Two oil companies to roll back fuel prices Sunday 

 News
Oct 262013
 
Two oil companies to roll back fuel prices Sunday 

At least two more oil companies announced late Saturday their plan to roll back prices of fuel products effective 12:01 a.m., Sunday. Petron and Seaoil announced their price rollbacks will include kerosene, diesel and gasoline. In a post on its Twitter account, Petron said it will implement the following rollbacks:   – 40 centavos per liter for gasoline  – 45 centavos per liter for kerosene  – 50 centavos per liter for diesel “We will likewise decrease prices in Cebu and Bohol accordingly,” it added. Meanwhile, Seaoil will similarly roll back its prices, also at 12:01 a.m. Sunday, according to Petrol Price Watch:   Earlier Saturday, Shell announced a rollback in fuel prices as well. – KDM, GMA News 

Govt provided P189.5M to Zambo City crisis victims — Valte

 News
Oct 262013
 
Govt provided P189.5M to Zambo City crisis victims — Valte

The government has so far provided some P189.52 million in assistance to residents of Zamboanga City affected by the fighting between government and Moro National Liberation Front forces last September, Malacañang said Saturday. Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said the government will continue addressing the needs of the affected families. A Palace statement quoted her as saying the P189,520,762 includes food assistance, non-food items, financial assistance for transportation, medical costs or expenses, burial, and cash-for-work programs. On the other hand, she said the Department of Social Welfare and Development still provides psychosocial and critical incident stress debriefing to those affected. She added DSWD also set up special Day Care Centers and Child and Women-Friendly Spaces in the evacuation centers, including Supervised Neighborhood Play to ease the children’s anxiety. For its part, the Department of Public Works and Highways is conducting clearing operations in areas affected by the fighting. The Palace said the government is readying P3.9 billion in funds to speed up rehabilitation and reconstruction, and has drafted a rehabilitation plan which takes into account the relocation, housing, shelter, livelihood, and other assistance for those affected. — LBG, GMA News

Palace has yet to see Enrile bill on rehab body for quake-hit areas

 News
Oct 262013
 
Palace has yet to see Enrile bill on rehab body for quake-hit areas

Malacañang on Saturday said it has not yet seen a bill by Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile to create a commission to undertake the immediate rehabilitation of areas in Central Visayas devastated by the Oct. 15 magnitude-7.2 earthquake. But deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said President Benigno Aquino would normally identify areas that need help. “Hindi pa umabot sa atin ang proposal nila (His proposal has not reached us yet),” she said on government-run dzRB radio. But she said Aquino would usually form a task force to deal with the effects of disasters and calamities, if the need arises. “Normally ang ginagawa ng pangulo, ina-identify niya ang needs na matugunan sa lugar at pinapakilos niya ang department na merong pangsolusyon sa problema,” she said. Enrile had filed Senate Bill 1872, which seeks to create a “Central Visayas Assistance, Resettlement and Development Fund” that will allocate P10 billion to help victims of the quake. The bill calls for a Central Visayas Assistance, Resettlement and Development Commission, which is patterned after the Mount Pinatubo Commission. Under Enrile’s bill, the proposed body will formulate policies and plans, and coordinate the project implementation among concerned agencies and monitor the progress of the projects. The proposed commission will have a six-year term and will include the secretaries of: Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH)Department of Education (DepEd)Department of HealthDepartment of Social Welfare and DevelopmentAdministrator of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management CouncilDirector of the Philippine Institute for Volcanology and SeismologyCommissioner of the National Commission Read More …

Palace: SC’s non-issuance of TRO vs DAP ‘fortunate’

 News
Oct 262013
 
Palace: SC’s non-issuance of TRO vs DAP ‘fortunate’

Malacañang on Saturday hailed as “fortunate” the Supreme Court’s non-issuance Friday of a temporary restraining order against the controversial Disbursement Acceleration Program. Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said issuing a TRO against the DAP would have affected programs of the executive department. “That’s fortunate, there’s no TRO that was issued against the policy or program that is DAP. May maapektuhan talagang programa as far as executive is concerned,” she said on government-run dzRB radio. Valte also said the government’s lawyers through the Office of the Solicitor General are preparing for the oral arguments for November. On Friday, the Supreme Court convened to tackle petitions questioning the constitutionality of the DAP, but did not issue a TRO against its implementation. But the high court scheduled a separate oral argument for the issuance of a TRO against the DAP for November 11. The main petitions are set for another oral argument on November 19. “Naghahanda na naman ang OSG (Office of the Solicitor General) para sa na-set na oral arguments,” Valte said. When asked if the Palace is optimistic the oral arguments for the DAP will stand, she said the government’s lawyers are ready. “Handa tayong ipagtanggol ang basehan ng DAP in the same way handa tayo tuwing tinatawag ang Sol-Gen na ibigay ang panig ng pamahalaan,” she said. DAP is a discretionary fund released to several senators last year after the conviction of former Chief Justice Renato Corona. Some senators reportedly received between P50 and P100 million under the DAP. But Read More …

Palace: De Lima move to cancel passports has basis

 News
Oct 252013
 
Palace: De Lima move to cancel passports has basis

The move of the Department of Justice to have the passports of lawmakers and other personalities linked to the multibillion-peso pork barrel scam canceled is “not without basis,” Malacañang said Saturday. Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said the DOJ’s move stemmed from the fact that some of those linked to the scam had already fled abroad before charges were filed against them. “The move is also not without basis in the sense that we’ve seen that some of those who have been slapped with charges regarding the Priority Development Assistance Fund scam had left the country,” she said on government-run dzRB radio. She added the public should understand the move of the DOJ since there are fears they would no longer be in the country to stand trial. On the other hand, she said this [cancellation of passports] is not yet final as the Department of Foreign Affairs is still studying it. For now, she said it is up to the DFA to decide on the matter. “The greater public understands the initiative of the DOJ. Whether that will be cleared by the DFA is another thing,” she said. Valte also said a hold-departure order is not the solution because only the court can issue it. She also said the DOJ’s watch-list power is now the subject of a temporary restraining order by the Supreme Court. “At the end of the day what matters is sinusundan natin may basis (At the end of the day, what matters is that we Read More …

Palace: P2.3-B quick response funds still available for emergencies

 News
Oct 252013
 
Palace: P2.3-B quick response funds still available for emergencies

After extending assistance to victims of recent calamities including last week’s magnitude-7.2 quake in Central Visayas, the government still has some P2.3 billion in quick response funds for emergencies, Malacañang said Saturday. Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said the standby funds are with the implementing agencies tasked to provide speedy assistance in areas hit by disasters. “Quick response funds are standby allocations that are part of the budget of the departments … for them to provide quick assistance in areas struck by disaster,” she said on government-run dzRB radio. She said a breakdown of the amount includes: – Office of Civil Defense, P554 million– Department of National Defense Office of the Secretary, P326 million– Department of Agriculture, P196 million– Department of Social Welfare and Development, P200 million– Department of Public Works and Highways, P600 million Valte also reassured residents in Bohol, the area hit hardest by the Oct. 15 quake, that the government continues to mobilize funds to help them. “Meron tayong sapat na pondo (We have enough funds),” she said. Also, she thanked the international community for the aid they have sent to the quake victims. “Nagpapasalamat tayo sa ating kaibigan na hindi nag-atubiling tumugon sa panawagan ng United Nations para tumulong sa kababayan natin (We thank our friends who did not hesitate to respond to the call of the United Nations to help our fellow Filipinos),” Valte said. — LBG, GMA News

A Filipino in the fields: Larry Itliong on his 100th birthday

 News
Oct 252013
 
A Filipino in the fields: Larry Itliong on his 100th birthday

As an American Filipino, I look at Larry Itliong and see my father, a fellow immigrant who came to America in the 20s. Coincidentally, Itliong died on my father’s birthday in 1977. But his birthday is this week, October 25. Itliong would have been 100 years old. Now it seems, more and more people are finally giving Itliong a little love and recognition. It was always there at the grassroots, to some degree.There was always some appreciation among Filipino laborers in California.  But for some reason, Itliong was always cut out of the limelight by fellow farmworker leader Cesar Chavez. As an experienced union hand, Itliong organized fellow Filipino workers in the ’30s, ’40s, and ’50s.He became the leader of the AFL-CIO’s Agricultural Workers Committee, and was no stranger to strikes. It’s the reason Chavez needed Itliong the most. As veteran California labor writer Dick Meister wrote: Chavez felt that his group, then called the National Farm Workers Association, wasn’t ready to strike itself, but would honor the picket lines of the striking Filipinos. Yet if they were to honor the picket lines of Itliong’s group, Chavez’ members asked, Why not strike themselves? Why not? And so they did. That became the grape strike of 1965 that drew worldwide attention and support and ultimately led to the unionization, at long last, of California’s farm workers. It was Larry Itliong and his Filipino members who started it all, and who played an indispensable role throughout the struggle. Without them there could Read More …

New report says immigrants fiscally burden Canada

 News
Oct 252013
 
New report says immigrants fiscally burden Canada

Academic Herbert Grubel. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO TORONTO, Canada – A recently released report by the Fraser Institute implied that immigrants are costing Canadian taxpayers Canadian $20 billion a year. It also calls for an end to sponsorships of parents and grandparents of immigrants and that Canadian immigration selection require employment by the private sector rather than the government. At the center of the controversial report is Economics Professor Emeritus at Simon Fraser University Herbert Grubel, who wrote Canada’s Immigration Selection Policies in which he noted that immigrants who arrived since 1986 earned less and paid less taxes than the benefits they received from the government. Unlike the US, Canada’s points system of selecting principal immigrants has remained largely unchanged since the 1960s. Candidates’ work experience, education, language competency and other factors give them higher points and more likely acceptance for immigration to Canada. In 2011 about 30 percent of Canada’s immigrants were selected this way. But with spouses and under-age children coming with them, their number rose to about 63 percent. Grubel recommended stopping the “fiscal drain” by abandoning the points system, replacing it with pre-arranged work contracts as the main criterion to immigrate to Canada. Early this month, Grubel was quoted by The Philippine Reporter: “Instead of relying on university certificates assessed by civil servants who are in turn instructed by politicians, I would like to see accepted as landed (the Canadian term for citizenship status) immigrants only people who have a job offer from a Canadian employer.” But the Read More …

Fil-Am Symphony Orchestra top choirs perform together first time in X’mas benefit

 News
Oct 252013
 
Fil-Am Symphony Orchestra top choirs perform together first time in X’mas benefit

The Filipino American Symphony Orchestra with Robert Shroder, musical director and conductor. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO/Benny Uy LOS ANGELES–Top Filipino-American choirs will perform together for the first time, and with the Filipino-American Symphony Orchestra (FASO), the only Filipino symphony orchestra outside the Philippines, in “Handog ng FASO sa Pasko,” a Christmas benefit concert and festival, on Saturday, December 7, at the White Memorial Church, 1720 Cesar Chavez Avenue, Los Angeles. In a history-making concert presented by ABS-CBS Foundation International and FASO, distinguished Filipino-American choirs, including Bridges, Harana Men’s Chorus, Philippine Chamber Singers-Los Angeles, University of the Philippines (UP) Concert Chorus Alumni of Los Angeles, University of Santo Tomas (UST) Singers Alumni and the Immaculate Heart of Mary Church (IHMC) Children’s Choir, will render traditional English and Filipino Christmas music. The repertoire includes “Simbang Gabi” and Handel’s “Messiah,” with the orchestra to be conducted by Robert Shroder, FASO’s musical director and conductor. Special celebrity guests will join the show that promises a special, memorable evening that will evoke the joyful ways the Christmas season is celebrated in the Philippines. These talents include Joey Albert, Louise Marie Cornillez, Gelo Francisco, Sal Malaki and Wendy Mazon (FASO’s principal clarinetist). “We are all very excited to offer ‘Handog ng FASO sa Pasko’ again this year,” said Shroder, who is one of the founders of FASO. “We would like to bring to our community the spirit of Philippine Christmas celebration we miss from back home, and hopefully introduce the younger generation to the beauty of our Filipino Read More …

UN seeks int’l aid for Bohol

 News
Oct 252013
 
UN seeks int’l aid for Bohol

Volunteers for and members of the Philippine Red Cross team carry goods that were transported through a boat after a bridge collapsed from a massive quake that hit Bohol. ALANAH TORRALBA/ IFRC The United Nations on Friday appealed for $46.8 million (P2.01 billion) in international aid for more than 380,000 people in Bohol province now living in tents after a 7.2-magnitude earthquake struck Central Visayas last week. Australia was the first to respond, announcing on Friday that it would provide up to P124 million in aid to support the Philippine government’s response to the humanitarian emergency caused by the earthquake in Bohol and Cebu province. The earthquake flattened homes, schools, clinics, centuries-old churches and other vital infrastructure, killing more than 200 persons. A further 35,000 families need emergency shelter while more than 380,000 residents of Bohol require assistance for basic needs like water, sanitation, food and health services for six months, UN resident humanitarian coordinator Luizha Carvalho said. “At this moment, the Philippines is the one [country] that really stands alone with the highest of needs and the highest requirements,” Carvalho told a news conference. Carvalho said she hoped donors would still give money despite a series of recent natural and man-made disasters that also required international assistance, such as a destructive typhoon in December last year and Moro rebel attacks that destroyed parts of the southern city of Zamboanga last month. “We have a very interesting pattern of several events that are happening almost simultaneously and we still hope Read More …

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