NBI report on Taiwanese fisherman's death now with De Lima

 News
Jun 112013
 
NBI report on Taiwanese fisherman's death now with De Lima

The report of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) on the May 9 fatal shooting of a Taiwanese fisherman in disputed waters has already been submitted to Justice Secretary Leila de Lima. De Lima, however, refused to disclose the contents of the report, saying it will be forwarded immediately to President Benigno Aquino III. “Yes. Might submit it to the President today,” said De Lima in a text message to reporters when asked if the report has already been submitted to her. De Lima had earlier said once she gets a copy of the report, it would be submitted to Aquino first before it will be released to the public. NBI deputy director Virgilio Mendez has earlier confirmed to GMA News Online the transmission of the report to De Lima. “Per my information, it will be delivered now to the DOJ,” Mendez said earlier in the day. Two weeks ago, eight NBI agents flew to Taiwan to conduct their probe on the incident. The team inspected the fishing vessel of the victim and interviewed his companions when the shooting happened. The NBI also interviewed the medico-legal expert that autopsied the victim. The team were also allowed to view the video of the autopsy. A seven-man Taiwanese team also went to the Philippines for a four-day parallel investigation on the incident. The fatal shooting of the 65-year-old fisherman had caused a rift between the Philippines and Taiwan. Both the Philippines and Taiwan insisted that the incident happened within their respective territories. — Read More …

Southwest Monsoon to bring rain to SLuzon, Visayas

 News
Jun 112013
 
Southwest Monsoon to bring rain to SLuzon, Visayas

A weak southwest monsoon may bring rain to parts of Southern Luzon and Visayas in the next 24 hours, state weather forecasters said Tuesday afternoon. PAGASA, in its 5 p.m. bulletin, said the southwest monsoon is affecting the western sections of Southern Luzon and Visayas. “Mimaropa, Bicol region, (and) Visayas will experience cloudy skies with light to moderate rain showers and thunderstorms,”it said. It added Metro Manila and the rest of the country will be “partly cloudy to cloudy with isolated rain showers or thunderstorms mostly in the afternoon or evening.” For Wednesday, PAGASA said Metro Manila may expect temperatures of 25 to 32 degrees Celsius, while Tuguegarao City may expect temperatures of 25 to 36 degrees Celsius. Angeles and Olongapo Cities may expect temperatures of 24 to 32 degrees Celsius. Meanwhile, PAGASA said moderate to occasionally strong winds from the southwest to west will prevail over Luzon and its coastal waters will be moderate to opcassionally rough. Elsewhere, winds will be light to moderate coming from the southwest with slight to moderate seas, it said. — TJD, GMA News

Rainy Independence Day in SLuzon, Visayas – PAGASA

 News
Jun 112013
 
Rainy Independence Day in SLuzon, Visayas – PAGASA

Filipinos going outdoors to take part in the celebration of Independence Day may have to bring umbrellas and rain gear, state weather forecasters said Tuesday afternoon. In its special weather forecast for Independence Day, PAGASA said the southwest monsoon will bring rain particularly to Southern Luzon and Visayas. “Bicol region, MIMAROPA and Visayas will experience cloudy skies with scattered light to moderate rains and thunderstorms,” it said. It added Metro Manila and the rest of the country will be “partly cloudy to cloudy with isolated thunderstorms mostly in the afternoon or evening.” Independence Day is considered a regular holiday. President Benigno Aquino III is to lead Independence Day rites at the Liwasang Bonifacio on Wednesday morning. On the other hand, the Light Rail Transit and Metro Rail Transit will offer free rides at 7 to 9 a.m. and 5 to 7 p.m. For its part, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority reminded motorists the number coding scheme is lifted for Wednesday. — TJD, GMA News

Philippines to destroy 5 tons of seized ivory tusks

 News
Jun 112013
 
Philippines to destroy 5 tons of seized ivory tusks

A government official said Tuesday that five tons of confiscated elephant tusks will be destroyed as part of a global campaign to raise awareness against the illegal trade of so-called “blood ivories.” The seized tusks represent a portion of the 13.1 tons of Tanzanian elephant tusks seized in 2005 and 2009 that are kept in a government vault, said Protected Areas and Wildlife Bureau head Theresa Mundita Lim. “This action is meant to send a message that the Philippines is against the illegal trade of ivory and the merciless massacre of elephants,” Lim told AFP. She said the haul will be crushed using a road roller and burned in front of anti-ivory trade advocates next week as the country works to shed its image as a major transport hub for illegal ivories. The rest of the seized ivory will remain under lock and key and will be used as evidence against illegal traders or as educational materials. The Philippines is a signatory to the Geneva-based Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Flora and Fauna (CITES), which bans the trade of ivory in a bid to combat drastic declines in the numbers of elephant populations in Africa. It cited the Philippines as among nine countries considered as “priority concerns” because they were used as a smuggling hub for illegal ivories, Lim said. The maximum penalty for possessing illegal ivory in the Philippines is four years in jail. Authorities last year launched an investigation into religious icons made from ivory Read More …

China: A superpower with no moral principles?

 News
Jun 102013
 
China: A superpower with no moral principles?

No Limitation By Ted Laguatan 12:57 pm | Tuesday, June 11th, 2013 A nation can be compared to a train where the citizens are passengers. The leaders are the engineers who direct the train and the speed with which it travels. If the engineers recklessly run the train along tracks beside a cliff at a rate of unsafe speed, it could very well derail and fall hundreds of feet down killing or seriously hurting its helpless passengers. Arrogance of power and false dangerous ego based nationalism can blind a nation’s leaders and many of its people – leading them towards a dangerous path headed for sure disaster. How can leaders of nations and many of its citizens be so irrational or be so blind as not to see that they are bringing their people to hell? The history of mankind is full of  stories of charismatic ego driven leaders who impressed upon their people that it is their manifest destiny to rule the world and that their time has come for these glorious moments. Leaders might be labeled by their own people as being “great” especially when they have conquered other nations – but in actuality, they were not  only  terrible scourges to the people they conquered but also were curses to their own people who eventually suffered much because of their blind ambitions to rule the world. Within human beings are the seeds of good and evil. There is a terrible frightening force within us that operates on a Read More …

PHL Navy's 2nd Hamilton-class ship begins journey to new home port

 News
Jun 102013
 
PHL Navy's 2nd Hamilton-class ship begins journey to new home port

The Philippine Navy’s second Hamilton-class warship on Monday night (Philippine time) started its journey to the Philippines from Charleston, South Carolina in the United States. The Philippine Embassy in Washington tweeted that the BRP Ramon Alcaraz began its journey to the Philippines at 10 p.m. Monday. “BRP Ramon Alcaraz gets ready for voyage to the Philippines. Fair winds, blue skies and following seas!” the embassy said. Before their departure, the warship’s Filipino crew got what the embassy called “emotional farewells” from members of the Filipino community in Charleston. “Filipinos in Charleston served as foster families of officers and crew of Alcaraz during (their) 13-month stay in South Carolina,” the embassy explained. Sea trials The BRP Ramon Alcaraz started sea trials last May as part of preparations for its service in the Philippine Navy. Since it was acquired by the Philippines in May 2012, the ship had been refurbished and refitted at a cost of $15.15 million. The BRP Ramon Alcaraz is the second Hamilton-class cutter acquired by the Philippines from the US under the Excess Defense Article and Military Assistance Program. The first ship, the BRP Gregorio Del Pilar (PF15), was turned over to the Philippine Navy in May 2011. The 378-foot-long BRP Ramon Alcaraz was originally commissioned in 1968 and served in the U.S. Coast Guard as the USCGC Dallas. The ship was named after a Philippine Navy officer who commanded a patrol boat that shot down three Japanese aircraft during World War 2. — DVM, GMA News

Poll critics file complaint against 11 Comelec officials

 News
Jun 102013
 
Poll critics file complaint against 11 Comelec officials

Various poll watchdogs on Monday filed with the Office of the Ombudsman a complaint against 11 former and current Commission on Elections (Comelec) officials for allegedly “placing in grave peril the sanctity of the ballot” during the May 2010 and 2013 elections. The accused officials are former Comelec chairperson Jose Melo, former commissioners Rene Sarmiento, Nicodemo Ferrer, Armando Velasco and Leonardo Leonida. The other respondents in the complaint are Director Jose Tolentino and Bartolome Sinocruz Jr.; Melo consultant Renato Garcia; Technical Evaluation Committee chairperson Denis Villorente and the committee members Ferdinand De Leon and Reynaldo Sy. Officials of Smartmatic-Total Information Management Corp., the provider of the ballot-reading precinct count optical scan machines, were implicated, as well, including Smartmatic Asia president Cesar Flores. “This citizen’s action… being filed to hold into account public officers at the COMELEC who, in collusion with local and foreign business interests, placed in grave peril the sanctity of the ballot in the Philippines by approving the use of a highly-suspect… PCOS [machine] in,the [2010 and 2013] elections,” according to the complainants’ statement. The complainants are: former vice president Teofisto Guingona Jr., Automated Elections System Watch co-convenor Fr. Jose Dizon, NBN-ZTE deal whistleblower Rodolfo Noel “Jun” Lozada Jr., Workers’ Electoral Watch convenor Anna Leah Escresa-Colina, Gregorio Fabros of Kontra Daya, Center for People Empowerment in Governance executive director Evita Jimenez, and a certain Hector Barrios. Among the alleged violations committed by the Comelec and Smartmatic were: – Contract with Smartmatic pushed through despite the fact that Smartmatic’s Read More …

PAGASA: TS Dante exits PAR, will continue enhancing southwest monsoon

 News
Jun 102013
 
PAGASA: TS Dante exits PAR, will continue enhancing southwest monsoon

After enhancing the southwest monsoon, Tropical Storm Dante (international codename Yagi) exited the Philippine area of responsibility Monday night, state weather forecasters said. In its 10:30 p.m. advisory, PAGASA said Tropical Storm Dante maintained its strength as it moved north-northeast at 17 kph. “Tropical Storm Dante will continue to enhance the southwest monsoon that will bring rains and thunderstorms particularly over the western section of southern Luzon and Visayas,” it said. As of 10 p.m., PAGASA estimated Tropical Storm Dante to be 1,280 km northeast of Basco, Batanes or 680 km east-southeast of Okinawa, Japan. By Tuesday morning, it is expected to be 1,350 km northeast of Basco, Batanes or at 690 km east of Okinawa, Japan. It said Dante packed maximum sustained winds of 85 kph near the center and gustiness of up to 100 kph. No public storm warning signals were raised, PAGASA said. — DVM, GMA News

Comelec wants allowable poll expenses pegged on 'economic factors'

 News
Jun 102013
 
Comelec wants allowable poll expenses pegged on 'economic factors'

The allowable poll expenses limit may soon be pegged on “economic factors” such as the inflation rate and consumer price index (CPI), a Commission on Elections (Comelec) official said on Monday. This could be possible if the 16th Congress approves a bill amending the Omnibus Election Code that the Comelec would endorse, according to poll commissioner Christian Robert Lim. The poll official said the commission has proposed to form a regional tripartite body with officials from the National Economic and Development Authority and the Department of Trade and Industry that would determine the allowable election expense per voter. “Every elections, there would be a regional tripartite board na magde-determine using the CPI magkano [ang expense limit]. Mataas ba ang inflation kaya kailangang itaas din namin para realistic?” explained Lim. The reform aims to motivate candidates to be truthful in their statements of contributions and expenditures, he added. “More often than not, candidates are going to spend more. So more likely they would not declare. So we want them to be truthful in their declaration,” Lim said. As of now, the Comelec under its Resolution No. 9476 limits presidential and vice presidential candidates to P10 for every registered voter, candidates with political parties to P3 per voter, and independent candidates to P5 per voter. According to the National Statistics Office, the CPI measures the “changes in the price level of goods and services that most people buy for their day-to-day consumption.” Meanwhile, inflation is the change in price level over a Read More …

Palace belies extradition claim from Kiram camp

 News
Jun 102013
 
Palace belies extradition claim from Kiram camp

Kirams ready to face the music. Princess Jacel Kiram, daughter of Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III, talks to media at a press conference in Taguig City on Monday. Together with Sultan Jamalul Kiram III and Dr. Abdurahman Amin of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), Princess Jacel said the family is ready to face any charge that the government may file against them for the intrusion in Sabah. Danny Pata Malacañang has downplayed claims from the camp of Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III, whose followers were embroiled in deadly clashes with security men in Sabah three months ago while pressing their claim on the territory, that the Philippine government plans to extradite members of the clan to Malaysia. In a press conference Monday at the Kiram’s residence in Maharlika Village in Taguig City, the sultan’s daughter Princess Jacel Kiram claimed that the family had received information from sources “within the government” about plans to turn in the Kirams to the Malaysian government. In a report on GMA News TV’s Balitanghali, Jacel said the extradition plan was “very close na sa implementation.”   But presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda belittled the statement and said: “Claim lang ‘yon. Wala, we have not [discussed anything like that].” Some of the sultan’s followers are currently facing criminal cases in Sabah for the incursion last February. Meanwhile, the National Bureau of Investigation has yet to submit its report on the Sabah incursion to the Department of Justice, which will make its recommendation to President Benigno Aquino Read More …

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