Invisibilidad ng Paggawa sa Indie Cinema Published on July 27, 2010

Invisibilidad ng Paggawa sa Indie Cinema

Published on July 27, 2010

Ni Roland Tolentino
Bulatlat.com

Maliban sa Endo (2007) na ukol sa kabataang subkontrakwal na manggagawa at sa My Fake American Accent (2008), walang presensya ang paggawa sa maigsing kasaysayan ng Cinemalaya. At ngayong iniisip ko, tila wala rin namang substansyal na papel ang paggawa sa indie film movement sa kabuuan.

Ang usapin ng paggawa at manggagawa, at ng anakpawis ay may makauring batayang kalikasan: sinisiwalat nito ang panlipunang relasyon ng may ekonomikong kapangyarihan at wala. Sa usaping uri, ang diegesis (mundo sa loob ng pelikula) na inaasahang sumaklaw sa buhay ng manggagawa at kapitalista, halimbawa, ay ang estado: ang kuntsabahan ng malalaking negosyo na nakakapanghatak sa manggagawa na gumawa sa pinakamatipid na sweldo at pinakamarahas na kondisyon ng paggawa, at ng gobyerno na nag-aalay ng kanyang mamamayan—sa kalakarang tinatawag ni Foucault na “docile bodies” o minangmang na pangangatawan–sa poder ng negosyo..... MORE

Source:  Bulatlat.com

URL: http://www.bulatlat.com/main/2010/07/27/invisibilidad-ng-paggawa-sa-indie-cinema/

Ordinary Filipinos to Noynoy: We Expect Jobs, Decent Income, Housing Published on July 27, 2010

Ordinary Filipinos to Noynoy: We Expect Jobs, Decent Income, Housing

Published on July 27, 2010

By RONALYN V. OLEA

MANILA — While protesters were holding a program a few steps away from the Ever Gotesco Mall along Commonwealth Avenue, Dina Erene, 42, and Roselle Tupas, 35, were busy sweeping the garbage along the road.

Both women admitted that they voted for President Benigno S. Aquino III. “There might be progress,” Dina, a mother of six, said in Filipino. Her husband is an air-conditioning technician without a regular job. Even though the two of them are working, Dina said, sending all their children to school is not easy. The same goes for Roselle who has four children and whose husband is a worker at an upholstery shop. “Life is difficult,” she said.

As street sweepers of the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA), they earn P251 ($5.44) a day, way below the minimum wage set in the National Capital Region. Both have been employed since October 2009 and their contract is renewed every five months. “We want regular jobs,” Dina said when asked about what President Benigno Aquino III should prioritize.... MORE

Source:  Bulatlat.com

URL: http://www.bulatlat.com/main/2010/07/27/ordinary-filipinos-to-noynoy-we-expect-jobs-decent-income-housing/

No irregularity in gov't funds cited in SONA — Horn By DAVID CAGAHASTIAN July 27, 2010, 2:36pm

No irregularity in gov't funds cited in SONA — Horn

By DAVID CAGAHASTIAN

July 27, 2010, 2:36pm

 

Former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's spokeswoman said on Tuesday that President Noynoy Aquino's State of the Nation Address (SONA) did not clarify which figures he was citing when he said only P100 billion remains in the annual budget.

Elena Bautista-Horn said Mr. Aquino's figures are different from the official figures on government expenditures from January to June of this year, which were released by the Bureau of Treasury, the agency that records the actual spending of the national government.

The Bureau of Treasury released the official figures of the government's actual disbursements from the national budget last July 21, 2010 when it was already under Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima.... MORE

Source:  The Manila Bulletin

URL: http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/269101/no-irregularity-annual-budget-cited-sona-horn

Aquino bares blueprint to modernize AFP July 27, 2010, 12:16pm

Aquino bares blueprint to modernize AFP

July 27, 2010, 12:16pm

MANILA (PNA) — President Benigno C. Aquino III on Monday bared a blueprint to modernize the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), particularly the Philippine Navy (PN), which has only 31 aging ships of World War II vintage in its arsenal to guard the country’s vast 36,000 square nautical miles of territorial waters.

In his first State of the Nation Address (SONA) before a joint session of Congress at the Batasan Pambansa complex in suburban Quezon City, the President said that a plan is afoot to lease the Navy’s headquarters at Roxas Boulevard in Manila for US$ 100 million with the money to be used to buy new equipment for the Navy.

The President said the Navy’s headquarters will be relocated to Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City..... MORE

Source:  The Manila Bulletin

URL: http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/269078/aquino-bares-blueprint-modernize-afp

Palace tags SONA exposè an alert vs corruption July 27, 2010, 1:16pm

Palace tags SONA exposè an alert vs corruption

July 27, 2010, 1:16pm

MANILA (PNA) — Malacañang sees as a warning against corruption President Benigno Aquino III's decision to bare in his first State-of-the-Nation Address (SONA) anomalies that allegedly happened during his predecessor's incumbency.

"This should be a lesson for us," said communications group official Herminio 'Sonny' Coloma.
He raised this point, noting President Aquino is determined to address corruption.

Coloma hopes Mr. Aquino's SONA exposè will generate more public vigilance in monitoring government affairs..... MORE

Source:  The Manila Bulletin

URL: http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/269084/palace-tags-sona-expos-alert-vs-corruption

Binay asks support of Aquino in “difficulties and challenges ahead” of 6-year presidency July 27, 2010, 11:35am

Binay asks support of Aquino in “difficulties and challenges ahead” of 6-year presidency

July 27, 2010, 11:35am

MANILA (PNA) — “There are difficulties and challenges ahead” for the fledgling administration of President Benigno Aquino III, who delivered his first State-of-the-Nation Address (SONA) Monday afternoon before the joint Session of Congress.

Thus, “President Aquino needs our whole-hearted support for him to succeed in facing these difficulties and challenges,” said Vice President Jejomar C. Binay, reacting to the address delivered at the Batasan Hall in Quezon City.

The address itself, according to Binay, “gave the true state of the nation in a manner that is simple, direct and truthful.” The Vice President and his spouse, Dr. Elenita Binay, was personally present at the Batasan to listen to the 30-minute delivery..... MORE

Source:  The Manila Bulletin

URL: http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/269068/binay-asks-support-aquino-difficulties-and-challenges-ahead-6year-presidency

Water levels in Luzon dams stabilize says power firm By DEXTER A. SEE July 27, 2010, 11:10am

Water levels in Luzon dams stabilize says power firm

By DEXTER A. SEE

July 27, 2010, 11:10am

 

BOKOD, Benguet – The water level in the three major power plants in Northern Luzon, which are the source of electricity for numerous areas, has already stabilized because of the continuous rains. These hydro plants could now generate sufficient power to be infused to the Luzon grid to add up to the dwindling supply, a ranking official of the SN Aboitize Power Corporation Benguet (SNAPB) said.

Lawyer Mike Hosillos, SNAPB vice-president for external affairs, revealed the water level in the 75-megawatt Ambuclao dam already reached 745 meters above sea level which is just a few meters below the 752 meters above sea level high water level of the 60-year old power plant.

On the other hand, the 100-megawatt Binga dam, which is located downstream the Ambuclao dam, particularly in nearby Itogon town, has a convincing 568 meters above sea level water elevation which.... MORE
Source:  The Manila Bulletin
URL: http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/269059/water-levels-luzon-dams-stabilize-says-power-firm

Singson denied bail in HK on drug trafficking charges; remains jailed July 26, 2010, 8:48pm

Singson denied bail in HK on drug trafficking charges; remains jailed

July 26, 2010, 8:48pm

MANILA, July 26 (PNA) — One Philippine lawmaker was missing Monday at the Batasang Pambansa for the first State of the Nation Address of President Benigno Aquino III.

He is newly-elected Ilocos Sur Rep. Ronald Singson, son of former Philippine deputy national security adviser and now Ilocos Sur Gov. Chavit Singson. The former remains in a Hong Kong jail on drug-trafficking charges.

Singson's application for bail was denied last week by Hong Kong authorities, it was learned today from the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).

He was arrested at the Hong Kong International Airport on July 11 for alleged possession of a few grams of banned substance. He was arraigned at the Tsuen Wan Magistracy’s Courts for violating Hong Kong’s Dangerous Drugs Ordinance.... MORE

Source:  The Manila Bulletin

URL: http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/269010/singson-denied-bail-hk-drug-trafficking-charges-remains-jailed

Enrile Senate chief by unanimous choice By Angie M. Rosales 07/26/2010

JINGGOY REMAINS PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE Enrile Senate chief by unanimous choice By Angie M. Rosales 07/26/2010 Undeclared candidate Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile will be named today Senate President of the 15th Congress after the two senators who have contested the position relented on their bids yesterday after failing to muster the necessary votes for the position. Pangilinan, the bet of President Aquino’s Liberal Party for the post, announced his withdrawal from the race early yesterday. Sen. Edgardo Angara later said that senators agreed unanimously to hand to Enrile the Senate presidency and that the voting today would be merely ceremonial and will be done through acclamation. This is the first time that a grand coalition is formed in the upper chamber, supporting a common candidate, Sen. Edgardo Angara said after attending a meeting with Enrile and colleagues in an undisclosed venue where they finalized committee assignments. “You can describe it as a grand coalition. All the blocs, all the parties all combined,” he said. Angara said they need not conduct an election during the ceremonial opening of the Senate session since 20 senators have already rallied behind Enrile’s presidency. This means that even the former aspirants, Pangilinan and Manuel Villar Jr. of the Nacionalista Party (NP), were among those who agreed in installing Enrile to the top Senate post. Angara, who was instrumental in the negotiations concerning the Senate presidency, conducting almost daily meetings with colleagues, also acknowledged the cooperation of Villar and his allies as well as those from the Liberal Party (LP).... MORE Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20100726hed1.html

HEADLINES Enrile Senate chief by unanimous choice Noynoy backers want show of will in Sona House ally offers Aquino supplemental ’10 budget DoJ ordered to answer Ampatuan’s plea to drop murder charges DFA not commenting on Rep. Singson’s arrest in HK SC to NBI: Prove release to court of victim’s specimen in Vizconde case

Noynoy backers want show of will in Sona 07/26/2010

Noynoy backers want show of will in Sona

07/26/2010 Civil society groups supporting President Aquino wanted him to show political will and commitment in the State of the Nation Address (Sona) he will deliver today, saying that he should not sacri-fice the delivery of basic social ser-vices to the poor despite the fiscal crisis he inherited from former President Arroyo. Aquino’s administration begins with an extremely high trust rating of 88 percent, higher athan any of the post-dictatorship presidents which is a measure of people’s belief in the commitment of the Aquino administration to reverse the anti-poor policies implemented during the regime of Arroyo, the Freedom from Debt Coalition (FDC) said. The Sona should ensure that no Pinoy will be left behind by the P-Noy adminis-tration’s poverty eradication efforts, Social Watch Philippines (SWP) said. “Our bottom-line is those at the bottom. These are millions of abso-lutely poor and absolutely hungry Filipinos who will be left behind even if we achieve the Development targets as embodied in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs),” said former national treasurer Leonor  FDC said it submitted to Aquino an agenda outlining demands for changes in the debt and public finance policy, the power industry, the water sector, and government’s stance on climate negotiations and responses to climate crisis.  “This is in the context of a looming fiscal crisis due to the record-breaking deficit and empty public coffers left by the Arroyo administration, electricity prices soaring past major Asian cities save Tokyo, a water crisis that is pushing Filipinos to desperate extremes, and a looming La Niña that might bring us another devastating Ondoy,” it said. Aquino should stop Arroyo’s practice of using band-aid solutions to the country’s chronic problems, the FDC said. A business-as-usual approach will only delay the inevitable descent of the economy to oblivion, but it will not change its course, the group added.... MORE Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20100726hed2.html

HEADLINES Enrile Senate chief by unanimous choice Noynoy backers want show of will in Sona House ally offers Aquino supplemental ’10 budget DoJ ordered to answer Ampatuan’s plea to drop murder charges DFA not commenting on Rep. Singson’s arrest in HK SC to NBI: Prove release to court of victim’s specimen in Vizconde case

House ally offers Aquino supplemental ’10 budget By Gerry Baldo 07/26/2010

House ally offers Aquino supplemental ’10 budget

By Gerry Baldo 07/26/2010 The House is willing to grant a supplemental budget to President Aquino this year if he will require it to keep the government afloat amid reports that the Arroyo administration had siphoned off most of this year’s budget prior to former President Arroyo’s stepping down last June 30, an ally of Aquino in the House of Representatives said yesterday. According to Mandaluyong Rep. Neptali Gonzales II, the House of Representatives can push the passage of a special appropriation to keep the government afloat. “We will provide a special budget if it is necessary to give this new government new cash for the next five months,” Gonzales, who is expected to be elected as House majority leader and chairman of the House committee on rules, said yesterday. Gonzales, however, said that the proposed amount of the special appropriation should come from Malacañang and not from the Lower House. “It will have to come from them,” said Gonzales. The Aquino government has proposed for a 14 percent increase in the national budget from last year’s P1.54-trillon to P1.757-trillon for next year but had said nothing yet about the need for extra appropriations for this year..... MORE Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20100726hed3.html

HEADLINES Enrile Senate chief by unanimous choice Noynoy backers want show of will in Sona House ally offers Aquino supplemental ’10 budget DoJ ordered to answer Ampatuan’s plea to drop murder charges DFA not commenting on Rep. Singson’s arrest in HK SC to NBI: Prove release to court of victim’s specimen in Vizconde case

DoJ ordered to answer Ampatuan’s plea to drop murder charges 07/26/2010

DoJ ordered to answer Ampatuan’s plea to drop murder charges

07/26/2010 The Court of Appeals (CA) has directed the Department of Justice (DoJ) to immediately answer the petition of former Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) Gov. Zaldy Ampatuan to nullify a resolution issued by former Justice Secretary Alberto Agra that ordered his indictment in the Maguindanao massacre case. Agra’s May 5 resolution ordered the filing of 57 counts of murder charges against Ampatuan before the Quezon City Regional Trial Court in connection with the massacre that left 57 persons dead, including 30 journalists, on Nov. 23, 2009 in Maguindanao province. The CA Eleventh Division, in the decision penned by Associate Justice Danton Bueser, gave the Justice department 10 days within which to submit its comment on Ampatuan’s petition. In his petition, Ampatuan also asked the CA to reinstate Agra’s April 16 resolution ordering his exclusion and those of former Maguindanao Vice Gov. Datu Akmad Ampatuan Sr. as co-accused in the 57 counts of murder charges due to lack of probable cause to implicate them to the brutal killings. “Without necessarily giving due course to the petition for certiorari, public respondent (Agra) is hereby directed to file his comment within 10 days. Petitioner is hereby given five days from receipt of said comment within which to file reply,” the CA ordered.... MORE Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20100726hed4.html

HEADLINES Enrile Senate chief by unanimous choice Noynoy backers want show of will in Sona House ally offers Aquino supplemental ’10 budget DoJ ordered to answer Ampatuan’s plea to drop murder charges DFA not commenting on Rep. Singson’s arrest in HK SC to NBI: Prove release to court of victim’s specimen in Vizconde case

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DFA not commenting on Rep. Singson’s arrest in HK 07/26/2010

DFA not commenting on Rep. Singson’s arrest in HK

07/26/2010 The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) neither confirmed nor denied that Rep. Ronald Singson, son of Ilocos Sur Gov. Luis “Chavit” Singson, was arrested at the Hong Kong international airport last July 11 for alleged drug trafficking. Reports said Singson, 41, was accosted by Hong Kong authorities at the Chek Lap Kok Interna-tional Airport after 26.1 grams of cocaine and two tablets of Valium were found in his possession. He is reportedly scheduled to appear at the Tsuen Wan court on Aug. 19. “The Philippine consulate general in Hong Kong has communicated with the Filipino who is in custody for alleged drug offenses in the territory. The latter has retained the services  of a private counsel and is now representing him in court proceedings,” a senior DFA official told the Tribune. The official, who is privy to the case, said the Filipino has not requested the consulate general for any assistance at this time. The official also called the case a “sensitive matter.” But a report by ABS-CBN News reported the elder Singson confirming the arrest of his son, a second-term congressman representing the district of Ilocos Sur..... MORE Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20100726hed5.html

HEADLINES Enrile Senate chief by unanimous choice Noynoy backers want show of will in Sona House ally offers Aquino supplemental ’10 budget DoJ ordered to answer Ampatuan’s plea to drop murder charges DFA not commenting on Rep. Singson’s arrest in HK SC to NBI: Prove release to court of victim’s specimen in Vizconde case

SC to NBI: Prove release to court of victim’s specimen in Vizconde case 07/26/2010

SC to NBI: Prove release to court of victim’s specimen in Vizconde case

07/26/2010 The Supreme Court (SC) has ordered the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to prove that it handed over to the lower court the semen specimen used during the trial of the Vizconde case in 1996. It also directed the NBI to explain the alleged conflicting representations in its April 27, 2010 compliance and manifestation, saying the specimen was already turned over to the Paranaque City Regional Trial Court (RTC) as early as 1996 and its 1997 letter which categorically stated that “the specimen gathered is still existing and in the custody of the NBI” as of April 23, 1997. The SC, in its resolution, granted the request of Vizconde massacre case prime suspect and convicted rapist Hubert Webb, for the NBI to show proof of the release of the specimen to Parañaque RTC. The semen sample was taken from Carmela Vizconde, who was raped before she was murdered along with her mother and baby sister in 1991 in Parañaque City. The Parañaque RTC staff earlier denied that the semen specimen was still with them. Last April, the SC approved Webb’s request to submit for DNA analysis the specimen and see if findings produced a match with his DNA..... MORE Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20100726hed6.html

HEADLINES Enrile Senate chief by unanimous choice Noynoy backers want show of will in Sona House ally offers Aquino supplemental ’10 budget DoJ ordered to answer Ampatuan’s plea to drop murder charges DFA not commenting on Rep. Singson’s arrest in HK SC to NBI: Prove release to court of victim’s specimen in Vizconde case

Liquidity problems EDITORIAL 07/25/2010

Liquidity problems

EDITORIAL Click to enlarge 07/25/2010 Was there really a water shortage? Or has Metro Manila been a victim of an elaborate stage-managed crisis situation to extract a water rate hike? The circumstances on the supposed water crisis were very suspicious. The operator of the water services for the so-called west zone of the capital region made up of the cities of Manila, Quezon, Makati, Caloocan, Pasay, Parañaque, Las Piñas, Muntinlupa, Valenzuela, Navotas and Malabon is Maynilad Water Services Inc., which is deep in debt to the tune of anyhere between P11 billion and P14 billion and is in desperate need of an increase in water rates to improve its supply network. Maynilad used to be managed by the Lopezes but it unilaterally rescinded its concession contract with the Manila Water and Sewerage System (MWSS) and got away with it without any penalties and later on decided to stay on in exchange for the government converting P8 billion of the company’s debts into government equity.... MORE Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100725com1.html

COMMENTARY EDITORIAL Liquidity problems FRONTLINE Unpresidential Noynoy FEATURE Survivors of Khmer Rouge torture center await justice BLURBAL THRUSTS Litmus test for P-Noy C.R.O.S.S.R.O.A.D.S SLTC operating illegally? TABLETS OF STONE Dead in the water VIEWPOINTS The public purse: Empty of cash but full of debts

Unpresidential Noynoy FRONTLINE Ninez Cacho-Olivares 07/25/2010

Unpresidential Noynoy

FRONTLINE Ninez Cacho-Olivares 07/25/2010 Too bad, Noynoy Aquino is still in that campaign mode, not realizing that he is now president, and needs to talk and act like a president, and not a presidential candidate campaigning for votes. The other day, Noynoy gave the media teasers on how his State of the Nation Address (Sona) speech will go, and saying that the nation will be shocked at the discoveries made by him and his Palace team, complete with at least “five exposes,” he said, adding that even those in the know will still get shocked at the revelations he will be making in his speech, with remarks such as, huh? They actually did that? How could they have done that? It was said in the context too, of calamity funds having gone to a congressional district that was not even affected by the typhoons that visited the country in the past. There were other “teasers” Noynoy gave, focused mostly on the pittance left by Gloria Arroyo and her administration in the coffers, some P100 billion, so he said. Noynoy, or at least his spokesman, claimed that these have to be brought to the attention of the public so that they would know where Noynoy is coming from and from there, will provide a road map of what can be expected in the next six years of his presidency. Fine. But does Noynoy have to still publicly demonize his predecessor?.... MORE Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100725com2.html

COMMENTARY EDITORIAL Liquidity problems FRONTLINE Unpresidential Noynoy FEATURE Survivors of Khmer Rouge torture center await justice BLURBAL THRUSTS Litmus test for P-Noy C.R.O.S.S.R.O.A.D.S SLTC operating illegally? TABLETS OF STONE Dead in the water VIEWPOINTS The public purse: Empty of cash but full of debts

Survivors of Khmer Rouge torture center await justice FEATURE 07/25/2010

Survivors of Khmer Rouge torture center await justice

FEATURE 07/25/2010 PHNOM PENH — In January 1979, as the Khmer Rouge regime collapsed and its leaders fled Phnom Penh, invading Vietnamese troops stumbled upon an abandoned prison with fresh corpses chained to iron beds. It was Tuol Sleng, or “Hill of the Poisonous Trees,” the most infamous of all of the jails run by Pol Pot’s murderous regime. Next week the prison’s former chief Kaing Guek Eav, better known as Duch, will hear the verdict in his trial at a UN-backed tribunal where witnesses have recounted the horrors of a place from which almost no one came out alive. Norng Chan Phal, 40, is one of just a handful of survivors to emerge from the Khmer Rouge regime’s main torture center, liberated by the Vietnamese invasion. He told the trial last year how, as a child, he saw Tuol Sleng guards threaten, beat and photograph his mother. Soon afterwards she disappeared and was never seen again.... MORE Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100725com3.html

COMMENTARY EDITORIAL Liquidity problems FRONTLINE Unpresidential Noynoy FEATURE Survivors of Khmer Rouge torture center await justice BLURBAL THRUSTS Litmus test for P-Noy C.R.O.S.S.R.O.A.D.S SLTC operating illegally? TABLETS OF STONE Dead in the water VIEWPOINTS The public purse: Empty of cash but full of debts

Litmus test for P-Noy BLURBAL THRUSTS Louie Logarta 07/25/2010

Litmus test for P-Noy

BLURBAL THRUSTS Louie Logarta 07/25/2010 There are a few remaining vestiges of the much-despised Arroyo administration which President Noynoy Aquino should tear down if he wishes to maintain his seemingly immense popularity among the masses, who after all were responsible for his overwhelming victory in the May 10 elections which is why he now finds himself ensconced in Malacañang. The words he had enunciated so eloquently during his inauguration speech delivered at the Quirino Grandstand on June 30 when he assumed power before an expectant Filipino nation still resonate in our ears. “Kayo ang boss ko, kaya’t hindi maaaring hindi ako makinig sa mga utos ninyo… Kayo ang nagdala sa akin sa puntong ito — ang ating mga volunteers — matanda, bata, celebrity, ordinaryong tao, na umikot sa Pilipinas para ikampanya ang pagbabago; ang aking mga kasambahay, na nag-asikaso ng lahat ng aking mga personal na pangangailangan; ang aking pamilya, kaibigan at katrabaho, na dumamay, nag-alaga at nagbigay ng suporta sa akin; ang ating mga abogado, na nagpuyat para bantayan ang ating mga boto at siguraduhing mabibilang ang bawat isa; ang aking mga kapartido at kaalyado na kasama kong nangahas mangarap; at ang milyun-milyong Pilipinong nagkaisa, nagtiwala at hindi nawalan ng pag-asa — nasa inyo ang aking taus-pusong pasasalamat… Papaigtingin namin ang proseso ng konsultasyon ag pag-uulat sa taumbayan… Dito magwawakas ang pamumunong manhid sa daing ng taumbayan.” Well, P-Noy (the monicker by which he wants to be called) will have an excellent opportunity tomorrow, when he makes his very first state-of-the-nation address (Sona) before a joint session of the Senate and House of Representatives to mark the formal opening of 15th Congress, to be true to his word in getting rid of the image of the kind of leader Mrs. Arroyo had morphed into — one who was detached from reality and impervious to the plight of a long-suffering citizenry.... MORE Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100725com4.html

COMMENTARY EDITORIAL Liquidity problems FRONTLINE Unpresidential Noynoy FEATURE Survivors of Khmer Rouge torture center await justice BLURBAL THRUSTS Litmus test for P-Noy C.R.O.S.S.R.O.A.D.S SLTC operating illegally? TABLETS OF STONE Dead in the water VIEWPOINTS The public purse: Empty of cash but full of debts

SLTC operating illegally? C.R.O.S.S.R.O.A.D.S Jonathan De la Cruz 07/25/2010

SLTC operating illegally?

C.R.O.S.S.R.O.A.D.S Jonathan De la Cruz 07/25/2010 After getting flak for attempting to jump the gun on the thousands of motorists and biyaheros using the South Luzon Expressway (Slex) daily with that whooping 250 percent toll fee increase just days before P-Noy’s inauguration, the RP-Malaysian tollroad operator — South Luzon Tollways Corp. (SLTC) — is in for another round of excoriation. And this time it may be fatal as it involves the very franchise upon which the whole operating agreement is based. Records show that the operator which is owned 80 percent by Malaysian company, MTD Capital, and 20 percent by the Philippine National Construction Corp. (PNCC) used the latter’s franchise to legitimatize its takeover of the operation and maintenance of the 27 km Alabang-Calamba portion of the expressway. Apparently, PNCC posited it will be able to renew its franchise for another 50 years thus when the partnership agreement was signed and approved by the Toll Regulatory Board (TRB) toward the end of 2007 all the parties thought everything will be fine and dandy. Well, PNCC’s franchise which expired last May 1, 2007 and has not been renewed since. To remedy the situation and save Malacañang from further embarassment, the PNCC Board by Art Aguilar and the TRB jointly requested the Palace to issue a 15 year administrative franchise. ... MORE Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100725com5.html

COMMENTARY EDITORIAL Liquidity problems FRONTLINE Unpresidential Noynoy FEATURE Survivors of Khmer Rouge torture center await justice BLURBAL THRUSTS Litmus test for P-Noy C.R.O.S.S.R.O.A.D.S SLTC operating illegally? TABLETS OF STONE Dead in the water VIEWPOINTS The public purse: Empty of cash but full of debts

Dead in the water TABLETS OF STONE Larry Faraon, OP 07/25/2010

Dead in the water

TABLETS OF STONE Larry Faraon, OP 07/25/2010 At first glance, if you are not a media buff who knows camera angular vantages you would think that the visuals provided by the evening TV news depicting frantic people in queues for water supply and the irate clients in near fist fights are the first signs of chaotic Armageddon in the offing, an inevitability this world is about to plunge into. As one environmental advocacy group suggests, the immediate root of a third world war would be water — potable water and not terrorism nor nuclear arsenals. By then the survival of the fittest would the survival of the fastest — whoever runs faster with watertanks tucked on his back or gulps the most to irrigate parched throats. Water wars, of course would not be by violently drowning one’s opponents and enemies, but a la bandit style of marauding and ravaging whatever is left on the wells, pipes and faucets and to protect such great salvaged find with one’s own dear life by snuffing out the life and limbs of threatening predators, as if by extreme beastly humanity. Of course, we have seen these scenarios before in parched dry lands such as Nigeria, Ethiopia and the rest of dry Africa, but not in a tropical and island nation such as the Philippines on a rainy or wet season as today. Tell tale signs but are indeed nightmarish. .... MORE Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100725com6.html

COMMENTARY EDITORIAL Liquidity problems FRONTLINE Unpresidential Noynoy FEATURE Survivors of Khmer Rouge torture center await justice BLURBAL THRUSTS Litmus test for P-Noy C.R.O.S.S.R.O.A.D.S SLTC operating illegally? TABLETS OF STONE Dead in the water VIEWPOINTS The public purse: Empty of cash but full of debs