Maniolas

MANILA, Philippines – Filipina psychiatrist Dr. Lourdes Ignacio is the latest recipient of the 2014 Lifetime Asia Achievement Award from the Asian Federation of Psychiatric Associations (AFPA). This is the first time in the history of the Philippine Psychiatric Association (PPA) that one of its members ranked among the most celebrated psychiatrists in the Asian region. According to PPA, the AFPA Lifetime Achievement Award is given to a “select male or female senior psychiatrist who has devoted (himself or herself) by working very hard for the betterment of mental health services for the mentally ill, not only in (his or her) own country, but also in other Asian countries.” The award was granted by AFPA president Pichet Udomratn who in his speech highlighted Ignacio’s remarkable achievements, which include her extensive involvement in various international agencies and organizations, such as the World Health Organization and the World Association for Psychosocial Rehabilitation. “In presenting the AFPA Lifetime Achievement Award 2014, we are proud to recognize Dr. Lourdes Ladrido-Ignacio as a psychiatrist who has shown sustained excellence as a teacher, researcher in psychiatry and mental health, and committed involvement in community psychiatry and mental health programs of high social relevance, both in her country as well as internationally,” said Udomratn. A medical degree holder from the University of the Philippines, Ignacio has been recognized for her works in the fields of research, teaching, mental health advocacy, and community service, throughout her medical practice.  Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 “As Read More …

Supreme Court spokesman Theodore Te somewhat admitted on Wednesday that the tiff he had with news media on Tuesday resulted from what “perhaps may have been an unwise presumption” on his part. Te had barred live television and radio coverage of the news briefing he gave last Tuesday after crews proceeded to lay down cables in preparation for their coverage of the media briefing. In explanations posted on Facebook and given directly to media during interview. Te said he has always said “no” to requests from television news crews to bring in cables for live coverage. He however claimed that he has “never meant” those no’s “because I’ve always allowed live coverage.” Te said he would have changed his mind and allowed cables in if only the news crews have asked him to “reconsider” his decision. “But I was not asked to change my mind because despite my initial “no” I was told that cables were brought in anyway into the SC premises… they just went ahead and disregarded what I had said and set it up,” he said. Before Tuesday’s briefing, Te revealed that he had turned down requests from television news crews to bring in cable that would be used to air the briefing live. “I did say no simply because in my estimation the stories that would come out wouldn’t be that newsworthy. Perhaps that may have been an unwise presumption on my part that I was worthy of appreciating the newsworthiness of the stories that would Read More …

The Philippines on Wednesday called on China to change its stance on the United Nations’ arbitration in the two countries’ territorial dispute. “We continue to urge China to reconsider its decision not to participate in the arbitration proceedings,” Department of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Assistant Secretary Charles Jose said on GMA News’ “24 Oras”. “We wish to reiterate that arbitration is a peaceful, open and friendly resolution mechanism that offers a durable solution to the disputes in the South China Sea or West Philippine Sea,” he added. The move came after the international arbitral tribunal ordered China to answer the points raised by the Philippines in its protest regarding China’s aggressive behavior in the South China Sea, which the latter claims nearly in its entirety. The international tribunal gave China until December 15 to answer the Philippines’ points, the report said. However, China again expressed its refusal to join the arbitration proceedings, and rejected the ruling. “China’s stance of not accepting and not participating in the relevant Philippines’ arbitration case has not changed,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei told reporters on Wednesday. Artificial island  The spokesperson also reacted to reports that China was supposedly planning to build an artificial island on a disputed reef in the West Philippine Sea. The DFA is studying the designs to determine whether the supposed build-up can be added to the Philippines’ protests. The Philippines previously protested China’s reclamation work in Mabini Reef, which is part of the territories being disputed in the South China Read More …

The alleged jewelry collection of suspected pork barrel scam mastermind Janet Lim-Napoles may also be ordered frozen by the court once found by the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC), a report on “24 Oras” said Wednesday. The report, citing Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, said the AMLC is now tracking down Napoles’ supposed jewelry collection, photos of which were shown to GMA News by one of her former aides. “It’s always part of the ongoing fact-finding [investigation]. Lalo na at yung AMLC, ang alam ko, ay they continue to discharge also their tasks with respect to this,” De Lima said. Last April, Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 22 placed Napoles’ bank accounts and some real estate properties under an asset preservation order (APO). In a memorandum, the AMLC maintained that the court should not grant Napoles’ petition for the recall of the APO, noting that she cannot provide evidence that would prove that the assets were obtained through legitimate means and before the alleged operation of the pork barrel scam, believed to be from 2007 to 2009. “The assertion that the subject assets were acquired through legitimate means and before the material dates of the Pork Barrel Scam must fail for utter lack of evidentiary support,” the AMLC said in its memorandum submitted to the court last Monday. However, in a separate interview, Napoles’ lawyer Bruce Rivera maintained that his client does not own the expensive jewelry collection shown on television reports. Rivera said Napoles had entrusted to two of her Read More …