Maniolas

Akbayan party-list Rep. Walden Bello on Monday filed a joint resolution calling for the termination of the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) with the United States, claiming the US is using the treaty to evade accountability for the crimes its soldiers are implicated in. House Joint Resolution No. 19 cites as bases for the VFA’s termination the acts committed by US personnel on Philippine soil that are contrary to the 1987 Philippine Constitution, human rights standards, criminal statutes, and norms and standards concerning the protection and conservation of the environment. The proposed joint resolution also directs the Foreign Affairs Secretary to serve notice of the VFA’s termination to the US government. “This is a resolution whose time has come. We’re happy to be together with the office of Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago in filing this,” Bello told reporters after filing the proposal. Bello said the killing of transgender Jeffrey “Jennifer” Laude allegedly by a US Marine earlier this month is just the latest addition to the list of offenses committed by the US since the VFA was ratified in 1999. Private First Class Joseh Scott Pemberton is facing a murder complaint in connection with the killing of Laude on Oct. 11 in Olongapo City. At present, Pemberton is detained in Camp Aguinaldo. Other US violations In his resolution, Bello enumerated the other supposed violations the US military has reportedly committed in the span of 15 years the VFA has been in place: the 2005 Subic rape case, the USS Guardian’s destruction Read More …

Some commuters in Cebu were reported stranded Monday morning due to a protest caravan by militant public transport drivers and operators. Affected areas in Cebu included the cities of Mandaue and Lapu-Lapu, RGMA Cebu’s Norman Mendoza reported on dzBB radio. The Pinagkaisang Samahan ng Tsuper at Opereytor Nationwide (PISTON) had organized the transport caravans to protest the Joint Administrative Order of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board and Land Transportation Office. The LTFRB and LTO’s JAO took effect last June 19, and imposed high penalties on colorum vehicles and traffic violations. State-run Philippine Information Agency’s Cebu unit said PISTON’s members from Consolacion, Lapu-Lapu, Mandaue and Compostela took part in the protest. But in Metro Manila, dzBB’s Glen Juego reported there had been no stranded passengers so far in Caloocan City. — Joel Locsin/RSJ, GMA News

Vice President Jejomar Binay is now open to appearing before the Senate to respond to allegations of graft and corruption, GMA News reported in its evening newscasts, but only if it is the Senate Blue Blue Ribbon Committee that invites him and not a subcommittee. As this developed, Senator Alan Peter Cayetano told news media that he expects the Blue Ribbon Committee to have ready by October 28 for signature, the arrest orders needed to compel purported dummies of the Vice President to come before the committee. However, as of Tuesday, neither the Senate nor GMA News have been able to find either Gerry Limlingan or Erlinda Chong.  The Senate tried to serve subpoenas inviting the alleged dummies but those attempts have failed. GMA News tried to look for Limlingan and Chong at known their home and business addresses but the two could not be found. Verification of listed business addresses of firms of Limlingan revealed that those addresses are not the locations of their firms.  — Kathryn Mae Tubadeza/ELR, GMA News

All documents lead to Vice President Jejomar Binay as the owner of the 350-hectare property in Batangas, Senate Majority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano said Tuesday, a day before the Senate blue ribbon subcommittee resumes its hearing on the allegedly overpriced Makati City Hall Building II. Cayetano said he will debunk on Wednesday’s hearing businessman Antonio Tiu’s claim that he and not Binay owns the sprawling estate in Rosario town, which is said to be part of the Binay family’s hidden wealth. “Kung sinabi niyang P440 million ang bili niya, nasaan ang dokumento? Kailan pumasok? Nasaan ang katunayan nito? We’ve looked over the documents and so far there is no proof na yung sinasabi niya ay totoo,” Cayetano told reporters, referring to Tiu. “He has a lot of explaining to do.” Cayetano said that based on his own research, Binay and his family own the property. “I welcome being proven wrong kasi ang hinahanap naman natin dito hindi durugin ang isang tao pero malaman ang  buong katotohanan. Walang papel na mate-trace na kay Mr. Tiu ito. Pero lahat ng ebidenisya so far shows na sa mga Binay ito,” he said. Cayetano said among the evidence would be pictures of people who have visited the so-called Binay farm over the decade. Dummy firms He also said they have documents on the alleged dummy corporations of Binay, who is facing plunder in connection with the Makati City Hall Building II controversy. “Kung maipapakita na ito ay lehitimong kumpanya at hindi ito dummy corporation Read More …