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Sep 022015
Sep 022015
INQUIRER.net By: Nestor Corrales, September 2nd, 2015 04:26 PM Celia Veloso, mother of Mary Jane Veloso, narrates before the House committee on overseas workers affairs her family’s ordeal with the Department of Foreign Affairs. NESTOR CORRALES/INQUIRER.net The House committee on overseas workers affairs on Wednesday recommended the recall of Consul General Robert Manalo over his handling of Mary Jane Veloso’s case. Manalo is the consul general at the Philippine Embassy in Jakarta. During a committee hearing, Gabriela Rep. Luzviminda Ilagan raised a motion to recall Manalo over “serious complaints” of Mary Jane Veloso’s family and her private lawyers. READ: House to probe case of Mary Jane Veloso The committee seconded Ilagan’s motion and said that they would write to Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario to investigate Manalo. Celia Veloso, mother of Mary Jane, appeared before the house panel and narrated the lapses of Manalo in handling her daughter’s case. Manalo, who also attended the hearing, maintained that he did everything to help Mary Jane. “Wala po ako pagkukulang kay Mary Jane. Natulungan ko po siya sa lahat ng aking makakaya (I have no shortcomings to Mary Jane. I helped her to the best of my abilities),” Manalo told the committee. He, however, apologized to Veloso’s family and to his private lawyers if he had actions that hurt them. “Buong puso po akong nagpapumanhin (I am wholeheartedly apologizing). I am very sorry po,” he said. Lawyer Edre Olalia, secretary general of National Union of Lawyers of the Philippines (NUPL) who Read More …
Sep 012015
Inquirer Central Luzon By: Allan Macatuno, September 2nd, 2015 05:51 AM OLONGAPO CITY, Philippines—The lawyers for the family of slain transgender Jeffrey “Jennifer” Laude said a settlement with the camp of accused US Marine Lance Cpl. Joseph Scott Pemberton was impossible now that both parties had rested their case. Pemberton is facing a murder charge in Olongapo City Regional Trial Court Branch 74 here for the death of Laude, whose body was found in a motel bathroom on Oct. 11 last year. Witnesses identified Pemberton as the man who was last seen with her as they checked into the motel. “Any settlement now is impossible, especially since both parties are done presenting their respective evidence,” said Virgie Lacsa Suarez, one of the Laude family’s lawyers, in a text message to the Inquirer on Monday. Suarez said that since the start of the prosecution’s presentation of evidence on March 23, there had been no talk of a settlement. “There was only a discussion on a plea bargain as part of the pretrial early in February,” Suarez said. She denied reports the family had demanded P38 million and six US visas to drop the case. “There is simply no truth to that… maybe that’s what they (defense lawyers) want to offer [the family],” Suarez said. She said she suspected Pemberton’s lawyers were “testing the waters” when they revealed the alleged offer. “There is no truth to reports we will drop the case at anytime,” Suarez said. City Chief Prosecutor Emilie Fe de Read More …
Sep 012015
INQUIRER.net U.S. Bureau September 2nd, 2015 01:31 AM DELANO, California — The 50th anniversary of the historic Delano Grape Strike initiated by Filipino farm workers will be celebrated with a series of events over Labor Day Weekend, September 5 and 6, in Delano. Dubbed “Bold Step,” the weekend hosted by the newly formed Delano chapter of the Filipino American National Historical Society (FANHS) and its parent organization will commemorate the Filipino workers’ momentous decision to strike, which left a legacy of activism in the Filipino American community in Delano and across the nation. The weekend’s events will kick off on Saturday, September 5 at the Filipino Community Hall, the historic building where the strike vote was taken and the headquarters of the first years of the Grape Strike. The program will include a keynote by Rob Bonta, the first Filipino American elected to the California State Assembly, and presentations by strike veterans, scholars, community activists and local community leaders. Highlight A highlight of the weekend will be a screening of the Emmy-award winning documentary, Delano Manongs: Forgotten Heroes of the United Farm Workers. New York-based filmmaker Marissa Aroy, whose family roots are in Delano, will be present. The weekend will also include cultural performances and bus tours of local historic sites. The Delano Grape Strike began on September 8, 1965, when thousands of mostly Filipino American grape workers, led by Larry Itliong, walked off of the vineyards in Delano. The strike sparked the farm labor movement of the 20th century, Read More …
Aug 312015
Philippine Daily Inquirer By: Maricar B. Brizuela, September 1st, 2015 06:06 AM While the nation marked National Heroes Day on Monday, about 500 people from various sectors massed outside the Chinese consulate in Makati City and condemned China’s “territorial aggression.” Led by former National Security Adviser Roilo Golez and businesswoman Loida Nicolas Lewis of the group US Pinoys for Good Governance, the demonstrators called their gathering a “Global Day of Prayer for Peace and Victory in the West Philippine Sea.” They were joined by members of Movement and Alliance to Resist China’s Aggression (Marcha) composed of groups like Jesus Is Lord Church, Intercessors of the Philippines, Christian Men’s Ministry of the Philippines and Knights of Columbus. They occupied a stretch of Makati from Tordesillas Street to Nicanor Garcia (Reposo), braving the heat of the late-morning sun, and carried banners reading, “No to China’s Bullying, Yes to the Rule of Law.” The demonstration ended with a candle-lighting ceremony symbolizing, they said, the Filipinos’ hope for a peaceful resolution of the West Philippine Sea conflict. In his message, Golez said the United Nations arbitral tribunal would soon “decide the question of jurisdiction” in the arbitration case filed by the Philippines challenging China’s claim on parts of the South China Sea claimed by Manila. Golez said this would be a very important decision since it would create an impact on Philippine territory, national security and natural resources. Warship vs worship “We should continue to pray for our case,” Golez said. “I talked with Read More …
Aug 312015
Philippine Daily Inquirer By: Tarra Quismundo, September 1st, 2015 06:05 AM PRESIDENT Aquino with Ramon Magsaysay 2015 awardees, from left , Kommaly Chantavong of Laos, Liga Fernando-Amilbangsa of the Philippines, Anshu Gupta of India, Sanjiv Chaturvedi of India and Kyaw Thu of Myanmar. RICHARD A. REYES Hailed as “modern-day heroes” on National Heroes Day, this year’s winners of the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Awards on Monday called for greater collective action on the world’s most troubling issues, from cultural preservation and children’s rights to growing poverty and oppressive governance. Each giving their response to the honor accorded them in the name of the well-admired late Philippine President Ramon Magsaysay, Laos’ Kommaly Chanthavong, Myanmar’s Kyaw Thu, India’s Anshu Gupta and Sanjiv Chaturvedi and the Philippines’ Ligaya Fernando-Amilbangsa said the award provided them fresh inspiration for their efforts, as they encouraged others to become instruments of change. Gupta, who founded an organization that revolutionized the idea of giving clothes to the poor in India, hoped his innovation would find its way to other parts of the world. “I hope that when the celebrations around this year’s awards are over, there will be some people out there—from the governments, academia, development sector, research organizations, policy makers, opinion leaders and decision makers—who will see this work as a possibility which can turn the tide on the colossal waste we are all facing,” Gupta told his audience, which included President Aquino. Myanmar actor Kyaw Thu appealed for genuine reforms in his country long wracked by civil Read More …
Aug 312015
INQUIRER.net U.S. Bureau/U.K. Correspondent By: Melissa Legarda Alcantara, September 1st, 2015 02:13 AM Filipina OFW contestant in Binibining Pilipinas Israel, from the film “Binibining Promised Land.” FILM CLIP LONDON — A long excerpt from Turkish director Köken Ergun’s short film, “Binibining Promised Land” (2010), which features an interview with Marylou Sulit Muga, a Filipina caregiver based in Israel, screened at a contemporary art film exhibition Wednesday, August 26 at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in Central London. Ergun’s original documentary, which runs 37 minutes, explores the lives of predominantly female Filipino caregivers based in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, and Haifa. Opening with shots from a lively Binibining Pilipinas Israel competition, the film tells of OFWs enduring poor working and living conditions but emphasizes the positive social lives they lead in spite of their restricted circumstances. Israel-based OFW Marylou Sulit Muga in “Binibing Promised Land” by Kôken Ergun. FILM CLIP Muga, who cares for an elderly Israeli woman in Tel Aviv, discusses her loneliness at being in a foreign country and thanks the community spirit of her fellow OFWs for alleviating her sadness. “To the Filipino people, everywhere you go, we are one big family,” says Muga. “Filipinos [are] the most resilient and happiest in the world.” Although Muga gets only three single hours of free time every week, she remains grateful for the chance to see her friends and to write articles for the Filipino-Israeli magazine, Pinoy na Babasahin. “There [are] handsome dollars here in Israel,” says Muga. Curator Anna Miyoung Kim Read More …
Aug 312015
Comelec still eyes use of some PCOS machines to ‘decongest’ clustered precincts’ | News | GMA News Online News Entertainment Home Artist Center Community International Radio Films Records Kapuso Foundation Corporate
Aug 312015
Shops start selling Christmas wares as ‘ber months start | News | GMA News Online News Entertainment Home Artist Center Community International Radio Films Records Kapuso Foundation Corporate
Aug 312015
#DeLimaBringtheTruth trends amid motorists, commuters’ ire vs. Iglesia ni Cristo | News | GMA News Online News Entertainment Home Artist Center Community International Radio Films Records Kapuso Foundation Corporate