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Meaningless diplomatese EDITORIAL 05/25/2011

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Meaningless diplomatese

EDITORIAL
Click to enlarge
05/25/2011
With Noynoy in the presidential seat in Malacañang, we can all say goodbye to our claim of the Spratlys and have China and even other countries walk all over us.

Noynoy does not seem to have any spine at all when it comes to issues of sovereignty, especially when it comes to China, as he always refuses to even protest the many incursions of China into our territory, always saying that he prefers dialog to tension and confrontation.

That’s fine, except that China does what it wants in the disputed islands, even when it says that it will pursue more talks on the disputed islands..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110525com1.html

No heads will roll with Noynoy FRONTLINE Ninez Cacho-Olivares 05/25/2011

No heads will roll with Noynoy

FRONTLINE
Ninez Cacho-Olivares
05/25/2011
Once again, Noynoy Aquino has proven that when it comes to his allies, presidential protection is assured.

He said he was dismayed by what had happened in the prison with former Gov. Tony Leviste freely leaving the compound, but evidently, he had not asked his ally, and appointee, National Bilibid Prisons Director Ernesto Diokno, to resign.

Noynoy claimed that he had ordered all concerned agencies to ensure that the Leviste incident does not happen again.

“It is important that the mistake will not be repeated. And how do we assure that? There should be an investigation as to what happened. What’s with the lax security that prisoners can go in and out of jail?” Noynoy was quoted as saying, adding that he also made sure Diokno felt his strong sentiment about what happened..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110525com2.html

Panganiban is wrong C.R.O.S.S.R.O.A.D.S Jonathan De la Cruz 05/25/2011

Panganiban is wrong

C.R.O.S.S.R.O.A.D.S
Jonathan De la Cruz
05/25/2011
Former Chief Justice Artemio Panganiban who reportedly said in a post-Edsa Dos lecture that he and his predecessor, former Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr., were inspired by a biblical passage about the “Restoration of Zion” or some such reference when they finally decided that then President Erap Estrada had to go, has come under fire from the lawyer of businessman Herminio Disini for, you guessed it, another kind of “inspiration.” I understand that lecture which formed part of Panganiban’s recollection of the events which led to Estrada’s downfall has been quietly taken out of circulation. But, in what the Disini camp described as his fixation over the business executive, Panganiban has apparently resorted to embroidering his writings including his recent piece entitled “After 35 Years, Still Languishing” in his “With Due Respect’ column of March 27, 2011 in the Philippine Daily Inquirer (PDI). Probably inspired by the global concern over the “fall out” from the breakdown of the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant during the earthquake-cum-tsunami catastrophe which visited Japan, Panganiban proceeded to “spew out” according to the Disini lawyers all kinds of misstatements and misinformation about their client and his participation in the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP) Project constructed more than three decades ago. Lawyer Jose Bernas assigned five errors to Panganiban’s oft repeated claims on the BNPP and Mr. Disini which reportedly remain unrepudiated by the former Chief Justice to this point but which he continues to peddle. Here goes:.... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110525com4.html

50 years for Germany’s Turkish community FEATURE 05/25/2011

50 years for Germany’s Turkish community

FEATURE

05/25/2011
BERLIN — Aylin Selcuk may be the granddaughter of a Turkish immigrant, and a Muslim to boot, but she only really began to feel different from other Germans after a certain central banker spoke out.

“This whole debate is awful. It has taken us back years, we thought we’d got past this,” Selcuk, 21, told AFP. “It has pitted the weak against the strong, creating a rift in society.”

This year marks half a century since a landmark accord with Turkey saw large numbers of “guest workers” from Turkey come to West Germany to help in the country’s post-war economic boom..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110525com5.html

Rx for RH HE SAYS Aldrin Cardon 05/25/2011

Rx for RH

HE SAYS
Aldrin Cardon
05/25/2011
For years, the RH Bill has languished in the desks of Philippine lawmakers. And after six versions and revisions, the most solid reproductive bills yet have come out of the desks of Rep. Edcel Lagman (House Bill 4244) and Sen. Miriam Santiago (Senate Bill 2378).

The two lawmakers are now in the forefront of consolidating and passage of their respective bills into law, yet they are in the eye of the storm generated by the Catholic Church which now figures prominently in opposing the bill purposely drawn to give the people an easy access to family planning methods.

Debates related to issues about reproductive health, however, have birthed many other sub-issues that further muddled the people’s understanding of the the bills’ purpose.

While this space would not suffice to include each aspect of the bill, some of its general aims include promotion “without bias, all effective natural and modern methods of family planning that are medically safe and legal..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110525com6.html

Red Hot (RH) SHE SAYS Dinah S. Ventura 05/25/2011

Red Hot (RH)

SHE SAYS
Dinah S. Ventura
05/25/2011
I don’t know about you, but I find it off-putting for anyone to condone any kind of chaotic solution when one is confronted by resistance. When it was reported, for example, that some religious leaders had warned of a possible civil disobedience if the Reproductive health (RH) bill is passed, I was struck by the image of a spoiled child throwing a tantrum.

In the same way, it did not seem respectable for some leaders to make fun of Manny Pacquiao’s attempt to express his position on the issue.

Don’t get me wrong. I cannot say, at this point, that I am for or against the RH bill since I am not fully cognizant of all the little details of the measure. Really, I wish someone would explain to the people in the simplest terms possible what the bill encompasses, and what it provides, and I do not mean the simple generalizations or conclusions like “pro-choice” or “immoral.”

I wish someone would explain each point in the measure so that the people would be able to make intelligent decisions about the matter that is pitting Church against State once more..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110525com7.html

Court orders State to pay Piatco By Benjamin B. Pulta 05/25/2011

NOY GOV’T CLAIMS VICTORY, SAYS RULING FAVORS PALACE

Court orders State to pay Piatco

By Benjamin B. Pulta 05/25/2011

Government lawyers are claiming a victory of sorts in the ruling of a Pasay court awarding $175.757 million in just compensation to the Philippine International Airport Terminals Co. Inc. (Piatco) for the expropriation of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3.

Solicitor General Jose Anselmo Cadiz described as “generally favorable” the decision of the Pasay City Regional Trial Court but said they will still study the RTC decision on whether to appeal the attendant cost awarded to the contractor.

While the Pasay City court found the government’s $149,448,037 just compensation as “justified and tenable” both in law and in fact, it awarded to Piatco an attendant cost of $26,339,208 or a total of P175,787,245..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20110525hed1.html

Noy goes soft on China, hits ‘sensational’ media By Aytch S. de la Cruz 05/25/2011

Noy goes soft on China, hits ‘sensational’ media

By Aytch S. de la Cruz 05/25/2011

President Aquino had gone soft on China and instead turned on the media yesterday accusing them of sensationalizing news stories about the hotly disputed Spratly islands following a commitment he made to Chinese Defense Minister Liang Guanglie during a meeting the other day that the Philippines will continue supporting ongoing dialogs aimed at resolving territorial disputes over the South China Sea.

Aquino was reacting to reports that China has set up military garrisons and built new outposts within the Kalayaan Group of Islands otherwise known as Spratlys — a territory that is being claimed in part or in whole by the Philippines as well as Malaysia, Brunei, Taiwan and Vietnam..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20110525hed4.html

Lawmakers seek probe on P150-M casino fraud By Charlie V. Manalo 05/25/2011

Lawmakers seek probe on P150-M casino fraud

By Charlie V. Manalo 05/25/2011
The chairman of the House committee on games and amusement is seeking an investigation into the casino fraud that cost the Philippine Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) P150 million in losses, saying a connivance between an international gambling syndicate and some personnel of the state-owned gaming firm is highly possible.

At a congressional hearing, Manila Rep. Amado Bagatsing said that the P150 million gambling fraud will be the subject of a separate investigation to be conducted by his committee.

During Monday’s hearing, Bagatsing, together with Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez and Pampanga Rep. Carmelo Lazatin, started grilling Pagcor officials in connection with the fraud which was reported by the gaming firm last week..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/nation/20110525nat3.html

Pagasa hoists Signal No. 1 in six provinces By Jason Faustino 05/25/2011

Pagasa hoists Signal No. 1 in six provinces

By Jason Faustino 05/25/2011
Signal No. 1 was hoisted in six provinces yesterday due to the effects of tropical storm “Chedeng,” state forecasters said.

According to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa), Chedeng continued to head toward Luzon yesterday which could bring heavy rains similar to typhoon “Ondoy” that devastated Metro Manila in 2009.

Chedeng is estimated to bring rains measuring between 20 and 55 millimeters per hour, similar to the amount of rainwater brought by Ondoy in 2009.

The storm, however, is expected to miss Metro Manila and make landfall somewhere in Northern Luzon, according to Pagasa..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/nation/20110525nat2.html

Lim vows to put an end to rampant sale of pirated, obscene discs in Quiapo By Pat C. Santos 05/25/2011

Lim vows to put an end to rampant sale of pirated, obscene discs in Quiapo

By Pat C. Santos 05/25/2011

Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim yesterday warned those behind the proliferation of lewd and pirated discs in Quiapo area that he would put a stop to the illegal trade no matter who gets hurt.

In a dialog with concerned parties held at city hall, Lim said: “Kung makukuha natin ang usapan sa paupo, huwag na nating kunin sa patayo.”

Lim directed his pronouncement at those engaged in peddling pirated and pornographic discs, most of whom vend their illicit wares in the Quiapo area which, the mayor lamentably noted, gained infaamy as among the world’s most notorious markets for counterfeit and pirated materials.

Those present were Optical Media Board chairman Ronnie Ricketts and representatives from the Muslim Affairs Office, the US Embassy Trade Section, EU Delegation Trade Section, Intellectual Property Organization and the National Commission of Muslim Filipinos, along with at least 40 “ulamas” or Muslim priests..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/metro/20110525met1.html

Binay warns licensed recruitment agencies against confiscating passports of overseas job applicants 05/25/2011

Binay warns licensed recruitment agencies against confiscating passports of overseas job applicants

05/25/2011
Vice President Jejomar Binay, head of the presidential task force against illegal recruitment, yesterday warned licensed recruitment agencies against confiscating the passports of overseas job applicants to prevent them from changing their minds and switching agencies.

Binay issued the warning after his office received complaints from overseas job applicants about the practice of some licensed recruitment agencies of demanding payments in exchange for the release of their passports.

“This is a clear violation of the Philippine Passport Act of 1996 which states that the Philippine passport remains the property of the government and cannot be surrendered to any person or entity other than the government or its representative,” the President’s chief adviser on OFW affairs said..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/metro/20110525met5.html

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