Palace to comply with Ombudsman’s orders vs. Ricketts, Manzala

 General
Sep 082014
 
Palace to comply with Ombudsman’s orders vs. Ricketts, Manzala

Malacañang on Monday vowed to comply with the Office of the Ombudsman’s final orders against the embattled heads of the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) and the Optical Media Board (OMB). In a statement, Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said President Benigno Aquino III’s office will carry out the Ombudsman’s orders once it receives relevant documents. “The Office of the President will await the official copies of the Ombudsman’s Resolutions, if any, on these cases, and will comply with the orders of the Ombudsman, in accordance with law,” the Palace official said. He, however, said that the Palace has yet to receive the suspension order on OMB chief Ronnie Ricketts and the reported dismissal order against PRC chairperson Teresita Manzala. Last week, the Ombudsman ordered the suspension of Ricketts and four other OMB officials for the allegedly irregular release of seized pirated DVDs and VCDs just hours after they were confiscated.  The OMB chief is expected to appeal the Ombudsman’s suspension order.  Manzala was reportedly recommended for dismissal by the Ombudsman for supposedly entering into a rigged contract with a firm owned by Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr.’s brother-in-law. —NB, GMA News

Let COA, Ombudsman, not Senate, probe ‘overpriced’ Makati building —Rep. Atienza

 News
Sep 072014
 
Let COA, Ombudsman, not Senate, probe ‘overpriced’ Makati building —Rep. Atienza

Buhay Rep. Lito Atienza on Monday asked the Senate to stop its investigation on the alleged overpriced construction of Makati City Hall building II and let the Ombudsman and Commission on Audit do their job.  “The issue is best handled by a formal investigation. Merong Ombudsman, COA. We should allow these agencies do their job para hindi mahaluan ng pulitika,” Atienza said in a news forum in Manila. He said it is about time that the government agencies work properly. He added that he understands why Vice President Jejomar Binay would refuse to face the Senate probe. “Why should he go to a forum where he will be pilloried, not investigated but prosecuted?” he said. The former Manila mayor said he thinks the investigation is just a waste of the Senate’s time. He added that Binay’s accusers will not accept whatever the Vice President will say because they already have a conclusion on the matter. Albay Governer Joey Salceda, on the other hand, said an impeachment complaint should instead be filed against Binay for the enlightenment of everybody. “Gusto ko rin ng disclosure dito. Dapat may mag-file ng impeachment against Binay para the people can decide ahead of the 2016 (polls),” he said. —KG, GMA News

Palparan pretrial postponed to Sept. 15

 News
Sep 072014
 
Palparan pretrial postponed to Sept. 15

A festival has prompted a Bulacan court to postpone on Monday the pretrial proceedings of retired Army Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan Jr. to next week. Bulacan Judge Teodora Gonzales reset to 9 a.m. on Sept. 15 the next pretrial proceedings for Palparan, radio dzBB’s Rodil Vega reported. Also, protest actions by pro- and anti-Palparan groups had been scheduled for Monday. In Monday’s pretrial, Gonzales was expected to decide on Palparan’s petition to be transferred from the Bulacan Provincial Jail to the Intelligence Service, Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP) or the PNP Custodial Center. Last Sept. 1, Palparan sought a transfer from the Bulacan Provincial Jail, dzBB’s Manny Vargas reported. At the time, Gonzales gave all parties concerned until Sept. 8 to give their comments. Last Aug. 18, Palparan was arraigned before the Malolos, Bulacan regional trial court on charges of kidnapping and serious illegal detention. The court entered a “not guilty” plea for Palparan after the former military officer not enter one. The charges against Palparan stemmed from the disappearance of University of the Philippines students Sherlyn Cadapan and Karen Empeño in Bulacan in 2006. Palparan had denied the allegations. Palparan was commander of the Army 7th Infantry Division based in Fort Magsaysay in Nueva Ecija when the abduction of the two students took place. He retired from the military in 2006, and won a seat in Congress through the anti-communist party-list group Bantay. He ran for the Senate in 2010 but did not win. — Joel Locsin/RSJ, GMA News

Former DOJ Sec. Raul Gonzalez dies, 83

 News
Sep 072014
 
Former DOJ Sec. Raul Gonzalez dies, 83

Former Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez passed away Sunday night after being confined at the National Kidney Transplant Institute since last weekend. Gonzalez died at about 10:45 p.m. due to multiple organ failure, radio dzBB reported early Monday. He had been confined at the NKTI since Friday. He leaves behind Dra. Pacita Gonzalez, three sons and two daughters. The dzBB report said Gonzalez served as Iloilo congressman from 1995 to 2004 and served in the prosecution team during former President Joseph Estrada’s impeachment trial. Under the Arroyo administration, he served as an outspoken secretary of the Justice Department. —Joel Locsin/KG, GMA News

Mindanao to get 580 MW add’l power next year

 General
Sep 072014
 
Mindanao to get 580 MW add'l power next year

THE Mindanao Power Monitoring Committee (MPMC) reported that Mindanawons can expect around 580 megawatts (MW) of additional power by 2015. According to their accomplishment report for 2013, the bulk of the power supply will be coming from the Therma South Inc.’s 300 MW Coal-fired Energy Project in Barangay Binugao, Toril, Davao City and Barangay Inawayan, Sta. Cruz, Davao del Sur. The plant is expected to begin commercial operations within the first semester of 2015. By the third quarter of 2015, the first unit of the Sarangani Energy Corporation’s 200 MW Southern Mindanao Coal-fired Power Station, located in Maasim, Sarangani, will go online supplying 100 MW to the grid. Also, in the same quarter, the Puyo Hydroelectric Power Project of the First Gen Mindanao Hydropower Corp. in Jabonga, Agusan del Norte is expected to generate 30MW. Lastly, the first unit of the 300MW SMC Davao Power Plant Project of the San Miguel Consolidated Power Corporation in Malita, Davao del Sur will be supplying 150MW to the grid by the end of 2015. “The completion of committed power projects by 2015 would bring availability of excess supply including contingency reserves in Mindanao for the first time since 2009,” the MPMC said in their report. The MPMC also reported that by 2016 an expected power supply of 720MW will go online and another 550.6 MW by 2017. “Now it can be said, that while Luzon braces for a precarious power situation next year…Mindanao, on the other hand, is starting to generate enough,” said Read More …

Loss as impetus of discovery

 Entertainment
Sep 072014
 
Loss as impetus of discovery

State of affairs: De Chavez symbolically uproots and turns over the Statue of Liberty, uncovering a shanty crammed with billboards, a statement on how our notion of freedom is coupled with capitalism. (Carlomar Arcangel Daoana is the inaugural winner of the Purita Kalaw-Ledesma Prize for Art Criticism in the 2014 Ateneo Art Awards. He has written catalogue and exhibition notes for various galleries, including Finale Art File, Avellana Art Gallery, Crucible Gallery, and Galleria Duemila. As a poet, he is the author of four collections, the most recent being Loose Tongue, a gathering of his uncollected poems written between 2001 to 2013, published by the UST Publishing House. In 2012, he won the grand prize in the Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature in the English Poetry category for his collection, The Elegant Ghost. Daoana will write a regular column for The STAR’s Art & Culture section. This is his winning piece.) In the video installation “Sisa,” the artist Ea Torrado translates the frantic, anguished search of the beleaguered Noli Me Tangere character through a series of sharp, uncoordinated movements, brutal spins, and resistance and submission to gravity. Rather than the names of her lost sons Crispin and Basilio, Sisa howls those of the desaparecidos, men and women who, because of their political leanings, were abducted during the Marcos regime, never to be seen again. It is this sense of loss that haunts and electrifies “Complicated,” which has just recently wrapped up at the Lopez Museum and Library in Pasig Read More …

KidZania Manila introduces edutainment concept to academe

 Economy
Sep 072014
 
KidZania Manila introduces edutainment concept to academe

Kids can be anything they want to be — teacher, doctor, firefighter and chef — at KidZania Manila.   MANILA, Philippines – KidZania Manila formally introduced its unique educational entertainment (edutainment) concept to teachers, educators and other members of the Philippine academe during the KidZania Educators’ Pod held recently at The City Club in Alphaland Makati. More than 90 child education experts from over 30 schools and learning institutions across the metro learned about the innovative indoor play city, which aims to help students reach their full potential through interactive role-play.  “We look forward to supporting and complementing our teachers’ efforts to help Filipino children and their parents discover the amazing power of role-play as well as the fun ways children can explore and discover their gifts,” said Maricel Pangilinan-Arenas, president and CEO of Play Innovations Inc. and fovernor of the KidZania State, Philippines.  Pangilinan-Arenas added that at KidZania Manila, children can learn to work with others, practice being good citizens and work together to build a real sense of community. “We aim to create one of the most memorable and enriching KidZania experiences in the world, cognizant of both the universal and unique needs of children in a developing nation such as ours,” she said.  The global leader in children’s educational entertainment, KidZania Manila recognizes the power of role-playing and activates this concept to empower kids so they can learn through personal experience and ignite their imagination as they learn by doing. Set to open at the Bonifacio Global Read More …

Thousands of DSWD food packs for Yolanda relief lost to spoilage – COA

 News
Sep 072014
 
Thousands of DSWD food packs for Yolanda relief lost to spoilage – COA

Thousands of food packs worth millions of pesos which could have helped Typhoon Yolanda’s victims were instead lost to spoilage, a Commission on Audit special report on Yolanda relief operations concluded. According to the report, which was posted on the COA website, some 7,527 family food packs worth P2.7 million; 95,472 assorted canned goods; 81 packs of noodles; and, 21 sacks of rice went to waste due to improper handling in Yolanda devastated areas, particularly in Central and Eastern Visayas. The COA report blamed the losses on the lack of coordination between government agencies, which caused delays in the the distribution of goods. “Procured supplies intended for relief operations have not been fully delivered by the suppliers due to logistical gaps, such as lack of storage facility while awaiting repacking and eventual transport to affected areas and lack of delivery trucks,” the report read. Warehousing the donations and relief goods at the National Relief Operations Center also created a “logistical nightmare” for the DSWD, the state auditors added. Furthermore, the disposal of damaged goods and dented canned goods, which were excluded from food packs, were also unaccounted. “Relief distribution operations did not provide daily and periodic reporting on the results/status of its operations as well as accounting of funds received and its utilization given the huge funding, defeating the purpose of pinpointing responsibility and promoting accountability and transparency,” the COA reported. Aside from rotten relief goods, the COA report also revealed that some P700 million in donations from local sources Read More …

Dumaguete one of the world’s best places to retire

 News
Sep 072014
 
Dumaguete one of the world’s best places to retire

Dumaguete [via Expat Philippines] Dumaguete, the capital of Negros Oriental in Central Visayas, has been chosen as one of the most ideal places to retire around the world in the 2014 Retire Overseas Index. The study showed that Dumaguete was cited due to its cheap cost of living. Based on expenses such as rent, gas, electricity, water, cable, groceries, Internet, and entertainment, retirees living in Dumaguete will only need a monthly budget of US$910 or about P40,000. Dumaguete is also among the best places for retirees and among most expat-friendly destinations because of its beautiful beaches and its large English-speaking community. The 2014 Retire Overseas Index chose the locations based on 12 factors, namely climate, existing expat community, cost of living, health care, crime, infrastructure, English spoken, real estate, entertainment, residency options, environmental conditions and taxes. Aside from Dumaguete in the Philippines, rounding out the list of 21 best places to retire overseas are the following (in no particular order): Algarve, Portugal Ambergris Caye, Belize La Serena, Chile Buenos Aires, Argentina Medellin, Colombia Cayo, Belize Mendoza, Argentina City Beaches, Panama Puerto Vallarta, Mexico Cuenca, Ecuador Samana, Dominican Republic Granada, Nicaragua Abruzzo, Italy Istria, Croatia Pau, France Barcelona, Spain Chiang Mai, Thailand Istanbul, Turkey Nha Trang, Vietnam George Town, Malaysia The post Dumaguete one of the world’s best places to retire appeared first on Good News Pilipinas. Related posts: Phl jumps 6 places in global competitiveness ranking PHL jumps 8 places in Economic Freedom Index Huffington Post picks PHL as a Read More …

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