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The time has come EDITORIAL 04/27/2011

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

The time has come

EDITORIAL
Click to enlarge
04/27/2011
Catholic bishops and their priests in the Philippines should really let up on their demonization of the Reproductive Health (RH) bill that is now in the House of Representatives, and will, in all likelihood be passed by the Senate.

They can argue until they are blue in the face that human life must always be upheld, even when this particular issue has no bearing on the use of contraceptives that are, in reality, not abortifacients, since these prevent conception — which means no meeting of the sperm and the egg, and therefore, no fertilization and no conception, which means no human life has formed or has been destroyed..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110427com1.html

Asking for more trouble FRONTLINE Ninez Cacho-Olivares 04/27/2011

Asking for more trouble

FRONTLINE
Ninez Cacho-Olivares
04/27/2011
Noynoy can forget about his public-private partnership (PPP) program and his claims of foreign investors flooding the Philippines in a bid for big ticket projects under his administration, not when he again proves to the world of big foreign business that he, like Gloria Arroyo before him, refuses to honor contracts that have already been approved by government.

To this day, Noynoy has not settled the compensation issue with the owners of NAIA 3 terminal, despite government’s expropriation of the airport terminal, even if his administration is violating the ruling of the Supreme Court (SC) that bans government from exercising ownership rights.

This incidentally, is the major reason foreign investments have been too slow in coming.

Yet Noynoy compounds this problem by unilaterally cancelling a project that had already been approved by two Justice secretaries, one of whom is his: The P18.7-billion contract with the Baggerwerken Decloedt en Zoon (BDC) firm for the dredging of Laguna Lake..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110427com2.html

Collaboration suspected in Afghan jail break ANALYSIS 04/27/2011

Collaboration suspected in Afghan jail break

ANALYSIS

04/27/2011
KABUL — The daring prison escape of nearly 500 Taliban through a tunnel that took months to dig could never have happened without Afghan officials turning a blind eye or actively collaborating, experts said.

Some went further, suggesting they may even have condoned the plot as a way of building bridges with the Taliban and furthering peace efforts by President Hamid Karzai’s government as Nato troops start withdrawing.

Either way, analysts agreed the operation at Kandahar prison was a major win for the Taliban at the start of the Afghan fighting season, which Western officials see as key to assessing how far a US-led troop surge has succeeded.

“This is a tremendous achievement for the Taliban because the Taliban were under heavy pressure in the greater Kandahar area... and now they have been able to free some high-profile commanders,” political analyst Haroun Mir said..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110427com3.html

Royal wedding sidelines Australia republic drive FEATURE 04/27/2011

Royal wedding sidelines Australia republic drive

FEATURE

04/27/2011
SYDNEY — Their views could not be further at odds, but the upcoming royal wedding has Australia’s royalists and republicans in rare and unlikely agreement — the monarchy is digging in Down under.

A former British penal colony famed for its boisterous irreverence, it is perhaps unsurprising that Australia is usually seen as the most republican of Queen Elizabeth II’s realms.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard is a staunch believer in replacing the British royal family with an Australian head of state once the queen dies.

And though Australians voted against ditching the royals in 1999 the republican movement has long argued it is a matter of when, not if..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110427com5.html

Pilipinas kay ganda! HE SAYS Aldrin Cardon 04/27/2011

Pilipinas kay ganda!

HE SAYS
Aldrin Cardon
04/27/2011
I should be in Boracay already when this column sees print.

I expect it to be a story different from my sojourn in Marinduque, where I had my taste of the Moriones festival last week.

The Holy Week was the highlight of the Moriones celebration. It was a well-covered event by some of the leading media companies, which have sent their crews, writers and photographers to capture the island-wide activities centered on the last few days of Christ. The Moriones is not limited to His life only, but also the characters which figured prominently in His trial but up to His crucifixion and resurrection.

To say that I was impressed by the elaborate costumes worn by the “Moryons,” those who acted as the Roman centurion soldiers who crucified Christ is an understatement. My experience stood out from all the summer vacations I had in the past. Marinduque offered the best opportunity for both body and soul to relax, and then some....... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110427com6.html

Tara na! SHE SAYS Dinah S. Ventura 04/27/2011

Tara na!

SHE SAYS
Dinah S. Ventura
04/27/2011
I have come to believe that Metro Manila is the best place to be during Holy Week, if you prefer peace and quiet. For someone who spends much of his or her time on weekdays in the office, and out with family or friends on weekends, one’s home can become the ideal place to hole in when everyone else is gone.

I never would have said this 10, even five years ago, when any long break meant travel, especially to the beach. I guess age has led me to prefer the quieter city when it’s time for Lenten reflection. With age comes experience, and I have had many years to enjoy summer and Lenten sojourns to different parts of the country. We used to love going to Zambales, where a friend’s family owned a beach house, but when they sold it years ago, we took to spending the break in Subic or anywhere else one could drive to. But with age, too, comes a desire for hassle-free, peaceful escapes, where one could truly commune with nature, or simply enjoy the comforts of one’s home. The crowded beaches now lend little appeal for me..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110427com7.html

Finally, Almendras takes aim C.R.O.S.S.R.O.A.D.S Jonathan De la Cruz 04/27/2011

Finally, Almendras takes aim

C.R.O.S.S.R.O.A.D.S
Jonathan De la Cruz
04/27/2011
Finally, Energy Secretary Jose Rene Almendras has taken aim against oil companies that chose to raise prices last week in what one transport organization dubbed as a pamatay (deadly) Holy Week operation. The group advised that these companies, Shell, Total and Chevron, didn’t even take pause during the most “Holy of Hollies” even as the group welcomed Almendras’ belated order for these guys to bring down their prices immediately to reflect the movement in the world oil market. The youthful secretary told the companies to explain the inordinate haste in raising prices or else face “pricing abuse” charges if they fail to sufficiently justify their action.

Well, as they say, better late than never. At least, the agency has seen enough of these companies’ willy-nilly operations which brought about inordinate price increases in just a matter of months. We note that gasoline prices have been raised 13 times; diesel, 11 times and kerosene, 14 times while rollbacks, if at all, were small and came far in between. Even the price movements as far as LPG is concerned have not been as satisfactory as expected. So there. Imagine, getting whacked with such blows even as the global oil market’s volatility barely approximated that of the 2008 panic and in the midst of the peso’s strengthening at that. Nobody, not even the experts and oil industry veterans could come out with a rational explanation of such price movements in the local market, triggering protestations of “price manipulation.” Which is why the public awaits with bated breath what Almendras and company will do next now that they have finally decided enough is enough..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110427com4.html

Noy allies to face criminal charge on fertilizer scam By Gerry Baldo and Charlie V. Manalo 04/27/2011

ABAD, ACOSTA, SALCEDA, MITRA INCLUDED IN OMBUDSMAN’S LIST

Noy allies to face criminal charge on fertilizer scam

By Gerry Baldo and Charlie V. Manalo 04/27/2011

Allies of former President Gloria Arroyo, now turned allies of President Aquino are not spared from the fertilizer funds scam.

This new development arose as the Office of the Ombudsman, in its resolution, disclosed that it is planning to file criminal charges against government officials who may have misused the fertilizer funds weeks before the 2004 national elections.

Among those listed in the Ombudsman’s resolution as recipients of the fertilizer funds is the congressional district of former Bukidnon Rep. Nereus Acosta, who is also facing graft charges before the Sandiganbayan in connection with the alleged diversion of his “pork barrel” to a foundation headed by members of his family.

In its 134-page resolution released last April 15, the anti-graft body said the First District of Bukidnon of then Rep. Nereus Acosta Jr. was one of five legislative districts that received a share from the Farm Input/Farm Implements Fund (FIFIF) even if none of them was included in the list submitted to the Department of Budget and Management in 2004 for issuance of Special Allotment Release Order (SARO)..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20110427hed1.html

P550M plunder filed vs Gloria, Romulo, et al. 04/27/2011

P550M plunder filed vs Gloria, Romulo, et al.

04/27/2011
A criminal complaint for plunder and malversation has been filed by former solicitor general Francisco Chavez against former president Gloria Arroyo and three former officials of her Cabinet for the alleged misuse of at least P550 million in funds collected from Filipinos working abroad.

A similar case had been filed before the Ombudsman by Chavez in July 2004, but the complaint had to be shelved by the anti-graft office because of the then chief executive’s immunity from suit.

Aside from Arroyo, Chavez in his 23-page complaint, also named Virgilio Angelo, Francisco Duque III, who is now the Civil Service Commission Chairman, and Alberto Romulo..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20110427hed2.html

Jan-jan’s parents file child abuse rap vs Carandang’s mother, 2 others By Arlie O. Calalo 04/27/2011

Jan-jan’s parents file child abuse rap vs Carandang’s mother, 2 others

By Arlie O. Calalo 04/27/2011

The parents of Jan-jan, the six-year-old boy embroiled in the recent controversy over alleged child abuse, filed yesterday a child abuse complaint against the mother of Presidential Communications Group Secretary Ricky Carandang, a blogger and a Facebook page administrator.

Accompanied by their counsel John Pineda, Joe Suan, 35; and wife Diana, 29, Jan-Jan’s parents, filed a 13-page supplemental complaint/affidavit against Dr. Lourdes “Honey” Carandang, blogger John Silva, and Facebook page administrator Froilan Grate before the office of Quezon City Prosecutor George Cabanilla at around 11:30 a.m..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20110427hed4.html

Palace okays Noy’s move seeking advice from Lacson By Aytch S. de la Cruz 04/27/2011

.Palace okays Noy’s move seeking advice from Lacson
By Aytch S. de la Cruz 04/27/2011

Malacañang sees no problem with President Aquino soliciting advice from his “good friend,” Sen. Panfilo “Ping” Lacson, on police matters occasionally yet it keeps on vacillating to entertain the possibility of the lawmaker joining the Cabinet in the future.

Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda explained during a press briefing yesterday that Aquino was just being “consultative” when he sought Lacson’s advice on who to pick as future chiefs of the Philippine National Police (PNP) during their meeting last month.

Aquino withaeld such information when he admitted to reporters that he met with Lacson three days after the senator returned following a 14-month hibernation to evade police officers’ arrest owing to his previous involvement in the Dacer-Corbito double murder case in February last year.... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/nation/20110427nat6.html

Ivler’s mother to pay P20K for contempt 04/27/2011

Ivler’s mother to pay P20K for contempt

04/27/2011
Instead of accepting the challenge to a fistfight, a Quezon City trial court judge has instead ordered the mother of road-rage suspect Jason Ivler, Marlene Aguilar, to pay a P20,000 fine for indirect contempt.

In imposing the fine, Judge Bayani Vargas, of QC Regional Trial Court’s Branch 219 has sternly warned Aguilar’s mother, who is the sister of singer Freddie Aguilar, that he would have her sent to jail if she continues to misbehave in court or display discourtesy toward him.

On March 31, the court gave her through her defense counsel Priscilla Marie Abante 10 days to file a reply to Vargas’ motu propio order why she should not be cited for contempt.

“Up to this day, despite the lapse of ample time given (including the grace period of almost five days), there was no comment or objection filed by lawyer Abante,” the judge said..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/metro/20110427met3.html

Moreno urges Manila residents to swim in pools, not at Manila Bay By Pat C. Santos 04/27/2011

Moreno urges Manila residents to swim in pools, not at Manila Bay

By Pat C. Santos 04/27/2011

Acting Manila Mayor Isko Moreno yesterday urged the city residents to go swimming in the city’s public pools instead at the Manila Bay.

The urging came to heed warnings on possible health hazards posed by swimming of the polluted waters in Manila Bay.

Moreno said the city government has four huge pools where admission is free as directed by Mayor Alfredo Lim.

The pools, which are supervised by Parks and Recreations Bureau Director Deng Manimbo, can accommodate at least 200 people each at any given time, he said. These are located at the following sites: Dapitan Sports Complex at the corners of Dapitan and Piy Margal; Army Navy Club in Ermita; Jose Siria Cruz and Selya streets in Pandacan; and Bagong Buhay Pool on Pedro Gil Street in front of the La Concordia College..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/metro/20110427met6.html

PNP files murder raps on leader, three others, of leftist group By Gina Peralta-Elorde 04/27/2011

PNP files murder raps on leader, three others, of leftist group

By Gina Peralta-Elorde 04/27/2011


The Philippine National Police (PNP) has filed murder charges before the Malabon City Prosecutors Office against a leader and three members of the leftist group Partisano-Armado Operatiba ng Marxista-Leninista ng Pilipinas who said to be behind in the murder of Merlin Sumera, a journalist, near her house last March 22.

This was confirmed yesterday by the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Jesse Robredo.

Robredo identified those charged with murder as Carlos Alejandro, leader of the group and three of his unidentified members.

According to Robredo, the Malabon City police chief Senior Supt. Cornelio Barrios said they already filed grave threats charges against Emma Nuqui who reportedly threatened Sumera with harm over a dispute involving a parcel of land in Barangay Maysilo, Malabon..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/metro/20110427met1.html

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