Jun 212013
 
Palace: No favoritism in giving out P10,000 bonus to DPWH personnel

Malacañang on Friday said President Benigno Aquino III wasn’t playing favorites when he announced that all employees of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) will receive a P10,000 bonus on the department’s anniversary. “Kapag nagkakaroon po talaga sila ng anibersaryo ang isang ahensiya o isang departamento ng pamahalaan, meron po talagang instances na nagkakaroon, nagbibigay iyong what they call, ‘milestone anniversary bonuses,’ doon ho sa mga kawani. So hindi po ito unique sa DPWH,” deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said at a press briefing. In a speech during the DPWH’s 115th anniversary celebration Thursday, Aquino lauded the department for its “fast, honest and reliable” execution of the government’s infrastructure programs. He also announced that he has approved a P10,000 anniversary bonus for all DPWH employees and officials. Valte expressed hope that other government agencies will understand the circumstances, in particular weather monitoring bureau PAGASA, which has been crying out for the government to release its much needed allowances. “Hindi naman po sana ito maging dahilan ng kanilang inggitan. Iyong pagdating naman po sa hazard and longevity pay [ng PAGASA employees], in-explain din po ng Pangulo ‘yan kahapon na talagang pinapatignan kasi kung ano naman po iyong benefits na dapat due to them,” Valte said. The government also appealed for patience from departments, in particular to teachers from the Department of Education, who have yet to receive their Performance Based Bonuses from 2012. “Itatanong po natin sa DepEd kasi hindi po talaga sabay-sabay ang labas ng PBB, ng Performance-Based Read More …

Jun 212013
 
JBC wraps up interviews for Sandiganbayan top post; lawyer disqualified

The Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) on Friday concluded its two-day public interviews of the second and final batch of candidates for the vacated Sandiganbayan presiding justice post. The conclusion of the interviews came with the “disqualification” of one of the 10 candidates—Jasper Lucero, a private lawyer—for failing to submit necessary documents needed before the interview. The last two candidates to face the JBC panel were a Sandiganbayan justice who wants closed-circuit television cameras during anti-graft trials, and a Justice undersecretary who had previously applied in other plum judicial posts. During his interview, Justice Alex Quiroz said it was his “dream” to have Sandiganbayan proceedings open to the public through CCTV cameras and the internet. “I have a dream should I be appointed. Since criminal proceedings in open court should be in public, it is my wish that a court be covered by a CCTV [camera] and the same would be connected to the Internet,” he told the panel, led by JBC chair Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno. He also said he wanted to cut down the Sandiganbayan’s use of paper by 30 percent in a bid to turn it into a “paperless” anti-graft court. “I’ve been with the prosecution. Now, I’m in the judiciary so I’ve seen all those aspects,” said Quiroz, the fifth most junior member of the Sandiganbayan. “I don’t think there is any applicant (who) possesses such credentials as being a prosecutor, being at the Office of the Solicitor General, then judiciary,” added the 55-year-old Quiroz. Read More …

Jun 212013
 
DOJ recommends kidnap-for-ransom raps vs 7 people in Rolito Go abduction

Criminal charges were recommended against seven people implicated in the the abduction of murder convict Rolito Go and his nephew Klemens Yu inside the New Bilibid Prison on August 14 last year. In a resolution, the Department of Justice found probable cause to charge Emilio Ortiz, Lawrence Yurong, Emerson Guazon, Fernando Francisco, Armando Mondero, Jerry Dueñas, and Reynaldo Tadtad. They were being charged for violation of Article 267 of the Revised Penal Code for “kidnapping for ransom.” Meanwhile, a certain “Kumander Rico” and several “John Does” or unidentified suspects were cleared “for lack of positive identification and showing of clear participation in the crime charged.” Mondero himself was a former inmate at the NBP who was earlier arrested along Litex Road in Commonwealth, Quezon City. He was nabbed on the basis of a warrant of arrest issued by the Regional Trial Court Branch 19 in Malolos, Bulacan. Go was convicted for the killing of Eldon Maguan, an engineering student, in 1991 in a traffic altercation in San Juan City. “The Task Force resolved that it was established that the principal objective of the respondents in depriving complainants of their liberty was to obtain ransom money from the complainants’ family as can be gleaned by respondents’ repeated demands for the same,” the DOJ said. Go’s disappearance was discovered after the daily roll call. His relatives claimed he was taken forcibly from the prison, and that his abductors had demanded a P1-million ransom. He resurfaced a day after he disappeared and was placed Read More …

Jun 202013
 
PH urged to convict embassy execs in sex scandal to boost trafficking status

By Karen BoncocanINQUIRER.net 12:50 pm | Friday, June 21st, 2013 MANILA, Philippines — In order to improve its status in the United States’ annual Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report, the Philippines needs to convict embassy officials who will be found guilty of currying sexual favors from distressed female overseas Filipino workers in exchange for their repatriation, a lawmaker at the House of Representatives said Friday. Akbayan Partylist Representative Walden Bello felt that the Philippines was not doing enough to curb the incidence of human trafficking and said that one way of sending a message about the country’s resolve would be to “dismiss officials engaged in sex trafficking”. The US’ TIP Report showed that the Philippines retained its Tier 2 status and noted that there was a “paucity of arrests and convictions”. “We need to clean up our agencies,” Bello, who heads the committee on overseas workers affairs at the House of Representatives, told INQUIRER.net. The partylist lawmaker has accused three Philippine Embassy officials of involvement in sexual exploitation in the Middle East, prompting an investigation by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE). The legislator warned that he would resign from the House should the government fail to hold accountable Philippine Overseas Labor Office (Polo) in Amman, Jordan assistant labor attaché Mario Antonio, Kuwait Polo officer Blas Marquez and a certain “Kim” in Damascus. Antonio in a press conference Thursday denied the allegation. Related stories:PH failed to restrain human trafficking–USSolon slams gov’t for Read More …

Jun 202013
 
Two justices embroiled in controversies face JBC for top Sandiganbayan post

Two Sandiganbayan justices who have been embroiled in controversies—one for a widely publicized case and the other in a citizenship row—on Friday faced the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) for their bid to become the next highest official of the anti-graft court. During her interview, Sandiganbayan Justice Teresita Diaz-Baldos of the Second Division stood by her controversial decision to approve the plea bargain agreement of retired Maj. Gen. Carlos Garcia, saying it was better than having him acquitted. Garcia was accused of pocketing P303 million while still in the Armed Forces of the Philippines. On March 16, 2010, the Sandiganbayan approved the Ombudsman’s request for Garcia to enter into a plea bargaining agreement that would allow Garcia to plead guilty to two lesser offenses, return around half of what he allegedly stole from government coffers, and post bail. In her JBC interview, Baldos said she thinks the government should be more careful in releasing to the public copies of statements of assets, liabilities, and net worth, saying these can be used to harrass public officials. “There should be guidance in maintaining the confidentiality of these public documents,” Baldos stressed. Citizenship controversy Next to be interviewed was Sandiganbayan Presiding Justice Gregory Ong, who earlier became the subject of a citizenship controversy, with Special Prosecutor Dennis Villa-Ignacio questioning Ong’s Filipino citizenship before the Supreme Court due to his Chinese roots. Ong was originally appointed by former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo as an associate justice of the Supreme Court, but his appointment was rejected by Read More …

Jun 202013
 
PHL sends clear message to tusk dealers: We're not open for business

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) spearheaded the crushing of over five tons of elephant tusks Friday at the Ninoy Aquino Parks and Wildlife Center in Quezon City in a strong message to local and international tusk dealers. Laid out in the center’s parking lot, the tusks were broken down using a backhoe. After this, a steamroller flattened what remained of the tusks estimated to be worth P40 million. The shattered remains of the tusks will then be taken to the Bureau of Animal Inudstry where a cremation process will ensure the total destruction of the tusks. —KG, GMA News

Jun 202013
 
US opposes bullying by China in disputed seas

Associated Press 9:37 am | Friday, June 21st, 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 U.S. diplomat in East Asia delivered pointed comments about China in his confirmation hearing 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 U.S. 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 senior director for Asian affairs. Read More …

Jun 202013
 
Britain rejects involvement of pope in Falklands dispute

UNITED NATIONS – Britain and a representative of the Falkland Islands on Thursday rejected the idea of Pope Francis intervening in the long-running dispute with Argentina over the islands, which Buenos Aires claims are Argentine territory. In 1982 Britain sent its armed forces to the Falklands to repel an Argentine invasion of the contested South Atlantic archipelago, which Argentina calls Las Malvinas. Just over 30 years later, memories of the conflict remain and Argentine President Cristina Fernandez has mounted a campaign to renegotiate the islands’ sovereignty, lobbying Pope Francis on the issue and rejecting a March referendum in which Falkland residents voted to remain a British Overseas Territory. “I think the last thing we need is religion inserted into this,” said Mike Summers, a member of the Falkland Islands Legislative Assembly. Mark Lyall Grant, Britain’s U.N. ambassador, echoed his remarks, saying: “I certainly share the view that religion is not likely to solve anything.” Pope Francis, the first Latin American pontiff, said in 2012 when he was archbishop of Buenos Aires that Britain had “usurped” the disputed islands from Argentina. In 2011, he said the islands were “ours,” a view most Argentinians share. Argentine Foreign Minister Hector Timerman told reporters that London should engage in direct talks with Buenos Aires on the dispute. Lyall Grant said Britain was open to dialogue with Argentina, but only if the Falklanders are involved, a position Timerman dismissed. “I am the foreign minister of Argentina,” Timerman said. “I want to talk with the foreign Read More …