Politics eyed in killing of alleged Binay bagman

 Entertainment
Jan 262015
 
Politics eyed in killing of alleged Binay bagman

Vice President Jejomar Binay (left) is given a tour of the Toledo copper mine in Toledo City, Cebu on Thursday, November 6. Binay did not attend the day’s Senate probe on the alleged overpriced Makati City Hall Building II. He is in Cebu to attend the Philippine Scouting Centennial Jamboree and meet with local officials to check their housing programs. Also in photo is Adrian Ramos (right), COO of Carmen Mining Corp. (MNS photo) MANILA (Mabuhay) – Police have not found any connection linking the murder of former Makati engineer Nelson Morales, alleged bagman of Vice President Jejomar Binay, to his alleged involvement in some anomalies in Makati City. At the resumption of the Senate Blue Ribbon sub-committee hearing on the corruption allegations against Vice President Jejomar Binay on Thursday, Chief Superintendent Jose Erwin Villacorte said there are six suspects in the killing of Morales in 2012, one of whom – a certain Roderick Saraan – is already behind bars and facing trial. Villacorte said one suspect, Ramson Concepcion, was killed in a police encounter. Two others, Gilbert Concepcion and Winifredo Rabaca, are still at large. Two more suspects remain unidentified. The police said politics is the only the motive police have identified so far with respect to Morales’ killing. Morales, provincial chair of United Nationalist Alliance, was shot dead in Albay on September 7, 2012 after a wedding. “Ang lumalabas sa investigation is political. At that time, 2012, he is planning to run for mayor,” Villacorte said. Villacorte also Read More …

Group runs to Aquino, searches for ways to relieve wage earners from LRT-MRT fare hike

 Entertainment
Jan 262015
 
Group runs to Aquino, searches for ways to relieve wage earners from LRT-MRT fare hike

Two days before Christmas and with thousands of Metro Manila denizens on vacation outside the metropolis, MRT riders experience a rare comfortable ride to their destinations on Tuesday, December 23. Malacañang on Monday stood firm on the government’s decision to raise fares of the Light Rail Transit (LRT) and the Metro Rail Transit (MRT) amid calls from some senators to defer the fare hike scheduled on January 4, 2015.(MNS photo) MANILA (Mabuhay) – A group led by party-list lawmakers on Tuesday asked President Benigno Aquino III to use his “power to control” to stop the controversial fare rate hike ordered by the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) for the mass rail transit system in Metro Manila. The petitioners ran directly to Aquino after the group failed to secure a temporary restraining order from the Supreme Court last week. They have filed a petition against DOTC Order No. 2014-14 delineating the fare increase for the Light Rail Transit (LRT) and the Metro Rail Transit (MRT). “With no immediate relief in sight for the riding public, we look forward to President Aquino to respond favorably to our petition and provide respite to the fare hike while exploring ways to spare commuters of the burden of the rate adjustments,” said Akbayan Rep. Barry Gutierrez. “In addition to the constitution, the powers of the President are also provided by the Executive Order No. 292, s. 1987, otherwise known as the Administrative Code of 1987. Specifically, Book III, Title I, Chapter I, Section 1 Read More …

Women solons want simpler guidelines for legal separation

 Entertainment
Jan 262015
 
Women solons want simpler guidelines for legal separation

Members of ProGay and women’s rights group in a rally to denounce the alleged government inaction on violence against women. After days of a thorough investigation, the suspect in her death, as US Marine, has been charged with murder. (MNS photo) MANILA (Mabuhay) – Gabriela Women’s Party (GWP) has filed a bill that will make legal separation simpler to untie some of the legal hurdles under the Family Code. Legal separation, one of the existing remedies provided by the Family Code to women suffering from abusive spouses, has unfortunately many arcane governing provisions making it inaccessible and impractical for the poor womenfolk. The women’s Party-list hopes to untie some of the legal hurdles when it filed House Bill 5238, An Act Expanding the Grounds for Legal Separation, Amending for the Purpose Article 55 of the Family Code on the occasion of the 2014 global commemoration of the 16 Days of Activism to End Violence Against Women. Rep. Emmi De Jesus said the amendments will not only give women and their children additional State protection consistent with Republic Act No. 9262, also known as the Anti-Violence Against Women and Their Children Act of 2004, but also benefits women’s spouses. De Jesus pointed out that one of the grounds for separation, the frequency of violent acts, will be replaced with the severity or gravity of the acts, which is also broadened to more clearly define violence to include financial, economic and serious attempts to inflict violence against the woman and her children. Read More …

AirAsia scraps fuel surcharges as oil price plummets

 General
Jan 262015
 
AirAsia scraps fuel surcharges as oil price plummets

In this May 9, 2014 photo, an AirAsia A320-200 plane takes off from Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 in Sepang, Malaysia. AP/Joshua Paul KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — Southeast Asia’s biggest budget carrier AirAsia is scrapping fuel surcharges on tickets following the decline in global oil prices. AirAsia said the move also applies to flights under its long-haul arm AirAsia X. Oil prices are now below $50 per barrel after 6 months of declines, pushing down jet fuel prices. Chief Executive Tony Fernandes said the move will help reduce travel costs, stimulate demand and boost tourism in the region. Airlines impose the surcharges to pass on higher fuel costs to travelers when fuel prices are rising. Rivals Virgin Australia and Cebu Pacific in the Philippines abolished fuel surcharges earlier this month. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 AirAsia has dominated cheap travel in Southeast Asia for years but faces rising competition from the proliferation of discounts airlines in Asia.

With Art Fair Philippines, Manila becomes destination event

 General
Jan 262015
 
With Art Fair Philippines, Manila becomes destination event

  The recent art-fair boom in Asia has mainly been in Hong Kong and Singapore, but with 10,000 participants at last year’s Art Fair Philippines, held at a carpark building in Makati, things are looking up for Metro Manila. Next month, eight international galleries are participating in the Art Fair Philippines’ third edition, to be held over four days from February 5 to 8.   “We believe that the increase of international participants is an indication of the foreign galleries’ confidence in the Philippine audience,” says co-organizer Dindin Araneta. “They can see that Filipinos can appreciate works by contemporary artists from other countries.”  Trickie Lopa, another co-organizer, adds that most of the participating foreign galleries decided to join this year after visiting their previous art fairs. “They liked the vibe and the energy. They think that the Filipino audience is ripe for being introduced to not just Filipino artists.”  International collectors, mainly from Singapore and Indonesia, are also expected to fly in. It won’t just be artworks, however. Auction house Christie’s takes over the fair’s lecture series, with topics like collecting in Southeast Asia, restoring art, and post-war collections.  International galleries confirmed to participate this year come from Singapore (Arndt Gallery, Artesan Gallery + Studio, Equator Art Projects, Galerie Michael Janssen and Taksu), Hong Kong (Edouard Manguile Gallery), Taiwan (Nunu Fine Art) and Indonesia (ROH Projects). Established and emerging local galleries are 1335 Mabini, Altromondo, Archivo, Art Cube, Art Informal, Art Verite, Avellana Art Gallery, Blanc, Boston Gallery, CANVAS, Crucible, Finale Read More …

Senate committee cites Junjun Binay, 5 others for contempt, orders arrest

 News
Jan 252015
 
Senate committee cites Junjun Binay, 5 others for contempt, orders arrest

The Senate Blue Ribbon Committee on Monday ordered the arrest of Mayor Jejomar Erwin “Junjun” Binay Jr. and five other personalities after citing them for contempt for their continued refusal to attend the hearing of the Senate Blue Ribbon Subcommittee on the alleged overpriced Makati City Hall Building II and other alleged anomalies despite the issuance of subpoenas and show-cause orders. Senator Teofisto Guingona, chairman of the committee, granted the recommendation of Senator Aquilino Pimentel III, chairman of the subcommittee, to cite in contempt and order the arrest of Binay, City Administrator Eleno Mendoza, Eduviges “Ebeng” Baloloy, former City Administrator Marjorie de Veyra, Engineer Line Dela Peña, and Bernadette Portallano.  “I am ordering the Senate sergeant-at-arms to serve the detention order,” Guingona said. University of Makati president Tomas Lopez was not included in the order as he submitted a letter manifesting his willingess to attend the next hearing on Thursday. Present at the meeting were Guingona, Pimentel and Senator Antonio Trillanes IV. Binay attended the first hearing and answered the questions of senators but he was absent in the succeeding proceedings. The other Makati officials, on the other hand, were present in the following hearings. The officials refused to attend the subsequent hearings when they decided to challenge the jurisdiction of the committee. In their respective letters explaining their continued absence, Binay, Baloloy, Mendoza, Lopez, De Veyra, and Dela Peña said they were merely availing of remedies under the Senate Rules and were constrained to file a jurisdictional challenge because Read More …

Tension eases at clash site in Mamapasano town—AFP

 News
Jan 252015
 
Tension eases at clash site in Mamapasano town—AFP

Tension in Mamasapano town started to subside a day after a dawn to dusk firefight between the police and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) on Sunday, the Armed Forces of the Philippines has said.  “As of now there are no skirmishes happening in the ground and our effort to extricate all the casualties is ongoing,” AFP public affairs office chief Lt. Col. Harold told reporters on Monday Cabunoc said that as of 5 p.m. on Sunday, the armed groups who were involved in the firefight have already withdrawn from the encounter site. “So far, okay naman (ang situation on the ground). As of 7 p.m. wala nang naririnig na putok,” Cabunoc said. Cabunoc said members of the International Monitoring Team (IMT) and the Coordinating Committee on the Cessation of Hostilities (CCCH) have already arrived in Mamasapano town help ease the tensions by talking to the MILF and BIFF parties. “Of course there are tensions on the ground, (but) we are trying our best to talk to different leaders, the LGUs, the MILF and even BIFF to difuse all tensions and settle the problem in a peaceful manner,” Cabunoc said. On Sunday, at least 30 police officers belonging to the elite group, Special Action Force (SAF) were reported killed in a firefight with the MILF, which was later joined by its splinter group, Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF). Earlier on Monday, a police official in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao said the number of SAF fatalities had risen to Read More …

JI leader Marwan believed dead in Mamasapano clash

 News
Jan 252015
 
JI leader Marwan believed dead in Mamasapano clash

Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin said the military is now confirming reports that Jemaah Islamiyah leader Zulkifli bin Hir also known as Commander Marwan was killed in a day-long firefight between the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in Mamasapano town in Maguindanao on Sunday. “Well, we have no confirmation but that was the report we got last night…According to reports they (PNP) were able to neutralize one of them, si Marwan, although ‘yung isa nakawala, ‘yung si Basit Usman,” Gazmin told reporters in Camp Aguinaldo on Monday. File photo shows Zulkifli bin Hir alias Marwan (L) and Abu Sayyaf leader Umbra Jumdail (R). AFP photo At least 30 police officers belonging to the elite group, Special Action Force (SAF) were confirmed dead in the firefight on Sunday. Army sources, however, said they suspect that about 50 people died from the clash, majority of them belonging to the side of the police. Gazmin said he, Interior and Local Government Secretary Mar Roxas and PNP officer-in-charge Deputy Director General Leonardo Espina will go later on Monday to Maguindanao and Cotabato to assess the situation and to confirm the report about Marwan’s death. “We will validate that (report). I am going to Cotabato today so that I can get more accurate information to be able to disseminate to you,” Gazmin said. In a report sent to Espina on Sunday, the SAF director, Chief Superintendent Getulio Napenas Jr., said the SAF operatives were able to “neutralize” Marwan at around Read More …

Ex-SC Justice: Bangsamoro territory will reduce PHL govt sovereignty

 News
Jan 252015
 
Ex-SC Justice: Bangsamoro territory will reduce PHL govt sovereignty

Muslims urge senators for immediate passage of BBL. Muslim women from several organizations in Metro Manila rally outside the Senate on Monday, January 26, to call for the immediate passage of the Bangsamoro Basic Law. Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Monday said he is calling for the suspension of hearings on the BBL following the deaths of at least 37 policemen in an ambush on January 25 in Mamasapano, Maguindanao by MILF fighters. Danny Pata The establishment of the Bangsamoro territory will reduce the sovereignty of the Philippine government, a former Supreme Court justice said Monday. “My understanding of the Bangsamoro Basic Law and the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro is that the Bangsamoro government may change what presently exists in the Philippine government. If I am wrong, I will be very happy to be corrected,” Justice Florentino Feliciano said during the hearing of the Senate committee on constitutional amendments and revision of codes. Florentino said the statement that “the Bangsamoro authority shall remain a part of Philippine territory” should be given a more forceful meaning. He added the provision on the Bangsamoro government having exclusive power on several aspects such as agriculture, livestock, food security, laws on foreign corporations, trade and industry, foreign investments, labor, freeports, banking system, education, public utilities operations, ancestral domain and natural resources, land management and distribution, Shariah courts and Shariah justice system, and education would result to reduction of the general sovereignty of the Philippine government.  “Those powers are vested today in the government Read More …

PNP-MILF clash shows challenges to peace process – govt panel chief

 General
Jan 252015
 
PNP-MILF clash shows challenges to peace process – govt panel chief

The deadly clash between elements of the PNP-Special Action Force and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in Maguindanao on Sunday showed “security challenges” to the peace process with Moro rebels, the government’s peace panel chair admitted Monday. In a statement, peace panel chairperson Miriam Coronel-Ferrer said the incident could have been prevented through “better cooperation.” “This incident and other recent acts of violence by other armed groups manifest the diverse security challenges that confound the peace process,” Ferrer said. “With better cooperation we will be able to prevent these kinds of incidents,” she added On Sunday, at least 30 members of the PNP-SAF were reported to have been killed in an ambush by members of the MILF in Mamasapano town in Maguindanao. Earlier on Monday, a police official in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao said the number of SAF fatalities had risen to 50. Ferrer confirmed that the PNP personnel were on the trail of Malaysian bomb-maker and top Jemaah Islamiyah terrorist Zulkifli bin Hir, known as Marwan, when the incident happened.  The US Federal Bureau of Investigation has offered a $5-million reward for information on Marwan.  The peace panel chief nevertheless said the Philippine government and the MILF will continue pushing for the passage of the Bangsamoro Basic Law even after the bloody incident. “Our resolve to see through the process of legislating the Bangsamoro Basic Law and implementing the different Normalization programs, including the security components, is only further strengthened,” she said. The clash, however, has prompted Read More …

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