Feb 062015
 
Separation pay in lieu of reinstatement

RESPONDENT Janrie C. Dailig, a security guard, was relieved from his post on Dec. 10, 2005. He filed a complaint against petitioner Emeritus Security and Maintenance Systems, Inc. for illegal dismissal, underpayment of salaries and non-payment of full back wages. The labor arbiter found respondent to have been illegally dismissed. Accordingly, petitioner was ordered to reinstate respondent and to pay him back wages from the time his compensation was withheld until actual reinstatement. The National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) dismissed the appeal filed by petitioner for lack of merit. The NLRC, however, pointed out that the computation of respondent’s award of full back wages should be reckoned from June 10, 2006 and not Dec. 10, 2005. The Court of Appeals (CA) affirmed the finding of the labor arbiter and the NLRC that respondent was illegally dismissed by petitioner. It, however, set aside the labor arbiter and the NLRC’s reinstatement order. Instead, the CA ordered the payment of separation pay, invoking the doctrine of strained relations between the parties. Did the CA err?Ruling: Yes. In this case, petitioner claims that it complied with the reinstatement order of the Labor Arbiter. On Jan. 23, 2008, petitioner sent respondent a notice informing him of the Labor Arbiter’s decision to reinstate him. Accordingly, in February 2008, respondent was assigned by petitioner to Canlubang Sugar Estate, Inc. in Canlubang, Laguna, and to various posts thereafter. At the time of the filing of the petition, respondent was assigned by petitioner to MD Distripark Manila, Inc. in Read More …

Feb 062015
 
PNP OIC Espina: Marwan buried in Mamasapano

Philippine National Police officer-in-charge Deputy Director General Leonardo Espina airs his sentiments on the bloody Mamasapano clash before the House of Representatives ad hoc committee on the Bangsamoro Basic Law on Wednesday, February 4. Espina called on the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters to surrender the firearms taken from the 44 fallen policemen. (MNS photo) MANILA (Mabuhay) – Philippine National Police officer-in-charge Deputy Director-General Leonardo Espina on Thursday said the body of Malaysian terrorist  Zulkifli bin Hir, alias Marwan, had already been buried in a barangay in Mamasapano town in Maguindanao. In an interview with reporters, Espina said the police had received intelligence reports that Marwan was indeed buried in the area. “He had to be buried (right away) as per Muslim culture,” he explained. Muslims bury their dead within 24 hours after the loved one has passed on. He, however, did not specify which  barangay where the suspected terrorist was buried. Earlier, residents of Barangay Libutan denied reports that Marwan was buried beside the Pusaka mosque, the oldest and therefore the most sacred mosque in the entire province of Maguindanao. The residents said that they would not allow a terrorist like Marwan to be laid to rest at the sacred site. On Jan. 25, the Philippine National Police-Special Action Force launched Oplan Exodus to arrest Marwan and Filipino bomb maker and Abu Sayyaf member Abdul Basit Usman. The elite commandos managed to kill Marwan before figuring in an extended firefight against Moro members of the Read More …

Feb 062015
 
Gov’t panel: Coordination with MILF required even in pursuit of high-value targets

PEACE ADVOCATES UNITE FOR TRUTH AND JUSTICE. Peace and social justice advocates led by former Senator Leticia Ramos-Shahani, Atty. Christian Monsod and Akbayan Chairperson Risa Hontiveros reiterated their call to render justice to all those who perished in the Mamasapano incident and for lasting peace in Mindanao. MANILA (Mabuhay) – The Ad Hoc Joint Action Group of the government peace panel on Thursday said government forces still needed to coordinate with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front even if they were pursuing high value targets such as international terrorists in MILF territory. In a statement, AHJAG Chair Brig. Gen. Manolito Orense said there was a misunderstanding in the rule after former presidential adviser on Mindanao affairs Jesus Dureza posted a supposed exception in social media. “We wish to correct erroneous and misleading statements made by Mr. Jesus Dureza in a social networking site claiming that the ceasefire agreement and the implementing guidelines between the GRP and MILF ‘clearly never required prior coordination in operations against high value, priority targets.’ This is not true,” Orense said. The AHJAG is the coordination mechanism between the GPH and the MILF as regards criminal and terrorism activities with MILF presence. He added that Dureza said that some documents he signed back in 2001 as government peace panel chair excluded operations against high value targets. The document supposedly reads: “Except for operations against high priority targets, a list of which shall be provided by the GPH Panel to the MILF Panel, the AHJAG shall inform the Read More …

Feb 062015
 
Visayan solons reject calls for Aquino’s resignation, impeachment

President Benigno S. Aquino III condoles with the family of the fallen Philippine National Police-Special Action Force (PNP-SAF) Troopers during the Necrological Service at the NCRPO Multi-Purpose Center of Camp Bagong Diwa in Bicutan, Taguig City on Friday (January 30). (MNS photo) MANILA (Mabuhay) –Members of the Visayan bloc in the House of Representatives on Thursday rejected calls for the resignation or impeachment of President Benigno Aquino III following the bloody Mamasapano incident last January 25. “We will not support any calls for the resignation or the impeachment of President Benigno S. Aquino III amid the controversy over the recent operation of the SAF (Special Action Force) of the Philippine National Police in Mamasapano, Maguindanao,” the 34-member group said in a manifesto. The manifesto was signed by the bloc’s 34 members led by Iloilo Rep. Jerry Treñas and Occidental Rep. Alfredo “Albee” Benitez.. The manifesto came a day after opposition lawmakers from the Makabayan bloc renewed calls for Aquino’s impeachment following the recent ruling of the Supreme Court on the administration’s Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) and the Mamasapano incident where 44 SAF troopers were killed in an encounter with Moro Islamic Liberation Front and Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters combatants. In their manifesto, the Visayan bloc said although they honor the “extraordinary” bravery of the 44 policemen, they are “steadfast” in their position that “President Benigno S. Aquino should neither resign nor be impeached, because of the Mamasapano case.” “Change in administration should be the farthest solution to what happened in Read More …

Feb 062015
 
PHL inflation slips to 17-month low in January as oil impacts on prices

An employee counts Philippine pesos inside a money changer in Manila September 19, 2013. A Philippine official said a weaker peso will benefit Philippine exporters by making their products less expensive and thus more competitive in the global market. MANILA (Mabuhay) – Inflation dropped to a 17-month low in January as oil, transport and utilities priceswent down, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported Thursday. Consumer prices decelerated to 2.4 percent in January, compared with 2.7 percent in December 2014 and 4.2 percent a year earlier, PSA data showed. The January inflation was the slowest in 17 months when the consumer price index eased to 2.1 percent in August 2013. This fits into the 1.8 to 2.5 percent forecast by Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) for the month. “It falls within our forecast range and bolsters our view of within-target inflation over our policy horizon,” BSP governor Amando Tetangco Jr. said in a text message to reporters Thursday. The Development Budget Coordinating Committee (DBCC) has placed the inflation target at 2 to 4 percent this year, saying the outlook remains stable and manageable. Moving forward, inflation will largely depend on commodities prices, particularly oil, Bank of the Philippine Islands lead economist Emilio Neri Jr. told GMA News Online. But oil is trading in a quite volatile way in global markets, “so we can’t count out the possibility of breaching the 2 to 4 percent target on both sides,” he said. Oil prices crashed on Wednesday, with US crude losing 9 percent Read More …

Feb 062015
 
DNA shows ‘Marwan’ likely killed in Mamasapano raid: FBI

By Joel Guinto Mourners take part in a memorial for the victims of the Mamasapano encounter in front of the Philippine National Police Headquarters in Quezon City Tuesday. The groups demand truth and accountability from those involved in the bloody clash, which resulted in the death of 44 PNP-SAF officers, 18 Moro rebels, and 7 civilians. (MNS photo) Manila, Philippines | AFP |  – The FBI has said that DNA analysis indicates one of the world’s most wanted terrorists, Bali bomber Zulkifli bin Hir, was likely killed in a Philippine police raid last month that also claimed the lives of 44 commandos. The hunt for Zulkifli ended at his hideout on remote farmland in the southern island of Mindanao just before dawn on January 25. Philippines media on Thursday ran a photo purportedly showing his dead body, sprawled in a hut and in a blood-soaked shirt. A top militant in the Southeast Asian terror group Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), he is a key suspect in the 2002 Bali nightclub bombings which killed 202 people, as well as two deadly Philippine blasts. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) tested a sample from the body identified by Philippine police as Zulkifli, David Bowdich, assistant director in charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles field office, said in a statement sent to AFP. “As we have reported to our Philippine law enforcement partners, preliminary results indicate that the DNA profiles obtained from the biological sample indicate a possible relationship with a known relative of Zulkifli,” Read More …

Feb 062015
 
Image of Asia: Supporting a peace accord in the Philippines

President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman has angrily dismissed a Pentagon study that claimed the Russian leader had Asperger’s syndrome, a form of autism. “That is stupidity not worthy of comment,” spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Gazeta.ru news website late Thursday. His comments came after USA Today reported that a 2008 study carried out by an internal Pentagon think tank, the Office of Net Assessment, suggested that Putin has Asperger’s syndrome, giving him a need to exert “extreme control” on his …

Feb 062015
 
DFA: We have yet to locate 3 OFWs abducted in Libya

popular Paulo Avelino on KC Concepcion: My ‘longtime crush’ Ex-MILF spokesman doubts Moro fighters will turn over weapons Aquino knew of Mamasapano mission; Purisima called the shots – SAF chief Replace P-Noy? Cure is worse than disease PLDT extending free Internet scheme 2 dead, 11 hurt as Taguig condo flooring collapses Aquino LP ally: Suspend BBL hearings Marwan finger cut off for DNA videos Purisima may face contempt over alleged role in Mamasapano clash -Ombudsman Plan to oust Aquino over Mamasapano carnage bared Cayetano: Mamasapano clash a terror attack, massacre Trillanes: Marwan death ‘absolves’ Aquino Fertility dance marks filing of SC petition to stop Obando landfill Department of Foreign Affairs spokesman and Assistant Secretary Charles Jose. AFP FILE PHOTO CLARK FREEPORT ZONE, Philippines — The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has yet to locate the three Filipinos abducted by still unidentified men in an oil depot in Libya on February 3. Speaking to reporters in a press briefing on Friday, DFA spokesperson Charles Jose said they have no information regarding the situation of the three abducted Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) as the perpetrators were still unidentified. “We are still determining the location of the three Filipinos and their situation because we haven’t identified the group behind the abduction,” Jose said. He said the employers of the three OFWs have also not received any information regarding the abducted Filipinos. He added that no ransom has been demanded from the Philippine government and even to their employers. According to Jose, they have Read More …

Feb 062015
 
Bangladeshi national traversing Kamias Road, QC killed in attack

popular Paulo Avelino on KC Concepcion: My ‘longtime crush’ Ex-MILF spokesman doubts Moro fighters will turn over weapons Aquino knew of Mamasapano mission; Purisima called the shots – SAF chief Replace P-Noy? Cure is worse than disease PLDT extending free Internet scheme 2 dead, 11 hurt as Taguig condo flooring collapses Aquino LP ally: Suspend BBL hearings Marwan finger cut off for DNA videos Purisima may face contempt over alleged role in Mamasapano clash -Ombudsman Plan to oust Aquino over Mamasapano carnage bared Cayetano: Mamasapano clash a terror attack, massacre Trillanes: Marwan death ‘absolves’ Aquino Fertility dance marks filing of SC petition to stop Obando landfill MANILA, Philippines—A Bangladeshi national traversing Kamias Road in Quezon City on Friday died on the scene after motorcycle-riding assailants fired multiple shots at him. Quezon City Police District Spokesperson Senior Insp. Maricar Taqueban said in a text message to INQUIRER.net that Anisur Rahman was driving his Toyota Fortuner (with plate number ZJE 332) when two men onboard a motorcycle came near the driver’s side “and shot the victim several times.” He was still able to drive before bumping heads-on with a car on the opposite side of the road, Taqueban said. His attackers escaped toward Edsa, the police officer added. Authorities are still investigating the motive behind the attack. Julliane Love de Jesus RELATED STORIES 2 shot and wounded in Quezon City road rage ‘Riding in tandem’ motorcyclists strike anew, shoots and wounds man in QC Get Inquirer updates while on the go, add Read More …