Named and shamed, but still lording it over Congo FEATURE 01/07/2011

Named and shamed, but still lording it over Congo

FEATURE

01/07/2011
UNITED NATIONS — He has been named and shamed by the United Nations, accused of murder, rape and abusing child soldiers in one of Africa’s most merciless war zones, but nothing it seems can stop Innocent Zimurinda.

The feared former Democratic Republic of Congo militia leader remains an army lieutenant colonel in “operational command,” despite having been put on a UN sanctions list one month ago, according to UN officials and rights workers.

Zimurinda is a leading name among rogue army officers who are meant to be extending government control in eastern DR Congo but are instead fighting for its mineral wealth and lumber concessions, according to rights groups.

There are “dozens” with a “horrible track record of human rights abuses who are in top positions in the national army,” according to Anneke Van Woudenberg, an Africa researcher for Human Rights Watch, who checked on Zimurinda’s activities on a recent trip to eastern Congo..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110107com6.html

Noynoy: NAIA-3 row to be resolved legally By Aytch S. de la Cruz 01/07/2011

CORRUPTION STILL AN ISSUE IN COMPENSATION

Noynoy: NAIA-3 row to be resolved legally

By Aytch S. de la Cruz 01/07/2011
No out of court settlement on the airport Terminal 3 row appears to be forthcoming, as President Aquino is of the belief that corruption and other irregularities took place in the construction of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 (NAIA-3), whose builder was the Philippine International Air Terminals Co. (Piatco), a consortium with its major German partner, Frankfurt Airport Services Worldwide (Fraport AG).

He also stated that the consortium’s compensation demand is “overpriced” while giving out broad hints that holding dialogs with the Germans, through their ambassador in Manila, is a waste of time, as dialogs apparently were already being held prior to the report of the Washington-based ICSID ad hoc committee which resolved to annul the earlier ICSID ruling that said the panel did not have jurisdiction over the Fraport suit against the Philippine government.

Aquino also said that he prefers to have the NAIA-3 row settled legally, which means a long court case, both here and abroad.

Continuing with the court cases, especially those abroad would entail continued payment of reported exorbitant legal fees charged by both the Philippine lawyers, as well as their American counterparts..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20110107hed1.html

Aquino vows Garcia won’t get away with plunder 01/07/2011

Aquino vows Garcia won’t get away with plunder

01/07/2011
President Aquino yesterday vowed that former Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) comptroller, Major Gen. Carlos Garcia, will not get away with plunder in light of the strong and clear arguments presented by his Solicitor General Jose Anselmo Cadiz in the motion for intervention filed by his office Wednesday at the Sandiganbayan.

But Cadiz himself told media that his motion to intervene has no chance of success.

Speaking to reporters in a chance interview at the Subic Bay Freeport in Zambales, Aquino said they have good chances at obtaining a favorable decision from the Sandiganbayan on their quest to rectify what they deemed irregular in the plea bargain agreement that was approved by the anti-graft court in May last year.

“There are technical aspects (to consider), I understand. But, I think, our Solicitor General presented (the arguments) well, especially in highlighting the fact that there were provisions (violated) and that the SC (Supreme Court) can review the matter. I’ve been told that among others, the consent of the offended party was not sought..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20110107hed2.html

DoJ rules PAO chief, deputies lack eligibility By Benjamin B. Pulta 01/07/2011

DoJ rules PAO chief, deputies lack eligibility

By Benjamin B. Pulta 01/07/2011

It seems the Aquino administration remains bent on a political cleansing at the judiciary after the top state lawyer and her deputies were recommended terminated for supposedly not being qualified for their posts for lacking CES (Career Executive Service) eligibility according to a ruling of the Department of Justice (DoJ).

The ruling places Public Attorney’s Office chief Persida Rueda-Acosta at a tenuous position after Justice Secretary Leila de Lima confirmed the department has issued a legal opinion signed by Chief State Counsel Ricardo Paras III, voiding the appointment of Acosta and her deputies.

The opinion said it is “…..declaring the appointment of the Public Attorney’s Office chief and other top officials of PAO “are without merit” because “they do not possess the required CES (career executive service legilibility) right to security of tenure even if it was expressly guaranteed to them by the PAO law,” said the opinion. The PAO is an attached agency of the DoJ that provides indigent litigants free legal assistance..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20110107hed3.html

Webb asks SC to drop PAO appeal on Vizconde case By Benjamin B. Pulta 01/07/2011

Webb asks SC to drop PAO appeal on Vizconde case

By Benjamin B. Pulta 01/07/2011

Lawyers representing Hubert Webb are asking the Supreme Court (SC) to turn down a motion seeking the reversal of his acquittal in the Vizconde massacre case.

In a pleading filed through his lawyers led by Demetrio Custodio, Webb claimed that the Public Attorney’s Office has no legal authority to file the motion for reconsideration (MR) on behalf of widower Lauro Vizconde since the PAO, an attached agency of the Department of Justice (DoJ) that provides indigent litigants free legal assistance, lacked the power to prosecute a criminal case.

As such, Webb said, the high tribunal should order PAO lawyers who signed the MR to explain why they should not be cited in contempt for filing the pleading “despite knowing that they had no authority to do so.”

A total of 12 PAO lawyers, led by Chief Public Attorney Persida Rueda Acosta, assisted Lauro in filing the MR on the Dec. 14 decision of the SC acquitting the suspects in the killings of his wife Estrellita and daughters Carmela and Jennifer in 1991..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20110107hed4.html

Noynoy denies election operators to replace exiting Comelec executives 01/07/2011

Noynoy denies election operators to replace exiting Comelec executives

01/07/2011
President Aquino yesterday refuted “speculations” circulated by his former colleague, Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano, that he was eyeing some alleged poll fraud operators as potential successors to outgoing Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairman Jose Melo and other retiring commissioners.

Aquino, in a phone interview, clarified that he and the members of his search committee have yet to come up with clear set of nominees for the next Comelec chief.

Neither did Aquino also confirm that former Supreme Court Justices Sixto Brillantes, Leonardo Quisumbing and Eduardo Nachura, said to be retiring this June, have already made it to the shortlist of Melo’s possible replacement as reportedly told by the outgoing Comelec himself.

In fact, he implied, the reason they are not yet disclosing any names as possible candidates for the position is that they are exercising caution..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20110107hed5.html

No more public sex on Boracay 01/07/2011

No more public sex on Boracay

01/07/2011
Philippine authorities may ban sex on the world-famous beaches of Boracay island after a television crew filmed two naked couples making out in public on New Year’s Day, the local mayor said Thursday.

The clip showed one pair apparently having sex on the beach and the other locked in a passionate kiss in the water, with the woman’s bare breasts clearly shown above the waterline.

The ABS-CBN television network said it filmed the apparently Western couples at 2 a.m. on New Year’s Day following a large beachside party on Boracay to usher in 2011.

“We’re thinking of a ‘no sex on the beach’ (rule) so the other tourists would not be scandalized,” John Yap, mayor of Malay town that has jurisdiction over Boracay, told the TV network in an interview posted on its website this week..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20110107hed7.html

Norway to RP: All set for peace talks with Reds By Michaela P. del Callar 01/07/2011

Norway to RP: All set for peace talks with Reds

By Michaela P. del Callar 01/07/2011

Norway has informed the Philippine government that everything is set for the resumption of preliminary talks between the Aquino administration and the National Democratic Front in Oslo next month despite a gunbattle and arrest of a senior communist leader a day after the holiday truce ended on Jan. 4.

Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Teresita Deles yesterday said the Royal Norwegian Government, the third party facilitator for the talks since 2001, has notified the government that logistical arrangements have been finalized.

“The venue has been reserved so nothing can stop this,” Deles said in a radio interview.

The Maoist insurgent movement, whose membership ballooned to more than 26,000 in the mid-1980s, has dwindled to 5,000 armed members, according to military estimates..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/nation/20110107nat2.html

Koko Pimentel: No retreat, no surrender 01/07/2011

Koko Pimentel: No retreat, no surrender

01/07/2011
Saying that he has been “cheated twice,” lawyer Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel, who was edged out of the 12th place in the 2007 senatorial race by Juan Miguel Zubiri, has vowed “no retreat, nor surrender” in his electoral protest.

Represented by his father, former Sen. Aquilino Pimentel Jr., Koko Pimentel urged in a petition for certiorari and prohibition filed before the Supreme Court on Jan. 3, 2011, the annulment of two resolutions of the Senate Electoral Tribunal (SET) which he claimed violate his rights to due process of law and to the speedy disposition of cases, and that the SET decide on his election protest without any further delay.

Senate Resolution 07-105 dated June 4, 2010 ordered that further proceedings be conducted on the remaining precincts counter-protested by Zubiri, while SET Resolution 07-113 dated Nov. 4, 2010 denied Pimentel’s Motion for Reconsideration of SET Resolution 07-105..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/nation/20110107nat8.html

Noynoy, off to being RP’s biggest spender EDITORIAL 01/06/2011

Noynoy, off to being RP’s biggest spender

EDITORIAL

Click to enlarge

01/06/2011
If one goes by the spending record of Noynoy Aquino, both as congressman and senator, it can already be gleaned that as president and chief executive of the land, Noynoy will continue incurring big expenses without, however, anything to show for such huge expenses.

A Commission on Audit (CoA) report of 2009 on Senate expenditures, Noynoy, then a member of the Senate, was pegged as one of the top three big spenders among 23 senators, using up to close to P22 million for that year.

And to think the presidency was not even in the realm of his consciousness at that time.

In the CoA report on Noynoy’s expenses, P11.31 million went to the salaries and other benefits of his staff; P396,635 for meetings and conferences; P101,920 for rental of office space and equipment; P454,000 in extraordinary and miscellaneous expense and P9.1 million in other maintenance and operating expenses..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110106com1.html

X’mas present from the Court of Appeals BLURBAL THRUSTS Louie Logarta 01/06/2011

X’mas present from the Court of Appeals

BLURBAL THRUSTS

Louie Logarta

01/06/2011
The management and board of directors of Philex Mining Corp., said to be the biggest and most profitable mining company operating in the country today, will not relish the fact that their organization is again being featured in a negative light.

Some three months ago, Philex mines, one of the blue chip stocks listed in the local bourse, hit the front pages of several newspapers (and stayed there for several days) after the Senate finance committee chaired by Franklin Drilon revealed to the public that certain Arroyo government officials connected with the Social Security System (SSS) had “inappropriately” received tens of millions as part of their remuneration package from the corporation.

The startling revelations were made by Drilon in the course of an investigation into fantastic salaries that certain GMA favorites were getting from the government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs) to which they were assigned. The committee discovered that certain heads of GOCCs were making a killing in office by helping themselves to earnings of the corporations they were supervising, which is prohibited by law. Under Republic Act 7656, GOCCs are supposed to remit at least 50 percent of net earnings to the national treasury, and failure to do so constitutes malversation of public funds..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110106com4.html

Student council government FRONTLINE Ninez Cacho-Olivares 01/06/2011

Student council government

FRONTLINE

Ninez Cacho-Olivares

01/06/2011
Student council government the Nonoy Aquino government is truly run, for its key aides to not even know that a writ of possession granted by a court to the government does not translate to that government being allowed to operate and exercise rights of ownership — as long as there is still the pending matter of paying the owners of the expropriated property compensation in full.

Even a student council government would perhaps have known, or at least researched into the Supreme Court decision on such an issue before claiming that there is no such ruling from the high court as Noynoy’s aides have stated.

For a number of years after the Arroyo administration expropriated the Ninoy Aquino International Airport 3 (NAIA-3), in defiance of the exhortation of the court judge then, the late Henrick Guingayon, and upheld by the high court in GR 166429, where government was prohibited from performing acts of ownership, such as awarding concessions and leasing any part of the NAIA-3 to other parties, the government did so anyway, and worse, these illegal acts are being continued by the Noynoy government that remains defiant, saying that government has been given the right to possess the facility and exercise ownership rights..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110106com2.html

Sudan poll a challenge to Africa’s colonial borders ANALYSIS 01/06/2011

Sudan poll a challenge to Africa’s colonial borders

ANALYSIS

01/06/2011
JUBA — A referendum on independence for south Sudan on Sunday raises tough questions about the legitimacy of Africa’s colonial borders and sets a precedent for existing secessionist movements, analysts say.

“There is an uneasiness in Africa toward this independence because it breaks with a tradition (of borders being inviolable) and because it seems to be taking place under US pressure,” says Roland Marchal, Sudan specialist and senior researcher at the Institute of Political Sciences in Paris.

“This is seen as if it were a Berlin II, with the colonial powers carving up Africa again,” he said, referring to the 1885 Berlin Conference where European powers divided and colonized Africa among themselves.
A peace accord in 2005 between the mostly Arab Muslim north and the largely Christian African south ended a 22-year civil war in Sudan, with an agreement that southerners could vote for independence after six years..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110106com3.html

Cheap Chinese copies shrink India’s silk sari industry FEATURE 01/06/20

Cheap Chinese copies shrink India’s silk sari industry

FEATURE

01/06/2011
NEW DELHI — For centuries, the stunning silk saris woven by hand in the holy city of Varanasi have been prized by Indian women, but an influx of cheap Chinese-made copies is destroying the local industry.

Badruddin Ansari, one of the few weavers still in business, says that most of his former colleagues now struggle to eke out a living as vegetable sellers, tea stall operators or rickshaw drivers.

“When a person loses his home and his livelihood, where can he go?” he asked angrily.

“I hope the art of making Banarasi saris will survive. The government must ban these imported saris or put a heavier duty on them to save the domestic industry.”.... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110106com6.html

Punishment by humiliation COMMENTS By Ronald Roy 01/06/2011

Punishment by humiliation

COMMENTS

By Ronald Roy 01/06/2011
Appalling is why the Magdalo and other rebel soldiers applying for amnesty are being required to admit guilt for having committed allegedly mutinous acts against the previous regime headed by Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, unqualifiedly the worst Filipino “president” ever. I don’t believe the Danilo Lims, Ariel Querubins, Antonio Trillaneses and their kindred spirits deserve this humiliation.

The Oakwood Apartelle siege staged by the Magdalo soldiers led by then Navy Lieutenant Trillanes, now a senator of the republic, was essentially an impassioned search for answers, specifically in respect of why they had to continue waging war with enemies of the state who were armed with hardware belonging to the military, and why they had to do so in ignominious shoddy uniforms and worn out shoes..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110106com7.html

Political will VIEWPOINTS Archbishop Oscar V. Cruz 01/06/2011

Political will

VIEWPOINTS

Archbishop Oscar V. Cruz

01/06/2011
Many things have been said for many times about something many individuals have been clamoring for, about the many benefits of the so-called “political will” in governance — especially so on the part of the present corporate leadership.

The common perception is that there is a big mixture of the excellent and the mediocre, the good and the bad in the overall conduct of the incumbent administration.

Some good things: Exorcism of government agencies reeking with officials with super-big salaries and great perks. Amnesty for the then dissenting military personnel. Release of the “Morong 43” — minus three. Attempts for socio-economic development. Intention to redeem poor and chosen families through cash transfers..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110106com5.html

Poll operators on list of Comelec officials replacements—Solon By Angie M. Rosales 01/06/2011

Poll operators on list of Comelec officials replacements—Solon

By Angie M. Rosales 01/06/2011

Some alleged poll fraud operators are among those being considered to replace outgoing Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairman Jose Melo and retiring commissioners, Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano disclosed to reporters yesterday.

The senator, however, refused to name names as to who he was referring to, saying that he will only do so when the proper time comes or if and when a shortlist is submitted to President Aquino.

At a press conference, Cayetano said that based on reports that have been coming out in the papers, some names being mentioned as being considered for the would-be vacated posts are alleged to be known “election operators” in previous poll exercises.

“If this will hold true in the end, it’s out of character of the Aquino administration to pick as the next chairman or commissioners some known operators in the industry of electoral cheating..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20110106hed1.html

Palace: NAIA-3 row to be resolved in RP interest, not German no-aid threats By Aytch S. de la Cruz 01/06/2011

Palace: NAIA-3 row to be resolved in RP interest, not German no-aid threats

By Aytch S. de la Cruz 01/06/2011

Reacting to reports that the German government will not be releasing the P2 billion in aid for Mindanao until a resolution of the airport terminal row comes about and will likely shy away from investments in the country, Malacañang continued with its defiant stand, saying that the Palace will be putting the interests of the Philippine government over Germany’s Frankfurt Airport Services Worldwide (Fraport AG).

However, the Palace also expressed willingness to finally resolve the longstanding disputes among all the parties concerned with respect to the operation of the controversial Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 (NAIA-3).

At the same time, it was disclosed that the legal fees, said to amount to $50 million for the legal team hired by government to handle the Philippine International Air Terminals Co. (Piatco) and Fraport, among whom are former Justice Florentino Feliciano and now Supreme Court JusticeLourdes Sereno, have not been liquidated at all.

Malacañang earlier denied that such an amount was paid and received by the legal team..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20110106hed2.html

Trillanes claims at ease in admitting mutiny guilt By Mario J. Mallari 01/06/2011

Trillanes claims at ease in admitting mutiny guilt

By Mario J. Mallari 01/06/2011

Admitting guilt for breaching the Constitution, which was required under Proclamation 75 that offered amnesty for soldiers who mutinied against former President Arroyo, was a breeze yesterday for former Navy lieutenant and now Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV who filed his application for pardon, along with 19 other Magdalo officers.

Questions were raised on how the accused mutineers will treat the guilt admission provision in the proclamation after former Scout Ranger head and retired Brig. Gen. Danilo Lim rejected availing himself of the offered pardon on condition of the admission of guilt but Trillanes said it was easy for his group yesterday to admit guilt and feel good about it.

“We are man enough to admit we have broken rules in the pursuit of morale cause and we faced it like men. We were jailed and the others were separated from the service. So, it’s very easy for us to agree to that,” Trillanes said.

“I feel good. This is actually a milestone in our lives, this is a step to our ultimate freedom and we welcome this opportunity to serve this country once again,” said Trillanes..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20110106hed3.html

Senate panel set to discuss ethics complaints vs ‘Ping’ 01/06/2011

Senate panel set to discuss ethics complaints vs ‘Ping’

01/06/2011
Ilocos Sur Gov. Luis “Chavit” Singson might get his wish after all — subjecting fugitive Sen. Panfilo “Ping” Lacson to “expulsion” proceedings.

Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano yesterday revealed to reporters the planned move to have the ball rolling on the matter of the ethics complaint against Lacson, saying he will activate the ethics and privileges committee which he chairs when Congress reopens this month.

The move, however, had nothing to do with the call of Singson against Lacson, in retaliation to critics of his son, embattled Ilocos Sur Rep. Ronald Singson, who want his son expelled from the lower chamber following his involvement in a drug-related case in Hong Kong.

Cayetano assured due process in handling the matter, dismissing the scenario that the case will be fast-tracked emphasizing.... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20110106hed4.html

Garcia plea bargain deal approved in May — Solgen By Aytch S. de la Cruz 01/06/2011

Garcia plea bargain deal approved in May — Solgen

By Aytch S. de la Cruz 01/06/2011

The Sandiganbayan has issued a resolution accepting the plea bargain between prosecutors and former military comptroller Maj. Gen. Carlos Garcia as early as May 4, 2010, the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) yesterday revealed.

Solicitor General Jose Anselmo Cadiz also informed reporters that his office has already filed a 17-page Urgent Motion for Leave to Intervene and a 34-page Omnibus Motion-in-Intervention in a bid to nullify and set aside the resolution granting the plea bargain agreement which was filed on March 16, 2010 through “Joint Motion for Approval of Plea Bargaining Agreement” of the accused and Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP).

The OSG stressed that the May 4, 2010 resolution of the Sandiganbayan Second Division headed by Presiding JusticeEdilberto Sandoval granting the plea bargaining agreement of Garcia and the OSP of the Office of the Ombudsman should be nullified on the ground that the evidence against Garcia was strong.

Cadiz and Malacañang officials cited records they have culled from the courts including the P200-million check signed by Garcia to emphasize that evidence of guilt was strong against the erstwhile financial manager of the AFP on charges of plunder..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20110106hed5.html

Death toll from rains rises to 25 01/06/2011

Death toll from rains rises to 25

01/06/2011
The death toll from landslides and floods in the country rose to 25 yesterday, with those trying to profit from the disaster by salvaging flotsam becoming victims themselves, officials said.

Although major highways are now open after landslide rubble was cleared away, large areas of the country’s south are still covered with floodwaters, said regional civil defense chief Blanche Gobenciong.

“About 70 percent of our region is still flooded,” Gobenciong told Agence France Presse by telephone from Butuan City.

The nationwide toll doubled overnight as heavy rains fell again after a brief respite on Tuesday, and Gobenciong said some of the seven dead in and around Butuan were trying to salvage floating logs to sell to lumber firms..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20110106hed6.html

Singson’s House expulsion depends on HK court decision By Gerry Baldo 01/06/2011

Singson’s House expulsion depends on HK court decision

By Gerry Baldo 01/06/2011

The final decision of the House of Representatives on the issue of whether or not to expel Ilocos Sur Rep. Ronald Singson as an offshoot of his being charged with drug trafficking in Hong Kong would largely depend on his admission of guilt and the decision of the court, House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte said.

“I think if there’s a final decision there... it’s based on a confession or admission of guilt. I think common sense says you don’t have to start from day one, from scratch and so forth, we can take cognizance of a lot of things,” the Speaker said.

The Speaker explained that at this point in time there is a need for the House ethics committee to gather all pertinent documents including the report of a congressional team headed by the vice chairman of the House committee on justice Marikina Rep. Romero Federico Quimbo who went to Hong Kong to monitor developments in the Singson case..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/nation/20110106nat1.html

OFWs seek lifting of ban on Afghan deployment By Michaela P. del Callar 01/06/2011

OFWs seek lifting of ban on Afghan deployment

By Michaela P. del Callar 01/06/2011

Hundreds of Filipino workers in Afghanistan have appealed anew to President Aquino to lift the Philippine deployment ban there as the deadline nears for the expulsion of foreign workers from countries that impose a travel ban to the strife-torn state.

Lifting the ban, they said, would allow more Filipino workers “to be employed gainfully in the safe and secure conditions in US bases.”

In a statement, the Filipinos in Afghanistan (FIA), an organization of more than 1,000 Filipinos working in high-level and supervisory positions with international organizations and skilled workers from 64 US bases all over Afghanistan, said the ban would render hundreds of Filipinos jobless once they return to the Philippines.
More than 6,000 Filipino workers in Afghanistan are in danger of being sent back to the Philippines by the end of this year as the US Central Command ordered all contractors in that country against Third Country Nationals (TCN)whose domestic laws prohibit their citizens from traveling and working in Afghanistan..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/nation/20110106nat7.html

Violating the law EDITORIAL 01/05/2011

Violating the law

EDITORIAL

Click to enlarge

01/05/2011
Malacañang just doesn’t get it, or refuses to get it.
It is not a question of which party loses or wins the arbitration cases filed by both Fraport AG and Philippine International Air Terminals Corp. (Piatco) in these instances, but a question of the Noynoy administration obeying that which the Philippine Constitution provides in cases of government expropriating private property. Government must pay compensation for expropriating the private property, something which government — whether the Arroyo government or the Aquino government — has not done, even as the Aquino government continues to possess the Ninoy Aquino International Airport 3 (NAIA 3) and even goes to the extent of exercising ownership rights, in clear violation of the Supreme Court (SC) ruling.

And yet Noynoy who claims to uphold and defend the Constitution and the law, has been violating both the Charter and the law, with him, through his spokesmen, insisting that the government had already won the case at the ICC (International Chamber of Commerce) in Singapore that the Palace spokesmen claimed allowed the government to have full possession of the NAIA 3 and even exercise ownership rights — as Malacañang has been doing by way of granting concession rights and even attempting to get the airline companies to transfer their offices at the airport terminal — and making money out of it too, while refusing to pay the required compensation to the owners and operators..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110105com1.html

Wrong focus FRONTLINE Ninez Cacho-Olivares 01/05/2011

Wrong focus

FRONTLINE

Ninez Cacho-Olivares

01/05/2011
Justice Chief Leila de Lima yesterday told media that her National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) tracker team has already located Joey Filart in the United States. Filart is another accused in the Vizconde murder case who fled the country and did not serve jail time.

That was pretty fast work, if true, which makes one wonder why the same NBI can’t still track down fugitive Sen. Panfilo Lacson, who would more or less be in the same fleeing boat Filart is.

It has been close to year since Lacson went into hiding to evade an arrest warrant and still the NBI appears to be clueless on his whereabouts. Yet Filart, a wanted man with an arrest warrant and accused of murder, has suddenly been found by the NBI tracking team and in the US, too in less than a month.

What disturbs is not so much Filart being found by the NBI, but why the Justice chief, as can be gleaned from her statements to media, focuses the probe on Hubert Webb, et al. much too much, even as she says that having located Filart confirms his existence and builds up the credibility of state witness Jessica Alfaro, who was discredited as a credible witness by the Supreme Court (SC) when it ruled to acquit Webb and his group..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110105com2.html

Mideast Christians easy target for Qaeda — analysts ANALYSIS 01/05/2011

Mideast Christians easy target for Qaeda — analysts

ANALYSIS

01/05/2011
DUBAI — Al-Qaeda would seem to have found an easy target in Middle Eastern Christians who have a limited ability to respond, but such attacks could easily escalate into sectarian clashes, analysts say.

Responsibility for the apparent suicide bombing early on New Year’s Day at a Coptic church in Alexandria in which 21 persons were killed and 79 were wounded has not yet been claimed, although Cairo has indirectly implicated al-Qaeda.

In claiming an October attack on a church in Baghdad in which 46 Christians were killed, al-Qaeda affiliate the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI) also threatened the Coptic church, accusing it of holding against their will two priests’ wives they say had converted to Islam.

And in December, al-Qaeda-linked Web site Shumukh al-Islam had al-Qiddissin (The Saints) church in Alexandria, where Saturday’s bombing took place, on a list of targeted Coptic places of worship..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110105com3.html

Our past watching us HE SAYS Aldrin Cardon 01/05/2011

Our past watching us

HE SAYS

Aldrin Cardon

01/05/2011
It is something that stinks — the damp, cold breath of our recent past which continues to stare us down with a mockingly cold sneer. And in an ugly way to start the year, we are paying for our past carelessness and disregard of nature and the important things it gives us. And now it brings forth death and desolation, disasters and hopelessness that deny us any spark of hope, especially to those who are still trying to rebuild their lives.

Only four years ago, the stench of death pervaded the air of St. Bernard in Ginsaugon, Leyte. Some of its folk have failed to completely rebuild their lives, its young no longer finding a reason to finish school, its men losing their strength or even inspiration to work harder, its women continuously grieving for their loss of loved ones.

Sunday was another day for grieving for the St. Bernard folk, with two of their children reportedly missing after yet another landslide which buried the skirts of its mountains, long denuded by deforestation and slash and burn farming..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110105com4.html

Rude awakenings SHE SAYS Dinah S. Ventura 01/05/2011

Rude awakenings

SHE SAYS

Dinah S. Ventura

01/05/2011
It was a wet Christmas for Bicolanos last year, and many thought it would be the same for the New Year. For some, it felt like the Biblical 40 days and 40 night of nonstop rain, although in reality it was a few straight days of rain, and then reprieve, before rains came again.

And in the last few days before the year ended, rains fell in heavy sheets and went on for hours. Streets in low elevation areas soon got submerged in muddy waters. Pets chained to posts whined to be set free and warm themselves indoors. People hurried to get home, contending with knee-deep floods that soon reached their waist. Families got stuck in their homes, and those who had experienced the wrath of “Reming” in 2006 worried that the same would happen in 2010.

They watched the rain from their windows, wondering what lay ahead. Some refused to believe that such a fate would befall them once again, staring mutely at the brown water while others began to lift up furniture, pack up important items and see to the food and water. The news, meanwhile, blared of raging waters in some parts of the province, where already an old woman and her son had perished in the flood. Families who had earlier fled their homes bewailed the prospect of greeting 2011 in a makeshift shelter. Roads became impassable as bridges gave way. And still the rain continued to fall..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110105com5.html

Murdered model provides real-life drama for Bollywood focus 01/05/2011

Murdered model provides real-life drama for Bollywood

focus

01/05/2011
MUMBAI — A new Bollywood film comes out this week based on the real-life murder of a fashion model by the son of a leading lawmaker, in a case that cast a spotlight on the corrupt nexus of police and politics.

No One Killed Jessica tracks the fight for justice for Jessica Lal, who was working as a celebrity barmaid at a fashionable New Delhi restaurant in 1999 when she was gunned down for refusing to serve a customer a drink.

The prime suspect, Manu Sharma, whose father Venod was a former government minister, was acquitted at trial seven years later after several witnesses retracted their initial statements.

The verdict prompted a public outcry and a media campaign that led to a prosecution appeal at which Sharma was convicted and given a life sentence for murder..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110105com7.html

Germany: No resolution of NAIA-3 row, no aid to RP EXCLUSIVE By Michaela P. del Callar,Aytch S. de la Cruz and Benjamin B. Pulta 01/05/2011

PALACE: NO SUCH SC BAN ON GOV’T EXERCISE OF OWNERSHIP RIGHTS

Germany: No resolution of NAIA-3 row, no aid to RP

EXCLUSIVE

By Michaela P. del Callar,Aytch S. de la Cruz and Benjamin B. Pulta 01/05/2011

Neither aid nor investment is likely to flow into the Philippines from Germany, especially after the Aquino administration claimed that it has won the case filed by Piatco (Philippine International Air Terminal Co.) the consoritium which has, as partner, Fraport AG, Malacañang will have nothing to do with compensating the consortium which built the Ninoy Aquino International Airport 3 (NAIA-3) after government had expropriated the facilty.

Germany earmarked at least 46 million Euros or at least P2.8 billion in financial assistance to the Philippines as far back as two years ago but will not release the money unless the seven-year-old impasse over the Fraport issue is resolved by the two countries, a German government official told the Tribune yesterday.
German officials have informed the Philippine government that financial assistance is on hold until the legal case, which is pending before the Pasay Regional Trial Court amid an international court decision reinstating Fraport’s right to file an arbritation-compensation case against the Philippine government, is resolved.
.... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20110105hed1.html

Noynoy shows up in CoA report as big spender in Senate By Angie M. Rosales 01/05/2011

Noynoy shows up in CoA report as big spender in Senate

By Angie M. Rosales 01/05/2011

He may have portrayed himself as one who does not spend, and is happy with hotdog and pizza meals, here and abroad, mainly for publicity, it seems. But it appears, from Commission on Audit (CoA) data, that Noynoy Aquino, then a senator, and not yet even a presidential candidate, was one of the big spenders in the Senate.

Aquino is among the big spenders in the Senate in 2009, the year before he assumed the country’s top post, despite the fact that he did nothing by way of legislative output nor, for that matter, was he known for coming up with projects — pro-poor or otherwise.

Aquino incurred the third highest expenses, even way beyond his colleagues who, at that time, were already long known to be gunning for the presidency and vice presidency..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20110105hed2.html

House considers special polls in beleaguered solon’s district By Gerry Baldo 01/05/2011 Members of th

House considers special polls in beleaguered solon’s district

By Gerry Baldo 01/05/2011

Members of the House of Representatives are preparing to file a resolution calling for a special election in the First District of Ilocos Sur, whose congressman, of which, Rep. Ronald Singson, facing drug offense charges in Hong Kong, faces possible expulsion proceedings from his peers.

Navotas Rep. Toby Tiangco said that the House leadership should now prepare for the passing a bill that would lead to the holding of a special election in his district.

Tiangco issued the proposal after joining calls for Singson, who has signified his intention to plead guilty to a lesser crime of illegal drugs possession in Hong Kong, to resign as a member of the House.

“What we should plan now is to work for the passage of a bill setting special election in his district. If his case would drag for a longer time, Rep. Singson should make a sacrifice by quitting his job,” Tiangco said in an interview..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20110105hed3.html

Noy volunteers Trillanes bid amid fears on edict By Mario J. Mallari 01/05/2011

Noy volunteers Trillanes bid amid fears on edict

By Mario J. Mallari 01/05/2011

It was President Aquino himself who spoke for Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV saying that the former Navy officer and leader of at least two failed military uprisings against former President Arroyo will file his amnesty proposal today in an effort to douse specula-tions that the amnesty offer will not likely be taken up by most mutineers because of a provision in Proclamation 75 that requires admission of guilt before the pleas are processed.

Diffidence among the intended recipients of Aquino’s amnesty cropped up when traditional mutineer, former Scout Ranger chief retired Brig. Gen. Danilo Lim, rejected the provision requiring admission of guilt before military and police rebels can avail of the amnesty.

The admission of guilt aspect has been included by the Department of National Defense when it drafted the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) for the application of amnesty with Aquino’s consent following the inputs provided by the lawmakers in their concurrence of the Proclamation no. 75..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20110105hed4.html

DoJ files tax evasion charges vs Garcia By Benjamin B. Pulta 01/05/2011

DoJ files tax evasion charges vs Garcia

By Benjamin B. Pulta 01/05/2011

Prosecutors have approved the filing of criminal charges for tax evasion against retired Maj. Gen. Carlos Garcia for allegedly failing to pay taxes on investments he allegedly entered into in 2002 and 2003.

In a resolution dated last month and released to newsmen yesterday, the Department of Justrice (DoJ), through Senior State Prosecutor Miguel Gudio ruled to uphold earlier findings by the Bureau of
Internal Revenue (BIR) and other government investigating bodies of tax evasion against the former Armed forces of the Philippines (AFP) comptroller.

The DoJ underscored that the BIR “has sufficiently established respondents-spouses’ commission of fraud and/or tax evasion,” and ruled that Garcia and his wife Clarita underdeclared income amounting to P12.25-million for year 2002 and P14.109-million for year 2003..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20110105hed5.html

JPE justifies Ping’s Senate’s non-expulsion By Angie M. Rosales 01/05/2011

JPE justifies Ping’s Senate’s non-expulsion

By Angie M. Rosales 01/05/2011
While the Senate can exercise powers to impose disciplinary action on fugitive Sen. Panfilo Lacson, there is no reason to initiate such action, even under the present circumstances.

Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile emphasized this yesterday in an apparent move to underscore the misplaced assumptions made by Ilocos Sur Gov. Luis “Chavit” Singson as he challenged critics of his son to instead initiate expulsion proceedings against Lacson rather than Rep. Ronald Singson.

Rep. Singson is currently under fire following his arrest last year by Hong Kong authorities for alleged possession of illegal drugs..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20110105hed6.html

Communist rebels vow to launch attacks ahead of talks 01/05/2011

Communist rebels vow to launch attacks ahead of talks

01/05/2011
Communist rebels vowed yesterday to launch attacks against the military and companies that rejected extortion demands, ahead of a planned resumption of peace talks this month.

Arman Guerrero, a spokesman for the New People’s Army’s (NPA) political front, said all cadres were to launch the attacks after an 18-day Christmas ceasefire with government officially ended at midnight Monday.
“Starting today... all members of the revolutionary movement... must launch tactical offensives to punish human rights violators,” Guerrero said.

The NPA typically accuses the army of massive human rights abuses to justify their attacks, although Guerrero said companies who “do not follow the rules and policies” in its areas of influence were also fair game..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/nation/20110105nat6.html

Death toll from RP rains rises to 13 By Mario J. Mallari 01/05/2011

.Death toll from RP rains rises to 13

By Mario J. Mallari 01/05/2011
The death toll from landslides and floods in the Philippines rose to 13 yesterday as more areas were inundated, officials said.

The southern city of Butuan was swamped and thousands of residents of nearby areas fled to evacuation centers, said regional civil defense chief Blanche Gobenciong.

“This is the worst flooding in 10 years. Butuan City usually does not get flooded because it is protected by a viaduct but this time, it really got hit. The whole of Butuan City is flooded,” she said.

“Even the areas previously not touched by floods were affected,” she said of the city of 270,000 persons.... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/nation/20110105nat1.html

Left with two options EDITORIAL 01/04/2011

Left with two options

EDITORIAL

Click to enlarge

01/04/2011
No matter the rosy investment pledges and figures being announced by Noynoy Aquino, foreign investors are not likely to plunk their money into the country if the Aquino government does not pay off the owners of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) 3 what is due them — more so today, after the owner, Piatco partner, Fraport, won its ICSID case against the Philippine government after the Washington Ad Hoc committee nullified the earlier International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) Tribunal’s decision with finality — which means no more appeal.

The truth is, the Philippine government has been getting a free ride for at least three years with its expropriation of NAIA 3 without, however, paying the owners compensation.

Worse, the government — from the Arroyo to the Aquino government — has been exercising ownership, which the Philippine high court has already banned government from exercising..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110104com1.html

Menace to civilized society FRONTLINE Ninez Cacho-Olivares 01/04/2011

Menace to civilized society

FRONTLINE

Ninez Cacho-Olivares

01/04/2011
Just what business is it of the religious superiors to act as intervenors as they call on the high court to reverse its decision on the Hubert Webb, et al. acquittal?

That really is going too far, for the religious and clerics, and even for Lauro Vizconde and his sympathizers, because what they don’t seem to realize is that if the high court as much as takes up their call to reverse its ruling and convicts the already acquitted individuals, this is going to plunge the entire judicial system in big trouble and subject it to something akin to mob rule and dispense with the rule of law, as well as turning the justice system into a mockery by doing away with the principle of double jeopardy.

This has already happened once, during Cory Aquino’s time, when a big mistake was committed by the Supreme Court (SC) at the time it ordered the retrial of the accused soldiers in the Ninoy Aquino slay case after their acquittal of the charges at the Sandiganbayan. The high court is not likely to admit that the principle of double jeopardy was violated, even as it justified the retrial as a mistrial..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110104com2.html

Revolutionary book that inspired Gandhi turns 150 FEATURE 01/04/2011

Revolutionary book that inspired Gandhi turns 150

FEATURE

01/04/2011
WASHINGTON — It was 150 years ago that the book Unto This Last was published, a groundbreaking work that turned economic thinking on its head and profoundly influenced the views of many including Mahatma Gandhi, the father of Indian independence.
Gandhi first read the subversive masterwork of political economy by John Ruskin in 1904, during a train trip in South Africa where he was living at the time.

“The book was impossible to lay aside, once I had begun it,” wrote the progenitor of the non-violence resistance movement years later in his autobiography.

“It gripped me. Johannesburg to Durban was a 24-four hours’ journey. The train reached there in the evening. I could not get any sleep that night. I determined to change my life in accordance with the ideals of the book,” Gandhi wrote..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110104com3.html

Indeed, how he loved me NO HOLDS BARRED Armida Siguion-Reyna 01/04/2011

Indeed, how he loved me

NO HOLDS BARRED

Armida Siguion-Reyna

01/04/2011
Leonardo Tiongson Siguion-Reyna was described by his youngest son in the necrological services held the last night of the wake, Dec. 22, of the year just past, as one who “disdained emotional display. How ironic that he married an emotional woman. How logical for them to beget three proudly and happily schizophrenic children.”


And how my dear departed husband adored me, noted Teddy Boy Locsin, in New York with wife Louie, so it was his friend, my daughter Monique, who read his tribute. The last few paragraphs you must permit me to share with you.

“While holding together and growing a great law firm over several generations of ambitious lawyers, he never let down his colleagues and friends. But mostly he never stopped loving his wife nor did his ardor for her diminish. His eyes never wandered except in jest..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110104com4.html

Would you believe it? AN OUTSIDERS VIEW Ken Fuller 01/04/2011

Would you believe it?

AN OUTSIDERS VIEW

Ken Fuller

01/04/2011
With the holidays, I thought I might touch upon religion, even if in an unconventional manner, but — would you believe it? — inspiration failed to arrive until Dec. 23. It came in an e-mail from a friend, providing a link to Atheism: A Rough History of Disbelief, Jonathan Miller’s 2004 three-part series for BBC4, now available on YouTube.

Miller begins by tracing the origins of belief in the supernatural. This was rather more than a case of primitive societies ascribing that which could not be explained to various gods, for from the word go religion has been used to underpin the power and influence of rulers. Thus, in the words of one of the contributors, in a society devoted to ancestor-worship the prestige of various “dead old men” was invoked to bolster that of certain “live old men.”.... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/

‘Barkada Inc.’ VIEWPOINTS Archbishop Oscar V. Cruz 01/04/2011

‘Barkada Inc.’

VIEWPOINTS

Archbishop Oscar V. Cruz

01/04/2011
This is interesting — if not really intriguing. There was once that well known and famous conglomeration aptly called “Kamag-Anak Incorporated.” The then government was primarily anchored on the popularity of a family member — plus a dynasty of the wealthy and the powerful in the country. Without the least intention at all of offending anybody in anyway, as expected, rightly and effectively governing a nation cannot be premised on but popularity.

Together with integrity, competence is a prime requisite — especially on the part of the none other than the Head of Government. The said required competence has a special relevance precisely on account of the executive power thereto appended. An incompetent executive is all that it takes to disorient a people and to ruin a country. Let it be said though that the inherent weakness of a democracy is when elections are basically popularity contests — wherein competence is wherefore irrelevant.

And now, following the same lineage in Philippine government, there is said to be something akin to the Kamag-anak Inc. — with some kind of a twist. This time it is dubbed the “Barkada Inc.” Those who coined this phrase, do not exactly deserve to be blamed nor denounced, much less damned by those intimately concerned in such a more and more decidedly perceived reality in the present administration. Never mind if the present government is said to work like a “Student Council” according to a well known and respected political figure. Never too if another famous and much appreciated political personality said that the incumbent administration has but 2011 to shape up or ship out — or something like it..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110104com6.html

Afghan clowns raise laughs in war-torn Kabul focus 01/04/2011

Afghan clowns raise laughs in war-torn Kabul

focus

01/04/2011
KABUL — Two Afghan policemen stand paralyzed by fear in front of a plastic cup. But this is not some farcical scene from the battle against the Taliban — it is a sketch from a new clown show in Kabul.

The performance, put on by nine members of the Azdar troupe, seems improbable in a country locked in a nine-year battle between US-led Nato troops and the Islamist militants.

But it is part of increasing efforts to foster a revival of Afghan theater, which enjoyed a golden age in the 1960s and 1970s before being hit hard by war and the closure of theaters under the hardline Taliban Islamists, who took power during the mid-1990s..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110104com7.html

Noy defiant, won’t return NAIA 3 to owners By Aytch S. de la Cruz 01/04/2011

CALLS $50M FEES TO LAWYERS A ‘MISSTATEMENT’

Noy defiant, won’t return NAIA 3 to owners

By Aytch S. de la Cruz 01/04/2011

The Aquino government has no plans to give back to the owners and operators of the controversial Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 (NAIA-3) its facilities, thus defying the final decision handed out by an Ad Hoc Committee in Washington which case was lost by the Philippine government and its foreign and local lawyers.

President Aquino, in a text message sent to the Tribune, called the information contained in the Tribune report as “misimpressions,” including the assertion that the lawyers who represented the government in this case had misused the $50-million amount paid to them for their legal services, but had the matter referred to Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr.

But a source from Philippine International Air Terminal Co. (Piatco) said it is the President who appears to suffer from “misimpressions” and challenged Malacañang to check on the Commission on Audit’s (CoA) records where it will definitely show that the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) funded the $50 million legal fees, which were in turn received by the government lawyers, among whom were retired Justice Florentino Feliciano and then lawyer Lourdes Sereno, now an associate justice who was rewarded with the high court post by Aquino who claimed it was she who had won in the Piatco ICC case against government..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20110104hed1.html

DoJ chief admits fumble, says no Alfaro extradition By Benjamin B. Pulta 01/04/2011

DoJ chief admits fumble, says no Alfaro extradition

By Benjamin B. Pulta 01/04/2011

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima made a complete turn-around yesterday saying Vizconde massacre witness Jessica Alfaro cannot be extradited to the country without a criminal case filed against her which was in contrast to an earlier statement she made having the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) star witness possibly being compelled to return to the country as witness in the reinvestigation of the 20-year-old case following the Supreme Court’s acquittal of Hubert Webb and the others who had been convicted in connection with the killings.

The government is having difficulty in contacting Alfaro, who reportedly is in Canada.

De Lima now says that extradition is not an option because she (Alfaro) was a witness and not a suspect.
De Lima had said the Department of Justice (DoJ) is exploring the possibility of extraditing Alfaro back to the Philippines if she refuses to cooperate..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20110104hed2.html

Senators chide Chavit; House says son should resign By Angie M. Rosales and Gerry Baldo 01/04/2011

Senators chide Chavit; House says son should resign

By Angie M. Rosales and Gerry Baldo 01/04/2011

The camp and colleagues of fugitive Sen. Panfilo Lacson yesterday assailed Ilocos Sur Gov. Luis “Chavit” Singson for challenging critics of his son to focus instead on the case of Lacson whom he dared to be expelled first.

Singson was on the defensive mode following reports of some congressmen being quoted as having said that his son, Ilocos Sur Rep. Ronald Singson (1st district), could be expelled from the House of Representatives if he pleads guilty to drug-trafficking charges in Hong Kong.

Lacson’s lawyer Alexander Poblador raised a howl over the pronouncements made by the provincial governor saying that there is really no basis to compare the senator with the younger Singson..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20110104hed3.html

DND accepts amnesty bids; Lim nixes admission of guilt proviso By Mario J. Mallari 01/04/2011

DND accepts amnesty bids; Lim nixes admission of guilt proviso

By Mario J. Mallari 01/04/2011

The Department of National Defense (DND) yesterday formally started receiving applications for the amnesty offered to rebel officers and soldiers of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) involved in at least three military uprisings during the administration of former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Arroyo.

AFP spokesman Brig. Gen. Jose Mabanta Jr. said the 90-day application period as specified in the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of President Aquino’s Proclamation 75 officially started Monday.
“They (DND) have accepted starting today requests or submissions for amnesty… this will be consolidated and processed by the Department of National Defense,” he added..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20110104hed5.html

House panel okays bill to declare Chinese New Year holiday 01/04/2011

House panel okays bill to declare Chinese New Year holiday

01/04/2011
The House committee on revision of laws chaired by Pangasinan Rep. Marlyn Primicias-Agabas has recently approved for floor deliberation a consolidated measure declaring Chinese New Year as a special non-working public holiday.

The bill, a consolidation of House Bills 1072, 611 and 2715, seeks to recognize the great contributions of the Chinese-Filipino in Philippine society and their rich cultural traditions..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/nation/20110104nat4.html

Saudi joins ICG in Mindanao peace talks By Michaela P. del Callar 01/04/2011

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Death toll from rains rises to five 01/04/2011

Death toll from rains rises to five

01/04/2011
The death toll from heavy rains swamping the eastern Philippines has risen to five following a fresh landslide, the government said yesterday.

A one-year-old boy and a five-year-old girl were buried and killed in a landslide on the island of Leyte last Sunday, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said in its latest bulletin.

Floods and landslides over the weekend forced more than 1,000 families to flee their homes in Leyte and nearby Samar island, with soldiers mobilized to conduct rescues and clear roads, it added..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/nation/20110104nat2.html

GOCCs outlays slated for new Senate check By Angie M. Rosales 01/03/2011

GOCCs outlays slated for new Senate check

By Angie M. Rosales 01/03/2011

The operations of some of the 157 government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs) will be placed in another round of scrutiny by the Senate.

Sen. Franklin Drilon, finance committee chairman, said the Senate will immediately activate the newly formed oversight committee on public expenditures to monitor the use or misuse of GOCC funds on unwarranted bonuses and fat allowances.

“We will buckle down to work at once upon the opening of Congress this coming new year,” the senator said.

Drilon initiated the conduct of series of inquiries into the fat perks and allowances of GOCC executives as well as excessive use of its funds shortly after the Aquino administration was ushered in last year..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20110103hed2.html

Palace sees convening Cabinet waste of time, sets cluster meet By Aytch S. de la Cruz 01/03/2011

Palace sees convening Cabinet waste of time, sets cluster meet

By Aytch S. de la Cruz 01/03/2011

Vice President Jejomar Binay’s wish to start the year with a full Cabinet meeting may not be fulfilled as President Aquino is leaning on an economic cluster meeting to address the consecutive toll rate and taxi fare increases on top of looming fuel price increases that will kick off 2011.

Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning (PCDSP) Secretary Ricky Carandang said Aquino preferred to conduct cluster meetings over formal discussions with the entire Cabinet since he believes this will be more effective.

Binay over the weekend observed that the Aquino Cabinet had not convened in full for three months now but Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Herminio Coloma explained this doesn’t affect, in any way, the affairs of the government..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20110103hed3.html

Get facts straight on revamp, Carandang tells ‘Chiz’ 01/03/2011

Get facts straight on revamp, Carandang tells ‘Chiz’

01/03/2011
The apparent infighting in President Aquino’s circle of allies lingers as the “word war” that developed between Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning (PCDSP) Secretary Ricky Carandang and Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero during the post-yuletide period continues despite the Chief Executive’s New Year message that called for unity, among other things.

Carandang, who is associated with the Balay group, yesterday defended himself anew against the claims of Escudero, a known figure in the Samar faction, that he was feeding the media his own speculations with respect to the impending exit of three Cabinet officials whom Aquino wanted to get replaced this month.
“It (Cabinet reshuffle) is a sensitive matter that should not be taken or mentioned lightly… His duty is to make factual announcements, not engage in speculation,” Escudero was quoted by a broadsheet as saying last week, addressing Carandang..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20110103hed5.html

Pirates hijack Algerian cargo ship with Pinoys 01/03/2011

Pirates hijack Algerian cargo ship with Pinoys

01/03/2011
A number of Filipino crewmen of an Algerian bulk carrier were seized by ransom-seeking Somali pirates last Saturday near the port of Oman.

The mv Blida was on its way to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania from Salalah in Oman at the time of the attack, according to the European Union Naval Force (EUNAVFOR).

“mv Blida was pirated at approximately 150 nautical miles southeast of the port of Oman in the afternoon of Saturday,” it said.

No further details of the attack are known at this stage, but the EUNAVFOR said the
vessel has a crew of 27 comprising of Algerians, Ukranians and Filipinos..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20110103hed6.html

Aquino loses NAIA 3 case By Ninez Cacho-Olivares Editor-in-Chief 01/03/2011

ICSID AWARD REVOKED; EU, BUSINESS LEADERS CALL FOR ROW SETTLEMENT

Aquino loses NAIA 3 case

By Ninez Cacho-Olivares Editor-in-Chief 01/03/2011

President Aquino and his government uncorked the champagne too early while announcing that he and the government lawyers had won the Ninoy Aquino International Airport 3 (NAIA-3) case filed by both German airport operator Fraport AG and Piatco (Philippine International Air Terminal Co.) against the Philippine government, to the point of even congratulating the Philippine lawyers, retired Justice Florentino Feliciano and then lawyer for the government, Lourdes Sereno, who he later appointed to the high court, as a reward for her winning the case for the government.

All told, the government lawyers charged the Philippine government a whopping $50 million, which was deemed excessive, and a waste of funds, after a final decision of an Ad Hoc Committee in Washington overturned the ICSID (International Centre for Settlement of.... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20110103hed1.html

CPP-NPA poses no more security threat in RP — AFP By Mario J. Mallari 01/03/2011

CPP-NPA poses no more security threat in RP — AFP

By Mario J. Mallari 01/03/2011

The Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) does not pose any more security threat but is now relegated into a threat against economic development, through massive extortion activities, particularly in the countryside.

This was according to the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) which has launched on Jan. 1 its new internal peace and security plan (IPSP) Bayanihan, which calls for the paradigm shift from purely combat operations to civil military and humanitarian missions to defeat the insurgency problem..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/nation/20110103nat1.html

More than 22 million public students go to schools today By Jason Faustino 01/03/2011

AS CLASSES RESUME

More than 22 million public students go to schools today

By Jason Faustino 01/03/2011

More than 22 million public students in elementary and high schools go to their respective classes when they resume today.

Education Secretary Bro. Armin Luistro said that they hope that the students celebrated the holidays well and that they basked on the glory of commemorating the birth of our Lord Jesus.

“As we welcome you back to school and begin the year 2011, I really pray that our students, teachers and staff will usher in fresh hope for the country and show that DepEd is ripe for change,” he said..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/nation/20110103nat4.html

Dim prospects for OFWs in 2011 By ELLSON A. QUISMORIO

Dim prospects for OFWs in 2011

By ELLSON A. QUISMORIO

January 1, 2011, 7:22pm

MANILA, Philippines — An alliance of Filipino expatriates based in Saudi Arabia said it sees “bleak job prospects” for overseas Filipino workers in 2011, mainly due to the downtrend in OFW deployment last year and labor policy changes by host countries.

“The downtrend in the deployment of OFWs is a serious concern, not only to the government, but more to the 4.6-million unemployed and underemployed Filipinos who are seriously considering to work abroad due to worsening economic condition and rising unemployment rate in the Philippines,” said John Leonard Monterona, Migrante-Middle East (ME) regional coordinator..... MORE

Source:  Manila Bulletin

URL: http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/295993/dim-prospects-ofws-2011-section-featurespecial-report

CoA asked to strictly monitor P21-billion dole-out By RIO ROSE RIBAYA

CoA asked to strictly monitor P21-billion dole-out

By RIO ROSE RIBAYA

January 1, 2011, 7:35pm

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Audit (CoA) has been asked to strictly guard the disbursement of the controversial P21-billion fund cash dole-outs to the poor under the conditional cash transfer (CCT) program of the Department of Social Welfare and Development DSWD), a legislator from Mindanao said.

Opposition lawmaker and Maguindanao Rep. Simeon Datumanong issued the call after 13 provisions in the P1.645-trillion General Appropriations Act (GAA) for 2011, including the issue governing CCT were vetoed by President Benigno S. Aquino III last week..... MORE

Source:  Manila Bulletin

URL: http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/295997/coa-asked-strictly-monitor-p21billion-doleout

No Cabinet meetings in 3 months — Binay By JC BELLO RUIZ

No Cabinet meetings in 3 months — Binay

By JC BELLO RUIZ

January 1, 2011, 7:32pm

MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Jejomar C. Binay said that for the past three months, the Cabinet has not conducted any formal meetings.

But even without formal meetings, Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Secretary Herminio Coloma said there is a continuing flow of information between the President and his Official Family..... MORE

Source:  Manila Bulletin

URL: http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/295996/no-cabinet-meetings-3-months-binay