Palace junks jueteng flourishing under Noy 09/29/2010 By Angie Rosales

Palace junks jueteng flourishing under Noy 09/29/2010
By Angie Rosales

Malacañang branded yesterday as unfair an assessment given at a House hearing the other day that the illegal numbers racket “jueteng” was poised for a renaissance under the Aquino administration based on reports from the ground.

Anti-jueteng crusader former Archbishop Oscar Cruz told the House games and amusements committee hearing the other day that jueteng has spread under the current administration.

Appearing before the House committee hearing, Cruz was asked by San Juan Rep. Joseph Victor Ejercito how he would size up the prevalence of jueteng from the period under former President Arroyo.
“I’m sorry to say, but jueteng flourished under the present administration,” was Cruz’s answer.... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20100929hed2.html

Delays in Noy’s actions on botched sanctions seen 09/29/2010

Delays in Noy’s actions on botched sanctions seen 09/29/2010
President Aquino’s claim prior to his trip to the United States that he will be acting immediately on the Incident Investigation Review Committee that has been reviewed by his legal team will likely face more delays, as the legal team yesterday told reporters that even as it has already made its evaluation of the report, Aquino may not have the time to pore over it as he would be suffering from jet-lag.

Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa, in an interview, declined to discuss the content of the review, particularly on the administrative and criminal charges to be filed against 10 personalities and three media networks.
“Let’s not discuss it yet because we might preempt the President,” Ochoa said, adding that the Palace report includes the “factual scenario” of the incident.

“We’re prepared for whatever questions we anticipate the President might be asking about the report,” Ochoa said..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20100929hed3.html

AFP grumbling still on over promotions By Mario J. Mallari 09/29/2010

AFP grumbling still on over promotions
 
By Mario J. Mallari
09/29/2010

The grumblings over the military promotions system being practiced under the Aquino administration are hardly over.

Another senior officer of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) has expressed disappointment over the military promotions system as he decried his successive by-passing by officers junior than him during the previous rounds of designations in the 120,000-strong organization.

In an open letter, Col. Jesus Lomeda Jr., a member of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) Class of 1980 and assigned to the AFP’s Signal Corps, said that unlike other “disgruntled” officers of the AFP who hide in anonymity when presenting their case, he will not do the same.

“I will not hide in anonymity. I am writing this for the good of the AFP with an intention to be settled among our leaders. I know I will surely be “endorsed” and be reporting to SND (Secretary of National Defense) and upperclassmen when this circulates,” Lomeda wrote in an undated letter entitled “False Hope.”.... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20100929hed4.html

Mutiny charges vs 7 dismissed; Lim, et al. court martial stays By Mario J. Mallari 09/29/2010

Mutiny charges vs 7 dismissed; Lim, et al. court martial stays  

By Mario J. Mallari
09/29/2010

Seven military officers accused by a military court of having engaged in mutiny were ordered freed by a court martial after it dismissed charges against them yesterday.

The seven — Col. Orlando de Leon, Lt. Col. Custodio Parcon, Lt. Col. Achilles Segumalian, Maj. Jose Doctolero, Capt. William Upano, Lt. Homer Estolas and Lt. Belinda Ferrer — were acquitted after the military court ruled there was no sufficient evidence against them.

Except for Doctolero, Upano and Estola who are members of the Army’s First Scout Ranger Regiment, the rest are with the Marines.

With the decision, the officers, except for Segumalian, who reached the mandatory retirement age of 56 while in custody, would be reinstated to the service.

But the Armed Forces general court martial did not do the same for the others, as it rejected the dismissal of the charges against nine other officials jailed for their “attempt to create a mutiny” in February 2006..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20100929hed5.html

Neri to testify against Abalos on NBN deal 09/29/2010

Neri to testify against Abalos on NBN deal 09/29/2010
Former Social Security System (SSS) chief Romulo Neri is set to testify against former Commission on Elections (Comelec) chairman Benjamin Abalos in connection with the botched National Broadband Network (NBN) case being heard by the Sandiganbayan

This after government lawyers yesterday sought issuance of subpoenas for Neri, newspaperman Jarius Bondoc and three other potential witnesses to compel their attendance at the start of the graft trial for alleged unlawful intervention in the $329-million NBN project.

Along with Neri and Bondoc, also requested to be summoned by assistant special prosecutor Jacinto de la Cruz were Comelec records officer Charina Co, lawyer Oliver Lozano and the chief of the Comelec’s personnel section.

Abalos’ trial is set on Oct. 11 to 12 at 8 a.m..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/nation/20100929nat4.html

Solgen: Truth body constitutional By Benjamin P. Pulta 09/29/2010

Solgen: Truth body constitutional
 
By Benjamin P. Pulta
09/29/2010

Solicitor General Jose Anselmo Cadiz claims Malacañang’s Truth Commission does not violate the Constitution and only seeks to address graft and corruption.

Arguing before the Supreme Court (SC) during yesterday’s oral arguments, Cadiz insisted the creation of the body was a “a result of the clamor of our people for closure to massive graft and corruption allegations against the previous administration.”

Answering the petition filed by allies of former President Arroyo, Cadiz argued that Executive Order 1 does not violate the separation of powers of the executive and legislative branches as provided by Article VI, Section 1 and Article VII, Sections 1 and 17 of the Constitution because the truth body has quasi-judicial powers, which requires a law and could not be given by mere executive order.

“The reports of the truth commission are only recommendatory. It has no quasi-judicial powers,” Cadiz told the high court..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20100929hed6.html

Only when forced EDITORIAL 09/28/2010

Only when forced

EDITORIAL

Click to enlarge

09/28/2010
Obviously, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) commissioners never had any intention to provide independent groups and organizations with the source code for their independent review, as stated in the election law.

A few days before the national polls, when suddenly, Comelec and its partner, Smartmatic, came up with the claim that the compact flash cards earlier programmed had to be changed with new CF cards programming, which eventually paved the way for widescale automated electoral fraud, the Supreme Court (SC) ordered Comelec to disclose the source code and other related automated election system (AES) documents to independent groups.

This SC ruling was ignored by the Comelec. Going for the poll body then was that the polls had to take place and the issue was overtaken by this development..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100928com1.html

New Palestinian uprising unlikely despite peace talks crisis focus 09/28/2010

New Palestinian uprising unlikely despite peace talks crisis

focus

09/28/2010
RAMALLAH — Ten years after the outbreak of the last intifada, peace talks are again in crisis and Israeli settlers are pouring concrete, but this time the Palestinians are tuning out.
US, Israeli and Palestinian leaders are struggling to keep the peace process alive after the end of a settlement moratorium, but the streets are quiet in the territories and few expect a repeat of the bloody events of September 2000.

The calm prevailing in the occupied West Bank and the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip is partly the result of the low expectations going into the latest round of negotiations launched in Washington on Sept. 2.

“The average Palestinian is not interested in the negotiations because he knows they won’t achieve anything,” said Abu Ahmad, 38, a former militant commander in the northern West Bank city of Nablus who now serves in the Western-backed Palestinian security forces..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100928com3.html

Remember heroes NO HOLDS BARRED Armida Siguion-Reyna 09/28/2010

Remember heroes

NO HOLDS BARRED

Armida Siguion-Reyna

09/28/2010
Down and out the entire week-end for yet another debilitating low blood pressure episode, this lola once more found herself in the cardiac telemetry section of the Makati Medical Center. In between sleeping, talking to visiting family members or being checked by doctors and their representatives, I chanced on ABS-CBN’s Teleradyo DZMM’s Sunday morning discussion on Radyo Patrol Balita, on how it was during typhoon “Ondoy,” exactly a year ago.

There I caught two young entrepreneurs promoting a product na makakatulong daw sa mga nasasalanta, a jacket that doubled up as lifesaver, which in swiftly-rising flood waters you blew on an inflatable tube somewhere near the hood and from there you floated to safety.

That’s a good idea, exclaimed hosts Jun Lingcoran and Ricky Rosales. “Marami hong gagaya niyan.”
“Ay, hindi ho puwede,” the two businessmen replied. “Ipapa-patent namin ito.”

So much for tulong sa kapwa, I thought..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100928com4.html

Science and development AN OUTSIDERS VIEW Ken Fuller 09/28/2010

Science and development

AN OUTSIDERS VIEW

Ken Fuller

09/28/2010
About a year ago, this outsider was added to the mailing list of Flor Lacanilao, retired professor of marine biology at UP. Largely, his mailings concern the scientist’s well-intentioned (and well-grounded) fears for the future of both science and the country. The country is backward, he believes, because insufficient attention is given to science, and too often positions of scientific leadership are assigned to non-scientists. Fine as far as it goes, but nations are not built by scientific endeavor alone.

More recently, I came across a paper entitled “Scientific and Technological Capabilities and Economic Catch-up” by Roger Posadas, professor at the UP Technology Management Center. This argues that the dire state of science in the Philippines is but a feature of the general backwardness of the country, something explained by the wrong-headed economic strategy pursued since at least 1986..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100928com5.html

A lapdog is a lapdog is a lapdog FRONTLINE Ninez Cacho-Olivares 09/28/2010

A lapdog is a lapdog is a lapdog

FRONTLINE

Ninez Cacho-Olivares

09/28/2010
Both Malacañang aides and allies in the Senate came out to deny that Palace pressure has been brought to bear on the Senate blue ribbon committee to drop the Juetengate ll probe.
Palace spokesmen say they have nothing to do with the decision of Senate ally, Sen. TG Guingona, to cut short the Senate probe.

Guingona claims he has been misquoted, as he never said he would be cutting short the probe, insisting that which he said was that he will not prolong the hearing, saying that there is a difference between not prolonging the probe and cutting it short.

That’s playing with semantics. You don’t prolong, you cut short.

What Guingona did not state was that he also said this probe was pretty useless, as no one witness or resource person is going to admit culpability and this being so, the hearings are useless..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100928com2.html

North Korea’s eternal president lives on FEATURE 09/28/2010

North Korea’s eternal president lives on

FEATURE

09/28/2010
PYONGYANG — Kim Il-Sung lives on.

Sixteen years after the death of communist North Korea’s founding father, the “Great Leader” survives through a cult of personality with Messianic overtones.

His smiling, bespectacled face adorns billboards, songs in his praise echo across Pyongyang day and night, and grand monuments to his exploits dominate the run-down city.

The impoverished nation is to hold its biggest political meeting in decades on Tuesday, which North Korea watchers expect will pave the way for a transfer of power from the late leader’s son Kim Jong-Il to his grandson, Kim Jong-Un.

But in the capital there are no visible signs of the expected accession of the younger Kim, who is believed to be around 27, to top posts in the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea.

The public focus remains on Kim Il-Sung, whom one biographer called “The Benevolent Sun.”

“I still feel he’s here, because the Great Leader is always in my heart,” says army First Lieutenant Ri, a female guide at a museum devoted to the North’s “great victory” in the Korean War which left the peninsula divided..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100928com6.html

Jueteng lords gifted 5 PCSO bigwigs with P2-M cars By Charlie V. Manalo and Angie M. Rosales 09/28/2010

Jueteng lords gifted 5 PCSO bigwigs with P2-M cars
By Charlie V. Manalo and Angie M. Rosales

09/28/2010

Jueteng whistleblower Sandra Cam yesterday accused five former officials of of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) of being the beneficiaries of expensive imported cars from illegal numbers racket lords in exchange for the protection of “jueteng” which continues to operate under the guise of the PCSO-sponsored small town lottery (STL).

At the hearing of the House committee on games and amusement on the reported non-remittance of STL revenues to the PCSO, Cam claimed that the unnamed officials were each given Mini Coopers costing at least P2 million apiece.

Cam claimed the cars were delivered “a month before former President Arroyo stepped down from office.”

“A month before the GMA administration went down..I have my mole (in the PSCO)..the PCSO directors received Mini Coopers worth P2 million each. The House panel should be the one to investigate this,” Cam told the panel, adding that the cars came from “bigtime jueteng” operators, who were running the game in the guise of the PSCO-sanctioned STL, which members of the House alleged, were not remitting the right revenues to the government, leading to the loss of localized funding assistance for health and developmental projects..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20100928hed1.html

Luisita talks collapse By Benjamin B. Pulta 09/28/2010

Luisita talks collapse By Benjamin B. Pulta 09/28/2010

Talks brokered by the Supreme Court to mediate the fate of the Cojuangco family-owned Hacienda Luisita are officially dead in the water.

The three-man panel yesterday formally announced it has suspended its proceedings after the parties failed to come up with an amicable settlement involving tenants during the month-long deadline given by the high tribunal.

Hacienda Luisita Inc. (HLI) spokesman Tony Ligon admitted that the parties have failed to reach an agreement which was compounded by the sudden non-appearance of lawyer Jobert Pahilga, who represents a faction of the Alyansa ng mga Manggagawang Bukid sa Hacienda Luisita (Ambala).

Pahilga, who walked out in the middle of the mediation proceedings last Sept. 21, did not show up during yesterday’s proceedings, prompting the panel to cut short the mediation process even before the lapse of the 30-day period.

The high court had denied Pahilga’s motion to stop the mediation proceedings and was enjoined by the SC to participate in the arbitration proceedings..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20100928hed4.html

Noy allies seek TRO lifting on impeach Merci bid By Benjamin B. Pulta 09/28/2010

Noy allies seek TRO lifting on impeach Merci bid

By Benjamin B. Pulta 09/28/2010

Allies of President Aquino, key figures in the impeachment complaints against Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez yesterday asked the Supreme Court (SC) to set aside the status quo ante order it had earlier issued stopping the House of Representatives’ committee on justice from hearing the impeachment proceedings before the lower chamber.

Gutierrez earlier said the committee violated her right to due process when the House justice panel issued its Sept. 1 and Sept. 7 resolution with “indecent and precipitate haste” and violated the provisions of the 1987 Constitution, limiting impeachment proceeding against the same official to once within a period of one year.

She noted that the first impeachment complaint was filed with the Secretary General of the House of Representatives on July 22, 2010 while the second complaint was filed on Aug. 3, 2010, or just 12 days after the filing of the first complaint and well within the one year bar.

In their comment to the Ombudsman’s petition, former Akbayan Rep. Risa Hontiveros along with retired Brig. Gen. Danilo Lim, both of whom lost in the senatorial polls under the Liberal Party, and the parents of Navy Ensign Philip Pestaño, who was found dead on board a naval vessel where he was serving as cargo officer in 1995, insisted that it is within the exclusive.... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20100928hed2.html

Palace downplays discord brewing at Noy camp By Aytch S. de la Cruz 09/28/2010

Palace downplays discord brewing at Noy camp

By Aytch S. de la Cruz 09/28/2010

Malacañang yesterday dis-missed the observation made by a party-list representative that the ostensible factionalism inside the Aquino Cabinet is behind the embattled state of Interior and Local Government Undersecretary Rico Puno.

Puno has been plagued with criticisms lately owing to his involvement on the latest jueteng controversy and his inclusion to the Incident Investigation and Review Committee’s list of individuals that should be held accountable for the Aug. 23 hostage rescue fiasco.

Ang Kasangga party-list Rep. Teodorico Haresco said in a report that the alleged continuing attempt by the camp of defeated vice presidential candidate and former Sen. Manuel Roxas II to take control of key posts in government is getting out of hand at the expense of some Cabinet members appointed by President Aquino, referring to Puno.

Puno is reportedly associated with the Samar Group or that faction led by Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero who supported Aquino’s candidacy in tandem with Vice President Jejomar Binay who ran under the banner of Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20100928hed3.html

Gazmin’s Noynoy slay plot baseless 09/28/2010

Gazmin’s Noynoy slay plot baseless 09/28/2010
All that talk of a plot to assassinate President Aquino, as bared by Defense chief Voltaire Gazmin last week, has been found to be empty and baseless.

The Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (Isafp) yesterday said it has found no specific plot from any threat or armed groups to assassinate Aquino as earlier re-vealed by Gazmin to a local executive in Cagayan de Oro city, even naming the person who wassuspected of being involved in the claimed plot.

At a press briefing in Camp Aguinaldo, AFP spokesman Brig. Gen. Jose Mabanta Jr., however, maintained the Presidential Security Group (PSG), which is the primary unit of the AFP tasked to secure the President and his family, is always on alert for any eventuality.

“There’s nothing to it,” said Mabanta of the supposed assassination plot against Aquino earlier revealed to the media by Cagayan de Oro City Mayor Vicente Emano, quoting Gazmin.

“Initial reports tend to support the thesis that there is no plot against the President,” said Mabanta.... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20100928hed5.html

DILG, DWSD corner half of shelter agency funds By Angie Rosales 09/28/2010

DILG, DWSD corner half of shelter agency funds By Angie Rosales 09/28/2010

The Aquino administration has slashed by a hefty 50 percent the allocations for shelter agencies in the 2011 budget to P5.6 billion from P11 billion this year and redistributed the budget cuts to other agencies that lack the capability to undertake mass housing projects, the Senate learned yesterday.

The Senate finance subcommittee was told that appropriations for six housing agencies had been slashed by more than 50 percent and that the cuts were rechanneled to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG).

Given the huge cut on next year’s budget of the government housing agencies, officials said accomplishment expectation will also be lower than the target of the key shelter agencies.

Vice President Jejomar Binay, the housing czar, told Sen. Edgardo Angara, chairman of the Senate panel, that some housing projects were transferred to the DILG and DSWD, thus the reallocated budget..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20100928hed6.html

Noy appoints three Ateneo lawyers as commissioners to PCGG 09/28/2010

Noy appoints three Ateneo lawyers as commissioners to PCGG 09/28/2010
President Aquino appointed three Ateneo lawyers as commissioners of the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG).

This means the PCGG now has four Ateneo law graduates, including Chairman Juan Andres Baustista.
“Fulfilling a campaign promise to attract the “best and the brightest,” as well as new and relatively younger faces to public service, President Aquino announced the appointment of the three new PCGG commissioners,” a statement from the PCGG said.

President Aquino appointed Atty. Gerard Mosquera, who obtained his Juris Doctor degree from Ateneo Law School.

Prior to his appointment, Atty. Mosquera has been leading USAID funded anti-corruption programs, among which is the “Justice Institution Strengthening in East Timor,” experiences that should prove invaluable to PCGG..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/nation/20100928nat4.html

Gregan Cardeño: Suicide or Murder?

Press conference on March 10, 2010 of the fact-finding report by Karapatan and Kawagib on the mysterious death of Gregan Cardeño, a Filipino interpreter who died while working for the US military in Marawi, Lanao del Sur, Philippines.





Source:  Bulatlat.com

URL: http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/5332747

A Year After Ondoy, the Poor in Vulnerable Communities Still Struggling to Survive Published on September 26, 2010

When the hype about relief and relocation efforts for victims of Ondoy, especially the poor in vulnerable communities, had died down, the urban poor were left to rebuild their houses and their lives, without any outside assistance. A year after, they are in a worse state than before Ondoy hit the country. 

By ANNE MARXZE D. UMIL
Bulatlat.com

MANILA – From scraps of lumber taken from the nearby creek in Tatalon, Quezon City, Ofelia Lubat, 45, rebuilt their house after typhoon Ondoy (international name Ketsana) destroyed and washed it away last year.
Lubat just gave birth to her eighth child a week before Sept. 26, 2009 when Ondoy submerged Luzon leaving 5,353 families homeless with 200 or more people dead. “I thought we were going to die. There were only three of us in the house when floodwaters reached the second floor,” Lubat said.

630 Kangkungan, Tatalon, where more than 50 families reside, is situated near a Manila Electric Company tower. (Photo by Anne Marxze D. Umil / bulatlat.com)

Lubat is one of the thousand families who were left homeless when typhoon Ondoy wrought havoc last year. Her house was built from light materials and scrap wood and were thus, easily washed away by the strong flow of floodwaters during Ondoy.

Lubat and some 50 families are still living in the danger zone in barangay 630 Kangkungan, Tatalon. It is situated where the Manila Electric Company tower is built..... MORE

Source:  Bulatlat.com

URL: http://www.bulatlat.com/main/2010/09/26/a-year-after-ondoy-the-poor-in-vulnerable-communities-still-struggling-to-survive/

SC orders Comelec to reveal auto polls source code Benjamin B. Pulta 09/27/2010

SC orders Comelec to reveal auto polls source code

Benjamin B. Pulta 09/27/2010

The Supreme Court (SC) has ordered the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to make the source code software for the automated election system (AES) it used in the last elections available for independent review.

In a seven-page decision by Associate Justice Roberto Abad, the court en banc found meritorious the petition for mandamus filed by the Center for People Empowerment in Governance (CenPEG) seeking to compel the Comelec to disclose the source code of the AES.

CenPEG claims the source code remained important and relevant despite the fact that the election had already been held in light of several admissions of errors and claims of fraud.

Concurring with the ruling were Chief Justice Renato Corona, Associate Justices Antonio Carpio, Conchita Carpio-Morales, Diosdado Peralta, Lucas Bersamin, Mariano del Castillo, Jose Portugal Perez, Martin Villarama Jr. and Jose Portugal Perez..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20100927hed3.html

No diversion of $434-M US grant, says Palace 09/27/2010

No diversion of $434-M US grant, says Palace 09/27/2010
Amid criticisms that a huge anti-poverty aid to be provided by the US government will not help uplift the lives of the poor, the Palace said yesterday the $434-million Millennium Challenge Corp (MCC) grant will be used for its purpose and will not be diverted into other projects.

“That will be used solely for the projects intended under the grant. Where the funds were committed, these will be spent in line with our commitment to Filipinos on transparency and account-ability in govern-ment,” deputy presidential spokesman Abigal Valte said.

President Aquino received the grant during a signing ceremony in New York City recently. He vowed to implement anti-corruption programs.

Last year, the Philippines under President Arroyo failed to secure the large-scale grant from the MCC due to the long-standing allegations of corruption under the previous administration..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20100927hed2.html

House to comment on SC’s order on Merci impeachment today By Gerry Baldo 09/27/2010

House to comment on SC’s order on Merci impeachment today By Gerry Baldo 09/27/2010

The House leadership is going to tell the Supreme Court (SC) that it is interfering with the affairs of the legislature by issuing a status quo ante order in the impeachment case of Ombudsman Merce-ditas Gutierrez.
According to Speaker Feliciano Belmonte, the House will file a comment before the SC by telling the high tribunal that “it is infringing on our constitutional mandate to try impeachment cases.”

“Yes we will reply today (Sept. 27) to reiterate that initiating impeachment is the exclusive power of the House of Representatives,” Belmonte said yesterday.

The Supreme Court has issued a status quo ante order stopping the House committee on justice from hearing the impeachment cases filed against Gutierrez..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20100927hed4.html

Bitter infighting among Aquino backers — solon By Gerry Baldo and Angie M. Rosales 09/27/2010

PUNO A VICTIM OF BALAY, SAMAR GROUPS’ FEUD 

Bitter infighting among Aquino backers — solon

By Gerry Baldo and Angie M. Rosales 09/27/2010

Infighting among the major groups that backed the presidential campaign of President Aquino in the national elections last May has been raging hot and its offshoot included the ouster moves against Interior and Local Government Undersecretary Rico Puno, a member of the House of Representatives said yesterday.

Ang Kasangga party-list Rep. Teodorico Haresco said the continuing attempt by the camp of defeated vice presidential candidate Manuel Roxas II to take control of key posts in government is getting out of hand at the expense of some Cabinet members appointed by Aquino. Haresco said he has been hearing about the alleged bickering and factionalism in the circle of President Aquino’s men.

“There’s obviously a silent but vicious turf war going on within the President’s Cabinet,” Haresco said adding that the alleged attempt to oust Puno was part of a demolition job on Aquino’s appointees..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20100927hed1.html

Tesda: ‘Bogus’ vocational schools will be closed 09/27/2010

Tesda: ‘Bogus’ vocational schools will be closed 09/27/2010
The Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda) is urging technical-vocational (tech-voc) schools and institutions in the country to either “shape up” or face the possibility of being closed down.
Tesda director general Joel Villanueva issued the warning yesterday as he revealed the agency’s plan to run after “bogus” and “below standard” tech-voc schools and institutions to ensure that the trainings given to students will always be at par with global benchmark.

“It makes sense that we are the ‘DepEd or Ched’ of tech-voc schools and institutions. We should exercise our power to shut down bogus schools, and even tech-voc schools teaching below standard programs,” Villanueva said.

“We will closely coordinate with the local government units (LGUs) as well as the association of tech-voc institutions (TVIs) to run after these schools. I have already met with many TVIs and they said they will support us in this program,” he added..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/nation/20100927nat4.html

DBM ‘fooling’ government scholars, says lawmaker By Gerry Baldo 09/27/2010

DBM ‘fooling’ government scholars, says lawmaker  

By Gerry Baldo
09/27/2010

A party-list lawmaker yesterday lambasted Budget Secretary Florencio Abad for fooling the country’s scholars when he claimed that the proposed budget for state universities and colleges (SUCs) for 2011 has increased.

Kabataan party-list Rep. Raymond Palatino accused Abad for allegedly fooling the country’s scholars for claiming that the budget for state universities and colleges has been increased by P2.4 billion in the next fiscal year.

On the contrary, Palatino said the combined budget for 112 state universities and colleges was cut by 1.7 percent from P23.8 billion this year to only P23.4 billion next year.

“Abad’s statement that there is actually an increase in the budget for SUCs is a desperate spin that collapses on its flimsy foundation. He even contradicts his own principal, President Aquino, who earlier said that the SUCs budget for 2011 is ‘1.7 percent lower than the P23.8 billion budget for 2010,’” Palatino said..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/nation/20100927nat5.html

Blast rocks final day of Bar exams; scores hurt 09/27/2010

Blast rocks final day of Bar exams; scores hurt 09/27/2010
An improvised bomb yesterday exploded near the De La Salle University (DLSU) campus in Manila where thousands of law graduates are taking the Bar examinations.

Initial reports from the Manila Police District (MPD) said that at least 10 persons, including students and bystanders, were hurt in the incident.

Police said a loud explosion was heard and people started scampering in to different directions around 5 p.m..
Scores of people were seen lying on the ground with injuries. The victims were taken to nearby Ospital ng Maynila, the police said.

Among the victims were identified as Joanna Katrina Ledda, Arvin Francis Rosales, Philip Edwin Teelo, Gennilyn Ong, Cyril Ferrer, Kathleen Samba, Azenith Gonzalvo, Jamell Ann Marie and Renald Sudla..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20100927hed6.html

Hotdog hunt at Manhattan EDITORIAL 09/26/2010

Hotdog hunt at Manhattan

EDITORIAL

Click to enlarge

09/26/2010
Noynoy’s hotdog hunt in the streets of New York has been getting the same level of exposure as that of Gloria’s Le Cirque bacchanalia in 2009.

Gloria and her cabal gorged on $20,000 worth of steaks and caviar while Noynoy and his student council bunch had hotdogs all in all worth $57, but both similar because they were done in bad taste.

The Manhattan cheap thrill was not received as planned in the country as most saw through the obvious publicity stunt. It was meant to provide contrast to the ostentatious New York bash of Gloria in 2009 when the Filipinos were then mourning the death of former President Corazon Aquino.

The Palace needed to make a case about the hotdog adventure as not being scripted because obviously it was. Even before the US visit, the hotdog hunt was announced by no less than Noynoy’s Palace men as a way of reminding the entourage to keep the official visit as frugal as possible. But that’s all for show, folks. Already, he is into chartered flights....MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100926com1.html

Of leaks and leakages FRONTLINE Ninez Cacho-Olivares 09/26/2010

Of leaks and leakages

FRONTLINE

Ninez Cacho-Olivares

09/26/2010
Probing media leakages is next to useless, and those claimed investigations on the leak of the missing pages of the Incident Investigation and Review Committee (IIRC) report are more for show.

Has anything come out of that so-called Palace investigation on the leak to ABS-CBN of Noynoy Aquino’s State of the Nation Address, which Malacañang vowed to probe? That was still in July and we are now going toward October, yet not even a shadow of that claimed investigation on that leak has appeared on the scene.

In much the same way, despite claims of this IIRC report leak being probed, nothing, but nothing will come out of it. And for what? Would there be any sanctions on media?

The media that got hold of the missing pages are certainly going to keep their trap shut. That’s elementary, because if they do come out to identify the leaker, that’s the end of the confidence and trust lodged in the media..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100926com2.html

Japan to pilot digital textbooks in classrooms FEATURE 09/26/2010

Japan to pilot digital textbooks in classrooms

FEATURE

09/26/2010
TOKYO — Japan will soon start trialling electronic textbooks in primary schools, enhancing the role of IT in the classroom for a generation of “digital natives” born in the wired age.

Under the “future school” project, 10 elementary schools will give all their under-12 pupils tablet PCs and fit their classrooms with interactive electronic blackboards starting as early as next month.

The networked devices boast software that lets them trace complex Chinese characters on-screen or exchange ideas on a virtual white sheet of paper in real time, while a teacher digitally monitors their work.

Japan, despite its status as a high-tech pioneer, lags behind South Korea, Singapore, Britain and other countries in IT use in education, said an official with the communications ministry, which is running the pilot program..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100926com3.html

An axe to grind BLURBAL THRUSTS Louie Logarta 09/26/2010

An axe to grind

BLURBAL THRUSTS

Louie Logarta

09/26/2010
It’s payoff time for 309 workers of Broadcast City-IBC 13. After enduring more than two decades of a seemingly endless wait since sequestration in 1986 in the wake of Edsa I, it’s daybreak at last with an amicable settlement that’s been eked out for their employment woes.

And why not? They each were the recent recipients of a P200,000-cash bonanza resulting from a joint venture agreement (JVA) hammered out by representatives of the floundering state-run entity and real estate developer Primestate Ventures Inc. (PVI), and much more.
The abovementioned monetary benefits that accrued to the workers formed part of a P278-million carrot that had been set aside under the JVA to settle their back wages and unpaid retirement benefits in order to pave the way for the projected six-year development project of the Broadcast City property in Balara, Quezon City into a mixed commercial-residential complex as well as the refurbishing of the Channel 13 facilities with modern equipment to make it competitive with the other existing television stations..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100926com4.html

Demonizing Puno C.R.O.S.S.R.O.A.D.S Jonathan De la Cruz 09/26/2010

Demonizing Puno

C.R.O.S.S.R.O.A.D.S

Jonathan De la Cruz

09/26/2010
President Aquino is right. Unless we have descended into the netherworld of chaos and waywardness, under our democracy, one is presumed innocent of any charges until proven otherwise. That means everybody, friend or foe, is entitled to be heard and accorded the basic processes available under law. There are no ifs and buts about it. We cannot simply accept as Gospel truth the list of “ultimate recipients” of jueteng payola just because it comes from a prince of the church such as Archbishop Emeritus Oscar Cruz who has been crusading against the illegal numbers game for years.

Cruz himself acknowledged that the list is simply a compendium of raw data gathered by his volunteers. He may be wrong, which is why he begged those on the list to forgive him if he has caused pain to them and their families. Not even the shrill pronouncements of Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago who has prided herself for exposes, many of which turned out to be duds in the end, can stand as proof positive of the truthfulness of her own list of “recipients” and operators of the illegal numbers game. We simply cannot allow the pronouncements no matter how sincere or possibly even factual of two persons who may have the best of intentions and whose hearts may be as pure as driven snow to be the law of the land. We cannot just take their word for it..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100926com5.html

A curse that refuses to die VIEWPOINTS Archbishop Oscar V. Cruz 09/26/2010

A curse that refuses to die

VIEWPOINTS

Archbishop Oscar V. Cruz

09/26/2010
Notwithstanding all rhetoric and propaganda made by public officials, despite all the alleged bleeding hearts for the poor brought to fore by civil authorities, and despite loud, repeated and impressive resolves by one government after another, the stark truth and standing fact is that jueteng continues to be omnipotent and omnipresent disastrous. The hideous and deeply rooted vice nonchalantly continues as an alive and vibrant racket in this already too long suffering country. Specifically in conjunction with this long lasting, disgusting and revolting national phenomenon of jueteng in the national scene, it is in good order to point out formally and categorically the three following solid and standing truth of the matter:

One: It is exactly the poor and the helpless, the miserable and the ignorant who are continuously being exploited and duped every time they are enticed and duped into betting their already few pesos in jueteng. The reality is that for the very few bettors chosen to win by expert manipulation on account of their meager bets as “consuelo de bobo,” literally thousands upon thousands of bettors are infallibly destined to lose in this well-syndicated racket..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100926com6.html

‘No idea,’ Coloma says of leaked report source 09/26/2010

STRINGS ON MCC GRANT MEANT FOR U.S. INTEREST

‘No idea,’ Coloma says of leaked report source

09/26/2010
The Palace downplayed the concern raised by Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, chairman of the Incident Investigation and Review Committee (IIRC) which earlier had submitted an 83-page report to President Aquino detailing those culpable in the bungled rescue of Hong Kong tourist hostages last Aug. 23, saying that it is not exerting effort to look into the matter.


Presidential Communications Operations Secretary Herminio “Sonny” Coloma said while the Palace recognizes the validity of De Lima’s concern, “there is no probe of the alleged leakage of IIRC report’s conclusions and recommendations.” Coloma in a text message to reporters clarified the statement he once made during a radio interview that the Palace is now looking into the issue.

Deputy presidential spokeswoman Abigail Valte, however, said only two copies of the IIRC report are with Malacañang and these are currently with Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr. and Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Eduardo de Mesa who have been tasked by the President to review the document.

Coloma said Malacañang’s priority stays the same which is to have the review on the IIRC completed by Ochoa and De Mesa in time forAquino’s return from his weeklong working visit in the United States on Tuesday..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20100926hed2.html

Jose Rizal’s 100-year-old secret in Germany By Michaela P. del Callar 09/26/2010

Jose Rizal’s 100-year-old secret in Germany By Michaela P. del Callar 09/26/2010

BERLIN — Stored in a German museum’s metal cabinets and glass vaults with controlled temperature for more than a century, Jose Rizal’s intricately hand-woven Barong Tagalog and other cultural mementoes depict how he once proudly showed off his small Southeast Asian nation’s cultural heritage in mighty Europe.

Then a dreamy-eyed Filipino in his 20s, Rizal had traveled to Germany in 1886 to further his studies in Medicine, nurture his revolutionary zeal, and finish writing and publish his epic novel, the Noli Me Tangere.
Rizal brought along keepsakes that reminded him of home — a wood and brass betel nutcracker, a rice stalk cutter, a beaded belt from Mindanao, a tawo-piece Muslim ethnic garment, and a 19th century baro’t saya woven from piña and abaca fiber. The cultural pieces in his bachelor’s pad in a quaint residential building in Berlin’s upscale Stadtmitte district were donated to the German city’s Ethnological Museum when he decided to return to the Philippines.

Back home, he kept his romance with Europe and continued shipping and donating cultural artifacts to the Berlin museum a year.... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20100926hed3.html

A year after deluge, RP remains unprepared 09/26/201

A year after deluge, RP remains unprepared

09/26/2010
One year after Typhoon “Ondoy” brought death and destruction to Manila, the Philippines remains unprepared for such disasters, the government yesterday said.

Lack of funds has prevented officials from taking all measures necessary to minimize the risk from weather systems such as Ondoy which flooded the capital and left over 400 persons dead, National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) executive officer Benito Ramos said.

Nor is there enough money to relocate thousands of families still living in ramshackle or precarious conditions susceptible to — and exacerbating — flooding during the current typhoon season, he added.

At the start of the wet season in June the government estimated there were at least 2.7 million squatters in Manila, including about half a million... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20100926hed4.html

Palace washes hands on jueteng probe halt By Aytch S. de la Cruz 09/26/2010

Palace washes hands on jueteng probe halt


By Aytch S. de la Cruz 09/26/2010

Malacañang issued a stock reaction invoking respect on the separation of powers among government branches when asked to confirm reports claiming that it has something to do with the Senate blue ribbon committee’s decision to cut short its probe on the latest jueteng controversy.

Sen. Teofisto “TG” Guingona III, Senate blue ribbon committee chairman, said Friday that the committee backed by senators allied with Aquino is no longer keen on continuing with the investigation in the allegations of jueteng payolas given to officials close to Aquino.

Guingona is known as one of the strongest allies of Aquino in the Senate, having run with him under his Liberal Party in the last elections, and his decision was immediately attributed by anti-jueteng groups as a way of killing the issue to shield the President from further criticisms.

Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Secretary Herminio “Sonny” Coloma quickly dismissed the allegation, saying Malacañang wouldnever step on the lawmakers’ turf since Congress is a co-equal branch..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

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

$434-M anti-poverty aid won’t help poor — groups 09/26/2010

STRINGS ON MCC GRANT MEANT FOR U.S. INTEREST

$434-M anti-poverty aid won’t help poor — groups

09/26/2010
Cause-oriented groups yesterday assailed the “strings attached” to the $434-million so-called anti-poverty aid that President Aquino obtained in his official visit to the United States, saying these conditions do not guaranty an end to poverty among Filipinos but are designed to protect US business interests in the country.
The US grant was awarded under the US-run Millennium Challenge Corp. (MCC) and required the country to meet all the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) which had a deadline in 2015 and only then will the full amount be released.

The grant was earmarked for the building of roads and the undertaking of projects aimed at reducing poverty and fighting corruption.

According to research group Ibon, the conditions for the signing of the MCC agreement were biased against national interest and give way for more erroneous policies that have eroded the local economy.

“It required the Philippines to meet certain indicators such as open trade, economic freedom, good governance, adherence to human rights, to continue receiving the aid,” it said..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20100926hed1.html

Valuable ‘President’s fish’ facing extinction in the country 09/26/2010

Valuable ‘President’s fish’ facing extinction in the country

09/26/2010
A species of mullet reputed to be one of the favorite dishes of former President Ferdinand Marcos is facing extinction in the country because it is so valuable, a fisheries official said yesterday.

The high value of the lobed river mullet, popularly known as “President’s fish” has resulted in overfishing, seriously diminishing their numbers, said Jovita Ayson, a regional director of the fisheries bureau.

“It is a threatened species and we have to do something about it before it goes extinct. If we don’t stop the indiscriminate catching, in a short while, it could vanish,” she told AFP.

The fisheries bureau is calling for a five-year ban on the catching of Cestraeus plicatilis, locally known as “ludong” or “banak.”

It is found in only a few countries, and in the Philippines its habitat is limited to a few rivers in the north..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/nation/20100926nat6.html

Noynoy not competing with GMA over gov’t achievements — Palace 09/26/2010

Noynoy not competing with GMA over gov’t achievements — Palace

09/26/2010
Malacañang yesterday shunned reports claiming that former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Arroyo outshone her successor, President Aquino, in their working visits to the United States this week when they separately attended a gathering of international leaders.

Secretary Herminio Coloma of the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) asserted that there is quite no reason to compare the two political figures because they do not share a common purpose when they went to the US.

He added Aquino is not trying to compete with his predecessor and he is simply doing his job as the current Philippine President by way of pushing the country’s interests before the global community in an effort to strengthen its economy.

“I guess the (point of comparison) is lopsided because as far as we know, former President Arroyo’s mission (to the US) is for a different purpose and that is to participate in the (5th) Clinton Global Initiative,” Coloma said..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20100926hed6.html

Good move, bad move EDITORIAL 09/25/2010

Good move, bad move

EDITORIAL

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09/25/2010
Abolishing agencies attached to the Office of the President (OP) can be both a good or bad thing.

More often than not, it is hardly ever the office, but the people who run it, and the actions taken by the Malacañang tenant that make the agency effective, if run well but ineffective, if run badly and its recommendations ignored by the President.

The Aquino administration is set to abolish 10 agencies under the OP, with Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa saying this would amount to big savings, budget-wise in relation to the expenses of the OP.

Some of these agencies should really be abolished, such as the North Luzon Quadrangle area, Office of External Affairs, the Luzon Urban Beltway Super Region, the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Global Warming and Climate Change and the Office on New Government Center, to name a few. But why abolish the Presidential Anti-Graft Commission (PagC)?

Its abolition is said to be based on its being a redundant office, as there are other agencies that perform the same function.

Not quite that redundant, since the PagC’s focus and probes are solely on the officials attached to the executive branch of government and recommendatory..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100925com1.html

The problem with IIRC’s recommendations FRONTLINE Ninez Cacho-Olivares 09/25/2010

The problem with IIRC’s recommendations

FRONTLINE

Ninez Cacho-Olivares

09/25/2010
Most interesting portion in the suppressed but leaked IIRC report’s recommendations is that which focuses on the role played by Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Undersecretary Rico Puno.

The IIRC recommended the initiation of the corresponding administrative proceedings against Puno for gross negligence “under the appropriate civil service laws, rules and regulations for neglecting to disseminate and ensure the implementation of the order of the President to utilize the PNP SAF-CRG in the assault of the hostaged bus and for failure to exercise with due diligence his supervisory powers over the PNP as ordered by the President.”

It was also recommended that a preliminary investigation be conducted by the appropriate government agency for any possible criminal liability arising from commission of the above offenses and “in the course of the execution of his duties as DILG Undersecretary during the hostage crisis and in assuming the position of the DILG Secretary as NPOC CMC.”

In all probability, this is the portion on Puno’s recommended criminal and administrative charges to be filed that made Noynoy Aquino balk and pass this report on to his legal counsels for “review” and why he says he is not 100 percent sold on the IIRC report.

Take the administrative charge lodged against Puno on gross negligence, and the charge that Puno had failed to disseminate and ensure the implementation of Noynoy’s order to utilize the Special.... MORE
Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100925com2.html

Cautious optimism in Philippines as peace talks to resume focus 09/25/2010

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International Lawyers Hit US Military Aggression in Asia-Pacific, Pin Hopes on Peoples of the World

International Lawyers Hit US Military Aggression in Asia-Pacific, Pin Hopes on Peoples of the World

 Published on September 25, 2010

 “Governments are only instruments. The peoples must exercise their power. The peoples are masters of international society. Law is a struggle of the peoples.” — Roland Weyl, IADL first vice president and dean of the Paris Bar Association

By RONALYN V. OLEA
Bulatlat.com
MANILA — Experts in international politics lambasted “US military aggression in Asia and the Pacific” during the recently concluded conference of lawyers held in Manila.

Jeanne Mirer, president of the International Association of Democratic Lawyers (IADL). (Photo by Ronalyn V. Olea / bulatlat.com)

“The 20th century was the bloodiest and most violent in the history of mankind and much of the blood is in the hands of US imperialism,” Rey Claro Casambre, a fellow of the Center for Anti-Imperialist Studies (CAIS) told the delegates of the Fifth Conference of Lawyers in Asia and the Pacific (Colap V).

Casambre said the US Pacific Command is a symbol of US domination in Asia Pacific. The US Pacific Command’s 325,000 troops, equivalent to one-fifth of the US armed forces, operate in 36 nations or half of the earth’s surface, he said. Most of the troops are engaged in actual combat and 100,000 are stationed in Japan and South Korea..... MORE

Source:  Bulatlat.com

URL: http://www.bulatlat.com/main/2010/09/25/international-lawyers-hit-us-military-aggression-pin-hopes-on-peoples-of-the-world/

PALEA Celebrates 64th Anniversary Amid Turbulent Times at PAL Published on September 25, 2010

PALEA Celebrates 64th Anniversary Amid Turbulent Times at PAL

Published on September 25, 2010

This year, both PALEA and FASAP are seeking to finally ink a new, improved CBA with PAL. But PALEA has so far been met with mass termination notices on account of PAL’s planned spin-off, while FASAP has been forced to file a notice of strike as PAL firmly refuses to put the discriminatory retirement provision affecting flight attendants on the negotiating table in this CBA.
By MARYA SALAMAT
Bulatlat.com

MANILA — The union of Philippine Air Lines ground workers, “(un)arguably the oldest union existing today,” celebrated its 64th anniversary last Tuesday September 21 with a prayer rally at Nichols and a mass at Our Lady of Airways Parish in Mia Road, Parañaque City. The prayer rally and mass were attended by over a hundred employees, including some PAL executives such as PAL president Jaime Bautista. During the homily, the officiating priest noted that PALEA’s anniversary coincides with the feast of St. Matthew the tax collector and the commemoration of Martial Law. The priest enjoined the gathered unionists and PAL executives to “be content with what you have” and “leave the disputes to God.”

Since April this year the 3,732-strong PALEA has been restive over the PAL management’s plans to terminate most of their members under a planned spin-off that had been approved by the labor department last June. PALEA is questioning the management’s moves, saying the spin-off is just the PAL management’s way of turning employees into lower paid contractual employees without benefits and without protection of a union. The union and management are currently holding conciliation meetings being mediated by the labor department.

In his brief speech during the mass, PALEA president Gerardo Rivera thanked the union members and the PAL management, calling the latter as a “partner”, and expressed hopes that PALEA would continue working with them as a “partner.”

History of Ups and Downs

PALEA was founded in September 21, 1946, at a time when PAL was still a public-owned airline. Its establishment was spearheaded by airplane mechanics. Ironically, airplane mechanics are now without a union after their department was transferred or spun-off to Lucio Tan Group’s MacroAsia Corporation in 2000..... MORE

Source:  Bulatlat.com

URL: http://www.bulatlat.com/main/2010/09/25/palea-celebrates-64th-anniversary-amid-turbulent-times-at-pal/

After 38 Years, Justice Remains Elusive for Martial Law Survivors Published on September 25, 2010

After 38 Years, Justice Remains Elusive for Martial Law Survivors

Published on September 25, 2010

Up to now, not a single victim of human-rights violation during the Marcos dictatorship has achieved justice nor received any compensation from the government.
By ANNE MARXZE D. UMIL
Bulatlat.com
 
MANILA — Thirty eight years have passed since the declaration of martial law but the victims of human-rights abuses during the Marcos dictatorship are still calling for justice.

Veterans of the First Quarter Storm joined other protesters in a march to Chino Roces (formerly Mendiola) bridge to commemorate the dark period in the nation’s history.

The FQS of 1970 was marked by a series of giant demonstrations, mostly by students and workers, against then President Ferdinand Marcos.

“How can we achieve justice? The past governments should have already prosecuted the Marcoses if they were sincere in giving justice to us victims. But then, as we can see, they [Marcoses] even won in the May 2010 elections. Now, they are all back,” Caloy Salvador, a victim of torture during martial law, said in an interview with Bulatlat. Salvador heads the organizational department of the First Quarter Storm Movement (FQSM)..... MORE

Source:  Bulatlat.com

URL: http://www.bulatlat.com/main/2010/09/25/after-38-years-justice-remains-elusive-for-martial-law-survivors/

Hacienda Luisita Peasants, Lawyer File Memorandum Asking SC to Order Land Distribution

 Hacienda Luisita Peasants, Lawyer File Memorandum Asking SC to Order Land Distribution

Published on September 24, 2010

The 49-page document contained the farm workers’ final stand regarding the agrarian dispute, which has been going on for more than a century already. “The justices would be able to find every answer to their questions (in this memorandum),” ULWU acting president and Ambala vice chairmain Lito Bais said.

By JANESS ANN J. ELLAO
Bulatlat.com

MANILA — Farm workers of Hacienda Luisita filed before the Supreme Court their memorandum, which, according to their legal counsel Jobert Pahilga, contained their final stand regarding the agrarian dispute, which has been going on for more than a century already.

(Photo by Janess Ann J. Ellao / bulatlat.com)

 The 49-page memorandum was submitted by the lawyers of the farm workers to the Supreme Court on Wednesday, September 22, in compliance with the agreement arrived at during the August 24 hearing that all parties would submit their memorandum within 30 days.

In the said memorandum, the Alyansa ng mga Magbubukid sa Hacienda Luisita (Ambala), the respondents to the petition filed by Hacienda Luisita Inc. (HLI), argued that it is well within the jurisdiction, power, and authority of the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) and the Presidential Agrarian Reform Council (PARC) to revoke the Stock Distribution Option (SDO); due process was followed in revoking the SDO; and there is more than substantial factual basis to revoke the SDO, especially since the economic conditions of the farm worker beneficiaries have “become onerous and has miserably deteriorated.”   .... MORE

Source:  Bulatlat.com

URL: http://www.bulatlat.com/main/2010/09/24/hacienda-luisita-peasants-lawyer-file-memorandum-asking-sc-to-order-land-distribution/

Senate opts out of jueteng probe 09/25/2010

BLUE RIBBON CHAIRMAN'S MOVE SEEN TO KILL PALACE PAYOFFS ISSUE 

Senate opts out of jueteng probe

09/25/2010
With Malacañang aides and cronies now feeling the heat over allegations of jueteng payoffs in the millions, Senate allies of President Aquino, led by Senate blue ribbon committee chairman Sen. TG Guingona, are no longer keen on continuing with the investigation, and will be wrapping up the probe sooner than expected.

The move is seen by some sectors as Malacañang’s staunch Senate allies’ way of killing the issue of the payoffs to close aides and allies of Aquino from the illegal numbers game by big jueteng lords and operators, as well as this stoppage being their way of protecting Aquino from further allegations that may end up having fingers pointed to more national level officials being the recipients of jueteng payola.

It will be recalled that a day after Sen. Miriam Defensor delivered her privilege speech that named several big jueteng lords, she also mentioned that the payoffs also go to national government officials.

Sen. Edgardo Angara, the next day, called for Santiago to name the different high government officials who are the recipients of jueteng payoffs.

With more names currently being dragged in the latest “juetengate” controversy, the Senate panel will no longer continue with its probe..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20100925hed1.html

Cops idle as riots erupted in QC demolition, De Lima wails By Benjamin B. Pulta 09/25/2010

Cops idle as riots erupted in QC demolition, De Lima wails
By Benjamin B. Pulta
09/25/2010

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima yesterday said she would look into reports if there had been lapses in the handling by policemen of the situation during Thursday’s demolition in Sitio San Roque, Barangay Bagong Pag-asa, Quezon City.

According to De Lima, she would talk with the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) regarding the possible conduct of investigation into the matter. 

The Philippine National Police (PNP) is under the supervision of the DILG.

She said while PNP operatives are not to involve themselves during the conduct of the demolition, policemen should not have stood idly by when violence erupted. 

The Justice chief said the police should act in the event that there is a “breakdown

of law and order.”.... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20100925hed2.html

Enrile calls for survival as nation marks typhoon ‘Ondoy’ anniversary 09/25/2010

Enrile calls for survival as nation marks typhoon ‘Ondoy’ anniversary
09/25/2010
Marking the first anniversary of typhoon “Ondoy,” Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile today issued a call for the formation of a national survival agenda anchored on public finance and adaptation to climate change.

“We know about the terrible effects of climate change and we are aware that its impacts on the Philippines will worsen. Yet it is simply not enough to just name the problem,” said Enrile. “We need to identify long-term solutions to the climate crisis along with the means to fund programs that will allow our people to cope with the rapidly and dangerously changing climate,” Enrile said.

Enrile called for the retooling of the national budget to address the vulnerabilities of Filipino communities facing the projected increase in severity and frequency of extreme weather events. The Senate President said he is studying, and will file, a bill “that will create a survival fund for local governments in anticipation of worsening impacts such as rising sea levels, intense flooding and extreme precipitation.”

Enrile said the bill he will file is focused on supporting localities “particularly exposed to the ravages of global warming. “Local Government Units are the first line of defense of hapless communities facing the effects of climate change. LGUs need predictable, long-term and directly accessible sources of public finance that can fund their climate change adaptation programs.”.... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/nation/20100925nat6.html

Palace assures no whitewash of IIRC sanctions By Aytch S. de la Cruz and Gerry Baldo 09/25/2010

Palace assures no whitewash of IIRC sanctions
By Aytch S. de la Cruz and Gerry Baldo
09/25/2010

Malacañang yesterday assured that the position being taken by Justice Secretary Leila de Lima on the recommendations and criminal and administrative sanctions sought against several officials in the executive department as stated in the Incident Investigation and Review Committee (IIRC) will stand. The Palace yesterday claimed it will be standing by the IIRC recommendations on who should be held liable for the Aug. 23 hostage rescue fiasco but also said that the “review” will be “fair.”

In the same breath, however, Malacañang acknowledges the fact that President Aquino is not 100 percent sold on the recommendations and had expressed some doubts on the IIRC’s report. But Palace aides claimed this is the reason for Aquino’s legal team to conduct a review of the facts.

These were the apparent flip-flopping statements issued by presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda to reporters during his Friday press briefing in relation to the lingering concerns on the Manila bus siege controversy a week after the IIRC handed its report to the President.

De Lima publicly expressed her, and her panel members’ disappointment over the decision of Aquino to have the IIRC report reviewed by Palace lawyers, with Aquino saying that he was not about to simply take the IIRC report and recommendations at face value, as he needs his lawyers to point to him whether these sanctions, if taken, would stand in court, saying 

that he does not want to bring cases against those who have been indicted in the report if such wouldn’t stand up in court..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20100925hed3.html