Veloso taken off death row ‘indefinitely’–Yasay

 News
Sep 092016
 
Veloso taken off death row ‘indefinitely’–Yasay

JAKARTA—President Duterte took up the case of convicted Filipino drug mule Mary Jane Veloso in his meeting with Indonesian President Joko Widodo in Jakarta on Friday, but the details, he said, were “not for public consumption.” The President was expected to appeal Veloso’s death sentence, which was scheduled for May 2015, but she was saved by a last-minute reprieve after an appeal by then President Benigno Aquino III. Foreign Secretary Perfecto Yasay Jr. said both governments felt no urgency to take action in the Veloso case as she had been taken off the execution schedule indefinitely. “This is not an urgent issue as of now, let’s finish the process,” Yasay said. “Her scheduled execution had been deferred because she would be testifying in the deposition case against her illegal recruiter. After prosecuting the illegal recruiter who (is one of) the main principals here, and if it turns out in the trial in the Philippines that Mary Jane (was) a victim,  then at that point we can ask for clemency soon,” he added. Pressed to comment on whether he exchanged notes on antidrug measures with Widodo, Mr. Duterte said, “No, I said that we will continue to respect each others’ judicial processes. The rule of law is what matters; (it) gives order to the community.” Yasay said he was hopeful that the case against the illegal recruiter of Veloso, who was caught with 2.5 kilograms of cocaine inside the lining of her luggage at the Indonesian airport in 2010, would be Read More …

Duterte: Goal is to make working abroad an option

 News
Sep 092016
 
Duterte: Goal is to make working abroad an option

DAVAO CITY—President Rodrigo Duterte said his administration will work very hard to ensure that “economic opportunities will also be available at home” so that there will be no more need for Filipinos to leave their families to earn a living abroad. “Our objective is to make working abroad an option and not a need,” he said in his speech early Saturday upon his arrival from Jakarta. He urged Filipinos to work with his administration “so we can achieve this goal.” TVJ Latest Sara Duterte says she quarreled with pa over cop’s relief Unemployment, jobless rates fell to 11-year lows in July Yasay on Duterte global stage debut: He was brilliant Barack officially now a ‘parasite’ Recommended Disclaimer: Comments do not represent the views of INQUIRER.net. We reserve the right to exclude comments which are inconsistent with our editorial standards. FULL DISCLAIMER View Comments For feedback, complaints, or inquiries, contact us.

LRT 6 delayed

 Economy
Sep 092016
 

THE TIMETABLE for a railway project aimed at meeting growing commuter needs in Cavite province risks being extended as the deadline for submission by interested parties of documents to qualify for bidding was on Thursday moved for a third time.

Yasay on Duterte global stage debut: He was brilliant

 News
Sep 092016
 
Yasay on Duterte global stage debut: He was brilliant

JAKARTA—Foreign Secretary Perfecto Yasay Jr. on Friday called President Rodrigo Duterte’s debut on the global stage “brilliant” despite sparking a diplomatic storm by calling US President Barack Obama a “son of a bitch,” which dominated the buzz at this week’s Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) summit in Laos. “He was brilliant and superb, and on a scale of 1 to 10… I give him a high score of 8.5,” Yasay told reporters. Yasay said Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Long were among Mr. Duterte’s admirers. READ: Duterte treated like ‘a rockstar’ at Asean Summit, says Andanar “They were impressed with his performance, what he said, his insights and diplomatic decorum, and his ability to understand what was happening around the world,” Yasay said. He said Mr. Duterte was “able to express and articulate the concerns we wanted to raise, particularly our efforts in the fight against illegal drugs and the steps we have taken consistent with the Constitution, rule of law and upholding human rights” in the prosecution of suspects and the rehabilitation of users. TVJ RELATED STORIES Duterte takes up Veloso’s case with Widodo, but mum on details Duterte flies to Veloso’s rescue Latest Barack officially now a ‘parasite’ Young Gilas bows to India in Fiba Asia Challenge Joel Reyes’ bid for bail rejected 2 Pampanga bishops’ plea: Don’t be indifferent to killings Recommended Disclaimer: Comments do not represent the views of INQUIRER.net. We reserve the right to exclude comments which are Read More …

Duterte hits US for PH abuses

 News
Sep 092016
 
Duterte hits US for PH abuses

Philippines’ President Rodrigo Duterte, center left, waves with his Indonesian counterpart Joko Widodo during their visit at Tanah Abang Market on the sidelines of their meeting in Jakarta, Indonesia, Friday, Sept. 9, 2016. Duterte is currently on a two-day visit to the country. AP JAKARTA—President Rodrigo Duterte on Friday said he spoke on Thursday about American human rights violations in the Philippines because colonizers who killed many Filipinos were now raising human rights concerns with him. US President Barack Obama was among several world leaders who listened to Mr. Duterte’s brief speech at the East Asia Summit in Vientiane, Laos, on Thursday. Obama earlier canceled a meeting with Mr. Duterte after the Philippine leader called him a “son of a bitch” and warned him not to discuss the deaths of thousands of suspects in the Philippine campaign against illegal drugs. Speaking to a group of Filipinos at Shangri-La Jakarta hotel during a visit to Indonesia on Friday, Mr. Duterte said UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon’s raising the human rights issue in passing in a speech at the East Asia Summit made him ditch his prepared speech and make remarks about American human rights violations in Mindanao during colonial times. READ: Duterte: Obama, Ban mum when I raised killings during PH-US war “It’s an illegitimate statement. But me, because of the pressure to stop it, I said since human rights was mentioned, I produced a few pages with pictures in the pacification campaign by the Americans at the turn of the Read More …

First Gen cleared to operate Avion gas-fired plant

 Economy
Sep 092016
 
First Gen cleared to operate Avion gas-fired plant

MANILA, Philippines – First Gen Corp. will start commercial operations its 97-megawatt (MW) Avion natural-gas fired power plant in Batangas City after securing a regulatory clearance. In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, First Gen said its wholly-owned unit Prime Meridian Powergen Corp. (PMPC) received yesterday the certificate of compliance (COC) issued by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) for the Avion power plant. “The certificate on the change of status of the Avion plant to commercial operations is under process with the Philippine Electricity Market Corp., operator of the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM),” the company said. A COC is required before any generating company can start operating a power project. The Avion plant, located within the First Gen Clean Energy Complex in Barangay Bolbok, Batangas City, was supposed to deliver power during the summer months of 2015. However, the project faced delays after IstroenergoGroup (IEG) and its Philippine branch company Energy Project Completion Ltd. (EPC), contractors for turnkey engineering, procurement, and construction, failed to comply with their obligations. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Thus, PMPC terminated the contracts. Slovakian firm IEG was tapped in August 2014 to construct and commission the Avion plant. Since then, the Avion plant has been undergoing commissioning and testing until the COC was issued. The commissioning and testing phase of the power facility helped in boosting First Gen’s first half income this year, which rose 19 percent from $95 million in 2015 to $113 million.

Trade weakens 6.6% in July

 Economy
Sep 092016
 
Trade weakens 6.6% in July

MANILA, Philippines – Merchandise trade in the country weakened 6.6 percent in July as exports extended its decline and imports contracted after a four-month upswing, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) said yesterday. Citing data from the Philippine Statistics Authority, NEDA said total revenue from trade fell to $11.4 billion last July from $12.2 billion a year earlier due to the 13 percent drop in exports and the 1.7 percent decline in imports. Hit by sluggish demand caused by a still-recovering global economy, revenues from exports fell 13 percent in July to $4.67 billion from $5.37 billion in the same period in 2015. The decrease was attributed to lower outbound shipments of machinery and transport equipment; woodcraft and furniture; other mineral products; chemicals; electronic products; articles of apparel; and clothing accessories; ignition wiring set and other wiring sets used in vehicles, aircraft and ships; and metal components. Exports have been on the downturn since July 2015. NEDA said Philippine exports were hit by diminished demand from traditional markets such as Japan, China, Hong Kong and US. “However, the outlook for the electronics industry is improving, particularly for semiconductors. We must take advantage of this and beef up the capacity of the electronics industry for production, research and development, and design to enable us to keep up with the imminent increase in demand,” said Socioeconomic Planning Secretary and  NEDA director general Ernesto Pernia. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 The value of imports, on the other hand, Read More …

Clark to add runway on power substation relocation

 Economy
Sep 092016
 
Clark to add runway on power substation relocation

MANILA, Philippines – Clark International Airport Corp. (CIAC) can now expand with an additional runway after Clark Electric Distribution Corp. (CEDC) was cleared to relocate its substation facility in the area. The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) approved CEDC’s application for an emergency capital expenditure (capex) project called Development of Roxas 50 MVA, 69 KV-13.8 KV Substation. The project involves the relocation of the Diamante Substation to the Roxas district and the replacement of the old 25 MVA 69 kV-13.8 kV power transformer with a higher capacity 50 MVA, 69 kV-13.8 kv power transformer. In its application, CEDC said the relocation is due primarily to the CIAC’s plan to construct an additional runway that involves the dismantling of the existing Diamante Substation. The ERC also approved the project considering the existing substation is expected to be critically loaded at 100 percent by 2020. “The expansion of a vital piece of infrastructure such as an airport involves the development of industrial, commercial and even residential establishments leading to socio-economic growth and progress. The ERC approved the application of CEDC to enable it to fulfill its mandate of providing reliable service connection to existing and new consumers and ensuring the safe operation of electric facilities”, ERC chairman and CEO Jose Vicente B. Salazar said. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 The ERC said opportunity to up-rate the power transformer together with the relocation is a wise strategic engineering practice and that would prove advantageous to CEDC and its customers. The Read More …

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