US temporary access to PH military bases might violate Constitution

 News
Jun 282013
 
US temporary access to PH military bases might violate Constitution

SENATORS SAY By Maila AgerINQUIRER.net 1:50 pm | Friday, June 28th, 2013 Sen. Gregorio Honasan and Sen. Panfilo Lacson INQUIRER file photo MANILA, Philippines—Two senators  have raised  an  alarm over  the  Philippines’ plan to  allow the  United States and other allies  “temporary access” to  its military bases, one saying  it might be a violation of the Constitution. “Technically, I think it may be a violation of the Constitution,” Senator Gringo Honasan said in a text message on  Friday. “But if our national interest and  security are at stake, we have limited choices because we are still a developing country at the mercy of and dependent on powers like the US and China,” he said. Honasan said the  “temporary access” might be  a violation of the 1987 Constitution, which prohibits foreign military bases in the country. Despite this,  the senator  said he would back  the plan if  only  to stop  China  from “bullying” the  Philippines on  the issue of the West  Philippine Sea (South China Sea). “For practical purposes, our national security is an urgent matter given the fact that China is not moving away. It’s only with the US that China could be cowed,” Honasan said in Filipino in a phone interview. Senator Panfilo Lacson said  the Department  of National Defense should exercise prudence  by consulting first the Senate. “There is a wide gray of area of interpreting the planned move of allowing temporary access to our military bases by the US and other allies. Having  said that, the DND Read More …

PH, Japan defense chiefs welcome deepening ties

 News
Jun 272013
 
PH, Japan defense chiefs welcome deepening ties

By Nikko DizonPhilippine Daily Inquirer 5:08 am | Friday, June 28th, 2013 Japanese Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera reviews a guard of honor during a welcome ceremony at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City on Thursday June 27, 2013. In a joint news conference with Philippine counterpart Voltaire Gazmin, Onodera said Japan supports the peaceful resolution of the current row between the Philippines and China in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea). AP PHOTO/BULLIT MARQUEZ MANILA, Philippines—The Philippines and Japan on Thursday welcomed the deepening of their “strategic partnership” for defense, particularly in maritime affairs, amid their territorial disputes with an increasingly aggressive China. Without mentioning China, Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin and Japanese Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera vowed their governments would work together to protect their territories in accordance with the rule of law. The meeting between Gazmin and Onodera was the first between the defense chiefs of the Philippines and Japan in nearly a decade. The two defense chiefs also discussed the United States’ rebalancing of its forces to the Asia-Pacific region. Rotational deployment   “We did not talk about any individual or specific equipment of United States forces, but we agreed that Japan and the Philippines will work together to make this rebalance a reality,” Onodera said. He added that he learned from Gazmin that the Philippines was “making efforts to further increase the rotational deployment of the United States forces and I have also heard that the Philippine side is now discussing with the United States (its) presence Read More …

Trade deficit widens to $1 B

 Economy
Jun 252013
 
Trade deficit widens to $1 B

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines trade deficit in April 2013 widened to $1.020 billion from $153 million in the same period last year, the National Statistics Office (NSO) reported yesterday. The government statistics agency reported that total external trade in goods for April 2013 reached $9.263 billion, down 1.7 percent from $9.423 billion recorded in the same month in 2012. This was due to an 11.1 percent slowdown in exports to $4.121 billion in April 2013 from 4.635 billion in the same period last year. Merchandise imports, on the other hand, rose 7.4 percent to $5.141 billion in April 2013 from $4.788 billion in April 2012.  The growth in merchandise imports in April was fueled by increased importation of transport equipment. Imports of transport equipment with an 11.5 percent share to total imports in April was valued at $593.61 million, 148.6 percent higher than the previous year’s level of $238.78 million and the highest annual growth rate among the top ten imports. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 “Robust investments in the power and transportation sectors drove overseas purchases to a solid recovery in April,” said Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan in a separate statement. Imports of mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials was the top imported commodity in April 2013 with payments amounting to $1.283 billion. It went up 21.4 percent over last year’s figure of $1.057 billion.  On a monthly basis, it grew 23.3 percent from the $1.040 billion recorded in March 2013. Volume Read More …

PH road quality on par with Indonesia’s but well behind Thailand, Malaysia

 News
Jun 242013
 
PH road quality on par with Indonesia’s but well behind Thailand, Malaysia

By Jerry E. EsplanadaPhilippine Daily Inquirer 12:26 pm | Tuesday, June 25th, 2013 INQUIRER FILE PHOTO MANILA—About 73 percent of national, provincial, city, municipal and barangay roads nationwide remain unpaved, according to the Department of Public Works and Highways. Despite this, the DPWH has noted a slight improvement in the quality of Philippine roads following the “adoption of new construction design specifications like the increase in concrete pavement thickness from 230 mm to 280 mm and outsourcing project inspection and quality control,” among other measures. In its midterm accomplishment report, the department said the country’s roads were already “at par with Indonesia” and targeted to be comparable to those in China and Thailand by 2016. Citing the latest Global Competitiveness Report of the World Economic Forum, the DPWH reported that on a scale of 1 to 7—1 being extremely underdeveloped and 7 extensive and efficient by global standards— the Philippines scored a 3.4 for its road network in the 2012-2013 period. That was an improvement of 0.3 from the 3.1 it scored in 2011-2012. The country’s roads scored 2.8 in the 2010-2011 period. Of 144 countries worldwide, the Philippines ranked 87th (from 114th during the previous WEF survey) for the overall state of its roads and bridges. Other countries in the region garnered the following scores for the quality of their roads in the 2012-2013 period: Malaysia, 5.4; Thailand, 5: China, 4.4; Indonesia, 3.4; and Vietnam, 2.7. Earlier, the DPWH said the government would look at Malaysia “as a benchmark Read More …

PH labor exec recalled from Saudi for sex probe

 News
Jun 212013
 
PH labor exec recalled from Saudi for sex probe

By Tina G. SantosPhilippine Daily Inquirer 12:33 am | Saturday, June 22nd, 2013 Labor officers in Saudi Arabia will be included in the investigation being conducted by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) on the alleged sexual exploitation of distressed Filipino workers in the Middle East, Assistant Labor Secretary Rebecca Chato said. Aside from Kuwait and Jordan, the DOLE fact-finding body will now include Saudi Arabia, particularly Riyadh, in its investigation, following accusations from an overseas Filipino worker (OFW) that a labor officer in Saudi had asked her to sleep with him in his home instead of in a temporary shelter when she sought help from Philippine authorities there. The OFW, identified only as a certain “Michelle,” said that she was also offered to an Egyptian client, but that the man took pity on her instead and bought her a plane ticket to Manila. “Michelle” went to the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (Owwa) office on Friday to seek assistance, Owwa head Carmelita Dimzon said, and was referred to the investigative panel. But the labor department has yet to get her official statement, she added. Akbayan party-list Rep. Walden Bello this week accused at least three officials in Philippine labor offices and embassies in Jordan, Kuwait and Syria of soliciting sexual favors from distressed OFWs staying in shelters and awaiting repatriation to Manila. ‘Black propaganda’ Labor officer Mario Antonio, whom Bello had named as among the three erring officials, came out to deny the allegations and blamed illegal recruiters and Read More …

PH urged to convict embassy execs in sex scandal to boost trafficking status

 News
Jun 202013
 
PH urged to convict embassy execs in sex scandal to boost trafficking status

By Karen BoncocanINQUIRER.net 12:50 pm | Friday, June 21st, 2013 MANILA, Philippines — In order to improve its status in the United States’ annual Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report, the Philippines needs to convict embassy officials who will be found guilty of currying sexual favors from distressed female overseas Filipino workers in exchange for their repatriation, a lawmaker at the House of Representatives said Friday. Akbayan Partylist Representative Walden Bello felt that the Philippines was not doing enough to curb the incidence of human trafficking and said that one way of sending a message about the country’s resolve would be to “dismiss officials engaged in sex trafficking”. The US’ TIP Report showed that the Philippines retained its Tier 2 status and noted that there was a “paucity of arrests and convictions”. “We need to clean up our agencies,” Bello, who heads the committee on overseas workers affairs at the House of Representatives, told INQUIRER.net. The partylist lawmaker has accused three Philippine Embassy officials of involvement in sexual exploitation in the Middle East, prompting an investigation by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE). The legislator warned that he would resign from the House should the government fail to hold accountable Philippine Overseas Labor Office (Polo) in Amman, Jordan assistant labor attaché Mario Antonio, Kuwait Polo officer Blas Marquez and a certain “Kim” in Damascus. Antonio in a press conference Thursday denied the allegation. Related stories:PH failed to restrain human trafficking–USSolon slams gov’t for Read More …

PH failed to restrain human trafficking–US

 News
Jun 202013
 
PH failed to restrain human trafficking–US

By Tarra QuismundoPhilippine Daily Inquirer 5:29 am | Friday, June 21st, 2013 US Secretary of State John Kerry. AP FILE PHOTO MANILA, Philippines—The Philippines retained its Tier 2 status in the United States’ annual Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report as US authorities noted a “paucity of arrests and convictions” despite the country’s strong resolve to arrest trafficking incidents. In a report released in Washington D.C. on Wednesday, the US Department of State said the Philippines had failed to comply with standards for curbing trafficking, particularly with the country’s poor judicial system. “As both a source country and, to a lesser extent, a destination and transit country for sex trafficking and forced labor, the Philippines remained at Tier 2 on the state department’s three-tier ranking system. Despite making significant efforts to combat trafficking, the government of the Philippines does not yet fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking,” the TIP report said. The report, released by Secretary of State John Kerry on June 19, is considered “the most comprehensive report” on efforts of the world’s governments to stop human trafficking. The Philippines was first upgraded to Tier 2 in June 2011, considered an improvement after the country’s initial convictions of individuals involved in human trafficking. It had been at risk of being downgraded to Tier 3, which would have led to sanctions on US aid to the Philippines. In retaining the country at its current rating, the state department noted the Philippines’ “weaknesses in its judicial system,” Read More …

DFA creates body to probe sexual exploitation in PH foreign missions

 News
Jun 202013
 
DFA creates body to probe sexual exploitation in PH foreign missions

By Tarra QuismundoPhilippine Daily Inquirer 7:07 pm | Thursday, June 20th, 2013 Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario. AP FILE PHOTO MANILA—The Department of Foreign Affairs  set up Thursday a fact-finding body to investigate alleged sexual exploitation of distressed Filipino workers in at least  three Philippine diplomatic posts in the Middle East as it asked eight more of the country’s ambassadors in the region to come home “for consultations.” Foreign Secretary Albert Del Rosario ordered the ambassadors home to discuss the alleged cases and draw up measures to prevent such offenses from occurring in Philippine foreign missions. The Philippine envoys to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Egypt, Libya and Lebanon were summoned a day after Del Rosario called on the ambassadors to Jordan, Syria and Kuwait and officials linked to the alleged prostitution rings to take the next flight home to give their side of the issue. “To be as thorough as possible in addressing the issue on the alleged sex-related offenses, Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario has instructed the ambassadors of 11 of our embassies in the Middle East (including the three earlier called home) to come home immediately for consultations and to discuss related issues,” Hernandez said at a news briefing. “We need to have our ambassadors participate in the fact-finding initiatives that the DFA has started, We need to find ways to collectively encourage victims and witnesses to come forward and submit formal complaints and testimonies,” he added. Hernandez said the envoys in the Read More …

Legislator bares sexual exploitation of Filipinas by PH embassy personnel

 News
Jun 182013
 
Legislator bares sexual exploitation of Filipinas by PH embassy personnel

By Leila B. SalaverriaPhilippine Daily Inquirer 1:32 pm | Tuesday, June 18th, 2013 Akbayan Rep. Walden Bello PHOTO TAKEN FROM FACEBOOK.COM MANILA, Philippines—Akbayan Rep. Walden Bello claimed Tuesday that three Philippine embassy officials have been sexually exploiting distressed Filipino female workers in the Middle East, a practice that higher-ups had allegedly ignored. Bello said at a news conference that two of the embassy personnel, whom he identified as officers of the Philippine Overseas Labor Office in the Jordanian capital Amman and in Kuwait, were involved in running sex rings in those two places that send Filipinas to service wealthy clients. The third official, he claimed, was a member of the augmentation team of the Department of Foreign Affairs at the embassy in Damascus, Syria, who allegedly engaged in sexual acts with OFWs staying at the embassy’s shelter for distressed workers. Bello said he was making a public disclosure of the information, which he claimed had come from “unimpeachable sources” within the DFA and the DOLE, after they asked him to expose the unsavory deeds perpetrated in their offices. “Indeed, our sources have asked us to expose the criminals in their ranks because their acts are giving the agencies a bad name, and they can no longer tolerate the inaction of their superiors,” he said. Follow Us Recent Stories: Complete stories on our Digital Edition newsstand for tablets, netbooks and mobile phones; 14-issue free trial. About to step out? Get breaking alerts on your mobile.phone. Text ON INQ BREAKING to 4467, Read More …

US convenience stores exploited immigrants from PH, Pakistan

 News
Jun 172013
 
US convenience stores exploited immigrants from PH, Pakistan

Associated Press 7:50 am | Tuesday, June 18th, 2013 Graphics depicting the locations of 7-Eleven stores involved in a federal indictment are shown after a news conference at the US Attorney’s office, Monday, June 17, 2013, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. United States Attorney Loretta E. Lynch has announced the indictment of nine individuals involved in a multi-state scheme to conceal the systematic employment of illegal immigrants and steal their identities. AP PHOTO/JOHN MINCHILLO NEW YORK—Nine owners and managers of 7-Eleven convenience stores were charged Monday in a scheme to exploit immigrants from Pakistan and the Philippines, in part by paying them using the stolen Social Security numbers of a child and three dead people while stealing most of their wages. Most of the defendants were arrested early Monday as federal authorities raided 14 franchise stores on Long Island, New York, and in Virginia. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were executing search warrants at more than 40 other stores across the US suspected of similar infractions, authorities said at a news conference in Brooklyn. “These nine defendants created a modern-day plantation system, with themselves as overseers, with the immigrant workers as subjects, living in their version of a company town,” US Attorney Loretta Lynch told a news conference in Brooklyn. Four defendants who hold both US and Pakistani citizenship belong to a family that has participated in social events with Pakistan’s former military ruler Pervez Musharraf, prosecutors said in court papers as they highlighted foreign ties while successfully Read More …

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