Thorny sovereignty issue

Thorny sovereignty issue

By Carol Pagaduan-Araullo
Streetwise | BusinessWorld
It is quite easy for the Aquino government to arouse the people’s anger at China bullying in the South China Sea considering what appear to be clear encroachments on Philippine territorial waters and its 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.

Couple this with the sense of frustration that the Aquino administration and the Armed Forces of the Philippines are undeniably militarily powerless in this recent confrontation over Chinese fishing poachers protected by no less than two Chinese warships, the inclination to run towards Uncle Sam and sic US might and firepower to make China turn tail appeals to many pundits, whether professional or of the barbershop variety.

And thoroughly misses the point. There is more to the conflict in the Spratlys and Scarborough Shoal than an assertion of sovereignty arising from rival territorial claims.

This is not the first time tension rose over alleged incursions in the Kalayaan Islands which are also being claimed by the Vietnamese and Malaysians aside from the Chinese. But while the news would hog the headlines for a few days, not without a large dose of sensationalism about the risk of a military confrontation, there had never been such open clashes between Philippine and rival armed forces, with each side eventually stepping down, resorting instead to diplomatic protests until invariably the controversy simmers down and fades away..... MORE

Source:  Bulatlat.com

URL: http://bulatlat.com/main/2012/04/20/thorny-sovereignty-issue/

True justice FRONTLINE Ninez Cacho-Olivares 04/25/2012

True justice

FRONTLINE

Ninez Cacho-Olivares

04/25/2012
Cojuangco-Aquinos no longer own Hacienda Lusita — not after the Supreme Court (SC), in a final landmark ruling, voted 8-6, to have some 4,000 hectares distributed to the farmer-workers of the hacienda, at the land values set in 1989, which would amount to some P40,000 per hectare or some P200 million — not the P1 million per hectare or P5 billion that the Cojuangco-Aquino clan wanted as compensation.

That is what can be finally called true justice to the farmers, who have been screwed by the Cojuangco-Aquinos for decades on end, first, when the clan’s then patriarch, Jose Cojuangco, bought the Luisita sugar plantation from Tabacalera — get this — on a behest loan, courtesy of Ninoy Aquino’s lobbying with then President Ramon Magsaysay not only for the Cojuangcos to buy the hacienda from Tabacalera but also to ensure that the then central bank and the GSIS would be guaranteeing an American bank for the clan’s loan and the sale amount asked for by Tabacalera.

Apart from this guarantee, the Cojuangcos reneged on the agreement with Tabacalera to distribute part of the hacienda land — after 10 years — to the farmer-workers..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20120425com2.html

US taxpayers shelling out billions for faulty weapons

US taxpayers shelling out billions for faulty weapons

The Pentagon has frittered away billions in taxpayer cash on not fully tested arms, a government watchdog report says. While the policy grants the military access to cutting-edge technology, the public can be left footing the bill for faulty weapons.

A report issued by the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) on Friday shed light on the controversial policy of “concurrency” which approves untested weapons for production and use.

“While some concurrency is understandable, committing to product development before requirements are understood and technologies mature, or committing to production and fielding before development is complete, is a high-risk strategy that often results in performance shortfalls, unexpected cost increases, schedule delays and test problems,” said the report..... MORE

Source:  RT.com

URL: http://rt.com/news/weapons-pentagon-report-waste-927/

Toddler Terrorist: TSA threatens lockdown over 4-year-old girl

Toddler Terrorist: TSA threatens lockdown over 4-year-old girl

The much-maligned Transport Security Authority (TSA) is once again in hot water after it accused an innocent four-year-old girl of attempted gun smuggling as she hugged her grandmother in the security zone.

­In a Facebook post that has since gone viral, Michelle Brademeyer describes the story of her family being detained as potential terrorists by the TSA on a flight out of Wichita, Kansas. The TSA is responsible for screening passengers as they board and disembark from planes.

Brademeyer was passing through security checks with her mother and her small daughter, Isabella. When the older lady triggered the metal detector, and was told to go for a pat-down, Isabella ran over to and briefly hugged her grandmother..... MORE

Source:  RT.com

URL: http://rt.com/usa/news/tsa-us-girl-gun-869/

Death of 56-year old fisherman sparks more outrage against VFA, Balikatan

Death of 56-year old fisherman sparks more outrage against VFA, Balikatan

As long as the US military is treated ‘above the law’ by the government, their victims among the civilian populace will not be given justice.” – Bayan Muna-Southern Mindanao
By INA ALLECO R. SILVERIO
Bulatlat.com

In Zamboanga City, the progressive party-list Bayan Muna is calling for an independent inquiry into the death of a local fisherman killed by a speeding Boat manned by military forces of the United States. The group said the death of 56-year old Ahbam Juhurin, a local fisherman from Basilan should not be allowed to be swept under the rug.

Based on various media reports, US and Filipino troops of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) were conducting maritime exercises in Baluk-baluk, an island near Hadji Muhtamad Municipality in Basilan Province on April 19. A Mark V Special Operations Craft was returning to Zamboanga City when it rammed Juhurin’s fishing boat around 7 p.m. that same day. The elderly fisherman was killed while his 26-year old son remains in critical condition as of this writing. Colonel Ricardo Visaya, commander of the 104th Brigade and Joint Task Force Basilan said it was an accident and that no one is to blame.

VFA protects US troops from criminal prosecution

Ariel Casilao, Southern Mindanao Regional Coordinator of Bayan Muna, said it has only been days since the US – Philippine Balikatan Exercises formally started, but already a civilian has been killed. He said the blame should be placed at the door of the Aquino government and the militarist proponents of the Visiting forces Agreement (VFA).

“The US troops have immunity against prosecution from Philippine laws because of the VFA. They have committed heinous crimes against Filipinos and the Bangsamoro, but remain above prosecution. As long as the US military is treated ‘above the law’ by the government, their victims among the civilian populace will not be given justice,” he said..... MORE

Source:  Bulatlat.com

URL: http://bulatlat.com/main/2012/04/20/death-of-56-year-old-fisherman-sparks-more-outrage-against-vfa-balikatan/

Workers challenge Congress to set wage hikes

Workers challenge Congress to set wage hikes

A week before May 1, as P125 wage hike proposal nears Congress approval, the labor secretary and regional wage boards suddenly realized there is a need indeed for a wage hike.
By MARYA SALAMAT
Bulatlat.com

MANILA – A week before May 1 Labor Day celebration, influential Senator Chiz Escudero declared support for a P125 across-the-board legislated wage hike. He said fears that a significant wage hike will cause inflation to rise and companies to close down are unfounded. In speaking thus, Senator Chiz joins the likes of Sarangani Rep. Manny Pacquiao, a boxing icon and famous media personality, who has declared since last year his support for the substantial wage hike proposal.

Echoing the long-time criticisms of the labor groups of the apparent failure of the country’s regional wage boards, Escudero also criticized the wage boards for failing to give workers a “just wage.”

Some regional wage boards are currently deliberating on wage proposals submitted by moderate trade union groups. But so far, Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz has already dashed even the possibility that the said regional wage boards may break off from tradition and start granting wage hikes that are adjusted at least to regain lost purchasing power due to inflation. Even before the wage boards in the National Capital Region began holding public consultations, for example, Baldoz has announced that wage hikes may be granted but not higher than P21 ($0.49).

Escudero asserted the urgency of Congress stepping in to determine wages in the country.

The labor center Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) immediately hailed last Friday Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero’s declaration of support for a P125 across-the-board legislated wage hike, saying the influential senator is a welcome addition to the ranks of legislators supporting the call. KMU hopes Escudero can draw in more supporters to the cause..... MORE

Source:  Bulatlat.com

URL: http://bulatlat.com/main/2012/04/24/workers-challenge-congress-to-set-wage-hikes/

Govt agrees to create Bangsamoro state

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Noy, kin lose P5B hacienda plea By Benjamin B. Pulta 04/25/2012

AQUINO SC APPOINTEES SOUGHT REMAND OF COMPENSATION ISSUE TO PALACE

Noy, kin lose P5B hacienda plea

By Benjamin B. Pulta 04/25/2012

It’s final. Hacienda Luisita’s close to 5,000 hectares are to be distributed to the farmer-workers while the Cojuangco-Aquino family ends up with a compensation of a little less than P200 million, as against the family seeking a compensation of P5 billion for the hacienda.

True to form, President Aquino’s appointees, Associate Justice Lourdes Sereno, Estela Bernabe and Bienvenido Reyes voted to allow an agency under the control of Malacañang to determine the amount which the Hacienda Luisita Inc. (HLI) is to receive as compensation for placing the sugar estate under the government’s agrarian reform program.

They were however, outvoted by the majority justices..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20120425hea1.html

SC blocks Comelec’s P1.8-B purchase of Smartmatic’s PCOS By Benjamin B. Pulta 04/25/2012

SC blocks Comelec’s P1.8-B purchase of Smartmatic’s PCOS

By Benjamin B. Pulta 04/25/2012

A restraining order was handed down by the Supreme Court (SC) yesterday, freezing the Commission on Elections (Comelec)’s P 1.8 billion contract for the purchase of computers to be used for next year’s elections.

Speaking to reporters at the end of the high court’s summer session in Baguio City, Court administrator Midas Marquez said the tribunal consolidated the three separate petitions challenging the deal between the collegial body and the Smartmatic-Total Information Management (TIM) to buy 80,000 precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines.

Marquez also said the High Court will hear the cases in oral argument in a special en banc session to be held on May 2..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20120425hea2.html

Noy seeks China-savvy envoy 04/25/2012

Noy seeks China-savvy envoy

04/25/2012
President Aquino is still scouting for a suitable replacement for erstwhile ambassador to China Domingo Lee and hinted that his search may end outside of the realm of career diplomats as he would need an envoy who would have extensive knowledge of and contacts within the Chinese system and community — and preferably with Chinese blood.

“We’re reviewing. The criteria is really different. It’s not basically just career,” said Aquino as the Philippines continued to rattle diplomatic sabres with China over the disputed Scarborough Shoal.

He underscored that the next ambassador to China should be “somebody who understands the nuances of Chinese culture, how their system works, has developed contacts left and right to be able to reach the opinion makers and those whose opinions really matter.”.... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/nation/20120425nat2.html

Palea OKs CA mediation, calls on PAL to reinstate workers 04/25/2012

Palea OKs CA mediation, calls on PAL to reinstate workers

04/25/2012
The Philippine Airlines Employees’ Association (Palea) has submitted a manifestation to the Court of Appeals (CA) expressing its willingness to participate in mediation with the flag carrier’s new management to seek a settlement to the long-standing labor dispute.

“The new management of Philippine Airlines (PAL) should recognize that the solution to the flag carrier’s woes involves not only a refleeting of its aging aircraft but more so the reinstatement of its skilled regular workers,” said Gerry Rivera, Palea president..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/metro/20120425met3.html

NBI, PNP to probe Paranaque demolition By Benjamin Pulta and Gina Peralta-Elorde 04/25/2012

NBI, PNP to probe Paranaque demolition

By Benjamin Pulta and Gina Peralta-Elorde 04/25/2012

Probers from the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) have been tasked to gather evidence for the possible filing of criminal and administrative charges against policemen who may have been involved in the violence that erupted during the demolition of a shanty colony in Silverio Compound in Paraaque City last Monday, an incident which left one person dead and 66 others injured.

Department of Justice (DoJ) Undersecretary Francisco Baraan III issued the order after residents accompanied by Bayan Muna Rep. Teodoro Casio sought the DoJs assistance in identifying the police authorities who participated in the demolition and in holding them accountable for the incident.

Baraan said charges of homicide with multiple physical injuries may be filed against the policemen should evidence warrant them..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/metro/20120425met1.html

Luisita farm workers welcome SC decision, call on Aquino to respect ruling

Luisita farm workers welcome SC decision, call on Aquino to respect ruling

By RONALYN V. OLEA

Bulatlat.com

MANILA – Farm workers of the Hacienda Luisita lauded the Supreme Court final decision affirming the distribution of 4,916 hectares of Hacienda Luisita land to the original 4,296 original farm-worker beneficiaries.

In a unanimous vote, the high court upheld its ruling of November 22 last year on the half-century-old land dispute. Since the 50s, the 6,443-hectare sugar plantation has been controlled by the family of President Benigno Cojuangco Aquino III. The Supreme Court ruling, if and when it got implemented, would start transferring that control to the farm-workers.

“We are happy and sad at the same time. This is the fruit of our long, arduous struggle. We dedicate this victory to the martyrs of Hacienda Luisita and to all our supporters,” Rodel Mesa, secretary general of Unyon ng Manggagawa sa Agrikultura (Uma) and one of the beneficiaries, told Bulatlat.com in a phone interview.

Mesa was remembering the seven farm workers killed during the violent dispersal on November 16, 2004, in what is known now as the Hacienda Luisita massacre. Seven others, including supporters, were slain in the aftermath of the massacre.

“This victory is long overdue. Lives should not have been sacrificed if only the Cojuangco-Aquinos had returned our land to us many years ago,” Mesa said. He joined the hundreds of farm workers who went to Baguio City to await the high court decision.

In 1957, the Cojuangcos purchased the Hacienda Luisita through a loan from the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) and Central Bank with the condition that the land would be distributed to the farmworkers after ten years. But the Cojuangco-Aquinos never gave up control of the vast sugar estate in the decades that followed.

“The Supreme Court decision is a big leap forward for the Luisita farmworkers and the Filipino peasantry’s life-and-death struggle for genuine agrarian reform,” said Randall Echanis, deputy secretary general of the Kilusang MAgbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP), in a statement. “Their victory will inspire other farmers to pursue with the struggle,” Echanis said..... MORE

Source:  Bulatlat.com

URL: http://bulatlat.com/main/2012/04/24/luisita-farm-workers-welcome-sc-decision-call-on-aquino-to-respect-ruling/

Economy falls to Noynoying EDITORIAL 04/24/2012

Economy falls to Noynoying

EDITORIAL

Click to enlarge

04/24/2012
Just recently, the administration of Noynoy has been abuzz with claims that, with his pursuit of the so-called straight path and instituting radical reforms in the government to eradicate graft, the Philippines will be on the speedway to join the developed world.

It even brandished a supposed sweet spot in 2018 when the majority of the population would be of working age, a period that economic officials said is propitious since most countries that had crossed this point in their population experienced momentous growth.

Such dream scenarios are now proving to be all talk and mere wishful thinking as even the International Monetary Fund (IMF) expects the economy under the watch Noynoy to miss the boat in the new wave of an Asian economic boom..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20120424com1.html

New US spy service targets China and Iran

New US spy service targets China and Iran

China and Iran are the high-priority targets for a new spy service created by the Pentagon. The Defense Clandestine Service is aimed at ramping up spying operations overseas, and suggests a shift in national threat assessment.

The plan approved by Defense Secretary Leon Panetta last week will see hundreds of case officers working alongside the CIA.

The military and civilian spy agencies will increasingly focus on similar threats.

The large military build up in China is likely to be one of the main targets for the new agency. Iran, Al-Qaeda in Africa, and North Korea’s nuclear programme are also on the priority list..... MORE

Source:  RT.com

URL: http://rt.com/news/pentagon-service-clandestine-defense-817/

Ron Paul attacks CISPA in urgent call to oppose 'Big Brother' bill (w/ AUDIO)

Ron Paul attacks CISPA in urgent call to oppose 'Big Brother' bill (AUDIO)

Imagine having government-approved employees embedded at Facebook, complete with federal security clearances, serving as conduits for secret information about their American customers.

That’s not a hypothetical — those words are a verbatim excerpt from concerned GOP presidential hopeful, Congressman Ron Paul. The Republican representative from Texas asks Americans to consider that draconian dilemma before it becomes a reality. It will all be possible under a new bill slated for discussion on Capitol Hill this week.

The legislation in question is CISPA — the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act — and the United States Congress is expected to meet in Washington, DC this week to propose advancing the bill all the way to the White House..... MORE

Source:  RT.com

URL: http://rt.com/usa/news/ron-paul-against-cispa-753/

Sudan declared war on our country - South Sudan president

Sudan declared war on our country - South Sudan president

The president of South Sudan says attacks by the North amount to a declaration of war on his country. Khartoum and Juba, which became independent last year, remain embroiled in a conflict over sharing oil profits and establishing frontiers.

The president of newly independent South Sudan who's on a visit to Beijing has told China's president that attacks by rival Sudan amount to a declaration of war on his country.

Salva Kiir has meet Hu Jintao while lobbying for economic and diplomatic support..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://rt.com/news/south-sudan-war-oil-842/

Still on Joseph Ejercito Estrada NO HOLDS BARRED Armida Siguion-Reyna 04/24/2012

Still on Joseph Ejercito Estrada

NO HOLDS BARRED

Armida Siguion-Reyna

04/24/2012
There’s an entirely enjoyable 75-page last section of the coffee table book “Erap, Destiny & Legacy,” Jackie Ejercito Lopez lovingly put together as a birthday gift for her father. It includes Erap’s own “Random Thoughts, at 75,” Renato Constantino Jr.’s “Random thoughts on a not so random man,” Pilarica Marcelo Ejercito’s “Random thoughts of an older sister,” and Loi Pimentel Ejercito’s “Random thoughts regarding the birthday boy.”

I’d always thought the man to be a mama’s pet, but no. As his sister Pil says: “Joseph was a Papa’s boy, through and through. There were times I thought he was annoying Mama on purpose. But, Papa? Hardly. Almost never. With Papa, Joseph always made an effort to please.”

I’m cutting out some paragraphs for lack of space, but here you can still easily see how tenderly the former president pays tribute to his father, as told to Bibeth Orteza:.... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20120424com4.html

Expect Noy war if Hacienda loses INSIDE CONGRESS Charlie Manalo 04/24/2012

Expect Noy war if Hacienda loses

INSIDE CONGRESS

Charlie Manalo

04/24/2012
Last Dec. 16, four days after 188 members of the House of Representatives blindly affixed their signatures to the impeachment complaint against Supreme Court (SC) Chief Justice Renato Corona, the Tribune came out with an exclusive story exposing the agenda behind such move, which was obviously Palace-initiated.

In that story, the Tribune bared that the plot was allegedly hatched in a meeting among the elderly members of the Cojuangco family in their ancestral home after the high court declared illegal the stock distribution option they had employed in their vast sugar estate, the Hacienda Luisita, to avoid being covered by the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP).

Incidentally, both the CARP and the SDO were first implemented during the incumbency of the late President, Cory Cojuangco-Aquino..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20120424com5.html

SC finalizes ruling on Luisita case 04/24/2012

SC finalizes ruling on Luisita case

04/24/2012
A final decision on the legal dispute over Hacienda Luisita, the vast sugar plantation in Tarlac province owned by President Aquino’s family, may be known today as the high tribunal is set to decide on the motion for reconsideration filed by Hacienda Luisita Inc. (HLI).

Court Administrator Midas Marquez has earlier said the SC’s decision may be announced immediately after the magistrates’ regular en banc session in Baguio City.

The high court is also set to decide whether it will uphold its decision allowing the distribution of the 4,915.75-hectare Hacienda Luisita to its more than 6,000 farmer-beneficiaries..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20120424hea5.html