Australia to give P124-M aid to Visayas quake victims; P20M to Zambo victims

 News
Oct 252013
 
Australia to give P124-M aid to Visayas quake victims; P20M to Zambo victims

The Australian government will be giving up to P124 million in aid to the victims of last week’s earthquake in Central Visayas and around P20 million to the families affected by the crisis in Zamboanga City, its embassy in the Philippines said Friday. In a statement, the Australian Embassy said the financial assistance to the earthquake victims will include P44 million worth of supplies such as family survival kits containing sleeping mats, mosquito nets, and water containers through the Philippine Red Cross, rice through the World Food Programme, and health and dignity kits for women through the UN Population Fund. It said Australia will also provide P40 to provide “critical relief needs” identified in the UN Action Plan such as shelter, water and sanitation, and early recovery activities. Another P40 million, it said, will be given to replenish prepositioned supplies with partners. Aside from this, the embassy said the Australian Government-funded Provincial Roads Management Facility (PRMF) is also working with the Department of Public Works and Highways and the Department of the Interior and Local Government to assess the damage to roads and bridges “The devastation caused by the earthquake, particularly in Bohol, is enormous and staggering. With more than 200 lives lost, 380,000 people displaced, and ongoing aftershocks that aggravate people’s suffering, the extent of assistance required is also massive,” said Australian Ambassador to the Philippines Bill Tweddell in the statement. He added that the Australian government has had “a long-standing development partnership” with Bohol province, making the quake’s Read More …

7th petition vs DAP filed with SC

 News
Oct 252013
 
7th petition vs DAP filed with SC

(Updated 6:17 p.m.) Former Manila Councilor Greco Belgica and two others from the religious sector on Friday filed with the Supreme Court a seventh petition questioning the legality of the controversial discretionary Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP). Aside from Belgica, who filed the petition on behalf of the Yeshua Change Agents, the other petitioners were Bishop Reuben Abante (Bible Mode) and Rev. Jojo Gonzales (Capitol Christian Leaders). The three earlier filed separate petitions with the high court seeking to stop the release of the Priority Development Assistance Fund and Malampaya gas funds. These funds –  or portions of them – were said to have been misused and diverted to bogus non-government organizations run by supposed fund scam mastermind Janet Lim-Napoles, who allegedly shares the money with government officials, including lawmakers. In his petition, Belgica questionned the legality of the DAP and the Department of Budget and Management-National Budget Circular 541, particularly its portion that allows the use of the the DAP funds “to fund priority programs and projects not considered in the 2012 budget but expected to be started or implemented during the current year.”  “Such directive is clearly a usurpation of the power of the legislature to appropriate government funds. Such power did not originate from the House or Representatives nor did it pass the legislative process under the Constitution,” read the petition. Aside from Belgica, the other petitioners are Bishop Reuben Abante and Rev. Jojo Gonzales.  The petitioners said the use of the DAP violated Section 29 (1), Article VI of Read More …

Panatag Shoal won’t be another Mischief Reef, PH defense chief vows

 News
Oct 252013
 
Panatag Shoal won’t be another Mischief Reef, PH defense chief vows

By Frances MangosingINQUIRER.net 4:41 pm | Friday, October 25th, 2013 Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin MANILA, Philippines—Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin on Friday assured that Panatag Shoal (Scarborough) off Zambales will not be another Mischief Reef. The statement came after the Department of Foreign Affairs said that the Philippines will no longer protest the presence of concrete blocks in Panatag, saying that there were no “determination of facts.” The Philippines accused China in late August of putting concrete blocks in the disputed territory. “I don’t think [it would be another Mischief Reef], because we have regular air and sea patrols,” Gazmin told reporters. Gazmin said the blocks have algae, an indication that they were already old. “Well now, we have seen that they are old. But how did it get there? In other words, these were newly discovered but it doesn’t mean they were newly put,” he said. “This is new to us because we have just seen it recently. At that time it was low tide. Maybe during previous missions it was on high tide so we did not see it,” he said. He could not say, however, how old the concrete blocks were. In 1995, structures built by China were sighted in the Mischief Reef, an area near Ayungin also within the Philippine exclusive economic zone, where the Chinese put up a military garrison. These were reportedly built initially to provide shelter for fishermen, but were later transformed into a military garrison. Gazmin emphasized that the arbitration case still continued. Read More …

US ‘pivot’ to Asia gaining strength—admiral

 News
Oct 242013
 
US ‘pivot’ to Asia gaining strength—admiral

USS George Washington. AP FILE PHOTO ABOARD THE USS GEORGE WASHINGTON—The United States has significantly increased its warships and aircraft deployed in Asia despite Washington’s budget woes, adding punch to its “pivot” to the region, a senior naval commander said. Rear Admiral Mark C. Montgomery, commander of an aircraft carrier strike group homeported in Yokosuka, Japan, said the expanded military presence would have a calming effect on simmering tensions and territorial disputes in the region. “The strategic rebalancing has resulted in an extremely higher number of surface combatants, cruisers and destroyers that support the strike group,” Montgomery told Agence France-Presse in an interview on Wednesday aboard the aircraft carrier USS George Washington in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea). “What we’ve seen is an increase in surface combatant presence here in the Western Pacific… so these ships are spread throughout those areas,” he said, in the interview at the flag bridge of the nuclear-powered supercarrier as fighter jets took off and landed on the deck as part of drills. “Having more ships gives us more presence. It allows us to have a greater force.” Montgomery said US defense budget cuts and the recent 16-day partial US government shutdown have not affected his command. The shutdown forced President Barack Obama to skip two Asian summits this month, triggering concerns about the extent of US commitment to the region as China becomes more assertive. “Operations and maintenance decisions have not affected us. The strategic rebalance is continuing in earnest,” the admiral Read More …

Singer Willie K to headline community center’s benefit gala

 News
Oct 242013
 
Singer Willie K to headline community center’s benefit gala

Willie K HONOLULU—Local boy and internationally renowned singer Willie K will headline a star-studded cast of entertainers at “Sharing Memorable Moments with Emme & Friends” on Saturday, Nov. 9, at the Filipino Community Center’s (FilCom) Grand Ballroom in Waipahu. The gala fund-raising event is to benefit FiCom. Also performing with Willie will be guests Jasmine Trias, Jimmy Borges and a few other surprise celebrities and stars, many of whom have appeared on “Emme’s Island Moments” television specials. They will be honoring veteran TV personality Emme Tomimbang for her impact on Hawai’i and its Filipino community. “It will be a most unique evening of entertainment and am only sorry I couldn’t invite all the wonderful people who have been on “Emme’s Island Moments.” It would take a weekend marathon!” says Emme. “I wanted Willie to be the key performer because my husband, Jim Burns, and I consider him as family. I’m the godmother of his daughter Lycettiana.” Raised on Maui, Willie Kahaiali’i (a.k.a. Willie K) has been entertaining audiences since the age of 10. One of Hawai’i’s most versatile talents, Willie performs a myriad of musical genres, including Hawaiian, jazz, blues, reggae, rock, country Western, and even opera. He has either played with or opened for musical giants, including B.B. King, Santana, Al DiMeola, Willie Nelson, Prince, Bonnie Rait, Jackson Browne, Mick Fleetwood, George Benson, Jimmy Buffett, Crosby, Stills and Nash and more. Willie released his first CD, “Kahaiali’i,” in 1992 and has since earned multiple “Na Hoku Hanohano” awards, most Read More …

Manila mayor Joseph Estrada to apologize over Hong Kong deaths

 News
Oct 232013
 
Manila mayor Joseph Estrada to apologize over Hong Kong deaths

In this file photo taken on August 23, 2010, Philippine policemen take position as they start their attack on a hijacked tourist bus in Manila. AFP FILE PHOTO MANILA – Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada will formally apologize over the deaths of eight Hong Kong tourists in a 2010 hostage crisis, an aide said Wednesday, despite President Aquino insisting none should be given. Estrada, a graft-tainted ex-president who was elected mayor of Manila in May, will go to Hong Kong this week to present the apology in the form of a resolution passed by the city council, a city official said. A formal apology has been one of the long-standing demands by the Hong Kong government over the deaths of the eight tourists in Manila in August 2010 after they were taken hostage by a disgruntled Filipino policeman. “There is an admission of a bungled operation. The city of Manila is being more candid now,” Luch Gempis, secretary of the Manila city council, told AFP. Philippine authorities have acknowledged that police and other authorities mishandled the hostage situation. But President Aquino has consistently refused to make a formal apology on behalf of the national government, insisting the deaths were primarily caused by the actions of the hostage taker. The lack of an apology, as well as a refusal to pay compensation, has caused deep tensions between Hong Kong and the Philippines. Aquino reiterated on Wednesday that no national government apology would be given. “The act of one individual should not be Read More …

Fil-Am version of ‘TED Talks’ spotlights inspiring personal journeys

 News
Oct 222013
 
Fil-Am version of ‘TED Talks’ spotlights inspiring personal journeys

Filmmaker-Filipinophile Megan Pinsonneault. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO LOS ANGELES—NextDayBetter, the TED Talks-type platform for Filipino-Americans, opened recently amid high expectations from a contingent of Fil-Am cognoscenti at the trendy Busby’s East—and delivered. While the pre-talks promotion did not trumpet “transcending, inspiring ideas worth spreading” in the order of globally popular TED Talks conference, the expectations were more than met by the inspiring messages from the speakers coming in from inspiring lives in Los Angeles. The Los Angeles talk rollout featured Los Angeles Senior Assistant City Attorney Ed Angeles; youthful AJ Rafael, an up-and-coming songwriter-singer and YouTube sensation; and Meg Pinsonneault, a Portuguese-born American and former Peace Corps volunteer who is now a Filipinophile film producer. All three commanded the attention of an audience of close to a hundred who were treated to remarkable stories of achievement. The Los Angeles talks followed three NextDayBetter NY events held early this year, which Ryan Letada, the organization’s Bronx-native Filipino-American prime mover cum Chief Builder says, will be regular events in the cities of Toronto, Vancouver, Sydney, London, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, Manila, Cebu and Davao by March next year. Ed Angeles’ story began as a young immigrant aboard the last plane out of Manila just as martial law was declared in the Philippines in 1972. He grew up in the San Francisco area to become a lawyer and, in a visit back to Manila on the heels of a successful law career in public service as LA senior assistant city attorney, fittingly Read More …

Korea denies China pressure on jets sale to PH

 News
Oct 222013
 
Korea denies China pressure on jets sale to PH

Philippine Daily Inquirer 4:36 am | Wednesday, October 23rd, 2013 President Aquino shakes hands with his South Korean counterpart Park Geun-hye during their meeting at the presidential house in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2013. South Korea has denied a news report that China had pressured Seoul not to sell fighter jets to the Philippines amid a territorial dispute between Beijing and Manila, the South Korean state news agency Yonhap reported on Monday, Oct. 21. AP PHOTO/AHN YOUNG-JOON, POOL MANILA, Philippines—South Korea has denied a news report that China had pressured Seoul not to sell fighter jets to the Philippines amid a territorial dispute between Beijing and Manila, the South Korean state news agency Yonhap reported on Monday. “I have checked this and was told that it is not true and there was no official request from China, or something like that,” Yonhap quoted an unnamed presidential official as saying. The official declined to elaborate. Japan’s Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper reported on Saturday, citing unidentified Seoul officials, that China had made the demand ahead of last week’s summit between South Korean President Park Geun-hye and President Aquino, but that Seoul rejected it. The demand appears to be aimed at isolating the Philippines, which has been at odds with China over a territorial row in the South China Sea (West Philippine Sea to the Philippine government), the Yomiuri Shimbun said. South Korea and the Philippines have been in negotiations for the latter to purchase 12 Korean-made FA-50 fighter jets to boost Read More …

Global protests vs violence on women to intensify in 2014 – Monique Wilson

 News
Oct 212013
 
Global protests vs violence on women to intensify in 2014 – Monique Wilson

By Germelina LacorteInquirer Mindanao 4:18 pm | Monday, October 21st, 2013 Photo from www.onebillionrising.org DAVAO CITY, Philippines – Women will scale up their worldwide Valentine-day protests this year, calling for an end to impunity as they demand justice for victims and survivors of violence against women, according to theater artist Monique Wilson. “We’re sick and tired of what is happening,” Wilson, now the global coordinator of the One Billion Rising for Justice, said in a meeting with community leaders and members of Gabriela women’s group here last week. She said that in 2013, about a billion women from 207 countries joined the global campaign against violence against women, and next year, organizers would further scale up the protests to call for justice and an end to impunity in the country. “Our One Billion Action for Justice will address issues causing this continuing violence, and this is the issue of impunity,” she said. “We could not separate the issue of violence against women from the issues on mining, poverty and corruption.” Wilson said violence against women has intensified and has not shown signs of abating. “Sa halip na magbago, mas lumala pa (Instead of abating, it becomes worse),” Wilson said. “Eve Ensler felt that we need to do a more daring action, we need to make this a global movement, to tie with women’s movement around the world,” she said, referring to the author of the “Vagina Monologues,” Eve Ensler, who started the V-day campaign, where millions of women would take Read More …

13 Vietnamese arrested in Philippines over sea turtles

 News
Oct 212013
 
13 Vietnamese arrested in Philippines over sea turtles

Agence France-Presse 3:47 pm | Monday, October 21st, 2013 Sea Turtle. AFP PHOTO PUERTO PRINCESA, Philippines – Thirteen Vietnamese fishermen were arrested after being found in Philippine waters with a haul of protected sea turtles, police said Monday. The fishermen were caught on Friday off the western Philippine island of Palawan, in waters near the South China Sea (West Philippine Sea) where authorities say foreign poaching of endangered or protected species has become a major problem. “Upon initial inspection, it was found out that the said foreign fishing vessel is loaded with undetermined (number of) pieces of dead sea turtles,” said Benigno Caabay, a station officer at the Palawan police provincial headquarters, quoting an official report. The 13 are being held at a police camp in Palawan while officers look into filing a case against them, Caabay added. Sea turtles are protected under Philippine law and catching them is punishable by at least 12 years in jail. In recent years, Philippine authorities have frequently caught foreigners, often Chinese, catching or buying sea turtles in the waters off Palawan. In November last year, in the same area where the Vietnamese were caught, the Philippine navy rescued more than 100 sea turtles from poachers. But the fishermen, whom authorities believed to be Chinese, escaped. Twelve Chinese fishermen were also arrested in April after their boat, which ran aground on a protected reef, was found to be carrying hundreds of dead pangolins, or scaly anteaters, another protected species. Their case is still pending Read More …

 Older Entries  Newer Entries