Napoles's doctors prepare for surgery

 News
Apr 042014
 
Napoles's doctors prepare for surgery

Detained businesswoman Janet Lim Napoles’s team of private doctors may operate on her at the government-run Ospital ng Makati (OsMak) by Sunday. On Friday, OsMak doctors met with Napoles’s team of doctors to discuss the medical procedures that will be performed to remove a cyst in her uterus, for which a Makati court allowed her to seek treatment. The OsMak doctors also turned over the results of medical tests that they have done on her. “We discussed liability and accountability as attending physicians…The liability and accountability will now fall on the laps of the attending physicians of Mrs. Napoles,” announced OsMak director Dr. Perry Ishmael Peralta in a press conference aired on GMA News’ “24 Oras” Friday evening. It may take one to two days for Napoles’ doctors to review the results of the medical tests, thus, the operation might be performed on Sunday, the report said. “Ang request naman ng team (ni Napoles), which we gave in to, is they would like to review all the tests that we’ve performed. They would like to reexamine Mrs. Napoles before we can really set a date for the procedure,” Peralta said. Napoles’s doctors meanwhile said they will just review the results turned over by OsMak. However, doctors from St. Luke’s Medical Center may also conduct additional screenings to ensure that Napoles would not suffer any complications from the medical operation, “24 Oras” said. Earlier laboratory test results showed Napoles has a cyst in her uterus. She has also complained of abdominal Read More …

NBI report on Vitangcol yet to reach De Lima's office

 General
Apr 042014
 
NBI report on Vitangcol yet to reach De Lima's office

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima has yet to receive the National Bureau of Investigation’s (NBI) report on the investigation it conducted on the alleged $30-million extortion claim against Metro Rail Transit general manager Al Vitangcol III. De Lima on Friday admitted that while the NBI fact-finding team has completed its investigation on the controversy, the report still has to be reviewed by the bureau’s legal division. “Ganoon ang SOP [standard operating procedure] sa NBI. Before they submit officially a report or before they release the transmittal, kung may papakasuhan nire-review muna iyan ng legal to make sure that the legal aspects are grounded on solid basis,” she said. De Lima said from the NBI legal department, the report will next land on the desk of NBI Director Virgilio Mendoza for his approval. Only after Mendez has given his go signal will the report be transmitted to De Lima’s office. “Since this is a high profile case, they might clear it with me before it is finally released,” De Lima said. “So I am actually waiting for it already. Standby na ako dyan sa report na iyan.” Earlier reports, citing leaked documents, claimed that Vitangcol was cleared from possible charges for lack of evidence, and that claims that he demanded money from Czech firm Inekon Group was not corroborated. The NBI investigated the alleged extortion upon instructions from President Benigno Aquino III. Czech Ambassador Josef Rychtar claimed Vitangcol and other officials tried to extort $30 million from Inekon in order for Read More …

Inflation slips to 3.9% in March

 Economy
Apr 042014
 
Inflation slips to 3.9% in March

MANILA, Philippines – Consumer prices in March eased, the National Statistics Office said Friday. According to the NSO, inflation in March slipped to 3.9 percent, the slowest so far this year. In January inflation was 4.2 percent and 4.1 percent in February. “The downtrend was due to slower annual hikes posted in the indices of alcoholic beverages and tobacco; housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels; recreation and culture; and restaurant and miscellaneous goods and services. Inflation during the same month in 2013 was 3.2 percent,” the NSO said. Excluding volatile food and energy items, the core inflation was slower at 2.8 percent in March from 3.0 percent in February. 

Banks opt to pay fines than lend to 'risky' small Pinoy businesses

 Economy
Apr 042014
 
Banks opt to pay fines than lend to 'risky' small Pinoy businesses

MANILA, Philippines – Large and foreign banks in the country would rather pay fines than comply with the law mandating them to lend to small businesses. According to the inaugural edition of the Asian Development Bank’s Asia Small and Medium-sized Enterprise Finance Monitor, Philippine MSMEs continue to have poor access to credit, “which limits the ability of SMEs to survive and grow.” “According to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas some large banks, particularly international banks, opted to pay  a fine rather than set aside funds for lending to risky borrowers such as MSEs (micro and small enterprises),” the report said. The BSP imposes a P500,000 a year fine for zero compliance, while the penalty fees for undercompliance; 90 percent of the penalties collected will be remitted to the MSME Development Council Fund, while the remaining 10 percent is retained by the BSP for administrative expenses. Citing data from the Philippine government, the ADB said MSMEs in the country, make up 99.6 percent (816,759) of the total enterprises in the country in 2011. These MSMEs employed some 3.872 million, representing 61 percent of the total employment in the country. The ADB said that while the Magna Carta for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises as amended by Republic Act (RA) 9501 mandates banks to allocate at least eight percent of their loan portfolio to MSEs and at least two percent to medium-sized enterprises, banks generally fail to comply with this requirement. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 “In particular, Read More …

Aquino pushes defense dialogue with Singapore

 News
Apr 032014
 
Aquino pushes defense dialogue with Singapore

A TOAST TO SINGAPORE’S GENEROSITY. President Aquino toasts Singaporean President Tony Tan Keng Yam, thanking him in Malacañang on Thursday for Singapore’s post-“Yolanda” help. Tan, here on a four-day visit, flies to Western Samar on Saturday to deliver medical supplies to Basey District Hospital. EDWIN BACASMAS MANILA, Philippines—Facing an increasingly aggressive China, President Aquino on Thursday proposed a defense dialogue with Singapore to boost the two countries’ military defense ties, during visiting Singaporean President Tony Tan Keng Yam’s courtesy call at Malacañang. “The Philippines proposed the holding of a defense dialogue to further strengthen our cooperation,” said Aquino at the Palace reception hall. “I believe that strengthening defense and security cooperation between the Philippines and Singapore is key to maintaining regional stability.” 45th anniversary This year marks the 45th anniversary of the two countries’ diplomatic relations. In the last few days, the Philippines has had to deal with China’s verbal onslaughts and naval maneuvers in the South China Sea, which the Philippines now calls the West Philippine Sea. After filing a memorandum with a United Nations tribunal challenging China’s “nine-dash line” claim in the international waterway on Sunday, the Philippine government drew a sharp rebuke from Chinese Embassy officials in Manila. Charge d’Affaires Sun Xiangyang said the move “seriously damaged” the bilateral relations between the two countries, and accused the Philippines of unilaterally shutting the door to negotiations and consultations. China, Taiwan and Asean members the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam have overlapping claims in the South China Sea, which Read More …

Apple says Samsung knew iPhone would be big seller

 Economy
Apr 032014
 
Apple says Samsung knew iPhone would be big seller

The Apple iPhone 4s, left, is displayed next to the Samsung Galaxy S III at a store in San Francisco.(AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez) SAN JOSE, Calif. — Samsung knew Apple’s iPhone would be a big seller when it first went on the market, but the South Korean company didn’t have a product that could compete so it stole Apple’s technology, an attorney for Apple told jurors on Tuesday. “The evidence in this case will be Samsung copied the iPhone,” Apple lawyer Harold McElhinny said during his opening statement in the latest patent fight between the world’s largest cellphone manufacturers. Samsung, which accuses Apple of stealing its ideas, was expected to make its opening statement later in the day. The trial in federal court in San Jose marks the latest round in a long-running series of lawsuits between the two tech giants over mobile devices. If Apple prevails in the current case, the cost to Samsung could reach $2 billion. Apple’s costs, if it loses the litigation, were expected to be about $6 million. McElhinny asked jurors to remember where they were on Jan. 9, 2007, and showed a video of former Apple CEO Steve Jobs unveiling the iPhone in San Francisco. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 He said attorneys for Samsung would try to say Apple inventions were trivial and not valuable. “But that is not what the world was saying in 2007,” McElhinny said. It could be consumers who end up paying the ultimate price Read More …

China warned: Don’t try to tow away BRP Sierra Madre

 News
Apr 032014
 
China warned: Don’t try to tow away BRP Sierra Madre

China was warned Thursday against trying to tow away the BRP Sierra Madre from Ayungin Shoal, as this could be considered an attack against the Philippines and prompt the United States to defend the country in keeping with their Mutual Defense Treaty. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO MANILA, Philippines—China was warned Thursday against trying to tow away the BRP Sierra Madre from Ayungin Shoal, as this could be considered an attack against the Philippines and prompt the United States to defend the country in keeping with their Mutual Defense Treaty. And should this happen, international law expert and University of the Philippines law professor Harry Roque said, the result could be a war in Asia. “The result: the West Philippine Sea [dispute], unless China backs off, may trigger the biggest armed conflict in the region since the Vietnam and Indochina conflict,” Roque said in a statement. Roque noted that the Sierra Madre has always been described as a “derelict,” but the government recently described it as a “commissioned naval vessel.” A statement released by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on March 14 said, “The BRP Sierra Madre, a commissioned Philippine naval vessel, was placed in Ayungin Shoal in 1999 to serve as a permanent Philippine government installation in response to China’s illegal occupation of Mischief Reef (Panganiban Reef) in 1995.” The Philippines says Ayungin Shoal is part of its continental shelf, over which it has “sovereign rights and jurisdiction” and by pointing that the Sierra Madre is a commissioned ship, the Read More …

Singapore president flying to Samar

 News
Apr 032014
 
Singapore president flying to Samar

Singapore’s President Tony Tan Keng Yam AFP FILE PHOTO MANILA, Philippines—Visiting Singaporean President Tony Tan Keng Yam is flying to storm-hit Basey town in Western Samar on Saturday to deliver medical supplies to the Basey District Hospital. Singapore was one of the first countries to send aid, personnel and ships in the aftermath of Super Typhoon Yolanda (international name: Haiyan) that ravaged Eastern Visayas in November last year, leaving more than 6,000 dead. President Aquino said on Thursday that the Singaporean president’s delivery of supplies to the Basey hospital jibed with the Philippine government’s policy of “building back better.” “Our government’s plan is to build back better, stronger and more resilient communities, and the speedy rehabilitation of health service facilities in affected areas is key to these efforts,” Aquino said after receiving in Malacañang on Thursday Tan, who is on a four-day state visit. Rehabilitation project The Basey hospital is a joint rehabilitation project of Singapore Red Cross and the International Committee of the Red Cross. Before flying to Samar, Tan said he would hand out a check representing Singaporeans’ contributions to partners and nongovernment organizations this Friday at The Peninsula Manila “to alleviate the difficult situation” caused by Yolanda. “We are heartened that the spirit and resilience of the Philippine people remain strong in such devastation. We have been working with the Philippine government and stakeholders in the rehabilitation efforts,” he said at the reception hall. Quick response Aquino expressed appreciation for Singapore’s quick response, including its deployment of Read More …

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