Nov. 3 is new deadline for illegals in Saudi

 News
Jul 022013
 
Nov. 3 is new deadline for illegals in Saudi

By Tarra Quismundo and Tina G. SantosPhilippine Daily Inquirer 3:21 am | Wednesday, July 3rd, 2013 Foreign illegal laborers wait in a queue at the Saudi immigration offices at al-Isha quarter in al-Khazan district west of Riyadh, on June 30, 2013. Some 1.5 million illegal foreign workers in Saudi Arabia were in a race against time to take advantage of an amnesty ending July 3—but which was extended to Nov. 3—that would allow them to stay or return home without prosecution. AFP PHOTO/FAYEZ NURELDINE MANILA, Philippines—A massive relief for thousands of undocumented overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who fear expulsion from Saudi Arabia. That was how ordinary Filipinos as well as officials from the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) described the announcement in Riyadh that Saudi Arabia had given foreign workers four months to obtain a legal status in that country. Illegal foreign workers will now have until the end of the Islamic year on Nov. 3 to regularize their status or return home without prosecution, the interior ministry said in a statement carried by the official SPA news agency. According to the Saudi labor ministry, more than 1.5 million illegal foreign workers have come forward so far. Of these, some 180,000 have left the kingdom in addition to more than 200,000 unregistered workers expelled at the start of the year under new regulations to stamp out illegal immigration. The Saudi announcement provides relief for thousands of undocumented Filipinos cramming to fix their Read More …

AFP among PHL armed groups that recruited minors in 2012, UN says

 News
Jun 162013
 
AFP among PHL armed groups that recruited minors in 2012, UN says

(Updated 3:30 p.m.) The Philippine military was among the armed groups in the country that recruited minors for their operations in 2012, according to a report by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. The report, released June 12, said there was a “verified case” in July last year where two young boys were “forced” by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to serve as guides to locate a communist rebel camp in North Cotabato province in Mindanao. “[We] remained concerned over the use of children by the national armed forces as guides and informants during military operations,” the report, titled “Grave Violations Committed Against Children in 22 Situations of Concern,” said. “In a verified case in July 2012, the Fifty-Seventh Infantry Battalion forced two boys aged 12 and 13 years to serve as guides to locate an NPA camp in North Cotabato Province,” it added. Against AFP policy Reached for comment, AFP spokesperson Lt. Col. Ramon Zagala said the military leadership will have the reported use of children as guides in operatioins verified as such is against their policy. “As a matter of policy, the AFP does not use children as guides during military operations so as not to endanger them,” he said Monday. “We will verify this information if there is any truth to it.” Moon, in the report, noted that the AFP has “issued directives prohibiting such use of children, assigning responsibility to commanders, institutionalizing investigations and putting in place corrective measures.” The two guides were among the Read More …

Palace reassures public of AFP modernization to protect sovereignty

 News
Jun 082013
 
Palace reassures public of AFP modernization to protect sovereignty

Malacañang on Saturday reassured the public the government has not lost its focus in achieving a minimum credible defense position to protect Philippine sovereignty against external and internal threats. Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said the government has already accomplished much in modernizing the country’s police and military. “We are going to achieve what we have always maintained, what the President has always said—a minimum credible defense position; and if the lawmakers would wish to add to the budget of the AFP, again, we are going through a budget deliberation process,” Lacierda said on government-run dzRB radio. He added the current thrust of the government is modernizing the Philippine police and military. As for some lawmakers’ call to increase the 2014 budget of the police and military for 2014, he said they can do their share by taking part in the deliberation for the 2014 budget. Lacierda also said Congress can add to the budget for the military and the police, which would be a great help for the country. But he said adding any amount should be in the budget process and budget deliberations. “It is within the process itself, as to their discretion how they would like to assist in further modernizing our forces,” he said. Under the AFP Modernization Law, the Aquino administration acquired a Hamilton-class cutter from the US, the BRP Gregorio del Pilar. The Navy is also awaiting the arrival of another naval ship from the US, he said. Also, he said the military acquired several Read More …

CA affirms ruling holding AFP, PNP accountable for Burgos disappearance

 News
May 272013
 
CA affirms ruling holding AFP, PNP accountable for Burgos disappearance

(Updated 5:59 p.m.) The Court of Appeals has stood firm on its earlier ruling that the military and the police should be held accountable for the enforced disappearance of political activist Jonas Burgos in 2007. In a resolution penned by Associate Justice Rosalinda Asuncion-Vicente, the CA denied a motion for partial reconsideration filed by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) seeking to reverse the court’s March 18 ruling holding the two agencies accountable for Burgos’ disappearance. “Suffice it… to state that this court’s finding and conclusion that [Burgos] was abducted by a group of persons, one of whom was positively identified as Maj. Harry Baliaga, Jr. of the Philippine Army, coupled with the AFP’s lack of serious effort to conduct further and deeper investigation simply because [Burgos] is allegedly not in its custody, speak loudly of the leadership’s accountability,” the CA said. As for the PNP’s accountability, the appeallate court said: “In the case of the PNP, suffice it to state that its failure to rap and elicit leads and information from Jeffrey Cabintoy, who personally witnessed [the abduction] and who was able to positively identify his abductor, is eloquent proof of its failure to exercise extraordinary diligence in the conduct of its investigation.” Concurring in the latest CA decision were Associate Justices Remedios Salazar-Fernando and Franchito Diamante. In a phone interview with GMA News Online, Armed Forces of the Philippines spokesperson  Brig. Gen. Domingo Tutaan said “they would respect the court’s decision.”  Read More …

Aquino bares AFP buildup vs ‘bullies in our backyard’

 News
May 212013
 
Aquino bares AFP buildup vs ‘bullies in our backyard’

Agence France-Presse 8:55 pm | Tuesday, May 21st, 2013 President Aquino AP FILE PHOTO MANILA, Philippines — President Benigno Aquino on Tuesday announced a $1.8-billion military upgrade to help defend his country’s maritime territory against “bullies,” amid an ever-worsening dispute with China. The announcement came on the same day that the Philippines filed a protest with China over the “illegal and provocative” presence of a Chinese warship and two other vessels at a Filipino-claimed shoal in the disputed South China Sea. In thinly veiled comments referring to China, Aquino vowed during a speech to mark the navy’s 115th anniversary that the armed forces would be given the resources necessary to protect Philippine sovereignty. “We have a clear message to the world: The Philippines is for Filipinos, and we have the capability to resist bullies entering our backyard,” Aquino told naval chiefs. Aquino detailed a P75-billion ($1.82-billion) military modernization program that gives priority to upgrading the navy, which is one of the weakest in Southeast Asia. He said by 2017 the Philippines would acquire two new frigates, two helicopters capable of anti-submarine warfare, three fast vessels for coastal patrols and eight amphibious assault vehicles. “We will also improve our communications, intelligence and surveillance systems,” he said. The Philippines has been locked for more than two years in an increasingly hostile dispute with China over rival claims to the South China Sea, which is believed to sit atop vast resources of oil and gas. China insists it has sovereign rights to most Read More …

USTR ties trade benefits to labor issues

 Economy
Apr 102013
 
USTR ties trade benefits to labor issues

Phl asked to provide plans for labor legislation MANILA, Philippines – The Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) is asking the Philippine government to provide plans regarding passage of legislation concerning union registration as well as cases when the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and Philippine National Police (PNP) were involved in labor disputes as part of its review on whether the country should continue to enjoy trade benefits under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program. A copy of post-hearing questions of the USTR following a hearing held on March 28, showed that it wants the Aquino administration to describe plans for seeking passage of remaining labor legislation involving assumption of jurisdiction and union registration. The USTR also said it wants to know whether there have been cases in which the AFP or PNP were involved in labor disputes as well as whether guidelines have been followed. “The government of the Philippines is receiving support from the International Labor Organization (ILO) through December 2013, funded by the US Department of State, to train personnel on the PNP and AFP guidelines,” it noted. The USTR likewise wants to know what work the Department of Labor and Employment is undertaking in conjunction with the ILO or otherwise, to enable inspectors to identify potential issues with compliance, including anti-union discrimination and intimidation or harassment. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 The government, it said, must also respond to a concern raised by the International Labor Rights Forum Read More …

PH to probe ‘secret’ Marcos offshore trust

 News
Apr 042013
 
PH to probe ‘secret’ Marcos offshore trust

Agence France-Presse 5:15 pm | Thursday, April 4th, 2013 Imee Marcos. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO MANILA, Philippines—The Philippine government said Thursday it planned to investigate an allegation that the eldest daughter of late dictator Ferdinand Marcos was the beneficiary of a secret offshore trust. A report published by the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) alleged Imee Marcos, 57, now a provincial governor, had failed to declare the British Virgin Islands trust as legally required. Andres Bautista, head of a presidential body tasked to recover the billions of dollars the Marcos family stole from government coffers during the patriarch’s 20-year rule, told AFP his office would look into the allegations. “We are duty bound to investigate and, depending upon informed preliminary findings, decide whether to pursue the matter,” Bautista said. A popular uprising topped Marcos in 1986, and he died in US exile three years later. His famously extravagant wife, Imelda, has always denied she and her husband were corrupt. The Presidential Commission on Good Government, which Bautista heads, has recovered $4 billion in assets that the Marcos illegally acquired, including from Swiss bank accounts and US properties. But Bautista told AFP in January that, with Imee, Imelda and Ferdinand Jr. having re-established political influence in the Philippines, the commission was considering giving up on the chase for the billions more believed to be hidden. “It’s been 26 years and people you are after are back in power. At some point, you just have to say, ‘We’ve done our best’, and Read More …

AFP confirms scheduled release of Filipino peacekeepers

 News
Mar 082013
 
AFP confirms scheduled release of Filipino peacekeepers

By Tetch Torres-Tupas INQUIRER.net; Radyo Inquirer 2:42 pm | Friday, March 8th, 2013 MANILA, Philippines—The Armed Forces of the Philippines confirmed Friday a CNN report saying the 21 UN Filipino peacekeepers were set to be freed by the Syrian rebels on Friday. Armed Forces spokesman Colonel Arnulfo Burgos confirmed the television report when interviewed by Radio Inquirer 990AM. The soldiers, part of a 333-strong Filipino peacekeeping unit, were detained at a rebel observation point on Wednesday by gunmen who said the troops would be held until Syrian regime forces pulled back from a Golan village. “If ever they will be released within the day, they will be turned over to the International Committee of the Red Cross,” Burgos said, citing reports from their personnel in Golan Heights. He said the rebels agreed to that arrangement. A UN Disengagement Force has been monitoring a ceasefire between Syria and Israel since 1974. The United Nations has reported a growing number of incidents in the Golan over the past year. It has sent extra armored vehicles and communications equipment to reinforce security for the mission. Up to the end of February there were about 1,000 troops from Austria, Croatia, India and the Philippines operating in the ceasefire force. With Agence France-Presse

PHL asks Malaysia to exercise maximum tolerance in dealing with sultan's followers

 News
Mar 042013
 
PHL asks Malaysia to exercise maximum tolerance in dealing with sultan's followers

Malaysian troops deployed as Sabah clashes escalate. Malaysian soldiers man a security checkpoint in Semporna, the new area where a standoff with armed followers of the Sulu sultan in Simunul, Borneo occured on Sunday. Five Malaysian policemen and two gunmen died in a fresh clash as fears mounted that violence linked to a deadly standoff with Filipino intruders had widened to other areas. AFP (Updated 2:44 p.m.) The Philippines has asked Malaysia to exercise maximum tolerance in dealing with the remnants of a Filipino group that figured in a weeks-long standoff in Sabah following the violence that erupted there last week. At a press briefing in Manila on Monday, Foreign Affairs spokesperson Raul Hernandez said in a Note Verbale given by Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario to the Malaysian ambassador to the Philippines, both country expressed that they “value the lives of their citizens, and share the same objective of preventing further loss of lives and further bloodshed.” Hernandez added, “Therefore, the Philippine government requests the Malaysian authorities to exercise maximum tolerance in dealing with the remaining members” of the Filipino group, which is led by Raja Muda Agbimuddin Kiram, brother of Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III. Kiram and his group are claiming ownership over Sabah. Hernandez also said Del Rosario is flying to Kuala Lumpur on Monday afternoon to discuss with the Malaysian government ways to de-escalate the tensions in Sabah. He also said they have received information from the Malaysian government that the situation in Sabah is Read More …

 Older Entries  Newer Entries