To celebrate her “50th birthday,” Korina Sanchez bought 50 artificial legs by selling an expensive watch
Dec 042015
Apr 182014
Secretary Manuel Roxas II accepts his appointment to the Department of Interior and Local Government replacing Sec. Jesse Robredo, as announced by President Benigno S. Aquino III during a press briefing at the President’s Hall in Malacanang Palace on Friday (August 31). On the other hand, Cavite 1st District Representative Joseph Emilio Abaya takes over the post of DOTC chief. (MNS photo) MANILA (Mabuhay) – Following allegations of politicking against administration officials, rehabilitation czar Panfilo Lacson on Thursday defended the move of Interior Sec. Mar Roxas to distribute funds to typhoon-hit areas. In a statement, Lacson said “some people” questioned why it was Roxas and not the rehabilitation czar who distributed the checks for the reconstruction of public buildings in areas affected by super Typhoon Yolanda. Lacson said that while the Presidential Assistant for Rehabilitation and Recovery (PARR) has the power to recommend rehabilitation measures to the President, the power to implement plans and programs still remains with the appropriate government agencies. “When it comes to the distribution of funds for the reconstruction of structures like municipal buildings, public markets and civic centers, the DILG (Department of Interior and Local Government) is the agency that has the power to implement the distribution of such funds,” he said. “[So] it was natural and appropriate for DILG Secretary Roxas to be the person distributing such funds since DILG is the government agency with the power to implement the distribution,” he added. He also clarified it was he, after consultation with the League Read More …
Apr 162014
Following allegations of politicking against administration officials, rehabilitation czar Panfilo Lacson on Thursday defended the move of Interior Sec. Mar Roxas to distribute funds to typhoon-hit areas. In a statement, Lacson said “some people” questioned why it was Roxas and not the rehabilitation czar who distributed the checks for the reconstruction of public buildings in areas affected by super Typhoon Yolanda. Lacson said that while the Presidential Assistant for Rehabilitation and Recovery (PARR) has the power to recommend rehabilitation measures to the President, the power to implement plans and programs still remains with the appropriate government agencies. “When it comes to the distribution of funds for the reconstruction of structures like municipal buildings, public markets and civic centers, the DILG (Department of Interior and Local Government) is the agency that has the power to implement the distribution of such funds,” he said. “[So] it was natural and appropriate for DILG Secretary Roxas to be the person distributing such funds since DILG is the government agency with the power to implement the distribution,” he added. He also clarified it was he, after consultation with the League of Municipalities, who recommended to the President that funds for the reconstruction of municipal buildings, public markets and civic centers be “downloaded” directly to the mayors. “We were grateful that the President, Budget Secretary Abad and DILG Secretary Roxas acted favorably and implemented our recommendation to fast-track the distribution of funds to the mayors,” he said. Lacson also reiterated that PARR does not manage or Read More …
Nov 212013
I know. We are not quite done with the last big one. But strangely enough, now is an appropriate time to start thinking of how to prepare for the next one while the lessons of the last one are still fresh in our minds. Once things really get back to normal, the sense of urgency will be lost and all those thousands of our countrymen died in vain. We have clearly seen that government’s disaster response planning fall short in many ways. Let me cite one example and I am sure there are many others. I was told that the PNP SAF was ready to deploy on day 2 or Saturday. They were indeed at Villamor but were unable to get a ride on the C-130s for some reason. They waited the whole day, but nothing happened. Some managed to leave the following day when commercial airlines agreed to bring them to Cebu. If they got to Tacloban on Day 2 or even Cebu for immediate airlift to Tacloban, the security problems would have been avoided. It was unfortunate that the disaster response planning did not include transporting the augmentation team of the PNP… ridiculous, isn’t it? As pointed out by former CNN correspondent Maria Ressa, a seasoned reporter with experience covering more disasters than she cares to remember, security is the first concern in a post Yolanda situation. Other concerns cannot be addressed if security is absent. It was also not very reassuring that Defense Secretary Volt Gazmin was quoted saying they Read More …
Jul 032013
Interior Secretary Mar Roxas on Wednesday defended Interior Undersecretary Rafael Antonio Santos against those criticizing his bid to become the next Sandiganbayan presiding justice. In an interview with reporters at the Supreme Court, Roxas said Santos has performed well both when he was still at the Department of Transportation and Communications, which Roxas used to head, and now at the Department of Interior and Local Government. “Maayos ang kanyang trabaho. Sa haba ng aming pagsasama sa DOTC at saka sa DILG ay wala kang masasabi. Walang mantsa, walang bahid ang kanyang pagserbisyo,” Roxas said. Roxas said he did not necessarily give his “blessings” to Santos, but said he “supported” Santos’ decision to leave the executive branch and return once again to law practice. “Hindi ko maaaring hadlangan ang kanyang pangarap o kagustuhan na bumalik na sa kanyang propesyon sa pagiging abugado. Sinusuportahan ko siya,” Roxas said. “Sabi niya, pagod na rin siya. Nagsilbi na rin siya. Kaya maaari daw bang mag-apply. Oh di sabi ko, okay naman na mag-apply,” he added. Asked what he wanted to tell Santos’ detractors, Roxas said: “Well, hayaan mo sila.” United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) Secretary General Toby Tiangco earlier expressed doubt about Santos’ “agenda” for joining the Sandiganbayan race. Tiangco said: “[But e]ven if he has the blessing of Mar Roxas, Usec. Santos is not exempted from the ‘Tuwid na Daan.’” According to Tiangco, Santos served as undersecretary of Department of National Defense Secretary Avelino Cruz from 2004 to 2006, before being personally handpicked by Roxas Read More …
Jun 212013
MANILA, June 20 (Mabuhay) — The country’s influential and powerful families poured in the most money for the two major political parties during the latest midterm elections, a cursory look at their expenditure reports filed with the Commission on Elections (Comelec) shows. The Liberal Party received P183.2 million in contributions. The United Nationalist Alliance meanwhile […]
Apr 182013
Go ahead and cry and turn green with envy. And be mad as hell in frustration too. Myanmar, a country that was stuck in the past has been making fast and bold leaps into the future. And they started doing that while our leaders were busy playing politics or otherwise doing nothing more productive than shuffling papers and restudying long completed project studies. A friend of mine from the old UP days just came from Myanmar, as part of a JICA team to help Myanmar formulate its national transport plan. Guess what? According to him, Myanmar “has built a new international airport in three years time, with a spanking new terminal building that puts our T3 to shame.” Good Grief! In the three years this administration was busy restudying plans and getting DOTC lawyers to pretend they were engineers, Myanmar got going and has inaugurated a brand new airport they can’t even fully utilize. The new airport “was designed by Changi airport with a capacity to handle five million passengers per annum. Current traffic is only 40,000 passengers per year.” According to my friend, a transport expert working on projects in Asean, “had Myanmar applied cost-benefit analysis, phasing and staging would have resulted in a more modest airport. But there it is, standing on a new capital that is 3x the size of MetroManila.” I hope Mar and his gang of lawyers won’t say Myanmar succeeded in opening a brand new airport larger and better than our Terminal 3 because Read More …