BRP Ramon Alcaraz stops at Florida to test-fire cannon

 News
Jun 112013
 
BRP Ramon Alcaraz stops at Florida to test-fire cannon

BRP Ramon Alcaraz sails for PHL. The newest warship of the Philippine Navy, the BRP Ramon Alcaraz (PF 16) with 14 officers and 74 enlisted personnel lead by Capt. Ernesto Baldovino, departs on Monday, June 10 from Charleston, South Carolina bound for the Philippines. The ship is expected to arrive in August after making port visits to San Diego, Hawaii and Guam for reprovisioning. The BRP Alcaraz will test fire its main gun off the coast of Florida. PN/DFA/Elmer Cato The BRP Ramon Alcaraz, the the Philippine Navy’s second Hamilton-class ship, made a stop at Mayport, Florida in the US Tuesday evening (Philippine Standard Time), the Philippine Embassy in Washington said. In posts on its Twitter account, the embassy said the Ramon Alcaraz was to load and test-fire its 76-mm Oto Melara cannon while in Mayport. According to Italian manufacturer Oto Melara, the 76-mm compact naval gun is a rapid-fire cannon that can be installed on relatively small warships. It shoots 76-mm, 62-caliber shells at selectable rates of either one round or a full rate of fire of 80 rounds per minute. The embassy also said that Florida was the Alcaraz’s first stop in its voyage to the Philippines. It would also pass through the Panama Canal. The BRP Ramon Alcaraz started its journey to the Philippines from the United States Monday night (Philippine Standard Time). It was given an emotional send-off by the Filipino community of Charleston, South Carolina. — DVM, GMA News

Ashes of Pinay who died in US limousine fire, now with her family in Tarlac

 News
Jun 112013
 
Ashes of Pinay who died in US limousine fire, now with her family in Tarlac

The ashes of Neriza Fojas, the Filipina who died when she got trapped inside a burning limousine in San Francisco, California, was brought home to her family in Tarlac, GMA News TV’s flagship newscast reported Tuesday evening. The victim’s husband, Carlo Moya, brought the ashes from the United States to the Philippines, a report on State of the Nation with Jessica Soho said. Moya and Fojas were married in a civil ceremony last year. They had planned to have a church wedding in the Philippines on June 19. Fojas was having a celebration with eight of her girl friends inside the limousine, when it caught fire on the night of May 5.  They were heading across the San Mateo-Hayward bridge in San Francisco for a bachelorette party at a hotel.  Aside from Fojas, four of her friends also died, while the other four survived. Mechanical failure has loomed as a probable cause of the limousine fire, according to a Reuters report on June 7.  — Rouchelle R. Dinglasan/ELR, GMA News

NBI report on Taiwanese fisherman's death now with De Lima

 News
Jun 112013
 
NBI report on Taiwanese fisherman's death now with De Lima

The report of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) on the May 9 fatal shooting of a Taiwanese fisherman in disputed waters has already been submitted to Justice Secretary Leila de Lima. De Lima, however, refused to disclose the contents of the report, saying it will be forwarded immediately to President Benigno Aquino III. “Yes. Might submit it to the President today,” said De Lima in a text message to reporters when asked if the report has already been submitted to her. De Lima had earlier said once she gets a copy of the report, it would be submitted to Aquino first before it will be released to the public. NBI deputy director Virgilio Mendez has earlier confirmed to GMA News Online the transmission of the report to De Lima. “Per my information, it will be delivered now to the DOJ,” Mendez said earlier in the day. Two weeks ago, eight NBI agents flew to Taiwan to conduct their probe on the incident. The team inspected the fishing vessel of the victim and interviewed his companions when the shooting happened. The NBI also interviewed the medico-legal expert that autopsied the victim. The team were also allowed to view the video of the autopsy. A seven-man Taiwanese team also went to the Philippines for a four-day parallel investigation on the incident. The fatal shooting of the 65-year-old fisherman had caused a rift between the Philippines and Taiwan. Both the Philippines and Taiwan insisted that the incident happened within their respective territories. — Read More …

Aquino says Philippines will remain conducive to business

 Entertainment
Jun 112013
 

MANILA, June 5 (Mabuhay) — President Benigno S. Aquino III assured on Wednesday that his administration will ensure an even playing field for investors as he expressed his gratitude to the Federation of Filipino-Chinese Chambers Of Commerce and Industry Inc. (FFCCCII) for its continuing support for the education sector. In his message Wednesday during the […]

OC Fil-Am Chamber reaches out to PHL marginalized children

 Entertainment
Jun 112013
 

by Rey Andres A nonprofit group in the Cavite, a province south of Manila in the Philippines, has been busy at work rescuing, abused, abandoned and orphaned children from the streets of Manila and training them to begin a more productive life in society. These unfortunate children who when left to their own resources  will […]

Philippines to destroy 5 tons of seized ivory tusks

 News
Jun 112013
 
Philippines to destroy 5 tons of seized ivory tusks

A government official said Tuesday that five tons of confiscated elephant tusks will be destroyed as part of a global campaign to raise awareness against the illegal trade of so-called “blood ivories.” The seized tusks represent a portion of the 13.1 tons of Tanzanian elephant tusks seized in 2005 and 2009 that are kept in a government vault, said Protected Areas and Wildlife Bureau head Theresa Mundita Lim. “This action is meant to send a message that the Philippines is against the illegal trade of ivory and the merciless massacre of elephants,” Lim told AFP. She said the haul will be crushed using a road roller and burned in front of anti-ivory trade advocates next week as the country works to shed its image as a major transport hub for illegal ivories. The rest of the seized ivory will remain under lock and key and will be used as evidence against illegal traders or as educational materials. The Philippines is a signatory to the Geneva-based Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Flora and Fauna (CITES), which bans the trade of ivory in a bid to combat drastic declines in the numbers of elephant populations in Africa. It cited the Philippines as among nine countries considered as “priority concerns” because they were used as a smuggling hub for illegal ivories, Lim said. The maximum penalty for possessing illegal ivory in the Philippines is four years in jail. Authorities last year launched an investigation into religious icons made from ivory Read More …

‘Hasaan Ng Tulaan’: A Night Of Philippine Culture And Poetry

 Entertainment
Jun 112013
 

June 19, 2013 is the 152nd birth anniversary of Dr. Jose P. Rizal, Philippines’ revered national hero. On that night Filipino poetry and music will fill the hall  of the Philippine Consulate, aptly named Rizal Hall after the great hero. In collaboration with the Philippine Consulate General in Los Angeles and the Filipino American Press Club […]

PHL Navy's 2nd Hamilton-class ship begins journey to new home port

 News
Jun 102013
 
PHL Navy's 2nd Hamilton-class ship begins journey to new home port

The Philippine Navy’s second Hamilton-class warship on Monday night (Philippine time) started its journey to the Philippines from Charleston, South Carolina in the United States. The Philippine Embassy in Washington tweeted that the BRP Ramon Alcaraz began its journey to the Philippines at 10 p.m. Monday. “BRP Ramon Alcaraz gets ready for voyage to the Philippines. Fair winds, blue skies and following seas!” the embassy said. Before their departure, the warship’s Filipino crew got what the embassy called “emotional farewells” from members of the Filipino community in Charleston. “Filipinos in Charleston served as foster families of officers and crew of Alcaraz during (their) 13-month stay in South Carolina,” the embassy explained. Sea trials The BRP Ramon Alcaraz started sea trials last May as part of preparations for its service in the Philippine Navy. Since it was acquired by the Philippines in May 2012, the ship had been refurbished and refitted at a cost of $15.15 million. The BRP Ramon Alcaraz is the second Hamilton-class cutter acquired by the Philippines from the US under the Excess Defense Article and Military Assistance Program. The first ship, the BRP Gregorio Del Pilar (PF15), was turned over to the Philippine Navy in May 2011. The 378-foot-long BRP Ramon Alcaraz was originally commissioned in 1968 and served in the U.S. Coast Guard as the USCGC Dallas. The ship was named after a Philippine Navy officer who commanded a patrol boat that shot down three Japanese aircraft during World War 2. — DVM, GMA News

'Hot money' inflow in Q1 declines 8.5 pct

 Economy
Jun 102013
 
'Hot money' inflow in Q1 declines 8.5 pct

MANILA, Philippines (Xinhua) – Foreign portfolio investments known as “hot money” to the Philippines declined 8.5 percent on year to $1.3 billion in the first quarter of 2013, the central bank reported today. The central bank said lower net equity capital investments reduced inflow of portfolio investments in the country. Gross equity capital placements rose 49.4 percent on year to $1.5 billion in the first quarter, mostly due to investments that came in from Mexico, Japan, Malaysia and the U.S. But these placements were offset by withdrawal of $799 million during the same period. Reinvestment of earnings likewise declined, decreasing 26.3 percent on year to $196 million in the first quarter. Net placements by overseas companies in debt instruments issued by local affiliates totaled $378 million, up 71 percent on year as parent companies abroad continued to lend funds to their local subsidiaries and affiliates to sustain existing operations or expand their businesses in the country. In March alone, FDI posted net outflow of $78 million.     

Analyst: Sustained Phl economic freedom to boost investments

 Economy
Jun 102013
 
Analyst: Sustained Phl economic freedom to boost investments

Heritage Foundation senior analyst Anthony Kim (left) speaks to the press. (Prinz Magtulis) MANILA, Philippines – Improved economic freedom in the Philippines should be sustained to boost investments in the next five years and promote prosperity, an analyst for global think tank Heritage Foundation said on Monday.  “We are really impressed by well intended good policies. But it’s not easy to make good policy economic reform: it takes time, it takes energy and dedication,” senior analyst Anthony Kim told reporters in a roundtable discussion. “Reforms will attract and generate more opportunities for average people of the Philippines but it will take some time so it’s time to wait and just move forward,” he added. The Washington-based agency publishes yearly a global index measuring economic freedoms in 157 countries, including the Philippines. In its latest edition released last March, the country improved 10 notches to 97th place.  Economic freedom, Kim said, involves measuring individual and country liberties, good policies and promotion of free enterprise as a tool to achieve economic growth and prosperity across the population. For the Philippines, Kim noted that the country’s “resilient and dynamic” economic story was hedged on a “committed” government to pursue “real, practical policy solutions” that cover taxation and the business environment, among others. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 While Kim refrained from discussing specific reforms that need to be undertaken or continued, the official noted that “healthy discussions” on lifting the 40-percent foreign ownership cap on certain industries should be Read More …

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