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Palace downplays ES Ochoa’s involvement in P10-B NGO row

 News
Jul 132013
 
Palace downplays ES Ochoa’s involvement in P10-B NGO row

Malacañang on Saturday downplayed reports linking Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr. to a P10-billion ghost project scam involving legislators’ the pork barrel funds. Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said that at least for now, Ochoa appeared to be a victim of “guilt by association” because his former law firm was linked to the mess. “Apparently from the reports, dinadawit ang ES dahil supposedly sa dating law firm niya. Hindi ko alam ang … involvement other than just mentioning the name. Walang allegation of wrongdoing on part of the Executive Secretary,” she said on government-run dzRB radio. “Parang naging guilt (by) association, which does not stand up in any investigation or any court,” she added. She said she does not know why Ochoa would be dragged into the row. “Hindi natin alam kung ano ang intention ng taong nagdadawit,” she said. Ochoa’s law firm had been linked by some reports to the P10-billion scam involving mostly funds from the priority assistance development fund (PDAF) of some lawmakers. A report on the Philippine Daily Inquirer said the MOST law firm’s founders had included Ochoa, Liza Marcos – wife of Sen. Ferdinand Marcos Jr., Edward Serapio and Joseph Tan. The Inquirer report said Ochoa had divested his interests in the law firm after he joined the Aquino administration in 2010. — LBG, GMA News

PAGASA: Rain over parts of Luzon, Mindanao amid weak southwest monsoon

 News
Jul 132013
 
PAGASA: Rain over parts of Luzon, Mindanao amid weak southwest monsoon

A weak southwest monsoon may bring rain to parts of Luzon including Metro Manila Sunday, even as state weather forecasters said parts of Mindanao may also expect rain. PAGASA also said strong to gale-force winds may still affect the seaboards of Northern Luzon, even though Typhoon Huaning (Soulik) has left. “Metro Manila, Ilocos region, Cordillera, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Mimaropa, Western Visayas, Caraga and Davao region will experience cloudy skies with light to moderate rain showers and thunderstorms,” PAGASA said in its 5 a.m. bulletin. It added the rest of the country will be “partly cloudy to cloudy with isolated rain showers or thunderstorms.” Also, it said moderate to strong winds from the southwest to south will prevail over the western section of Luzon and coming from the southeast to south over the rest of Northern Luzon. The coastal waters along these areas will be moderate to rough, it added. Elsewhere, winds will be light to moderate coming from the southeast with slight to moderate seas. Gale warning PAGASA also said strong to gale-force winds associated with the southwest monsoon may affect the seaboards of Northern Luzon. These included Ilocos Norte, Cagayan, Isabela, Ilocos Sur and La Union. “Fishing boats and other small seacrafts are alerted against moderate to rough seas,” it said.  — ELR, GMA News

Palace says it is 'not imputing any motive' in Congress scrutiny of 2014 budget

 News
Jul 132013
 
Palace says it is 'not imputing any motive' in Congress scrutiny of 2014 budget

Malacañang on Saturday welcomed lawmakers’ plan to scrutinize parts of the proposed P2.268-trillion national budget for 2014, saying it is within their mandate to do so. Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte downplayed speculations that some lawmakers may have political motives in taking a closer look at the proposed budgets of some agencies. “We welcome scrutiny when it comes to the budget. That is the province of any legislator who may want to look at the budget of any program or any agency,” Valte said on government-run dzRB radio. She added the Palace is not in any position to “impute any motive” when legislators say they want to take a closer look at the budget.  Some reports quoted Sen. Ma. Lourdes “Nancy” Binay as saying she plans to scrutinize the proposed 2014 budgets of the Departments of Interior and Local Government and Social Welfare and Development. Sen. Binay’s father, Vice President Jejomar Binay, defeated now-DILG Secretary Manuel Roxas II in the 2010 vice presidential race. The elder Binay and Roxas have been projected to possibly run for the presidency in 2016. But Sen. Binay maintained there was no political color in her interest to scrutinize the DILG’s proposed budget.  — ELR, GMA News

GPH, MILF panels sign wealth-sharing annex of Mindanao peace agreement

 News
Jul 132013
 
GPH, MILF panels sign wealth-sharing annex of Mindanao peace agreement

(Updated 5:00 a.m.) Negotiators of the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) have reached agreement on the wealth-sharing annex of their peace compact in their latest round of talks in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. “In a show of true commitment, the Parties extended the meeting, originally scheduled for four days to six days to be able to overcome their concerns and reach an agreement on the Annex,” the chief negotiators in a joint statement released before dawn of Sunday. The statement, however, did not provide any details on the issues agreed upon in the approved annex on wealth sharing. But it said the annex “will provide sufficient guidance for the crafting of the Bangsamoro Basic Law’s provisions on wealth sharing and revenue generation for the Bangsamoro as envisioned by the Framework Agreement onthe Bangsamoro.” GPH panel chair Miriam Coronel-Ferrer and MILF peace panel chairman Mohagher Iqbal said the  Technical Working Group on Normalization and the special team on power sharing made some progress but did not go into details in their joint statement. The annex paves the way for the two sides to decide how to divide up income from taxes and natural resources in the self-rule area. The negotiations aim to create a new autonomous region for the Muslim minority in Mindanao, the southern third of the mainly Catholic nation of about 100 million people. The 12,000-member MILF has waged a guerrilla war for a separate Islamic state in Mindanao since the 1970s that has claimed an estimated Read More …

Family planning, higher education are priorities in PHL and globally — Nielsen poll

 News
Jul 122013
 
Family planning, higher education are priorities in PHL and globally — Nielsen poll

NEW YORK – Family planning, higher education and quality time with loved ones are priorities for people around the world, according to a new global Nielsen survey focusing on lifestyle values released on Friday. The Nielsen poll of more than 29,000 people in 58 countries also showed that most people think women should have a say in important household issues, but opinions diverged on how the roles of wife and mother are perceived. “It was very striking that spending quality time with family was the No. 1 most important item,” said James Russo, senior vice president of Global Consumer Insights of Nielsen, a global provider of information and insights. In Nielsen’s first poll on lifestyle values, 80 percent of people surveyed said that spending time with family was most important, with the number rising to 88 percent in Latin America. “One of the more interesting findings is the consistency in these values,” Russo added, “which tells us that we are similar in many ways.” Family planning, or deciding on how many children to have, was a top issue, with 77 percent of people saying it was important, particularly in Latin America. In largely Catholic countries such as Venezuela, Brazil and Mexico, 90 percent or more agreed that it was crucial, compared to 45 percent of Norwegians and more than 50 percent of Danes and French. The rating for higher education was similar around the world, with 78 percent of people globally saying it was a priority. In emerging markets like Read More …

DepEd adds 7 languages to mother tongue-based education for Kinder to Grade 3

 News
Jul 122013
 
DepEd adds 7 languages to mother tongue-based education for Kinder to Grade 3

At least seven more languages have been added to the Department of Education’s Mother-Tongue-Based Multi-Lingual Education (MTB-MLE) program. The DepEd said this brought to 19 the number of major local languages used as medium of instruction from Kinder to Grade 3. In a news release, the DepEd said the additional languages are: – Ybanag for pupils in Tuguegarao City, Cagayan, and Isabela – Ivatan for Batanes – Sambal in Zambales – Aklanon in Aklan, Capiz – Kinaray-a in Capiz, Aklan – Yakan in Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao – Surigaonon covering Surigao City and provinces. The other 12 local languages used in MTB-MLE are: – Tagalog – Kapampangan – Pangasinense – Iloko – Bikol – Cebuano – Hiligaynon – Waray – Tausug – Maguindanaoan – Maranao – Chabacano. MTB-MLE is implemented in two modules: first, as a learning/subject area; and second, as a medium of instruction. DepEd Secretary Armin Luistro said the use of the same language spoken at home in the early grades “helps improve the pupils’ language and cognitive development in addition to strengthening their socio-cultural awareness.” Citing local and international studies, the DepEd said using the mother tongue inside the classroom during the learners’ early years of schooling may produce better and faster learners who can easily adapt to learn a second (Filipino) and third language (English). — ELR, GMA News

Businesswoman implicated in alleged scams involving billions of pesos denies charges 

 News
Jul 122013
 
Businesswoman implicated in alleged scams involving billions of pesos denies charges 

The businesswoman implicated in multi-billion peso ghost projects being probed by the National Bureau of Investigation has refuted accusations an alleged former employee leveled against her, her brother and her company, JLN Corporation. Janet Lim Napoles said in an affidavit she submitted to the Department of Justice that her accuser, Benhur Luy, was not her employee and that the “JLN Group of Companies” Luy has identified is not her JLN Corporation registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Napoles’ affidavit was filed last June, but the Department of Justice released it only on Friday. “JLN has never transacted business or closed deals with the government or any of its agencies or instrumentalities, much less the government offices which Benhur mentioned and especially those enumerated by (Luy’s relatives) Arturo, Gertrudes, Arthur, and Annabelle… in their joint sworn statement,” Napoles said. Her company was alleged to have been tapped in ghost projects of the government allegedly pegged in one report as totalling P10 billion worth of projects, including the fertilizer fund scam, the Malampaya fund scam, and anomalies in the implementation of several PDAF (Priority Development Assistance Fund)-funded projects. She did acknowledge that trading in construction materials is among the concerns of her JLN Corp. “I certainly was not involved in any of the high profile scams which occured during the previous administration,” Napoles said in an affidavit she submitted to the Department of Justice. The businesswoman said the fact her name and that of her company were never mentioned in a Read More …

Comelec may proclaim three more party-lists before SONA

 News
Jul 122013
 
Comelec may proclaim three more party-lists before SONA

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) may proclaim three more winning party-lists in the May 13 elections before President Benigno Aquino III’s State of the Nation Address (SONA) on July 22. “Before SONA preferably, sabi ko, matapos namin ‘yan ng July 19,” said Comelec chairman Sixto Brillantes Jr. in an interview Friday. He noted that there are still five seats that have yet to be filled up, including three that were reserved for Senior Citizens and one for Abang Lingkod. Both have pending cases before the Supreme Court regarding their disqualification. “Pinapakuha na namin mga ballot boxes para mabilang na dito [Comelec office in Manila], para ma-proclaim na namin ‘yung tatlo. Matatapos siguro ‘yan before (July) 22,” Brillantes said. The party-list system is a proportional mode of representation in Congress, which means the number of seats is based on the number of votes per party-list. Party-lists that got two percent of total votes cast are guaranteed a seat. Those that got more than two percent may get additional seats, based on the Comelec’s formula on seat allocation. Senior Citizens, in the Comelec’s 10th partial tally, got 677,642 votes, which guarantee it two seats, while Abang Lingkod got 260,215 votes, equivalent to one seat. Although the An Waray group has been proclaimed winner and awarded two seats, its second Certificate of Proclamation has yet to be issued pending the high court’s decision on the cases of Senior Citizens and Abang Lingkod. — KBK, GMA News 

SC Justice brands unseated Marinduque solon's claims as 'baseless, malicious'

 News
Jul 122013
 
SC Justice brands unseated Marinduque solon's claims as 'baseless, malicious'

The camp of Supreme Court Associate Justice Presbitero Velasco on Friday described as “baseless and malicious” an accusation made by unseated Marinduque Rep. Regina Ongsiako Reyes that the magistrate “wielded his influence” in her disqualification case. At a press conference on Thursday, Reyes accused Justice Velasco of using his “unelected post” to promote the interest of his family. Reyes recently lost a case at the SC, which upheld her disqualification on the grounds that she is an American citizen. Reyes’ rival in the last elections was Velasco’s son, losing congressional bet Lord Allan Jay Velasco. This prompted the SC magistrate to inhibit from the case filed with the SC. “Justice Presbitero J. Velasco Jr did not participate in [the case] as he actually inhibited from the case, although his son, Lord Allan Jay Q. Velasco, is not a party to said case,” said Theresa Genevieve Co from the magistrate’s office. In a 19-page resolution, the Comelec en banc ordered the Provincial Board of Canvassers (PBOC) of Marinduque to proclaim Lord Allan as the winning representative in the province’s lone district. Voting 5-2, the Comelec en banc said Reyes lacked the one-year residency required for an elected official. In March, the Comelec First Division has canceled her certificate of candidacy on the grounds that she is an American citizen. “The allegation that he wielded his influence in said case is baselss and malicious,” Co said in a statement. “Being a lawyer and an officer of the court, Atty. Reyes should have Read More …

De Lima: NBI probe on P10B fund scam may include lawmakers

 News
Jul 122013
 
De Lima: NBI probe on P10B fund scam may include lawmakers

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) is studying the possibility of including in its investigation several lawmakers being implicated in the P10-billion fund scam by a syndicate allegedly using “pork barrel” in ghost projects. This was according to Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, who confirmed on Friday that the NBI is in the middle of probing a fund scam being allegedly carried out by businesswoman Janet Lim Napoles, owner of JLN Group of Companies. Her firm was allegedly tapped for government-funded projects that were later found questionable, including the P728-million fund for a fertilizer project for poor farmers that were allegedly diverted to benefit politicians and a sitting president. “Whether or not lawmakers are or will be part of the NBI probe or whether or not there’s need to issue a look out bulletin will depend on results of the evaluation of the evidence,” De Lima said. De Lima refused to give further details on the ongoing NBI probe on the fund scam. She also refused to identify the lawmakers who would be investigated. “Given the gravity of the allegations, we’re keeping such investigation under wraps until the NBI completes its evidence gathering and evaluation,” she said. Napoles and her brother Reynaldo Lim were earlier charged by the NBI for illegally detaining Benhur Luy, a lead employee of JLN Group of Companies and a probable witnesses in the fund scam. The Department of Justice (DOJ), however, dismissed the complaint for lack of probable cause. The NBI has already moved for Read More …

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