‘US must pay more for reef damage’

 News
Jan 042014
 
‘US must pay more for reef damage’

In this Jan. 22, 2013 photo released by the Philippine Coast Guard, coast guard divers approach the USS Guardian, a US Navy minesweeper, to assess the situation after it ran aground last week off Tubbataha Reef. AP FILE PHOTO MANILA, Philippines—It’s all right if the United States has not yet paid the P58.3-million fine slapped on it by the Philippines for messing up the Tubbataha Reefs this time last year, because it has to pay more, a Filipino lawyer said on Saturday. Lawyer Edre Olalia said the United States had to pay not only for direct damages but also for other violations of Philippine environmental laws and regulations due to the grounding of its minehunter USS Guardian on an atoll in the Tubbataha Reefs. “We’re opposed to the paltry fine assessment made by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources. Those responsible for the destruction of the reef must be held liable. The United States should pay more,” Olalia told the Inquirer in a phone interview. Olalia, secretary general of the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers, is one of the lawyers of environmentalist and activist groups that filed in April last year a petition for a writ of kalikasan (nature) in the Supreme Court while efforts to extricate the USS Guardian from the reef were under way. The petitioners demanded a fine more than 10 times the Philippine government’s assessment. Similar incident in Hawaii They compared the Tubbataha incident to the grounding of the USS Port Royal on a coral Read More …

Norwegian minister coming to check ‘Yolanda’ rehab effort

 News
Jan 042014
 
Norwegian minister coming to check ‘Yolanda’ rehab effort

By Ronnel W. DomingoPhilippine Daily Inquirer 8:54 am | Sunday, January 5th, 2014 Japanese Self Defense Force personnel arrive to coordinate relief efforts on Saturday, Nov. 23, 2013 at Tacloban City. AP FILE PHOTO MANILA, Philippines—Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs Børge Brende will visit from Jan. 7 to 9 the areas worst hit by Supertyphoon “Yolanda,” according to the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in the Philippines. Brende, who will be on an official visit, wants to get a firsthand look at the progress of recovery efforts to which Norway was one of the first responders with emergency funds. He is expected to visit Leyte and meet with representatives of the UN, including FAO Philippines officials. Oslo has committed P1.45 billion toward relief efforts and long-term disaster response related to Yolanda. The amount is on top of the P180 million Norwegian NGOs raised through a charity concert in November and the P178 million the Filipino community in Norway raised through a similar event in December. Norway was among the first nations to respond to appeals for aid in the immediate aftermath of Yolanda. On Nov. 19, less than two weeks after the typhoon’s onslaught, the Norwegian parliament increased the nation’s P450 million donation by P1 billion. Back then, Prime Minister Erna Solberg said in a statement her government wanted “to help alleviate the suffering that children, women and men are now undergoing in the affected areas in the Philippines.” Solberg said Norway’s donations were to go to food, Read More …

CHR chair: Court decision on Marcos money a ‘lost round’ for Martial Law victims

 News
Jan 042014
 
CHR chair: Court decision on Marcos money a ‘lost round’ for Martial Law victims

A round lost for human rights victims during Martial Law. This was how Commission on Human Rights (CHR) chairperson Loretta Ann Rosales described the Singapore Court of Appeal’s decision to grant over $23 million seized from the estate of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos to the Philippine National Bank (PNB) amid competing claims made by three other parties, one of them being the 9,539 human rights victims that suffered under the Marcos regime. Rosales, herself a human rights victim during the Marcos regime, was part of the group of Martial Law victims that filed the class suit laying claim to the Marcos funds held in Swiss banks. In a text message sent to GMA News Online Saturday, Rosales said: “We have lost this round. We have to study the arguments of the case first.” Rosales, however, clarified that the CHR was not legally representing the Martial Law human rights victims in the case. On Friday, the Straits Times reported that the Court of Appeal has ruled in favor of its Supreme Court’s decision to award $23 million in Marcos money to PNB.  The funds, comprised of $16.8 million and GBP4.2 million, form part of Marcos’ illicit fortune stashed in Swiss bank accounts. The court, in the report, said it affirmed the High Court ruling that the PNB held the legal title to the funds as depositor of the money as well as original account holder with WestLB, the Germany-based bank that held the money. Aside from the human rights victims, Read More …

DOH: Number of revelry-related injuries nears 1k, 5% increase noted

 News
Jan 032014
 
DOH: Number of revelry-related injuries nears 1k, 5% increase noted

The number of injuries related to the recent holiday revelry inched closer to 1,000 as of Saturday morning, the Department of Health said. National Epidemiology Center head Dr. Enrique Tayag said that as of 6 a.m., there were at least 962 revelry-related injuries recorded. Of these, 943 were fireworks-related, while two were caused by fireworks ingestion. At least 17 were due to stray bullets, he said on his Twitter account. He added that of the 943 fireworks-related injuries, 359 or 38 percent were due to piccolo. In the same period in 2012, Tayag said there were 929 revelry-related injuries, including 902 from fireworks and two from fireworks ingestion. Tayag also noted that in the same period in 2012, there were 25 injuries from stray bullets. The DOH will continue its tally of revelry-related injuries until Sunday. — LBG, GMA News

Lawmaker to SSS: Cut perks instead of raising member premiums

 News
Jan 032014
 
Lawmaker to SSS: Cut perks instead of raising member premiums

The Social Security System should not be raising premiums if it can afford to give its board members millions of pesos in bonuses, Bayan Muna party-list Representative Neri Colmenares said Friday. “Kesa sa unahin nilang mag-impose ng additional premium, dapat bawasan nila ang perks nila sa sarili nila.” Colmenares said in a report on “24 Oras” aired Friday evening. The SSS is adjusting its contribution rate to 11 percent from 10.4 percent this month. That means sales representative Melinda Reyes, who earns P15,000 a month, will now have to pay P545 a month instead of P500. “Paano sila nakapagbigay ng ganun kalaki sa mga [board] members nila kung kulang na talaga ang pondo? Hindi dapat ganun yung sabihin nilang reason,” she said in the report. SSS has said it has to hike member contributions to make sure the fund will last beyond 2039 and pay for unfunded liabilities.   SSS has more than 30 million members and it paid out P84.17 million in benefit payments in 2012. It also had a net revenue of P36.20 million, the report said. “Tama ‘yan. Kumita tayo. Hindi naman sinasabi na mauubos yung pera agad agad. Ang gusto nga kasi nating mangyari ay pahabain yung buhay [ng fund] to 70 years,” Marissu Bugante, SSS vice president for public affairs said. She added bonuses given to board members are sourced from contribution payments and income from SSS investments but that bonuses are regulated by the Governance Commission for Government Owned or Controlled Corporations (GCG). Lawyer Read More …

PNP: 60-70% of gun licenses based on fake documents

 News
Jan 032014
 
PNP: 60-70% of gun licenses based on fake documents

Of the 1.7 million licensed firearms in the country, 60 to 70 percent were issued based on fake documents, the Philippine National Police said Friday. Citing figures from the PNP Firearms Explosives Office, Police Chief Superintendent Louie Oppus said in a report on “24 Oras” aired Friday evening that he has ordered the investigation into the use of fake names and addresses as well as fake neuro-psychiatric results by applicants. “I have now caused an investigation into those neuro-psychiatric results na parang peke… Biruin mo, mga limang tao, magkakapareho ang resulta ng neuro remarks? May posibilidad ba ‘yun?” he said in the report. He said the PNP hopes the recently signed Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunition Regulation Act would give gun control teeth. Signed by President Benigno Aquino III in May 2013, the law seeks to regulate the registration and ownership of firearms and ammunition by requiring gun owners to renew their licenses every two years. The new law supersedes Executive Order 194, signed by President Joseph Estrada in 2000, which removed a limit on the number of guns a person can own. Before EO 194, owners were only allowed to have 10 guns. The report said that under the new law, the PNP itself will administer neuro-psychiatric and drug tests. Gun owners will also be required to apply for licenses to own firearms before they can register their guns, and firearms will be automatically considered illegal if their licenses are not renewed within a day of expiration. Automatic weapons, once Read More …

Public fiscals laud SC for extending modified Judicial Affidavit Rule

 News
Jan 032014
 
Public fiscals laud SC for extending modified Judicial Affidavit Rule

A group of government prosecutors on Friday lauded the Supreme Court for dispaying “sensitivity” when it extended for another year the modified version of the Judicial Affidavit Rule (JAR). Prosecutor General Claro Arellano, head of the National Prosecution Service (NPS), told GMA News Online that he and other public prosecutors welcomed the recent resolution that extended the modified JAR until December 31 this year. “In behalf of the prosecutors, I welcome the SC’s resolution as a manifestation of the Court’s sensitivity to the concerns of the stakeholders of the justice system of which the prosecution is a vital component,” said Arellano. Under the JAR, parties are required to prepare judicial affidavits in place of the traditional and usually lengthy direct testimony in order to expedite the presentation of evidence. Judicial affidavits are sworn statements containing the witness’ testimony in question-and-answer form. Following the rule’s approval in 2012, the NPS complained that its prosecutors might not yet be ready to comply with the JAR as it would mean additional work for them on top of their already heavy workload. In response, the high court issued a modified JAR, in which public prosecutors are allowed to use sworn statements that had been used during preliminary investigation or inquest in place of new judicial affidavits. The modified version was only supposed to have been in effect until last December 31, 2013, until the high court extended it for the entire 2014. The NPS is under the Department of Justice. Asked if he thinks Read More …

Palace: No ‘magic wand’ to solve rising power costs

 News
Jan 032014
 
Palace: No ‘magic wand’ to solve rising power costs

There is no “magic wand” that could be waved to solve the problem on high power costs, a Malacañang official said Friday. “There’s something that can be done but within the bounds of the law,” said deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte at a press briefing Friday. “So while you believe that the executive has so much power, perceived power, we are limited by what the law says.” Valte specifically cited Republic Act 9136 or the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) of 2001, which she said prevents the government from being a power generator. “People keep asking ‘why don’t you build your own power plants?’ Because of the law that we have, we can’t. Government can’t do that. You can’t put money into that because it’s prohibited,” Valte said. “So we try to work within what is present to address these concerns and these issues. The President has already given instructions to the relevant agencies to see what we can do,” she added. But asked if President Benigno Aquino III will personally push for amendments to the law, Valte said they will still have to look at the proposed amendments.   “Perhaps it’s a matter of finding the right proposal that the President will throw his weight behind,” she said. “Which is why we’ve said that we welcome any initiatives to amend or at least to put forth amendments from our legislators to the EPIRA Law,” she added. The Palace likewise remained cool to the idea of convening the Legislative Read More …

PH embassy in Riyadh issued a record 72,028 passports in 2013

 News
Jan 022014
 
PH embassy in Riyadh issued a record 72,028 passports in 2013

By Matikas SantosINQUIRER.net 11:58 am | Friday, January 3rd, 2014 DFA Passports Processed in Riyadh MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine Embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia has processed a record 72,028 passport applications for 2013, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said in a statement Friday. “In 2013, the Philippine Embassy in Riyadh processed 1,522 new passports for newly born infants; 64,298 renewals, and 6,208 replacement passports for lost passports,” DFA said. “Around 6,000 replacement passports of the 6,208 were issued during the correction period, particularly in May and June. These numbers do not include the passport applications processed by the Philippine Consulate General in Jeddah,” it said. The 2013 number of processed passports was at its highest over the past years. In 2007, 31,990 applications were received. According to records of the Philippine Overseas Employment Agency (POEA), Saudi Arabia has the second largest population of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) with 1,267,660 as of 2012.   The United States has the largest OFW population with 3,494,281 Filipinos The deployment of OFWs to Saudi Arabia has been on the rise over the past several years with 330,040 new hires and rehires in 2012. The most hires were domestic helpers with 11,582 and in the nursing profession with 8,513. In 2011, 204,088 OFWs were deployed to Saudi Arabia, 173,670 were deployed in 2010, 164,758 were deployed in 2009, and  153,675 were deployed in 2008. Follow Us Recent Stories: Complete stories on our Digital Edition newsstand for tablets, netbooks and mobile phones; 14-issue free Read More …

China to reorganize military defense setup

 News
Jan 022014
 
China to reorganize military defense setup

In this Dec. 26, 2013 photo, Chinese People’s Liberation Army navy personnel salute in front of a new Type 052C guided missile destroyer Zhengzhou during its commission ceremony in Zhoushan, in eastern China’s Zhejiang province. China is considering reorganizing its seven military regions into five to respond more swiftly to a crisis, the Japanese daily Yomiuri Shimbun reported. AP PHOTO TOKYO—China is considering reorganizing its seven military regions into five to respond more swiftly to a crisis, the Japanese daily Yomiuri Shimbun reported. The news comes amid rising tensions over Beijing’s territorial claims in the region, with China and Japan squaring off over a chain of uninhabited islands in the East China Sea. Each of the new military regions will create a joint operations command that controls the Army, Navy and Air Force, as well as a strategic missile unit, the daily said, citing senior Chinese military officials. The revamp would mark a shift from the current defense-oriented military that relies mainly on the Army to one that ensures more mobile and integrated management of the Army, Navy, Air Force and strategic missile units, Yomiuri said. “It is a proactive measure with eyes on counteracting the Japan-US alliance,” the daily quoted one of the officials as saying. Tokyo and Beijing are locked in a territorial row over the Tokyo-controlled Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea, which China also claims and calls the Diaoyus. The United States, while insisting it does not take sides on sovereignty disputes, has said the Read More …

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