Govt panel identifies Jonas Burgos case as among 'priority' cases for investigation

 News
Apr 182013
 
Govt panel identifies Jonas Burgos case as among 'priority' cases for investigation

The alleged abduction of activist Jonas Burgos was among the 101 “priorities” for investigation identified by an interagency committee tasked by President Benigno Aquino III to monitor cases of extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances in the country. Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, who chairs the committee, said Burgos’ case will be among those to be first investigated and monitored by the panel. “Pinresent na rin sa amin sa interagency ‘yung listahan from the technical working group noong priority cases na dapat tutukan o unahin ang pagtutok sa pag-iimbestiga. Meron na po kaming initial list of priority cases for both extralegal killings and enforced disappearance,” De Lima said at a press briefing Thursday at the military headquarters in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City. The justice secretary, however, refused to identify other priority cases, saying the list still has yet to be finalized. Armed Forces chief Gen. Emmanuel Bautista and Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin, both members of the interagency panel created through Administrative Order 35, were also among those who approved the initial list of priority cases during the committee’s meeting on Thursday morning. The Court of Appeals recently implicated a Philippine Army officer, Maj. Harry Baliaga, as responsible for the kidnapping of Burgos. Last Friday, the Supreme Court ordered the military leadership to disclose the whereabouts of the military personnel linked to the case. Burgos, a political activist and son of the late press freedom advocate Jose Burgos, was abducted in a restaurant at the Ever Gotesco Mall along Commonwealth Avenue in Read More …

South African woman caught with 2 kg of shabu charged

 News
Apr 182013
 
South African woman caught with 2 kg of shabu charged

By Erika Sauler Philippine Daily Inquirer 3:14 pm | Thursday, April 18th, 2013 MANILA, Philippines—A South African woman, who was arrested last week by agents of the National Bureau of Investigation, was charged in a Manila regional trial court with illegal transport of more than two kilograms of “shabu” (methamphetamine hydrochloride). The NBI Reaction, Arrest and Interdiction Division filed the complaint against Caroline Mmantoa Obijiofor, 50, a resident of the Republic of South Africa, after 940 grams of yellowish crystalline substance and 1.295 kg of white crystalline substance found in her possession tested positive for the dangerous substance. Agents of the NBI-RAID Anti-Illegal Drugs Task Force acted on intelligence information that Obijiofor would be entering the country on April 10 to transport illegal drugs to another African national. Upon confirming her arrival through a flight manifest, NBI agents followed Obijiofor from the airport to a hotel in Malate, Manila, where a room was reserved and paid for by another person. As the events matched the received information, an NBI agent introduced himself to Obijiofor and asked if the brown traveling bag she was carrying was hers. She said the clothes were hers but the luggage was provided by a group of men in Abedian, Africa. Obijiofor agreed to a search after canine dogs sniffed the bag and indicated the presence of illegal drugs. Two rectangular boxes containing the crystalline substances wrapped in plastic and blue carbon paper were found in the bag. Obijiofor was arrested and charged with violation of Read More …

Retired SC justice who leaked draft ruling can practice law anew

 News
Apr 182013
 
Retired SC justice who leaked draft ruling can practice law anew

Despite being suspended in 2009 for leaking a draft court ruling, 74-year-old retired Supreme Court Justice Ruben Reyes can once more practice law. In an en banc session in Baguio City last Tuesday, the 15 magistrates decided to give back to Reyes his license in the Bar and allowed him to engage anew in private law practice. “SC lifts suspension on law practice previously imposed on retired SC Justice Ruben Reyes for, among others, humanitarian reasons,” said SC spokesman and Public Information Office chief Theodore Te on Thursday. However, Te clarified that the disqualification for government employment and teaching “still remains.” The court said Reyes still cannot give government lectures on Mandatory Continuing Legal Education (MCLE) and the Philippine Judicial Academy (Philja). Still being barred from government service, the court clarified that Reyes can only practice law in private corporations. In August 2009, Reyes was found guilty of leaking a draft SC resolution which he penned in the disqualification case against Negros Oriental Rep. Jocelyn Limkaichong filed by businessman Louis Biraogo, Olivia Paras, and Renald Villando. The election protest – questioning Limkaichong’s citizenship – was entertained but was allegedly supposed to have been dismissed by the Supreme Court en banc after 14 justices, minus then-SC chief Reynato Puno, signed a draft decision for it. The draft ruling, however, was leaked while it was not yet being promulgated.  An SC investigating committee, chaired by then-Senior Associate Justice Leonardo Quisumbing, probed the incident and found out that it was Reyes himself who Read More …

Over 25,000 pass teacher licensure exams — PRC

 News
Apr 182013
 
Over 25,000 pass teacher licensure exams — PRC

The Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) on Thursday announced that 10,310 elementary teachers out of 37,117 examinees (27.78 percent) and 15,223 secondary teachers out of 38,433 examinees (39.61 percent) passed the Licensure Examination for Teachers (L.E.T.) given last March 10 all over the Philippines and Hong Kong. [Click here for list of L.E.T. – Elementary passers] [Click here for list of L.E.T. – Secondary passers] The results of examination with respect to 33 examinees, however, were withheld pending final determination of their liabilities under the rules and regulations governing licensure examination.    Registration for the issuance of Professional Identification Card and Certificate of Registration will start on April 29, 2013, the PRC said. The dates and venues for the oathtaking ceremonies of the new successful examinees in the said examination will be announced later, the commission added. — KBK, GMA News

DOTC to open qualification bids for Mactan-Cebu airport

 Economy
Apr 182013
 
DOTC to open qualification bids for Mactan-Cebu airport

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Transportation and Communications on Thursday announced that it will conduct another opening of qualification documents next week for the P17.5-billion Mactan-Cebu International Airport project. The DOTC said the project, under the Public-Private Partnership program of the Aquino administration, is the third to be rolled out this year. It added that interested parties in the MCIA project will submit their eligibility documents to the joint DOTC-Mactan-Cebu International Airport Authority Prequalification, Bids, and Awards Committee on Monday, Apr. 22. “We are optimistic that the MCIA Project will generate the same level of interest from major local and international companies as what we saw from the AFCS (Automated Fare Collection System) project.  We made sure that this project will also be attractive to investors in order to foster competitive and open bidding,” the DOTC said. To date, a total of 12 companies purchased Invitation Documents for the MCIA Project, the DOTC said. It noted that it expects foreign airport operators to take part in the bid because of the lack of local expertise in that area. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 “Based on our requirements, Philippine companies will have to partner with established airport operators from other countries. This will benefit our domestic air transport industry, as technology transfer will give local players the opportunity to learn from more advanced and more experienced airport operators.” In turn, the DOTC assures the private sector that the joint DOTC-MCIA PBAC will maintain a level playing Read More …

Phl investment in solar power pushed

 Economy
Apr 172013
 
Phl investment in solar power pushed

MANILA, Philippines – More lawmakers want the government to invest in solar power to promote energy stability, attain energy independence from oil-dependent energy sources and address the power crisis in the country. Rep. Teddy Casiño (Party-list, Bayan Muna) said House Bill 5405 or the proposed One Million Solar Roofs Act of 2011 would help mitigate global warming and air pollution and encourage industry growth that would lead to more jobs and lower electricity bills. “In an era of increasingly high prices and foreseeable decline of the global oil supply, government should at the soonest develop fuel alternatives and accelerate the exploration and utilization of renewable sources of energy,” Casiño said. Casiño said Congress enacted Republic Act 9513 or the Renewable Energy Act in 2008 to encourage investments in renewable energy. “To complement this measure, it is also necessary to encourage demand and provide incentives especially to purchasers of small renewable energy systems,” Casiño added. Rep. Luzviminda Ilagan (Party-list, Gabriela), another author of the measure, said the Philippines would greatly benefit from using renewable sources of energy because of its clean and sustainable character. Ilagan said solar technology could be an immediate and sustainable way to deal with the country’s energy problems, especially with the abundance of solar energy throughout the country and the modular nature of solar energy systems. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 “Besides the country being the second in Southeast Asia in terms of irradiation and insolation, we already have the foundation to become Read More …

Remittances grew by 7% in Feb. – Bangko Sentral

 Entertainment
Apr 172013
 

MANILA, Apr 15 (Mabuhay) – Filipinos working and living abroad sent home $1.9 billion in personal remittances in February, up by 6.9 percent from $1.7 billion a year earlier, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas reported Monday. “The steady deployment of overseas Filipino workers remained a primary contributory factor to the growth in remittance flows,” the […]

DepEd creates task force to protect teachers for the May polls

 Entertainment
Apr 172013
 

The Department of Education (DepEd) has created an Election Task Force (ETF) Operation Center at its Central Office in Pasig to ensure full support to teachers who will serve as members of the Board of Election Inspectors for the 2013 national and local elections. Secretary of Education Armin A. Luistro has designated Undersecretary for Legal […]

Aquino witnesses signing of lease agreement between PHIVIDEC and Filinvest that offers long-term solution to Mindanao’s energy problems

 Entertainment
Apr 172013
 

President Benigno S. Aquino III witnessed the ceremonial contract signing of PHIVIDEC and Filinvest Development Utilities Inc. in Malacanang on Wednesday on the lease agreement that paves the way for the construction of a power generation facility in Misamis Oriental. “This contract signing today demonstrates a new face of Philippine governance: We are witnessing a […]

Donaire: “He’s no Manny Pacquiao”

 News
Apr 172013
 
Donaire: “He’s no Manny Pacquiao”

By Elton Lugay INQUIRER.net US Bureau 7:47 am | Thursday, April 18th, 2013 Dethroned Donaire talks to the press. Photo by Elton Lugay NEW YORK CITY–Nonito Donaire, also known as the Filipino Flash, said he did his best. He lost his WBO super bantamweight title to Guillermo Rigondeaux in a decision on April 14. “I thought that he wasn’t better than me,” he told Inquirer.net. “I did my best. I thought I should have done something different but I didn’t.” But Donaire’s “best” was not good enough for judge Jon Stewart and others on the panel, who decided in favor of his Cuban opponent. The Donaire-Rigondeaux match had turned the legendary Radio City Music Hall–known for its Christmas musicals with the Rockettes’ shiny dancing legs–into an arena for brutal boxing and its loud, rowdy fans. In a quieter post-fight moment, Donaire reflected on his loss. Teenage singer Tiffany Viray of New York performed the Philippine National Anthem before the Donaire-Rigondeaux fight. Photo by Elton Lugay “I wanted to give an exciting fight for everybody, but you know he (Rigondeaux) was really a good fighter, so he deserves a congratulations from the judges,” Donaire conceded. Filipino boxing aficionados had mixed feelings about Donaire’s disappointing performance. Bartender Daphne Yao said Donaire is “no Manny Pacquiao.” “He’s not hungry enough, not poor enough, not flawed enough,” she said. Stony Brook University student Adrian del Rosario said Rigondeaux was a “bad match” for Nonito. “I won’t say Rigo is a better fighter, but it’s Read More …

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