besguerra

Sulu group leader Azzimudie’s fate still unknown

 News
Mar 072013
 
Sulu group leader Azzimudie’s fate still unknown

The Star-Asia News Network 11:57 am | Friday, March 8th, 2013 Malaysian troops in the mopping up and search operations in Tanduo village/The Star-Asia News Network LAHAD DATU– The fate of Sulu armed group leader Azzimudie Kiram remains unknown as Malaysian elite military and police teams enter into the final stage of search and mopping up operations at Kampung Tanduo and Kampung Tanjung Batu near here Friday. Azzimudie, the brother of self-proclaimed Sultan of Sulu Jamalul Kiram III, has failed to contact the Kiram family in Manila for the past two days and security forces expect to know what happened to him in a day or two. The so-called Royal Sulu Army general identified as Haji Musa was among the some 30 gunmen killed in a shootout at Kampung Tanjung Batu on Wednesday. Azzimudie and his trusted commanders were believed to be among those who slipped out of Kampung Tanduo on Sunday, two days before aerial and artillery bombardment began on Tuesday. Azzimudie told The Star over the telephone Wednesday that one of his sons was with him in Tanduo along with 200 to 300 of his followers, including six women. Malaysian security forces launched an all-out offensive against the intruders on Tuesday, after a stand-off that began on Feb 9. Follow Us Recent Stories: Complete stories on our Digital Edition newsstand for tablets, netbooks and mobile phones; 14-issue free trial. About to step out? Get breaking alerts on your mobile.phone. Text ON INQ BREAKING to 4467, for Globe, Smart and Sun Read More …

3 gov’t agencies join forces to help children get ready for school

 News
Feb 222013
 
3 gov’t agencies join forces to help children get ready for school

INQUIRER.net 6:03 pm | Friday, February 22nd, 2013 L-R: Daphne Oseña-Paez (UNICEF Special Advocate for Children); UNICEF Philippines Representative Tomoo Hozumi; ECCD Council Governing Board Chair Teresita Inciong; Australian Ambassador Bill Twedell; DSWD Sec. Dinky Soliman; OIC-Director Marilette Almayda of the Bureau of Elementary Education-DepED; and Teresa Mariano, Head of the Social Services Dept. of QC LGU. MANILA, Philippines – The Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD) Council, the Department of Education (DepED), and the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) launched this February an innovative project called Early Learning for Life which aims to help children ages 3-5 years old get ready for school. “The vital years of the child 0-6 years old should be a collective aspiration,” said Dr. Teresita G. Inciong, Chairperson of the ECCD Governing Board. She continued: “It is in this light that the Project responds to the urgent need for children to get the right start to learning and development, and eventually complete their education.” Significant research studies show that 50 per cent of a person’s ability to learn is developed in the first few years of life. However, national statistics indicate that only 78 out of 100 Grade 1 entrants have kindergarten experience. “This initiative is most welcome as it will give our young learners a strong foundational head start in early education,” Department of Education Secretary Bro. Armin A. Luistro, FSC said. The $18M project, funded by the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) and in collaboration with UN children’s agency, UNICEF, will Read More …

Malaysia’s lease payments for Sabah bolsters sultan’s claim—Gazmin

 News
Feb 222013
 
Malaysia’s lease payments for Sabah bolsters sultan’s claim—Gazmin

By Frances MangosingINQUIRER.net 6:01 pm | Friday, February 22nd, 2013 Sultan of Sulu Jamalul Kiram III, left, joins prayers at the Blue Mosque in Taguig City Friday. AP MANILA, Philippines—Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin said Friday Malaysia’s continuing payment of lease for Sabah bolsters the Philippine claim over the territory. “You see, the sultanate is being paid 5,000 ringgit up to now,” said Gazmin, referring to the nominal yearly compensation the heirs to the Sultanate of Sulu receive from Malaysia under a long-standing agreement. “So if you are being paid then there’s claim,” he said in a press briefing. Dozens of followers of Sultan Jamalul Kiram III sailed over to neighboring Sabah island more than a week ago to assert their centuries-old claim over the area. Also among their demands is additional compensation. Malaysian authorities surrounded the group, which is believed to be made up of anywhere between 80 and 400 people, and a stand-off has since been in place while negotiations continue. Kuala Lumpur has given the 300 followers of the sultan led by his brother, Agbimuddin Kiram, until Friday to decide whether to leave on their own, or be rounded up and deported. But Gazmin said that while the claims of royal family could be valid, it is not right to send an armed group to Sabah to reclaim their territory. President Benigno Aquino in his first public comments on the issue Thursday said: “Going there with arms is not the way to resolve this.” “When you brandish arms, Read More …

US solon hails PH handling of China Sea issue

 News
Feb 222013
 
US solon hails PH handling of China Sea issue

By Tarra QuismundoPhilippine Daily Inquirer 5:35 pm | Friday, February 22nd, 2013 MANILA, Philippines—A visiting lawmaker from the United States has lauded the Philippines’ “restraint” in dealing with China over the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) issue and he hoped the Chinese side would “understand the need” to settle the long-drawn-out territorial dispute soon. US Rep. Jeff Miller, who leads a five-member delegation of US lawmakers on a three-day visit here, also reiterated his government’s support for a peaceful resolution of the dispute, an issue of keen interest to the US amid its defense pivot to the Asia Pacific. “We appreciate the restraint that the government here has shown in going through the arbitration process. I’m hopeful that China will be able to understand the need to resolve this issue as soon as possible,” Miller told the Inquirer while visiting the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial in Taguig City. Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario had briefed the delegation—Miller and fellow US Representatives Gus Bilirakis, Timothy Walz, Michael Michaud and Josiah Bonner—on the West Philippine Sea issue during the group’s courtesy call at the Department of Foreign Affairs on Thursday. During the meeting, the Philippine side explained the country’s move to hale China to the United Nations arbitration tribunal in a bid to invalidate the Chinese side’s “nine-dash line” claim over territories in the contested region of the South China Sea, including a portion the Philippines refers to as the West Philippine Sea. The legal action, formally rejected by China Read More …

Visiting solon: US may review rejected benefit claims of PH war vets

 News
Feb 222013
 
Visiting solon: US may review rejected benefit claims of PH war vets

By Tarra QuismundoPhilippine Daily Inquirer 5:23 pm | Friday, February 22nd, 2013 MANILA, Philippines—The United States is open to a review of rejected benefit claims of thousands of aging Filipino World War II veterans as deserving former servicemen should receive the compensation due them, the chair of the US House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs said Friday. Florida lawmaker Jeff Miller, head of a US congressional delegation that visited the Philippines this week, told the Inquirer on Friday that his government was willing to take a second look at claims of Filipino veterans earlier denied by the US Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA). Miller quickly pointed out, however, that such review was not a guarantee of a reconsideration, saying the US government is “very careful” in studying and approving claims of Filipinos who served under the US flag more than six decades ago. “We understand that there are other individuals who claim that they have a right to compensation, and I agree that every person should have the opportunity for a full and complete review,” Miller said. “But we have to be careful that only those that have earned the compensation get the compensation,” added the lawmaker, who led four other fellow lawmakers on three-day visit in the Philippines. During a meeting at the Department of Foreign Affairs on Thursday, Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario requested Miller’s support as he called for a review of the rejection of claims of  24,385 Filipino veterans under the Filipino Veterans Equity (FVEC). Miller said Read More …

Sabah Standoff: Sultan’s men won’t leave despite deadline

 News
Feb 222013
 
Sabah Standoff: Sultan’s men won’t leave despite deadline

By Nikko DizonPhilippine Daily Inquirer 4:53 pm | Friday, February 22nd, 2013 Sultan of Sulu Jamalul Kiram talks to reporters during a news conference in Alabang, south of Manila, Philippines on Sunday, Feb. 17, 2013. His followers who crossed to the Malaysian state of Sabah this month will not leave and are reclaiming the area as their ancestral territory, the sultan said Sunday, Feb. 17, 2013, amid a tense standoff. AP PHOTO/AARON FAVILA MANILA, Philippines—The followers of Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III holed up in Lahad Datu town in Sabah refused to leave despite the Friday deadline set by Malaysia. Jamalul, his brother Ishmael and wife Princess Fatima Cecilia and some of their followers faced the media on Friday in a press conference at the Blue Mosque in Maharlika Village in Taguig City, saying they will consult their followers regarding their next move. Princess Fatima, who is the sultan’s spokesperson, said the family wants the Sabah issue to be resolved before the International Court of Justice and that they are open to negotiate with Malaysia. She also said that the family was hurt by President Benigno Aquino’s statement that the Sabah issue was “dormant” but she welcomed his directive for his top Cabinet officials to study the Sabah claim issue. Follow Us Recent Stories: Complete stories on our Digital Edition newsstand for tablets, netbooks and mobile phones; 14-issue free trial. About to step out? Get breaking alerts on your mobile.phone. Text ON INQ BREAKING to 4467, for Globe, Smart and Read More …

Kuwaiti envoy’s guard stopped for gun

 News
Feb 172013
 
Kuwaiti envoy’s guard stopped for gun

By Jaymee T. Gamil Philippine Daily Inquirer 3:31 am | Monday, February 18th, 2013 MANILA, Philippines—The Makati City police stood firm in its implementation of the nationwide gun ban, charging a bodyguard of an ambassador to Manila with violation of the election prohibition. Makati police chief Senior Supt. Manuel Lukban Jr. said city police on Saturday afternoon apprehended Noel Aspa, 31, a “protective agent” of Accuria Executive Protection and Detective Services Inc. who was hired to provide security for the Kuwaiti ambassador to the Philippines. Aspa was stopped at 1:40 p.m. by a security guard manning the entrance to Greenbelt 5 as he entered ahead of Ambassador Waleed Ahmad Al-Kandari. Aspa refused to deposit his firearm, a 9-mm pistol, with 15 rounds of ammunition, prompting the mall guard to radio policemen patrolling near the area for help. Lukban said that out of respect for the diplomat, and so as to “not jeopardize his security,” the police confiscated the gun but allowed Aspa to enter with the ambassador. The Makati police, however, went ahead and filed a complaint in court against Aspa for violating the Omnibus Election Code. “If the judge issues a warrant of arrest for him, then we’ll arrest him,” Lukban said. High profile requires exemption Lukban reminded private security agencies that no matter how high profile their clients were, they were still “specifically required to seek an exemption from the Commission on Elections.” Once an exemption is approved, private security guards are required to be in uniform when Read More …

We won’t leave Sabah, says Kiram

 News
Feb 172013
 
We won’t leave Sabah, says Kiram

Agence France-Presse 1:56 am | Monday, February 18th, 2013 Sultan of Sulu Jamalul Kiram talks to reporters during a news conference in Alabang, south of Manila, Philippines on Sunday, Feb. 17, 2013. His followers who crossed to the Malaysian state of Sabah this month will not leave and are reclaiming the area as their ancestral territory, the sultan said Sunday, Feb. 17, 2013, amid a tense standoff. AP PHOTO/AARON FAVILA MANILA, Philippines—Followers of a Philippine sultan who crossed to the Malaysian state of Sabah this month will not leave and are reclaiming the area as their ancestral territory, the sultan said Sunday amid a tense standoff. Sultan Jamalul Kiram said his followers—some 400 people including 20 gunmen—were resolute in staying despite being cornered by security forces, with the Kuala Lumpur government insisting the group return to the Philippines. “Why should we leave our own home? In fact they (the Malaysians) are paying rent (to us),” he told reporters in Manila. “Our followers will stay in (the Sabah town of) Lahad Datu. Nobody will be sent to the Philippines. Sabah is our home,” he said. The sultan did not directly threaten violence but said “there will be no turning back for us.” Malaysian officials have said that many in the group have weapons, but Kiram insisted his followers made the trip unarmed. “If they have arms, they were already in Sabah,” the sultan said. The southern Philippine-based Islamic sultanate once controlled parts of Borneo, including the site of the stand-off, and Read More …

Police nab members of syndicate involved in telephone racket

 News
Feb 082013
 
Police nab members of syndicate involved in telephone racket

By Jaymee T. Gamil Philippine Daily Inquirer 6:21 pm | Friday, February 8th, 2013 MANILA, Philippines—Careful with cheaper international calls to the Philippines. It may be the work of a “transnational” criminal syndicate. The National Capital Region Police Office reported on Friday the arrest of two members of a syndicate that uses computers and other devices to convert inbound international calls to local calls, shortchanging telecommunications companies, and the Philippine government, of millions of pesos in revenue. In a press conference at Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig, NCRPO spokesperson Chief Insp. Kimberly Molitas Gonzales revealed that on Thursday, the regional intelligence operations unit arrested Korean female Yooun Nayong, 37, in a condominium unit on  Boni Avenue, Mandaluyong City, and Filipino caretaker Carlo Dadulla, 21, in another unit in Bagong Barrio, Caloocan City, on the complaint of Globe Telecom. The two stand accused of violating the Access Device Regulation Act of 1998, after they were caught in possession of GSM modems with SIM ports, hundreds of Globe and Touch Mobile SIM cards, Internet modems and gateways, cellphones, laptops, antenna consolidators, computer cables and other peripherals, believed used to bypass Globe’s system and to convert calls from abroad into local calls. Globe-NCR representative Gerald Bechayda explained that with the networked devices, the syndicate allows calls to bypass the Globe International Gateway Facility. The syndicate converts the international caller’s number into a local cellphone number, so the call will be charged local instead of international rates. Gonzales said the two suspects cater mostly Read More …

Manila Fame design trade show set for March and October

 News
Feb 072013
 
Manila Fame design trade show set for March and October

INQUIRER.net U.S. Bureau 10:26 am | Friday, February 8th, 2013 Manila FAME International, the Philippines’ Design and Lifestyle Event showcasing design-forward and high-quality Philippine-made artisanal products, will take place on March 14-17, 2013 and October 17-20, 2013 at the SMX Convention Center, Mall of Asia Complex, Manila. The Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (CITEM) of the Department of Trade and Industry announced that the semi-annual trade show will bring together Manila Now, CEBUNEXT and Bijoux Cebu, four of the country’s major sourcing events. The trade show will feature furniture and furnishings, home accents, gifts, holiday décor, fashion accessories, apparel and textiles, among others. It will also highlight Design Week Philippines, a celebration of design through events scheduled around Manila FAME to strengthen the country’s position as Asia’s design destination. The trade show is approved by UFI, the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry. To become a FAME Guest and avail of free services: travel assistance, business matching, coordinated factory visits, interpreters, FAME buddies, shuttle service from airport, hotel and venue, visit http://www.manilafame.com and www.citem.com.ph For registration and other assistance, email  the Philippine Trade and Investment Center-Silicon Valley    at  pdtisf@aol.com , ptic-sv@philippinecentersf.com and mailto:pdtisf@aol.com or call at (415) 773-2336 and (408) 980-9637. Follow Us Recent Stories: Complete stories on our Digital Edition newsstand for tablets, netbooks and mobile phones; 14-issue free trial. About to step out? Get breaking alerts on your mobile.phone. Text ON INQ BREAKING to 4467, for Globe, Smart and Sun subscribers in the Philippines. Tags: apparel , Read More …

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