Taiwan lawmakers denounce China air defense zone

 News
Nov 292013
 
Taiwan lawmakers denounce China air defense zone

Associated Press 9:36 pm | Friday, November 29th, 2013 TAIPEI — Taiwan’s legislature attacked China’s newly declared air defense zone on Friday, with lawmakers demanding in an unusual joint statement that President Ma Ying-jeou’s government lodge a “stern protest” with Beijing. They admonished Ma’s government for its cautious response to China’s announcement last Saturday, including agreeing to supply China with flight plans for planes entering the zone. The statement, signed by caucus leaders of the ruling Nationalists and pro-independence opposition parties, said Taiwan should work together with Japan, the U.S. and other “friendly states in the region” in multilateral negotiations with China. The government said later Friday it will communicate its “stern position” to Beijing. China said all aircraft must notify Chinese authorities before entering the zone, which includes islands controlled by Japan but claimed by Beijing. The U.S., Japan and South Korea have sent flights through the airspace in defiance of China’s rules. Follow Us Recent Stories: Complete stories on our Digital Edition newsstand for tablets, netbooks and mobile phones; 14-issue free trial. About to step out? Get breaking alerts on your mobile.phone. Text ON INQ BREAKING to 4467, for Globe, Smart and Sun subscribers in the Philippines. Tags: air defense zone , airspace , China , Diplomacy , Global Nation , Taiwan Factual errors? Contact the Philippine Daily Inquirer’s day desk. Believe this article violates journalistic ethics? Contact the Inquirer’s Reader’s Advocate. Or write The Readers’ Advocate: c/o Philippine Daily Inquirer Chino Roces Avenue corner Yague and Mascardo Read More …

Young Yolanda survivors recover from trauma with the help of teachers, toys

 News
Nov 292013
 
Young Yolanda survivors recover from trauma with the help of teachers, toys

Under tall coconut trees in Hernani, Eastern Samar, about 30 children huddled around Grade 8 teacher Lurlien Bonga holding scraps of paper on which to write down their lesson for the day. The spacious land where the children gathered was where the Pedro E. Candido Memorial National High School once stood. After Typhoon Yolanda, all that was left of the school were torn-down rooms, mountains of debris and a few coconut trees. The students, whose ages and grade levels vary from one another, had to make do with jotting down notes on scraps of paper and sharing pencils with their classmates because they lost their school supplies in the storm. Grade 7 teacher Lina Camarillo, who teaches students in another makeshift classroom, was unable to hold back tears in a television interview as she shared her current predicament. “Yung mga instructional materials namin, nawala. Naanod lahat. Paano naman namin matuturuan ang mga bata?” she asked. But despite the lack of teaching materials and proper classrooms, several teachers in this small town gather children everyday to teach them new lessons. Child Friendly Spaces With the help of teachers and toys, the young survivors of the typhoon are slowly beginning to recover from the trauma brought about by the calamity three weeks ago. Last week, the United Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF) opened four Child Friendly Spaces in Tacloban City filled with toys and learning materials for children. The Child Friendly Spaces, launched in partnership with the Department of Social Welfare and Development, Read More …

Solon's aide in fake SARO issue faces NBI, denies wrongdoing

 News
Nov 292013
 
Solon's aide in fake SARO issue faces NBI, denies wrongdoing

A representative from the office of a Cagayan Valley lawmaker faced government investigators on Friday in connection with the fake Special Allotment Release Order (SARO) received by a regional office of the Department of Agriculture (DA). A report on GMA News’ “24 Oras” said Enrico Arao went to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) office in Manila after he was summoned to the inquiry and asked to submit the supposedly fake SARO. The Commission on Audit defines a SARO as a “specific authority issued to one or more identified agencies to incur obligations not exceeding a given amount during a specified period for the purpose indicated.” Arao, whose superior wasn’t identified in the report, denied any wrongdoing, although he admitted submitting the SARO to the DA. “I thought it was a regular SARO,” he said. “I presumed its regularity because I didn’t even think na it would be a fake SARO because it came from the office. That’s why I assumed its regularity. It was in good faith that I gave it to DA.” The SARO, which was for a P161 million fund, was meant for farm-to-market road projects in the entire Cagayan Valley, the report said. Arao said he only learned that the SARO was fake when the NBI subpoenaed him for its investigation. Budget Secretary Butch Abad had earlier said they were alerted on the existence of fake SAROs after a regional unit office of the DA called them on October 22 to inquire about the signed copies Read More …

Devastation left by ‘Yolanda’ moves Muslim aid workers to tears

 News
Nov 292013
 
Devastation left by ‘Yolanda’ moves Muslim aid workers to tears

In this Wednesday Nov. 20, 2013 photo, a typhoon survivor walks past debris and coconut shells which will be used for charcoal at a coconut farm in Tanuan, Leyte, central Philippines. As Typhoon Haiyan tore across the eastern Philippines, coconut plantations older than the fathers of the men who tend them were smashed like matchsticks. AP FILE PHOTO ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines—Muslim humanitarian workers from such countries as Malaysia and Turkey said they shed tears on seeing the devastation wrought by Supertyphoon Yolanda (Haiyan) in Leyte and cebu. “I felt so sad to see how disaster destroyed the lives of Filipino people in Leyte and Cebu,” Mohammad Safaruddin Jhinku, head of the training department of Global Peace Mission Malaysia, told the Inquirer upon their arrival here on Thursday. “Tears fell from my eyes.” Jhinku and his group had joined a mission to Leyte, mounted by the Turkish welfare and solidarity association Deniz Feneri Dernegi, which was initially intended to find out if there were Muslim victims so they could get food aid. They ended up giving food aid to many victims, regardless of creed, he said. Rameer Tawasil of the Golden Crescent Consortium said the devastation was so immense and he was “grateful that Muslims around the world shared resources not just to help Muslim Filipinos but all the Filipino victims.” Ali Karayilan and Suleyman Enes Kiliç of Deniz Feneri Dernegi told the Inquirer that their hearts bled when they saw people in some areas who have yet to receive assistance. Read More …

EU appeals for calm in East Asia over air defense zone issue

 News
Nov 292013
 
EU appeals for calm in East Asia over air defense zone issue

By Matikas SantosINQUIRER.net 6:17 pm | Friday, November 29th, 2013 Catherine Ashton, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, left, and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, right, arrive at a press conference at the end of the Iranian nuclear talks in Geneva, Sunday, Nov. 10, 2013. The European Union’s top diplomat and Iran’s foreign minister said nuclear talks between six world powers and Tehran did not seal a deal. (AP Photo/Jason Reed, Pool) MANILA, Philippines – The European Union (EU) on Friday called for calm over East Asia after China established an Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) and which the United States and its key allies refused to recognize by sending airplanes and defying China’s rules. “The EU calls upon all parties to take steps to calm the situation, to promote trust building measures and reach out diplomatically to seek peaceful, cooperative solutions according to international law, in order to defuse tensions and resolve differences constructively,” EU High representative Catherine Ashton said in a statement. China had earlier announced the establishment of the East China Sea ADIZ covering the airspace above waters in between its coast and Japan. Disputed islands in the waters between the two countries were covered in the zone. China listed rules of identification that aircraft must comply with when they enter the zone otherwise “China’s armed forces will adopt defensive emergency measures to respond to aircraft that do not cooperate,” the Ministry of National Defense said in their announcement. The United States, however, defied the ADIZ Read More …

Child trafficking feared in Yolanda-hit areas

 News
Nov 292013
 
Child trafficking feared in Yolanda-hit areas

Three weeks after Typhoon Yolanda battered the Visayas, three-year-old Tarin Sustento has yet to be found. A resident of Leyte province, Sustento, whose parents and grandparents were among the over 5,000 killed in one of the country’s greatest disaster, was swept away by a storm surge at the height of the super typhoon. His aunt, Genevieve Bindo-Wilcockson, said she has spent days scouring Tacloban’s evacuation centers in search of him. Daily pleas for information on his whereabouts are also posted on the internet. But these actions have yet to yield positive results. Sustento is just one of the over 1,000 who are still unaccounted for three weeks after Yolanda, many of them children. Authorities are not discounting the possibility that some of these missing children have fallen victims to child trafficking. Carin van der Hor, the Philippines’ director for the aid agency Plan International, said in a crisis like Yolanda, “the risk of child trafficking is estimated to about 10 percent.” “That scares us a lot,” she said at a press conference on Friday. She noted that while roads and transportation in affected areas have improved and become accessible, “it also means that the doors are also open to trafficking.” Van der Hor, however, said they have yet to confirm any incident, “but we have our suspicions,” pointing out the fact that most cases of trafficking are left unreported. “I wish we have (record), but we only have anecdotal evidences from the areas we work in,” she said. “Doing a Read More …

5 more complaints on govt fund misuse set to be filed – lawyer

 News
Nov 292013
 
5 more complaints on govt fund misuse set to be filed – lawyer

De Lima: 34 others to face raps in connection with ‘pork’ scam. Justice Secretary Leila de Lima on Friday, November 29, revealed a new set of respondents in a new complaint to be filed with the Office of the Ombudsman in connection with the alleged pork barrel scam. The list of respondents includes Customs Commissioner and former Muntinlupa Rep. Ruffy Biazon, an ally of President Aquino. Also in photo is lawyer Levito Baligod. Danny Pata After filing three batches of criminal complaints in the last two months, the government is now preparing at least five more in connection with the alleged misuse of government funds, including the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF). Lawyer Levito Baligod on Friday told reporters that their camp already has witnesses who come from the government and have already executed affidavits for these five new batches of complaints. “Mayroon pa. Mga hanggang 5 batches, halu-halo na, non-PDAF, non-(Janet Lim-) Napoles,” said Baligod at a press briefing held shortly before before the second batch of PDAF-related complaints was filed with the Office of the Ombudsman. Napoles, a businesswoman, is facing plunder charges in connection with the alleged P10-billion pork barrel scam. Baligod kept mum on the details of the five other batches but said these involved irregularities between 2004 and 2006. He also said Napoles and her non-government organizations were still involved in these irregularities. However, Baligod said other non-Napoles NGOs would now be implicated in the new batches. He suspected that these other NGOs got even Read More …

Palace: COA looking into auditors tagged in anomalies

 News
Nov 292013
 
Palace: COA looking into auditors tagged in anomalies

The Commission on Audit (COA) has been looking into its own auditors who are being tagged in anomalies, including the alleged systematic misuse of pork barrel funds, a Malacañang official said Friday. “From what I understand, given the past pronouncements of the COA chair herself, the COA is self-aware and that they have also started looking into the possibility that some auditors or resident auditors may be part of the crimes that have happened,” deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said at a press conference. She was responding to queries on the need for a house cleaning in COA following the announcement that 12 resident COA auditors are among the 34 respondents in the malversation, direct bribery and graft and corrupt practices complaint to be filed before the Office of the Ombudsman in connection with the pork barrel scam. Aside from this, COA had also been criticized over the agency’s use of funds from the Aquino administration’s controversial Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) for the purchase of service vehicles. Valte, however, said Budget Sec. Butch Abad had already clarified that the money that was used to pay for the vehicles was sourced from the savings of COA itself. She also clarified that they cannot give orders to COA, and that any internal investigation is initiated by the agency. “The viability of giving COA orders would be misplaced at this point, given that the Commission on Audit is an independent constitutional commission,” she said. — Kimberly Jane Tan/KBK, GMA News

Ex-Davao solon linked to Napoles in danger of contempt for criticizing SC ruling on new Davao province

 News
Nov 292013
 
Ex-Davao solon linked to Napoles in danger of contempt for criticizing SC ruling on new Davao province

A former Davao del Sur congressman, linked to the pork barrel fund scam allegedly run by Janet Lim-Napoles, is in danger of being cited in contempt after criticizing what he called a “deceitful” Supreme Court decision that would pave the way for the creation of the province of Davao Occidental. In a four-page notice, the high court asked lawyer Marc Douglas Cagas IV to explain within five days from receipt why he should not be cited in contempt of court for the letter he sent Court Administrator Midas Marquez. Cagas’ letter to Marquez read in part: “The recent SC decision… did not surprise me. What struck me was the level of deceitfulness of whoever wrote the decision. It can poison the minds of law students.” The ruling was penned by Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio. Marquez received Cagas’ letter on November 11. In his letter, Cagas said he was also sending DVDs to Marquez so the latter could show it to the SC justices “para malaman nila ang totoo.” In response to Cagas’ letter, the high court said:  “Legitimate criticisms that out flaws in this Court’s decisions, judicial reasoning, and conduct of office pave the way for a responsive, effective and efficient judiciary.” “However, upon evaluation of Cagas’ letter and videos, we find that his allegations and innuendos against the Supreme Court en banc in general and Justice Carpio, as ponente, in particular, tend, directly or indirectly, to impede, obstruct, or degrade the administration of justice,” the SC added. In Read More …

Lawmaker wants next Pacquiao fight in PHL

 Entertainment
Nov 282013
 
Lawmaker wants next Pacquiao fight in PHL

Manny Pacquiao (right) of the Philippines lands a punch on Brandon Rios of the U.S. during their World Boxing Organization (WBO) International 12-round welterweight boxing title fight at the Venetian Macao hotel in Macau November 24, 2013. Pacquiao registered a decisive, unanimous decision win against American Rios to clinch the vacant WBO International welterweight title on Sunday. (MNS photo) MANILA (Mabuhay) – House Games and Amusements Committee chairman Elpido Barzaga wants the next fight of Filipino boxing superstar and Sarangani Rep. Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao to be held in the Philippines, noting the benefits for the economy and tourism. “I wish the next fight (of Pacquiao) will be in the Philippines,” Barzaga said. “If a small country like Macau can host, why not the Philippines? We were able to sponsor the NBA games.” Pacquiao dominated Brandon “Bam Bam” Rios in a 12-round welterweight showdown in Macau on Sunday to stop a two-fight losing streak Barzaga said he intends to discuss the matter with Pacquiao once he returns. “It’s doable. We have big corporations,” he said. The congressman is also expecting a lot of speeches and resolutions honoring Pacquiao for his unanimous decision victory over Rios in Monday’s session. Marikina Rep. Miro Quimbo, who was not among those who watched the fight in Macau, said he does not expect any more congressional awards for Pacquiao since the boxer has already been given the highest awards in the past. Meanwhile, Monday’s briefing of Barzaga’s committee ended with a virtual solicitation from the congressman Read More …

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