MANILA, June 20 (Mabuhay) — The country’s influential and powerful families poured in the most money for the two major political parties during the latest midterm elections, a cursory look at their expenditure reports filed with the Commission on Elections (Comelec) shows. The Liberal Party received P183.2 million in contributions. The United Nationalist Alliance meanwhile […]
By DJ YapPhilippine Daily Inquirer 1:47 am | Saturday, June 22nd, 2013 CRUSHED At least 5 tons of smuggled elephant tusks worth an estimated $10 million are destroyed by a road roller in support of a global effort to stop the illegal ivory trade. MARIANNE BERMUDEZ MANILA, Philippines—Environment officials on Friday led the crushing of some five tons of smuggled elephant tusks worth an estimated $10 million in a symbolic move to show the seriousness of the Philippine campaign to stop the “blood ivory” trade. The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) on Friday destroyed the confiscated ivory using a road roller at the Ninoy Aquino Parks and Wildlife Center in Quezon City. The shattered parts were to be incinerated at a government animal crematorium, officials said. The destruction of the stockpile would also eliminate any opportunity for corrupt officials to resell the ivory. “This act is a strong statement to the rest of the world that the Philippines is serious and will not tolerate illegal wildlife trade,” Environment Secretary Ramon Paje told a crowd of foreign dignitaries, wildlife campaigners and local and international media. Ivory can fetch from $1,000 to $2,000 per kilogram on the black market and more than $50,000 for an entire tusk, according to reports. Bonaventure Ebayi, chair of the Lusaka Agreement Task Force, an intergovernmental body on illegal wildlife trade based in Nairobi, Kenya, said the Philippine government’s action was a model that ought to be replicated in other parts of Asia. The US Read More …
MANILA, June 20 (Mabuhay) -– Actress Jodi Sta. Maria is still in the dark as to what the movie version of her hit daytime series “Be Careful With My Heart” will be about. “Be Careful With My Heart,” the movie, is an official entry to this year’s Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF), along with the […]
By Nikko DizonPhilippine Daily Inquirer 1:37 am | Saturday, June 22nd, 2013 President Benigno Aquino III gives a miniature figurine to Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) Chairman Al Haj Murad Ebrahim before the historic signing of the framework agreement between the Philippine government and the MILF at the Malacanang Presidential Palace last Oct. 15. AP FILE PHOTO MANILA, Philippines—Formal talks between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in Kuala Lumpur will resume in July, government chief negotiator Miriam Coronel-Ferrer said in a statement released by the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) on Friday. “The panel chairs have already agreed on a date early next month to further discuss the annexes on wealth sharing, power sharing and normalization,” Ferrer said. Amid reports of a “stalemate” in talks to solve the 40-year rebellion in Mindanao, Ferrer met informally with MILF chief negotiator Mohagher Iqbal in Oslo where they both attended the Oslo Forum 2013. The event was organized by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Center for Humanitarian Dialogue last June 18 and 19. Ferrer said she had given Iqbal the government’s full proposals on the wealth sharing annex “for the MILF to study and consider.” The wealth sharing annex has been a controversial issue of late between the government and the MILF, with the latter protesting a “review” conducted by the Aquino administration on the document even after the two panels’ working committees affixed their signatures on it. The MILF considers Read More …
KINGSTON, Jamaica—The Philippines is looking forward to strengthening its relations with the Caribbean island-state of Jamaica by opening new doors for increased trade and cooperation. Ambassador Jose L. Cuisia Jr. conveyed President Aquino’s strong desire to further improve relations with Jamaica when he formally presented his credentials as Manila’s non-resident ambassador to Governor General Patrick […]
By Tina G. SantosPhilippine Daily Inquirer 12:33 am | Saturday, June 22nd, 2013 Labor officers in Saudi Arabia will be included in the investigation being conducted by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) on the alleged sexual exploitation of distressed Filipino workers in the Middle East, Assistant Labor Secretary Rebecca Chato said. Aside from Kuwait and Jordan, the DOLE fact-finding body will now include Saudi Arabia, particularly Riyadh, in its investigation, following accusations from an overseas Filipino worker (OFW) that a labor officer in Saudi had asked her to sleep with him in his home instead of in a temporary shelter when she sought help from Philippine authorities there. The OFW, identified only as a certain “Michelle,” said that she was also offered to an Egyptian client, but that the man took pity on her instead and bought her a plane ticket to Manila. “Michelle” went to the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (Owwa) office on Friday to seek assistance, Owwa head Carmelita Dimzon said, and was referred to the investigative panel. But the labor department has yet to get her official statement, she added. Akbayan party-list Rep. Walden Bello this week accused at least three officials in Philippine labor offices and embassies in Jordan, Kuwait and Syria of soliciting sexual favors from distressed OFWs staying in shelters and awaiting repatriation to Manila. ‘Black propaganda’ Labor officer Mario Antonio, whom Bello had named as among the three erring officials, came out to deny the allegations and blamed illegal recruiters and Read More …
Top envoy talks tough in confirmation hearing Associated Press 12:27 am | Saturday, June 22nd, 2013 In this May 7, 2013 photo, a Filipino fisherman places ice on containers for fish before they are delivered to the market in the coastal town of Infanta, Pangasinan province, northwestern Philippines. Since China took control of the Scarborough Shoal last year, which Beijing calls Huangyan Island, Filipino fishermen say Chinese maritime surveillance ships have shooed them from the disputed waters in the South China Sea and roped off the entrance to the vast lagoon that had been their fishing paradise for decades. Now, they say, they can’t even count on the Chinese to give them shelter there from a potentially deadly storm. AP WASHINGTON—The nominee to become the top US diplomat in East Asia delivered pointed comments about China in his confirmation hearing on Thursday, saying there’s no place for “coercion and bullying” in the region’s seas. Danny Russel told a Senate panel that he will do everything in his power to “lower the temperature” in territorial disputes in the South and East China Seas and push claimants, including China, toward diplomacy. He also said it was “unacceptable” for China to demand only bilateral negotiations with the other claimants, and voiced strong US support for efforts by Southeast Asia to negotiate as a bloc and frame a “code of conduct” to manage the disputes—an issue to be taken up at regional security talks in Brunei later this month. Russel is currently White House Read More …
President Benigno Aquino III on Wednesday signed into law a bill ensuring PhilHealth coverage to all Filipinos, including indigents and persons with disabilities, Malacañang announced Friday. Republic Act 10606, or the National Health Insurance Act of 2013, amends Republic Act 7875 or the National Health Insurance Act of 1995. “Iyong Section 6 ng dating batas, inamiyendahan din po ito. Iyong coverage po nito ay ngayon mandatory na,” deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said at a briefing. Section 6 of RA 7875 said enrollment to the National Health Insurance Program (NHIP) “shall not be made compulsory in certain provinces and cities” until such a time that the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation “shall be able to ensure that members in such localities shall have reasonable access to adequate and acceptable health care services.” The new law provides that all citizens of the Philippines, regardless of social and economic status, shall be covered by NHIP. According to the new law, “the Program shall be compulsory in all provinces, cities and municipalities nationwide, notwithstanding the existence of Local government unit-based health insurance programs.” PhilHealth lauded the passage of the law, calling it proof of the government’s commitment to the health of all Filipinos. “Mas naging malinaw or may emphasis na the state shall provide a comprehensive health care service for its citizens,” said Greg Rulloda, PhilHealth’s vice president for corporate affairs. “The law emphasized rin that the state will prioritize the healthcare needs of the underpriviledged, the elderly and persons with disabilities,” he added, Read More …
MANILA, Philippines – The peso touched its lowest level in more than two years on Friday before bouncing back to close on a stronger note versus the dollar as investors realized the drop has been a “bit too overdone.” The local unit appreciated by eight centavos to close the week at 43.72 from a 17-month low of 43.80 last Thursday. Dollars traded reached $1.084 billion, down from $1.407 billion the previous day. During the day, the peso traded within a range of 43.63-44.17, the upper end being the weakest since February 2011. “We actually saw the Indian rupee and the Thai baht also appreciate. I guess investors have realized (the drop) was already a bit too overdone,” Emilio Neri Jr., lead economist at the Bank of the Philippine Islands, said in a phone interview. “Investors who are not carried away by emotions and by a rather emotional environment are able to distinguish the countries that are fundamentally supported,” he added. Financial markets around the globe have been rattled since Thursday by pronouncements from US Federal Reserve Ben Bernanke that stimulus measures will be scaled down “later this year.” Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Earlier on Friday, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reiterated that the economy, which expanded by 7.8 percent in the first quarter, remains one of those countries with “positive story” that should keep the peso afloat. As of Friday, the peso, Asia’s second best performer last year, has already weakened by 6.5 percent Read More …
The Department of Justice (DOJ) on Friday wrapped up its preliminary investigation on the killing of Batangas assistant provincial prosecutor Alexander Sandoval. During the proceedings at the DOJ main office in Manila, the panel handling the complaint refused to grant a request from the camp of suspect Ana Marie Mendoza, a former mayor of Sta. Teresita town in Batangas, to be given more time to file a counter-affidavit. According to lawyer Norberto Malit, Mendoza’s legal counsel, their camp wanted an extension because they were not furnished with a copy of the complaint, which included charges of murder and illegal possession of firearms. The DOJ panel thumbed down the request and instead submitted the case for resolution. Under the rules, the panel has at least 60 days or two months to come up with a resolution stating whether to dismiss the complaint or elevate it to the courts. Apart from Mendoza, also implicated in the killing was her husband, Barangay Kalayaan chairman Hermogenes Mendoza, and several others. Mendoza, with her face covered, arrived at the DOJ on board a white van and escorted by the Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group of Batangas. Several supporters of the Mendoza couple also dropped by the DOJ to show their support to them. Sandoval was on his way to a court hearing on June 13 when he was shot nine times by a suspect on a motorcycle. The incident happened along the national highway in Barangay Muzon in San Luis town, near the Read More …