• 6 AUGUST - *1907 - Gen. Macario Sakay, one of the Filipino military leaders who had continued fighting the imperialist United States invaders eight years into the Ph...
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Friday, October 12, 2012

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Devil and the deep blue sea Written by Tribune Editorial Tuesday, 07 August 2012 00:00

Monday, August 6, 2012

Devil and the deep blue sea



It would be an unenviable situation that congressmen allies of Noynoy will find themselves in today as the House votes on the Reproductive Health (RH) bill since it seems that they are caught between the devil and the deep blue sea.

Their position becomes more precarious as the House majority leader pushed nominal voting for the bill instead of the mere raising of hands.

The majority leader claimed that nominal voting bespeaks of transparency, rather than a viva voce vote.

That could well be true. However, given that Noynoy is pushing the congressional enactment of the RH bill, nominal voting could very well have something to do with knowing just who voted for, or against it, as it is generally known that when the Malacañang resident wants a congressional vote on a measure he wants passed, great are the Palace rewards for the congressmen who go along with what Noynoy wants.
Noynoy tried to marshall his forces in a caucus yesterday, worried that the vote today would be marred by absences after the Church gave those who will vote in favor of the bill something to think about related to next year’s elections after the prayer rally at Edsa Shrine against the bill which is evidently a show of force by the bishops on the Church’s diminished but still potent clout..... MORE





 URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/index.php/commentary/editorial/item/2582-devil-and-the-deep-blue-sea


Waiting for Noynoy’s order? Written by Ninez Cacho-Olivares

Waiting for Noynoy’s order?


Presidential pressure must certainly be piling up on the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) to amend its rule on disqualifying nominees and candidates for positions in the Supreme Court (SC) and include Noynoy’s favorite bet for the chief justice position, Leila de Lima in the shortlist, despite the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) having categorically stated that the disbarment cases against her will be pursued.

Noynoy’s pressure on the JBC has become much too evident, considering the fact that the JBC has again postponed its voting for the selection of the candidates scheduled yesterday. His loyal ally, Rep. Niel Tupas Jr., has already prepared an amendment to change  the JBC rule on disqualification, for De Lima’s benefit.
The body claimed that, with the re-entry of the two members of Congress in the JBC, more time is needed for them to review and assess the qualifications of the nominees to be included in the shortlist which would be submitted to the President..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/index.php/commentary/item/2581-waiting-for-noynoy%E2%80%99s-order?

Swarm of bees tells Hillary Clinton to 'buzz off'

Swarm of bees tells Hillary Clinton to 'buzz off'


Hillary Clinton’s six-and-a-half hour trip to Malawi literally went by in a buzz. The US Secretary of State has received not-so-warm welcomes from several countries she’s visited, but in Malawi she was reportedly chased onto her plane.

Chased onto herhttp://www.rt.com/news/hillary-clinton-bees-mawali-962/ plane by a swarm of bees, that is.

Clinton ran for cover and boarded her jet to escape the bees, which attacked her at Malawi’s international airport, the local Nyasa Times quotes witnesses as saying. The Secretary was preparing to board a Johannesburg-bound flight when the stinging swarm forced her to make a quicker entry than planned..... MORE

SourceRT.com

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

Twitter impostor: Hacked Reuters account says Washington, al-Qaeda allied

Twitter impostor: Hacked Reuters account says Washington, al-Qaeda allied


Just two days after phony posts appeared on Reuters’ blog, the agency’s Twitter account was also hacked. Once again, the hoax tweets informed readers of rebel losses in Syria, and reported fake White House admissions of supporting al-Qaeda.

Many of the tweets were sensational, but fraudulent statements coming out of the White House.

Obama takes Al Qaeda off list of terrorist organisation, says Al Qaeda no longer a threat to US interests,” the Reuters Tech account tweeted Sunday..... MORE

SourceRT.com

URL: http://www.rt.com/news/reuters-twitter-account-hack-931/

Tobacco tax rise = smuggling increase

Tobacco tax rise = smuggling increase


With news of increased smuggling activities all over the place, the latest being the now celebrated(?) rice smuggling in Subic and the multibillion-peso smuggling of meat products, it behooves Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima and his associates, in and out of the agency, to review their oft repeated promises that they will be able to ward off smuggling of other products, especially cigarettes and tobacco as they try to railroad passage of the questionable “Sin Tax” law increasing excise tax on these items which most experts believe will result in smuggling. The experience of many countries including the United States is instructive.

More than five years ago, 27 states in the US  decided to raise taxes on tobacco in a move to pump revenue into their cash strapped treasuries. The state officials had the shock of their lives. Not only did the cash increases hardly materialize, a fresh scourge cropped up before their very eyes. Michigan’s Mackinac Center for Public Policy which closely tracks tobacco tax rates across the United States noted that the increases “inspired an increasingly dangerous cigarette industry where big profits lured criminal gangs and drug traffickers into the booming markets.” The Center noted that smuggling is an “unintended consequence of high cigarette taxes.”  .... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/index.php/commentary/item/2494-tobacco-tax-rise-=-smuggling-increase

Lawbreakers Written by Dinah S. Ventura

Lawbreakers


Another young man has lost his life undergoing a “rite of passage” that has been deemed unlawful.

Marc Andrei Marcos, law student, in joining a law school fraternity, went through an initiation process that, in the end, took rather than gave him a future.

His family grieves, concerned citizens are righteously indignant, and the authorities are in the thick of investigations. The news reveals that some 20 individuals may be involved in the death of young Marcos.

Government officials have reiterated that hazing is against the law. “It is a heinous crime under the law. In fact, it is non-bailable,” said Undersecretary Francisco Baraan III, officer in charge of the Department of Justice (DoJ), in a Daily Tribune report last Aug. 2.

For this non-bailable offense, students of the law are, ironically, risking their future in order to help assure themselves of a future..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/index.php/commentary/item/2493-lawbreakers

Frat culture Written by Aldrin Cardona Monday, 06 August 2012 00:00

Frat culture


Our country was born through the blood and sacrifices of fraternity members.
The Katipunan was envisioned as a frat, called brotherhood at the time, with Bonifacio — the Supreme Leader — entailing sacrifices and millenarian practices for acceptance and leadership even at the time of his death at the hands of his own “brothers,” or fratmates if we are to call them now.

Frats have served the country well during dire straits.

The RAM stood up against Marcos when this brotherhood of soldiers realized he had gone too far. The Magdalo banded together to demand Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s ouster. Many university frat members have joined the underground under a testy political situation with many of them sacrificing their lives for their causes.

Each Filipino family has a relative in a fraternity. Each province or region has its own amalgamation of brotherhoods and sisterhoods, called sororities. Majority of communities have them. The Catholic church has several confraternities and is open about it..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/index.php/commentary/item/2492-frat-culture

Noynoy calls House caucus to assure RH bill passage

Noynoy calls House caucus to assure RH bill passage


WORRIED OVER ABSENCES OF ALLIES AFTER CHURCH RALLY 
 
Apparently wanting to assure the passage of the Reproductive Health (RH) bill two days after the Catholic Church made a grand reminder to legislators about its still potent political clout, President Aquino called a caucus among Liberal Party (LP) members in the House of Representatives at Malacañang on the eve of the voting for the bill.

Some House members expressed fears that several legislators may resort to disappearing acts during the day of the vote to prevent being targeted by the Church during next year’s elections.

In a text message sent by the Office of Communications Assistant Secretary Renato Marfil, the caucus is scheduled at 1 p.m. today. However, there wasn’t any agenda indicated in the text advisory regularly sent to Palace reporters for reference. Even Aquino’s deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte confirmed the caucus but did not give further details about the event..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/index.php/headlines/item/2553-noynoy-calls-house-caucus-to-assure-rh-bill-passage

UN applies pressure on Noy for RH enactment

UN applies pressure on Noy for RH enactment


The pressure is mounting on President Aquino from opposite sides over the Reproductive Health (RH) bill as the United Nations warned yesterday that failure to pass the birth control law could reverse gains in development goals a day after the powerful Catholic Church flexed its muscles through a massive rally against the measure that goes to a vote tomorrow.

The bill seeks to make it mandatory for the government to provide free contraceptives in a country where more than 80 percent of the population is Catholic and which has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in Southeast Asia.

Ugochi Daniels, country representative from the UN Population Fund, said she remained “cautiously optimistic” that President Aquino’s allies who dominate the House of Representatives could muster the numbers to pass the bill on Tuesday after 14 years of often divisive debate.

“What is important now is to highlight the urgency of the bill,” Daniels said..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/index.php/headlines/item/2551-un-applies-pressure-on-noy-for-rh-enactment

DENR OKs gas, mineral search in Benham Rise Written by PNA Monday, 06 August 2012 00:00

DENR OKs gas, mineral search in Benham Rise

  • Written by 
  • Monday, 06 August 2012

Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Secretary Ramon Paje said on Thursday the Department of Energy (DoE) can now explore the seabed of Benham Rise for possible natural gas and other mineral resources.

Paje revealed this as he included in the DENR’s performance review in the Senate the approval of the Philippines’ claim on the jurisdiction over the seabed resources in Benham Rise area by the United Nation on April 12.

”It’s now ours. The UN has agreed. It’s already ours. The DoE can take the ball if they want to,” Paje said.
Paje told the Senate committee on finance that the Benham Rise is rich in manganese and possibly, other minerals and natural gas..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/index.php/nation/item/2538-denr-oks-gas-mineral-search-in-benham-rise

DENR OKs gas, mineral search in Benham Rise

DENR OKs gas, mineral search in Benham Rise

  • Written by 
  • Monday, 06 August 2012 

Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Secretary Ramon Paje said on Thursday the Department of Energy (DoE) can now explore the seabed of Benham Rise for possible natural gas and other mineral resources.

Paje revealed this as he included in the DENR’s performance review in the Senate the approval of the Philippines’ claim on the jurisdiction over the seabed resources in Benham Rise area by the United Nation on April 12.

”It’s now ours. The UN has agreed. It’s already ours. The DoE can take the ball if they want to,” Paje said.
Paje told the Senate committee on finance that the Benham Rise is rich in manganese and possibly, other minerals and natural gas.

DENR Undersecretary Peter Tiangco, who spearheaded the campaign to get the jurisdiction of the Benham Rise seabed for 12 years, said if the DoE or any department cannot explore the area at this time “the important thing is it is now ours.”.... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/index.php/nation/item/2538-denr-oks-gas-mineral-search-in-benham-rise

Palace ups dengue, leptospirosis alert

Palace ups dengue, leptospirosis alert


Malacañang has raised the alert level for the deadly diseases leptospirosis and dengue as the number of recorded cases doubled from that of 2011.

At a press briefing in Malacañang, deputy presidential spokesman Abigail Valte said President Aquino has instructed the Department of Health (DoH) to make sure that government hospitals and medical professionals were ready to work round-the-clock mode to attend to the growing number of leptospirosis victims which stood at 2,002 from January to July this year, up from the 887 cases in the first seven months of 2011.

“The Department of Health (DoH) has already assured us that all government hospitals in the country have been put on stand-by, while government hospital administrators have already been told to be ready and equipped with whatever medicines are needed (as) medical professionals have already made a commitment to be and available to serve at anytime they’re needed,” Valte said..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/index.php/nation/item/2540-palace-ups-dengue-leptospirosis-alert

Garbage volume in Las Piñas City drops by 37%

Garbage volume in Las Piñas City drops by 37%


The Las Piñas City government, after passing an ordinance banning the use of plastics and styrofoams, has decreased its garbage volume by 37 percent.

This after Las Piñas Mayor Vergel Aguilar recently noted significant drop in volume of solid wastes collected from households and commercial areas in the last three months.

Aguilar renewed his call for a continued practice of proper garbage disposal and minimal use of plastics and styrofoams as food packaging and carry-out bags.

Aguilar said there is about 37 percent decrease in garbage volume collected by the city’s Environmental Sanitation Office from households in 20 barangays, public markets and talipapa as well as in all commercial center areas in Las Piñas.

The city’s 60 compactor trucks make an average of 105 trips per day to collect solid wastes from households, 50 talipapa and wet markets and 15 public markets. To date, the Environmental Sanitation Office said only about four percent in plastic and styrofoam materials are found from the trash collected..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/index.php/metro-section/item/2509-garbage-volume-in-las-pi%C3%B1as-city-drops-by-37

Six-month suspension order served on Councilor Paulate — QC official

Six-month suspension order served on Councilor Paulate — QC official

An official of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) has insisted it already served and enforced the preventive six-month suspension order on Quezon City Councilor Roderick Paulate despite refusal of his staff to receive the copy.

Nevertheless, DILG-QC director Juan Juvian Ingeniero said the case was different from Paulate’s colleague, Councilor Francisco Calalay Jr., whose staff accepted the copy of the order without any resistance when he handed it to his (Calalay) office on July 25.

That was the same time when he served the order on Paulate, who is also a movie and television personality, through his staff but the latter refused to receive it, Ingeniero told members of the Quezon City Press Club.
He recalled that Paulate’s employees even blocked them when he and his staff posted the order on the door of the local lawmaker’s office at the legislative building.

Just the same, the DILG-QC official insisted that he already served and enforced the preventive suspension order which he also posted on the bulletin board of the city council..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/index.php/metro-section/item/2512-six-month-suspension-order-served-on-councilor-paulate-%E2%80%94-qc-official

More than a flip-flop Written by Tribune Editorial

Sunday, August 5, 2012

More than a flip-flop



The Supreme Court (SC) tried to sound Solomonic in its resolution of the impasse on the Congress representation in the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC), but in the end it was an admission of its abject inability to rule independently and stick to its position.

The acting Carpio Court’s decision to suspend its “executory” decision that Congress is only entitled to one seat in the JBC was clearly a co-opting to the whims of both the Palace and Congress on the issue.

While the decision was not entirely a reversal of the earlier ruling, it exposed the Carpio Court’s lack of resolve in defending what the SC justices had already interpreted as what was contained in the Constitution which was the expressed limit of only one representative for Congress in the body.

The decision resulted in both legislative chambers to order their representatives to withdraw from the nominating body which is tasked to draft the shortlist for the SC chief justice candidates from which Noynoy will choose the head of his reclaimed and pliant high court..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/index.php/commentary/editorial/item/2453-more-than-a-flip-flop

Told you so Written by Ninez Cacho-Olivares

Told you so


Hate to tell you “I told you so,” but I did tell you so, which is why the nation now has not only a subservient-to-Malacañang Supreme Court (SC) but also a high court petrified of a Congress, because both can easily impeach and convict any SC justice they want — even when there is no impeachable offense committed.

This has all come about because the Malacañang tenant now knows how powerful money and position can be in getting Congress to do his every bidding — including throwing out any justice, especially the Chief Justice, and any impeachable officer holding a constitutional office and convict them despite the absence of an impeachable crime.

It was being preached then by Noynoy and his Yellows, and yes, even some SC justices who were salivating for the chief justice post, that the high bench was nothing but a Gloria Arroyo court, and that with CJ Renato Corona heading the SC, never can the Filipino people expect justice and impartiality in its decisions. This, claimed the hypocrite of the first water Noynoy, was the reason he was out to impeach and convict Corona, to reclaim the SC for the people..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/index.php/commentary/item/2452-told-you-so

Father of political detainee Ericson Acosta appeals for son’s health, freedom

Father of political detainee Ericson Acosta appeals for son’s health, freedom


“I cannot but be distressed by the continuing prejudice of our justice system against my son and other political prisoners like him.”
By INA ALLECO R. SILVERIO
Bulatlat.com

MANILA — The family of political detainee artist Ericson Acosta has issued a new appeal to human rights advocates and Acosta’s friends and supporters, this time regarding the detainee’s health problems.

Acosta’s father, Isaias, said his son is in immediate need of medical attention because of a worsening kidney problem. Isaias, 79, said Ericson, who has been detained for over a year since February 2011 in Calbayog, Samar on false charges, is suffering from painful kidney stones. He and his wife Liwayway, 80, are not in the peak of health either and have their own share of health issues.

“We are both physically suffering due to our respective conditions but nothing compares to the torment of knowing that our son continues to be unjustly imprisoned,” he said.

Isais said that in his last visit to Acosta, his son said he had been feeling persistent pain in his abdomen and lower back. The pain, Acosta said, intensifies whenever he urinates. Now he has also noticed spots of blood in his urine.

“My cousin, Ericson’s uncle, displayed similar symptoms before he succumbed to prostate cancer. Ericson rarely complains when he is sick. Even when he was arrested last year, his first words to me were, ‘Daddy don’t worry about me. He always tells his mother not to fuss over him. That’s how Ericson is. He suffers in silence. Once when he was still in grade school, he waited until a stomachache had become too unbearable before he finally told us to take him to the hospital. It turned out he immediately needed to undergo an appendectomy. The doctor said we got there in the nick of time,” Isaias said.

According to the detainee’s father, Acosta’s last check-up two years ago revealed a renal function abnormality and a possible prostate affliction.

“So as soon as we received word that he was in pain, we arranged for a visit and asked our lawyers to immediately file a motion before the court seeking urgent medical attention for my son. We had to skip the visit because of my condition. But after we filed the motion, we were told that the judge in charge of his case had just retired. How long would it take until a new judge is installed? It is as if our frustration with the slow resolution of Ericson’s case is not enough. We are once again left bereft of immediate legal options,” he said..... MORE

Source:  Bulatlat.com

URL: http://bulatlat.com/main/2012/08/03/father-of-political-detainee-ericson-acosta-appeals-for-sons-health-freedom/

Radioactive cesium found in Japan’s fish, seawater

Radioactive cesium found in Japan’s fish, seawater


Harmless traces of radioactive cesium have been discovered in fish and seawater in several areas of Japan, as the country continues to debate whether their fish is safe to consume and anti-nuke protests grow in the wake of the Fukushima disaster.

Japan’s Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) stated that radioactive cesium, presumably from the crippled Fukushima I nuclear plant, was found in seawater and fish in several regions of the country, Russian news agency Itar-Tass reported from Tokyo.

The aquatic radiation was detected in central Japan (Shizuoka Prefecture), the western part of central Honshu (Niigata) and the country’s northeast (Iwate)..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.rt.com/news/radioactive-cesium-japan-fish-seawater-895/

Pilgrims or mercenaries? Iran asks Turkey, Qatar for help freeing captured nationals in Syria

Pilgrims or mercenaries? Iran asks Turkey, Qatar for help freeing captured nationals in Syria


Tehran has asked Turkey and Qatar to help secure the release of Iranian nationals kidnapped in the Syrian capital Damascus on Saturday. The Free Syrian Army claimed the Iranians were members of the elite Iranian Revolutionary Guard.

­Forty-eight Iranians who disappeared in Syria on Saturday were kidnapped by the Free Syrian Army, Iran's Fars news agency reported..... MORE
SourceRT.com

URL: http://www.rt.com/news/syria-kidnap-damascus-iranian-pilgrims-872/

Heidi Mendoza, attack dog of Palace and LP Written by Jacinto ‘Jing’ Paras

Heidi Mendoza, attack dog of Palace and LP

  • Written by  Jacinto ‘Jing’ Paras
  • Sunday, 05 August 2012 

The most popular official of the land, Vice President Jejomar Binay is getting to be the new flavor of Malacañang and the Liberal Party(LP). After Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, then Chief Justice (CJ) Renato Corona, the Palace is now aiming its gun on Jojo, who is predicted by many Filipinos to become the next President either by election or by substitution due the people’s confidence and trust in his performance.

All pollsters say he is the most trusted and popular official of the Aquino administration. People believe in the sincerity and capability of the Vice President because he is always one step ahead whenever there is a need to help any Filipino. Whenever, there is a calamity such as a typhoon or earthquake, VP Binay is already there at the site,

He is also the darling of the OFWs because he is ready to help them, whether in his various trips to the Middle East to help rescue some workers or in China to save a worker to be sentenced to death..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/index.php/commentary/item/2449-heidi-mendoza-attack-dog-of-palace-and-lp

Ominous silence Written by Archbishop Oscar V.Cruz

Ominous silence


The speech was extra long. So many accomplishments have been deliriously reported. So many projections were proudly made. So many issues have been courageously addressed. So much water was even drunk to facilitate more and more enumeration of successes achieved as well as aspirations projected to be soon happily accomplished  — preparing for war from within and without. That is why there were those who felt they heard the recitation of a long litany of joyful and glorious mysteries.

But behind the report of the year-after many acts as well as year-ahead envisioned numerous splendid agenda, there is something that can be considered as ominous — sinister, disquieting, threatening.
The subject matter has extraordinary significance for the people of the Philippines as well as grave implications for their dear country. But such very significant as well as truly relevant concern was curiously unsaid, strangely unmentioned..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/index.php/commentary/item/2448-ominous-silence

US ‘concerned’ over new China garrison in tense sea

US ‘concerned’ over new China garrison in tense sea

  • Written by 
  • Sunday, 05 August 2012 

WASHINGTON — The United States yesterday accused China of raising tensions through a new military garrison in the South China Sea as it called on all sides to lower tensions in the hotly contested waters.

China announced last week that it was establishing the tiny city of Sansha and a garrison on an island in the disputed Paracel chain, infuriating the Philippines and Vietnam which have accused Beijing of intimidation.
“We are concerned by the increase in tensions in the South China Sea and are monitoring the situation closely,” US State Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell said in a statement.

“In particular, China’s upgrading of the administrative level of Sansha city and establishment of a new military garrison there covering disputed areas of the South China Sea run counter to collaborative diplomatic efforts permanently inhabiting points in the South China Sea until a code of conduct is reached.

The resolution, sponsored by senators from both major parties, declared that the United States was committed “to assist the nations of Southeast Asia to remain strong and independent.”

During a 2010 visit to Vietnam, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton declared that the United States had a national interest in freedom of navigation in the South China Sea, through which half of world cargo passes..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/index.php/headlines/item/2478-us-%E2%80%98concerned%E2%80%99-over-new-china-garrison-in-tense-sea

Gener leaves 41 dead, P290 million in damage Written by Tribune Sunday, 05 August 2012 00:00

Gener leaves 41 dead, P290 million in damage

  • Written by 
  • Sunday, 05 August 2012 

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) reported that Gener left 41 dead and affected 177,440 families or 800,944 people in 1,077 villages in 141 towns and 27 cities in 35 provinces.

Of these, 3,904 families or 16,514 people are being served in 104 evacuation centers.

Damage to property was estimated at P289,852,863.10, including P116,560,384 in infrastructure and P172,792,479.10 in agriculture.

As this developed, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration that
(Pagasa) said flash floods and landslides may threaten the western section of Luzon due to southwest monsoon while the a potential cyclone remains far from the country.

At present, due to continuous rains, Pagasa said yesterday at least five dams in Luzon opened their gates.
Pagasahydrologist Gine Nievares said as of 7:20 a.m., Ipo Dam in Bulacan opened one gate at a rate of 66.4 cubic meters per second..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/index.php/headlines/item/2479-gener-leaves-41-dead-p290-million-in-damage

New Noy slogan: ‘No baby, no poverty,’ says Church

New Noy slogan: ‘No baby, no poverty,’ says Church

  • Written by 
  • Sunday, 05 August 2012 

A Catholic nun wearing an anti-Reproductive Health bill ribbon (right) holds a chain of rosary beads as she joins some 7,000 protesters attend a rally at a Catholic shrine in Manila yesterday. Nuns and priests led thousands of Catholics in a protest against a proposed law that would provide free contraceptives in a bid to curb population growth.   AFP and Analy Labor
Daily Tribune photo
PALACE SHRUGS OFF EDSA RALLY, SAYS RH BILL IN THE BAG

Calling the government program seeking to distribute contraceptives for free under the Reproductive Health (RH) bill a form of corruption, nuns and priests led thousands of Catholics in a show of force yesterday at the Edsa Shrine, a landmark that symbolized takeovers of past governments, ahead of an August 7 vote on the bill at the House of Representatives.

Leading the Catholic Church charge was Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas, a spiritual adviser of the family of President Aquino, who made a pun on the Aquino administration’s “Kung walang corrupt, walang mahirap” (No corruption, no poverty) slogan which he said should not mean “kung walang anak, walang mahirap” (No baby, no poverty).

Villegas, however, was not at the so-called prayer power rally against the RH bill and his message was read by Henrietta de Villa, a pro-life group leader.

Villegas said it is corruption that the government should cure, not procreation. The police estimated the crowd at about 7,000.

Villegas was a staunch supporter and friend of Aquino’s mother, Corazon Aquino, from the time she became President after the Edsa People Power Revolution..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/index.php/headlines/item/2480-new-noy-slogan-%E2%80%98no-baby-no-poverty%E2%80%99-says-church

BSP sees spike in food prices

BSP sees spike in food prices

  • Written by 
  • Sunday, 05 August 2012 

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has both good and bad news for the man on the street.

The BSP has ruled out any further liberalization of the foreign exchange (forex) as inflows of capital into the Philippines continued to be strong.

But it also said the recent typhoons might influence the country’s inflation rate while declining to say its impact for the month of August.

“At this point in time, while there are no specific additional measures, we continue to evaluate and assess if further steps are needed to be taken to address capital inflows,” BSP Gov. Amando Tetangco Jr. said.

The BSP has implemented five forex liberalization measures since 2007, which resulted in what Tetangco described as the “substantial opening of the foreign exchange regime.”

These measures included increasing from $5,000 to $10,000 the limit on allowable outward investment that can be bought from banks and other forex entities without supporting documents; increasing the allowable dollar purchases from banks by residents for non-trade current account transactions (without the need for supporting documentation) and outward investments (without the need for BSP approval)..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/index.php/nation/item/2472-bsp-sees-spike-in-food-prices

DILG cites QC for good governance

DILG cites QC for good governance

  • Written by 
  • Sunday, 05 August 2012 

The Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) has given Quezon City good marks in local governance performance in 2011 as one of the country’s highly urbanized cities.

Based on the results of DILG’s local governance performance management system, QC has obtained an overall performance rating of 4.71 percent last year, improving by at least 3 percent the city’s 2010 performance rating, which was recorded at 4.57 percent. In his report to Mayor Herbert “Bistek” Bautista, DILG-QC Director Juan Jovian Ingeniero noted the increase in the city’s performance rating was generated from improved delivery of basic public services in five key areas, namely, valuing fundamentals of good governance, administrative governance, social governance, economic governance and environmental governance.

The DILG gave the local government an excellent rating for environmental governance for having strictly implemented waste segregation in the city’s 142 barangays and even in the QC Hall..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/index.php/metro-section/item/2456-dilg-cites-qc-for-good-governance

Solons want bullying of poor, oppressed people criminalized

Solons want bullying of poor, oppressed people criminalized

  • Written by 
  • Sunday, 05 August 2012

Bullying marginalized, oppressed and powerless (MOP) people may soon be declared as a criminal act punishable with imprisonment and a fine.

AKO Bicol party-list Reps. Christopher Co, Rodel Batocabe and Alfredo Garbin Jr. filed House Bill 6386 seeking to stop such offensive and discriminatory acts against children, women and indigenous people.
“This bill will strengthen the constitutional provision that the State values the dignity of every human person and guarantees full respect for human rights,” Co said.

Co added the people who belong to the MOPs like children, women, religious minorities, the indigenous peoples, among others, are still subject of the physical and verbal abuses of those “who are close-minded and discriminatory against them.”

“No one has yet been prosecuted for these constitutionally offensive acts,” Co said..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/index.php/metro-section/item/2457-solons-want-bullying-of-poor-oppressed-people-criminalized

Gabriela prepares final push for RH Bill in Congress

Saturday, August 4, 2012

Gabriela prepares final push for RH Bill in Congress


“The RH bill is about women’s access to healthcare, the right to informed choice. This is not an issue of population control or a question of religion or faith. Lawmakers, as well as the rest of the Filipino people, should focus on the state of women and children’s ‘un-health’, and this should be the primary consideration when lawmakers cast their vote to end debates and interpellation on August 7.” – Rep. Luz Ilagan, Gabriela Women’s party
By INA ALLECO R. SILVERIO
Bulatlat.com

MANILA — On August 7, the House of Representatives would end the debate on the so-called RH Bill, or the legislative proposal for a reproductive health bill. For the last two years, the proposal has been alternately vilified and praised; hailed as a solution to the worsening state of maternal health care in the country, on the one hand, then attacked as an instrument of Satan that will send women’s souls straight to hell.

For the proponents of the RH bill, especially Gabriela Women’s Party, the debate is simple: they want a law that will help guarantee universal access to and information on reproductive health and maternal care.

Now nearing the final stretch, the two bills House Bill No. 4244 or An Act Providing for a Comprehensive Policy on Responsible Parenthood, Reproductive Health, and Population and Development, and For Other Purposes and Senate Bill No. 2378 or An Act Providing For a National Policy on Reproductive Health and Population and Development stand to be either approved or dismissed.

Among the strongest voices in Congress pushing for the passage of the RH Bill are the representatives of Gabriela Women’s Party (GWP). From the beginning of the debate, the two lawmakers Luz Ilagan and Emmi De Jesus have argued that the issue goes beyond what the dominant Catholic religious sector says or the lobby for perks and pork barrel: they argue that what makes the RH bill necessary is the right of the women and all Filipinos to affordable and reliable access to health care..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://bulatlat.com/main/2012/08/04/gabriela-prepares-final-push-for-rh-bill-in-congress/

Caught lobbying Written by Tribune Editorial

Caught lobbying



Noynoy Aquino is a certified meddlesome president, interfering in affairs that are not his to interfere in, that is for certain.

Even as Noynoy always claims to respect the independence of the constitutional offices, he is always found to have interfered in their affairs, to the extent of directing them give him what he wants to have, which these constitutional officers generally give in to what he wants.

This time around, in a slip of the tongue, Noynoy admitted to lobbying the Integrated Bar of the Philippines to get the IBP to dismiss the disbarment cases against his loyal attack dog, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, which in turn would qualify her as a candidate for the top judicial post.

Of course he claimed it is his legal team that is helping De Lima in her disbarment case. But why should his legal team — and with presidential permission and order, be tasked to aid De Lima in her case pending in the IBP when she already has a slew of lawyers in her department to do that for her — at least in preparing her brief to the IBP to get her case dismissed? Or, short of that, she could easily have hired a private lawyer to help her prepare her arguments before the IBP board.... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/index.php/commentary/editorial/item/2419-caught-lobbying

UN adopts tough resolution on Syria



UN adopts tough resolution on Syria


The UN General Assembly has voted in favor of a non-binding resolution on Syria pushed by several Arab states. Before the vote, Russia announced that it would not support the resolution, calling it unbalanced.
The bill was passed with 133 votes in favor, 12 against, and 31 abstentions.

­The resolution, authored by Saudi Arabia and actively supported by Egypt and Bahrain, demands that President Bashar al-Assad transfer power to a transitional government and that the Syrian Army ceases tank and helicopter attacks against rebel forces..... MORE

SourceRT.com

URL: http://www.rt.com/news/syrian-resolution-un-assembly-711/

Ebola at large? Prisoner with suspected case escapes Ugandan hospital

Ebola at large? Prisoner with suspected case escapes Ugandan hospital


A World Health Organization official has stated that the Ebola outbreak in Uganda is now “under control.” However, a prisoner suspected of being infected with the deadly virus managed to escape from a hospital, spurring fears of further contagion.

The inmate’s test results are yet to be determined.

Should his results come back and he is positive, that causes us a lot of worry,” Dr. Jackson Amune, a commissioner at the Ugandan Ministry of Health, was quoted by CNN as saying.

The prisoner broke out on Friday night, prompting hospital officials to handcuff the four remaining prisoners to their beds. The prisoners are among the 30 people suspected of carrying Ebola at a hospital in the western town of Kagadi, the center of the outbreak.  .... MORE
SourceRT.com

URL: http://www.rt.com/news/ebola-uganda-prisoner-hospital-830/

Teachers oppose Aquino’s ban on bonuses

Teachers oppose Aquino’s ban on bonuses

“Instead of heeding the just demands of state workers for adequate remuneration and tighter price controls, Aquino targets public servants, whose basic take-home pay cannot them home.”– ACT
By INA ALLECO R. SILVERIO
Bulatlat.com

MANILA — The country’s educators led by the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) have another axe to grind against the administration of Benigno Aquino III.

Last July 20, the president signed Executive Order no. 80. It provides guidelines for a performance-based bonus. Malacañang said the performance-based bonus is an “innovative” system to reward productivity in civil service. The executive order covers national government agencies and government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs.) In the meantime, agencies with fiscal autonomy such as Congress and the judiciary are, however, “encouraged” to adopt EO no. 80.

In their declarations to the media, various Malacañang spokespersons said that EO no. 80 aims to encourage government employees to serve the public better. Aquino himself has said that there is a need to rationalize the current incentive system in government. Under the current system, bonuses are given uniformly and across-the-board to all government employees.

In justifying the order, Aquino said the performance monitoring and appraisal systems such as the Organizational Performance Indicator Framework (OPIF) and the Strategic Performance Management System (SPMS) where the performance of individuals and organizations are measured and the Results-Based Performance Monitoring System (RBPMS) should be improved upon or developed..... MORE

SourceBulatlat.com

URL: http://bulatlat.com/main/2012/08/03/teachers-oppose-aquinos-ban-on-bonuses/

‘2013 budget for electioneering, PPPs’

‘2013 budget for electioneering, PPPs’


“The budget continues to prop up defective policies imposed by foreign creditors such as privatization while allocating huge resources for CCT dole-outs to conceal the harsh social impact of such programs and automatically setting aside a significant portion for debt servicing.” – Bayan
By RONALYN V. OLEA
Bulatlat.com

MANILA – As the House of Representatives began deliberating on the proposed P2-trillion ($47.74 billion) national budget for 2013, groups expressed fear that the proposed budget will be “exploited for electioneering and will not provide free social services for the Filipino people.”

The proposed budget next year is 10.5 percent higher than this year’s P1.816 trillion ($43.35 billion).
In a statement, multisectoral group Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) said the huge absolute increases in the budget of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) and Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) of P21 billion ($501.31 million) and P26.5 billion ($632.69 million), as well as the P4.8-billion ($11.4 million) hike in the conditional cash transfer (CCT) program’s budget, “are meant to buy patronage from local politicians and voters to boost the electoral bid of Liberal Party candidates.

“If the proposed budget is empowering anyone, it would be the Liberal Party (LP) of the administration, which is seeking to clinch more local and senatorial posts in next year’s midterm polls,” Bayan said.

Bayan noted that this could be the motivation behind the rush by the LP-led appropriations committee at the House of Representatives and the Senate to finish the whole budget approval process by December.

Despite the anomalies in the CCT program of the Aquino administration, the budget for CCT or the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) will be increased by 12.4 percent from this year’s P39.4 billion ($942.58 million). The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) hopes to target 3.8 million households for next year.

In a report, the Commission on Audit (CoA) cited several anomalies in the 4Ps, including double entries of beneficiaries and unliquidated P6.6 billion ($157.89 million) fund transfers.

Moreover, the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) also feared that that the P1-billion ($23.92 million) quick response allocation in the proposed budget for the Department of Agriculture (DAR) could be “used as a seed fund for the election of Aquino’s allies.”.... MORE

SourceBulatlat.com

URL: http://bulatlat.com/main/2012/08/02/%e2%80%982013-budget-for-electioneering-ppps%e2%80%99/

SC flip-flops anew on 2 Congress JBC vote

SC flip-flops anew on 2 Congress JBC vote


HIGH COURT CAVES IN TO PALACE PRESSURE
Daily Tribune image

Under the acting Carpio Supreme Court, flip-flopping rulings now appear to be the norm, as the SC yesterday backtracked on its earlier decision reducing the participation of a representative of Congress in the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) to one instead of two members of Congress belonging to the House of Representatives and the Senate.

The latest ruling by the SC displayed once again its vulnerability to pressure and subservience to Malacañang and Congress as it once again caved in to Palace and congressional pressure while ruling that the administration.s congressional allies may sit in the JBC, despite an earlier decision from the high bench that lawmakers are entitled to only a lone seat in the collegial body.

In a three-page resolution, the Court also suspended the effect of the second paragraph of the dispositive portion of the July 17, 2012 decision which reads: This disposition is immediately executory.

Just last month the high court recalled an injunction order it had issued the previous day which temporarily stopped the government from implementing a fixed salary scheme for bus conductors and drivers in Metro Manila..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/index.php/headlines/item/2440-sc-flip-flops-anew-on-2-congress-jbc-vote

Unclos experts say China’s sea claims hold no water Written by Mario J. Mallari Saturday, 04 August 2012 00:00

Unclos experts say China’s sea claims hold no water


Two international experts said yesterday that China’s extensive nine-dash line claim on virtually the entire West Philippine Sea — which Beijing anchors on history — lacked merit under modern international laws.

But rival claimants like the Philippines may find it tough to bring the long-hanging territorial disputes to international arbitration because of the usually long time it takes to resolve such rifts and the need for China’s approval before any case could be considered for arbitration, the experts said.

With the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) unable to effectively help bring about a resolution because of its policy of deciding by consensus — which empowers just one of its 10 member-countries to block any proposed solution — the best option for now may be for bilateral or multilateral negotiations or shelving the conflicts to allow joint development of contested areas, the experts explained..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/index.php/headlines/item/2439-unclos-experts-say-china%E2%80%99s-sea-claims-hold-no-water

Cocopea backs move to outlaw hazing Written by Gerry Baldo Saturday, 04 August 2012 00:00

Cocopea backs move to outlaw hazing


The move to outlaw hazing and other forms of fraternity initiation rites has gained the support of the country’s largest organizations of private universities and colleges, including Catholic-run schools, Rep. Bernadette Herrera-Dy of Bagong Henerasyon party-list said recently.

Herrera-Dy, who filed House Bill 6084, said the Coordinating Council for Private Educational Associations (Cocopea) are now in the forefront of other school organizations in supporting HB 6084 which also imposes life prison terms on fraternity men found to have been involved in rituals that may result in the death of aspiring or current members.

HB 6084 will amend Republic Act 8049, otherwise known as “An Act Regulating Hazing and other Forms of Initiation Rites in Fraternities, Sororities, and other Organizations and Providing Penalties Therefor.”
Herrera-Dy, vice chairman of the House committee on the welfare of children, said stringent laws were needed to stop fraternity hazing.  She filed the bill a few days after media reported the death of San Beda law student Marvin Reglos last February.

Last July 30, law student Marc Andrei Marcos, also of San Beda, was reportedly died of injuries suffered from blows during hazing..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/index.php/nation/item/2432-cocopea-backs-move-to-outlaw-hazing

Tobacco farmers get nothing in 2013 agri budget

Tobacco farmers get nothing in 2013 agri budget


Tobacco farmers from 10 provinces whose economies largely depend on tobacco production have every reason to be worried over the sin tax reform measure pending at the Senate, as next year’s P73.6-billion agriculture budget allocates nothing for them amid an imminent displacement seen over the passage of the bill warranting a 708-percent increase in the tobacco excise tax.

In a news feed emailed to Palace reporters, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) said the administration was bent on ensuring sustainability and security of food supplies across the country but no mention was made of helping the tobacco planters, whom the government claimed would not be affected with the passage of the sin tax reform bill.

Thousands of farmers from the tobacco growing provinces of Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, Pangasinan, La Union, Cagayan, Isabela, Occidental Mindoro, Misamis Oriental, Tarlac and Nueva Vizcaya are expected to be the first casualty of the Palace-backed sin tax reform measure amid the imminent closure of the Associated Anglo-American Tobacco Corp. (AAATC), which buys significant locally grown tobacco yields in the manufacture and sale of low-priced cigarette brands..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/index.php/nation/item/2433-tobacco-farmers-get-nothing-in-2013-agri-budget

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