cmiranda

Bill liberalizing entry of foreign vessels in PH filed

 News
Jul 242013
 
Bill liberalizing entry of foreign vessels in PH filed

By Leila B. SalaverriaPhilippine Daily Inquirer 6:55 pm | Wednesday, July 24th, 2013 Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO MANILA, Philippines—After President Benigno Aquino III pushed for the amendment of the cabotage law in his State of the Nation Address, Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez filed a measure to liberalize the entry of foreign vessels in the country and to allow them to engage in coastwise trade. Rodriguez, in his bill, said the country’s current cabotage principle reserving coastwise trade for national flag carriers has given rise to inefficiency because local operators have cornered the market. “The cabotage policy limits competition and encourages inefficiency among local vessel operators since foreign vessels are not allowed to pick-up local cargo for delivery to another port within the Philippines. Local vessel operators are not forced to compete in terms of freight coast and service quality with international vessel operators,” he said in his explanatory note to the bill. This foreign trade barrier must be lifted, he added. Foreign-owned vessels should be allowed to ship export and import cargoes under the same rules and regulations covering domestic shipping companies, and they should be allowed to dock at any port in the country, he said. This would bring about a host of benefits for the country, he said. Domestic tourism would receive a boost, and port revenues would increase. Shipping companies would also offer more competitive fees. Foreign vessels would also be able to provide the transshipment services needed by local Read More …

2 SoKor airline pilots fined for violating air traffic regulations – CAAP

 News
Jul 242013
 
2 SoKor airline pilots fined for violating air traffic regulations – CAAP

6:41 pm | Wednesday, July 24th, 2013 MANILA, Philippines — The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines has penalized two pilots of a South Korean airline for violating air traffic regulations. Fined US$1,000 each were two pilots of an Air Busan Co. Ltd aircraft for violations of Philippine Civil Aviation Regulation (PCAR) Parts 10.1.1.6 on operation requirements and Part 8.8.2.2 on air traffic control clearances. The CAAP, in a statement issued Tuesday, did not identify the pilots but according to the agency’s flight operations department, the offense on October 6, 2013, was “busting altitude” or the unauthorized deviation from an assigned height. Like other air traffic regulators worldwide, the CAAP assigns altitude limits for aircraft to prevent midair collisions. The decision finding the pilots liable for violating the PCAR was recommended by safety inspectors Rizal Ventura and Alfredo Juliano who investigated the incident. The CAAP said the flight operations department  has been placed under investigation for “various violations” of the PCAR. Air Busan is a subsidiary of Asiana Airlines. Air Busan operates flights from Cebu City to Busan, South Korea’s second largest city. RELATED STORIES CAAP passes ICAO audit—Abaya   Training to focus on wet runway landings, ‘go-arounds’   CAAP to seek lifting of ban on PH carriers   Plane’s locator failed during Masbate crash 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 Read More …

Pals raising fund to repatriate Pampanga nurse slain in US

 News
Jul 242013
 
Pals raising fund to repatriate Pampanga nurse slain in US

By Tonette OrejasInquirer Central Luzon 6:32 pm | Wednesday, July 24th, 2013 MANILA, Philippines–The friends of a Filipino nurse who was shot and killed Saturday as he rode his car to work in Memphis, Tennessee, began raising money to bring his remains back to the Philippines, his aunt in Angeles City said on Wednesday. Angelina Geronimo said the body of her nephew, Eraño Catap Santos, 33, could not yet be brought home because the investigation has yet to be completed. “There are no suspects yet,” Geronimo said of the probe in the United States. A report from ABC News Radio (http://abcnewsradioonline.com/memphis-news/) cited witnesses as telling investigators that Santos “was shot during a physical altercation” in the parking lot of the Stonebridge Crossing Apartments. The report said Santos’ vehicle was seized. Geronimo said Santos’ friends are raising $10,000 (P432,200) to bring him home for a burial in Angeles City. Santos, a bachelor and the youngest of four siblings who were orphaned at an early age, started working in Tennessee in May last year. “He was kind, quiet and had many friends,” Geronimo said. RELATED STORIES OFW remittances up by 6% to $2B in April 3 OFWs come forward to complain of abuse  Solon wants PH, Taiwan to make up for OFWs’ sake 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 Read More …

Sabah probes ‘revenge’ letter

 News
Jul 202013
 
Sabah probes ‘revenge’ letter

Philippine Daily Inquirer 6:30 am | Sunday, July 21st, 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 KOTA KINABALU—Sabah state police have initiated investigations over a letter purportedly written by followers of the sultan of Sulu stating that they would come to the Tambunan district, in Sabah’s interior, on a revenge attack. Sabah Police Commissioner Hamza Taib said Saturday the police were tracing the source of the letter even though it was believed it had nothing to do with the Sulu intrusion into Lahad Datu district earlier this year. “We have started our own investigations even though there have been no official police reports,” said Hamza when contacted by telephone. He said the police did not believe the author of the letter had any links to the Sulu intruders, and had acted of his own accord. The authenticity of the letter is doubted, he added. A July 3 letter signed by “Militant Commandos” on behalf of the Sulu sultanate and Kiram family was sent to the Tambunan district officer, police officials and the residents of Tambunan warning that they aimed to start a war in the district in retaliation for the skirmishes in Lahad Datu district’s  Tanduo village by August. Hamza said police and security forces took all threats seriously and investigated them. More than 70 people were Read More …

Asian stocks sink on China growth jitters

 General
Jul 072013
 
Asian stocks sink on China growth jitters

Associated Press 12:35 pm | Monday, July 8th, 2013 People walk by an electronic stock board of a securities firm in Tokyo Monday, July 1, 2013. AP FILE PHOTO BANGKOK – Concern over China’s slowdown weighed on Asian stock markets Monday after the head of the International Monetary Fund warned of a loss of momentum in emerging economies. Asia’s losses came despite strong U.S. job numbers that sparked a Wall Street rally on Friday. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dropped 1.9 percent to 20,463.80 and China’s Shanghai Composite was down 1.6 percent to 1,974.82. Most other regional markets also fell amid renewed worries that economic recovery in China, the world’s No. 2 economy, is faltering. IMF Director Christine Lagarde warned at a conference in France on Sunday that a slowdown in emerging economies could result in the fund lowering its 2013 forecast for world growth. The Chinese central bank’s clampdown on easy credit has fueled additional concern. Michala Marcussen of Societe Generale Group said in a commentary that credit data due out this week would likely show a slowdown in lending. “This data will do little to change the picture of credit tightening in China, pointing to slower growth ahead,” Marcussen said. South Korea’s Kospi dipped 1.1 percent to 1,813.13. Taiwan’s TAIEX fell 1.1 percent to 7,913.22 and Indonesia’s JSX was down 2.1 percent to 4,505.61. Japan’s Nikkei 225 was up 0.2 percent to 14,338.62 as the yen resumed its weakening trend, which is a perk for Japanese exporters. World markets Read More …

PH hunting down drug syndicates after China drug mule execution

 News
Jul 042013
 
PH hunting down drug syndicates after China drug mule execution

By Maila AgerINQUIRER.net 2:44 pm | Thursday, July 4th, 2013 MANILA, Philippines – Law enforcers are hunting down drug syndicates involved in recruiting couriers in the country, Vice President Jejomar Binay said on Thursday in the aftermath of the execution Wednesday of a Filipina drug mule in China. National Bureau of Investigation Reaction and Arrest and Interdiction Division Lawyer Ross Jonathan Galicia presents to the reporters 60 improvised capsule containing shabu, which are about the size of a thumb at the NBI Headquarters, Manila. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO “Tinatrabaho ‘yan ngayon ng PDEA at NBI. ‘Yung doon sa tatlo, nahuli na nila ‘yung recruiter (PDEA and NBI are now working on it. They already arrested the  recruiter  of the three),” Binay said in a statement. PDEA is Philippine  Drug  Enforcement  Agency while NBI is National Bureau of Investigation. Binay was referring to Mapet Cortez alias Tita Cacayan, who allegedly recruited Sarah Ordinario-Villanueva, one of the three overseas Filipino workers executed in China last year for drug smuggling. Cortez allegedly misled Ordinario-Villanueva into taking what she thought was an empty suitcase that turned out to be secretly lined with more than four kilos of heroin. Binay said the Philippine government is “doing all it could to stop Filipinos from engaging in the illegal drug trade.” Drug couriers, however, usually get the drugs outside the country, he pointed out. “Ang ruta nila usually via Dubai tapos Hong Kong tapos doon na sa may area ng Shanghai (Their  route  usually is via Dubai  to   Read More …

PH road quality on par with Indonesia’s but well behind Thailand, Malaysia

 News
Jun 242013
 
PH road quality on par with Indonesia’s but well behind Thailand, Malaysia

By Jerry E. EsplanadaPhilippine Daily Inquirer 12:26 pm | Tuesday, June 25th, 2013 INQUIRER FILE PHOTO MANILA—About 73 percent of national, provincial, city, municipal and barangay roads nationwide remain unpaved, according to the Department of Public Works and Highways. Despite this, the DPWH has noted a slight improvement in the quality of Philippine roads following the “adoption of new construction design specifications like the increase in concrete pavement thickness from 230 mm to 280 mm and outsourcing project inspection and quality control,” among other measures. In its midterm accomplishment report, the department said the country’s roads were already “at par with Indonesia” and targeted to be comparable to those in China and Thailand by 2016. Citing the latest Global Competitiveness Report of the World Economic Forum, the DPWH reported that on a scale of 1 to 7—1 being extremely underdeveloped and 7 extensive and efficient by global standards— the Philippines scored a 3.4 for its road network in the 2012-2013 period. That was an improvement of 0.3 from the 3.1 it scored in 2011-2012. The country’s roads scored 2.8 in the 2010-2011 period. Of 144 countries worldwide, the Philippines ranked 87th (from 114th during the previous WEF survey) for the overall state of its roads and bridges. Other countries in the region garnered the following scores for the quality of their roads in the 2012-2013 period: Malaysia, 5.4; Thailand, 5: China, 4.4; Indonesia, 3.4; and Vietnam, 2.7. Earlier, the DPWH said the government would look at Malaysia “as a benchmark Read More …

US convenience stores exploited immigrants from PH, Pakistan

 News
Jun 172013
 
US convenience stores exploited immigrants from PH, Pakistan

Associated Press 7:50 am | Tuesday, June 18th, 2013 Graphics depicting the locations of 7-Eleven stores involved in a federal indictment are shown after a news conference at the US Attorney’s office, Monday, June 17, 2013, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. United States Attorney Loretta E. Lynch has announced the indictment of nine individuals involved in a multi-state scheme to conceal the systematic employment of illegal immigrants and steal their identities. AP PHOTO/JOHN MINCHILLO NEW YORK—Nine owners and managers of 7-Eleven convenience stores were charged Monday in a scheme to exploit immigrants from Pakistan and the Philippines, in part by paying them using the stolen Social Security numbers of a child and three dead people while stealing most of their wages. Most of the defendants were arrested early Monday as federal authorities raided 14 franchise stores on Long Island, New York, and in Virginia. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were executing search warrants at more than 40 other stores across the US suspected of similar infractions, authorities said at a news conference in Brooklyn. “These nine defendants created a modern-day plantation system, with themselves as overseers, with the immigrant workers as subjects, living in their version of a company town,” US Attorney Loretta Lynch told a news conference in Brooklyn. Four defendants who hold both US and Pakistani citizenship belong to a family that has participated in social events with Pakistan’s former military ruler Pervez Musharraf, prosecutors said in court papers as they highlighted foreign ties while successfully Read More …

Climate talk shifts from curbing global warming to adapting

 News
Jun 152013
 
Climate talk shifts from curbing global warming to adapting

Associated Press 7:07 am | Sunday, June 16th, 2013 In this Tuesday, June 11, 2013, photo, lower Manhattan is visible from the Staten Island Ferry, in New York’s Upper Bay. Giant removable floodwalls would be erected around lower Manhattan, and levees, gates and other defenses could be built elsewhere around the city under a nearly $20 billion plan proposed Tuesday by Mayor Michael Bloomberg to protect New York from storms and the effects of global warming. AP PHOTO/RICHARD DREW WASHINGTON—Efforts to curb global warming have quietly shifted as greenhouse gases inexorably rise. The conversation is no longer solely about how to save the planet by cutting carbon emissions. It’s becoming more about how to save ourselves from the warming planet’s wild weather. It was Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s announcement last week of an ambitious plan to stave off New York City’s rising seas with flood gates, levees and more that brought this transition into full focus. After years of losing the fight against rising global emissions of heat-trapping gases, governments around the world are emphasizing what a U.N. Foundation scientific report calls “managing the unavoidable.” It’s called adaptation and it’s about as sexy but as necessary as insurance, experts say. It’s also a message that once was taboo among climate activists such as former US Vice President Al Gore. In his 1992 book “Earth in the Balance,” Gore compared talk of adapting to climate change to laziness that would distract from necessary efforts. But in his 2013 book “The Future,” Gore Read More …

De Lima confirms recommendation to file charges vs PCG

 News
Jun 132013
 
De Lima confirms recommendation to file charges vs PCG

OVER SHOOTING OF TAIWANESE FISHING BOAT By Tetch Torres-TupasINQUIRER.net 1:01 pm | Thursday, June 13th, 2013 Taiwanese fisherman Hung Shih-cheng’s boat, the Kuang Ta Hsing No. 28, is checked by Taiwanese officers after arriving at Liuqiu port in Pingtung County, southern Taiwan, Saturday, May 11, 2013. Taiwanese boat owner Steven Liao said the damage to the Guang Ta Hsin 28 costs around NT$8 million (P11 million). AP PHOTO MANILA, Philippines—Justice Secretary Leila de Lima has confirmed a recommendation to press charges against some members of the Philippine Coast Guard involved in the shooting incident off Batanes that killed a Taiwanese fisherman. “I confirm that the NBI has recommended the filing of charges against the PCG personnel involved in the incident,” Justice Secretary Leila De Lima said in a text message to INQUIRER.net. The Justice chief is currently in Madrid, Spain to attend the 5th World Congress Against Death Penalty. De Lima said criminal and administrative case will be filed against PCG personnel. No Taiwan pressure She, however, clarified that the findings of the Philippine government was not influenced nor a product of pressure from Taiwan. “There was no influence from Taiwan side. [But] hopefully, the conclusions from both side would jibe or are not that different,” De Lima further said. De Lima, however, declined to give details on what charges will be filed pending clearance from President Benigno Aquino III who already was furnished a copy of the NBI’s findings. Objective evaluation of evidence “It is for his consideration and Read More …

 Older Entries  Newer Entries