29. Alam n'yo kaya na ngayon ang ika-115 na pagdiriwang ng pinakaunang
labanan ng Himagsikan bago pa man ang pangkalahataang pag-aaklas? Ngayon
unang lum...
Floating panels, sinking livelihoods
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A prototype of the future large-scale floating solar panel farm sits near
Bay, Laguna and powers the nearby San Antonio Barangay Hall and basketball
cour...
The ₱750-billion question
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HOTSPOT It is unconventional wisdom but governments, past and present,
actually owe generations of jeepney drivers and operators a lot. The fact
is, these ...
‘Ap-piece-ment’
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- Written by Herman Tiu Laurel
- Friday, 12 October 2012 00:00
*T*he acknowledged territory of the Republic of the Philippines has since
Eds...
How Email Marketing Started
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Email marketing wasn’t always smart or fancy. It began as a simple tool. In
the early days, businesses would just send one message to everyone on their
lis...
Treasury bonds to fetch lower yields on demand
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TREASURY BONDS (T-bonds) on offer this week would likely see yields trend
lower amid strong demand, with the government seen to make the award ahead
of an ...
Manananggal in the city again
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GET READY to see the manananggal fly once again as Prime Cruz's Ang
Manananggal sa Unit 23B will return to theaters -- this time for a
nationwide release -...
ISAF has been conducting security operations
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Sed a velit vitae nunc porta iaculis. Aliquam tempus rutrum diam, non
tincidunt odio pharetra vitae. Nulla facilisi. Duis sed laoreet dui. Duis a
risus n...
PCIJ welcomes new executive director
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The Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) is pleased to
announce that it has selected Vino Lucero as its new executive director,
followin...
MGA BAGONG AKDA
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PAHIWATIG: Analekta sa Paghabi ng Landas sa PakikipagsapalaranI.Komadrona
ng palaisipan, iligtas mo kami sa mga tuksong ito,mga bagay na
pinagmumulanng sin...
Hazing and the culture of violence
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The death of Adamson University student John Matthew Salilig at the hands
of his presumptive fraternity “brothers” is a wake-up call to everyone,
special...
6 AUGUST
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*1907 - Gen. Macario Sakay, one of the Filipino military leaders who had
continued fighting the imperialist United States invaders eight years into
the P...
Liberal Party standard bearer Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino confirmed he has been holding several separate meetings with various classes of Philippine Military Academy (PMA) and its officers on the probability of a failure of elections and electoral fraud, and what kind of role these elite military officers will be playing.
Aquino, in a statement issued to the media, confirmed that indeed he met with various classes, said to be Class 1977 and younger, but the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) denied that there were such meetings held with Aquino.
But even as the AFP officers denied that such meetings were held with Aquino, military Chief of Staff Gen. Delfin Bangit yesterday admitted there are ongoing investigations of the supposed meetings and consultations between the LP standard-bearer and some active military officials.... MORE
TAGAYTAY CITY, Cavite — Former President and Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino (PMP) standard bearer Joseph “Erap” Estrada said yesterday he has reasons to believe the release of the Ampatuans, primary suspects in the infamous Maguindano massacre, have something to do with the forthcoming elections as the Ampatuan patriarch had once been involved in the Hello Garci scandal in 2004 that proved massive cheating which gave President Arroyo a fresh six year term.
In an interview, Estrada said indications are strong the administration might be using the Ampatuans to execute massive cheating in the May 10 polls aside from silencing them from spilling the beans on the Hello Garci scandal wherein President Arroyo was caught on tape talking to a Commission on Elections com-missioner inquiring on the status of her votes in Maguindanao.
Re-electionist Sen. Jinggoy Estrada also directly accused his former Ateneo classmate Justice Secretary Alberto Agra of blindly following an order from Malacañang and allowing himself to be used as a “willing tool of the administration” in repaying its political gratitude to the powerful Ampatuan clan.
“While I know Secretary Agra personally because we used to attend the same school, I cannot in conscience agree with what he just did. I feel sorry for him because he allowed himself to be used as a tool by the administration in repaying a debt which was not his,” Estrada said..... MORE
Main Maguindanao massacre suspect Datu Unsay Mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr. had a change of heart yesterday, saying he now supports the presidential bid of Liberal Party (LP) bet Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino, and this is a family decision, a few days after he declared that he will vote for NP standard bearer Manuel Villar Jr.
Ampatuan Jr. stated his endorsement for Aquino at the same time that he insisted he was innocent of the multiple murder cases at a bizarre jailhouse press conference.
Ampatuan, wearing a yellow prison T-shirt but was not cuffed, was relaxed and smiled as he gave his most expansive comments to the media since being arrested last year for the slaughter of 57 people.... MORE
Joey Salceda, Albay governor who defected to the Liberal Party (LP) a few days ago, won’t be able to live down his “no palabra de honor” reputation.
He may not know it, but he has lost more than what he believes he gained by joining the LP and pledging his loyalty and support to Noynoy Aquino.
Not even when he claims he turned his back on Gloria Arroyo and Lakas for “love of country” will repair the damage done to his reputation.
What his jumping over the LP fence is seen, by most, is hardly love for country, but political opportunism, because he believes it will be Noynoy and Mar who will be in Malacañang in June, and he expects to be with what he believes is the “winning side” and thus, still be in power and position under a new regime.... MORE
he Supreme Court (SC) has ruled with finality. Gloria Arroyo can appoint the next Chief Justice (CJ), and the Judicial and Bar Council will have to submit a list to her, as ordered by the high court, within this time up till May 17, 2010.
So what do Noynoy and his yellows do now? Refuse to recognize the decision of the majority of the high court justices and refuse too, to recognize the Gloria-appointed CJ? Stage a street protest to oust the new CJ? Fire the CJ and all the other justices who will recognize the next CJ? Have the CJ impeached because, as claimed by Noynoy and his yellows, the high court erred in granting Gloria the power to appoint the next CJ?
Noynoy and the yellows are now looking like fools, since none of these threats they issued earlier can be applied.
They look foolish because, in the first place, the frigging yellows and their bet haven’t even won the presidential race for Noynoy to even threaten not to recognize the Gloria-appointed CJ. Neither does he have the power to fire any of them, nor for that matter, threaten impeachment.... MORE
MAJURO — In the staunchly Christian Pacific islands, the battle to combat HIV/AIDS is struggling to overcome shame surrounding the disease, which results in many patients being ostracized by their families.
An AIDS conference bringing together representatives from US-affiliated Pacific island nations and territories in the Marshall Islands capital of Majuro last week heard of the discrimination faced by those living with HIV/AIDS.
“People think everyone with HIV is a sinner and that God will not forgive them,” said Cathy Samuel from the atoll of Chuuk in the Federated States of Micronesia.
Samuel’s family was forced to move to another island to get away from what she described as the “embarrassment” of having a family member who died from AIDS.
Another woman from Chuuk, who did not want to be named, said she was forced to move to Guam when her husband died after infecting her with HIV.... MORE
We’re almost in the homestretch, and anomie, that feeling of anxiety and isolation, is fast catching up on some candidates, whose campaign did not catch fire or whose pitches have been razed to the ground along the way.
The next few days before the May 10 exercise would reveal much of some candidates’ personalities, through exposures of their lies and deceit, either by design or accident, that bandwagons may crumble and personal idolatries may wane.
Philippine electoral history, however, would prove right that money would still play a big part in this process of selection, with local support hinging on how much a candidate may have promised or given, proof that we have yet to reach political maturity on which most democracies lean.... MORE
As the days pass too quickly for comfort, the election hubbub rises and the resounding echo seems to be that a failure of elections is “highly” possible.
Administration Sen. Edgardo Angara warned last Friday that “there’s a 70 percent chance that elections will fail” come May 10. In a recent newspaper report, he told the press that this scenario was “possible given the Commission on Elections’ admission that there was a 30 to 40 percent chance it would revert to manual elections, and that would disenfranchise many voters.” If such a case happens, Angara added that “a military-instigated power grab could ensue, which could result in a widespread chaos…,” the April 17 article said.
The senator pointed out the country’s general lack of readiness for automated polls, as well as the power interruptions in key areas in the Philippines.... MORE
VATICAN CITY — Pope Benedict XVI admitted to world cardinals that he led a “wounded and sinner” Church, as he marked five tumultuous years in charge, most recently mired in pedophile priest scandals.
The pontiff “evoked the sins of the Church,” describing it as “wounded and sinner” to some 50 cardinals gathered for his anniversary, the Vatican daily L’Osservatore Romano said Monday.
He “feels very strongly that he is not alone,” the paper reported the pontiff as saying, he “has at his sides the whole college of cardinals who are sharing with him vicissitudes and reassurance.”
Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi defended the embattled Pope, telling Radio Vatican the priorities Benedict had defined after his election were being “pursued with coherence and courage” despite “tensions” and “obstacles.”
Waves of allegations sweeping the Church in Europe and the Americas had also been the backdrop to a tearful meeting between the Pope and abuse victims on Sunday in Malta, one of the latest countries to be hit by sex abuse scandals.... MORE
04/21/2010
LONDON — Satire and ridicule can help win the fight against al-Qaeda by stripping it of its glamor and mystique, a team of British researchers argue in a report released in London and in comments to AFP.
Beating the Islamist movement is as much about winning the battle of ideas and undermining al-Qaeda’s counter-culture cachet as it is about conventional anti-terrorism operations, said the report.
“Terrorism must be defeated through the deliberate ‘toxification’ of the al-Qaeda brand; not by making it seem dangerous, but by exposing it as dumb,” Jamie Bartlett, one of the report’s authors, told AFP.
“Al-Qaeda has to be ridiculed as the equivalent of a middle-aged dad at a school disco: Enthusiastic, incompetent and excruciatingly uncool.”... MORE
By Aytch S. de la Cruz, Charlie V. Manalo and Angie M. Rosales
04/20/2010
One hundred sixty one Lakas-Kampi congressmen swore allegiance to President Arroyo and the administration, after being reined in by her in an outward support of the adminstration candidate, former Defense Secretary Gilbert “Gibo” Teodoro.
Sources, however, told the Tribune yesterday that some of the congressmen’s hands were greased with between P100 million to P200 million each, for them to openly declare their loyalty to Arroyo and to follow her orders -— whatever they may be come election day.
The same sources identified with the administration party, also said that local officials belonging to the ruling party expressed discontent, if not disgust, as the funds flowed only for the congressmen, and not to the local executives, saying what it looks... MORE
Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino (PMP) standard-bearer former President Joseph Estrada is in the pink of health both physically and psychologically.
“I was fit for the presidency in 1998, I am still fit to be the next President,” Estrada said in a radio interview yesterday — his 73rd birthday.
Estrada disclosed that he went through psychiatric tests and other medical examinations even before other presidential candidates had come up with a challenge for them to undergo psychiatric tests.
He, however, said the medical examination was for his own consumption and he does not plan to challenge his presidential rivals to go through the same process.... MORE
By Benjamin B. Pulta and Angie M. Rosales
04/20/2010
Government prosecutors yesterday publicly criticized the controversial decision of Justice Secretary Alberto Agra to clear two members of the Ampatuan clan of multiple murder charges in last November’s Maguindanao massacre which saw 57 individuals killed.
“The Department of Justice (DoJ) is supposed to be the sword and shield of law and order. We are deeply concerned that the resolution will all the more convince a long skeptical public that our criminal justice system is impotent when the accused are politically influential,” the panel of prosecutors who built the case said in a manifesto.
“We pray and hope that despite difficulties and setbacks, justice will ultimately be served to the victims of this tragedy. It is along this line that we earnestly and respectfully request Acting Secretary Agra to revisit his resolution. Otherwise, we dishonor the primary reasons for which our institution existsand its very name: the DoJ,” the manifesto added.... MORE
The Liberal Party (LP) is indeed growing in number, but its core is now made up of the “architects of poverty” under President Arroyo’s leadership, according to the Nacionalista Party (NP).
“I think the Filipino people should always remember that when you vote for a president, you’re not voting for one person, you’re voting for his team, also his family. So we should be very careful when choosing a president,” lawyer Adel Tamano, NP senatorial bet and party spokesman said, as he cited names of personalities formerly highly-identified with Arroyo who now supposedly comprise the panel of advisers of the LP standard bearer.
“That assumption is not based on nothing. In the past, it has been a historical precedent that the closest advisers to a presidential candidate, would become his Cabinet members as well because the membership in Cabinet, is a matter of highest trust and confidentiality. He will choose his advisers and he will not pick someone whom he does not personally know or not a known supporter..... MORE
The Judicial and Bar Council is today being praised — almost to high heavens — by the usual civil society types, for asserting its “independence,” and on the basis of its position on the issue of both the grant of the high court to the incumbent Malacañang tenant the authority to name the next Chief Justice and the court’s order for the JBC to submit the list of nominees to Malacañang for the CJ’s post.
To recall, it was the Supreme Court (SC) that called on the JBC to give its comment. Stated differently, it was not a voluntary act on the part of the JBC in coming up with its position, as the body was merely following that which the SC had ordered it to do.
The JBC has taken the position of two SC justices who took the view that the issue is “premature.” But the JBC also made it clear that whatever is the final decision of the high court, it will comply with it.... MORE
Government appears to be in complete chaos — and this, even before the chaos that is expected to occur during and shortly after election day, with massive disenfranchisement and counting machines breaking down, not to mention massive fraud that all point to a no presidential and senatorial proclamation scenario.
Something is terribly wrong in a bureaucracy where subalterns openly object to what their chief says and does, as in the case of the announced dropping of the murder charges against two Ampatuans: ARMM Gov. Zaldy Ampatuan and his cousin, former Maguindanao Vice Gov. Akmad Ampatuan.
The chief prosecutor along with his team of prosecutors, read out a statement before the media and some of the relatives of the massacre victims, saying that the murder case against the Ampatuans should not have been dropped, adding that they were not even consulted by the Justice chief before he came up with this resolution of the review of the case, and then virtually demanded that Alberto Agra, Justice chief, reverse his review ruling.... MORE
Last week, former Supreme Court Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr. announced his resignation as Philippine ambassador and permanent representative to the United Nations to “campaign for change,” effective April 1. He talked like he had only recently found out what this government’s been doing all along, so I thought it was an April Fools’ joke.
Speaking as if he had nothing to do with installing Gloria Arroyo in the first place, he said the country “can never forget” this dispensation’s corruption. Since when, his recognition of unforgettable sleaze? How long, after swearing in Glora Arroyo as president on Edsa in 2001? Why is he complaining only now, when he did not as much as comment on “Hello Garci?” Joc-joc Bolante and the fertilizer scam? The NBN-ZTE deal? The Le Cirque dinner for Gloria and company that cost the Filipino taxpayer close to $20,000, or P954,000? Etcetera, etcetera?
His tenure is supposed to end June 30, but as he told various media, “I just had to come (home) to be able to enlighten our people on the need to choose the best. So, here I am, campaigning hard, knowing that a victory will be sure for Noynoy and Mar and the entire LP... this is the best time for our country to have real change.”
What an opportunist. What a disappointment.... MORE
Last week, this column discussed MacArthur of the Philippines, a hymn of praise to “the General” (as his wife called him) by Fernando Ruiz. As we saw, Mr. Ruiz clearly regarded Douglas MacArthur as little less than a god. But why?
Could it be because, as Mr. Ruiz writes, in “the history of Filipinos’ long struggle for freedom... Gen. Douglas MacArthur was the only white man who appeared like a rainbow to reinvigorate their quest for freedom and democracy.”
But MacArthur did no such thing, of course. He arrived as a junior officer in the army of occupation in 1903, toward the tail-end of the US war of conquest that left hundreds of thousands of Filipinos dead. His father, Gen. Arthur MacArthur, appointed military governor in 1900, took the view that Filipinos required “ten years of bayonet treatment.”
Bataan? MacArthur only visited his men there once, despite his claim to “love them.” It was MacArthur who started the myth that the Japanese outnumbered his forces and, despite the fact that it was debunked years ago, Mr. Ruiz dutifully repeats it. Liberation in 1944-45?.... MORE
The defection of Rep. Annie Susano, Lakas chairman and candidate for mayor of Quezon City together with Vice Mayor Janet Babes Malaya and her entire slate to the Erap camp has assured the victory of the Erap-Binay Team in the biggest City in Metro Manila.
Quezon City has 1.6 million votes, half of which are in the district of Susano.
Annie Susano recalled that she is just coming back to PMP since she won as a councilor under the PMP in 1988.
The Erap-Binay team has stepped up its campaign, visiting 14 provinces in 10 days namely Zamboanga del Norte, Zamboanga City, Northern Samar, Leyte, Biliran, Cebu, Rizal, Laguna, Cagayan, Nueva Viscaya, Pangasinan, Nueva Ecija and Cavite.... MORE
AL-WAZZANI — On a lush green hillside that dips into a river, dozens of laborers are busy building a dream vacation getaway deep in Lebanon’s south.
The construction site in the tiny village of Al-Wazzani may look like any other except that in this case it sits right at the enemy’s gate — literally a stone’s throw from Israel.
“Many told us we were crazy to build so close to the border with Israel,” said Khalil Abdallah, the man behind the three-million-dollar project located three meters (10 feet) from the UN-drawn border that separates Lebanon from Israel, two countries still technically at war.... MORE
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Airlines, banks, casinos, package deliveries, and emergency services around
the world are recovering today from what could be "the largest tech outage
in h...
Aston Martin falls 5% in its London IPO
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Aston Martin is joining the ranks of listed automakers with an IPO that
values the British company at more than $5 billion.
Twitter testing new design for Android app
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Micro-blogging website Twitter is testing a new design for an Android app
version to make it more user-friendly and easy to navigate
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Charles Oppenheimer, grandson of the nuclear physicist, is warning about
existential threats and says cooperation is the only way we can address
them.
US gives pass to Pakistan in 2009 CIA camp attack
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US officials made light of disclosures in declassified cables that
Pakistan’s intelligence agency ISI had bankrolled the second-largest
single-day slaughte...
Pope Francis makes historic first US visit
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Pope Francis arrived in the United States on Tuesday for his first visit a
historic sixday trip during which his focus on consumerism poverty and the
margi...
Cassini captures speeding star dust grain
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Alien dust in the solar system is not unanticipated. In the 1990s, the
ESA/NASA Ulysses mission made the first in-situ observations of this
material. Cassi...
Awaiting my execution: A letter from Iran
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BREAKING: Saman Naseem’s execution did not go ahead as originally scheduled
on the morning of Thursday 19 February. More information to come. Saman
remains...