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No parade and review at this year's AFP anniversary due to Yolanda

 News
Dec 162013
 
No parade and review at this year's AFP anniversary due to Yolanda

The military will have a “toned down” anniversary celebration this year to sympathize with the thousands of victims of super typhoon Yolanda. “The expenses that will be saved out of this will be dedicated to the continuing HADR,” said Maj. Gen. Domingo Tutaan of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), referring to the military’s ongoing humanitarian assistance and disaster response operations in areas hit by the typhoon. Tutaan said the celebration is being “toned down to sympathize with the victims of the recent calamity.” The program for the AFP’s 78th foundation anniversary will be held on Friday, a day ahead of the actual anniversary. President Benigno Aquino III, the military’s commander in chief, will be the guest of honor. Tutaan said the military is foregoing with the traditional parade and review, which includes the fly-by of military aircraft. “We want to save as much as possible so that we can dedicate it for our continuing HADR activities,” he said. In a separate interview, AFP public affairs office chief Lt. Col. Ramon Zagala said there will be usual arrival honors for the President, singing of the national anthem, invocation, awarding of soldiers who excelled in their field, welcome remarks from AFP chief Gen. Emmanuel Bautista and a message from Aquino. He said the President will also inspect newly-delivered helicopters. The three AW 109 helicopters, intended for the use of the Philippine Navy, are part of the five aircraft acquired from an Anglo-Italian firm for P1.33 billion. — KBK, GMA News

Roxas insists Tacloban relief was not politicized, offers lie detector test

 News
Dec 102013
 
Roxas insists Tacloban relief was not politicized, offers lie detector test

Mar hits back at Romualdez. DILG Secretary Mar Roxas II reads a transcript of a meeting with Tacloban City Mayor Alfred Romualdez during a press conference in Camp Crame in Quezon City on Tuesday, December 10. He was belying Romualdez’s claim that Tacloban city received little to no help from the national government in the aftermath of Yolanda, and that Roxas tried to play politics with him. Asti Flores Interior Secretary Mar Roxas said he was willing to take a lie detector test to prove he did not bring up clan politics with Tacloban Mayor Alfred Romualdez in the aftermath of Super Typhoon Yolanda. “Ang importante dito ang katotohanan,” said a visibly irate Roxas in a “24 Oras” report Tuesday.   On Monday, a teary-eyed Romualdez said in post-disaster assessment at the Senate that Roxas supposedly asked him in a meeting to cede control of the city to the DILG. The secretary also brought up clan politics during discussion, instead of immediately sending aid to the city. “Secretary Roxas said we should legalize everything… You have to remember: we have to be very careful because you are a Romualdez and the president is an Aquino,” Romualdez quoted Roxas. This did not sit well with Roxas, who clarified that he merely brought up the Romualdez-Aquino clan to avoid politicizing the disaster. “Ang ibig sabihin dun, kami ang national government. Dapat maingat kasi Romualdez siya. Baka mapulitika ito. Iniiwasan natin ang politika kaya nga [nagtataka] ako na bakit niya pinupulitika ngayon ito. Read More …

Zambo siege was carried out by ‘misguided’ factions in MNLF – AFP official

 News
Dec 102013
 
Zambo siege was carried out by ‘misguided’ factions in MNLF – AFP official

A military spokesman said that the Armed Forces of the Philippines is “not against” the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) in general since the attack on Zamboanga City in September was carried out not by the whole group but by “misguided” factions led by the group’s founding chairman Nur Misuari. “We have a final peace agreement already with the MNLF and we are not against the MNLF… What happened in Zamboanga [was done by] factions of the MNLF, that they used violence to advance their goals which, to us, is unacceptable,” said AFP information chief Lt. Col. Ramon Zagala on Tuesday. “We believe that the MNLF still abides by the final peace agreement and that what happened in Zamboanga [was done] only [by] those misguided by Nur Misuari,” he added. Misuari and some of his men are wanted for the attack, which left over 200 people dead, most of them MNLF fighters. Although not physically present during the attack, Misuari allegedly ordered the siege as he accused the government of disregarding them in the peace negotiations it is conducting with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). The rebels claimed last year’s signing of a Bangsamoro Framework Agreement between the government and the MILF sidelined the peace agreement the government signed with the MNLF in 1996. — Marc Jayson Cayabyab/BM, GMA News

Pacquiao denies he's a green card holder

 News
Dec 102013
 
Pacquiao denies he's a green card holder

Filipino boxing icon and Sarangani Rep. Manny Pacquiao, currently facing a tax evasion case, has denied that he is a green card holder, or that he even applied for one. “Mastercard lang meron ako. Mastercard lang ang hawak ko. Hindi ‘yun totoo na may green card ako,” Pacquiao said in a chance interview Tuesday, a day after journalist and blogger Raissa Robles raised the possibility that the world reknowned boxer may be a green card holder. Pacquiao said he only carries a P1 visa that allows him to professionally fight in the United States. “Meron akong P1, para pwede kang lumaban, kumita doon,” he said. He added that he has no desire to leave the Philippines, and has in fact rejected his children’s request to study in the US. “Ayaw ko nga pag-aralin mga anak ko sa America,” Pacquiao said. “Yung mga anak ko nga gusto mag-aral sa America, hindi ko pinayagan.” God bless them But while exasperated over the issue of his supposed immigrant status, Pacquiao said he wishes no ill over those who have insinuated that he is a green card holder. “Ipasadiyos ko na lang. May Panginoon naman tayo. We have no right to revenge. Ang Panginoon lang ang may karapatan,” he said. The issue about Pacquiao applying to be a US immigrant erupted days after his tax woes played out in the media. Robles, in her blog, said she was tipped off by a commenter that Pacquiao was mentioned as a  “successful (US) immigrant” on the Read More …

82 of 96 pass Optometrist Licensure Exam – PRC

 News
Dec 102013
 
82 of 96 pass Optometrist Licensure Exam – PRC

A total of 82 out of 96 passed the Optometrist Licensure Examination given by the Board of Optometry in Manila this month, according to the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) on Tuesday. [Click here for list of passers.] Meanwhile, two out of three examinees passed the Special Certification Examination in Ocular Pharmacology for Optometrists given also this month. They are: 1. Almonte, Gemma Chua2. Corneta, Roy Lasalita The PRC said registration for the issuance of Professional Identification Card (ID) and Certificate of Registration will start on December 13, 2013.  The date and venue for the oathtaking ceremony, however, will be announced later. — KBK, GMA News 

PNoy can ‘withdraw’ Leviste parole – De Lima

 News
Dec 082013
 
PNoy can ‘withdraw’ Leviste parole – De Lima

President Benigno Aquino III can withdraw the parole granted to convicted killer Jose Antonio Leviste, according to Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, even as she maintained that there seems to be nothing irregular with the granting of the parole. “So far, there’s no basis for me to conclude that the board did not act above board in passing such application,” De Lima said Monday following a meeting with the country’s top jail officials. She, however, noted that she would “defer” to the decision of the President, who she said has the power to “review” paroles granted to prisoners. De Lima also said the Board of Parole and Pardon is standing by its decision to end Leviste’s almost five-year imprisonment by granting him parole. She also noted that Leviste, a former Batangas governor who was jailed in January 2009 for killing a long-time aide in Makati, was able to comply with the requirement for parole. Leviste, 73, was convicted of homicide and was sentenced to at least six years in prison but his good conduct time allowance allowed him to cut short his sentence by a little more than a year. — Mark Merueñas/KBK, GMA News

UN worries aid has not reached Yolanda victims in remote villages

 News
Dec 082013
 
UN worries aid has not reached Yolanda victims in remote villages

CANBERRA, Australia — The United Nations is investigating reports that aid has yet to reach remote parts of the Philippines a month after a devastating typhoon, the UN humanitarian chief said on Monday. Valerie Amos, UN Under Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, said she had expected that aid had been delivered by helicopter to survivors in even the most remote outlying islands following the Nov. 8 disaster. “Although we’ve got significant aid now coming in to the major centers, we still have a little bit of a worry that in a couple of the smaller islands that there may be needs there that we haven’t managed to meet yet,” she said. “I’m still hearing worrying reports in the media — indeed I heard one this morning — where people said they hadn’t received any aid as yet, and we’re looking into that,” she said. Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) and its tsunami-like storm surge plowed through Tacloban and other coastal areas, leaving more than 5,700 dead and more than 1,700 missing throughout the region. About 4 million people were displaced. Amos, in Australia for aid talks with the government, defended the Philippine government against criticisms that it was too slow to deliver aid to victims. She said the Philippines responded to more than 20 typhoons a year and was well prepared for storms. “But the scale and severity of this was something which none of us could have anticipated,” Amos said. —Associated Press

PNoy wants sanctions for officials who approved Leviste parole

 News
Dec 082013
 
PNoy wants sanctions for officials who approved Leviste parole

President Benigno Aquino III on Monday said he is looking into the possibility of imposing sanctions against officials of the Board of Pardons and Parole who approved the parole application of former Batangas Governor Jose Antonio Leviste. “Pinahanap ko na rin, meron bang sanctions puwede doon sa Board of Pardons and Parole; ni-review ko na rin paano ba naa-appoint diyan sa Board of Pardons and Parole. Ni-review iyong buong system para hindi mangyari uli itong ganito,” Aquino told reporters in a chance interview during the anniversary celebration of the Department of Labor and Employment in Quezon City. In questioning the approval of the parole application, Aquino noted that Leviste’s “escape” two years ago is not indicative of good conduct. “Paano magiging good conduct iyong nasa labas ng piitan habang nagse-serve ng sentence? So hindi ko maintindihan kung bakit maco-consider man lang,” he said.  Leviste was charged with murder for the 2007 shooting of his long-time aide Rafael de las Alas. He was convicted in January 2009 for the lesser offense of homicide, with the court saying the killing of De las Alas did not appear to be premeditated. He was punished to serve a minimum sentence of six years and a maximum sentence of 12 years, but it was slashed to just a little under five years after he earned “good conduct time allowance.” He re-emerged in the headlines in May 2011 when he was reported to have “escaped” from prison. He was re-arrested, transferred to the maximum security facility, Read More …

Tacloban mayor: No help from national govt in Yolanda's aftermath

 News
Dec 082013
 
Tacloban mayor: No help from national govt in Yolanda's aftermath

Tacloban mayor recounts Yolanda ordeal at Congressional hearing. At a Congressional oversight committee hearing on PHL disaster management law at the Senate on Monday, December 9, Tacloban City Mayor Alfredo Romualdez becomes emotional as he recounts his ordeal when Typhoon Yolanda hit Tacloban on November 8. At right is Leyte Rep. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez. Benjie Castro Tacloban City Mayor Alfred Romualdez decried Monday how the national government supposedly did not help his local government unit in rescue and security efforts in the aftermath of Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan). During a post-disaster assessment at the Senate, Romualdez said he asked for additional security personnel from the national government a day after Yolanda’s landfall, but Interior Secretary Mar Roxas did not grant his request. Romualdez said Roxas instead asked him to write a letter that the local government could no longer function and that the national government should step in. “Secretary Roxas said we should legalize everything… He told me we have to be very careful because you are a Romualdez and the President is an Aquino,” Romualdez said. The mayor said he practically “begged” national officials for help, but to no avail. “I could not understand why I could not get help from national government… Kung kaya ng police at military na ma-secure ang President, bakit ‘di kami nabigyan ng security para ma-secure ang siyudad?” Romualdez said. Senator Antonio Trillanes IV, who was presiding over the post-disaster assessment, said the committee wants to hear Roxas’ side on the matter next hearing. Close Read More …

Tacloban mayor: It was hard to explain storm surge to public before Yolanda's landfall

 General
Dec 082013
 
Tacloban mayor: It was hard to explain storm surge to public before Yolanda's landfall

Tacloban City Mayor Alfred Romualdez on Monday admitted that his government found it difficult to explain what a storm surge was to his constituents before Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) ravaged through their area last month. During a post-disaster assessment at the Senate, Romualdez said PAGASA informed the local government of the possibility of massive storm surge due to Yolanda before the typhoon made landfall. He, however, said that local government officials could not explain the storm surge to the public, since they were only used to tsunami warnings. “There was a difficulty in explaining to the public what a storm surge is. We were aware of the height, but not the strength,” Romualdez said. He added that his government was unaware how far the storm surge will go inland. “I just saw that there was no more peninsula. It was already part of the ocean,” he said. Romualdez also turned emotional as he recalled his ordeal during Yolanda’s onslaught. Close to 6,000 individuals have been confirmed dead after Yolanda ripped through central Philippines last month. Tacloban City in Leyte was among the areas worst hit by the typhoon. Some 2.6 million families were affected, and P35.5 billion worth of properties were damaged by the weather disturbance, based on latest government records. — RSJ, GMA News

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