cmiranda

‘We can’t interfere’— defense chief

 News
Mar 032013
 
‘We can’t interfere’— defense chief

By Frances MangosingINQUIRER.net 1:28 pm | Monday, March 4th, 2013 Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin. FILE PHOTO MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine government remains in talks with Malaysia despite skirmishes in Sabah over the weekend, but claimed they are not allowed to interfere. “Right now nakikipag-ugnayan tayo but because of the operation, hindi tayo pwede makialam. Call ng Malaysian govenment yun,” Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin said in a radio interview on Monday. Sultan Jamalul Kiram III’s followers and Malaysian security forces clashed in Sabah on Friday and Saturday, with fatalities on both sides. This prompted the Philippines to increase its security in Mindanao, with 10 Navy ships now deployed between Tawi-Tawi and Sabah, to prevent followers of Kiram to send reinforcements in Sabah. “Ang ginagawa natin ay pine-prevent natin ang movement noong galing dito papuntang Malaysia baka … may nagpapadala ng reinforcements para lalong palakihin ang gulo,” Gazmin said. Malaysia also reportedly heightened its security in Sabah. The defense chief though said they have not received reports that the  sultan’s followers from Mindanao were able to go to Sabah by speedboat early Saturday. Gazmin also said that President Benigno Aquino III has ordered to assist evacuees, and at the same time identify those who were involved in the standoff. “Ang (order sa atin)  ay tulungan ang evacuees at the same time i-identify ang mga na-involved sa standoff…kung ano ang participation nila tignan natin. But ang majority ng attention natin ay mga civilians na involved dito na pinaalis na sa area,” he Read More …

BI orders deportation of American pedophile

 News
Mar 032013
 
BI orders deportation of American pedophile

By Tetch Torres-TupasINQUIRER.net 1:19 pm | Monday, March 4th, 2013 MANILA, Philippines – The Bureau of Immigration has ordered the deportation of a convicted American pedophile wanted in the US for failure to report his location and activities to federal authorities. Immigration Commissioner Ricardo David said Earl Lynn Bagley, 60 who was arrested last February 4 at the Robinson’s Mall in Ermita, Manila will be deported for being an undesirable alien. David said Bagley is the subject of an arrest warrant issued last November by a US district court in Washington due to his failure to update his registration as a sex offender. Bagley’s passport was revoked by the State Department after he failed to update his registration as a sex offender in the US. In the Philippines, Immigration records showed that he did not extend his tourist visa since he last arrived in the country on April 17 last year. Meanwhile, Atty. Ma. Antonette Mangrobang, BI acting intelligence chief, Bagley’s offense stemmed from his failure to update his registration as a sex offender Mangrobang explained that the registration is a system in the US designed to enable authorities to keep track of the residence and activities of sex offenders. All 50 US states have reportedly passed laws requiring sex offenders, especially child sex offenders, to periodically report their residence upon leaving prison or after being convicted of their crime. Various websites on sex offenders revealed that on Oct. 29, 2004 a Seattle court sentenced Bagley to 51 months custody, including Read More …

Sultan’s brother open to ‘peaceful’solution

 News
Feb 262013
 
Sultan’s brother open to ‘peaceful’solution

SABAH STANDOFF Conflict puts 800,000 Filipinos in danger, says Roxas By Frances Mangosing, Maila Ager INQUIRER.net 1:54 pm | Wednesday, February 27th, 2013 The heirs of the Sultan of Sulu: (seated from left) Rajah Mudah Agbimuddin Kiram, Sultan Jamalul Kiram III, Sultan Bantilan Esmail Kiram II and (standing from left) Datu Alianapia Kiram, Datu Phugdal Kiram and Datu Baduruddin Kiram. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO MANILA, Philippines – The brother of the sultan of Sulu said his group in Lahad Datu town in Sabah was open to negotiate with the Malaysian government just to have a “peaceful” solution to the Sabah standoff. “Yes. Talagang peaceful negotiation ang kailangan…so long as our rights will not be taken away from us. Negotiation talaga ng gusto namin,” Raja Muda Agbimuddin Kiram told Radyo Inquirer 990AM on Wednesday when asked if they were open to negotiations. “Kailangan namin ng ganun, peaceful. We have to renegotiate in a peaceful way,” said Raja Muda, brother of Jamalulu Kiram III. Raja Muda said the standoff could be resolved peacefully “so long as there is no betrayal, so long as they are sincere with the negotiation.” His statements came just a day after Sultan Jamalul rejected President Benigno Aquino  III’s call  to withdraw  the armed group in the disputed land or “face the full force of the law.” Raja Muda said they were ready to listen to the President and accept his views if they think these were right. Unfortunately, the sultan’s brother did not agree with the President’s claim that they may have violated Philippine laws when they refused to leave the land. “As President and chief executor of our laws, I have tasked an investigation Read More …

Malaysian National Security Council takes control over Sabah standoff

 News
Feb 262013
 
Malaysian National Security Council takes control over Sabah standoff

INQUIRER.net 6:33 am | Wednesday, February 27th, 2013 Sultan Jamalul Kiram lll speaks during a news conference at his house in Maharlika Village, Taguig City. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO MANILA, Philippines—A radio report early Wednesday said Malaysia’s National Security Council (NSC) had taken over the standoff situation between the group of Sulu sultanate-led Filipino “intruders” and Malaysian authorities in Sabah. The extended 48-hour deadline for the group to leave the island, which the sultan of Sulu, Jamalul Kiram III, claims as their land, lapsed after the last hour of Tuesday. The report said Deputy Inspector General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar was coordinating with Sabah police and the military in trying to resolve the standoff. Sultan Kiram III on Tuesday ignored President Aquino’s warning that his followers, holed up in Tanduao village in Lahad Datu town and numbering 236, would “face the full force of the law.”—Rick Alberto

Trillanes: Make known Sabah policy

 News
Feb 202013
 
Trillanes: Make known Sabah policy

Kirams given till Friday to recall forces By Norman Bordadora Philippine Daily Inquirer 12:02 am | Thursday, February 21st, 2013 Senator Antonio Trillanes IV. INQUIRER.net/Noy Morcoso III CEBU CITY—Reelectionist Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV on Wednesday called on the Aquino administration to make known its policy on the country’s claim to Sabah and on the standoff between Malaysian security forces and a group of armed followers of the sultan of Sulu in the eastern Malaysian territory. The standoff in Tanduao village in Sabah’s Lahad Datu town has entered a second week, with Malaysian authorities saying on Wednesday that the situation is under control and that the Filipinos from Sulu will be deported soon. Emissaries from the Aquino administration are working quietly to convince Sultan Jamalul Kiram to recall his followers from Sabah. According to a highly placed source of the Inquirer in the Cabinet, Jamalul and his other brother, Bantilan Esmail Kiram II, must decide by Friday whether to call their followers home. On Wednesday, Esmail was going to see Jamalul, who is undergoing dialysis in a Manila hospital, to talk to him and make a decision, the source said. It is believed that the Malaysian government has given the sultan’s followers a deadline to leave or be rounded up and deported, but agreed to an extension of the deadline “by a few days” to allow the sultan and his family to reconsider their demand to stay in Sabah. President Aquino’s former backchannel link to Beijing at the height of tensions Read More …

China rejects Philippine UN mediation bid

 News
Feb 202013
 
China rejects Philippine UN mediation bid

Associated Press 2:38 pm | Wednesday, February 20th, 2013 AP FILE PHOTO BEIJING—China said Tuesday it has rejected the Philippines’ attempt to seek international arbitration over conflicting claims to territory in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea). Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said that China’s ambassador to Manila, Ma Keqing, had returned Manila’s formal notification of the move to a Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) official. Hong said the proposal was historically and legally incorrect and contained unacceptable accusations against China. The Philippines informed China last month of its plans to take the countries’ conflicting claims to a tribunal operating under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. It wants the panel to declare Beijing’s moves in the potentially oil-rich waters unlawful. The DFA said in a statement Tuesday that China’s rejection will not interfere with the arbitration process that the Philippines has started. “The Philippines remains committed to arbitration, which is a friendly, peaceful and durable form of dispute settlement that should be welcomed by all,” the statement said. Even if a tribunal ruled against China, Beijing could choose to ignore the ruling. Six governments have overlapping claims in the West Philippine Sea. China claims sovereignty over virtually all of it. Chinese paramilitary ships confronted Philippine vessels last year in a monthslong standoff over a disputed shoal. China has effectively controlled the shoal since June, when Manila withdrew its ships as a typhoon approached. There are fears that territorial conflicts in the region, Read More …

3 Chinese nationals on way to court hearing for drug case ‘abducted’ in Cavite

 News
Feb 192013
 
3 Chinese nationals on way to court hearing for drug case ‘abducted’ in Cavite

By Jamie Marie Elona INQUIRER.net 1:27 pm | Wednesday, February 20th, 2013 MANILA, Philippines–Three Chinese nationals who were being brought by police to court for a hearing on a drug case were allegedly abducted by armed men in Cavite Wednesday morning, police said. Chief Superintendent Benito Estipona, Calabarzon police director, said the three – Li Tian Hua, Wang Li Na and Li Lan Yan – were seized by roughly 20 armed men around 10 a.m. in Trece Martires. The victims’ four security escorts were disarmed, Estipona said, adding that the gunmen escaped with the detainees on a white van with license plate WTT 544, which was later found abandoned in Barangay (village) Aguado in Trece Martires. Police had launched a hot pursuit operation for the possible recovery of the Chinese nationals.

Timor-Leste foreign minister arrives Thursday for official visit

 News
Feb 192013
 
Timor-Leste foreign minister arrives Thursday for official visit

By Tarra Quismundo Philippine Daily Inquirer 10:31 am | Wednesday, February 20th, 2013 Foreign Minister Jose Luis Guterres PHOTO FROM TIMOR-LESTE.GOV.TL MANILA, Philippines—Timor-Leste Foreign Minister Jose Luis Guterres will arrive Thursday for a two-day official visit in the Philippines, the Department of Foreign Affairs said Tuesday. Guterres will hold bilateral talks with Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario and meet with President Aquino during his stay in Manila, the DFA said. “Foreign Minister Guterres’ official visit is a strong indication of the interest of both the Philippines and Timor-Leste to expand and enhance bilateral relations specifically in the areas of technical cooperation, human resource development and education,” said the DFA in a statement. Guterres returns six years since last visiting the Philippines as the then deputy prime minister of Timor-Leste. The Philippines has maintained strong ties with the young sovereign state, sending peacekeepers to the country since 1999 amid its struggle for independence from Indonesia. As the East Timor transitions to self-governance, the Philippines is tapering off the presence of its peacekeepers there.

DOJ urged to take legal action vs US Navy for Tubbataha destruction

 News
Feb 042013
 
DOJ urged to take legal action vs US Navy for Tubbataha destruction

INQUIRER.net 10:51 am | Tuesday, February 5th, 2013 In a photo released by the U.S. Navy, the mine countermeasures ship USS Guardian sits aground in this Jan. 22, 2013 file photo on the Tubbataha Reef in the Sulu Sea in the Philippines. AP Photo/U.S. Navy. Naval Aircrewman 3rd Class Geoffrey Trudell MANILA, Philippines — Militant fisherfolk group Pamalakaya (Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas) filed a complaint Tuesday before the Department of Justice, urging it to take legal action against the US Navy and crew members of USS Guardian. Mara Cepeda and Caitlin Jao

Australia offers additional P126-million aid for ‘Pablo’ victims

 News
Feb 032013
 
Australia offers additional P126-million aid for ‘Pablo’ victims

By Fat Reyes INQUIRER.net 1:59 pm | Monday, February 4th, 2013 Pres. Benigno S. Aquino III delivers his speech during the N-Peace awards ceremony in New World Hotel, Makati City. Among the recipients is Presidential Advisor on the Peace Process Sec. Teresita Quintos Deles (R). With them is Australian Amb. Bill Tweddell. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO MANILA, Philippines—The Australian government on Monday announced that it would offer an additional P126-million aid to the victims of Typhoon Pablo as a response to the latest appeal made by the Philippine government and the United Nations for the on-going humanitarian crisis caused by the typhoon. In a statement, the Australian embassy in Manila noted that the additional funds would be used to provide emergency shelters, including improvements of existing shelter facilities in the worst-hit areas. It said that emergency cash-for-work programs would be funded for debris clearing and would provide critically needed income to workers across the affected areas. It noted that six weeks after the tragedy hit Mindanao, shelter and livelihood remained “critical needs with over 840,000 people still displaced, including 700,000 people whose livelihoods were destroyed by the typhoon.” “The scale of destruction caused by Typhoon Pablo is staggering, and I witnessed this when I recently visited Compostela Valley. My heart went out to the families who continue to suffer,” Australian Ambassador to the Philippines Bill Tweddell said in a statement. “We commend the Philippine Government for its effective and well-coordinated efforts to address this crisis. Australia stands ready to help Filipino Read More …

 Newer Entries