News – Page 486

CBCP: Commemorative San Pedro Calungsod P50 bills, medals to be issued this year

News

Feb 042013

CBCP: Commemorative San Pedro Calungsod P50 bills, medals to be issued this year

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) will issue later this year commemorative P50 bills featuring the image of San Pedro Calungsod, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) said over the weekend. An article posted on the CBCP news site said the limited-edition bills will commemorate the canonization of the second Filipino saint last October. “Because of the many signatures needed, certainly I think these will be released not later than the feast day of Calungsod on April 2,” said former Ambassador to the Vatican Henrietta de Villa, secretary general of the National Commission on the Canonization of Calungsod. De Villa said the Monetary Board has also approved to issue commemorative medals to honor the sainthood of Calungsod. Calungsod was a teenage Catholic missionary who died a martyr in Guam on April 2, 1672. He was canonized at the Vatican on October 21 last year. – VVP, GMA News

DOJ urged to take legal action vs US Navy for Tubbataha destruction

News

Feb 042013

DOJ urged to take legal action vs US Navy for Tubbataha destruction

INQUIRER.net 10:51 am | Tuesday, February 5th, 2013 In a photo released by the U.S. Navy, the mine countermeasures ship USS Guardian sits aground in this Jan. 22, 2013 file photo on the Tubbataha Reef in the Sulu Sea in the Philippines. AP Photo/U.S. Navy. Naval Aircrewman 3rd Class Geoffrey Trudell MANILA, Philippines — Militant fisherfolk group Pamalakaya (Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas) filed a complaint Tuesday before the Department of Justice, urging it to take legal action against the US Navy and crew members of USS Guardian. Mara Cepeda and Caitlin Jao

Cops secure Supreme Court for anti-cybercrime law protests

News

Feb 042013

Cops secure Supreme Court for anti-cybercrime law protests

The police on Tuesday tightened security anew at the Supreme Court in Manila for the resumption of arguments on the Anti-Cybercrime Act of 2012. Radio dzBB’s Carlo Mateo said some groups had scheduled a vigil and concert there from 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday up to 2:00 a.m. on Wednesday. Mateo said the police appealed to the organizers of the vigil and protest actions to keep their activities peaceful and orderly. Many of the protesters are marking not just the resumption of arguments but also the eve of Feb. 6, the day the high court’s temporary restraining order on the controversial law lapses. Among the activities lined up by various youth and blogger groups for the day are a concert and vigil protesting a supposed “electronic Martial Law.” Many groups had staged protests at the high court when arguments on the controversial law are held. They argued that the anti-cybercrime law may violate Filipinos’ constitutional right to freedom of expression. – VVP, GMA News

Chinese warships enter West Philippine Sea

News

Feb 042013

Chinese warships enter West Philippine Sea

By Tarra Quismundo Philippine Daily Inquirer 4:12 am | Tuesday, February 5th, 2013 MANILA, Philippines—Chinese naval vessels entered Philippine waters on Feb. 1 amid efforts by the Philippines to peacefully resolve its territorial dispute with China in the West Philippine Sea through arbitration in the United Nations. China’s state-run Xinhua news agency reported on Sunday that a naval fleet of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) entered the West Philippine Sea “for patrol and training missions” this week. Xinhua said the three ships from the PLA Navy’s North China Sea fleet—the missile destroyer Qingdao and missile frigates Yantai and Yancheng—traveled through the Bashi Channel, an international sea route between Luzon and Taiwan, before entering the West Philippine Sea at 11:40 a.m. on Friday. The report said the training exercises would be held within Chinese “territorial waters.” China claims almost all of the West Philippine Sea, including parts close to the shores of the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan. UN arbitration The Philippines has protested Chinese incursions into waters within its exclusive economic zone (EEZ), but China insists those waters are part of its territory. Last month, the Philippines took its dispute with China to the United Nations for arbitration. The Philippines asked the United Nations to declare invalid China’s claim to parts of the sea that are within the Philippine EEZ. Manila also asked the United Nations to stop Beijing’s incursions into Philippine territory in the sea. It is not clear whether the Philippine action can proceed without China’s participation Read More …

Fil-Am bishop joins Calungsod musical

News

Feb 042013

By Nimfa U. Rueda Philippine Daily Inquirer 3:22 am | Tuesday, February 5th, 2013 LOS ANGELES—First, he made history as the first Filipino to become bishop in the United States. Now, he scores another first—this time as the first Catholic bishop in America to perform in a theater musical. Oscar Solis and members of the Filipino Priests of Los Angeles—also the first group of priests to perform on stage—have joined the cast of “Fides Ecclesiae (Faith of the Church),” a musical about the lives of Pedro Calungsod, a newly canonized Filipino saint, and St. Kateri Tekakwitha, the first Native American saint. “Bishop Solis is the first member of the (US) Conference of Catholic Bishops to sing on stage,” said Fr. Robert Victoria, who wrote the script. “Fides Ecclesiae” is also the first Filipino production, as well as the first musical about the Catholic faith, to be staged at the Pantages Theater, a famous Los Angeles landmark known as the go-to venue for blockbuster Broadway entertainment. Victoria said the musical was not only historic but had also been marked by so many “miracles,” which were attributed to Saints Calungsod and Kateri—the two youngest among the seven saints canonized by Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican last October. He cited the stories of a lupus-stricken cast member who experienced a miraculous recovery and the mother of a production crew member who was healed of cancer. “The fact that we were able to get people from different nationalities—Filipinos, Chamorros, Chinese and Americans—to come Read More …

US to compensate PH for damage to Tubbataha Reefs

News

Feb 042013

US to compensate PH for damage to Tubbataha Reefs

By Christine O. Avendaño Philippine Daily Inquirer 1:21 am | Tuesday, February 5th, 2013 PROTEST AT US EMBASSY Activists protest the destruction of Tubbataha Reefs as a result of a US Navy minesweeper getting stuck at the World Heritage Site. NIÑO JESUS ORBETA The US government has apologized and pledged to provide “appropriate compensation” to the Philippines for the damage caused by the grounding of a US warship at the protected Tubbataha Reefs in the Sulu Sea. The US compensation will come in a package that includes a joint scientific assessment of the reefs for rehabilitation, a P4.1 million ($100,000) grant for coral restoration on the reefs, and funding for improvements in the communications system within and around the natural park. In a statement released by the US Embassy in Manila on Sunday, the US government said it had been committed over the past decade to help the Philippines protect its marine ecosystems, including coral reefs. “In view of the damage caused by the USS Guardian accident at Tubbataha Reefs, the US has expressed it regrets and is prepared to provide appropriate compensation to the Republic of the Philippines. In addition to compensation, the US government is planning a number of other activities which will underscore its commitment to Tubbataha’s recovery and the protection of the marine resources of the Philippines,” the statement said. No comment was immediately available on Monday from the Tubbataha Protected Area Management, which had been talking about going after the US Navy for the damage Read More …

Belmonte gives up hope on FOI bill

News

Feb 042013

With only three session days left to pass the Freedom of Information (FOI), House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. on Monday said the proposed legislation is “technically” dead at the House of Representatives. When asked by reporters if there is no more hope for the House approval of the FOI bill within the week, Belmonte replied, “Yes. I think so.” He said three session days are not enough to debate on, amend and approve the measure, which seeks to promote transparency in government data and transactions. “We cannot just curtail interpellation. May mga gustong mag-interpellate,” Belmonte said. Belmonte, however, said there is still a “slim chance” to pass the FOI bill if President Benigno Aquino III will certify it as urgent. “If the President certifies it, we can meet beyond Wednesday and Thursday. In that sense, there’s still that slim chance. Hanggang alas-dose ng gabi, basta huwag lang mawala ang quorum,” he said. Malacañang, however, maintained that Aquino—who won the presidency on a platform of government transparency—is not keen on certifying the FOI bill as urgent without debates at the House. The Senate last December unanimously passed its version of the FOI. At the House, the measure has yet to end the period of sponsorship—the first step in the plenary discussions of a proposed legislation. Push for debates Deputy Speaker Lorenzo Tañada III, primary author of the FOI bill, admitted that while the FOI bill now needs a “miracle” to be passed, he Read More …

Pangilinan: House, Senate in deadlock over lowering age of criminal liability

News

Feb 042013

Pangilinan: House, Senate in deadlock over lowering age of criminal liability

The panels from the Senate and House of Representatives have yet to agree on what age should minors start having criminal liability. In a text message to GMA News Online on Monday, Senate social justice, welfare, and rural development committee chair Sen. Francis Pangilinan said the bicameral conference committee is in a “deadlock” regarding the issue. “Sa Senate kasi… 15 years old pa rin. We maintained 15 years old, although nilagyan natin ng mga mandatory involuntary confinement processes kapag serious ang offenses. Ang House gusto nila ibaba sa 12 at gusto nilang for all offenses. So ‘yun ang naging snag,” he said in an interview. Under Republic Act 9344 or Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act of 2006, a child who is 15 years old or below at the time of the commission of the offense shall be exempted from criminal liability but will be subjected to an “intervention program.” With Senate Bill No. 3324, children 15 years old and below shall remain exempted from criminal liability but can face civil liabilities in accordance with existing laws. Pangilinan, who authored RA 9344, said this should be the case since less than 15 percent of offenses committed by minors are serious offenses based on data from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD). “Kung merong 15 percent na serious offenses, dapat hindi buong 100 ilalagay mo sa ganong klaseng katayuan. Dapat ihiwalay ‘yun,” he said. He also said that 90 percent of the offenders are first timers. “So dapat din siguro medyo Read More …

SC-PIO moves out of office, gives way to Justice Leonen

News

Feb 042013

SC-PIO moves out of office, gives way to Justice Leonen

The Supreme Court’s Public Information Office (SC-PIO) has been transferred to a new location to give space to Associate Justice Marvic Leonen’s new office. In a text message, the SC-PIO told GMA News Online that from the third floor of the Supreme Court Annex Building along Padre Faura in Manila, the SC-PIO has “temporarily relocated” to the building’s sixth floor. “We shall be holding office at the 6th floor Annex for about two weeks until renovation of our new office at SC-CA building is done,” the SC-PIO said. A highly placed SC source told GMA News Online that the transfer was meant to give way to Leonen and his staff. “Right after appointment, Leonen immediately inspected the SC-PIO as he was planning to transfer there,” the source said. This was confirmed in a letter by SC PIO chief and spokesperson Ma. Victoria Gleoresty Guerra to Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno. Sereno indicated that the relocation was a result of an “urgency for Justice Leonen’s chambers to have the privacy and space it requires.” The court source said Leonen ended up occupying the SC-PIO as a result of on-going building renovations at the SC. “Kapag may umaalis na justice, pasa-pasa lang iyang mga rooms ng justices. Eh kapag may inaayos pa na room, hindi kagad nakakalipat, kaya ang bagong pasok na justice will usually have to wait,” the source added. The most junior SC member, Leonen was appointed to the SC on November 21, shortly after the bilateral deal was signed, Read More …

Another US warship to visit PHL

News

Feb 042013

A United States Navy guided missile destroyer will arrive in Subic Bay in Zambales on Tuesday for a routine port visit, the American embassy said Monday. The USS Stockdale (DDG-106), the third US vessel to visit the Philippines since January, will replenish supplies as well as offer its crew an opportunity for rest and relaxation, the embassy said in a statement. The Stockdale’s routine port call and goodwill visit at Subic Bay — once one of the largest US military installations in the world outside of the American mainland — “is a great opportunity to continue the long-term relationship between the Philippines and the United States,” said ship commanding officer Cdr. Lex Walker. This will be the Stockdale’s first visit to the Philippines. The visit is part of the ship’s nine-month deployment to the Western Pacific that began in January 2013. During the visit, Stockdale sailors will also engage in a number of community relations projects including visits to local orphanages, the embassy said. The USS Stockdale was commissioned on April 18, 2009, and is homeported in San Diego, California. It is named for Vice Admiral James B. Stockdale, who was the highest ranking US naval officer to be held as a Prisoner of War in Vietnam. Walker also spoke about the diversity of his crew. “We have quite a few Filipino –American Sailors among our crew, and I hope that the citizens of the Philippines can look at our ship and see that their people and their culture are Read More …

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