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Violating the law EDITORIAL 01/05/2011

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Violating the law

EDITORIAL
Click to enlarge
01/05/2011
Malacañang just doesn’t get it, or refuses to get it.
It is not a question of which party loses or wins the arbitration cases filed by both Fraport AG and Philippine International Air Terminals Corp. (Piatco) in these instances, but a question of the Noynoy administration obeying that which the Philippine Constitution provides in cases of government expropriating private property. Government must pay compensation for expropriating the private property, something which government — whether the Arroyo government or the Aquino government — has not done, even as the Aquino government continues to possess the Ninoy Aquino International Airport 3 (NAIA 3) and even goes to the extent of exercising ownership rights, in clear violation of the Supreme Court (SC) ruling.

And yet Noynoy who claims to uphold and defend the Constitution and the law, has been violating both the Charter and the law, with him, through his spokesmen, insisting that the government had already won the case at the ICC (International Chamber of Commerce) in Singapore that the Palace spokesmen claimed allowed the government to have full possession of the NAIA 3 and even exercise ownership rights — as Malacañang has been doing by way of granting concession rights and even attempting to get the airline companies to transfer their offices at the airport terminal — and making money out of it too, while refusing to pay the required compensation to the owners and operators..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110105com1.html

Wrong focus FRONTLINE Ninez Cacho-Olivares 01/05/2011

Wrong focus

FRONTLINE
Ninez Cacho-Olivares
01/05/2011
Justice Chief Leila de Lima yesterday told media that her National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) tracker team has already located Joey Filart in the United States. Filart is another accused in the Vizconde murder case who fled the country and did not serve jail time.

That was pretty fast work, if true, which makes one wonder why the same NBI can’t still track down fugitive Sen. Panfilo Lacson, who would more or less be in the same fleeing boat Filart is.

It has been close to year since Lacson went into hiding to evade an arrest warrant and still the NBI appears to be clueless on his whereabouts. Yet Filart, a wanted man with an arrest warrant and accused of murder, has suddenly been found by the NBI tracking team and in the US, too in less than a month.

What disturbs is not so much Filart being found by the NBI, but why the Justice chief, as can be gleaned from her statements to media, focuses the probe on Hubert Webb, et al. much too much, even as she says that having located Filart confirms his existence and builds up the credibility of state witness Jessica Alfaro, who was discredited as a credible witness by the Supreme Court (SC) when it ruled to acquit Webb and his group..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110105com2.html

Mideast Christians easy target for Qaeda — analysts ANALYSIS 01/05/2011

Mideast Christians easy target for Qaeda — analysts

ANALYSIS

01/05/2011
DUBAI — Al-Qaeda would seem to have found an easy target in Middle Eastern Christians who have a limited ability to respond, but such attacks could easily escalate into sectarian clashes, analysts say.

Responsibility for the apparent suicide bombing early on New Year’s Day at a Coptic church in Alexandria in which 21 persons were killed and 79 were wounded has not yet been claimed, although Cairo has indirectly implicated al-Qaeda.

In claiming an October attack on a church in Baghdad in which 46 Christians were killed, al-Qaeda affiliate the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI) also threatened the Coptic church, accusing it of holding against their will two priests’ wives they say had converted to Islam.

And in December, al-Qaeda-linked Web site Shumukh al-Islam had al-Qiddissin (The Saints) church in Alexandria, where Saturday’s bombing took place, on a list of targeted Coptic places of worship..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110105com3.html

Our past watching us HE SAYS Aldrin Cardon 01/05/2011

Our past watching us

HE SAYS
Aldrin Cardon
01/05/2011
It is something that stinks — the damp, cold breath of our recent past which continues to stare us down with a mockingly cold sneer. And in an ugly way to start the year, we are paying for our past carelessness and disregard of nature and the important things it gives us. And now it brings forth death and desolation, disasters and hopelessness that deny us any spark of hope, especially to those who are still trying to rebuild their lives.

Only four years ago, the stench of death pervaded the air of St. Bernard in Ginsaugon, Leyte. Some of its folk have failed to completely rebuild their lives, its young no longer finding a reason to finish school, its men losing their strength or even inspiration to work harder, its women continuously grieving for their loss of loved ones.

Sunday was another day for grieving for the St. Bernard folk, with two of their children reportedly missing after yet another landslide which buried the skirts of its mountains, long denuded by deforestation and slash and burn farming..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110105com4.html

Rude awakenings SHE SAYS Dinah S. Ventura 01/05/2011

Rude awakenings

SHE SAYS
Dinah S. Ventura
01/05/2011
It was a wet Christmas for Bicolanos last year, and many thought it would be the same for the New Year. For some, it felt like the Biblical 40 days and 40 night of nonstop rain, although in reality it was a few straight days of rain, and then reprieve, before rains came again.

And in the last few days before the year ended, rains fell in heavy sheets and went on for hours. Streets in low elevation areas soon got submerged in muddy waters. Pets chained to posts whined to be set free and warm themselves indoors. People hurried to get home, contending with knee-deep floods that soon reached their waist. Families got stuck in their homes, and those who had experienced the wrath of “Reming” in 2006 worried that the same would happen in 2010.

They watched the rain from their windows, wondering what lay ahead. Some refused to believe that such a fate would befall them once again, staring mutely at the brown water while others began to lift up furniture, pack up important items and see to the food and water. The news, meanwhile, blared of raging waters in some parts of the province, where already an old woman and her son had perished in the flood. Families who had earlier fled their homes bewailed the prospect of greeting 2011 in a makeshift shelter. Roads became impassable as bridges gave way. And still the rain continued to fall..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110105com5.html

Murdered model provides real-life drama for Bollywood focus 01/05/2011

Murdered model provides real-life drama for Bollywood

focus

01/05/2011
MUMBAI — A new Bollywood film comes out this week based on the real-life murder of a fashion model by the son of a leading lawmaker, in a case that cast a spotlight on the corrupt nexus of police and politics.

No One Killed Jessica tracks the fight for justice for Jessica Lal, who was working as a celebrity barmaid at a fashionable New Delhi restaurant in 1999 when she was gunned down for refusing to serve a customer a drink.

The prime suspect, Manu Sharma, whose father Venod was a former government minister, was acquitted at trial seven years later after several witnesses retracted their initial statements.

The verdict prompted a public outcry and a media campaign that led to a prosecution appeal at which Sharma was convicted and given a life sentence for murder..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110105com7.html

Germany: No resolution of NAIA-3 row, no aid to RP EXCLUSIVE By Michaela P. del Callar,Aytch S. de la Cruz and Benjamin B. Pulta 01/05/2011

PALACE: NO SUCH SC BAN ON GOV’T EXERCISE OF OWNERSHIP RIGHTS

Germany: No resolution of NAIA-3 row, no aid to RP

EXCLUSIVE

By Michaela P. del Callar,Aytch S. de la Cruz and Benjamin B. Pulta 01/05/2011

Neither aid nor investment is likely to flow into the Philippines from Germany, especially after the Aquino administration claimed that it has won the case filed by Piatco (Philippine International Air Terminal Co.) the consoritium which has, as partner, Fraport AG, Malacañang will have nothing to do with compensating the consortium which built the Ninoy Aquino International Airport 3 (NAIA-3) after government had expropriated the facilty.

Germany earmarked at least 46 million Euros or at least P2.8 billion in financial assistance to the Philippines as far back as two years ago but will not release the money unless the seven-year-old impasse over the Fraport issue is resolved by the two countries, a German government official told the Tribune yesterday.
German officials have informed the Philippine government that financial assistance is on hold until the legal case, which is pending before the Pasay Regional Trial Court amid an international court decision reinstating Fraport’s right to file an arbritation-compensation case against the Philippine government, is resolved.
.... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20110105hed1.html

Noynoy shows up in CoA report as big spender in Senate By Angie M. Rosales 01/05/2011

Noynoy shows up in CoA report as big spender in Senate

By Angie M. Rosales 01/05/2011

He may have portrayed himself as one who does not spend, and is happy with hotdog and pizza meals, here and abroad, mainly for publicity, it seems. But it appears, from Commission on Audit (CoA) data, that Noynoy Aquino, then a senator, and not yet even a presidential candidate, was one of the big spenders in the Senate.

Aquino is among the big spenders in the Senate in 2009, the year before he assumed the country’s top post, despite the fact that he did nothing by way of legislative output nor, for that matter, was he known for coming up with projects — pro-poor or otherwise.

Aquino incurred the third highest expenses, even way beyond his colleagues who, at that time, were already long known to be gunning for the presidency and vice presidency..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20110105hed2.html

House considers special polls in beleaguered solon’s district By Gerry Baldo 01/05/2011 Members of th

House considers special polls in beleaguered solon’s district

By Gerry Baldo 01/05/2011

Members of the House of Representatives are preparing to file a resolution calling for a special election in the First District of Ilocos Sur, whose congressman, of which, Rep. Ronald Singson, facing drug offense charges in Hong Kong, faces possible expulsion proceedings from his peers.

Navotas Rep. Toby Tiangco said that the House leadership should now prepare for the passing a bill that would lead to the holding of a special election in his district.

Tiangco issued the proposal after joining calls for Singson, who has signified his intention to plead guilty to a lesser crime of illegal drugs possession in Hong Kong, to resign as a member of the House.

“What we should plan now is to work for the passage of a bill setting special election in his district. If his case would drag for a longer time, Rep. Singson should make a sacrifice by quitting his job,” Tiangco said in an interview..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20110105hed3.html

Noy volunteers Trillanes bid amid fears on edict By Mario J. Mallari 01/05/2011

Noy volunteers Trillanes bid amid fears on edict

By Mario J. Mallari 01/05/2011

It was President Aquino himself who spoke for Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV saying that the former Navy officer and leader of at least two failed military uprisings against former President Arroyo will file his amnesty proposal today in an effort to douse specula-tions that the amnesty offer will not likely be taken up by most mutineers because of a provision in Proclamation 75 that requires admission of guilt before the pleas are processed.

Diffidence among the intended recipients of Aquino’s amnesty cropped up when traditional mutineer, former Scout Ranger chief retired Brig. Gen. Danilo Lim, rejected the provision requiring admission of guilt before military and police rebels can avail of the amnesty.

The admission of guilt aspect has been included by the Department of National Defense when it drafted the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) for the application of amnesty with Aquino’s consent following the inputs provided by the lawmakers in their concurrence of the Proclamation no. 75..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20110105hed4.html

DoJ files tax evasion charges vs Garcia By Benjamin B. Pulta 01/05/2011

DoJ files tax evasion charges vs Garcia

By Benjamin B. Pulta 01/05/2011

Prosecutors have approved the filing of criminal charges for tax evasion against retired Maj. Gen. Carlos Garcia for allegedly failing to pay taxes on investments he allegedly entered into in 2002 and 2003.

In a resolution dated last month and released to newsmen yesterday, the Department of Justrice (DoJ), through Senior State Prosecutor Miguel Gudio ruled to uphold earlier findings by the Bureau of
Internal Revenue (BIR) and other government investigating bodies of tax evasion against the former Armed forces of the Philippines (AFP) comptroller.

The DoJ underscored that the BIR “has sufficiently established respondents-spouses’ commission of fraud and/or tax evasion,” and ruled that Garcia and his wife Clarita underdeclared income amounting to P12.25-million for year 2002 and P14.109-million for year 2003..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20110105hed5.html

JPE justifies Ping’s Senate’s non-expulsion By Angie M. Rosales 01/05/2011

JPE justifies Ping’s Senate’s non-expulsion

By Angie M. Rosales 01/05/2011
While the Senate can exercise powers to impose disciplinary action on fugitive Sen. Panfilo Lacson, there is no reason to initiate such action, even under the present circumstances.

Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile emphasized this yesterday in an apparent move to underscore the misplaced assumptions made by Ilocos Sur Gov. Luis “Chavit” Singson as he challenged critics of his son to instead initiate expulsion proceedings against Lacson rather than Rep. Ronald Singson.

Rep. Singson is currently under fire following his arrest last year by Hong Kong authorities for alleged possession of illegal drugs..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20110105hed6.html

Communist rebels vow to launch attacks ahead of talks 01/05/2011

Communist rebels vow to launch attacks ahead of talks

01/05/2011
Communist rebels vowed yesterday to launch attacks against the military and companies that rejected extortion demands, ahead of a planned resumption of peace talks this month.

Arman Guerrero, a spokesman for the New People’s Army’s (NPA) political front, said all cadres were to launch the attacks after an 18-day Christmas ceasefire with government officially ended at midnight Monday.
“Starting today... all members of the revolutionary movement... must launch tactical offensives to punish human rights violators,” Guerrero said.

The NPA typically accuses the army of massive human rights abuses to justify their attacks, although Guerrero said companies who “do not follow the rules and policies” in its areas of influence were also fair game..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/nation/20110105nat6.html

Death toll from RP rains rises to 13 By Mario J. Mallari 01/05/2011

.Death toll from RP rains rises to 13

By Mario J. Mallari 01/05/2011
The death toll from landslides and floods in the Philippines rose to 13 yesterday as more areas were inundated, officials said.

The southern city of Butuan was swamped and thousands of residents of nearby areas fled to evacuation centers, said regional civil defense chief Blanche Gobenciong.

“This is the worst flooding in 10 years. Butuan City usually does not get flooded because it is protected by a viaduct but this time, it really got hit. The whole of Butuan City is flooded,” she said.

“Even the areas previously not touched by floods were affected,” she said of the city of 270,000 persons.... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/nation/20110105nat1.html

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