‘Aquino hypocritical in blaming, pushing away Pantukan landslide victims’

‘Aquino hypocritical in blaming, pushing away Pantukan landslide victims’

Small-scale mining is not the only cause, and is not even the biggest cause, of the destruction of Pantukan’s erstwhile forest lands… large-scale commercial logging operations since the 50s and large-scale mining operations of the past 30 years have massively denuded the mountains of Compostela Valley.”

By MARYA SALAMAT
Bulatlat.com

MANILA — In the immediate aftermath of a landslide that had killed 36 (with unidentified number still declared as missing) in the gold-rich Pantukan, Compostela Valley, vultures have swooped down on the unearthed dead and their families. Armed with high-powered rifles, they are forcibly implementing the Aquino government’s order to drive the surviving small-scale miners and their families away from the rich mining area.

President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III has done an Arroyo and blamed the small-scale miners and victims for “dangerous mining.” On countless occasions, he has also previously expressed preference for large-scale, foreign mining companies. But his immediately issued order to have the said rich mining area vacated by the poor, supposedly for their safety, would only benefit more the large mining companies who have been operating in the area and raring to dig into the lands, according to various critics.

The mountainous area of Pantukan town is host not only to small-scale miners who eke out a living by digging small tunnels in search of gold and copper, but, in recent years, also to various large-scale mining companies who have reportedly been pushing the workers and operators of small-scale mines away from the area, long before the January 5 tragedy.

Residents, rescue workers and miners from nearby companies dig on mud, rocks and debris that buried a poor mining community in Pantukan, Compostela Valley, killing at least 36 people. (Photo by Karlos Manlupig / bulatlat.com)

Operating in Pantukan are large mining firms such as the Nationwide Development Corporation (NADECOR) and the Napnapan Mineral Resources Inc. that have been carrying out large-scale operations within a government concession of more than 4,900 hectares.

The US-owned Russel Mining and Minerals Inc. (an affiliate of the US global mining company St. Augustine) has also been operating a 4,000-hectare concession in the areas of Lumanggang, Chogdan, Gumayan, Biasung, Panganasun and Diat, also in Pantukan.

Russell Mining reportedly maintains a big number of armed personnel in Mindanao to protect its exploration area and the Americans who run its $30-million investments over the 792 million tons of gold and copper deposits.

To secure Russell Mining and other big large-scale mining firms, the 10th Infantry Division-Philippine Army-Armed Forces of the Philippines also reportedly stationed its 71st Infantry Battalion in Pantukan.

Xstrata, one of the three biggest mining corporations operating in the Philippines, is reportedly aiming also to operate an open pit mining in four provinces of Mindanao, according to the environmentalist group Kalikasan-PNE.

The Compostela Valley mountains are considered to be among the biggest repositories of untapped gold and copper ore.?

Hypocritical, despicable treatment of small-scale miners

Malacañang described the Pantukan tragedy as “totally unacceptable.” But it is actually the Aquino government that’s being blamed by many for the tragedy.

“The US-Aquino regime has shamelessly caused the January 5 Pantukan landslides. The tragedy has put to the fore the disastrous policy of the US-Aquino regime that favors large-scale mining like that of US-owned Russell Mining, and the dislocation of small-scale miners in the area,” said Anvil Guinto, spokesperson of the New People’s Army operating in Southern Mindanao.

"Small-scale mining is not the only cause, and is not even the biggest cause, of the destruction of Pantukan’s erstwhile forest lands… large-scale commercial logging operations since the 50s and large-scale mining operations of the past 30 years have massively denuded the mountains of Compostela Valley.”..... MORE

Source:  Bulatlat.com

URL: http://bulatlat.com/main/2012/01/12/aquino-%E2%80%98hypocritical%E2%80%99-in-blaming-and-pushing-away-pantukan-landslide-victims/

FoI: “Folly of Information” VIEWPOINTS Archbishop Oscar V. Cruz 01/12/2012

FoI: “Folly of Information”

VIEWPOINTS

Archbishop Oscar V. Cruz

01/12/2012

Ignorance is bliss. Knowledge is dangerous. The less people know, the better for their own comfort and peace of mind. The more secrets are kept by their government, the more tranquil are the citizens. Such erratic principles and convictions can be considered as the composite premise of the new “Folly of Information” legislative agendum.

In other words, make the government all-knowing. Keep the people altogether dumb and naive. Let their government do the worrying, attend to everything, resolve anything. What people do not know, cannot hurt them. Let their government have full charge of running their country, and thereby free them from thinking and acting out of their individual selves and tiny personal worlds..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20120112com6.html

Cordero and Palparan DIE HARD III Herman Tiu Laurel 01/13/2012

Cordero and Palparan

DIE HARD III

Herman Tiu Laurel

01/13/2012
Jovito Palparan is supposed to be the “butcher,” “serial murderer” and “berdugo” accused of hunting, killing or making countless communists and New People’s Army (NPA) adherents “disappear” through the years. Nobody as yet epitomizes the notion of human rights violators in the Philippines more than the retired army general. In fact, a reward for information leading to his capture in connection with the reported torture and disappearance of UP students Sherlyn Cadapan and Karen Empeño has now been raised to P1 million. But, as the courts have yet to try the case, howls of protests against his “conviction by publicity” and “demonization” have also been raised by certain quarters in the military.

Indeed, Palparan, with his beady eyes and sharply angled, bony mien, strikes many people with instinctive horror. And this has led to nothing short of a propaganda boon to the anti-military Left and human rights groups.

Meanwhile, on the other end of the spectrum, a fellow named Danilo “Danny” Cordero, a far lesser known historical figure in Philippine political and military history, is no less controversial — that is, if his supposed deeds were to be ventilated as much as Palparan’s alleged atrocities.

Danny, according to various accounts from many former leaders of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and the NPA that I have heard myself, was deceased — or should I say, killed — in the communist purges of the late 1980s. Some say this was done to silence the history of what really transpired at Plaza Miranda — a bombing that killed nine and injured 95 others, including many Liberal Party candidates except Ninoy Aquino.

Accounts that trace Danny’s liquidation to the highest leadership of the CPP-NPA have been found credible by the likes of former Sen. Jovito Salonga (who was one of the bombing victims in 1971), especially as these come from Cordero’s former comrades, Ruben Guevarra and Ariel Almendral.

As soldiers trained to fight those deemed by their higher political and military authorities as enemies, Palparan and Cordero certainly share many things in common. Both apparently carried out their duties with unquestioning zeal and dedication. Both risked their lives in the endeavors they chose and followed the dictum, “Theirs not to make reply / Theirs not to reason why / Theirs but to do and die,” from Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s The Charge of the Light Brigade (which won me in my youth a first prize in declamation at St. Stephen’s High School).

Yet, both of them share also one tragic commonality that highlights their shared dilemma: The masters they served later on turned out to be their tormentors and executioners after the need to cover up the indefensible evils, which they were ordered to commit, became greater. And this is a scenario that should make all combatants from all sides pause and think.

While the CPP-NPA and Jose Ma. Sison have persistently denied any responsibility for the Plaza Miranda bombing to gain a propaganda coup against Marcos, testimonies from former CPP-NPA members themselves (including some personal friends) provide the preponderance of proof.

We had to establish the basis for the charge against Cordero in order to draw another comparison: Did Danny Cordero’s killing of nine totally innocent individuals, including a five-year-old child, with the two grenades he lobbed at Plaza Miranda constitute less of a crime than the disappearance of two UP students, which investigators and activists attribute to Palparan and his men?

While the Commission on Human Rights and the Department of Justice have called Palparan to account, shouldn’t they also, even posthumously, formally investigate the Plaza Miranda-Cordero case?

Bringing justice to victims of human rights violations is good for as long as authorities remain fair and consistent. Thus, this demand for consistency brings us to so many cases that have not been taken up with any zeal, like the killings at Hacienda Luisita, where, in the most recent instance, 14 farm workers from the United Luisita Workers Union and Central Azucarera de Tarlac and their kin (including two children) were killed.

Yes, there is pressure to safeguard human rights via the West and the US’ support of many Left-leaning human rights groups in the Third World. But these Western human rights bodies should also look fairly at the charges from other countries, such as those coming from Russia’s Foreign Ministry that lambast Guantanamo abuses and innocent death row executions, or the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s civilian killings in Libya, ad nausea.

Cordero, once touted as one of the best of the CPP-NPA cadres, was sacrificed at the altar of a failed communist revolution. Palparan is on the run and may soon have to face an ignominious surrender to the government he served in the anti-communist cause.

Palparan’s life was never easy, I know. One of our family drivers, who once drove for the man, tells us of his elaborate daily security rigors — and it’s not a normal life that anyone would want. And yet, he is now being sacrificed at another altar — the altar of human rights, which every regular human being is required to uphold, except for those who are on top of the totem pole or the food chain. In the case of the Philippines, its chief violator is its so-called Big Brother, the US, which supplies arms to our Armed Forces while channeling various legal foundation and covert funds to the Left, the Right, as well as the Church, in tandem with the oligarchs who run our politics and government.

As I have said on my cable TV show with (ret.) Commodore Rex Robles, Filipinos should debate to the death but never kill each other (except maybe those nasty foreign interlopers). Until we learn this, there will be more “useful idiots” sacrificed at the altar of causes and crusades that serve only those who divide and rule.

(Tune in to Sulo ng Pilipino/Radyo OpinYon, Monday to Friday, 5 to 6 p.m. on 1098AM; Talk News TV with HTL, Saturday, 8:15 to 9 p.m., with replay at 11 p.m., on GNN, Destiny Cable Channel 8, with this week’s topic, “Electric Power Piracy 2012;” visit http://newkatipunero.blogspot.com for our articles plus TV and radio archives)

(Reprinted with permission from Mr. Herman "Tiu-Laurel)

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20120113com6.html

Same dog, new collar EDITORIAL 01/13/2012

Same dog, new collar

EDITORIAL

Click to enlarge

01/13/2012
Slowly but surely, even before the Senate court opens, a chief impeachment complaint against Chief Justice Renato Corona is turning out a dud and a mere spin of offenses that would be hard to prove. And this is an issue not unique to the impeached Supreme Court (SC) head and should require an overhaul of the entire system on the disclosure of wealth of public officials, if indeed this administration is dead serious about it.

Corona will be placed under scrutiny for his alleged failure to disclose a certain property and that he violated constitutional provisions on the full disclosure of his Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALn) every year..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20120113com1.html

'Standard' duty? More US battle ships head to Persian Gulf (w/ Video)

  
'Standard' duty? More US battle ships head to Persian Gulf
The US is deploying more warships to the Persian Gulf area, with the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson entering the Arabian Sea. Washington is also winning over Japan and India in the oil sanction war against Iran.

The Pentagon denies the USS Carl Vinson has been dispatched to the Gulf region over the Strait of Hormuz tensions.

The Pentagon denies the USS Carl Vinson has been dispatched to the Gulf region over the Strait of Hormuz tensions..... MORE

Source:  RT.com

URL: http://rt.com/news/us-iran-conflict-hormuz-581/

Gitmo 10 years on: So much for closure (w/ Video)

Gitmo 10 years on: So much for closure

The US's Guantanamo Bay is marking its 10th anniversary, despite Obama’s repeated promises to close the infamous prison. Human rights groups and the inmates themselves are organizing events to mark the occasion and respond to the broken promises.

Guantanamo detainees are marking the anniversary of their imprisonment with a peaceful three-day demonstration. Starting on Tuesday some of the prisoners are refusing to return to their cells for the nightly lockdown and are attempting to sleep in the recreation areas, while others are refusing food, the Washington Post reports..... MORE

Source:  RT.com

URL: http://rt.com/news/guantanamo-years-closure-failed-513/

US troops defile dead Afghans on camera (w/ Video)

US troops defile dead Afghans on camera

An eye-opening video clip that made it online Wednesday may cause a scandal on par with what erupted with the Abu Ghraib photographs of 2004. Now US Marines have been caught on film - urinating on dead Afghans.

A 40-second excerpt of the clip has managed to made its web to the Web and in it viewers can watch four US Marines on patrol in Afghanistan allegedly urinating on the corpses of deceased Afghan men. It is unclear of the victims’ identities in this incident, but according to a note included with the uploaded file, the US servicemen were members of the Marine Scout Sniper Team 4 and the 3rd Battalion 2nd Marines from Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. The group was dispatched to the northern Helmand Province in Afghanistan during the summer of 2011..... MORE

Source:  RT.com

URL: http://rt.com/usa/news/us-afghan-urinate-military-571/

Tell me what you think NO HOLDS BARRED Armida Siguion-Reyna 01/13/2012

Tell me what you think

NO HOLDS BARRED

Armida Siguion-Reyna

01/13/2012
This originally came out on May 21, 2010, soon after it’d been bruited the newly-elected president wasn’t happy with his predecessor’s appointment of the Supreme Court Chief Justice within photo-finish time limits.
Parts of this I used in my last outing here, here’s the entire piece, entitled “To be fair,” culled from the bowels of my computer files.
“Anywhere from 1992 to 1998, Renato Corona was legal counsel to President Fidel V. Ramos and concurrent Vice Chairman of the Presidential Anti-Crime Commission; member of the Presidential Committee on Bail, Release and Pardon, the Cabinet Consultative Committee on the Government of the Republic of the Philippines-National Democratic Front (GRP-NDF) Peace Talks, and the Cabinet Committee on National Security..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20120113com4.html

'http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20120113com5.html

‘Daw sa mga bulag kag tando-tando sila’

NO HOLDS BARRED

Armida Siguion-Reyna

01/13/2012
In Ilonggo, that quote “daw sa mga bulag kag tando-tando sila, makahuluya” means “They are like lemmings. How embarrassing” which is a kind of supreme insult to those who still have a modicum of self-respect left in their persons. This was how Iloilo City Councilor Plaridel Nava, a lawyer, described the 188 congressmen who signed the rushed impeachment complaint of Chief Justice Renato Corona during a heated discussion on the subject over the popular radio-TV program Reklamo Publiko last Dec. 18..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20120113com5.html

Terror charade continues, Palace says full alert stays By Fernan J. Angeles and Mario Mallari 01/11/2012

Terror charade continues, Palace says full alert stays

By Fernan J. Angeles and Mario Mallari 01/11/2012

A day after admitting that no clear threat existed during the Black Nazarene feast procession and that the government was merely exercising precaution on a possible terror attack, Malacaang yesterday said it is not lifting a full security alert level on Metro Manila along with Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin insisting on a terror plot that he described as not an ordinary threat and which security forces have very reliable information on it.

He claimed the group behind the alleged terror plot disappeared after President Aquino made the announcement and blew the lid on the plot..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20120111hed4.html

CoA clears CJ on JDF By Charlie V. Manalo and Benjamin B. Pulta 01/11/2012

CoA clears CJ on JDF

By Charlie V. Manalo and Benjamin B. Pulta 01/11/2012

House prosecutors may just find their charges against Supreme Court Chief Justice collapsing, one by one.
Even before the impeachment trial formally commences, the House prosecutors have already lost round one of the battle after the Commission on Audit (CoA) cleared Chief Justice Renato Corona from any wrongdoing in the controversial Judiciary Development Fund (JDF) which is one of the charges in the impeachment complaint lodged against the CJ.

In its audit findings on the manner by which the high court spent the 2010 JDF collection, CoA belied claims by 188 complainant-congressmen that Corona had prevented state auditors from examining the way the JDF was disbursed..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20120111hed1.html

Over 400 OFWs arrive from Libya, says DoLE 01/11/2012

Over 400 OFWs arrive from Libya, says DoLE

01/11/2012
The Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) yesterday reported that more than 400 overseas Filipino workers have arrived in Libya after the government partially lifted the employment ban in that country last November, increasing the OFWs’ population in Libya to 3,000.

The general situation in Libya has improved, but cautioned OFWs to mind their safety because of intermittent skirmishes and the presence of armed robbers who steal cars and other valuables, Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/nation/20120111nat5.html

Crisis in Iran may spark fuel rationing in RP, says DoE By Pat C. Santos 01/11/2012

Crisis in Iran may spark fuel rationing in RP, says DoE

By Pat C. Santos 01/11/2012
Rationing of fuel supply in the country will happen if the ongoing tension in the Middle East, particularly in Iran, results in the closure of the Strait of Hormuz which serves as a major passageway for oil tankers, according to the Department of Energy (DoE).

Iran’s threat of a blockade on the strait alone has already caused major concerns in the international oil market and was the chief cause of the jump in prices during the first week of 2012.

“Oil prices rose higher in the first trading week of 2012 driven by heightened concerns over Iran’s threat to close the Strait of Hormuz, the strategic waterway where one-sixth of the world’s oil pass daily, should economic sanctions limit, or cut off, Iranian Oil exports,” the DoE’s latest oil monitoring report said..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/metro/20120111met6.html

OFWs seeking jobs abroad told: Travel with legal docus 01/11/2012

OFWs seeking jobs abroad told: Travel with legal docus

01/11/2012
Vice President Jejomar Binay has reiterated his call for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) to go through the proper and legal channels in seeking employment abroad.

A report from Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT)-NAIA Task Force Against Trafficking in Persons said 521 passengers were not allowed to leave the country in 2011 because of spurious travel documents.

“I appeal to our kababayans to go through the required process in seeking employment abroad,” Binay said. “And if you do manage to leave the country, there is a very high risk that government will not be able to extend immediate assistance, especially in times of need,” he added..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/metro/20120111met1.html

Soaring number of Black Nazarene devotees sign of worsening poverty — urban poor group 01/11/2012

Soaring number of Black Nazarene devotees sign of worsening poverty — urban poor group

01/11/2012
The increasing number of Black Nazarene devotees is a sign of worsening poverty.

This was the statement issued by militant urban poor group Kadamay after the Black Nazarene procession recorded a high number of participants this year despite threats of terror.

“This dramatic increase only signifies the increasing number of poor Filipinos who wish for relief in one way or another from their daily suffering,” said Gloria Arellano, Kalipunan ng Damayang Mahihirap (Kadamay) national secretary-general..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/metro/20120111met5.html

A bizarre primetime show EDITORIAL 01/10/2012

A bizarre primetime show

EDITORIAL

Click to enlarge

01/10/2012
It cannot be helped for one to feel a sense of helplessness instead of security when Noynoy and his security officials appeared before national television the other day to warn of a possible terror attack on the Black Nazarene procession that millions of Filipino devotees join yearly.

Noynoy said the threat level was unique which may mean that it was the first of its kind under his administration that has a sad record in handling critical situations.

Picture Noynoy and his officials lined up behind him and get a sense of the urgency of the situation in the television address..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20120110com1.html

Losing his credibility FRONTLINE Ninez Cacho-Olivares 01/10/2012

Losing his credibility

FRONTLINE

Ninez Cacho-Olivares

01/10/2012
Noynoy appears to be losing his credibility — at least as far as issuing warnings against a so-called “credible” terror threats go — as his warning issued Sunday, complete with his security officers and Cabinet officials as props, went unheeded by the Black Nazarene devotees.

Noynoy announced at an emergency press conference on Sunday he had received information that a “local” terrorist group may try to disrupt Monday’s mammoth annual ritual.

He also asked those planning to attend the procession not to bring cellphones, as these gadgets have been known to trigger explosives..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20120110com2.html

Assad to nation: ‘The victory is near’ (w/ Video)

Assad to nation: ‘The victory is near’

President Assad accuses "foreign conspirators" of efforts to destabilize the situation in Syria. Addressing the nation, he claimed that the international community’s aim to cause “psychological collapse” has failed and the victory is near.

­“The existence of an external conspiracy is obvious to everyone,” Assad said, addressing the nation at Damascus University

He accused the international community of trying to use Arab countries as cover for interference in Syria..... MORE
Source:  RT.com

URL: http://rt.com/news/assad-speech-nation-victory-447/

‘US builds hospitals in Georgia, readies for war with Iran’

‘US builds hospitals in Georgia, readies for war with Iran’

The United States is sponsoring the construction of facilities in Georgia on the threshold of a military conflict in Iran, a member of Georgian opposition movement Public Assembly, Elizbar Javelidze has stated.

According to the academician, that explains why President Mikhail Saakashvili is roaming the republic opening new hospitals in its regions..... MORE

Source:  RT.com

URL: http://rt.com/politics/us-georgia-iran-war-441/

AMD talks with US crumble; Russia beefs up early-warning radar

AMD talks with US crumble; Russia beefs up early-warning radar

 The Russian Defense Ministry announces plans for extensive new early-warning radar system as talks with US and NATO over the controversial European missile defense system hit the wall.

The announcement by the comes on the heels of President Dmitry Medvedev’s pledge to fortify national defense.

In addition to a newly inaugurated radar system located in Kaliningrad, several more radar stations will be placed on combat duty in 2012, Alexei Zolotukhin, an official with the Russian  Defense Ministry press service for Aerospace Defense Troops, told reporters on Sunday..... MORE
Source:  RT.com

URL: http://rt.com/politics/amd-russia-us-nato-radar-451/

Shady side of Earth: Western trace in space probe’s failure?

Shady side of Earth: Western trace in space probe’s failure?

Doomed Martian probe Phobos-Grunt, which was due to fulfill a Russian mission on one of the Red Planet’s moons, might have been a target of external influence. The probe failed while flying over the western hemisphere, outside of Russia’s control.

In an interview to the Russian newspaper Izvestia, head of the Russian space agency Roscosmos, Vladimir Popovkin, said that intended influence on the probe cannot be completely excluded..... MORE
Source:  RT.com

URL: http://rt.com/news/phobos-grunt-probe-failure-versions-445/

Incarnation of integrity VIEWPOINTS Archbishop Oscar V. Cruz 01/10/2012

Incarnation of integrity

VIEWPOINTS

Archbishop Oscar V. Cruz

01/10/2012
Someone who vows to get rid of graft and corrupt practices especially in the government sector; who claims that there is no room during his governance for liars and cheats especially in public offices all over the land; who is obsessed with putting in jail those who undermine truth and the justice it brings about — there justly and proudly stands someone who is nothing less than the blessed incarnation of integrity itself. Not only downright criminality but also utter falsity is taboo. The matuwid na daan — monumental symbol of righteousness and honesty — has simply no space for such human inequities.

So great a figure of ethical probity and sublime example of moral rectitude may not but correct what is wrong, resolve what is questionable, uphold what is right and true..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20120110com6.html

Shun homophobia

Shun homophobia

By RONALYN V. OLEA
Bulatlat.com
The news of a 19-year old teenager scalded with boiling water by his own father after the latter found out that he is gay proves just how Philippine society remains intolerant, nay, ignorant of the rights of lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender (LGBT).

Even as the father has been charged with physical injury, his son has been forever scarred, literally and figuratively, by the experience of not being accepted for who he is.

The right to be gay, or lesbian or bisexual or transgender is like the right to breathe, to live. The right to sexuality is a human right.

I feel strongly for that teenager because I have many friends who are gays and lesbians. They are not the queer individuals as they are being portrayed in the media. In fact, they are among the best, most talented and most wonderful persons I have met..... MORE

Source:  Bulatlat.com

URL: http://bulatlat.com/main/2012/01/10/shun-homophobia/

Noy hit for overreaction, paranoia on terror yarn By Mario J. Mallari and Fernan J. Angeles 01/10/2012

RAIDS YIELD NOTHING; EXECS ADMIT NO CLEAR THREAT

Noy hit for overreaction, paranoia on terror yarn

By Mario J. Mallari and Fernan J. Angeles 01/10/2012

The Aquino administration appeared to be chasing after ghosts and was branded paranoid while the defense chief admitted overreaction on a supposed threat from terrorist groups supposedly out to create trouble during the Black Nazarene feast that police estimated drew 3 million religious devotees yesterday as security forces came out empty handed in raids conducted on several terrorist lairs in Metro Manila and Rizal province.

President Aquino the other day went on national television to issue a warning of increased terrorist threat that may involve an attack on the annual religious tradition, citing unclear intelligence reports of heightened activities of terrorist groups which he failed to identify..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20120110hed1.html

Erap on Anwar acquittal: Now we are both vindicated 01/10/2012

Erap on Anwar acquittal: Now we are both vindicated

01/10/2012
Former President Joseph Estrada was elated at the news that the sodomy case against his friend former Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has been dismissed. “No other decision would have been acceptable in any real democracy. In any real democracy, the truth should set you free,” Estrada said.

The former president said that like himself, Anwar had been a victim of vicious politics. “The times are changing,” Estrada said. “I am very happy for Anwar. Now he can fully work toward the kind of democracy he dreams of for Malaysia.”.... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20120110hed6.html

Senate asked to cite House prosecutors for contempt By Angie M. Rosales 01/10/2012

Senate asked to cite House prosecutors for contempt

By Angie M. Rosales 01/10/2012

A petition to cite the House prosecution team in contempt of the impeachment court for publicly disclosing their supposed evidence in one of the charges against Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona was sought before the Senate yesterday.

Coinciding with the urgent motion lodged by a member of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP), lawyer Fernando Perito, was also an “objection” coming from Corona himself made before the Senate impeachment court over the actuations of the prosecution panel in preempting the presentation of his supposed questionable acquisition of a condominium unit in a posh area in Taguig City, it was gathered..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/nation/20120110nat2.html

SC disbars dismissed Pampanga judge By Benjamin B. Pulta 01/10/2012

SC disbars dismissed Pampanga judge

By Benjamin B. Pulta 01/10/2012

A former Pampanga judge earlier dismissed for issuing a patently defective order has been disbarred by the Supreme Court.

Judge Daniel Liangco had earlier been fired after he issued a court order in favor of a municipal mayor which enjoined the demolition of a house owned by a private individual in 1996.

The SC ruling had found Liangco guilty of gross misconduct in violation of Canon 1, Sections 4 and 5 of the New Code of Judicial Conduct for the Philippine Judiciary and of inexcusable ignorance of the law in violation of Canons 1 and 10, Rule 10.03 of the Code of Professional Responsibility..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/nation/20120110nat1.html

Erice fails to take over Caloocan leadership By Arlie O. Calalo 01/10/2012

Erice fails to take over Caloocan leadership

By Arlie O. Calalo 01/10/2012

An attempt from the camp of Caloocan Vice Mayor Edgar “Egay” Erice to take over the leadership in the city failed after a trial court judge yesterday issued a three-day temporary restraining order (TRO) stopping the execution of the preventive suspension order against Mayor Enrico “Recom” Echiverri and three other city officials.

Echiverri, who is also a lawyer, in a statement released to media advised the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) to first secure a new order from the Office of the Ombudsman since the old order of preventive suspension dated July 17, 2011 has already been overtaken by events..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/metro/20120110met1.html

18 Manila schools suspend classes due to Black Nazarene rites 01/10/2012

18 Manila schools suspend classes due to Black Nazarene rites

01/10/2012
After President Aquino on Sunday warned of a possible terrorist threat to the traditional procession of the Black Nazarene, 18 schools in Manila City suspended its classes yesterday.

Schools suspended its classes were Adamson University, Araullo High School, Apolinario Mabini Elementary School, City Colleges of Manila, Colegio de San Juan De Letran, Far Eastern University Manila, Geronimo Santiago Elementary School, Manila High School, Manila Science High School, Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila, Polytechnic University of the Philippines, Ramon Avancena High School, San Beda College Mendiola, Unibersidad de Manila, University of the East Manila, University of the Philippines Manila, University of Sto. Tomas and UP Manila..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/metro/20120110met3.html

New Year, old fight DIE HARD III Herman Tiu Laurel 01/09/2012

New Year, old fight

DIE HARD III

Herman Tiu Laurel

01/09/2012
I got this text from Butch Junia last Jan. 5 on the rate reset application of the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) before the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC): “The first hearing on… ERC case 2011-088 is set on Jan. 16 at 2pm. This is the first hearing on merits after ERC granted provisional authority in Oct. 2011, to take effect July 1, 2012. The rate granted is P1.58/kWh but consumers led by Naro Lualhati say it’s only P0.90/kWh. ERC up to now has not addressed consumer opposition. Let us build awareness/interest/involvement of the public. Also work up media coverage. Can we also solicit help/appearance of Alan and Bono? Thank you.”

Not even a week of the New Year has passed and our consumer crusaders are back on the ball again, raring to engage the “enemies of the people” in the continuing war to bring public interest and consumer welfare back to the top of the nation’s priorities. It will be a daunting task for sure, as we need to overcome the oligarchy and mainstream media’s mass mind manipulation with “red herring” issues such as that “Little Girl” and Corona.

Still, we have to doggedly go at it, lest Meralco has another year of bonanzas courtesy of the “provisional authority” granted to it by the ERC. We must remember that this provisional authority is granted even before issues meant to protect consumers are threshed out, which means that these are almost never resolved. And in the few times that they are, such as in the P30-billion Meralco refund case won by consumers in 2003, almost a decade passes and still the money owed by Meralco doesn’t get to be entirely paid. Worse, there is even an allegation that the power giant actually gets money for these payments from its hapless customers — an issue that remains unresolved to this day.

To refresh our memories, Mang Naro Lualhati had already questioned in 2010 the ERC-approved Performance Based Regulation (PBR) rate-setting scheme due to the fact that “overstated annual capital requirements” actually become the basis for massively distorted rate translations, which, in turn, discriminate against residential consumers who have to pay as high as P4/kWh (in distribution rates) while overwhelmingly favoring industrial/commercial users who only pay as low as P0.30/kWh — this, as the ERC-approved rate of over 15 percent is far beyond the legal reasonable 12-percent limit set by the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (Epira), among other issues.

Jojo Borja, part owner of power company, Iligan Light, and now recognized as an “oppositor” by the ERC, has also charged Meralco with overpricing many components of its service — from its transformers and electric poles priced five times higher to its substation installations with an even higher overprice — facts that the foreign consultants of the ERC and Meralco had even admitted to.

And, as we transition from the old to the New Year, let us examine the many economic year-enders that have attempted to trace our economic problems. I included Ben Diokno’s “2012 will be better but…,” “Economic lessons from 2011” by Sonny Africa, “Riding out the turbulence” (Malaya editorial), Raul Fabella’s “Elite capture,” and many others. Yet none has ever mentioned “the highest power cost in Asia” as a major root of our country’s economic problems.

I don’t know if they are actually being deliberate in missing this, but industry leaders, from the Philippine Chamber of Commerce to the Confederation of Philippine Exporters and the Employers Confederation of the Philippines, to name a few indicative groups, have already identified the exorbitant power rates in the country as the major hindrance to encouraging investments and, hence, industry and employment.

Tragically, BS Aquino III has not made a single quip on this problem in the past 20 months, preferring to make a mountain out of an alleged P14-million condo unit of Corona instead of the P14-billion annual larceny in the power distribution sector and hundreds of billions in the other power units, compelling the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. to borrow and burden taxpayers with P85 billion more in loans for 2012, after getting P75 billion in 2011.

The current year will usher in more “magic” for the power sector as four Napocor (National Power Corp.) power barges (101 to 104) are set to be privatized while a power shortage is created in Mindanao (see Jan. 5 headline “Rotating outages to hit south-central Mindanao”). At the blink of an eye, these four power barges sold off to oligarchs are sure to suddenly come on line at the opportune time. But wait. There is another momentous event coming in the power sector that we should brace for.

Little noticed was the recent creation of a new agency, the “institutionalization of an independent market operator (IMO) that shall oversee the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (Wesm)… (assuming) vast powers in the approval of market rule changes and in the appointment of board memberships.” What we are about to see is a concentration of power over policies and prices in a body that the public has no control over, which is likely beyond what the Epira had ever envisioned.

The members to the five-man IMO are required not to have any relations with any member of the Wesm, or the private power companies, at least two years prior; but that’s a joke since even today many Cabinet officials have conflicts-of-interest with their former (and prospective) corporate employers.

What we need is a body with members who are unquestionably on the side of the consumers and taxpayers — something that we will never see under the present dispensation.

(Tune in to Sulo ng Pilipino/Radyo OpinYon, Monday to Friday, 5 to 6 p.m. on 1098AM; Talk News TV with HTL, Saturday, 8:15 to 9 p.m., with replay at 11 p.m., on GNN, Destiny Cable Channel 8; visit http://newkatipunero.blogspot.com for our articles plus TV and radio archives)

(Reprinted with permission from Mr. Herman Tiu-Laurel)

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20120109com5.html

Just do it, endorse FoI EDITORIAL Click to enlarge 01/09/2012

Just do it, endorse FoI

EDITORIAL

Click to enlarge

01/09/2012
At long last, it seems that the Freedom of Information (FoI) bill showed signs of life after a long period of uncertainty under Noynoy who had pledged in the 2010 campaigns that this would be a priority of his administration. But after his election, he started to change his tune, citing the danger to the nation of too much information being released from government.

A draft bill with the apparent approval of Noynoy is being readied for transmittal to Congress. According to Malacaang, the rehashed proposal has been the product of long consultations with the media and others who are concerned about the availability of state information.

The Palace did not say, however, whether or not Noynoy would endorse the bill as his administrations priority.

The bill is well debated since it has the potential of assuring transparency in government by requiring it to release nearly all forms of information that the public will require and the trade off, according to Malacaang might be the compromising of national security objectives. Nonetheless, the Philippines with the lack of commitment from government is one of the shrinking group of countries that has remained resistant to an FoI..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20120109com1.html

NYPD raids studio used by OWS live-streamers

NYPD raids studio used by OWS live-streamers

The New York City headquarters of a group cooperating with the Occupy Wall Street movement was swarmed by the NYPD on Tuesday in a raid that left half a dozen people involved with the Globalrevolution.tv website in police custody.

Cops entered the Bushwick studio used by Global Revolution on Tuesday after posting a notice on the door of the space occupied by the group the night before. According to authorities, the space at 13 Thames St in the Brooklyn, NY neighborhood hosted conditions “imminently perilous to life” and had to be vacated by all occupants, although failed to provide any details on what factors had led to such a case. When cops returned the next day and found a handful of people on the premises, they were arrested..... MORE

Source:  RT.com

URL: http://rt.com/usa/news/studio-ows-revolution-global-221/

Gitmo’s evil twin: Afghanistan slams torture in US-run Bagram jail (w/ Video)

Gitmo’s evil twin: Afghanistan slams torture in US-run Bagram jail

The US military has been accused of abuse and torture at its notorious detention center in Afghanistan. Investigators say most detainees at Bagram prison are being held without charge or firm evidence of guilt.

­Inmates of the US-run prison outside Bagram Air Base north of Kabul complained of freezing cold, humiliating strip searches and being deprived of light, according to Gul Rahman Qazi, who led an investigation ordered by President Hamid Karzai..... MORE

Source:  RT.com

URL: http://rt.com/news/bagram-torture-afghanistan-investigation-359/

Obama’s new Pentagon strategy: strip benefits and buy more weapons (w/ Video)

  
Obama’s new Pentagon strategy: strip benefits and buy more weapons

Pensions and health care plans for US troops will be drastically reduced under a new budget presented by US President Barack Obama on Thursday. Not all aspects of the DoD will be annihilated, however.

The DoD will ditch medical benefits for troops but continue to spend on its expensive arsenal of doom.

President Obama joined Defense Secretary Leon Panetta from the Pentagon early Thursday in a rare public address from the two to talk changes made to the ledger in regards to the operation of the US military. As the US begins to scale back on foreign operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, the Obama administration is finding less of a need for the servicemen and women that have been on the battlefronts for the last decade. In order to cut costs, the new budget will thus eliminate positions from the armed forces and initiate changes to the pension and health care plans for military vets..... MORE

Source:  RT.com

URL: http://rt.com/usa/news/obama-panetta-pentagon-strategy-251/

Iran sentences American ex-Marine to death for spying

Iran sentences American ex-Marine to death for spying

 American Amir Mirzai Hekmati, who also holds Iranian citizenship, has been sentenced to death by a judge in Iran for spying for the CIA, local media reported on Monday.

­The 28-year-old received the death penalty for “cooperating with a hostile nation, membership of the CIA and trying to implicate Iran in terrorism," the verdict said, according to the country’s semi-official Fars news agency.

Last month, Fars reported that the prosecution had applied for capital punishment because the suspect "admitted that he received training in the United States and planned to imply that Iran was involved in terrorist activities in foreign countries" after returning to the US..... MORE
Source:  RT.com

URL: http://rt.com/news/iran-death-sentence-american-391/

The Sereno dissent C.R.O.S.S.R.O.A.D.S Jonathan De la Cruz 01/09/2012

The Sereno dissent

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

Jonathan De la Cruz

01/09/2012
The youngest member of the Supreme Court(SC), Associate Justice Ma. Lourdes Sereno, has proved to be a dependable advocate (partisan would be too strong a word) of the Aquino administration. This is not to suggest that she is and will continue to be beholden to P-Noy being his first appointee to the high tribunal.

Or that she is the Palace’s embedded member and designated hitter in the high tribunal. It is just that she has become, in the eyes of many observers, the main gatekeeper of the Aquino “agenda” however that may be translated now and presumably when she retires in 2030.

So congruent has Sereno’s ideas been with Malacanañg’s that she could very well pass off for Justice Secretary Leila de Lima and vice-versa in discussing various issues brought before the Court specially those involving the past administration and now Chief Justice Renato Corona..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20120109com4.html

Black Nazarene terror plot bared By Fernan J. Angeles 01/09/2012

NOY, SECURITY OFFICIALS SAY BOMB ATTACK ‘POSSIBLE’

Black Nazarene terror plot bared

By Fernan J. Angeles 01/09/2012

President Aquino bared before national television yesterday that authorities supposedly discovered a terrorist plot to disrupt the annual Black Nazarene religious procession in Manila that draws millions of Filipinos, warning at the same time that plotters had not been arrested.

At a hastily called press conference at the Palace, Aquino, along with Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa and Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo, went on national TV to warn devotees attending the procession to be “extra careful and vigilant” even as he hinted that the government has deployed additional troops from the Philippine National Police (PNP), the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and other security units to the event.

Aquino said police had been tracking the group, which he did not identify, that was allegedly planning to sow terror during the feast of the Black Nazarene today..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20120109hed1.html

US high court ruling for Pinoy could stall massive deportation 01/09/2012

US high court ruling for Pinoy could stall massive deportation

01/09/2012
A decision by the United States Supreme Court last month, staying the deportation of a Filipino immigrant convicted of voluntary manslaughter, could slow down the deportation of nearly 393,000 people in the fiscal year that ended September 30, half of whom were considered criminals.

Joel Judulang, 45, of Los Angeles, California, was ordered released from detention by a unanimous decision last Dec. 12 of the Supreme Court penned by Justice Elena Kagan, describing the new policy of the government’s Board of Immigration Appeals “as arbitrary and capricious on its own merits, even apart from retroactivity concerns.”

Judulang was born in the Philippines and was brought to the United States in 1974 at the age of eight..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20120109hed6.html

Toll in Compostela landslide rises to 31 01/09/2012

Toll in Compostela landslide rises to 31

01/09/2012
Rescuers retrieved three more bodies from a landslide that buried part of an illegal gold-mining site in the Compostela Valley, raising the death toll to 31, officials said yesterday.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said the toll could rise with up to 39 while others still unaccounted for. Heavy rains sparked a landslide on Thursday that buried part of the site in the town of Pantukan, Compostela Valley.

There had been confusion over the exact number of missing because authorities said gold prospectors do not necessarily register themselves with local authorities and no proper census was kept..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/nation/20120109nat2.html

Sayyaf terrorists blow up another bridge in Sulu 01/09/2012

Sayyaf terrorists blow up another bridge in Sulu

01/09/2012
Suspected Abu Sayyaf terrorists exploded another bridge in Sulu province on Saturday night, barely a day after the United States issued a travel advisory against the Philippines, rendering the structure impassable to all vehicles.

Quoting reports from the field, Philippine National Police (PNP) spokesman Chief Supt. Agrimero Cruz Jr. said that an improvised explosive device (IED) was exploded at the Km 15 Bridge in Barangay Pangdanon, Patikul town around 10:40 p.m.

“As a result, the bridge was totally damaged and presently not passable to all types of vehicles,” Cruz said. “Initial investigation disclosed that the IED was planted by ASG (Abu Sayyaf) members operating in Patikul, Sulu.”.... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/nation/20120109nat3.html

Despite criticisms it received, Palace behind DoT new slogan By Danessa O. Rivera 01/09/2012

Despite criticisms it received, Palace behind DoT new slogan

By Danessa O. Rivera 01/09/2012

The Palace is “staunchly behind” the campaign of the Department of Tourism (DoT) with the country’s new slogan, “It’s more fun in the Philippines,” to attract more tourism by 2012, while the growing number of reactions to the new slogan — online or in print media — is proof that the campaign to attract more visitors to the Philippines is working.

Deputy presidential spokesman Abigail Valte said the entire government is on board and the President has not said anything to effect any review of the DoT slogan.

“We are staunchly behind the campaign of DoT and, more importantly, we are relying on the support of the public. As Secretary Jimenez said, “It will work if it we make it work. We are the primary reason why it’s more fun in the Philippines,’” she said..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/metro/20120109met1.html

Malacaang announces fugitive Palparan will be captured soon By Fernan J. Angeles 01/09/2012

Malacanang announces fugitive Palparan will be captured soon

By Fernan J. Angeles 01/09/2012

Malacaang is almost certain the government would be able to capture fugitive former Army Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan Jr. who has been eluding arrest for nearly a month.

Deputy presidential spokesman Abigail Valte said Palparan would eventually fall even if it may take a little more time.

We are sure we will capture him. It might take some time but we are sure he will be found eventually, she said on government-run dzRB radio..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/metro/20120109met2.html

It’s more fun to be original EDITORIAL 01/08/2012

It’s more fun to be original

EDITORIAL

Click to enlarge

01/08/2012
The Department of Tourism (DoT) reportedly burned buckets of money to come up with the new campaign to sell the wonders of the country and called it “It’s more fun in the Philippines” that turned out to be another plagiarized masterpiece.

It was Switzerland that coined the original concept way back in 1951 and that tourism magnet of a country may have inspired the expensively commissioned outfit to lift its entire tourism program and pass it off as its own original concept.

It is not the first time that the country’s tourism officials were caught red-handed using a copied idea for tourism promotion. Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez’s predecessor, Alberto Lim, was also largely assailed for the “Pilipinas Kay Ganda” campaign logo that was identical with that of Poland..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20120108com1.html

No big deal FRONTLINE Ninez Cacho-Olivares 01/08/2012

No big deal

FRONTLINE

Ninez Cacho-Olivares

01/08/2012
Malacaang and naturally, the House prosecutors are making such a big deal out of the claimed statements of assets and liabilities networth (SALn) disclosure of two Supreme Court Justices, Antonio Carpio and Lourdes Sereno, both of whom are perceived to be eyeing the top judicial post and are seen to be robustly cooperating with prosecutors and Noynoy in putting Chief Justice Renato Corona down to get him to resign, for one of them to take over the vacancy.

And guess who asked for the SALn, if not a yellow pro-Noynoy group of Harvey Keh.
But the disclosure isnt a big deal really, since what was disclosed were merely summaries of the SALn that did not disclose details that a SALn would..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20120108com2.html

Syria: Heart of a global struggle? (w/ Video)

Syria: Heart of a global struggle?

Thousands attended the funerals of 26 people killed in Friday’s terrorist attack in Damascus. But while the world focuses on violence within the country, Syria is just a pawn in a big geopolitical game, political analyst Jamal Wakim told RT.

­According to the umbrella Syrian National Council – which includes the Muslim Brotherhood – Friday’s bombing "clearly bears the regime’s fingerprints," as cited by AFP..... MORE

Source:  RT.com

URL: http://rt.com/news/syria-bombing-foreign-plot-341/

Iran says it will close Strait of Hormuz if crude exports blocked

Iran says it will close Strait of Hormuz if crude exports blocked

Tehran’s leadership has decided to order a blockade of the strategic Strait of Hormuz if the country’s oil exports are blocked, a senior Revolutionary Guard Commander said as reported by Iranian press.
­The strategic decision was made by Iran's top authorities, Ali Ashraf Nouri said, as cited by the Iranian Khorasan daily.

"The supreme authorities … have insisted that if enemies block the export of our oil, we won't allow a drop of oil to pass through the Strait of Hormuz. This is the strategy of the Islamic Republic in countering such threats," Nouri said..... MORE
Source:  RT.com

URL: http://rt.com/news/iran-ready-block-strait-hormuz-361/

Homeland Security monitors journalists

Homeland Security monitors journalists

Freedom of speech might allow journalists to get away with a lot in America, but the Department of Homeland Security is on the ready to make sure that the government is keeping dibs on who is saying what.

Under the National Operations Center (NOC)’s Media Monitoring Initiative that came out of DHS headquarters in November, Washington has the written permission to retain data on users of social media and online networking platforms. .... MORE

Source:  RT.com

URL: http://rt.com/usa/news/homeland-security-journalists-monitoring-321/

New Libya, new friends: NTC welcomes Sudanese leader wanted for genocide (w/ Video)

New Libya, new friends: NTC welcomes Sudanese leader wanted for genocide

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir has arrived in Libya for the first state visit with Libya's National Transitional Council. Meanwhile, human rights groups condemn the move as Bashir is wanted by the International Criminal Court on genocide charges.

Upon his arrival in Tripoli, the Sudanese president was met by NTC chair Mustafa Abdel Jalil and other members of the interim government. Bashir offered his nation’s help in disarming Libya’s former rebel fighters and integrating them into the army and police.....MORE

Source:  RT.com

URL: http://rt.com/news/sudanese-president-visit-libya-345/

Impeachment dj vu TABLETS OF STONE Larry Faraon, OP 01/08/2012

Impeachment dj vu

TABLETS OF STONE

Larry Faraon, OP

01/08/2012
Will the Senate beauty and the beast shed real tears and hug each other if ever Chief Justice (CJ) Renato Corona fails to be convicted by the Senate? Who shall be the dancing queen this time at the Senate floor if ever Corona gets acquitted? Will Rep. Neil Tupas and the array of prosecutors walk out of the impeachment court and proceed to where most probably Edsa, again? Of course, the left leaning groups and the civil society would be out there at the overrated Edsa shrine grounds praying with lighted candles and red banners hoping for a reincarnation of a People Power or a dash of lightning current to strike CJ Coronas brain and tender his resignation, which would make trial by publicity or moral force the regular wheel of cyclical justice. Will there be present the likes of an Apostolic Nuncio or a Cardinal Archbishop of Manila ousting a sitting CJ and installing an administration puppet to the post?.... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20120108com6.html

Group: Slaying affirms RP as no man’s land for media By Gina Peralta-Elorde 01/08/2012

Group: Slaying affirms RP as no man’s land for media

By Gina Peralta-Elorde 01/08/2012
The Philippines had retained the notoriety of being among the world’s most dangerous places for journalists, press freedom watchdog Reporters Without Borders said in a statement while at the same time strongly condemning the murder the other day of Christopher Guarin, publisher of the newspaper Tatak News Nationwide and anchorman for radio station dxMD which was the first slaying of a journalist the group recorded for the year.

Guarin was shot dead in an ambush in General Santos City last Thursday.

The group said the forming of an investigative body to look into the slaying was welcome but it noted that similar bodies in the past did not produce “great results.”.... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20120108hed2.html

Impeach signatories face raps over unverified writ By Charlie V. Manalo 01/08/2012

PAGUIA, ADAZA ASK SENATE TO FREEZE TRIAL

Impeach signatories face raps over unverified writ

By Charlie V. Manalo 01/08/2012

Administrative and criminal cases are being readied against the 188 lawmakers who have signed the impeachment complaint against Chief Justice Renato Corona for abusing their discretion in transmitting to the Senate the Articles of Impeachment even though it was not verified as required under the Constitution, according to both former assemblyman Homobono Adaza and lawyer Alan Paguia yesterday.

At the weekly Kapihan sa Annabel’s, Adaza and Paguia took turns in explaining why the House members could be liable administratively and criminally based on the impeachment they have “haphazardly” transmitted to the Senate..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20120108hed1.html

Healing process for affected studes, teachers in CdO, Iligan starts 01/08/2012

Healing process for affected studes, teachers in CdO, Iligan starts

01/08/2012
After classes resumed on Tuesday, students and teachers in the cities of Cagayan de Oro and Iligan began a journey toward healing.

“Our schools serve as venues for students and teachers to talk about what they have gone through and what they feel buried deep inside,”Department of Education (DepEd) Secretary Armin Luistro said. “Talking, sharing experiences, will allow them to process their emotions. The resumption of classes will also allow us to conduct a head count to find out the whereabouts of those who are absent.”

Luistro clarified that affected schools are not holding regular classes during the first few days. “They will be doing mostly prayers, play therapy, and psycho-social debriefing. We will be using alternative delivery modes for learning.”.... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/nation/20120108nat6.html

Quezon blast kills teen, wounds 2 others 01/08/2012

Quezon blast kills teen, wounds 2 others

01/08/2012
LUCENA CITY, Quezon — A bomb explosion killed a boy and seriously injured two other persons in Barangay Paaralan, Plaridel, Quezon on Wednesday, a belated police report said.

Senior Insp. Jaytee Tiongco, Plaridel chief of police, identified the fatality as Nico Alvarez, 15, who suffered multiple wounds in the body and head and died while being rushed to the District Hospital in Gumaca town.


In his report to Senior Supt. Erickson Velasquez, Quezon police provincial director, Tiongco identified those injured as Manilo Caridad, 50 and Arjay Cabanas, 15..... MORE
Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/nation/20120108nat1.html

Begging whale sharks off Cebu sea stirs debate 01/08/2012

Begging whale sharks off Cebu sea stirs debate

01/08/2012

 Whale sharks begging for food off Cebu sea have sparked a debate on whether feeding the giant fish may ultimately be hurting the creatures, officials said yesterday.

While the mayor of the coastal town of Oslob insists that the practice of feeding the whale sharks does no harm and is good for tourism, environmentalists have recommended that it be halted.

Fishermen in Oslob in the central resort island of Cebu have been feeding whale sharks with baby shrimp since the 1980s and now use this feeding to make the creatures rise to the surface of the water for the amusement of tourists..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/nation/20120108nat2.html

Quezon blast kills teen, wounds 2 others 01/08/2012

Quezon blast kills teen, wounds 2 others

01/08/2012
LUCENA CITY, Quezon — A bomb explosion killed a boy and seriously injured two other persons in Barangay Paaralan, Plaridel, Quezon on Wednesday, a belated police report said.

Senior Insp. Jaytee Tiongco, Plaridel chief of police, identified the fatality as Nico Alvarez, 15, who suffered multiple wounds in the body and head and died while being rushed to the District Hospital in Gumaca town.

In his report to Senior Supt. Erickson Velasquez, Quezon police provincial director, Tiongco identified those injured as Manilo Caridad, 50 and Arjay Cabanas, 15. .... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/nation/20120108nat1.html

Quiapo fiesta revelers asked to refrain from throwing trash By Jason Faustino 01/08/2012

Quiapo fiesta revelers asked to refrain from throwing trash

By Jason Faustino 01/08/2012
The EcoWaste Coalition, a waste and pollution watchdog, yesterday reiterated its appeal for a garbage-free Feast of the Black Nazarene that is expected to draw millions of devotees from near and far.

The group renewed its plea as replicas of the Black Nazarene are paraded this afternoon around Quiapo by faithful followers in the lead up to the massive procession on Monday, Jan 9..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/metro/20120108met3.html

QC intensifies security to protect taxpayers from crooked individuals 01/08/2012

QC intensifies security to protect taxpayers from crooked individuals

01/08/2012
The Quezon City government has deployed more security personnel and uniformed policemen inside and outside the city hall compound to protect the taxpaying public from unscrupulous individuals and fixers who promise to deliver faster service for a fee.

Mayor Herbert Bautista, in an interview with members of the Quezon City Press Club last Friday, said he ordered concerned QC Hall departments, especially the Department of Public Order and Safety headed by Elmo San Diego, to assign more personnel to the premises of the different income-generating offices where tax payments for business and real property usually peak during the first quarter of the year..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/metro/20120108met5.html