Bill liberalizing entry of foreign vessels in PH filed

 News
Jul 242013
 
Bill liberalizing entry of foreign vessels in PH filed

By Leila B. SalaverriaPhilippine Daily Inquirer 6:55 pm | Wednesday, July 24th, 2013 Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO MANILA, Philippines—After President Benigno Aquino III pushed for the amendment of the cabotage law in his State of the Nation Address, Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez filed a measure to liberalize the entry of foreign vessels in the country and to allow them to engage in coastwise trade. Rodriguez, in his bill, said the country’s current cabotage principle reserving coastwise trade for national flag carriers has given rise to inefficiency because local operators have cornered the market. “The cabotage policy limits competition and encourages inefficiency among local vessel operators since foreign vessels are not allowed to pick-up local cargo for delivery to another port within the Philippines. Local vessel operators are not forced to compete in terms of freight coast and service quality with international vessel operators,” he said in his explanatory note to the bill. This foreign trade barrier must be lifted, he added. Foreign-owned vessels should be allowed to ship export and import cargoes under the same rules and regulations covering domestic shipping companies, and they should be allowed to dock at any port in the country, he said. This would bring about a host of benefits for the country, he said. Domestic tourism would receive a boost, and port revenues would increase. Shipping companies would also offer more competitive fees. Foreign vessels would also be able to provide the transshipment services needed by local Read More …

2 SoKor airline pilots fined for violating air traffic regulations – CAAP

 News
Jul 242013
 
2 SoKor airline pilots fined for violating air traffic regulations – CAAP

6:41 pm | Wednesday, July 24th, 2013 MANILA, Philippines — The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines has penalized two pilots of a South Korean airline for violating air traffic regulations. Fined US$1,000 each were two pilots of an Air Busan Co. Ltd aircraft for violations of Philippine Civil Aviation Regulation (PCAR) Parts 10.1.1.6 on operation requirements and Part 8.8.2.2 on air traffic control clearances. The CAAP, in a statement issued Tuesday, did not identify the pilots but according to the agency’s flight operations department, the offense on October 6, 2013, was “busting altitude” or the unauthorized deviation from an assigned height. Like other air traffic regulators worldwide, the CAAP assigns altitude limits for aircraft to prevent midair collisions. The decision finding the pilots liable for violating the PCAR was recommended by safety inspectors Rizal Ventura and Alfredo Juliano who investigated the incident. The CAAP said the flight operations department  has been placed under investigation for “various violations” of the PCAR. Air Busan is a subsidiary of Asiana Airlines. Air Busan operates flights from Cebu City to Busan, South Korea’s second largest city. RELATED STORIES CAAP passes ICAO audit—Abaya   Training to focus on wet runway landings, ‘go-arounds’   CAAP to seek lifting of ban on PH carriers   Plane’s locator failed during Masbate crash 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 Read More …

Pals raising fund to repatriate Pampanga nurse slain in US

 News
Jul 242013
 
Pals raising fund to repatriate Pampanga nurse slain in US

By Tonette OrejasInquirer Central Luzon 6:32 pm | Wednesday, July 24th, 2013 MANILA, Philippines–The friends of a Filipino nurse who was shot and killed Saturday as he rode his car to work in Memphis, Tennessee, began raising money to bring his remains back to the Philippines, his aunt in Angeles City said on Wednesday. Angelina Geronimo said the body of her nephew, Eraño Catap Santos, 33, could not yet be brought home because the investigation has yet to be completed. “There are no suspects yet,” Geronimo said of the probe in the United States. A report from ABC News Radio (http://abcnewsradioonline.com/memphis-news/) cited witnesses as telling investigators that Santos “was shot during a physical altercation” in the parking lot of the Stonebridge Crossing Apartments. The report said Santos’ vehicle was seized. Geronimo said Santos’ friends are raising $10,000 (P432,200) to bring him home for a burial in Angeles City. Santos, a bachelor and the youngest of four siblings who were orphaned at an early age, started working in Tennessee in May last year. “He was kind, quiet and had many friends,” Geronimo said. RELATED STORIES OFW remittances up by 6% to $2B in April 3 OFWs come forward to complain of abuse  Solon wants PH, Taiwan to make up for OFWs’ sake 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 Read More …

First Afghan woman governor wins Magsaysay award

 News
Jul 242013
 
First Afghan woman governor wins Magsaysay award

Associated Press 3:59 pm | Wednesday, July 24th, 2013 MANILA, Philippines— Afghanistan’s first and only female governor and a humanitarian worker from the Kachin minority in Myanmar are among this year’s recipients of the Ramon Magsaysay Awards. Habiba Sarabi was honored for helping build a functioning local government and pushing for education and women’s rights in Afghanistan’s Bamyan province despite discrimination and poverty. Lahpai Seng Raw helps rehabilitate damaged communities amid armed conflict. The Ramon Magsaysay Awards announced Wednesday it will honor three individuals and two organizations for changing their societies for the better. It is named after former president Ramon Magsaysay who died in a plane crash in 1957. 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: Awards , education , Women 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 and Mascardo Streets, Makati City, Metro Manila, Philippines Or fax nos. +63 2 8974793 to 94

Jonjie de los Reyes; 56

 News
Jul 232013
 
Jonjie de los Reyes; 56

Philippine Daily Inquirer 5:59 am | Wednesday, July 24th, 2013 Juliet Arnobit de los Reyes, former corporate executive of GMA Network, Inc., died on July 17 in Henderson, Nevada, after a yearlong battle with brain cancer. She was 56. Known to friends and family as “Jonjie” or “JJ,” De Los Reyes is survived by her husband, Byron Norgren De Los Reyes, and sons Brian Julian, David Christopher and Michael Patrick. She also leaves behind her parents, Eleuterio Arnobit and Dafne Calderon Arnobit, and brothers Terry, Vic, and Ed, all of Honolulu, Hawaii. One brother, Rene, lives in Manila. De Los Reyes’ remains are at the Davis Funeral Home at 6200 S. Eastern Ave., Las Vegas, Nevada. Viewing and a memorial service have been set for Friday, July 26, at 2 p.m. 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: Death Notice , Global Nation , Jonjie de los Reyes , Juliet Arnobit de los Reyes , Obituary , Philippines , US 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:

Trayvon through Filipino eyes (Zimmerman could have been us)

 News
Jul 232013
 
Trayvon through Filipino eyes (Zimmerman could have been us)

Kuwento By Boying Pimentel 1:28 am | Wednesday, July 24th, 2013 SAN FRANCISCO – I got mugged by a black teenager 10 years ago. I was walking down a street when a young man came up to me and pulled out a gun. PHOTO/RIC ROCAMORA I gave him my wallet, and he walked away. I wasn’t hurt, but it was a scary experience. But looking back, I was glad it happened when it did. That’s because by then, I was just a tad better informed, a tiny bit wiser. By then, I had been working for more than a decade as a reporter for a big city newspaper in the US, covering crime and court cases, some of them involving African Americans. But by then, I also had learned about US history, had read books and watched documentaries about the struggles against racism and prejudice, for social justice and civil rights, had listened to the stories and insights of friends and acquaintances who took part in those battles. In other words, by then, I knew, more or less, the context of what happened to me. In many ways, it was the same context President Obama talked about when he finally spoke publicly about the verdict in the Trayvon Martin case. “I did want to just talk a little bit about context and how people have responded to it and how people are feeling,” he said. When Trayvon Martin was shot, Obama had said the young man “could have been my Read More …

Filipino artists band together to send message of peace to China

 News
Jul 232013
 
Filipino artists band together to send message of peace to China

By Matikas SantosINQUIRER.net 11:40 pm | Tuesday, July 23rd, 2013 MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines has a new message for China amid its continued maritime dispute with the country: “FU”. This message however does not mean any profanity, but instead is a call for “peace, love, unity and respect.” An independent group of artists from the United States and the Philippines have banded together and called themselves “The Filipinos Unite” (FU) movement with the aim of using music to call for Filipinos all over the world to unite against China’s bullying of the Philippines. Vonz Santos, chairman of FU, said Tuesday that their movement has several goals, among them are “to inspire the Filipinos around the world to wake up and come together, to show the world that there is another way to deal with conflict so peace can be attained, and to remind the Filipinos around the world about the strength and dignity that belongs to every Filipino.” “We have to do something as responsible citizens and Filipinos. I’ve marched and held rallies, I’ve been in front of the UN [and yet] the situation continues to get worse,” he said in a press conference. Santos was referring to the recent incursions of Chinese ships into Philippine territorial waters. China claims the entire West Philippines Sea (South China Sea) as its own including Bajo de Masinloc (Panatag Shoal or Scarborough Shoal) and Ayungin Shoal. Recently, the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos) started the arbitration process between the Philippines and China despite Beijing’s pronouncements that it Read More …

De Lima sees nothing wrong with Aquino publicly naming, shaming govt officials

 News
Jul 232013
 
De Lima sees nothing wrong with Aquino publicly naming, shaming govt officials

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima found nothing wrong with President Benigno Aquino III publicly berating officials of three government agencies during his State of the Nation Address (SONA). In his speech, Aquino blasted the Bureau of Immigration, Bureau of Customs, and the National Irrigation Authority, saying corrupt officials in these agencies have “makapal na mukha.” “Tama lang iyong isapubliko ni Presidente iyong kanyang frustration at galit sa mga ahensiya na iyon na nasa negative list,” De Lima said on Tuesday., “Tama lang iyong ‘naming and shaming’ kasi mukhang hindi nga sila natatablan kahit nagfa-file tayo ng mga kaso, mayroong mga administratively charged, mayroon din mga criminally charged,” she added. De Lima noted even if penalties had been handed down on some officials, corruption remains in these government agencies. Aquino rebuked the Immigration bureau for the escape of high-profile individuals including murder suspect and former Palawan Gov. Joel Reyes and a South Korean national wanted for large-scale investment scam. The President, meanwhile, criticized the NIA’s “make-do” culture, saying the agency merely rehabilitates existing irrigation systems instead of laying down new ones. Over at the Customs bureau, Aquino said officials seemed to be “nagpapaligsahan sa kapalpakan” in letting smuggled goods, firearms, and illegal drugs enter the Philippines. Customs chief Ruffy Biazon had offered to resign after Aquino’s SONA, but the latter rejected his offer of resignation. — DVM, GMA News

PAGASA: ITCZ to bring rain to NCR, Luzon, Visayas

 News
Jul 232013
 
PAGASA: ITCZ to bring rain to NCR, Luzon, Visayas

The rain that fell over Metro Manila may continue in the next 24 hours due to the inter-tropical convergence zone, state weather forecasters said Tuesday afternoon. PAGASA said in its 5 p.m. bulletin that the ITCZ is across Southern Luzon and Visayas, and indicated the rest of Luzon and Visayas may also expect more rain. “Metro Manila and the rest of Luzon and Visayas will experience cloudy skies with light to moderate rain showers and thunderstorms,” it said. It added Mindanao will be “partly cloudy to cloudy with isolated rain showers or thunderstorms.” Earlier Tuesday, rain fell over parts of Metro Manila, causing floods that rendered some roads impassable to vehicles. Rain continued to fall on the metropolis Tuesday evening. Wednesday outlook Also, PAGASA said moderate to occasionally strong winds from the southeast to south will prevail over the western section of Luzon and its coastal waters will be moderate to occasionally rough. Elsewhere, winds will be light to moderate coming from the east to southeast with slight to moderate seas. — BM, GMA News

De Lima: Cases to be filed vs. encroachers of waterways in next two weeks

 News
Jul 232013
 
De Lima: Cases to be filed vs. encroachers of waterways in next two weeks

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima on Tuesday said the government would be filing at least two cases in the next two weeks against people who own structures that encroach on waterways. In an interview with reporters, De Lima said President Benigno Aquino III has instructed an inter-agency working group, which included the Department of Justice (DOJ), to concentrate its efforts on eight “priority waterways,” including the San Juan River and the Tullahan River. Encroachment on waterways, either by informal settlers or private establishments, has been one of the factors behind severe flooding in Metro Manila during the rainy season. Aquino, during his fourth State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Monday, mentioned that the DOJ is preparing cases against those who constructed buildings that prevent waterways from functioning properly. De Lima said the inter-agency group has conducted ground surveys on these waterways based on satellite images and other sources. “Alam po natin iyong mga waterways, esteros, creeks… These are properties of public dominion and therefore not susceptible to appropriation or to private ownership,” De Lima said. “Nadiskubre namin na mayroong mga properties o mga encroachments o structures, may properties na may titulo at ang mga properties nila ay nage-encroach sa three-meter buffer zone,” she added. De Lima said the two cases to be filed in the next two weeks would be considered “pilot cases” and would be for “cancellation or revocation of title.” She also said the inter-agency team is already preparing to send out notices to owners of these Read More …

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