new approach” to established EU tax law in challenging member states’ legal tax breaks offered to multinational firms.
Last week the commission denied it was targeting US companies in particular and said that EU rules do not allow national tax authorities to give tax breaks to some companies that are not available to others.
If such breaks are ruled illegal, the benefits from them have to be repaid.
“This is a standard feature of EU state aid rules,” the commission’s statement said.
Ireland has stood by its actions, with Junior finance minister Eoghan Murphy saying Sunday: “We don’t believe we gave any state aid to Apple.”
He reiterated the government’s stance that it would appeal any decision that found against Ireland in the matter.
“It’s in the national interest that we defend our international reputation in this regard,” he said in the comments on RTE, the national broadcaster. AFP
AFP/CC | http://www.manilatimes.net/eu-ruling-expected-tuesday-on-possible-fines-for-apple/282942/ | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/60765e02f018d956af3e0da09e608d741395784bc9d28c77b1a20a96189b0954.json |
[
"Atty. Dodo Dulay",
"Lito Averia",
"Marlen V. Ronquillo",
"The Manila Times",
"Wolfgang Struck",
"Kenneth Salazar"
]
| 2016-08-31T10:52:32 | null | 2016-08-29T23:51:13 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fa-slap-on-the-wrist-for-rcbc%2F282877%2F.json | http://14255-presscdn-0-60.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/dododulay.gif | en | null | A slap on the wrist for RCBC | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | Many folks from the business community are wondering why the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP)’s Monetary Board – the public sector counterpart of the Board of Directors in private companies – gave Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC) a mere slap on the wrist despite the BSP’s findings that the bank committed serious violations of banking and anti-money laundering laws.
In the case of RCBC, central bank regulators sanctioned the Yuchengco-led financial institution with an administrative fine of P1-billion, which the BSP quickly touted before media as “the largest amount ever approved as part of its supervisory enforcement actions on a BSP-supervised financial institution.”
“This affirms the BSP’s strong commitment to ensure the stability of the country’s financial system through strong and effective regulations of BSP-supervised financial institutions,” the central bank crowed.
But if the BSP really wants to prevent similar money laundering schemes from happening again, and to show that banking regulators will not tolerate Philippine banks being used as a conduit for “dirty money,” wittingly or unwittingly, it will take more than monetary penalties to put that message across.
The BSP, together with the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) and the Department of Justice (DOJ), should file criminal cases against RCBC officials implicated or involved in laundering the $81-million stolen from Bangladesh Bank’s account with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
As Bangladesh Ambassador to the Philippines John Gomes said during a press conference at their embassy in Manila recently: “This fine and the resignation of RCBC president and treasurer indicate that they (i.e. RCBC) are definitely responsible.”
Gomes and officials from the Bangladesh Bank stressed RCBC’s accountability in the scheme for processing the transactions and allowing the wired stolen funds to be withdrawn despite the urgent stop payment request of Bangladesh Bank officials after they learned of the heist. “If they have stopped it, then nothing would have happened,” Gomes added.
Indeed, we find it illogical that while the Monetary Board found RCBC guilty of wrongdoing supposedly “for noncompliance with the New Central Bank Act, in connection with the incidents following the $81-million Bangladesh Bank cyberheist,” no bank officials (aside from the branch manager who admitted her involvement in moving the stolen funds) were held accountable for such wrongdoing.
By simply imposing a hefty fine on RCBC, the BSP is saying in effect that an offense was committed and punishment was meted out but that the identity of the perpetrator is either unknown or of no importance. That, of course, is absurd. How can you have an offense without an offender?!
As it is, the P1-billion fine is a pittance for RCBC. It won’t have much of an impact on the Yuchengo-led bank’s bottom line, especially since the monetary penalty is going to be paid in installment, anyways. Perhaps this is why RCBC readily agreed to comply with the fine imposed under Monetary Board Resolution No. 1392.
“This amount shall be paid in two equal tranches over a one-year period,” RCBC said, explaining that the first P500 million would be paid upon approval by the Monetary Board and the balance of P500 million one year after.
Going by RCBC’s solid financial performance in the past three years, the installment payment of the fine won’t significantly affect the bank’s net income. In 2015, the bank’s unaudited consolidated net income was P5.1 billion, or 15.2 percent higher than its unaudited consolidated net income of P4.41 billion in 2014. The year before (i.e. 2013), RCBC’s earnings hit P5.31-billion. So each P500-million tranche is roughly just 10 to 15 percent of the bank’s annual profit – a revenue shortfall that can be chalked up to a “bad year.”
Some quarters point out, however, that the BSP’s treatment of RCBC stands in stark contrast to that of the “supporting cast” in the $81-million money laundering scheme.
For instance, the Monetary Board quickly cancelled the certificates of registration of Philrem Service Corporation (Philrem) as a remittance agent, as well as Werquick Inc. and Peso Remittance Express, Inc., both previously registered as foreign exchange dealers/money changers/remittance agents, allegedly “due to significant violations of Section 4511N of the Manual of Regulations for Non-Bank Financial Institutions and Circular No. 706 dated 5 January 2011.”
The BSP said the three establishments committed “significant violations” of the rules governing non-bank financial institutions, particularly, on the requirement to submit to the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) a report on covered transactions and suspicious transactions under the Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA) and to comply with updated anti-money laundering rules and regulations.
The central bank also announced that it “will also be working closely with other relevant government agencies, such as the AMLC and the Department of Justice (DOJ), in their investigation of possible criminal and administrative violations under the AMLA and its implementing rules and regulations, of the [three]entities, including their directors and officers.” In fact, as early as April, AMLC already filed before the DOJ, a complaint for violation of AMLA against top officials of Philrem.
So why hasn’t any criminal complaint been filed against the principal players in the money laundering scheme, particularly, the officers of RCBC who were primarily responsible under AMLA for reporting and stopping the transfer of funds to Philrem and other account holders in the first place?
That is the 64-dollar question.
More on the saga of the stolen Bangladeshi funds in future columns. | http://www.manilatimes.net/a-slap-on-the-wrist-for-rcbc/282877/ | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/53249caa203470366cd35a6f76210608032c7cd63338cfcd04d6b7c0bc1e7fb7.json |
[
"Al Jacinto",
"Leander C. Domingo",
"Moh Saaduddin"
]
| 2016-08-26T14:48:38 | null | 2016-08-26T21:55:15 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fnpa-rebels-free-3-policemen-pow%2F282277%2F.json | http://14255-presscdn-0-60.pagely.netdna-cdn.com//wp-content/uploads/2016/08/MNL-Times_250-x-250-logo.jpg | en | null | NPA rebels free 3 policemen ‘POW’ | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | The New People’s Army (NPA) on Friday released three police officers they held as “prisoners of war” or “POW” and turned them over to their families and church leaders.
The rebels said Chief Insp. Arnold Ongachen and Police Officer 1 Michael Grande were fetched by representatives from Exodus of Justice and Peace headed by Reverend Jurie Jaime and other politicians in Davao Oriental.
Ongachen, Governor Generoso town’s chief of police, was abducted by the NPA in a daring attack on the police station in June this year.
The NPA claimed he was held and interrogated af ter a packet of shabu was found in his possession.
Its spokesman, Rigoberto Sanchez, earlier said the attack targeted the municipal police force “based on the people’s demand to punish the protectors of rampant drug trafficking in the area.”
Rubi del Mundo, rebel spokesman, said the National Democratic Front (NDF) of the Philippines ordered the release of both policemen who were captured by the communist rebels in separate operations.
He added that the release of Ongachen and Grande is a gesture of goodwill for the formal resumption of the first round of peace negotiations in Oslo, Norway, that ended on Friday.
“The People’s Democratic Government’s judicial proceedings and investigations into POW Ongachen and POW Grande’s possible war crimes and violation of people’s rights have been effectively suspended in deference to appeals of their families and peace advocates. POW Ongachen and POW Grande have apologized for their violations against the people,” del Mundo said.
He added that the government should also immediately release all the remaining 540 political prisoners languishing in various jails across the country.
Similarly, Supt. Arvin Montenegro, officer in charge of Tandag City Police Office in Surigao del Sur, told members of the media in Camp Crame in Camp Crame in a phone-patch briefing that Police Officer 1 Richard Yu of Carmen Municipal Police Station was freed by his captors in Sitio Hitaob, Barangay Awasian in Tandag City.
Montenegro said Yu was fetched by his family, Vice Gov. Manuel Alameda, Sangguniang Bayan member Henrich Pimentel and Bishop Modesto Villasanta.
Yu was abducted by members of the NPA last July 5.
The police officer was accused of involvement in illegal drug operations.
Al Jacinto and Anthony Vargas | http://www.manilatimes.net/npa-rebels-free-3-policemen-pow/282277/ | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/47358fce83929316d50bbb63f2c16068918b8d7da6985dd0871b1030a18bb5da.json |
[
"Neil Alcober",
"Frederick Silverio",
"William Depasupil",
"The Manila Times"
]
| 2016-08-29T14:50:12 | null | 2016-08-29T22:08:17 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fsan-juan-kicks-off-barangay-drug-rehab%2F282853%2F.json | http://14255-presscdn-0-60.pagely.netdna-cdn.com//wp-content/uploads/2016/08/MNL-Times_250-x-250-logo.jpg | en | null | San Juan kicks off barangay drug rehab | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | SAN Juan City, Metro Manila: The city’s drug dependents who volunteered to be rehabilitated are now undergoing a 60-day rehabilitation program in the villages here, according to Vice Mayor Janella Ejercito-Estrada, head of the city anti-drug abuse council. The rehabilitation program was launched on August in Barangay West Crame with only 33 of the more than 100 drug surrenderers attended the program. She said that aside from the low turnout of participants in the initial launch of the rehabilitation, there are 23 surrenderers out of the 33 who were tested positive of drug use during a surprise a drug testing. Meanwhile, religious leaders were also tapped for guidance and spiritual counseling of surrenderers aside from livelihood training. | http://www.manilatimes.net/san-juan-kicks-off-barangay-drug-rehab/282853/ | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/5632da6de20b179be987f85a2b7474d9c59f64cf1f000d7dc7f4744e892a1be7.json |
[
"Agence France-Presse",
"Jefferson Antiporda",
"Jomar Canlas",
"Jaime Pilapil"
]
| 2016-08-29T16:50:04 | null | 2016-08-30T00:35:52 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Ftrump-immigration-policy-to-be-fair-and-humane-campaign-chief%2F282907%2F.json | http://14255-presscdn-0-60.pagely.netdna-cdn.com//wp-content/uploads/2016/08/MNL-Times_250-x-250-logo.jpg | en | null | Trump immigration policy to be ‘fair and humane’ - campaign chief | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | WASHINGTON, D.C.: Donald Trump is committed to a “fair and humane” approach to securing America’s borders, but details of his evolving immigration policy will be revealed at a later time, his presidential campaign team said on Sunday (Monday in Manila).
The Republican presidential candidate’s hardline stance on repatriating the 11 million undocumented immigrants in the United States has been a central tenet of Trump’s White House campaign—and a hugely popular selling point to his most ardent supporters.
To keep illegal migrants out, Trump has promised to build a wall on America’s southern border—to be paid for, he has declared at rally after campaign rally, by Mexico.
One year ago, he issued an immigration reform plan calling for an end to automatic citizenship for those born in the United States, a right which some say is abused by undocumented migrants seeking American birthright for their children.
This past week, however, the Republican presidential candidate—once uncompromising in his vow to use a deportation force to repatriate illegal migrants—seemed a little less resolute.
He even suggested in one interview that there could be a “softening” of his position on how to handle undocumented migrants—a sign of vacillation met with dismay by some Trump aides.
“There certainly can be a ‘softening,’ because we’re not looking to hurt people,” Trump told Fox News town hall last Tuesday.
Now, in the latest apparent turnaround, his surrogates insisted Sunday that Trump remains as committed as ever to maintaining the integrity of America’s borders.
“We’re going to secure the border. We’re going to build a wall, have a physical barrier, enforce the laws of this country,” the billionaire businessman’s White House running mate Mike Pence told CNN.
“We will have a mechanism for dealing with people in this country that—you heard the word ‘humanely.’ It will be fair and tough, but there will be no path to legalization and citizenship unless people leave the country,” said Pence, the governor of Indiana, adding that some specifics will be provided soon at a later time.
“You’re going to hear in more detail in the next two weeks that lays out all the policies,” Pence said.
“Donald Trump will articulate what we do with the people who are here.”
Trump’s new campaign director, Kellyanne Conway, said there has been little real change in the central tenets of Trump’s immigration platform.
“Actually he’s been pretty consistent. Immigration is a very complex issue,” she explained to CBS television on Sunday.
“First, there’s still no amnesty. Secondly, he’s building that wall. That has been the centerpiece of his candidacy and his immigration [policy]from the beginning. It has not changed one inch,” she said.
“For those 11 million—if that in fact is the number—he wants to address that issue humanely and fairly,” Conway said.
“He is talking about being fair and humane [but]also being fair to the workers who are competing for jobs, being fair to all of us who want secure borders.” | http://www.manilatimes.net/trump-immigration-policy-to-be-fair-and-humane-campaign-chief/282907/ | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/804c9a0f2ff12a008ccbbf9f5aac9ad34ae479f6e8debea15c996cc9f15d94cb.json |
[
"Jefferson Antiporda",
"The Manila Times",
"Catherine Talavera",
"Jing Villamente"
]
| 2016-08-26T14:49:13 | null | 2016-08-26T22:02:19 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fsenate-sets-probe-ph-rocks-and-soil-used-in-china-sea-reclamation%2F282286%2F.json | http://14255-presscdn-0-60.pagely.netdna-cdn.com//wp-content/uploads/2016/08/MNL-Times_250-x-250-logo.jpg | en | null | Senate sets probe PH rocks and soil ‘used’ in China sea reclamation | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | THE Senate Committee on Accountability of Public Officers and Investigations (blue ribbon committee) will conduct its first investigation next week of “treacherous” excavations in Zambales province and smuggling of soil and rocks used to build Chinese islands in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea).
Headed by Sen. Richard Gordon, the blue ribbon committee will look into destructive mining operations and alleged shipping of the rocks and soil to be used by China for reclaiming contested islands in the South China Sea.
It was Sen. Panfilo Lacson who filed Senate Resolution 92, asking the chamber to probe in aid of legislation the allegedly exploitative activities that harm the environment and pose serious threats to national security to the prejudice of Philippine sovereignty and territorial integrity.
“[The investigation has] the end in view of adopting remedial measures to strengthen our environmental protection and conservation laws and address the possible breach of our national security,” Lacson said.
In his resolution, he cited reports of mining activities practically flattening mountains and damaging a large area of forested highlands in Santa Cruz town in Zambales.
He also cited reports quoting Zambales Gov. Amor Deloso, who said soil and rocks taken from these areas were “shipped, dumped and used to reclaim almost 3,500 hectares of the disputed islands in the West Philippine Sea, which caused massive, unspeakable damage to the marine environment therein.”
“There is a need to account for the personalities behind [these]highly anomalous, illegal and treacherous acts that tend not only to destroy our environment, but also make a mockery of our laws to the prejudice of the Filipino people and constitute a possible breach of our national security,” Lacson said.
Mining activities in the province, he noted, had caused unprecedented damage and has affected not only the environment but also residents living near large-scale mining sites.
As proof, Lacson further cited an order of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources’ Mines and Geosciences Bureau last July 2014 suspending four firms for practicing unsystematic strip-mining methods in their nickel mining operations, causing siltation and generating dust.
In 2015, the Office of the Ombudsman found probable cause to indict former Zambales governor Hermogenes Ebdane Jr. for graft, usurpation of government functions and mineral theft in connection with issuance of small-scale mining permits to a mining firm that allowed the illegal hauling of minerals from the province in 2011.
The blue ribbon committee will be joined by the Senate Committee on Environment and Natural Resources headed by Sen. Cynthia Villar in the hearing on August 31. | http://www.manilatimes.net/senate-sets-probe-ph-rocks-and-soil-used-in-china-sea-reclamation/282286/ | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/f5903dda58adf23e4cc6f47207752d07ad4ad39fd215fbbd1979339523cce5d3.json |
[
"Manila Times"
]
| 2016-08-30T10:50:10 | null | 2016-08-30T17:44:09 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fjudgement-vote-looms-for-brazils-rousseff-2%2F282950%2F.json | http://14255-presscdn-0-60.pagely.netdna-cdn.com//wp-content/uploads/2016/08/MNL-Times_250-x-250-logo.jpg | en | null | Judgement vote looms for Brazil’s Rousseff | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | BRASÍLIA: Brazil’s suspended president Dilma Rousseff faces judgement Tuesday in a Senate vote expected to remove her from office despite her dramatic claim of being the victim of a coup.
The country’s first female president confronted her accusers in a marathon session Monday, telling the Senate that she is innocent and warning that the Brazilian democracy is in danger.
She is accused of having taken illegal state loans to patch budget holes in 2014, masking the country’s problems as it slid into its deepest recession in decades.
The Senate is set to hear closing arguments from lawyers for the two sides on Tuesday before holding a final debate ahead of voting—with the session possibly stretching into Wednesday. Two thirds, or 54, of the 81 senators must vote in favor of impeachment to strip Rousseff of the presidency.
Recalling how she was tortured under Brazil’s military dictatorship in the 1970s, the leftist leader urged senators during her testimony to “vote against impeachment, vote for democracy… Do not accept a coup.”
However, momentum to push her out of office appears unstoppable, fueled by deep anger over Brazil’s devastating recession, months of political paralysis and a vast corruption scandal centered on the state oil giant Petrobras.
Folha, one of Brazil’s main newspapers, published a running count of senators’ voting intentions and had 52 declaring themselves pro-impeachment by late Monday, with 11 undecided.
Rousseff would be replaced by her vice president turned bitter enemy Michel Temer. He said he was watching the process with “complete calm.”
If Rousseff is expelled, he plans to fly to China for a G20 summit as soon as he is sworn in.
Tear gas
Despite her strong words in the Senate, public reaction to Rousseff’s impeachment trial has been characterized by widespread indifference, as Brazilians struggle with rising inflation and unemployment.
Some 2,000 flag-waving supporters rallied to support her near the Senate building in the capital Brasilia—a fraction of the crowds her Workers’ Party has drawn in the past.
Protesters also gathered in Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo, where they lit fires and riot police fired tear gas to disperse them.
The Workers’ Party under Rousseff and her predecessor Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is credited with raising around 29 million Brazilians out of poverty. But they have turned on their rulers, blaming them for the country’s multiple ills, accusing Rousseff of mismanagement in particular.
Temer, of the center-right PMDB party, has already served as acting president since May, using his brief period in power to steer the government rightward.
Although that has earned plaudits from investors, it remains uncertain whether he will have voters’ support to push through the painful austerity reforms he promises.
Rousseff has barely double digit approval ratings. But Temer is hardly more popular, according to opinion polls.
Unlike many high-profile politicians, Rousseff has not been accused of trying to enrich herself through embezzlement or bribes. There is also lingering sympathy for her suffering under the dictatorship.
Although she spoke mostly in a measured tone on Monday, her voice cracked and she appeared close to tears while recalling her suffering as a young leftist guerrilla and during a battle with cancer.
“Twice I have seen the face of death close up,” she said. “When I was tortured for days on end, subjected to abuses that make us doubt humanity and the meaning of life itself, and when a serious and extremely painful illness could have cut short my life.”
“Today I fear only for the death of democracy, for which many of us here in this chamber fought.” AFP
AFP/CC | http://www.manilatimes.net/judgement-vote-looms-for-brazils-rousseff-2/282950/ | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/43fc9b4f8e824d498269f588a21213824ed0caaa2a9f84b51ab4a314f5faf66a.json |
[
"Neil Alcober",
"Julmunir I. Jannaral",
"James Konstantin Galvez",
"Ernie B. Esconde"
]
| 2016-08-30T14:50:19 | null | 2016-08-30T21:49:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fdeped-moves-to-bolster-ip-education%2F283027%2F.json | http://14255-presscdn-0-60.pagely.netdna-cdn.com//wp-content/uploads/2016/08/MNL-Times_250-x-250-logo.jpg | en | null | DepEd moves to bolster IP education | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | THE Department of Education (DepEd) has strengthened its links with communities of indigenous peoples (IPs) to identify some 300 priority sites in various parts of the country for basic education access.
The DepEd, under its Indigenous Peoples Education (IPEd) program, targets the geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas so that relevant and appropriate learning modalities can be made available to learners.
In Mindanao, a total of 251 new public schools will be built for schoolyear 2016-2017.
“This is the biggest effort in the history of DepEd to establish schools for IP communities. Hand-in-hand, we shall build schools where culture is respected and where learners are happy and feel secure,” Rozanno Rufino of DepEd’s Indigenous Peoples Education Office (IPsEO), said.
The DepEd is hiring 583 new teachers with permanent positions for the new schools in Regions IX, X, XI, XII and XIII where they will be trained to implement the IPEd program.
It also partnered with the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) for the construction of 605 classrooms through its Kalahi-CIDSS National Community-Driven Development Program and transferred P500 million for the initiative.
In line with DepEd Order No. 62, Series of 2011 or “Adopting the National Indigenous Peoples Education (IPEd) Policy Framework, and the IPEd provision of the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of the Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013, the DepEd adopted Order No. 32, Series of 2015 or an “Indigenous Peoples Education Curriculum Framework.”
Through Department Order 32, the department recognizes the importance of culture in the learning process of IPs.
Drafting of the framework, it said, was made in consultation with indigenous community elders, leaders and implementors of the community-based IP initiatives to keep the K-to-12 curriculum attuned to the educational, cultural and social contexts of IP learners.
Various DepEd field offices and schools have started working with various IP communities nationwide for the development of indigenized lesson plans.
Education Secretary Leonor Briones, during the August 9 celebration of the National IP Day, wrote to teachers, school heads and officials to “remain focused and prove that we are in this with our indigenous communities for the long haul.”
The DepEd aims to develop at least 500 indigenized lesson plans by end of 2016.
As part of the efforts to maintain an inclusive, equitable and culture-based basic education system, it recently issued Order No. 50, Series 2016, to ensure that the hiring and deployment of teachers for kindergarten, elementary and junior high school is consistent with objectives of the K-to-12 Basic Education Program.
To date, a total of 7,767 teachers and school heads nationwide have undergone basic retooling on IPEd.
“It is not only about bringing children to school, but more important ensuring that education is culturally rooted and that the elders, culture bearers and the whole community are actively engaged and empowered in the learning process. This is at the core of the DepEd mission and our shared commitment with IP communities as we journey with them in their struggle for self-determination and their aspirations for their ancestral domain,” Rufino explained. | http://www.manilatimes.net/deped-moves-to-bolster-ip-education/283027/ | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/432a5ea03a433b547051676665ea605d28488c83901fa4e4ce5af44a42e06afa.json |
[
"Persida Acosta"
]
| 2016-08-28T12:49:32 | null | 2016-08-28T20:05:08 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fgrandparents-cannot-have-custody-over-children-when-a-parent-is-still-living%2F282624%2F.json | http://14255-presscdn-0-60.pagely.netdna-cdn.com//wp-content/uploads/2016/08/pao-logo.png | en | null | Grandparents cannot have custody over children when a parent is still living | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | Dear PAO,
My husband is a seaman. Every now and then he is out of the country to work abroad. One time, his parents visited our house and requested that I allow them to bring our two children to the mall, to which I consented. However, they failed to return the children. They told me that they were asked by my husband to take the custody of the children as he will be out of the country for good to be with his mistress. Can I get back the custody of my children?
Elgie
Dear Elgie,
Parents are the very persons who are vested by law with parental authority over the persons of their legitimate children. Parental authority according to the Family Code of the Philippines is defined as follows:
“Art. 209. Pursuant to the natural right and duty of parents over the person and property of their unemancipated children, parental authority and responsibility shall include the caring for and rearing them for civic consciousness and efficiency and the development of their moral, mental and physical character and well-being.”
Clearly, the right to the custody of legitimate children is part and parcel of the parental authority being enjoyed by the parents over the persons of their legitimate children.
It is worthy to note at this juncture that parental authority shall be jointly exercised by the parents of legitimate children. In the absence or death of either parent, the other parent who is present shall continue to exercise the same. (Articles 211 and 212, Ibid.)
Thus, in your situation, considering that your husband is away, you alone, being the mother of your children, have the right to exercise parental authority over them. Between you and their grandparents, you are the one who should have the right over the custody of your children. As such, you may enforce this right through a court action should they insist on their continued custody of your children.
Again, we find it necessary to mention that this opinion is solely based on the facts you have narrated and our appreciation of the same. The opinion may vary when the facts are changed or elaborated.
We hope that we were able to enlighten you on the matter.
Editor’s note: Dear PAO is a daily column of the Public Attorney’s Office. Questions for Chief Acosta may be sent to [email protected]. | http://www.manilatimes.net/grandparents-cannot-have-custody-over-children-when-a-parent-is-still-living/282624/ | en | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/0fc69f71ba8b53046c8d08c184a77fececb1c09f3901c8ed872960d86adb1f81.json |
[
"The Manila Times"
]
| 2016-08-31T06:50:20 | null | 2016-08-31T14:38:56 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fjapan-typhoon-kills-nine-in-elderly-home%2F283144%2F.json | http://14255-presscdn-0-60.pagely.netdna-cdn.com//wp-content/uploads/2016/08/MNL-Times_250-x-250-logo.jpg | en | null | Japan typhoon kills nine in elderly home | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | TOKYO: Surging flood water brought by a powerful typhoon left nine people dead in an elderly care home in Japan, officials said Wednesday.
The bodies were discovered in a riverside care complex half buried in mud and rubble after Typhoon Lionrock ripped through the region, dumping torrential rain over a wide area.
Footage from public broadcaster NHK showed a helicopter hovering over the building in Iwaizumi, as rescuers tried to pluck other stranded residents to safety.
A district disaster official told Agence France-Presse that the nine elderly people died as a result of mud that swamped the facility.
“We are trying to confirm the identities of these bodies,” Shuko Sakamoto, a spokeswoman for police in northern Iwate prefecture, told Agence France-Presse.
The death toll from the powerful storm rose to 10 after an elderly woman was found dead in her flooded home nearby, top government spokesman Yoshihide Suga told reporters.
NHK also reported another body had been discovered not far from the nursing home, but there has been no official confirmation.
Aerial footage showed a wide swath of flooded land, with parked cars half submerged in murky water.
Lionrock slammed into northern Japan on Tuesday evening, dumping heavy rain that caused flooding and triggered power outages.
Japan’s Disaster Medical Assistance Team (DMAT) has sent rescuers to Iwaizumi, spokesman Takenori Ueushiro told Agence France-Presse.
The typhoon, which was packing winds over 160 kilometers (100 miles) an hour when it made landfall, also caused flooding on the northern island of Hokkaido.
“In Minamifurano town, the water level is still very high with a current, and rescue workers are using helicopters now to try to evacuate several people who are left on the roofs of their houses or their cars,” said Hokkaido official Terumi Kohan.
Lionrock’s path—hitting northeastern Japan from the Pacific Ocean—was unusual.
Typhoons usually approach Japan from the south and southwest before moving northward across the archipelago.
Authorities on Tuesday had warned of up to eight centimeters (three inches) of rain per hour, and said they expected flooding and landslides.
The typhoon’s landfall came at high tide, which exacerbated the flow of water.
Lionrock comes on the heels of two other typhoons that hit Japan in the past nine days, resulting in two deaths, the cancellation of hundreds of domestic flights and disruptions to train services. AFP
AFP/CC | http://www.manilatimes.net/japan-typhoon-kills-nine-in-elderly-home/283144/ | en | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/d25d57cd279ff201783c8fd3fbd5f11fa81fe563e12bd1ce115557d0cfc4e09e.json |
[
"Jing Villamente",
"Fernan Marasigan",
"Jaime G. Aquino",
"Michael Joe T. Delizo"
]
| 2016-08-27T04:50:51 | null | 2016-08-27T01:14:37 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fbarretto-named-bjmp-chief%2F282330%2F.json | http://14255-presscdn-0-60.pagely.netdna-cdn.com//wp-content/uploads/2016/08/MNL-Times_250-x-250-logo.jpg | en | null | Barretto named BJMP chief | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | President Rodrigo Duterte has named Superintendent Serafin P. Barretto Jr. the new head of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP).
Barretto was appointed as Officer-in-Charge of the bureau on August 8, 2016, replacing Supt. Deogracias Tapayan.
Upon his designation as OIC, Barreto launched his flagship program, SALAMAT BJMP which means Samasamang Lilinisin ang Pamamahala at Maglilingkod ng Tapat sa BJMP.
SALAMAT BJMP contains the action plans, programs, and strategies of his leadership, among which is the Oplan RODY that seeks to remove personnel involved in illegal drugs and corruption inside jails. The plan also includes the disbandment of gangs, jail decongestion, and instilling discipline among personnel and inmates.
“We will make BJMP a prime mover in the country’s thrust of a clean government and honest service,” Barretto said. | http://www.manilatimes.net/barretto-named-bjmp-chief/282330/ | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/1d5d6c6a12eaeb7c821b433698168ec76e8b0946826a753885dc215e80d45af9.json |
[
"Angelica Ballesteros",
"Jed Villarama",
"Aberon Voltaire Palaña",
"Nelson Badilla"
]
| 2016-08-30T14:50:16 | null | 2016-08-30T22:03:17 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fhajj-passports-days-numbered%2F283033%2F.json | http://14255-presscdn-0-60.pagely.netdna-cdn.com//wp-content/uploads/2016/08/passport-300x179.jpg | en | null | Hajj passports’ days ‘numbered’ | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | FOREIGN Secretary Perfecto Yasay Jr. on Tuesday said he would recommend the “permanent” suspension of the issuance of hajj passports once an investigation shows evidence of abuse.
During the budget hearing of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) at the House of Representatives, Yasay said he was inclined to suspend the issuance of passports used for the annual Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca, especially that lawmakers are proposing to extend the validity of regular passports to 10 years from five years.
He earlier ordered a temporary suspension of the issuance of the hajj passports.
“I have issued an order for the immediate suspension of the issuance of these hajj passports pending the outcome of the investigation. I am predisposed at this point to make the suspension on a permanent basis by making representations with Congress as they deliberate on the law that will extend the term of the passports from five years to 10 years,” Yasay said.
On August 19, a total of 177 Indonesians who posed as Filipino citizens, along with five Filipinos, were barred by the Bureau of Immigration from boarding their flight to Madinah, Saudi Arabia, for the hajj.
Seized from them were Philippine passports believed to have cost from $6,000 to $10,000 each. The Indonesians were immediately detained.
“It is believed … that while only 177 Indonesians were apprehended, maybe perhaps more have avoided detection or may not have been caught or apprehended by our immigration officials,” Yasay said.
He said the hajj passports were issued by the DFA-Aseana office in Parañaque City (Metro Manila).
“The main bulk of these passports, as I understand were issued through our Aseana office here in Metro Manila and they were issued simply on the basis of certifications coming from the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos,” the Cabinet official said.
Yasay said the issuance of the hajj passports require certification from the commission.
“Again, I guess the motivation was for a good reason and the issuance of a hajj passport was simply to facilitate our Muslim brothers and sisters who would like to undertake a pilgrimage to Mecca and to be able to immediately have the documentation for that purpose,” he added.
“Now we are undertaking an investigation of this because, apparently, laxity has been abused where fraudulent transactions had been made to enable citizens of other countries to use the quota of the Philippines in going to Mecca for the pilgrimage,” Yasay said.
Yasay said DFA officials have no person-to-person contact with passport applicants. | http://www.manilatimes.net/hajj-passports-days-numbered/283033/ | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/c40a615039353bdac21fbbcfbbc07096e1e4314a487c1a8790ff4f2208798a7c.json |
[
"The Manila Times",
"Josef T. Ramos"
]
| 2016-08-28T12:49:30 | null | 2016-08-28T19:56:43 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Flady-maroons-gun-for-final-four-berth%2F282620%2F.json | http://14255-presscdn-0-60.pagely.netdna-cdn.com//wp-content/uploads/2016/08/maroons20160829-184x300.jpg | en | null | Lady Maroons gun for Final Four berth | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | University of the Philippines (UP) hopes to sustain its surge as it faces defending champion National University (NU) today, gunning for a victory and a berth in the Final Four of the Shakey’s V-League Season 13 Collegiate Conference at the Philsports Arena in Pasig City.
The Lady Maroons repulsed the Ateneo Lady Eagles, 25-18, 14-25, 25-20, 25-18, over the weekend to bolster their semifinal drive at 2-1 with two play dates left in the short quarterfinal phase of the mid-season conference.
UP coach Jerry Yee said they might do away with their usual practice to conserve his wards’ energy and strength given their grueling quarters schedule where they, like the Lady Eagles, are slated to play three straight tough games.
“We don’t know if we’re still going to have to practice but definitely we’ll have a meeting,” said Yee after his wards toppled the Lady Eagles to move up to third behind the Lady Bulldogs and the Far Eastern University Lady Tams, who tote identical 3-1 cards.
Game time is at 4 p.m. with the Lady Maroons facing a well-rested Lady Bulldogs, who nipped the Lady Tams in five on Wednesday. UP will next play San Sebastian at the close of the quarterfinal phase on Wednesday.
Like in their past outings, Yee will pin his hopes on the vastly-improving Isa Molde, Katherine Bersola, Marian Buitre, Diana Carlos, Justine Dorog and Nicole Tiamzon as they try to hurdle the fancied Lady Bulldogs led by the 6’4 Jaja Santiago, the leading spiker and No. 2 blocker in the league.
But the Lady Maroons will also have to neutralize the likes of Aiko Urdas, Risa Sato, Jorelle Singh, Roma Doromal and Kathryn Paran with the league’s leading setter Jasmine Nabor expected to step up for the Lady Bulldogs.
Like UP, Ateneo is set to play three straight games, including its crucial duel with University of Santo Tomas at 6 tonight.
Though the Tigresses are out of the race with a 0-4 slate, the Lady Eagles must still bring their A-game to clinch the win and stay in the semifinal race. | http://www.manilatimes.net/lady-maroons-gun-for-final-four-berth/282620/ | en | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/6c2cb445938ccbc5560a4121d4d3d95fb2d03b42557baf948b85108798c9da73.json |
[
"Llanesca T. Panti",
"The Manila Times",
"Michael Joe T. Delizo"
]
| 2016-08-29T18:50:03 | null | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fduterte-im-no-assad%2F282913%2F.json | http://14255-presscdn-0-60.pagely.netdna-cdn.com//wp-content/uploads/2016/08/290816_duterte2_dilan-300x208.jpg | en | null | Duterte: ‘I’m no Assad’ | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte on Monday brushed aside the possibility of being hauled into international courts over mounting deaths in his war against illegal drugs, daring his critics to send him to jail for it.
But Duterte, in his National Heroes’ Day speech, pointed out that he should not be compared with the murderous Islamic State or Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, who are accused of various atrocities and crimes against humanity.
“Did I kill a child? Did I drop bombs like Assad and those other idiots? Did I burn women who refuse to have sex?” the President said at the Libingan ng mga Bayani in Taguig.
“I will take full legal responsibility. I will be happy to join them in prison. I will not ask for a special room. I’d just ask for a bed, foam, and something to read. Do not scare me with [these cases of]genocide,” he said.
Duterte again argued that his war against the illegal drug trade would be for the “law-abiding, God-fearing citizens to be comfortable, period, that they are not molested, their children can walk the streets and come home safe and sound.”
Last week, the Philippine National Police told a Senate investigation 756 drug suspects have been killed in police operations nationwide. A total of 1,160 deaths were also recorded “outside police operations,” likely perpetrated by vigilantes or drug syndicates out to cover their tracks.
On August 18, UN special rapporteurs Agnes Callamard and Dainius Pūras called on the Philippine government to stop the wave of killings of people linked to illegal drugs, saying that going after drug traders won’t exempt “state actors” from international legal obligations.
Callamard said Duterte’s supposed directives to kill drug suspects and drug users who don’t surrender were “irresponsible in the extreme and amount to incitement to violence and killing, a crime under international law.”
“It is effectively a license to kill,” she said.
Bounty
Duterte ignored the rapporteurs’ warning against encouraging impunity, and threatened to put a P2-million bounty on policemen involved in the illegal drug trade.
He even urged law enforcers to rat on their colleagues.
“I consider the fight against drugs a war. I am declaring war. It has infected every nook and corner of this country, involving generals, mayors, governors, barangay (village) captains, and so many of the ‘ninjas’ [as]we call them … these are the police who are into it,” Duterte said in Taguig.
“I might be inclined to place a reward on their head, the members of the police who are protecting the drug syndicates in this country. I am placing, per head, P2 million,” he said.
Duterte pointed out that there are now 3.6 million drug dependents in the country based on data from the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency. These drug dependents are not mere “users” given their sheer number, he claimed.
“You can just imagine a country with three million addicts and they say they are just users. My God! If you are a user, you are [also a]pusher. You have to [establish]connect[ion][with]somebody to finance the [drug]fix,” he claimed.
Drawback
Duterte was unfazed by the killings and said his intensified anti-drug campaign won’t spare anybody, including the poor.
“They (critics) would want to make it appear that just because this guy is poor, therefore, he should not be made accountable to law but placed in a hospital,” he said.
“In this planet, you can’t have your cake and eat it too. If you see drugs as a viable livelihood, there will always be a drawback,” the President said. | http://www.manilatimes.net/duterte-im-no-assad/282913/ | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/6299a1ffeebcc30f0e8cecadea92d9bf017606997a1f77d4ac66a47a53dadcaf.json |
[
"The Manila Times",
"Emil C. Noguera"
]
| 2016-08-31T14:50:28 | null | 2016-08-31T22:37:14 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fkorean-pagunsan-grab-lead-at-splendido%2F283224%2F.json | http://14255-presscdn-0-60.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/MNL-Times_250-x-250-logo.jpg | en | null | Korean, Pagunsan grab lead at Splendido | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | Seok Jun Min and Rey Pagunsan teed off last at the front and took the top two spots at the day’s end with the Korean birdying the 18th to fire a six-under 66 and wrest a one-stroke lead over the veteran local shotmaker at the start of the ICTSI Splendido Classic here in Tagaytay on Wednesday.
Seok and Pagunsan went on a virtual shootout when half of the starting 71-player field were wrapping up their respective rounds on both nines, matching 31s at the front before the former outgunned the latter on the final hole as the duo emerged the surprise pacesetters in the P2 million event sponsored by ICTSI.
Make it three unfancied bets as Michael Bibat also churned out a solid start at Splendido Taal Golf Club’s easier frontside, shooting a 68, just a stroke off Pagunsan’s eagle-spiked 67 fashioned out in ideal condition with the wind at manageable level despite their late start in the opener of the 14th leg of the circuit earlier tipped to be dominated by the top guns who split the last two titles at Riviera and ICTSI Classic via playoffs.
Bibat, seeking a follow up to his breakthrough win at Rancho Palos Verdes in 2013, actually went six-under with a four-foot birdie putt on No. 16. But he dumped his tee shot into the bunker on the par-3 17th and wound up with a double-bogey and slid to third.
“I’ve been playing solid until I got a bad break in the bunker on the 17th,” rued Bibat, who flashed superb iron shots and birdied Nos. 2 and 3 inside three feet then rolled in a 20-footer on the fourth. He missed a four-footer on the seventh and an eight-foot uphiller on the ninth but tapped in for birdie on the 10th after missing an eagle putt from six feet and made an up-and-down birdie on the 11th.
Seok, who missed the cut at Aboitiz and tied for 26th at Riviera, and Pagunsan, who missed the cut last week and tied for 20th at Riviera and placed joint 33rd in Negros Occidental, slugged it out shot-for-shot and putt-for-putt at the front with the former birdying the first two holes and then adding birdies on Nos. 5, 7 and 9 for a 31.
Pagunsan, a noted long hitter but who couldn’t score with poor iron game and putting, eagled the par-5 No. 2 then birdied Nos. 4 and 5 before closing out with another birdie to match Seok’s five-under start. They both birdied No. 11 but Pagunsan fell back with a bogey on No. 14 and Seok followed suit after missing the 15th green. But the Korean recovered quickly and holed out with a birdie to seize control.
But while most used the front nine as their scoring base, Tony Lascuña failed to go under and settled for a 36 although he had earlier gunned down three birdies at the back to anchor his 69 in a tie with Jhonnel Ababa and American Micah Shin. Lascuña later blamed his putting touch that went awry on his way home while Ababa, also out to end a long title spell, blew a four-under card with flubbed birdie putts and a bogey on the 17th.
Jay Bayron, back-to-back winner at Aboitiz Invitational and ICTSI Riviera Classic, checked an impending skid at the front with back-to-back closing birdies to card a 70 and join brother Rufino Bayron and Mhark Fernando at seventh.
But while Lascuña and Bayron put themselves in early contention, Clyde Mondilla, who nipped Orlan Sumcad in a bizarre playoff duel last weekend, groped for form and hobbled with a 74 for joint 24th, including Sumcad and Marvin Dumandan, eight strokes off the Korean.
Cassius Casas, John Rey Pactolerin and Aussie Peter Stojanovski all carded 71s while Jobim Carlos, Keanu Jahns, Jun Bernis, Erwin Arcillas and Mars Pucay matched par 72s for a share of 13th in the 72-hole championship organized by Pilipinas Golf Tournaments, Inc. and backed by Custom Clubmakers, adidas, KZG, Summit Mineral Water, Srixon, Pacsports, TaylorMade, Sharp and Champion. | http://www.manilatimes.net/korean-pagunsan-grab-lead-at-splendido/283224/ | en | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/aa6f78caca8d226c2b59939faeafea7a83096c21807a7e4e41a20c0dbd827298.json |
[
"Manila Times"
]
| 2016-08-26T12:59:45 | null | 2016-08-26T20:15:07 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fcanada-soon-to-need-thousands-of-workers%2F282253%2F.json | http://14255-presscdn-0-60.pagely.netdna-cdn.com//wp-content/uploads/2016/08/MNL-Times_250-x-250-logo.jpg | en | null | Canada soon to need thousands of workers | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | CANADA will soon be needing thousands of workers, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs.
Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary Maria Andrelita Austria reported to Labor Secretary Silvestre H. Bello 3rd that thousands of jobs will be left vacant soon in the provinces of Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan.
The Philippine Consulate General in Vancouver, citing a report of the Asia Pacific Gateway Skills Table’s (APGST), said there is a looming labor shortage in transportation industry in western provinces of Canada because workers are either retiring, moving out of the province, or leaving industries involved with international trade.
The APGST is a non-profit, regional partnership between labor, business, and education/training institutions. It ensures the Asia Pacific Gateway has enough people with the right skills and training to meet its needs.
According to the APGST, the transportation industry in the western provinces is seen to need over 36,000 workers.
The report said British Columbia is expected to have the heaviest reliance on foreign workers because it is presumed to lose 27 percent of its workforce.
IAir pilots, flight engineers, and flying instructors will be in demand.
Years back, the DOLE signed labor agreements with the said Canadian provinces for the deployment of Filipino workers.
These agreements provide for an ethical, orderly, and expeditious recruitment and deployment of Filipino workers to Canada, non-collection of placement fees, and for the provinces to encourage employers to support human resource development efforts for Filipino workers. WILLIAM B. DEPASUPIL
WD/CC | http://www.manilatimes.net/canada-soon-to-need-thousands-of-workers/282253/ | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/bcf485dad45f3554cdc6b82124a772a7644f1c7d631f428596be1937121c6364.json |
[
"Manila Times"
]
| 2016-08-30T06:50:08 | null | 2016-08-30T13:23:14 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fstrong-typhoon-lionrock-aims-for-japans-northeast%2F282935%2F.json | http://14255-presscdn-0-60.pagely.netdna-cdn.com//wp-content/uploads/2016/08/MNL-Times_250-x-250-logo.jpg | en | null | Strong typhoon Lionrock aims for Japan’s northeast | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | TOKYO: A strong typhoon was on course Tuesday for a direct hit on northeastern Japan, with authorities warning of heavy rain and high waves along the Pacific coast.
Typhoon Lionrock was 170 kilometres (105 miles) east of the city of Choshi, as of 9 am (0000 GMT). Choshi lies straight east of Tokyo.
Packing wind gusts up to 180 kilometres per hour, the storm was moving north at 30 kilometres per hour and expected to make landfall in the northeast later in the day.
That would make it the first typhoon to directly land in the region from the Pacific Ocean since the country’s present weather observation system was introduced in 1951, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.
Typhoons usually approach Japan from the south and southwest before moving northward across the archipelago.
Lionrock, which formed more than 10 days ago, has become the longest-lasting typhoon of those that have developed north of the 30th parallel north, breaking a 46-year-old record, according to the private Weathernews agency.
The previous record-holding typhoon in that category was in 1970, which survived for nine days and six hours, Weathernews said on its website.
Authorities have issued warnings for torrential rain, high waves, strong winds and flooding for the northeastern region, which remains vulnerable after destruction brought about by a March 2011 tsunami generated by a massive magnitude 9.0 offshore earthquake.
It is also expected to hit the region at high tide, deepening concerns for flooding along the coast from Tuesday afternoon through Wednesday morning.
Authorities also warned of landslides and high water due to expected heavy rain of up to eight centimetres per hour.
Some 110 domestic flights have been cancelled, public broadcaster NHK said.
Lionrock is expected to cut across the country’s main island of Honshu and head out to sea towards Russia and China, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.
The typhoon comes on the heels of two others that hit Japan in the past nine days, resulting in two deaths, the cancellation of hundreds of domestic flights and disruptions to train services. AFP
AFP/CC | http://www.manilatimes.net/strong-typhoon-lionrock-aims-for-japans-northeast/282935/ | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/cf73e763c2ae8d5945e78bfb862b96635d2b0617282ff8c47d5af99c1b7ef623.json |
[
"Kristyn Nika M. Lazo",
"Catherine S. Valente",
"Jefferson Antiporda",
"The Manila Times",
"Red Planet"
]
| 2016-08-26T13:04:44 | null | 2016-08-26T01:20:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fhenry-sy-still-phs-richest%2F282141%2F.json | http://14255-presscdn-0-60.pagely.netdna-cdn.com//wp-content/uploads/2016/08/MNL-Times_250-x-250-logo.jpg | en | null | Henry Sy still PH’s richest | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | HENRY Sy was named the country’s richest man for the ninth consecutive year, with Forbes magazine pegging his net worth at $13.7 billion.
Forbes Philippines’ Richest List for 2016, placed Sy, who built the SM mall empire, at the top spot, followed by John Gokongwei Jr. of the rival Robinsons malls ($6.8 billion) and the Aboitiz family ($5 billion).
Forbes said the Filipino tycoons, who have interests in property, infrastructure development and construction, are poised to further expand their fortunes as the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte has committed to invest in infrastructure.
The rest of the top 10 are airline and tobacco magnate Lucio Tan and family, No. 4, with a net worth of $4.9 billion; George Ty of Metrobank, No. 5, $4.6 billion; Tony Tan Caktiong of Jollibee, No. 6, $4.3 billion; Jaime Zobel de Ayala and the Ayala group, No. 7, $4.1 billion; ports and casino tycoon Enrique Razon Jr., No. 8, $3.5 billion; construction taipan David Consunji of DMCI, No. 9, $3.1 billion; and property tycoon Andrew Tan of Megaworld, No. 10, $3 billion.
Edgar Sia 2nd grew his net worth fastest—three times to $1.2 billion from a year ago—with his DoubleDragon Properties Corp., a joint venture with Tan Caktiong. Sia was named 17th richest in the country.
San Miguel’s Ramon Ang landed on 16th place with a net worth of $1.21 billion.
A newcomer to the list was Ben Tiu (No. 44, $175 million), the eldest son of a self-made steel magnate, John
Tiu Ka Cho who took over TKC Metals in 1987 and led its entry into financial services with thrift bank Sterling Bank of Asia. Tiu also co-founded one of the country’s largest non-banking remittance companies, I-Remit.
The biggest loser was Bienvenido Tantoco Sr. of Rustans and SSI Group (No. 46, $165 million), as his wealth fell by 65 percent from $480 million last year on the back of the competitive retail sector and increased expenses involved in his foray into the luxury market.
Three mining businessmen dropped off from this year’s list, including Philip Ang, who ranked No. 41 last year.
The minimum wealth required to make it to the list was $145 million, higher than the $120 million threshold last year.
Forbes Magazine said the list was compiled using share and financial information obtained from families and individuals, stock exchanges, analysts and other sources.
The magazine said the list covered family fortunes, including those shared among extended families such as that of Lucio Tan and his relatives.
“Net worth is calculated based on stock prices and exchange rates as of the close of markets on August 12. Private companies were valued based on similar companies that are publicly traded,” Forbes said. | http://www.manilatimes.net/henry-sy-still-phs-richest/282141/ | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/4e703716892126617deb31ec36623b77b6a637805fe4f717e93ae1dcab2be8c6.json |
[
"Manila Times"
]
| 2016-08-31T02:50:16 | null | 2016-08-31T10:35:33 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fethnic-peace-talks-seek-to-pave-new-path-for-myanmar%2F283137%2F.json | http://14255-presscdn-0-60.pagely.netdna-cdn.com//wp-content/uploads/2016/08/MNL-Times_250-x-250-logo.jpg | en | null | Ethnic peace talks seek to pave new path for Myanmar | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | NAYPYIDAW:Peace talks between Myanmar’s government and warring ethnic minorities open Wednesday seeking to end decades of bloodshed and bring investment to Southeast Asia’s poorest country.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will give the opening address to hundreds of rebel leaders, lawmakers and military top brass gathered in the capital Naypyidaw.
Aung San Suu Kyi’s freshly minted government is seeking to reshape Myanmar as a federal democracy as the country emerges from decades of oppressive military rule.
The Nobel laureate has made bridging the ethnic fault lines that have fractured the country since independence a priority of her newly minted government, which took power in March.
The outcome could breathe new life into Myanmar’s economy as it struggles to emerge from half a century of exploitation and mismanagement by the former junta.
China, India and the West are vying for a share of the vast reserves of jade, tin and prized teak wood in its borderlands that have fuelled conflict with ethnic groups.
“Without peace there can be no sustained development,” Suu Kyi said during a recent trip to Beijing seeking support for the talks.
Wednesday’s meeting comes almost 70 years after her father, independence hero Aung San, signed a landmark agreement to devolve powers to some ethnic groups after independence.
The deal collapsed after he was assassinated, before Myanmar broke from Britain in 1948, but many hope Suu Kyi can revive that spirit at this week’s ’21st Century Panglong’ conference.
Still, few expect the coming days to be anything more than an opening salvo in a peace process that could take years.
Fresh fighting in Kachin and Shan states in the run up to the talks have shattered hopes for a unilateral ceasefire the organizers have been pushing.
Suu Kyi’s party, also Bamar, got surprisingly strong support from minority communities in November’s elections, winning around a third of the vote.
But privately, government negotiators say they are hamstrung by working with the army, which still controls borders, defence and a quarter of parliament seats.
Distrust of the Tatmadaw, as it is known, runs deep among minorities after decades of oppression, marked by torture, rape and mass killings.
Some 220,000 people have been displaced by the fighting in Kachin, northern Shan and western Rakhine states, according to UN figures released this week.
The conference has nevertheless been hailed as an important first step and one loaded with symbolism in a nation emerging from a dark military past.
Ban described the conference as “an important first step” toward peace at a press conference on the eve of the talks.
“The steps you have taken towards national reconciliation need to be further strengthened, broadened and consolidated,” he told reporters. AFP
AFP/CC | http://www.manilatimes.net/ethnic-peace-talks-seek-to-pave-new-path-for-myanmar/283137/ | en | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/2ec2685fa8c1293448f94624393e15ea03e80fea1ed74d78a0e7f41c224f0261.json |
[
"Francisco Tatad",
"Rigoberto D. Tiglao",
"Ricardo Saludo",
"Marlen V. Ronquillo"
]
| 2016-08-28T16:49:45 | null | 2016-08-29T00:43:12 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fis-a-teachable-and-teaching-president-still-possible%2F282678%2F.json | http://14255-presscdn-0-60.pagely.netdna-cdn.com//wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Kit-Tatad.gif | en | null | Is a teachable and teaching President still possible? | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | The indefinite ceasefire accord in Oslo between the Duterte government and the Communist Party of the Philippines/New People’s Army/National Democratic Front is by far the most promising development in the nation’s age-old communist insurgency. So convinced of the impact of this accord were those who participated in the talks that some of them think the formal signing of the agreement should be done at the Vatican with the Pope as a possible witness.
I cannot confirm the report that some friendly Jesuits from Mindanao have suggested the idea. Wherever it is coming from, it seems to suggest that the Holy See will want to get involved in the negotiations. That may be entirely wishful.
In October 1979, Saint Pope John Paul II mediated the conflict between Chile and Argentina after the two governments signed the Act of Motevideo on Jan. 9, 1979 formally requesting mediation by the Vatican and renouncing the use of force. But there appears to be no precedent for the Holy See getting involved in settling an internal conflict within any nation.
Will the Oslo accord work?
Whether or not the Oslo accord will work as advertised, depends, to a large measure, on the insurgents’ readiness to disarm, demobilize and reintegrate into the body politic, and not simply use the truce to expand its mass base and sphere of influence within and outside the government. Between 1944 and 2010, Wikipedia counts 13 of 71 insurgencies that had been settled, in which neither the government nor the insurgents unambiguously prevailed in the peace negotiations. Success was attributed to seven key factors:
Military stalemate and war-weariness created an environment that was “ripe for resolution;”
The government accepted the insurgents as legitimate negotiating partners;
The parties brokered one or more ceasefires;
The government and the insurgents entered into official intermediate agreements;
The government offered power-sharing to the insurgents;
The insurgents became moderate and more willing to engage in a political compromise; and
A third party guarantor helped reinforce the settlement and transition.
On the eve of the talks, President Rodrigo Duterte said there would be no discussion of a coalition government. And there were no reports of any. But even without such discussions, a quasi-coalition has already been established. At least three seasoned communists are now in the Cabinet, a few more are in the subCabinet, and so many more could join, in various capacities, once those who had been appointed by previous presidents had vacated their posts as ordered by DU30. The more critical element will be in terms of policy, as an expression of ideology.
This should make the coalition’s existence self-evident.
What to expect from the Left
Socialism is dead, and China, the biggest country still run by the communist party, has become the world’s fastest-growing economy only by adopting free market economic policies. Vietnam is not far behind, either. But if the Filipino post-Cold War communists insisted on pursuing their failed ideology, they would want the government to adopt radical measures, beginning with those related to private property. Aside from what Agrarian Reform Secretary Rafael Mariano is trying to do to the land-owning class at Hacienda Luisita, we might be seeing more things like it all over the country.
We should be seeing pronounced State action against the oligarchy. For one, the Ayala patriarch and the Lopez patriarch, rather than the laughably powerless Roberto Ongpin, will probably be singled out as “the oligarchs” who need to explain their real usefulness to the country. In particular, the Ayala clan, Manny and Cynthia Villar and their kind will probably have to explain why they own such an overabundance of land everywhere, while millions of Filipino families don’t own even a small plot to bury their dead. The biggest Filipino dollar-billionaires on the Forbes Magazine annual listing will probably have to explain why they have allowed the TV actress and former presidential sister Kris Aquino to pay so much more in taxes than any of them.
On a matter directly related to governance, the Left will probably want to ask Department of Public Works and Highways Secretary Mark Villar how he expects to make sure that his family, which is a big-time property developer, does not unduly benefit from any government decision to build roads, bridges, parks, ports or airports, etc. in any part of the Philippines. After all, is he not in a position to use “inside” official information on government infrastructure projects, for his family to acquire large, dirt-cheap pieces of property, knowing the value will appreciate as soon as the projects in the pipeline are rolled out?
Honest graft at DPWH, DOT an Ayala subsidiary?
George Washington Plunkitt (1924-42), the New York Tammany Hall politician, explained it this way: “My party is in power in the city and it is going to undertake a lot of public improvements. Well, I’m tipped off, say, that they’re going to lay out a new park at a certain place. I see the opportunity and I take it. I go to that place and I buy all the land I can in that neighborhood. Then the board of this or that makes its plan public, and there’s a rush to get my land, which nobody cared particular for before.” He called it “honest graft,” but it’s graft, nevertheless.
The Left will also probably want to ask Transportation Secretary Arturo Tugade whether it is true that as soon as DU30 announced his name for his position, he called on the chief honchos of the two big telcos to pay his respects. They will most probably ask him what happened during those two separate meetings. They will then ask him why certain individuals who used to be associated with certain firms belonging to the Ayala group of companies, and “regulated” by the former DOTC, have now become “regulators” of the same entities.
These are not DU30’s appointees but Tugade’s. The Left will probably want to be assured that the DOT and the Department of Information and Communication Technology (the two departments that have sprung from DOTC) have not become Ayala “subsidiaries.”
Reinventing govt anew
And the Left will probably want to overhaul the current practice of letting the private sector build roads, bridges, railroads, ports, airports and all sorts of infrastructure, and requiring the public to pay for their use. All these are public goods, which the state has a duty to provide from the taxes it collects from the citizens. But ever since David Osborne and Ted Gaebler sold the idea of “reinventing government,” (1992), many governments have adopted “privatization, liberalization, and deregulation” as the easiest way to stay in power while letting the private sector do the things it was supposed to do for the citizens.
Now, if the transport and communications sector is a scandal, the energy sector is so much more. Investors, both foreign and local, stand to earn 300 percent or more in profits from their investments in energy projects, while Filipino consumers pay the highest electricity rates in the world, just because the State has, by law—-(the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001), renounced its basic right and duty to generate and distribute cheap electricity.
The EPIRA was intended to open up competition, increase the supply of power and bring down prices; it, instead, created a cartel that has since punished the public it was supposed to serve. Given a say in government, the Left will probably want the State to reassert its right and duty to provide cheap electricity (and water) rates for all by amending, if not altogether repealing, this law.
Rising above the drug war
With or without the Left in government, these are some of the issues the DU30 presidency could begin to work on, outside of its war on drugs. This ‘war’ has virtually reduced the President into a whistle-blower, exposing alleged crime in a campaign of shock and shame, when his sworn duty is to execute the laws and prosecute those who commit crime. This has reduced the law-and-order campaign into a daily search for a sound bite or a news headline, producing so much sound and fury with a spiraling count of summary killings.
The Oslo accord offers DU30 the opportunity to broaden the range of his press statements to other major issues that do not offer the sturm und Drang of his anti-narcotics war. It allows him to talk of higher and more substantive things beyond “killing” or “shaming” drug suspects, or eating durian with lady reporters who catch his eye during press briefings. It allows him to enlarge his official vocabulary and the vision and agenda of his presidency and move away from the rustic gaffes and booboos that have caused us (much more than him) so much unnecessary embarrassment, and prompted some observers to compare him, not necessarily favorably, to Donald Trump, the temperamental Republican presidential nominee who is ranged against the Democratic nominee Hillary Rodham Clinton.
DU30, Trump and Cleon
I have just been talking to a much younger friend, who seems afflicted with that precise perception. He cites an article by Professor Chris Mackie, who teaches Greek studies at La Trobe University in Victoria, Australia, and finds no contemporary political prototype or model to explain Trump, but sees some similarity between him and the 5th century Athenian demagogue Cleon. The historian Thucydides found Cleon remarkable among the Athenians for the violence of his character. The article, “Can we learn from Thucydides’ writings on the Trump of ancient Athens?,” appears on Mercatornet.
It says in part: “Cleon…seems to have been a kind of Donald Trump of ancient Athenian politics. Classical scholars have described him in the following way: ‘He was an effective, if vulgar, speaker, and seems to have been given to extravagant promises and extravagant accusations against opponents. He was one of the first of a new kind of politicians, who were not for the old aristocracy and whose predominance depended on persuasive speeches in the assembly and law-courts rather than on regular office-holding’.”
Now, substitute DU30 for Trump, my friend says, and you have someone who lived 2,500 years ago acting like our President. Or you have our President acting like Cleon, with a lot of add-ons. The house seems divided as to whether DU30’s defects are still curable, and he remains teachable. But the media offensive has intensified. Aside from the usual Western media outlets, which make a career and an industry of bashing Third World leaders who fall out of line as far as Western standards are concerned, some regional outlets have also started picking on the man.
Is mental health the question?
Last weekend, the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post carried an article entitled, “The Philippines’ Rodrigo Duterte: Saviour or Madman.” This coincides with the circulation of the copy an official court document tending to show that in 2000, DU30, while serving in Congress, was diagnosed to be suffering from a serious “narcissistic personality disorder,” which became the basis of the annulment of his marriage to Elizabeth Zimmerman, the mother of his three children, two of whom are the mayor and vice mayor of the city of Davao.
Whether or not this report is true, I hope and pray that the President’s reported physical and mental afflictions are entirely curable, and that he remains not only eminently teachable, but above all with the latent capability and desire to morph into a “teaching President.”
[email protected] | http://www.manilatimes.net/is-a-teachable-and-teaching-president-still-possible/282678/ | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/4b0d1ba1b215bfb80a9643056c8e41fe01caf07388cc89b46e04c3bddccc8178.json |
[
"Tessa Mauricio-Arriola",
"The Manila Times",
"Ronnie Carasco Iii",
"Agence France-Presse",
"Jay R"
]
| 2016-08-30T06:51:54 | null | 2016-08-29T19:27:52 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fenrique-gil-jake-cuenca-lead-star-magic-artists-in-voluntary-drug-testing%2F282782%2F.json | http://14255-presscdn-0-60.pagely.netdna-cdn.com//wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Jake-Cuenca20160830-300x199.jpg | en | null | Enrique Gil, Jake Cuenca, lead Star Magic artists in voluntary drug testing | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | And what of John Lloyd Cruz and Daniel Padilla?
Shortly after President Rodrigo Duterte confirmed that he also has in his possession a list of celebrities involved in both drug use and/or drug peddling, speculations as to which famous names figure on the list quickly spread like—well—illegal substances.
While most hunches have generally been made via day-to-day whisperings among tinsletown insiders, and as blind items in several tabloids, top ABS-CBN actor Enrique Gil was explicitly named in a certain column as part of Duterte’s list.
Gil has recently been seen in the prime time drama Dolce Amore, across leading lady Liza Soberano. The pair forms the widely popular “LizQuen” tandem both in television and film.
Alarmed over such damaging accusations, The Manila Times learned that ABS-CBN’s talent management arm, Star Magic, who sees to the careers of Gil and most of the network’s prized and upcoming artists, quickly mounted a supervised drug testing effort over the weekend to belay rumors of illegal substance abuse in its community.
In a statement sent via text message, Star Magic reported, “Results were 100-percent negative for Jake Cuenca, Enrique Gil, Diego Loyzaga and the rest of the Star Magic artists [who took the drug test].”
A total of 40 talents volunteered to test for drug use, but the official list of names is still unavailable to media as of press time.
The statement ended with the company’s pledge to support the administration’s unwavering war against drugs: “Star Magic believes in the efforts of the current campaign to keep our homes and working environments drug free.”
JL and DJ
In an effort to give two other major celebrities whose names have also emerged in this controversy the opportunity to clear their reputation, The Manila Times asked a reliable source within Star Magic if John Lloyd Cruz and Daniel Padilla had submitted themselves for testing.
Cruz—a multi-awarded movie actor who is often considered the best in his generation—while known to keep a very private life has long been written about for drinking escapades, some of which have ended in notorious squabbles. More recently, several blind items have heavily suggested he is also into drugs.
On the other hand, there are rumors that Duterte supporter and action star Robin Padilla requested the President to hold off on releasing the list of celebrity drug users because his nephew Daniel is allegedly on the list.
Without confirming or denying any knowledge that the two celebrities are involved in any way with illegal substances, The Manila Times source simply said that JL and DJ—Cruz and Padilla’s respective monikers in the biz—had been busy over the weekend.
“They are both Star Magic artists,” the source categorically stated. “But JL had previous commitments out of town when the testing took place; as well as DJ who had shooting schedules for [his upcoming movie]Barcelona.”
The source quickly added, “For the record, the 40 artists who volunteered to be tested for drugs just comprise the first batch; Star Magic is committed to hold further drug testing for its artists.” | http://www.manilatimes.net/enrique-gil-jake-cuenca-lead-star-magic-artists-in-voluntary-drug-testing/282782/ | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/800f36fadb55083a510c81348ac2691cb624ae1345bad4ba8c7ca88c71f5bb89.json |
[
"Anthony Vargas",
"Benjie Vergara",
"Catherine S. Valente",
"Jing Villamente"
]
| 2016-08-27T14:49:10 | null | 2016-08-27T22:24:02 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fncrpo-gets-200-helmets-from-filipino-chinese-traders%2F282445%2F.json | http://14255-presscdn-0-60.pagely.netdna-cdn.com//wp-content/uploads/2016/08/MNL-Times_250-x-250-logo.jpg | en | null | NCRPO gets 200 helmets from Filipino-Chinese traders | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | THE National Capital Regional Police Office (NCRPO) got a boost in its anti-illegal drugs drive with the donation of some 200 pieces of protective motorcycle helmets from the Federation of Filipino-Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry Incorporated (FFCCCII). Chief Supt. Oscar Albayalde, NCRPO director, received the donation from the FFCCCII led by Angel Ngo at Camp Bagong Diwa, Bicutan in Taguig City (Metro Manila) on Friday. The FFCCCII, the largest organization of Filipino-Chinese businessmen in the country, is a non-stock and non-profit corporation established on March 29, 1954. | http://www.manilatimes.net/ncrpo-gets-200-helmets-from-filipino-chinese-traders/282445/ | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/0aa0774f2aea573b4d1dec9a083c237df91e9c0f4e10db5bf5be7bbdaa43b3a3.json |
[
"Llanesca T. Panti",
"Mayvelin U. Caraballo"
]
| 2016-08-28T18:49:58 | null | 2016-08-29T00:53:34 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Ffoi-bill-wont-pass-this-year-alvarez%2F282686%2F.json | http://14255-presscdn-0-60.pagely.netdna-cdn.com//wp-content/uploads/2016/08/MNL-Times_250-x-250-logo.jpg | en | null | FOI bill won’t pass this year - Alvarez | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | THE FREEDOM of Information (FOI) bill won’t be signed into a law this year, Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez of Davao del Norte said over the weekend.
In a chance interview in Leyte, Alvarez said the House of Representatives has its hands full because of deliberations on the proposed P3.35-trillion national budget for 2017.
“I don’t have a problem with FOI, but for now, we are yet to complete the members for all committees. Give us a little time, because right now, we are also busy in deliberating on the 2017 national budget,” Alvarez said.
The FOI bill proposes to require all government offices to disclose and make available government documents for public scrutiny.
“I would say that the timeframe is too tight for this year because we will be discussing the budget until November. We’ll see next year,” Alvarez said.
Among the FOI bills in Congress is the version filed by the Makabayan bloc, which does not have a provision for exceptions.
Makabayan’s FOI measure provides for the release of all government documents “except when it is clear that the purpose of the examination is to abet or promote or commit crime or wrongdoing or to engage in sheer and idle curiosity.”
The Makabayan bloc, which includes the Bayan Muna, Gabriela, Alliance of Concerned Teachers, Kabataan and Anakpawis party-list groups, are allies of President Rodrigo Duterte.
Duterte signed in July Executive Order No. 2 implementing the FOI in the Executive branch.
In his budget message, the President said it was Congress’ turn to pass the long-overdue FOI law so that the people’s right to information is honored across all branches and levels of the government. | http://www.manilatimes.net/foi-bill-wont-pass-this-year-alvarez/282686/ | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/6b1f92e9f0ad2cf9160ac291a8ac4058a994414f07394ce26f5a088acd6644e6.json |
[
"Moh Saaduddin",
"Leander C. Domingo",
"Al Jacinto"
]
| 2016-08-26T14:49:36 | null | 2016-08-26T21:54:28 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fmaguindanao-mayor-ok-to-drug-test%2F282276%2F.json | http://14255-presscdn-0-60.pagely.netdna-cdn.com//wp-content/uploads/2016/08/MNL-Times_250-x-250-logo.jpg | en | null | Maguindanao mayor OK to drug test | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | Maguindanao Gov. Esmael Mangudadatu said only one of the 36 mayors in the province pledged to submit himself to mandatory drug testing but added that he is hopeful of positive responses from the rest.
On July 18, Mangudadatu issued an executive order to all local officials and village officials and their employees to undergo drug testing in line with the drive against the drug menace.
As of Thursday, Mayor Zamzamin Ampatuan of Radjah Buayan town committed to undergo the drug testing.
The provincial government already submitted for drug tests its 400 employees and 18 of them, including a jail guard, tested positive for illegal-drug use.
The governor, who was being bashed in the social media labeling him and his brothers as among drug lords in the province, joined the mass testing last month but experts found no traces of drugs from the tests and retests by experts from the police and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA).
Mangudadatu said they already submitted the list of the employees who tested positive to the Civil Service Commission (CSC) and they are waiting for the agency to evict the drug users from their respective posts.
“Once the confirmatory result will be submitted to us, whatever the recommendation of the Civil Service Commission, that will be the final ruling of the province,” he added.
The governor said those not covered by the CSC will be automatically dismissed from the service, citing the jail guard who was discharged from his duty after the test.
More than 6,000 individuals in Maguindanao have submitted themselves to authorities, including members of rebel groups and mayors, who were named by President Rodrigo Duterte as narco politicians.
MOH SAADUDDIN | http://www.manilatimes.net/maguindanao-mayor-ok-to-drug-test/282276/ | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/f24e459b9f442f7e2011fcb67681b6a2e42890393e99e4b31d858bd9487cee14.json |
[
"Persida Acosta",
"The Manila Times"
]
| 2016-08-26T14:50:15 | null | 2016-08-26T21:59:20 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fpremature-marriage-now-decriminalized%2F282281%2F.json | http://14255-presscdn-0-60.pagely.netdna-cdn.com//wp-content/uploads/2016/08/pao-logo.png | en | null | Premature marriage now decriminalized | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | Dear PAO,
I am a 41-year-old widow who is planning to remarry seven months after the death of my husband sometime this year. We have no children and I have been living alone. That is why I decided to find someone again who I can be with and spend the rest of my life with. My current fiancé was an old acquaintance of mine. After a few months of serious talk, we decided to get married soon before he leaves for abroad this year. But a close friend of mine, who is also a widow, warned me that based on her own experience as a widow who remarried, I cannot remarry within one year from the time of my husband’s death since there is a law which makes it illegal. Is there truth to this? What is this law about? Please advise me, so I can confirm if I can remarry soon without violating any law. Thank you!
Alma
Dear Alma,
The advice given to you by your close friend is incorrect. While it is true that there was a law before that prohibits premature marriage, this law was already repealed by a new law. The law that your close friend refers to is Article 351 of the Revised Penal Code, which states:
“Art. 351. Premature marriages. Any widow who shall marry within three hundred and one days from the date of the death of her husband, or before having delivered if she shall have been pregnant at the time of his death, shall be punished by arresto mayor and a fine not exceeding 500 pesos.
The same penalties shall be imposed upon any woman whose marriage shall have been annulled or dissolved, if she shall marry before her delivery or before the expiration of the period of three hundred and one days after the legal separation.”
Based on this law, a widow must wait until after the lapse of three hundred and one (301) days from the death of her husband before she can legally remarry. Otherwise, she will be criminally liable for premature marriage. Aside from the fact, however, that the law requires the lapse of only three hundred and one (301) days, not one year as your friend mentioned, it is important to note that a new law has already repealed this cited law against premature marriage.
Republic Act 10655, which was signed into law on March 13, 2015, expressly repeals the law against premature marriages. And as stated by this law:
SECTION 1. Without prejudice to the provisions of the Family Code on paternity and filiation, Article 351 of Republic Act 3815, otherwise known as the Revised Penal Code, punishing the crime of premature marriage committed by a woman, is hereby repealed.”
Because of this new law, premature marriage is now decriminalized. A woman no longer has to wait for the lapse of a required period of time before she can legally remarry. As such, you need not worry about violating any law with regard to your intention to remarry soon since you may now enter into a new marriage regardless of the period of death of your previous husband.
Again, we find it necessary to mention that this opinion is solely based on the facts you have narrated and our appreciation of the same. The opinion may vary when the facts are changed or elaborated.
We hope that we were able to enlighten you on the matter.
Editor’s note: Dear PAO is a daily column of the Public Attorney’s Office. Questions for Chief Acosta may be sent to [email protected]. | http://www.manilatimes.net/premature-marriage-now-decriminalized/282281/ | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/4bd00c5ed4aef4af10e577215c34294f5fb8c867ab948a9d71e486f725afa0b5.json |
[
"Jaime Pilapil",
"Jefferson Antiporda",
"Jing Villamente",
"The Manila Times"
]
| 2016-08-29T16:50:05 | null | 2016-08-30T00:23:34 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2F10-narco-mayors-face-raps%2F282904%2F.json | http://14255-presscdn-0-60.pagely.netdna-cdn.com//wp-content/uploads/2016/08/MNL-Times_250-x-250-logo.jpg | en | null | 10 ‘narco-mayors’ face raps | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | CHARGES are being readied against 10 mayors suspected to be involved in the illegal drug trade, according to an official of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG).
“We are now readying orders to strip them of police powers as soon as the pieces of evidence are put together. Case build-ups are ongoing. The moment we are ready, then we will go to the judge to get search warrants,” DILG Undersecretary for Operations John Castriciones told The Manila Times.
To date, three mayors have been stripped of police control — Tomas Osmeña of Cebu City, Daanbantayan (Cebu) Mayor Vicente Loot and Reynaldo Porojinog of Ozamis City.
“Aside from administrative sanctions, we will strip them of control over the local police. We will also suspend the issued firearm licenses to them,” Castriciones said of the local chief executives whom he did not identify.
President Rodrigo Duterte announced, without naming names, earlier said that 23 executives of local government units, including mayors and governors and congressmen, are actively involved in the illegal drug trade either as protector or drug dealers. He claimed some of them work in tandem with drug lords serving sentence at the New Bilibid Prisons (NBP) in Muntinlupa City.
Just recently, Duterte showed a drug matrix that showed Sen. Leila de Lima, former Pangasinan governor and now Fifth District Rep. Amado Espino Jr., his provincial administrator Raffy Baraan, former Justice undersecretary Francisco Baraan, former Bureau of Corrections director Franklin Bucayu and Ronnie Dayan, the alleged lover of the senator.
The National Bureau of Investigation is also investigating the alleged involvement of mayors, governors, and congressmen in illegal drugs.
Castriciones said the DILG faces a huge challenge in its bid to stop the distribution of illegal drugs.
Castriciones heads Task Force Agila, which is composed of officials of the DILG, National Police Commission and the Philippine National Police.
The task force has been directed to go after narco-politicians, particularly at the local government level. | http://www.manilatimes.net/10-narco-mayors-face-raps/282904/ | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/8530c6b518ed0abfc70df58fc26ae06d5874ef5df82cc76523d950fcd725de74.json |
[
"Jean Russel V. David",
"Philippines News Agency",
"Realyn Stevens"
]
| 2016-08-30T12:50:15 | null | 2016-08-30T20:45:38 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Ffaith-hosts-ncaa-south-season-18%2F282998%2F.json | http://14255-presscdn-0-60.pagely.netdna-cdn.com//wp-content/uploads/2016/08/MNL-Times_250-x-250-logo.jpg | en | null | FAITH hosts NCAA-South Season 18 | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | The 18th season of the National Collegiate Athletic Association-South (NCAA-South) will kick off on September 8 at the First Asia Institute of Technology and Humanities (FAITH) multi-purpose covered court in Tanauan, Batangas.
The theme for this year’s edition of the tourney is “Let’s Keep the Flame Ablaze” with 11 teams competing led by host FAITH, Colegio De San Juan de Letran-Calamba (CSJL), De La Salle Lipa (DLSL), Lyceum of the Philippines University-Batangas (LPU), Philippine Christian University-Dasmariñas, San Pablo Colleges (SPC), University of Perpetual Help System-Laguna (UPHSL), San Beda College-Alabang, University of Batangas, Saint Francis of Assisi College-Alabang, and Emilio Aguinaldo College-Cavite.
“We will keep the spirit and passion burning. It will be exciting also since we are introducing Futsal as a demo sport this season,” FAITH Managing Director Juan Lozano said on Tuesday during the weekly Philippine Sportswriters Association Forum at Shakey’s Malate.
The other sports that will played are basketball, volleyball, chess, football, badminton, table tennis, swimming, taekwondo and beach volleyball.
The men’s basketball games will start on September 13 with FAITH battling PSC at 8 a.m. followed by the game between EAC and LPU at 10 a.m. DLSL will clash against CSJL at 12 noon.
NCAA-South, which was established in 1999, is an athletic association of colleges and universities mostly coming from Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon. It is also an offshoot of the NCAA-Manila. | http://www.manilatimes.net/faith-hosts-ncaa-south-season-18/282998/ | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/1049978ea3df154caf80103743c9c3ccde1c829732ef17dcdf3e6dd7f6708bb8.json |
[
"Frank Ching",
"Ma. Lourdes Tiquia",
"Atty. Dodo Dulay",
"Rep. Christopher V. P. De Venecia",
"Na Me"
]
| 2016-08-30T02:51:57 | null | 2016-08-29T23:53:50 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2F40th-anniversary-of-maos-death-the-judgment-of-history%2F282868%2F.json | http://14255-presscdn-0-60.pagely.netdna-cdn.com//wp-content/uploads/2016/06/FRANK-CHING.jpg | en | null | 40th anniversary of Mao’s death: The judgment of history | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | Friday, September 9, marks the 40th anniversary of the death of Mao Zedong, who led the Communist revolution to victory in 1949 and, after that, created turmoil in the country through one political movement after another, leading to widespread starvation. Despite causing the deaths of tens of millions of Chinese, he was worshiped as the “Great Teacher, Great Leader, Great Supreme Commander, and Great Helmsman.”
Mao’s embalmed body still lies in Tiananmen Square and his portrait still adorns the wall there. He remains the symbol of both the party and the state. That, no doubt, explains why there are people planning to hold concerts in his honor in Sydney and Melbourne in September.
The anniversary provides an opportunity to evaluate his role in history. Five years after Mao’s death in 1976, the Communist Party of China adopted a resolution on “certain questions” within the Communist Party since it gained power in 1949. In its appraisal of its 32 years in power, the party concluded that it had “very successfully led the whole people in carrying out socialist revolution and socialist construction.”
But then, when you read the small print, a somewhat different story emerges. The resolution dealt with the struggles within the party, while not dwelling on the impact on ordinary people.
Thus, while acknowledging that there had been “errors” in the Great Leap Forward campaign and the introduction of communes in the late 1950s, it did not disclose the scale of the disaster. Only in recent years, largely because of the work of scholars such as Yang Jisheng and Frank Dikotter, did we know that there were “at least” 45 million deaths. The party knew, of course, but it said nothing. Deaths of people were irrelevant compared to inner-party struggles.
As far as the party was concerned, the issue was one between between Mao and a so-called anti-party group headed by Peng Dehuai and Huang Kecheng. As a result, “our economy encountered serious difficulties between 1959 and 1961.” But no deaths were mentioned. At the time, while Chinese people were starving, Beijing was exporting food to Africa to gain political goodwill.
The party’s post-Mao leadership concluded that Mao had confused right and wrong in the Cultural Revolution, “confusing the people with the enemy.” But despite the enormity of his mistakes and the toll taken in terms of human lives, the party concluded that the grave error of the Cultural Revolution “was the error of a great proletarian revolutionary.”
That is to say, even Mao’s errors showed that he was a great man. Future Chinese leaders need have no fear. The bigger their mistakes, the greater their glory as revolutionary leaders!
Given Mao’s record, one wonders how history would have assessed him differently if he departed the scene before 1976.
In the late 1970s and early 1980s, while I was based in Beijing, there were already people who felt that history would have been kinder to him if he had not lived to the ripe old age of 82.
Indeed, it was said that if Mao had died before 1966, that is, before the Cultural Revolution, he would have been comparable to Stalin. If he had died before 1957, before the Great Leap Forward, he would have been the equivalent of Lenin, an even greater man. And if he had died before 1949, when the People’s Republic of China was established, he would have been seen as the equivalent of Marx. But he lived to be 82 and during his years in power caused so much death and destruction that he was viewed by many as Mao the monster.
But what if Mao had lost the civil war and the Nationalist party of Chiang Kai-shek had emerged triumphant? What would China be like today?
We can’t be sure exactly how things would have developed, but there certainly would not have been the mass political campaigns, with tens of millions of deaths, that characterized Mao’s rule.
Sun Yat-sen, Chiang’s mentor, believed in democracy, after a period of tutelage. The Communist Party denounced Chiang for being a dictator and promised democracy. But, once in power, the Communists perpetuated one-party rule. They haven’t loosened their grip since.
For example, in 1944, the communist party paper Xinhua Ribao published an editorial on genuine universal suffrage, arguing that “not only must the right to vote be ‘universal’ and ‘equal,’ but the right to be elected must also be ‘universal’ and ‘equal’.”
Today, after 72 years in power, it insists on vetting candidates for Chief Executive in Hong Kong. History is the great revealer of truth.
[email protected]
Twitter: @FrankChing1 | http://www.manilatimes.net/40th-anniversary-of-maos-death-the-judgment-of-history/282868/ | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/2d3732e542c609950e4639ff44f8901210921fbc282b1d63aa595139c0ec2fbf.json |
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| 2016-08-30T12:50:14 | null | 2016-08-30T20:44:37 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fwncaa-season-47-begins-sat-at-makati-coliseum%2F283001%2F.json | http://14255-presscdn-0-60.pagely.netdna-cdn.com//wp-content/uploads/2016/08/MNL-Times_250-x-250-logo.jpg | en | null | WNCAA Season 47 begins Sat at Makati Coliseum | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | The Women’s National Collegiate Athletic Association (WNCAA) will open its 47th season on Saturday at the Makati Coliseum in Makati City.
Saint Jude Catholic School (SJCS) will battle St. Stephen High School (SSHS) in the opening game of the juniors’ basketball division at 12:00 p.m.
In the triple-header seniors basketball division, Centro Escolar University (CEU) will face Rizal Technological University (RTU) at 1:30 p.m., while Miriam College (MC) will clash with Philippine Women’s University (PWU) at 3:00 p.m.
With the theme “Women on Fire: A Legacy of Passion,” the 47th edition will be hosted by SJCS.
The current Executive Council of WNCAA is headed by Maria Vivian Manila as executive director, Dolores Fernandez of St. Paul College, Pasig (SPCP) as the president, and Rene Ledesma of the University of Asia and the Pacific (UA&P) as vice-president.
WNCAA has 15 participating schools namely, Angelicum College, CEU, CKSC, DLSZ, La Salle College Antipolo, MC, PWU, RTU, SJCS, SPPC, SBCA, SPCP, St. Scholastica’s College, SSHS, and UA&P. | http://www.manilatimes.net/wncaa-season-47-begins-sat-at-makati-coliseum/283001/ | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/9634dc97f0e152350ae00357d69f0c4f90cca35f87bb085fb4b2f1a6a3a137e6.json |
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| 2016-08-27T12:49:08 | null | 2016-08-27T20:47:40 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fstrengthening-ties-through-cultural-exchange%2F282400%2F.json | http://14255-presscdn-0-60.pagely.netdna-cdn.com//wp-content/uploads/2016/08/MNL-Times_250-x-250-logo.jpg | en | null | Strengthening ties through cultural exchange | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | Early this month, the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) and South Korea’s Andong Festival Tourism Foundation (AFTF) came together for the World Mask Exhibit at SM Mall of Asia Music Hall.
“Culture always unites people,” said NCCA chairman Felipe de Leon at the opening of the exhibit. AFTF chairman Lee Byung Chand and members of both agencies were present at the event as well, a testament in itself to the task of strengthening ties between the Philippines and South Korea through cultural enrichment projects between the Philippines’ NCCA and South Korea’s global promotive agency AFTF. AFTF is based in Andong City, known as SoKor’s “roofless museum” because of its many intact cultural treasures and traditions.
The World Mask Exhibit from August 7 to 9 2016 featured various masks from different regions such as Asia, Africa, and Oceania. Masks were a vital part in the shamanistic cultures prevalent in many parts of the world before the time of major religions. These facial ornaments represented coming-of-age or positional roles, while some had hunting and exorcism functions.
A highlight of opening night was the Andong Mask Dance, a non-verbal performance depicting various cultures and traditions around the world. More than just being a dance, it is a form that tells a story for every segment, with characters that provide comic relief.
The Philippines has participated seven times in a cultural exchange with South Korea to show solidarity and goodwill. Both the AFTF and NCCA express optimism in continuing the enrichment of cultural relations through these exchange programs.
LUIGIE HADAP, NCCA | http://www.manilatimes.net/strengthening-ties-through-cultural-exchange/282400/ | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/9deeaf2d2053df7e573dc7fde642a604e327bbf349eac1037a5414fba58e1563.json |
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| 2016-08-26T16:49:08 | null | 2016-08-27T00:33:40 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fsmic-to-bring-more-biz-brands-to-the-south%2F282308%2F.json | http://14255-presscdn-0-60.pagely.netdna-cdn.com//wp-content/uploads/2016/08/MNL-Times_250-x-250-logo.jpg | en | null | SMIC to bring more biz brands to the South | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | DAVAO CITY: A leading conglomerate in the country has earmarked about Php80 billion for an aggressive expansion in the Philippines yearly.
This was revealed by senior vice president for investor relations of SM Investments Corporation (SMIC), Connie Guidote, during a round-table discussion with the media at Radisson Hotel here Thursday.
This year, Guidote said SMIC is training its eyes on Mindanao, being the next growth corridor area in the country.
“Mindanao is the area where we want to grow faster,” she said, adding that the opportunity is in the island.
“Mindanao is accelerating as it has become the priority of the President (Rodrigo Duterte),” she said.
She said Mindanao and Visayas are the new growth region for SM where significant opportunities await investors.
“Its underserved markets are hungry for the kind of aspirational products and services that SM tends to bring into its development,” Guidote said.
Based from statistics, she explained that Visayas and Mindanao contributed 26.9 percent to the Gross
Domestic Product (GDP) in 2014 with growth rate of 5.6 percent and 7.4 percent, respectively. This compares well with Metro Manila’s growth of 5.9 percent, she said.
Population grew at an average rate of 1.9 percent in Mindanao, 1.4 percent in Visayas per capita increased by 2.4 percent in Visayas and 5.0 percent in Mindanao, she added.
Guidote said they are happy with President Rodrigo Duterte’s economic agenda that is why they are aggressive on bringing down to the regions their businesses.
The SM Group is composed of 40 percent business on property, 40 percent banking, and 20 percent on retail. Andall three is doing well, she said.
However, she said they need to see on the ground the infrastructures and power, otherwise the absence of any of the two would hamper their expansion plans in areas from the urban center to villages.
“But we are hopeful with the way the government is tackling its economic direction,” she said.
Meanwhile, SMIC consultant for investor relations, Tim Daniels, said they are swarmed with queries from foreign investors showing interests in partnering with the corporation.
He said they had been getting queries of at least three to four calls a day from international investors. | http://www.manilatimes.net/smic-to-bring-more-biz-brands-to-the-south/282308/ | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/7ed2cf6d3020bd6aad0de9d06102da70a6d7d54fe224a2556dfe576611b5dc49.json |
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| 2016-08-30T14:50:12 | null | 2016-08-30T21:45:51 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Flgus-should-take-lead-in-mining-purge%2F283025%2F.json | http://14255-presscdn-0-60.pagely.netdna-cdn.com//wp-content/uploads/2016/08/MNL-Times_250-x-250-logo.jpg | en | null | ‘LGUs should take lead in mining purge’ | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | Agusan del Norte Gov. Angel Amante-Matba on Tuesday called on the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DRNR) to involve local government units (LGUs) in assessing mining operations across the country.
“Local government units in mining host communities should take the lead in monitoring and ensuring responsible mining operations, the protection of the environment and the community and the preservation of natural resources,” Matba said.
She added that the DENR should give greater consideration to sentiments of the LGUs in the ongoing government audit of mining operations nationwide.
The audit, according to the governor, should not stop the LGUs from booting out environmentally irresponsible mining companies.
“In line with moves toward greater decentralization and federalism, the local governments should have more say on whether mining companies can stay or must go,” Matba said.
Agusan del Norte is host to a few mining operations.
Matba cited the examples of Zambales Gov. Amor Deloso who ordered the suspension of dirt miners in his province without waiting for DENR sanctions, as well as the province of Nueva Vizcaya, which had complained to the department that mine tailings were being dumped on farmlands.
“In our case, we always monitored and made sure that tailings and other residues from mining operations in our province never affected the environment and the biodiversity of the province. We will never allow the indiscriminate destruction of our environment and our community. If we allow that, the problems remains in us to the detriment of the people,” she said.
The governor added that provinces should not compromise on environmental protection and support only responsible mining operations that serve as role models through their global best practices. | http://www.manilatimes.net/lgus-should-take-lead-in-mining-purge/283025/ | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/16f6188190b311e09130f92b4d5a15919038585ae2daa5c0200db76c8072b886.json |
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| 2016-08-30T06:50:10 | null | 2016-08-30T13:19:44 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fdesign-flaws-led-to-deadly-brazil-mine-disaster-report%2F282934%2F.json | http://14255-presscdn-0-60.pagely.netdna-cdn.com//wp-content/uploads/2016/08/MNL-Times_250-x-250-logo.jpg | en | null | Design flaws led to deadly Brazil mine disaster - report | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | SYDNEY: Design flaws and a series of problems over six years led to the collapse of a mine dam and the loss of 19 lives in Brazil’s worst environmental disaster, mining giant BHP Billiton said on Tuesday.
A technical report commissioned by the world’s biggest miner and Brazil’s Vale — the co-owners of the mine’s operator Samarco — found a chain of events from 2009 to 2015 caused the November 5 catastrophe, which unleashed a tsunami of toxic waste and buried a nearby village.
Samarco is facing billions of dollars in legal claims for clean-up costs and damages.
The 76-page report by an expert panel led by Canadian geotechnical engineer Norbert Morgenstern did not assign blame.
“It is a very detailed, technical report 10 months in the making,” BHP’s chief commercial officer Dean Dalla Valle said in a media teleconference.
“Given the legal proceedings, it wasn’t appropriate that we actually try to use this process to attribute blame,” he said, adding that “we have no reason to believe that anyone at BHP had any information that indicated that the dam was in danger of collapsing”.
The report said the original dam design was robust. But construction difficulties led to design changes that eventually caused “liquefaction” — where sediments lose their strength and act like a liquid — and the dam’s rupture.
“Together with the revised design there was a fundamental change in the design concept whereby more widespread saturation was allowed and accepted,” the report said.
“This increase in the extent of saturation introduced the potential for sand liquefaction.”
A series of three small seismic shocks that occurred some 90 minutes before the rupture was also “likely to have accelerated the failure process that was already well advanced”, the report added.
Valle added that there was “no evidence that I’m aware of that anyone put production over safety” when asked if cost-cutting measures in recent years — which have been taken by BHP and other miners amid a commodity price slump — affected the dam’s management.
“The events that started in 2009, it was a long chain of events that built up… I don’t think that that was an issue,” he said.
BHP said last month it would appeal a Brazilian court’s decision to reinstate a 20 billion reals (US$6.2 billion) civil claim for clean-up costs and damages. The company has argued the claim was superseded by a separate government settlement.
BHP has so far booked a US$2.2 billion charge relating to the failure and conducted a separate review of its other significant mining dams.
Work at the Samarco mine has been halted since the disaster and BHP and Vale have said operations are unlikely to restart this year. AFP
AFP/CC | http://www.manilatimes.net/design-flaws-led-to-deadly-brazil-mine-disaster-report/282934/ | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/c8ef0ea65d7db6ff7beae8482ab8cae53b6f4c0b1eccb3fab851608b76673be0.json |
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| 2016-08-28T12:49:33 | null | 2016-08-28T20:06:56 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fsenate-ethics-panel-to-decide-on-complaint-vs-de-lima%2F282626%2F.json | http://14255-presscdn-0-60.pagely.netdna-cdn.com//wp-content/uploads/2016/08/MNL-Times_250-x-250-logo.jpg | en | null | Senate ethics panel to decide on complaint vs de Lima | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | THE SENATE Committee on Ethics and Privileges is expected to decide this week if it will give due course or not to an ethics complaint filed against Sen. Leila de Lima.
Senate Majority Leader Vincente Sotto 3rd said the committee would hold an organizational hearing Tuesday and distribute the copies of the complaint to its members.
Sotto, chairman of the ethics committee, admitted he had yet read to the complaint thoroughly.
“We only constituted the committee because there is a complaint. If you remember the committee was not constituted during the previous Congress,” Sotto said.
The Senate majority leader was referring to the complaint-affidavit filed by lawyer Abelardo de Jesus against de Lima in relation to her supposed involvement in the illegal drug trade.
Sotto said that as chairman of the committee, his first move would be to conduct a background check on the complainant.
As for the content of the complaint, Sotto said the complainant raised at least 12 points, some of them similar to the allegations made recently by President Rodrigo Duterte against the neophyte senator, including her supposed affair with her driver-bodyguard.
The committee may junk the complaint if it finds that there is no basis for the panel look into it, since the allegations made against de Lima happened when she was secretary of Justice under the previous Aquino administration.
The senator noted that it would be difficult for the committee to place a senator under investigation if the allegations were based on actions committed when he or she was not yet a member of the chamber.
If members of the committee agree to proceed with the investigation, Sotto said he would ask the complainant to face the panel first.
De Lima will also be given a copy of the complaint to allow her to answer the allegations raised by de Jesus.
Asked what sanctions a senator might face, Sotto said the Senate, by a vote of two-thirds of all its members, could reprimand, suspend or even expel a senator.
Ethics complaints against senators are not common. The last time the ethics committee conducted an investigation against one of its members was in 2001, when the late senator Renato Cayetano was the subject of an ethics probe.
Cayetano, father of Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano and Taguig Rep. Pia Cayetano, was accused of using his office to acquire shares in gaming firm Best World Resources, whose price was said to have been manipulated by stock market players in 1999.
Sotto said the Cayetano case was not finished because of lack of time.
JV’s suspension
The Senate meanwhile is unlikely to impose the 90-day preventive suspension issued by the Sandiganbayan anti-graft court against Sen. Joseph Victor “JV” Ejercito, because the order may no longer be applicable.
Since Ejercito is no longer mayor of San Juan, there is no way for him to influence the investigation, Sotto argued.
Ejercito is facing graft charges for the alleged misuse of the calamity fund of San Juan to buy firearms for policemen in 2008. The senator has denied any wrongdoing.
For his part, Ejercito said he was studying his options including the filing of a motion for reconsideration before the Sandiganbayan, upon the advise of Senate President Aquilino Pimentel 3rd. | http://www.manilatimes.net/senate-ethics-panel-to-decide-on-complaint-vs-de-lima/282626/ | en | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/0eaad72ebf6b93657124f5c265c59daa6017507a591e49091edcee520081a318.json |
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| 2016-08-29T14:50:03 | null | 2016-08-29T22:13:10 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fno-sunday-killing%2F282859%2F.json | http://14255-presscdn-0-60.pagely.netdna-cdn.com//wp-content/uploads/2016/08/MNL-Times_250-x-250-logo.jpg | en | null | ‘No Sunday killing’ | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | CABANATUAN CITY, Nueva Ecija: ”Thou shalt not kill… on a Sunday.”
This August, at least, the police blotter here showed no drug-related killings reported on Sundays.
The officers noted this during the weekly command conference. Copies of the blotters regularly sent through e-mail to all concerned, including the local media practitioners here, confirmed the observation.
The provincial police operation headquarters based in Cabanatuan City in a daily sent report indicated that there was no drug-related killing on August 7, 14, 21 and 28 in the 27 towns and five cities of Nueva Ecija.
Most of the reported crimes on Sundays this August were only motorcycle-snatching, petty theft, assault on authority, robbery and vehicular accident.
The August report also said Sundays had been devoted to securing arrest warrants for alleged drug offenders and preparing for buy-busts.
Senior Supt. Manuel Cornel, Nueva Ecija provincial director, is yet to reply when texted to comment on the August “no Sunday killing” trend.
“Sunday news is boring for drug-related killings, the reporters have no news yet to send to their newspapers,” some local reporters here said. | http://www.manilatimes.net/no-sunday-killing/282859/ | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/9d32d4208d4ca7acab06e1d5915d69b149e793081279ea923bfb583f94c3c538.json |
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| 2016-08-29T04:49:47 | null | 2016-08-29T11:00:25 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fbeyonce-invites-mothers-of-slain-black-men-to-mtv-awards%2F282709%2F.json | http://14255-presscdn-0-60.pagely.netdna-cdn.com//wp-content/uploads/2016/08/MNL-Times_250-x-250-logo.jpg | en | null | Beyonce invites mothers of slain black men to MTV awards | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | NEW YORK: Pop superstar Beyonce invited the mothers of slain African American men to the MTV Video Music Awards, where her politically charged “Formation” is up for the top prize.
Beyonce, dressed angelically in a long glittery silver skirt topped by light blue wings and a staggering amount of jewelry, also brought her daughter Blue Ivy to the music gala at New York’s Madison Square Garden.
The singer entered the red carpet silently with the mothers of Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Oscar Grant and Trayvon Martin — all African Americans whose lives were cut short in contested circumstances.
Martin, 17, was killed in 2012 by a white neighborhood guard, helping trigger the Black Lives Matter movement. Brown, Garner and Grant were all killed by law enforcement.
The mothers of all four men except Grant appeared in Beyonce’s film “Lemonade,” which was intertwined with an album of the same name.
“Formation,” the first single off the album, was the most politically charged track of Beyonce’s career.
Inspired by the bounce hip-hop scene of New Orleans, the video at one point depicts police officers raising their hands as if under arrest.
Beyonce is nominated for a total of 11 awards on Sunday, more than any other artist.
Beyonce Legion, a fan Twitter account that is generally well-informed, said that the singer wore $12.6 million worth of diamonds in rings and earrings. AFP
AFP/CC | http://www.manilatimes.net/beyonce-invites-mothers-of-slain-black-men-to-mtv-awards/282709/ | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/56658867d558251847e3580b85eae6d3ac59909c9ef8a6af70ad439a2184c6dd.json |
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| 2016-08-30T12:50:21 | null | 2016-08-30T20:41:13 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fsabitzer-strike-rescues-debutants-rb-leipzig%2F282995%2F.json | http://14255-presscdn-0-60.pagely.netdna-cdn.com//wp-content/uploads/2016/08/MNL-Times_250-x-250-logo.jpg | en | null | Sabitzer strike rescues debutants RB Leipzig | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | BERLIN: After four promotions in seven seasons, RB Leipzig made an impressive Bundesliga debut on Monday, twice coming from behind as Marcel Sabitzer’s equalizer sealed a 2-2 draw at Hoffenheim.
Founded in 2009 by Austrian energy drink’s firm Red Bull, RasenBallsport Leipzig are widely unpopular amongst German football fans, due to the commercialism they represent and resentment caused by their sponsor’s deep pockets.
For example, a severed bull’s head was thrown onto the playing area at last Saturday’s German Cup defeat at Dynamo Dresden and some fans of Borussia Dortmund, Leipzig’s opponents for their first home league match in a fortnight, plan a boycott.
But under Austrian coach Ralph Hasenhuettl, the talented young Leipzig side, lacking any big-name stars, proved themselves on their debut in Germany’s top flight.
“I’m very happy with the point, which we deserved,” said Hasenhuettl.
“In the first few minutes we behaved a bit naively, but quickly got up to the level.”
They had two clear chances in the first-half, but fell behind when Hoffenheim’s Lukas Rupp fired home from 15-metres out.
The visitors drew level when Leipzig captain Dominik Kaiser scored against his ex-club on 58 minutes.
Hoffenheim looked to have won the game when Sebastian Rudy’s breakaway led to Mark Uth re-establishing the hosts’ lead on 83 minutes, until Austrian international Sabitzer equalised in the 90th minute.
When defender Benno Schmitz, a product of the Bayern Munich academy, fired in a late cross, Sabitzer, who spent last season at sister-club RB Salzburg, was waiting to tap home at the far post.
After the result, Leipzig announced they have signed Scottish teenage winger Oliver Burke on a five-year-contract from Nottingham Forest, reportedly beating Manchester United, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur to his signature.
“This transfer pleases us particularly because a lot of top clubs were interested and as well and we have added more quality to our attack,” said Leipzig’s director of sport Ralf Rangnick.
Earlier, Julian Schieber’s dramatic injury-time winner sealed Hertha Berlin’s 2-1 victory at home to newly-promoted Freiburg to claim his first goal since knee surgery in March 2015.
Hertha were cruising to a 1-0 win at Berlin’s Olympic Stadium, thanks to Vladimir Darida’s second-half goal before the game burst into life in the final ten minutes.
Ex-Dortmund striker Schieber came off the bench for Vedad Ibisevic with 85 minutes gone and Freiburg drew level with a stunning header from their captain Nicolas Hoefler in the 93rd minute.
But Hertha roared back as Schieber latched onto a blocked shot from Japan winger Genki Haraguchi and his crude shot rolled into the goal in the 95th minute.
“It’s a dream for any footballer to score the winning goal in front of home fans shortly before the end, even if it was a scuffed shot,” said Schieber.
The hosts dominated possession and went ahead in the second half when Darida fired home, unmarked, from the edge of the area.
Ivory Coast striker Salomon Kalou, who suffered a double bereavement in the last two weeks following the death of his mother and father, was left on Hertha’s bench for the final dramatic ten minutes which yielded the two goals.
On Friday, last season’s champions Bayern Munich kicked-off the season with a 6-0 hammering of Werder Bremen at the Allianz Arena.
Poland hot-shot Robert Lewandowski, the 2015/16 top-scorer in Germany with 30 goals, netted a hat-trick for Bayern to resume his rivalry with Borussia Dortmund’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who scored 25 times to finish second.
Dortmund laboured to a 2-1 win over Mainz as Aubameyang netted twice, with a header and then converted a second-half penalty.
AFP | http://www.manilatimes.net/sabitzer-strike-rescues-debutants-rb-leipzig/282995/ | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/1c293dc491c5aee12b072e135cbf31f1071135a69932b489448098cbbf351e70.json |
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| 2016-08-30T04:50:06 | null | 2016-08-30T10:56:31 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Ffrance-seeks-new-chapter-in-muslim-relations%2F282926%2F.json | http://14255-presscdn-0-60.pagely.netdna-cdn.com//wp-content/uploads/2016/08/MNL-Times_250-x-250-logo.jpg | en | null | France seeks new chapter in Muslim relations | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | PARIS: France’s government sought Monday to open a new chapter in relations with the country’s Muslims following a summer scarred by jihadist attacks and a ban on burkinis that ratcheted up communal tensions.
Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve met with senior Muslim representatives and agreed that efforts to foster good relations will include the creation of an Islamic foundation, funded solely with money from within France.
But Prime Minister Manuel Valls, speaking later Monday, urged a fight to defeat what he termed “Islamist totalitarianism” which aimed at “fracturing democracies, stifling individual liberties and installing a new social order in which men dominate women.”
Around 30 towns have banned the burkini from their beaches, with some mayors linking the bans to the July 14 jihadist lorry attack in Nice that killed 86 and the murder of a Catholic priest near Rouen by Islamic State sympathisers.
The controversy over the burkini, the full-body Islamic swimming garment, looks set to continue after several mayors said they would ignore a decision Friday by the country’s top administrative court to suspend the ban in one Riviera town.
Anouar Kbibech, leader of the French Council of the Muslim Faith (CFCM), said he hoped Monday’s talks were the start of a new chapter.
“This positive development will put an end to the repulsive saga of the burkini,” he said.
Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said the aim of the discussions was to forge “an Islam anchored in the values of the French Republic”.
Cazeneuve stressed however that all religions had to respect France’s laws on the strict separation of religion and state.
The talks will lead to the creation of a “Foundation for Islam in France”, which will aim to raise funds in France rather than abroad to ensure the transparent sourcing of funds.
But the choice of 77-year-old former defence minister Jean-Pierre Chevenement to head the foundation has sparked controversy, with many observers asking why a Muslim was not given the role.
Chevenement sidestepped the controversy, telling AFP: “As a former interior minister myself, I could not turn down the opportunity to contribute to this initiative of great interest to the public.”
Hakim El Karoui, a secular Muslim who participated in Monday’s talks, said that the choice of Chevenement was “clumsiness at the very least”.
Cazeneuve, the current interior minister, said the foundation would act as a “bridge between the French state and France’s Muslims”.
Moroccan writer Tahar Ben Jelloun and the rector of a mosque in the central city of Lyon, Kamel Kabtane, are among Muslims who will sit on the foundation’s board.
France’s secular laws mean the foundation’s scope is limited to areas like education and research.
“If they are given the financial means, Muslim institutions can strengthen their role in the prevention of radicalization,” said Kbibech.
The anti-Islamophobia group which spearheaded the legal challenge to the burkini ban said it will go to court this week to force four French Riviera towns — Nice, Menton, Roquebrune-Cap-Martin and Frejus — to drop the measure.
Nice is among the towns that have refused to abide by the court ruling.
Images of police apparently ordering a woman in a headscarf on the beach in Nice to remove clothing which allegedly contravened the ban sparked worldwide outrage.
Nice authorities however insisted she was simply showing police the swimsuit she was wearing under her top, when the pictures were taken.
Eighty-six people were killed in Nice in July and over 400 people injured when Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel drove a truck into crowds leaving a fireworks display on Nice’s waterfront on France’s national holiday. AFP
AFP/CC | http://www.manilatimes.net/france-seeks-new-chapter-in-muslim-relations/282926/ | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/ec3cddef94b4f9afb297674ad0e87833fb19ba346402ade53d3dacc85fec94bb.json |
[
"Aberon Voltaire Palaña",
"Catherine Talavera",
"Kristyn Nika M. Lazo"
]
| 2016-08-26T16:48:41 | null | 2016-08-27T00:39:48 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fmeralco-gets-digital-unveils-smart-grid%2F282312%2F.json | http://14255-presscdn-0-60.pagely.netdna-cdn.com//wp-content/uploads/2016/08/MNL-Times_250-x-250-logo.jpg | en | null | Meralco gets digital, unveils smart grid | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | THE Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) is implementing its Advanced Distribution Management System (ADMS), a key building block in distribution utility toward a smarter and more automated grid.
Technology has always been the enabler of change. What is new is the tremendous pace of technology evolution, Meralco President and CEO Oscar S. Reyes said during the 2nd Meralco Technology and Innovation Summit (MTECH) at the Meralco headquarters in Pasig City on Friday.
ADMS will allow the company to minimize the impact of outages by re-routing power.
“A few weeks ago, we had the opportunity to demonstrate our Advanced Metering Infrastructure or AMI, to our regulators. We were encouraged by their positive feedback and the mutual desire to implement new technologies that will help us to serve our customers better. We shared the common goal of giving customers more information and more control over their energy usage,” Reyes said.
“Our Smart Grid journey will not be easy. It will require a new technology infrastructure to be built and millions of devices to be installed in the field. At the same time, we must meet the challenges of providing safe, reliable, and the lowest possible cost power and new services to our ever-growing customer base which now counts nearly 6 million customer accounts,” he added.
Meralco must work closely with regulators and policy makers, technology partners and industry stakeholders, to upgrade its network and ensure the company’s ability to meet future demand and support the Philippines’ economic growth.
“The evolution of our Smart Grid is a necessity to maintain a highly reliable network and respond to the coming challenges that distributed generation such as wind, solar or battery storage will have on our grid operations,” Reyes said.
Meralco Chief Technology Advisor Gavin D. Barfield introduced the company’s digital transformation.
“We are disrupting ourselves, pushing the boundaries of technology and evolving into a new Meralco, equipped to take on the challenges and capitalize on the opportunities of the digital age.
“Our digital transformation cuts across all aspects of our business. It will ensure we are able to support new technology like solar, wind, and battery, as well as IT development such as cloud, big data, mobility and social media. It will ensure we utilize modern technologies to build an electricity grid fit for the future,” Barfield said.
Meralco SVP and Head of Customer Retail Services and Corporate Communications Alfredo S. Panlilio explained that disruptive technologies are fundamentally changing the way Meralco interacts with customers.
“We will ensure that we are able to meet our changing customer needs by opening new digital channels, providing more information and insights and offering more innovative products and services.” | http://www.manilatimes.net/meralco-gets-digital-unveils-smart-grid/282312/ | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/5bfc2a074e5a6ec435897728a824400a0eaef6abfb37f91eab87db7c5a9cf361.json |
[
"The Manila Times"
]
| 2016-08-26T18:49:47 | null | 2016-08-27T02:16:22 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fmedias-role-in-dutertes-war-on-illegal-drugs%2F282352%2F.json | http://14255-presscdn-0-60.pagely.netdna-cdn.com//wp-content/uploads/2016/08/MNL-Times_250-x-250-logo.jpg | en | null | Media’s role in Duterte’s war on illegal drugs | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | Is the media serving justice to alleged victims of the Duterte administration’s war on illegal drugs?
No, if we go by the headline of the banner story of the Thursday issue of another national broadsheet about a five-year-old girl being the “latest fatality” in the drug war.
The headline made the story into a case of another drug-related killing, taking the police angle despite claims to the contrary by the family of the man who was shot in a Dagupan City incident, protesting against the police’s inclusion of his name in a drug watch list.
The story’s spin was that the granddaughter was what the newspaper called “collateral damage” in the government’s crackdown on the drug menace and its Pied Pipers across the archipelago.
Yes, a “gunman” had supposedly targeted the grandfather but missed, and accidentally shot and killed the young girl. Although early in the narrative the story did not make a connection between the shooter and the old man, the account segued to the police chief of the northern city where the tragedy happened as having “theorized that drug dealers were behind the attack.”
It was not clear from the story what the basis of the theory was. No detail was given about the local police chief’s comment, not even a qualifier saying the reporter made the necessary follow-up question about that drug-watch list and its basis, and if such question had received any reply. After all, it may not be a farfetched possibility that the assailant could have also just been trying to settle a personal score with the old man and that the shooting had nothing to do with illegal drugs at all?
Authorities, however, had to first produce the attacker, but the story said nothing more about what happened with the suspect after the incident.
The grandfather’s wife said her husband had never been involved in illegal drugs and feared that the “killers may come back for [him].”
Well, the old man survived the shooting and the burden to prove his innocence now lies with him. In the event he is as clean as a whistle, as his wife portrays him to be, then the description of the girl being “collateral damage” collapses.
If, on the other hand, the grandfather is guilty of any illegal drugs connection, then the entire sorry episode cannot be automatically blamed on the government’s war on drugs but on the individual shooter, as may or may not have been provoked by the victim himself. The local police chief referred to the attackers as “drug dealers.” The victim could have also been a drug user or a drug pusher even before the Duterte administration took over.
Obviously, the headline of the story chose to side with the police description of the matter as a drug-related killing perpetrated by private participants in the illegal drugs trade, punching holes in the government crackdown on this crime as nothing more than a bloody foray to meet a deadline and everything about a drive against criminality gone berserk.
There was this other story about a supposedly very young boy who was a heroin addict, according to Janet Cooke, the reporter who wrote the Pulitzer-winning piece for The Washington Post in 1981.
Cooke said in her report “Jimmy” injected himself with heroin. Her editors believed her, but later faced with incontrovertible proof that she had fabricated the story, the paper was forced to return her prize.
While the modern news media’s duty to report the facts now comes with the responsibility of connecting the dots for the readers, when faced with two conflicting sides in the same story, choosing to highlight the angle that favors one side without providing factual back-up for that choice could be as oppressive as hiding the truth itself. | http://www.manilatimes.net/medias-role-in-dutertes-war-on-illegal-drugs/282352/ | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/51a44bea964e53ef27ad8edaa58efa3c4003c363849e879ec55f282383cd77ee.json |
[
"The Manila Times",
"Llanesca T. Panti",
"Mayvelin U. Caraballo"
]
| 2016-08-29T04:51:37 | null | 2016-08-29T00:51:28 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fspy-cams-better-than-death-penalty-in-fighting-crime%2F282682%2F.json | http://14255-presscdn-0-60.pagely.netdna-cdn.com//wp-content/uploads/2016/08/MNL-Times_250-x-250-logo.jpg | en | null | Spy cams ‘better’ than death penalty in fighting crime | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | Intensified closed-circuit TV (CCTV) public surveillance would go a longer way in suppressing crime than the restoration of the death penalty, according to a lawmaker.
“We would prefer any day a surveillance state over an executioner state,” House Senior Deputy Minority Leader and Buhay party-list Rep. Lito Atienza said over the weekend.
Atienza opposes judicial killings on grounds that they violate the sanctity of human life and do not serve any purpose that is not already being served by life imprisonment.
A greater number of spy cameras in public places would be more effective in pinning down criminals, and in discouraging other would-be felons, according to the congressman, a former three-term mayor of Manila.
“Round-the-clock public video surveillance has become an extremely practical crime-fighting tool. It has helped law enforcement agencies everywhere apprehend all sorts of offenders, from car thieves to kidnappers,” he said.
The lawmaker added that 24-hour CCTV monitoring has become even more potent now because of growing use of social media, where the community and law enforcement agencies may easily share and exchange information that could solve a crime quickly.
“In fact, if we look at some of the most-shared social media posts by Filipinos, they are videos of all sorts of criminals caught red-handed,” he said.
“Video surveillance succeeds in achieving the certainty of swift capture and punishment, which is our best deterrent to crime,” Atienza added.
He cited many ordinary as well as high-profile crimes that were solved fast with the help of CCTV footage, including:
• The July 25, 2016 fatal shooting of cyclist Mark Vincent Garalde in Quiapo, Manila, in a case of “road rage” that was captured on CCTV. Inactive Philippine Army reservist Vhon Martin Tanto was promptly identified as the perpetrator and nabbed four days later in Masbate;
• The 2014 EDSA, Mandaluyong City (Metro Manila) “hold-up” of two employees of a private contractor who were seized at gunpoint and then robbed of P2 million in cash by 12 active and inactive police officers in the guise of carrying out a drug bust. CCTV footage helped verify the license plates of the cars used in the bogus police operation, and led to the arrest of the outlaws, which included the La Loma, Quezon City station commander, Chief Insp. Joseph de Vera; and
• The 2012 kidnapping and murder of businesswoman Leah Angeles-Ng in Quezon City. The four suspects – active and inactive police officers – were nabbed after two of them were spotted on CCTV using Ng’s Toyota Prado soon after the victim went missing. The culprits, including Supt. Rommel Miranda, one-time spokesman for the Metro Manila police office, are now facing trial.
Atienza said stepped up CCTV shadowing would help compensate for lack of police visibility while the Philippine National Police (PNP) is still recruiting and training additional officers.
At present, the country has one police officer for every 690 persons – still a far cry from the PNP’s target to have one officer for every 500 persons.
“We do not see video surveillance upsetting law-abiding and peace-loving citizens, as long as it is restricted to public places, and provided it does not violate the right to privacy,” Atienza said.
Public video surveillance is most widespread in the United Kingdom, which has some 5.9 million CCTV cameras, or one for every 14 people, according to the British Security Industry Authority. | http://www.manilatimes.net/spy-cams-better-than-death-penalty-in-fighting-crime/282682/ | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/fbd1c7109a977826a1a8432458a8295d848a6a58f02ea0c448a4251f68c4a42a.json |
[
"The Manila Times",
"Jefferson Antiporda",
"Catherine Talavera"
]
| 2016-08-26T14:49:27 | null | 2016-08-26T21:59:40 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fdont-blame-ph-economic-woes-on-population-growth%2F282282%2F.json | http://14255-presscdn-0-60.pagely.netdna-cdn.com//wp-content/uploads/2016/08/MNL-Times_250-x-250-logo.jpg | en | null | ‘Don’t blame PH economic woes on population growth’ | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | The Duterte administration’s experts should stop sticking to the wrong policy of past administrations that blamed the country’s economic woes on population growth, according to Rep. Lito Atienza of Buhay party-list.
“I am very disappointed that the President’s economic planners are still in the habit of using the country’s growing population as an alibi for failure, as previous administrations have done before them,” Atienza, also House senior deputy leader, said on Friday at the start of budget hearings in Congress.
Atienza questioned a recent statement of National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Director General Ernesto Pernia that full implementation of the Reproductive Health (RH) Law could have helped speed up poverty reduction in the country.
“The economic projections for our country are all upbeat and positive. So why is it that our economic planners are giving this administration an alibi for failure by blaming the country’s growing population for the slow alleviation of poverty in the country? Except for the Arroyo administration, why are they committing the same mistakes that other previous administrations have made?” he said.
Instead of implementing genuine poverty alleviation programs like employment generation and providing livelihood opportunities for the poor, the government, according to Atienza, is still blaming the population for the country’s poverty.
“It is very ironic that the country’s growing population, a big majority of which is composed of overseas Filipino workers whose billions of dollars in remittances are keeping the economy afloat , is again being conveniently used as an alibi for government’s failure to effectively address poverty. We have always maintained that the RH Law is anti-life, anti-family and anti-poor. It is a population control measure disguised as a responsible parenthood and Reproductive Health Law,” the lawmaker, also a former mayor of Manila, said.
Atienza pointed out that the country is “fortunate” to have a leader like President Rodrigo Duterte who is giving priority to the needs of the poor and is “the only President to have confronted the drug menace frontally.”
The President, he said, is determined to stamp out the drug menace.
“Ninety percent of crimes are drug-related, something that no other President seemed to have addressed squarely. We know that after dealing with the drug problem, President Duterte will focus his attention on corruption. Drugs and corruption are twin diseases that cause poverty. A stable peace and order condition and good governance are essential if our country is to achieve progress–not population control,” Atienza added.
“Good and effective governance is what we need to attain progress,” he said. | http://www.manilatimes.net/dont-blame-ph-economic-woes-on-population-growth/282282/ | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/152605e298c3010867fab853ee86a0ecc54483cab70ac2508c4a1881467c78b3.json |
[
"Mayvelin U. Caraballo",
"Kristyn Nika M. Lazo",
"Catherine Talavera",
"Aberon Voltaire Palaña"
]
| 2016-08-28T16:49:49 | null | 2016-08-29T00:26:30 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fph-need-not-move-in-sync-with-fed-on-rates%2F282664%2F.json | http://14255-presscdn-0-60.pagely.netdna-cdn.com//wp-content/uploads/2016/08/inflation20160829-300x211.jpg | en | null | ‘PH need not move in sync with Fed on rates’ | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | BSP: Inflation manageable, tools available to monitor market
The Philippine central bank governor reiterated the monetary board’s steady monetary stance despite the current external market volatility, assuring the public the policy may not move in sync with any move by the US Federal Reserve to raise its key interest rates.
Earlier, US Fed Chair Janet Yellen warned in a speech at a symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, that the case for tightening in the US had grown stronger as economic activity continued to expand, led by solid growth in household spending.
Reacting to the speech, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Amando Tetangco Jr. said the outlook for Philippine consumer prices remain in line with expectations.
“Our current inflation outlook continues to be manageable,” he said in a text message to reporters over the weekend. Besides, the monetary authority has tools to keep market volatility in check, Tetangco added.
In Yellen’s speech Friday (Saturday in Manila), the US Fed chair said, “in light of the continued solid performance of the labor market and our outlook for economic activity and inflation, I believe the case for an increase in the federal funds rate has strengthened in recent months.”
The Fed chair’s statement, the BSP governor said, was “more or less as expected, well balanced and nuanced.” If the US would indeed hike either in September or December “as Yellen’s comments indicate that they are getting closer to their next move,” the BSP need not necessarily move in sync, Tetangco added.
He also stressed the BSP was mindful that there could be some near-term financial market volatility as markets react to the Fed statement and rebalance dollar holdings.
“We will continue to monitor developments including changes in tax levies and weather-related disturbances, that could impact on domestic price and demand dynamics, and make adjustments to our monetary policy stance as appropriate,” he said.
At its August 11 meeting, the Monetary Board of the BSP decided to keep key interest rates unchanged, noting that domestic economic conditions continued to be favorable.
The rate for the reverse repurchase (RRP) facility remained at 3percent. The BSP also held the corresponding rates for overnight lending and deposit facilities steady at 3.5 percent and 2.5 percent, respectively. The reserve requirement ratio for banks was also left unchanged at 20 percent.
The central bank also lowered its inflation forecast for the year to 1.8 percent from 2 percent. Its inflation forecast for 2017 was also adjusted downward at 2.9 percent from 3.1 percent, but the forecast of 2.6 percent 2018 was unchanged.
Latest forecasts indicate that the average inflation is likely to settle slightly below the 3 percent plus or minus 1 percentage point target in 2016 and rise toward the mid-point of the target in 2017 and 2018, it said.
Aug inflation seen at 1.6% -2.4%
The central bank said inflation in August could moderate to 1.6 percent or pick up to 2.4 percent as upside and downward pressures could come from higher local oil and rice prices, and lower electricity and vegetable prices.
“The BSP forecast suggests that August inflation could settle within the 1.6 percent to 2.4 percent range,” Tetangco said in a separate text message.
Headline inflation in July held steady at the preceding months level of 1.9 percent although it was more than double the rate of 0.8 percent a year earlier. Data for August is scheduled for release by the Philippine Statistics Authority on September 6.
Tetangco said that upward price pressures may come from higher domestic oil and rice prices.
Oil companies have announced two price hikes in their oil products for the month.
“However, these could be partly offset by the decline in the power rates in Meralco-serviced areas and lower prices of selected vegetable items,” Tetangco added.
Power rates by the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) declined by 11 centavos per kilowatt-hour this month on lower generation charges.
“Moving forward, the BSP will continue to monitor emerging price conditions to ensure price stability conducive to a balanced and sustainable economic growth,” Tetangco concluded. | http://www.manilatimes.net/ph-need-not-move-in-sync-with-fed-on-rates/282664/ | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/1eb509dfecbc7ad9a5c522b8323cadcc83b7f80459f4cf46421ca345ebe837e0.json |
[
"Jefferson Antiporda",
"Michael Joe T. Delizo",
"Llanesca T. Panti",
"Agence France-Presse"
]
| 2016-08-30T18:50:18 | null | 2016-08-31T01:05:52 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fethics-probe-vs-de-lima-confidential-sotto%2F283115%2F.json | http://14255-presscdn-0-60.pagely.netdna-cdn.com//wp-content/uploads/2016/08/MNL-Times_250-x-250-logo.jpg | en | null | Ethics probe vs de Lima ‘confidential’ - Sotto | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | THE Senate committee on ethics and privileges has deferred action on a complaint filed against Senator Leila de Lima by a taxpayer who wanted her expelled from the chamber.
Senator Vicente Sotto 3rd, chairman of the committee, said members of the panel were furnished copies of the complaint on Tuesday.
“We have decided to keep it confidential because it might be premature publicity. So therefore, in fairness to everyone, to all concerned, we’d rather keep it confidential,” Sotto said in an interview after the organizational meeting of the committee.
Sotto added that the panel agreed to call for a general counsel to assist them in studying the complaint.
Sotto refused to disclose details of the complaint but in an interview last week, the senator hinted that some of the issues raised by the complainant were based on the allegations of President Rodrigo Duterte, particularly on her alleged involvement in illegal drug operations and immorality.
Asked if the committee will proceed with the investigation if the allegations were based on the actions of de Lima when she was not a senator, Sotto said they will have to study the issue on jurisdiction.
“That is why it is not easy for us to just take over jurisdiction or to dismiss because of the underlying factors,” he explained.
In his two-page complaint, Abelardo de Jesus said de Lima “miserably” failed to uphold the attributes of a public officer as secretary of the Department of Justice and as a senator, which is tantamount to betrayal of public trust.
De Jesus based his complaint on the August 17, 2016 speech of the President during the 115th Police Service Anniversary in Camp Crame wherein he accused de Lima of “collecting money through her driver’ from the narco-inmates at the National Penitentiary to finance her Senate electoral campaign.
The complainant said there is no reason to doubt the veracity of the allegation, considering that it was made by no less than the President.
“Thus, I plead the Senate Ethics Committee to request the Office of the President for these evidentiary matters to warrant and justify the penalty sought to be imposed against Respondent,” de Jesus said in his complaint.
The complaint charged de Lima with betrayal of public trust, gross misconduct, serious misrepresentation and grievous negligence.
De Jesus said de Lima should be expelled from the Senate.
Harassment
De Lima dismissed the complaint as part of the harassment tactics against her.
“I have not seen yet any such complaint so I’d rather that I wait first for whatever action, initial or otherwise, that the ethics committee would be taking on that matter,” de Lima said.
“They’re trying to break my spirit but they will never succeed. That will not happen,” she added.
She expressed confidence that members of the ethics panel will study the matter thoroughly.
“I respect them as my colleagues. I know that they know what to do,” de Lima said. | http://www.manilatimes.net/ethics-probe-vs-de-lima-confidential-sotto/283115/ | en | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/0ef1ea45649bd4c4a4a85789ee43f57e3bc0d8874fba74f62d304c12c5a167e6.json |
[
"Agence France-Presse"
]
| 2016-08-27T12:49:15 | null | 2016-08-27T19:47:57 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fus-russia-closer-to-new-syria-ceasefire%2F282387%2F.json | http://14255-presscdn-0-60.pagely.netdna-cdn.com//wp-content/uploads/2016/08/MNL-Times_250-x-250-logo.jpg | en | null | US, Russia closer to new Syria ceasefire | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | GENEVA: Washington and Moscow made key steps towards agreeing a new ceasefire in Syria, but a final deal has not been reached, US Secretary of State John Kerry and his Russian counterpart said after talks Friday.
Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov made the comments after the marathon talks at a luxury hotel on the shores of Lake Geneva.
“Today I can say that we achieved clarity on the path forward” for a revamped cessation of hostilities, the top US diplomat said.
He added that the “vast majority” of technical obstacles to a ceasefire had been agreed but that some issues remained unresolved.
Lavrov echoed his American counterpart, telling reporters that “very important steps” had been made on a deal to stop the violence.
There had been hopes of a definitive announcement to stem the fighting in the war-ravaged country or on a new round of UN-brokered peace talks.
Kerry explained that US and Russian experts would continue to meet in Geneva in the coming days to pour over a set of unresolved issues in hopes of striking a durable deal.
He stressed though that “neither of us is (ready) to make an announcement that is predicated by failure—we don’t want to have a deal for the sake of a deal.”
A previous ceasefire agreed earlier this year has all but collapsed, and Kerry acknowledged that “violations (of the deal) eventually became the norm rather than the exception.”
Moscow and Washington support opposite sides in the Syrian conflict, which erupted in March 2011 after President Bashar al-Assad unleashed a brutal crackdown against a pro-democracy revolt.
Russia is one of Assad’s most important international backers while the US supports Syria’s main opposition alliance and some rebels.
Kerry on Friday listed two main priorities to ensure that a prospective revamped ceasefire holds: responding to ceasefire violations by the Damascus regime and checking the rising influence of the former Al-Nusra Front.
That group has renamed itself Fateh al-Sham Front after renouncing its status as Al-Qaeda’s Syrian affiliate, but Kerry on Friday stressed that “Nusra is Al-Qaeda, and no name change by Nusra hides what Nusra really is and what it tries to do.”
Peace process
The two diplomats met on and off for nearly 12 hours and were briefly joined by the UN envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, who had said Thursday hoped the talks would help his drive to revive the stalled negotiations.
Successive rounds of negotiations have failed to end a conflict that has killed more than 290,000 people and forced millions from their homes in more than five years.
De Mistura had voiced hope of bringing the warring parties back to the negotiating table by the end of August, but that deadline looks sure to slip in the face of intense fighting on the ground.
Both Kerry and Lavrov stressed the need for fresh talks to find a political solution to the crisis.
The US envoy voiced hope that installing a real ceasefire could “open the window of opportunity for us to be able to get to the table here in Geneva, and have a real negotiation about the future.”
Humanitarian aid
The US and Russia co-chair a UN-backed humanitarian taskforce for Syria, which has been struggling to ensure access for desperately-needed aid across the country.
AFP | http://www.manilatimes.net/us-russia-closer-to-new-syria-ceasefire/282387/ | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/70b3e30ab729e82250d52a5187d1926593a1ef2e70fd1a1ef55a403b41d53f6d.json |
[
"Julmunir I. Jannaral",
"Neil Alcober",
"James Konstantin Galvez",
"Ernie B. Esconde"
]
| 2016-08-30T14:50:21 | null | 2016-08-30T21:46:40 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fgrenade-lobbed-at-cotabato-police-station%2F283026%2F.json | http://14255-presscdn-0-60.pagely.netdna-cdn.com//wp-content/uploads/2016/08/MNL-Times_250-x-250-logo.jpg | en | null | Grenade lobbed at Cotabato police station | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | COTABATO CITY: A grenade was lobbed at the police station here on Monday afternoon but it did not explode.
Senior Insp. Carlo Jurinario, Station 2 chief, said the grenade landed on the roof of the police station on Sinsuat and Ramon Rabago avenues here at about 3:45 p.m.
It was the second grenade attack on a police station since Saturday night.
Jurinario said policemen heard a loud thud and found a live hand grenade minus its safety lever. He did not say why the grenade failed to explode.
On Saturday night, unidentified men also tossed a smoke grenade at the Traffic Management Unit office located beside the Police Station 1 near the jail.
Senior Insp. Roel Zafra, speaking for the Cotabato City police office, said investigation showed that the smoke grenade could be part of a plot to “rescue” some inmates from their detention cell.
Zafra explained that although the smoke grenade could not hurt anyone with shrapnel, the smoke it produces would be dangerous and harmful to human health.
Jurinario said the attack on police offices here could be part of diversionary tactics of groups in Lanao del Sur that are inspired by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) or a retaliatory attempt against lawmen for their intensified anti-drug operations in the city.
The Maute terror group was believed to be behind the attack on the Lanao del Sur provincial jail in Marawi City where eight members were freed by the attackers.
“We remain on red alert, our anti-drug operations will continue,” Jurinario said. | http://www.manilatimes.net/grenade-lobbed-at-cotabato-police-station/283026/ | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/a6337a2176c91be6e89d74dd3fc22d8d9f254c1f6f2f94b6ee86f5e939f27554.json |
[
"Jaelle Nevin Reyes",
"Agence France-Presse",
"Jean Russel V. David",
"Philippines News Agency"
]
| 2016-08-26T13:00:35 | null | 2016-08-26T19:53:35 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fazkals-vs-tukmenistan-friendly-cancelled%2F282239%2F.json | http://14255-presscdn-0-60.pagely.netdna-cdn.com//wp-content/uploads/2016/08/azkals20160827-300x200.jpg | en | null | Azkals vs Tukmenistan friendly cancelled | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | The Philippine Football Federation announced on Friday the cancellation of the scheduled exhibition match between the Philippine Azkals and Turkmenistan.
The Azkals ranked No. 134 were previously scheduled to face the No.119 Turkmenistan squad on September 2 at the Philippine Sports Stadium in Bocaue, Bulacan. The planned friendly was part of the Azkals’ preparation for its campaign in the group stage of the Suzuki Cup later this year.
“PFF received an urgent notice from the Football Federation of Turkmenistan that more than half of its national team players suffers from injury sustained during the recent Turkmenistan Championship match and Turkmenistan Cup last round matches,” said General Secretary Edwin Gastanes in a statement.
The PFF also apologized to local football fans for the cancellation of the game.
“Whilst the cause is beyond its control, the PFF wishes to apologize to all sports fans and supporters for the cancellation of the friendly. Instructions have been issued for the refund of game tickets purchased.”
The PFF though assured that the match between the Azkals and Kyrgyzstan at the latter’s home stadium in the capital city of Bishkek will push through on September 6.
The Azkals are also scheduled to play another friendly against Bahrain in Bulacan on October 7 as part of the team’s preparation for the Southeast Asian Championship. | http://www.manilatimes.net/azkals-vs-tukmenistan-friendly-cancelled/282239/ | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/e0a18c7321f561191c43a33e014800e87f79d3a722d335ca85104899bbecdc9d.json |
[
"Agence France-Presse",
"Ma. Reina Leanne Tolentino",
"The Manila Times"
]
| 2016-08-28T18:49:54 | null | 2016-08-29T01:03:27 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fis-supporters-stage-jailbreak%2F282693%2F.json | http://14255-presscdn-0-60.pagely.netdna-cdn.com//wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Marawi-City20160829-300x212.jpg | en | null | IS supporters stage jailbreak | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | 23 DETAINEES ESCAPE FROM MARAWI PRISON
MARAWI CITY: Armed extremists who support the Islamic State group staged a daring jailbreak in the southern Philippines, freeing 23 detainees in the latest series of mass escapes, officials said Sunday.
About 50 heavily armed members of the Maute group raided the local jail in the southern city of Marawi on Mindanao island on late Saturday afternoon and freed eight comrades who were arrested barely a week ago, police said.
Fifteen other detainees, held for other serious offences, also escaped in the raid, said provincial jail warden Acmad Tabao.
Police earlier said that 28 inmates escaped but Tabao later revised the figure.
In a report, Tabao said two women came to the prison gate, asking the guard to take delivery of some food for the detainees. When the guard opened the gate, hooded men forced their way into the compound.
They overwhelmed the guards, forcing them to their knees and taking two rifles before freeing the inmates.
The hooded men shouted “Allahu Akbar” (“God is great”) before fleeing in a prison vehicle to a nearby lake. The Maute gang members then fled by boat while the other inmates scattered, Tabao said.
At the jail, two bullet holes and a shattered television set were the only evidence of the attack.
The eight Maute group members were arrested on August 22 after soldiers manning a checkpoint found improvised bombs and pistols in the van they were driving.
The Maute group is one of several Muslim gangs in Mindanao, the ancestral homeland of the Muslim minority in the largely Catholic Philippines.
The group has carried out kidnappings and bombings and is believed to have led an attack on an army outpost in the Lanao del Sur town of Butig in February.
The fighting there lasted a week, leaving numerous fatalities and forcing thousands to flee their homes as helicopter gunships fought off the attackers.
During the Butig fighting the group’s members were seen carrying black flags of the Islamic State group, and bandanas bearing the jihadists’ insignia were found in their base, the military said.
Authorities said they were investigating the jailbreak and the reason why security had not been increased after high-risk suspects were brought in.
It was the latest of several mass escapes from poorly secured Philippine jails, with the incidents often involving Muslim extremists.
In 2009 more than 100 armed men raided a jail in the strife-torn southern island of Basilan, freeing 31 prisoners including several Muslim guerrillas.
The southern Philippines has been plagued by Muslim separatist insurgencies for over four decades, with the conflict leaving more than 120,000 dead.
President Rodrigo Duterte is pursuing peace talks with the largest Muslim insurgent groups, the Moro National Liberation Front and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, which have ceasefires with the government.
Smaller bands like the Maute group and the Abu Sayyaf group are not covered by the ceasefires and are not part of the peace process.
AFP | http://www.manilatimes.net/is-supporters-stage-jailbreak/282693/ | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/1b2a710bb803312af81b1e7e46f4047749a5f2af30bd9abb1f7583582c73b264.json |
[
"Manila Times"
]
| 2016-08-29T02:49:46 | null | 2016-08-29T10:47:17 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fanti-burkini-law-would-be-unconstitutional-french-minister%2F282707%2F.json | http://14255-presscdn-0-60.pagely.netdna-cdn.com//wp-content/uploads/2016/08/MNL-Times_250-x-250-logo.jpg | en | null | Anti-burkini law would be ‘unconstitutional’ - French minister | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | PARIS: It would be “unconstitutional” for France to pass a law banning the burkini and such a move could cause irreparable harm, French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve warned in an interview published online late Sunday.
Speaking to French daily La Croix, Cazeneuve reiterated the government’s opposition to legislating on the controversial matter which has sparked fierce debate both at home and abroad about women’s rights and France’s strictly-guarded secularism.
Around 30 coastal resorts have recently banned women from wearing the full-body swimwear on their beaches, although France’s highest administrative court on Friday overturned the measure in one town, in a ruling likely to set a legal precedent which will affect the others.
Rightwing figures are pushing for a nationwide ban to be written into law, led by former president Nicolas Sarkozy who this week launched his bid to regain the presidency in next year’s election.
But Cazeneuve ruled out any such move.
“As the prime minister has said, the government refuses to legislate on the matter because any such law would be unconstitutional, ineffective and likely to create antagonism and irreparable tension”, he said.
“However, Muslims must continue to engage with us over gender equality, the inviolable nature of the principles of the French Republic, and tolerance in order to live together,” he said, noting that in overruling the ban, the court had “stated the law”.
Cazeneuve will on Monday have “a day of consultations” with religious figures, civil groups, parliamentarians and others on Islam in France, seeking to get the religion which is the subject of fevered debate throughout the country better “anchored in the values of the Republic.”
‘Racists don’t plant bombs’
France has been hit by a string of Islamist attacks over the past 18 months, raising questions over security failures and resulting in a spike in Islamophobia.
In the latest instance of intercultural tensions, a restaurant owner in the Paris suburb of Tremblay-en-France is facing an investigation after chasing two veiled Muslim women out of his premises on Saturday.
His actions, caught on video, provoked a furious response and prompted prosecutors to open an inquiry.
The incident, filmed by one of the two women and posted online, shows the other saying; “We don’t want to be served by racists”.
The restaurateur responds: “Racists like me don’t plant bombs and don’t kill people.”
He added that “terrorists are Muslim and all Muslims are terrorists. I don’t want people like you in my place. Now you know it you can get out”.
The boss of “Le Cenacle” restaurant later apologised for his actions as calls to boycott his establishment flooded social media sites alongside negative reviews.
A source close to the investigation said that the proprietor had left his home along with his family for security reasons.
Cazeneuve lashed out the opposition for trying to earn political points from the burkini controversy at a time when the country has been rattled by a string of deadly attacks claimed by Islamic State militants.
“Certain opposition leaders are making a lot of noise. They think that in the current context of terror threats, we can abandon the fundamental principles of law as embodied in the Constitution,” he said, warning that such a move would be “a serious mistake.” AFP
AFP/CC | http://www.manilatimes.net/anti-burkini-law-would-be-unconstitutional-french-minister/282707/ | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/5d26c31d001a615ea96b42fbbb42e445dd09f61af157ca0912f1860035057921.json |
[
"The Manila Times",
"Llanesca T. Panti",
"Michael Joe T. Delizo"
]
| 2016-08-30T18:50:20 | null | 2016-08-31T01:27:25 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fgoodwill-visit-2%2F283128%2F.json | http://14255-presscdn-0-60.pagely.netdna-cdn.com//wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Waves20160831-1-300x198.jpg | en | null | GOODWILL VISIT | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | null | http://www.manilatimes.net/goodwill-visit-2/283128/ | en | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/c6a3deb21ac3eb44600b0781bc0eb69c8def72a895212b8e168bbd0db8f35ad0.json |
[
"The Manila Times"
]
| 2016-08-31T06:50:22 | null | 2016-08-31T14:34:30 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fjapan-eyes-record-defense-budget-to-develop-anti-ship-missiles%2F283142%2F.json | http://14255-presscdn-0-60.pagely.netdna-cdn.com//wp-content/uploads/2016/08/MNL-Times_250-x-250-logo.jpg | en | null | Japan eyes record defense budget to develop anti-ship missiles | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | TOKYO: Japan’s defense ministry requested a record budget on Wednesday, with funds for an anti-ship missile system to defend islands at the center of a territorial dispute with China.
Tokyo is determined to defend the uninhabited islets in the East China Sea—administered by Japan as the Senkakus but claimed by China as the Diaoyus—as Beijing steps up its claim.
The ministry announced it is seeking 5.168 trillion yen ($50.12 billion) in spending for the fiscal year starting April 2017, up 2.3 percent from the initial budget for the current fiscal year.
If approved by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s cabinet, it would be the fifth straight year the government sets a record defense budget, as regional tensions remain high.
The proposed budget calls for Japan to develop land-to-ship missiles as well as air-to-ship missiles for patrol planes.
The new land-to-ship missile system is expected to have a range of 300 kilometers (190 miles), far enough to reach the vicinity of the disputed islands, the Yomiuri Shimbun daily reported earlier in August.
The ministry declined to confirm the range of the missile.
Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida last week told his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi during talks in Tokyo that Beijing must stop violating Japanese territory in the East China Sea around the disputed islands.
That warning came after Tokyo earlier lodged more than two dozen protests through diplomatic channels claiming that Chinese coast guard vessels had repeatedly violated its territorial waters around the islands.
China views the islands as its own and thus rejects the view it violates Japan’s territorial waters.
The ministry also plans to create a mobile amphibious unit with more than 2,000 troops at a base in Nagasaki prefecture.
And the budget proposes funds to dispatch extra personnel to the Philippines and Vietnam in an effort to beef up intelligence-gathering in the South China Sea.
Japan is boosting defense ties with the Philippines and other Southeast Asian nations, some of which have their own disputes with Beijing in the South China Sea.
In addition, Japan is also on alert against North Korea and the country’s frequent ballistic missile test launches—the most recent last week from a submarine—that Tokyo sees as a major threat.
To counter Pyongyang, the budget also allocates funds for upgrading Japan’s Patriot anti-missile systems to double the present area of coverage. AFP
AFP/CC | http://www.manilatimes.net/japan-eyes-record-defense-budget-to-develop-anti-ship-missiles/283142/ | en | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/5f34dc98d79dfd2cf52ff03449c6d0cbfef61950d23ad939decc9e32957d3e5f.json |
[
"Catherine Talavera",
"Kristyn Nika M. Lazo"
]
| 2016-08-30T16:50:14 | null | 2016-08-31T00:47:29 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fpag-ibig-approves-p12-1-b-loans-for-overseas-workers%2F283099%2F.json | http://14255-presscdn-0-60.pagely.netdna-cdn.com//wp-content/uploads/2016/08/MNL-Times_250-x-250-logo.jpg | en | null | Pag-IBIG approves P12.1-B loans for overseas workers | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | THE Home Development Mutual Fund or Pag-IBIG reported a 12 percent increase in approved housing loans for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) last year as its OFW membership base also increased.
In a statement on Tuesday, Pag-IBIG said approved housing loans for OFWs rose to P12.15 billion in 2015 from P10.81 billion in 2014 and accounted for 28 percent of the P34.93 billion total housing loans approved last year.
It said the average loan value of OFW loans was P993,000.
Pag-IBIG added that the number of housing loan borrowers increased 10 percent to 12,232 last year from 11,154 borrowers in 2014.
“The borrowers are Filipino seafarers and land-based OFWs in 54 different countries,” Pag-IBIG said.
Seafarers availed of P5.34 billion in housing loans while land-based OFWs borrowed a total of P6.81 billion.
“Of this number, 1,812 OFWs in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), the country that hosts the biggest number of OFWs, availed of housing loans worth P1.74 billion; while 1,718 OFWs in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have a combined loan amount of P1.78 billion,” the fund said.
As of June of this year, OFWs accounted for 27 percent or 4.4 million of the 16.6 million total Pag-IBIG members.
“We are happy that Pag-IBIG is able to contribute to the realization of an important dream of our modern day heroes; that is to provide decent shelter to their families,” Pag-IBIG Fund deputy chief executive officer Acmad Rizaldy Moti said, referring to the OFWs.
Pag-IBIG’s housing loan program offers an interest rate of as low as 5.5 percent for a one-year fixed-pricing period and a loan amount of up to P6 million for qualified Pag-IBIG members.
The said loan may be used to purchase residential properties such as house and lot, townhouse, or condominium unit; construction of a residential unit; and home improvement, among others.
“OFWs who are still abroad can apply for a housing loan by executing a Special Power of Attorney in favor of a representative in the Philippines who will file and process the application on his/her behalf,” Moti said.
“Pag-IBIG recognizes the hard work and sacrifices of our OFWs, which benefit not just their families but the country as a whole,” Pag-IBIG senior vice president Marilene Acosta said.
For this reason, she said Pag-IBIG has set up an OFW Center to provide personalized services for OFWs and their families.
“We encourage our OFWs to avail of the services and programs of Pag-IBIG Fund. We reassure them of our
commitment to support them in their efforts to prepare a decent future for their families through the acquisition of affordable homes and through prudent savings and investments,” Acosta said.
At present, Pag-IBIG has 23 Overseas Members Services Desks to cater to the needs of the OFWs. | http://www.manilatimes.net/pag-ibig-approves-p12-1-b-loans-for-overseas-workers/283099/ | en | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/0a0b8aabde0e2f063e4003b79a07817988769accefd639f9160b41025f26b90a.json |
[
"Manila Times"
]
| 2016-08-30T06:50:07 | null | 2016-08-30T13:16:56 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fcolombia-ceasefire-ends-half-century-war-with-farc%2F282933%2F.json | http://14255-presscdn-0-60.pagely.netdna-cdn.com//wp-content/uploads/2016/08/MNL-Times_250-x-250-logo.jpg | en | null | Colombia ceasefire ends half-century war with FARC | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | BOGOTA: An historic ceasefire came into effect in Colombia, ending a 52-year war between FARC rebels and the government and taking a major step toward ending a conflict that has claimed more than 250,000 lives.
The full ceasefire ordered by President Juan Manuel Santos and the head of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), Timoleon Jimenez, began at midnight (0500 GMT).
“This August 29 a new phase of history begins for Colombia. We silenced the guns. THE WAR WITH THE FARC IS OVER!” Santos wrote on Twitter one minute later.
A message from the official FARC account at the same time was more restrained: “From this moment on the bilateral and definitive ceasefire begins.”
The government’s chief peace negotiator, Humberto de la Calle, grew visibly emotional at a press conference describing how church bells and sirens had rung out in some of the areas hardest hit by the conflict.
“It was a war against the civilian population, 80 percent of those who died were civilians,” he said.
Sergio Jaramillo, the country’s high commissioner for peace, added: “A lot of human lives are going to be saved with this giant step we are taking today.”
“The morning of peace has dawned,” tweeted the FARC’s chief negotiator, Ivan Marquez.
The ceasefire is the first in which both sides are committed to a definite end to the fighting.
“The ceasefire is really one more seal on the end of the conflict,” said Carlos Alfonso Velazquez, a security expert at the University of La Sabana.
The conflict began in 1964 with the launch of the FARC, a Marxist guerrilla group born out of a peasant uprising. It has left 260,000 dead, 45,000 missing and 6.9 million uprooted from their homes.
To end the war with the FARC for good, Colombians must now vote in an October 2 referendum on the peace accord hammered out in nearly four years of talks in Cuba.
Santos said the exact question that will be put to voters in the referendum would be announced “in the coming days”.
“We are on the verge of perhaps the most important political decision of our lives,” he said in a speech on Saturday.
Colombia’s Congress on Monday approved the plan to call a referendum.
Opinion polls show Colombians are divided ahead of the vote.
Santos’s top rival, former president Alvaro Uribe, is leading a campaign to vote “no” to the peace deal.
“This is not an agreement: this is the state submitting to the proposals of the narco-terrorist group FARC,” Uribe said at a university forum.
He has said a special justice system envisaged for crimes committed during the conflict would give FARC fighters impunity.
Opponents question the FARC’s commitment to peace.
“I don’t think we can believe them,” said Felipe Giraldo, a 25-year-old unemployed man in Bogota.
Others have a high personal stake in the vote.
Adelaida Bermudez, 50, hopes it will bring home her daughter, who joined the FARC nine years ago.
“I hope we’ll have peace… so the children come home,” she said in Gaitania, in the central region where the FARC was born.
Santos and Jimenez are due to sign the peace agreement sometime between September 20 and 30 — possibly at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, said Foreign Minister Maria Angela Holguin.
The end of hostilities will be followed by a six-month demobilization process.
Starting Monday, the FARC’s estimated 7,500 fighters are to go to collection points to surrender their weapons under UN supervision.
Guerrillas who refuse to demobilize and disarm “will be pursued with all the strength of the state forces,” Santos told El Espectador newspaper.
Before the demobilization, the FARC will convene its leaders and troops one last time before transforming into “a legal political movement,” according to a statement published on Saturday.
The territorial and ideological conflict has drawn in various left- and right-wing armed groups and gangs.
Efforts to launch peace talks with a smaller rebel group, the National Liberation Army (ELN), have yet to bear fruit.
But with the FARC ordering a ceasefire, the conflict appears to be reaching an end.
“We wish to express our clear and definite will for reconciliation,” said Jimenez, known by the nom de guerre Timochenko, in Havana.
“Today more than ever we regret that so much death and pain has been caused by the war. Today more than ever we wish to embrace (the military and police) as compatriots and start to work together for a new Colombia.” AFP
AFP/CC | http://www.manilatimes.net/colombia-ceasefire-ends-half-century-war-with-farc/282933/ | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/d379d05acd4df4707ee7fe1564dfdea3a9238d1370176bf59f38610984027713.json |
[
"Agence France-Presse"
]
| 2016-08-30T16:50:21 | null | 2016-08-31T00:41:48 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fasian-markets-rise-with-us-jobs-in-focus%2F283093%2F.json | http://14255-presscdn-0-60.pagely.netdna-cdn.com//wp-content/uploads/2016/08/MNL-Times_250-x-250-logo.jpg | en | null | Asian markets rise with US jobs in focus | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | HONG KONG: Asian markets rose on Tuesday, with Tokyo largely recovering from initial losses as expectations of a US interest rate rise and talk of more Japanese monetary easing pushed the yen down against the dollar.
After Monday’s sell-off across most markets, fuelled by the prospect of higher US borrowing costs, investors returned to buying – buoyed by a rally on Wall Street as fresh data indicated improvement in the world’s top economy.
Bets on a rate rise this year have soared after Federal Reserve boss Janet Yellen said last week at the Jackson Hole symposium of central bankers that “the case for an increase in the federal funds rate has strengthened in recent months.”
Attention now turns to the release on Friday of the US jobs report, seen as a guide to whether the Fed will move sooner rather than later.
“Without question, jobs day is always a monthly highlight, but given the Federal Reserve board’s tilt at Jackson Hole, it plainly appears it will take a big surprise to derail a 2016 Fed hike expectation at this point,” Stephen Innes, senior trader at OANDA, said in a note.
“Investor odds of lift-off are hovering near 70 percent for December and Friday’s jobs data will offer more information about the probability of a hike in September than anything else.”
The dollar rose to 102.42 yen from 101.88 yen in New York, with the Japanese unit also dragged down by comments from the country’s top central banker suggesting a further loosening of monetary policy.
The weaker yen could not help Japan’s Nikkei index extend Monday’s more than two percent rally, and it ended down 0.1 percent.
However, Hong Kong rose 0.9 percent, while Shanghai ended up 0.2 percent, Sydney gained 0.2 percent and Seoul rallied 0.4 percent. There were also gains in Singapore, Taipei and Wellington. | http://www.manilatimes.net/asian-markets-rise-with-us-jobs-in-focus/283093/ | en | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/a99fe8840b15a2929a900fe57d528b90f5fa1447c5d0424ab03b9afed1dabc74.json |
[
"Manila Times"
]
| 2016-08-27T06:48:56 | null | 2016-08-27T14:34:41 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fnkorea-submarine-missiles-not-ready-until-2018-experts%2F282364%2F.json | http://14255-presscdn-0-60.pagely.netdna-cdn.com//wp-content/uploads/2016/08/MNL-Times_250-x-250-logo.jpg | en | null | NKorea submarine missiles not ready until 2018 - experts | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | SEOUL: North Korea is making progress on a submarine-launched ballistic missile system but any deployment of the technology is years away, a US think tank said, as the UN Security Council promised action over Pyongyang’s latest test.
The US-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins University said late Friday on its closely-watched website, 38 North, that the success of North Korea’s SLBM test this week suggests the program may be progressing faster than originally expected.
“However, this does not mean it will be ready next week, next month, or even next year”, it said.
“Rather, the pace and method of the North’s SLBM testing would suggest possible deployment in an initial operational capability by the second half of 2018 at the earliest.”
The missile, launched from a submerged prototype “Gorae-class” submarine near the northeastern port of Sinpo, flew 500 kilometers (300 miles) towards Japan, marking what weapons analysts called a clear step forward for its nuclear strike ambitions.
The flight distance, which was tracked by South Korea’s military Joint Chiefs of Staff, far exceeded any previous SLBM tests, suggesting significant progress in technical prowess.
A proven SLBM system would take North Korea’s nuclear strike threat to a new level, allowing deployment far beyond the Korean peninsula and a “second-strike” capability in the event of an attack on its military bases.
Following the test, the UN Security Council agreed on Friday to “take further significant measures” against North Korea, without elaborating.
North Korea is barred under UN resolutions from any use of ballistic missile technology, but Pyongyang has carried out several launches following its fourth nuclear test in January.
Despite the North’s successful test this week, the country faces significant technological challenges including building a new class of submarine to carry the missile.
Last month, 38 North reported the North was building up infrastructure to construct new submarines at the Sinpo South Shipyard.
“A new submarine could probably be built within a two to three year time frame, but the likelihood of building new models without further testing and refinement of the experimental Gorae-class seems low”, it said.
But this is no information about whether actual submarine construction has begun, it added. AFP
AFP/CC | http://www.manilatimes.net/nkorea-submarine-missiles-not-ready-until-2018-experts/282364/ | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/1f9a0fca23e16631a016b0dfeab22651022136da0e723976cda8e16ad6cce986.json |
[
"Manila Times"
]
| 2016-08-29T10:49:53 | null | 2016-08-29T18:16:05 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fthird-warrant-issued-over-thai-tourist-town-attacks%2F282769%2F.json | http://14255-presscdn-0-60.pagely.netdna-cdn.com//wp-content/uploads/2016/08/MNL-Times_250-x-250-logo.jpg | en | null | Third warrant issued over Thai tourist town attacks | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | BANGKOK: A Thai military court on Monday issued an arrest warrant for a third suspect in a spate of bomb attacks on tourist towns, all three of them Muslims from the insurgency-plagued south.
No one has claimed responsibility for the bombing and arson spree, which hit popular resorts across the south this month, killing four and wounding dozens including European visitors.
Usmeen Katemmadee, a 29-year-old from Pattani province who was named Monday, is wanted for bomb possession and arson over an attack against Hua Hin, where a double blast killed two people.
Two earlier warrants were for a man called Ahama Lengha from Narathiwat province and for a man named Russalan Baima from neighbouring Songkhla. All three names are Muslim.
The attacks were highly unusual in a nation where western visitors are rarely caught up in bouts of political violence.
Thailand’s military leaders have been keen to play down suggestions that the perpetrators could be Muslim Malay militants from the three southernmost provinces, where a local insurgency has raged for more than a decade.
However the police investigation has increasingly pointed in that direction.
Last week Thailand’s police chief said investigators believe most of those behind the attacks were Muslims from the so-called deep south.
But police have steered clear of pointing the finger of blame directly at Malay Muslim militants, suggesting instead the men could have been hired.
Analysts say the leadership fears any admission that southern insurgents were behind the attack might harm tourism and raise questions over the military’s ability to ensure security.
Thailand annexed the culturally and linguistically distinct zone bordering Malaysia over a century ago.
More than 6,500 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in 12 years of violence between the Buddhist-majority state and the shadowy ethnic Malay rebels seeking greater autonomy.
Drive-by shootings and roadside bombs happen almost daily, with a large car bomb killing two outside a hotel in Pattani on Tuesday.
Yet the violence has remained almost entirely local, with the militants wary of attacking foreigners for fear of sparking an international backlash.
The rebels never claim their attacks but factions are known to be frustrated with their lack of progress after more than a decade of fighting.
Rights groups accuse soldiers of widespread abuses, including torturing detainees and extra-judicial killings. The rebels also employ brutal tactics, including beheading monks and teachers. AFP
AFP/CC | http://www.manilatimes.net/third-warrant-issued-over-thai-tourist-town-attacks/282769/ | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/a529fb5ebb03dcc4e41154a3047440fdfb5062e46911976d1fde9d2566313036.json |
[
"Ben Kritz",
"The Manila Times",
"Gilbert Chao"
]
| 2016-08-29T08:50:05 | null | 2016-08-29T16:19:08 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fscania-enters-ph-bus-market-with-luxury-cruiser%2F282758%2F.json | http://14255-presscdn-0-60.pagely.netdna-cdn.com//wp-content/uploads/2016/08/scania20160830-300x168.jpg | en | null | Scania enters PH bus market with luxury cruiser | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | SWEDISH heavy transport manufacturer Scania has made its first foray into the Philippine market for buses with the formal launch of its Scania Marcopolo luxury cruiser at the Transport and Logistics Expo 2016 on Thursday, August 18, at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City.
Vice-president Leilani Lim-Tan of local Scania dealer BJ Mercantile Inc. was joined by Transportation Undersecretary Garry de Guzman, representatives of Scania and Marcopolo, and other dignitaries in unveiling the new bus, which was the highlight of the Expo’s opening ceremonies.
The Scania Marcopolo represents a bit of diversification for BJ Mercantile, which took on the Scania brand here in the Philippines in February 2015. According to Tan, the company has found success marketing Scania’s truck line, and is on track to surpass to its 2016 target of 125 truck units sold to mark the 125th anniversary of the Scania company.
“Obviously the market for buses here in the Philippines is very attractive, and one thing about this vehicle that appealed to us is that the Scania chassis shares about 90 percent of its parts with the trucks. That means we can very easily quickly provide any service our customers need,” Tan said.
Body made in Brazil
Another feature of the bus is that it is a complete package. Unlike other buses for which the customer must purchase a chassis and body separately, the two-section Scania chassis and monocoque Marcopolo body, manufactured in Brazil, were designed in close coordination, making final assembly exceedingly easy. The body, which is constructed primarily of galvanized steel, includes such thoughtful touches as having tube structures and other voids filled with foam, to provide an extra measure of stiffness and sound insulation for passenger comfort.
Other standard safety and comfort features include full air suspension for the 4×2 twin-axle running gear, traction control, an electronic braking system and a full-digital instrument cluster that allows the driver to even call up bodywork information.
The 12.5-meter long bus is intended for long-distance travel, such as provincial routes, and the comfortable cabin as presented is configured for 49 passengers in a two-by-two seating arrangement that offers an extraordinary amount of legroom. Because of the absence of a full-length frame, thanks to the monocoque body design, the Marcopolo offers a cavernous cargo bay, which also provides easy maintenance access to bus systems.
At the business end, the Scania Marcopolo is powered by a 13-liter, inline six-cylinder turbocharged diesel engine producing 360 horsepower; the Euro 4-spec version (Scania already offers engines in Euro 5 and 6 versions as well) develops 1,850 Newton-meters of torque at 1,000-1,350 rpm for exceptional low-end pulling power and good performance in city traffic.
To enhance driveability, the minimalist cockpit features pendant-style pedals to reduce fatigue, and, as Scania’s Southeast Asia Pre-sales Director Tom Kuiphuis pointed out, there are only two of them: The bus is equipped with Scania’s fully-automated Opticruise transmission (available in eight- and 12-speed versions), which is unique in not having a power-scavenging torque convertor.
List price for the Scania Marcopolo is P9.5 million.
After achieving promising results with Scania truck sales in a relatively short period of time, Tan said, “We hope that our line of buses will be as well-received by the local market. Everything about the Scania Marcopolo is designed to make ordering, owning and running it as easy as possible, with minimum lead-time and maximum uptime.”
Tan said that while the vehicle is intended more for provincial service, BJ Mercantile is exploring plans to introduce other Scania bus models suitable for commuter and even bus rapid transit service in the near future. | http://www.manilatimes.net/scania-enters-ph-bus-market-with-luxury-cruiser/282758/ | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/0af96b7ccd0375eba8012193f97cbc311f96fe258defd1efbdfa77938d8d5bc8.json |
[
"The Manila Times"
]
| 2016-08-31T08:50:18 | null | 2016-08-31T14:56:18 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fnkorea-executes-vice-premier-for-disrespect-seoul%2F283147%2F.json | http://14255-presscdn-0-60.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/MNL-Times_250-x-250-logo.jpg | en | null | NKorea executes vice premier for ‘disrespect’ - Seoul | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | SEOUL: North Korea has executed a vice premier for showing disrespect during a meeting presided over by leader Kim Jong-Un, and banished two other officials for re-education, South Korea said Wednesday.
Since taking power after his father’s death in late 2011, Kim is believed to have executed or demoted a number of senior figures in what analysts say is an attempt to tighten his grip on power.
“Vice premier for education Kim Yong-Jin was executed,” Seoul’s Unification Ministry spokesman Jeong Joon-Hee said at a regular briefing.
Kim was killed by a firing squad in July as “an anti-party, anti-revolutionary agitator,” added an official at the ministry, who declined to be named.
“Kim Yong-Jin was denounced for his bad sitting posture when he was sitting below the rostrum” during a session of North Korea’s parliament, and then underwent a interrogation that revealed his other crimes, the official told reporters.
The mass-selling JoongAng Ilbo first reported on Tuesday that top figures had been punished, but identified the education official by a different name.
“He incurred the wrath of Kim after he dozed off during a meeting presided over by Kim. He was arrested on site and intensively questioned by the state security ministry,” it quoted a source as saying.
Fall of spymaster
The unification ministry said two other senior figures were forced to undergo re-education sessions.
One of them was Kim Yong-Chol, a top official in charge of inter-Korean affairs and espionage activities against the South.
The 71-year-old Kim is a career military intelligence official who is believed to be the mastermind behind the North’s frequent cyber attacks against Seoul.
Kim is also blamed by the South for the sinking of a South Korean warship in 2010 near the disputed sea border with the North in the Yellow Sea.
Kim was banished to an agricultural farm in July for a month for his “arrogance” and “abuse of power,” the ministry official said.
Kim Yong-Chol, who was subsequently reinstated this month, is likely to be tempted to prove his loyalty by committing provocative acts against the South, the official said.
“Therefore, we are keeping a close tab on the North”, he said.
South Korea’s Yonhap news agency put the number of party officials executed during Kim Jong-Un’s rule at over 100.
The most notorious case was that of Kim’s uncle and onetime No. 2 Jang Song-Thaek, who was executed for charges including treason and corruption in December 2013.
In April 2015, it was reported that Kim had his defense minister Hyon Yong-Chol summarily executed with an anti-aircraft gun.
Reports of the latest execution coincide with a series of high-profile defections from the North.
North Korea’s deputy ambassador to Britain has defected to the South with his family, the unification ministry said earlier this month.
Thae Yong-Ho was driven by “disgust for the North Korean regime” and concerns for his family’s future, it said.
Twelve waitresses and their manager who had been working at a North Korea-themed restaurant in China also made headlines when they arrived in the South in April as the largest group defection for years.
About 10 North Korean diplomats made it to the South in the first half of this year alone, Yonhap said, quoting informed sources. AFP
AFP/CC | http://www.manilatimes.net/nkorea-executes-vice-premier-for-disrespect-seoul/283147/ | en | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/e6059d3937c217ef8c87eec1563560e6ec1a21f1e8e5eeceefc8c8e074e9674e.json |
[
"Manila Times"
]
| 2016-08-30T04:50:10 | null | 2016-08-30T10:45:31 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fboredom-was-hardest-part-of-yearlong-dome-isolation-nasa-crew%2F282925%2F.json | http://14255-presscdn-0-60.pagely.netdna-cdn.com//wp-content/uploads/2016/08/MNL-Times_250-x-250-logo.jpg | en | null | Boredom was hardest part of yearlong dome isolation - NASA crew | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | LOS ANGELES: Monotony was the hardest part of a yearlong NASA experiment about the mental and psychological rigors of longterm spaceflight, crew members said after the test ended.
The six-member crew emerged Sunday from a dome in Hawaii, on the barren northern slope of the Mauna Loa volcano, where they were studied as part of the US space agency’s mission to send people to Mars by the 2030s.
On Monday, US President Barack Obama congratulated them, writing on Twitter: “Congrats to NASA and the scientists taking us a step closer to Mars. Now enjoy Hawaii and get a shave ice!”
In addition to insufficient stimulation, isolation and a lack of fresh food and air were the toughest challenges during the yearlong experiment, known as the Hawaii Space Exploration Analog and Simulation (HI-SEAS) — the third and longest of its kind.
The team locked themselves into the dome, located in an abandoned quarry far from animals and vegetation, on August 28, 2015.
“We were always in the same place, always with the same people,” said French astrobiologist Cyprien Verseux in a Periscope interview by organizers posted on Twitter.
The crew lived inside a structure 36 feet (11 meters) in diameter and 20 feet tall, emerging only if outfitted in spacesuits, never breathing the outside air or eating fresh produce.
Despite describing the monotony as the hardest part, Verseux said the experiment shows that “a mission to Mars in the close future is realistic.”
He said a key hurdle involves producing food and a small-scale ecosystem on Mars, where the atmosphere is thin, the ground dry and water is scarce.
The experiment did not test the process of growing food, but was aimed primarily at the psychological study of the crew.
“The technical and psychological problems can be overcome,” Verseux said.
Video footage of the team as they emerged shows the three men and three women looking a bit bewildered as they met visitors and well-wishers and posed for selfies. Organizers gave them fresh fruit and vegetables.
In interviews, the crew was upbeat but made passing references to arguments and growing tired of seeing the same faces.
Verseux’s advice to new volunteers on a similar isolation experiment: “Bring books.”
Another mission member, American Tristan Bassingthwaighte, agreed, urging future participants to bring “lots of books.”
Bassingthwaighte said that team members engaged in hobbies such as salsa dancing and playing the ukelele to stave off the boredom.
“If you can work on something that is self-developmental… you will not go crazy,” he said.
The men and women had their own small rooms, with space for a sleeping cot and desk, and spent their days eating food like powdered cheese and canned tuna.
The dome had composting toilets and showers, and was powered by solar energy. Team members had limited Internet access.
Team members could venture outside only in spacesuits, and Bassingthwaighte said that the “astronauts” removed a vast amount of garbage from the flanks of the volcano in their excursions.
Christiane Heinicke from Germany said that her main experiment was extracting water from the ground — adding that the volcanic soil on Mauna Loa is very similar in mineral composition to the Martian soil.
“You can actually get water from a ground that is seemingly dry,” she said.
“The implication is that you could get water from Mars.”
She said that having “something meaningful to work on” was key to helping her endure the year-long mission.
However, she also spoke of the difficulties of living in close quarters with the same group of people for a long time, and said she planned to stay in close contact with only three of the other five.
The crew also included a pilot, a doctor/journalist and a soil scientist.
The full analysis of the team’s psychological performance has yet to be revealed, but it is expected to be published in the coming months.
“We are just starting the debrief week,” lead researcher Kim Binsted told AFP by phone from Hawaii.
“They didn’t break the simulation, they did all the things we asked of them, and all of those things are pretty good signs,” she said.
“It certainly wasn’t worse than expected. Every crew has conflicts.”
NASA is studying how these long-term isolation scenarios play out on Earth before pressing on toward Mars, which the US space agency hopes to reach sometime in the 2030s.
NASA can currently send a robot to the Red Planet in about eight months, but astronauts traveling to Mars face a trip lasting between one and three years.
The first HI-SEAS experiment involved studies about cooking on Mars and was followed by a four-month and an eight-month cohabitation mission.
Two more HI-SEAS missions are planned starting in January 2017 and 2018. Both are scheduled to last eight months, and organizers are already looking for volunteers. AFP
AFP/CC | http://www.manilatimes.net/boredom-was-hardest-part-of-yearlong-dome-isolation-nasa-crew/282925/ | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/9f147194cc253b269273554d8191cd9b1d836664a10f507a526c7e2fd28a2314.json |
[
"Jean Russel V. David",
"Jaelle Nevin Reyes"
]
| 2016-08-31T14:50:30 | null | 2016-08-31T22:34:06 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fisaa-season-8-fires-off-sat%2F283216%2F.json | http://14255-presscdn-0-60.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/MNL-Times_250-x-250-logo.jpg | en | null | ISAA Season 8 fires off Sat | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | The 8th season of the Inter-Scholastic Athletic Association (ISAA) will open on September 6 at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
This year’s theme is “Walong taon na pagkakaISAA para sa kabataang atleta (Eight years of unity for young athletes)”
The eight competing schools are host St. Dominic College of Asia (SDCA), Manila Adventist College (MAC), Philippine Women’s University (PWU), PATTS College of Aeronautics, Philippine Merchant Marine School (PMMS) , La Consolacion College-Manila (LCCM), FEATI University and Manila Tytana College (MTC).
“We are always making it a point to be different from other collegiate leagues,” said ISAA President Melanie Florentino of FEATI in a phone interview.
Florentino, a newly-elected board member of Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas, said that though their association is small compared to other leagues, they pay close attention to development of every student-athletes be it in sports, talent and academics.
‘‘Most of our member schools do not offer full scholarships but we are contented to what athletes do for their schools. I am always stressing that our primary focus still is putting premium on academics,’’ she added.
Over 10,000 students are expected to grace the opening ceremonies featuring SDCA’s award-winning Kulayawan Festival and Red in Motion.
MTC and LCCM’s chorale will be performing in the event, which will also stage the selection of Miss ISAA 2016.
Defending basketball champion PATTS will open its campaign against LCCM followed by the games between SDCA and MTC at 12 noon while FEATI takes on PWU at 3 p.m.
“We are continuously and rigorously training our players to defend our title,” PATTS Athletic Director Benjie Hernandez said.
ISAA in partnership with SM Leisure will also introduce this season bowling as a demonstration sport.
“We aim to produce more Paeng Nepomuceno and CJ Suarez, who are well-known for their performances,” said Florentino. | http://www.manilatimes.net/isaa-season-8-fires-off-sat/283216/ | en | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/f5572af61e3e82ae151a8f3a5bd0034f8ba81787ebeaabf4c33305c987b092fd.json |
[
"Manila Times"
]
| 2016-08-27T08:48:59 | null | 2016-08-27T15:40:07 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fmyanmar-actor-jailed-for-cursing-army-with-graffiti%2F282373%2F.json | http://14255-presscdn-0-60.pagely.netdna-cdn.com//wp-content/uploads/2016/08/MNL-Times_250-x-250-logo.jpg | en | null | Myanmar actor jailed for cursing army with graffiti | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | YANGON: A Myanmar actor was sentenced to nearly three years in prison for scribbling curse-laden insults about the powerful army on his car, a police officer said Saturday.
Tun Lin Thein, a 35-year-old who appears in Myanmar music videos, slammed the military as an “army of dogs” and spray-painted a number of other expletives across his silver Nissan in March.
He was arrested shortly after and convicted of defamation by a Yangon court on Friday.
“The court sentenced him for two years and nine months,” police officer Thein Han, whose team handled the actor’s arrest, told Agence France-Presse.
Freedoms have flourished in Myanmar since the military junta stepped down in 2011, paving the way for November elections that swept democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi into power.
But limits on expression remain, with criticism of the army especially taboo.
Police said the actor was also charged with defaming the national flag and a Buddhist flag, which he taped to his car alongside the graffiti.
“His behavior was not only abusive to the Tatmadaw [Myanmar army] but also to our religion and national flag. That is why he had to receive this sentence,” Thein Han said.
He added that the act appeared to be motivated by a personal grievance, saying officers believed the insults were leveled at the military family of the actor’s ex-wife.
Hopes are high that Suu Kyi’s new civilian government will accelerate the stunning democratic transition that has gripped Myanmar since the end of junta rule.
But she still has to contend with an influential army that has retained control over key government ministries and a quarter of parliament seats.
There have been several controversial defamation prosecutions carried out during Suu Kyi’s first few months in power, including a six-month sentence handed to man who wrote a poem about having a tattoo of the former ex-army president on his penis.
A film about conflict between the military and ethnic Shan groups in the mid-20th century was also pulled from a human rights film festival in June.
The order was issued by the Ministry of Information’s 15-member film review committee, which said it feared the movie would undermine “national reconciliation” efforts. AFP
AFP/CC | http://www.manilatimes.net/myanmar-actor-jailed-for-cursing-army-with-graffiti/282373/ | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/e6a7506a4cd30995a92cd64574ca9b7b6f8d3e12fd99e3c6a8afcf362b481297.json |
[
"The Manila Times",
"Maria Laura Margherita Angeles"
]
| 2016-08-27T16:49:10 | null | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Finstant-bridge%2F282539%2F.json | http://14255-presscdn-0-60.pagely.netdna-cdn.com//wp-content/uploads/2016/08/270816_baha1-300x186.jpg | en | null | INSTANT BRIDGE | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | null | http://www.manilatimes.net/instant-bridge/282539/ | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/acc96582f5ad4e7bc4c72003b0ab7cd0acfb700bb64a4bbd8e3ac83a86af1bf8.json |
[
"Ambassador Amado Tolentino",
"Mauro Gia Samonte",
"Efren L. Danao",
"Al S. Vitangcol"
]
| 2016-08-26T18:49:10 | null | 2016-08-27T02:02:39 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fkalayaan-on-my-mind-the-forgotten-tomas-cloma%2F282347%2F.json | http://14255-presscdn-0-60.pagely.netdna-cdn.com//wp-content/uploads/2013/06/amado.jpg | en | null | ‘Kalayaan’ on my mind - The forgotten Tomas Cloma | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | Seemingly forgotten in the midst of persistent continuing commentaries and wild speculation which followed the Permanent Court of Arbitration’s ruling in the case brought by the Philippines against China’s claims in the South China Sea is the man who, in a way, started it all for the Philippines – Tomas Cloma.
Before ‘Kalayaan,’ Freedomland was the name given to a group of islands, islets, atolls, banks, coral reefs, shoals, sand cays lying in the vast body of waters between southern China and the Philippine archipelago. In 1947, Tomas Cloma, a Filipino lawyer by profession, an educator by association (as Director of the Philippine Maritime Institute, the pioneer seafarers’ school in the Philippines) and an adventurer by avocation, discovered the said island group. During the period 1947 and 1950, fishing boats belonging to Tomas Cloma & Associates visited the said group of islands with the original intention of putting up an ice plant and cannery and to explore the guano deposits in the islands inhabited by birds.
In 1956, after another expedition on board motorship PMI-IV, a training vessel of the Philippine Maritime Institute, Atty. Cloma addressed a letter to then Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Hon. Carlos P. Garcia, informing him that about 20 Filipino citizens were undertaking survey and occupation work in the South China Sea outside of Philippine waters and not within the jurisdiction of any country, and that the territory being occupied was being claimed by him and his associates as citizens of the Philippines, based on the rights of discovery and/or occupation, “open, public and adverse as against the whole world.” He named the claimed area “Free Territory of Freedomland.”
Further communications were made by Atty. Cloma to the Department of Foreign Affairs, mentioning, among others: (i) more expeditions inspecting practically all the major islands in Freedomland; (ii) clearings on an island by settlers accompanied by planting of bananas and other Philippine crops; (iii) setting up of a radio station; (iv) establishment of a separate government for the Free Territory of Freedomland, democratic in character and de facto in nature (v) adoption of all laws of the Republic of the Philippines; and (vi) declaration and affirmation of its status as a “protected state under the Republic of the Philippines.”
By 1957, the Philippine government defined its official position for the first time, with respect to the legal status in international relations of the islands embraced in Freedomland. The government, through a letter from Vice President and Secretary of Foreign Affairs Carlos P. Garcia addressed to Atty. Tomas Cloma expressed a “willingness of the Philippine Government to extend diplomatic protection to the fullest extent to Tomas Cloma” on the matter of Freedomland.
Reactions in the international press were varied, considering the strategic location of the islands, the opportunities for fishing operations, but strangely (and understandably), no one zeroed in on oil, gas and other mineral resources that could possibly be lying underneath the waters of the claimed territory.
On June 1, 1971, the third Philippine Constitutional Convention (Con-Con) was inaugurated in Manila to revise the 1935 Constitution and a number of resolutions were filed, including a few which called for the inclusion of Freedomland in the Philippine territory.
In this connection, a communique was read by then President Ferdinand Marcos in a press conference at Malacanang on July 10, 1971, which stated in part “Freedomland refers to the island group… which Filipino explorer Tomas Cloma explored and occupied from 1947.… These are islands, islets … which are regarded as res nullius and may be acquired according to the modes of acquisition recognized under international law, among which is occupation and effective administration….” It concluded, “We are able to announce that in so far as these islands are concerned, we are in effective occupation and control of the islands of Pag-asa, Lawak and Patag.”
While the 1971 Con-Con Committee on National Territory was deliberating about the inclusion of the provision:
“The Philippine territory comprises the Philippine archipelago… and all other territories belonging to the Philippines by historic right or legal title” in its report, it was decided that discoverer Tomas Cloma should be invited by the Committee to shed more light on Freedomland in order to substantiate and firm up the inclusion of “by historic right or legal title,” (referring also to Sabah and Marianas Islands, aside from Freedomland) for the Convention’s consideration.
Among Atty. Cloma’s statements preserved in the records of the 1971 Con-Con is one which reads, “The specific actions taken by the Philippine Government in pursuance of its Declaration of 10 July 1971, specifically the establishment of garrisons in two of the islands of Freedomland, constituted an open and clear acceptance by the Philippine Government of the protected status of the Government established by Tomas Cloma (& Associates) over Freedomland.”
Admiringly or mockingly, Atty. Cloma was referred to as a “Modern Magellan” and came to be known as “Admiral” Tomas Cloma. One columnist even went to the extent of saying that he appeared to be suffering from a “slight case of imperialism.” Be that as it may, he pursued his quest with courage, open mind and sacrifice.
He concluded his last presentation at the Con-Con by saying, “We did not falter for a moment in our conviction that what we were doing is for the best interest of our Fatherland… leading in due time to the eventual union of Freedomland with the Philippines.”
Prominent resource persons invited by the Con-Con’s national territory committee led by Ambassador Leon Ma. Guerrero reminded the body about the “inherent right of sovereign states to acquire new territory through discovery, occupation, cession, succession and other ways recognized by international practice and the law of nations.” The events that ensued paved the way toward Atty. Cloma’s desire for the eventual union of Freedomland with the Philippines.
On Dec. 4, 1974, Atty. Cloma irrevocably ceded, transferred, conveyed and assigned and waived in favor of the Republic of the Philippines, whatever rights his government acquired under existing international law and Philippine laws over Freedomland. Thereafter, by virtue of PD 1596 (11 June 1978), President Marcos created the Kalayaan Island Group as a municipality of the Province of Palawan with Pag-asa as the government center.
Brought to reality were Atty. Cloma’s words, “We have done our part and duty. The rest now lies in your hands to bring about the realization of this beautiful dream of a greater Philippines.”
The rest is history.
Thanks, many thanks Admiral Tomas Cloma – explorer, dreamer, patriot.
*A Delegate to the 1971 Constitutional Convention, the author was a member of its eight-man Committee on National Territory. | http://www.manilatimes.net/kalayaan-on-my-mind-the-forgotten-tomas-cloma/282347/ | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/f70e04071d0d19d2f67e191231db6d5d2c585bc495a51f4729cca4a9f88760a1.json |
[
"Ernie B. Esconde",
"Neil Alcober",
"Julmunir I. Jannaral",
"James Konstantin Galvez"
]
| 2016-08-30T14:50:15 | null | 2016-08-30T21:43:26 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fbataan-town-under-state-of-calamity%2F283023%2F.json | http://14255-presscdn-0-60.pagely.netdna-cdn.com//wp-content/uploads/2016/08/MNL-Times_250-x-250-logo.jpg | en | null | Bataan town under state of calamity | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | HERMOSA, Bataan: The local government here has placed Hermosa under a state of calamity as a result of heavy damage caused by continuous rains and floods since last week, according to the municipal disaster risk reduction and management office (MDRRMO) on Tuesday.
MDRRMO chief Jason Enriquez said 11 out of 23 villages in the town were inundated by heavy rains triggered by the southwest monsoon from August 13 to 21, submerging some villages in more than six feet of water.
He added that the calamity left damage to agriculture (cereal and crops) at P14.9 million; fisheries (fishponds), P33.9 million; and infrastructure, P21 million or a total of P69.9 million.
On August 22, residents of Barangay Almacen cleared their houses, canals and the road of thick mud left by the floods.
But after only a week, Almacen and the villages of Daungan and Pulo were again inundated by floods on Sunday night that continued until Tuesday.
Fishing bancas were the only means of transportation in Almacen, which had to bear with chest-deep flood water.
Enriquez said relief operations were conducted in the villages of Almacen for 1,000 families; Daungan, 500 families; and Pulo, 400 families. | http://www.manilatimes.net/bataan-town-under-state-of-calamity/283023/ | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/bb6af547a519e0fc892bd2cc91c0985502bc8734b97319c67e6038f942740922.json |
[
"Aberon Voltaire Palaña",
"Mayvelin U. Caraballo",
"Raadee S. Sausa",
"Rc Alcazar"
]
| 2016-08-27T04:50:49 | null | 2016-08-27T01:00:41 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fgroup-seeks-erc-review-of-solar-net-metering-rules%2F282319%2F.json | http://14255-presscdn-0-60.pagely.netdna-cdn.com//wp-content/uploads/2016/08/MNL-Times_250-x-250-logo.jpg | en | null | Group seeks ERC review of solar net metering rules | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | THE Philippine Solar Power Alliance (PSPA) is urging the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) to review the payment scheme for homeowners with solar rooftops who export excess power to the grid.
The group submitted to the ERC on Friday its position paper describing the manner by which utility companies calculate the credit due to homeowners who export excess power generated by their solar rooftops to the grid.
The PSPA submitted its comments in line with the scheduled review of the net metering rules, stressing the need to make a correction in the payment system by noting that the present mechanism is contrary to the spirit of the Renewable Energy Law and its Implementing Rules.
According to PSPA president Tetchi Capellan, the law clearly says the “net-metering customer is only charged for his net electricity consumption and is credited for any overall contribution to the electricity grid.”
Net metering is a non-fiscal incentive given to solar rooftop owners provided in the RE Law by way of granting credits earned from electricity produced net of consumption.
Capellan pointed out that based on this rule, electric power generated by an end-user may be used to offset electric energy provided by the utility company to the end-user during the applicable period. Thus, the net-metering customer “is only charged or credited, as the case may be, the difference between its import energy and export energy.”
In short, the law and its IRR, as well as the ERC net-metering rules, are all talking about an exchange of energy, one offsetting the other, and that the user should only be charged the difference between import and export, which is the net of the energy exchange.
But, according to the PSPA, this is not how net-metering customers are paid. Instead, a lower kilowatt price for exported energy, the generation charge, is applied to calculate the credits due to the solar rooftop homeowners.
PSPA explained that when exported energy is allowed to offset an equal amount of imported energy, the amounts cancel each other out, removing price considerations in exchange.
“It is like borrowing a kilo of rice from one’s neighbor in the evening, and returning a kilo of rice the next morning,” said Capellan. Price does not come into the picture; and if it does, the borrowed and the returned rice will both have a common reference price.
PSPA urged the ERC to take into account this matter of calculating the credits as the present system “is contrary to law.”
The Alliance emphasized that the net-metering customers are entitled to the true value of solar. Nowhere in the law is it specified that the preliminary reference price, the generation charge, applies only to imported energy, the PSPA said.
Solar rooftop owners invested their savings to produce clean energy, stressed Capellan. Unlike big solar utility owners, they receive no tax holidays, no duty-free importation. What rooftop solar owners simply ask is they receive the true value of solar and apply the true solar price to both exported and imported energy, to be consistent with the law, its IRR and the ERC Rules.
On September 1, the stakeholders will discuss the net metering issues at a Solar Summit to be held at the SMEX. | http://www.manilatimes.net/group-seeks-erc-review-of-solar-net-metering-rules/282319/ | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/b4376dfbee5f5a7b2d404a53511b95b60375632cc75db6ee19ebaadf01cabbc1.json |
[
"The Manila Times",
"Ben Kritz",
"Gilbert Chao"
]
| 2016-08-29T08:49:57 | null | 2016-08-29T16:13:03 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fisuzu-ph-holds-truck-fest-in-davao%2F282754%2F.json | http://14255-presscdn-0-60.pagely.netdna-cdn.com//wp-content/uploads/2016/08/MNL-Times_250-x-250-logo.jpg | en | null | Isuzu PH holds Truck Fest in Davao | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | Recognizing the thriving commercial activity in the Davao region, Isuzu Philippines Corporation (IPC) held the Isuzu Truck Fest in Davao City on August 2-4 at the SM Lanang Premier on JP Laurel Avenue.
The Isuzu Truck Fest – Davao showcased to the local community the “Trucks for Life” models of IPC. The trucks, presented in a diverse range of applications and sizes, have been designed to meet the requirements of an equally varied profile of commercial vehicle users. The products also capably demonstrated Isuzu’s heritage in and core competency at truck manufacturing.
“The Davao region, and Davao City in particular, has always been one of the most vibrant markets for Isuzu products. Without doubt, this comes as a result of the area’s well-informed consumers, progressive business sector, and dynamic governance. The Isuzu Truck Fest – Davao sought to show Dabawenyos the latest Isuzu commercial models that address their requirements and which are relevant to the further growth of their business ventures,” said IPC president Hajime Koso.
Displayed at the event venue were 13 Isuzu truck models that have been configured for specific applications. IPC’s heavy-duty brigade was represented by the EXR and EXZ, which were shown as tractor heads so that customers may spec the trucks according to their requirements. For medium-duty use, IPC offered the FSR with a dropside body, and FVM that has been configured as a 10-door aluminum van.
Isuzu’s N-Series, which led its segment for 16 consecutive years, was showcased as the NQR71, NKR71 and NHR in dropside bodies and as riveted aluminum vans.
At Isuzu Truck Fest – Davao, IPC also offered visitors P10,000 worth of parts coupons and GoPro Hero 4 cameras. Show goers who registered for the event, and who purchase Isuzu trucks between August 4 and September 30, 2016 were eligible to receive the special promo freebies exclusive only for Isuzu Davao.
Coinciding with the Isuzu Truck Fest – Davao display was a ceremony marking the turnover of Isuzu trucks to some of the company’s most valued fleet customers. Three of the Davao’s largest and most prestigious companies, which have relied on and have considered Isuzu vehicles as their business partners for numerous years, received their new vehicles during the event.
Global banana producer and supplier Tagum Agricultural Development Co. Inc., through its assistant vice-president for Purchasing Richard Go, bought 12 new Isuzu trucks. Eden Mountain Resort Inc., a renowned name in the hospitality industry, through purchasing manager Paul Santos, acquired nine new truck units. New truck units were also turned-over to one of Davao’s leading livestock and landscape operator, Nestfarms Inc.
“While we in IPC are proud and very appreciative of the trust that these reputable companies have placed on the Isuzu brand, we are equally confident that the Isuzu trucks they have acquired will live up to their record of reliability and durability, and will render dependable service for many years. Rest assured that IPC will also do its utmost best to ensure this,” Koso said. | http://www.manilatimes.net/isuzu-ph-holds-truck-fest-in-davao/282754/ | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/b5ef07b63bee05e9a1468809436660d1d345896d4cae415ee4676c6efcf72318.json |
[
"The Manila Times"
]
| 2016-08-31T10:50:27 | null | 2016-08-31T17:59:08 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fsleepy-singapore-suburb-turned-into-zika-battleground%2F283150%2F.json | http://14255-presscdn-0-60.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/MNL-Times_250-x-250-logo.jpg | en | null | Sleepy Singapore suburb turned into Zika battleground | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | SINGAPORE: Homemaker Sulaiha Ngatiman hunkered indoors as the scent of mosquito repellent lingered in her second-storey flat.
The 30-year-old, who is seven months’ pregnant with her fifth child, lives in Aljunied Crescent, a sleepy eastern suburb at the heart of Singapore’s recent Zika outbreak and the scene of a war against the Aedes mosquito that carries the virus.
Downstairs, fog-like smoke billowed as pest control crews armed with thermal machines fumigated drainage canals and other potential mosquito breeding spots.
“I’m very concerned because I’ve read that a lot of the symptoms can’t be seen,” Sulaiha told Agence France-Presse from her living room, where mini bottles of mosquito repellent lined a table. The smell of citronella—a natural mosquito repellent—hung heavy in the air.
“All a mother really wants is for your child to be healthy,” added Sulaiha, who now limits her outdoor exposure.
Zika, which has been detected in 58 countries including hardest-hit Brazil, causes only mild symptoms for most people, such as fever and a rash.
But in pregnant women, it can cause microcephaly, a deformation in which babies are born with abnormally small brains and heads.
As of Tuesday Singapore had confirmed 82 locally transmitted cases of Zika infection.
The initial cases were reported at the weekend from the Aljunied area and since then, the neighborhood has been in the spotlight.
Environment agency inspectors armed with cans of insecticide and torchlights, as well as pest control teams, have become a daily sight.
On a visit by an Agence France-Presse reporter Wednesday afternoon, the whine of thermal fumigators joined the roar of jets from a nearby military air base in puncturing the stillness.
Local shopkeepers reported a surge in sales of mosquito repellent patches, sprays and devices.
“I’ve sold out all my mosquito coil but people keep asking to buy patches and other things which I don’t have,” storekeeper Haranachia Mansoor, 30, told Agence France-Presse.
In spite of the increased infections, life was normal for a number of residents.
“Most of us living here are old people so there are not many pregnant people anyway,” said resident Chew Ah Gek, 72.
“The government people come and check for mosquitoes all the time. There’s no need to get worked up.”
Leong Hoe Nam, an infectious diseases specialist at Singapore’s Mount Elizabeth Novena Hospital, said people are not panicking because they trust the government’s mosquito extermination efforts.
“The safest place you can be in Singapore now is right smack in Aljunied, because you have so many checks and exterminations going on,” he told Agence France-Presse.
Sulaiha had a scare in 2009 while expecting her third child, when there was an outbreak of the H1N1 swine flu. Now no precaution is excessive.
“I’m going to the doctor for tests tomorrow just to be sure,” she said. AFP
AFP/CC | http://www.manilatimes.net/sleepy-singapore-suburb-turned-into-zika-battleground/283150/ | en | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/6f385f22d2230e97185271cbde6355d94c9ea0ba9606ddbc56eb3c2eb96d8790.json |
[
"Ernie B. Esconde",
"Leander C. Domingo",
"Roselle Aquino"
]
| 2016-08-27T14:49:16 | null | 2016-08-27T22:23:02 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fpolice-arrest-2-in-teeners-death%2F282429%2F.json | http://14255-presscdn-0-60.pagely.netdna-cdn.com//wp-content/uploads/2016/08/MNL-Times_250-x-250-logo.jpg | en | null | Police arrest 2 in teener’s death | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | LIMAY, Bataan: Police on Friday reported the arrest of two suspects in the gun-slay of a teenager last year inside a restaurant here. Chief Insp. Don Dicksie de Dios, Limay police chief, said cousins Joel Acayen, 27 and John Sevilla, 33, of Bario Luz village were accused of murdering college student Aldrin Ganata of Barangay Reformista on September 26, 2015. | http://www.manilatimes.net/police-arrest-2-in-teeners-death/282429/ | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/a3a018320bd84325e8338da2c3e4e5588a53e025db2ea787ee0971b2c81edb0d.json |
[
"Mayvelin U. Caraballo",
"Llanesca T. Panti",
"Ma. Reina Leanne Tolentino"
]
| 2016-08-28T18:49:49 | null | 2016-08-29T00:59:27 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fduterte-govt-wants-more-high-quality-jobs-by-2022%2F282687%2F.json | http://14255-presscdn-0-60.pagely.netdna-cdn.com//wp-content/uploads/2016/08/MNL-Times_250-x-250-logo.jpg | en | null | Duterte govt wants more high-quality jobs by 2022 | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | THE DUTERTE administration wants to cut the underemployment rate to 13 percent by 2022 from 18 percent, eyeing the creation of higher-quality jobs under a six-year socioeconomic plan.
The high rate of underemployment has alarmed economists, as it indicates a significant proportion of poor-quality jobs.
The Philippine Statistics Authority considers as underemployed a person who is employed but who expresses the “desire to have additional hours of work in their present job or an additional job, or have a new job with longer working hours.”
Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia said addressing underemployment would be one of the priorities under the Philippine Development Plan 2017-2022 being drafted.
“We will resolve to reduce the unemployment rate, especially the underemployment rate, which is really the bigger problem,” said Pernia, who is also the director general of the National Economic and Development Authority.
The latest Labor Force Survey showed that the number of unemployed Filipinos dropped in April, but underemployment worsened.
The jobless rate dipped in April to 6.1 percent from 6.4 percent in April 2015.
The rate of underemployment went up, on year-on-year basis, to 18.2 percent from 17.8 percent. This translates to 7.3 million underemployed persons, mainly workers in the agriculture and services sector.
Nearly 46 percent of the underemployed worked in the services sector, while 35.5 percent were in agriculture. Those in industry accounted for 18.9 percent.
To address persistent underemployment in the country, Pernia said the government should “create better-quality jobs that are more regular and therefore more full time, that would reduce unemployment by itself.” | http://www.manilatimes.net/duterte-govt-wants-more-high-quality-jobs-by-2022/282687/ | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/67b394ccda442e56993609734aefb7930fb6b91e2bb99edd0f1cd385bcc6b921.json |
[
"Thom F. Picaña",
"Rhaydz B. Barcia",
"Leander C. Domingo",
"Al Jacinto"
]
| 2016-08-27T14:49:12 | null | 2016-08-27T22:25:50 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Flawmaker-wants-ceasefire-monitored%2F282442%2F.json | http://14255-presscdn-0-60.pagely.netdna-cdn.com//wp-content/uploads/2016/08/MNL-Times_250-x-250-logo.jpg | en | null | Lawmaker wants ceasefire monitored | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | BAGUIO CITY: Ifugao Rep. Teodoro Baguilat Jr. urged the government to institute ceasefire mechanisms at the local level to monitor the indefinite truce forged between the military and the Communist Party of the Philippines-National Democratic Front -New People’s Army (CPP-NDF-NPA).
Baguilat stressed that local monitors are necessary to ensure compliance of the ceasefire, although he believed there is no unusual troop movements in the region as claimed by the NPA.
The lawmaker added that monitoring will also minimize claims and counter-claims of abuses or breach of the peace agreement between the government and the communist party.
The Ifugao-based Nona Del Rosario Command of the CPP-NPA claimed that military operations are ongoing in the province despite a ceasefire earlier ordered by President Rodrigo Duterte as prelude to the resumption of the peace talks.
Wigan Moncontad of the NPA-Ifugao, in a press statement said that members of the Philippine Army’s 54th Infantry Battalion (IB) and other allied units continue thier search and destroy operations in the towns of Asipulo and Tinoc and in Ambagio, Nueva Vizcaya.
The battalion-strong operation, the NPA-Ifugao claimed, has been ongoing for more than a week now. It added that a supposed NPA-military encounter in Asipulo town on August 14 was prompted by the alleged presence of government troopers in the area.
Earlier, Army Capt. Jefferson Somera, spokesman of the 54th IB, said troopers were tipped off by villagers on the presence of NPAs in the remote village of Camandag in Asipulo, prompting a team of soldiers to respond. The approaching soldiers, he added, were fired upon by the rebels which resulted in a five-minute firefight.
There was no reported casualty on the government side but rebels carried with them their wounded comrades, Somera claimed.
The indefinite ceasefire that starts today, August 28, was the highlight of peace talks between the government and the CPP-NDF in Oslo, Norway.
Meanwhile, on Friday, the NPA released three police officers they held as “prisoners of war”.
Rubi del Mundo, an NDF spokesman, said the release of the police officers is a gesture of goodwill for the formal resumption of the peace negotiations. | http://www.manilatimes.net/lawmaker-wants-ceasefire-monitored/282442/ | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/feaca314d9ba503cda2667b2aa1083a7738a3f933e846333be9f71f12700e521.json |
[
"Rigoberto D. Tiglao",
"Francisco Tatad",
"Yen Makabenta",
"Jaime Domingo",
"Edwin Subijano",
"Maddas Ben",
"Prinze Fisher",
"Migs Doromal",
"Victor Arches",
"Ernie Del Rosario"
]
| 2016-08-31T00:52:13 | null | 2016-08-11T23:20:52 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fduterte-smarter-than-makabayan-blockheads%2F279371%2F.json | http://14255-presscdn-0-60.pagely.netdna-cdn.com//wp-content/uploads/2014/11/tiglao1.gif | en | null | Duterte smarter than ‘Makabayan’ blockheads | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | The so-called Makabayan bloc of six “progressive parties,” together with the Ateneo de Manila community and a few professors of De La Salle University, have been pulling their hair the past weeks crying to the high heavens, “Why oh why will the Dark Lord Marcos be buried in hallowed ground?”
Makabayan representatives even condemned the impending election of former President Gloria Arroyo, and they are obviously so stupidly ignorant in refusing to see that after six years of BS Aquino overturning every filing cabinet in Malacañang looking for some evidence, that brat has been unable to come up with a single shred of proof of corruption against her.
The Ateneo faculty and staff had issued a long statement against Bongbong Marcos’ bid for the vice presidency, with their professors, along with those from La Salle, recently posting long manifestos on their Facebook against the burial of his dad, the strongman Marcos, at the military’s official cemetery, called — unnecessarily, I think — the Libingan ng mga Bayani.
If one listened solely to these Makabayan blockheads and to professors in Catholic universities, one would think that the basic problem of the Philippine nation has been and still is Marcos, and secondarily, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
Indeed, this Ateneo-trained, US-based professor Vicente Rafael sees a vast Marcos conspiracy, the Philippine equivalent of the inter-generational Sith Dark Lords of Star Wars movies, with Duterte as the latest Sith: “By allowing Ferdinand Marcos’ burial at the Libingan ng mga Bayani, President Duterte pays tribute to his political, as well as biological father,” this professor who has stayed and worked in the US for the last 37 years, pontificates. He wrote: “Marcos is dead, more dead than ever. But in Duterte and in the Marcos family, his specter lives on to haunt us all.”
Duterte’s biological father?
Duterte’s “biological father” is Marcos? This guy certainly should get out of stuffy US university libraries, and get some fresh air once in a while.
For chrissake, didn’t Marcos die nearly three decades ago? Imelda is 87, just three years away from being a nonagenarian, certainly far, far from being an Evita Peron. Bongbong is too amiable to be another dictator, Imee isn’t really interested in politics, and we’ve had three decades of phalanxes of lawyers trying to jail Imelda and recover alleged billions of pesos in loot. Tama na, sobra na! Isn’t it time to shift the focus of our resources and national discourse to other problems of the nation, which you might be surprised to know may be more important than Marcos?
Yet for the Makabayan blockheads, elite-university professors and Senator Riza Hontiveros (who has made many people wonder how she got elected as such), Marcos is still one of the country’s basic evil, and the Leftists seem to have reformulated Sison’s basic problems of the country to: “imperialism, bureaucrat-capitalism, feudalism and Marcos.”
I am astonished, really, why these Makabayan blockheads can’t see that they have been led by the nose by the Yellow Cult — which emerged from the Tarlac and Visayas haciendas in 1985 — whose existence is almost entirely based on the demonization of Marcos. Think, without Marcos and his demonization, would there have been a Yellow Cult, would we have suffered the most incompetent President we ever had?
I didn’t vote for Duterte, and I wrote many scathing columns against him. But he has proven to be smarter than the Makabayan blockheads and these elite-university professors.
Did they ever talk of the illegal-drug problem before Duterte came into the picture, which the President has proven to be a scourge that threatens the very fabric of our society? Did the Makabayan blockheads ever issue a resolution (as they have done protesting against Arroyo’s impending election as deputy speaker, raising alarm against the country’s shabu infestation? Did the effete Ateneo and La Salle professors organize symposiums on the illegal-drug scourge and issue manifestos against the drug lords?
Out of the blue
Last week, out of the blue, like a bolt of lightning illuminating the dark landscape of national discourse, Duterte spoke of one of the country’s real problems, a hundred, a thousand times graver than whatever Marcos’ sins against the country were, and which I think is the biggest obstacle facing the nation since its birth: The rule of the oligarchs, the tiny group of political-economic elite that rules the nation.
Did all these professors who read mountains of books and these purported Leftists who read the entire collected works of Lenin and Mao Ze Dong, have the intelligence to realize that the oligarchy is, as Duterte hinted, the country’s biggest problem?
Certainly not. The Makabayan parties, or their leaders, have been getting funding not only for their election campaigns, from certain oligarchs and magnates. They think that these ‘good-hearted’ magnates are their secret admirers? They are simply buying protection, paying with their please-don’t-bother-me, money. Have you ever heard of an Oligarchy 101, or something close to it, taught in any Philippine university? Have you ever heard of an Ateneo professor or group of professors issuing a manifesto against the oligarchy?
Of course not. Ateneo and La Salle, as well as the UP, have been the main educators of the oligarchs’ sons and daughters, and they have also provided the ideological infrastructure – the don’t-meddle-with-the-markets thinking, among others – to justify and perpetuate oligarchic rule.
Ateneo and La Salle have even built gargantuan gyms and buildings financed by magnates and oligarchs. The Ateneo library, which for decades has been named after our great Filipino hero, Jose Rizal, now also carries the name of First Pacific Co., Ltd. The company was set up by the most powerful oligarchs during Indonesian strongman Suharto’s 31-year rule, headed by Soedono Salim, designed as their corporate lifeboat when their patron fell. The oligarch’s son, Anthoni, is now the biggest public-utility oligarch in the Philippines,
despite the constitutional restrictions against foreigners’ control of this sector.
Study the history of prosperous nations, even just of the economic tigers in our part of the world. All of them became rich nations, either because the oligarchy were decimated (as in China, of course) or because the oligarchy transformed itself as one treating their countries as a nation whose fate is intertwined with them, unlike our oligarchy, which treats the Philippines only either as a market, or a source of cheap labor. For many of them, Filipino is even a language used only in speaking to the servants and chauffeurs. Many of them see their real homes being a mansion in the US, London, China, Hong Kong, or Spain.
By pointing first to the illegal drugs trade as a plague destroying our nation, and then to the oligarchy as the enemy to be overcome, the promdi-mayor, now President Duterte, certainly proved he is smarter than the Makabayan blockheads and the scholars of our elite-universities.
(Details on Salim and First Pacific, as well their public-utility conglomerate in the country is in my book titled Colossal Deception: How Foreigners Control our Telecoms Sector, out by Friday next week.)
[email protected] | http://www.manilatimes.net/duterte-smarter-than-makabayan-blockheads/279371/ | en | 2016-08-11T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/50877b18e39b95a02b2dedd28888072afb07e4b0896a3ee6b3da2ac6fb5eb317.json |
[
"Manila Times"
]
| 2016-08-27T04:48:54 | null | 2016-08-27T11:15:30 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Ffrench-resorts-defiant-as-top-court-suspends-burkini-ban%2F282358%2F.json | http://14255-presscdn-0-60.pagely.netdna-cdn.com//wp-content/uploads/2016/08/MNL-Times_250-x-250-logo.jpg | en | null | French resorts defiant as top court suspends burkini ban | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | MARSEILLE: France’s highest administrative court on Friday suspended a controversial ban on the burkini by a French Riviera town, although other resorts remained defiant, vowing to keep the restrictions in place.
In a judgement expected to lead to bans being overturned in around 30 towns along the French coast, the State Council ruled the measure was a “serious and clearly illegal violation of fundamental freedoms”.
The case was brought by two rights groups seeking to overturn the ban, which has triggered a fierce debate in France and sparked critical headlines around the world.
The suspension of the ban on the Islamic swimsuit, which covers from the head to the heels, was welcomed by the United Nations.
But the ruling, which only applied to the ban imposed by Villeneuve-Loubet, was quickly dismissed by several other towns, including Nice, which vowed to keep the restrictions in place and continue imposing fines on women who wear the full-body swimsuit.
In its decision, the court said local authorities could only introduce measures restricting individual freedoms if wearing the swimsuit on beaches represented a “proven risk” to public order.
The judges said there was no such risk in the case before the court concerning Villeneuve-Loubet, a resort between Nice and Cannes.
The French Council of the Muslim Faith (CFCM) hailed the ruling as a “victory for common sense”.
And UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said “we welcome the decision by the court,” noting that the world body stresses “the need for people’s dignity to be respected.”
Police action to fine Muslim women for wearing burkinis on beaches in several towns, including in the tourist resorts of Nice and Cannes, has triggered a fierce debate about women’s rights and the French state’s strictly-guarded secularism.
But the ruling provoked defiance from several Riviera resorts, who pledged to continue imposing fines.
In recent weeks, around 30 French municipalities decided to ban access to public beaches “by anyone not wearing proper attire, which is respectful of good morality and the principle of secularism and not respectful of the rules of hygiene and bathing security”.
Nice town hall said it would “continue to fine” women wearing the burkini as long as its ban put in place on August 19 was not overturned.
The far-right mayor of Frejus, David Rachline, also insisted his ban was “still valid”, telling AFP there was “no legal procedure” against his ruling.
Ange-Pierre Vivoni, Socialist mayor of the Corsican town of Sisco, said his Burkini ban, introudced this month following a confrontation between Moroccan bathers and locals, would also remain “for the safety of property and people in the town because I risked having deaths on my hands”.
Amnesty International said Friday’s court decision had “drawn an important line in the sand”.
“These bans do nothing to increase public safety but do a lot to promote public humiliation,” said Amnesty’s Europe director John Dalhuisen, who added it was time that the French authorities “drop the pretence” that the ban was about protecting women’s rights.
Prime Minister Manuel Valls had on Thursday maintained that the burkini was “a political sign of religious proselytising”.
“We are not at war with Islam… the French republic is welcoming (to Muslims), we are protecting them against discrimination,” he told BFMTV.
CFCM secretary general Abdallah Zekri said: “This victory for common sense will help to take the tension out of a situation which has become very tense for our Muslim compatriots, especially women.”
The State Council heard arguments from the Human Rights League and an anti-Islamophobia group (CCIF).
Anger over the issue was further inflamed this week when photographs in the British media showed police surrounding a woman in a headscarf on a beach in Nice.
The mayor’s office denied the woman had been forced to remove clothing, telling AFP she was showing police the swimsuit she was wearing under her top, over a pair of leggings, when the picture was taken.
The issue has even caused divisions within France’s Socialist government, with Education Minister Najat Vallaud-Belkacem, who is of Moroccan origin, saying the “proliferation” of burkini bans “was not a welcome development”.
She also took issue with the wording of the ban in Nice which linked the measure to last month’s jihadist attack in the resort that killed 86 people and was claimed by the Islamic State group.
In its ruling, the State Council said: “The emotion and the concerns arising from terrorist attacks, especially the attack in Nice on July 14, are not sufficient to legally justify a ban.”
In 2010 France became the first European country to ban the wearing of the Islamic face veil in public. AFP
AFP/CC | http://www.manilatimes.net/french-resorts-defiant-as-top-court-suspends-burkini-ban/282358/ | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/a1edb13a308077e6285600fe2285a1f8eae187915d038a74106d5e0a5b1e2e52.json |
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"The Manila Times",
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| 2016-08-28T10:49:30 | null | 2016-08-28T18:18:21 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fsa-channel-highlights-pinoy-athletes-on-national-heroes-day%2F282557%2F.json | http://14255-presscdn-0-60.pagely.netdna-cdn.com//wp-content/uploads/2016/08/teng20160829-256x300.jpg | en | null | S+A channel highlights Pinoy athletes on National Heroes Day | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | As the nation honors patriots who served and fought for country on National Heroes Day, Sports+Action (S+A) channel takes the opportunity to launch its new station ID today for a timely showcase the Filipino athlete’s journey to greatness through the values of excellence, hard work, teamwork, resilience, and nationalism.
This will unfold through the “Sumasaludo sa Pusong Palaban ng Lahing Pilipino,” which will feature a mix of iconic Filipino athletes that S+A’s mother network ABS-CBN have captured in the past years covering various sporting events such as the UAAP, NCAA, boxing, and mixed martial arts. They include volleyball stars Alyssa Valdez and Grethcel Soltones, basketball hotshots Jeron Teng and Jio Jalalon, MMA fighters Brandon Vera and Chris Hoffman, and champion boxers Donnie “Ahas” Nietes and Nonito “The Filipino Flash” Donaire. An original song written and performed by rapper Quest will heighten every Filipino athlete’s dream of putting the flag and honor above all else in competing for country.
“In our experience covering the games and interviewing the athletes, and in our interactions with ordinary people, we saw the parallelism in the life of an athlete and the common Pinoy. At the end of the day, what keeps them going and fighting is the drive to better oneself, and more importantly, to make the people they love happy,” shared ABS-CBN Integrated Sports head Dino Laurena.
Laurena added that ABS-CBN Sports will be playing a more active role in the journey of both Filipino athletes and ordinary Filipinos from this point on.
Meanwhile, viewers can expect an action-packed September on S+A with the opening of UAAP Season 79 on September 3, the live coverage of tennis grand slam competition US Open on September 11 and 12, Pinoy Pride 38 on September 25, and the continuation of basketball and volleyball action on NCAA Season 92, and the Shakey’s V-League Collegiate Conference, respectively, among the program line-up. | http://www.manilatimes.net/sa-channel-highlights-pinoy-athletes-on-national-heroes-day/282557/ | en | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/8528063c8bc0353c94e31a47b152739f3eeaf4b49560c6ad5c6d0c586614d556.json |
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| 2016-08-28T12:49:31 | null | 2016-08-28T19:42:51 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Farcilla-joven-rule-pca-open-cebuana-lhuillier-doubles%2F282615%2F.json | http://14255-presscdn-0-60.pagely.netdna-cdn.com//wp-content/uploads/2016/08/arcilla20160829-265x300.jpg | en | null | Arcilla, Joven rule PCA Open-Cebuana Lhuillier doubles | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | Top seeds Johnny Arcilla and Ronard Joven outclassed Elberto Anasta and Marc Anthony Alcoseba, 6-3, 6-3, to claim the men’s doubles title of the 35th Philippine Columbian Association (PCA) Open-Cebuana Lhuillier tennis tournament at the PCA indoor shell court in Paco, Manila.
Arcilla and Joven easily took the first three games of the opening set, 3-0, but Anasta and Alcoseba snatched the next two frames to move within striking distance, 5-3. Arcilla and Joven, however, were unstoppable in the ninth game to nail a 1-0 advantage.
In the second set, Anasta and Alcoseba gained the upper hand, 3-1, in the early going but Arcilla and Joven went on a scoring barrage to claim the next five games.
Arcilla and Joven assured themselves of a ticket to the main draw of the PCA Open-Cebuana Lhuillier Asian Tennis Federation (ATF) Tour slated on September 1 to 4 at the same venue.
They also received P20,000 for bagging the top honors while Anasta and Alcoseba brought home the P10,000 consolation purse.
Before entering the finals, Arcilla and Joven toppled third seeds Kim Saraza and Joseph Arcilla, 6-2, 6-0, while Anasta and Alcoseba came out victorious in a tight match against fourth seed Patrick John Tierro and Jed Olivarez Jr., 7-5, 6-3.
The PCA Open-Cebuana Lhuillier tournament was backed by Sen. Manny Pacquiao, The Phillippine Star, Dunlop, Whirlpool, Fujidenzo, Chris Sports, Mary Grace, Aseana City, PVL Restaurant, Maverick, Compass, Babolat, Just Jewels, Rexona, Palm Rock, Coca Cola Femsa Philippines, Pearl Garden Hotel, Pearl Lane Hotel, L&M, Broadway Motors, Stronghold Insurance and Monte.
Arcilla and Tierro were playing in the men’s singles finals at press time. | http://www.manilatimes.net/arcilla-joven-rule-pca-open-cebuana-lhuillier-doubles/282615/ | en | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/73e7ae2fab8a53f39a966534354bed608f579c1769389c35e1614a13c3a4e038.json |
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"Agence France-Presse",
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| 2016-08-27T16:49:16 | null | 2016-08-28T00:26:13 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fus-fears-is-rise-in-southeast-asia%2F282538%2F.json | http://14255-presscdn-0-60.pagely.netdna-cdn.com//wp-content/uploads/2016/08/MNL-Times_250-x-250-logo.jpg | en | null | US fears IS rise in Southeast Asia | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | SINGAPORE: Islamic State jihadists are eyeing expansion into Southeast Asia by joining forces with local extremists, a senior US counter-terrorism official warned.
IS has a history of partnering with militant groups around the world, including in Egypt, Libya and Nigeria, and wants to broaden its reach in the region, according to Justin Siberell, acting coordinator for counter-terrorism at the US State Department.
“My understanding is that they have looked at existing groups across the region,” Siberell said in a conference call from Washington with Asia-based journalists.
“There have been people that have pledged affiliation and allegiance to IS at the group level. We’re certainly concerned about that, we’re concerned about the rise of new IS affiliates and we’re working with governments to do what they can to prevent that.”
Siberell also noted that militants from Southeast Asia fighting with IS in Iraq and Syria have been deployed in a unit called the Katibah Nusantara, and could pose a threat when they eventually return to their home countries.
“We’re certainly concerned about IS’ ability to expand or to establish branches,” he said.
There have been only relatively minor attacks and plots blamed on IS affiliates in the region, but analysts fear the group could become more effective.
Indonesian police earlier this month arrested six suspected militants over a plot to launch a rocket attack on an up-market Singapore waterfront district from the nearby Indonesian island of Batam.
The suspects’ alleged leader, Gigih Rahmat Dewa, is accused of planning the attack with Bahrun Naim, a leading Indonesian militant who is believed to be fighting with IS in Syria.
In January, IS-linked militants launched a deadly gun and bomb attack in Jakarta which left four attackers and four civilians dead.
Singapore on August 19 announced it had detained two men under its tough internal security law after discovering they intended to travel to Syria to fight for IS.
Siberell spoke Friday after he traveled to Bali earlier this month for a meeting on preventing the cross-border movements of known or suspected terrorists. He also visited Jakarta, Malaysia and Singapore before returning to Washington. | http://www.manilatimes.net/us-fears-is-rise-in-southeast-asia/282538/ | en | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/c22bf822ee54ac3cc87f1c7f5a58f4654c79f25b54e88c044def0e2571a7535c.json |
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| 2016-08-30T18:50:21 | null | 2016-08-31T01:08:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Flawmakers-back-polls-postponement-2%2F283116%2F.json | http://14255-presscdn-0-60.pagely.netdna-cdn.com//wp-content/uploads/2016/08/MNL-Times_250-x-250-logo.jpg | en | null | Lawmakers back polls postponement | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | MAJORITY of the members of the House of Representatives agreed to postpone the barangay and Sanggunian Kabataan elections to next year to allow President Rodrigo Duterte to carry out his projects unhampered.
Rep. Sherwin Tugna of Citizen’s Battle Against Corruption party-list, the chairman of the Suffrage and Electoral Reforms panel, said majority of the lawmakers agreed for the postponement during a caucus held on Tuesday.
A bill will be filed seeking the holding of the local elections on the fourth Monday of October 2017. The barangay and SK polls were to be held in October this year.
The same bill will extend for a year the term of all incumbent barangay officials.
“We thought the Senate will do it by a joint resolution, but they already conducted a hearing last week, so they decided to file a bill. Having said that, we will file the exact bill,” Tugna said.
“This postponement is for the President to have a free hand in appointing officials in the bureaucracy and for the infrastructure projects to go unhampered. Otherwise, the President will deal with an election ban, meaning he will be banned from appointing people and the government’s infrastructure projects—which are also covered by election ban—will be put on hold,” Tugna told reporters.
But Kabataan party-list Rep. Sarah Elago said the postponement could be used as a political tool.
“The government may dangle the issue of election postponement to aspiring barangay officer candidates. If they cooperate and switch allegiance, they can have their terms extended. If not, they will be unceremoniously kicked out and replaced,” Elago said in a statement.
“While we remain supportive of the government’s programs for change, we cannot simply allow the telltale signs of aggressive political leveraging,” she added.
In the Senate, Sen.Juan Edgardo Angara formally presented before the plenary a bill seeking to postpone, for a year, the barangay and youth council elections.
In his sponsorship speech for Senate Bill 1112, Angara said the postponement will allow the full implementation of the recently enacted SK Reform Act or Republic Act 10742.
“We clearly hear the voices of those who are against the proposal. We understand the sentiments of our youth who have been waiting for three years for the election. But it is also clear that there are other important aspects that need to be considered, the government is not ready to implement Republic Act 10742,” said Angara, who heads the Senate committee on local government.
He noted that the SK reform act, which was authored by Sen. Joseph Victor Ejercito, was signed into law in January, and its implementing rules and regulations (IRR) were approved only in July.
One of the salient provisions of the law is the mandatory training of SK officials before they formally assume office.
Angara said the postponement will give the Commission on Elections (Comelec) more time to prepare for the barangay and SK elections.
“Let me emphasize that with this measure, we are not forsaking every person’s right to suffrage. We merely defer its exercise in the hopes of strengthening it and making it more meaningful,” Angara said.
The Comelec supported Congress’ move to postpone the elections.
Chairman Juan Andres Bautista on Tuesday said Congress has the power to postpone the twin polls.
“We are ready to proceed with the elections on October 31, but if Congress decides against it, we will support it,” Bautista said.
Following the May 9 national and local elections, Bautista proposed the postponement of the twin elections to avoid election fatigue. | http://www.manilatimes.net/lawmakers-back-polls-postponement-2/283116/ | en | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/180edebf2d179b416103c3e1be6d5e670f375c6d12acfba7322411b327521390.json |
[
"Francisco Tatad",
"Rigoberto D. Tiglao",
"Yen Makabenta",
"Ricardo Saludo",
"James Velina"
]
| 2016-08-31T00:52:16 | null | 2016-08-31T00:24:12 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Frewriting-the-past-and-the-future%2F283075%2F.json | http://14255-presscdn-0-60.pagely.netdna-cdn.com//wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Kit-Tatad.gif | en | null | Rewriting the past and the future | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | A militant group wants to rewrite Philippine history by declaring Andres Bonifacio as the first President of the Republic, in place of Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo. The sentiment is apparently fueled by a deep rereading of Philippine history—lately reinforced by two highly successful films in which Bonifacio and Gen. Antonio Luna are killed — the first in Maragondon, Cavite on May 10, 1897, the second in Cabanatuan on June 5, 1899— after incurring Aguinaldo’s wrath.
It is not easy to temper this sentiment, nor refute the thesis that Aguinaldo had these two men executed because of politics. But it is absurd to propose that Bonifacio, who founded the Katipunan but never became President, should now be declared as our first President, as though Aguinaldo, who had assumed that office, had never held it.
The people’s esteem for Aguinaldo’s presidency might have been misplaced. He might have deserved to be pilloried for Bonifacio’s and Luna’s death and other crimes. But we cannot change the facts of history and declare that Bonifacio, not he, served as President of the First Republic. Our appreciation of his presidency may differ completely from that of the last generation; but we cannot, for that reason, declare that something that had existed before never existed at all.
Vaporizing the past
We would be living the lie in George Orwell’s novel, “Nineteen Eighty-Four,” in which persons unwanted by the State are completely “vaporized” so that they not only cease to exist but that any record of their having existed before is completely erased.
In a sense, this is also what some people would like to see happen to the late former President Ferdinand Marcos. His Martial Law regime thwarted the communist attempt to overthrow the government and replace it with a communist rule, but they would like to erase that fact and replace it with that which narrates how so many people suffered under Martial Law, a period during which he was in charge.
They would also like to vaporize the fact that he had fought for his country against the Japanese during World War II; that he had been awarded several medals, including the Medal of Valor, during that war; that he had been Secretary of National Defense; and that he had been elected President, not once but four times, first in 1965, then in 1969, then in 1981, and finally in 1986, even though the last one was protested by his enemies and spurred street demonstrations that led to his ouster.
And they would like to erase the official AFP rule, confirmed by the President and Commander-in-Chief, that anyone who had been a soldier, a Medal of Valor awardee, Secretary of National Defense or President, has a right to be buried at the Libingan ng mga Bayani, unless he or his family wishes otherwise, and to substitute for it the opinion of the public as to whether or not someone like Marcos should be buried in that place.
With further reference to Marcos, some militants would like us to believe that the communists, who had attempted but failed to overthrow his government in the seventies, were unjust “victims” of Martial Law rather than its immediate cause. They would not want the nation’s youth to ever ponder the thesis that had Marcos not imposed Martial Law, we might have long become a communist state.
President Claro M. Recto?
Back to the first Philippine presidency, it is possible that many Filipinos may want to identify with Bonifacio or Luna rather than with Aguinaldo for the most valid of reasons; but this cannot justify the call of the militants. In my own book of contemporary statesmen, I do not hesitate to rank Claro M. Recto above most of our Presidents after Manuel L. Quezon; but I would not propose that we honor Recto by giving him the title of “President” instead of simply Senator.
“Senator” used to be a highly honorable title before the utter lack of moral and intellectual worth became an apparent requirement for membership in the Senate. But we should be able to agree that a man’s inner worth does not derive from his official title; it is altogether possible that the poor miller who had nothing to his name could become the envy of the King, and the nameless widow with her mite could perform an act of infinitely greater worth than the most celebrated philanthropist.
Enter Plaridel
Now, while so many would like to honor Bonifacio for founding the Katipunan, which lit the torch of revolution against Spain, a new book on Plaridel (Marcelo H. del Pilar) tries to offer a new perspective on both men’s role in the Katipunan. The book, “Plaridel, Dunong ng Katipunan” —(Mastermind of the Katipunan), written in Filipino by Cristano “King” Cortez and published by the Center for Bulacan Studies, Bulacan State University, awards to Plaridel the distinction of being the “ brains” of the Katipunan.
Launched at the Samahang Plaridel Forum last Monday, on the eve of Plaridel’s 166th birth anniversary at the Manila Hotel, the book quotes a January 1896 testimony by General Aguedo del Rosario, an officer of the Katipunan, which says:
“The Secret Society known as the Kataastaasan Kagalanggalangan Katipunan ng mga Anak ng Bayan (KKK) was founded on July 7, 1892 by the Filipino patriots Deodato Arellano, Andres Bonifacio, Teodoro Plata, Valentin Diaz and Ladislao Diwa at the initiative of the lawyer Marcelo H. del Pilar, who was at the time living in Barcelona, Spain, struggling in the field of politics in union with other Filipinos to secure from the metropolis reforms favorable to the Filipino people,” says the testimony.
Who’s the brain and who’s the implementor?
Investigations conducted by Spanish authorities, particularly by one Capt. Olegario Diaz, showed that Plaridel was the one who conceived the plot of the Katipunan, but Bonifacio acted to help the plan materialize: “the conception was of Pilar (Marcelo H.) and Bonifacio was but the foster father charged with the bringing up of the child.” A testimony given by Dr. Pio Valenzuela, M.D. (1869-1956), secretary of the Katipunan, quotes Bonifacio as saying Plaridel was the “President of the Associates of the Katipunan living in Spain.”
This is a valuable contribution to our knowledge of the Katipunan, but it does not demand a rewriting of Bonifacio’s role. He remains the leader of the Philippine Revolution. There is no need to declare him as our national hero at the expense of Jose Rizal, as some people would like to see. Both are our national heroes and we deserve to have a Pantheon of national heroes. One hero’s worth should not diminish that of another; Filipino citizens and patriots should be free to profess their secular devotion to whomsoever they are drawn.
These should be rewritten
But there are certain facts of our political and economic life, which this administration must now rewrite.
Summary killings. In the present war on drugs, the government has a duty to rewrite its earlier instructions to the police on the killing of drug suspects. As the Archbishop of Manila, Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle said through Radio Veritas on Monday, all killings must stop—from the slaying of suspected drug users to the destruction of unborn babies.
Instead of pursuing a genocidal program of population control as proposed by its economic advisers, the government must now rewrite its constitutionally questionable reproductive health law, which puts the State on top of the sexual lives of married couples, discard its plan to limit births to a maximum of three children per couple, and to remove social benefits from senior citizens and the so-called “useless eaters.”
Industrialization. Finally, the government must rewrite major policies that have obstructed the nation’s development. Ferdinand Marcos once dreamed of fully modernizing the country’s economy and creating prosperity for all through an 11-point industrialization program that should have put the Philippines ahead of, or at least side by side with, South Korea. Hostile imperial policies shut down that program and reduced the country to a principally agricultural economy, which cannot even guarantee self-sufficiency in rice, and which has since produced more smuggling that has enriched corrupt officials than sufficient staple and other agricultural products. The agro-based economy has produced more overseas Filipino workers (at least 10 million of them) than any other agricultural crop.
Going nuclear. This policy must now be rewritten to revive manufacturing and industry, in place of smuggling, money laundering, drug-dealing, OFW deployment and call centers. This must begin by rewriting the policy on energy development, which Cory Aquino totally wrecked for no apparent reason when she abandoned the entire energy program, dismantled the Department of Energy and mothballed the all-but-completed Bataan Nuclear Power Plant. The economy has not been able to recover from this destructive policy until now; the country has the most expensive electricity in the world, bar none. The solution is to go nuclear, instead of enticing investors to develop fossil-fired projects with a guaranteed margin of at least 300 percent.
International energy conference
Yesterday, the Department of Energy, together with the Department of Foreign Affairs, the Department of Science and Technology and the National Power Corporation, opened a conference on nuclear energy development at the Diamond Hotel in Manila, with 18 member-countries of the International Atomic Energy Agency participating. The conference was preceded by Senate hearings where Napocor President Gladys Sta. Rita was reported to have said the mothballed Bataan nuclear plant could be successfully rehabilitated at $1 billion within a period of four years, whereas it would cost $5 billion to $6 billion to build a new plant within 10 years.
This was a major story, which the major dailies ignored; it ran as a banner story in The Market Monitor, a weekly business newspaper.
Although the government had paid $2.3 billion to build Bataan, it has not used a single watt of electricity from the nuclear power plant. Allegations that it was built close to a fault-line played strongly in the press, especially after the 1979 Three Mile nuclear accident in Dauphin county, Pennsylvania, and the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear accident in the city of Pripyat, Ukraine. But Cory Aquino shut it down for purely political reasons, saying the agent who had facilitated the sale was purportedly a Marcos man who had allegedly received an industry commission of $80 million.
In the US, the anti-nuclear power propaganda generated by Jane Fonda’s film, China Syndrome, spooked more people than those willing to listen to Edward Teller, the nuclear physicist and longtime government adviser who had contributed to the development of the hydrogen bomb, and who spoke of the benefits of nuclear power.
Nuclear summit statement
The nuclear scare continued after the 2010 Fukushima Daichi tsunami, which closed down a nuclear reactor. There were no casualties from this “disaster,” but such was its propaganda impact that Italy, for one, immediately closed down its nuclear plants, while Belgium, Germany, Spain and Switzerland started phasing out their own. At the second Nuclear Summit in Seoul in March 2012, which I attended, however, the most significant statement from the delegates that included President Obama, China’s Hu Jintao and Russia’s Medvedev, was that no suitable alternative has so far been developed to replace nuclear energy. It remains the cheapest and most efficient source of power.
As of 2015, there were 440 nuclear power plants in the world, generating 386,276 MWe (megawatts of electricity). The US has 99, France 58, Japan 43, Russia 35, China 35, South Korea 25, India 21, Canada 19, UK 15, Ukraine 15, Sweden 10, Germany 8, Belgium and Spain 7, Taiwan and Czech Republic 6, Argentina 3.
Recommissioning the Bataan plant could be the first major step in rewriting the economic destiny of the Filipino people.
[email protected] | http://www.manilatimes.net/rewriting-the-past-and-the-future/283075/ | en | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/4e334823de62e4e630b8efcf24566ec269b9853ffcdf4f4d6ee71ca1ce934a5a.json |
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| 2016-08-30T16:50:18 | null | 2016-08-31T00:40:55 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Foil-edges-back-in-asia-after-sharp-losses%2F283092%2F.json | http://14255-presscdn-0-60.pagely.netdna-cdn.com//wp-content/uploads/2016/08/MNL-Times_250-x-250-logo.jpg | en | null | Oil edges back in Asia after sharp losses | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | SINGAPORE: Oil prices edged up in Asia on Tuesday, a day after retreating on a stronger dollar, but worries about a global supply glut are keeping gains in check ahead of a key producers’ meeting next month.
Both main contracts tumbled Monday after Federal Reserve boss Janet Yellen indicated a possible US rate hike this year, sending the greenback rallying and making crude more expensive to holders of other currencies.
Investors moved in to pick up bargains Tuesday and at about 0400 GMT, US benchmark West Texas Intermediate rose 21 cents, or 0.45 percent, to $47.19 while Brent was 13 cents, or 0.26 percent, up at $49.39.
Attention is now on the release of US jobs data Friday – which should give an idea about the Fed’s plans for rates – before Russia and OPEC hold talks in Algeria to discuss the oversupply crisis that has dented prices for years.
“It’s probably natural to see some bounce after yesterday’s percent fall,” said Bernard Aw, market strategist at IG Markets in Singapore.
“As oil approaches the upper end of the $40-50 range, we need confirmation that oil majors are heading towards an agreement to stabilize the market for oil prices to push higher.”
The commodity has rallied in August on hopes Moscow and the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries will find an agreement to limit production.
Jeffrey Halley, senior analyst at currency trading firm OANDA, said: “Spikes above $48 in WTI and $50 in Brent crude are still being met by eager sellers, keen to reduce long positions ahead of Friday’s event risk.” | http://www.manilatimes.net/oil-edges-back-in-asia-after-sharp-losses/283092/ | en | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/f14c2a1174738b62501f0903ce93f6e950c6ebe5b8326cd432e3ef0a4bedec06.json |
[
"Michael Joe T. Delizo",
"Catherine S. Valente",
"Jefferson Antiporda",
"Kristyn Nika M. Lazo",
"Na Me"
]
| 2016-08-26T13:03:16 | null | 2016-08-26T01:14:58 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fsingapore-lauds-duterte-agenda%2F282138%2F.json | http://14255-presscdn-0-60.pagely.netdna-cdn.com//wp-content/uploads/2016/08/sing-300x217.jpg | en | null | Singapore lauds Duterte agenda | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | CAN the Philippines be the next Singapore under the Duterte administration?
More than 16 million Filipinos catapulted Rodrigo Duterte to the presidency on hopes that he would rule like
Lee Kuan Yew, who transformed a sleepy city-state into a first-world, crime-free economy.
Singaporean Ambassador to Manila Kok Li Peng sees such signs early in Duterte’s administration. It will not be easy for Duterte, though, she said.
“I think your president has many challenges to face and to deal with. But what’s striking is that he’s got a very comprehensive agenda and his ensemble is very experienced and very capable. He’s going to do it,” she told The Manila Times in a roundtable discussion Thursday.
Duterte took over an economy regarded by the Oxford Business Group (OBG) as the “best” in Southeast Asia.
The Philippine Stock Exchange index now trades at 7,000, nearly double the 3,600 in 2008. Foreign direct investments tripled during the period.
The Singaporean envoy was optimistic Duterte’s team wil be able to fulfill Filipinos’ dream of a wealthy, modern, clean and safe country.
“I think it’s the Philippines’ time. Every country has a time,” Kok said. “This is it.”
Kok said Singapore was more than willing to help the Philippines in its road to prosperity.
“In our bilateral relations, I think this is an exciting time in terms of the Philippine economy. Your economic growth is amazing and it has steadied for the last couple of years. So anything that boosts that further is going to draw a lot of attention,” she said.
Kok disclosed renewed interest among Singaporean businessmen in the Philippines’ retail, infrastructure, transportation and tourism sectors.
Singaporean carriers are also looking at adding more flights, especially to Manila, notwithstanding congestion problems in Philippine airports.
Investors are confident that these issues will be solved soon, she said.
Singapore carriers operate 148 weekly passenger flights in the Philippines, flying to Clark, Cebu, Davao, Iloilo, Kalibo and Manila.
“If we open up and improve connectivity, I think people-to-people links will be strengthened, it will boost tourism and businesses will come,” she said. “Once you connect two points, many things can happen.” | http://www.manilatimes.net/singapore-lauds-duterte-agenda/282138/ | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/4bea2cc0162658229e135bbcb7bcb92b745cbab9da7a8d991b7d2b3ef34d4297.json |
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"The Manila Times",
"Raadee S. Sausa",
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"Jaime Pilapil"
]
| 2016-08-27T14:49:09 | null | 2016-08-27T22:25:45 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fatienza-backs-plan-to-build-subway%2F282450%2F.json | http://14255-presscdn-0-60.pagely.netdna-cdn.com//wp-content/uploads/2016/08/MNL-Times_250-x-250-logo.jpg | en | null | Atienza backs plan to build subway | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | The plan to build a fast-moving subway as part of a long-lasting solution to Metro Manila’s growing road congestion has the backing of Senior Deputy Minority Leader Lito Atienza of Buhay Party-list.
“We absolutely need an underground train system long-term. In the years ahead, there’s simply no way we can efficiently move large numbers of people around the national capital without a subway,” Atienza, former three-term mayor of Manila, said.
Urban planners project Metro Manila’s population to hit 20 million by 2020, up by 7.1 million from 12.9 million in 2015.
“Right now, we can no longer widen our roads. So we have only two options left—to construct new mass transport systems up in the air, which we are already doing with the additional elevated trains, or to burrow underground and create subways,” Atienza said.
The lawmaker said he had counted on the previous administration to come up with the blueprint for a Metro subway.
“But they failed to plan ahead. This time, under President (Rodrigo) Duterte, we are hoping transport engineers finally will get things done,” he said.
The Management Association of the Philippines, which counts as members more than 800 of the country’s largest private corporations, supports the notion a subway under the 23.8-kilometer Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (EDSA).
Atienza said a subway could be built in phases, just like elevated trains. “But we have to start somewhere,” he said.
Besides the EDSA subway, the Department of Transportation has preliminary plans to put together a 12-kilometer underground loop around Makati City, Pasay City and Taguig City—estimated to cost some P375 billion.
Another alternative along EDSA, Atienza said, is to construct a dual-purpose tunnel possibly patterned after Malaysia’s Stormwater Management and Road Tunnel (SMART).
“The advantage of a Malaysian-type SMART tunnel is that it would help us fight both road congestion and flash flooding at the same time,” he said.
Malaysia spent $515 million to put up the 9.7-kilometer SMART.
The two-channel tunnel serves as a motorway for light vehicles under normal conditions.
However, during the wet season, the tunnel has two modes.
In the first mode, with light rainfall, some floodwater may be diverted into the lower bypass channel, while the upper section remains open to motor vehicle passage.
In the second mode, during extreme rainstorms, even the upper channel is totally closed to all motor vehicle traffic and automated water-tight gates are opened to divert floodwaters. | http://www.manilatimes.net/atienza-backs-plan-to-build-subway/282450/ | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/2d7d2bbd8421fea84a0f9f6e0f1845205c9a5064b1326390ab8e21a434e56a77.json |
[
"Agence France-Presse",
"The Manila Times"
]
| 2016-08-30T16:50:22 | null | 2016-08-31T00:42:54 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fapple-faces-huge-irish-tax-payout-in-eu-case%2F283094%2F.json | http://14255-presscdn-0-60.pagely.netdna-cdn.com//wp-content/uploads/2016/08/MNL-Times_250-x-250-logo.jpg | en | null | Apple faces huge Irish tax payout in EU case | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | BRUSSELS: The European Union is expected to order Apple on Tuesday to pay billions of euros in back taxes in Ireland in one of its largest such cases after ruling that sweetheart tax deals for the US tech giant were illegal.
The bloc’s competition watchdog, Margrethe Vestager, will hold a press conference at 1000 GMT in which sources told Agence France-Presse she is set to announce the European Commission’s findings on the case.
Brussels launched an inquiry three years ago into tax breaks that Ireland offered iPhone-maker Apple, in one of a series of anti-trust cases targeting major US corporations that have angered Washington.
A European source speaking on condition of anonymity said they “understand it could be billions” that Apple is expected to repay.
Apple and Ireland are both expected to appeal against any decision which rules that the highly competitive tax breaks that Dublin offered to the Silicon Valley giant amounted to illegal state aid.
Apple has had a base at the southern city of Cork since 1980 and employs 5,000 people in Ireland, through which it routes its international sales, avoiding billions in corporation taxes.
Apple CEO Tim Cook, in a Washington Post interview published August 13, said he hoped to “get a fair hearing” on the matter.
“If we don’t, then we would obviously appeal it,” he added.
‘No bias against US’
The US stepped up its fight last Wednesday against the commission’s crackdown on tax avoidance by Apple and other multinational companies, accusing it of unilateralism and overstepping its mandate.
In a white paper, the US Treasury said the commission probe into alleged special tax treatment that certain EU countries gave Apple, Amazon, Starbucks and Fiat Chrysler “undermines the international tax system.”
The EU has made taxes a core issue since the LuxLeaks scandal in which it was revealed that European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker’s native Luxembourg gave companies huge tax breaks while he was prime minister.
In October Brussels ordered US coffee giant Starbucks and Italian automaker Fiat to each repay up to 30 million euros ($34 million) in back taxes to the Netherlands and Luxembourg respectively.
But the Apple case is set to dwarf those by the virtue of the company’s huge turnover.
A US Treasury spokeswoman declined to comment on a possible ruling Tuesday from the commission.
The US has acknowledged the problems around the issue of multinational firms obtaining state aid, in the form
of secret and extremely lucrative tax breaks, from Ireland, Belgium and Luxembourg for setting up business in those countries.
But it said those deals were made under international treaties and accepted tax practices.
Last week the European Commission denied it was targeting US companies in particular and said that EU rules do not allow national tax authorities to give tax breaks to some companies that are not available to others.
“There is no bias against US companies,” it said in a statement.
Washington has also expressed concern about EU anti-trust cases targeting tech giant Google alleging that it has unfairly suppressed competition. | http://www.manilatimes.net/apple-faces-huge-irish-tax-payout-in-eu-case/283094/ | en | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/ea7693f9ce70539317b5216f901899a2d0396247bd5ab7d059bcf7147383dad8.json |
[
"Emil C. Noguera",
"Realyn Stevens",
"Josef T. Ramos",
"Jean Russel V. David"
]
| 2016-08-31T14:50:29 | null | 2016-08-31T22:35:29 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fduterte-sends-off-tornadoes-to-avc-asian-womens-club-meet%2F283219%2F.json | http://14255-presscdn-0-60.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/MNL-Times_250-x-250-logo.jpg | en | null | Duterte sends off Tornadoes to AVC Asian Women’s Club meet | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | Foton Pilipinas got the thumbs up from President Rodrigo Duterte during the team’s courtesy call in Malacanang prior to their campaign in the AVC (Asian Volleyball Confederation) Asian Women’s Club Championship set on September 3 to 11 at the Alonte Sports Center in Biñan City, Laguna.
Led by Philippine Superliga American imports Ariel Usher and Lindsay Stalzer as well as Italian coach Fabio Menta, the Tornadoes came in full force on Tuesday night to pay the President a visit briefing him of the tough battle ahead of them against the best club teams in Asia.
Duterte lightheartedly said that the members of the Tornadoes could join a beauty pageant because of their good looks and charm.
He also asked Menta about his coaching record. And when the 54-year old Italian answered that he’s been coaching for more than 20 years, Duterte said: “Oh good, I know we will win.”
It was the second time for President Duterte to shake hands with members of a national sporting delegation after meeting with the Philippine contingent to the Rio de Janeiro Olympics last month.
“Sports is my passion because it takes the youth away from (doing) drugs,” he told the Tornadoes during their brief meeting. “I will try to watch your games if I have time. All I can say now is good luck and mabuhay kayo!”
Besides Usher, Stalzer and Menta, also present during the meeting with the President were Jovelyn Gonzaga, Maika Ortiz, Rhea Dimaculangan, Jen Reyes, Ivy Perez, Patty Orendain, Carol Cerveza, Angeli Araneta and team captain Jaja Santiago.
The Tornadoes will begin their campaign with a match against Pocari Sweat of Hong Kong on Saturday and against Thongtin Lienvietpost Bank of Vietnam on Sunday.
Other teams seeing action in the meet are NEC Red Rockets of Japan, Bangkok Glass of Thailand, Altay VC of Kazakhstan, Sarmayeh Bank of Iran, Jakarta Elektrik of Indonesia, Taichung Bank of Taiwan, Ba’yi Shenzheng of China, Malaysia and 4.25 Sports Club of North Korea. | http://www.manilatimes.net/duterte-sends-off-tornadoes-to-avc-asian-womens-club-meet/283219/ | en | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/cc9a0b0d999277516c2dce161c873319282a1a86e63322b1748e1d81f45e8eb6.json |
[
"Agence France-Presse",
"Michael Joe T. Delizo",
"Llanesca T. Panti"
]
| 2016-08-30T18:50:16 | null | 2016-08-31T01:09:33 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fclinton-aide-leaves-husband-after-new-sexting-revelations%2F283117%2F.json | http://14255-presscdn-0-60.pagely.netdna-cdn.com//wp-content/uploads/2016/08/MNL-Times_250-x-250-logo.jpg | en | null | Clinton aide leaves husband after new ‘sexting’ revelations | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | NEW YORK: Huma Abedin, a close aide to presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton, announced in the midst of the campaign Monday (Tuesday in Manila) that she was separating from husband Anthony Weiner following new revelations that he “sexted” another woman.
The New York Post published photographs and messages that the former congressman exchanged with a woman showing him shirtless and in bulging briefs with his four-year-old son asleep by his side.
“After long and painful consideration and work on my marriage, I have made the decision to separate from my husband,” Abedin, 40, said in a statement.
“Anthony and I remain devoted to doing what is best for our son, who is the light of our life. During this difficult time, I ask for respect for our privacy,” she said.
Weiner was forced to resign his seat in Congress in 2011 after a similar sexting scandal in which he admitted to exchanging sexually explicit pictures and messages with at least six women.
Two years later, he ran for mayor of New York but the bid was derailed by allegations that he continued sexting under the name “Carlos Danger.”
Weiner then apologized to voters with Abedin at his side.
A documentary released in May, “Weiner,” chronicled that campaign and the painful burden shouldered by Abedin, who worked on Clinton’s first presidential campaign in 2008 and followed her boss to the State Department.
The latest revelations come in the midst of Clinton’s duel with Donald Trump for the White House, and the Republican presidential candidate wasted no time seizing on the announcement to attack his rival.
While calling Abedin’s move “a very wise decision,” he questioned Clinton’s judgment “in allowing Weiner to have such close proximity to highly classified information.”
“Who knows what he learned and who he told? It’s just another example of Hillary Clinton’s bad judgment,” Trump said in a statement.
The Post said Weiner shot the latest picture of his crotch in the early hours of July 31, 2015 while messaging with a 40-something divorcee—described as a Trump supporter—on the West Coast.
“Someone just climbed into my bed,” Weiner wrote.
“Really?” the woman responded.
At that point, according to the Post, Weiner hit the send button.
“You do realize you can see you[r]Weiner in that pic??” the woman wrote, the Post said. | http://www.manilatimes.net/clinton-aide-leaves-husband-after-new-sexting-revelations/283117/ | en | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/6ee98e05b57379c96a612e955c63cdba50dd789bd64db64ee551fc3e6c03572f.json |
[
"Llanesca T. Panti",
"Mayvelin U. Caraballo",
"Ma. Reina Leanne Tolentino"
]
| 2016-08-28T18:49:48 | null | 2016-08-29T01:01:10 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fspeaker-wants-useless-village-youth-councils-abolished%2F282690%2F.json | http://14255-presscdn-0-60.pagely.netdna-cdn.com//wp-content/uploads/2016/08/MNL-Times_250-x-250-logo.jpg | en | null | Speaker wants ‘useless’ village, youth councils abolished | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | HOUSE Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez of Davao del Norte wants to abolish all barangay (village) councils, as well as the Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) or youth council, calling them “useless.”
Alvarez made the statement after his announcement last week that Congress would postpone the village and youth elections, set on October, to 2017.
“We are also looking at abolishing the barangay councilmen and women. Truth be told, these people do not work at all. Those who work are the barangay chairmen. I will say this even if I earn the ire of the barangay council members,” Alvarez said.
Alvarez said elective posts in the lowest level of government should be limited to barangay chairmen. Purok or zone leaders may be appointed.
“We need to fix this country. We need change. Because really, it’s only the barangay chairmen who do the work as compared with the barangay health workers who really have their slippers worn out [because of work]even if they are only receiving honoraria,” Alvarez said.
Alvarez placed the SK in the same boat, pointing out that the youth do not have time for council work in the first place because they are still in school.
“If you will make the SK council work, they will skip school. And if they stay in school, they can’t attend to their SK duties. They are earning salaries even if they are not doing anything. It’s better that we remove the SK altogether,” Alvarez said.
“Besides, all sectors are already represented [in Congress]. There’s even a party-list for the youth,” Alvarez added, referring to Kabataan party-list.
There are at least 42,000 barangay in the country as of April, according to the Department of the Interior and Local Government.
Former Sen. Aquilino Pimentel Jr., author of the Local Government Code, however, cautioned against a sweeping generalization on the work habits of barangay officials.
“I am not too sure that I can agree with that general observation. Of course, there are barangay council members who are discharging their duties well while others do not. It should be up to the electorate to punish the non-performing barangay council members,” Pimentel told The Manila Times.
“However, I respect the Speaker’s views even if it would tend to re-concentrate powers over barangay matters into the hands of municipal or city officials,” Pimentel added.
Pimentel, however, supported Alvarez’s stance on abolishing the SK, and suggested that young people elect a representative to the village council instead.
“These youth representatives should be elected as it was originally provided under the Local Government Code,” Pimentel added.
Rep. Sherwin Tugna of the Citizens’ Battle Against Corruption party-list and House suffrage and electoral reforms panel chairman, defended Alvarez’s proposals.
“His statement has basis because he’s drawn it from his experience in his district and province. Be that as it may, all proposals to amend the Local Government Code will be deliberated in Congress,” Tugna said. | http://www.manilatimes.net/speaker-wants-useless-village-youth-councils-abolished/282690/ | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/12629ef26b93f1c30429062dec5902ce77b81cdff0cb5e0ed7c4d33ca6f2f3d9.json |
[
"Anthony Vargas",
"Lydia C. Pendon",
"Froilan E. Magtoto",
"Leander C. Domingo",
"The Manila Times"
]
| 2016-08-29T14:50:08 | null | 2016-08-29T22:17:34 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fdrug-lord-wife-assassinated-in-aklan%2F282863%2F.json | http://14255-presscdn-0-60.pagely.netdna-cdn.com//wp-content/uploads/2016/08/MNL-Times_250-x-250-logo.jpg | en | null | ‘Drug lord,’ wife assassinated in Aklan | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | An alleged high-value drug lord—Melvin Odicta Sr.—and his wife Meriam Regalado Odicta were killed by unknown assassins while they were leaving the Caticlan Jetty Port in Malay, Aklan, early Monday morning.
Odicta, also known as “Dragon,” was on the watch list of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) as one of the biggest illegal drug financiers in Western Visayas, particularly in Iloilo province and its capital Iloilo City.
Police said the couple were passing through the jetty port canopy upon embarking from a ship when the killers attacked.
First to fall from the assassins’ bullets was Meriam, who was shot in the back. His husband was reportedly shot in the legs.
Their lawyer, Gualberto Cataluña, claimed Odicta was still alive and had even called him by cellphone to report that he was hit in the legs.
But when they saw “Dragon” at the Malay hospital, Cataluna said Odicta bore gunshots in the head and body.
These gunshots, according to the lawyer, must be explained by policemen who brought Odicta to the hospital.
With the couple at the roll-on roll-off (ro-ro) were two personal assistants who carried their luggage and personal belongings while four other companions, including their son Melvin Jr., and two vehicles were left behind at the Batangas Port.
The police reportedly discovered three firearms inside the vehicles.
According to Cataluña, the couple were to be met by their lawyers at the Caticlan port because no vehicles were considered safe for them to ride on their own.
The Odicta couple took the ro-ro vessel Saint Anthony de Padua of 2Go Shipping from Metro Manila to Batangas Port on Sunday, August 28, bound for Caticlan.
The boat was expected to arrive around 1:30 a.m. on Monday and then sail to Iloilo City where the couple reside.
The Caticlan jetty port, gateway to the famous tourist island of Boracay in northern Aklan, is some four hours’ ride from Iloilo City.
Cataluna said the couple have no pending case involving illegal drugs before any court in the region.
The Odictas are engaged in several businesses in Iloilo, operating taxi units, shuttle vans from Iloilo airport to the city, two restaurants, fishponds in northern Iloilo, water refilling station, Internet café, among others.
The couple went to Camp Crame in Quezon City last August 25 but failed to see the Philippine National Police chief, Director General Ronald de la Rosa, to air their side on allegations that “Dragon” is the biggest drug lord in Iloilo.
Instead, they met with Interior Secretary Miguel Sueno who told them to present their own illegal-drug matrix to the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group.
Sueno said the Odictas also told him they were receiving death threats when he met them last Thursday.
When asked if the Odictas mentioned big personalities during their meeting, the Interior secretary answered that they do not have to disclose it , citing ongoing investigation.
De la Rosa was in Bacolod City on that date and went to Iloilo City the following day. He was also in Boracay on August 27-28.
Meanwhile, Chief Supt. Jose Gentiles, Western Visayas Regional Police Office director, said the Aklan Provincial Police Office has created a special task force to investigate the assassination of the Odicta couple.
Gentiles added that the Western Command condemns the brutal killing of the Odictas and had offered their sympathy to their family.
“We appeal to [those who have]direct knowledge of the incident to come out in the open and help in our investigation so that justice will prevail,” he said in a statement. | http://www.manilatimes.net/drug-lord-wife-assassinated-in-aklan/282863/ | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/59b2f4d0c8e5641d96ac4953b5d6b3fcc10b0d22d34371301e26f0f615da7ea1.json |
[
"Ma. Lourdes Tiquia",
"Frank Ching",
"Atty. Dodo Dulay",
"Rep. Christopher V. P. De Venecia",
"Rudi Miranda",
"Amnata Pundit"
]
| 2016-08-30T02:51:51 | null | 2016-08-29T23:52:04 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fwar-and-peace%2F282873%2F.json | http://14255-presscdn-0-60.pagely.netdna-cdn.com//wp-content/uploads/2014/11/tiquia.gif | en | null | War and peace | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | PRRD, in his less than 100 days in office, has made clear and direct offensives on two fronts: the war against illegal drugs and peace with the CPP-NPA-NDF and MNLF-MILF. Both fronts are not easy to tackle since the President needs to juggle other things in the process. A big leap is making change in our political structure (call for federalism), front and center in his first year in office. All political capital is being used to put Philippine Inc. in order on the first year.
War and peace are two contradictory, but related, terms. Not to go to war is peace. To pursue peace is not to go to war. The dividends are tremendous for a nation that has not come to terms with the past and has expended much of its resources to quell rebellion and bring parties to the negotiation table again and again. Both the CPP-NPA-NDF and the MNLF-MILF date back to all Philippine Presidents after Marcos. In every administration, effort is exerted to claim peace and yet in all administrations we always find ourselves going back to step one.
In a joint statement issued on August 26, GRPh and NDFP agreed to resume formal talks stalled for almost half a decade. On hand were the Reciprocal Working Committees and Groups. Both parties agreed on seven points: reaffirmation of previous agreements; reconstitution of the safety and immunity guarantees list; acceleration of peace negotiations; releases of prisoners; amnesty proclamations; ceasefire and schedule of the next meeting in October 2016. As to the MNLF-MILF, modalities have been explored and discussed and the sense of putting both on a face-to-face meeting is being worked out to make a comprehensive solution more inclusive.
Hardheaded and bull-strong, PRRD is resolute in declaring a drug-free Philippines. In the process, he will get burned because he is up against an enemy that has seeped in the national fabric. The war does not end with the drug lords but covers smugglers and corrupt uniformed and civilian personnel of government. Even the elected are not spared.
In his address during the National Hero’s Day celebration yesterday, PRRD cited former Chief Justice Jose Abad Santos when he was executed in Malabang, Lanao on May 7, 1942. He paraphrased the exchange between Abad Santos and his son. Quoting from an online source, “before he was shot to death, he was able to talk to his son Pepito. His last parting words to his son were, “Do not cry, Pepito, show to these people that you are brave. It is an honor to die for one’s country. Not everybody has that chance.” Abad Santos was executed under a tall coconut tree near a riverbank. He refused to be blind-folded and [declined]the last cigarette offered to him.” If such is the invocation of PRRD, this is a leader on a mission and he will do what it takes to achieve the mission.
The suicide bomber mentality is dangerous but they will lead us hopefully to a place that remains merely an ideal for most Filipinos. And there are several individuals in his Cabinet who demonstrate such behavior. Others are emboldened to pursue what has not been done before because of Duterte and his brand of leadership. How can one quiver? When the ideal becomes real, the “puede pala” exhortations today, expressed in total bewilderment, would just be a thing of the past.
And PRRD’s timeline is getting shorter by the day, given his statement that if his vision of federalism for the country is to be a reality, “I cannot be a leader of an office I created, so I will retire” even before the end of his term. And it is the hope of most people that should a constituent assembly be the mode used to revise the Constitution, the incumbent legislators should be barred from running for office immediately after its ratification; a whole new set of leaders, but the same cannot be sustained if Congress is unable to pass the needed political reforms.
Duterte has set in motion the change and direction of this country never before seen from any leader. And yet the irony of it, as he stated, “I am not a national figure, I am a mayor from Mindanao… I still do not know how I made it…”
Duterte is very similar to General Kutuzov, one of the main characters of Tolstoy’s War & Peace. “General Kutuzov emerges as a great leader not because he develops a logical plan and then demands that everyone follow it, but rather because he is willing to adapt to the flow of events and think on his feet. He revises his plan as each stage turns out to be vastly different from what was expected.” Although a large portion of War and Peace “focuses on war, which is associated in our minds with clear-headed strategy and sensible reasoning, Tolstoy constantly emphasizes the irrational motives for human behavior in both peace and war. Wisdom is linked not to reason but to an acceptance of how mysterious actions can be.”
Tolstoy’s philosophy of history “justifies his cynicism towards leaders, for, in his view, history is not a creation of great men, but is rather the result of millions of individual chains of cause and effect too small to be analyzed independently. Even emperors, though they may imagine they rule the world, are caught in these chains of circumstance.” Duterte’s chains of cause and effect are latent but there are enough publics who are willing to stay the course knowing we have not seen such type rise from atypical background. As a superlative wordsmith puts it, “our one last chance.”
Indeed, “the strongest of all warriors are these two — Time and Patience.” | http://www.manilatimes.net/war-and-peace/282873/ | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/97c097f8eb536822c96b6efcacfa3f697900d7d7738dd66aec6c2a877185e048.json |
[
"Philippines News Agency",
"The Manila Times",
"Emil C. Noguera"
]
| 2016-08-30T12:50:12 | null | 2016-08-30T20:47:05 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Flaguna-gears-up-for-asian-volleyball-hosting%2F283004%2F.json | http://14255-presscdn-0-60.pagely.netdna-cdn.com//wp-content/uploads/2016/08/MNL-Times_250-x-250-logo.jpg | en | null | Laguna gears up for Asian volleyball hosting | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | MANILA: High-intensity volleyball action will take center stage in Laguna this coming weekend when the Philippines plays host to the 17th Asian Women’s Club Volleyball Championship at the Alonte Sports Arena in Biñan town.
Club teams seeing action in the event, which is organized by the Philippine Super Liga (PSL) under the supervision of Larong Volleyball sa Pilipinas Inc. (LVPI), are expected to arrive on Thursday.
The Philippines, carrying the name Foton Filipinas, is in Group A together with Vietnam’s Lien Viet Post Bank and Hong Kong’s Kwai Tsing.
In Group B are Thailand’s Bangkok Glass, North Korea, and Iran’s Sarmayeh while Japan’s NEC Red Rockets, Kazakhstan’s Altay Oskemen, and Indonesia’s Jakarta Electric PLN are in Group C.
China’s Bohai Bank, Chinese Taipei’s Taiwan Power, Malaysia and Turkmenistan belong to Group D.
The members of the Philippine team are Patty Jane Orendain, Jovelyn Gonzaga, Rhea Katrina Dimaculangan, Abigail Marano, Alyja Daphnie Santiago, Ennajie Laure, Angeli Paunline Araneta, Ivy Jisel Perez, Maika Angela Ortiz, Bia General, Jennylyn Reyes, Lindsay Stalzer, Cherry Ann Rondina and Ariel Usher.
The Foton Tornadoes, powered by guest players Stalzer and Katie Messing of the United States, won the PSL Grand Prix title last year.
The Asian Club Championship (ACC) is a double-gender tournament. The men’s event is ongoing in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar while the women’s event will take place on September 3 to 11.
This will be the second time that the AVC will conduct the Asian Women’s Club Championship, where the winner will qualify to the 2017 FIVB Volleyball Women’s Club World Championship.
The Philippines first joined the ACC in 2006, with Tianjin Bridgestone of China, Chung Shan of Chinese Taipei, and Sang Som of Thailand taking the podium.
PNA | http://www.manilatimes.net/laguna-gears-up-for-asian-volleyball-hosting/283004/ | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/aef8edfa90ac6295286994dece6f23df1ace27bfc8e1771156c736a8136aff36.json |
[
"The Manila Times"
]
| 2016-08-28T10:49:36 | null | 2016-08-28T17:57:53 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fjapanese-violinist-performs-in-ppo-september-concert%2F282555%2F.json | http://14255-presscdn-0-60.pagely.netdna-cdn.com//wp-content/uploads/2016/08/PPO120160829-257x300.jpg | en | null | Japanese violinist performs in PPO September concert | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | Japanese violinist Ryu Goto is the guest performer in the opening season concert of the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra (PPO) under the baton of its new music director, Japanese conductor Yoshikazu Fukumura, on September 9 at the Cultural Center of the Philippines’ Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo (CCP Main Theater) at 8 p.m.
Goto has established himself as a significant voice in classical music, with a large and growing audience in Asia, North America and Europe. His career began at age seven when he made his debut at the Pacific Music Festival in Sapporo, Japan, playing Paganini’s Violin Concerto No.1.
Since then, the Japanese musician has appeared as a soloist with many of the world’s leading orchestras, ensembles including National Symphony Orchestra, London Philharmonic, Münchner Philharmoniker, Wiener Symphoniker, Sydney Symphony, Orchestre National de Lyon, Orchestresymphonique de Montréal, hr-Sinfonieorchester (Frankfurt Radio Symphony), Hamburger Symphoniker and Shanghai Symphony Orchestra.
He has performed in such prestigious venues as Carnegie Hall, Kennedy Center, Tokyo Suntory Hall, Sydney Opera House, Shanghai Grand Theater, Taipei National Concert Hall, Vienna Musikverein, Munich’s Herkulessaal and the Philharmonic Hall Gasteig.
Goto’s philanthropic work includes working with student musicians throughout the world, mentoring their development, conducting master classes in conjunction with the world’s top institutions. Efforts include the “Ryu Goto Excellence In Music Initiative Scholarship” with the NYC Department of Education, as well as collaborations with institutions like the Juilliard School and the Harvard Bach Society Orchestra. He does extensive musical outreach and cultural exchange in developing countries in Latin America, Southeast Asia and Africa.
His numerous features in media include his own documentary Ryu Goto’s Odyssey, a chronicle of his career and personal life from 1996 to 2006. He is endorsed by Airweave and also serves as spokesperson for the East Japan Railway Company with regular coverage on televison, radio and in print.
In October 2015, he appeared as the host of a weekly television classical music program entitled Untitled Concert that was listed in Guinness World Records as “the longest-running TV program for classical music.”
Ryu records for Deutsche Grammophon in collaboration with Universal Classics Japan. In May 2011, he graduated from Harvard University with a BA in Physics and is currently studying the violin with Prof. Ana Chumachenco. He is a member of US-Japan Council, and has accepted an award from the Japanese American Bar Association as a Japanese-American leader. He holds a 3rd degree black belt from the Japan Karate Association. He performs on the Stradivarius 1722 violin “Jupiter” on loan to him from Nippon Music Foundation.
The Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra concert on September 9 marks the debut of Maestro Yoshikazu Fukumura as the new PPO music director. The program for the evening features H. Berlioz’s Roman Carnival-Overture, P.I. Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto in D, and J. Brahms’ Symphony No. 1 in C minor.
For inquires and subscription, please call the CCP Marketing Department (832-1125 local 1806), the CCP Box Office (832-3704) or Ticketworld at National Bookstore (891-9999). | http://www.manilatimes.net/japanese-violinist-performs-in-ppo-september-concert/282555/ | en | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/a7f4ae8dbc0c5f1fd765bfcb822a82c066354e458afe1c234c1c59d3520e23be.json |
[
"Manila Times"
]
| 2016-08-27T04:48:58 | null | 2016-08-27T11:07:37 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fus-urges-all-donated-blood-undergo-tests-for-zika%2F282357%2F.json | http://14255-presscdn-0-60.pagely.netdna-cdn.com//wp-content/uploads/2016/08/MNL-Times_250-x-250-logo.jpg | en | null | US urges all donated blood undergo tests for Zika | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | MIAMI: Donated blood should be tested for the Zika virus, which can cause birth defects, US regulators warned Friday amid a mounting outbreak of the mosquito-borne virus in the United States.
“There is still much uncertainty regarding the nature and extent of Zika virus transmission,” said Peter Marks, director of the Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research.
“At this time, the recommendation for testing the entire blood supply will help ensure that safe blood is available for all individuals who might need transfusion.”
The move revises a previous FDA guideline issued in February that recommended active screening of donated blood only in “areas with active Zika virus transmission.”
But now, as evidence of sexual transmission mounts and those infected often show no symptoms, even stricter safeguards are needed across the nation, said the FDA.
“The FDA is updating its guidance after careful consideration of all available scientific evidence, consultation with other public health agencies, and taking into consideration the potential serious health consequences of Zika virus infection to pregnant women and children born to women exposed to Zika virus during pregnancy,” said an agency statement.
More than 2,500 people in the United States have been diagnosed with Zika, along with more than 9,000 in the US territories such as Puerto Rico, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Most of those cases were brought in by people who were infected while traveling abroad.
There are 584 pregnant women in the mainland United States with lab evidence of Zika infection, and 812 in the US territories.
Last month, Florida announced its first cases of locally transmitted Zika, with 42 infections.
“Testing of donated blood is already underway in Florida and Puerto Rico, as well as in other areas, and it has shown to be beneficial in identifying donations infected with Zika virus,” said the FDA statement.
Indeed, one unit of donated blood in Florida was recently found to contain Zika virus and was intercepted, Marks told reporters on a conference call.
The expanded testing of the US blood supply “will be in effect until the risk of transfusion transmission of Zika virus is reduced,” said the FDA.
Zika is primarily spread by the bite of an Aedes aegypti mosquito, but it can also be transmitted sexually.
On Friday, US authorities announced the first known case of a man who had Zika but did not know because he showed no symptoms — and then subsequently infected his female partner during unprotected sex.
Four out of five people who get Zika do not show any of the common symptoms, which may include fever, rash, joint pain and red eyes.
“As new scientific and epidemiological information regarding Zika virus has become available, it’s clear that additional precautionary measures are necessary,” said Luciana Borio, the FDA’s acting chief scientist.
The World Health Organization says 53 countries around the world have reported Zika outbreaks since 2015.
Two US lawmakers, Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut and Congressman Lloyd Doggett of Texas, had recently urged the FDA to expand testing for Zika to blood banks nationwide, saying it would cost less than $10 per donor.
On Friday, DeLauro applauded to decision, calling it “a strong step forward in protecting our nation’s blood supply and the American people.” AFP
AFP/CC | http://www.manilatimes.net/us-urges-all-donated-blood-undergo-tests-for-zika/282357/ | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/be8b5d85a27452ffe2eee5a42399ba0aa24f6c3c7c4cb06b9ce27b4b74d103e7.json |
[
"Llanesca T. Panti",
"Michael Joe T. Delizo",
"Agence France-Presse",
"Edgar Suan",
"Leodegardo Pruna"
]
| 2016-08-31T00:52:15 | null | 2016-08-23T00:40:45 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fdiokno-rules-out-salary-hikes-for-nurses-teachers%2F281522%2F.json | http://14255-presscdn-0-60.pagely.netdna-cdn.com//wp-content/uploads/2016/08/MNL-Times_250-x-250-logo.jpg | en | null | Diokno rules out salary hikes for nurses, teachers | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | NURSES and teachers cannot expect a salary increase under the Duterte administration, at least for the year 2017.
Secretary Benjamin Diokno of the Department of Budget and Management made the statement on Monday during the presentation of the P3.35-trillion national budget for 2017 before the House Committee on Appropriations.
Diokno noted that the 2017 budget only earmarked a P39-billion fund for the salary increase of the military, police and other men in uniform, because nurses and teachers in the government are already paid higher than their private sector counterparts.
“Teachers in the public school earn three times more compared with private school teachers, while nurses earn twice compared with those who work in five major government hospitals,” Diokno told the House appropriations panel, in response to a question from Alliance of Concerned Teachers party-list Rep. Antonio Tinio.
“To increase it further…e todo ambisyon naman `yun [that would be too ambitious]because we are really measuring the government employees’ salary as compared with the private sector,” Diokno added.
Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez 3rd argued that the Duterte administration’s proposed tax reform, which includes lowering individual income tax, would increase the take-home pay of all workers including those in the government.
The Duterte administration plans to reduce the individual income tax rate to 25 percent from up to 32 percent.
“Under our existing tax laws, a Teacher 2 is paying as much as P29,000 worth of taxes annually. With lower income taxes, that will be reduced to P4,200. Our tax reform package will be for the welfare of the teachers you represent,” Dominguez told Tinio.
The Duterte administration asked lawmakers to pass a joint resolution that will grant the P39-billion additional pay for the military and other uniformed men, to be released in four tranches.
“We are not comfortable with just an EO. We need congressional action for the salary adjustment,” Diokno added. | http://www.manilatimes.net/diokno-rules-out-salary-hikes-for-nurses-teachers/281522/ | en | 2016-08-23T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/80a5d102ef2d4f5afd7aee29022c2e704a2bf99d791fb2d821ce931680a22775.json |
[
"Philippines News Agency",
"Anthony Vargas",
"Maria Laura Margherita Angeles",
"The Manila Times"
]
| 2016-08-27T16:49:11 | null | 2016-08-28T00:25:06 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fno-one-is-safe-more-big-quakes-expected%2F282537%2F.json | http://14255-presscdn-0-60.pagely.netdna-cdn.com//wp-content/uploads/2016/08/MNL-Times_250-x-250-logo.jpg | en | null | No one is safe: More big quakes expected | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | MOSCOW: After an earthquake killed hundreds in Italy earlier this week, experts warn that an even worse disaster is imminent as the planet is overdue for high-magnitude earthquakes along Earth’s largest fault lines.
UTS Geotechnical and Earthquake Engineering senior lecturer Dr. Behzad Fatahi warned that “no one in the world is safe,” and that the question isn’t “if” they will occur, but “when.”
“There are a lot of magnitude 6-plus earthquakes overdue in the Middle East, India, China, Japan and the US,” Fatahi told news.com.au. “There are some fault lines that have not released their energy for a while.”
If a fault line, represented by two tectonic plates moving at different speeds and in different directions, does not release energy, pressure continues to build, and the longer they go without releasing, the more powerful it will be when they finally do.
“There are at least five to 10 that are overdue, but we don’t know when they’re going to happen. The question is not will they be activated. The question is when,” Fatahi said.
In the United States, scientists warn that California, Alaska, and Hawaii are at greatest risk. In 2008, the US Geological Survey warned that an earthquake of 7.8 magnitude or greater can result in more than 1,800 deaths, at least 50,000 injuries, and cause some $200 billion in damage.
The federal agency also warned that sewer systems could be taken out of service for up to six months.
Mark Benthien, director for communication, education and outreach for the Southern California Earthquake Center (SCEC), warned that the potential for an earthquake “much larger” than the recent temblor in Italy is high.
“We could have a larger earthquake, a much larger earthquake, than what happened in Italy, on [California’s] San Andreas fault, or any of the other hundreds of faults in California, really at any time. It’s just the reality of living on a plate boundary of the Earth’s crust,” Benthien explained.
“Pressure is building up and eventually it’s going to slip, like snapping your fingers, and release that pressure,” he said.
Benthien explained that an earthquake along any one of the large California faults will likely cover a much larger area than that in Italy, and will shake more intensely for a longer period of time. He predicted that strong shaking could last up to two minutes.
On a positive note, he explained that, unlike in Italy, which has many very old and even ancient buildings, structures in California are newer and most are built with earthquakes in mind. For this reason, he opined that a lower number of fatalities can be expected if a huge earthquake does occur.
The main concern, according to Benthien, is what will happen after the “big one” strikes. He warned that infrastructure failure could force people to evacuate, or, in a worst-case scenario, cause looting and violence.
In Diablo Canyon, on the central Pacific coast of California, there is a nuclear reactor still in use, which could lead to a disaster on the scale of Fukushima.
It is impossible to accurately predict an earthquake, and be able to prepare.
“Usually with earthquakes you can only measure them around one minute before they happen, as the activity happens kilometers below ground,” Fatahi said. | http://www.manilatimes.net/no-one-is-safe-more-big-quakes-expected/282537/ | en | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/6a59eff857ef63727e7e4e638b3ee6be24fc8be903d63dc42537187c18b35f0c.json |
[
"Jaime G. Aquino",
"Gab. Keith",
"Julmunir I. Jannaral",
"The Manila Times"
]
| 2016-08-28T14:49:44 | null | 2016-08-28T21:42:16 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fmurder-case-filed-vs-killer-of-young-girl-in-dagupan%2F282628%2F.json | http://14255-presscdn-0-60.pagely.netdna-cdn.com//wp-content/uploads/2016/08/MNL-Times_250-x-250-logo.jpg | en | null | Murder case filed vs killer of young girl in Dagupan | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | DAGUPAN CITY: Police have filed murder and frustrated murder cases against one of two alleged gunmen involved in the recent killing of a five-year old girl and in the shooting of her grandfather suspected to be a drug pusher in their village. Senior Supt. Ronald Oliver-Lee, police provincial director, cited reports given to him by the Dagupan City police chief, saying the suspect was positively identified by one of the witnesses who is a neighbor of the victims. Charged on Friday afternoon before the city prosecutor office was Bryan Macaayao, a resident of Barangay Bonuan Binloc in Dagupan City. One of the witnesses positively identified Macaayao as the person frequently going to the house of Maximo Garcia, the alleged drug pusher and grandfather of the slain five-year old residing in Barangay Mayombo.
JAIME G. AQUINO | http://www.manilatimes.net/murder-case-filed-vs-killer-of-young-girl-in-dagupan/282628/ | en | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/b8fada2af9d72767ff1c22741622c4f0e38463653c7c71664f34f9b1d30a84ef.json |
[
"The Manila Times",
"Josef T. Ramos"
]
| 2016-08-28T12:49:37 | null | 2016-08-28T19:37:30 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fromero-among-forbes-top-50-richest-filipinos%2F282606%2F.json | http://14255-presscdn-0-60.pagely.netdna-cdn.com//wp-content/uploads/2016/08/romero20160829-240x300.jpg | en | null | Romero among Forbes’ Top 50 richest Filipinos | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | For the second time, Globalport team owner Mikee Romero made it to the list of Forbes magazine’s top 50 richest Filipinos.
A party-list representative (1Pacman) in the Congress, Romero is ranked 49th with a value of $150 million or nearly P7 billion with the bulk of his fortune comes from his port operations.
Aside from his real estate business and various stock investments, Romero, 45, is also vice chairman of AirAsia Philippines. He has also large number of art collection.
Romero credited his business success to his being a sportsman. Aside from basketball – he played for La Salle during his college days – Romero is also into shooting, martial arts and polo.
He has staged several international polo tournaments in the country where the rich and powerful took part.
“I am always a sportsman and it is from sports where I get my energy when I do business,” said Romero who plays basketball every Thursday. “Because of sports, I learn to be aggressive and dynamic.”
“His passion for sports is the same as in business,” said Erick Arejola, Romero’s trusted lieutenant.
That’s why in the House of Representatives, Romero is making sure that sports won’t be neglected as he the guardian of athletes.
He’s also an advocate for the creation of a department of sports
Romero is not the only sportsman who was made it to the Forbes’ richest list.
San Miguel Corporation bosses Ramon Ang and Danding Cojuangco are ranked 16th at $1.21 billion (P56 billion) and 20th at $1.14 billion (P53 billion), respectively, having owned three PBA teams and the latter being the chief backer of the La Salle basketball team.
Wilfred Uytengsu, owner of Alaska in the PBA and also an organizer of triathlon competitions, is at No. 37. | http://www.manilatimes.net/romero-among-forbes-top-50-richest-filipinos/282606/ | en | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/c129464eb4f107161765b56716fd395d61f6dfa61bc18df45c4f1b389f45dbfe.json |
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