New NBP chief: Wealthy convicts to stay in common holding areas 

 News
Dec 222014
 
New NBP chief: Wealthy convicts to stay in common holding areas 

The 20 convicts who were removed from the New Bilibid Prison after a raid by the Department of Justice will be detained in common holding areas together with other inmates upon their return to the national penitentiary, the new NBP superintendent said on Monday. In a report on GMA News’ “24 Oras,” NBP superintendent Richard Schwarzkopf Jr. said construction materials for wealthy inmates’ kubol or special holding areas would also no longer be allowed to enter the prison.  “Hindi muna natin pinapapasok ‘yung construction materials if it is intendend para doon sa ating personal inmates natin doon sa loob. May mga pinapasok tayo diyan, ito ‘yung mga project na ng Bureau of Corrections,” Schwarzkopf said.  He has also imposed stricter rules against cellphone and Internet use inside NBP.  The inmates were removed after the DOJ found out that they were staying in holding areas fitted with prohibited luxury amenities and that they were being accorded special privileges such as mobile phone and Internet services. Drug convicts were also found to be transacting drug deals from inside the penitentiary.   Schwarzkopf has already served as a NBP superintendent in 2012 before he was assigned as the chief of Iwahig Prison and Penal Farm in Palawan.  Schwarzkopf said on Monday that he is going to reshuffle officials and jail guards at the penitentiary to avoid too much familiarity with the inmates.  “Magkakaroon tayo ng movement ng personnel sa rank and file to avoid familiarization of our personnel s ating mga inmates,” he explained Read More …

BOC concedes 2014, 2015 collections targets unreachable

 General
Dec 222014
 
BOC concedes 2014, 2015 collections targets unreachable

Bureau of Customs. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO MANILA, Philippines — The Bureau of Customs (BOC) conceded on Monday that it could not hit its full-year collections goal for 2014 even as revenues during the first 11 months continued to rise double-digits on the back of “major headway made in reducing smuggling.” BOC Commissioner John Phillip P. Sevilla also pledged to introduce more reforms in 2015 to further shore up revenues while putting a stop to unscrupulous activities of some importers. Sevilla told a press conference that while the 2014 collections target of P408.1 billion cannot be achieved, the growth of almost a fifth could still be maintained until yearend. BOC data showed that the January-to-November collections increased by 17.8 percent to P331.2 billion from P281.1 billion in the same 11-month period in 2013. The collections during the first 11 months, however, were 11.9-percent below the target of P376.1 billion for the period. In the month of November alone, collections amounted to P31.2 billion, up 10.5 percent from the P28.2 billion posted in the same month in 2013. The revenues in November were 16.4-percent less than the target for the month worth P37.3 billion. Not only this year’s goal but also the P456-billion target for 2015 as earlier determined by the inter-agency, Cabinet-level Development Budget Coordination Committee may prove to be difficult to reach. “The 2015 target is impractical and unrealistic, especially with oil prices down,” Sevilla explained. Despite the challenges in hitting their collections targets, Sevilla noted that the BOC has Read More …

UNA exec: Pacquiao an able lawmaker despite missing House sessions

 News
Dec 222014
 
UNA exec: Pacquiao an able lawmaker despite missing House sessions

Sarangani Rep. Manny Pacquiao frequent absences at the House of Representatives isn’t nessarily proof he’s taking his lawmaking duties lightly, his colleague and party-mate in the opposition United Nationalist Alliance said Monday. UNA interim president and Navotas City Rep. Tobias “Toby” Tiangco said Pacquiao is still able to serve his constituents in Sarangani even though he rarely attends House sessions. “Noong inihalal siya ng mga mamamamayan ng Sarangani, alam nilang boksingero siya at alam nilang kailangan niyang maglaan ng oras para sa kanyang pagboboksing. Personally, nakita kong maraming lumalapit kay Congressman Pacquiao,” he said in a report aired on “24 Oras” on Monday evening. Over the weekend, former Senator Rene Saguisag urged the House leadership through a letter to the editor in the Philippine Daily Inquirer to suspend Pacquiao from the House up to the end of his term in 2016 since he appears to treat legislative work “as a hobby or sideline.” “If it is true that Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather will fight on May 2, 2015, it seems only proper for the House of Representatives to decide what it will do with someone contending for the title ‘House Top Absentee,’” he said.  Pacquiao was recorded present for only 38 out of 69 session days during the first regular session of Congress from July 22, 2013 to June 11, 2014. House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte earlier called on Pacquiao to be more active in Congress, saying he wished the boxer “will be more involved” as a lawmaker. But although Read More …

Pope Francis to meet with leaders of other religions at UST

 News
Dec 222014
 
Pope Francis to meet with leaders of other religions at UST

Pope Francis will be meeting ten leaders from other religions during his visit at the University of Santo Tomas in Manila, officials said Monday. According to Rev. Fr. Carlos Reyes, executive secretary of the Episcopal Commission for Interreligious Dialogue of the Catholic Bishop’s Conference of the Philippines, the ten religious leaders will have an audience with the Pope that will last about 10 to 15 minutes. The encounter will be held at the sidelines of the Pope’s meeting with some 24,000 Filipino youth representatives. UST Public Affairs director Giovanna Fontanilla said it will happen “somewhere around” the Arch of the Centuries, the university’s ceremonial passage point. Reyes said there is “no program” for the interaction, and no details have been given as to what the Pope and other religious leaders will be talking about. He added, however, that “the Pope himself desired to meet with the religious leaders.” The religious leaders that the Pope will meet are: * His Eminence Nektarios Tsilis (Orthodox Church) * Venerable Master Hsing Yun (Buddhism) * Rabbi Eliyahu Azariah (Judaism) * His Eminence Ephraim S. Fajutagana (Christian) * Bishop Cesar Vicente Punzalan III (Evangelical Church) * Dean Julkipli M. Wadi (Islam), and  * Imam Ebra Moxsir (Islam). Also included are former UST Graduate School dean and interreligious dialogue advocate Lilian Sison (Catholic), as well as former Chief Justice Reynato Puno, who will represent the Philippine Bible Society. At an earlier press briefing,  Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle noted the Pope’s initiative to meet with Read More …

PNoy endorses good, honest people in Christmas message

 News
Dec 222014
 
PNoy endorses good, honest people in Christmas message

Was President Benigno Aquino III giving guidelines for the 2016 polls in his holiday greetings this year? In his penultimate Christmas message as President, Aquino asked Filipinos to be on the side of people who are honest and who would prioritize the public’s interest. “Sa araw-araw nating pagharap sa sangandaan, nawa’y piliin natin ang mabuti, ang tapat, ang maka-katarungan,” the President said in a video released online by Radio TV Malacañang. “Pumanig tayo sa mga taong tumotoo sa kanilang salita at pumapanig sa makabubuti sa kapakanan ng kapwa,” he added. Aquino also asked for prayers for strength to continue reforms started by his administration. The President has remained tightlipped on his preferrred successor, although ranking officials of the ruling Liberal Party (LP) have earlier identified Interior Secretary Mar Roxas as their standard-bearer for the 2016 national polls. Vice President Jejomar Binay, the opposition’s presumptive standard bearer, is facing investigation on allegations of corruption before the Senate and the Office of the Ombudsman. Binay, however, has repeatedly described these accusations as politically motivated. He continues to lead in surveys on the public’s preferences for President. —NB, GMA News

LTO to bus operators: No standing passengers allowed for long trips

 News
Dec 222014
 
LTO to bus operators: No standing passengers allowed for long trips

As the Christmas exodus continued to peak, the Land Transportation Office reminded bus operators against accommodating extra passengers who will be forced to stand during the long trip. In particular, the LTO warned against such a practice for long trips such as from Luzon to Visayas, radio dzBB’s James Agustin reported Monday afternoon. Filipinos are flocking to their home provinces to spend the Christmas and New Year holidays with their loved ones. In one instance, the LTO blocked a Leyte-bound bus from leaving after finding it was overloaded. While the bus was allowed to leave past 3 p.m., its license plates were removed. Meanwhile, security remained tight at the Araneta bus terminal in Quezon City as of Monday afternoon, with two K9 units patrolling to detect contraband. Some 300 to 350 buses from 33 bus firms are leaving the terminal daily. — Joel Locsin/RSJ, GMA News

Miriam goes after governors, mayors in new pork scam inquiry

 General
Dec 222014
 
Miriam goes after governors, mayors in new pork scam inquiry

Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago on Monday sought a Senate inquiry on the reported misuse of some P2.7 billion in pork barrel funds by some governors and mayors in 2013. In Senate Resolution 1066, Santiago cited the Commission on Audit report that at least P1.035 billion of the allocations given by representatives and senators were used “inappropriately” through projects that were not specified in the special allotment release orders (SARO) of the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF). COA stated that some of the local government units it audited in 2013 abused their pork barrel funds, while others exceeded the cash limits in paying cash advances for the projects and did not follow strict guidelines on the use of pork barrel funds. It also said that when the PDAF was declared unconstitutional in 2013, some P1.106 billion in idle PDAF allocations were still under the control of governors and mayors who did not return the money to the National Treasury when they were audited this year. The resolution stated that the misused funds were reportedly traced to LGUs in Metro Manila with P594.319 million; Western Visayas (Region 6) with P126.161 million; Bicol (Region 5) with P100.766 million; Calabarzon (Region 4-A) with P58.148 million; Cagayan Valley (Region 2) with P53.378 million; Central Visayas (Region 7) with P34.933 million; Ilocos (Region 1) with P33.328 million. It added that fund misuse was also reportedly noted among local governments in Mimaropa (Region 4-B) with P30.915 million; Davao (Region 11) with P26.087 million; Soccksargen (Region 12) with Read More …

PNP to pin down owners of guns seized in Bilibid

 General
Dec 212014
 
PNP to pin down owners of guns seized in Bilibid

The Philippine National Police  (PNP) is coordinating with the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to pin down the owners of the guns confiscated from convicted drug lord Peter Co in the New Bilibid Prison (NBP). The original owners – some of them politicians – of the firearms found in the detention cell of Co will be held liable, a PNP official said yesterday. Senior Superintendent Rolando Anduyan, head of the PNP’s Firearms and Licensing Division, said the politicians would face charges should they fail to explain how their guns ended up in Co’s possession. The PNP gave the gun owners at least 10 days to give their side before imposing sanctions on them. Anduyan said revocation of license awaits the owners of the guns recovered from the drug convict. He said the Inspection and Enforcement Section was tasked to get the politicians’ side. Raiding teams from the PNP and National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) confiscated six guns from Co’s detention cell when they raided the NBP’s maximum security compound last week. The NBI said documents showed that the seized firearms were traced to politicians. A caliber .22 is registered under the name of Rep. Joaquin Carlos Rahman Nava of the lone district of Guimaras. Another firearm is owned by Carlitos Tiquia, who ran and lost for congressman of Valenzuela in the last elections. A 9mm Taurus pistol is registered under the name of Vicente Alindada Jr., a barangay councilor in Sangandaan, Caloocan. Another gun is allegedly owned by Avelino Nicanor, Read More …

Philippine-themed novel by José Fons wins prize in Spain

 Entertainment
Dec 212014
 
Philippine-themed novel by José Fons wins prize in Spain

MANILA, Philippines – José María Fons, a Spanish residing in Manila for than a decade now, garnered the prize for the Short Novel category of the 34th Felipe Trigo Literary Prize (Spain) last December 13. Titled Los Diversos Avatares de Chejov (The speckled vicissitudes of Chekov), his work’s underlying theme is Philippine literature and its relations to literary scenarios of other countries. The novel revolves around the story of an android designed to create the great Filipino novel of all times. Set against the backdrop of a Research Institute in an American university, the plot dwells on the particular friendship between the android and an obscure Filipino novelist — a specialist in Philippine literature — hired to map the software of the android’s Pinoy mind. José María Fons works as head of the cultural section of Instituto Cervantes, the Spanish cultural center in the Philippines. He is author of the book of essays Sostiene Sentado, published in 2011; Los Diversos Avatares de Chejov is his first novel. Felipe Trigo Literary Prize is a prestigious literary award established in 1981 in Spain. It is named after a popular Spanish writer from the beginning of the 20th century. Felipe Trigo was born in 1864; he was a doctor by initial profession and in 1896, he was posted in the Philippines. Inspired by his experiences in the Philippines, he started a literary career when he returned to Spain. In 1901, he published a novel set in the Philippine Islands, Las Ingenuas, which made Read More …

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