• 6 AUGUST - *1907 - Gen. Macario Sakay, one of the Filipino military leaders who had continued fighting the imperialist United States invaders eight years into the P...
    13 years ago

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Farmers Hold Caravan Protest Against PH-US Balikatan Exercises in Central Luzon

Thursday, April 21, 2011

 Farmers Hold Caravan Protest Against PH-US Balikatan Exercises in Central Luzon

“We were never fooled – the motives of the US have always been self-serving. The US has always made sure to protect its own economic and geopolitical interests in Asia and it has been using the Philippines to do this.” – Satur Ocampo of Makabayan
By INA ALLECO R. SILVERIO
Bulatlat.com

The pavement sweltered under the blazing mid-morning sun, but protesters led by peasant organizations Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas and the Alyansa ng mga Magbubukid sa Gitnang Luson (AMGL, Peasant Alliance in Central Luzon) remained determined to show their anger and disgust against the ongoing Philippines-United States Balikatan exercises being held in Central Luzon.

Joined by members of people’s organizations under the Bagong Alyansang Mabakayan (BAYAN) such as the Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU), Health Alliance for Democracy (KMP) and the Alliance of Concerned Teachers, the KMP and AMGL led a caravan of eight vehicles from Quezon City to Central Luzon. They journeyed for two hours and their first stop was the Clark Special Economic Zone in Angeles City.

Armed security guards and police attempted to stop the protesters from moving further into the entrance of the special economic zone, but Anakpawis Representative and KMP chairman Rafael Mariano, Makabayan Coalition president Satur Ocampo and KMP deputy-secretary-general Willy Marbella asserted their rights to peaceful assembly and literally lifted and moved the metal barriers placed by security forces of the zone.

After a short program wherein leaders burned a replica of the American flag, the caravan proceeded to Camp Servillano Aquino, the base of the Northern Luzon Command (NOLCOM) in Brgy. San Miguel, Tarlac City. There the protesters from Quezon City were met by farmers from Tarlac and Nueva Ecija under BAYAN-CL and the Hacienda Luisita workers’ ULWU.

Camp Aquino is the site of Staff Exercise and Command Post Exercise (STAFFEX/CPX).

After the hour-long protest where the rallyists again burned an American flag as well as painted caricatures of President Benigno Aquino III and the iconic Uncle Sam representing the US government, the protesters continued their caravan into Hacienda Luisita and adjacent barangays along Tarlac-Sta. Rosa Road.

The Philippines as Target of Enemies of the US 
 
Makabayan’s Ocampo denounced the PH-US Balikatan exercises as a betrayal of national sovereignty and a reversal of the Filipino people’s victory in 1991 when the US military bases were driven out after 50 years in the country. He said that there never was a just or acceptable reason for the US to maintain bases in the country or to send its troops for training..... MORE

SourceBulatlat.com

URL: http://bulatlat.com/main/2011/04/15/farmers-hold-caravan-protest-against-ph-us-balikatan-exercises-in-central-luzon/

Political Detainee, Poet Ericson Acosta Tortured, Almost Executed by Military

Political Detainee, Poet Ericson Acosta Tortured, Almost Executed by Military


By Acosta’s account, the interrogation by at least eight military officials who took turns began 10:30 p.m. on the day of his arrest and ended only on 6:00 pm of February 15. In the intervening 44 hours, he was only allowed two hours of sleep and only because his interrogators themselves already got too tired and sleepy.
By INA ALLECO R. SILVERIO
Bulatlat.com

He was not holding a grenade or any explosive at the time of his arrest and he was subjected to torture while in the custody of the military.

These were some of the assertions made by poet and writer Ericson Acosta in the counter-affidavit he submitted to the National Prosecution Service in Calbayog City Samar April 12, 2011.

In the presence of the Assistant Provincial Prosecutor Agustin M. Avalon and his own lawyer Julian F. Oliva of the National Union of People’s Lawyers (NUPL), Acosta affirmed that he was a freelance journalist doing research on human rights violations and the protection of the environment in Samar for the Alliance of Concerned Samareños (ACOS) and the peasant group Kapununguan Han Gudti Nga Parag-Uma Ha Weste Han Samar (Kapawa.) He said that during his arrest and in the course of his continued detention, his constitutional and human rights were violated.

“I was arrested without warrant while not committing any crime or doing anything illegal; I was not informed of the reason for my arrest at the time of my arrest. I was also denied the right to counsel; denied a phone call and prevented from contacting my family or my lawyer and subjected to prolonged interrogation for 44 hours,” he said.

Acosta said that during tactical interrogation, he was physically and psychologically tortured; deprived of sleep, threatened, intimidated, coerced and forced to admit membership in the New People’s Army (NPA).
“The evidence against me, ‘the grenade’, was planted; the complaint against me was filed in court only after 72 hours and 30 minutes after my arrest; and I was detained in a military camp, which is not of civilian jurisdiction.

Researching Human Rights Violations in Samar

Acosta was arrested On February 13, 2011 in Barangay Bay?ang, San Jorge, Samar. In reports it released to the media, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said that Acosta was a verified member of the NPA and that he attempted to resist arrest by trying to lob a grenade against arresting soldiers.
In his sworn statement, Acosta denied both allegations.


Ericson Acosta visited by friends from the University of the Philippines led by Bayan secretary-general Renato Reyes at the Calbayog jail, Samar.(Photo Courtesy by freeacosta.blogspot.com / bulatlat.com)
“I had just completed my research task the previous day. I left Barangay Bay?ang, San Jorge, Samar at a little past 9 o’ clock in the morning, and headed for what the barrio folk call their ‘port’ – an unmarked quay by the river which was less than an hour’s walk via mountain trail, where a pump boat was scheduled to pick me up at the said place and bring me to San Jorge town proper. I was joined by Vicente Dacles, the Barangay Secretary, and several other residents of Bay?ang who were all going to town as well for some business,” Acosta wrote in his affidavit..... MORE

SourceBulatlat.com

URL: http://bulatlat.com/main/2011/04/15/political-detainee-poet-ericson-acosta-tortured-almost-executed-by-military/

More Labor Violations Discovered at Eton

More Labor Violations Discovered at Eton

It had taken ten dead construction workers and a public outcry before the labor department dispatched an inspection team to Lucio Tan’s construction sites. What they discovered were multiple violations of labor standards.
By MARYA SALAMAT

Bulatlat.com
Sidebar: Covered-up Accidents, Underpayment of Wages in Big Construction Sites

MANILA – How much is a worker’s life worth? To add to the grief of the families of ten young construction workers who fell and died last January from the 28th floor in a condominium construction project of tycoon Lucio Tan’s Eton, it amounted to just P150,000 ($3,466) each. Another construction worker who fell and survived sustained grave physical injuries that bar him from continuing to work. Their families are also having a hard time getting their benefits from the Social Security System (SSS).

Relatives of the construction workers who died in the Eton construction accident trooped yesterday to the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) for the preliminary hearing of the case they filed against Eton Properties and their subcontractors.

Last month some survivors of the Eton tragedy filed cases against Eton Properties Philippines Inc., and all its subcontractors namely, Jose Aliling Construction Management Inc., C.E. Construction, Arlo Aluminum Company, Inc. and Eduardo Piñon “for unfair labor practice specifically the non-payment of minimum wages, unsafe working conditions, non-compliance to occupational health and safety regulations resulting to death, non-registration of social security, non-payment of SSS, employment of minor, and violation of labor standards.”

The first hearing reportedly turned into an occasion for the employers’ lawyer, and for the labor arbiter Thomas Que Jr., to ask the survivors “How much do you really want,” as both claimed the money given to the families of victims by their employers were “already big.”

The representatives of the construction company claimed to some reporters that they have given families of the victims P250,000 ($5,777), but the victims told the Justice for Eton 11 Network that they only received P150,000 ($3,466). They were also made to sign papers which, although they were not given a copy, the PRO-Labor lawyer Remigio Saladero Jr. surmised as affidavits of desistance based on the accounts of the survivors. It is a legal document that supposedly signifies that a person would no longer file claims against certain parties. The families of victims were reportedly made to sign these documents in the dead of the night during their kins’ wake.

Indemnity

In the immediate aftermath of the construction tragedy in Lucio Tan’s Eton project in Makati last January, the labor department dispatched an inspection team to look into the various revelations coming out that most construction companies do not pay minimum wages, are violating occupational health and safety regulations, not remitting SSS contributions and not observing other labor standards. Particularly in the case of the Eton deaths, it became known that minors are being employed in the construction of Eton. One of the victims was a minor..... MORE

SourceBulatlat.com

URL: http://bulatlat.com/main/2011/04/15/more-labor-violations-discovered-at-eton/

Bayan Leader in Batangas Killed

Bayan Leader in Batangas Killed

“He is really known in Lemery as a leader who advocates for the interests of the people,” Bayan-Batangas secretary general Juna Arante said.
By ANNE MARXZE D. UMIL
Bulatlat.com

MANILA – Kenneth Reyes, 28, president of Bayan-Batangas and barangay captain of Maguihan, Lemery, Batangas, was an active participant in various struggles of residents of Lemery. “He is known as someone who can easily be counted on by the people that he served,” said Juna Arante, secretary general of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan), Batangas chapter. Arante added that “His (Reyes’) vigor in performing his duties first as a barangay councilor and then as a barangay captain since October 2010 were the fondest memories he gave to his constituents, friends and families.”

Reyes was gunned down last April 11, around 1:00 am, by unidentified gunmen in front of his house in Maguihan village, Lemery, Batangas. Reyes is among the 45 activists killed under the administration of Benigno S. Aquino III based on Bulatlat.com’s monitoring.

Reyes had just arrived home from a seminar in Cebu when he was gunned down. Witnesses said the gunmen casually walked away from the crime scene and immediately left aboard a white car.

Reyes sustained four gun-shot wounds from a .45 pistol, three in his stomach and one is in his back that went through his chest. He was rushed to the Our Lady of Cassasay Medical Center but was dead on arrival.
Active leader.

Arante and Reyes both worked for Bayan-Batangas. Arante said that Reyes is a known leader of vendors and fishermen in Lemery. Arante is also the secretary general of People First Coalition (PFC), a multi-sectoral alliance in Batangas.

“As a leader of PFC, his main work is in the city proper of Lemery, Batangas. He leads protest actions, as well as campaigns of local organizations. He is really known in Lemery as a leader who advocates for the interests of the people,” said Arante in a telephone interview with Bulatlat.

Reyes’s active participation against demolition in Maguihan and in other multi-sectoral issues affecting the people of Lemery is the closest motive we could think of for killing him, said Arante. “Kenneth’s staunch devotion to stop the demolition in Villarica land in Maguihan village has long caught the ire of those who wanted to seize the land for commercial purposes.”

Not only a good and active leader, Reyes was also a friend one can depend on, as Bayan-Batangas remembered him, said Arante, who told Bulatlat, “He is someone we can also turn to when we need help in transportation fares, logistics and other technical needs and he made sure that he provides the help we needed.”

Not Related to Illegal Drugs 

The Philippine National Police in Batangas however said the murder is related to politics and illegal drugs. In a news report, Senior Superintendent Alberto Supapo, Batangas police director, said that before the incident Reyes had been arrested for illegal drugs..... MORE

SourceBulatlat.com

URL: http://bulatlat.com/main/2011/04/17/bayan-muna-leader-in-batangas-killed/

Execution of Three Filipinos in China, Reminiscent of Flor Contemplacion’s Death

Execution of Three Filipinos in China, Reminiscent of Flor Contemplacion’s Death

“It is the government’s policy to provide legal counsel only at the tail end of the case. It is like waiting for an illness to turn into cancer before being treated.” – Migrante International
By ERIKA CALEJA and JANESS ANN J. ELLAO
Bulatlat.com

MANILA – Rose Zapanta could barely breathe when she learned of the death of the three Filipinos who were recently executed in China. She reached out to her mother Mona, who was crying at her side. Both of them are not acquainted with the three Filipinos nor their relatives. But they felt the anguish and the pain that the loved ones of the deceased are going through because Rose’s brother Joselito, was also meted with the death penalty.

Joselito was sentenced to die in Saudi Arabia after he ended up killing his Sudanese landlord who went to his work site on March 26, 2009 to ask for his payment for the house rent even if it was not yet due. The argument turned into a fight, and, to defend himself, Joselito hit his landlord with a hammer.

In Manila, Joselito’s family asked the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to keep them updated regarding Joselito’s case. In a previous interview with Mona, she said that they frequented the DFA’s office in Pasay City just to ask for updates on the case. They could not rely on telephone calls, she said, because “either the phone line was busy or would keep on ringing. Sometimes, when an official from DFA answers the phone, he would shout at us then end the call abruptly.”

Today, Rose told Bulatlat.com in a telephone interview that their family have sold most of their belongings such as their television set, electric fan, cellphone, bike, DVD player and even their cooking pots just to have money for their parent’s fare commuting from Mexico, Pampanga to the DFA’s office in Pasay City just to ask for updates on Joselito’s case because the government agency does not exert any effort to reach out to them.

Rose said their family is dismayed about how the DFA is handling his brother’s case. And when the three Filipinos were recently executed in China, she could not help but worry, “not only for my brother but for many others who are also sentenced to die. What does the future hold for them if the government will continue what they are doing?”

The government, she said, should learn an important lesson from these deaths and, hopefully, no Filipino would have to go through the same fate that Sally Villanueva, Ramon Credo and Elizabeth Batain had. They were arrested separately in China in 2008 carrying 4,410 grams, 4,113 grams and 6,800 grams of heroin, respectively. The three were charged with violating Article No. 347 of the Criminal Law of the People’s Republic of China, a crime punishable by death. And on March 29, the three were executed.

Committing the Same Mistake Over and Over Again 

For Migrante International, on the other hand, the execution of the three Filipinos in China is not the first time that the government should have learned a lesson about the hazards of intensifying its labor export policy. From a supposed temporary solution to the unemployment situation more than three decades ago, it has become a continuing policy not only to address the worsening unemployment in the country but also to keep the economy afloat through the billions of dollars in remittances from over 4,500 overseas Filipino workers (including undocumented workers) leaving the country everyday. Thus, the government does not feel the urgency anymore of generating local jobs with decent pay, which could have been the long-term solution to the unemployment situation in the country...... MORE

SourceBulatlat.com

URL: http://bulatlat.com/main/2011/04/15/execution-of-three-filipinos-in-china-reminiscent-of-flor-contemplacion%E2%80%99s-death/

Bottomline: Noy has not delivered EDITORIAL 04/20/2011

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Bottomline: Noy has not delivered

EDITORIAL
Click to enlarge
04/20/2011
The nation seems to have acquired a belligerent president in the person of Noynoy Aquino, resulting in what is expected to be more hardships for Filipinos as the economic difficulties are aggravated by the political friction he has been, and still is, causing.

The House opposition, which is at the moment mainly the wing supporting former president and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Arroyo, is offering critical collaboration to get things going primarily in the legislative mill, but Noynoy’s response to the offer was his spokesmen letting loose a barrage of wisecracks against the Arroyo camp..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110420com1.html

There they go again FRONTLINE Ninez Cacho-Olivares 04/20/2011

There they go again

FRONTLINE
Ninez Cacho-Olivares
04/20/2011
Filipinos,especially those allied with Malacañang, do have a weird sense of justice.

There are now calls for two principal accused, former Agriculture Secretary Cito Lorenzo and his then undersecretary, JocJoc Bolante, in the P728-million fertilizer fund scam, to become state witnesses, obviously with the intent of getting them to point to Gloria Arroyo as the brains behind the scam.

What? The principal accused, who are deemed the “most guilty” are to turn state witnesses, while the small fry will be made to burn again?

The least guilty of the accused, are those who can be tapped as state witnesses, not the most guilty.... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110420com2.html

Rio winning in investment, failing on culture FEATURE 04/20/2011

Rio winning in investment, failing on culture

FEATURE

04/20/2011
RIO DE JANEIRO — Despite a wealth of investment ahead of the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympic Games, Rio de Janeiro officials admit they are falling short in renovating the city’s many cultural sites.

Nestled in a forest of skyscrapers in the heart of Rio, baroque churches, colonial homes, worn cobblestone streets and Art Deco buildings testify to a past often swept away in the urban sprawl that has destroyed countless buildings since the 1940s.

With the Olympic Games five years away, Rio is banking on some $17 billion in investment — make that a hefty $24 billion if you include funds earmarked over the next three years for the 2014 World Cup finals..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110420com3.html

Studying life in the shadow of nuclear plants FEATURE 04/20/2011

Studying life in the shadow of nuclear plants

FEATURE

04/20/2011
BURR RIDGE — The girl’s voice shook as she stood in front of some of the world’s top scientists and told them “I am one of the statistics that you will be studying.”

Sarah Saurer was seven years old when she was diagnosed with brain cancer.

Her parents soon found out that several other children in their small town — which sat just miles away from two troubled Illinois nuclear power plants — had been diagnosed with brain cancer and leukemia.

Then news broke that one of the plants had been leaking radioactive water for years before it was detected. A quick survey by concerned mothers found that every single home within a quarter mile of the spill housed someone who’d been diagnosed with cancer.... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune


URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110420com5.html

What’s clear... HE SAYS Aldrin Cardon 04/20/2011

What’s clear...

HE SAYS
Aldrin Cardon
04/20/2011
Two things struck me as Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez tried to put a sober look at President Aquino’s over-eagerness to have her impeached.

Two weeks after Lent on May 9, the Senate becomes an impeachment court, and will put Gutierrez under scrutiny for betrayal of public trust for not filing charges against Gloria Arroyo, her former officials and associates linked to corruption. It was Arroyo who appointed Gutierrez to the Office of the Ombudsman.

Gutierrez’s critics claimed she never made an effort to look into allegations linking Arroyo and her husband Mike, Gutierrez’s classmate at the Ateneo law school, to various cases of graft and corruption..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110420com6.html

Still hazy SHE SAYS Dinah S. Ventura 04/20/2011

Still hazy

SHE SAYS
Dinah S. Ventura
04/20/2011
There is something about the hot, humid stillness of the air these days that bodes of a coming rupture, as if boiling air is trapped within, threatening to break out and scald us all.
Filipinos, usually so cheerful no matter what the circumstances, are wearing somber, unsmiling expressions these days, and while it might have something to do with the Lenten season, I am pretty sure the main reason for our long, dark expressions has to do with the impatience we feel about our circumstances.

The rising gasoline prices, rising fares, rising cost of living in general with no reprieve in sight — not even the cushioning effects of salary adjustments or removal of the oil tax — has driven many fun-loving Pinoys to reconsider their options. For the nth decade in our lives, Pinoys are leaving in droves, unable to take much more of the status quo. Those who left years ago are still returning to those places they will never feel completely at home in, but will tolerate for the sake of their families’ welfare. Many of them would rather stay here, but how could they — life is too difficult, and government has yet again vowed and is struggling to fix what had been broken so many times before..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110420com7.html

‘Flexi VAT’ and supply woes C.R.O.S.S.R.O.A.D.S Jonathan De la Cruz 04/20/2011

‘Flexi VAT’ and supply woes

C.R.O.S.S.R.O.A.D.S
Jonathan De la Cruz
04/20/2011
Now that P-Noy has somewhat eased on his erstwhile aversion to tweaking the oil deregulation law and its attendant operating framework by signing on to the Philippine National Oil Co.-Exploration Corp. (PNOC-EC)’s diesel reserve project, he and his advisers may do well to go a step further and consider the “flexi VAT” suggestion of noted economist Ben Diokno, who is a UP professor and former President Erap Estrada’s Budget secretary. He has suggested that Malacañang advise Congress to pass as an urgent administration measure a flexible VAT in lieu of the current rigid across-the-board VAT system on oil and oil products. Under this proposal, Congress and the administration can agree on a maximum price upon which the flexible VAT system will be imposed.

They can agree, for example, that the flexibility only applies to a fixed maximum price of say, $100 per barrel. If the price goes higher than that then the VAT will only be applied on the fixed ceiling of $100 per barrel not the higher one. This flexi VAT proposal takes off from the flexi tariff initiative which the previous administration put in place when oil prices hiked unexpectedly earning it plaudits from a suffering public..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110420com4.html

Military officer blasts AFP graft ‘snitches’ By Mario J. Mallari and Benjamin B. Pulta 04/20/2011

WHISTLE-BLOWERS ONLY OUT TO SAVE THEIR NECKS — CRS CHIEF

Military officer blasts AFP graft ‘snitches’

By Mario J. Mallari and Benjamin B. Pulta 04/20/2011

Exposes of corruption in the Armed Forces of the Philippines by credible AFP whistle-blowers appear to be irritating to the military brass, as a ranking official of the AFP yesterday blasted the “whistle-blowers” in the alleged massive corruption in the military organization during the previous administration, accusing these whistle-blowers of snitching and putting the military institution in a bad light, just to protect themselves, also implying they themselves benefitted from the past misdeeds.

In his assumption speech, newly installed AFP-Civil Relations Service (CRS) chief Brig. Gen. Eduardo del Rosario, however, stressed that the present military leadership is all-out for the truth..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20110420hed1.html

De Lima pleads for Ping’s cooperation in new probe By Benjamin B. Pulta 04/20/2011

De Lima pleads for Ping’s cooperation in new probe

By Benjamin B. Pulta 04/20/2011

Come clean this time, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima told Sen. Panfilo Lacson yesterday, saying the Dacer family is willing to drop a petition against Lacson with the Supreme Court (SC) if a planned Department of Justice (DoJ) reinvestigation of the double murder case of publicist Salvador Dacer and his driver Emmanuel Corbito will exonerate him.

De Lima called on embattled Palace ally Lacson’s cooperation with government investigators in the reinvestigation of the decade-old murder case.

De Lima pointed out the DoJ’s reinvestigation would not weaken but rather consolidate the petition filed by the Dacer family with the SC..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20110420hed4.html

Prosecutors see strong graft case vs former solon 04/20/2011

Prosecutors see strong graft case vs former solon

04/20/2011
The graft case against former Bukidnon Rep. Nereus Acosta involving the diversion of his pork barrel allocations to cooperatives in Bukidnon owned by his relatives need not be subjected to any plea bargaining.
This arose after prosecutors said the case against the former lawmaker “was not weak.”

Acosta, who lost his bid for a Senate seat in the May 2010 elections, has been indicted and tried for graft after he used his pork barrel allocations in 2001 to finance the lending operations of the Bukidnon Integrated Network of Home Industries Inc. (Binhi) and shore up the finances of the Bukidnon Vegetable Producers Cooperative (BVPC) in 2002..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20110420hed3.html

K-12 education scheme starts next school year 04/20/2011

.K-12 education scheme starts next school year
04/20/2011

The Department of Education’s (DepEd) proposed curriculum where the 10-year basic education from elementary to secondary would be increased to 12 years will have its preliminary start in the kindergarten this school year’s opening of classes.

DepEd Communications Unit head Kenneth Tirado informed radio and television audience of “Talking Points” over Radyo ng Bayan (DZRB) simulcast on NBN 4 that the formal start of the curriculum, dubbed as K+12 will be in Grade 1 and in First Year in June 2012 for the SY 2012-2013... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20110420hed6.html

Ex-justice scores Lacierda for blaming judiciary on media killings By Charlie V. Manalo 04/20/2011

Ex-justice scores Lacierda for blaming judiciary on media killings

By Charlie V. Manalo 04/20/2011

A retired justice of the Sandiganbayan yesterday defended the judiciary from attacks by Presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda saying the administration has no right to wash its hands on the spate of media killings and pass the blame on other agencies of government.

In a statement, retired Justice Raul Victorino said that Lacierda’s statement shifting the blame over the media killings to the Judiciary is not only a disservice to everybody, nor gives no assurance whatsoever to “our citizens, especially the families and loved ones of the slain journalists, that our government is doing something to address their concerns, but on the main, does not even proffer any proposed solutions to stop the spate of media killings..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/nation/20110420nat4.html

Taiwan summons 2 RP execs over Spratly dispute By Michaela P. del Callar 04/20/2011

Taiwan summons 2 RP execs over Spratly dispute

By Michaela P. del Callar 04/20/2011

Taiwan has summoned two Philippine officials in Taipei to re-assert its claim over the disputed Spratlys after Manila lodged a protest before the United Nations contesting China’s far-reaching claim in the area.

Taiwanese Vice Foreign Minister Shen Ssu-tsun called Amadeo Perez, chairman of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (Meco), a Philippine de-facto embassy, and Meco head Antonio Basilio to the Foreign Ministry on April 18 to reiterate “Taiwan’s sovereignty claim over the South China Sea.”.... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/nation/20110420nat2.html

Civilians warn of terrorists attacks on Lenten break—AFP 04/20/2011

Civilians warn of terrorists attacks on Lenten break—AFP

04/20/2011
Terrorist elements might take advantage of the Lenten break to execute their dark plans of causing disorder and attacking civilians, a military official warned yesterday following the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) encounter with some members of Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) in Basilan recently.

AFP Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations, Maj. Gen. Emmanuel Bautista, however, clarified that right now the entire nation remains free from serious threats of a possible terrorist attack given the absence of any intelligence information leading to that effect..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/nation/20110420nat3.html

File raps vs Burgos abductors – De Lima By Benjamin B. Pulta 04/20/2011

File raps vs Burgos abductors – De Lima

By Benjamin B. Pulta 04/20/2011

Filing of criminal charges have finally been ordered by the Department of Justice (DoJ) against military officials implicated in the abduction of political activist Jonas Burgos.

In her Memorandum Order No. 001, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima ordered Prosecutor General Claro Arellano to coordinate with the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) and the Burgos family for the filing of appropriate complaint for preliminary investigation against Army 1st Lt. Harry Agagen Baliaga Jr., company commander of the 56th Infantry Batallion, 7th Infantry Division based in Norzagaray, Bulacan..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/metro/20110420met1.html

Noynoy’s folly EDITORIAL 04/19/2011

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Noynoy’s folly

EDITORIAL
Click to enlarge
04/19/2011
Noynoy is hellbent on laying all blame on his claimed political enemies for his and his administration’s failure to govern competently or even rid his government of corruption.

That he is hiding his utter failure as a leader and president of the republic by blaming his political foes and critics is fairly clear, especially when he continues with his hate campaign and directing all this against the Ombudsman, pressing her removal through a Senate conviction..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110419com1.html

Peter principle at work FRONTLINE Ninez Cacho-Olivares 04/19/2011

Peter principle at work

FRONTLINE
Ninez Cacho-Olivares
04/19/2011
Frankly, Noynoy Aquino is making a fool of himself while using graduation ceremonies and other forums to lash out at the Ombudsman and campaign for her conviction in the Senate.

He justifies this by claiming that he cannot introduce reforms and changes the system as long as the Ombudsman remains in position.

He is looking pretty foolish, especialy as he is president, to bleat against Merci in such forums, because, in truth, the conviction of Merci is, or should be, beyond him and his powers, if he respects and upholds the Constitution.

Evidently, Noynoy realizes that he may not have the numbers in the Senate with which to get Merci convicted, which is probably the reason he continues to go on a hard-sell hate campaign against Merci, in a bid to get the studentry or youth behind him in his quest to remove Merci from her post, through a Senate conviction..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110419com2.html

Election results blow for Malaysian PM, say analysts ANALYSIS 04/19/2011

Election results blow for Malaysian PM, say analysts

ANALYSIS

04/19/2011
KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak is unlikely to call snap elections after a bruising state poll in which his ruling coalition lost ground to the opposition in a traditional stronghold, analysts said.

The Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition held onto its crucial two-thirds majority after Saturday’s vote in Sarawak but the opposition had its best result for nearly a quarter century in the resource-rich state on Borneo island.

The vote was seen as an important gauge of popularity for Najib, who has dished out money for rural development.

Some observers said it was the most crucial test for the BN since the 2008 general elections when the opposition seized a third of parliamentary seats and threatened the BN’s half-century grip on power..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110419com3.html

Clarification LETTER 04/19/2011

Clarification

LETTER

04/19/2011
Dear Editor:
This refers to the story “Rice and Oil” published in the Daily Tribune dated April 13 under the column Frontline citing the warning of the “government spy agency” on the “shrinking rice supply that has become a national security concern.”

At the outset, we would like to emphasize that even the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA) which is supposed to be the source of the report has reportedly denied coming out with the dire prediction on rice shortage. In any case, the supposed report was dated Feb. 20 this year, and a lot of actions have been done, both by DA and NFA since then. May we also point out that good weather conditions have augured well to an abundant summer crop rice production.

Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala has said the country may even hit 7.6 million metric tons palay output for the summer harvest which is 15 percent more than last year’s 6.6 MMT palay output for the same period..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110419com6.html

Another dysfunctional economy? AN OUTSIDERS VIEW Ken Fuller 04/19/2011

Another dysfunctional economy?

AN OUTSIDERS VIEW
Ken Fuller
04/19/2011
In a book I read a few months ago, the author complains of “rule by a small elite – never democratic, often autocratic, usually plutocratic, and lately kleptocratic — all working with a tribal-feudal mind-set, “in the name of the people” with democratic camouflage. This small elite comprises feudal barons, tribal warlords, and politicians of all hues… Elections…involve shifting coalitions of different clans or tribes, negotiated by tribal or clan leaders, rather than appeals to independent voters. The system lends itself to incompetence and corruption, leading to poor governance. It creates the illusion of democracy because we do have elections; but we forget that elections are but a tool of democracy, not an end in themselves.”

Sound familiar? Maybe, but it’s Perez Musharraf writing of Pakistan in his 2006 memoir, In the Line of Fire..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110419com4.html

Haitians turn to waste to combat cholera, deforestation FEATURE 04/19/2011

Haitians turn to waste to combat cholera, deforestation

FEATURE

04/19/2011
PORT-AU-PRINCE — Desperately poor Haiti is finding a cheap source of fuel in recycling human excrement, a move that could help put a dent in a cholera epidemic and slow the country’s pervasive deforestation.

The “biodigester,” which converts organic waste to biogas and a liquid fertilizer rich in nutrients, requires little infrastructure: Toilets linked to a sealed, brick-lined well connected to a basin. Seventy of these devices are up and running, while another 70 are in the works..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110419com7.html

Pitiful Pilipino Population (PPP) VIEWPOINTS Archbishop Oscar V. Cruz 04/19/2011

Pitiful Pilipino Population (PPP)

VIEWPOINTS
Archbishop Oscar V. Cruz
04/19/2011
For reason of short-sightedness, of hard-headedness or plain incompetence, on account of merely unwise advisories or downright selfish ulterior motives, Malacañang believes and wherefore accordingly acts on the assumption that the Filipino population is the problem and thus the culprit of national poverty, the cause of the present country-wide misery and socio-economic debacle.

Its simplistic thought and immediate option: Lessening the Filipino population automatically means national progress, equals development and prosperity. Reason: Big population is a curse. Small population is blessing. As far as the Filipinos are concerned, the more they are, the worse they become, the less they are, the better they emerge — specifically in terms of material abundance.

The following realities are thus conveniently ignored by Malacañang and cohorts: There are countries with less and less children, and wherefore with more and more aging people. Their recourse is to import more and more foreigners to man their trade and manage their industry. There are also countries that successfully led their citizens to have less and less population. Their governments are now doing everything for them to have more kids through different gimmicks and enticements. No wonder then that when certain individuals from such countries visit the Philippines, the mere sight of children is interestingly their big surprise and delight..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110419com5.html

Noy OK with Cito, Jocjoc as state witnesses 04/19/2011

Noy OK with Cito, Jocjoc as state witnesses

04/19/2011
Despite their being the principal accused, and deemed the most guilty, President Aquino, through his spokesman, Edwin Lacierda, said former Agriculture Secretary Luis “Cito” Lorenzo and Undersecretary Jocelyn “Jocjoc” Bolante can become state witnesses but only if they can provide fresh evidence that can lead to the real perpetrators behind the P728-million fertilizer fund scam, evidently referring to their pointing to former president Gloria Arroyo as the brains in the scam.

Lacierda however said the decision is up to Lorenzo and Bolante if they want to consider the suggestion of Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago to turn themselves in and cooperate with the government in its bid to find out the truth behind this six-year old controversy..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20110419hed2.html

Erap turns 74, kicks off birthday with gifts for the masses 04/19/2011

Erap turns 74, kicks off birthday with gifts for the masses

04/19/2011
Former President Joseph Estrada may no longer be in power, but he has not forgotten his natural constituents, the masses, who have never let him down.

Yesterday, the eve of his birthday, Estrada gave away 10,000 bags filled with canned goods, noodles and milk to indigent communities in Quezon City and Manila.

The gift giving ceremonies started in Payatas, followed by North Triangle in Quezon City then Baseco and Tondo in the afternoon.

At noontime the former President had lunch with the orphans at the Asociacion de Damas de Filipinas, an orphanage his late mother Mary Ejercito co-founded and which he helped rebuild when it burned down years ago. He has celebrated his birthdays and Christmases with orphans for the past 20 years..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20110419hed5.html

GMA tells Noy: Start acting like a real president By Charlie V. Manalo and Aytch S. de la Cruz 04/19/2011

AS NOYNOY TWITS GLORIA FOR ‘SOURGRAPING’

GMA tells Noy: Start acting like a real president

By Charlie V. Manalo and Aytch S. de la Cruz 04/19/2011

President Aquino called her and the political opposition as “paranoid” and now sourgrapes, but it certainly looks like the former president is not about to take Aquino’s tirades against her sitting down.

Having finally broken her silence, Pampanga Rep. Gloria Arroyo yesterday followed up her charge of the existence of a “vacuum in leadership” in relation to the Aquino government and his “student council” government, calling on her successor to start acting like a real president and work hard in resolving the country’s worsening problems..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20110419hed1.html

Malacañang passes on ‘pressure’ to judiciary in solving media killings By Aytch S. de la Cruz 04/19/2011

Malacañang passes on ‘pressure’ to judiciary in solving media killings

By Aytch S. de la Cruz 04/19/2011

Malacañang yesterday passed on to the judiciary the “pressure” it is receiving from various media and other press-oriented organizations concerning the resolution of the 2009 Maguindanao massacre and other political killings involving journalists that happened during the Arroyo administration.

Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said the blame for the apparent slow action of the courts as regards to the Ampatuan trial should not be put on the Executive branch, arguing that it is already beyond the President Aquino’s jurisdiction once cases have been filed before the respective legal courts.

“I would also like to ask the journalists not to focus solely on the Executive branch. The cases are being handled by the judiciary and I think that you should exert some pressure on the judges to make sure that the cases are heard on regular basis. The blame should not be laid on the Executive branch solely,” Lacierda told reporters at a news conference..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/nation/20110419nat1.html

Requiem for veteran journalist Jose L. Pavia 04/19/2011

Requiem for veteran journalist Jose L. Pavia

04/19/2011
Never in my wildest dream as a newsman that I would write a requiem for the late Jose Leetai Pavia, a veteran journalist who was my mentor, adviser and confidant in my profession for the last 37 years.

I was devastated upon receiving a text message from Abel Ulanday, associate editor of the Philippine Daily Inquirer, that Joe Pavia, or JLP for short for his close friends, passed away at 5:25 a.m. Monday at the University of the East Medical Center in Quezon City. He was 72.

Pavia was the founding general manager in 1973 of the state-run Philippines News Agency (PNA), executive director of the Philippines Press Institute (PPI), and publisher-editor of the weekly Mabuhay..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/metro/20110419met3.html

LFTRB may slap 30-day suspension on Partas bus company 04/19/2011

LFTRB may slap 30-day suspension on Partas bus company

04/19/2011
The operation of the bus company which was involved in the road accident involving a young actor from ABS-CBN may be suspended, the Land Transportation, Franchising and Regulatory Board said yesterday.

Interviewed over dzIQ, LTFRB board member lawyer Manuel Iway said that the board was considering of slapping the Partas bus company with a 30-day suspension, after one of its buses figured in the accident that killed ABS-CBN talent Antonilo Joseph Perez better known as AJ Perez in Tarlac last Sunday..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/metro/20110419met6.html

PNP receives tips thru text messages on Pilapil’s attackers By Gina Peralta-Elorde 04/19/2011

PNP receives tips thru text messages on Pilapil’s attackers

By Gina Peralta-Elorde 04/19/2011

The Philippine National Police (PNP) yesterday said that it received hundreds of text messages giving information that could led to the arrest of the suspects behind the abduction and attacking veteran actess Pilar Pilapil last week.

PNP spokesman Chief Supt. Agrimero Cruz Jr., said that they are verifying the text messages to determine if there are leads that could give vital information to Pilapil’s attackers.

Cruz added that the text messages flocked following the release of a computerized artist sketch of one of the suspects..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/metro/20110419met1.html

No choice but to reduce VAT EDITORIAL 04/18/2011

Monday, April 18, 2011

No choice but to reduce VAT

EDITORIAL
Click to enlarge
04/18/2011
“VAT-man” Sen. Ralph Recto came up with some intriguing computations regarding the tax bonanza that Noynoy is currently reaping from the rising price of crude oil in the world market.

Recto said that from the value added tax (VAT) tacked on fuel alone, the government must have earned already P9 billion in extra revenues from the time crude oil prices rose from $90 per barrel to $110 per barrel on a thumb rule of P1.56 million in extra earnings a day whenever the world market price of oil climbs by $1 per barrel..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110418com1.html

The day may come FRONTLINE Ninez Cacho-Olivares 04/18/2011

The day may come

FRONTLINE
Ninez Cacho-Olivares
04/18/2011
Noynoy and his supporters, during the 2010 presidential elections, peddled hope, along with change, which could prove to be a dangerous thing for one who can’t deliver on his campaign promises.

That hopes were raised when Noynoy came into power and position, can hardly be denied, but as he has shown, in the past 10 months of his presidency, that he has no leadership quality, and has not done anything to bring about change, with the country and the nation at a standstill and directionless, that hope Noynoy sold to the voters during the elections is rapidly vanishing.

Filipinos today are said in a March survey conducted by the Social Weather Stations (SWS), that they are less optimistic today, with optimism having diminished greatly. Optimism and hope are synonymous..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110418com2.html

Want to save fuel? Go fly a kite FEATURE 04/18/2011

Want to save fuel? Go fly a kite

FEATURE

04/18/2011
THE NORTH SEA — The blue-hulled vessel would slip by unnoticed on most seas if not for the white kite, high above her prow, towing her to what its creators hope will be a bright, wind-efficient future.

The enormous kite, which looks like a paraglider, works in tandem with the ship’s engines, cutting back on fuel consumption, costs, and carbon footprint.

“Using kites you can harness more energy than with any other type of wind-powered equipment,” said German inventor Stephan Wrage, whose company SkySails is looking for lift-off on the back of worldwide efforts to boost renewable energy..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110418com3.html

Malacañang defends Marcos C.R.O.S.S.R.O.A.D.S Jonathan De la Cruz 04/18/2011

Malacañang defends Marcos

C.R.O.S.S.R.O.A.D.S
Jonathan De la Cruz
04/18/2011
Now, this is what being right and factual is all about. For all that P-Noy, his family and their advocates have said about former President Marcos and the martial law years, Malacañang has come out in defense of the inclusion of the former Chief Executive in the Armed Forces’ Hall of Heroes featuring the country’s 39 Medal of Valor awardees. All the awardees have been appropriately recognized in accordance with the rules and regimen of the military establishment. In Marcos’ case, his Medal of Valor was awarded on Oct. 16, 1958 by the late President Carlos Garcia for his exploits as a soldier and guerrilla commander in World War II. Thus, until the same is recalled or rescinded, no amount of shrill denunciations or revisionist interpretation from the usual suspects can pull him out of the elite roster. That the Palace recognized this practice and proceeded to so defend it at a time when it is being accused of being vindictive and self-righteous, is most welcome. It shows it can make the right decisions when the occasion warrants..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110418com4.html

Hope and renewal HE SAYS Aldrin Cardon 04/18/2011

Hope and renewal

HE SAYS
Aldrin Cardon
04/18/2011
Last I checked, Lent meant new hopes and the renewal of body, soul and spirit. Or at least achieving something closer to all these.

I always look forward to Easter, with the image of the Risen Christ always on top of my list of anything associated with religion of whatever kind.

A second life is always nice to look forward to, even for sinners who renew their faith, or even least for those who simply want to change for the better.

I applauded Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s long silence after she stepped down from the presidency, albeit hesitantly, after an extended reign of nine years, which from the start was marred by anomalies and controversies which would put the most evil film villains to shame..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110418com6.html

Reflection SHE SAYS Dinah S. Ventura 04/18/2011

Reflection

SHE SAYS
Dinah S. Ventura
04/18/2011
As the Catholic population observes the Holy Week this year, which culminates the religious season of Lent, we, Christians, will observe the traditions, including fasting, alms-giving and more than the usual amount of prayer this week.

This somber season, however, is also marked by some form of celebration even though “fasting” per se also means inhibiting ourselves from festivities. This is because family members get to go out of town together and have a summer break as many are given time off from work at this time.

For me, the Lenten season has a deeper meaning this year. Events of the recent past have forced me to reckon with faith and mortality. It seems death, indeed, can come too soon, and unexpectedly. Not only have I felt grief for the loss of some people within my sphere, but the disasters and tragedies that have taken so many lives have also affected me somehow..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110418com7.html

Jesus’ bane: Money changers DIE HARD III Herman Tiu Laurel 04/18/2011

Jesus’ bane: Money changers

DIE HARD III
Herman Tiu Laurel
04/18/2011
This week the nation remembers the suffering and death of the historic Jesus Christ under the Roman Empire and the money changers of the temples of his time. It reminds me of the present era of Imperia Americana, with its retinue of money masters, under which many nations have experienced untold suffering and slow death.

Globally and nationally, we are witnessing this continuing passion play of the yoke of imperial tyranny with the US’ 800 military bases across the globe, its Nato sidekicks, the IMF, and even social networks conjuring Twitter revolutions left and right, while the New Imperium refurbishes old puppet regimes with new versions. Undoubtedly, one such case is Egypt .

On infowars.com, Kurt Nimmo’s “Banksters Cook Up Economic Snake Oil for Egypt” describes Egypt in the aftermath of its so-called “people power” revolution (with “banksters” denoting the Shylocks of these times, the banker-gangsters). The writer cites an Agence France Presse report detailing that “the World Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the African Development Bank, and the Islamic Development Bank are pledging to have an ‘action plan’ outlined by the end of May… an effort that will lock the victims of the so-called Arab Spring into perpetual debt…”

Further, “The international bankers have agreed ‘to develop a joint action plan for aligning their investments toward a new vision to support the aspirations of citizens for inclusive and sustained growth,’” with the IMF at the forefront. However, according to Nimmo, what the reports do not say is that “prior to the so-called revolution, the globalists considered Egypt an ‘economic miracle’… in other words (it) followed orders and privatized…”

Back in the 1990s, Egypt privatized its state-owned industries and held fire sales that sank it into poverty. Such precedent, coupled with US food policies that pushed hunger massively higher everywhere beginning in the 2000s, accounts for why “The uprisings in Egypt, Morocco, Algeria and elsewhere in the Arab world are due in large part to escalating food prices — prices jacked up by bankster speculation.”

Explaining his view on why Mubarak was destabilized, Nimmo says, “In May of 2010, the Egyptian government (Mubarak) announced that the sale of state assets to investors had effectively ended.” A year later, the “Twitter revolution” transpired. “Soon after the CIA orchestrated revolution,” Nimmo adds, “the people of Egypt were subjected to military rule little different than the rule of the brutal dictator Mubarak.” This was exactly what I saw when I wrote “From US frying pan to US fire” months ago. Everyone would thus be better off to know that another kind of menace corollary to US imperialism, but one that goes largely unnoticed, is these banksters’ imperialism.

In several forums, analysts such as Robert Wenzel, Alex Newman, and Ellen Brown of the Economic Policy Journal, New American, and Global Research, respectively, expound on the first act of the Libyan rebel “Transitional Council” of organizing a new Central Bank. Newman notes “…the rebels’ seemingly odd decision to establish a new central bank to replace dictator Muammar Kadhafi’s state-owned monetary authority (as) possibly the first time in history that revolutionaries have taken time out from an ongoing life-and-death battle to create such an institution.”

Brown, meanwhile, cites a Russian source which I looked up that said, “Mummar Khaddafi became the main initiator of (the) idea of refusing (the) dollar and euro. He called (the) Arabian and African world to start (using) one new currency — golden dinar… (backed by a population of around 200 million)… uniting African countries into one powerful federative state… strongly approved by many Arabian countries and almost all African countries… last year (2010).”

To compare, after the 1986 Edsa I “People Power” revolt in the Philippines, one of the first acts of the Cory Aquino regime was to convene a handpicked constitutional commission that added — as one its first revisions — the word “independent” to qualify the Central Monetary Authority, which, contrary to present claims, was never in the 1973 Constitution — Section 14, Article XV of which read: “The National Assembly shall establish a central monetary authority…”

The Aquino regime then tampered with the Monetary Board and increased private sector representation to the detriment of government. Those two acts insulated the central bank, now known as Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), from accountability to and audit of government, making it subservient to private banking interests.

After 25 years, the Philippines only became poorer and poorer until it reached a new nadir under the present regime. Just imagine: “Gov’t stockpiling fuel,” a headline designed to save government’s face, trumpeting Aquino III’s declaration of building up a “strategic oil” reserve of (get this)… 50 liters, amid government’s recent oil subsidy embarrassment. But look how pitiful it is.

A 50-million liter fuel stockpile for 6.6-million registered vehicles won’t even last three hours of a given day with only a 5-liter ration per vehicle. That’s the “strategic” breath of PeNoy?! In Marcos’ time the fuel stocks were kept at 45-day levels.

Consider this other one: “5 soldiers hurt as chopper makes emergency landing in Rizal.” The report mentions “PAF spokesman Lt. Col. Miguel Okol in a dzBB interview (claiming that) the incident will not cripple the AFP’s fleet of Huey-type helicopters, saying it has ‘seven airworthy helicopters of different types.’” What?! Only seven? During Marcos’ time, it was over a hundred! Truly, everyone has gotten worse off under the world’s money masters.

Jesus was tried, suffered and died essentially under the hands of the money changers. They were the ones who took vengeance and called for his death after he chastised them at the temple. While they now go by the name of IMF-WB, with their enforcers — the Pontius Pilates of yore — today’s Barack Obama, the world is still very much under the power of these money masters. Let us reflect and be mindful of this throughout the Lenten Season and beyond.

(Tune in to 1098AM, Monday to Friday, 5 to 6 p.m., and Sulo ng Pilipino, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, 6 to 7 p.m.; TNT with HTL, Tuesday, 8 to 9 p.m., with replay at 11 p.m., on GNN, Destiny Cable Channel 8, on “Money Masters and the Death of the Body?”; visit http://newkatipunero.blogspot.com for our articles plus select radio and GNN shows)
 
(Reprinted with permission from Mr. Herman Tiu-Laurel).


SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110418com5.html

Door still open for Joc-joc, Cito to turn state witnesses By Angie M. Rosales 04/18/2011

ONLY REQUIREMENT FOR THEM IS TO TELL TRUTH — SANTIAGO

Door still open for Joc-joc, Cito to turn state witnesses

By Angie M. Rosales 04/18/2011

Forrmer Agriculture Secretary Luis “Cito” Lorenzo and his undersecretary, Jocelyn “Joc-joc” Bolante, can still turn themselves as state witnesses despite the filing of plunder charges against them in connection with the P728-million fertilizer fund scam, Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago yesterday said, adding that the two will only “have to tell the truth” should they opt to turn themselves state witnesses.

“They can still apply as state witnesses so that the charges against them can be dropped on condition that they will testify against their co-accused. We don’t observe any deadline in the application for a state witness. They only have to pinpoint among their colleagues the real culprit,” she said.

President Aquino, meanwhile, urged both Lorenzo and Bolante to exercise their best judgment on their current predicament. “It has been a long time since the event that led to the accusations against them but they can still reflect on what they ought to do,” Aquino added..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20110418hed1.html

Citing lack of gov’t interest, Bernas gives up Piatco case By Benjamin B. Pulta 04/18/2011

Citing lack of gov’t interest, Bernas gives up Piatco case

By Benjamin B. Pulta 04/18/2011

A public interest lawyer will no longer pursue the case he filed against the officers of the German firm Fraport and its local partner the Philippine International Air Terminals Co. Inc. (Piatco) in connection with the anomalous construction of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) 3 Terminal, citing the reluctance of the government to prosecute the case.

Lawyer Jose Bernas told the Court of Appeals said it will be up to the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) and the Department of Justice (DoJ) to litigate the anti-trust case following the appellate court’s ruling that he has no legal standing to pursue the case without the conformity of public prosecutors.

Bernas complained that the government did not show the same interest it manifested in pursuing the same case before the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) in Singapore and the Washington-based International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID)..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20110418hed2.html

Fukushima nuke plant to stabilize in 6-9 months — operator 04/18/2011

Fukushima nuke plant to stabilize in 6-9 months — operator

04/18/2011
TOKYO — The operator of Japan’s tsunami-hit nuclear plant yesterday said it aims to reduce radiation leaks within three months and to achieve a “cold shutdown” within six to nine months.

Japan’s embattled Tokyo Electric Power Co. (Tepco) offered the timeline more than five weeks after a giant quake and tsunami knocked out cooling systems at its six-reactor Fukushima Daiichi atomic power station.

Radiation has since leaked into the air, soil and sea from the coastal plant northeast of Tokyo, as emergency crews have doused overheating reactors and fuel rod pools to prevent full meltdowns of volatile fuel rods.
.... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20110418hed3.html

Enrile: Absence of anti-trust law frees PLDT-Digitel merger 04/18/2011

Enrile: Absence of anti-trust law frees PLDT-Digitel merger

04/18/2011
Dominant phone firm Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) did not violate any law with the merger with competitor Digital Telecommunications Inc. (Digitel), owner of the mobile phone brand Sun Cellular because of the absence of an anti-trust law in the country, Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile yesterday said.

“We have an anti-trust law in the Revised Penal Code but it is a dead law,” Enrile explained. “Without a law, there’s no crime committed,” he added..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20110418hed5.html

Binay asks Malacañang for P24M to repatriate 1,084 OFWs from Saudi 04/18/2011

Binay asks Malacañang for P24M to repatriate 1,084 OFWs from Saudi

04/18/2011
Vice President Jejomar Binay has requested Malacañang to release around P24 million to fund the immediate repatriation of 1,084 overstaying Filipinos in Saudi Arabia.

Binay said instead of paying 15 Riyals daily for every jailed Filipino at the Hajj Terminal, the government might as well send them back home.

“This creates a serious drain on the limited resources of the Philippine Embassy in Saudi,” he stressed.
In a letter to President Aquino, Binay asked for the release of the funds from the President social fund or any funding source to buy plane tickets for the Filipinos staying at the Hajj Terminal in Jeddah..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20110418hed6.html

Actor killed, 5 hurt in van-truck collision By Mario J. Mallari 04/18/2011

Actor killed, 5 hurt in van-truck collision

By Mario J. Mallari 04/18/2011

A TV actor was killed while five others were injured when their van collided with a bus and a 10-wheeler truck along MacArthur Highway in Moncada town, Tarlac province shortly after midnight yesterday.

Quoting reports from the field, Philippine National Police (PNP) spokesman Chief Supt. Agrimero Cruz Jr. identified the lone fatality as Antonilo Joseph “AJ” Perez.

Injured were Christopher Bautista, driver of the Nissan Urvan with licensed plates PIG-630 registered to ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corp., his passengers Cristina Ferrer, Edwin Pitilos, Gerardo Perez and Danylyn Dunga.

The fatality was also a passenger of the ABS-CBN van..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/nation/20110418nat1.html

Why prices of sugar, corn are high? 04/18/2011

Why prices of sugar, corn are high?

04/18/2011
DAVAO CITY — Sugar supply has been declining worldwide not because more people are consuming more sugar. As global demand is now outpacing sugar supply and production worldwide, sugar prices have been rising to levels not seen since the historic highs of 1975 and 1982.

Since sugar and corn are now being used as raw materials for the production of ethanol — used to mix with gasoline to make clean “eco-fuel” — consumption of these two essential commodities is being diverted more and more for industrial use. As such, we’re likely to see less and less sugar supply available for consumers worldwide..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/nation/20110418nat5.html

An empty horizon EDITORIAL 04/17/2011

Sunday, April 17, 2011

An empty horizon

EDITORIAL
Click to enlarge
04/17/2011
Where’s the economic blueprint?
This has been the question raised by many since the start of Noynoy’s administration and the cry is getting stronger since nothing is materializing in the policy horizon.

The National Economic Development Authority (Neda) recently came out with an abstract of Noynoy’s economic program called the Philippine Development Plan (PDP) 2011-2016 with the primary goals of a seven to eight percent growth rates per year and meeting the millennium development goals (MDGs). But what is being sought from Noynoy are cohesive and tangible initiatives that should have started now and to which the whole nation can latch on as proof that the current administration knows where it is taking the country. But there is none..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110417com1.html

Why too little and too late? FRONTLINE Ninez Cacho-Olivares 04/17/2011

Why too little and too late?

FRONTLINE
Ninez Cacho-Olivares
04/17/2011
Plunder charges have been filed against Joc-joc Bolante and Cito Lorenzo, former undersecretary and secretary of Agriculture respectively, along with others by the Ombudsman, and the reaction from Malacañang and its allies, all anti-Merci Gutierrez, is that this comes “too little and too late,” along with the charge that this is yet another ploy of Merci to get off the impeachment hook.

This reaction is very strange indeed. Late or not, shouldn’t Malacañang, that keeps on talking about Noynoy’s fight against corruption, at least be relieved, if it cannot be glad, that finally, even if it comes this late, those who have been implicated in the P728-million fertilizer fund scam have now been charged in court?.... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110417com2.html

Finland’s populist leader faces controversy FEATURE 04/17/2011

Finland’s populist leader faces controversy

FEATURE

04/17/2011
HELSINKI — The drizzle makes for a miserable, icy morning in the western Finnish industrial town of Pori, and yet at least 50 people — a crowd by local standards — are riveted by Timo Soini, the colourful and controversial head of the populist True Finns party.

The rotund party chairman tells a joke from his modest stage and the onlookers laugh despite the chill.

“He draws a crowd like flypaper catches flies,” says 54-year-old nurse Tarja Silfferi, who has come to watch the commotion even though she plans to support the leftwing Social Democrats in the Nordic country’s April 17 elections..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110417com3.html

SC settles 20-year-old pollution case BLURBAL THRUSTS Louie Logarta 04/17/2011

SC settles 20-year-old pollution case

BLURBAL THRUSTS
Louie Logarta
04/17/2011
Several residents of upscale Barangay Mariana, New Manila in Quezon City are ecstatic that the Supreme Court has finally put to rest a two-decade-old environment pollution case brought against a jewelry manufacturer.

According to their recent ruling, the high court found in favor of the Laguna Lake Development Authority (LLDA) which had closed down the factory set-up of Sterling Selections Corp. for operating without a clearance from the agency. The QC local government had also issued an order shuttering the thriving jewelry enterprise after they were found to have been violating existing environmental ordinances as well as zoning regulations..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110417com4.html

Aristocracy and democracy VIEWPOINTS Archbishop Oscar V. Cruz 04/17/2011

Aristocracy and democracy

VIEWPOINTS
Archbishop Oscar V. Cruz
04/17/2011
This is simply meant to reflect on the incongruous paring of aristocracy and democracy—without necessarily thinking of some families vis-à-vis people in general, without automatically making reference to certain highly favored and distinct individuals holding high and sensitive offices in government in relation to the populace in general.

This is intended to point out that there is definitely something queer, strange and/or suspicious when aristocrats assume governance over commoners, i.e., when wealthy and influential dynasties rule over the poor and miserable. And the reservation with the pairing rests on the empirical fact that aristocracy does not or cannot understand — much less realistically accept — the fundamental equality of human persons which is the anchorage of real and living democracy..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110417com5.html

Clarification LETTER 04/17/2011

Clarification

LETTER

04/17/2011
Dear Editor:
Please allow us to comment on the points raised in the column of Jonathan de la Cruz entitled “Child labor, mules atb.”

In that columnm, he mentioned that “of course, the tragic circumstances under which these children (child laborers) are subjected to has failed to excite any positive response from the likes of DSWD Secretary Dinky Soliman who has only eyes for the likes of child “macho dancer” Jan-Jan but not the streetchildren who have to brave the hazards of our streets. Or, the child drug couriers roaming our crowded neighborhoods and even far-flung barangays.”

We would like to share that the Department of Social Welfare and Development provides rehabilitative services to rescued child laborers..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110417com7.html

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