THE GOVERNMENT’S share from mining revenues increased by 42.07%, exceeding its target as a result of higher output by mining companies.
Feb 122013
Feb 122013
THE GOVERNMENT will now use the income tax returns (ITR) of firms as the main basis for determining their financial capacity for contracting in state projects, a Cabinet official said yesterday.
Feb 102013
Chinese New Year. Seng Guan (信願寺) temple in Manila’s Chinatown district on Sunday was crowded with people mostly wearing red, hoping for good luck and happiness in the Year of the Snake. Klein Sze/ Ang Pahayagang Plaridel The celebration of the Chinese New Year should be a reminder to the peoples of the Philippines and China of their brotherhood amid their seeming differences, Vice President Jejomar Binay said Sunday. In his Chinese New Year message, Binay said the kinship of the Filipinos and Chinese span millennia, and Sunday’s occasion reminds them they can work together harmoniously. “New Year celebrations such as this remind us that China and the Philippines have more similarities than differences, more brotherhood than anything else,” he said in his message posted on his Facebook account. The Philippines and China had been engaged in a territorial dispute over parts of the South China Sea (West Philippine Sea). Last January, the Philippines handed a note verbale to Chinese Ambassador Ma Keqing to notify China of its decision to elevate its complaint to an Arbitral Tribunal. The Arbitral Tribunal is an option provided for by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). China’s nine-dash line overlaps with the territories of its Asian neighbors like the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan. But Binay also pointed out several Filipino customs sprout from Chinese roots. He also said the age-old values of hard work, respect for elders, and sense of duty to our country “are common threads Read More …
Feb 102013
By TJ Burgonio Philippine Daily Inquirer 6:28 pm | Sunday, February 10th, 2013 MANUEL AMALILIO Contributed photo MANILA, Philippines – Lawyers from the Department of Justice would fly to Malaysia to formally start the process of extraditing Manuel Amalilio for allegedly swindling 15 million Filipinos of P12 billion in an investment scam, Malacañang said Sunday. Undersecretary Abigail Valte, deputy presidential spokesperson, debunked reports quoting Malaysian officials as saying that Kuala Lumpur would not extradite Amalilio since he is a Malaysian citizen. “That’s inaccurate because first of all our state counsels from the DOJ were about to go [to Malaysia] to formally start the extradition process,’’ Valte said over government-run dzRB. Even though Malaysia has no extradition treaty with the Philippines, Malaysian law allows extradition under “certain processes,’’ Valte pointed out. In a statement in Malaysia’s Star newspaper Saturday, Attorney General Abdul Gani Patail said Malaysia would not extradite Amalilio, aka Mohammad Kamal, because he is a Malaysian citizen holding a valid and active identification card. Gani said that the Attorney General’s Chambers had received a formal request from the Philippines’ Department of Justice to hand over Amalilio to the Philippines under the Asean Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters, and freeze his asset. A team of Philippine law enforcers was about to board a plane to Manila with the fugitive on Jan. 25 when they were stopped by senior Malaysian police officials. Amalilio was returned to police custody and subsequently convicted and sentenced for fraud by a Kota Kinabalu court. Quoting Read More …
Feb 102013
By Nimfa U. Rueda Philippine Daily Inquirer 4:56 pm | Sunday, February 10th, 2013 LOS ANGELES — Aging Filipino veterans seeking benefits for their World War II services have decided to take their case to the Supreme Court after a federal appeals court had ruled against them, the veterans’ lawyer said. “The fight continues,” said lawyer Arnedo Valera, who received the decision on Friday (Saturday in Manila). “Sadly, the decision highlights the continued discrimination against our beloved veterans.” The lawsuit filed by the veterans against the US Department of Veterans Affairs said the benefits granted to Filipino veterans were far below those received by US veterans, including pensions and health care. More than 250,000 Filipinos fought for the United States during World War II and were promised equal treatment with American veterans after the war. But in 1946, the US Congress enacted the Rescission Act that took away full recognition of Filipino war veterans and stripped them of their benefits. In 2009, the US Congress approved the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), a stimulus package that included one-time payments of $15,000 to Filipino veterans in the United States and $9,000 to those living in the Philippines. But the lawsuit, filed in the Ninth US Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco in October 2010, said the claims of thousands of other veterans were rejected since records from the Philippines proving their services were not accepted by US authorities. The Department of Veterans Affairs required documentation from a federal registry Read More …
Feb 102013
The number of violations of the Commission on Elections’ gun ban breached the 700 mark as of Sunday afternoon, the Philippine National Police said. Law enforcers have also seized more than 600 firearms and 4,000 rounds of ammunition since the ban started Jan. 13, radio dzBB’s Divine Caraecle reported. As of Sunday, the report said at least 704 violators had been arrested for violating the ban, 626 of them civilians. Other arrested violators included three soldiers, 12 PNP personnel, one Bureau of Fire Protection personnel, 11 government employees, and 50 security guards. The gun ban will remain in effect until June 12. While the gun ban is in effect, only law enforcers in uniform and on duty are allowed to carry firearms outside their homes. In general, permits to carry firearms outside residences are suspended. — LBG, GMA News
Feb 102013
Poor sea conditions forced the US Navy on Sunday to push back the operation to dismantle USS Guardian, a minesweeper ship, to pull it out from the Tubbataha Reef where it has been grounded since Jan. 17. The US Navy team would continue the salvage operation when the bigger crane ship Jackson 25 arrives, said Coast Guard Palawan District chief Commodore Enrico Efren Evangelista. Earlier reports said the first crane ship Smit Borneo from Singapore encountered anchoring problems last Saturday, causing a delay in the start of the salvage operation. “Smit Borneo is there but could not anchor due to weather. Its anchoring should be precise. It tried (to anchor) but so far, out of the four anchors, only one had a good bite at seabed,” said Evangelista. After the Tubbataha Protected Area Management Board approved the salvage plan crafted by the US Navy, Coast Guard commandant Rear Adm. Rodolfo Isorena announced on Wednesday the dismantling of the USS Guardian may start Sunday or Monday. However, the operation hit a snag due to anchoring problem. Citing information from US Navy officials, Evangelista said Jascon 25 departed Singapore around 4 p.m. Saturday and is due to sail directly to Tubbataha Reef. He said the bigger crane ship is expected to arrive around 9 p.m. Friday. The USS Guardian ran aground on Tubbataha Reef last Jan. 17, after a port call at Subic Bay, a former base of the US Navy. Latest estimate showed that the grounding of the ship has damaged 4,000 Read More …
Feb 102013
Agence France-Presse 2:25 pm | Sunday, February 10th, 2013 TOKYO – Four Chinese ships were spotted Sunday in disputed East China Sea waters, Japanese officials said, as Tokyo considered disclosing video footage and pictures as evidence of a Chinese frigate’s alleged radar-lock incident. For the first time after Tokyo made the allegation last week, China sent maritime surveillance vessels near Japanese-controlled islands in the East China Sea, known as Senkaku in Tokyo and Diaoyu by Beijing, which also claims them. They were seen sailing in the contiguous waters near one of the outcrops as of 0000 GMT, the Japan Coast Guard said. Tokyo accused a Chinese frigate of locking its weapons-tracking radar on a Japanese destroyer — the first time the two nations’ navies have locked horns in the territorial dispute that has provoked fears of armed conflict breaking out between the two. Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Friday demanded Beijing apologize and admit to the incident, which occurred late January, after Chinese authorities flatly denied Tokyo’s accusation. Japan’s Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera said on Fuji TV on Sunday that Tokyo was carefully studying whether or how to disclose military data as evidence. However he also said he did not think China would “admit to it even if Japan discloses a variety of evidence, because it is trying to protect its national interest”. Onodera on Saturday told the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper that Tokyo had “evidence to show the fire-control radar chased after the ship (of Japan’s Self-Defense Forces) for Read More …
Feb 102013
At least two offices in Malacañang are now reviewing the findings of the National Bureau of Investigation on the shooting incident that killed 13 people in Atimonan, Quezon last Jan. 6. Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said President Benigno Aquino III wants the review to be more thorough than speedy. “Gusto ng pangulo, thorough at exhaustive ang pagtingin kesa i-sacrifice natin ang quality for speed,” she said on government-run dzRB radio. The findings are now in the offices of Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr. and chief presidential legal counsel Alfredo Benjamin Caguioa, she said. In the meantime, she appealed to the public for patience while the two offices conduct their study. “I’m sure our officials are getting on with that study,” she said. Aquino earlier tasked the NBI to probe the incident, which police initially said was a shootout between them and members of a criminal gang engaged in gun-for-hire activities. But an investigation was triggered after it was found that some of the fatalities had included an environmentalist. Justice Secretary Leila de Lima had also said earlier that the evidence gathered so far indicated what happened was not a shootout. — LBG, GMA News
Feb 092013
(Updated 5:14 p.m.) Philippine government lawyers are heading to Malaysia to start formal efforts for the extradition of Manuel Amalilio, the alleged brains behind a P12-billion investment scam, Malacañang said Sunday. “Kahit wala tayong extradition treaty with Malaysia, Malaysian law allows extradition under certain [circumstances],” deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said on government-run dzRB radio. In a separate interview on Sunday, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima denied reports that Malaysia had turned down the Philippines’ request for Amalilio’s extradition. “It was in fact among the outcomes of the February 6 talks with our counterpart, the Attorney General, that the Philippines can commence the extradition process immediately,” she said. Amalilio’s extradition does not answer the question of his citizenship, de Lima added. “We made a formal request for such freezing of Amalilio’s assets, such as company shares, stocks, land assets, etc., under the ASEAN Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty… and in such a process, we understand that Amalilio’s citizenship is not an issue, and both sides can cooperate,” she said. Amalilio was arrested in Malaysia last January for possession of a fake passport. He pleaded guilty to violating Malaysian passport laws and was sentenced to two years’ jail there. Last weekend, Malaysian authorities said they have ordered Amalilio’s assets frozen. On the other hand, two members of Malaysia’s Parliament visited the Philippines last weekend to gather facts about Amalilio. They also hinted the loot from his scam may be used to finance the campaigns of some politicians running in Malaysia’s coming elections. Read More …