Victory? EDITORIAL 05/26/2011

Victory?

EDITORIAL

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05/26/2011
Pasay City’s Regional Trial Court (RTC) has ruled that the government must pay the Philippine International Air Terminal Corp. a fifth of what Piatco has been asking for, by way of expropriation payment.

The amount was more or less what the Aquino government wanted to pay Piatco, which is probably the reason it claimed a court victory — as the court ruled out additional Piatco payments of interest, among others.

The court junked Piatco’s claim of $846.42 million, which amount included inflation and interest. This was rejected by the RTC judge despite the recommendation of a special board of commissioners that Piatco should be paid $376.14 million..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110526com1.html

ARMM polls postponement bill useless FRONTLINE Ninez Cacho-Olivares 05/26/2011

ARMM polls postponement bill useless

FRONTLINE

Ninez Cacho-Olivares

05/26/2011
Sen. Bongbong Marcos is said to be mulling archiving the Senate bill that calls for the postponement of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) elections.
The rule in the Senate is that Marcos, as chairman of his panel, and having five senators, can have the bill archived, and so it has to be archived.

However, this can still be revived by another set of five senators and floor discussions have to push through.

Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile was earlier quoted as saying that if Bongbong recommends against the postponement of the ARMM polls, “five senators will have it archived” but that five senators can also bring it out from the archives, after which the discussions go to the floor and the committee report can be amended..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110526com2.html

Little in Netanyahu speech to revive talks — analysts ANALYSIS 05/26/2011

Little in Netanyahu speech to revive talks — analysts

ANALYSIS

05/26/2011
WASHINGTON — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu received 31 standing ovations from the US Congress, and yet he may have failed in his primary goal — averting a unilateral Palestinian bid for statehood.

Netanyahu went to Congress promising to lay out his vision for peace with the Palestinians amid pressure from the international community for a far-reaching Israel initiative that could resurrect the dormant peace process.

And while he offered concessions, some of them even significant for his hardline base, analysts said they were unlikely to satisfy the international community, let alone the Palestinians.

“He made peace with Congress (but) there’s no formula there for peace with the Palestinians,” veteran analyst Yossi Alpher told AFP..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110526com3.html

Ex-AFP officials as illegal mining coddlers BLURBAL THRUSTS Louie Logarta 05/26/2011

Ex-AFP officials as illegal mining coddlers

BLURBAL THRUSTS

Louie Logarta

05/26/2011
Sad to say, tobacco use in the Philippines is actually on the rise despite efforts to curb it. This much has been reportedly admitted by Dr. Armando Peruga, manager of the World Health Organization’s Tobacco Free Initiative Program.

Aggravating matters is the fact that cigarettes here in the Philippines can be bought dirt-cheap and piecemeal, at P1.00-P3.00 per stick, unlike in other Asean countries where purchases are on a per pack basis that go for up to three times the cost of local brands, which is why the Philippines, with an estimated 20 million people hooked on the habit, is among the top-ranked cigarette-consuming nations in the world.

To counter the “smoking epidemic” which the Philippines is going to have to contend with in the foreseeable future — thanks in great part to the efforts of the formidable tobacco lobby and the huge war chest it has to splurge and bribe its way around to get what it wants — the Department of Health has been pushing for the adoption of certain novel methods, as it were, to dampen demand for cigarettes in a bid to lessen the (as per WHO estimates) approximately 87, 000 Filipinos who die each year due to tobacco-related diseases like emphysema, cancer, heart attack, etc..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110526com4.html

Official admission VIEWPOINTS Archbishop Oscar V. Cruz 05/26/2011

Official admission

VIEWPOINTS

Archbishop Oscar V. Cruz

05/26/2011
Now it can be said with clarity and certainty. The once sanctimonious and pretentious national leadership together with its docile cohorts, now officially and openly admit their incapacity of undertaking socio-economic developmental ventures for the welfare of the Filipinos, for the redemption of the Philippines from poverty and misery. Their simplistic option and blatant decision is lessening the number of Filipinos to have a better Philippines.

Forgotten is the once proud and loud shout “Kung walang corrupt, walang mahirap”. Now the maxim sounds more like “Kung walang ipapanganak, walang mahirap.” The over-all message being now assiduously shouted by Malacañang is not only dismaying but also insulting. Population is the enemy. Filipinos are the culprit. The lesser they are, the better. Don’t allow them to be born. And the country becomes a paradise..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110526com5.html

Spain protests tap idealism, online people power focus 05/26/2011

Spain protests tap idealism, online people power

focus

05/26/2011
MADRID — Fired up with 60s-style idealism and fueled by online people power, the anti-crisis protesters who took Spain by storm hope they can be an example to the world.

There are plenty of Spaniards ready to help them, equally frustrated by political corruption, welfare cuts and the highest unemployment rate in the developed world.

When an electrical generator powering their tent city in central Madrid’s Puerta del Sol square ran out of fuel, protesters got an instant response to their Internet appeals for fuel.

Within hours they were able to restore power to the kitchen, daycare, press center and other facilities..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110526com6.html

US ‘left-behind parents’ seek help to get kids back FEATURE 05/26/2011

US ‘left-behind parents’ seek help to get kids back

FEATURE

05/26/2011
WASHINGTON — Eli is a little boy packs a powerful hug, but hasn’t given one to his mother for more than a year.

Eli last year was taken to Turkey by his father, completely blindsiding his mother, Sara Edwards, one of America’s “left-behind” parents.

On the eve of US National Missing Children’s Day, which the United States marked Wednesday, Edwards testified before US lawmakers, telling them in an airless room of her almost hopeless quest to get Eli back.
“Eli gives the most amazing bear hugs but I have not held him since March 4 last year when my husband took him to Turkey,” Edwards told a hearing of the House Subcommittee on on Africa, Global Health and Human Rights.

“Every day I wonder if he is thinking about me and missing his mother the same way I am thinking about him and missing him,” she said, repeatedly interrupting her testimony to quell tears..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110526com7.html

Piatco blasts RTC ruling, goes to CA 05/26/2011

DECISION IS ‘ONE ADDED TELLING BLOW ON RP INVESTMENTS’

Piatco blasts RTC ruling, goes to CA

05/26/2011
The controversy on the issue of just compensation is far from over.

Philippine International Air Terminal Corp. (Piatco), the consortium that built the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 (NAIA-3), slammed the ruling made by Judge Eugenio de la Cruz of Pasay Regional Trial Court’s Branch 117.

This decision was promulgated last May 23, 2011 ordering the government to pay Piatco a mere $175,787,245.10 for taking the NAIA-3 built with no less than $470 million of funds from private investors, including Fraport AG of Germany.

In a statement issued yesterday to the media, Piatco, through its vice president for legal and public affairs, lawyer Moises Padilla, said that Piatco’s total claim for just compensation is $846,428,946 to include attendant costs, interests, and adjustments to inflation..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20110526hed1.html

Sotto to name drug firms behind RH lobby By Angie M. Rosales 05/26/2011

Sotto to name drug firms behind RH lobby

By Angie M. Rosales 05/26/2011

A senator bared yesterday a strong lobby backed by multinational drug companies and certain “personalities” that are working for the enactment of the controversial Reproductive Health (RH) bill saying that he will expose them in an appropriate time.

Sen. Vicente Sotto III said he will name the pharmaceutical companies and the personalities behind the lobby group on the RH bill.

”Yes, I will expose them, including the personalities behind the companies lobbying for that bill. I’m just completing the records. I don’t want to mention figures and names without supporting documents,” Sotto told the media before the afternoon session of the chamber..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20110526hed6.html

Government stand on insurance policy for OFWs won’t lessen job hiring By Mina Diaz 05/26/2011

Government stand on insurance policy for OFWs won’t lessen job hiring

By Mina Diaz 05/26/2011

The claim of some recruitment industry leaders that Filipino workers in Saudi Arabia may lose their jobs on account of the government remaining firm of its stand for better welfare and protection of household service workers is totally without basis, Acting Labor Secretary Lourdes Trasmonte said yesterday.

This is the reaction of the DoLE regarding on the report that Saudi Arabian employers could be pressured by their government to stop hiring Filipinos or not renew existing contracts because of the alleged impasse between Saudi Arabia and the Philippines over the hiring of household service workers, Trasmonte said, adding that there is a “disconnect” between the two and therefore misreading the real situation.

“There is no ‘continuing disagreement’ as alleged by the report,” she said. “What is there is an agreement of the Saudi Arabia-Philippines Joint Technical Committee to meet regularly to discuss mutual concerns, including the welfare and protection of household service workers in the Kingdom,” Trasmonte said..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

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

Gov’t agents rescue 54 women from human smuggling syndicate By Michaela P. del Callar 05/26/2011

Gov’t agents rescue 54 women from human smuggling syndicate

By Michaela P. del Callar 05/26/2011

Some 54 women, including a 16-year-old girl, illegally recruited for housekeeping jobs in Qatar and Syria were “rescued” by Philippine authorities yesterday, preempting another case of human trafficking involving Filipinos into the Middle East.

Rescued victims, who were kept at a house in Singalong, Manila, claimed a Syrian national was behind the illegal recruitment operation, Vice President Jejomar Binay said. The women were recruited by different agents based in the Visayas and Mindanao.

“I am glad that we were able to prevent our kababayans from leaving our country and falling victim to illegal recruitment,” said Binay, concurrent Presidential Adviser on overseas of Filipino workers (OFW) affairs..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/nation/20110526nat1.html

DENR clears HCPTI of environmental violations 05/26/2011

DENR clears HCPTI of environmental violations

05/26/2011
The Harbour Centre Port Terminal Inc. (HCPTI) has been cleared of any environmental violation on its handling of coal shipments at Harbour Centre in Manila after series of tests showed the quality of air and water around the area is within government standards.

This developed as the Manila City Council Ad Hoc Committee chaired by Councilor Joel Chua revealed in a report last May 18 that HCPTI was already granted an Environmental Compliance Certificate by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to handle and stockpile coal shipments in the vicinity of Harbour Centre.

The Ad Hoc Committee report also showed that HCPTI also submitted compliance reports from a private testing firm Aeronics Inc. which shows water and air tests within the vicinity of Harbour Centre were below the standard set by the government. The results of the tests were also included in HCPTI’s Permit to Operate..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/metro/20110526met4.html

Trains of LRT Line 1 won’t pass several stations — LRTA 05/26/2011

Trains of LRT Line 1 won’t pass several stations — LRTA

05/26/2011
The Light Rail Transit Authority (LRT) announced yesterday that the LRT Line 1 will go on limited operations starting this Saturday to next Monday with its trains not passing through some stations so it can integrate the signaling system of its North Extension Project into its existing line.

The LRT Administration made the announcement in an advisory posted on its Web site.

In lieu of the missing train services, shuttle buses will be made available for commuters in areas affected by the limited operations.

“The Light Rail Transit Authority Line 1 will temporarily operate only from Baclaran to Blumentritt station starting May 28 to 30, 2011 to integrate the signalling system of the North Extension Project with the existing LRT Line 1 system to ensure a more efficient and safer rail service,” it said..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/metro/20110526met3.html

Meaningless diplomatese EDITORIAL 05/25/2011

Meaningless diplomatese

EDITORIAL

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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

Source:  The 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

Source:  The 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

Source:  The 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

Source:  The 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

Source:  The 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

Source:  The 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

Source:  The Daily Tribune

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