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SC allows Sharia consultant for JBC

 News
Aug 092013
 
SC allows Sharia consultant for JBC

The Supreme Court has agreed to the appointment of a Sharia consultant for the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC), the body tasked to screen and vet nominees for vacant judicial posts. In a one-page resolution, the high court sitting en banc approved a letter made by one of its members, Associate Justice Marvic Leonen, requesting that a jurisconsult in Islamic Law be tapped for the JBC. “The Court Resolved to Approve in principle the appointment of a Shari’a consultant for the JBC and a Jurisconsult in Islamic Law,” the SC said in its resolution. Court Administrator Midas Marquez was tasked to recommend within 30 days an Islamic law expert who could take on the role as Sharia consultant. Currently, the JBC has two consultants: SC Senior Associate Justices Antonio Carpio and Presbitero Velasco Jr. So far, there are only two high ranking Muslim magistrates in the Philippine judiciary, namely Court of Appeals Justices Japar Dimaampao and Hakim Abdulwahid. In his four-page letter addressed to the en banc, Leonen emphasized the importance of putting a Sharia consult for the JBC. “I have been informed that despite the presence of so many qualified experts on Shari’a Law, the court still does not have a Shari’a consultant for the JBC nor a jurisconsult. May I respectfully suggest that the Secretariat of the JBC and the Office of the Court Administrator (OCA) be tasked immediately to look into this matter,” Leonen said. Leonen said that under Article VIII of Republic Act 9054 or “An Read More …

DA chief Alcala denies knowing pork queen Napoles

 News
Aug 092013
 
DA chief Alcala denies knowing pork queen Napoles

Still denying his department’s alleged involvement in the supposed pork barrel scam, Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala on Friday said he doesn’t personally know Janet Lim-Napoles, the businesswoman at the center of the issue. “Hindi ko po kilala ‘yan. Never ko pong nakilala siya, hindi ko po siya nakilala,” Alcala said in an interview on GMA News TV’s “News To Go” when asked if he knew Napoles. Napoles was accused of being the mastermind of a P10-billion pork barrel scam involving ghost projects allegedly used for kickbacks by lawmakers. Whistleblower Merlina Suñas earlier said the Department of Agriculture (DA) has been instrumental in the funneling of state funds to dummy organizations — an accusation Alcala ordered investigated. Alcala said agriculture officials who’ll be found guilty of involvement in the anomaly will be facing the full force of the law. “Ang bilin ko kung may tauhan na talagang nadawit o sinadya na palusutan ang ganitong bagay ay dapat na humanda siyang managot sa batas,” he said. In the same interview, Alcala reiterated that the DA initially refused to take projects funded by lawmakers through their pork barrel, or Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF), to avoid being dragged into controversies. “Buhat po noong ako ay ma-appoint from 2010 hanggang July of 2012 wala po ni isang PDAF na dumaan sa kagawaran kasi marami pong sabi-sabi na hindi po tama, hindi maganda ito kaya iniwas ko ang department kasi masyadong marami na pong problema ang department nang abutin ko. So two years po mahigit. Read More …

SolGen defends RH Law before SC: justice calls law 'Christian and Islamic'

 News
Aug 062013
 
SolGen defends RH Law before SC: justice calls law 'Christian and Islamic'

The government, through Solicitor General Francis Jardeleza, on Tuesday defended the Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Law or RH Law before the Supreme Court, with some justices grilling him while others seeming to give him support. Jardeleza defended the constitutionality of the controversial law during the third day of oral arguments before the 15 magistrates of the high court. “What the law seeks is to subsidize for the benefit of poor women, marginalized and vulnerable, contraceptives that have been legally available for the past 50 years to their more affluent counterparts,” said Jardeleza. Associate Justice Roberto Abad criticized Jardeleza and Congress – which passed the health bill – for consulting the World Health Organization during deliberations when the health measure was still in the legislation process. Casting doubts on the partiality of WHO, Abad said the international organization “is heavily funded by USAid and supported contraception. They want to export to us their contraception culture.” “If you want an impartial opinion on which is the best [method], would you go to Kris Aquino,” Abad asked Jardeleza. The solicitor general answered in the negative, and said experts should be consulted instead. “Yes, that’s the proper thing to do… and not [merely consult with] those whose advocacy is birth control,” Abad said. Jardeleza however noted that Congress also sought opinions from 24 experts from the United Health Care Study Group, which he described as “patriots who we should be proud of.” He added these experts were not “funded employees” of the WHO. Read More …

House Majority confident Rep Almonte can lead committee that handles FOI bill

 News
Aug 062013
 
House Majority confident Rep Almonte can lead committee that handles FOI bill

After admitting that the Public Information Committee was “unattractive” to most solons, former committee chair and Western Samar Representative Ben Evardone nevertheless threw his support behind Misamis Occidental Representative Jorge Almonte. “[The committee] is something not attractive to members of the House, due to the many contentious issues around it,” Evardone said in a Tuesday press conference. The Public Information Committee handles the controversial Freedom of Information (FOI) bill, which seeks to promote transparency in government transactions and data. Evardone praised Almonte’s performance as a local executive, who consulted with constituents on important matters, saying it was this attention to detail that will hopefully see the FOI bill passed. “He did that as a mayor and I believe that with this chairmanship, for sure he will consult all stakeholders,” he said. It was earlier reported that Almonte will chair the ethics committee, but Evardone revealed that Almonte himself asked for he Public Information Committee. Evardone also noted that while the Liberal Party (LP) had no official stand on the FOI bill, he reiterated that the LP generally stands for transparency and accountability at all times. Evardone, who sponsored the FOI bill in the 15th Congress, advised Almonte to come up with a bill that will not alienate any sector. He also suggested that the FOI bill be “refocused” to highlight the positives, to make the bill more attractive to solons., For his part, Marikina Rep. Romero Quimbo said the majority was very hopeful the FOI bill will pass in the Read More …

No 'contaminated' Fonterra product in PHL — local FDA

 News
Aug 062013
 
No 'contaminated' Fonterra product in PHL — local FDA

The Philippines’ Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday assured the public that no part of the three batches of whey protein concentrate from New Zealand reportedly contaminated with clostridium botulinum are among the dairy products and infant formulas sold in the country. FDA head Kenneth Hartigan-Go said Fonterra-branded consumer products in the Philippines do not contain the batches of WPC80. These include Anchor, Anlene, Anmum, Mainland, and Perfect Italiano. In Advisory No. 2013-022, the FD chief said they have coordinated with the local importer-distributor of Fonterra Brands (Phils.) Inc. about the three batches of whey protein concentrate. The FDA “will be collecting samples in the market for testing as part of its monitoring and surveillance activities,” Hartigan-Go said in the advisory. Hartigan-Go also urged mothers nursing their infants to continue breastfeeding since it is the safest milk for their babies. He also said clostridium botulinum is a species of harmful spore-forming bacteria that produce toxin in processed food products. The contamination happens when manufacturing or processing plants do not implement proper food hygienic practices and sterilization of canned goods or any tightly sealed food products. “Ingestion of preformed toxin may result to symptoms like double vision, drooping eyelids, slurred speech, difficulty swallowing and muscle weakness that is symmetric and descends through the body and possibly death, usually due to respiratory failure. Thus, the pathogenic bacteria are also known as ‘canned goods bacilli’ that causes ‘flaccid paralysis,’” he said. “All consumers are advised to buy dairy products and infant formulae that Read More …

Cotabato city officials say they received death threats prior to bomb attack

 News
Aug 062013
 
Cotabato city officials say they received death threats prior to bomb attack

8 dead, 30 hurt in Cotabato blast. Houses and a pick-up truck burn after a powerful improvised explosive device (IED) was detonated along Sinsuat Avenue in Cotabato City on Monday afternoon, August 5, killing eight people and wounding at least 30 others. At left is the charred wreckage of the suspected vehicle where the bomb was planted. Omar Mangorsi Cotabato City administrator Cynthia Guiani-Sayadi, believed to be the target of Monday’s car bomb attack that killed eight people and injured over 30 others, affirmed on Tuesday that she and her family have been receiving death threats because of their campaign against crime syndicates. “Bobombahin daw kami, papatayin kami, including my son,” she said in an interview on dzBB radio. However, she did not identify the person or group behind the threats. The blast, which occurred on Sinsuat Street, happened while she was passing through the area in a bulletproof car that is used by both Sayadi and her brother, Cotabato City Mayor Japal Guiani Jr. Interviewed on GMA’s “24 Oras” newscast, her brother said they were targeted for their campaign against kidnapping and illegal drugs. “Tingin ko marami kaming naapakan, because we are able to unmask some groups, and continuous ang aming drive,” he said. The explosive device was placed on a vehicle— believed to be a multi-cab — parked on a busy road near a hospital during the afternoon rush hour. Sayadi was unhurt in the attack, but two of her bodyguards were among the fatalities. Bomb-for-hire group Cotabato Read More …

It's final: Romeo Jalosjos can't run for public office

 General
Aug 062013
 
It's final: Romeo Jalosjos can't run for public office

Convicted rapist and former Zamboanga del Norte Rep. Romeo Jalosjos can no longer run for any public office. This was after the Supreme Court, sitting en banc, on Tuesday denied his motion for reconsideration seeking to reverse the court’s earlier ruling barring him from running for mayor in last May’s elections. The court said Jalosjos failed to present in his motion new arguments that would warrant the reversal of the SC’s decision. The denial of Jalosjos’ motion rendered the SC ruling final. “The Supreme Court denied with finality the motion for reconsideration of its June 18, 2013 decision filed by counsel for petitioner and prohibited the filing of further pleadings or motions,” the SC Public Information Office said. “Entry of judgement shall be made in due course,” it added. In June, the high court junked Jalosjos’ petition, stressing that his “perpetual absolute disqualification” remains even if he had been pardoned. Jalosjos was convicted of two counts of statutory rape and six counts of acts of lasciviousness on November 16, 2001. He was sentenced to an “accessory penalty of perpetual absolute disqualification.” On April 30, 2007, Jalosjos’ sentence was commuted by then-President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to 16 years, three months and three days. He walked out of prison in March 2009. He separately applied to become a registered voter in Zamboanga City and a candidate in the mayoral race in the city. Both requests were denied by the Municipal Trial Court in Cities and the Commission on Elections, citing his perpetual absolute Read More …

Napoles fights back, to file flurry of raps vs. accusers

 News
Aug 052013
 
Napoles fights back, to file flurry of raps vs. accusers

(Updated 12:52 p.m.) Months after being embroiled in a supposed scam involving the pork barrel of lawmakers, businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles decided to fight back by hurling a flurry of charges against her accusers. Napoles’ lawyer, Lorna Kapunan, told GMA News Online on Tuesday that they would be filing within the day separate cases of perjury, libel, disbarment, and illegal arrest in Quezon City, Makati, and Taguig City. She said they would file perjury complaints against supposed whistleblowers Benhur Luy and Merlina Suñas for allegedly accusing Napoles of soliciting money from lawmakers’ pork barrel — or Priority Development Assistance Funds (PDAF) — for non-existent projects through fictitious foundations. Luy’s family will also be included in the perjury complaint, Kapunan said. A disbarment case, meanwhile, would also be lodged against Luy’s lawyer, Levito Baligod, before the Integrated Bar of the Philippines for allegedly extorting money from the Napoles camp in exchange for his client clearing Napoles’ name in the issue. Tri-media campaign? Kapunan said their camp will also slap the Philippine Daily Inquirer and Rappler with charges of libel for its “disregard for the truth” and for “abusing the word ‘allegedly’” in its reports on the controversy. Kapunan said the Inquirer will be slapped with charges for the series of reports it did on the fund mess, while Rappler will be sued for its story on the lavish lifestyle of Napoles’ daughter, Jeane. “We want to test this so-called good faith in reporting. Kapag sinabi mong alleged at ipi-print mo, that in Read More …

Taguig to appeal CA decision on Fort Boni dispute

 News
Aug 052013
 
Taguig to appeal CA decision on Fort Boni dispute

After the Court of Appeals declared portions of Fort Bonifacio, including the upscale locale of Bonifacio Global City, as part of Makati City, the local government of Taguig City on Tuesday insisted that the disputed land is theirs. “The CA decision, with due respect, is erroneous,” Mayor Lani Cayetano said in a statement. “We will flight to make sure that the disputed land remains with Taguig,” she added. “We are confident that we will ultimately win this fight.” In a decision, the CA’s Sixth Division overturned the July 2011 ruling of the Pasig City Regional Trial Court that invalidated Presidential Proclamation Nos. 2475 and 518 that originally placed the disputed 729.15 hectares of land under the jurisdiction of Makati City. “We believe… that contrary to the findings of the lower court as between pieces of evidence presented, Taguig was not able to prove this greater weight of evidence to merit a favorable decision,” the CA said in a 37-page decision. The disputed areas consist of Enlisted Men’s Barrios (EMBO) barangays and Inner Fort barangays (which include Barangay Post Proper Northside and Barangay Post Proper Southside).   At stake in the decision were huge local tax revenues and the prestige that emanates from one of the trendiest places in the country. — Amanda Fernandez/RSJ, GMA News

Senate agrees to cut spending on oversight committees

 News
Aug 052013
 
Senate agrees to cut spending on oversight committees

The Senate has agreed to cut spending on oversight committees following controversies on the use of the government funds involving some senators. In a statement on Tuesday, Senate President Franklin Drilon said he and his colleagues have reached a consensus to trim down the number of oversight committees. “We will rationalize the oversight committees so that we will be able to save funds by the end of the year,” Drilon said. However, he noted that the Senate has yet to decide which of its 35 oversight panels will be removed and retained. Oversight committees are created to check the implementation of specific laws. Some existing oversight panels include those tasked to monitor the Clean Air Act, the Overseas Voting Act and the Anti-Money Laundering Law. Drilon said scrapping of some of these ad hoc panels will save the Senate up to P500 million annually. Senate President Pro-Tempore Ralph Recto earlier said the Senate leadership may trim down the number of oversight panels down to 20. The Senate made this decision after controversies involving some senators and the use of government funds over the past months. Last month, the Philippine Daily Inquirer ran a series of reports detailing how fake groups supposedly used the “pork barrel” of some senators and House members to fund ghost projects worth P10 billion. Earlier this year, former Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile was also accused of irregular disbursement of maintenance and other operating expenses (MOOE) to some senators. Based on the proposed 2014 budget, the Read More …

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