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[
"The Manila Times"
]
| 2016-08-28T10:49:36 | null | 2016-08-28T17:49:35 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fphs-first-chinatown-museum-set-to-open%2F282553%2F.json | http://14255-presscdn-0-60.pagely.netdna-cdn.com//wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Chinatown-Museum20160829-300x225.jpg | en | null | PH’s first Chinatown museum set to open | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | A new cultural landmark will soon be opening at the heart of the world’s oldest Chinatown with the launch of the Philippines’ first Chinatown Museum.
Located at Lucky Chinatown in Binondo, Manila, Chinatown Museum will be the first of its kind to be fully dedicated to the Filipino-Chinese community.
The 1,542 square meter museum will rise at the fourth level of the mall’s Annex A and is envisioned as a heritage project and tribute to the Chinese-Filipino community.
The museum is being eyed as a cultural repository and educational institution for the benefit of students, scholars and the Chinese-Filipino community, with the end goal of elevating the Chinese cultural experience of mall patrons.
It will feature 15 galleries showcasing the different stages of the rich history and heritage of Binondo including its nearby areas—from its inception as a sixteenth century settlement for Christianized Chinese, into a nineteenth century cosmopolitan hub of colonial Philippines and on its way to becoming a bustling commercial downtown of Manila.
Aside from showcasing Binondo’s colourful history, the museum will also pay tribute to prominent Chinese-Filipino personalities and families, who have contributed immensely to the progress and deve-lopment of Binondo.
A number of galleries are also dedicated to recognize the various business and industries that originated in the Filipino-Chinese community and catapulted Binondo as a commercial power back in the days. | http://www.manilatimes.net/phs-first-chinatown-museum-set-to-open/282553/ | en | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/43018c8467bf0a8e6eb41f5fe97bb144cc86d022b0ad4d4a04f8e1de79cfeac3.json |
[
"Manila Times"
]
| 2016-08-29T12:50:05 | null | 2016-08-29T20:06:48 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fteen-cop-attacker-linked-to-is-charged-in-germany%2F282777%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 | Teen cop attacker linked to IS charged in Germany | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | BERLIN: German federal prosecutors said Monday they had brought charges against a 16-year-old girl who allegedly stabbed a policeman in February in an operation for the Islamic State jihadist group.
The German-Moroccan teenager, identified only as Safia S., was charged on August 12 with attempted murder, grievous bodily harm and support for a foreign terrorist organization, the federal prosecutor’s office said in a statement.
A second suspect, named as 19-year-old German-Syrian national Mohamad Hasan K., was charged on suspicion of failing to report Safia S.’s planned attack.
The girl, then 15, stabbed the federal officer during a routine check at Hanover train station in the north of the country, before being overpowered by another police officer.
She has since been in preventive custody.
Prosecutors said they believe the girl was radicalized by November 2015 at the latest.
In January, she traveled to Istanbul where she was due to meet two IS middlemen who were meant to help her cross into Syria.
The plan was aborted when her mother brought her back to Germany, but the IS members ordered her to carry out an “act of martyrdom” when she arrived home.
She told Mohamad K., who was already aware of her trip to Istanbul, about her plans but he did not go to police, prosecutors said.
The officer suffered a life-threatening injury in the stabbing but survived after surgery.
Germany endured four attacks within a week in July, including two assaults claimed by IS, stoking a security debate focused on potential risks posed by the arrival in 2015 of around one million asylum seekers.
The axe rampage, a shooting spree, a knife attack and a suicide bombing left 13 people dead, including three assailants, and dozens wounded. AFP
AFP/CC | http://www.manilatimes.net/teen-cop-attacker-linked-to-is-charged-in-germany/282777/ | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/9cf6180c7d612dc1d96e405136f0d6844754179a823e27992bfd5d8930f8a041.json |
[
"The Manila Times",
"Maan D Asis Pamaran"
]
| 2016-08-27T12:49:20 | null | 2016-08-27T20:44:51 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Ftwo-poems-3%2F282398%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 | Two Poems | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | The following were poems I dedicated to poets Emmanuel Lacaba and Jason Montana — authentic heroes of the revolution. Real patriots. Lacaba died fighting. Montana is still fighting.
AFTERMATH: 1976: GUERRERO
For Emmanuel Lacaba, who died in combat, and Jason Montana who fights on.
1. BIVOUAC
Where blends the cane leaves
with mist and rain
Blends the shadow and the movement,
Each defining courage from fear,
fear from pain.
“It is the touch of skin or harsh point of crag
Makes the warrior brother to the rock,
It is crag offers the question
between life and slug.”
The stillness between the lads
numb with song
And rifles stocked shapes the crackle
of campfire
Blending with rustle of grass and night stretched long
By the wordless grief of a valley’s
muffled groan.
“Bless the valley’s darkness, brothers of song,
Its pall fallen on grey lips,
its silence on a moan.”
The night’s benediction is a promise of dawn.
2. SONG
Dawn is red on this ruddy face
Sun dogging his craggy trail,
The song deep in his throat:
“The last best fight, my brother;
Our blood on the tip of steel!”
Brother to the pulsing spring,
To the bushes and rocks, the wrath
Of days, of quietness descending.
“The last good fight, my brother;
Our blood on the open trail.”
A song arrested in his throat,
The steel tensile in grace,
His still point is a point of steel.
(First published in the Asia-Philippines Leader magazine)
The People`s Revolution is still being written about by even the younger poets who were wee tots then. Some of the older poets have despaired somewhat. Jason Montana, who knows the crags and the rustle of grass and thicket and jungles, and bivouacs, has written about the post-revolution.
ALBERT B. CASUGA | http://www.manilatimes.net/two-poems-3/282398/ | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/38c39d71c5a88fff8b862568a35ca9a6cc4e44866c8899304f8ec9e243c60e0a.json |
[
"Philippines News Agency",
"The Manila Times",
"Agence France-Presse"
]
| 2016-08-30T12:50:17 | null | 2016-08-30T20:44:11 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fmetuda-to-fight-for-vacant-wbc-abco-silver%2F283000%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 | Metuda to fight for vacant WBC ABCO Silver | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | DAVAO CITY: Unbeaten prospect Rimar “Terminator” Metuda of Sanman Boxing Stable will fight Mirzhan Zhaksylykov of Kazakhstan for the vacant WBC Asian Boxing Council Silver super featherweight title on September 9 at the Traktor Sport Palace in Chelyabinsk.
Metuda has an unblemished record of 10 straight wins with five knockouts while Zhaksylykov (who substituted for stablemate Mark Urvanov) is has nine wins and one loss.
“There is no problem if I have new opponent,” said Metuda.
The 22-year-old southpaw from Cagayan de Oro City previously stopped Joel Hecotibo in the second round of a non-title fight held March 8 in T’boli, South Cotabato.
Metuda had also earlier won the vacant WBF Asia Pacific featherweight title via a 5th round technical knockout against Jason Tinampay last September 26 at the Gaisano Mall Atrium in General Santos City.
“I’m now ready to fight again for another title,” said Metuda, who will be flying on September 3 together with his trainer Dondon Giminia.
Zhaksylykov is a former PABA featherweight title-holder. Zhaksylykov, however, lost in his last fight against Shavkat Rakhimov by a unanimous decision last February 27 in Russia.
“I’m hoping that Metuda can bring home the belt. He is fighting in the overseas for the first time so he should bring his A game,” said Jim Claude “JC” Manangquil, chief executive officer of Sanman Promotions.
Metuda was supposed to fight already for the World Boxing Organization (WBO) Intercontinental Youth featherweight title in Russia last May 6.
But his Russian opponent Mark Urvanov (6W-1L-0D-3KOs) was hospitalized because of dehydration.
PNA | http://www.manilatimes.net/metuda-to-fight-for-vacant-wbc-abco-silver/283000/ | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/35ec9aa47073edfc4b088386dae9e88e211140bcf111c537fe1d02f17ba6d017.json |
[
"Poulomi Banerjee",
"Toots Ople",
"Crispin R. Aranda",
"Agence France-Presse"
]
| 2016-08-28T16:49:43 | null | 2016-08-29T00:39:23 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fmother-teresas-mission-survives-beyond-her-life%2F282671%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 | Mother Teresa’s mission survives beyond her life | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | It’s about 1pm on a muggy August afternoon in Kolkata, as a young girl from Japan knocks hesitantly at the door of 54A AJC Bose Road in the city’s central quarters. Popularly known as Mother House, the building that was Mother Teresa’s residence from the 1950s till her death in 1997, and where she was buried after her death, attracts many visitors daily from across the world – pilgrims as well as volunteers, like the young girl from Japan, keen to work with the Mission. It is also the global headquarters of the Missionaries of Charity (MC), started by Mother Teresa in 1950. The Vatican is set to Canonise Mother on September 4, but for those whose lives she touched, and changed for the better, the selfless nun was always a saint.
“Many press people used to ask her and me, what will happen to Missionaries of Charity after her. And she used to say it will grow further and that the same work and care will carry on,” recalls Missionaries of Charity spokesperson and Mother Teresa’s long-time associate, Sunita Kumar. “Missionaries of Charity has grown tremendously (since her death) and at an enormous speed. I think she (Mother Teresa) is working from up there,” she says
From 605 homes in 120-125 countries when Mother Teresa died, the Missionaries of Charity today has 745 homes in 135-140 countries. There are 200 novices currently attached to the MC and over 6,000 sisters. Then there are the chapters of MC Brothers and Fathers, says Kumar. “After Mother passed away, people from across the world who had been donating to MC came to Calcutta and assured Sister Nirmala (the superior after Mother Teresa) that they were still with the cause,” says Kumar.
The early years
It was in 1946 that Mother Teresa, at that time a nun with the Loreto congregation, experienced what she later described as “the call within the call” to leave the convent and live and work among the poor and the destitute. In 1948 she left Loreto and in 1950 received permission from the Vatican to start the congregation that would become Missionaries of Charity. “In those early days when she was founding small communities, the Jesuit Fathers were a great help to her. She had her own spiritual fathers among the Jesuit fathers of St Xavier’s,” informs Father Felix Raj, principal, St Xavier’s College Kolkata. Years before it was a visit of a Jesuit priest from Calcutta to her school in Europe that had inspired a young Gonxha Agnes Bojaxhiu to take the veil and choose to come to India when she grew up. In 1966 a Jesuit priest, Father Andrew, joined the fledgling congregation of the Missionaries of Charity Brothers, started by Mother Teresa in 1963, and took over the guidance of the congregation.
The relationship with the Jesuits and especially the St Xavier’s family has continued even after Mother’s death, says Father Felix Raj. The same is true of Mother’s and the Missionaries’ relationship with Loreto. “We were complementary. When she would bring children from the streets, Entally Convnt was open for them and many of the boarders were from Mother Teresa’s,” says Sister Bernadette and Sister Eithne, of Loreto Convent. Another Loreto sister adds, “Even today MC sisters bring children to our schools”.
In Mother’s Footsteps
Almost everything is as Mother left it. At Nirmal Hriday in Kolkata’s Kalighat area, the first MC centre opened by Mother Teresa, sisters and volunteers work in tandem on a Sunday morning. Devotional music plays in the background. One volunteer gives the male inmates a shave, another distributes tea and biscuits. The number of volunteers has tripled in the years since Mother’s death, says Kumar. Many are from abroad. A Sister at Nirmal Hriday points to the volunteer who is giving a shave to the male inmates and says, “He has been coming for years.”
Some sisters are busy dressing wounds. There were 54 male and 48 women inmates at Nirmal Hriday when HT visited the facility earlier this month. “Most of them have been picked up from stations and streets. When they come in, they have big wounds, often maggot-infested. After they have been bathed and cleaned and given primary nursing, they undergo a medical examination to check whether they have any serious ailments. Those found to be suffering from tuberculosis are shifted to our facility in Baruipur, those infected with HIV are moved to the facility in Tangra. There is another shelter for leprosy patients. Others with severe health issues are shifted to hospitals or given specialised medical care here. We have cancer and burn patients among the present inmates,” explains a Sister.
Almost at all homes the system of work followed is the same. Nirmala Shishu Bhavan, a shelter for children in Kolkata, the second home started by Mother, has two wings, one for normal children and the other for those with special needs. There were 33 children with special needs living there at the time of the HT visit. “The oldest child is 15, the youngest three years old,” says one Sister. Most of the children were playing with volunteers or the paid staff. Many of the games involved degrees of physiotherapy to help them overcome their handicap. “Physiotherapists come thrice a week to train the staff. We have school for the visually impaired on the campus. Teachers come and give classes to children with special needs. They are not sent out to school because they have severe handicaps,” she explains.
In the other wing, the staff is feeding and playing with the infants, two of whom were being fed through tubes since they had problem eating normally. A group of toddlers run out to make their way to the kindergarten school on the campus. Another group is being taught nursery rhymes inside. “Most of the children are severely malnourished when they are brought in. Care and nourishment is what they most require,” says a Sister. It’s not a permanent shelter and children leave once they are well enough to do so, she says. Also unlike in the initial years when the sisters would pick up orphans from the streets and take care of them at the shelter, now the children have to come in through the Child Welfare Committee (CWC). “If the volunteers or Sisters do find a child who needs care, we have to first inform the CWC. Legalities are very strict now,” says the Sister.
A Feel of Home
The same adherence to legalities can be seen at the facilities for the grown-ups. At Prem Dan, another shelter for the old and the destitute, a Sister informs that every time they take in a new inmate they have to inform the police. “Most of them are old and infirm. Some have lost the mental stability or their memories. After receiving care here, if they are able to tell us anything about their families, we try to reconnect them, but at times the families don’t want them back,” she says. At the time of HT’s visit, there were 197 male and over 140 women inmates being cared for at Prem Daan. One of the inmates Teresa Fernandes’s life has come a full circle at Missionaries of Charity. She had got married at Shishu Bhavan, to an orphan who had been brought up there. Now after the death of her husband and children, in the twilight of her life, with no one to take care of her, she is back at Missionaries of Charity.
At Nirmal Hriday and Prem Daan, the women are dressed in identical maxis, their hair shaved off, or cut brutally short, possibly for ease of care. A young inmate at Prem Daan repeatedly requests this journalist to write him a gate pass. A life of freedom beckons him, even when it is one too hard for him to bear. In most cases the Sisters are reluctant to let journalists interact with inmates, “since they are often not in a condition to talk coherently”, they say.
“The Sisters are working in very difficult circumstances. The challenge is they are running homes for the dying and destitute, for children, very difficult to handle these people, they are running homes for the mentally retarded, for TB patients, for cancer patients. This type of works is not easy to do. It needs personal commitment. It needs spiritual strength,” says Father Felix Raj.
In Choppy Waters
While the dedication of the Sisters and the work done by the MC is widely appreciated, the years have not been without some rough riding. After Mother Teresa’s death, during Sister Nirmala’s time, there were allegations of physical abuse in the children’s home. “There was a Sister who had accidentally hurt a boy. The boy had been stealing in the home. The case went to court. Sister Nirmala told the judge yes, my Sister has made this mistake in a temper. The spoon she was holding was hot, it touched the child’s hand, it’s not that she did it intentionally,” explains Kumar. More recently, the MC was in the eye of a controversy when it closed its adoption centres last year. Speculation was rife as to whether the decision was taken because the guidelines allowed single individuals and those with alternate sexuality to adopt children, or because according to the latest guidelines prospective parents were allowed to choose from four to six children. That decision saddened even some of the staunchest supporters of the MC. “Without going into the politics of it, I must say that I was sad when that decision was taken,” says Mother Teresa’s long-time associate and biographer, former chief election commissioner of India Navin B Chawla. “During Mother’s time also there was an allegation that these children were being sent to Switzerland for medical experimentation. So when I was writing the book I visited many of these families who had adopted these children with special needs. And I was able to see the beautiful life that had. Most of the families had adopted more than one of these children. And few Indian families want to adopt children with special needs. So I am sad that these children will not have that opportunity now,” says Chawla.
By and large though, the ethos of the MC remains the same as in Mother’s time. “Mother groomed her sisters in her way, her style, they have grown like that. It’s like a mother teaching her children,” says Kumar. There is no denying, however, that Mother Teresa left a gap when she breathed her last on September 5, 1997. As Father Felix Raj says, “She had charisma, she drew people. Every sister may not have that.” | http://www.manilatimes.net/mother-teresas-mission-survives-beyond-her-life/282671/ | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/450e5bdf07863ff0c68c283d96252e0d0b4a30278751a50e019114f799817661.json |
[
"Emil C. Noguera",
"The Manila Times",
"Agence France-Presse"
]
| 2016-08-31T14:50:23 | null | 2016-08-31T22:36:41 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fpca-open-cebuana-lhuillier-asian-tennis-tour-begins%2F283221%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 | PCA Open-Cebuana Lhuillier Asian Tennis Tour begins | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | The country’s top netters go up against foreign contenders when the 35th Philippine Columbian Association (PCA) Open-Cebuana Lhuillier Asian Tennis Tour unfolds today at the PCA indoor shell-clay court in Paco, Manila.
Reigning PCA men’s champion Patrick John Tierro and Davis Cup veteran Johnny Arcilla lead the locals’ campaign in the tournament sanctioned by Asian Tennis Federation and Philippine Lawn Tennis Association (Philta).
Indian stalwarts Parth Aggarwal and Medhir Goyal, Iranian Mohammadali Mamaghaninia, and Mustafa Alsaedi are expected to make things difficult for the Filipino bets.
“We’re optimistic of our chances here. We’ve been doing well in our practice and we’re looking forward to a great campaign against foreign players,” said eight-time PCA titlist Arcilla, who copped the doubles title in the Manila ITF Week 2 last year with 2009 Australian Open Boy’s Doubles champ Francis Casey Alcantara.
Filipino-Italian Marc Reyes, Davis Cup standout Elbert Anasta, Kyle Parpan, Argil Lance Canizares, Rolando Ruel, Ronand Joven, Jose Maria Pague, Mark Ervin Concepcion and Eric Olivarez Jr. will also showcase their wares in the main draw.
Reyes and Anasta will be coming in hot after making it to the semifinals of the recently concluded PCA Open men’s singles.
Arcilla, the tournament’s top seed, earned an opening round bye while Parpan battles Ruel (Center Court), and Reyes takes on Concepcion (Court 1) at 12 noon. The other matches are Anasta versus Mamaghaninia, Tierro versus Olivarez, Aggawal versus Joven, Canizares versus Goyal and Alsaedi versus Pague.
A total of $7,500 is at stake in the ATF event supported by The Philippine 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, Sen. Manny Pacquiao, L&M, Broadway Motors, Stronghold Insurance and Monte.
The top prize of $1,200 goes to the champion, while the runner-up pockets $900. | http://www.manilatimes.net/pca-open-cebuana-lhuillier-asian-tennis-tour-begins/283221/ | en | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/014fa86e1ebfd1f65e7002bc4f831bca7ddd4afa80403691b676799b2107f6c5.json |
[
"Agence France-Presse",
"The Manila Times",
"Emil C. Noguera",
"Realyn Stevens"
]
| 2016-08-31T14:50:24 | null | 2016-08-31T22:35:58 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fmurray-serena-advance-in-us-open%2F283225%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 | Murray, Serena advance in US Open | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | NEW YORK: Wimbledon champions Andy Murray and Serena Williams powered into the second round of the US Open as the stars came out on Arthur Ashe Stadium court on Tuesday night (Wednesday in Manila).
Williams, launching her latest bid to rewrite the record books, started strong and didn’t let up in 6-3, 6-3 victory over 29th-ranked Ekaterina Makarova.
The US world number one appeared untroubled by the balky right shoulder that has hindered her in recent weeks, delivering a dozen aces and 27 winners overall in the 63-minute contest.
“I knew today I needed to be focused because I’ve played her. She’s gotten to the semi-finals. She goes deep in majors,” Williams said of the Russian left-hander who beat her in the fourth round of the 2012 Australian Open.
“She knows how to play big matches on big courts. She’s not intimidated. I knew I had to really come out today. It was my only option really.”
Williams said she wouldn’t know until she’d slept on it how her shoulder might respond to the effort.
“Every day, I’ll just see how it goes,” said Williams, who is chasing a record seventh title on the hardcourts of Flushing Meadows where she first triumphed in 1999.
A victory would see her break the Open Era record of 22 Grand Slam titles she now shares with German Steffi Graf and close in on Margaret Court’s all-time mark of 24 major titles.
While Williams has struggled since Wimbledon, Murray went from claiming a second title at the All England club to a successful defense of his Olympic gold in Rio.
Vying to become the fourth man in the Open Era to reach all four major finals in a calendar year, Murray, too, produced a dominant service performance in a 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 victory over Czech Lukas Rosol.
“I don’t think I had any break points against me, which is very good,” the Scot said.
Before the floodlights came up, Serena’s elder sister Venus claimed a Grand Slam record of her own as her 6-2, 5-7, 6-4 victory over Ukraine’s Kateryna Kozlova marked her 72nd appearance in the main draw of a major.
The 36-year-old Venus, enjoying a resurgence in a 2016 season that includes a WTA title in Taiwan, survived 63 unforced errors against the rising 22-year-old, although she was pleased that her aggressive approach also yielded 46 winners.
“The good part is I’m playing the game I want to play, I’m playing aggressively and moving forward,” Venus said.
“It’s just about making a few less errors and it’s a completely different story.”
Fourth seed Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland, trying to make it to the quarterfinals in New York for the first time, breezed past US qualifier Jessica Pegula 6-1, 6-1 and fifth-seeded Romanian Simona Halep also eased through with a 6-0, 6-2 victory over Belgian Kirsten Flipkens.
Men’s third seed Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland, a two-time semi-finalist, reached the second round with a 7-6 (7/4), 6-4, 6-4 win over Spain’s Fernando Verdasco.
Kei Nishikori, who became Asia’s first men’s Grand Slam finalist in New York in 2014, when he fell to Marin Cilic in the final, also advanced, downing German Benjamin Becker 6-1, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3.
A lot of aces
Eighth-seeded Dominic Thiem of Austria needed five sets to secure his second-round spot, downing Australia’s John Millman 6-3, 2-6, 5-7, 6-4, 6-3.
Juan Martin del Potro, the 2009 US Open champion whose career was nearly ended by three wrist surgeries, advanced with a 6-4, 6-4, 7-6 (7/3) victory over fellow Argentine Diego Schwartzman.
There was a little record-setting on the men’s side as well, with Croatian Ivo Karlovic belting a US Open record of 61 aces in a 4-6, 7-6 (7/4), 6-7 (4/7), 7-6 (7/5), 7-5 win over Taiwan’s Lu Yen-Hsun.
Karlovic, 37, beat the previous best of 49 aces for one match in New York established by Richard Krajicek in 1999.
“I knew there were a lot of aces because there was a period when almost every serve was an ace,” Karlovic said.
AFP | http://www.manilatimes.net/murray-serena-advance-in-us-open/283225/ | en | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/4cb50daa8a008b0c2ccd6bb7bd6ec1213307ecb9dd7ed91df6a871f8e8eee551.json |
[
"The Manila Times"
]
| 2016-08-31T10:50:24 | null | 2016-08-31T18:05:20 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2F109-sss-branches-open-every-saturday-in-sept%2F283152%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 | 109 SSS branches open every Saturday in Sept | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | At least 109 branches of the Social Security System (SSS) will be open every Saturday for the whole of September in order to process applications for loan restructuring program (LRP) of the pension fund’s members.
Boobie Angela Ocay, SSS assistant vice president of the Member Loans Department, on Wednesday said the project that will start on September 3 is part of the 59th anniversary celebration of the SSS.
The 109 branches nationwide will attend to the fund’s members from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The SSS leadership decided to open on Saturdays at least this September because, according to Ocay, “We understand that most of our members cannot visit the SSS offices during weekdays given their working schedule, so in celebration of our anniversary month, 109 branches will be open on all Saturdays of September to accept LRP applications.”
She noted that the LRP is open to members with past due loans for at least six months as of April 28, 2016 when the program was launched.
Qualified applicants are those who reside or work in a calamity area as declared by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council or the national government, Ocay said.
She explained that under the LRP, penalties are condoned as soon as the outstanding principal and interest on the loan are paid.
In the National Capital Region (NCR or Metro Manila), 43 branches will be open to process the LRP applications.
Luzon will have 31 branches, Central Visayas and Western Visayas are set to open 14 branches and Mindanao, 19 branches.
Ocay said members residing or working abroad could also apply for loan restructuring.
“Foreign offices shall put up a special lane to accept and process members’ applications as well as to answer their inquiries related to posting of LRP repayments,” she added.
The Social Security System has 21 foreign offices.
“Members should bring all the requirements such as identification cards, duly accomplished application form and affidavit of residency to ensure the smooth processing of applications. These forms are downloadable from our website,” Ocay said.
As the SSS relaxes its rules on the LRP, she advised members to “be diligent in their payments whether they are in full or instalment.”
“The LRP has a conditional waiver on penalties. Penalties shall only be condoned after full payment of the LRP balance. If [the loan]becomes past due again under restructuring, the penalty will not be condoned,” Ocay said. NELSON S. BADILLA | http://www.manilatimes.net/109-sss-branches-open-every-saturday-in-sept/283152/ | en | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/b4fc66a27cf418128e03aa1bb01d0199cf7a713cfdd71a3f44375c4cf945ccfb.json |
[
"The Manila Times",
"Gab. Keith",
"Julmunir I. Jannaral",
"Jaime G. Aquino"
]
| 2016-08-28T14:49:43 | null | 2016-08-28T21:41:47 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fregion-3-drug-facility-finished-in-3-months%2F282627%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 | Region 3 drug facility finished in 3 months | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | PALAYAN City, Nueva Ecija: Major Gen. Angelito de Leon, commanding officer of Fort Ramon Magsaysay-based 7th Infantry Division, said Central Luzon’s biggest drug rehabilitation center in Fort Magsaysay will be finished in three months. It will accommodate about 1,000 drug dependents from the 58,700 who surrendered from July 1 to August 28 based on the latest count of Region 3 Police Director Chief Supt. Aaron Aquino. The center will be jointly manned by the Defense and Health departments through a memorandum of agreement, and will be built on a 10-hectare vacant lot in the 45-hectare Fort Magsaysay military reservation located in the northeastern part of Nueva Ecija.
CESAR CAJUCOM | http://www.manilatimes.net/region-3-drug-facility-finished-in-3-months/282627/ | en | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/53b4c0b1c724a001d333376d4149081ec76ab637a36b7f29e3a0955045566470.json |
[
"The Manila Times",
"Agence France-Presse",
"Emil C. Noguera"
]
| 2016-08-30T12:50:20 | null | 2016-08-30T20:43:43 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fham-meets-taylor-in-first-ever-ufc-womens-bout-in-manila%2F282999%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 | Ham meets Taylor in first-ever UFC women’s bout in Manila | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | UFC Fight Night Manila: Lamas vs Penn will feature a Strawweight bout between Danielle “Dynamite” Taylor (7-2-0, fighting out of Van Nuys, California) and Seohee Ham (16-7-0, fighting out of Busan, South Korea) in what will be the first-ever women’s bout the organization will hold in the Philippines.
Well-rounded in both her stand-up and ground game, Taylor is wasting no time after coming off a razor-thin split-decision loss in UFC Fight Night 92 last August. Favoring her wrestling and Muay Thai talents, she will be going against striking specialist Ham, the first South Korean woman to compete in the UFC and who was once considered the No. 2 Atomweight fighter in the world. Both ladies promise to show the Filipino fans just how tough UFC women fighters can be.
Also confirmed, a Featherweight clash featuring Mizuto “Pugnus” Hirota (18-7-2, fighting out of Tokyo, Japan) taking on Cole “Magrinho” Miller (21-10-0, fighting out of Coconut Creek, Florida)
Known for his exceptional striking, Japan’s Hirota will be competing in his first fight since being named the co-winner of Road to UFC: Japan. He faces American Top Team staple and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Miller who is looking to make a statement that will put the entire UFC Featherweight division on notice.
UFC Fight Night Manila: Lamas vs Penn will see the return of former UFC lightweight and welterweight champion B.J. “The Prodigy” Penn who will face No.4 ranked UFC featherweight contender Ricardo “The Bully”Lamas in an explosive five-round featherweight fight.
Other confirmed bouts include:
The UFC has also confirmed that Derrick “The Black Beast” Lewis (16-4-0, fighting out of Houston, Texas USA) will clash against Marcin Tybura (14-2-0, fighting out of Warszawa, Poland) in the Heavyweight co-main event of the evening.
Filipinos will also witness a flyweight showdown between Japan’s own title contender No. 3 ranked Kyoji Horiguchi (17-2-0, fighting out of Coconut Creek, Florida USA) and No. 8 ranked Ali Bagautinov (14-4-0, fighting out of Dagestan, Republic of Russia). | http://www.manilatimes.net/ham-meets-taylor-in-first-ever-ufc-womens-bout-in-manila/282999/ | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/9b55ce36c08e22cb6932afe3504db6926bd3f6fa6b287ecee39740db473646b7.json |
[
"Manila Times"
]
| 2016-08-30T04:50:08 | null | 2016-08-30T11:28:19 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fpaynor-named-ph-envoy-to-us%2F282930%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 | Paynor named PH envoy to US | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | Former military man and longtime diplomat Marciano Paynor was named the new Philippine ambassador to the United States by President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday night.
Paynor, a member of the Philippine Military Academy Class of 1971, has been serving as presidential chief protocol officer.
In a chance interview with reporters, the President said Paynor had accepted the post.
The President described Paynor as a seasoned diplomat.
The former lieutenant colonel served as consul general to San Francisco, market analyst at the Philippine Trade Office in Chicago and chief of presidential protocol during the presidency of Fidel Ramos from 1992 to 1997.
Paynor will replace Jose Cuisia.
Robert Borje, the second secretary to the Permanent Mission of the Philippines to the United Nations, will take over Paynor’s post. LLANESCA T. PANTI | http://www.manilatimes.net/paynor-named-ph-envoy-to-us/282930/ | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/c49c6c751a3570f4b37e43e66d7e10a546f74a8135d783171a3a34f6e9267b44.json |
[
"Manila Times"
]
| 2016-08-30T10:50:13 | null | 2016-08-30T17:35:48 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Ffresh-violence-overshadows-myanmar-peace-talks%2F282948%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 | Fresh violence overshadows Myanmar peace talks | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | NAYPYIDAW, Myanmar: Fresh fighting between ethnic minority rebels and Myanmar’s military is overshadowing an upcoming peace conference led by Aung San Suu Kyi’s new civilian government, people involved in the talks said Tuesday.
The five-day gathering, which officially opens on Wednesday, is Suu Kyi’s first big drive to end multiple insurgencies that have raged in Myanmar’s borderlands since independence in 1948.
Organizers have been pushing for a unilateral ceasefire before the UN-backed talks.
But those hopes have been shattered by renewed outbreaks of fighting, negotiators from both the rebels and the government told Agence France-Presse.
Several rebel groups have failed to down their weapons—a precondition demanded by the military for them to attend.
Troops also remain locked in combat with ethnic fighters hours before UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, who will attend the conference, is due to give a press conference later Tuesday.
Representatives from the insurgents said the military had launched new attacks on rebel positions in the northern states of Shan and Kachin on Tuesday morning. They said the move threatened to scupper progress at the peace talks.
“For the moment it is hard for any group to believe or trust the army,” said one negotiator for the armed rebels, who asked not to be named as the talks are sensitive.
“Here (in the national capital Naypyidaw) they are talking about peace, there they are fighting,” the negotiator added.
Rebels from some of the worst-hit states want the military to declare a unilateral ceasefire and appoint an international figure to oversee its observance on the ground, the negotiator said.
Some 220,000 people are currently displaced by ongoing fighting in Kachin and Shan states and by sectarian tensions in the western state of Rakhine, according to UN figures released this week.
Since taking power earlier this year, Suu Kyi’s government has pushed to expand a shaky ceasefire signed between the previous military-backed administration and eight armed groups.
But under the junta-era constitution the military retains control of key centers of power including the border and defense ministries.
“The government faces pressure dealing with the military in this case, as well,” said one civilian government negotiator.
Suu Kyi hopes the peace talks will pave the way towards a federal system for Myanmar.
That would give ethnic groups—who have complained of decades of oppression and neglect by the central ethnic Bamar majority—some autonomy over their government, land and resources. AFP
AFP/CC | http://www.manilatimes.net/fresh-violence-overshadows-myanmar-peace-talks/282948/ | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/3d4f9fad644e72fdf15e5be3d28e1e0b4d19b45c7508064c6515ce890cbc7b56.json |
[
"Manila Times"
]
| 2016-08-30T04:50:10 | null | 2016-08-30T10:15:58 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fstrong-signal-stirs-interest-in-hunt-for-alien-life%2F282923%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 signal’ stirs interest in hunt for alien life | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | WASHINGTON: A “strong signal” detected by a radio telescope in Russia that is scanning the heavens for signs of extraterrestrial life has stirred interest among the scientific community.
“No one is claiming that this is the work of an extraterrestrial civilization, but it is certainly worth further study,” said Paul Gilster, author of the Centauri Dreams website which covers peer-reviewed research on deep space exploration.
The signal is from the direction of a HD164595, a star about 95 light-years from Earth.
The star is known to have at least one planet, and may have more.
The observation is being made public now, but was actually detected last year by the RATAN-600 radio telescope in Zelenchukskaya, Russia, he said.
Experts say it is far too early to know what the signal means or where, precisely,it came from.
“But the signal is provocative enough that the RATAN-600 researchers are calling for permanent monitoring of this target,” wrote Gilster.
The discovery is expected to feature in discussions at the 67th International Astronautical Congress in Guadalajara, Mexico, on September 27.
“Working out the strength of the signal, the researchers say that if it came from an isotropic beacon, it would be of a power possible only for a Kardashev Type II civilization,” Gilster wrote, referring to a scale-system that indicates a civilization far more advanced than our own.
“If it were a narrow beam signal focused on our Solar System, it would be of a power available to a Kardashev Type I civilization,” indicating one closer to Earth’s capabilities.
Gilster, who broke the story on August 27, said he had seen a presentation on the matter from Italian astronomer Claudio Maccone.
“Permanent monitoring of this target is needed,” said the presentation.
Nick Suntzeff, a Texas A&M University astronomer told the online magazine Ars Technica that the 11 gigahertz signal was observed in part of the radio spectrum used by the military.
“If this were a real astronomical source, it would be rather strange,” Suntzeff was quoted as saying.
“God knows who or what broadcasts at 11Ghz, and it would not be out of the question that some sort of bursting communication is done between ground stations and satellites,” Suntzeff said.
“I would follow it if I were the astronomers, but I would also not hype the fact that it may be at SETI signal given the significant chance it could be something military.” AFP
AFP/CC | http://www.manilatimes.net/strong-signal-stirs-interest-in-hunt-for-alien-life/282923/ | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/d0f6b02185ff41e5b46bafd414bcacf3bce2cf8b6a7cdd97d682187696b2afb9.json |
[
"Agence France-Presse",
"Llanesca T. Panti",
"Mayvelin U. Caraballo"
]
| 2016-08-28T18:49:51 | null | 2016-08-29T00:55:08 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fclinton-receives-intelligence-briefing%2F282688%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 receives intelligence briefing | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | US 2016 ELECTIONS
WASHINGTON, D.C.: Hillary Clinton received her first intelligence briefing as the Democratic presidential candidate Saturday, attending the 90-minute meeting without aides.
Traditionally, the top two contenders for the White House are given the briefings to prepare them for the responsibilities that await the next occupant of the Oval Office.
Republican candidate Donald Trump attended a similar briefing August 17 in New York, accompanied by two key advisers, retired lieutenant general Michael Flynn and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie.
Clinton was alone for her briefing, which took place at the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s White Plains, New York office, near her home in Chappaqua, an aide told reporters.
The aide said she met with a handful of officials from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence for about an hour and a half.
The FBI’s office was used because it has secure rooms in which classified information can be discussed.
The briefings lay out the US intelligence community’s view of the threats facing the United States, without divulging secrets about operations or sources.
Democrats have expressed unease about Trump’s access to such sensitive information, with President Barack Obama himself issuing a thinly veiled warning earlier this month.
“If they want to be president, they have got to start acting like [a]president,” he said in a clear reference to the unpredictable New York billionaire.
“That means being able to receive these briefings and not spreading them around.”
AFP | http://www.manilatimes.net/clinton-receives-intelligence-briefing/282688/ | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/f0c5f2667279434dbd5d10467b71582369b38377a3d61fd456d07280964c72e4.json |
[
"Jose A. Carillo",
"Mauro Gia Samonte",
"Efren L. Danao",
"Ambassador Amado Tolentino"
]
| 2016-08-26T18:50:31 | null | 2016-08-27T01:58:38 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fwhy-pinoy-writers-strongly-prefer-the-modals-would-and-could-1%2F282345%2F.json | http://14255-presscdn-0-60.pagely.netdna-cdn.com//wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Jose-Carillo.jpg | en | null | Why Pinoy writers strongly prefer the modals ‘would’ and ‘could’ (1) | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | A Filipina acquaintance of mine, who until recently taught English in an Asian city, e-mailed me recently giving vent to her exasperation over the misuse of the modal auxiliaries in newspaper reportage and notices in the Philippines.
Isabel E. wrote: “Can you explain the strong preference of Pinoy writers for ‘would’ and ‘could’ in their newspaper reports and stories?
“Today at the condo where we live, there’s a notice in the bulletin board that reads ‘The gym would be closed on August 5-6 for repainting.’ Newspaper reports in both Cebu and Manila write stuff like ‘Duterte would meet with LGU leaders at the end of the month’ and ‘The Mactan mayor announced he could impose new traffic rules effective immediately.’
“Is this because English is really a second language to most folks that they often get stymied by its grammar rules? Are too many local English teachers so miseducated that they themselves are unsure of their English grammar and syntax?
“It’s hard not to grit one’s teeth in annoyance.”
My reply to Isabel E.:
I perfectly understand your annoyance over the recurrent misuse of the modal auxiliaries ‘could’ and ‘would’ in Philippine newspaper reportage, and you are absolutely correct in saying that Filipinos often get stymied in their usage because English is indeed a second language to most of them. However, I wouldn’t go as far as saying that this grammar misuse arises because their English teachers were themselves unsure of their English grammar and syntax. Rather, I’d say that the teaching of English in the country’s schools is not focused and intensive enough to give both teacher and learner an adequate grasp of how the modal auxiliaries work.
Before going into the nitty-gritty of the usage of “could” and “would” in the sentences you presented, I therefore suggest that we first do a quick review of the modal auxiliaries, or modals for short. Recall that modals are function words that work with verbs to convey various shades of necessity, advice, ability, expectation, permission, possibility, or conditionality, and that it’s most instructive to discuss them in the context of the modal-pairs “will” and “would,” “can” and “could,” and “shall” and “should.” This early, it’s also very important to understand that unlike the stand-alone verb “be” or its conjugations “is,” “are,” “was,” and “were,” the modals are not meant for sentences that state simple facts or absolute certainties.
We’ll start with the basic uses of modals and take up later their usage in conditional statements, possibilities, politesse, and several other senses.
“Will” and “would.” The verbal auxiliary “will” is commonly used for expressing simple futurity, as in “We will go to Tokyo next week.” As a modal, however, “will” conveys choice, willingness, intention, consent, or habitual or customary action. Choice: “I will buy a townhouse instead of a condominium unit.” Willingness: “She will join you if you wish.” Intention: “I will prove you wrong.” Consent: “Yes, the school will admit you.” Habitual or customary action: “She will get angry over such trivial matters.”
In the past tense, the modal “will” inflects to “would.” Choice: “When times were good, we would stay in five-star rather than three-star hotels.” Willingness: “During my probation, I would do whatever my superior asked me to do.” Habitual or customary action: “After losing in the elections, Alice would take no visitors altogether.”
“Can” and “could.” These modals convey the idea of ability, possibility, permission, or potential; “can” is the present-tense form, “could” the past-tense form. Present ability: “She can rouse crowds effortlessly.” Past ability: “By then she could no longer see.” Present possibility: “He can handle the work load.” Past possibility: “I couldn’t control myself that night.” Permission: “You can leave now.” Potential: “With her looks, she can be a movie star.”
We will continue this discussion next week.
Visit Jose Carillo’s English Forum, http://josecarilloforum.com. Visit me on Facebook. Follow me at Twitter.com @J8Carillo. E-mail: [email protected] | http://www.manilatimes.net/why-pinoy-writers-strongly-prefer-the-modals-would-and-could-1/282345/ | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/e869d9e5f31eb0557fba4f116c143c02610513c1deca3cdd57d49b4b988cc9b3.json |
[
"Anthony Vargas",
"Ernie B. Esconde",
"Leander C. Domingo"
]
| 2016-08-27T14:49:14 | null | 2016-08-27T22:23:25 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fcredit-card-forger-nabbed-in-cebu%2F282433%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 | Credit card forger nabbed in Cebu | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | A SUSPECTED credit card fraudster was arrested on Friday in the act of taking pictures of a credit card owned by another person inside a café in a mall in Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu. Supt. Elizabeth Jasmin, Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) spokesperson, identified the arrested man as Ricky Anduyo who is facing violation of Republic Act 8484 or the Access Device Fraudulent Act. Jasmin said the credit cards are passed off to his contact identified as Jerwin Minglanila and used to purchase valuable items online. The CIDG operatives also seized from Anduyo two sachets of shabu worth at least P600 and drug paraphernalia. | http://www.manilatimes.net/credit-card-forger-nabbed-in-cebu/282433/ | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/c7432639cfefdfbeb0e8557a7d9307f9c0b3aa08723f7aa81b598be1d33ae9ef.json |
[
"The Manila Times",
"Philippines News Agency",
"Benjie Vergara"
]
| 2016-08-29T16:50:11 | null | 2016-08-30T00:14:13 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fsputnik-member-shot-dead-in-drug-bust%2F282901%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 | Sputnik member shot dead in drug bust | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | A Sputnik gang member was shot dead but his cohort escaped during a drug bust conducted shortly after midnight Monday in Malate, Manila.
The victim was in his mid-40’s and had a Bugs bunny tattoo on his right foot and “Bundoy Pugante” and “Aragones Maribel” on his right forearm.
PO1 Kirk Alwyn Gonzales of the Manila Police District said he boarded the suspects’ SUV and pretended to be a buyer. However, one of the men sensed that they were being set up and shot at the policeman. The gang member was killed in the shootout.
The driver of the SUV fled.
Scene of the Crime Operatives (SOCO) recovered five sachets of shabu, four .9mm shells, a .38 caliber pistol and four live bullets at the scene of the shootout.
JED VILLARAMA | http://www.manilatimes.net/sputnik-member-shot-dead-in-drug-bust/282901/ | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/2548e943a9fb16bb9ae1d5a2972f5398adb59ab7af9c88e7584b78226504322f.json |
[
"Ben Kritz",
"Philippines News Agency",
"James Konstantin Galvez"
]
| 2016-08-26T16:48:55 | null | 2016-08-27T00:47:57 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fsearca-adb-launch-climate-smart-school-gardens%2F282316%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 | SEARCA, ADB launch ‘climate smart’ school gardens | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | A pilot project that will hopefully lead to the widespread adoption of “climate smart” gardens in the nations’ schools has been launched in six schools in Laguna by the South East Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) with the cooperation of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), SEARCA said in a statement this week.
The project, which was co-funded by SEARCA and ADB for $32,525 (P1.51 million) is intend to help institutionalize systems for food and nutrition sufficiency into the country’s educational system, SEARCA said.
The project is also part of an agreement for the exchange of best practices with Indonesia through the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Tropical Biology (BIOTROP), the research group added.
The initial six pilot sites are all schools in Laguna near SEARCA’s headquarters, and include Cabuyao Central School, Pedro Guevarra Memorial National High School, Labuin Elementary School, Crisanto Guysayko Memorial Elementary School, Mayjayjay Elementary School, and San Andres Elementary School.
At a memorandum of agreement signing ceremony, SEARCA Director Gil Saguiguit Jr. said school gardens help promote environmental protection, provide food for the community, and teach youth valuable agriculture skills.
“School gardens serve as an alternative source of food and income for rural families to address the looming problems of rural poverty and hunger, which prevent access of many school children to quality education,” Saguiguit said.
One feature of the mini-farming sites is a small, 20-square meter greenhouse that serves as a seed nursery.
The greenhouse also helps in water conservation, using its own rainwater collection system to supply irrigation for the gardens.
In Phase 1 of the project, a of 600-square meter garden was put up in the high school level and 82 to 1,800 square meters of gardens in the elementary level.
Phase 1 (preliminary stage) of the project had a total fund of $17,240 while Phase 2 (establishment of school and home gardens) and 3 (value adding), $17,285. SEARCA has allocated a total of $22,525 and ADB, $12,000 for the project.
Education program
SEARCA is also pushing for the inclusion of lessons from the garden program into the basic education curriculum of the Department of Education (DepEd).
The group said that preparation of lesson plans for Grades 4 and 7 is now in its final stages, including a teacher’s manual to be piloted under the project up to December of this year. The plan, SEARCA explained, is to integrate lessons on nutrition, organic agriculture, and climate change concepts into DepEd’s Science, Math, English, Home Economics, and Technology and Livelihood Entrepreneurship curricula.
The food produced by the gardens will also help in the feeding programs for malnourished children in the six pilot sites, SEARCA said.
One key objective of the program is to widen the variety of available food as children’s source of nutrition. Through training, it raises skills of both students and teachers on food production and nutrition. It creates food savings and additional income to families, SEARCA said.
The SEARCA program actually aligns well with DepEd’s “Gulayan sa Paaralan” advocacy, according to Laguna schools superintendent Josilyn Solana, who also pointed out that families can reduce or stop dependency on school feeding programs as they learn to tend their own home gardens.
University of the Philippines Los Banos (UPLB) chancellor Fernando Sanchez Jr. said Filipinos, through this partnership with SEARCA, will benefit from UPLB’s technical training on edible landscaping, nutrition, and organic agriculture.
The climate smart garden concept is also being integrated into farming-nutrition programs of the Department of Agriculture, Department of Social Welfare and Development, and the Department of Interior and Local Government.
“It will harmonize with other government programs related to food and nutrition self-sufficiency,” said SEARCA.
DepEd is being urged by SEARCA to source funds to improve basic equipment for proper data collection.
The program likewise has links to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) flagship National Greening Program and the related Adaptation and Mitigation to Climate Change and Solid Waste Management programs, according to SEARCA. | http://www.manilatimes.net/searca-adb-launch-climate-smart-school-gardens/282316/ | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/ba7ddb65dea33bc252a29e8f09d2310d46f596dcc66adbe16b4a0e78351a9f06.json |
[
"Rigoberto D. Tiglao",
"Yen Makabenta",
"Homobono A. Adaza",
"Francisco Tatad",
"Leva Bacgnut",
"Alvin Perez",
"Jaime Dela Cruz",
"Aphetsky Lasa",
"Kurokuro Lang",
"Alexis Leo"
]
| 2016-08-27T04:50:50 | null | 2016-08-21T21:44:03 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fwhy-didnt-the-aquinos-investigate-these-crimes%2F281258%2F.json | http://14255-presscdn-0-60.pagely.netdna-cdn.com//wp-content/uploads/2015/08/tiglao1_d2baf28b2ede0d1611d82c84a7683b05.png | en | null | Why didn’t the Aquinos investigate these crimes? | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | Yesterday is one of the most significant dates in our post-war history, when two historic, connected events happened, the consequences of which have made up our messy present.
Two dastardly crimes were committed on the same day, August 21; two Aquino presidents, surprisingly or not, despite their huge resources as the country’s chief executive officers, refused to unearth the real masterminds.
One event on August 21, 1971 triggered events that led to the imposition of martial law and the start of Marcos’ 13-year dictatorship. Another, on the same date 12 years later in 1983 triggered events that led to the fall of that dictatorship.
First: The Plaza Miranda bombing on August 21, 1971. Four grenades were hurled at the stage of the Liberal Party’ grand miting de avance, killing nine and wounding 95 others. Many of the party’s leaders and senatorial candidates were seriously injured.
The bombing was blamed on President Ferdinand Marcos, and public opinion believed so. As a result, most of his senatorial and congressional candidates lost in the elections that year, drastically weakening his political strength.
Kept secret for decades, the bombing was gradually unearthed as having been ordered by the Communist Party of the Philippines chairman then, Jose Ma. Sison, and executed by his most inner circle, called the party’s Executive Committee of the Political Bureau. Only Sison’s inner circle—and the brave, young activists who undertook the operation, believing it was for a just cause—knew it was the Communist Party leadership’s operation. Present Communist Party Chairman Benito Tiamzon, as well as everyone in the top leadership now, didn’t know it was Sison’s secret operation.
The motive: In the words used by communist party documents at that time, “to intensify the split within the ruling class” in order to create another “revolutionary flow.” In ordinary language, the bombing would push the opposition Liberal Party and their ruling-class supporters to strike back, even violently, at Marcos. The country would plunge into civil war, which the Communist Party as a very organized and armed force could take advantage of to capture power.
The Plaza Miranda attack was one of the events that convinced Marcos, and the military establishment, to plan carefully, and eventually impose Martial Law 13 months later.
Marcos, Defense Secretary Juan Ponce Enrile, the Armed Forces Chief of Staff Romeo Espino and all other service commanders were convinced that the opposition leader Ninoy Aquino had allied with the communists and their NPA. How else could one explain that he was the only Liberal Party senatorial candidate—and its luminous star even—who was spared from the attack since the grenades were exploded while Ninoy was still far from the Plaza?
Few believed the most commonsensical question then: Why would Marcos, whom even his enemies credited as a brilliant strategist, undertake such an attack that obviously would be blamed on him?
Aquino and the Liberal Party didn’t bother to pursue an investigation into the carnage, and instead roused public opinion against Marcos, as “The Mad Bomber,” even after they took control of the Senate in the elections three months later.
The Assasination
Second, the assassination of opposition leader Benigno Aquino Jr. on August 21, 1983. Much of martial-law era growth—as well as those of Latin American countries—in that era was due to massive infusions of foreign debt, which Western banks sourced from Middle East countries, which didn’t know what to do with their dollars after they took control of their oil industry, set up the OPEC, and ended the era of cheap oil.
Because of Westerns banks’ greed, as always, they didn’t bother to check if the countries they got addicted to foreign debt could sustain even just their interest payments. They were shocked to wake up one morning in August 1982 that Mexico, Argentina, Brazil and Chile could no longer keep up with their interest payments, and stopped paying their debts. The first global debt-crisis broke out, pushing up interest rates, and banks refused to throw good money after bad by stopping their short-term lending.
By the start of 1983, we already were feeling the crunch of the debt-crisis, with the peso gradually depreciating to P8.50 to $1.00 from P7.50 to $1.00, and everyone in business, especially the banking community, felt we couldn’t avoid a Latin American kind of debt crisis that would mean a severe economic downturn for us.
Worse was that Marcos’ disease had worsened during this time, and on August 7 had his kidney transplant operation, with his son Bongbong as the donor. According to Juan Ponce Enrile’s biography, Marcos emerged from his bed-ridden state only on August 15.
For the first time in Marcos’ eleven-year strongman rule, there emerged a major chance that his life could abruptly end. And this happened in a period when political and economic instability were building up, and his party sharply divided between the pro-Enrile and pro-Imelda/Fabian Ver factions.
And it was during this time that Ninoy Aquino made moves for his return to the Philippines, his journey which ended with his assassination on August 21, 1983. The assassination triggered events that led to “People Power I’s” overthrow of Marcos in February 1986.
Few believed the most commonsensical question then: Why would Marcos, whom even his enemies credited as a brilliant strategist, undertake such an assassination that obviously would be blamed on him?
Such precision
I find it astonishing that Aquino was killed with such precision, by a single bullet to the head. The habit taught to anyone who uses a gun, is to shoot at least three times, to make sure the target is incapacitated. But that’s probably for amateurs.
I find it astonishing that it was done in broad daylight, even risking so many eyewitnesses (there was only one, the so-called “crying woman”). I find it astonishing that the alleged killer, Rolando Galman, was killed even before Aquino’s body slammed on the tarmac. It was an operation of such precision that I don’t think our race is known for.
As astonishing is the fact that despite 12 years Ninoy’s widow Corazon Aquino and his son Benigno Aquino 3rd wielded the tremendous powers of a Philippine president, they did nothing to unmask the murders’ brains.
How difficult would it have been to fund a crack group of investigators to unearth the truth, especially with 16 officers and soldiers just there in jail convicted by the Sandiganbayan for conspiracy over the murder. Why didn’t the Aquino presidents offer them pardon—and maybe even money to live comfortably abroad—in exchange for identifying the brains of the murder that shaped our history? (Compare that to President Kennedy’s assassination, in which the alleged gunman Oswald was killed a few days later, with no other suspects found.)
The only logical explanation I could think of is that the two Aquino presidents, Cory as early as 1986, were informed by unimpeachable sources—maybe even provided indisputable evidence—who, or what group, was the mastermind of Ninoy’s murder.
But if it were Marcos, why did they not disclose this to the nation and provided the body of evidence, in order to absolutely demonize him beyond any historical revision?
Or was Cory told that if she made public the brains of her husband’s murder, she would be so easily toppled by Enrile’s RAM rebels, so that she just had to suffer quietly, the patriotic thing for her to do. After all, she probably could have been told, her entire narrative of the widow going after her husband’s murderer would collapse if she were to disclose the real mastermind.
There is another question that bothers me a lot. Was it just sheer coincidence that two historic events occurred on the same date?
I wonder. In what would be his death voyage, Aquino arrived in Taipei on August 19, 1983. But he booked his flight to Manila August 21. Was the date of his return to the country some secret message to the dictator, one that only he and Marcos would understand?
[email protected] | http://www.manilatimes.net/why-didnt-the-aquinos-investigate-these-crimes/281258/ | en | 2016-08-21T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/0fd32679983ea4690dfd069c7591dd6a6476697633e8826de51a2fe900f5dfa9.json |
[
"The Manila Times"
]
| 2016-08-31T10:50:19 | null | 2016-08-31T18:01:32 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fpolicemen-in-edsa-extort-incident-see-dismissal-of-case%2F283151%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 | Policemen in EDSA ‘extort’ incident see dismissal of case | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | POLICE officers involved in the alleged extortion incident along EDSA in Mandaluyong City in 2014 believe that the charges filed against them will be dismissed because the complainants did not show up during hearings.
Judge Carlos Valenzuela of the Mandaluyong Regional Trial Court Branch 213 on Wednesday suspended the court hearing when Samanodin Abdul Gafur and Camal Mama again snubbed the proceedings.
The complainants were no shows in almost 10 months of hearings.
“The court will wait until the next hearing,” Valenzuela said.
The judge said he will grant the probationary dismissal of the case against Senior Inspector Oliver Villanueva, Senior Police Officer 1 Ramil Pachero, Police Officers 2 Ebonn Decadoria and Weavin Masa, Chief Inspector. Joseph de Vera, Senior Inspector Allan Emlano, Inspector Marco Polo Estrera, Police Officers 2 Jerome Datinguinoo, Mark de Paz and Jonathan Rodriguez. The police officers pleaded not guilty to the charges of car theft, kidnapping and robbery by a band.
Probationary dismissal allows the accused to go free conditionally. If after two years no one reopens the case against them, the charges will be dropped completely.
The alleged kidnapping and robbery incident became viral after a motorist who snapped a photo of the incident uploaded the image on social media.
The photo showed three vehicles flanking another vehicle along EDSA while at least five armed men believed to be the policemen pointed their guns at the cornered SUV. NEIL A. ALCOBER | http://www.manilatimes.net/policemen-in-edsa-extort-incident-see-dismissal-of-case/283151/ | en | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/09aa4489ec259ae7ef8c47f4b84a3053689bb419196581862ff5f93d8aeb7300.json |
[
"Kristyn Nika M. Lazo",
"Catherine Talavera",
"James Konstantin Galvez",
"Agence France-Presse"
]
| 2016-08-30T16:50:19 | null | 2016-08-31T00:45:34 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fchina-bank-plans-p20-b-debt-issue%2F283097%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 | China Bank plans P20-B debt issue | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | CHINA Banking Corp., a banking affiliate of the SM Group, is planning to issue up to P20 billion worth of long-term negotiable certificates of time deposits (LTNCD) for its initiatives and business expansion moving forward.
In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, the bank said it will apply for the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) shelf registration program.
Under shelf registration, a company may seek approval for a major fundraising initiative which it can issue in tranches over three years.
China Bank said the tranches will likely be in the size of P5 billion to P10 billion each, with tenors ranging from five to seven years. The planned P20-billion LTNCD offering is still subject to regulatory approvals.
“China Bank expects to tap their existing clients and depositors for distribution of the LTNCD,” the bank said.
“This issuance is expected to expand the bank’s long-term deposit base and boost its long-term asset growth,” it added.
LTNCDs are time deposits that have longer maturity and are higher yielding than regular deposits. These instruments are negotiable and insured with the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. up to the maximum coverage, which is currently at P500,000 per depositor.
China Bank last issued LTNCDs in 2008 and the P5-billion issue was oversubscribed only two days into its offering period.
Established in 1920, China Bank mainly caters to the small and medium enterprises (SME) market while also offering banking services to the corporate, commercial and retail segments through its network of over 500 branches nationwide, which includes its thrift bank arm China Bank Savings. | http://www.manilatimes.net/china-bank-plans-p20-b-debt-issue/283097/ | en | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/308bbaae75615278fca7263d156916f230462bd42ed5f99a8997aec0934054fa.json |
[
"Manila Times",
"Raadee S. Sausa"
]
| 2016-08-29T02:49:47 | null | 2016-08-29T10:40:21 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Feu-nations-must-not-to-refuse-muslim-migrants-merkel%2F282704%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 nations must not to refuse Muslim migrants - Merkel | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | BERLIN: The refusal of some EU countries to accept Muslim refugees is “unacceptable”, Chancellor Angela Merkel said Sunday as Germany called for quotas to divide the influx throughout the bloc.
“That’s not right at all that some countries say: ‘generally speaking, we don’t want to have Muslims in our countries’,” Merkel told German public television channel ARD.
Backing the idea of a quota system for taking in migrants, the German leader stressed that “everyone must do their part,” and that “a common solution must be found.”
A common European migration policy is a highly controversial issue, which will be on the agenda of an EU summit next month, with eastern members the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia refusing to take in refugees under an EU-wide quota system championed by Berlin.
Slovak President Robert Fico has vowed he would “never bring even a single Muslim” into his country.
In 2015, Germany took in around a million asylum seekers, most from Syria, Iraq or Afghanistan, and this year it expects up to 300,000 more to arrive, the Federal Office for Migrants and Refugees (BAMF) said Sunday.
“We can ensure optimal services for up to 300,000. Should more people arrive, it would put us under pressure, then we would go into so-called crisis mode. But even then we would not have conditions like last year,” BAMF chief Frank-Juergen Weise told the Bild am Sonntag newspaper
Merkel’s decision last September to open the doors to asylum seekers was seen in many European nations, notably those in the east, as an invitation for further mass migration.
Some, like the Slovak leader, voiced fears of the emergence of a significant Muslim community in their countries.
On Tuesday, Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka said he does not want a “large Muslim community… given the problems we are seeing” and that each EU member should be able to choose how many migrants to accept.
German public sentiment is sharply divided when it comes to Merkel, who has not yet said whether she will stand for a fourth term in a general election expected in September or October next year. AFP
AFP/CC | http://www.manilatimes.net/eu-nations-must-not-to-refuse-muslim-migrants-merkel/282704/ | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/9b4d0961d7917eddce7967f0a1e9a00acf9bce25a63747fe4fb61a4d6891705f.json |
[
"Manila Times"
]
| 2016-08-26T13:01:04 | null | 2016-08-26T20:13:26 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fhonasan-estrada-probed-for-graft%2F282250%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 | Honasan, Estrada probed for graft | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | The Office of the Ombudsman is investigating former Agrarian Secretary Virgilio delos Reyes, Sen. Gregorio Honasan 2nd, former Sen. Jose “Jinggoy” Estrada, former Rep. Arturo Robes of San Jose Del Monte, Bulacan and several others for their alleged involvement in projects that allegedly turned out to be non-existent.
In a statement issued on Friday, the Ombudsman said it has started the preliminary investigation of the complaint against former and incumbent officials for violation of the anti-graft law and alleged malversation through falsification of public documents.
Also being investigated are former DAR Undersecretaries Narciso Nieto, Jerry Pacturan, and Teresita Panlilio; Budget Undersecretary Mario Relampagos, Janet Lim-Napoles; former Department of Agrarian Reform employees Ronald Venancio and Rowena Agbayani; non-government office representatives Evelyn De Leon, John Raymond De Asis, Mylene Encarnacion, Simplicio Gumafelix, Eulogio Rodriguez, Evelyn Miranda, Perfecto Jaime Tagalog, Remo Bana, Michelle Imperial, Richard Tubiera, Lyngie Tubiera, Melinda Calagui, Ronald John Lim Jr. and notaries public Donato Manguiat, Editha Talaboc, Mark Oliveros, Raymond Gerardo Tansip; Robes’ wife Florida; Estrada’s former staff Pauline Therese Labayen and Rodrigo Galay
The Ombudsman’s field investigators found that in 2010 to 2011, DAR allocated P220 million for livelihood and training projects for farmers in 27 towns in Isabela, Bataan, Pampanga, Bulacan, Ilocos Norte, Nueva Ecija, Bataan, Quezon, Batangas, and Pangasinan.
The Office of the Ombudsman said P20 million out of the P220 million for these projects came from the 2010 DAR regular fund allegedly released upon Honasan’s request; P100 million allegedly came from Honasan’s 2011 Priority Development Assistance Fund, and another P100 million from the 2011 regular fund, half of which was released upon Estrada’s request.
The Commission on Audit issued several notices of disallowance on the transactions because of the supposed non-existence of the projects. However, the Ombudsman said the P220 million remained unliquidated.
Under the DAR project, each town was supposed to receive P5 million to P10 million. For the livelihood and training programs to be implemented by 13 non-government organizations (NGO).
However, field verification showed that none of the projects were implemented, the Office of the Ombudsman said.
It added that documents showed a “deliberate or extensive use of falsified documents and forged signatures” to document, substantiate and justify the disbursement and use of the P220 million.
Delos Reyes, Pacturan, Relampagos, Panlilio, Venancio and Agbayani are also facing administrative adjudication proceedings for grave misconduct, gross neglect of duty, serious dishonesty and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service. REINA TOLENTINO
RT/CC | http://www.manilatimes.net/honasan-estrada-probed-for-graft/282250/ | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/1f13cc6469000b5cb775685c03fbd11fadb1e9486cef696f91f9ac47d1122fac.json |
[
"Ei Sun Oh",
"Lito Averia",
"Marlen V. Ronquillo",
"The Manila Times",
"Mohr Naga"
]
| 2016-08-31T00:52:18 | null | 2016-08-31T00:12:35 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fnightmarish-waters-ripe-for-robust-solutions%2F283062%2F.json | http://14255-presscdn-0-60.pagely.netdna-cdn.com//wp-content/uploads/2016/06/EI-SUN-OH.jpg | en | null | Nightmarish waters ripe for robust solutions | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | It is no secret that the eastern coasts of my home state of Sabah neighboring the Philippines are frequently harassed by self-styled “freedom fighters.” Their avowed goals range from creating a self-governing homeland for the Muslims in the southern Philippines, to declaring outright independence for the same, and even to reviving the now defunct Sulu Sultanate encompassing the southern Philippine islands, as well as Sabah.
The so-called “Sulu Invasion of Sabah” was perhaps the culmination of that last, outlandish goal of past imperial “glories.” (The incident took place three years ago, whereby heavily armed groups allegedly affiliated to some self-proclaimed Sultan of Sulu landed on Sabah shores and, after negotiations failed, engaged in sporadic exchanges of fire with Malaysian security forces and subsequently vanished, seemingly without a trace.)
On the other hand, the authorities of both countries, to their credit, righteously condemn these marauding groups as masqueraded “terrorists.” Indeed, many dastardly acts committed by cruel and unfeeling members of these groups, such as torture and beheading of hostages and prisoners of war alike, were truly revolting affronts to civilized modern human conscience. These cruel acts are similar to those performed by elements of the much feared Islamic State (IS) worldwide terrorist umbrella, to which some of these “local” groups also pledge allegiance.
Parts of the aim of such deliberately bloody orchestrations were, of course, attempts to instill fear into both the relevant authorities, as well as the general populace as to the unwavering resolve of these groups in pursuing their eventual, supposedly “lofty” (in their eyes) goals.
However, in actuality, perhaps neither of these contrasting characterizations of these dangerous groups is truly correct. These incessantly voracious groups should most aptly be called “money seeking armed elements,” for they quite transparently make a living out of hefty ransoms from their numerous kidnapping cases, traditionally mostly along the coasts of Sabah, but increasingly around the southern Philippines as well. Sabah is blessed with quite a number of islands, around which are located some of the best diving spots in the world. Many tourists and diving enthusiasts from across the globe flock to these places to enjoy the fantastic sceneries both above and under the water. And the predatory groups see “golden” opportunities there, kidnapping sometimes at random and other times selectively, tourists and other “high-value” targets, and seeking horrendous amounts of ransom in exchange for release.
Bargaining with them, often through middlemen, over the ransom “prices” sometimes go awry, and the aforementioned inhumane acts often serve more as crude reminders of non-compliance of ransom requests, rather than as instruments of fear to achieve higher goals. When these groups are successful in making off with their loot, they often quiet down for a few months, before money dries up, and then they go out to the open sea to prowl with greedy eyes again.
For at least half a century, these piratic groups have been roaming the Sulu Sea and beyond, creating havocs which, nevertheless, could not be adequately countered by either country. This is mainly because the sea boundaries are relatively close to the mainland coasts of either country, and there are numerous islands dotting the maritime boundary regions that can serve as hideouts or even depots for these armed groups.
A typical kidnapping example would be the armed gang approaching shorelines by speed boats, grabbing the kidnap victim “efficiently” in minutes if not seconds, and speeding off across maritime boundary lines in tens of minutes, leaving the law enforcement teams of the country concerned hapless, not being able to cross maritime boundaries in hot pursuit for worries of instigating international misunderstanding. Even if the law enforcement teams of the corresponding country respond to their counterpart’s call for assistance, the facts on the ground are such that the piratic gangs are usually able to weave among the islands which they know intimately as their hideouts, and crisscross national boundaries “skillfully” and repeatedly, evading capture or annihilation by either country.
Now even a third country, Indonesia, is concerned about the dire situation in these essentially pirate-infested waters, which, of course, border its Kalimantan waters. We should, of course, welcome the recently concluded tripartite arrangements for enhance intelligence exchanges on these armed groups, better hotline communication channels, and even joint naval patrols in these dangerous waters. If it were up to me, I would even call upon the United Nations Security Council to pass an emergency resolution to form an international patrol fleet, such as the ones off the coast of Somalia and in the Gulf of Aden to ward off the primarily Somali pirates. Drastic situations demand drastic, international response.
Some have called for the acceleration of yet further rounds of peace talks with the southern separatist groups in the Philippines, such that a hopefully even more final solution to the separatist issue could help alleviate the piratic circumstances. I think this is at best partially helpful. Such peace solutions must be supplemented by improvements in local socio-economic conditions on the one hand, so that there is less incentive to go rogue, and forceful transnational law enforcement cooperation to root out the remaining, profit-motivated trouble-making elements.
Only then, hopefully, would Sabahans be able to sleep tight. | http://www.manilatimes.net/nightmarish-waters-ripe-for-robust-solutions/283062/ | en | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/a90d0622a353a0e3961aa3f18ee4682167c4033f778b8b83e4dcf5f2ca0170c2.json |
[
"Manila Times"
]
| 2016-08-27T08:48:58 | null | 2016-08-27T15:45:01 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fph-communists-on-highway-to-peace%2F282374%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 | PH, Communists on ‘highway to peace’ | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | OSLO: The Philippine government and Communist guerrillas on Friday signed an indefinite ceasefire deal to facilitate peace talks aimed at ending one of Asia’s longest-running insurgencies.
“This is a historic and unprecedented event … (but) there is still a lot of work to be done ahead,” President Rodrigo Duterte’s peace adviser Jesus Dureza said at a signing ceremony in Norway, which is mediating the talks.
Both sides agreed to implement unilateral, indefinite ceasefires—something that has never been achieved before in the peace process.
Norwegian Foreign Minister Borge Brende described the agreement as a “major breakthrough.”
“We are on the highway to peace and we are talking of a timeline of maximum 12 months,” Silvestre Bello, the Philippine government delegation’s head of negotiations, told Agence France-Presse.
The two parties have been meeting in Oslo since Monday, wrapping up their talks with the signing ceremony on Friday.
As a prelude to the negotiations, both sides had agreed to a ceasefire, but the truce commitment by the Communist side was due to end on Saturday.
The two parties also agreed to “speed up the peace process, and aim to reach the first substantial agreement on economic and social reforms within six months,” a statement from the Norwegian foreign ministry said.
“They plan to follow this up with an agreement on political and constitutional reforms, before a final agreement on ending the armed conflict can be signed.”
The two delegations agreed to meet again in Oslo on October 8-12.
Philippine President Duterte himself hailed the progress made in Norway.
“We are in a better position (to talk peace) now. There is a window,” he said, adding: “We are not fighting the Communists. They have declared a truce. In return, I also ordered a ceasefire.”
‘Good atmosphere’
The head of the rebel delegation, Luis Jalandoni, was optimistic about the potential for achieving a lasting peace deal.
“We think that the peace talks now can move forward with a good atmosphere and try to move on with the (negotiations on) social and economic reforms, which are vital for addressing the roots of the armed conflict,” he told Agence France-Presse.
The government and the rebels also renewed an agreement that ensures immunity and security for key representatives of the rebels’ political wing, the National Democratic Front, so that they can take part in the negotiations.
The Communist Party of the Philippines launched a rebellion in 1968 that has so far claimed the lives of 30,000 people, according to official estimates.
Its armed faction, the New People’s Army (NPA), is now believed to have fewer than 4,000 gunmen, down from a peak of 26,000 in the 1980s, when a bloodless revolt ended the 20-year dictatorship of late president Ferdinand Marcos.
They remain particularly active in rural areas, where they are notorious for extorting money from local businesses. They also regularly attack police and military forces, sometimes targeting them in urban areas.
In 2002, the US State Department designated the Communist Party and the NPA as terrorist organizations.
Forging peace with the rebels has been the elusive goal of Philippine presidents since a 1986 revolution that toppled dictator Ferdinand Marcos.
The force behind the current talks is President Duterte, who took office on June 30 after a landslide election victory.
Hopes for peace deal
On Monday, his government said it hoped to reach a peace accord within a year.
Duterte, who calls himself a Socialist, hails from Mindanao, the impoverished southern third of the Philippines where two rebellions—Communist and Muslim—have been most active.
He says ending both insurgencies is vital to his plan to curb poverty. He has even sketched the possibility of forming a coalition government with the rebels.
Duterte reputedly has close links to the Communists and is a former university student of Jose Maria Sison, now aged 77, who established the party.
The two sides hope to breathe new life into the process by discussing the outstanding issues of social and economic reforms, political and constitutional changes, and an end to hostilities.
Previous peace talks have addressed one issue at a time. AFP
AFP/CC | http://www.manilatimes.net/ph-communists-on-highway-to-peace/282374/ | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/8485ea7cf1f9d07b00f74b3e6fe273f4f698053431938e89d73b14a353cd31c5.json |
[
"Manila Times"
]
| 2016-08-29T12:50:00 | null | 2016-08-29T20:43:15 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fbelgian-princess-to-visit-manila%2F282815%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 | Belgian princess to visit Manila | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | Princess Astrid of Belgium will be visiting Manila next year, Jesus Dureza, Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process, announced on Monday.
Dureza said he had to fly to Brussels on August 25 to meet European Union (EU) representatives.
“I flew to Brussels because the Belgian government, who host EU, was interested to know about the peace process and because of the planned visit of Princess Astrid who will come in May in 2017 to head a high-level economic team for investments,” he told reporters upon arrival at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.
Dureza arrived on Monday afternoon with Angeles City Mayor Ed Pamintuan in Manila
Princess Astrid is the second child and only daughter of King Albert II and Queen Paola, and younger sister to the current Belgian monarch, King Philippe.
She is the wife of Prince Lorenz of Belgium, Archduke of Austria-Este, head of the Austria-Este branch of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine.
Diplomatic relations between the Philippines and Belgium were established in July 1946. BENJIE L. VERGARA | http://www.manilatimes.net/belgian-princess-to-visit-manila/282815/ | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/6f9d1ad43bc3521cfc74a80685c3148273ca5c52e4873ab1954b9ad740027774.json |
[
"The Manila Times"
]
| 2016-08-31T12:50:24 | null | 2016-08-31T20:32:14 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fmorales-5-others-win-asias-nobel%2F283169%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 | Morales, 5 others win Asia’s ‘Nobel’ | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | Six awardees, including the Philippines’ Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales, officially received their Ramon Magsaysay awards on Wednesday at the Cultural Center of the Philippines.
The other awardees were Bezwada Wilson (India) and Thodur Madabusi Krishna (for Emergent Leadership, India) as well as organizations Dompet Dhuafa (Indonesia), the Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers or JOCV (Japan), and Vientiane Rescue (Laos).
Morales, in her response to the award, read a letter to her grandchildren who often asked why she continues to work.
“I continue working because I want to secure a just and honest society for you and for every Filipino child,” Morales said.
She said Magsaysay “steered the Philippines to its golden years, his tenure being one of the cleanest and most corrupt free in the history of our country. We must look back to his glorious past as guiding light in our thirst for leaders of the same persuasion.”
The award, regarded as Asia’s Nobel Prize, celebrates the memory and leadership example of former President Ramon Magsaysay.
According to the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation, it is given annually to individuals or organizations in Asia “who manifest the same selfless service and transformative influence that ruled the life of the late and beloved Filipino leader.”
Vice President Leni Robredo, whose husband, former Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo received the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Government Service in 2000, said everybody can render service and influence other people for the better.
“It is not just Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales, Bezwada Wilson, Thodur Krishna nor the organizations Dompet Dhuafa JOCV or the Vientiane Rescue who are players in the games of humanity and inspiration. We all are too. Find the giant and the hero in you and their sacrifices and hard work will finally find root in the societies of the world,” she said.
“You are the final leg of their work. Without you, without your daily acts of kindness and inspiration and goodness, their works will not be fully successful. It is you who will give the final free throw,” Robredo said.
“Remember that your ideas are more powerful than anything in this world. When used to cultivate humanity, remember that your ideas are more forceful than guns, more persuasive than money, more commanding even than dictators. So let us act on those ideas now. Let us act on the ideas that come to you in the darkest hours of the morning. When you do, I promise you, your influence will spread beyond this lifetime. Jessie’s influence did, in ways even I did not imagine. Our footprints will live on,” she added. REINA LEANNE C. TOLENTINO
RT/CC | http://www.manilatimes.net/morales-5-others-win-asias-nobel/283169/ | en | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/df4c700be65b71e5fc18688b762b6dc99945625ccac6b6bc533140930283c102.json |
[
"The Manila Times",
"Philippines News Agency",
"Emil C. Noguera",
"Agence France-Presse"
]
| 2016-08-29T12:50:11 | null | 2016-08-29T20:04:41 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fsuperal-misses-lpga-q-school-low-medal-honors%2F282805%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 | Superal misses LPGA Q-School low medal honors | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | Princess Superal closed out with flubbed back-to-back birdie putts inside seven feet and missed winning the low medal honors in the LPGA and Symetra Tour Qualifying School-Stage I at Rancho Mirage, California Sunday (Monday in Manila).
The ace Filipina shotmaker was so confident of her bid coming off a long birdie putt on No. 16 but her putts fell off short on the last two holes of the tough Dinah Shore course. She settled for a 69 and joint runner-up finish in the first of three qualifiers leading to a dream LPGA Tour stint.
Superal, 19, finished tied with American Sarah Schmelzel, who carded a 71, at nine-under 279 in the 72-hole tournament topped by Ecuador’s Daniela Darquea, who pooled a 278 after a 70.
Still, it was the best-ever finish by a Filipina bet in the Q-School of the world’s premier ladies tour with The Country Club ace vowing to prepare hard and stay in shape when he resumes her campaign in Stage 2 set October 20 to 23 at the Plantation Golf and Country Club in Venice, Florida.
“She’ll play two LPGA events in September and then head to Florida mid-October to prepare for Stage 2,” said TCC coach Bong Lopez, who caddied for his prized ward during the 72-hole elims played over three courses.
“She had the line on both holes but her putts just fell short. Sayang talaga,” said Lopez, referring to Superal’s last two strokes which had she made would’ve netted her the coveted medal honors.
“Still, it was a solid finish. I always believe her skill level is good for the LPGA,” said Lopez, the man at the helm of the ICTSI golf program that has produced the likes of Cyna Rodriguez and Dottie Ardina and current wards Pauline del Rosario, Sofia Chanon, Mika Fortuna and Abby Arevalo.
Superal, the former US Girls’ Junior champion, stood at 25th among 340 aspirants after two rounds at Gary Player and Dinah Shore courses then moved up joint seventh with a sterling 68 at the Arnold Palmer layout.
She actually bogeyed No. 3 when the final round returned to the Dinah Shore, the toughest of the three courses, which is also a regular venue of an LPGA Major. But the reigning Philippine Ladies Open champion and Hong Kong Ladies Amateur Open winner fought back with birdies on Nos. 6, 8, 11 and 16 to contend for top honors.
Regina de Guzman, the other Filipina bet, also advanced to Stage II despite a 77 finish. She wound up tied for 46th at 291.
Filipina Symetra Tour campaigners Dottie Ardina and Mia Piccio and two-time Symetra Tour winner Clariss Guce will resume their LPGA bids as they join Superal and De Guzman plus the other Stage I qualifiers in Stage 2.
The top 80 plus ties will move to Stage 3, a 90-hole tournament which stakes berths for next year’s LPGA Tour.
Cyna Rodriguez, after failing to make the Top 80 on her rookie year on the LPGA Tour, will vie again in Stage 3 slated Nov. 30-Dec. 4 at the LPGA international in Daytona Beach, Florida. | http://www.manilatimes.net/superal-misses-lpga-q-school-low-medal-honors/282805/ | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/efebd3f1d41e3196ce88d7f8438fc85c830cdb7b66b89fb98b9f896c59120c67.json |
[
"Philippines News Agency",
"The Manila Times",
"Mayvelin U. Caraballo"
]
| 2016-08-26T16:49:02 | null | 2016-08-27T00:32:35 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fglobe-ups-innovation-drive-for-growth%2F282307%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 | Globe ups innovation drive for growth | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | In a bid to further propel business growth, Globe Telecom is taking its innovation drive to the next level by providing its employees an avenue to explore and harness concepts, ideas as well as technological advances that could prove relevant amid customers’ growing penchant for a digital lifestyle.
In this year’s run of Globe Innovation Month, the company arranged several activities designed to encourage, inform and enable Globe employees to further embrace innovation: Mind Brew, Hack for a Nation and Globe Innovation Forum.
“For Globe to remain relevant, the company needs to be consistent in offering innovative products and services that shape the Filipino’s digital lifestyle. With the set of activities we have prepared, we hope to generate within the organization new ideas that could potentially become major breakthroughs in our thrust to create wonderful experiences for our customers and drive business growth,” the company said.
Globe Telecom explained that Mind Brew is a series of talks that provided insights to Globe employees around the latest concepts and trends on innovation. Jos Ortega, CEO and founder of Havas Ortega; Althea Utzurrum, Lazada vice president for Online Marketing; Mike Lao, Accenture director of Delivery for Digital in the Philippines; and Jagan Srinivasan, president for Philips Lighting, Philippines shared valuable insights on innovation and their importance to further business growth.
Hack for a Nation, on the other hand, is a 24-hour hackathon aimed at addressing social challenges through innovation and technology. Around 35 groups from various schools and companies participated in the hackathon, where the participating teams were asked to create apps within the given time frame. Specifically, the challenge was to build an interactive prototype, mobile or web application, that would support nation building initiatives from a telco-oriented approach to address issue on transportation, education and emergency response services.
|
The Haraya team, composed of Juan Paolo Espiritu, Mark Joseph Basibas and John Hay Supetran won the competition for creating DriVR, a virtual reality simulator to test Metro Manila drivers for both driving skills and traffic discipline on the road.
The two-day Globe Innovation Forum, meanwhile, aimed to showcase new solutions and technologies through learning sessions and a tech exhibit that provided valuable inputs to help realize Globe Telecom’s business thrust in the next few years. Now on its third year, the event also served as an avenue for the company’s product and technology groups to showcase their respective products and services. | http://www.manilatimes.net/globe-ups-innovation-drive-for-growth/282307/ | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/f468b56cfb45d1b320022133c3ecbd71d6ef6b16d41b7141bc88f6f7cafe6730.json |
[
"Manila Times",
"Raadee S. Sausa",
"Angelica Ballesteros"
]
| 2016-08-29T02:49:48 | null | 2016-08-29T10:15:15 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fturkey-to-fight-is-syrian-kurdish-militia-with-same-determination-erdogan%2F282703%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 | Turkey to fight IS, Syrian Kurdish militia with ‘same determination’ - Erdogan | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | ISTANBUL: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed Sunday to devote equal energy to combatting Islamic State jihadists and Syrian Kurdish fighters, on the fifth day of a major offensive that has left dozens dead.
“We will make any kind of contribution to the work to clear Daesh (IS) from Syria,” Erdogan told a rally in the southern city of Gaziantep, near the Syrian border.
“For the issue of the PYD (Democratic Union Party) terror group in Syria, we have just the same determination,” he added, referring to the main pro-Kurdish party in northern Syria and its People’s Protection Units (YPG) militia.
On Sunday, Turkish forces ramped up their offensive, with Turkish warplanes and artillery pounding areas held by pro-Kurdish forces close to a town liberated from IS this week.
Ankara said its raids had killed 25 Kurdish “terrorists” and that the army was doing everything it could to avoid civilian casualties.
But the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least 40 civilians were killed in strikes on two areas — the first report of significant civilian casualties since the start of operation “Euphrates Shield.”
The monitor also said at least four Kurdish fighters had been killed and 15 injured in the bombardments south of Jarabulus, the town taken from IS by Turkish-backed Arab rebels on the first day of Turkey’s incursion Wednesday.
Addressing thousands of flag-waving supporters in Gaziantep, Erdogan said he was “ready and determined to clear our region of terror groups”.
“We will absolutely not allow any terror activity on or near our borders.”
Gaziantep is the city where a suicide bomber blew himself up in the middle of a wedding party last weekend, killing 55 people.
Turkey blamed the attack on the Islamic State group. Erdogan reaffirmed a previous statement that the bomber was a child aged just 14.
Days later Ankara launched the two-pronged Syria operation with the stated aim of clearing the border area of both IS and the Kurdish fighters.
Turkey sees the US-backed PYD and YPG — which have links to Kurdish rebels in southeast Turkey — as terror groups and wants to keep them from taking control of the border on the Syrian side.
The US supports the Syrian Kurdish fighters as an effective adversary of IS in the area. AFP
AFP/CC | http://www.manilatimes.net/turkey-to-fight-is-syrian-kurdish-militia-with-same-determination-erdogan/282703/ | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/5e4b1c32451de6eb2f6d93dcfa28dc6d912bbcf25362410ec0bfb181a8179b6d.json |
[
"Jing Villamente",
"Jefferson Antiporda",
"The Manila Times",
"Catherine Talavera"
]
| 2016-08-26T14:50:08 | null | 2016-08-26T22:00:21 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2F3-suspects-seeking-dismissal-of-murder-charges%2F282283%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 | 3 suspects seeking dismissal of murder charges | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | Three accused in the November 2009 Maguindanao massacre case were allowed by the Quezon City Regional Trial Court (RTC) to file their demurrer to evidence seeking the dismissal of 58 counts of murder charges filed against them.
In a three-page order, Judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes of RTC Branch 221 granted a motion for leave of court to enable accused Dexson Saptula, Abas Anongan and Kominie Inggo to file their demurrer to evidence within 10 days.
Demurrer to evidence is a motion to dismiss a case filed by the defense after the prosecution rests on the ground of insufficiency of evidence of the prosecution.
Reyes, however, denied the same motion filed by accused Talembo Masukat for lack of merit.
The four accused filed the motion on the ground that the evidence adduced by the prosecution is not sufficient to prove their guilt beyond reasonable doubt.
In its comment/opposition, the prosecution claimed that the ground stated by the accused does not conform with the requirement of Rule 119, Section 23 (par. 3) of the Revised Rules on Criminal Procedure since their ground is a mere general and sweeping statement that the evidence is insufficient to prove their guilt beyond reasonable doubt.
The prosecution said accused Masukat was positively identified by state witness Sukarno Badal to be one of the commanders who was present during a meeting held at Century Park Hotel on July 20, 2009 wherein the plan to kill the Mangudadatus was hatched and discussed.
JING VILLAMENTE | http://www.manilatimes.net/3-suspects-seeking-dismissal-of-murder-charges/282283/ | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/ee0bb11b7e70611d0a6131962a2261fbb0a335b6fdfbb6ab36e08f2ef77a298a.json |
[
"Philippines News Agency",
"Emil C. Noguera",
"Agence France-Presse",
"The Manila Times"
]
| 2016-08-29T12:50:03 | null | 2016-08-29T20:06:30 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fzamboanga-weightlifters-receive-equipment-from-iwf%2F282809%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 | Zamboanga weightlifters receive equipment from IWF | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | ZAMBOANGA CITY: The International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) has donated P220,000 worth of new equipment for weightlifters based in this city.
Philippine Weightlifting Association vice president, Councilor Elbert Atilano told Philippine News Agency on Monday that the donation, which arrived here Sunday, is very timely and will be of great help since the city lacks weightlifting equipment.
Atilano said the donation, which consisted of two sets of barbells, weightlifting belt, shoes, and suits among others, will be stationed at the Universidad de Zamboanga, the main training center for weightlifting here.
Zamboanga City has 100 active weightlifters who train at the Universidad de Zamboanga in Barangay Mercedes and at the gym of Rio Olympics silver medalist Hidilyn Diaz in Barangay Mampang.
Meanwhile, Atilano said he is planning to transfer the weightlifting training center to the Joaquin Enriquez Memorial Sports Complex.
The sports complex is under rehabilitation since it was used as an evacuation center for thousands of families displaced in the 21-day September 2013 siege.
PNA | http://www.manilatimes.net/zamboanga-weightlifters-receive-equipment-from-iwf/282809/ | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/0b325a086cfd3aa44ecd955ba16009cf33ee3fe24eac12a57361af17c176750c.json |
[
"Manila Times"
]
| 2016-08-27T06:48:57 | null | 2016-08-27T14:37:57 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fus-russia-move-closer-to-new-syria-ceasefire-after-talks%2F282366%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 move closer to new Syria ceasefire after talks | 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.
The UN on Friday described the lack of humanitarian access to Syria’s besieged areas as “wholly unacceptable”, saying just one aid convoy had completed deliveries this month.
Syria’s battered second city Aleppo, which is divided between government and opposition control but surrounded by loyalist forces, has emerged as a top concern.
Russia last week gave its blessing to a long-demanded 48-hour pause in fighting in the northern city to allow in aid, but de Mistura on Thursday accused other unspecified parties of still dragging their feet.
There was hope that Friday’s talks between Kerry and Lavrov might help boost those efforts, but no specific pledges on Aleppo were made.
But separately, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Friday “agreed to accelerate efforts to ensure help reaches people in Aleppo,” Turkey’s state-run Anadolu news agency said. AFP
AFP/CC | http://www.manilatimes.net/us-russia-move-closer-to-new-syria-ceasefire-after-talks/282366/ | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/b0f270e33f6c1cc204420f2904d204bd969a9574feccae215457a9b0bcfdc449.json |
[
"Emil C. Noguera",
"Josef T. Ramos"
]
| 2016-08-26T12:57:34 | null | 2016-08-26T20:37:30 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2F4-ph-bets-enter-world-9-ball-open-ko-stage%2F282246%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 | 4 PH bets enter World 9-Ball Open KO stage | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | Four Filipino cue masters led by Jeffrey De Luna and Johann Chua earned spots in the knockout stage of the prestigious 2016 World 9-Ball Open being held at the Pudong Tangzhen Culture and Sports Center in Shanghai, China.
De Luna outclassed Yang Chingshun in the first round, 9-6, and Ke Bing Yi in the second round, 9-6, in Group D while Chua toppled Hussain Bashater Abdulmajeed in the opening round, 9-6, and Denis Grabe in the second round, 9-7, in Group C.
Joining them in the main draw are former two-time World 10-Ball champion Rubilen Amit and 2016 Amway eSpring International Women 9-ball Championship Chezka Centeno, who scored impressive wins in their respective group stage matches.
Amit stamped her class over Gu Zhengqin, 7-1, in Group F while Centeno clobbered Choi Sollip, 7-2, in Group C of the tournament sanctioned by the World Pool-Billiard Association.
Still gunning for spots are Lee Vann Corteza, Alex Pagulayan, Jeffrey Ignacio and Carlo Biado, who all need one more win in group stage to advance to the knockout stage.
Corteza outplayed Wen Yu, 9-8, (Group F); Pagulayan trounced Fan Zhisong, 9-6, (Group H); Ignacio blasted Gregory Harada, 9-3, (Group E); and Biado thumped Robert Foldvari, 9-6, (Group E).
In the next round, Corteza battles Fu Jianbo, Pagulayan takes on Wan Can, Ignacio meets Francisco Sanchez-Ruiz and Biado tackles Mario He.
Southeast Asian Games gold medalist Dennis Orcollo and Warren Kiamco were the first Filipino casualties after absorbing two-straight losses in group stage.
Orcollo lost to Wu Kunlin (4-9) and John Morra (5-9) while Kiamco succumbed to Aloysius Yapp (8-9) and Thorsten Hohmann (7-9).
The tournament has a total prize fund of $373,600 with the men’s champion pocketing $40,000 and the women’s titlist getting $36,000.
EMIL C. NOGUERA | http://www.manilatimes.net/4-ph-bets-enter-world-9-ball-open-ko-stage/282246/ | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/bfdf9f516b933978c3fe1f709be17b1df8e10a292a09d09d5df7b386ef164e2e.json |
[
"Manila Times"
]
| 2016-08-30T08:50:10 | null | 2016-08-30T15:12:49 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fa-plus-size-challenge-to-skoreas-beauty-norm%2F282941%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 | A plus-size challenge to SKorea’s beauty ‘norm’ | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | SEOUL: In a country with beauty ideals that pre-makeover Barbie would struggle to meet, South Korean plus-size model Vivian Geeyang Kim is facing down online trolls in her defiant campaign to persuade curvy women they have nothing to be ashamed of.
Kim has modeled for US firms, but at 165 centimeters (5.4 ft) tall and weighing 70 kilograms, she was described as “too skinny” for some full-figure fashion show work in America.
But in her looks-obsessed homeland, she is constantly mocked and ridiculed on social networks as “flat-out fat” or “disgusting.”
“In South Korea, the ideal weight for women is 50 kilograms, and many women who weigh more than that think they are fat,” the 30-year-old said.
“That is a ridiculous, impossible standard that cripples many South Korean women’s self-esteem. And that has to change,” she told Agence France-Presse after a recent photo shoot.
Kim, who is a US size 10, runs an online clothing shop and publishes a fashion magazine specifically for plus-size women in South Korea—a first in a country where beauty is defined by rail-thin teenage K-pop stars and TV actresses whose diets are strictly controlled by their management.
Radical surgery
The pressure to conform is such that many turn to the country’s $4.6-billion plastic surgery industry which offers everything from a nose-job to radical double-jaw surgery.
In a 2013 study by Samyook University in Seoul that surveyed 154 female university students in the normal weight range—a body mass index between 18-23—almost 95 percent said they were unhappy with their bodies.
More than 60 percent felt they needed to lose weight.
The sort of weight-loss advert that was banned earlier this year in Britain for its image of a bikini-clad woman and the slogan “Are You Beach Body Ready?” would barely raise an eyebrow in South Korea.
Similar products are promoted on posters pasted on subway walls and women’s toilet stalls, showing models mocking “lazy girls” or asking questions like: “How long are you going to roll around like that?”
It is precisely this type of widespread, casual body-shaming that Kim is seeking to tackle head-on.
“People hate it when a ‘fat girl’ like me parades her body without looking ashamed … they say I should not be seen in public or on the media,” Kim said.
Her public stance has triggered an online backlash that has included death threats and vicious abuse that, in some cases, she has responded to with lawsuits.
“Despite all this, I love my job,” she said.
“I wanted to send this message to girls like me out there that they are not alone and they are beautiful no matter what.”
No opportunity
After a failed bid to compete in a local modeling TV reality show, she left for the United States in 2010, where she eventually worked a number of full-figured shows.
On her return, she searched for similar opportunities in the South Korean fashion scene— only to realize that there were none.
According to Lee Chung Chung, a prominent Seoul fashion designer, using models of varying sizes in magazines or fashion catalogues is still a foreign concept in South Korea.
“The beauty ideal among many of our customers is being thin … and we have to cater to that demand to sustain sales,” Lee said.
Gong Ji-Woo, head of Seoul-based New Face Model agency, said demand for plus-size models was “non-existent”—with the exception of some TV shopping channels where they are shown eating food products or trying exercise machines.
“I do feel the need for more development in plus-size model runways and programs,” Gong said.
“But in order for this to happen, Korean clothing companies and the fashion industry must change to accept them… rather than for a one time event or our amusement,” he added.
Going it alone
Shut out of the mainstream, Kim set up—and models for—her own quarterly magazine which offers fashion and styling tips for plus-size women and well as advice on how to deal with bullying.
“I hear heartbreaking stories from so-called ‘fat girls’ all the time—being constantly abused and mocked by their own families, bosses, friends and strangers on the street or on the Internet,” she said.
“Honestly, some of them are not even that fat. But here, the standard of ‘thin’ is just way too cutthroat and only women as slim as K-pop band members can satisfy that norm,” she added.
Among her many fans and clients is Baek Soo-Jung, 31, who said Kim had created a sorely needed safe refuge.
Also a US size 10, Baek said she had been mocked by her own mother, who once refused to take the same bus with her because of the shame of being called “mom” in public by a chubby daughter.
Baek said Kim’s store was the first to produce pretty, well-fitting clothes, instead of the “dull, baggy, ill-fitting sacks local brands call plus-size clothes.”
“Regardless of my size, I am a human and a woman who wants to feel pretty and to love myself…and Kim is the person who started this conversation in this country,” the 31-year-old said.
“She took a big, brave step for all women like me.” AFP
AFP/CC | http://www.manilatimes.net/a-plus-size-challenge-to-skoreas-beauty-norm/282941/ | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/b8361a41e559db6eb5adbcd71f4054caf6efaf9525cf718a6feaa2417376bc36.json |
[
"Agence France-Presse"
]
| 2016-08-27T12:49:16 | null | 2016-08-27T19:47:26 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Frousseff-allies-fight-impeachment%2F282389%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 | Rousseff allies fight impeachment | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | BRASÍLIA: Angry quarrels erupted at suspended Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff’s impeachment trial Friday, while her key ally, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, faced corruption charges on a day of turmoil for Latin America’s largest country.
Day two of Rousseff’s Senate trial in the capital Brasilia began with shouting matches that forced Supreme Court Chief Justice Ricardo Lewandowski to put the session temporarily on hold until tempers calmed.
Senate President Renan Calheiros called the row, prompted by a Rousseff loyalist’s questioning of the notoriously corrupt Senate’s moral authority, “a demonstration of infinite stupidity.”
This senate “is a madhouse!” Calheiros said.
About two-thirds of the senators have current or past brushes with the law, according to corruption watchdog Transparencia Brasil.
Rousseff, 68, is accused of breaking the law by taking unauthorized state bank loans to cover up budgetary shortfalls during her 2014 re-election.
She says the budgetary maneuvers were legal, describing herself as victim of a right-wing power grab after 13 years’ rule by her leftist Workers’ Party.
Witnesses for the defense were called Friday following the trial’s opening day Thursday, when the case against Rousseff was presented.
One witness, economist Luiz Gonzaga Belluzo, insisted that Rousseff did not violate the law, and that ousting her would be “an attack on democracy.”
The session ended at 0200 GMT Saturday, and is set to resume at 1300 GMT.
Rousseff herself is planning to testify Monday in a dramatic last-ditch attempt to save herself before senators vote—with analysts widely predicting her defeat.
Lula’s troubles deepen
At stake is not just Rousseff’s fate, but that of the once mighty Workers’ Party.
Its founder, Lula, faced his own mounting problems after police Friday filed a request for corruption and money laundering charges linking the influential ex-president to a vast embezzlement and bribery scheme at state oil company Petrobras.
Lula’s lawyer Cristiano Zanin Martins said Lula was innocent and targeted by a politically motivated case.
“Once again there is an act that by a strange coincidence occurs at a politically important moment for the country,” he told a news conference in Sao Paulo.
“That makes me think that this play, apart from being a fiction, has a clear political connotation.”
Although prosecutors and a judge must still approve the recommendation for Lula to go to trial, the police filing represented another blow for a man seeing his lifelong project to build Brazil’s left put in peril.
Adding to the drama, Lula was planning to travel from his home city of Sao Paulo to Brasilia to support Rousseff when she confronts her accusers in the Senate on Monday.
Under current plans, a vote would then take place within 48 hours after the senators’ final speeches. A pro-impeachment vote would see Rousseff immediately removed from office.
However, given the snail’s pace of the trial so far—with the first defense witness finishing only late afternoon Friday—it was not clear whether the schedule would change.
AFP | http://www.manilatimes.net/rousseff-allies-fight-impeachment/282389/ | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/9d158f770e689dc7a357dc431b60b75896ed27be3ef4975ae8df514c99f3f896.json |
[
"The Manila Times",
"Jefferson Antiporda",
"Angelica Ballesteros"
]
| 2016-08-28T12:49:36 | null | 2016-08-28T20:05:55 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Flto-urged-to-implement-online-transactions%2F282625%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 | LTO urged to implement online transactions | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | HOUSE Deputy Majority Leader and Cebu Rep. Gerald Anthony Gullas Jr. wants the Land Transportation Office (LTO) to employ information technology to allow the online renewal of driver’s licenses and motor vehicle registrations in three years.
“Our LTO has been left far behind computer systems-wise compared with other countries, where citizens may now conveniently renew driver’s licenses and car registrations electronically, without having to physically show up at the nearest office of the transport regulator,” Gullas said in a press release.
The LTO issues renewable professional and non-professional licenses for drivers as well as permits for conductors of public utility vehicles. It also gives out non-renewable student driving permits.
“Right now, 53 percent of licenses and permits processed by the LTO every year are actually renewals, while some 80 percent of car registrations handled are also renewals,” Gullas said.
Renewals may be administered online easily once the agency adopts the appropriate information technology, he said.
President Rodrigo Duterte has repeatedly expressed aversion to having people wait in line for hours whenever they have to deal with government agencies.
He also recently expressed exasperation over lingering corruption at the LTO and Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB), and vowed to be harsher on officials of the two agencies attached to the Department of Transportation (DOTr).
Gullas said delays in the processing of all kinds of applications at the LTO as well as the LTFRB tend to increase opportunities for malfeasance.
From January to June 2016, the LTO gave a total of 3,001,851 licenses and permits, up by 4.23 percent from 2,880,000 in the same semester in 2015.
The LTO also registered 5,037,586 motor vehicles from January to June this year, up by 5 percent from 4,797,839 in the same six-month period in 2015.
The agency collected P493 million in fines from apprehensions and violations in the first half of the year. | http://www.manilatimes.net/lto-urged-to-implement-online-transactions/282625/ | en | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/8c304be066b82ca1b4514fcba59255fcaa51bf6203a73d94ce85f0d963f2811a.json |
[
"The Manila Times"
]
| 2016-08-26T18:50:09 | null | 2016-08-27T01:54:10 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fdrug-cartels%2F282343%2F.json | http://14255-presscdn-0-60.pagely.netdna-cdn.com//wp-content/uploads/2016/08/in-mexico-300x207.jpg | en | null | Drug Cartels | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | null | http://www.manilatimes.net/drug-cartels/282343/ | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/283e647772986c3f92b96202ab67e3e5c5e51f44e94faaa3c805ab96d5b85a15.json |
[
"The Manila Times"
]
| 2016-08-31T10:50:21 | null | 2016-08-31T18:11:08 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fduterte-to-meet-fugitive-muslim-rebel%2F283154%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 to meet fugitive Muslim rebel | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | MANILA: Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said Wednesday he planned to meet a fugitive Muslim rebel wanted over a deadly siege, promising to ignore an arrest order in an effort to forge peace.
The announcement was the latest dramatic attempt by the firebrand leader to end decades-long insurgencies with Muslim and communist rebels that have claimed more than 150,000 lives.
Duterte said he spoke on Tuesday to Nur Misuari, founder of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), one of the two major Muslim rebel groups based in the south of the mainly Catholic Philippines.
“I told him: ‘Nur, I have no intention of detaining you or putting you in the custody of the government. You can simply walk out there, ask any soldier and police to escort you to where we can talk’,” Duterte said.
Duterte, 71, offered to meet Misuari, 77, in the rebel leader’s stronghold in the war-torn southern island of Jolo or in the presidential palace in Manila.
But Misuari said he preferred they meet in Malaysia before representatives of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), while promising a quick peace deal, according to Duterte.
“He said in two days we can sign something and end the fighting,” Duterte said.
The government of Duterte’s predecessor, Benigno Aquino, filed rebellion charges against Misuari for allegedly orchestrating a siege in the southern city of Zamboanga in 2013 that left more than 200 dead.
The offence is punishable by at least 30 years in prison, but Misuari was able to avoid arrest by remaining under the protection of his militants on Jolo, which is also home to the notorious Abu Sayyaf kidnap-for-ransom gang.
Misuari founded the MNLF in 1969 to wage a guerrilla war for a separate Islamic state in the southern Philippines, where most of the nation’s Muslim minority live.
Misuari signed a peace agreement with the government in 1996 in return for the creation of a Muslim autonomous area.
The breakaway Moro Islamic Liberation Front then continued the rebellion, but in recent years also began negotiating for peace.
Misuari allegedly orchestrated the 2013 Zamboanga siege because he felt the MNLF was being sidelined under the planned MILF peace deal.
Duterte is aiming to forge a final peace agreement with both groups.
The president, in power for just two months, has also launched peace talks with communist rebels. To kickstart the peace process, he released 17 jailed communist leaders. AFP
AFP/CC | http://www.manilatimes.net/duterte-to-meet-fugitive-muslim-rebel/283154/ | en | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/2e02f26bd47e93eedbb6a2b4954e19775e3d17545aea684044cecd9c64629a01.json |
[
"The Manila Times"
]
| 2016-08-31T06:50:19 | null | 2016-08-31T14:47:52 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fus-to-host-worlds-largest-conservation-meeting%2F283145%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 to host world’s largest conservation meeting | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | MIAMI: Some 8,000 heads of state, policymakers and environmentalists convene in Hawaii this week for the world’s largest gathering aimed at forging a path forward on the planet’s toughest conservation problems.
US President Barack Obama is expected to be among the world leaders in Honolulu as the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) opens its World Conservation Congress, held every four years in a different location around the globe.
This year, the conference theme of “Planet at the Crossroads” is aimed at exposing the plight of island nations that are at risk of disappearing in the coming decades due to rising seas.
It is the first major environmental meeting of global leaders since the Paris climate talks last year.
The September 1-10 conference also marks the first time the IUCN World Congress has been held in the United States since the meeting was first convened in 1948.
Arguments are expected on hotly debated issues such as what to do about domestic ivory markets which lead to the killing of elephants for their tusks, and how to feed the world’s growing population without exhausting its natural resources.
“There should be a fair amount of fireworks,” John Robinson, the head of the Wildlife Conservation Society’s global conservation program told Agence France-Presse.
Obama’s visit—if it is not disrupted by Hurricane Madeline—comes on the heels of his move last week to expand the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument in the northwestern Hawaiian islands, making it the world’s largest marine protected area.
In Honolulu on Wednesday, Obama plans to address the Pacific Island Conference of Leaders and the IUCN World Conservation Congress, before departing for Midway Atoll the next day.
“The President will be discussing the role that remote islands play in the climate context, but also the importance of the intersection between conservation and climate change as we face an increasingly severe threat of climate change in these parts of the world,” said Brian Deese, Obama’s senior advisor.
Ben Rhodes, Obama’s deputy national security advisor, described the event as “an important opportunity to bring together not just Pacific island leaders who have been a motivating factor around the urgency of action against climate change, but also conservation advocates from around the world.”
Key news
A key piece of news at the event will be the update of the IUCN’s Red List of endangered and threatened species on September 4.
Other reports on efforts to balance oil and gas exploration with whale conservation, and the establishment of important biodiversity areas will also be announced in the first five days.
During the second part of the conference, from September 6 to 10, members will hold debates on wildlife trafficking, palm oil, income inequality in conservation, foresty practices, and more.
The meeting is seen as an opportunity to find common ground on tough decisions and lay the groundwork for future talks, including the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) conference which kicks off in late September in Johannesburg.
Any motion passed at the IUCN meeting, “becomes a resolution which carries considerable weight” at the CITES convention two weeks later, “which does have legal teeth,” explained Robinson.
Over 8,300 delegates from 184 countries are expected to attend the IUCN World Congress.
“This unique gathering of top minds holds the key to innovation, inspiration and most importantly, action,” said Zhang Xinsheng, IUCN president. AFP
AFP/CC | http://www.manilatimes.net/us-to-host-worlds-largest-conservation-meeting/283145/ | en | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/3a1059bc09efe3670c128d2b05b38ce018a8bca69ae02697d84f4efdd2680d32.json |
[
"The Manila Times"
]
| 2016-08-31T08:50:19 | null | 2016-08-31T14:51:20 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fprincipal-architect-of-is-attacks-on-west-killed-in-syria%2F283146%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 | ‘Principal architect’ of IS attacks on West killed in Syria | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | BEIRUT: One of the Islamic State’s top leaders, Abu Mohamed al-Adnani, described by the US as the “principal architect” of the group’s attacks on the West, has been killed in Syria, the jihadist organization announced.
The United States said coalition forces had carried out an air strike targeting Adnani in Aleppo province on Tuesday and that it was still assessing the results of the raid, but that his death would be a major blow to the group.
One of IS’s most recognized figures, Adnani had called for lone-wolf attacks on civilians using weapons including knives and even vehicles, as happened in Nice on July 14, when a jihadist drove a truck through crowds of revelers, killing 86 people.
IS news agency Amaq said Adnani “was martyred while surveying operations to repel the military campaigns against Aleppo” and pledged to avenge his death.
In Washington, Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook said Adnani “has served as principal architect of ISIL’s external operations and as ISIL’s chief spokesman,” using another name for the group.
“He has coordinated the movement of ISIL fighters, directly encouraged lone-wolf attacks on civilians and members of the military and actively recruited new ISIL members,” he said.
Adnani, who had a $5 million US bounty on his head, was originally from the western Syrian province of Idlib and joined the jihadist movement in Iraq, where he served under late Al-Qaeda leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.
Aymenn Jawad Tamimi, an expert on jihadist groups, said his death was “significant symbolically and in pointing to the wider decline of the Islamic State”.
“If a coalition air strike hit him, it shows intelligence penetration by the coalition is very high,” he said.
A US defense official described him as one of IS’s most senior leaders and far more significant than simply being the group’s spokesman.
“Most notably, he served as ISIL’s chief of external operations, directing and inspiring major terrorist attacks outside of Iraq and Syria,” he said, linking Adnani to a string of high-profile attacks that have killed hundreds, including in Paris, Brussels and Istanbul.
“If confirmed, this is a very significant blow for ISIL, and will degrade its ability to direct and inspire terror attacks on the West,” said the official who declined to be named.\
Focusing on the IS threat
Adnani’s death came as Kurdish-backed militias in northern Syria agreed to a US initiative to stop fighting Turkish forces, whose week-old incursion in the country has stoked tensions between Washington and Ankara.
The truce was announced separately by a senior US defense official in Washington and the Kurdish-backed Syrian fighters, but Turkey neither confirmed nor denied it had agreed to hold fire.
Turkey launched an unprecedented cross-border offensive into Syria last Wednesday, its most significant move since the start of Syria’s bloody civil war more than five years ago, saying it was aimed at ridding the frontier of both IS jihadists and a Kurdish militia.
Kurds have carved out a semi-autonomous region in Syria’s north and northeast, with their People’s Protection Units (YPG) becoming a key partner of the US-led coalition fighting IS.
The YPG is also a key component of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which groups diverse factions battling the jihadists.
Ankara fears the emergence of an autonomous Kurdish region in Syria would bolster the rebel Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) across the border in southeastern Turkey.
At the weekend, Turkish forces killed several Kurdish fighters while its tanks rolled across the border to help Syrian Arab rebels rout IS from the frontier district of Jarabulus.
The military operation triggered alarm bells in Washington, which is trying to contain the violence between its Turkish and Kurdish allies.
“In the last several hours, we have received assurance that all parties involved are going to stop shooting at each other and focus on the ISIL threat,” US Central Command spokesman, Colonel John Thomas, said.
‘Clearly there is a smoking gun’
At the United Nations, Russia questioned the findings of a UN-led investigation that blamed the Syrian regime for chemical attacks, saying they were not conclusive enough to trigger sanctions.
Britain and France have called for sanctions after the investigative panel found that President Bashar al-Assad’s forces had carried out at least two chemical attacks, one in 2014 and one in 2015.
Following a closed-door Security Council meeting to discuss the report, Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said he had serious questions about the findings and suggested the panel should continue its work.
“Clearly there is a smoking gun. We know that chlorine was most likely used, but there are no fingerprints on the gun,” he said. AFP
AFP/CC | http://www.manilatimes.net/principal-architect-of-is-attacks-on-west-killed-in-syria/283146/ | en | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/791572da1757fb1b8a4148283f045400e53ed78e6b97cb8425eaaa4c13f62466.json |
[
"Aberon Voltaire Palaña",
"Angelica Ballesteros",
"Jed Villarama",
"Nelson Badilla"
]
| 2016-08-30T14:50:16 | null | 2016-08-30T22:01:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fdoe-sees-potential-of-nuclear-energy%2F283031%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 | DOE sees potential of nuclear energy | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | The Department of Energy (DOE) is looking at the viability of nuclear energy as the Philippines intensifies its electrification program amid increasing population and strong economic growth.
DOE data showed that demand for electricity is expected to grow by an average of 5 percent per year until 2030, or around 126 terrawatthours (TWh) from the 2015 level of 82 TWh.
“To meet this requirement, we have to weigh all our options, with emphasis not just on meeting capacity requirements, but sustainability and environmental obligations as well,” Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi said on Tuesday during the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Conference on the Prospects of Nuclear Power in the Asia-Pacific Region.
“Given its known characteristics, nuclear technology can be a viable choice for the country. We are told that on a [level]basis, nuclear power is an economical source, high on productivity and reliability, and low on costs and emissions. It is also said that the nuclear infrastructure and system is more cost-efficient in the long-term,” Cusi noted.
“Reports and special studies also say that operation of nuclear plants has become safer, more predictable and more dependable, with useful life of over 60 years,” he added.
With the new findings, technological advancements and successful experiences of countries around the world, nuclear energy holds promise for the national interest, especially in light of the country’s long-term energy plans, Cusi said.
The country’s power generation mix as of the end of 2015 is composed of 45 percent coal, 25 percent renewable, 23 percent natural gas and 7 percent oil.
The 2015 installed capacity mix is made up of 66 percent fossil fuels, 15 percent of which is in natural gas.
Cusi said the Philippines must have its own Energy Technology Roadmap to guide in the selection, adoption and innovation of technologies for its own use.
“This will require us to look at all current and emerging technologies and the many factors needed to make best use of them,” he added.
A total of 18 IAEA member-states are participating in the three-day conference: Bangladesh, Canada, Finland, Indonesia, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, South Korea, Malaysia, Mongolia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates, the United States, Vietnam and the Philippines. | http://www.manilatimes.net/doe-sees-potential-of-nuclear-energy/283031/ | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/fbe711dca10dc2f58632e0579068bf3813a95eb178508393c49e4ec0250f89f7.json |
[
"Manila Times"
]
| 2016-08-29T06:49:48 | null | 2016-08-29T13:56:42 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Ffiery-beyonce-dominates-mtv-awards%2F282712%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 | Fiery Beyonce dominates MTV awards | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | NEW YORK: Beyonce on Sunday dominated the MTV Video Music Awards as she took home top prizes and awed the audience in a fiery dance medley with a subtle political touch.
The pop superstar won Video of the Year for “Formation,” the most outspoken work of her career, as well as Best Female Video for “Hold Up.”
The two tracks appeared on “Lemonade,” Beyonce’s latest album which she released in a surprise tie-in with a film of the same name that paid tribute to African American women.
Beyonce stole the spotlight at the gala party in New York’s Madison Square Garden by performing a “Lemonade” medley of more than 16 minutes, managing even to change outfits in a set that culminated in the stage erupting in fire.
In one of the most striking moments, the sound of a single gun-shot rang out as her circle of angelic-clad dancers each collapsed in a fog of red.
“Formation,” directed by Melina Matsoukas, offered solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement against police brutality with officers depicted raising their hands as if under arrest.
“I dedicate this award to the people of New Orleans. God bless you guys,” Beyonce said as she accepted the award for “Formation,” which was musically inspired by the southern city’s bounce hip-hop scene.
Beyonce arrived at the show, broadcast to more than 120 countries from New York’s Madison Square Garden, with the mothers of four young African American men whose deaths have galvanized the United States—Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Oscar Grant and Trayvon Martin.
Martin, 17, was killed in 2012 by a white neighborhood guard, a catalyst moment for Black Lives Matter. Brown, Garner and Grant were all killed by law enforcement.
Singer Alicia Keys offered another of the night’s powerful moments as she recited a poem she said was inspired by civil rights hero Martin Luther King Jr. who delivered his landmark “I Have a Dream” speech in Washington 53 years ago Sunday.
In a year marred by global conflict and a bitter US presidential race, Keys, moving seamlessly from spoken word to a cappella, voiced hope that “maybe we can love somebody instead of polishing a bomb.”
“If war is holy and sex is obscene, then we got it twisted in this lucid dream / Baptized in boundaries, schooled in skin, divided by difference, sexuality and skin,” she recited.
Kanye talks Kanye
The Video Music Awards, broadcast to more than 120 countries, have long been known more for their on-stage antics than the winners, and this year MTV decided to let the artists loose.
In one of the night’s most anticipated moments, rap superstar Kanye West—who last year used the occasion to declare his intention to run for president in 2020—delivered a nearly stream-of-consciousness speech about empowerment.
As the audience chanted his stage-name Yeezy, West said that unnamed wealthy white people warned him against comparing himself to Apple founder Steve Jobs and entertainment pioneer Walt Disney.
But West said that the pair were among fewer than 10 true artistic heroes—and that the slim list also includes himself.
“Three keys to keeping people impoverished are taking away their esteem, taking away their resources and taking away their role models,” said West, who started his speech by deploring street killings in his native Chicago.
He then presented a racy new video for his song “Fade” featuring actress and singer Teyana Taylor, who moved her body sensually in a gym before a steamy shower scene.
The video marked a theme in the evening, if accidental, of sexualized exercise.
Ariana Grande and Nicki Minaj received roars of crowd approval for a sensual take on a workout, with the pop star and rapper dancing together in a stage transformed into a gym full of highly physical young men.
Rihanna honored
Drake won in the rap category for “Hotline Bling,” one of the most popular songs of the year.
But Drake did not appear in time to accept the award. According to the presenter, rap icon Puff Daddy, the Toronto star got stuck in New York traffic.
MTV presented its Video Vanguard Award—named after late King of Pop Michael Jackson—to Rihanna, in recognition to her contributions to pop culture.
Rihanna opened the ceremony with, aptly, “Don’t Stop the Music,” as she glided across the stage in a snug white T-shirt with a team of performers in matching laced outfits.
In an acceptance speech, Rihanna pledged never to forget her native Barbados. AFP
AFP/CC | http://www.manilatimes.net/fiery-beyonce-dominates-mtv-awards/282712/ | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/75abf661e6b747b73adb2d19c72176c33705f14ca8e3430fa3dc338c926f6305.json |
[
"Ben Kritz",
"The Manila Times",
"Al-Jan Jam Ebbah",
"Rey Elbo",
"Oca Feed"
]
| 2016-08-30T02:51:58 | null | 2016-08-29T23:45:52 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Femergency-powers-are-only-needed-to-create-emergencies%2F282865%2F.json | http://14255-presscdn-0-60.pagely.netdna-cdn.com//wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Ben-Kritz-e1439538208348.jpg | en | null | Emergency powers are only needed to create emergencies | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | THE current debate over whether or not President Rodrigo Duterte should be granted “emergency powers” to “do something” about the chronic traffic congestion in and around Metro Manila is not the first time the matter has landed on the public’s plate, and as long as there is heavy traffic in this cheery burg—which is likely to be forever, the nature of terrestrial cities being what it is—it is likely to be a subject that will be revisited from time to time.
“Emergency powers,” which are generally assumed to mean unilateral executive action, are, to put it politely, an abysmally stupid way to deal with a constant facet of urban life. One small, but very good example illustrating why that is the case occurred three years ago this month, which I discussed in my column at the time (August 1, 2013):
“This week has not been a shining example of smart management of basic infrastructure. Manila Mayor Joseph “Erap” Estrada’s ill-conceived Resolution Number 48 banning provincial buses from traversing the city has been modified every time either he or Vice Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso has issued a public comment about it, to the point that neither commuters nor the bus operators themselves are quite sure what the rules are.
“This does not bode well for the Administration initiative to develop transport terminals in Quezon City, Muntinlupa, and Parañaque, with the latter slated to open at the mostly-derelict Coastal Mall as early as August 6, because the transport terminal concept suffers from the same glaring lack of an overall plan as the City of Manila’s controversial decision. The result of that little oversight in Manila’s case has been chaos—sure, Taft Avenue has been surreally devoid of traffic, and it’s hard not to appreciate that—but it has put extra strain on the already overworked Light Rail Transit line, consigned commuters to the thoroughly unpleasant jeepney and tricycle fleet, and created traffic issues in new areas in Pasay and Quezon City.”
What happened at that time was that Estrada, acting more out of apparent frustration than anything else, issued an edict that buses traveling from areas outside Manila that did not have dedicated terminals within city limits would not be permitted to enter the city. While the order did have the effect of instantly reducing traffic in Manila, it did so by creating an instant logjam at various points on the city’s borders, most notably in Quezon City around the Welcome Rotonda, and in Pasay and Parañaque in an area stretching from the Taft Rotonda to the old Coastal Mall, where then-MMDA chairman, Francis Tolentino, was rushing to implement his awful “transport terminal” concept.
The earlier column went on to say, “Thinning the number of buses crossing Manila and forcing those that remain to adhere to rules regarding where they stop is basically a good idea, but not so good that it can stand alone, because the alternative—the inefficient and thoroughly offensive jeepney network—is a terrible idea.
“An actual plan would have worked from the inside out: Rationalize the coverage and routing of the local parts of the overall transport network first, meaning tricycles and jeepneys, then control the inward-bound buses feeding that network. But that’s not as dramatic or decisive-sounding as ‘Ban all the buses.’
“The same is true of the Aquino Administration’s much-publicized ‘transport terminal’ concept. On its own, it is a fairly good idea, but it will rely on jeepneys—the second-most significant cause of traffic-related woes in Metro Manila—to take up the slack. The most predictable result will be a gradual return to the status quo; it’s already started in Manila with the city government’s waffling over the bus ban.”
Estrada’s short-lived “bus ban” was only the first of a number of ill-conceived ideas to “do something” about traffic congestion. The ‘transport terminal’ was (and still is) another bad idea, as was Estrada’s 2014 brain fart, the infamous “truck ban,” and former president Aquino’s own dalliance with “emergency powers,” the deployment of the Highway Patrol Group to direct traffic on some major thoroughfares for a brief time last year. All of these moves, every one of which can be accurately defined as an exercise of “emergency powers,” led to unintended consequences and simply shifted the problem to a different area.
The fundamental problem that efforts to address traffic congestion should be trying to solve is the tremendous cost of congestion to the economy, which is P2 billion or more per day, according to reliable estimates. That being the case, ideas being floated to address the current “crisis”—which again, is less an emergency and more a fact of life that ought not come as a surprise to those who live, work, study, and entertain themselves in the sixth-largest metropolis on the planet—are completely wrong-headed, because they disregard the critical variable that determines the magnitude of the cost (or benefit) to the economy: People.
People purchase goods and services, provide services for others, or make goods for others to purchase. Vehicles do none of those things. Vehicles are dumb. Any plan that focuses on managing the flow of vehicles—which is to say, every plan that has been suggested in the past few weeks as either possible inclusions in or alternatives to “emergency powers”—are therefore dumb as well, certain to have unsatisfactory results as best, and at worst, are likely to exacerbate the situation as similar ideas have done in the recent past.
The only thing “emergency powers” are good for, as our own experience has already demonstrated numerous times, is creating different emergencies. Instead, what is needed is sustained, comprehensive policy management that prioritizes the efficient movement of people and goods, not the machines doing the moving.
[email protected] | http://www.manilatimes.net/emergency-powers-are-only-needed-to-create-emergencies/282865/ | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/efe30867a8f7f472d80264cced38bcf436f8830044a07dc3073cc3574e7790c1.json |
[
"Manila Times"
]
| 2016-08-30T04:50:09 | null | 2016-08-30T10:28:21 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fdriverless-taxi-firm-eyes-operations-in-10-cities-by-2020%2F282924%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 | Driverless taxi firm eyes operations in 10 cities by 2020 | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | SINGAPORE: A US software firm which chose Singapore for the world’s first public trial of driverless taxis hopes to be operating in 10 Asian and US cities by 2020, an executive said Monday.
Doug Parker, nuTonomy’s chief operating officer, said the firm is eyeing tests by early next year in three other Asian countries which he declined to name.
He said an announcement of the test venues would be made within the next month or so.
The company last week kicked off the world’s first driverless taxi service in a limited trial for invited people in a Singapore research campus.
Parker, 41, said nuTonomy was also considering trials in the Middle East, the United States and Britain.
More than a dozen people in Singapore have already experienced a ride in the “robo-taxi” within the confines of one-north, an enclave of technology and science research institutes outside the central business district.
“I think people are pretty excited that the car is driving itself. I would say they start apprehensive and scared but by the second block they start to enjoy it,” Parker said.
The current test car — a modified Mitsubishi i-MiEV electric vehicle — plies a 2.5 square mile (4.0 square km) area with set pick-up and drop off points. Trips must be booked through the company’s smartphone app and are currently by invitation only.
Five other test cars — Renault Zoes — will be added to the fleet next month.
Data from the experiment will feed into the rollout of driverless taxis across Singapore in 2018, said Parker, adding that by 2020 “we would like to be in 10 cities in Asia, the United States and maybe Europe.”
He also said a number of real-estate developers from Asia and the United States have contacted the company “about how they can use autonomous cars in their eco-friendly communities.”
Parker said the vehicle, equipped with sophisticated laser, radar and cameras, has so far experienced navigating among buses, slowing down at pedestrian lanes and adjusting to unplanned street scenes.
“One day we pulled out of here and literally five buses of schoolchildren pulled up on this very narrow street. And the buses were trading positions,” he said
“We’ve seen forklifts, we’ve seen people with wheelbarrows just right here on this one street.”
Parker said nuTonomy chose Singapore for the public tests rather than Silicon Valley because of the presence of a “loyal technical talent” — including people with doctorates in robotics — whom it does not have to share with other companies like Ford and Apple.
The company also has the full support of the Singapore government and the city-state’s flat terrain, well-marked roads and disciplined drivers make it well suited for driverless cars, Parker said. AFP
AFP/CC | http://www.manilatimes.net/driverless-taxi-firm-eyes-operations-in-10-cities-by-2020/282924/ | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/8a3d0ce06590e63979024242ef18f8356a18f80b0442a5c0aac8a3b659ade53b.json |
[
"The Manila Times",
"Angelica Ballesteros",
"Jed Villarama",
"Aberon Voltaire Palaña"
]
| 2016-08-30T14:50:14 | null | 2016-08-30T21:59:10 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fremoving-barangay-kagawad-post-opposed%2F283029%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 | Removing ‘barangay kagawad’ post opposed | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | Abolishing the position of barangay kagawad (village councilman) and retaining only that of barangay chairman “would leave the chairman in total control of barangay affairs and most especially of the barangay budget,” a lawmaker warned on Tuesday.
While opposing a plan by Congress to remove the kagawad position, Rep. Lito Atienza of Buhay party-list group, however, clarified that he fully supports the idea of Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez to get rid of the Sangguniang Kabataan (SK or Youth Council) in the barangay system.
Atienza pointed out that one of the most important functions of the kagawad—who is part of the barangay council—is to provide a check-and-balance mechanism.
“Doing this (abolition of the kagawad position) is tantamount to removing Congress and letting the national government have sole discretion on how to utilize the national budget; or removing City Council members and leaving only the mayor to decide how to dispense of the city budget. We cannot leave that power in the hands of just one person,” he said.
The barangay council, Atienza added, is essential to ensuring that barangay funds are utilized properly.
“It has a specific role in our democratic system. You abolish its members and you change the whole scheme of things,” he said.
Atienza was speaking from experience, having been a barangay kagawad and a barangay chairman himself.
“I was a barangay kagawad, then a barangay chairman for eight years. We went through all the functions of these two positions and they are essentially co-related,” he said. | http://www.manilatimes.net/removing-barangay-kagawad-post-opposed/283029/ | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/99bac3effb542c41c63afbdf5c88124837465d95a04374d7a6abdef8c1454455.json |
[
"The Manila Times",
"Philippines News Agency",
"Emil C. Noguera",
"Agence France-Presse"
]
| 2016-08-29T12:50:09 | null | 2016-08-29T20:04:56 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fmondilla-seeks-4th-pgt-crown-at-splendido%2F282806%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 | Mondilla seeks 4th PGT crown at Splendido | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | Regaining his winning form, Clyde Mondilla sets out as the player to beat when the Philippine Golf Tour resumes on Wednesday, for the P2 million ICTSI Splendido Classic at the wind-swept Splendido Taal Golf and Country Club in Tagaytay.
Miguel Tabuena and Angelo Que, who finished 1-2 here last year, won’t be around to compete against some of the world’s best in the Omega European Masters also slated this week in Switzerland, leaving Mondilla and a slew of local aces and foreign bets to fight for the top P360,000 purse in the 14th leg of the circuit sponsored by ICTSI.
Mondilla turned what had appeared to be a losing stand into a winning act, foiling Orlan Sumcad to snare the ICTSI Classic crown despite a double-bogey on the first playoff hole in Lipa City, Batangas last weekend.
The 23-year-old Mondilla hit an errant drive and needed four shots to reach the 18th of Mt. Malipunyo but Sumcad overshot the par-4 playoff hole and went out-of-bounds and made it to the green in five, enabling the Del Monte ace to snatch the victory, his third counting his back-to-back feats at Eastridge and Calatagan.
But the playoff setback is expected to toughen up Sumcad as he resumes his quest for a breakthrough victory in the circuit organized by Pilipinas Golf Tournaments, Inc.
With Jay Bayron, Tony Lascuña and Marvin Dumandan, the next top three players at ICTSI Classic, also out to press their bid along with a host of others, another down-to-the-wire finish is expected in the 72-hole championship.
Mondilla, Sumcad, Bayron, Lascuña and Dumandan, along with 15 other top pros test the tough Splendido layout in today’s (Tuesday) tradition pro-am tournament where they will be paired with guests and officials of the event’s top backers, including Custom Clubmakers, adidas, KZG, Summit Mineral Water, Srixon, Pacsports, TaylorMade, Sharp and Champion.
Others tipped to contend are Dutch Guido Van der Valk, Japanese Toru Nakajima, Jobim Carlos, Jhonnel Ababa, Mhark Fernando, Elmer Salvador, Michael Bibat, Rufino Bayron, Mars Pucay and Cassius Casas.
Meanwhile, Mondilla’s latest victory also put him on No. 2 spot in the Order of Merit derby with total earnings of P2,365,687 with leader Lascuña, who placed fourth at ICTSI Classic, hiking his winnings to P2,585,948.
Bayron dropped to third but remained in the hunt for a second OOM title with P2,183,028 with three legs left in the season.
The tour shifts to Luisita in Tarlac for the second time this year for the Central Azucarera de Tarlac Open on Sept. 14-17 before winding up at Wack Wack for the ICTSI Tournament Players Championship on September 21 to 24. | http://www.manilatimes.net/mondilla-seeks-4th-pgt-crown-at-splendido/282806/ | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/8fe1ea3a88c23a7867b17603b0f3fff247fa9bf3e7ab29cb8c37bc44ef1e5cef.json |
[
"Manila Times"
]
| 2016-08-30T08:50:16 | null | 2016-08-30T14:56:33 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fkerry-to-meet-indias-leaders-after-defense-pact-sealed%2F282937%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 | Kerry to meet India’s leaders after defense pact sealed | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | NEW DELHI: Visiting US Secretary of State John Kerry began holding talks with India’s top leaders Tuesday, after the world’s two largest democracies signed an agreement strengthening their defense ties.
Kerry is set to meet with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other leaders in New Delhi on ambitious plans to hike trade between their two countries five-fold to around $500 billion.
After arriving from neighboring Bangladesh, Kerry will take part in the “strategic and commercial dialogue” launched by US President Barack Obama and Modi last year to deepen economic and security cooperation.
The talks come one day after the two sides signed an agreement in Washington that allows access to each other’s military bases for repairs and resupplies.
US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter and his Indian counterpart Manohar Parrikar sealed the agreement in efforts to strengthen defense ties to counter concerns over China’s growing military assertiveness.
Carter said the agreement would make joint operations between their militaries logistically easier and more efficient, while praising the strength of their overall relationship.
“Today we moved that partnership forward,” Carter told reporters.
“Minister Parrikar and I are going to continue to work together to ensure that our two countries and our two militaries grow closer still.”
Washington has increasingly turned its focus to Asia as it tries to counter China’s growing assertiveness in the South China Sea, and is eager for India to play a greater role in its network of regional defense alliances.
Regional superpower China is expanding its deep-water naval presence and staking a claim to disputed areas of the South China Sea and the East China Sea.
Both Carter and Parrikar stressed that the new agreement did not allow for US bases to be set up on Indian soil nor for troops to be stationed there.
They decided the details in Washington after reaching the agreement “in principle” in New Delhi in April, when they also agreed to strengthen their cooperation on maritime security.
Kerry, on his fourth trip to India, began meetings with ministers and senior officials, discussions that are expected to include war-torn Afghanistan and tensions with rival Pakistan.
US Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker, who will take part in the talks, has said the idea of increasing trade from $100 billion to $500 billion was ambitious.
A US State Department senior official said before Kerry’s arrival that India needed to further reform its economy if the two nations were to achieve their goal.
Modi, who enjoys close ties with Obama, pledged to overhaul India’s economy after winning landslide elections in 2014 to attract much-needed foreign investment and boost growth.
Kerry’s arrival in Delhi late on Monday was thrown off schedule when his motorcade was stuck in major traffic jams following torrential rain, prompting frustrated tweets from his traveling press pack. AFP
AFP/CC | http://www.manilatimes.net/kerry-to-meet-indias-leaders-after-defense-pact-sealed/282937/ | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/01820c5ee0e860a8e60327875e9be18c0501c6b81c40653a6d265e7d8792589f.json |
[
"Jing Villamente",
"Philippines News Agency",
"Benjie Vergara",
"The Manila Times"
]
| 2016-08-29T16:50:09 | null | 2016-08-30T00:19:16 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Ftaguig-policeman-falls-in-qc-oplan-tokhang%2F282902%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 | Taguig policeman falls in QC ‘Oplan Tokhang’ | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | A Taguig City policeman who gave himself up after Quezon City police operatives knocked on his house during an anti-drug operation tested positive for shabu use.
Senior Supt. Guillermo Eleazar, acting director of the Quezon City Police District, said PO3 Liberato Calda was included in the city’s Oplan Tokhang because he was number 68 in the drug watch list.
Eleazar said Calda surrendered on Sunday.
A report showed that operatives of the Batasan Police Station were unaware that Calda was a police officer when they called on him on August 18, 2016 to convince him to give up.
On August 28, Calda appeared at Station 6 and talked with the station commander, Supt. Lito Patay, to clear his name. He denied involvement in illegal drugs.
Patay asked Calda to take a drug test using a portable testing kit in his office and Calda was found positive for the use of methamphetamine hydrochloride or shabu.
Calda was escorted to the QCPD crime laboratory for official screening and he again tested positive.
Eleazar said the test results will be sent to the Philippine National Police’s crime laboratory for confirmatory test. If Calda is found positive, a pre-charge evaluation for summary dismissal proceedings will be conducted against him for conduct unbecoming of a police officer, a grave administrative case which calls for dismissal from service.
Calda was a member of the Special Action Force from 1997 to 2002. In 2003, he was re-assigned to Taguig City Police Station’s various units including SWAT, Intelligence and Police Community Precincts. His latest assignment was at PCP 5 (Ibayo Tipas) as beat patroller.
“We will not tolerate or favor police officers involved in illegal drugs. We strictly observe fairness and objectivity in drug-related operations and investigations. Further, this accurate information from the barangay official regarding people involved in illegal drugs for Oplan Tokhang is undeniably a clear manifestation of the high trust and confidence given by the community which lead to being more cooperative with our police than ever before,” Eleazar said. | http://www.manilatimes.net/taguig-policeman-falls-in-qc-oplan-tokhang/282902/ | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/6ef34aa41417bcb8a81861105bbfdb77a03bd173a31c39a518d014dec8b56970.json |
[
"Manila Times"
]
| 2016-08-30T10:50:14 | null | 2016-08-30T17:51:41 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fgermanys-eu-commissioner-doubts-brexit-will-happen%2F282953%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 | Germany’s EU commissioner doubts Brexit will happen | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | BERLIN: Germany’s EU Commissioner Guenther Oettinger raised doubts Tuesday about whether Britain would leave the bloc, saying he wouldn’t bet on “Brexit.”
Oettinger told Germany’s daily Bild that he assumed June’s referendum outcome in favor of Britain exiting the EU was “binding.”
“But it is possible that public opinion will tip if the economic situation in the wake of the Brexit vote worsens,” said Oettinger, who is Digital Economy Commissioner.
“In any case, I wouldn’t place any major bets on Brexit.”
Oettinger predicted that the longer the British government waited to trigger Article 50 of the EU’s Lisbon Treaty—the legal process for leaving the bloc—”the more insecure the situation will become—economically and politically”.
Once Article 50 is triggered, it would start a two-year countdown to Britain’s exit from the European Union.
Prime Minister Theresa May has said it will not be enacted this year, the government needing time to shape Britain’s exit objectives first.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has called for giving London the time it needs to plot the way forward and has refused to enter into preliminary negotiations before Article 50 is activated. AFP
AFP/CC | http://www.manilatimes.net/germanys-eu-commissioner-doubts-brexit-will-happen/282953/ | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/fa1f5fd9801f80817f691c61db329f585b5dc3e6f43441e026ea38a5ed90e0e5.json |
[
"Gilbert Chao",
"The Manila Times",
"Ben Kritz"
]
| 2016-08-29T08:49:59 | null | 2016-08-29T16:18:56 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fmdppa-projects-more-than-1m-unit-sales-for-2016%2F282757%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 | MDPPA projects more than 1M unit sales for 2016 | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | The Motorcycle Development Program Participants Association (MDPPA), the premier group of motorcycle manufacturers in the country, recorded a new sales benchmark after capping its first six-month performance with a 42 percent year-on-year sales growth. MDPPA members recorded combined sales of 544,699 motorcycle units in the first half of 2016, which exceeded previous projections.
The members of the organization are Honda Philippines Inc., Kawasaki Motors Philippines Inc., Yamaha Motor Philippines Inc., Suzuki Philippines Inc. and Kymco Philippines Inc.,
With this rosy first half accomplishment, the motorcycle manufacturers group banks on the trajectory to continue and confidently targets to achieve the milestone of more than one million units sold by end-December this year. Based on previous years’ trends, July to December usually bring in better commerce, making the association bullish about reaching more than one-million mark by the end of the year. Total sales for 2015 was at 850,509 units.
In terms of sales by motorcycle type, the Moped (MP) model or the underbone motorcycle holds the most number of units sold in the first half of 2016, overtaking the Business (BU) model category that led the numbers in the first half of 2015. With 205,636 units sold from January to June 2016, the MP class posted a 58 percent year-on-year growth.
This is followed by sales of the BU category totaling 171,035 units. The automatic category, meanwhile, with sales of 125,528 units, registered the greatest year-on-year growth of 66 percent. The Street (ST) motorcycle category posted an 11-percent year-on-year growth with 42,149 units.
MDPPA president Rodel Pablo attributed the outstanding mid-year performance to various factors. “The introduction of affordable but reliable motorcycle models propelled the sales performance of MDPPA member manufacturers. The traffic congestion in major cities, such as Metro Manila, also prompts commuters to look for alternative modes of transportation. Commuters consider motorcycles as a fast and affordable transportation alternative,” he added.
In addition, the introduction of fuel injection models was a welcome innovation for motorcycle enthusiasts, offering better fuel efficiency, and smoother and more consistent throttle response.
Per capita income increase a factor
The country’s strong economic performance resulting to an increase in per capita income and positive outlook have also contributed to MDPPA’s sales growth as the improving economy has allowed more consumers to purchase motorcycles. “The flourishing sales figures of the motorcycle industry are a clear indication of how the country’s improving economy contributed to the group’s mid-year performance. BU motorcycle numbers, for instance, show that many of our countrymen are making a living through tricycles or that many SMEs [small and medium enterprises]are using motorcycles in their daily operations for delivery services,” Pablo added.
The group’s efforts in curbing the patronage of counterfeit products to promote road safety also contributed to the positive yield in the industry’s first half performance. “MDPPA remains a firm advocate of road safety. We’ve always been very active on this issue, communicating to people how dangerous it is to use counterfeit products instead of the genuine ones,” Pablo said.
He also noted that the same factors could fuel further growth for the remainder of the year. In line with its road safety advocacy, the group conducts free seminars nationwide for riders’ groups and school children, as well as a road safety stickering campaign to promote the use of standard helmet. The Road Safety Seminar aims to educate the rider-participants on how to be safe and responsible riders. The seminar module includes, among others, topics on choosing the right motorcycle and its proper operation, proper riding positions and appropriate riding gears. Representatives from the Land Transportation Office and the Philippine National Police are also invited to discuss on traffic rules and regulations, and other relevant laws. Meanwhile, the module for children helps develop their safety awareness through illustrations, interactive discussions and practical demonstration on topics like traffic signs and road markings, right of way, road courtesy, and pedestrian safety.
Based on the basic principles of the Philippine Motor Vehicle Development Program (MVDP) implemented by the Board of Investments, the Philippine Motorcycle Manufacturing Program Association was established in 1973. In 1987, new MVDP guidelines were finalized and program name was, likewise, changed to Motorcycle Development Program (MDP). The association was given the new name of Motorcycle Development Program Participants Association Inc. or MDPPA in 1989.
The current five members of the association are all active participants of the MVDP. | http://www.manilatimes.net/mdppa-projects-more-than-1m-unit-sales-for-2016/282757/ | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/8eda7b549bdc27f9fcfd2377001441f1848aff788389d458d2b8d4db94126a8c.json |
[
"Jing Villamente",
"William Depasupil",
"Jomar Canlas",
"Jaime G. Aquino"
]
| 2016-08-28T14:49:46 | null | 2016-08-28T21:47:08 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fdilg-steps-into-muslim-migrant-row-in-pangasinan%2F282639%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 | DILG steps into Muslim migrant row in Pangasinan | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) facilitated a dialogue between the mayor of Urdaneta City in Pangasinan and Muslim migrants whose homes were demolished early this month.
More than 40 houses of Muslim families in Barangay Camantiles were dismantled in separate demolition operations done in four days by a joint city government and police team known as Joint Security Operation.
Police reports showed the demolition started with peaceful negotiations involving police officers, barangay (village) chairmen, Public Attorney’s Office lawyers and Muslim leaders.
The Muslim leaders were said to have agreed to the demolition.
They, however, complained that what happened to them was a typical “demolition-without-relocation” case that is contrary to law.
Adding more woes to the informal settlers are alleged cases of discrimination when they rent apartments, because they are usually turned down by landlords because they are Muslims.
There are also allegations of violence in some areas, especially in Sitio Apo, where houses were reportedly destroyed.
DILG Secretary Ismael Sueno has summoned Assistant Secretary for Muslim Affairs and Special Concerns Professor Hamid Ladjakahal to attend to the complaints.
Ladjakahal, accompanied by DILG regional, provincial, and city directors and Supt. Director Marcelino Desamito Jr., city police head, together with a crowd of Muslim residents, met with Mayor Amadeo Perez 4th of Urdaneta City at City Hall.
Perez clarified that he did not order Muslims to leave Urdaneta. He said Muslims are welcome to do business in the city but should avoid illegal activities, especially those related to drugs.
Some Muslim families requested financial assistance for transportation in going back home to their hometowns in Lanao province to which Perez committed to help.
Meanwhile, a dialogue was also held in Dagupan City, where a thousand Muslim residents are living along the shoreline.
City Mayor Belen Fernandez is planning to transfer Muslim residents to other areas in the city.
In the dialogues, it was unanimously agreed upon by all participants composed of Muslim residents, police officials and personnel, Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency representatives, Perez, the Dagupan city administrator, and DILG officials led by Ladjakahal to exert all efforts in making Muslim communities in Pangasinan province drug-free. | http://www.manilatimes.net/dilg-steps-into-muslim-migrant-row-in-pangasinan/282639/ | en | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/5f41dc982644d176a435024478632f1a899ef832f05ae6648b2dc01eefa2ca7e.json |
[
"The Manila Times",
"Ben Kritz",
"Gilbert Chao"
]
| 2016-08-29T08:50:02 | null | 2016-08-29T16:12:04 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fchevrolet-holds-truck-month-promo%2F282753%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 | Chevrolet holds Truck Month promo | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | The Covenant Car Company, Inc. (TCCCI) is offering rock solid all-in low down-payment promos and cash discounts to its customers through its “The Powered Up Truck Month Promo.”
The promo offers amazing deals for select Chevrolet models including: Chevrolet Trailblazer 4×4 LTZ – P68,000 all-in low down-payment; Chevrolet Trailblazer 4×4 LTZ SE – P88,000 all-in low down-payment; Chevrolet Colorado 4×2 AT – P98,000 all-in low down-payment; Chevrolet Trax LT AT – P60,000 discount on cash purchases; and Chevrolet Captiva 4×2 Diesel – P100,000 discount on cash purchases.
The Chevrolet Trailblazer remains to be the most powerful in the competitive mid-sized SUV segment. It offers a second-generation Duramax turbocharged engine that underscores its outstanding ride and handling and improved fuel efficiency. The 2.8-liter Trailblazer produces 200 horsepower of power at 3,600 rpm and 500 Newton-meters of torque at 2,000 rpm, making it the best in its class. Its classic yet tough and rugged look gives the seven-seater Trailblazer a commanding appeal on the road.
The Chevrolet Colorado goes head to head with its competitors with its off-road truck capability, powerful and versatile truck features and dependable performance. The pick-up truck has a powerful Duramax turbo-diesel engine that delivers 200 hp and 500 Nm of torque – a best-in-its-class power and torque output.
The Chevrolet Trax city-smart crossover SUV caters to the young urbanites looking for a stylish and powerful ride. The Chevy Trax has a sleek and sporty trim, 18-inch alloy rims, and is loaded with street-smart features and technologies, including the Chevrolet MyLink seven-inch color touchscreen infotainment system with Siri Eyes Free. It is powered by a first-in-its-class 1.4-liter turbocharged engine, providing superb performance when exploring the city or driving out of town.
The Chevrolet Captiva is known for its superior ride and handling, commendable SUV capabilities and loads of modern features. With its elegant design, advance technologies and fuel-efficient 2.0-liter turbo-diesel engine, the Captiva appeals to those who are looking for a modern, compact SUV that has an attractive exterior, luxurious interior and delivers impressive performance.
The Chevrolet Trax and Captiva come with five-year warranty programs, which offer coverage of five years or 100,000 kilometers, whichever comes first. The Chevrolet Trailblazer and Chevrolet Colorado come with a special five-year warranty coverage; three-year bumper to bumper warranty plus a two-year warranty on the Power Train or 100,000 kilometers, whichever comes first. Chevrolet owners are automatically enrolled in the 24/7 Chevrolet Emergency Roadside Support for three years, with an option to renew on the fourth year of ownership.
The all-in, low down-payment promo for the Chevrolet Trailblazer and Colorado also comes with a free three-year Land Transportation Office registration.
The Powered Up Truck Month Promo will last until October 15, 2016. The Chevrolet Powered Up roadshows will be held at the Alabang Town Center, September 2-3; Robinsons Metro East, September 6-9; SM Fairview, September 11-17; and Bonifacio Global City September 16-18. | http://www.manilatimes.net/chevrolet-holds-truck-month-promo/282753/ | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/b77aa7c15f60fef491726aa662cf68cc042a9ce87da18c019613ec20fadb4e7d.json |
[
"James Konstantin Galvez",
"Philippines News Agency",
"The Manila Times"
]
| 2016-08-26T16:48:49 | null | 2016-08-27T00:34:44 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fph-ethanol-imports-from-us-to-drop-usda%2F282309%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 | PH ethanol imports from US to drop - USDA | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | THE Philippines’ ethanol production is expected to increase through next year due to a modest buildup in capacity, but meeting the mandated 10 percent ethanol blend using local ethanol remains problematic.
In a report, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)-Foreign Agricultural Service said it expects Manila’s ethanol imports to decline from 311 million liters (MLi) in 2015 to 281 MLi in 2016, further dropping to 278 MLi by 2017.
The Biofuels Act or Republic Act (RA) 9367 was signed in January 2007 making the Philippines the first country in Southeast Asia to have biofuels legislation in place. The current blend mandates are 10 percent and 2.0 percent for ethanol and biodiesel, respectively.
Sugarcane and molasses are used in Philippine ethanol production while coconut oil (CNO), where coconut methyl ester (CME) is derived, is the preferred biodiesel feedstock.
The Biofuels Act gives priority to local ethanol over imports, but the mandated blend historically has largely been met through the latter.
“Meeting the current ten percent ethanol blend using local ethanol, however, has been problematic; while there have been no supply issues complying with the mandated two percent blend for biodiesel,” the USDA said, citing preliminary data from the Philippine Government.
In 2015, the Philippines was the third largest market for US ethanol accounting for sales of over $170 million.
Last year, there were eight ethanol plants operating, unchanged from the previous year’s level, with a combined capacity of 222 MLi.
By 2017, the USDA said that there will be 11 distilleries, with an aggregate capacity of 322 MLi, that will produce close to 300 MLi or roughly half of total ethanol requirements.
“Compliance with the 10 percent mandate this year is expected due to stricter enforcement as local output increases. This is premised on an optimistic capacity utilization rate of above 90 percent for 2016 and 2017. As a result, imports are projected to decline through 2017,” it said.
On the other hand, RA 9367 disallows biodiesel importation, and local biodiesel has consistently met blend requirements.
Last year, 11 refineries produced 204 MLi, well over B2 (2 percent biodiesel blend) requirements with carryover stocks, and strengthening its position for a possible increase in the blend mandate in 2015.
Capacity utilization was only at 35 percent of total aggregate capacity of 585 MLi in 2015.
“The planned B5 blend last year did not happen, however, and is assumed to be implemented in 2016,” the USDA said. It said the GPH (Government of the Philippines) goal is to raise the ethanol mandate to 20 percent by 2020 and the biodiesel mandate to 10 percent (also by 2020, but increasing to 20 percent by 2030).
“Existing production capacity, however, will only support marginal increments in blending that fall far short of targets, and delivery infrastructure is entirely inadequate for large increases,” it added.
Although the Duterte government’s energy policy is not very clear, the USDA said that public statements from the President and senior officials indicate that the general priority places economic development ahead of environmental concerns.
“As a result, a review and possible revisions of energy targets and strategies, including the fuel mix policy and biofuels, are expected under the new government,” it said.
“In general terms, the continued growth of the Philippine economy, coupled with the expanding Philippine population, are expected to drive increasing fuel demand through 2026,” it added. | http://www.manilatimes.net/ph-ethanol-imports-from-us-to-drop-usda/282309/ | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/00eeed97eb724b23a04211fdb728caa05f4282e4959dd7d6629ff2e42745455c.json |
[
"Angelica Ballesteros",
"The Manila Times",
"Raadee S. Sausa",
"Anthony Vargas"
]
| 2016-08-27T14:49:11 | null | 2016-08-10T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Femergency-powers-not-needed-2%2F282454%2F.json | http://14255-presscdn-0-60.pagely.netdna-cdn.com//wp-content/uploads/2016/08/100816_traffic3_martinez-300x194.jpg | en | null | ‘Emergency powers not needed’ | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | Granting President Rodrigo Duterte emergency powers to solve the traffic problems in Metro Manila should be the last resort of the government, former 1-UTAK party-list Rep. Vigor Mendoza 2nd said Saturday.
“Emergency powers are not needed to decongest [traffic]. If we are to use emergency powers, we might as well set aside the law,” Mendoza said, adding that government should put in place less drastic solutions.
However, he made it clear that he is not against granting the President special powers to solve the traffic mess, which had caused daily outcries from commuters and motorists.
In a news conference in Quezon City, the former lawmaker laid out recommendations which he said can be implemented in the next 90 to 120 days. He said the government can, within this time-frame, modernize the public transport system by replacing old jeepney units with new and air-conditioned ones.
“Car owners will be more enticed to leave their cars and just ride public transport,” he said.
Other means include dispatch-scheduling of jeepneys, eradicating colorum and out-of-line vehicles through an eTag system and ordering truck deliveries from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m.
“The eTag is like the biometrics of the vehicle which can be read using an eTag reader. No eTag or wrong eTag means the vehicle has no proper papers or is operating out-of-line,” Mendoza said.
He also proposed making the Marcos Highway, C5, and private subdivision roads as alternate routes to congested EDSA.
“Reroute to the peripheral roads, at ‘yung traffic sa EDSA ay lilipat sa kanila (the EDSA traffic will be trasferred there),” he pointed out.
He said the government also has the option to make all northbound traffic flow one-way through EDSA and use C5 for the southbound traffic.
“There are many things that the government can do to alleviate traffic on the ground immediately without resorting to emergency powers,” he said.
Meanwhile, a member of Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s legal team, Larry Gadon, believes that using the ports outside Metro Manila can alleviate the traffic problem.
The Senate had started conducting hearings on a bill seeking to grant President Rodrigo Duterte emergency powers so that he can better address the traffic problems in Metro Manila and other urban areas. His ally, Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano, expressed hopes that the House of Representatives will also expedite action on similar measures so that the traffic crisis can be solved as soon as possible. | http://www.manilatimes.net/emergency-powers-not-needed-2/282454/ | en | 2016-08-10T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/a4e471553680122531c334beb66a84e4ec8be2511f4fb83ead26cd4b929014a0.json |
[
"The Manila Times",
"Ben Kritz",
"Gilbert Chao"
]
| 2016-08-29T08:50:01 | null | 2016-08-29T16:12:25 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fsuzuki-opens-gensan-dealership%2F282752%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 | Suzuki opens GenSan dealership | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | Suzuki Philippines Inc (SPH), the only integrated motorcycle and automobile company and the pioneer manufacturer of compact vehicles in the country, has extended its reach to the South with the opening of its latest auto satellite showroom located in SM City General Santos.
Suzuki Auto General Santos satellite showroom, which is owned and managed by Grand Canyon Multi-Holdings Inc., is the first Suzuki Automobile satellite outlet of the group and first Suzuki Automobile satellite showroom in Mindanao. Led by its president Jan Andrew Po, the group started its selling operations on August 8, 2016 to bring customer convenience by providing sales and spare parts to car enthusiasts in the South.
“The formal opening of the satellite showroom in SM City General Santos is anticipated to strengthen SPH’s thrust of bringing the Suzuki Way of Life in the area. Suzuki Auto General Santos is our 21st satellite outlet and 51st total automobile outlet but we still continue expanding to other provincial areas because we want our customers to experience the innovative products that we are offering,” said Shuzo Hoshikura, the general manager for automotive of SPH.
“We have seen the exponential growth of the city and we believe that opening a satellite showroom in this area will help us achieve better growth by the end of this year,” he added.
Consistently strengthening its market presence, SPH posted an impressive growth of 37 percent for the first six months of 2016 – even surpassing the 27.1 mid-year sales growth achieved by the entire automotive industry. The opening of Suzuki Auto General Santos satellite showroom will help fuel the growth of Suzuki Philippines as it makes owning a Suzuki more convenient for the motorists in General Santos City.
Prior to the inauguration of the satellite showroom, Suzuki Philippines opened its 3S dealership in General Santos City last February 2015. Located at J. Catolico Avenue, Lagao, Suzuki Auto General Santos is a one-stop shop that offers Sales, Spare parts and Services to deliver customers a complete Suzuki Way of Life experience.
The current product line-up of Suzuki Philippines includes the Suzuki Celerio CVT (continuously variable transmission) that emerged to have the best gasoline-powered engine at the first-ever Department of Energy Euro 4 Fuel Economy Run, and the all-new Ciaz MT that was also recognized as the No. 1 fuel efficient car gasoline in the sedan category. Apart from the vehicles that clinched the top honors during the Fuel Economy Run, the line-up also carries the Suzuki Swift, new Ertiga, Jimny 4×4, Grand Vitara Special Edition, Alto 800 and APV. | http://www.manilatimes.net/suzuki-opens-gensan-dealership/282752/ | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/cc7f17833adbd22dd15f29c27eeb849ec6406945794f623ccf4e0743fb5ff0df.json |
[
"Ma. Reina Leanne Tolentino",
"Reicelene Joy Ignacio",
"Agence France-Presse",
"Llanesca T. Panti"
]
| 2016-08-28T18:49:48 | null | 2016-08-29T00:58:39 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fmilitants-want-bonifacio-declared-first-president%2F282692%2F.json | http://14255-presscdn-0-60.pagely.netdna-cdn.com//wp-content/uploads/2016/08/andres_bonifacio20160829-300x219.jpg | en | null | Militants want Bonifacio declared first president | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | THE MILITANT Bayan Muna party-list group will again seek the recognition of Andres Bonifacio as the first president of the Philippines, as well as declare him a national hero, in a move that will likely stoke debate among historians.
In a statement on the eve of National Heroes’ Day, Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Zarate said due recognition and respect should be given to “real” heroes like Bonifacio, who is regarded by militants as a peasant, anti-colonial hero who led the revolution against Spain in August 1896.
“We must also be very wary of those who claim they are heroes like Emilio Aguinaldo and Ferdinand Marcos who were only looking out for their vested interests,” Zarate said.
No law has been enacted proclaiming an official national hero, Zarate said.
In 1993, a National Heroes Committee was formed by Executive Order No. 75. After careful study, a technical committee recommended in 1995 nine historical figures as national heroes, namely: Jose Rizal, Andres Bonifacio, Emilio Aguinaldo, Apolinario Mabini, Marcelo H. del Pilar, Sultan Dipatuan Kudarat, Juan Luna, Melchora Aquino, and Gabriela Silang.
Bonifacio, known as the Great Plebeian, founded and led the revolutionary secret society Katipunan against Spanish rule in 1892.
National Heroes’ Day is celebrated on the last Monday of August to mark the “cry” and the tearing of cedulas or residence certificates by Katipuneros in August 1896 that signaled the start of the revolution against Spain.
A number of historians argue that Bonifacio can be regarded as the first president because the Katipunan was a national government.
Zarate cited historians such as Milagros Guerrero, Emmanuel Encarnacion and Ramon Villegas, who wrote that Bonifacio founded the country’s first national government and served as its president on August 24, 1896.
The 2003 edition of the book titled “Andres Bonifacio and the 1896 Revolution” by Guerrero, Encarnacion and Villegas states that the Katipunan National Assembly convened on August 24, 1896 and declared an armed revolution against Spain, established a national government, and elected officials.
“It was this government headed by Bonifacio that organized and declared the nationwide armed revolution against Spain in the Cry of Pugadlawin on August 29, 1896 and is the cause of today’s holiday. It is but right and just to recognize the Gat Andres Bonifacio as the hero president who led and died for the Philippines,” Zarate said.
According to the Official Gazette, the country’s official government journal, no hero is named by law in connection with the celebration of National Heroes’ Day.
“And this lack of specifics offers an opportunity to celebrate the bravery of not one, not a few, but all Filipino heroes who have braved death or persecution for home, nation, justice, and freedom,” said the Official Gazette.
Tagalog Republic
Almost two years ago, the Enzo Williams movie Bonifacio: Ang Unang Pangulo was released in cinemas, espousing the arguments for declaring Bonifacio as the first president, with action star Robin Padilla playing the lead role.
De La Salle University historian Xiao Chua petitioned on change.org to acknowledge Bonifacio as the first president.
“The Bonifacio for First President petition only aims to prove an existence of a government of a national character before General Emilio Aguinaldo. It will not take any honor already bestowed on Aguinaldo as President of the First Constitutional Democratic Republic in Asia and Father of Philippine Independence. His place is already secured,” Chua stated on the petition.
The petition has garnered 6,977 supporters online.
Chua’s petition is backed up by documents from the Archivo General de Madrid showing that the Katipunan had a centralized working government.
Guerrero, Encarnacion and Villegas filed a petition before the National Historical Institute (NHI) in 1993 to acknowledge Bonifacio as the first president of the country, instead of Aguinaldo.
On July 7, 1994, the NHI rejected the petition, pointing out that Bonifacio was not even the first Supremo of the Katipunan, but Deodato Arellano.
In 2013, a resolution was proposed by the Manila City Council urging the national government to recognize Bonifacio as the first president of the Tagalog Republic, with the word “Tagalog” used in the Katipunan’s cartilla referring to all natives of the Philippine archipelago.
Marlon Cadiz of the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) told The Manila Times the agency has yet to receive a full-blown study on the matter.
“The presidency of Aguinaldo is still recognized over that of Bonifacio. There is still no clear study submitted to the NHCP containing new evidence and explanations of experts establishing that Bonifacio was the first president,” he said. | http://www.manilatimes.net/militants-want-bonifacio-declared-first-president/282692/ | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/755bb8ec4df6cd9dc37fa8cf62ee2d7703c56dc9a8b423d8215da60c9a861599.json |
[
"Llanesca T. Panti",
"Philippines News Agency",
"The Manila Times",
"Michael Joe T. Delizo"
]
| 2016-08-30T18:50:14 | null | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fpalace-protocol-chief-named-envoy-to-us%2F283119%2F.json | http://14255-presscdn-0-60.pagely.netdna-cdn.com//wp-content/uploads/2016/08/300816_paynor1-300x254.jpg | en | null | Palace protocol chief named envoy to US | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte has appointed Palace protocol chief Marciano Paynor as ambassador of the Philippines to the United States.
“Yes. He’s a seasoned foreign [service]career employee. He is good,” the President replied when asked by reporters during a Palace event Monday night if Paynor had accepted the appointment.
Paynor, a member of the Philippine Military Academy Class of 1971, had served as chief protocol officer to Presidents Fidel Ramos and Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
Paynor left the military as lieutenant colonel in 1983 and became a market analyst at the Philippine Trade Office in Chicago and later, consul general to San Francisco.
He had also served in diplomatic posts in Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, Budapest and Rome, as well as Gabon, Israel and Cyprus.
Paynor will replace Jose Cuisia, an appointee of former President Benigno Aquino 3rd.
Robert Borje, the second secretary to the Permanent Mission of the Philippines to the United Nations, will take over Paynor’s Palace post.
The President initially offered the US post to Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana.
“He did not accept it. He said he is already too old. He wanted to stay here [in the Philippines],” the President told reporters.
Duterte expects Paynor to explain to the US government his intensified campaign against illegal drugs.
Last week, US State Department spokeswoman Anna Richey-Allen expressed concern over extrajudicial killings of individuals linked to illegal drugs in the Philippines.
In reaction, President Duterte said: “They (US) go on with their human rights violations, and I go with mine.” | http://www.manilatimes.net/palace-protocol-chief-named-envoy-to-us/283119/ | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/b2aace3ee48f5dcaad8b6bae76e4cd10fd603b7ad002e2faa28ee55dbee1fdc1.json |
[
"Agence France-Presse",
"Fr. Shay Cullen",
"Katrina Stuart Santiago",
"Rolly G. Reyes"
]
| 2016-08-28T16:49:44 | null | 2016-08-29T00:30:57 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fbrazils-presumptive-president-beset-by-risks%2F282668%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 | Brazil’s presumptive president beset by risks | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | BRASÍLIA: Michel Temer expects to become Brazil’s full president if his rival Dilma Rousseff gets impeached this week. If he trips up, the country will fall deeper into crisis, analysts warn.
Here are some of the economic, political, social and legal challenges facing him if he secures the job of dragging Latin America’s biggest economy out of recession.
Political minefield
Center-right PMDB party leader Temer, 75, was leftist Rousseff’s vice-president and stepped up to replace her during the impeachment process.
The Senate is widely expected to vote to remove her from office next week. Temer would then have to avoid Rousseff’s fate of falling prey to internal political divisions.
“Temer is supported by conservative sectors and saw an opportunity to become president. But he has a conciliatory style,” said Roberto Requiao, a PMDB senator who opposes the impeachment.
Temer is planning business-friendly economic reforms but Requiao said he is not as economically liberal on certain issues as some of his right-wing allies.
“If he does not carry out that radical program, he will not resist the demands of those conservative groups. And if he does, another crisis will break out.”
Economic storm
Brazil is suffering its worst recession in decades. Temer has vowed to cut spending and push through controversial labor and pension reforms.
But to do so, he will need to push constitutional reforms through Congress.
“Now he has to prove what he can do. The level of public spending is unsustainable and there is no way to solve it without reforms,” said Carlos Kawall, an economist and former head of the Brazilian treasury.
“The key is structural changes. If he doesn’t achieve them, we will enter an even deeper crisis.”
Social protests
With his all-male, all-white cabinet, Temer is seen as an establishment figure.
Rousseff’s Workers’ Party (PT) is fighting to mobilize unions and protest groups in its favor, defending its record of generous welfare spending.
“Economic cuts will mean less funding for the social movements that were very close to power under the PT governments. Now they may regroup,” said Luiz Alberto de Souza, a sociologist at Candido Mendes University in Rio de Janeiro.
Kawall added: “When there are reforms, the labor unions will mobilize.”
Corruption stain
Senior figures in Temer’s political camp, as well as Rousseff’s, are implicated in a scandal over corruption in state oil firm Petrobras.
Three of the ministers in Temer’s interim government resigned after being implicated. Some suspects mentioned Temer’s own name in plea bargains.
He is not being formally investigated in the case, though separately the courts are probing allegations of campaign finance irregularities against him.
“The government has no margin for error. They have to be very, very careful,” said Ramon Aracena, chief economist for Latin America at the Institute of International Finance.
“The Petrobras corruption scandal is still lingering. That’s a risk.”
AFP | http://www.manilatimes.net/brazils-presumptive-president-beset-by-risks/282668/ | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/b48afa44f1e33a53119b66965d250b60b100c73df583e412a9a4ecddf30e0a40.json |
[
"Josef T. Ramos",
"The Manila Times"
]
| 2016-08-28T12:49:29 | null | 2016-08-28T19:55:10 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fbeermen-hire-singletary-as-reids-replacement%2F282618%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 | Beermen hire Singletary as Reid’s replacement | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | Returning import Mike Singletary will suit up for defending champion San Miguel Beer this coming week, replacing injured Arizona Reid in the ongoing Philippine Basketball Association Season 41 Governors’ Cup.
Singletary, 27, a former Texas Tech University standout, was a former import of Barako Bull, who averaged 33.8 points, 12.8 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.7 steals per game during the 2013 Governors Cup.
Reid, who suffered an Achilles hill injury, will stay in the country though.
Despite his absence, the Beermen survived the Alaska Aces, 106-103, behind the impressive 37-point production of center June Mar Fajardo on Wednesday.
The Beermen are holding a 5-2 win-loss record. They will face Meralco on Wednesday at the Araneta Coliseum.
“I still can’t describe how he [Singletary] plays but I believe he’ll be a good help for us. He is okay,” Fajardo told The Manila Times during a phone interview. “He is doing well so far in practice. We are hoping Singletary does the same in the actual game.”
Singletary, who plays No. 3 and 4 spots, last played for the Mighty Sports in the recent Jones Cup in Taiwan where they captured the crown via an eight-game sweep.
Singletary also played for Japan where he averaged 12.2 points and seven rebounds per game.
JOSEF T. RAMOS | http://www.manilatimes.net/beermen-hire-singletary-as-reids-replacement/282618/ | en | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/e6db18ab260d7ee206a6333795106a0dfe56335cea574a19e52a983008eb0e5e.json |
[
"Jomar Canlas",
"Jing Villamente",
"William Depasupil",
"Jaime G. Aquino"
]
| 2016-08-28T14:49:49 | null | 2016-08-28T21:46:02 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fhigh-tribunal-affirms-disallowance-ruling-against-cagayan-mayors%2F282642%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 | High Tribunal affirms disallowance ruling against Cagayan mayors | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | THE Supreme Court (SC) has affirmed a ruling of the Commission on Audit (COA) finding an incumbent, a former mayor and other local officials in Cagayan province liable for amounts covered by several Notices of Disallowance.
In a June 21, 2016 ruling promulgated by Clerk of Court Felipa Anama that was only released recently, the High Court denied a petition filed by Mayor Nicanor de Leon and former Mayor Pacita de Leon of Amulung town seeking to reverse and set aside the COA ruling.
On September 10, 2009, state auditors conducted a special audit of accounts of Municipal Treasurer Luzviminda Macasio for January 1, 2000-June 30, 2009.
It was discovered that municipal funds worth more than P18 million were illegally disbursed through manipulation of accounting records and books, as well as the treasurer’s cashbooks and reports.
The commission issued 38 NDs holding the town officials liable for the disallowed amounts until the case reached the tribunal.
In its decision, the SC held the petition lacked merit.
“It is noteworthy that the COA found petitioners solidarily liable for the disallowed amount[s]not only for the non-presentation of the DVs [disbursement vouchers], the ground raised in the NDs, but also for the irregularities stated in the Annual Report for the municipality of Amulung from 2002 to 2008,” it said.
“It is clear that petitioners cannot feign ignorance of the illegal disbursement by simply offering a measly excuse that they just followed the practice previously observed,” the High Court added.
JOMAR CANLAS | http://www.manilatimes.net/high-tribunal-affirms-disallowance-ruling-against-cagayan-mayors/282642/ | en | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/b4894c9463d1ff0092fe9b34ab3fafe3d9da4186a7895566737496be379c9ea6.json |
[
"Yen Makabenta",
"Homobono A. Adaza",
"Francisco Tatad",
"Rene Saguisag"
]
| 2016-08-26T18:50:26 | null | 2016-08-27T02:15:26 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fis-the-time-report-hatchet-job-journalism%2F282351%2F.json | http://14255-presscdn-0-60.pagely.netdna-cdn.com//wp-content/uploads/2014/11/YEN-MAKABENTA.gif | en | null | Is the TIME report hatchet-job journalism? | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | First read
Through Facebook, I was able to access a purported and still unauthenticated report in Time magazine on the Duterte administration’s war on drugs.
Entitled, “The Killing Time: Inside Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s War on Drugs” and bylined by a certain Rishi Iyengar, the report was allegedly published in Time’s August 25 edition.
I went to the nearest National Book Store branch to get a physical copy of the magazine (we, journalists, should not rely wholly on online postings). But strangely, the article is nowhere to be found in the Time issues now being sold in the NBS outlets in the country. It’s not in the August 29, 2016 issue (the latest), and the August 22, 2016 issue (the previous edition).
How does Mr. Iyengar’s article qualify as Time journalism if it has not been published? Was it published in Time’s US edition? If so, this country needs certification and proof from Time.
I googled the name “Rishi Iyengar” to determine whether he or she really exists, is a reporter for Time, or just a pseudonym or disguise. I drew a blank.
Phony investigative journalism?
The questions I raise are in every way material because the article in question deals with an issue of great moment to our country and our people today.
It pretends to be investigative journalism; it took the time to peruse international data and statistics, and it interviewed local people and public officials with possible knowledge about the drug war and the drug killings.
The article is profusely illustrated with colored pictures, with special emphasis on dead bodies and relatives of victims.
The article is highly critical of President Duterte’s drug policy, and his conduct of the war on drugs. It calls the drug deaths “extrajudicial killings.”
It reports: “As the body count soars, some say the real threat to the Philippines is not drugs but the President himself.”
It then highlights an ominous quote from our President: “We will not stop until the last drug lord … and the last pusher have surrendered or are put either behind bars or below the ground, if they so wish.”
The missing credentials are in a way regrettable, because the article contains some revealing information and statistics, such as:
1. The Philippines is hardly alone in executing people for drug-related offenses, judicially or otherwise, a characteristic of the region. According to a report last year by drug policy NGO Harm Reduction International, the only countries other than Iran and Saudi Arabia known to have executed drug traffickers since 2010 are all Asian: China, Malaysia, Vietnam, Singapore and Indonesia. Thailand conducted its own war on drugs in 2003 under then Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
2. Based on UN surveys on drugs and crimes, the Philippines is not listed as a place of high crime incidence. There were 232,685 cases of crimes against persons, involving physical injury reported in the Philippines in 2014, for a population of 98 million. By comparison, the UN Office on Drugs and Crimes says there were, in the same year, nearly 375,000 cases of assault in the UK, which, with a population of 64 million, has far fewer people.
3. The Philippines can be a deadly place, but it is not especially so. According to World Bank data, the Philippine rate of nine intentional homicides per 100,000 people in 2013 makes it only slightly more dangerous than Lithuania (7) or Mongolia (7), and puts it on a par with Russia (9). The US figure is 4.
4. In the five years from 2010 to 2015, PNP figures show that total murders across the nation’s top 15 cities averaged 1,202 a year. But many more people have already died in the first seven weeks of Duterte’s drug war.
The article goes on to suggest that the Philippine drug problem may not be as bad as the drug war suggests.
The writer concludes:
“In other words, the statistics show what any visitor to the country may easily see: Filipinos are not degenerates, who need to be protected from themselves, but are mostly a nation of decent, sober, law-abiding and God-fearing people. The most revealing Philippine statistic is this: 37% of Filipinos attend church on a weekly basis. Less than 20% of Americans do.
“Nonetheless, Duterte has succeeded in convincing large numbers of his people that drug use constitutes such an emergency that the very existence of the nation is threatened, and that only his rule can save the Philippines.”
Sloppy journalism, bogus heroine
There is a highly critical commentary on this purported Time article that has been posted on Get Real Philippines. It calls the piece “sloppy journalism.” It faults the piece mainly for the following:
1. In writing a report about Duterte and the war on drugs, the author interviewed mainly Senator Leila de Lima, and not a single frontline administration official.
The other interviewees of Iyengar were minor government officials such as Chito Gascon, the die-hard yellow CHR head appointed by Noynoy Aquino under whose presidency the drug lords thrived.
Iyengar makes a virtual heroine of Senator de Lima, by quoting her as saying: “We’re on a slippery slope toward tyranny.” And then he brands as a smear campaign President Duterte’s expose of de Lima’s links to the illegal drugs trade and her sexcapades.
An LP-funded campaign
There is talk in the grapevine of an orchestrated campaign, being led by former Aquino Budget Secretary Butch Abad and funded by the Liberal Party, to discredit President Duterte and his drug war in the international media and the international community. It will include demonstrations in front of our embassies and consulates abroad.
Some suspect that the campaign will use again the high-powered US public relations firms that made Aquino look good in spite of his incompetence and blunders. Their task this time will be to demonize Duterte and make foreign investors lose confidence in the country.
It’s a script that worked before in the fight to bring down Ferdinand Marcos. Rodrigo Duterte will be a different adversary.
[email protected] | http://www.manilatimes.net/is-the-time-report-hatchet-job-journalism/282351/ | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/07e8e85b56346e1cc034094c9af2acac449c1cb7027e904e1468cd874e14320a.json |
[
"Jed Villarama",
"Angelica Ballesteros",
"Aberon Voltaire Palaña",
"Nelson Badilla"
]
| 2016-08-30T14:50:13 | null | 2016-08-30T22:02:05 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fmalnutrition-costs-ph-economy-p328b-a-year-2%2F283032%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 | Malnutrition costs PH economy P328B a year | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | The Philippine economy is losing at least P328 billion yearly because of the impact of stunted child growth on workforce productivity and education, according to a report from Save the Children Philippines, a nongovernment organization (NGO).
The report, titled “Cost of Hunger: Philippines” said that since 2013, child stunting has cost the Philippines 3 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP).
The overall economic loss of P328 billion was broken down into P166.5 billion in lost income because of lower level of education achieved by the working population who suffered from childhood impediment; P160 billion in lost productivity because of premature deaths among children, who would have been members of the current working-age population; and P1.23 billion in additional education expenses covering grade repetitions linked to lack of nutrition.
“This study proves that undernutrition has a cost to all of us. In just a year, the Philippines has lost almost 3 percent of its GDP in terms of education and productivity loss due to stunting. If we add health costs, the likely impact would be an additional 0.05 percent to 1.6 percent,” said Ned Olney, country director of Save the Children Philippines.
The report found that the Philippines’ investment in nutrition programs was drastically low, with numbers estimated at 0.52 percent of general government expenditures compared with the global average allocation of 2.1 percent.
The NGO said the need to invest in nutrition programs during a child’s first 1,000 days is considered a critical period of care to avert impediment.
Impeding is the most prevalent form of lack of nutrition, and is proven to have permanent effects on a child’s growth and development, the report said.
“Nutrition is the cornerstone of all development efforts. This new report tells us that for every one US dollar spent on programs to avert stunting in children below 2 years old, the Philippines could save over 100 US dollars in health, education and lost productivity costs,” Olney said.
“It should outrage us that 95 children will die everyday because of malnutrition,” he added.
Save the Children called on the national and local governments, the private sector and donors to help stop rising malnutrition in the Philippines. | http://www.manilatimes.net/malnutrition-costs-ph-economy-p328b-a-year-2/283032/ | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/bbc9a5eb3735367c363c4b1c79f00ddfb6024b32901995954e278f5702b4e1a3.json |
[
"Neil Alcober",
"Michael Joe T. Delizo",
"Llanesca T. Panti",
"Agence France-Presse"
]
| 2016-08-30T18:50:13 | null | 2016-08-31T01:02:25 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fshabu-king-peddling-drugs-behind-bars-2%2F283113%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 | ‘Shabu king’ peddling drugs behind bars | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | PASIG City’s convicted “shabu king” continues his illegal operations within the confines of the New Bilibid Prison (NBP), according to the police.
Eastern Police District (EPD) Director Chief Supt. Romulo Sapitula on Tuesday released a drug matrix showing Amin Imam Boratong, who was behind the infamous “shabu flea market” in Pasig City, as the top drug dealer operating in the cities of Pasig, Marikina, San Juan, and Mandaluyong.
Sapitula said even in detention, Amin managed to continue his illegal drug activities through his brother, Ama Boratong.
Ama reportedly supplied illegal drugs to his two cousins, Aleman Boratong alias Boy Negro and Acsaimen Amer Boratong, Joey Mammon alias Jeremiah, and a certain alias “Mac-mac” who also served as “hitman” of the Boratong family.
The Boratong group is also operating in Taguig City and Taytay, Rizal province, police said.
According to Sapitula, the Boratongs are hiding in Mindanao. He said the EPD has coordinated with officials of Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao for their immediate arrest.
In 2006, police raided the house of Amin Boratong at F. Soriano Street in Barangay Santo Tomas, within spitting distance of the Pasig City Hall.
Police seized a huge volume of suspected methamphetamine hydrochloride (shabu) and high-powered firearms.
Sapitula said police authorities are investigating if there are local politicians or policemen who are protecting the illegal drug trade in the area.
Pasig City Mayor Robert “Bobby” Eusebio earlier denied any involvement in the illegal drug trade in his city.
Eusebio noted that the city anti-drug abuse council has been very active in its campaign against the proliferation of illegal drugs. | http://www.manilatimes.net/shabu-king-peddling-drugs-behind-bars-2/283113/ | en | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/342ddf2746607626c056d257845f0f84a67b1b216f0bcbbf438b5f6af2048854.json |
[
"The Manila Times",
"Josef T. Ramos"
]
| 2016-08-28T12:49:35 | null | 2016-08-28T19:55:36 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Farellano-san-beda-eye-win-no-12-in-ncaa-juniors%2F282619%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 | Arellano, San Beda eye win No. 12 in NCAA juniors | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | Arellano University and San Beda College will try to keep their stranglehold of the lead as the two tackle Letran and Perpetual Help, respectively, today in the National Collegiate Athletic Association Season 92 juniors basketball tournament at The Arena in San Juan City.
The Braves turned back the Jose Rizal Light Bombers while the Cubs downed the Lyceum of the Philippines Junior Pirates, 80-66, to remain atop the heap with identical 11-1 (win-loss) records.
Another win in their 9:00 and 10:45 a.m. duels will push it a win closer from clinching at least a playoff for a berth in the Final Four.
Both Arellano and San Beda are also looking to stay in the top two for the all-important twice-to-beat advantage in the next round.
“Our goal is to make the Final Four first, if we can achieve it, we’ll start to think of the twice-to-beat edge,” said San Beda coach JB Sison.
Just a game behind with a 10-2 mark was Mapua, which tangles with Lyceum (6-5) at 12:30 p.m. with hopes of catching up with the leaders.
St. Benilde-La Salle Greenhills is currently at No. 4 with a 9-3 card and should further solidify its grip of it if the Junior Blazers could handle the San Sebastian Staglets, which has a win to spare in 12 outings, when they collide at 2:15 p.m.
Jose Rizal University (2-10) and Emilio Aguinaldo College (0-11) face off at 4 p.m. | http://www.manilatimes.net/arellano-san-beda-eye-win-no-12-in-ncaa-juniors/282619/ | en | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/56339ad636a97b3a26feaad36981fda1c87d3ef7c9fd342e46e238e19964a8d1.json |
[
"Manila Times"
]
| 2016-08-29T06:49:49 | null | 2016-08-29T14:12:11 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fbritney-underwhelms-in-mtv-awards-comeback%2F282714%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 | Britney underwhelms in MTV awards comeback | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | NEW YORK: Pop princess Britney Spears took to the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards stage Sunday in a raunchy but flat comeback performance that failed to impress her critics.
Spears, at the VMAs for the first time in nearly a decade, followed a 16-minute set by Beyonce Knowles that brought the house down at New York’s Madison Square Garden and was always going to struggle to match up.
Wearing a glittering metallic yellow bodysuit and supported by backup dancers dressed in black and white, she performed her new single “Make Me…” with rapper G-Eazy.
Despite grinding up against the 27-year-old Californian and even appearing to grope him at one point, the response on Twitter to her performance was underwhelming, with critics pointing out her lip-synching appeared way off.
“That performance was a hot mess. That outfit she was wearing made her look like a banana,” one said.
“Whatever the hell that was it was awful. Who thought she could follow Beyonce? #britney goodbye” tweeted another.
The singer had turned heads on the red carpet earlier in the evening in a one-shouldered, figure-hugging LBD with a revealing slit to the hip and black heels.
“So ready for this night #VMAs,” she tweeted alongside a backstage photo holding a champagne flute.
The “Toxic” singer admitted earlier this week she was nervous to make her return to the VMAs after a much-criticized last appearance in 2007.
Many fans pointed out however that Spears has given the VMAs some of their most iconic moments, including strutting on stage with a live python in 2001 and sharing a steamy kiss with Madonna in 2003. AFP
AFP/CC | http://www.manilatimes.net/britney-underwhelms-in-mtv-awards-comeback/282714/ | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/94b787eafce26bd4a5d412b847f30a14bfa8f0600b909fbbf921ecdd5d2d0e9c.json |
[
"The Manila Times",
"Ben Kritz",
"Gilbert Chao"
]
| 2016-08-29T08:50:06 | null | 2016-08-29T16:14:07 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fautodeal-expands-to-used-cars-classified-ads%2F282755%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 | AutoDeal expands to used cars classified ads | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | After two and a half years of providing services to the Philippine new car industry, AutoDeal.com.ph, the country’s leading online new car lead generation and lead management platform, has announced its expansion into the local used car classifieds space.
AutoDeal founders, Daniel Scott and Christopher Franks, are no strangers to used car classifieds in the Philippines following the sale of Pinoy Auto Trader to Sulit.com.ph (now OLX.ph) in early 2013.
Scott and Franks, together with the founding team of Pinoy Auto Trader, launched AutoDeal in the middle of 2014. Since then, it has gained traction with several key manufacturers and dealership clients helping to expand their advertising and back-end lead-management solutions to more than 350 new car dealers across the Philippines.
AutoDeal’s expansion into the used car classifieds segment signifies the company’s aim to close the loop on the vehicle buying cycle in the country.
“Incorporating used cars into AutoDeal was the natural next step given our good growth in the new car industry over the last two years. Everything was built to create great synergy between our used car offerings and existing new car business. This way AutoDeal will not only add the benefit of enabling Filipinos to buy and sell pre-owned cars but also help extend value to our existing network of partners in the new car industry,” said Scott.
AutoDeal’s used car classifieds offer several features that are a first-of-their kind for automotive marketplaces in the Philippines.
Some of the most notable service advancements include a price-drop alert that keeps buyers notified on vehicle price changes. To help auto-populate listings, there’s also a detailed used car database that contains all the technical specifications of every vehicle sold in the Philippines for the last 10 years. Then, easy-to-navigate interfaces create a clear distinction between Certified Pre-Owned, Repossessed and Standard second-hand vehicles.
AutoDeal’s used car offerings have been tailored to fit the ever-expanding requirements of the Philippine automotive industry that surpassed its milestone of 300,000 new car sales in 2015. Through leveraging its current platform strength in the Philippines, AutoDeal aims to extend its position as market leaders in both new and used cars through a combination of front-end advertising features, detailed dealer management and marketing tools, and its analytics platform for OEM (original equipment manufacturer).
As a new car-platform alone, AutoDeal attracts more than 1.2 million monthly visits online and has developed partnerships at both the manufacturer and dealership levels.
“AutoDeal has always been more than just basic buy and sell website. We’ve created an ecosystem that has been incredibly successful in guiding buyers through the sales cycle. The technology that we already have in place for new cars is going to really complement our offerings in used car,” Scott said. | http://www.manilatimes.net/autodeal-expands-to-used-cars-classified-ads/282755/ | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/8594d5fea9cb259ec3028bb9f04b063b91f06444f070823ba10c1c3e6f68a589.json |
[
"William Depasupil",
"Frederick Silverio",
"The Manila Times",
"Julmunir I. Jannaral"
]
| 2016-08-29T14:49:59 | null | 2016-08-29T22:11:20 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fsouth-koreans-top-list-of-fugitives%2F282857%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 | ‘South Koreans top list of fugitives’ | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | SOUTH Koreans topped the list of wanted foreigners hiding in the Philippines to avoid arrest in their country of origin, according to the Bureau of Immigration (BI). The bureau’s Fugitive Search Unit (FSU) showed that of the 98 foreign fugitives arrested from January to August 10, 2016 most of them are South Koreans – 61; Chinese –16; Americans – 15; Taiwanese – 3; a German, a Canadian, an Australian, a Bangladeshi and a Pakistani.
Lawyer Jose Carlitos Licas, BI deputy intelligence chief and concurrent head of the FSU, said they have been working closely and sharing intelligence information with embassies that enabled BI operatives to locate and arrest the fugitives. Licas added that 55 of the arrested aliens were wanted for cybercrimes while 27 others were charged with fraud and economic crimes. They also included nine pedophiles wanted for sex offenses while the rest were charged with other crimes such as murder, smuggling, identity theft, drug pushing, robbery and human trafficking. | http://www.manilatimes.net/south-koreans-top-list-of-fugitives/282857/ | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/d4a35f3274d89e9f2b554de87058509d748bb9c0a8f0210117750d024c02cf45.json |
[
"The Manila Times"
]
| 2016-08-28T10:49:31 | null | 2016-08-28T17:51:27 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fspotlighting-singapores-endangered-monkey-on-its-national-day%2F282554%2F.json | http://14255-presscdn-0-60.pagely.netdna-cdn.com//wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Raffles20160829-282x300.jpg | en | null | Spotlighting Singapore’s endangered monkey on its national day | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | SINGAPORE: Raffles’ banded langur (presbytis femoralis femoralis) is getting a boost during the country’s National Day month, with the launch of a national conservation strategy for the critically endangered species.
As patron of the project, Ambassador-at-Large Professor Tommy Koh, launched the initiative during a ceremony at Singapore Botanic Gardens.
Some of the steps taken are managing the habitat and population through habitat enhancement such as establishing green corridors and exploring options for providing connectivity across forest fragments, focused enrichment plantings based on understanding of the dietary requirements of the langurs; gathering data to understand more about the movements and habitat preferences of the species; and securing the necessary commitment and resources to ensure the long-term conservation of the primate in Singapore and Malaysia.
Over 30 stakeholders from 15 organizations held a workshop at the Singapore Zoo in early August—including representatives from Wildlife Reserves Singapore (WRS), National Parks Board (NParks), International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Species Survival Commission (SSC) Primate Specialist Group, Department of Wildlife and National Parks Peninsular Malaysia, conservation NGOs and universities— to jointly develop a conservation strategy for the Raffles’ banded langur.
The workshop was funded by WRS and facilitated by IUCN.
Wildlife Reserves Singapore Conservation Fund will engage Ms Andie Ang, who has studied the langurs since 2008, and is a member of IUCN SSC Primate Specialist Group, to set up and chair a Raffles’ Banded Langur Working Group to glean outputs from the recent workshop to map out a Species Action Plan.
One of only three primates found in Singapore, the Raffles’ banded langur was first discovered by Sir Stamford Raffles 194 years ago. Up to the 1920s, they were still reported to be common in Singapore across Changi, Tampines, Bukit Timah, Pandan and Tuas.
Deforestation for urban development led to the shrinking of their habitat such that the Raffles’ banded langurs were confined to only the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve (BTNR) and Central Catchment Nature Reserve (CCNR) in the 1980s. In 1987, the last member of a troop living in BTNR was reportedly mauled to death by a pack of dogs.
By 2010, it was estimated that there were 40 to 60 Raffles’ banded langurs left in Singapore. This subspecies can also be found in southern Peninsular Malaysia, where a number of isolated populations continue to be threatened by habitat loss and conversion. Small and isolated populations have a heightened risk of extinction from the effects of genetic deterioration, extreme weather, disease outbreak and other catastrophic events.
“It is a fitting time to embark on a consolidated, comprehensive and integrated conservation strategy for the Raffles’ banded langur, to ensure the continued survival of this highly charismatic primate. This conservation project is of national importance for Singapore, and together with NParks, we are fully committed to be a part of the pioneering approach to manage the species over the long-term so Singapore does not have a primate going extinct on our watch,” Dr. Sonja Luz, Director, Conservation and Research, Wildlife Reserves Singapore said.
Dr. Adrian Loo, Director (Terrestrial), National Biodiversity Centre, National Parks Board, said: “Reforestation, setting aside buffer parks such as the upcoming Thomson Nature Park and enrichment planting over the years have improved the rainforest habitat of the endangered Raffles’ banded langur. This will further help increase the foraging area and connectivity for the species, which saw an increase since the early 1990s. Even so, a multi-pronged approach is required to ensure the full recovery of the species. Thus, NParks looks forward to working with our stakeholders to guide the development of long-term conservation and management strategies for this shy, elusive species. We hope to see these animals thrive in our forests one day.”
“The development of a regional Species Action Plan signifies a first collaboration between Singaporean and Malaysian authorities, universities, and NGOs in the research and conservation of the Raffles’ banded langurs. Besides ensuring that the habitat of the langurs is protected and restored, we hope that this joint effort can also help raise public awareness and appreciation of this primate and the natural heritage in both countries,” primatologist Ms Andie Ang said. | http://www.manilatimes.net/spotlighting-singapores-endangered-monkey-on-its-national-day/282554/ | en | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/49f246e2d57b1b703aafccec19f2a3f4662a280f6b9e3546180eedc357bd1282.json |
[
"Jaime G. Aquino",
"Jing Villamente",
"William Depasupil",
"Jomar Canlas"
]
| 2016-08-28T14:49:51 | null | 2016-08-28T21:45:03 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fgun-for-hire-leader-nabbed%2F282637%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 | Gun-for-hire leader nabbed | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | LINGAYEN, Pangasinan: An alleged leader of a gun-for-hire group operating in the western part of this province and two other wanted persons have been arrested by provincial police.
The suspects were identified as Hever Ocuaman, allegedly the second leader of a gun-for-hire syndicate and resident of Barangay Tiep in Bani town; Nino Mar Tongol, a resident of Barangay Bical in Bayambang town; and Benjie Prado of Barangay Quintong in San Carlos City, according to a police report released to the media on Sunday by Pangasinan Provincial Police Director Senior Supt. Ronald Oliver-Lee.
Ocuaman was arrested by Bani town police operatives by virtue of a warrant of arrest issued by Alaminos City Regional Trial Court Branch 54 Judge Mervin Jovito Samadan. Upon his arrest, some of the witnesses appeared at the police station where he was positively identified as the alleged gunman in two unsolved murder cases in Bani. The police are preparing two separate criminal charges for murder against Ocuaman.
Tongol, who is also listed as a drug pusher in Bayambang town and facing a rape case, was arrested by joint operatives of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group and Bayambang Philippine National Police stations at his the house by virtue of warrant of arrest issued by San Carlos City Regional Trial Court Branch 57 Judge Hermogenes Fernandez.
Prado, who is listed as one of the Top 10 wanted persons in San Carlos City, was arrested at his hideout in Barangay Pagal by virtue of arrest warrant issued on November 22, 2012 by former San Carlos City Regional Trial Court Judge Renato Pinlac for attempted rape.
JAIME G. AQUINO | http://www.manilatimes.net/gun-for-hire-leader-nabbed/282637/ | en | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/8e84d26963227b8a0cfda6de9df2745a9593a422a02a708f553d64a0a2124436.json |
[
"Jean Russel V. David",
"Emil C. Noguera",
"Josef T. Ramos"
]
| 2016-08-26T12:57:06 | null | 2016-08-26T20:38:41 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Folympian-lariba-inspires-mlo-participants%2F282247%2F.json | http://14255-presscdn-0-60.pagely.netdna-cdn.com//wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Lariba20160827-300x283.jpg | en | null | Olympian Lariba inspires MLO participants | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | First Filipino table tennis Olympian Ian Lariba challenged student-athletes to hold on to their dreams and work hard to achieve them during the opening ceremonies of the Milo Little Olympics (MLO) National Capital Region leg on Friday at the Marikina Sports Park.
“Based on my experiences, there was nothing easy. You really need to work hard for something you really love. Sacrifices will always be worth it,” Lariba said.
Lariba was the 2004 MLO Most Outstanding Athlete for table tennis.
The 4th year De La Salle University BS Management and Financial student said that she went through the eye of a needle to qualify for the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics.
She experienced serious doubt after losing to a Thai opponent in the qualifying tournament in Hong Kong.
“After I failed against Thailand, I told myself that I still have one last chance if I really push myself hard.”
“I poured all my strength into that last game against Indonesia since it would be all or nothing for me. And actually, it is the last game for women’s singles.”
“And I won. I just realized then that all your sacrifices will be worth it,” Lariba said.
A two-time University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Athlete of the Year; Lariba is an undefeated table tennis player during college.
Lariba saw the potential of the sport to help her family.
“My motivation is to help my family since they saw me enjoying and very interested in this sport. They encourage me that becoming a player will help us a lot in terms of my education since I can get scholarships.”
She also thanked La Salle for supporting her athletic pursuit.
“La Salle has influenced me a lot since I started my college years there. It taught me, especially, that as a student-athlete we should know our priorities, responsibilities and to manage our time.”
Lariba is also grateful to her Korean coach Kwon Missok and national coach Noel Gonzales for helping her achieve her full potential as an athlete.
As a way of giving back, Lariba plans to share her knowledge and skills to underprivileged but talented young athletes in the Philippines.
“That is one of my plans in the future. I really want to give back to the community since it is where I started. I also plan to conduct clinics to share my experiences and at the same time, to tour around the Philippines.”
As a parting shot, Lariba told the MLO participants to remain humble despite all their achievements.
“I just want them to realize that at their young age, dreams do really come true if you really work hard for it. There will be times that you feel like giving up but if you would be patient and be very determined to achieve your goal and what you really want, then eventually everything will pay off and will be worth it. So work hard, dream big but always stay humble,” Lariba said.
JEAN RUSSEL V. DAVID | http://www.manilatimes.net/olympian-lariba-inspires-mlo-participants/282247/ | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/86b8860f136467e8105518c90c5bcaf988a008afc6653523f951c7429fa3c8e3.json |
[
"Manila Times"
]
| 2016-08-30T10:50:09 | null | 2016-08-30T17:43:30 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Frussian-hackers-attack-two-us-voter-databases-reports%2F282949%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 | Russian hackers attack two US voter databases: reports | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | WASHINGTON: Russian-based hackers may have been responsible for two recent attempts to breach US voter registration databases in two states, raising fears Moscow is trying to undermine November’s presidential election, US media said Monday.
The incidents led the FBI to send a “flash alert” to election officials earlier this month, asking them to watch for similar cyber-attacks.
The FBI alert, first reported by Yahoo News, did not mention Russia.
However, the authorities have attributed the attacks to Russian spy agencies, NBC News quoted US intelligence officials as saying.
“This is the closest we’ve come to tying a recent hack to the Russian government,” one unidentified official said, adding “there is serious concern” Moscow may be seeking to create uncertainty in the election process.
Although the alert does not identify targeted states, Yahoo News quoted officials as saying they were Illinois and Arizona.
Illinois officials said last month that they shut down their state’s voter registration after a hack.
On Monday state officials said the hackers stole data from as many as 200,000 voter records, although they told the Chicago Tribune no such record had been deleted or altered.
In Arizona hackers unsuccessfully tried to breach the voter registration system using malicious software, reports said.
The state shut down the system for nine days beginning in late June, after the discovery of malware on an election official’s computer. However, officials concluded the system was not successfully compromised.
The incidents prompted Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson to hold a conference call with state election officials earlier this month.
Although the Department of Homeland Security was not aware of specific cyber threats against election-related networks, Johnson urged officials to secure their systems, according to a transcript of the call released by the department.
Hackers apparently connected to Russia staged a series of cyber-attacks against US media outlets including the New York Times, reports said earlier this month.
And US officials say Russian intelligence agencies were behind recent hacks into Democratic Party organizations, including the campaign of its White House candidate Hillary Clinton.
Another hack of Democratic National Committee servers resulted in an embarrassing leak of emails last month revealing how party leaders tried to undermine Clinton’s Democratic rival Bernie Sanders, leading to the committee chief’s resignation.
Experts said they believed two Russian intelligence agencies to be responsible.
Last week Senate minority leader Harry Reid asked the FBI to investigate evidence suggesting Russia may be trying to manipulate voting results in November, expressing concern about a “direct connection” between Republican candidate Donald Trump’s campaign and the Russian government.
“The prospect of a hostile government actively seeking to undermine our free and fair elections,” he wrote, “represents one of the gravest threats to our democracy since the Cold War.” AFP
AFP/CC | http://www.manilatimes.net/russian-hackers-attack-two-us-voter-databases-reports/282949/ | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/e0d848d662b07f029f43127dc0648252089d62c38a682867b032823bd913f658.json |
[
"William Depasupil",
"Jing Villamente",
"Jomar Canlas",
"Jaime G. Aquino"
]
| 2016-08-28T14:49:50 | null | 2016-08-28T21:46:35 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Farchbishop-opposes-small-lottery-expansion%2F282638%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 | Archbishop opposes small lottery expansion | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | STAUNCH anti-gambling advocate Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Emeritus Oscar Cruz has strongly opposed moves in the House of Representatives to expand the operations of the small town lottery (STL) on a nationwide scale to generate additional revenues for the government.
Cruz, founder of the Krusada ng Bayan Laban sa Jueteng, maintained the culture of gambling does not only erode the moral fiber of the people but creates as well a culture of laziness.
House Minority Leader Rep. Danilo Suarez of the Third District of Quezon province pushed for the expansion of the STL during last week’s budget briefing of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO), which operates the game, among other numbers games.
Suarez pointed out gambling can no longer be eradicated as it is already a way of life for Filipinos, thus “we might as well earn from it.”
But Cruz said there were many other decent sources of livelihood and income-generating programs that the government can tap other than the STL.
“There are many other means of livelihood. Because if gambling will be considered a job, why can’t we make prostitution one as well? Why can’t we make sleazy shows, night club [shows]a job? We should give decent jobs, not jobs that destroy our morality,” Cruz said in an interview over the weekend with Church-run Radio Veritas.
The STL was first introduced in 2005 in select areas in Luzon to help in the campaign to stamp out jueteng, an illegal numbers game.
Suarez claimed that the STL proved effective because it is transparent and could not be rigged unlike jueteng.
During its first year of operations, the STL generated more than P3 billion in revenues, creating about 62,500 jobs and livelihood to people displaced by the campaign against jueteng.
The PCSO’s revenues ballooned to P4.7 billion in 2014, P4.8 billion in 2015 and P1.231 billion in the first quarter of 2016 out of STL operations in 14 provinces and four cities.
At present, STL outlets employ more than 180,000 people.
Suarez said that if implemented nationwide, STL would generate more than 1.5 million jobs and P152 billion a year in revenues for the government.
But Cruz pointed out that even if the STL is legal, it is still a form of gambling, which the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) strongly opposes.
“Gambling that is organized, widespread and systemic, whether legal or illegal, is not desirable. It creates a culture that seriously erodes the moral value of our people,” the CBCP said.
WILLIAM B. DEPASUPIL | http://www.manilatimes.net/archbishop-opposes-small-lottery-expansion/282638/ | en | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/5fcfdba2e7dabb49b73f3456a82b13bdbe8f25686df463f5d2bf811305f17ee9.json |
[
"Rhaydz B. Barcia",
"Leander C. Domingo",
"Al Jacinto",
"Moh Saaduddin"
]
| 2016-08-27T14:49:07 | null | 2016-08-27T22:25:15 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fbicol-needs-more-doctors-drug-rehabilitation-centers-for-surrenderers%2F282441%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 | Bicol needs more doctors, drug rehabilitation centers for surrenderers | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | LEGAZPI CITY: The Department of Health (DOH) in Bicol said it needs more facilities and physicians to man the drug rehabilitation centers in the wake of the ballooning number of drug surrenderers across the region.
Napoleon Arevalo, DOH regional director, said the region has 14 accredited specialist physicians but these are not enough to attend to the more than 40,000 drug dependents.
He said the health department and the police in the region are not ready to handle the huge number of surrenderers with only two rehab facilities – in Malinao town, Albay and in Camarines Sur – of limited bed capacity.
“We did not anticipate the surging number of surrenderers. The PNP and DOH are not ready to handle the big number of surrenderers due to lack of facilities, specialist physicians and luck of funds. But were trying to come up with remedial measures,” Arevalo told The Manila Times.
He said that the government allocated at least P500 million for the drug rehabilitation program in the country’s 17 regions. Two regions have no drug facilities.
Arevalo said that treatment of drug addicts requires longer period of rehabilitation to reverse substance addiction.
“A drug addict needs 11 months to stay at a rehab center for curing session, after that they need to undergo another 18 months for follow up after care. Reversing drug addicts are different from dengue and tuberculosis that can be cured for a week,” he explained.
John Concepcion, of Malinao Treatment and Rehab Center, said the government allocates P10 million annual budget for the center that currently has 69 patients, mostly from Albay and the provinces of Catandanes and Sorsogon.
Each patient has a monthly subsistence of P3, 000.
He said the center has two physicians and can accommodate up to 100 patients. | http://www.manilatimes.net/bicol-needs-more-doctors-drug-rehabilitation-centers-for-surrenderers/282441/ | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/f5fdcf6412d5e4fe189c2dfe64901f558e8c3ed2adc68382c71a7792bb61abf4.json |
[
"Emil C. Noguera",
"Jean Russel V. David",
"Josef T. Ramos"
]
| 2016-08-26T12:58:27 | null | 2016-08-26T20:40:52 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Farcilla-tierro-cruise-into-pca-open-cebuana-lhuillier-semifinals%2F282248%2F.json | http://14255-presscdn-0-60.pagely.netdna-cdn.com//wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Arcilla20160827-300x253.jpg | en | null | Arcilla, Tierro cruise into PCA Open-Cebuana Lhuillier semifinals | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | Top seed Johnny Arcilla and second pick Patrick John Tierro posted similar victories on Friday to advance to the semifinals of the 35th Philippine Columbian Association (PCA) Open-Cebuana Lhuillier men’s tennis tournament at the PCA indoor shell-clay court in Paco, Manila.
Arcilla, an eight-time champion, banked on his vast experience and superb court coverage to outclass former junior campaigner Argil Lance Canizares, 6-0, 6-1, in the quarterfinals of the tournament sanctioned by the Philippine Lawn Tennis Association.
The 36-year-old Arcilla arranged a semifinal showdown with third seed and fellow Davis Cup veteran Elbert Anasta, a 6-4, 6-4 winner over Ronard Joven.
“I’m taking it one game at a time. I need to stay focused at all times especially in this crucial stage of the competition. Elbert is also a veteran player and you need to play your best [against him],” said Arcilla, who dominated the 2001, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012 and 2013 editions of the annual netfest.
Sharing the spotlight was Tierro, who scored an equally impressive 6-2, 6-3 win over seventh seed Rolando Ruel Jr.
He will be meeting Filipino-Italian Marc Reyes in the Final Four of the event supported by Dunlop, Whirlpool, Chris Sports, Mary Grace, Aseana City, PVL Restaurant, Maverick, Compass, Babolat, Fujidenzo, Just Jewels, Rexona, Palm Rock, Coca Cola Femsa Philippines, Pearl Garden Hotel, Pearl Lane Hotel, Manny Pacquiao, L&M and Monte.
Reyes ousted Fritz Verdad, 6-2, 6-2.
Tierro is looking to reclaim the crown he surrendered to junior netter Alberto Lim Jr. last year.
Lim won’t be able to defend his crown, as the 17-year-old netter is busy preparing for the US Open juniors championship beginning next month in New York City.
In men’s doubles, Arcilla and Joven will be playing Kim Saraza and Joseph Arcilla in the first semifinal game while Tierro and Jed Olivarez Jr. take on Anasta and Marc Anthony Alcoseba in the other semifinal pairing. | http://www.manilatimes.net/arcilla-tierro-cruise-into-pca-open-cebuana-lhuillier-semifinals/282248/ | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/ef15f3365a13fdfbf8549c74f8d0d8a14c8e45957378cd8b2ca8bd7e46ec15a3.json |
[
"Manila Times"
]
| 2016-08-30T10:50:12 | null | 2016-08-30T17:49:20 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fobama-to-meet-duterte%2F282951%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 | Obama to meet Duterte | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama will meet controversial Philippine leader Rodrigo Duterte next week, the White House said, despite concerns over a war on crime that has claimed more than 2,000 lives.
Since taking office two months ago, Duterte has begun making good on an election pledge to kill tens of thousands of suspected criminals, prompting criticism from rights groups who accuse him of inciting vigilante murders.
He has also lashed out at the United Nations and described the US ambassador to Manila as a “son of a whore.”
However, the White House said Obama would meet the firebrand leader on the sidelines of a summit in Laos, which begins on September 6, with the US president likely to voice disquiet over the bloodshed and Duterte’s abusive remarks.
“We absolutely expect that the president will raise concerns about some of the recent statements from the president of the Philippines,” Obama aide Ben Rhodes told reporters in Washington on Monday.
“We regularly meet with the leaders of our treaty allies where we have differences, whether it relates to human rights practices or derogatory comments. We take the opportunity of those meetings to raise those issues directly.”
Duterte’s war on crime has seen unknown assailants kill more than half the victims, according to police statistics, raising fears that security forces and hired assassins are shooting dead anyone suspected of being involved in drugs.
Police have reported killing 756 people they have branded drug suspects, although they have insisted they are only acting in self-defense.
The US State Department last week said it was “deeply concerned” about reports of extra judicial killings.
The UN’s special rapporteur on summary executions, Agnes Callamard, also said Duterte’s promise of immunity and bounties to security forces who killed drug suspects violated international law.
Duterte responded by threatening to quit the United Nations, saying: “If you are that disrespectful, son of a whore, then I will just leave you.”
He later said his threat to withdraw from the UN was a joke, but continued to repeatedly criticize the international body.
And after garnering more bad headlines overseas for calling the US ambassador “gay” and a “son of a whore,” Duterte refused to apologize.
The Philippines, a former US colony, was regarded as one of the United States’ most loyal allies in Asia until Duterte took office.
The two nations are bound by a mutual defense pact. AFP
AFP/CC | http://www.manilatimes.net/obama-to-meet-duterte/282951/ | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/fe9a69e43d8d322e5a18172acbe01197971ac294d4db2fcf253d7027485f0d02.json |
[
"Agence France-Presse"
]
| 2016-08-27T12:49:18 | null | 2016-08-27T19:48:29 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fitaly-mourns-earthquake-dead%2F282388%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 | Italy mourns earthquake dead | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | ASCOLI PICENO, Italy: Flags flew at half mast across Italy on Saturday as the country observed a day of mourning for the victims of an earthquake that killed nearly 300 people.
President Sergio Mattarella paid tribute to the “extraordinary effort” of more than 4,000 rescue experts and volunteers as he began what was set to be an emotionally charged day with a brief visit to Amatrice, around 100 kilometers (60 miles) northeast of Rome.
The small mountain town suffered the heaviest losses in the disaster with around two thirds of the quake’s 284 confirmed victims buried under tons of collapsed masonry in its devastated center.
The elderly head of state looked visibly moved as he contemplated the site of a razed house on the edge of a zone that has been sealed off by rescue workers for fear of further collapses.
There are fears more bodies will be recovered in Amatrice, a holiday spot that was packed with visitors when the powerful quake struck in the early hours of Wednesday. And of the nearly 400 people hospitalized, several are reportedly in a critical state.
Emergency services are more confident that they have accounted for everyone in the smaller outlying hamlets to the north of Amatrice—some of which have been so badly damaged there are doubts as to whether they will ever be inhabited again.
The one-street village of Saletta had less than 20 permanent residents but with its population swollen by summer visitors 22 people died there.
“Saletta will disappear like so many tiny places,” predicted Marco Beltrame. The 28-year-old lost his aunt and uncle in the quake.
Tiny coffin
Mattarella was also due to visit the village of Accumoli before joining Prime Minister Matteo Renzi at a funeral for some of the victims in Ascoli Piceno, capital of Marche, one of three regions affected by the quake.
The first grieving families to bury their dead did so on Friday evening in Pomezia.
There were tear-drenched scenes as hundreds of residents of the small town south of Rome turned out to pay their respects to lost relatives, friends and neighbors who included an eight-year-old boy.
A large number of the victims were from the Rome area, where many former inhabitants of the mountains have moved for work, returning to family homes only at the height of summer. At least eight foreigners died, including three Britons, two Romanians and nationals of Canada, El Salvador and Spain.
Saturday’s funeral was for some of the 46 people who died in the villages of Arquata del Tronto and Pescara del Tronto, located in the mountains where Marche meets neighboring Umbria, Lazio and Abruzzo.
A local gymnasium has been transformed into a chapel, where bereaved relatives came to pray in front of 30 coffins.
Among them was a small, white casket for nine-year-old Giulia, whose body protected her younger sister, Giorgia, for long enough for the five-year-old to be pulled from the rubble virtually unscathed.
She was one of the last survivors to be rescued and there have been no reports of anyone being found alive since late Wednesday.
With emotions still raw, some families chose not to take up the offer of state funerals.
“Why attend? To listen to politicians? They always say the same thing—that they stand with us and that it must never happen again… always the same thing!” said one inconsolable woman after identifying a relative in Amatrice.
Where they can, rescue workers have begun using diggers and other heavy lifting equipment to clear debris in the first steps towards the reconstruction which the government has promised to support.
But the operation has been severely hampered by powerful aftershocks—more than 1,300 since Wednesday—which have closed winding mountain roads, damaged key bridges and made life dangerous for exhausted emergency services.
AFP | http://www.manilatimes.net/italy-mourns-earthquake-dead/282388/ | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/4db684be157713d238b7fc7f8273cc267d0b5bc90e16ce9faf80a200696fa96d.json |
[
"Manila Times"
]
| 2016-08-29T10:49:52 | null | 2016-08-29T18:47:15 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fcomelec-stops-printing-of-ballots%2F282776%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 | Comelec stops printing of ballots | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) has temporarily suspended the printing of ballots for the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections.
Comelec Chairman Juan Andres Bautista on Monday said the decision to stop printing was made in anticipation of a possible postponement by Congress of the twin polls.
President Rodrigo Duterte earlier said he wanted the synchronized elections to push through on October 31 but he backtracked, fearing that drug money may be used to fund candidates.
Bautista said the Comelec also slowed down in its preparations for the electoral exercise, particularly on the awarding of contracts for the supply of election paraphernalia.
If Congress will postpone the elections, the Comelec can hold the polls anytime next year but not beyond that to avoid possible conflict with the 2019 mid-term elections.
Bautista reiterated his call to Congress to make its decision known by September 1.
Genievieve Guevarra, head of the Comelec’s printing committee, said the printing of ballots will resume if Congress will not be able to come out wit an amendatory law by September 1.
“If there is still no law or a joint resolution from Congress on the postponement by September 1, we will resume the printing,” Guevarra added.
The Comelec will have to print 85 million ballots for the SK and barangay elections set for October.
No support
Meanwhile, Senator Juan Edgardo Angara said the proposal of Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez to abolish the Sangguniang Kabataan or Youth Councils is unlikely to gain support from members of the Senate and the House of Representatives.
Angara, chairman of the Senate local government committee, explained that it would be difficult for any member of Congress to back the proposal because the SK Reform Act had just been signed into law in January.
“I doubt if my colleagues in the Senate and in the House of Representatives would allow it (abolition of SK) considering that we just passed the SK reform Act,” Angara said.
Alvarez said the SK should be abolished because all sectors are already well-represented in Congress.
But Sen. Sen. Joseph Victor Ejercito, who authored the SK bill, maintained that the new law has enough features that address the flaws of the old SK law.
“I am the principal author of the SK Reform Law, so I am for giving the SK another chance,” he said.
The senator added that it would be a disservice to the Filipino youth to abolish the SK.
Sen. Paolo Benigno Aquino 4th agreed that the youth council should be given a chance to prove that it could help strengthen the community.
Aquino, a co-author of the SK reform bill, said the efforts of Congress to push for the passage of the reform law will be put to waste if the council will be abolished.
WILLIAM B. DEPASUPIL and JEFFERSON ANTIPORDA | http://www.manilatimes.net/comelec-stops-printing-of-ballots/282776/ | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/5e853e4357521f70964c9a88286228bb0ac5c42904955685590676e2e48d7ff7.json |
[
"The Manila Times",
"Agence France-Presse",
"Jefferson Antiporda",
"Jomar Canlas"
]
| 2016-08-29T16:50:03 | null | 2016-08-30T00:39:50 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fthe-manila-times-named-outstanding-newspaper%2F282908%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 | The Manila Times named Outstanding Newspaper | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | The Manila Times, the oldest English-language daily in the country, was named Outstanding Newspaper by the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC) in ceremonies led by President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday.
The Times was recognized during the VACC’s 18th anniversary rites held in Malacañang.
The award was received by Times President and Executive Editor Dante “Klink” Ang 2nd from Duterte, with VACC founder Dante Jimenez and Senate President Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel 3rd as witnesses.
Also present in Malacañang was Times Chairman Emeritus Dante Ang.
Others in the VACC honor roll included GMA Network for Outstanding Television Station; Mel Tiangco, Mike Enriquez and Vicky Morales of GMA Network for Outstanding TV News Anchors; 24 Oras of GMA Network for Outstanding News Program; Carlo Mateo of DZBB for Outstanding Radio Field Reporter, Hall of Fame; Dominic Almelor of ABS-CBN for Outstanding TV News Reporter;
The Supreme Court for Outstanding Anti-Corruption Campaign; former foreign secretary Albert del Rosario for Outstanding Government Official, National Level; and Philippine National Police chief Ronald de la Rosa for Outstanding Law Enforcer.
Also cited was Chief Public Attorney Persida Rueda-Acosta, a columnist of The Manila Times.
The VACC supported President Duterte during the elections. | http://www.manilatimes.net/the-manila-times-named-outstanding-newspaper/282908/ | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/d30046b3a02aca7174b45f79d172dd500366d884249b880e76baa5c25a0ef80b.json |
[
"Kristyn Nika M. Lazo",
"Catherine Talavera",
"Aberon Voltaire Palaña",
"Raadee S. Sausa"
]
| 2016-08-28T16:49:51 | null | 2016-08-29T00:25:20 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fmarket-bids-ghost-month-goodbye%2F282663%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 | Market bids ‘ghost month’ goodbye | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | SHARES WEEKLY OUTLOOK
TRADING is likely to remain subdued for the rest of August on the Philippine Stock Exchange, before picking up pace in the run up to the Yuletide season, in line with global and regional trends, according to online brokerage 2TradeAsia.com.
Global markets are expected to take the cue from the not so subtle hints of Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen on Friday that the US is ripe for an interest rate increase, 2TradeAsia said in a weekly note.
Yellen said the case of raising US interest rates “has strengthened” in the recent months on the back of the improvements in the labor market and expectations of moderate growth for the US economy.
Foreign investors have shunned riskier assets in line with the portfolio rebalancing last week, said RCBC Securities Inc.’s Anton Alfonso.
“The local barometer played within the range of 7,900 to 8,000 until it headed into the 7,800 territory last Wednesday, with foreign investors going into risk-off mode just before Janet Yellen’s speech,” Alfonso said.
“Whether or not markets get a clearer view of the Fed’s next rate hike, hopefully, investors will be decisive with the onset of September and the end of the so called ‘ghost month’,” he added.
2TradeAsia is betting the market will trade flat with a negative slant this week before a rebound in September.
“Whether or not a rate hike is upheld by the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), the overall reading among institutional investors is for rates to remain subdued, with or without a consensus 15-25 basis points (bps) tightening …
“We believe a neutral stance or rate hike possibility has already been factored into share prices, with emphasis shifting to trends in investment and consumer spending,” 2TradeAsia noted.
An improvement in turnover will likely happen when the negative sentiment associated with the ghost month evaporates after Aug. 31, and the seasonally positive “ber” months begin, the brokerage noted.
Traditionally, the market gets a boost during September, October, November and December due to a ramp up in consumer spending for the Yuletide season.
“Key highlight would be on the pace of fiscal spending, including the specifics of the Duterte administration’s economic growth agenda,” it added.
The focus would likely revert to consumer staples and infra bets such as property and construction, 2TradeAsia noted.
On Friday, the bellwether PSEi decreased by 0.12 percent or 9.05 points to 7,845.49, while the wider All Shares dipped by 0.05 percent or 2.18 points to 4,661.61.
Financial markets are closed today for the National Heroes Day. | http://www.manilatimes.net/market-bids-ghost-month-goodbye/282663/ | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/7d9d08c1dbaf780651955e3caad330b856bf4dd38a2c6ba0e3f7858ee75b7365.json |
[
"Manila Times"
]
| 2016-08-27T04:48:56 | null | 2016-08-27T11:19:19 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fitaly-mourns-quake-dead-as-hope-for-survivors-wanes%2F282359%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 | Italy mourns quake dead as hope for survivors wanes | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | AMATRICE: Hopes were fading Saturday of finding more survivors under the rubble of the devastating earthquake in central Italy, which has already claimed at least 281 lives.
The first funerals for victims of the devastating quake that hit the mountainous region this week were held Friday as the country prepared for an emotionally charged day of mourning.
Flags will fly at half-mast across the country on Saturday in respect for the victims of a disaster that killed at least 281 lives and left another 388 injured, according to an updated official toll.
The Civil Protection agency’s emergency unit said no new survivors had been found Friday in the remote mountain villages blitzed by Wednesday’s powerful pre-dawn quake.
At least 388 people have been hospitalised with injuries. No one has been pulled alive from the piles of collapsed masonry since Wednesday evening.
“We will go on searching and digging until we are certain there is no one left,” said Luigi D’Angelo, a Civil Protection officer working in the town of Amatrice, where the death toll stands at 221.
Forestry police officer Valerio Checchi said he expected rescuers to shortly start using mechanical diggers to move debris in a sign virtually all hope of finding survivors has gone.
“We will still use thermal devices that can detect the presence of human bodies.” said Checchi.
At least eight foreigners were among the dead, according to updates from foreign ministries.
Britain’s foreign office on Friday confirmed that a British couple in their 50s had been killed in the quake as well as a 14-year-old boy, and Romania said two of its nationals, who were living in Italy, had also died.
Spain, Canada and El Salvador each said that one of their citizens had perished.
As powerful aftershocks closed winding mountain roads and made life dangerous for more than 4,000 professionals and volunteers engaged in the rescue effort, survivors voiced dazed bewilderment over the scale of the disaster that struck their sleepy communities.
“I have been through earthquakes before, but this was not a quake, it was an apocalypse,” said Anacleto Perotti, 66.
This resident of the tiny hamlet of St Lorenzo Flaviano has gone back to his house, which survived the quake. But he is sleeping in an armchair.
“It is too scary in bed. After a quake comes fear, depression takes you over from the inside.”
Prime Minister Matteo Renzi has declared a state of emergency for the regions affected by Wednesday’s quake, which occurred in an area that straddles Umbria, Lazio and Marche.
Renzi also released an initial tranche of 50 million euros ($56 million) in emergency aid.
The first funerals took place in Pomezia, south of Rome, home of six of the victims, including an eight-year-old boy.
Renzi and President Sergio Mattarella will on Saturday attend a funeral service in the city of Ascoli-Piceno for some of the 46 people who died in the mountain villages of Arquata del Tronto and Pescara del Tronto.
The youngest local victim was three or four years old, the oldest in her 90s.
Over 2,000 people who spent the night in hastily-erected tented villages were shaken by a 4.8 magnitude aftershock just after 6:00 am (0400 GMT) on Friday morning.
More than 900 aftershocks have rattled the region since Wednesday’s quake, which had a magnitude of 6.0-6.2 and triggered the collapse of hundreds of old buildings across dozens of tiny communities playing host to far more people than usual because of the summer holidays.
Many of the survivors, who are now living in tents, were carrying plastic bags containing the few possessions they grabbed before fleeing their homes in terror: clothes, ID documents, phones and wallets.
Quake experts estimate that the cost of the short-term rescue effort and mid- to longer-term reconstruction could exceed one billion euros ($1.13 billion).
There are also fears of a negative impact on an already-stagnating Italian economy, with tourism — which accounts for four percent of GDP — certain to take a hit.
Analysts noted however that the disaster could help Renzi get clearance for reconstruction spending to be excluded from EU calculations of the country’s compliance with budget rules.
Inadequate preparations
Renzi’s government and local authorities are now facing questions as to why there were so many deaths in a sparsely-populated area so soon after a 2009 earthquake in the nearby city of L’Aquila left 300 people dead.
That disaster, just 50 kilometres (30 miles) to the south, underscored the region’s vulnerability to seismic events — but preparations for a fresh quake have been exposed as inadequate.
“Italy should have a plan that is not just limited to the management of emergency situations,” Renzi said.
He said that proofing centuries-old buildings against the risk of collapse in the event of a quake would be difficult but that more could be done. AFP
AFP/CC | http://www.manilatimes.net/italy-mourns-quake-dead-as-hope-for-survivors-wanes/282359/ | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/907454e5ca2ae12d504520b69d2512689d1f9c765fd84f1306f313d38332ebc1.json |
[
"Anthony Vargas",
"Michael Joe T. Delizo",
"Llanesca T. Panti",
"Agence France-Presse"
]
| 2016-08-30T18:50:17 | null | 2016-08-31T01:04:39 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2F897-drug-suspects-killed-since-july-1%2F283114%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 | 897 drug suspects killed since July 1 | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | THE Philippine National Police (PNP) on Tuesday said 897 drug suspects have been killed in intensified police operations since July 1, 2016.
During the same period, 15 police officers were also shot dead, a report released on Tuesday by the PNP National Operations Center (NOC) said.
The PNP report said among those killed were a member of the Bureau of Fire Protection, an elected government official, and a foreigner.
Metro Manila had the highest drug death toll with 221 killed—214 of civilians and six policemen. It has followed by Central Luzon with 204 drug suspects killed and Southern Tagalog region, 89. The region is composed of the provinces of Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon.
However, figures released by the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) on Tuesday showed that at least 267 drug suspects were killed by the police in Metro Manila during the past two months.
The Manila Police District reported the highest toll at 105, followed by Quezon City Police District, 59, Northern Police District, 53, Southern Police District, 35, and Eastern Police District (EPD), 15.
Nationwide, Central Visayas had the fourth biggest death toll with 79 drug suspects killed, followed by Region 12 with 51, Bicol Region, 34 and Ilocos Region, 27.
The police report said 30 drug suspects, mostly civilians, were killed in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). In Western Mindanao, 29 drug suspects were killed, 25 in Eastern Visayas, 16 in Northern Mindanao, 15 in Negros Island, nine in Western Visayas and nine in Cagayan Valley region.
The PNP-NOC said seven drug suspects were killed in the Cordillera Autonomous Region and three in Mimaropa region during the said period.
Also during the period, 12,920 drug suspects were arrested in anti-drug operations. Of this number, 12, 853 were civilians, 13 were policemen, 10 were elected government officials and 10 were military personnel.
Southern Tagalog had the highest number of arrested drug suspects—2,025.
In Metro Manila, 1,947 were arrested and in Central Luzon, 1,732.
The NCRPO said in its report that at least 2,756 users and 760 pushers were put behind bars under Oplan Tokhang where police knock on the house of suspected drug users and pushers and ask them to surrender.
As of July 30, 11,943 drug suspects were in the NCRPO watchlist. The report said 5,442 had surrendered, 741 were arrested and 106 were killed. | http://www.manilatimes.net/897-drug-suspects-killed-since-july-1/283114/ | en | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/4331bf9a21c9edea8350f16df4b2ace9c099c5a45a89fe7860b0af2e3a9c9688.json |
[
"Anthony Vargas",
"Jaime Pilapil",
"Jefferson Antiporda",
"The Manila Times"
]
| 2016-08-27T14:49:08 | null | 2016-08-27T22:22:42 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fhpg-officer-accused-of-killing-cyclist-found-dead%2F282443%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 | HPG officer accused of killing cyclist found dead | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | One of the two personnel of the Philippine National Police-Highway Patrol Group (HPG) accused of killing a motorcycle rider apprehended late last month was found dead early Saturday in Camp Crame.
HPG Director Chief Supt. Antonio Gardiola Jr. told reporters that PO3 Jeremiah de Villa’s body was found at around 9 a.m. on the grounds of the Police Security and Protection Group building in Camp Crame. Authorities suspect that he committed suicide.
Gardiola said de Villa was pronounced dead on arrival by the attending physician at the PNP General Hospital also in Camp Crame.
De Villa and PO2 Jonjie Manon-og apprehended motorcycle rider John Dela Riarte on July 29 after the latter figured in an altercation with another motorist in Makati City.
In their counter-affidavits filed on Friday before the Department of Justice, the HPG personnel denied murdering, torturing and robbing Dela Riarte. They said the cyclist attempted to snatch their firearm and kept on cursing and hurling invectives at them inside a patrol car on the way to Camp Crame.
“At that time, the only thing foremost in my mind was to maim and disable John B. Dela Riarte so that he could not be a danger to PO2 Jonjie Manon-og and to the public or other motorists as we were [on]EDSA and the cars were slow moving as it was traffic (sic),” De Villa said in his affidavit.
“In a split second, instinctively, I got my gun and while shouting ‘tumigil ka, tumigil ka (stop it, stop it)! turning half sideways to my right, I pulled the trigger of my gun to disable John B. Dela Riarte,” De Villa said, adding that “the incident happened so fast that I could feel panic rising to my throat when I realized he was bleeding.”
The National Bureau of Investigation said Dela Riarte died of multiple gunshot wounds to the chest, abdomen, and right thigh. | http://www.manilatimes.net/hpg-officer-accused-of-killing-cyclist-found-dead/282443/ | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/9e8434dab2a08882d6dcb05062e4b603b5c596a00ed0a2061a17edc5c0140011.json |
[
"Rigoberto D. Tiglao",
"Ricardo Saludo",
"Marlen V. Ronquillo",
"Yen Makabenta"
]
| 2016-08-28T16:49:42 | null | 2016-08-29T00:41:39 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fduterte-can-mold-supreme-court-after-his-image%2F282673%2F.json | http://14255-presscdn-0-60.pagely.netdna-cdn.com//wp-content/uploads/2015/08/tiglao1_d2baf28b2ede0d1611d82c84a7683b05.png | en | null | Duterte can mold Supreme Court after his image | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | Before the time he is ready to step down from office on June 30, 2022, President Rodrigo Duterte must have appointed 12 of the 15 justices of the Supreme Court. The number could even be higher at 13 if rumors that a powerful cabal moving within the Court and the Congress to oust Chief Justice Ma. Lourdes Sereno proved true — allegedly, and ironically, on charges of tax evasion.
If Sereno keeps her position, however, three of the six Supreme Court justices appointed by two predecessors of Duterte will be in the Court when he ends his term. The rest will have reached the mandatory retirement age of 70, and replaced by Duterte by then.
It would be a unique opportunity for a President who is both anti-elite and an outsider from the country’s traditional ruling class, to mold the Supreme Court, and therefore our legal system, according to his own unusual, pro-poor view of the world. The Supreme Court, even by design, has really been one of the bastions of elite rule, although there, indeed, have been unique cases when the Court defied the elite, as in its ruling that the Hacienda Luisita agrarian reform was fake. (It cost its Chief Justice Renato Corona his job, and tragically I have to say, even his life.)
But not only that, the reality of the legal community is that with Duterte picking 12 justices in the next six years, about two justices per year, he has in effect the means to ensure that the judicial system consisting of Sandiganbayan, the Appellate Court, and the Regional Trial judges support him, even in what would likely be his controversial moves.
Traditionally, and perhaps logically, (until President Aquino basically broke the practice and appointed mediocre legal academics like Chief Justice Sereno), justices of the Supreme Court are picked from the most experienced pool of judges and justices from the country’s advanced courts, mainly from the special anti-graft courts Sandiganbayan, the Court of Appeals and Regional Trial Courts.
It would be human nature, of course, for even these judges to aspire to the highest court of the land, which would be the pinnacle of their legal careers. While they would do so by seeking connections to the President, or to those close to him, the one thing they can do to increase their chances is not to cross the President in cases in which his policies and programs are put on the line.
The Commission on Human Rights and Senator Leila de Lima should kiss any plans of bringing to the courts their claims of extrajudicial killings goodbye.
Following is the schedule of retirements at the Supreme Court during Duterte’s term:
• 2016 and 2017:
Justices Jose Perez (Dec. 14, 2016)
Arturo Brion (Dec. 29, 2016)
Bienvenido Perez (July 6, 2017)
Jose Mendoza (Aug. 13 2017);
• 2018
Presbitero Velasco (Aug. 8)
Teresita de Castro (Oct. 8)
• 2019
Mariano del Castillo (July 29)
Francis Jardeleza (Sept. 26)
Lucas Bersamin (Oct. 18)
Antonio Carpio (Oct. 26)
• 2022
Diosdado Peralta (March 27)
Estela Perlas-Bernabe (May 14).
In contrast, Aquino was able to appoint only six Supreme Court justices, although Presidents Ramos and Arroyo did install 14 and 21 justices, respectively, but sadly failed to mold the Court to their world-views. Or did they?
De Lima should resign
Sen. Leila de Lima should start thinking of giving up her Senate seat. Her position has become untenable, even as President Duterte, who has emerged as an extremely popular and powerful president, is undoubtedly out to bury her — and the scenario seems to be unfolding at this time when his political capital is at its height.
And for all of De Lima’s playing of the woman card, she has not at all denied that she has had intimate and sexual relationship with her subordinate Ronnie Dayan, her former bodyguard-driver. Shortly after his first de Lima slam, Duterte went for another strike by announcing in a televised comment that the senator has taken another lover, an MMDA motorcycle escort, after she apparently got tired of Dayan.
While we live in a liberal age, a senator having a relationship with her married subordinate, and allegedly gifting him with houses and even vehicles, create a dent on the integrity of the entire Senate, which is supposed to be a model of uprightness for citizens, and especially the youth.
If proven that she did gift her lover with houses, the obvious question is where could she have made the money for this when she had been in government for only 12 years since President Arroyo’s term, as head of the Commission on Human Rights?
What makes her position untenable is that she was Justice Secretary for six years, the Republic’s prime law-enforcement officer. Yet in her six years in office, just like his boss President Aquino, she had hardly alerted the nation to the rapid proliferation of illegal drugs and the monstrous social menace that has created. She hadn’t undertaken even a fraction of the scale of operations against it that the present administration has lunched in just two months.
It is difficult to believe that she had been largely ignorant of the illegal drug industry’s proliferation in this country. It is as difficult to believe that she simply closed her eyes to this while it was happening, free of any blame.
Now we are all shocked that illegal drugs use has been uncovered as a plague upon the nation, with 10 percent of our adult population dependent on them, and that the industry has become a main generator of corruption and crime in our society.
What could be a clearer indictment of an incompetent justice secretary than the fact that the Bilibid National Prison, which was under her supervision, had become not only the command center of drug lords, but also their distribution point and even manufacturing facility?
Had the extent of the illegal drug problem been disclosed during the last elections, there is no doubt de Lima would not have been elected as senator, and would have even landed in the lowest rungs. A senatorial contest for a non-incumbent senator has been estimated to cost at least P500 million. From where and how could de Lima have raised such kind of money?
In the final analysis, de Lima as senator is a fraud, having been elected on a completely false premise that she did her job as the nation’s chief law enforcement officer, and if the allegations by President Duterte against her turn out to be correct, she even probably raised campaign funds from the very criminals she was supposed to put in jail. On the other hand, what value can she add to the Senate when her purported qualification for the post, that of basically being a former justice secretary, proves to be spurious?
Never before has such a sitting senator been exposed to so much public scrutiny for allegations of being a fraud. De Lima should spare the country, and herself, from such ignominy. She should scour deep in her heart to find some patriotism, and resign her post in what is often referred to in a cliché, but in a fervent wish, as the country’s august body.
[email protected] | http://www.manilatimes.net/duterte-can-mold-supreme-court-after-his-image/282673/ | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/09bee781a79bd151ff72ca154431715749f8b42c4614ea43c938a2db4d138c84.json |
[
"Philippines News Agency",
"Aberon Voltaire Palaña",
"Catherine Talavera",
"Kristyn Nika M. Lazo"
]
| 2016-08-26T16:48:26 | null | 2016-08-27T00:41:59 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fmindanao-is-emerging-as-asean-economic-hub%2F282313%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 | Mindanao is emerging as Asean economic hub | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | SURIGAO CITY: With the shift in the pattern of world trade and investment destinations to Asian countries, the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) sees Mindanao’s strategic position as an advantage to become the next hub in Southeast Asia.
This was emphasized by Undersecretary Janet Lopoz, executive director of MinDA, as the 25th Mindanao Business Conference (MBC) formally opened its plenary on Thursday at the Gateway Hotel in Surigao City.
“The trajectory of business expansions are geared towards this region especially in the banking, transport, storage and logistics, manufacturing, oil and gas,” Lopoz said, citing the 2011 result of the survey of the Southeast Asia Business Expansion.
Lopoz said the Asean Integration that opened up the national borders of member nations to allow freer movement of people, goods and services to create a single regional market can be a key to fully utilize the trends of business expansions to the region.
“If Asean were one economy, it would be the seventh largest economy in the world with 2.4 trillion US dollars combined Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2013. It could be the fourth largest by 2050 if growth trends continue,” she added.
Since the late 70’s, she said, ASEAN has already outpaced the rest of the world in terms of per capita income growth.
The region’s potential market is also considered larger compared to Europe and North America considering the number of its population that now counts to over 600 million people, Lopoz said.
Strengthened integration
The various aspects of Asean Integration are now gaining ground as the member-countries work hard to integrate as a single economy.
In terms of tariffs, Lopoz said the Common Effective Preferential Tariff rates are virtually zero for Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand while more than 70 percent of the intra-Asean trade is now tariff-free, with less than 5 percent subject to tariffs above 10 percent.
On the other hand, the banking sector in Asean “is a key sector to watch as consolidation and network externalities are now taking place.”
Lopoz cited the expansionary strategies being pursued banks in Thailand to Asean-member countries like Cambodia, Laos, Myanman and Vietnam.
“Many of these banks join the DBS Holdings, a Singaporean bank trying to acquire the Indonesian PT Bank Danamon, and the Affin Holdings Bhd, a Malaysian banking group trying to acquire majority share of Indonesian PT Bank Ina Perdana, in expanding in Indonesia, the largest ASEAN member country,” Lopoz said.
She added that Maybank and CIMB of Malaysia have also started to penetrate the Philippine banking market with plans to increase branches in the country by 100 in 2014 to 200 by 2018.
In the field of manufacturing, the country’s Universal Robina Corporation is now mulling on spending USD20 to 30 million to set up food manufacturing facilities in Myanmar while the Asiawide Refreshment Corporation, the exclusive manufacturer and distributor of RC Cola in the Philippines is also set to establish manufacturing facilities in the same country.
The air transports in Asean countries are also finalizing their expansion plans to widen their services and areas of destination.
Lopoz said the Lion Group ordered 230 Boeing 737 jets in a deal worth USD22.4 billion in 2011 and 234 Airbus medium haul aircrafts in a deal worth USD23.8 billion in 2013.
The Air Asia Group, she added, also purchased an additional 100 Airbus planes worth USD9.4 billion in line with its expansion goals in Asean.
The country’s Cebu Pacific also took a bold move in strengthening its position in air transport industry by acquiring a 40 percent stake in TigerAir Philippines while the Air Asia Philippines also acquired a 49 percent stake in Zest Air, Lopoz added.
In utilities and infrastructure, Lopoz also cited the acquisitions made by Philippine companies and corporations that further strengthened their position in the Asean market.
In 2011, the San Miguel Corporation (SMC) acquired 65 percent of Esso Malaysia for USD1.8 billion that made all Esso stations in Malaysia rebranded to Petron.
SMC also established a consortium with Citra group that is involved in the construction of toll ways and roads in the country and Indonesia.
“Further, Manila Water, which has a 49 percent stake in one of the main suppliers of water in northern part of Ho Chi Minh City has acquired 51percent equity share of the water concessionaire in charge of the Western Zone of Jakarta. In addition, Meralco engaged in a joint venture with First Pacific Corporation acquiring 70 percent stake on an 800 MW Liquefied Natural Gas project on Jurong Island in Singapore,” Lopez said.
Mindanao as Asean’s economic hub
Lopoz emphasized that Mindanao can take advantage on the on-going trends in the international market, particularly in the Asean because of its strategic location in the region.
“Our country remains to be one of the fastest growing economies in Asia. And if our country is growing in that pace, Mindanao is not far behind,” Lopoz said, adding that Mindanao can take advantage of what the Asean has to offer as the island-region is very well positioned to become the next wave of strategic growth hub in the region.
Citing Mindanao’s demographic dividend, the island-region have a relatively young workforce with an average median age of 23 to 24 years old, she said.
“In the case of Singapore, Malaysia and even Thailand, they are practically at full employment, needing extra labor capacity to grow,” Lopoz said.
She also reported that the main distributor of Toyota in the Middle East has recently visited Mindanao three times to look for possible plant sites for their car parts.
The company, she said, have already visited the areas in Surigao, Davao Oriental, Misamis Oriental and General Santos City.
They are also looking for a skills training institute partner which can supply their required manpower, Lopoz added.
She also took note of the highly literate and competitive pool of human resource of Mindanao, as the island-region hosts a number of academic institutions which have been internationally recognized for its expertise and exemplary performance in honing highly competitive graduates.
“We have 438 universities and colleges in Mindanao, some of which have been internationally recognized as one of the top 300 best universities in Asia in various fields,” Lopoz said.
Further, Lopoz said Mindanao still has so much room for expanding business and adding value to industries as the island-region is still into primary resource-based industries with high potential in hydropower and biomass resources.
Other considerations that Lopoz presented that will push Mindanao to become the next economic hub in Asean are connectivity, infrastructure, logistics, power, telecommunications and policy environment.
She also lauded the political will and current efforts of the Duterte administration to draw and finalize peace agreements in Mindanao.
Lopoz also cited President Duterte’s directive on streamlining the permitting processes in government, saying that the move “is one big important step towards improving our competitiveness.”
“We need to work on improving our competitiveness. It is clear that trade and investments opportunities are favoring the ASEAN region and we cannot simply sit back and watch things happen or pass us by,” Lopoz said. | http://www.manilatimes.net/mindanao-is-emerging-as-asean-economic-hub/282313/ | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/b80ee515ddcc1cd14d67504a9ad213fb3fd1a78537bebc8eb5c79b8427903eab.json |
[
"Kristyn Nika M. Lazo",
"Catherine Talavera",
"James Konstantin Galvez"
]
| 2016-08-30T16:50:15 | null | 2016-08-31T00:46:32 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fmetrobank-raising-p5b-from-ltncds%2F283098%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 | Metrobank raising P5B from LTNCDs | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | Metropolitan Bank & Trust Company (Metrobank) is raising at least P5 billion worth of fresh funds from long-term negotiable certificates of time deposit (LTNCDs) to refinance existing debt and support expansion plans.
The LTNCD offering may be upsized depending on demand, the bank said in a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange.
The seven-year LTNCDs carry a 3.50-percent annual yield rate payable quarterly. The offer will run from August 30 to September 12.
Selling LTNCDs is a way for banks to raise funds in huge amounts. The bank is obliged to pay the face value of the certificate upon maturity, and produce periodic coupon or interest payments during the lifespan of the certificate.
As an investment, LTNCDs are tax-exempt for qualified individuals or institutions if held for at least five years, and are insured by the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. (PDIC) for up to P500,000.
ING Bank was appointed the sole arranger, bookrunner, and selling agent for Metrobank’s LTNCDs.
“The purpose of the issuance of the LTNCD is to diversify the maturity profile of funding sources and to support business expansion plans,” Juan Placido Mapa 3rd, Metrobank vice president and investor relations head, said in a text message.
Mapa said the bank’s expansion plans are anchored mostly on growing its loan books in relation to a three-year branch expansion program that calls for 30 branch openings a year towards 2018.
In the first six months of the year, the bank saw its lending business grew by 24 percent to P920.5 billion year-on-year.
Metrobank has opened nine new bank branches and installed 59 automated teller machines (ATM) so far this year, increasing its branch count to 954 and ATMs to 2,285. | http://www.manilatimes.net/metrobank-raising-p5b-from-ltncds/283098/ | en | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/2a30ed79a207a34bbe4eb4b6a87ed4b14e85cfaf2363a69f9ef9ea91201ada01.json |
[
"Gab. Keith",
"Julmunir I. Jannaral",
"Jaime G. Aquino",
"The Manila Times"
]
| 2016-08-28T14:49:48 | null | 2016-08-28T21:43:15 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fbaguio-city-nets-p1-2m-in-clean-air-drive%2F282632%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 | Baguio City nets P1.2M in clean air drive | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | BAGUIO CITY: The city government collected P1.22 million from its ongoing clean air drive from June 1 to July 30 this year. The amount represents fines and penalties paid by drivers for voluntary testing, polluter’s fees and certificates of compliance. Personnel from the Roadside Inspection and Monitoring Team (RIMT) from the City Environment Parks and Management Office conducted 100 roadside operations during the period and netted the P1.22 million. Moise Lozano of the RIMT said the group flagged down 1,331 vehicles and tested 1,233 where 479 or 38.85 percent passed emission testing and 754 or 61.15 percent failed.
Gaby B. Keith | http://www.manilatimes.net/baguio-city-nets-p1-2m-in-clean-air-drive/282632/ | en | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/1d8241e5450010b52b579044f709081ff2006a73af41232733408e5ab9832071.json |
[
"Philippines News Agency",
"Anthony Vargas",
"Benjie Vergara",
"Catherine S. Valente"
]
| 2016-08-27T14:49:18 | null | 2016-08-27T22:24:34 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fduterte-to-lead-heroes-day-commemoration%2F282436%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 to lead Heroes Day commemoration | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | President Rodrigo Duterte will lead the flag-raising and wreath-laying ceremonies at the Libingan ng mga Bayani in Taguig City to commemorate National Heroes Day on Monday. This year’s commemorative program, with the theme, “Bawat Pilipino, Bayaning Katuwang sa Pagbabago” is led by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) in coordination with other government agencies, local government units, and non-government organizations.
PNA | http://www.manilatimes.net/duterte-to-lead-heroes-day-commemoration/282436/ | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/7430f5061632c582d75b9b0d5eabb910052c8bb5f59ccea2f276b665d6f88e3e.json |
[
"Manila Times"
]
| 2016-08-30T10:50:15 | null | 2016-08-30T17:50:19 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fvietnam-says-all-will-lose-in-any-south-china-sea-war%2F282952%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 | Vietnam says all will lose in any South China Sea war | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | SINGAPORE: Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang warned on Tuesday there would be no winners in any armed conflict sparked by territorial disputes in the South China Sea.
Quang, who is on a state visit to Singapore, told a forum that recent developments there were threatening regional security.
The Vietnamese leader did not mention any country but there is growing unease over China’s actions.
China claims most of the South China Sea. It has reclaimed reefs and built airstrips capable of hosting military equipment, sparking anger from competing claimants led by Vietnam and the Philippines.
“The South China Sea, located at the heart of Southeast Asia, not only brings about many important benefits to nations in the region but it is also a vital route to maritime and air transport of the world,” Quang said.
But “recent worrying developments” there “have had a negative impact on the security environment of the region, especially maritime security and safety, freedom of navigation and over flight.”
“And should we allow instability to take place, especially in the case of armed conflicts, there will be neither winners or losers but rather all will lose,” he warned.
Tran was speaking to diplomats, academics and students at a forum organized by the ISEAS Yusof Ishak Institute.
Four Southeast Asian states—Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam—as well as Taiwan have competing claims in the sea.
Vietnam has been among the most vocal critics of China’s blanket territorial claims. In 2014 China moved a controversial oil rig into contested territory, prompting riots in Vietnam.
China’s activities in the sea have also drawn criticism from the United States, which says it seeks to ensure freedom of navigation in the waterway through which $5 trillion in annual global trade passes.
The sea row has also driven a wedge between members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which has failed to forge a unified front against Beijing’s actions.
Last month the Philippines won a case against China at a UN-backed tribunal in the Hague which rejected Beiijing’s claims to most of the sea.
China boycotted the hearing and has refused to recognize the ruling. AFP
AFP/CC | http://www.manilatimes.net/vietnam-says-all-will-lose-in-any-south-china-sea-war/282952/ | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/d3774a60f35c0eb7e99c386a455e7d207341cc105c6bcc11fa8d9d69a7c87f04.json |
[
"The Manila Times"
]
| 2016-08-27T12:49:05 | null | 2016-08-27T20:46:22 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fsomewhat-a-love-poem-1%2F282399%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 | Somewhat a love poem- #1 | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | I happen to pass by
On this, by now, muddy road
Alongside the low sugar canes
That swayed and danced
Blown by monsoon winds
The pebbles and sands gave way
To the rushing flow of rain waters
Forming like giant white snakes
Escaping from the road…
Nothing much had changed
And this countryside still harbors
Secrets almost everyone knows—
Somewhere out there
Reds are in silence, behind stories
Of past heroes and heroines
I saw that tract where you once
Sat alone waiting for the transit
You took out that folded, crisp
Paper from the bag and read the lines
A love poem, remember?
And that was years and years ago,
That love still remains a fire—
Burning within us, you sing that love for us
And we sing that love with our people
Longing to be free…
Maya Daniel | http://www.manilatimes.net/somewhat-a-love-poem-1/282399/ | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/b0b06d251fb0a8814189fb0c73e38c5ee1fc456f6d4432a53701afc74ed8dd74.json |
[
"Jefferson Antiporda",
"William Depasupil",
"Jomar Canlas",
"Jaime Pilapil"
]
| 2016-08-29T16:49:59 | null | 2016-08-30T00:34:19 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Felection-body-stops-printing-of-ballots%2F282906%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 | Election body stops printing of ballots | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) has temporarily suspended the printing of ballots for the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections.
Comelec Chairman Juan Andres Bautista on Monday said the decision to stop printing was made in anticipation of a possible postponement by Congress of the twin polls.
President Rodrigo Duterte earlier said he wanted the synchronized elections to push through on October 31 but he backtracked, fearing that drug money may be used to fund candidates.
Bautista said the Comelec also slowed down in its preparations for the electoral exercise, particularly on the awarding of contracts for the supply of election paraphernalia.
If Congress will postpone the elections, the Comelec can hold the polls anytime next year but not beyond that to avoid possible conflict with the 2019 mid-term elections.
Bautista reiterated his call to Congress to make its decision known by September 1.
Genievieve Guevarra, head of the Comelec’s printing committee, said the printing of ballots will resume if Congress will not be able to come out wit an amendatory law by September 1.
“If there is still no law or a joint resolution from Congress on the postponement by September 1, we will resume the printing,” Guevarra added.
The Comelec will have to print 85 million ballots for the SK and barangay elections set for October.
No support
Meanwhile, Senator Juan Edgardo Angara said the proposal of Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez to abolish the Sangguniang Kabataan or Youth Councils is unlikely to gain support from members of the Senate and the House of Representatives.
Angara, chairman of the Senate local government committee, explained that it would be difficult for any member of Congress to back the proposal because the SK Reform Act had just been signed into law in January.
“I doubt if my colleagues in the Senate and in the House of Representatives would allow it (abolition of SK) considering that we just passed the SK reform Act,” Angara said.
Alvarez said the SK should be abolished because all sectors are already well-represented in Congress.
But Sen. Sen. Joseph Victor Ejercito, who authored the SK bill, maintained that the new law has enough features that address the flaws of the old SK law.
“I am the principal author of the SK Reform Law, so I am for giving the SK another chance,” he said.
The senator added that it would be a disservice to the Filipino youth to abolish the SK.
Sen. Paolo Benigno Aquino 4th agreed that the youth council should be given a chance to prove that it could help strengthen the community.
Aquino, a co-author of the SK reform bill, said the efforts of Congress to push for the passage of the reform law will be put to waste if the council will be abolished. | http://www.manilatimes.net/election-body-stops-printing-of-ballots/282906/ | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/feb34882df57b6186e2cc0fec539352b41aacf02ed65981049607ea8f89486b6.json |
[
"Leander C. Domingo",
"Al Jacinto",
"Moh Saaduddin"
]
| 2016-08-26T14:50:00 | null | 2016-08-26T21:55:46 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2F22-chiefs-of-police-in-cagayan-sacked%2F282278%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 | 22 chiefs of police in Cagayan sacked | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | CAMP ADDURU, Tuguegarao City: The Philippine National Police (PNP) regional office here removed 22 chiefs of police (COPs) in Cagayan Valley for alleged unsatisfactory performance in implementing the government’s campaign against illegal drugs.
Chief Supt. Gilbert Sosa, acting police regional director, said he ordered the sacking of the COPs based on a performance audit and evaluation under project “Double Barrel” that found the performance of the police chiefs unacceptable.
Booted out from their posts in Isabela province were Superintendents Manuela Bringas of Ilagan City and Engelbert Soriano of Cauayan City; Senior Inspectors Prospero Agonoy of Quirino, Ben Bumanglag of Delfin Albano, Jonathan Binayug of Palanan, Aladin Revocal of San Pablo, Ignacio Layugan of Dinapigue, Richard Limbo of Divilacan, Edgardo Esteban of Maconacon and Ruby Capinpin of Roxas; and Chief Inspectors Pilarito Malillin of San Mateo and Mario Fajardo of Luna.
In Cagayan province, six COPs were axed–Chief Inspector Alvin Mabazza of Alcala; and Senior Inspectors Antonio Palattao of Allacapan, Eugenio Catubag of Rizal, Ronald Balod of Santa Praxedes, Mario Maraggun of Calayan and Christopher Danao of Buguey.
Removed in Nueva Vizcaya province were Chief Inspectors Larry Pinkihan of Kasibu, Joeffrey Bulong of Ambaguio and Senior Insp. Rudil Bassit of Kayapa.
In Quirino province, Senior Insp. Alex Orbillo was dismissed from his post in Nagtipunan.
Bringas of Ilagan City and Soriano of Cauayan City were sacked on Tuesday while the rest were ousted on Wednesday.
Sosa said their removal is part of a reorganization to strengthen the PNP’s all-out war against illegal drugs in Cagayan Valley in compliance with President Rodrigo Duterte’s priority program of eradicating illegal drugs in the country within six months.
“We will put the best performing police officers on post so that we will meet our target and attain our mission to make Cagayan Valley a drug-free region,” he added.
The regional director assumed office on July 4, challenging chiefs of police, police provincial directors and city police directors in the region to double their efforts in the drive against illegal drugs.
“They are required to meet the target on a given time frame or else they will be relieved from their respective posts if they fail to perform well,” Sosa said.
Meanwhile, Senior Supt. Chevalier Iringan, Regional Public Information Office chief, said their drugs monitoring center recorded a total of 147,033 houses visited, resulting in the surrender of 16,662 users and 1,611 pushers since July 1.
Police operations netted 97 users and 234 pushers, while one user and six pushers were killed. | http://www.manilatimes.net/22-chiefs-of-police-in-cagayan-sacked/282278/ | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/f184568a8d0c6b24aae95a82a91ed9e5bf94205c6e0c023ed301f7939664486e.json |
[
"The Manila Times",
"Josef T. Ramos"
]
| 2016-08-28T12:49:38 | null | 2016-08-28T19:40:30 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fsuperal-moves-up-joint-7th-in-lpga-q-school%2F282613%2F.json | http://14255-presscdn-0-60.pagely.netdna-cdn.com//wp-content/uploads/2016/08/superal20160829-269x300.jpg | en | null | Superal moves up joint 7th in LPGA Q-School | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | Princess Superal knocked down three straight birdies from No. 10 and went on to shoot a four-under 68 to safely make it to the final round of the LPGA and Symetra Tour Qualifying School-Stage I at Rancho Mirage, California.
Superal, who stood at joint 20th after a 70 at the Gary Player course on Thursday and 72 at the Dinah Shore layout on Friday, thus moved to a share of seventh with three others at six-under 210, just two shots off American Mariah Stackhouse and four others, who pooled 208s and who led the top 120 players plus ties from a huge field of 340 into the final round of the first phase of the grueling elims leading to stints in the world’s premier ladies circuit.
The top 90 plus ties after the final round will move to Stage II slated on October 20 to 23 at the Plantation Golf and Country Club in Venice, Florida.
“Cess is safely into Stage II but she wants to top the first stage and I believe she can with the way she’s playing. She’s only two-down behind the leaders,” said Team The Country Club coach Bong Lopez, who carries the bag for his prized ward seeking to become the next Filipina to play on the LPGA Tour.
Superal’s strong finish also already assured her of a Symetra Tour status for 2017.
Eight strokes off the pace midway through the qualifiers, the former US Girls’ Junior champion birdied two of the first six holes, dropped a shot on the tough par-4 ninth but rattled off three straight birdies to start her backside bid.
Lopez said she could’ve moved closer or gained a share of the lead if not for her flubbed birdie putts on Nos. 15 and 18, both par-5s.
Stackhouse also shot a 68 to surge ahead with compatriot Madchen Ly, who fired a 69, Brazil’s Daniela Darquea, and Sarah Vilaubi, who both carded 71s, and erstwhile solo leader Sarah Schmelzel, who faltered with a 74, at 208.
Japanese Nasa Hataoka stood at solo sixth at 209 after a 67 while Regina de Guzman, the other Filipina in the fold, also secured a spot in the final round as she fired a 70 for a share of 25th at 214. | http://www.manilatimes.net/superal-moves-up-joint-7th-in-lpga-q-school/282613/ | en | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/28f010dd7a6717992e42216bfe47806d6a3fe20809732977943dc149386a4418.json |
[
"The Manila Times",
"Ben Kritz",
"Gilbert Chao"
]
| 2016-08-29T08:49:56 | null | 2016-08-29T16:09:37 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fnissan-turns-over-urvan-ambulances-to-doh%2F282750%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 | Nissan turns over Urvan ambulances to DOH | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | Nissan Philippines Inc (NPI) through its dealer Nissan Mantrade, recently turned over 35 units of NV350 Urvan modified into ambulances to the Department of Health (DOH). The ambulances are slated to be distributed to various local government units nationwide.
Photo shows (from left): Mike Lopez, fleet account executive, Nissan Mantrade; Rodger Vladimir Ravelo, procurement management officer III, procurement office, Department of Budget and Management; Jocelyn Sosito, senior health program officer, DOH; Cora Ortega, sales manager, Nissan Mantrade; and Raymond Mariano, fleet manager, NPI. | http://www.manilatimes.net/nissan-turns-over-urvan-ambulances-to-doh/282750/ | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/29d5d724e4bc8bebabe77bf28316b4701c9798ca1e6f5b92e64a5db4ca749037.json |
[
"Philippines News Agency",
"Realyn Stevens",
"The Manila Times"
]
| 2016-08-30T12:50:22 | null | 2016-08-30T20:45:04 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fgaisano-grand-cup-fires-off-sept-24%2F282996%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 | Gaisano Grand Cup fires off Sept 24 | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | DAVAO CITY: The 2016 Gaisano Grand Cup inter-school basketball tournament opens on September 24 with more than 100 teams, at the Gaisano Grand Citimall Sky Gym in Ilustre St. here.
A total of 105 teams will see action in seven divisions, according to new league commissioner Rael Diaz.
The long-running league, dubbed “The Game of the Rising Sun”, will still be sanctioned by the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) Davao City.
The league will have the Mini (Elementary) for 12-Under (born 2004), Cadet (High School) for 14-Under (born 2002), Junior Division 1 for 17 Under (born 1999), Junior Division 2 for 17-Under (born 1999), Junior Girls for 17-Under (born 1999), College Men for 24-Under (born 1992), and College Women for 24-Under (born 1992).
The new management committee is also composed of the Women’s National Collegiate Athletic Association (WNCAA) Mindanao head Dr. Arlene de Vera, Pastor Eladio Varguez and former GS Cup Commissioner Ryan Ramiterri.
A coaches’ meeting will be held on September 10 at 1 p.m. while the Team Captain’s forum (9 a.m. to 12 nn) and Coaches’ forum (1 p.m. to 5 p.m.) will both be held on September 17.
The deadline for the submission of team gallery is on Sept. 21 from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Entertainment area, fifth level of the Gaisano Grand Citimall.
A colorful grand opening is set on Sept. 24 starting at 1 p.m.
“Schedule of games will also be posted at the GG CUP Facebook Page,” said Diaz.
For details contact 09213903659 or [email protected].
PNA | http://www.manilatimes.net/gaisano-grand-cup-fires-off-sept-24/282996/ | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/976b9bc17904258c08de66785bdb10ddbc917691a3b16486d7156b76461cd3c5.json |
[
"The Manila Times",
"Ben Kritz",
"Gilbert Chao"
]
| 2016-08-29T08:49:52 | null | 2016-08-29T16:14:58 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fford-baidu-invest-in-velodyne-lidar-for-autonomous-revolution%2F282756%2F.json | http://14255-presscdn-0-60.pagely.netdna-cdn.com//wp-content/uploads/2016/08/ford20160830-300x216.jpg | en | null | Ford, Baidu invest in Velodyne LiDAR for autonomous revolution | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | Velodyne LiDAR Inc., the global leader in Light, Detection and Ranging, or LiDAR technology, last week announced the completion of a combined $150-million investment from co-investors Ford Motor Company and China’s leading search engine company Baidu, Inc. The investment will allow Velodyne to rapidly expand the design and production of high-performance and cost-effective automotive LiDAR sensors, accelerating mass adoption in autonomous vehicle and Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) applications and therefore accelerating the critical, transformative benefits they provide.
Over the last decade, Velodyne has developed four generations of hybrid solid-state LiDAR systems incorporating the company’s proprietary software and algorithms that interpret rich data gathered from the environment via highly accurate laser-based sensors to create high resolution 3D digital images used for mapping, localization, object identification and collision avoidance. Velodyne’s LIDAR solutions are capable of producing 300,000 to 2.2 million data points per second with a range up to 200 meters at centimeter-level accuracy. The company’s high-performance LiDAR technology has been recognized by global automotive OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) and rideshare customers as a critical element enabling the development of fully autonomous vehicles.
“LiDAR continues to prove itself as the critical sensor for safe autonomous vehicle operation,” said David Hall, founder and chief executive officer of Velodyne LiDAR. “This investment will accelerate the cost reduction and scaling of Velodyne’s industry-leading LiDAR sensors, making them widely accessible and enabling mass deployment of fully autonomous vehicles. We are determined to help improve the goal of safety for automotive vehicles as soon as possible, as well as empower the efficiency autonomous systems offer.”
“We want the cost to be low enough to be used for all cars. We envision a safer world for the millions of automotive drivers across the globe.” said Marta Hall, Velodyne president of business development.
“From the very beginning of our autonomous vehicle program, we saw LiDAR as key enabler due to its sensing capabilities and how it complements radar and cameras,” said Raj Nair, Ford executive vice president for product development and chief technical officer. “Ford has a long-standing relationship with Velodyne and our investment is a clear sign of our commitment to making autonomous vehicles available for consumers around the world.”
Safety on a global scale
Baidu also shares Velodyne’s vision to promote safety for autonomous vehicles on a global scale, and in particular in Baidu’s home market in China, where Baidu is already testing its fleet of autonomous vehicles. “Baidu is developing autonomous vehicles with the intention to increase passenger safety and reduce traffic congestion and pollution in China,” said Jing Wang, senior vice-president and general manager of autonomous driving unit of Baidu. “Our investment will accelerate our efforts in autonomous driving with what, in our view, are the best LiDAR sensors available today and advance Velodyne’s development of increasingly sophisticated LiDAR sensors.”
Velodyne expects an exponential increase in LiDAR sensor deployments in autonomous vehicles and ADAS applications over the next several years, driving high revenue growth. To fulfill the high demand for Velodyne’s products, the company will continue to expand its resources across engineering, operations and manufacturing. In connection with this minority investment round, the company plans to expand its board of directors to include two independent industry executives. Velodyne remains focused on strengthening its leadership in LiDAR technology development and product commercialization, working with top automotive OEM and rideshare partners to improve global transportation safety and efficiency. | http://www.manilatimes.net/ford-baidu-invest-in-velodyne-lidar-for-autonomous-revolution/282756/ | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/bbb97673cac1a76fb6cce5523e772672386f7df07ad9907294097e9952e42765.json |
[
"Michael Joe T. Delizo",
"The Manila Times",
"Llanesca T. Panti",
"Philippines News Agency"
]
| 2016-08-29T18:50:02 | null | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fph-to-set-aside-tribunal-ruling-for-now-duterte%2F282912%2F.json | http://14255-presscdn-0-60.pagely.netdna-cdn.com//wp-content/uploads/2016/08/290816_chinese4_dilan-300x235.jpg | en | null | PH to set aside tribunal ruling for now - Duterte | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte pivoted on his China stance on Monday and said the Philippines would set aside an international ruling in its favor during initial talks with Beijing on the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) dispute.
“I propose that we just have [a]soft landing everywhere. I will not use the judgment of the arbitral [tribunal]now,” he said in a speech during the National Heroes’ Day celebration at the Libingan ng mga Bayani in Taguig.
Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Zhao Jianhua, who was among the dignitaries invited, looked pleased.
Duterte appealed to China to let Filipino fishermen fish at Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal, a traditional fishing area that has been blocked off by the Chinese coast guard.
“I hope you treat us as your brothers, not your enemies and take note of the plight of our citizens,” Duterte said. “If we continue to treat each other like brothers and understand, especially the plight of the fishermen … the Chinese people this time will find a place in the hearts of the Filipinos.”
Zhao welcomed the President’s statement and reiterated Beijing’s objection to the ruling of the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague that nullified China’s historical claims to the West Philippine Sea.
On Duterte’s appeal for the fishermen, the Chinese envoy said: “We can discuss the possibility.”
For future use
The July 12 ruling upheld Manila’s rights to areas within its 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
Bringing up the ruling, Duterte said, might only lead to the suspension of bilateral negotiations with China.
Foreign Secretary Perfecto Yasay Jr. earlier turned down the proposal of his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, to disregard the arbitral ruling in formal discussions.
Duterte said, however, that the Philippines could still use the arbitral judgment in the future.
“I would one day sit in front of your representative or you and then I will lay bare my position and I would say that ‘This paper, I cannot get out of the four corners of this room, and that’s the arbitral judgment,’” the President told Zhao.
“But for now, Mr. Ambassador, I want to just talk to you for a moment. Maybe give us time to build our forces also,” he added, eliciting laughter from the crowd.
Change focus
Zhao told reporters Manila and Beijing should change their focus away from the maritime dispute and toward “common interest.”
“We need to change our focus from differences to common interest so that we can concentrate on cooperation that will benefit our two people,” he said.
“We have been friends and partners and even relatives for over thousand years. Despite the troubles we have, we’re confident the friendship will be further deepened, the cooperation will be further enhanced,” he added.
President Duterte had named former President Fidel Ramos as special envoy to China, and the latter went to Hong Kong last August 8 for informal discussions with his Chinese contacts.
Ramos said his efforts would lead to formal discussions later on. | http://www.manilatimes.net/ph-to-set-aside-tribunal-ruling-for-now-duterte/282912/ | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/c88e32e696c7995fbc7e4d0b9b61c6c1a5d26d8fa4652fa733ed2a72e4a7e8c7.json |
[
"The Manila Times",
"Emil C. Noguera",
"Jean Russel V. David"
]
| 2016-08-30T12:50:10 | null | 2016-08-30T20:46:25 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Ftight-finish-looms-as-ictsi-splendido-unfolds%2F283002%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 | Tight finish looms as ICTSI Splendido unfolds | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | With the last two Philippine Golf Tour legs decided via playoffs, a third straight down-to-the-wire finale could be in the works again as the men of the tour slug it out in the ICTSI Splendido Classic which gets going today at Splendido Taal Golf and Country Club in Tagaytay.
Sudden deaths actually marked three of the last four tournaments of the country’s premier circuit sponsored by ICTSI with veteran Frankie Miñoza outlasting young Miguel Tabuena in a record five-hole playoff at Negros Occidental Classic last July.
After Jay Bayron nipped Malaysian ace Gavin Green by two to win the Aboitiz Invitational at Wack Wack, the former nipped Clyde Mondilla on the first playoff hole to pick up another victory at ICTSI Riviera.
But Mondilla played like a man on a mission at ICTSI Classic, edging Orlan Sumcad, also in sudden death, at Mt. Malarayat last weekend for his third leg victory, counting his back-to-back title feats at Eastridge, where he also nipped Jobim Carlos in a playoff, and Calatagan.
That makes him the marked player in this week’s P2 million event, which is again tipped to go down to the last shot or putt given the field’s highly competitive form and hunger for recognition.
“I feel good, especially coming off a lucky win,” said Mondilla on the eve of the 14th leg of this year’s circuit organized by Pilipinas Golf Tournaments, Inc. and backed by Custom Clubmakers, adidas, KZG, Summit Mineral Water, Srixon, Pacsports, TaylorMade, Sharp and Champion.
The 23-year-old Del Monte star actually withdrew in the third round at Aboitiz due to back injury and played below par at Riviera. But he said he has recovered his form since and expressed confidence of pulling off another win as he tries to match Tony Lascuña’s four-leg romp this season.
“Unlike before when I just relied on hand power to favor my aching back, I can now hit it on a full swing,” said Mondilla. “That’s why I like my chances this week.”
He sets out against American Micah Shin and Japanese Toru Nakajima in the featured 8:35 a.m. group on No. 1 even as Sumcad vowed to contend again in pursuit of a breakthrough win in the 8:40 a.m. flight with Dutch Guido Van der Valk and Justin Quiban at the backside of the wind-ranked layout.
Bayron also hopes to come out strong in the company of Mars Pucay and Zanieboy Gialon in the 7:50 a.m. group, also on No. 10, while Lascuña seeks to snap out of a mini-slump as he tees off at 8 a.m. with Solomon Gines and Joenard Rates, also at the back.
“With so many solid players, I have to play good from opening hole and hope to sustain it up to the final day,” said Lascuña, who topped the second leg at Luisita then strung up three straight victories at Forest Hills, Eagle Ridge and Bacolod.
But the former three-time Order of Merit winner slowed down in the next four legs, limping to joint 11th in Negros Occidental, settling for a share of fourth at Aboitiz, ending up joint sixth at Riviera and placing solo fourth again last week.
Others tipped to contend for the top P360,000 purse are Jobim Carlos and Marvin Dumandan, who will tee-off with Albin Engino on No. 1 at 8:05 a.m.; Rufino Bayron, Cassius Casas and Michael Bibat, who will start at 7:45 a.m., also on the first hole; and Elmer Salvador, who drew Erwin Arcillas and Jet Mathay at 8:30 a.m. on No. 10. | http://www.manilatimes.net/tight-finish-looms-as-ictsi-splendido-unfolds/283002/ | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/44e54741a4919b5ab902034b915d4f0d708883f65d637c5dfb68c09631aa91c7.json |
[
"The Manila Times",
"Agence France-Presse",
"Ma. Reina Leanne Tolentino"
]
| 2016-08-28T18:49:57 | null | 2016-08-29T00:56:21 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fsupport-for-talks%2F282700%2F.json | http://14255-presscdn-0-60.pagely.netdna-cdn.com//wp-content/uploads/2016/08/rally20160829-300x222.jpg | en | null | SUPPORT FOR TALKS | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | null | http://www.manilatimes.net/support-for-talks/282700/ | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/cc4e4cabc38e5e445dd91e8c6ddf7d8b6f1b8de6cc046de098a3a26351b61af9.json |
[
"The Manila Times",
"Frederick Silverio",
"William Depasupil",
"Julmunir I. Jannaral"
]
| 2016-08-29T14:50:07 | null | 2016-08-29T22:10:27 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manilatimes.net%2Fpolice-asset-shot-dead%2F282856%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 asset shot dead | null | null | www.manilatimes.net | A MAN alleged to be an informant of the police was shot dead by an unknown assailant Sunday in Santa Cruz, Manila. The body of Rommel Baba was found in front of a convenient store along Tayuman Street. He bore a gunshot in the head. Senior Police Officer 1 Roderick Kabigting of the Manila Police District said witnesses saw the assailant fleeing in a pedicab.
JED VILLARAMA | http://www.manilatimes.net/police-asset-shot-dead/282856/ | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.manilatimes.net/20cf4eec51bc7c811bb7305f01528ac69bd333129f5588fac0a42f9ad360a409.json |
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