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A gun-toting administration EDITORIAL 10/12/2011

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

A gun-toting administration

EDITORIAL
Click to enlarge
10/12/2011
Quite frankly, it just doesn’t make sense for a presidential adviser, or for that matter, any Palace executive, as well as governors and members of Congress, to be licensed by the Philippine National Police (PNP) high-powered rifles that are claimed to have their permit to carry, outside of their homes.

As the rules say, only military and police in their uniforms detailed to the official are licensed to carry high-powered rifles, which may be acceptable under certain circumstances especially if they serve as security men of the official who is being targeted for death.

But it does not make any sense for a government official to be given the permit to carry high-powered rifles, even if he is under threat..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20111012com1.html

Time to zip the lips FRONTLINE Ninez Cacho-Olivares 10/12/2011

Time to zip the lips

FRONTLINE
Ninez Cacho-Olivares
10/12/2011
Malacañang has this penchant for butting into the affairs of other departments, and even has the gall to give them advice, as if it is the all-knowing law and sole government and what it says must be followed.

Noynoy spokesman, who really should mind more what he says because whatever he utters is taken as the statement of his boss, yesterday did it again, telling the high court that it should be more careful in giving its decisions for the high court not to have to recall its rulings, as it is in the case of the Philippine Airlines flight stewards whose final decision in its case gainst PAL, was recalled by the Supreme Court (SC) on an issue of some technicality and will be taken up by the court en banc instead.

What the heck is the business of Malacañang telling the court to be more careful in its decisions and not make such mistakes as recalling the ruling? The judiciary is not the Palace’s domain and Malacañang really should be prudent not to even comment on the move of the high court, especially as this is not a case lodged by the Palace before the SC..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20111012com2.html

President Aquino says ‘No’ to charter change, but his Liberal Party says ‘Yes’

 President Aquino says ‘No’ to charter change, but his Liberal Party says ‘Yes’

Ibon Foundation pointed out that increasing FDIs have actually been accompanied by increasing unemployment, increasing labor export, falling real wages, shrinking domestic manufacturing and more volatile growth.

by INA ALLECO R. SILVERIO
Bulatlat.com
Despite his denial that he supports moves to amend the 1987 Philippine Constitution, President Benigno Aquino III is hard-pressed to prove that he is against charter change. A lawmaker has even said that Aquino’s own party is at the forefront of efforts to do it.

Bayan Muna Rep. Teddy Casiño recently revealed that since its formation, the party that Aquino leads is leading efforts to selling the Philippines to foreign interests particularly the United States. Casiño was referring to the Liberal Party which now holds majority seats in the House of Representatives.
Casiño made his charge in the wake of reports from the New York-based think tank Global Source that the latest initiatives to amend the charter has a “fair chance” of succeeding this time around despite lack of support from Aquino.

In an October 3 commentary written by Filipino economists Romeo Bernardo and Margarita Gonzales, Global Source noted that while Aquino is not championing charter change, he is not standing in the way of Congress as it continues proceedings leading to charter amendment.
 
The US think tank is pushing for the removal of foreign equity limits on economic activity in the 1987 Constitution, which includes the following: operation and management of public utilities (40 percent), exploitation of natural resources (40 percent), educational institutions (40 percent), advertising agencies (30 percent) and private land ownership (40 percent if a Philippine corporation). No foreign equity is allowed in media ownership..... MORE

SourceBulatlat.com

URL: http://bulatlat.com/main/2011/10/11/president-aquino-says-no-to-charter-change-but-his-liberal-party-says-yes/

Anti-church tycoon scores big in Poland vote focus 10/12/2011

Anti-church tycoon scores big in Poland vote

focus

10/12/2011
WARSAW — A new party which challenges Poland’s powerful Roman Catholic church led by tycoon-provocateur Janusz Palikot made a surprise breakthrough in its electoral debut Sunday, soaring to a third spot finish.

The Palikot Movement, which advocates liberalising Poland’s restrictive abortion law, free access to contraception, legalising soft drugs and gay marriage, scored 10.1 percent in a TSN/OBOP exit poll with a 1.5 percent margin of error.

“Life is beautiful. Everything is possible,” Palikot told a roaring crowd of supporters at his Warsaw campaign headquarters Sunday night.

“It’s a great inspiration to know that in Poland there are millions of people who want a secular state, a civil and friendly state in which one’s faith is the private matter of each individual,” he said..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20111012com3.html

Race, religion to the fore in US Republican race focus 10/12/2011

Race, religion to the fore in US Republican race

focus

10/12/2011
WASHINGTON — Republican hopefuls insist the 2012 White House race will hinge on the economy, but it is the conservative hot-button issues of race and religion that currently dominate the campaign.

Frontrunner Mitt Romney’s Mormon faith, debated at length when he ran for president in 2008, was decried as a “cult” by an evangelical supporter of his main challenger, Texas Gov. Rick Perry.

Race relations ensnared Perry after the Washington Post pointed out that his family’s rented hunting lodge had, for many years, the abhorrent name “Niggerhead” emblazoned on a large rock at its entrance.

Social issues are massively important in US elections, especially in the Republican primaries. Americans have always had a Christian president, and until Barack Obama, they’ve always been white..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20111012com5.html

Who is minding the store? C.R.O.S.S.R.O.A.D.S Jonathan De la Cruz 10/12/2011

Who is minding the store?

C.R.O.S.S.R.O.A.D.S
Jonathan De la Cruz
10/12/2011
No, we are not talking here of the affairs of state after “Pedring” and “Quiel.” That topic has been so written and discussed to death there maybe no new things to say. Rather, I am concerned about another affair which, if we don’t prepare well enough, may turn out to be another big embarrassment not only to this harassed administration but to the country as a whole.

I am talking about the 45th Annual Meeting of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) Board of Governors to be held from May 2 to 5 next year. Until we heard it from our Filipino banker friends based overseas, we were not even aware that the administration has actually agreed to host this high level meeting which may draw thousands of participants (that includes the NGOs and POs who have become regular fixtures in such gatherings) to our shores.

Which is why we are asking: Who is minding the store to ensure the event’s success in all respects. We cannot leave everything to the ADB secretariat although a close and proper coordination with it will be very critical. The ADB will do, as it has been doing, all through the years, what needs to be done. That is prepare the agenda, coordinate the events and advise would be participants what to expect..... MORE
SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20111012com4.html

JPE, Miriam clash on bicam Cha-cha By Angie M. Rosales and Gerry Baldo 10/12/2011

JPE, Miriam clash on bicam Cha-cha

By Angie M. Rosales and Gerry Baldo 10/12/2011

Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile and Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago are once again engaged in a clash, this time on the matter of the feasibility of amending the Constitution through a mode being proposed by Sen. Franklin Drilon labeled by him as a “bicameral constituent assembly.”

Enrile issued a challenge to Santiago, telling reporters in an interview yesterday to put to test his position on Charter change (Cha-cha) before the Supreme Court.

“I’m not as bright as she is, but I can assure you that she can take it up. She can go to the SC and I think she will lose,” the upper chamber chief said.

Santiago, chairman of the committee on constitutional amendments,bopenly expressed her strong dissent on the manner constitutional changes has been recommended by her colleagues to be taken up during a bicameral session, where only the economic provisions would be amended, and done through the same process as legislating a bill in Congress..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20111012hed1.html

Palace: SC turnaround on PAL ruling ‘surprising’ By Virgilio J. Bugaoisan 10/12/2011

Palace: SC turnaround on PAL ruling ‘surprising’

By Virgilio J. Bugaoisan 10/12/2011

Malacañang appeared stirring up intrigue over the recent Supreme Court (SC) ruling recalling its September decision ordering the reinstatement of Philippine Air Lines (PAL) flight attendants who were fired from their jobs in 1998 as it expressed surprise on the SC’s “sudden turnaround.”

At a press briefing yesterday, presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said while he did not want to make a comment on the SC ruling, he, nonetheless, said that he was puzzled by the new ruling.

“With this new turn-around, we do not wish to comment on the latest decision by the Supreme Court because it’s something that they should explain themselves. So we…I myself wondered how such a technicality was overlooked by the Supreme Court but that’s as far as we can comment on it. But the original decision with Fasap, I think DoLE Secretary (Rosalinda) Baldoz, upheld the position of the flight stewardess,” Lacierda said..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20111012hed2.html

PNP-SAF to House: Records in ‘break-in’ probe lost By Gerry Baldo 10/12/2011

PNP-SAF to House: Records in ‘break-in’ probe lost

By Gerry Baldo 10/12/2011

The ad-hoc panel created by the House of Representatives to investigate the alleged ballot switching at the South Wing Lobby of the Batasan complex yesterday lamented the inability of the Philippine National Police (PNP) Special Action Force (SAF) to help in its investigation.

According to Quezon Rep. Lorenzo Tañada, head of the ad-hoc panel, the chief of the PNP-SAF has informed the House of Representatives Fact-Finding ad hoc committee that they can no longer locate records of troop movements in the first quarter of 2005.

Tañada said that Police Director Catalino Cuy, PNP-SAF director, in a letter to the panel, had said that the records of SAF troop movements in 2005 being requested by the fact-finding body are no longer available..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20111012hed4.html

Military faking ‘evidence’ on child warriors — HRW By Michaela P. del Callar 10/12/2011

Military faking ‘evidence’ on child warriors — HRW

By Michaela P. del Callar 10/12/2011

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) is again up to its old dirty tricks of fabricating “evidence” and information.

A prominent international human rights group has accused the Philippine military of fabricating information that children they take into custody are child soldiers.

An independent investi-gation conducted by New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) “found strong evidence” indicating that the accounts of the detained minors’ involvement with rebel groups “were fabricated by the military.”

Although it acknowledged that many children are being used as combatants by communist and Muslim rebel groups, HRW said tagging those who are innocent as child warriors endangers the lives of the minors and undermines efforts to stop the recruitment process..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20111012hed5.html

SC upholds ban for exec in Laguna fish pen mess By Benjamin B. Pulta 10/12/2011

SC upholds ban for exec in Laguna fish pen mess

By Benjamin B. Pulta 10/12/2011

The Supreme Court has upheld Malacañang’s orders of perpetual disqualification from public office of a former general manager of the Laguna Lake Development Authority (LLDA) implicated in alleged anomalies in regulating fish pens.

In a 27-page decision by Justice Jose Catral Mendoza, the Court granted the petition of the Office of the President and the Presidential Anti-Graft Commission to reinstate the OP’s June 29, 2004 decision.

The decision found former LLDA General Manager Calixto Cataquiz liable and ordered his dismissal, forfeiture of benefits, and lifetime ban from reemployment in the government.

It was later amended to impose only the penalties of perpetual disqualification and forfeiture of retirement benefits following Cataquiz’s replacement as LLDA general manager. The Court held that the dismissal of the criminal case against Cataquiz does not bar the finding of administrative liability. It stressed that the administrative liability is separate and distinct from penal and civil liability..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/nation/20111012nat1.html

2 of 3 suspects in slay, rape of UP employee fall 10/12/2011

2 of 3 suspects in slay, rape of UP employee fall

10/12/2011
Operatives of the Caloocan City police arrested early yesterday morning two of the three suspects who allegedly took turns in raping before killing an employee of the University of the Philippines (UP).

The cash reward of P100,000 offered by Mayor Enrico “Recom” Echiverri apparently helped in the quick solution of the case after a former robbery gang mate led the local police to the whereabouts of the suspects.
Presented before the mayor by city police chief Senior Supt. Jude Wilson Santos were Eric Macaraan, 18, and Jason Pillago, 16, who was said to be a lookout. Unfortunately, the third suspect, Erro Allid alias “Dandan,” who allegedly played a key role in the crime, remains scot-free.

The suspecthttp://www.tribuneonline.org/metro/20111012met3.htmls, whose identities were first established by another robbery male victim through the police’s photo gallery, refused to comment on their arrest made by Santos’ men who tracked them down at their hideouts in San Roque, Plaridel and Obando both in Bulacan province..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/

Lopez firm faces another pollution complaint M E T R O F I L E 10/12/2011

Lopez firm faces another pollution complaint

M E T R O F I L E

10/12/2011
The Lopez-owned First Philippine Industrial Corp. (FPIC) could be assessed additional P200,000 per day, on top of the P24-million penalty for the petroleum leak at the basement of the West Tower Condominium in Barangay Bangkal, Makati for dumping fuel- contaminated water into the sewage of the city which could affect two other neighboring cities. Lawyer Lorna Kapunan, legal counsel for the West Tower residents, told a press forum in Quezon City that a complaint against FPIC was filed with the National Capital Region of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR-NCR) on Aug. 5, 2011 and is now pending with the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) for submission to the Pollution Adjudication Board (PAB). If found to have indeed been dumping contaminated water into the estero and sewage system, FPIC would be again assessed P200,000 per day since the violation would be found to have started as complained by the residents, DENR-PAB Secretary Jonas Leones said. The PAB earlier had penalized the FPIC with P24.2 million fine for the petroleum leak that started on July 12, 2010 when the leak was discovered until it had been plugged. The leak which forced some 250 residents to abandon the 22-story condominium was believed to have seeped through the ground water in the said barangay..... MORE
SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/metro/20111012met4.html

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