In Alex Padilla’s peace quest, a battle with extremes

 News
May 052013
 
In Alex Padilla’s peace quest, a battle with extremes

Kuwento By Benjamin PimentelINQUIRER.net 3:22 pm | Sunday, May 5th, 2013 Something Alex Padilla told me years ago makes it clear that he has a toughest job in the government – but also the clearest sense of why that job is important. “Two related truths I believe in on this matter are these,” he told me in a January 2011 email after he was named head of the government peace panel and as peace negotiations with the underground left were set to begin. “First, government cannot defeat this insurgency through military action alone. And second, the CPP/NPA/NDF could never achieve victory through armed struggle.” “I don’t expect both extremes to agree, of course,” he continued, “but we have taken the stance that we are not only negotiating with the left but actually negotiating with the entire Filipino people as our main audience and these ‘truths’ are widely agreed with.” Two years later, the negotiations have come crashing down. The good news is that, while the peace talks have failed, the government, as Padilla himself said in a report, will try to take “a new approach to pursue peace.” Not exactly sure what that means. How you can pursue peace without negotiating a peace agreement? (Unless this new approach actually involves waging war.) The other good news is that Alex Padilla has a bit more time to do the job, at least based on a deadline he imposed on himself. “I have also been candid enough to say that I do Read More …

Envoys to visit Filipino victims of alleged human trafficking in US

 News
May 042013
 
Envoys to visit Filipino victims of alleged human trafficking in US

Philippine Daily Inquirer 4:11 am | Sunday, May 5th, 2013 Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Cuisia. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO MANILA, Philippines—Philippine officials in the United States will visit this week the two Filipino women rescued from a Saudi diplomat’s house in Virginia in a suspected human trafficking case, the Philippine embassy in Washington D.C. said on Saturday. In a statement to the Inquirer, the embassy said Consul General Ariel Peñaranda asked the “US agencies concerned” on Friday (Saturday in Manila) to allow a consular visit to the rescued women. “US authorities immediately acted on the request and arrangements are being made to allow Consul General Peñaranda, labor attaché Luzviminda Padilla and welfare officer Saul de Vries to visit the two Filipinos on Monday,” said the embassy statement. Acting on a tip, US immigration officers last Tuesday swooped down on a home in McLean, Virginia, owned by the Saudi government and took custody of the women who were reportedly working for a Saudi attaché under “circumstances that amounted to human trafficking,” a US official had said. CNN reported the women complained of maltreatment and being forced to work long hours without pay. Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Cuisia Jr. said the embassy was prepared to “extend the necessary assistance” to the two. The embassy declined to provide further details given the ongoing US investigation. It also did not say which US agency was currently looking after the women or their location. The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), meanwhile, said it Read More …

Binay to meet Yao Ming May 6

 News
May 012013
 
Binay to meet Yao Ming May 6

By Christian V. Esguerra Philippine Daily Inquirer 9:39 pm | Wednesday, May 1st, 2013 Vice President Jejomar Binay. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO BUTUAN CITY, Agusan del Norte, Philippines — A tall order for Vice President Jejomar Binay? This Monday (May 6), the 5’0″ Binay will come face-to-face with Yao Ming, the 7’6″ retired Chinese basketball superstar who will pay him a courtesy call at the Coconut Palace. Binay confirmed the affair on Wednesday, saying he would in fact take a break from a provincial campaign sortie to accommodate Yao, a former NBA All-Star who last played for the Houston Rockets in 2011. A foot injury cut short his professional career and he is now part-owner of the Shanghai Sharks in the Chinese Basketball Association. The Sharks will be in Manila for a couple of exhibition games with the Philippine national team and a selection from the Philippine Basketball Association. “Yes, he will come that’s why I will cancel my visit in the province,” he told reporters in Filipino after leading the distribution of land titles and certificates at the Almont Inland Resort here. But Binay immediately turned defensive, saying he would continue working despite his campaign obligations for the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA). “Dito sa kinaroroonan n’yo nagtatrabaho ako ha? Hindi porke ako ay nag-iikot para sa kampanya eh nagpapabaya ako sa aking trabaho (Here, I’m still working, okay?  I may be campaigning here but I’m not neglecting my work),” he said.

SC OKs Aquino appointment of MMDA exec, says ex-official can't have his post back

 News
May 012013
 
SC OKs Aquino appointment of MMDA exec, says ex-official can't have his post back

(Updated 8:43 p.m.) A former general manager at the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) cannot return to his post because his tenure ended when President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo left office in 2010, according to the Supreme Court. In a 14-page decision penned by Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno, the high court sitting en banc denied a request from former MMDA Assistant General Manager for Operations (AGMO) Emmanuel de Castro to oust Emerson Carlos, who replaced him in the post. Arroyo appointed De Castro to the position on July 29, 2009. More than a year later, on November 2, 2010, MMDA chairman Francis Tolentino issued Memorandum Order No. 24 installing Carlos as officer-in-charge AGMO. Tolentino used as basis for the appointment President Benigno Aquino III’s Memorandum Circular No. 2, which gave non-Career Executive Service Officials (CESO) occupying Career Executive Service (CES) positions only until October 31, 2010 to vacate their posts. De Castro sought clarification from the Career Executive Service Board (CESB), which at the time said the position of AGMO had not yet been classified and could not be considered as belonging to the CES. The CESB said that De Castro, therefore, was not covered by OP Memorandum Circular No. 2. De Castro demanded that he be continuously paid his salary and receive financial benefits as AGMO of the MMDA. On January 4, 2011, however, President Aquino formally appointed Carlos as the new AGMO of the MMDA. Carlos took his oath of office on January 10, 2011. This prompted De Castro Read More …

Rainy Thursday expected in NLuzon, but 36°C heat to prevail in NCR

 News
May 012013
 
Rainy Thursday expected in NLuzon, but 36°C heat to prevail in NCR

Rain from the tail-end of a cold front may affect parts of Northern Luzon while Metro Manila may expect temperatures to zoom up to 36 degrees Celsius on Thursday, state weather forecasters said Wednesday afternoon. PAGASA said the tail-end of a cold front is affecting Extreme Northern Luzon while easterlies or warm winds from the east are affecting the eastersn section of Visayas and Mindanao. “Cagayan valley, Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) and Ilocos provices will experience cloudy skies with light to moderate rain showers and thunderstorms,” PAGASA said in its 5 p.m. bulletin. It added Metro Manila and the rest of the country will be “partly cloudy with isolated rain showers or thunderstorms mostly in the afternoon or evening.” For Wednesday, Metro Manila experienced a high temperature of 35.5 degrees Celsius. PAGASA’s extended forecast indicated Metro Manila may experience temperatures of 25 to 36 degrees Celsius on Thursday. It added Tuguegarao, Angeles and Olongapo Cities may expect temperatures of 24 to 35 degrees Celsius. Meanwhile, PAGASA said moderate to occasionally strong winds from the northeast will prevail over extreme Northern Luzon and the coastal waters will be moderate to occasionally rough. Elsewhere, winds will be light to moderate coming from the east to northeast with slight to moderate seas. — TJD, GMA News

PNoy not conducting loyalty checks on LP members, says spokesperson

 News
May 012013
 
PNoy not conducting loyalty checks on LP members, says spokesperson

President Benigno Aquino III is not out to check if his allies in the provinces will support the entire administration slate in the upcoming midterm polls, his spokesperson said Wednesday. In a phone patch interview, presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda denied a statement from the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA), the administration’s rival coalition in this year’s elections, that the President is already conducting loyalty checks on Liberal Party members on the ground. “Wala hong loyalty check po na nangyayari ngayon. I think they’re just deflecting the issues right now on the performance of the Team UNA candidates vis-à-vis the Team PNoy candidates based on the surveys that have just been released,” Lacierda said. He added that the President is satisfied with the performance of administration candidates in recent surveys. On Tuesday, UNA campaign manager Tobias Tiangco came out with the statement accusing LP of being “jumpy and paranoid” in the last few weeks leading up to the elections. Aquino chairs the ruling Liberal Party. “Loyalty checks are a sign of desperation and panic. Hindi nila kayang kontrolin ang mga leader nilang sumusuporta sa UNA,” Tiangco said. He attributed the supposed “undue pressure” being exerted by the ruling party on its allies to Albay Governor Joey Salceda’s move to meet with UNA candidates in his province over the weekend. Salceda heads the LP in the Bicol Region. Lacierda countered Tiangco’s claims by saying that the LP has “no reason to panic,” since it has the upper hand in the senatorial race based Read More …

Final testing, sealing of PCOS machines begins Thursday in selected precincts

 News
May 012013
 
Final testing, sealing of PCOS machines begins Thursday in selected precincts

The final testing and sealing (FTS) of PCOS (precinct count optical scan) machines is set to start in selected polling precincts Thursday, May 2, ahead of the original May 6 schedule. Poll chairman Sixto Brillantes said Wednesday the schedule was changed due to the arrival of the machines and the readiness of the board of election inspectors (BEIs) to test and seal them for the May 13 polls. “Pag dumating na ngayon at ready na ang BEIs gusto na nila i-testing agad kasi hindi sabay-sabay ang dating. Tsaka pag andun na ang PCOS, ready na paraphernalia, ready na for FTS, pwede na mag-umpisa,” he told reporters. One of the areas to first conduct an FTS on Thursday is Pasay City, first district. The whole of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao is expected to conduct FTS on May 10. Brillantes said most of the areas will have their FTS on May 6. During the FTS, BEIs test the usability and accuracy of each PCOS machine by feeding it 10 test ballots to check that they are received and counted by the machine, said Brillantes. He said the ballots will also be counted manually to check for discrepancies. The detailed instruction for BEIs on the testing and sealing of PCOS machines and voting, counting and transmission of results on May 13 is stated in Comelec Resolution 9640. After the FTS, the PCOS machine will be sealed again and stored in the school or returned to the hub where it will be secured by Comelec security personnel Read More …

Low turnout for local absentee voting dissapoints Comelec chief Brillantes

 News
May 012013
 
Low turnout for local absentee voting dissapoints Comelec chief Brillantes

Poll chief Brillantes casts vote 14 days ahead of Election Day. Comelec Chairman Sixto Brillantes Jr. casts his vote on the second day of the local absentee voting at the poll body’s head office in Intramuros, Manila on Monday. Government officials and workers, including police and military personnel, and, for the first time, approved, media practitioners who will be on duty on Election Day, are allowed to exercise their right of suffrage in advance. Danny Pata Even as he has yet to receive the final report on the recently-concluded three-day local absentee voting, Elections chairman Sixto Brillantes Jr. is not satisfied with the low turnout of voters in the electoral exercise. In an interview with reporters Wednesday, Brillantes said that based on initial figures, the registration and number of those who voted was lower compared to the 2010 elections. “Definitely hindi ako satisfied. Hindi maganda ang registration dahil lumiit compared to 2010, lumiit ang registration from 33,0000 I think in 2010, ngayon 18,000 lang. Tapos ang turnout hindi ko alam kung gaano kalaki,” he said. Of the 18,332 who registered for this election’s local absentee voting, only 12,732 were found qualified to vote. The local absentee voting was conducted from April 28 to 30. Data from the Comelec-National Capital Region showed that of the 366 media personnel who registered for local absentee voting, only 200 availed of the privilege. In the past, only government officials and employees, and members of the National Police and Armed Forces who are temporarily assigned to Read More …

Anti-Filipino graffiti slams Fil-Ams; police probing it as hate crime

 News
Apr 302013
 
Anti-Filipino graffiti slams Fil-Ams; police probing it as hate crime

INQUIRER.net U.S. Bureau 4:19 am | Wednesday, May 1st, 2013 UNION CITY, California–A vandal or vandals defaced Filipino-American establishments over the weekend by spraying graffiti anti-Filipino messages, and police are investigating the case as a hate crime. UnionCityPatch.com http://unioncity.patch.com/, a hyperlocal news site reported that those targeted were the Toppings Too restaurant, the Filipino Advocates for Justice office and the Filipino Community of Alvarado and Vicinity building, which houses various offices including the Union City Chamber of Commerce. The pieces of graffiti appear to be written in the same handwriting. Though the identity of the perpetrator is unknown, the graffiti appears to name two ethnic groups. On the Filipino Community building, located at 3939 Smith St., the vandal crossed out “Filipino” and wrote “Mex” above the word “community,” with “f— Filipinos” underneath. Similarly, the graffiti scrawled on Toppings read “Mex” and “f—- Filipinos” on one side of the restaurant’s entrance door with “AMS” on the other, suggesting possible tensions after the renaming of Alvarado Middle School after Filipino-American labor leaders Larry Itliong and Philip Veracruz. Members of the Filipino-American community were saddened to see such divisive messages in the community. Tracie Noriega, a member of the New Haven Pilipino American Society for Education, said in a statement that the acts of vandalism are “extremely disheartening.” “It is also disheartening that the vandalism is claimed by and against two ethnic groups that have roots in very similar experiences,” Noriega added. “The formation of the United Farm Workers Union was grounded in Read More …

2 bettors share P95.932M Superlotto jackpot

 News
Apr 302013
 
2 bettors share P95.932M Superlotto jackpot

Two lucky bettors will be about P47.96 million richer each after bagging the jackpot in the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office’s Superlotto 6/49 draw Tuesday night. In a post on its website, the PCSO said the two got the combination of 06-10-16-24-09-05 to jointly win the jackpot worth P95,932,278. As in the past, the PCSO is not likely to name the winners for security reasons. Just last Monday, a lone winner won the Megalotto 6/45 draw, getting the combination of 34-37-17-09-14-21 to bag the night’s jackpot worth P45,049,768.20. Last April 20, a lone winner became P132 million richer after bagging the PCSO Grand Lotto draw jackpot. But the biggest lotto prize ever won is still the November 2010 draw, when a lone bettor won P741.176 million for getting the winning combination 11-16-42-47-31-37. — DVM, GMA News

 Older Entries  Newer Entries