Over 25,000 pass teacher licensure exams — PRC

 News
Apr 182013
 
Over 25,000 pass teacher licensure exams — PRC

The Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) on Thursday announced that 10,310 elementary teachers out of 37,117 examinees (27.78 percent) and 15,223 secondary teachers out of 38,433 examinees (39.61 percent) passed the Licensure Examination for Teachers (L.E.T.) given last March 10 all over the Philippines and Hong Kong. [Click here for list of L.E.T. – Elementary passers] [Click here for list of L.E.T. – Secondary passers] The results of examination with respect to 33 examinees, however, were withheld pending final determination of their liabilities under the rules and regulations governing licensure examination.    Registration for the issuance of Professional Identification Card and Certificate of Registration will start on April 29, 2013, the PRC said. The dates and venues for the oathtaking ceremonies of the new successful examinees in the said examination will be announced later, the commission added. — KBK, GMA News

SC lifts freeze order on ex-AFP comptroller Ligot's assets

 News
Apr 022013
 
SC lifts freeze order on ex-AFP comptroller Ligot's assets

The Supreme Court has ordered the lifting of the freeze order issued by the Court of Appeals on the assets of retired military comptroller Lt. Gen. Jacinto Ligot, saying the order already violates his right to due process. In a 24-page ruling penned by Associate Justice Arturo Brion, the SC’s Second Division agreed with Ligot’s petition contesting the six-month extension of the freeze order that the CA issued on July 5, 2005 and extended through an order issued on September 2005. The CA order stemmed from the June 27, 2005 request of the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) to freeze the assets of Ligot, who is accused of amassing millions of pesos in ill-gotten wealth while he was comptroller of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) from July 1999 to March 2001, and not declaring P54,001,217-worth of assets in his Statement of Assets Liabilities and Net Worth. In its decision issued on March 6, the high court acknowledged the CA findings that there is probable cause that the frozen assets could be related to or could be the product of unlawful activity. “It should be noted that the existence of an unlawful activity that would justify the issuance and the extension of the freeze order has likewise been established in this case,” the SC said. However, the high court faulted the CA for extending by six months the original freeze order, saying: “The effectivity of a freeze order may be extended by the CA for a period not exceeding six Read More …

Comelec teams up with NGOs, universities 'to make elections work' in Abra

 News
Feb 262013
 
Comelec teams up with NGOs, universities 'to make elections work' in Abra

Abra province, a perennial hotbed of election-related violence, will be the target of a Commission on Elections (Comelec) project that will “aim to restore the full functioning of the electoral exercise” there. Abra is “really an area of concern for so many years,” noted Comelec chairman Sixto Brillantes Jr. on Tuesday. “This is where I grew up.” In order “to make elections work” in Abra, the Comelec has partnered with nongovernment organizations and academic institutions. The project proponents have chosen Peñarrubia town for the endeavor. Those who signed the memorandum of agreement with the Comelec were the Concerned Citizens of Abra for Good Government (CCAGG), Transparency and Accountability Network (TAN), De La Salle University—Jesse M. Robredo Institute  of Governance, and University of the Philippines-National College of Public Administration and Governance. Vicious cycle The project proponents cited a study conducted by Ateneo School of Government in 2009 describing the situation in Abra as “a vicious cycle of violence, disempowerment and abuse of authority where politicians, due to failures of institutions, are able to use violence to stay in power and enrich themselves at the expense of the people who are kept poor and disempowered, unable to change their fate and the situation of their province.” The same study also stated that “national and local connections allow the same political families to have a long hold on power and the local elites are one way or another connected to who’s who in politics at the national level.” Under the MOA, the Comelec Read More …

77 pass Master Plumber Licensure Exam — PRC

 News
Feb 222013
 
77 pass Master Plumber Licensure Exam — PRC

A total of 77 out of 267 passed the Master Plumber Licensure Examination given by the Board for Master Plumbers in Manila earlier this month, the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) announced Friday. [Click here for complete list.] The results were released in one working day after the last day of examination. Registration for the issuance of Professional Identification Card (ID) and Certificate of Registration will be on March 5, 2013, the PRC said. — KBK, GMA News

Films, music, tweets to take centerstage in 1986 EDSA revolt anniversary

 News
Feb 222013
 
Films, music, tweets to take centerstage in 1986 EDSA revolt anniversary

This year, Malacañang is taking the commemoration of the first EDSA Revolution into the digital age. Using the hashtag #EDSA27, the Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office (PCDSPO) will be tweeting the events of the four-day protest to overthrow Ferdinand Marcos as if it were happening today. “The PCDSPO will be tweeting the events of the 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution as they happened, based on the compiled timeline of Angela Stuart Santiago,” deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said in a statement Friday. The peaceful revolt installed to power President Benigno Aquino III’s mother, the late President Corazon “Cory” Aquino, and ended the decades-long Marcos dictatorship. This year’s celebration aims to highlight the role of “other EDSA’s” or the main roads of Baguio, Iloilo, and Davao “which contributed in their own way to overthrow an oppressive regime and restore democracy,” said Valte. Valte said they plan to do this by showcasing online Kidlat Tahimik’s semi-autobiographical film “Why is Yellow the Middle of the Rainbow?” Tahimik, also known as Eric de Guia, is a multi-awarded Filipino filmmaker who received the 2012 Fukuoka Prize for arts and culture. “We are making available online a portion of his film featuring the 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution, and simultaneous uprisings in key landmarks of Baguio City,” she said. Additional celebrations to commemorate the People Power Revolution include the superimposition of the iconic map used by Marcos and General Fabian Ver to plan out their attack on Camp Crame and Camp Aguinaldo onto a Read More …

Comelec sends illegal poster notices to 2 Senate bets, 6 party-list groups

 News
Feb 222013
 
Comelec sends illegal poster notices to 2 Senate bets, 6 party-list groups

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has sent notices to two senatorial candidates and six party-list organizations found to have illegal campaign posters. At a press conference on Friday, lawyer Esmeralda Amora-Ladra, head of the Comelec law department, said they sent notices to administration senatorial bet Risa Hontiveros and independent candidate Edward Hagedorn. The notice for Hontiveros, who was found to have illegal campaign posters in Dumaguete City in Negros Occidental, was received on February 20 while the notice for Hagedorn, who allegedly has an illegal poster in Osmeña Highway in Manila, was received on February 21. In a text message to GMA News Online, Hontiveros said her team on the ground is in the process of locating the poster and verifying that it has been posted improperly. “This is complicated by the fact that the specific location of the poster was not indicated in the Comelec notice. Rest assured that once it has been located, it will be removed without delay,” she said. Nardz Villafranca, Hagedorn’s acting campaign manager, said they “will comply by the order of the Comelec to remove immediately the campaign material.” “I already ordered sa mga tao na tanggalin na yung material,” he told GMA News in a phone interview. Villafranca said he had already talked with their lawyer and that they “will send letter of explanation with compliance to the law department of the Comelec.” Party-list groups Buhay Hayaang Yumabong (Buhay) party-list received three notices on February 19 and 20 for their illegal campaign posters Read More …

DOTC: 2 flights canceled due to bad weather

 News
Feb 202013
 
DOTC: 2 flights canceled due to bad weather

Two domestic flights were canceled Thursday amid bad weather conditions brought by Tropical Depression Crising, the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) said. In a post on its Twitter account, the DOTC said the affected flights were those of Zest Air, between Manila and Tablas (Romblon). The affected flights were Z2-240 and Z2-241, from Manila to Tablas and back. Earlier this week, several domestic flights had been canceled due to bad weather conditions brought by Crising. PAGASA said Crising, which had brought rain to several parts of Mindanao this week, is heading for Southern Palawan. It said Crising may exit the Philippine area of responsibility by early Friday. — KBK, GMA News

Brillantes: Stopping contest won't spare Jamby from probe

 News
Feb 192013
 
Brillantes: Stopping contest won't spare Jamby from probe

Taking down the announcement and stopping her online contest will not spare senatorial candidate Jamby Madrigal from the investigation of the Commission on Elections (Comelec), poll chairman Sixto Brillantes Jr. said Wednesday. “Kahit tanggalin niya, naumpisahan na. Ultimately, pag makita na may violation tutuluyan namin, disqualification at possible criminal election offense,” Brillantes told reporters as he confirmed that it was Madrigal whom they were investigating. Brillantes on Tuesday bared that they were investigating an administration senatorial candidate for alleged illegal campaigning for launching an online contest with an iPad as prize. He, however, did not identify the candidate. Madrigal, in an interview later Tuesday, admitted that she launched the contest but refused to comment on the issue until she and her lawyers receive the formal complaint from the Comelec. The Facebook page of the contest has since been taken down. Brillantes welcomed Madrigal’s decision to stop the contest as it will “mitigate the action” of the Comelec. He noted that since the candidate has yet to give an iPad as prize, the act is not consummated yet. “Tingin ko hindi pa naman nagbibigay ng premyo so hindi pa consummated ‘yung act. Pero hindi pa tapos ang checking,  [we’re] verifying pa kung may case to file,” he said.   Asked if there are other candidates being investigated for a similar alleged offense, Brillantes said Madrigal’s was the only case he knew. “So far isa pa lang. Ewan ko kung may nakitang bago.”   He noted that most of the senatorial candidates Read More …

SC upholds disqualification of 'nuisance' bet in Agusan del Sur

 News
Feb 182013
 
SC upholds disqualification of 'nuisance' bet in Agusan del Sur

The Supreme Court has upheld a Commission on Elections (Comelec) ruling disqualifying Mauricio Plaza Jr. from joining the congressional race in Agusan del Sur in the coming May elections. In a full court decision, the high tribunal said Mauricio failed to “sufficiently show grave abuse of discretion” on the part of Comelec when it disqualified him and struck his name off the Candidates’ Profile System and Certified List of Candidates. Plaza was among the individuals declared by the Comelec as “nuisance” candidates through Comelec en banc Resolution 9610. “The procedures adopted by the Comelec in resolving petitions to deny due course to or to cancel certificate of candidacy, declare nuisance candidates, and disqualify candidates are consistent with its power to provide simplified procedural rules,” the high court said. This power is enshrined under Section 3, Article IX-C of the 1987 Constitution, which authorizes the Comelec to promulgate its rules of procedure in order to expedite the disposition of election cases. The case started when Plaza filed a petition for review with the SC, asking it to intervene and order the Comelec to include him in the list of candidates for the coming elections. “The records would show that… Plaza was afforded his right to prove the legitimacy of his candidacy [before he was declared a nuisanc candidate],” the high court said in its ruling. — Mark D. Merueñas/KBK, GMA News

Lacson says he's building up more cases vs. Miriam

 News
Feb 132013
 
Lacson says he's building up more cases vs. Miriam

(Updated 1:56 p.m.) In a phone interview with reporters on Thursday, Lacson said he is looking into allegations that Santiago used her pork barrel to construct a cockpit arena in Pasig. “Kasi may sinisimulan akong imbestigahan ngayon, ‘yung paggamit niya ng pork barrel under the guise na sports complex ‘yung ipapagawa eh cockpit arena ang kinonstruct. ‘Yun ay sinisimulan ko na mag-gather ng mga dokumento at ebidensya at kung mayroong basehan again ire-refer ko ‘yan sa Ombudsman,” he said. In a text message to GMA News Online earlier in the day, Lacson was more succinct: “I have just started my investigation. Every time she opens her big mouth, I will gather evidence to expose her misdeeds and corrupt ways.” Santiago’s office said she will issue a statement within the day. Lacson issued the statement a day after Santiago threatened to expose his alleged sins, even his supposed true sexuality. “Maghanda ka (Lacson) dahil meron akong parliamentary immunity, ibulgar ko lahat ng kasalanan mo pati ang sexuality mo,” she said in a radio interview Wednesday. On Thursday, Lacson this was “really below the belt.” “Unang-una hindi totoo [‘yun]. Uso naman ang aminan pero bakit ko aaminin kung talagang hindi totoo kung bakla ako eh baka wala nang macho dito sa mundo,” he said. He said Santiago should read the law again to realize that parliamentary immunity is not in effect during session breaks. He also said Santiago should not use this to trample on the rights of others. “That’s a big Read More …

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