Recto wants use of travel tax, other fees to improve NAIA

 News
Jan 072014
 
Recto wants use of travel tax, other fees to improve NAIA

Ninoy Aquino International Airport INQUIRER FILE PHOTO MANILA, Philippines—Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto  is proposing the use of travel tax and other fees collected from  passengers to improve the  security and condition of the Ninoy  Aquino International  Airport. Recto specifically  pointed to the fees  being collected by three government agencies – the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA), the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP), and the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA)—which he said derive much of their combined  annual P16.billion income from NAIA. Even a fraction of the fees paid by passengers and planes to these three agencies for use of NAIA, he said, will be enough to install “clean toilets, CCTVs and comfortable couches” in its four terminals. “If a mall charges a mere P10 for the use of a hotel-like toilet, I can’t see why a Filipino travelling abroad who pays P550 in terminal fee and P1,620 in travel tax should be entitled to less,” Recto said in a statement on  Tuesday. In 2012, MIAA posted a gross operating income of P8.28 billion and a net income after tax of P2.64 billion. Of its gross, he said, P3.3 billion came from “toll and terminal fees” paid by departing passengers, who cough up P550 if bound for abroad, and P200 if headed for domestic destinations. Recto said 2012 was also a banner year for another TIEZA, which raked in P3.5 billion in “travel tax” levied on 2,271,468 departing passengers. Its collection, he said, would have been higher if not for the exemption granted by law to overseas Filipino workers, 443,868 of whom were reported to have exited in 2012. Recto said Read More …

Canada pulls out 300 relief personnel from PH

 News
Jan 072014
 
Canada pulls out 300 relief personnel from PH

A Filipino soldier takes a break beside relief goods at the Tacloban airport, in central Philippines on Sunday, Dec. 8, 2013. AP FILE PHOTO MANILA, Philippines – Canada’s more than 300 humanitarian relief personnel have pulled out of the country following the completion of their aid mission in areas devastated by typhoon Yolanda (international name Haiyan). Canada’s Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) deployed in Panay Island officially wrapped up its humanitarian assistance mission last December 16 followed by the batch by batch departure of 315 Canadian Air Force (CAF) personnel up to the last week of December. Based in Roxas City, DART treated more than 6,500 patients, cleared over 130 kilometers of road, and delivered almost 500,000 liters of purified water and more than 230,000 pounds of food, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said in a statement Tuesday. “The DART is a multidisciplinary military organization designed to deploy on short notice anywhere in the world in response to situations ranging from natural disasters to complex humanitarian emergencies,” DFA said. “This was the first time that Canada has engaged in this type of humanitarian action in the country,” it said. More than 10,000 pounds of building materials for homes were also brought by the DART to help residents on Panay Island in rebuilding shelters. Helping the DART throughout their humanitarian relief mission were more than a dozen Filipino-Canadians who served as liaison officers since they knew how to converse with the locals in Filipino. “As such, they provided vital links Read More …

Fil-Ams brave arctic cold to meet new NY mayor

 News
Jan 062014
 
Fil-Ams brave arctic cold to meet new NY mayor

The Filipino delegation at Gracie Mansion with the author (extreme right). CONTRIBUTED PHOTO NEW YORK—Newly sworn in Mayor Bill de Blasio opened his official residence at Gracie Mansion to thousands of city residents, including a dozen Filipino-Americans, who braved the frigid arctic weather on Sunday, Jan. 5. The 6’5” former Public Advocate towered over the Fil-Ams, bending his neck as he beamed with them for photographs. He wore a black suit with a yellow tie. “He is so tall,” said beauty pageant director Erno Hormillosa. “They must have gotten rid of the old bed and brought in something more to his size.” Sally Nunez, president of RN Express staffing agency for nurses and healthcare workers, said, “Meeting him was surreal. It went so fast I didn’t realize it was already over until I got out of the receiving room.” Sally Nunez is thrilled at being photographed with Mayor Bill de Blasio. PHOTO BY ELTON LUGAY Erno and Sally were among the Fil-Ams who came to Gracie Mansion in early morning and lined up in the icy weather condition so they could get in by 10 a.m. The opportunity to meet the mayor was the “first event of its kind in recent memory,” said the press release. A line snaked around the Carl Schurz Park where the historic federal-style residence sits, surrounded by A vast garden of camellias, dogwood bushes and other greenery. No one seemed to mind the bone-chilling temperature. People were patient, upbeat and chatting with each other, sharing Read More …

TPS petition to Obama far short of 100k signatures goal

 News
Jan 062014
 
TPS petition to Obama far short of 100k signatures goal

LAS VEGAS—An online petition asking the US Department of Homeland Security to grant the Philippines Temporary Protective Status (TPS) is in danger of failing to garner enough signatures by Feb. 1, 2014, the deadline for the petition to be able to have the needed number of signatures. With just 25 days left, the petition posted on the “We the People” website has gathered only 20 signatures, well short of the 100,000 necessary for the White House to respond. The online petition was launched from San Francisco, and the initial signatures came from mostly California-based Filipino-Americans. The petition states: “We respectfully request Pres. Obama to direct the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to designate the Philippines as a country for Temporary Protected Status (TPS), pursuant to 8 U.S.C §1254a, as a way to meaningfully augment current humanitarian efforts of the United States to assist citizens of the Philippines affected by Super Typhoon Haiyan. “Under this section, a country may be designated for TPS if it has been impacted by a natural disaster that has “result[ed] in a substantial, but temporary, disruption of living conditions” such that the country is “unable, temporarily, to handle adequately the return” of its nationals currently in the United States. 8 U.S.C §1254a(b)(1)(B)(i) &(ii).” The “We the People” petition is in addition to direct appeals to the Obama administration for immediate immigration relief for Filipinos in the United States in the wake of the devastation caused by Supertyphoon Haiyan/Yolanda. A TPS designation, among others, will provide a Read More …

Suspect arrested in SF Chinese consulate arson attack

 News
Jan 062014
 
Suspect arrested in SF Chinese consulate arson attack

INQUIRER.net US Bureau 7:09 am | Tuesday, January 7th, 2014 SAN FRANCISCO—A Chinese national residing in Daly City has surrendered to authorities to face charges for starting a fire that damaged the Chinese consulate in San Francisco on New Year’s Day. Yan Feng, 39, allegedly told FBI agents in an interview after his arrest that he had been hearing voices in Chinese, according to court documents. An FBI spokesman said that there was no indication the fire was motivated by terrorism, politics or civil rights concerns. Details of the interview were contained in an affidavit submitted by FBI agent Michael Eldridge with a criminal complaint filed by US prosecutors in federal court in San Francisco on Monday. Feng was charged in the complaint with two counts of maliciously damaging property by means of fire and willfully damaging property belonging to or occupied by a foreign government. Feng surrendered to authorities on Friday. The fire at the consulate, located at 1450 Laguna St., occurred around 9:30 p.m. Wednesday. The building was damaged but no one was injured. Eldridge said in the affidavit that Feng called Daly City police on Friday and “identified himself as the individual who ‘made the fire’ in front of” what Feng called the Chinese Embassy in San Francisco. Daly City police went to Feng’s address and arrested him, the agent said. The two charges filed against Feng each carry a possible sentence of up to five years in prison if he is convicted. The consulate issued a Read More …

Filipino singer captures Israeli hearts in TV show

 News
Jan 062014
 
Filipino singer captures Israeli hearts in TV show

In this Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2014 photo, Rose Fostanes sings during a rehearsal of the X-Factor Israel in Tel Aviv. The 47-year-old Filipino caregiver has emerged as the newest star of Israeli reality television, putting a human face on the thousands of foreign workers who toil away in menial, back-breaking jobs in this country. AP PHOTO/ARIEL SCHALIT JERUSALEM—A 47-year-old Filipino caregiver has emerged as the newest star of Israeli reality television, putting a human face on the thousands of foreign workers who toil away in menial, back-breaking jobs in this country. Israeli viewers of the country’s myriad of reality shows have grown accustomed to successful candidates from various backgrounds, including black-clad ultra-Orthodox Jews, Ethiopian immigrants and a German convert to Judaism who became a celebrity chef. But they’ve never seen someone like Rose Fostanes before. The diminutive woman with a booming voice has taken “X-Factor Israel” by storm and emerged as a national phenomenon. Known simply as “Rose,” she is mobbed by fans wherever she goes. “It’s a big change in my life because before nobody recognized me, nobody knew me. But now everybody, I think everybody in Israel knows my name. And it is very funny,” she said. Fostanes arrived six years ago to work as a caregiver so, like millions of other Filipino workers around the world, she could send money back home to her family and her girlfriend. She spends her days caring and cleaning for an ailing woman in her 50s. To save money, Fostanes lives Read More …

AFP gradually boosting territorial defense

 News
Jan 062014
 
AFP gradually boosting territorial defense

By Frances MangosingPhilippine Daily Inquirer 9:06 pm | Monday, January 6th, 2014 Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief of Staff Gen. Emmanuel Bautista. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO MANILA, Philippines – The military is in “gradual transition” of its operations to territorial defense this 2014. Armed Forces of the Philippines chief of staff General Emmanuel Bautista, however, emphasized that they will continue to address internal security threats even it starts its transition to territorial defense. “We will continue to address- it’s part of our mandate- internal security issues until appropriate agencies of government are capable,” he told reporters on Monday. By 2016, the military targets the completion of its anti-insurgency Internal Peace Security Plan Bayanihan. This campaign is a multi-sectoral approach in ending insurgency problem in the country that is anchored on “winning the peace.” “We will sustain Bayanihan, [but also we] appeal to our people that internal conflicts be put to an end because there are more pressing concerns, urgent concerns that we need to address. We are witness to Yolanda, climate change. We are witness to our problems in the West Philippine Sea and many more,” he added. Communist rebels are estimated to be around 4,000. As for the military’s territorial defense, where the Philippines faces external conflict with China, Bautista also highlighted its “peaceful” approach but is also prepared for other scenarios. “We would like to resolve conflicts in the most peaceful manner, it applies internally and also externally. We will continue to pursue that national policy, without Read More …

Foreign aid donors decline comment on alleged bunkhouse overprice

 News
Jan 062014
 
Foreign aid donors decline comment on alleged bunkhouse overprice

U.S. Marines provide safe drinking water to typhoon survivors Thursday Nov. 21, 2013 at Tacloban city, Leyte province in central Philippines. AP FILE PHOTO MANILA—Major donors to the Philippines’ response to the humanitarian emergency in typhoon-ravaged Eastern Visayas begged off from making any comment Monday on the reported overpricing of bunkhouses for people rendered homeless by the calamity. The United Kingdom, the United States and the European Union withheld comment on the Inquirer  report on the padded costing for bunkhouses—temporary shelters regarded as critical in the continuing response two months since the emergency. They are among the biggest donors to the relief effort, now entering its second month and gradually shifting to early recovery, including moving survivors from evacuation centers to bunkhouses pending the construction of permanent shelters. The Manila embassy of the UK, the largest donor by far, did not issue any comment. British aid for typhoon relief in the Philippines has reached P11.1 billion, including contributions from both the UK government and private individuals, the embassy said. The UK has also vowed to support reconstruction in Eastern Visayas over the long haul. The Manila delegation of the European Union also withheld comment pending its humanitarian aid department’s aid assessment this month. The EU has so far pledged $26.8 million or P1.18 billion, according to the Philippine government portal’s Foreign Aid Transparency Hub (FAITH). The US embassy in Manila also did not comment on the issue. A US embassy official privy to American assistance said the embassy “did not Read More …

Norway foreign minister to visit PH and Yolanda-hit areas

 News
Jan 062014
 
Norway foreign minister to visit PH and Yolanda-hit areas

By Matikas SantosINQUIRER.net 5:03 pm | Monday, January 6th, 2014 Norway’s foreign minister Borge Brende. AFP FILE PHOTO MANILA, Philippines – Norway’s foreign minister Borge Brende will make his first official visit to the country from January 7 to 9 and will also visit disaster-hit areas in Samar to see first-hand the Norwegian humanitarian and relief effort in the province. Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario will personally welcome Brende and the two will discuss bilateral relations “and find new ways of expanding areas for cooperation in the fields of trade, investments, and maritime cooperation,” DFA spokesman Raul Hernandez said in a press briefing Monday. “They will also discuss Norway’s participation in the country’s recovery from typhoon Yolanda (international name Haiyan). Minister Brende will visit Tacloban and Basey in Samar province to see first-hand the Norwegian humanitarian operations and assistance to victims,” Hernandez said. According to the Foreign Aid Transparency Hub (Faith) website, Norway has provided $13.6 million (P600.5 million) worth of non-cash aid channeled through the Red Cross and the United Nations, and other non-government organizations. Humanitarian relief workers and volunteers have also been deployed to the calamity areas. “Minister Brende will also meet Presidential Adviser on Peace Process Teresita Deles to discuss Norway’s current role as third country facilitator for peace talks with the communist groups and its participation in the international monitoring team in Mindanao,” Hernandez said. As of June 2013, there were 17,400 Filipinos in Norway mostly working as nurses, caregivers, engineers and housekeepers, the DFA Read More …

PH gov’t asked to shun US military access amid Tubbataha issue

 News
Jan 042014
 
PH gov’t asked to shun US military access amid Tubbataha issue

By Kristine Angeli SabilloINQUIRER.net 12:31 pm | Sunday, January 5th, 2014 This undated handout photo released on March 30, 2013 by Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) shows the stern of the USS Guardian before being lifted by a boat crane during its salvage operation at Tubbataha reef, in Palawan island, western Philippines. AFP PHOTO/PCG MANILA, Philippines – Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) asked the government on Sunday to abandon military access negotiations with the United States after it was revealed that the US has yet to pay for the damage caused by their ship on the Tubbataha Reef. “The US government has made it abundantly clear that our relations are unequal. It has not paid a single centavo for the destruction caused by the USS Guardian on the Tubbataha Reef. It has made a mockery of our laws,” Bayan secretary general Renato Reyes Jr. said in a statement. The group chided the PH government for not aggressively pursuing the damage claims, adding that there were many opportunities to do so, including US Secretary of State John Kerry’s visit to the country last month. “Why allow the US increased military access to our country when the US clearly disregards the protection of the environment? Why allow de facto basing when these ships pose a threat to the environment? It does not make any sense,” Reyes said. The two countries have started negotiations on a framework agreement for the increased rotational presence of US troops in Philippine soil. It is in line with US Read More …

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