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US rushing PH to approve military access agreement, says leftist lawmaker

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Aug 292013

US rushing PH to approve military access agreement, says leftist lawmaker

By Allan Nawal, Karlos ManlupigInquirer Mindanao 1:06 am | Friday, August 30th, 2013 Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel. AP FILE PHOTO DAVAO CITY, Philippines—A lawmaker warned the US has been rushing the Philippines into signing an agreement that would allow US military to have access to the country’s military facilities. Bayan Muna Representative Carlos Zarate said US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel flew to the country and met with President Benigno Aquino III to “rush the country into signing the framework agreement on the increased rotational presence of US soldiers and give them wider access to facilities in the Philippines.” “US Secretary Defense Hagel and President Aquino are ramming the access agreement down our throats,” Zarate said. He said the meeting undermined the efforts of the Senate and Congress to review the constitutionality of the agreement and the Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT) and glossed over “protests against the increased and permanent presence of US soldiers in the country.” Zarate said the Makabayan bloc has called for the scrapping of the 13-year old Visiting Forces Agreement through House Resolution No.8. He criticized Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario over the latter’s statements that US soldiers might use Philippine military bases should a war break out between North And South Korea. “The Philippine government is freely letting the US government use our country as a staging ground for war against North Korea and China to the detriment of the Filipino people who do not know the real intention of their overdue stay in the Read More …

American convicted of child abuse to be deported by PH immigration bureau

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Aug 292013

American convicted of child abuse to be deported by PH immigration bureau

By Philip C. TubezaPhilippine Daily Inquirer 11:47 pm | Thursday, August 29th, 2013 MANILA, Philippines—The Bureau of Immigration (BI) has arrested an American who was convicted in the United States of abusing a child and then violated his parole by fleeing to the Philippines. Immigration Officer-in-Charge Siegfred Mison said Stephen Rodden, who was convicted by a US court for “continuous sexual abuse of a child,” would be deported upon the issuance by the BI Board of commissioners of an order for his summary deportation. “We will likewise put him in our blacklist so he cannot return here and pose a risk to our Filipino children, or to anyone who could be his next victim,” Mison said in a statement. Mison said his men from the BI Fugitive Search Unit nabbed Rodden, 51, in Makati City on Aug. 31, after he violated his parole in the US by fleeing to the Philippines. The arresting agents reported that Rodden could not present his passport when he was arrested in his home along Mockingbird St., Barangay Rizal, in Makati City, Mison said. The immigration chief added that American was considered as an undocumented alien since his passport had already expired. Mison said Rodden was arrested upon the request of the US Embassy, which informed the bureau about his record as a convicted child molester. The embassy informed the BI that a Board of Parole in California issued a warrant of arrest against Rodden on March 13, 2012. The same board also suspended his Read More …

Aquino going to China

News

Aug 282013

‘DESPITE EVERYTHING’ By Michael Lim UbacPhilippine Daily Inquirer 5:55 am | Thursday, August 29th, 2013 President Benigno Aquino III LYN RILLON MANILA, Philippines—Amid the backdrop of the currently frosty relations between the Philippines and China, an apparently reluctant President Benigno Aquino III is flying to Nanning, China, on Sept. 3 to attend the 10th China-Asean Expo (Caexpo), during which Malacañang does not expect a meeting to take place between Mr. Aquino and Chinese President Xi Jinping. It will be a whirlwind trip for the President who said he will be leaving “at 5 a.m. and be back at 5 p.m.” the same day, as he did not want to “overstay” his welcome. The Caexpo is held annually in China to promote the building of the China-Asean free trade area, and it is being hosted this year by the Philippines. But Mr. Aquino will attend only the first day of the three-day event that will gather the heads of state and government of China and the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) in Nanning, the capital of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in southern China. A Palace official said the fact that the Philippines is the host of the event was the only reason Mr. Aquino had decided to proceed with the trip. “We are the host. Normally the head of government of the host country attends the expo,” said the official. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to talk about the President’s Read More …

Suspect in US diver’s killing urged to yield

News

Aug 192013

Suspect in US diver’s killing urged to yield

By Niña P. CallejaPhilippine Daily Inquirer 9:55 am | Tuesday, August 20th, 2013 Suspect Ericson Mendoza Blacquio MANILA, Philippines—A group of homeowners at the exclusive Hamilton Heights subdivision in Las Piñas City, where an American diver and businessman was killed on Thursday night, has appealed to the suspect, security guard Ericson Mendoza Blacquio, to give himself up to authorities. “We texted him and promised to help him as long as he would face the charges in court. We don’t want to be misunderstood. We condemn what he did but we are convincing him to turn himself in,” Arlene Marie Rodriquez-San Juan, the group’s representative, told the Inquirer Sunday. The killing of Matthew Caldwell, 59, a technical diver who helped search for Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo when his plane fell into the sea off Masbate province last year, shocked residents of Hamilton Heights, an upper middle class subdivision at Barangay (village) Talon V in Las Piñas City. “We know the suspect as a quiet, kind and patient man. But what he did to an unarmed man was completely wrong,” San Juan said. An argument between Blacquio and Caldwell over a subdivision policy turned sour when Blacquio lost his temper and shot dead the American national, police probers said. The disagreement stemmed from an order given by officers of the homeowners’ association that residents who had not paid their monthly contributions would have to lift the boom at the gate of the subdivision themselves, instead of the security guard on duty. The Read More …

PAL, Sea Air cancels morning flights—NAIA exec

News

Aug 192013

PAL, Sea Air cancels morning flights—NAIA exec

By Matikas SantosINQUIRER.net 9:41 am | Tuesday, August 20th, 2013 MANILA, Philippines — Flights of Philippine Airlines (PAL) and Sea Air were cancelled Tuesday morning due to the continuous rains and floods brought by tropical storm “Maring.” Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) General Manager Angel Honrado said in a radio interview that Sea Air flights going to the provinces of Iloilo, Bacolod, and Cebu throughout the day have been cancelled. All PAL flights up to 12 noon were also cancelled, Honrado said. “They are still assessing the weather situation up to 12 noon” before they will issue another advisory, he said. Honrado said that the roads around the airport were currently flooded and impassable. He said that it would cause further delays of the flights because some pilots and crew members would have difficulty coming to the airport. Incoming flights, including international flights, however, continued to arrive at the NAIA but the planes may be grounded at the terminal because of the bad weather, Honrado said. The list of cancelled flights have been announced by the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) in its twitter account @DOTCPhilippines: 5J-907 MNL-Caticlan 5J-563 MNL-Cebu 5J-564 Cebu-MNL 5J-907 MNL-Caticlan 5J-563 MNL-Cebu 5J-564 Cebu-MNL DG-7002 MNL-Cebu DG-7003 Cebu-MNL DG-7082 MNL-Bacolod DG-7083 Bacolod-MNL DG-7072 MNL-Iloilo DG-7073 Iloilo-MNL ‘Maring’ further intensifies, remains almost stationary—Pagasa 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 Read More …

US health expert raises alarm over rampant TB cases in Philippines

News

Aug 182013

US health expert raises alarm over rampant TB cases in Philippines

By Julliane De JesusINQUIRER.net 10:07 am | Monday, August 19th, 2013 Dr. L. Masae Kawamura, former president of the North American Region of the International Union against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease, told reporters in press forum on Aug. 15, 2013, about the rising statistics of Filipino patients suffering from TB who are migrating to the United States. She said large proportion of tuberculosis patients in the US are Asians, most of them Filipinos. MANILA, Philippines—A large proportion of tuberculosis patients in the US are Asians, most of them Filipinos, a San-Francisco based medical expert has disclosed. Dr. L. Masae Kawamura, former president of the North American Region of the International Union against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease, told reporters last week about the rising statistics of Filipino patients suffering from TB who are migrating to the United States. She said Thursday in a press forum that TB is an “outcome of poor public health.” She appealed to the local government and health offices to prioritize early TB screening and bolster treatment in the country. “The Philippines exports more tuberculosis patients than import at this point… TB is a disease of poverty and migration, and urbanization [because] people are moving from the rural countryside to the big cities like Manila,” said Kawamura. Ranking second in Asia, the Philippines recorded high TB mortality rate next to Cambodia based on the World Health Organization (WHO) tuberculosis report. Among tuberculosis-afflicted persons, 59 percent came from Asia, the report said. Kawamura said that tuberculosis can be Read More …

Hong Kong warns travel to Philippines

News

Aug 122013

By Matikas SantosINQUIRER.net 2:43 pm | Monday, August 12th, 2013 MANILA, Philippines – Hong Kong has updated its travel advisory against the Philippines, citing the car bomb explosion in Cotabato last week and the United States’ warning of possible kidnapping threats in Mindanao. “Serious hostage-taking incident happened in Manila on 23 August 2010. Residents should avoid all travel to the country. Those who are already there should attend to personal safety and exercise caution,” the advisory said. The Outbound Travel Alert, issued by the Security Bureau of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR), was revised on their website August 9, 2013. Last August 23, 2010, some 20 Hong Kong tourists on a bus were held hostage at gun point by Rolando Mendoza, a relieved police officer who wanted to get his job back. Mendoza and the eight hostages were killed when negotiations broke down and a gun fight ensued between him and authorities. “On early August 2013, a car bomb explosion occurred in southern city of Cotabato, resulting in serious casualties,” it said. Around nine people were killed in the incident, two of whom were siblings aged five and seven. “On 29 May 2013, the US Embassy in Manila issued a message to US citizens in the Philippines warning against a credible kidnap threat against foreigners in the Zamboanga area on the island of Mindanao,” it added. It further cited travel advisories issued by China, Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom that all specified Mindanao as an area that Read More …

Why the Hamilton-class ships are worth it–military, defense experts

News

Aug 052013

Why the Hamilton-class ships are worth it–military, defense experts

By Frances MangosingINQUIRER.net 8:54 am | Tuesday, August 6th, 2013 The BRP Ramon Alcaraz is the second Hamilton-class cutter that was acquired by the Philippine Navy under the Foreign Military Sales Program of the United States. US EMBASSY PHOTO RELEASE SUBIC BAY, Philippines — The Philippines’ two biggest warships expected to boost maritime patrol amid a territorial dispute with China may be four-decade-old Hamilton-class cutters, but defense and military experts believe that acquiring these types of secondhand vessels was still worth it. “The positive outweighs the negative concerns” in getting Hamilton-class frigates for the Navy fleet, said Max Montero, an Australian-based security consultant and a former naval reservist officer of the Philippine Navy, in his blog post which he updates regularly on defense issues. In a separate interview with INQUIRER.net, Commander Joe Anthony Orbe, commanding officer of the BRP del Pilar, the country’s first Hammer-class weather high endurance cutter (WHEC) acquired from the United States, in 2011, said that Hamilton-class cutters were a good choice for used warships. President Benigno Aquino III will lead aceremony today, Tuesday, here welcoming the arrival of the second Hammer-class cutter acquired by the Philippines — the BRP Ramon Alcaraz (PF-16) — which arrived in the Philippines last Friday after a nearly two-month voyage from the US. Orbe, said, however that the Navy would still need to acquire other ships that would give complete capability. “It is a better platform than the ageing naval assets of the PN that negatively affects their capability considering the Read More …

Toughest nurse on the planet

News

Aug 032013

By Odette Montelibano 9:43 pm | Saturday, August 3rd, 2013 TORONTO, Canada—Filipino-American mixed martial artist Phillipe Ignacio Nover brings pride to Filipinos as the reigning lightweight champion in Lou Neglia’s Ring of Combat. However, when he is not fighting in the cage, Nover is busy saving lives at the Lutheran Medical Center in Brooklyn, New York where he is a registered nurse at the hospital’s Cardiac Cath Lab. Nover, 29, has been balancing both careers in the last eight years. He started fighting professionally in 2003 and has been working as a nurse since he passed the nursing board exams in 2005. He recently won the mixed martial arts (MMA) lightweight belt over contender Mike Santiago by unanimous decision. Nover is set to defend his championship belt from Tennessee fighter Adam “Prime Time” Townsend on Sept. 20, at the Tropicana Casino and Resort in Atlantic City, New Jersey. In 2008, Nover was tapped to be part of the UFC-produced reality TV show “The Ultimate Fighter” which pitted two teams against each other. In episode 8 of the series he earned the moniker the “toughest nurse on the planet.” But Nover suffered a setback in his fighting career following his release from the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) in 2010 and neck surgery to correct an aggravated herniated disk. But he is fighting his way back. The UFC is the one of the largest mixed martial arts promotion companies worldwide. Two loves Fighting has always been a passion for Nover. He started Read More …

House to probe sexual exploitation of OFWs by DFA, labor execs

News

Jul 292013

House to probe sexual exploitation of OFWs by DFA, labor execs

By Karen BoncocanINQUIRER.net 10:38 am | Tuesday, July 30th, 2013 Akbayan Rep. Walden Bello MANILA, Philippines — After securing the chairmanship for the committee on overseas workers affairs at the House of Representatives, Akbayan’s Walden Bello on Tuesday said that he would seek the investigation of the alleged sexual exploitation cases on distressed female Filipino workers in the Middle East. In a phone interview with INQUIRER.net, Bello said that their group had not received word from both the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) on their separate inquiries into the alleged involvement of Philippine Embassy and labor officials in the scandal. “We have not been appraised of developments in the investigation. Although we have constantly asked for updates, we have not received information other than being told that they are already investigating,” he said. Bello exposed the sexual exploitation cases months ago, prompting the DFA and the DOLE to ask the officials named in these cases to return to the Philippines for an investigation. But it was not just the “slow pace” of the two departments’ investigation which prompted the Akbayan lawmaker to launch a congressional inquiry. “We had planned this ever since. This was planned irrespective of their investigation. We said that once Congress opens, we will file a resolution whereby the House would conduct and inquiry. We filed the resolution on July 1 and yesterday I was appointed chairman of the Overseas Workers Affairs Committee,” he said. “The first order of Read More …

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