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No sacred cows in ‘pork’ probe but evidence needed, Palace stresses

 General
Jun 292014
 
No sacred cows in ‘pork’ probe but evidence needed, Palace stresses

Administration allies will still have to face the music if there is evidence linking them to the P10-billion pork barrel scam, a Palace official said Sunday. In a radio interview over government-run dzRB, Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said Budget Secretary Florencio Abad and Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala, whose names have been linked to the scam, will not be spared if evidence is found against them. “Kailangan lang pong lumabas ‘yung mismong kongkretong impormasyon at mismong ebidensya. Handa naman po ang ating dalawang kalihim na harapin ‘yang mga akusasyon na ‘yan,” he said. Detained businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles, said to be the mastermind of the scam, has alleged it was Abad who taught her how to create non-government organizations. Lawmakers’ Priority Development Assistance Fund allocations were allegedly funneled to Napoles’ NGOs for non-existent projects. Abad has denied the accusation and has said he has never dealt with Napoles. Alcala has likewise denied dealing with the businesswoman, now detained at Fort Sto. Domingo in San Pedro, Laguna. Coloma stressed there will be so-called sacred cows in the investigation into the PDAF scam. “Wala naman po dahil nga batay lang sa ebidensya, batay lang po sa kongkretong impormasyon na nakakalap. Wala naman pong pinipuwera (itsapwera), wala din pong pinag-iinitan. Kung saan po tatama ‘yung hataw ng batas, ika nga, dahil sa ipinapakita ng kongkretong ebidensya, ‘yon po ang magiging gabay sa gagawin ng ating mga awtoridad,” he said. The Aquino administration has been criticized by activist groups and by Senator Jinggoy Estrada, who Read More …

Lone bettor hits P215.867-million grand lotto jackpot

 News
Jun 282014
 
Lone bettor hits P215.867-million grand lotto jackpot

A lotto bettor is now more than P200 million richer after hitting the jackpot of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office’s Grand Lotto draw Saturday night. The PCSO said the winner got the combination of 04-52-55-38-46-08 to snag the night’s jackpot worth a whopping P215,867,812. Meanwhile, a second bettor won the Lotto 6/42 jackpot after getting the combination 27-01-29-04-06-18 to win P17,962,256. But as in the past, the PCSO is not likely to name the two winners for security reasons. On June 12, a lone bettor won the Lotto 6/42 draw by getting the combination of 04-33-17-27-41-23 to win P7,149,192. On May 22, a lone Super Lotto 6/49 bettor won P98,612,308 with the combination of 31-35-04-06-30-03. On April 14, a lone bettor bagged the Megalotto 6/45 jackpot, getting the combination of 30-16-06-10-18-12 to win P80,773,540. On April 7, a lone bettor hit the jackpot of the PCSO’s Grand Lotto, getting the combination of 39-21-42-28-05-27 to win P249,841,572. But the biggest lotto prize in recent history was in November 2010, when a lone bettor won some P741.176 million for getting the winning combination 11-16-42-47-31-37. — Joel Locsin/JDS, GMA News

Palace: Govt prepared to defend EDCA from latest suit

 News
Jun 272014
 
Palace: Govt prepared to defend EDCA from latest suit

Malacañang said Saturday the government is prepared to defend the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA), after a third suit questioning the controversial mutual defense pact was lodged before the Supreme Court Friday. While presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said it is the right of any citizen to file a petition questioning the legality or constitutionality of the pact, he said the Palace believe the deal is constitutional. “We believe this is constitutional. We are prepared to defend the EDCA before the Supreme Court,” he said on government-run dzRB radio. He said the Solicitor General will defend the constitutionality of the pact, which was signed on the first day of US President Barack Obama’s visit to the Philippines last April. The latest suit questioning the EDCA was lodged before the Supreme Court Friday by labor groups from the public and private sectors. Friday’s petitioners, including the Kilusang Mayo Uno and the Confederation for Unity, Recognition and Advancement of Government Employees, claimed the government committed grave abuse of discretion and violated the 1987 Philippine Constitution when it signed the EDCA. Named as respondents were Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa, Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin, Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario, Budget Secretary Florencio Abad, and Armed Forces of the Philippines chief of staff Gen. Emmanuel Bautista. Other respondents included defense undersecretary Pio Lorenzo Batino, who chairs the country’s negotiating panel for EDCA, and panel members Ambassador Lourdes Yparraguirre, Ambassador Eduardo Malaya, Justice undersecretary Francisco Baraan III, and Defense undersecretary Raymund Jose Quilop. The petitioners said the EDCA Read More …

Palace eyes last 2 years to lay foundations for growth, improved governance

 General
Jun 272014
 
Palace eyes last 2 years to lay foundations for growth, improved governance

Expect the Aquino administration to spend its last two years laying the foundations for “equitable” growth and a higher standard of governance, Malacañang said Saturday. Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said on government-run dzRB radio this is part of the administration’s belief of inclusive growth for all. “We would like to make sure as we leave, as the President leaves after 2016, he has laid the foundations for an economy that would provide equitable growth for all and a system na tumaas ang antas ng appreciation sa governance,” he said. He said they want to instill in Filipinos the mentality of “not going back” to where they were before President Benigno Aquino III assumed office in 2010. June 30, Monday, marks the fourth anniversary of Aquino’s assumption of the presidency. His term ends June 30, 2016. Lacierda claimed the Aquino administration has “elevated” the level of governance such that people now expect a better government. “’Yan ang isang bagay na gusto ma-realize ng Pilipino, mas maganda ang antas ng ating pamamahala. Despite the many issues that surround us and we have to handle on a regular basis, the Filipinos can expect standards of governance have risen and they should not allow (those standards) to go down again,” he said. Meanwhile, Lacierda said that as far as selecting a standard bearer for the 2016 elections, “we will have to wait for process to proceed and take its course.” He said one factor in the search is “who will continue the kind of Read More …

Revilla gets extended visiting hours after arraignment

 News
Jun 262014
 
Revilla gets extended visiting hours after arraignment

Court enters not guilty plea for Bong in plunder case. Senator Ramon Bong Revilla Jr. arrives at the Sandiganbayan in Quezon City on Thursday, June 26, for his arraignment for the the graft and plunder charges filed against him and several others in connection with the alleged P10-B pork barrel scam. He refused to enter a plea, prompting the anti-graft court to enter a not guilty plea for him. GMA News The Philippine National Police on Thursday allowed visits to Sen. Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. at his detention facility at the PNP Custodial Center in Camp Crame until 7 p.m. Regular visiting hours for detainees at the PNP Custodial Center are from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Thursdays and Sundays. PNP spokesman Chief Superintendent Reuben Theodore Sindac said this would make up for visiting hours eaten up when Revilla was arraignment at the Sandiganbayan, radio dzBB’s Tuesday Niu reported. The report quoted Sindac as saying Revilla had returned to his detention facility past noon after he was arraigned in the morning. Revilla is detained at the Custodial Center after the Sandiganbayan ordered his arrest on graft and plunder charges stemming from the alleged P10-billion pork barrel scam. Last weekend, Revilla’s family was allowed to visit him Friday and Saturday, and stay beyond 3 p.m. Sunday.  The PNP had said this was an adjustment period for him, and that it would afterwards enforce the regular visiting hours for him. Only lawyers, spiritual advisers and doctors have access to Revilla at Read More …

FDA advises hospitals vs 2 heparin products

 News
Jun 262014
 
FDA advises hospitals vs 2 heparin products

After tagging contaminated heparin as the cause of chills experienced by some patients at the National Kidney and Transplant Institute last May, Philippine health authorities have issued an advisory against two brands of the product. The Food and Drug Administration issued Advisory 2014-049 where it warned against the use of Meparin 5 (1000 IU/ml) and Meparin 25 (5000 IU/ml). It advised hospitals, health facilities and the general public to “stop the use” of these products manufactured by MedChem International Ltd – India, “regardless of the batch.” Also, it advised government and commercial pharmacies to stop dispensing these particular drug products. However, the FDA advisory dated June 25 did not specifically say if the two products could be behind the chills experienced by some patients at the NKTI last May. Last Tuesday, a report on “24 Oras” said contaminated heparin is being eyed as the cause of the chills experienced by at least 44 patients at the NKTI last May. The “24 Oras” report added the manufacturer and distributors of the contaminated brand had been notified, though the DOH at the time declined to identify the brand and manufacturer. Quality problem The FDA said it found Meparin 5 batch N-3176 contaminated with bacteria. It earlier issued a recall order on Meparin 5 batches N-3176, and put other batches of this product on quality hold. In a phone interview with GMA News Online on Thursday, Thelma Barros, company pharmacist of the brands’ distributor, Pharma-Surrey International, Inc., said that they conducted a voluntary Read More …

Bad weather cancels 22 domestic flights, diverts int'l flight to Clark

 News
Jun 262014
 
Bad weather cancels 22 domestic flights, diverts int'l flight to Clark

An inbound international flight was diverted to Pampanga, while 22 domestic flights were canceled due to bad weather on Thursday, the Ninoy Aquino International Airport said. In a post on its Facebook page, the Manila International Airport Authority said Singapore Airlines flight SQ-912 from Singapore to Manila was “diverted to Clark due to bad weather.” The MIAA indicated the flight was to arrive at Clark nearly three hours past its initial scheduled arrival. On the other hand, NAIA Terminal 3 noted 22 canceled flights due to bad weather as of 6 p.m., including: 2P 2079/2080 Manila-Cartarman-Manila 2P 2071/2072 Manila-Calbayog-Manila 5J 323/324 Manila-Legazpi-Manila 2P 2925/2926 Manila-Legazpi-Manila 5J 521/522 Manila-Naga-Manila 2P 2031/2032 Manila-Busuanga-Manila 5J 329/330 Manila-Legazpi-Manila 2P 2927/2928 Manila-Legazpi-Manila 5J 529/530 Manila-Busuanga-Manila 5J 899/900 Manila-Caticlan-Manila 5J 531/532 Manila-Busuanga-Manila Heavy rain fell over parts of Metro Manila and nearby provinces on Thursday afternoon. PAGASA said this was due to a low-pressure area estimated at 190 km east-northeast of Catarman, Northern Samar or 211 km east of Virac, Catanduanes as of 4 p.m. In its 5 p.m. bulletin, PAGASA said Metro Manila, Central Luzon, MIMAROPA, CALABARZON, Bicol and Western Visayas may have moderate to occasionally heavy rains and thunderstorms which may trigger flash floods and landslides. — Joel Locsin/JDS, GMA News

PHL to China: Map won’t make territories yours

 News
Jun 262014
 
PHL to China: Map won’t make territories yours

China can’t assert its ownership of territories in the South China Sea on the basis of a new map that places almost all of the disputed waters within its national boundaries, the Philippines said on Thursday. China’s new official map contains ten dashes instead of the usual nine dashes that forms a tongue-shaped perimeter around the South China Sea, encroaching on the territories of its smaller Asian neighbors like the Philippines.  The tenth dash, placed outside the South China Sea, was added beside Taiwan—a self-ruling democratic island that broke away from the mainland in 1949—to imply its status as a Chinese province. “The map per se will not make the territories that you claim yours. If it were so, then let’s all draw our own maps,” Foreign Affairs Charles Jose told a press briefing. The new map, which GMA News Online published as early as in 2013, is viewed as another attempt by China to reinforce its claims in the South China Sea. Foreign news wire agency Reuters reported on the new map on Wednesday. Jose said the Philippines didn’t recognize the Chinese map, calling it “unreasonably expansive.” “Your map should be based on international law,” Jose said. “No country in the world recognizes the nine-dash line of China.” Jose expects the map to be nullified should the Philippines get a favorable ruling on the case it filed in 2013 against China before the Netherlands-based tribunal operating under a United Nations convention.  Manila is asking the court to declare China’s Read More …

Youth groups slam CHED for dropping Filipino subjects from college curriculum

 News
Jun 262014
 
Youth groups slam CHED for dropping Filipino subjects from college curriculum

Youth organizations under the Rise for Education alliance staged a rally in front of the office of the Commission on Higher Education in Quezon City on Thursday to protest the removal of Filipino subjects from the curriculum of colleges and universities. The protesters said they trooped to the CHED office to show their objection against CHED Memorandum No. Series of 2013 (CMO 20), which removes Filipino as subject in the collegiate level. A statement by the alliance quoted Charlotte Velasco, League of Filipino Students (LFS) national spokesperson and R4E alliance co-convenor, as saying that CHED’s resolution “will worsen the clash between the English and Filipino language.” The youth alliance also hit CHED chairperson Patricia Licunan for saying schools may opt to use the Filipino language as medium for teaching. “Saying the Filipino language can be used as a medium for teaching isn’t tantamount to teaching definite Filipino courses. Teaching disciplines in Filipino is insufficient in developing the youth’s knowledge on the Filipino language and culture,” she said. According to CMO 20, Filipino will no longer be part of the general education curriculum by 2016 and the teaching of Filipino at the college level will be limited to Filipino majors and Education in Filipino majors. The CHED justified the removal by saying that the subject would be covered in Grades 11 and 12 under the new K-12 curriculum. Affected professors Meanwhile, the youth alliance agreed with the National Commission for Culture and the Arts’ National Committee on Language and Translation’s (NCCA-NCLT) Read More …

SC orders transfer of Atimonan massacre trial from Quezon to Manila

 News
Jun 252014
 
SC orders transfer of Atimonan massacre trial from Quezon to Manila

The Supreme Court has ordered the transfer of the venue of the multiple murder trial of suspects in the Jan. 6, 2013 Atimonan bloodbath from Quezon province to Manila. In a two-page notice of resolution, the high tribunal’s First Division granted the request made by Prosecutor General Claro Arellano to transfer the trial venue from the Regional Trial Court Branch 61 in Gumaca, Quezon to the Manila RTC. In his request submitted to the high court in October last year, Arellano cited the “greater risk involved” in transporting all the accused from Camp Crame in Quezon City to Gumaca to attend hearings, as well as the higher costs in doing so. Arellano also argued that the “climate in Gumaca is not conducive to the holding of trial as the witnesses, as well as the accused, are vulnerable to threats from extremists in the area, considering the political and economic status of the personalities involved in these cases, and the geographical location of the said municipality.” Thirteen policemen, including the wounded mission commander Supt. Hansel Marantan, have been ordered dismissed from service in connection with the alleged Atimonan rubout. All the respondents were found guilty of serious irregularity in the performance of duty, according to a March 5 decision signed by Philippine National Police chief Director General Alan Purisima. They have since pleaded not guilty to the charges. Aside from changing the trial venue, the high court also authorized the executive judge of the Manila RTC to raffle the case and ordered the jusge that Read More …

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