Mikey House seat challenged in SC; Reyes allowed to sit as party-list rep 07/23/2010

Mikey House seat challenged in SC; Reyes allowed to sit as party-list rep

07/23/2010 Party-list group Akbayan yesterday asked the Supreme Court (SC) to stop former Pampanga Rep. Juan Miguel “Mikey” Arroyo from sitting as a member of the House of Representatives for the party-list group Ang Galing Pinoy (AGP) which claims to represent security guards. Akbayan Rep. Walden Belo and former Akbayan Rep. Loretta Ann Rosales, in a motion, said the son of former President Gloria Arroyo should be declared ineligible to become a member of the House due to his blatant failure to comply with the Commision on Elections (Comelec) requirements for party-list groups. Mikey served two terms as Pampanga’s second district representative before giving way to his mother, who ran and won for the same congressional post. Akbayan stressed that Mikey failed to comply with Section 6 of Comelec Resolution 8807 requiring party-list groups to submit documentary evidence proving that their nominees “truly belong to the marginalized and underrepresented sectors.” “Petitioners respectfully submit that if this Honorable Court fails to act with dispatch in the case at bar, it will result in the unfortunate situation wherein an individual becomes a member of the House of Representatives, despite not having complied with the Rules of Procedure of the Commission on Elections,” the petitioners said.... MORE Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20100723hed6.html

HEADLINES Pangilinan’s LP bloc cracks, goes for JPE Pro-import DTI chief riles local traders Palace softens stance on GMA ‘deals’ in Noy Sona Comelec officials, Smartmatic face graft charges Mikey House seat challenged in SC; Reyes allowed to sit as party-list rep Villar’s C-5 ethics case goes to archives — JPE

Villar’s C-5 ethics case goes to archives — JPE By Angie Rosales 07/23/2010

Villar’s C-5 ethics case goes to archives — JPE

By Angie Rosales 07/23/2010 The Senate’s probe into the charges of unethical conduct allegedly committed by Sen. Manuel Villar Jr. in connection with alleged improper gains he made from transactions involving the construction of the C-5 road extension project will be consigned to the upper chamber’s archives like many other unresolved cases handled by the chamber. Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile, who led the Senate committee of the whole (Scow) in investigating the C-5 scandal, yesterday said the case will end up in the Senate’s records as the 14th Congress failed to act on it. He, however, said that reviving the case is still feasible even if the “complainant,” former Sen. Jamby Madrigal, is no longer a member of the Senate. “There’s nothing that will prevent anybody from reviving it because Villar is still a member of the Senate,” he told reporters at the Kapihan sa Senado news forum. The Senate spent tedious and bitter floor debates when the matter was first brought up in the plenary before it was relegated to the ethics and privileges committee and later elevated to the chamber investigating as one body..... MORE Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20100723hed7.html

HEADLINES Pangilinan’s LP bloc cracks, goes for JPE Pro-import DTI chief riles local traders Palace softens stance on GMA ‘deals’ in Noy Sona Comelec officials, Smartmatic face graft charges Mikey House seat challenged in SC; Reyes allowed to sit as party-list rep Villar’s C-5 ethics case goes to archives — JPE

Sonas: A forum for applause EDITORIAL 07/22/2010

Sonas: A forum for applause

EDITORIAL

Click to enlarge

07/22/2010
State of the Nation Addresses (Sonas), to Filipinos, hardly mean anything, whether such were delivered by Ferdinand Marcos, Corazon Aquino, Fidel Ramos, Joseph Estrada, Gloria Arroyo, or the new President, Noynoy Aquino.

It is only Malacañang and its supporters that think a Sona is an important speech, as it is supposed to state where the country and the nation are at and where the new president will lead them in the next six years, which is why it is the Palace that turns these Sonas into a big deal.

Sonas, delivered before the Congress, also serve as a forum for a president to be applauded by members of Congress for his speech, although this applause, even when counted how many times they come by the media, is also meaningless, considering the fact that Congress is jampacked with the president’s new allies who form the majority, along with a Yellow gallery.

A newly-minted president in his first Sona, however, always has the edge, especially in the case of Aquino, who will no doubt focus his speech on the many irregularities committed under his predecessor’s government and the many problems being inherited by his administration, on account of the mismanagement of the Arroyo government, as he is likely to blame the current state of the nation on the Arroyo government.... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100722com1.html

Party-list system: A failure FRONTLINE Ninez Cacho-Olivares 07/22/2010

Party-list system: A failure

FRONTLINE

Ninez Cacho-Olivares

07/22/2010
That silly party-list system will have to go, sometime in the near future, because clearly, it has been abused through the years, and will continue to be abused — even by the so-called “cause-oriented groups.”

What this system has become is for many party-listers to enter Congress through the backdoor and end up having the congressional perks and more importantly for them, raking in millions — in pork barrel funds, which do not necessarily go to those constituents they claim to represent.

The truth is, even those party-listers who claim to represent the poor and the marginalized, as well as the leftists who do not seem to want anyone else other than their groups and those ideologically attuned to them, to become members of Congress, never once bared just where their pork barrel funds go, because for all the years that they have been serving as congressmen and getting all that pork, the same claimed marginalized groups they say they represent are still living under the same poverty-ridden conditions. Besides which, when they are aligned with the elite majority, their voices are voluntarily muted as they are in support of the administration — until they cut off and join the opposition forces.

Truth is, some of these party-listers have made oodles of money, enough for them to seek a higher seat and spend millions for their campaign..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100722com2.html

Hong Kong prepares for life after the tycoons FEATURE 07/22/2010

Hong Kong prepares for life after the tycoons

FEATURE 07/22/2010 HONG KONG — Hong Kong’s billionaire tycoons enjoy a status close to royalty in Asia’s wealth-obsessed financial hub. The city’s richest man Li Ka-shing has the fame of a movie star, while the court case involving the will of eccentric pig-tailed billionaire Nina Wang last year enthralled Hong Kong with its brew of sex, money and power. But Wang’s death in 2007 and the hospitalization last year of casino tycoon Stanley Ho were a stark reminder that some of Hong Kong’s 40 richest tycoons — synonymous with its post-war economic success — are in their twilight years. They will leave behind eye-popping fortunes worth more than US$130 billion and vast business empires that control everything from supermarkets and property development to ports and telecoms. “Hong Kong in this respect is very special,” said Henry Hirzel, managing director of wealth management for Asia-Pacific at Swiss bank UBS. “The question is can this mega-wealth be kept together?” That will depend on whether Hong Kong’s super-rich families descend into squabbles and bitter lawsuits once their entrepreneurial patriarchs die, analysts said. To avoid huge fights over their fortunes, many aging tycoons create trusts leaving properties and other assets to specific family members..... MORE Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100722com3.html

COMMENTARY EDITORIAL Sonas: A forum for applause FRONTLINE Party-list system: A failure FEATURE Hong Kong prepares for life after the tycoons BLURBAL THRUSTS National greed COMMENT Dear Mr. President focus Asia security forum to boost regional disaster relief VIEWPOINTS Priority, priority, priority

National greed BLURBAL THRUSTS Louie Logarta 07/22/2010

National greed

BLURBAL THRUSTS Louie Logarta 07/22/2010 Joel Villanueva of the Citizens’ Battle Against Corruption (Cibac) party-list group, it turns out, is one big fake. Don’t look at me, but this is according to the Supreme Court. According Associate Justice Conchita Carpio-Morales, during the 14th Congress, from 2007-2010, Villanueva had been functioning as an honorable member of the House of Representatives — filing proposed bills, co-authoring legislation, attending caucuses of the opposition to which he belongs, making privilege speeches and collecting salaries and pork barrel allocations paid for by the Filipino people — when he actually shouldn’t have. There is an unflattering word for this in street lingo: Hao shao. In a recent decision which was made available to the media last week, Justice Morales declared Villanueva — son of the twice-defeated presidential candidate Bro. Eddie Villanueva of the Jesus Is Lord (JIL) religious community — to be “ineligible” to sit as congressman as of May 2007 representing either Cibac’s youth or its OFW sector. For starters, Morales found in favor of petitioner Milagros Amores that the “honorable” congressman was already over the maximum age specified in Republic Act 7941 or the Partylist System Act. This disqualified him as the first nominee of the Cibac youth sector since he was already 31 years old or beyond the age limit of 30 years pursuant to Section 9 of said law at the time of the filing of his certificates of nomination and acceptance..... MORE Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100722com4.html

COMMENTARY EDITORIAL Sonas: A forum for applause FRONTLINE Party-list system: A failure FEATURE Hong Kong prepares for life after the tycoons BLURBAL THRUSTS National greed COMMENT Dear Mr. President focus Asia security forum to boost regional disaster relief VIEWPOINTS Priority, priority, priority

Dear Mr. President COMMENT 07/22/2010

Dear Mr. President

COMMENT

07/22/2010
Dear Mr. President, it is by what we divine to be the grace of providence that you have been sent to succeed where all your post-war predecessors have failed. Pending over the past decades are claims for damages suffered by Filipino comfort women at the hands of the Japanese Imperial Forces who had come to our islands in the early forties to wage a war that was not even ours.

Now late in their years the petitioners in G.R. No 162230 still hope — albeit in deeper despair — that justice will soon shine upon them despite the fact that the Supreme Court has already dismissed their petition.

Soon, Mr. President — because at no other time has it become transcendentally urgent for you to use your Excellency’s persuasive powers to personally negotiate with Japan’s Prime Minister the petitioners’ just claims before they leave their twilight years. Parenthetically, we believe that although further ventilation on the level of agencies and alter egos would be futile, you may nonetheless take a summit initiative for the dispute’s satisfactory settlement.

Soon, Mr. President — because we trust your sense of fairness will not allow the technical rigors of the RP-Japan Peace Treaty to frustrate the petitioners’ quest for justice.... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100722com5.html

Asia security forum to boost regional disaster relief focus 07/22/2010

Asia security forum to boost regional disaster relief

focus

07/22/2010
HANOI — Asia’s largest security forum is expected this week to adopt a plan boosting civil and military co-ordination in response to natural disasters — a rising threat across the region.

The 27-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Regional Forum meets in Hanoi on Friday, where a priority is improved cooperation in disaster relief by 2020, according to a draft action plan seen by AFP.

The forum gathers major powers including China and the United States but is driven by the 10-member Asean bloc, which has been criticised in the past for a lacklustre response to Southeast Asian natural disasters.

An initiative to improve relief was welcomed by the Asia-Pacific disaster chief of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), Michael Annear.

But “these agreements need to then be taken to the country level and incorporated into national processes” to be effective, he added.

The forum’s statement aimed to “harmonize regional cooperation” over relief and strengthen civil-military coordination — for example by holding regular exercises — to enhance disaster responses over the next decade.

It also sets out plans to develop tools such as a “model legal arrangement for foreign military assistance.”....MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100722com6.html

Priority, priority, priority VIEWPOINTS Archbishop Oscar V. Cruz 07/22/2010

Priority, priority, priority

VIEWPOINTS

Archbishop Oscar V. Cruz

07/22/2010
The matter of “priority” has been and still is repeatedly invoked by the present administration. And rightly so — considering the big socio-economic debacle, not to mention the ethico-political mess merrily left behind by the previous supposedly glorious administration.

In short and plain language, priority is the principle of “first things first.” It will be good to note well that such a prime norm of right reason and sound logic, only works when neither personal considerations or private concerns are allowed to meddle therein. Otherwise, it could be anything but “You are my boss.”

There must more than a hundred and one errant public structures plus more than a thousand and one erratic public officials all left behind by a thus most distrusted and least appreciated government. It is wherefore left to the new national leadership — with his chosen advisers and close collaborations precisely — to determine the priority of his supposedly plain, simple and straightforward administration qualified by the battle cry integrity and honesty in governance. Question: Taking into consideration the obtaining over-all pitiful situation of the Philippines, what would be the key priority agenda of the P-Noy government. Could they be the following?

First Priority: Establish a functional justice system.... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100722com7.html

LP, NP in stalemate; JPE likely compromise bet By Angie M. Rosales 07/22/2010

Pangilinan, Villar still short of required number LP, NP in stalemate; JPE likely compromise bet By Angie M. Rosales 07/22/2010 Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile will still be the Senate president when the 15th Congress opens on Monday, July 26. Sources yesterday disclosed the information that Enrile has been finally convinced to continue leading the Senate as reportedly, a consensus was formed from among his colleagues, the result of which was that Enrile being the likely “compromise leader.” Speculations are rife that the Senate is heading toward a stalemate on the issue of the Senate presidency as the two contenders for the top post, Senators Francis Pangilinan and Manuel Villar Jr. do not have the numbers to get themselves elected, nor have either been able to attract more to their camp. Enrile already announced that he will not invoke Rule 10 of the Senate rules where he can continue discharging the duties of upper chamber leader in a hold-over capacity, standing firm on his belief that his term for the position ended when the 14th Congress adjourned last month. Enrile, sources said, was present when some senators held a meeting Tuesday night in an undisclosed venue where he was shown overwhelming support to the idea of a “compromise leader,” with “more than” the numbers required to elect a Senate president. It was not immediately known what Enrile’s reaction was, when told of the decision of his colleagues. Enrile made a statement Friday, during his thanksgiving party, that he will only accept the position if he is elected by 13 of his peers.... MORE Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20100722hed1.html

HEADLINES LP, NP in stalemate; JPE likely compromise bet Poll chiefs still in denial, to let go of BAC members GMA to evade media in House No Peping-Corona meet over HLI case, claims SC Word war between Mikey A, militant solons rages Filipina maid inherits $4M from employer

Poll chiefs still in denial, to let go of BAC members By Marie A. Surbano 07/22/2010

Poll chiefs still in denial, to let go of BAC members

By Marie A. Surbano 07/22/2010 Poll officials are still in a state of denial, despite the publication of the findings of the probe on the excessively overpriced folders done by Commission on Elections (Comelec) legal director, which findings reportedly indicted not just the poll body’s executive director and the Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) but also all the commissioners, although it was also clear in the published report by a newspaper the other day that even as he indicted the poll commissioners, including the chairman, Jose Melo, the legal officer also provided “mitigating circumstances” that may absolve them. An official of the Comelec yesterday confirmed that they will appoint the new members of its BAC next week following the controversial P700-million ballot secrecy folder. According to Comelec Commissioner Rene Sarmiento, the members of BAC headed by its chairman Leah Alarkon would have to be replaced soon since their terms have already expired. He did not say that this is linked to the report that was submitted to the Ombudsman for action. “I think Alarkon and company have submitted their notice of resignation submitted their notice of resignation because their terms have expired for one year so they sent their notice to the en banc that they should be relieved and a new BAC be appointed by the commission,” Sarmiento told reporters..... MORE Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20100722hed2.html

HEADLINES LP, NP in stalemate; JPE likely compromise bet Poll chiefs still in denial, to let go of BAC members GMA to evade media in House No Peping-Corona meet over HLI case, claims SC Word war between Mikey A, militant solons rages Filipina maid inherits $4M from employer

GMA to evade media in House By Gerry Baldo 07/22/2010

GMA to evade media in House

By Gerry Baldo 07/22/2010 Pampanga Representative and former President Gloria Arroyo again is not in the mood to entertain media questions, telling reporters covering the lower chamber to spare her from any media coverage during the first two to three months of her being a congresswoman. According to her, she would like to concentrate on her duties and responsibilities as the repre-sentative of the second district of Pampanga. Arroyo, who was at the Batasan Complex to take over the room of former Speaker Jose de Venecia, did not give the reason she would shun any media coverage. “Don’t interview me,” she told reporters. “Interview me two or three months from now. I’m keeping a low profile,” Arroyo, who was the most powerful individual in the country for the past nine years, stressed. Even during her time in Malacañang, Arroyo was already considered “media-shy.”.... MORE Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20100722hed3.html

HEADLINES LP, NP in stalemate; JPE likely compromise bet Poll chiefs still in denial, to let go of BAC members GMA to evade media in House No Peping-Corona meet over HLI case, claims SC Word war between Mikey A, militant solons rages Filipina maid inherits $4M from employer

No Peping-Corona meet over HLI case, claims SC By Benjamin B. Pulta 07/22/2010

No Peping-Corona meet over HLI case, claims SC

By Benjamin B. Pulta 07/22/2010 Amid reports that a high profile one-on-one meeting between Chief Justice Renato Corona and Jose “Peping” Cojuangco Jr., who is a member of President Aquino’s clan, took place, a Supreme Court (SC) official, nevertheless, said there is no basis for Corona to inhibit himself from taking part in the deliberation on the pending SC case involving the sprawling Aquino-Cojuangco estate Hacienda Luisita as Court Administrator Midas Marquez asserted that the supposed meeting never took place. “It is not true at all and no such meeting took place, Chief Justice Corona does not know Mr. Cojuangco personally and it is unfortunate that something is being invented,” Marquez told reporters. A report by the newsmagazine Newsbreak related that Corona and Cojuangco met at a house in Dasmariñas Village, Makati City. Cojuangco is the uncle of the President and an officer of Tarlac Development Corp. (Tadeco) which owns 60 percent of Hacienda Luisita. “This will have to stop. I don’t see this as basis for the chief justice to inhibit himself from the (Luisita) case.” Marquez said, adding that the report “erodes confidence in our courts.” However while Marquez denied that the Dasmariñas house meeting took place, the court spokesman conceded that Corona had met Cojuangco in public functions where they were both invited as guests. As this developed Marquez said the SC division handling the Luisita case has decided to defer the oral arguments on the controversy and has required the Hacienda Luisita Inc. (HLI) to submit a list of its shareholders..... MORE Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20100722hed4.html

HEADLINES LP, NP in stalemate; JPE likely compromise bet Poll chiefs still in denial, to let go of BAC members GMA to evade media in House No Peping-Corona meet over HLI case, claims SC Word war between Mikey A, militant solons rages Filipina maid inherits $4M from employer

Word war between Mikey A, militant solons rages 07/22/2010

Word war between Mikey A, militant solons rages

07/22/2010 Opposition to the ruling of the Commission on Elections (Comelec), allowing former Pampanga Rep. Juan Miguel “Mikey” Arroyo to return to Congress representing a marginalized group of tricycle drivers and security guards, continued to persist yesterday even as other party-list lawmakers said the decision was a travesty of the party-list system. “It is a travesty of the party-list system. The party-list system was set up so that those coming from the marginalized sectors can have a voice in Congress. Allowing Mikey Arroyo to sit as party-list representative sets a very dangerous precedent of using the party-list system as a way to perpetually entrench a family in power and pursue vested interests,” Gabriela party-list Rep. Luzviminda Ilagan said. Mikey is representing Ang Galing Pinoy party-list group.  Aside from Mikey, other Arroyos in the 15th Congress include former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo who took over Mikey’s seat in the 2nd district of Pampanga, Camarines Sur Rep. Diosdado “Dato” Arroyo and Negros Occidental Rep. Ignacio “Iggy” Arroyo. Malacañang, for its part, distanced itself from the Comelec’s decision with presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda expressing no comment on whether the government is inclined to support petitions that the opposing parties would file in a bid to reverse the Comelec ruling..... MORE Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20100722hed5.html

HEADLINES LP, NP in stalemate; JPE likely compromise bet Poll chiefs still in denial, to let go of BAC members GMA to evade media in House No Peping-Corona meet over HLI case, claims SC Word war between Mikey A, militant solons rages Filipina maid inherits $4M from employer

Filipina maid inherits $4M from employer 07/22/2010

Filipina maid inherits $4M from employer

07/22/2010 Singapore — A devoted Filipina maid provided a refreshing twist to the almost daily reports of abuse on an estimated 9 million Filipinos working overseas, after she inherited $6 million Singapore (more than $4 million US) from her late employer after more than 20 years of service, a newspaper report said yesterday. “I am the luckiest maid in Singapore, with or without the money,” the 47-year-old single woman — identified only by the pseudonym “Christine” — told the Straits Times in an interview. The maid refused to be named in public for fear of possible threats to her or members of her family’s life in the impoverished Philippines, where wealthy people have been kidnapped for ransom and some killed by their abductors. The windfall, including cash and a luxury apartment near the Orchard Road shopping belt, came from the estate of her employer Quek Kai Miew, a medical doctor and philanthropist who died last year at 66. The maid had also taken care of the doctor’s late mother, and was told that she would be a beneficiary of her employer’s will when it was drawn up in 2008. “There were no secrets between us. I was not surprised at all when she told me how much I was going to get,” the maid recalled..... MORE Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20100722hed6.html

HEADLINES LP, NP in stalemate; JPE likely compromise bet Poll chiefs still in denial, to let go of BAC members GMA to evade media in House No Peping-Corona meet over HLI case, claims SC Word war between Mikey A, militant solons rages Filipina maid inherits $4M from employer

All in the family EDITORIAL 07/21/2010

All in the family

EDITORIAL Click to enlarge 07/21/2010 It’s all in the Abad family, and President Aquino staunchly defends his pick of the Abad family members stationed within his administration. As for Budget Secretary Butch Abad’s spouse, Rep. Henedina Abad, who is slated to head the House of Representatives’ appropriations committee — and will likely get this House post since it has already been bared by the incoming Speaker, Sonny Belmonte, that major House committee chairmanships would be Aquino’s decision — she says candidly that there is no such thing as delicadeza, claiming that her daughter and son, Julia, who is Presidential Management Staff (PMS) head, with Cabinet status who will be handling Aquino’s huge pork barrel; and Luis Abad, who is chief of staff of Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima, as well as her husband, the Budget secretary, are all qualified to take their positions in the Aquino administration. “What is delicadeza?” Henedina Abad asked House reporters doing the story on the presence of too many Abads in the Aquino government, adding that there is no such thing as delicadeza.... MORE Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100721com1.html

COMMENTARY EDITORIAL All in the family FRONTLINE Trapos all FEATURE Glimmer of hope in China’s ‘brain drain’ battle C.R.O.S.S.R.O.A.D.S Bob Sobrepeña’s ‘luck’ HE SAYS ‘Good people’ SHE SAYS Bad vibes?

Trapos all FRONTLINE Ninez Cacho-Olivares 07/21/2010 President Aquin

Trapos all

FRONTLINE Ninez Cacho-Olivares 07/21/2010 President Aquino and his aides either don’t get it, or they refuse to get it, mostly to cover up Aquino’s embarrassing blooper that moreover showed him up as an out and out trapo. The issue is not whether Aquino gave a personal opinion on the coup d’etat charges against detained Sen. Antonio “Sonny” Trillanes as being “unjust” or that the review of the case he has directed his Department of Justice to do is an “internal matter.” The issue is that with his public pronouncement of there having been no coup d’etat crime committed owing to this rebel soldiers’ mutiny having been mounted in a hotel, which is not one of the sites enumerated in the revised penal code, carries with it the weight of the presidential influence and can be taken as policy, a pronouncement which then could be translated by the courts, that moreover have been known to toe the Malacañang line, which is now Aquino’s line. That definitely goes by the name of judicial interference. The fact is, after Noynoy came up with that claim of Trillanes being a victim of injustice, his appointed Armed Forces of the Philippines chief of staff, quickly talked about the early release of Trillanes, who is detained under the AFP custody..... MORE Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100721com2.html

COMMENTARY EDITORIAL All in the family FRONTLINE Trapos all FEATURE Glimmer of hope in China’s ‘brain drain’ battle C.R.O.S.S.R.O.A.D.S Bob Sobrepeña’s ‘luck’ HE SAYS ‘Good people’ SHE SAYS Bad vibes?

Glimmer of hope in China’s ‘brain drain’ battle FEATURE 07/21/2010

Glimmer of hope in China’s ‘brain drain’ battle

FEATURE 07/21/2010 BEIJING — Two years ago, molecular biologist Shi Yigong was a prize-winning Princeton University professor with annual research funding of more than $2 million and a seemingly limitless US academic career. But Shi did exactly what China’s leadership hopes to see more of — he turned his back on all that to return to his homeland after two decades abroad. The recent return of people like Shi, who now heads the life sciences department at Tsinghua University in Beijing, has provided a ray of hope for China in its uphill battle to reverse a long-term “brain drain” of top experts. “China has contributed disproportionately to the advancement of science and technology in the United States, for example,” Shi said of the steady stream of China’s best and brightest who left for greener pastures in decades past. “Behind China’s shiny glass skyscrapers, it has an extreme shortage of top talents and that is really regrettable.” With aspirations of becoming a science and technology power, China has tried for years to halt an exodus of top minds, a lingering legacy of the 1966-76 Cultural Revolution when campus upheavals closed universities for years. The chaos severely set back Chinese science and academia. Afterwards, many of China’s best and brightest — with official encouragement — opted for study abroad, where most have stayed. Many took foreign citizenship.... MORE Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100721com3.html

COMMENTARY EDITORIAL All in the family FRONTLINE Trapos all FEATURE Glimmer of hope in China’s ‘brain drain’ battle C.R.O.S.S.R.O.A.D.S Bob Sobrepeña’s ‘luck’ HE SAYS ‘Good people’ SHE SAYS Bad vibes?

Bob Sobrepeña’s ‘luck’ C.R.O.S.S.R.O.A.D.S Jonathan De la Cruz 07/21/2010

Bob Sobrepeña’s ‘luck’

C.R.O.S.S.R.O.A.D.S Jonathan De la Cruz 07/21/2010 Robert John “Bob” Sobrepeña, ertswhile wonder boy of business during the Ramos years, must really be a very lucky guy. Back then, with a little help from his friends within the Ramos circle, he managed to snap such highly profitable businesses as the SouthWoods and Camp John Hay Development Projects and, of course, the highly coveted Edsa MRT3 Project, among others. All three were allegedly worked out under highly questionable terms and conditions using every bit of influence (to include concessional loans and sovereign guarantees) which Sobrepena and his associates were said to have managed to wangle from FVR all the way to GMA. Of course, all the original workouts were consummated under the watchful eyes of the Ramos people. In the case of SouthWoods, for example, Sobrepeña and company were given hundreds of hectares of lands (mostly sequestered properties) to develop at giveaway terms, using trust funds from the then number one pre-need company in town, College Assurance Plan (CAP), matched a number of times over by concessional loans from government banks. That was a deadly, by any business model, combination of money and influence, courtesy of a sitting administration which translated into one of the fastest growing conglomerates in town. The same formula was used to acquire and hold on to the Camp John Hay complex. To this day, despite repeated demands for payment of long overdue accounts to government in the billions of pesos (P3 billion and counting by the latest reckoning) the Sobrepeña led group has managed to escape largely unscathed. But the biggest enchilada of all is the Edsa MRT3 Project which to this day remains essentially under Sobrepeña’s control. Imagine, after government decided to “buy out” the highly onerous contract just over a year ago to avoid subsidizing Sobrepeña’s folly he is said to continue holding sway in the operating company, MRT DevCo, leveraging his remaining 20 percent or so holdings to the hilt. .... MORE Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100721com4.html

COMMENTARY EDITORIAL All in the family FRONTLINE Trapos all FEATURE Glimmer of hope in China’s ‘brain drain’ battle C.R.O.S.S.R.O.A.D.S Bob Sobrepeña’s ‘luck’ HE SAYS ‘Good people’ SHE SAYS Bad vibes?

‘Good people’ HE SAYS Aldrin Cardon 07/21/2010

‘Good people’

HE SAYS Aldrin Cardon 07/21/2010 It would have been an unnoticeable television crawler had it not been news from the Palace. The crawler, or those words that crawl below your TV screens which are similar to newspaper headlines, claimed President Noynoy is finding it hard to scout good people to fill the many appointive positions still vacant in government. I guess the emphasis of that news was on the “good people” whom Noynoy, or his so-called search committee, has to find if he is intent on fulfilling his campaign promise to lead us all toward his “matuwid na landas,” or the righteous path. It also put Noynoy in contrast with the past administration whose much-maligned leader, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, whose propensity to appoint her and husband’s cronies was beyond question. But just how big was the difference between them was put under the spotlight at almost the same time when the Palace spun that angle about finding “good people” to be named in Noynoy’s government. Juana Change, the sosyalerang overweight character of Mae Paner who was a hit in so many anti-Gloria rallies then, and later a big attraction in Noynoy’s campaign sorties, was first to expose the new Kamag-anak Inc. that has taken over government very soon after the exit of the Arroyos. The Cojuangcos and the Aquinos, however, have to give way to the Abads, this time. And Mae (or Juana), just could not accept that government positions, very important and powerful ones at that, seemed to have been reserved for members of just one family.... MORE Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100721com5.html

COMMENTARY EDITORIAL All in the family FRONTLINE Trapos all FEATURE Glimmer of hope in China’s ‘brain drain’ battle C.R.O.S.S.R.O.A.D.S Bob Sobrepeña’s ‘luck’ HE SAYS ‘Good people’ SHE SAYS Bad vibes?

Bad vibes? SHE SAYS Dinah S. Ventura 07/21/2010

Bad vibes? SHE SAYS Dinah S. Ventura 07/21/2010 Less than a month after his inauguration, President Noynoy Aquino, whose platform stood for upright leadership, remains hard put to fill positions in government with people who are not only qualified, but are also credible and trustworthy. These are the unspoken qualifications Filipinos are looking for in these appointed officials. The search, however, is not that easy. Perhaps President Aquino’s search committee imagines itself looking for that needle in a haystack — or just a handful out of 90 million people. A president would look, naturally, toward individuals whom he knows or knows about for important responsibilities. But now that people are wary about kamag-anaks (relatives) in power (and perhaps kapamilyas, kapusos and kapatids, too!), the search is made doubly difficult. And, of course, there is that call for transparency in government that the Aquino administration promised to heed. Just look at how much reaction the Abads in government are getting. With Butch Abad (Aquino’s campaign manager) now the Budget secretary, his wife the vice chairman of the House Appropriations Committee (which scrutinizes the budget), their daughter Julia the head of the president’s management staff (which handles the spending of the President’s Social Fund, otherwise known as the president’s pork barrel), and their son Luis the chief of staff to the Finance Secretary, critics are in a bit of an uproar over what some deem as a question of delicadeza..... MORE Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100721com6.html

COMMENTARY EDITORIAL All in the family FRONTLINE Trapos all FEATURE Glimmer of hope in China’s ‘brain drain’ battle C.R.O.S.S.R.O.A.D.S Bob Sobrepeña’s ‘luck’ HE SAYS ‘Good people’ SHE SAYS Bad vibes?