PH recommends peacekeepers stay in Golan

 News
Jul 312013
 
PH recommends peacekeepers stay in Golan

Associated Press 3:08 pm | Wednesday, July 31st, 2013 An old tank is surrounded by fire following explosions of mortar shells from Syria on the Israeli controlled Golan Heights. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines’ top diplomat says he has reversed an earlier recommendation to the president and now wants about 340 Filipino peacekeepers to stay in the Golan Heights for at least six months after the UN promised to bolster their safety. Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario told a news conference in Manila on Wednesday that UN officials assured him in a recent meeting in New York that they would fulfill three conditions laid down by the Philippine government, including providing the peacekeepers with more self-defense weapons. Del Rosario asked President Benigno Aquino III in May to withdraw the peacekeepers from Golan due to escalating hostilities between Syrian rebels and government troops in the U.N.-patrolled buffer zone that separates Syria from the Israeli-occupied plateau. Follow Us Recent Stories: Complete stories on our Digital Edition newsstand for tablets, netbooks and mobile phones; 14-issue free trial. About to step out? Get breaking alerts on your mobile.phone. Text ON INQ BREAKING to 4467, for Globe, Smart and Sun subscribers in the Philippines. Tags: Features , Filipino peacekeepers , Global Nation , Golan Heights , United Nations Factual errors? Contact the Philippine Daily Inquirer’s day desk. Believe this article violates journalistic ethics? Contact the Inquirer’s Reader’s Advocate. Or write The Readers’ Advocate: c/o Philippine Daily Inquirer Chino Roces Avenue corner Yague Read More …

PH warship test fires guns off Zambales; BRP Ramon Alcaraz due Friday

 News
Jul 312013
 
PH warship test fires guns off Zambales; BRP Ramon Alcaraz due Friday

By Frances MangosingINQUIRER.net 3:02 pm | Wednesday, July 31st, 2013 PH’S 2ND WARSHIP The BRP Ramon Alcaraz. PHOTO FROM TWITTER ACCOUNT OF PHILIPPINE EMBASSY IN US MANILA, Philippines – The country’s warship, BRP Gregorio del Pilar, successfully test fired its guns off Zambales last Monday, a navy official said Wednesday. The naval drill was held as the Navy prepares to welcome the arrival in the Philippines of BRP Gregorio del Pilar’s sister ship, BRP Ramon Alcaraz. Navy spokesman Lieutenant Commander Gregory Fabic told reporters that the gunnery test of its Oto Melara 76mm main gun hit a floating “killer tomato” located two nautical miles away within five rounds. He added that BRP Gregorio del Pilar is near the Subic area to welcome the country’s second warship, BRP Ramon Alcaraz, which is due to arrive on August 2. Fabic, however, clarified that the test firing was not a show of force against China. The Panatag Shoal (Scarborough Shoal), a disputed territory between China and Philippines, is located 124 nautical miles west of Zambales. He described the guns, the primary weapon of del Pilar, as “excellent.” The Oto Melara 76mm gun has a range of up to 10 nautical miles, and can fire up to 80 rounds in 60 seconds. Follow Us Recent Stories: Complete stories on our Digital Edition newsstand for tablets, netbooks and mobile phones; 14-issue free trial. About to step out? Get breaking alerts on your mobile.phone. Text ON INQ BREAKING to 4467, for Globe, Smart and Sun subscribers Read More …

Were Filipinos ‘aliens’ in the US?

 News
Jul 312013
 
Were Filipinos ‘aliens’ in the US?

Global Networking By Rodel Rodis 2:31 pm | Wednesday, July 31st, 2013 Joe Alfafara The last time I spoke with Joe Alfafara was at the funeral of the mother of his life partner, Anita. I had known Joe for more than 20 years but that lunch conversation, which turned out to be our last, was our most expansive in years. We talked about his life, and about his father, Isidro, and about his uncle, Celestino, both of whom immigrated to the US in 1929. Joe died quite suddenly of a heart attack on June 23, one month shy of his 66th birthday, and we never did get to finish our discussion about his Uncle Cel whom he greatly admired. He was going to search for photos of his uncle who died in 1989 at the age of 90. I promised him I would one day write about his uncle’s historical achievement. So here it is, Joe. Celestino Alfafara is celebrated in Filipino American history lore as the man who won “the California Supreme Court decision allowing aliens the right to own real property.” In the most recent conference of the Filipino American National Historical Society in Albuquerque, New Mexico in June 2012, “The Legacy of Celestino T. Alfafara” was the focus of the plenary on “Fighting Anti-Alien Property Laws”. Before Alfafara, the only way Filipinos could own property in California was if they collectively purchased it in the name of their fraternal organizations like the Caballeros de Dimasalang the Gran Read More …

‘Pinay’: Cat found on freighter from Philippines to LA

 News
Jul 302013
 
‘Pinay’: Cat found on freighter from Philippines to LA

Associated Press 5:57 am | Wednesday, July 31st, 2013 This undated photo provided by the County of Los Angeles Department of Animal Care and Control shows a 4-year-old cat that stowed away in a container ship headed from Manila, Philippines, to Los Angeles. The cat, named “Pinay” by staff, is described as a domestic short-haired, orange-and-white female. She is gaining weight and getting stronger after the trip without food or water left her near death. AP PHOTO/COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES DEPARTMENT OF ANIMAL CARE AND CONTROL LOS ANGELES—A 4-year-old cat that stowed away in a container ship headed from Manila, Philippines, to Los Angeles is gaining weight and getting stronger after the trip without food or water left it near death. Los Angeles County animal control director Marcia Mayeda said the orange-and-white female cat was weak and frail after the 7,300-mile  (11,745-kilometer) trip. But after two weeks of treatments, the feline is in fair condition. Hospital staff named the cat Pinay, a common name for a female Filipino. The cat has cleared quarantine but needs to be adopted into a calm home because she is still skittish. Potential adopters can e-mail daccevents@animalcare.lacounty.gov. A year ago, a kitten named Ni Hao survived a freighter trip from China and was placed in a home. Follow Us Recent Stories: Complete stories on our Digital Edition newsstand for tablets, netbooks and mobile phones; 14-issue free trial. About to step out? Get breaking alerts on your mobile.phone. Text ON INQ BREAKING to 4467, for Globe, Read More …

Long lines due to 'hakot system' as village poll registration deadline nears

 News
Jul 302013
 
Long lines due to 'hakot system' as village poll registration deadline nears

Long lines in the registration for barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections? It’s all “hakot,” according to poll commissioner Grace Padaca. “Na-o-obserbahan namin na maraming hakot lang na pinapatransfer lang ng mga kandidato ng barangay. Sila ang nakakapagdagdag sa pila,” Padaca said in a phone interview with GMA News Online. By “hakot,” the poll commissioner was referring to the usual practice by politicians of renting a vehicle and then bringing residents to register for the elections. The practice is also done during election day. The 10-day registration for the village polls started July 22 and will end July 31. Commission on Elections (Comelec) chairman Sixto Brillantes Jr. earlier said there will be no extension of the deadline. At the Comelec office in Manila, the registration seemed like a stampede as registrants shoved against each other and lines were abandoned, according to a report on “24 Oras.” An election officer in the Quezon City Comelec office even shouted at the irate registrants: “Huwag kayo magtulakan!” The situation was worse in the Comelec office in Iloilo City: some registrants fainted while waiting in line and had to be brought to the hospital. The over-all scenario was similar to the last day of registration for the May 2013 elections—the usual long lines of registrants screaming for the doors of Comelec offices to open. A certain Leonard Francisco, interviewed on GMA News’ “Quick Response Team,” lamented the disorganized registration process for the village polls. “Sobrang gulo po ng proseso sa loob ng Comelec.Hindi maganda, Read More …

Poll watchdog says P30M 'intel funds' is Comelec's version of pork barrel

 News
Jul 302013
 
Poll watchdog says P30M 'intel funds' is Comelec's version of pork barrel

An election watchdog on Tuesday branded the P30-million intelligence fund given by Malacañang to the Commission on Elections (Comelec) the poll body’s version of the controversial pork barrel. During a hearing at the Court of Appeals, the Automated Elections System (AES) Watch presented three checks issued to former Comelec Commissioner Gus Lagman to prove that government funds were used as “intelligence and confidential funds.” Lagman said the first check, for P200,000, was issued to him in August 2011. The following month, he received another check, this time for P800,000. Finally, a P250,000 check was issued to him in December 2011. Lagman, who is also a member of AES Watch, said the checks were described in the disbursement as “intelligence and confidential funds.” The former Comelec official said he deposited the checks in his accounts, thinking the funds were to be used for the poll body’s investigation into elections cases that the body was trying at the time. But when he was asked by the poll body’s chief accountant to liquidate the amount on March 19, he found out that the money was made to appear to have been used for a different purpose. “Para i-liquidate iyon, kailangan ko lang raw pirmahan iyong isang dokumento, isang one-page document na sinasabi na ginastos ko kung saan saan,” he said. “Nakalagay sa dokumento, expenses for several items. Sabi ko di naman totoo ito, so isinauli ko na lang,” Lagman said. He said he could not remember what those “items” were but said the Read More …

PH lifts ban on sending workers to Iraq—POEA

 News
Jul 302013
 
PH lifts ban on sending workers to Iraq—POEA

Agence France-Presse 7:27 pm | Tuesday, July 30th, 2013 POEA Administrator Hans Leo Cacdac photo from his official Twitter account. MANILA, Philippines—The Philippines said Tuesday it is lifting a nine-year ban on sending workers to Iraq, declaring the country mostly safe despite its worst bout of violence in years. Filipinos, except for household helpers who are mainly female, can now work in Iraq outside four “no-go” provinces still considered dangerous, said Hans Cacdac, head of the labor ministry’s Overseas Employment Administration. He expects Filipinos to pour into the rebuilding of the country’s oil and gas, construction, medical and hotel industries. “According to the Department of Foreign Affairs, the security situation is good enough to have overseas Filipino workers in Iraq,” Cacdac told AFP. “But the workers will be advised to take the precautionary measures.” He said Filipina maids will still be barred from Iraq because there was “no adequate protection in place” for them. The Philippines banned its workers from going to Iraq after a Filipino truck driver was kidnapped by militants in 2004 in the wake of the US-led invasion there. The driver was released unharmed after then-president Gloria Arroyo pulled out a Filipino contingent serving in the US-led coalition. The “no-go” areas still considered too dangerous are the provinces of Anbar, Nineveh, Kirkuk and Salahuddin, Cacdac said. Despite the nine-year ban, industry analysts had estimated that as many as 10,000 Filipinos were working in Iraq illegally. Cacdac however said he knew of only about 700 workers there now. Read More …

Solon seeks suspension of PDAF implementation for 3rd quarter of the year

 News
Jul 302013
 
Solon seeks suspension of PDAF implementation for 3rd quarter of the year

If Buhay party-list Rep. Lito Atienza could have his way, “pork barrel” implementation for the third quarter of the year should be suspended pending the investigation on the alleged misuse of pork barrel funds, or formally known as Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF). Instead, legislators should focus on their job, which is crafting laws, Atienza said in a statement Tuesday. “We recommend that we suspend the implementation of the PDAF,” Atienza said. “(Instead we should) buckle down to our real work of legislation.” “We are all honorable men and have been elected to legislate, get the country moving towards economic growth and not get involved with the delivery of basic services that could be best done by local government units,” the former Manila mayor said. He said P200 billion in PDAF could have easily built 10 million homes for the poor and one million classrooms, and provide facilities like CT scan, dialysis and MRI equipment to public hospitals. “But when we look back at how this money has been utilized, all we see are waiting sheds, basketball courts, covered courts and now the scandalous allegations of giving money to non-existent NGOs,” Atienza said. House members get P70 million in PDAF every year while senators has an allocation of P200 million. House Majority Leader Neptali Gonzales has yet to give a comment on Atienza’s proposal. In a text message to GMA News Online, Budget Secretary Butch Abad said they will implement it if the Congress adopts it. “If Congress adopts the Read More …

Bam, Trillanes, Grace Poe won't mind abolishing 'pork barrel'

 News
Jul 302013
 
Bam, Trillanes, Grace Poe won't mind abolishing 'pork barrel'

At least three senators have expressed readiness to let go of their “pork barrel” funds amid the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP)’s call to junk these controversial allocations. At a press briefing Tuesday, Senator Paolo Benigno “Bam” Aquino IV said there is “weight” in the call by Roman Catholic Church officials to junk the priority development assistance fund (PDAF). “Kung wala namang pork barrel, I don’t think any of us will be lesser legislators … If tomorrow, the President or the Senate President will call for the abolition of the pork barrel, I won’t mind,” Aquino said. The neophyte lawmaker said he plans to use his PDAF to fund programs that will create job opportunities for ordinary Filipinos.  “Ako naman, if the pork barrel is there, we will use it for right purposes,” he said. Earlier in the day, Bam, who is President Aquino’s first cousin, said he opposes proposals from some of his fellow lawmakers to stop the release of “pork barrel” funds to non-government organizations (NGOs).   At a separate briefing, Senator Antonio Trillanes IV said he also won’t mind having these discretionary funds abolished, since it is the Executive Department which benefits from the PDAF anyway.   “Either way, okay lang. Kung mayroon, e di gagamitin natin nang maayos. Kung wala, tuloy lang tayo sa trabaho natin. Itong pork barrel, this is a policy tool of the president to get his legislative agenda done,” Trillanes said. On Monday, incoming CBCP president and Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas Read More …

Taiwan coast guard recues 3 Filipino fishermen

 News
Jul 302013
 
Taiwan coast guard recues 3 Filipino fishermen

By Matikas SantosINQUIRER.net 3:33 pm | Tuesday, July 30th, 2013 This handout photo released by Taiwan’s Coast Guard Administration on July 22, 2013 shows three Filipino fishermen hold on their small boat on the sea near the southern Kaohsiung city. Taiwan’s coast guards have rescued three Filipino fishermen who spent five days adrift when a storm blew their small boat hundreds of kilometers off course, officials said. AFP PHOTO/ TAIWAN’S COAST GUARD ADMINISTRATION MANILA, Philippines-Three Filipino fishermen were rescued by the Taiwanese Coast Guard crew who found them drifting on a lifeboat for several days after their fishing boats capsized 37 nautical miles south of Taiwan last July 15. The three fishermen, Ronald Dumaran, Gener Mendoza, and Edwin Zoilo, the boat captain, went out to sea on July 15 and encountered heavy rains and strong waves whipped up by a storm that overturned their boat on the 17th. Zoilo, during an interview with reporters at the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO), recounted how they spent five days and four nights drifting on their capsized boat before they were rescued by the Taiwanese Coast Guard on July 21. “Kung ano mangyari sa amin, kung anong makain namin na madaanan sa laot, paghati-hatian naming. Yung isang pirasong ‘kapikon’, parang alimasag, pinagtatlo namin. Hinati ko ng tatlo, walang lamangan,” he said. (Whatever happened to us, what we found floating along, we divided among ourselves equally. We caught a crab and divided it into three.) “Nung umulan, sumahod din ako ng tubig, nakasahod Read More …

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