Maniolas

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the European Union (EU) on Tuesday signed a “solidarity statement” that indicated their commitment to push for lead and mercury-safe schools. In a signing ceremony conducted at Commonwealth Elementary School in Quezon City, Environment Secretary Ramon Paje said the statement also showed the stakeholders’ agreement to promote and uphold lead and mercury safe schools, specifically “by using lead safe paints and by switching to mercury-free alternatives towards a toxic-free, zero waste educational system.” The statement was signed by Paje and EU Ambassador Guy Ledoux. Also in attendance were senior officials from the Department of Education (DepEd) and the Department of Health (DOH) , as well as 200 kids, parents, local government officials, doctors, and environmentalists. The efforts to eliminate lead especially from paint products is part of the P80-million Asian Lead Paint Elimination Project, being implemented in seven countries in Asia including the Philippines. The project is funded by the EU. Other beneficiaries of the project are Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Nepal, Thailand and Sri Lanka. The EcoWaste Coalition is the leading project partner in the Philippines. In support of the project, Paje signed in January of this year the Chemical Control Order (CCO) for Lead and Lead Compounds. The CCO set the standard content of lead for locally produced paints at 90 parts per million (ppm), the current standard for lead decorative paints in the United States. The CCO also “strictly prohibits the use of lead and lead compounds in the Read More …

Jinggoy turns himself in. Senator Jinggoy Estrada arrives at Camp Crame on Monday, June 23, after the Sandiganbayan Fifth Division issued an arrest warrant against him and several others in connection with the alleged P10-billion pork barrel scam. Estrada is facing plunder and graft charges. AFP/Noel Celis Senator Jinggoy Estrada on Monday afternoon joined friend and fellow Senator Bong Revilla in detention at the Philippine National Police’s Custodial Center in Camp Crame.  Police transferred Estrada to the detention center at 3:33 p.m.   Estrada and Revilla are both facing graft and plunder charges in connection with the P10-billion pork barrel scam.  They have both denied the charges filed against them.  The Sandiganbayan issued a warrant of arrest against Estrada on Monday morning. Estrada surrendered to the police at Camp Crame, where he was held until a custody order by the anti-graft court was issued.  Revilla’s warrant of arrest came earlier, last Friday. He also surrendered to the police and was detained, since then,  at the tightly secured custodian center. —NB, GMA News

Malacañang on Monday belied Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada’s claim that there is a “systematic plan” to bring down the opposition following the issuance of arrest orders on two senators considered critics of the administration. “We can also assure Mayor Estrada that the perception that [they] have is entirely inaccurate. There is no systematic plan [against the administration],” presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said during a press conference. “What we have, however, is a plan to bring to court those who have been found to have misused their PDAF… and that would involve and affect anyone who… have misused their funds whether you are friend or foe,” he added. Estrada has accused the Aquino administration of going after opposition personalities one by one after the Sandiganbayan issued a warrant of arrest against his son, Sen. Jinggoy Estrada, in connection with the alleged P10-billion peso pork barrel fund scam. Jinggoy has already surrendered to the Philippine National Police (PNP). Last Friday, an arrest warrant was likewise issued against Sen. Ramon Bong Revilla Jr. also in connection with the pork barrel scam. He, too, surrendered to the PNP. Both Estrada and Revilla, as well as Senate Minority Leader Juan Ponce Enrile, are facing graft and plunder charges in connection with the supposed scam. Enrile is a known stalwart of the United Nationalist Alliance, a party formed by the elder Estrada and Vice President Jejomar Binay. Lacierda, however, said they are not just going after critics of the Aquino administration. “It’s not true that we Read More …

Citing their unresolved rift, Sen. JV Ejercito on Monday said he has no plans of visiting his half-brother, Sen. Jinggoy Estrada, anytime soon at his detention center in Camp Crame. “Siguro in time,” Ejercito told GMA News TV’s “News To Go” in an interview. “Baka hindi pa niya ako gustong makita.” Estrada turned himself in to the police on Monday noon after the Sandiganbayan Fifth Division issued a warrant of arrest against him and several others in connection with the alleged P10-billion pork barrel scam. Estrada is charged with graft and plunder for allegedly pocketing P183.79 million in kickbacks from dealings with fake non-government organizations from 2004 to 2012. The rocky relationship between the two sons of former President and now Manila mayor Joseph Estrada became even more strained after Ejercito signed the Senate blue ribbon committee report on the pork barrel scam probe, which recommended the filing of plunder charges against Estrada and Senators Juan Ponce Enrile and Ramon Bong Revilla Jr. Estrada has earlier admitted he was hurt by his half-brother’s decision to sign the report. Even though they are not on good terms, Ejercito expressed sadness over his half-brother’s predicament, saying he is aware how the pork barrel controversy has affected the senator’s family, “I’m very much concerned… lalo na para sa kanyang pamilya. Alam ko kung gaano kasakit ang pinagdadaanan nila ngayon,” he said. Estrada was previously detained together with his father at Fort Sto. Domingo in 2001 in connection with a plunder case involving their Read More …

(Updated 9:12 a.m.) Sen. Jose “Jinggoy” Estrada on Monday said he has packed his clothes in preparation for his looming arrest and detention over charges related to the P10-billion pork barrel scam. Estrada will surrender quietly at Camp Crame if an arrest warrant is issued against him by the Sandiganbayan, radio dzBB’s Nimfa Ravelo reported earlier Monday. In an interview on dzBB radio Monday, Estrada also thanked his supporters for their continued trust in him, and vowed to prove his innocence. “Sa nagmamahal sa amin, sa aming pamilya, unang-una, nais ko kayong pasalamatan sa suporta sa amin. Asahan ninyo patutunayan muli ang kasong pinagkasasangkutan ko ay wala po akong kasalanan,” he said. When asked what he had packed inside his bags in preparation for his possible detention, he answered, “personal clothes.” But when asked if he also included insecticide spray in his bags—a reference to Sen. Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr.’s comments of rats and cockroaches in his detention cell—Estrada merely laughed.  On the other hand, he said he is 101 percent sure he will be acquitted because he is innocent. Estrada is one of three senators linked to the multibillion-peso scam. The others are Senate minority leader Juan Ponce Enrile and Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. Estrada has been accused of pocketing P183.79 million in kickbacks from dealings with fake NGOs from 2004 to 2012.    The said NGOs were allegedly put up by businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles, who is being tagged as the mastermind of the scam. The Ombudsman said Estrada chose Read More …