Maniolas

Obama makes a toast at state dinner. US President Barack Obama offers a toast as he attends a State Dinner with President Benigno Aquino at Malacañang Palace in Manila, April 28, 2014. Obama said a new military pact signed with the Philippines on Monday granting a larger presence for US forces would bolster the Southeast Asian country’s maritime security, but was not aimed at countering China’s growing military might. REUTERS/Larry Downing After an agreement that will increase the presence of US troops in the Philippines was signed just hours before his arrival in the country, United States President Barack Obama on Monday said his country had an “iron-clad” commitment to defend the Filipino people. “You bring back that same strength and solidarity to our alliance. So let me say tonight, in behalf of the American people, we are honored and proud to call you an ally and a friend,” Obama said during a state dinner held at Rizal Hall in the Malacañang Palace, GMA News’ “24 Oras” reported. “Through our treaty alliance, the United States has an iron clad commitment to defend you, your security and your independence,” Obama said, referring to the 1951 mutual defense treaty between the two nations. On Monday morning, Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin and US Ambassador to the Philippines Philip Goldberg signed the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City after eight rounds of talks that started in August 2013. The EDCA, which falls within the scope of the Visiting Forces Agreement Read More …

Obama, Aquino hold joint press conference. US President Barack Obama answers a reporter’s question during a joint news conference with President Benigno Aquino III in Malacañang on Monday, April 28. Obama sat down for talks with Aquino during the last stop in his four-nation Asia tour hours after US and Philippine officials signed a new military pact granting a larger presence for American forces in the country. Reuters/Larry Downing President Benigno Aquino III on Monday defended his administration against criticisms that it is not addressing the high incidence of journalist killings in the country. During a joint press conference with US President Barack Obama during the latter’s state visit to the country, Aquino said his administration has set up an inter-agency committee to look into extrajudicial killings and forced disappearances, torture and other grave violations of right to life, liberty, and security of persons. He said 62 suspected cases of extrajudicial killings have been referred to the committee, but that of the number, only 10 met the criteria of what constitutes extrajudicial killing. And of the 10 cases, he said, only one happened during his administration. ‘An abundance of criticisms’ Aquino said it is not his administration’s “policy” to silence critics, even journalists. “All you have to do will be to turn on the TV, the radio or look at any newspaper to find an abundance of criticisms,” he said. But he said that even killings which happened before his term are being addressed by the current administration. He specifically Read More …

Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno, in her commencement speech to the University of the Philippines-Diliman’s graduating class of 2014, on Sunday urged the fresh graduates to use their youthful energies to create a just and free country, clear of corruption. “Nasa inyong mga kamay ang pagkakataon, oras, katawan at lakas. Higit sa lahat nasa inyo ang mga boses na sisigaw na ‘tama na, tama na ang katiwalian, tama na ang lamangan, tama na ang kasuwapangan.’ Panahon na para ang katarungan ang manaig,” Sereno said in her speech. Sereno, the first female to head the judiciary, was the guest of honor in the state university’s 103rd commencement exercises. In her speech, Sereno referenced the controversial multi-billion pork barrel scam and the personalities involved, noting how the electorate was barely holding their politicians accountable for their misdeeds. “Alam po ng lahat na ang mga mansyon ng mga matataas na mga opisyales ay hindi po nila kayang ipagawa sa lehitimong kita, lalo na po’t maraming mga kerida o pamilya. Ngunit kakaunti lamang po ang makapagtataas ng boses sa garapalang buhay na magara,” Sereno said. “Noon, impossible malaman magkano o gaano kalaki ang pandarambong sa kaban ng bayan. Iba na po ang ihip ng hangin ngayon,” she added. But despite Sereno’s perception of the public’s reaction, the misuse of the Priority Development Assistance Fund became a hot topic in July of 2013 after bogus NGOs were reported to have been used by lawmakers as conduits for “pork barrel” kickbacks, amounting to billions of pesos. Read More …

Devotees in Kidapawan City flock to Blessed John Paul II statue. Catholic devotees on Sunday, April 27, 2014, flock to a statue of Blessed John Paul II at the Jesus the Good Shepherd Parish in Barangay Amas, Kidapawan City in Cotabato, hours before the canonization rites in Vatican City for the late pontiff. Williamor A. Magbanua Thousands of Filipinos joined in the celebration of the canonization of Saints John Paul II and John XXIII on Sunday. According to GMA reporter Sandra Aguinaldo, who covered the celebration of the canonization at the Araneta Coliseum in Cubao on Sunday afternoon, Quezon City might as well have been Vatican City. People from all walks of life packed the coliseum, “24 Oras” reported. Multiple big screens were set up in the coliseum so the audience could witness the historic event. After watching the live feed of the canonization rites in the Vatican, a procession of the relics of Saints John Paul II and John XXII followed. Manila Archbishop Cardinal Luis Tagle then celebrated a Holy Mass. In his homily, the cardinal opined that everyone could be as holy as the two new saints. “I have to convince myself, these faces are faces of people that can be holy…called by God,” he said. “Kahit ganyan ang mga mukha natin,” he quipped. Tagle turned emotional as he recalled how he, who used to sleep in class in his younger years, was called by God and now serves as a cardinal. Apart from the canonizations, the Catholic Read More …

President Barack Obama AP FILE PHOTO MANILA, Philippines — Will the United States, the Philippines’ only defense treaty ally, come to its rescue if the row over portions of the South China Sea escalates into an armed conflict with Beijing? Washington has expressed support for Manila amid its raging territorial dispute with China. But the question still begs to be answered more categorically when US President Barack Obama wraps up his four-nation Asian trip in Manila where he’s expected to seal a deal allowing more American troops on Philippine soil. Obama is set to arrive at 1:30 p.m. on Monday (April 28) in Manila, the last stop of a seven-day Asian swing that also brought him to Japan, South Korea and Malaysia. Hounding him throughout the trip were questions on how he would reassure allies of Washington’s support amid China’s expansionism and growing military and economic influence in the region. It’s the same question that will confront him when he and President Benigno Aquino face the media in a joint press conference in Malacanang at 3:25 p.m. The Philippine and US panels have reportedly completed the Agreement on Enhanced Defense Cooperation, which would provide American troops greater access to military bases around the country. But on the eve of Obama’s arrival, Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma said the Palace was still awaiting word from the Philippine panel on whether both sides had reached an agreement. As of 12:30 p.m. when he held his regular Sunday briefing on radio, he said both Read More …