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SC Associate Justice Leonen denies walking out of The Hague event

News

Jun 172013

SC Associate Justice Leonen denies walking out of The Hague event

By Tetch Torres-TupasINQUIRER.net 3:40 pm | Monday, June 17th, 2013 Marvic Leonen file photo MANILA, Philippines—Supreme Court Associate Justice Marvic Leonen denied reports that he made an “outburst” during the 10th International Judicial Colloquium on Insolvency in The Hague, Netherlands last month. High Court’s Information Chief Theodore Te, who was authorized by Justice Leonen to speak on the matter, said Monday the report was “totally wrong and there were gross factual inaccuracies in the report.” Based on the report, Leonen allegedly had an outburst after he was erroneously referred to as an Associate Justice of the Court of Appeals in the application and registration of documents at the event. The report said Leonen walked out of the event and boycotted all succeeding conferences. There was really an error, Te said over the phone, but there was no outburst. “There was a clerical error in the position attributed to him. It was pointed out by his staff. By the time the conference started, the error has been corrected and that was that. He attended the conference, there was no further issue,” Te said. “His staff sent an email to the American Bar Association (ABA) and informed them of the error,” Te said adding that it was later on corrected. He said Justice Leonen attended all sessions except for one because he has a migraine. 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 Read More …

Coast guards to be criminally charged, De Lima confirms

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Jun 132013

Coast guards to be criminally charged, De Lima confirms

By Christine O. Avendaño Philippine Daily Inquirer 2:52 am | Friday, June 14th, 2013 Justice Secretary Leila de Lima: Confirmation. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO MANILA, Philippines—Justice Secretary Leila de Lima on Thursday confirmed an Inquirer report that the National Bureau of Investigation had recommended the filing of criminal charges against coast guards involved in the fatal shooting of a Taiwanese fisherman in northern Philippine waters last month. De Lima also confirmed the Inquirer information that the NBI, which investigated the shooting death of fisherman Hung Shih-chen here and in Taiwan, submitted its report to her on Tuesday. In text messages and a phone patch interview, De Lima, who is in Madrid, Spain, for a conference on capital punishment, said she submitted the NBI report to President Aquino before she left Manila on Tuesday night. She said the NBI recommended criminal and administrative charges against coast guards involved in the shooting of the Taiwanese fishing boat Guan Ta Hsin 28 in the Balintang Channel on May 9. De Lima said she was not sure whether employees of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) were among those recommended for prosecution. The BFAR owns the coastal patrol vessel MCS-3001, but the vessel is manned by Philippine Coast Guard personnel. There were 17 coast guards and two BFAR employees on the MCS-3001 when the shooting happened. Fourteen high-powered rifles were submitted to the NBI for the investigation. De Lima declined to disclose how many personnel had been recommended for charges and on what Read More …

BI: Chinese poachers won’t be deported yet

News

Jun 132013

BI: Chinese poachers won’t be deported yet

By Jocelyn R. UyPhilippine Daily Inquirer 2:22 am | Friday, June 14th, 2013 This undated handout photo received on April 10, 2013, and released by the Philippine coast Guard (PCG) shows coast guard personnel inspecting the Chinese fishing vessel which ran aground off Tubbataha reef in Palawan island, western Philippines. The 12 Chinese nationals arrested for the alleged poaching in April will not be deported until after their case has been terminated or they have served their sentence, the Bureau of Immigration said Wednesday, June 12, 2013. AFP FILE PHOTO MANILA, Philippines—The 12 Chinese nationals arrested for alleged poaching at Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park in April will not be deported until after their case has been terminated or they have served their sentence, according to the Bureau of Immigration. Ma. Antonette Mangrobang, spokesperson for the immigration bureau, said on Wednesday that a deportation order had been issued for the 12 Chinese, who were “undocumented,” but they must “remain detained” until the order could be implemented. Mangrobang said the suspected poachers would be turned over to the immigration bureau only if they would be released on bail. Marine park rangers arrested the 12 Chinese when their vessel ran aground on an atoll at Tubbataha in early April. A search of the vessel yielded a large cargo of frozen pangolin meat, believed bound for China’s exotic-food market. The pangolin, or anteater, is an endangered species. It is protected by Philippine and international laws. The authorities seized the pangolin meat, and the Tubbataha Read More …

Tales from the deep: Fil-Am steers US submarine home

News

Jun 132013

Tales from the deep: Fil-Am steers US submarine home

By Tarra QuismundoPhilippine Daily Inquirer 12:27 am | Friday, June 14th, 2013 Cmdr. Douglas Bradley shows some of the torpedoes of the US Navy’s attack submarine USS Asheville, which is docked at the Subic Bay Freeport. MARIANNE BERMUDEZ SUBIC BAY FREEPORT—Coming home to the land of his mother was a longtime dream of Lt. Vincent Mejia. When he finally did so, it was doubly joyful for the Filipino-American sailor who was tasked to steer to port one of the US Navy’s most advanced attack submarines after it had surfaced. “The most exciting was being able to drive the sub back to my homeland. It’s been a dream my entire life to come home,” said Mejia, 24, born and raised in the United States but whose mother hails from Pangasinan. “I would have never thought I would come back here and drive the ship to port,” said Mejia, who spends most of his days doing paperwork but also gets to serve as the sub’s helmsman, steering the vessel from time to time. Mejia is among a handful of Filipino-American sailors on their first Navy deployment aboard the USS Asheville, a submarine that docked here last weekend on a routine port call as part of its six-month Western Pacific deployment. Nicknamed “The Ghost of the Coast,” the 110-meter fast-attack submarine has been in service since 1991 and is the fourth Navy ship to be named after the North Carolina city, known to have a long maritime history. ‘Ghost of the Coast’ The Read More …

China: A superpower with no moral principles?

News

Jun 102013

China: A superpower with no moral principles?

No Limitation By Ted Laguatan 12:57 pm | Tuesday, June 11th, 2013 A nation can be compared to a train where the citizens are passengers. The leaders are the engineers who direct the train and the speed with which it travels. If the engineers recklessly run the train along tracks beside a cliff at a rate of unsafe speed, it could very well derail and fall hundreds of feet down killing or seriously hurting its helpless passengers. Arrogance of power and false dangerous ego based nationalism can blind a nation’s leaders and many of its people – leading them towards a dangerous path headed for sure disaster. How can leaders of nations and many of its citizens be so irrational or be so blind as not to see that they are bringing their people to hell? The history of mankind is full of stories of charismatic ego driven leaders who impressed upon their people that it is their manifest destiny to rule the world and that their time has come for these glorious moments. Leaders might be labeled by their own people as being “great” especially when they have conquered other nations – but in actuality, they were not only terrible scourges to the people they conquered but also were curses to their own people who eventually suffered much because of their blind ambitions to rule the world. Within human beings are the seeds of good and evil. There is a terrible frightening force within us that operates on a Read More …

180,000 foreign workers leave Saudi in 2 months—report

News

Jun 092013

180,000 foreign workers leave Saudi in 2 months—report

Agence France-Presse 7:54 pm | Sunday, June 9th, 2013 AP FILE PHOTO RIYADH — Some 180,000 illegal foreign workers have left Saudi Arabia since April 1 under an amnesty that allowed them to try to sort out their papers or leave without paying a penalty, a report said on Sunday. “Between the beginning of April and the start of June, 180,000 foreigners left the kingdom for good,” Okaz daily quoted Badr Malek, spokesman for the passports department, as saying. This wave brings to 380,000 the number of foreign workers who have left Saudi Arabia since the beginning of the year. Malek stressed that violators of immigration rules in the oil-rich kingdom will face penalties when the amnesty period ends on July 3, with punishment including imprisonment up to two years, and fines up to 100,000 riyals ($27,000). According to official statistics, eight million expatriates work in the kingdom. Economists say there are another two million unregistered foreign workers. Saudi Arabia is aiming to create job opportunities for its unemployed nationals through cutting the number of foreign workers, although many of those are in low-paid jobs that Saudis would not accept. The world’s largest oil exporter is a goldmine for millions of people from poor Asian and Arab countries that are reeling under high levels of unemployment. 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 Read More …

Journalists from 120 countries press Aquino to speed up Maguindanao massacre trial

News

Jun 092013

Journalists from 120 countries press Aquino to speed up Maguindanao massacre trial

By Jeannette I. Andrade, Ryan D. RosauroInquirer Mindanao, Philippine Daily Inquirer 7:03 pm | Sunday, June 9th, 2013 The massacre in Maguindanao where over 30 journalists were also killed in 2009 is testament to the danger media men and women face in the Philippines. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO OZAMIZ CITY, Philippines — More than 300 delegates to the 28th World Congress of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) in Dublin, Ireland have called on President Benigno Aquino III to “take steps to expedite the trial” of those accused in the Maguindanao massacre. The call was contained in an urgent resolution adopted by the congress, according to the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) chair Rowena Paraan, who attended the Dublin gathering. “Everybody is disappointed that … the justice system in the Philippines has not moved forward. Journalists here from 120 countries are absolutely united in making sure that they will help [promote] the widest campaigns until justice is found,” IFJ president Jim Boumelha was quoted in an NUJP news release. The IFJ is the world’s largest organization of journalists with some 600,000 members in 120 countries. The NUJP is its affiliate in the Philippines. Fifty-eight people died in the Maguindanao massacre, 32 of whom were media workers. The massacre has been dubbed the world’s single worst attack on the press and the trial of those accused has earned the attention of press freedom advocates. Nov. 23, the date of the massacre, has been declared by advocates of the freedom Read More …

P420M worth of elephant tusks to be crushed, burned by DENR on June 21

News

Jun 092013

P420M worth of elephant tusks to be crushed, burned by DENR on June 21

By Jeannette I. AndradePhilippine Daily Inquirer 5:40 pm | Sunday, June 9th, 2013 AP FILE PHOTO MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) is set to crush and burn some P420 million (US$10 million) worth of seized elephant tusks to show the country’s support for the global campaign to end the illegal trade of wildlife species. The five tons of ivory are part of the total cargo of elephant tusks intercepted by customs officials since 2009 in separate operations nationwide. These are stored in the Protected Areas and Wildlife Bureau (PAWB). The ivory will be crushed by a steam roller before they are burned in June 21 rites at the Ninoy Aquino Parks and Wildlife Center, according to Environment secretary Ramon Paje. Foreign experts and anti-ivory trade advocates are anticipated to witness the event, one of the highlights of the environment month celebration. In a statement, Paje said, “Our decision to destroy these ivory tusks that entered the country illegally is to show to the whole world that the Philippines will not tolerate illegal wildlife trade.” The country is a signatory to the 1989 Geneva-based Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) of flora and fauna, which bans the ivory trade as a cause of the massive decline in elephant populations in Africa, according to Paje. PAWB is designated as the management authority under the Wildlife Resource Conservation and Protection Act. Under the CITES, elephants are highly endangered and their international trade declared illegal. The Read More …

Spotlight on PH in Burma forum

News

Jun 062013

By Cynthia D. Balana, Doris C. DumlaoPhilippine Daily Inquirer 12:18 am | Friday, June 7th, 2013 President Benigno Aquino III AP FILE PHOTO NAYPYITAW, Burma—Two Southeast Asian countries are thrust into the limelight at this year’s World Economic Forum (WEF) East Asia—the host country Burma (Myanmar) for coming out of decades of economic and political isolation and the Philippines, once a laggard but now an investment-grade country and Asia’s fastest-growing economy. President Aquino will speak Friday in a plenary session at Myanmar International Convention Centre, sharing the spotlight with Burmese President U Thein Sein during the closing ceremonies of the three-day WEF East Asia Summit, which gathered 900 delegates from 55 countries. The two heads of state will be interviewed by WEF founder and executive chairman Klaus Schwab about their perspectives on regional transformation. This year’s summit has put a lot of focus on the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) ahead of its targeted integration into a single market by 2015. Prior to the plenary session, Aquino will speak in an informal interactive luncheon hosted by Ayala Corp. before a more intimate gathering of 200-300 people. “The East Asia Summit serves as an excellent regional follow-up to Davos,” Ayala chairman and CEO Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala said, referring to Aquino’s WEF debut in Switzerland last January. Despite the gains in Davos, Zobel de Ayala said more work was needed to encourage foreign investment in the country. “President Aquino’s participation in Myanmar keeps the momentum going with the global Read More …

Peso slides to 42-to-dollar level as US economy improves

General

Jun 062013

Peso slides to 42-to-dollar level as US economy improves

By Paolo G. MontecilloPhilippine Daily Inquirer 11:52 pm | Thursday, June 6th, 2013 MANILA, Philippines — The peso erased most of its gains made earlier this week as the dollar strengthened amid the expectation of a sustained improvement in the US economy. The local currency closed at 42.14 to a dollar on Thursday, after two days of touching the 41: $1 level. Thursday’s close was weaker than the Wednesday’s 42.01: $1. The peso traded between 42.079 and 42.215 after opening at 42.12: $1. Trading volume was a more modest $1.067 billion from $1.25 billion the day before. BDO chief market strategist Jonathan Ravelas said the peso’s weaker close reflected the overall expectation of the continued recover of the world’s largest economy. “Over the medium term, the dollar will get stronger,” he said, adding that investors have been slowly abandoning their previous expectation that the peso would strengthen to below the 40: $1 before the end of 2013. “What we’re seeing is a correction on the global front,” he said. He said the local currency could make a march toward the 43: $1 level if more signs emerged indicating the strength of the US economy, which would lead to higher demand for the greenback. 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. Short URL: Read More …

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