CBCP will support initiatives to determine, choose 'worthy candidates'

 News
Jan 292013
 
CBCP will support initiatives to determine, choose 'worthy candidates'

After listing the Philippines’ “problems as a nation,” the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) said it will support lay initiatives to form “circles of discernment to choose worthy candidates” in the midterm elections in May. “We will help the people to know the stance of those who run for office on important issues of the country,” it said. The quotes are part of a pastoral statement it issued after a three-day plenary session in which the CBCP enumerated—and blasted—the country’s “long litany of storms,” including the government’s inability to stop a “culture of impunity” that allows extrajudicial killings; its failure to ease the suffering of the poor despite good economic news; and “the promotion of a culture of death and promiscuity” through school sex education, the use of contraceptives and discussions about divorce. “We note the above social and political storms that buffet our Filipino life because they deeply touch the experiences of our people. We speak for those who suffer. We bring these concerns to those who have responsibility and hence accountability. These stormy situations need not be so!” the CBCP said in the statement signed by council president and Cebu Archbishop Jose S. Palma. RH law denounced anew The CBCP denounced anew the passage of the Reproductive Health Law, and what it claimed were the “political and financial pressures imposed on lawmakers” as well as the “imperialism exercised by secularistic international organizations in the legislative process.” It commended the efforts of lay people and lawgivers who Read More …

PNoy hopes Church will forgive Celdran

 News
Jan 292013
 
PNoy hopes Church will forgive Celdran

While President Benigno Aquino may not agree with how activist Carlos Celdran expressed his stance on the Church’s interference in political matters, he hopes that the country’s religious leaders will forgive Celdran’s actions. “I may sympathize with Mr. Celdran’s position. Perhaps ‘yung methodology—during a Mass—baka we don’t agree with it,” Aquino said on the sidelines of the 40th anniversary celebration of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA). “At the same time, siguro kung tutularan ‘nung ating kaparian, ating mga religious, ‘yung ehemplo mismo ng [Santo] Papa at maraming [Santo] Papa, palagay ko lalabas naman ‘yung Christian generosity and charity at baka naman mapatawad naman nila si Ginoong Celdran para naman, ‘di ba, pwede na tayong umusad mula doon sa panahon na ‘yon,” he said. On January 28, Celdran was found guilty of “offending religious feelings” by the Manila Metropolitan Trial Court. The decision was in reference to a one-man protest Celdran held in September 2010, when he called for an end to the Church’s opposition to the now-passed Reproductive Health bill. Dressed as Jose Rizal, Celdran disrupted an ecumenical service—not a Mass—in the Manila Cathedral attended by ranking bishops and city officials by holding up a placard bearing the name “Damaso,” in reference to the notorious priest in Rizal’s Noli Me Tangere. Celdran has since apologized, but maintained that his protest was within his constitutional right to free speech. For his part, Aquino appealed to reason, saying there is a time and place for everything. “Syempre, may constitutional provision Read More …

Bill giving P100,000 to Pinoy centenarians nears Congress approval

 News
Jan 292013
 
Bill giving P100,000 to Pinoy centenarians nears Congress approval

A bill giving P100,000 each to Filipinos who reach the age of 100 is just a few steps away from becoming a law after the Senate adopted the House version of the measure. Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman, author of House Bill 834 or the “Centenerians Bill,” said the Senate adopted his version of the proposed legislation on Monday afternoon with minor amendments. The bill entitles Filipino citizens who reached and will reach the age of 100 to a P100,000 cash gift, as well as a letter of felicitation from the President congratulating the centenarian for his or her longevity. Lagman said his measure seeks to laud centenarians for their “achievement and distinction” of living to be 100, especially at a time when the average life expectancy in the Philippines is pegged at 71 years. The census conducted by the National Statistics Office in 2010 showed there are around 8,000 centenarians living in the Philippines. Aside from the cash gift, the bill also grants a 75-percent discount on goods and services to centenarians. Lagman initially suggested a 50-percent discount, but the Senate raised the entitlement to the current rate. The measure also proposes the creation of a national committee, headed by the executive secretary, which will validate the true birth year of a centenarian applicant and which will ensure the release of the cash gift within 30 days of the validation. The bill will now have to be ratified by both chambers of Congress before it is forwarded to Malacañang for Read More …

Senate to turn over financial documents to COA

 News
Jan 292013
 
Senate to turn over financial documents to COA

The Senate will be turning over its financial documents to the Commission on Audit (COA) on Wednesday, Senate accounts committee chair Sen. Panfilo Lacson said Tuesday. “Ready na, nasa sa akin yung mga dokumento. Tamang-tama bukas mayroon kaming meeting with COA chair [Grace Pulido-Tan] so dadalin ko na tuloy,” Lacson told reporters. He issued the statement after Tan in a letter asked that the Senate “make available” to them papers, documents and information connected to the augmentation and realignment of Senate funds. Tan said the documents shall be used to “carry out a no-holds barred audit of the Senate finances.” Lacson said that as of Tuesday 1 p.m., the available documents from the Senate accounting department are submissions from the offices of individual senators. He said this will cover the years 2009 to 2012. “Lahat lahat [ng financial documents]. Basta yung pondo ng mga individual senators nandoon, yun ang ituturn over ko bukas. Hindi ko pa rin nakikita kasi nandun nakakahon siya, naka-envelope siya pero as required, magco-comply kami,” he said. “[Pero] wala pa yung sa Senate proper. Sabi ko madaliin nila, kailangan madala ko lahat,” he added. Lacson said he will also meet with Tan to clarify some things in her letter. “[Una] ano yung sakop nung hinihingi niyang mga dokumento? Pangalawa yung liquidation by certification or by submission of documents, receipts etc kung kailan dapat magsimula?” he said.  “Of course alam namin effective immediately effective 2013 pero icocover ba nila yung past years na magrerequire ba ng magsubmit Read More …

Loren, Chiz, Grace Poe won’t appear in UNA ads

 News
Jan 292013
 
Loren, Chiz, Grace Poe won’t appear in UNA ads

Although they are considered as common candidates of the two major coalitions in the 2013 polls, former Movie and Television Review and Classification Board chief Grace Poe-Llamazares and re-electionist Senators Francis Escudero and Loren Legarda will not appear in political advertisements of the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA). At a press conference Tuesday, Deputy Speaker Lorenzo Tañada III, one of the administration’s campaign spokesmen, said the three common candidates already had an agreement with the ruling Liberal Party (LP)’s leadership not to join UNA’s campaign. “I think that has already been answered. We will not allow the three common candidates in UNA’s political ads. This has been clear. Kung lalabas kayo dito sa ad namin, dapat dito lang,” Tañada said. Marikina Rep. Romero Quimbo, another administration campaign spokesman, meanwhile said that Poe, Escudero and Legarda were not barred to appear in UNA’s ads, but the three consented in campaigning only with the administration slate. “All the candidates are mature enough to make decisions. It’s not a matter na may pinagbawalan o hindi, but there was a specific agreement among mature political leaders na we need to be consistent on the message,” Quimbo said at the same press briefing. All three common candidates appeared in the administration’s first political advertisement for the 2013 polls, which was launched on Monday. They, however, were not included in the UNA ad, which aired earlier this month. Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya, LP secretary-general, earlier said that President Benigno Aquino III himself asked Legarda not to Read More …

Crucial, long-overdue BlackBerry makeover arrives

 Economy
Jan 292013
 
Crucial, long-overdue BlackBerry makeover arrives

TORONTO (AP) — The maker of the BlackBerry smartphone is promising a speedier device, a superb typing experience and the ability to keep work and personal identities separate on the same phone. It’s the fruit of a crucial, long-overdue makeover for the Canadian company. Thorsten Heins, chief executive of Research In Motion Ltd., will show off the first phone with the new BlackBerry 10 system in New York on Wednesday. A marketing campaign that includes a Super Bowl ad will accompany the long-anticipated debut. Repeated delays have left the once-pioneering BlackBerry an afterthought in the shadow of Apple’s trend-setting iPhone and Google’s Android-driven devices. Now, there’s some optimism. Previews of the software have gotten favorable reviews on blogs. Financial analysts are starting to see some slight room for a comeback. RIM’s stock has nearly tripled to $16.18 from a nine-year low in September, though it’s still nearly 90 percent below its 2008 peak of $147. Most analysts consider a BlackBerry 10 success to be crucial for the company’s long-term viability. “The old models are becoming obsolete quickly,” BGC Financial analyst Colin Gillis said. “There is still a big user base but it’s going to rotate off. The question is: Where do they rotate to?” The BlackBerry, pioneered in 1999, has been the dominant smartphone for on-the-go business people. Corporate information-technology managers like the phones because they’re relatively secure and easy to manage. Many employees loved them because of physical keyboards that were easier to type on than the touch-screen iPhone. Read More …

Ayala-Phinma power plant to start next yr

 Economy
Jan 282013
 
Ayala-Phinma power plant to start next yr

MANILA, Philippines – Conglomerate Ayala Corp., through its power subsidiary AC Energy Corp., and the Phinma Group’s Trans-Asia Oil and Energy Development Corp. will start operating their P12-billion power plant joint venture in Calaca, Batangas in the third quarter of 2014, a top official said yesterday. In an interview, Trans-Asia president Francisco Viray said the two companies are on track with their Calaca project, with construction ongoing. “We are on track. It will be for commission in the third quarter of 2014,” Viray  said. The two companies signed the joint venture agreement in 2011 to develop and operate the 135-megawatt coal power plant in Calaca. Ayala Corp. and Trans-Asia agreed to incorporate a joint venture company, South Luzon Thermal Energy Corp., equally owned by them and which had an initial capitalization of P200 million.  The 135-MW thermal power plant in Batangas had an estimated cost of P12 billion to be financed by debt and equity. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Viray said the project has been fully funded already and is just awaiting completion. “The project has been fully funded. It’s really just the construction that we are waiting for,” Viray said. He is also optimistic on business prospects of the plant because open access regime, which would soon be in place. “We’re optimistic that there will be enough market because of the open access will be ready in June so there will be a market,” Viray said. Under the open access scheme, large power users Read More …

Watsons sets aggressive expansion plan this year

 Economy
Jan 282013
 
Watsons sets aggressive expansion plan this year

MANILA, Philippines – Watsons Personal Care Stores (Philippines) Inc., partly owned by mall operator SM Prime Holdings Inc., has lined up an aggressive expansion program this year, banking on the strong economic growth. The personal care and pharmacy firm targets to reach more than 350 stores this year across the country, an official said. “We will continue to expand stores. This year, we are actually opening 40 stores and we will be expanding not only in the metropolis but also outside,” Robert Sun, general manager of Watsons Philippines told reporters. This will allow the company to grow its sales by 12 percent this year, double the estimated six-percent Philippine economic growth, Sun said. Watsons Philippines is a joint venture between SM Prime (40 percent) and Hong Kong’s A.S. Watson & Co. Ltd. of the Hutchison Whampoa Group (60 percent). The company ended 2012 with 315 stores after 47 new branches in areas like Butuan, Isabela, Puerto Princesa and Tuguegarao. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Sun said the budget last year was just 40 stores but the company expanded faster, which can also happen this year. “We put up stores in malls but we also put up stores where people live and work,” Sun said, adding that 75 percent of operating branches are located in shopping malls. Watsons Philippines, which started operations 10 years ago, is the exclusive drug store for all the SM supermarkets. “We want to accelerate our stand alone [store expansion] eventually because when Read More …

Fake title, fake owners

 Economy
Jan 282013
 
Fake title, fake owners

A prominent lawyer told Spy Bits that a six-hectare property owned by SM Development Corp. is allegedly being claimed by persons holding a land title that was already declared as “fake” by the Land Registration Authority or LRA. The SM property is located in Barangay San Rafael in Pasay City but the claimants – said to be the heirs of a certain Danilo V. Herrera – continue to insist it is theirs on the strength of a reconstituted title that, upon closer scrutiny, happens to cover another property situated in Malibay, also in Pasay. A 2003 report from the LRA said the Register of Deeds declared the claimants’ title spurious or questionable due to irregularities in its issuance, and that the title from which Herrera based his claim was declared as defective and even included among those recommended for nullification. The signature of the Register of Deeds who reportedly issued the title also seems to have been faked according to the National Bureau of Investigation. The lawyer said that what’s really strange is that Pasay RTC Judge Jesus Mupas issued the reconstituted title and a writ of possession favoring the claimants “ex parte” (one sided) without giving notice to SMDC. SM was able to obtain a temporary restraining order from the Court of Appeals last Jan. 24 directing concerned parties to cease and desist from enforcing the Writ of Possession earlier issued by Mupas, but for some reason, the Pasay RTC sheriff disregarded the order and even brought a demolition Read More …

Ballot printing to start Feb 4 — NPO

 News
Jan 272013
 
Ballot printing to start Feb 4 — NPO

More than 52 million ballots for the May 2013 midterm elections are set for printing next week, February 4, an official of the National Printing Office (NPO) said Monday. Assistant Director Raul Nagrampa told GMA News Online that the NPO can have a minimum of 670,000 to a maximum of one million ballots to be printed per day, for them to meet their last delivery date of printed ballots on April 25. The printing will run for 54 to a maximum of 81 days, Nagrampa said. “As far as NPO is concerned, ready to go na kami… The papers are already here,” Nagrampa said in a phone interview. The state-run NPO was tasked by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to head the procurement process of the printing and supply of ballot papers. Nagrampa said they are expecting a shorter ballot after the Comelec purged the number of qualified party-list groups to 123, including the slew of party-lists axed by the poll body but granted a reprieve by the Supreme Court. This is a decrease from the 187 party-lists which participated in the 2010 elections. “We’re anticipating a shorter (ballot) kasi una, na-purge ‘yung party-list. Walang president or vice president. ‘Yun lang naman nakakapagpahaba,” Nagrampa said. The maximum length of the ballot paper may range from 25 to 26 inches, Nagrampa said. Meanwhile, the ballots for the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) may be longer at 29 inches since it includes an Arabic translation. He added that the three printers Read More …

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