Doing a Marcos EDITORIAL 06/08/2011

Doing a Marcos

EDITORIAL

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06/08/2011
With the Senate having approved the postponement of the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) bill, and with even Noynoy kicking out the incumbents when their terms end and replace them with his appointees to serve out their unelected terms up till May 2013 -- with their option to run for the same posts, what is likely to happen?

Chances are high that those opposing the postponement of the ARMM elections are going to challenge its constitutionality before the Supreme Court which can either mean a continued postponement through a temporary restraining order (TRO) until a ruling is made, or the holding of the scheduled polls..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110608com1.html

Getting what he wants — partially FRONTLINE Ninez Cacho-Olivares 06/08/2011

Getting what he wants — partially

FRONTLINE

Ninez Cacho-Olivares

06/08/2011
Looks like Mar Roxas didn’t get what he wanted in its entirety, although he did get it in part.

Noynoy announced yesterday that he had offered Mar the position of Department of Transportation and Communications (DoTC) secretary and that he had accepted the job.

From reports, Mar and Noynoy met for some three hours Monday, apparently in convincing Mar to take on the job as the replacement of Ping de Jesus.

Noynoy stated during his press conference that Mar will not only be the DoTC chief, a position which Noynoy said was a big and tough job to handle, being such a big department, but would also be the chairman of the economic cluster committee, apart from Roxas advising him on economic matters and taking on more tasks that Noynoy will be assigning him, from time to time..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110608com2.html

Nato, anticipating Kadhafi demise, eyes Libya’s future focus 06/08/2011

Nato, anticipating Kadhafi demise, eyes Libya’s future

focus

06/08/2011
BRUSSELS — Confident that the Libyan regime’s days are numbered, Nato will ask defense ministers on Wednesday to step up contributions to deliver a knock-out punch and plan for a post-Moamer Kadhafi world.

With Nato fighting in two continents, the ministers meeting for two days of talks in Brussels will discuss the nearly three-month-old air war in Libya as well as the nearly 10-year-old ground battle in Afghanistan.

Although Kadhafi still controls much of western Libya including his Tripoli stronghold, Nato says it is only a matter of time before he goes and it has increased the pressure with daily strikes on Tripoli to hasten that day.

Nato chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen plans to ask allies that have taken a backseat to contribute more in order to finish the job after the mission was extended by another 90 days through late September..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110608com3.html

Maid’s new lawyer master at courtroom payouts FEATURE 06/08/2011

Maid’s new lawyer master at courtroom payouts

FEATURE

06/08/2011
NEW YORK — The new lawyer for the maid accusing Dominique Strauss-Kahn of attempted rape is a master at winning big payouts in civil suits — but his arrival isn’t entirely bad news for the fallen IMF chief.

Kenneth Thompson announced his role in dramatic fashion Monday outside the New York courthouse where Strauss-Kahn had just pleaded not guilty to the alleged sex attack against the 32-year-old west African immigrant cleaning his hotel room on May 14.

“What we are doing it’s to protect her rights, speak for her and to work with the district attorney office,” he said under the courthouse steps where more than 100 journalists jostled to cover the case.

In emotional language, Thompson described his client — who has yet to be seen or heard from in public — as a simple, hard-working woman who had been “traumatized” but was “standing up for her dignity.”.... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune


URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110608com5.html

Unli service to stay C.R.O.S.S.R.O.A.D.S Jonathan De la Cruz 06/08/2011

Unli service to stay

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

Jonathan De la Cruz

06/08/2011
“Unli” is the highly successful unlimited text and voice service offered by Sun Cellular, a subsidiary of the Gokongwei owned telecoms company Digitel Philippines, which the two dominant telecoms providers, PLDT/Smart and Globe Telecoms, tried to duplicate, apparently to no avail. Their past practices and, yes, current pricing structure just could not match the nimbleness and creativity which the Unli operation unleashed in the market.

The Gokongweis found a jewel in the Unli service and had they decided to fight it out, Sun Cellular would have given the giants the fight of their lives and the consumers quite a relief. But not to worry. If plans do not miscarry, this bucket price service loved by a growing number of users will not only be a regular stand alone offering but will, in fact, be enhanced once regulators approve the multi-billion “share-swap” agreement between PLDT/Smart and Digitel Philippines..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110608com4.html

Legal suits await ARMM deferment law at tribunal By Charlie V. Manalo 06/08/2011

Legal suits await ARMM deferment law at tribunal

By Charlie V. Manalo 06/08/2011

While the House of Representatives last night was poised to ratify the bill postponing the Aug. 8, 2011 Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) elections, the Aquino administration might have to postpone its victory as well as opening the Champagne bottles for its celebration.

This was after a senior member of the House revealed that the controversial law will be met by a deluge of legal questions before the Supreme Court (SC) once it is signed by President Aquino into law.

In an interview with Deputy Speaker, Cavite Rep. Jesus Crispin “Boying” Remulla, yesterday, he said that ratifying the measure, getting just 13 votes from the Senate and being approved by the people in a plebiscite, would still be unconstitutional..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20110608hed5.html

HRW scores Noynoy for ‘weak’ action on police, AFP impunity in killings By Michaela P. del Callar 06/08/2011

HRW scores Noynoy for ‘weak’ action on police, AFP impunity in killings

By Michaela P. del Callar 06/08/2011

The culture of impunity in cases of extra-judicial killings has never gone away, even with a new leadership in government.

A prominent human rights watchdog scored President Aquino as it said it has yet to see “stronger action” from Aquino in providing justice for human rights victims and addressing impunity by the police and military amid bold campaign promises in ending extra-judicial killings, disappearances and harassment of left-wing activists.

Almost a year into his presidency, New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) said it has not seen Aquino’s government taking sufficient steps to hold perpetrators of killings and other abuses accountable..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20110608hed2.html

Aquino’s ‘patience’ wins Senate support in postponing ARMM polls By Aytch S. de la Cruz 06/08/2011

Aquino’s ‘patience’ wins Senate support in postponing ARMM polls

By Aytch S. de la Cruz 06/08/2011
Malacañang yesterday claimed that its surprising success in getting the Senate’s support on the postponement of the scheduled elections in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) was purely borne out of President Aquino’s “patience” in convincing the 13 senators who voted favorably in passing the legislation.

Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said Aquino merely explained patiently to all the lawmakers in both the House of Representatives and the Senate the reasons behind his desire to defer the conduct of elections in the ARMM and synchronize it with the 2013 national elections.

“Obviously, we were not able to convince some of the senators but we were able to convince a majority of the senators and they saw the (reasons) why we should postpone the ARMM elections. We emphasized that we want to prevent aberration of command votes, save on costs, and introduce reform measures in the ARMM... We want to have true meaningful elections in the ARMM,” Lacierda said in a chance interview..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/nation/20110608nat4.html

Rizaleños celebrate 110th ‘Araw ng Lalawigan ng Rizal’ N E W S B R I E F S 06/08/2011

Rizaleños celebrate 110th ‘Araw ng Lalawigan ng Rizal’

N E W S B R I E F S

06/08/2011
Coinciding with the celebration of the 110th Araw ng Lalawigan ng Rizal, the Anak ng Lahing Bayani (ALAB) ng Rizal is set to be launched on Saturday, also honoring four hall of fame awardees, three of them were already dead.

National artists Maestro Lucio San Pedro and Botong Francisco, together with actor-rapper-singer Francis Magalona will be honored and be given posthumous awards and world-renowned tenor Arthur Espiritu..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/nation/20110608nat6.html

SC stops Boracay reclamation project By Benjamin B. Pulta 06/08/2011

SC stops Boracay reclamation project

By Benjamin B. Pulta 06/08/2011
An order by the Supreme Court (SC) has temporarily halted the reclamation project covering the 40-hectare coastline of tourist-infested Boracay Island in Aklan.

Court administrator Midas Marquez said the high court issued a temporary environmental protection order (TEPO) as sought by a petition filed by the Boracay Foundation Inc.

“Respondents are therefore ordered to cease and desist from proceeding with the implementation of the project,” he explained, referring to province of Aklan represented by Gov. Carlito Marquez, the Philippine Reclamation Authority, and the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR)..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/nation/20110608nat1.html

Appeals court freezes assets of Ampatuan clan By Benjamin B. Pulta 06/08/2011

Appeals court freezes assets of Ampatuan clan

By Benjamin B. Pulta 06/08/2011

More than a year and a half after the gruesome Maguindanao massacre, the government finally secured yesterday a freeze order on the assets of the Ampatuan political clan whose members are facing multiple indictments for the murder of 58 individuals.

The Court of Appeals (CA) issued the 20-day freeze order covering government agencies, banking institutions suspected of having been used by the Ampatuans to hide more than P1 billion.

In a 23-page decision by Associate Justice Celia Librea-Leagogo, the CA’s Special Second Division granted the petition filed by the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) for the issuance of a freeze order against 28 members of the Ampatuan clan led by its patriarch Datu Andal Ampatuan Sr., former Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) Gov. Zaldy Putu Ampatuan and several others.

Concurring with the ruling were Associate Justices Bienvenido Reyes and Elihu Ybañez..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/metro/20110608met1.html

Noynoy confirms embattled Torres to return as LTO chief this month By Aytch S. de la Cruz 06/08/2011

Noynoy confirms embattled Torres to return as LTO chief this month

By Aytch S. de la Cruz 06/08/2011
President Aquino yesterday refused to uphold the recommended sanctions of the Department of Justice (DoJ) on the case of embattled Land Transportation Office (LTO) Chairman Virginia Torres for her to be put under preventive suspension and be charged administratively.

No less than Aquino confirmed the announcement earlier made by one of his spokesmen that Torres was set to return to her office and resume her duties as LTO chief by the third week of this month.

Aquino told a press briefing that Torres has already taken an extended leave of absence as part of her penalty following her reported illegal takeover on the facilities of Stradcom, the information and communications technology services provider to LTO..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/metro/20110608met2.html

Wrong path to the Senate FRONTLINE Ninez Cacho-Olivares 06/07/2011

Wrong path to the Senate

FRONTLINE

Ninez Cacho-Olivares

06/07/2011
The impeachment complaint against a Supreme Court (SC) justice on a plagiarism issue just won’t fly in the House of Representatives — unless of course, Noynoy gets into the picture and again bribes the congressmen to ensure the impeachment and trial of the high court justice.

But again interfering in impeachment proceedings will merely give Noynoy another blackeye.

He didn’t look good when he went on a full campaign to have then Ombudsman Merceditas “Merci” Gutierrez impeached by his House of Representatives, and neither did the House look good since its members came off not just like lapdogs of the Malacañang tenant but also, they looked like they would vote for anything in exchange of the release of their pork barrel, which incidentally, they didn’t get, as promised by Malacañang..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110607com2.html

Three options left EDITORIAL 06/07/2011

Three options left

EDITORIAL

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06/07/2011
Noynoy Aquino, said his deputy spokesman, can still change that which Vice President Jojo Binay recommended on the burial site of the late strongman, Ferdinand Marcos.

One wonders therefore why he even bothered to ask Binay to come up with a recommendation on how to handle the Marcos burial issue.

Earlier, he had said he was giving the job to Binay, because he was biased. So what is he then going to change? Not giving Marcos full military honors and have his remains buried in Ilocos Norte, his hometown?

If so, then there would have been no need for Noynoy to farm out the job to Binay, because there is nothing by way of any recommendation presented by Binay that would have served the purpose, since there is no need for Malacañang to decide on the issue..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110607com1.html

Exam pressure can drive S. Korea teens to suicide FEATURE 06/07/2011

Exam pressure can drive S. Korea teens to suicide

FEATURE

06/07/2011
SEOUL — The crushing pressure on South Korean teenagers to perform well in exams can leave some students so distraught they feel life just isn’t worth living.

Dozens of teenagers kill themselves every year — often around the time of an annual college entrance exam — amid fears they didn’t do well enough to enter the college of their dreams.

In one recent shocking case, a 16-year-old in the southwestern city of Mokpo doused himself with gasoline and set himself ablaze in the street. He left a note saying he had done badly in tests and felt he had let his parents down.

The number of school-age suicides rose from 100 in 2003 to 202 in 2009, according to education ministry statistics..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110607com3.html

Exporting culture NO HOLDS BARRED Armida Siguion-Reyna 06/07/2011

Exporting culture

NO HOLDS BARRED

Armida Siguion-Reyna

06/07/2011
I’m back, as are most of the singers of “Aawitan Kita sa Amerika,” a grueling but exhilarating 12-show tour of the United States, that took us a little over a month to do. Where before I’d somehow be able to send out my piece for this corner from no matter what part of the world I was, in the recent weeks it was just impossible to do so.

Not to excuse my inordinately long absence here, but on weekends we’d practically crawl to bed after a performance then soon after wake up to catch the first flight out to yet another state. First flights usually go at 6 a.m., and since there were a good number of times we were billeted two hours away from the airport, that meant being up and about at 3 a.m., ready to go, with our personal luggage and two large boxes of costumes — how we managed, I still don’t know.

The idea to bring Aawitan Kita abroad had been in the burner for the longest period. I can’t explain why it didn’t push through when I was much younger and still had the strength and energy to do all the planning down to the littlest detail, not to mention lugging my own suitcases. Some blame the stubborn position I took when dealing with wannabe producers of yore: “If you won’t bring my costumes person as part of the tour, then there’s no way we’re going.” Still, timing is timing. What happens, happens when it’s really supposed to, and that’s how it was for Aawitan kita sa Amerika, 2011. We’ve been booked for 2012, but wait, I’m going ahead of the story..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110607com4.html

Customer care AN OUTSIDERS VIEW Ken Fuller 06/07/2011

Customer care

AN OUTSIDERS VIEW

Ken Fuller

06/07/2011
Back in January, this column lamented the unfortunate fact that the practice of customer care — whereby, out of enlightened self-interest, companies take steps to ensure that their customers are satisfied — can sometimes be hard to find in the Philippines. Recent experience has done little to change that impression.

A while back, my wife received a free voucher from Dream Satellite TV, entitling her to a free coffee and a brownie at Bo’s Coffee. She passed it to me, knowing that I sometimes visit the branch in a local mall. When some days later I turned up to present my voucher, it was evident from the way the manager frowned down at it, scrutinizing every word, that we had a problem. This early, I could feel a column beginning to write itself.

Eventually, he shook his head and handed the voucher back to me. News to him. But, I pointed out, the voucher had already been valid for a few months. No, the branch had received no memo. However, he would call Cebu and see if they knew anything about it while I used my own money to buy a coffee and sat outside for a cigarette. News to Cebu also, he duly reported, but it was possible that the scheme only applied to directly-owned branches, not to franchised outlets like this one. Why then, I asked, did the voucher describe the scope of the scheme’s applicability as “nationwide?” No idea..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110607com5.html

Malawi’s ‘witches’ challenge century-old sorcery law focus 06/07/2011

Malawi’s ‘witches’ challenge century-old sorcery law

focus

06/07/2011
LILONGWE — When Kanthukako Supaunyolo’s grandson woke up in the night with a nosebleed, his parents were enraged by what they saw as a bad omen and a certain product of sorcery.

They accused the 82-year-old grandmother of casting a spell on him, and filed a criminal complaint of witchcraft, landing her in jail under a century-old law now under fire by both non-believers and self-proclaimed witches.

“How could I bewitch my own grandchild. For what?” said the soft-spoken woman.

She and two elderly friends were convicted and sentenced to $33 fines each, a steep sum for women who — like 62 percent of Malawians — live on less than $2 a day. When they could not pay, they were jailed..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110607com7.html

Divorce and question marks (Part 1) VIEWPOINTS Archbishop Oscar V. Cruz 06/07/2011

Divorce and question marks (Part 1)

VIEWPOINTS

Archbishop Oscar V. Cruz

06/07/2011
Question 1: Would an absolute divorce legislation be pursuant to the text, context and spirit of the Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines?

Article II, Section 12 of the Constitution, in nonetheless than the declaration of principles, and State policies, very expressly and even categorically says that the State shall strengthen the family as a basic autonomous entity. Furthermore, the very first Article of the Family Code of the Philippines provides that marriage is an inviolable social institution.

How could absolute divorce strengthen the Filipino family? How would absolute divorce make the family an inviolable social institution? It is a big sophism and an untenable rationalization to say that by destroying the family, it is strengthened; by dividing the family, it is made inviolable!.... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110607com6.html

Gloria lawyers granted more time, vow to answer plunder raps By Benjamin B. Pulta 06/07/2011

Gloria lawyers granted more time, vow to answer plunder raps

By Benjamin B. Pulta 06/07/2011

Former President Gloria Arroyo was a no show yesterday before the Department of Justice prosecutors for a hearing on the plunder complaint filed by former Solicitor-General Francisco Chavez, but her lawyers were, and pointed out the discrepancy in the time element, as the summons and complaint were received just five days yesterday..

As a result, prosecutors have given the former president’s defense lawyers more time to answer the P550-million plunder charges filed by Chavez for the alleged misuse of funds intended for the benefit of Filipino overseas workers.

A preliminary investigation hearing was held yesterday on the complaint, Arroyo’s lawyers and counsels for other respondents were given 15 more days or until June 23 to file their respective counter-affidavits.
Defense counsel Benjamin Santosstressed that his client will deny all the charges in her counter-affidavit..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20110607hed2.html