Three beaches in the Philippines landed on CNN’s “100 Best Beaches” list. These are Palaui Island in Cagayan Valley (No. 10), El Nido in Palawan (No. 14) and Puka Beach in Boracay (No. 84). CNN cites Palaui’s “raw beauty’, calls El Nido “the gateway to adventure”, and bills Boracay “a tropical paradise”. READ FULL STORY
By Jerry E. EsplanadaPhilippine Daily Inquirer 12:45 am | Monday, June 3rd, 2013 “Laughing” and “smiling” are completely different, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said Sunday as it rejected the Inquirer’s report that six coast guards were seen in a video laughing as they fired at a Taiwanese fishing boat. The Coast Guard took the video of the encounter between the coastal patrol vessel MCS-3001 and the Taiwanese fishing boat Guan Ta Hsin 28 in waters off Balintang Island in northern Philippines on May 9. The video was submitted to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) for the investigation of the fatal shooting of Taiwanese fisherman Hung Shih-chen, 65, during the chase. Cmdr. Armand Balilo, spokesperson for the Coast Guard, said Sunday he had seen the video and dismissed the Inquirer report as “inaccurate” and “hearsay.” Malacañang and the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (Meco), the Philippines’ de facto embassy in Taiwan, declined to comment on the Inquirer report. The Palace, however, gave assurance that the outcome of the government investigation will be solely based on evidence. The report was based on an interview by reporter Nancy C. Carvajal with a source who had seen the video and whose statements were confirmed by two other sources. “The video showed the soldiers acted unprofessionally. They were laughing while they were shooting the boat,” the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said. “It is disturbing and embarrassing for Philippine law enforcers,” the source said. Balilo said there was no footage from Read More …
The Department of Labor and Employment is pushing for a “social protection floor,” or a basic set of protection measures, for workers in the informal sector. DOLE Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said the informal sector includes the underemployed, self-employed, and unpaid family workers in five priority occupational groups. “Social protection is integral to achieving a better and improved quality of life for the workers in the informal sectors by equalizing access to development opportunities and by reducing vulnerabilities of these workers and their families against risks, particularly in times of crisis, that can push them down to poverty,” she said. “The DOLE, in convergence with other agencies, is looking at the underemployed, self-employed, and unpaid family workers who are a big part of the informal sector and who constitute workers in vulnerable employment,” she added. She added the social protection floor provides a set of guarantees, “either universal or targeted and contributory or non-contributory.” The DOLE plans to hold a Strategic Planning Workshop this June to develop a results-based project monitoring evaluation system for the social protection floor (SPF) system for informal sector workers. Expected to attend the workshop are representatives from government agencies and informal sector groups. Baldoz said the workshop is part of the Labor Day Celebration for Informal Sector Workers, to be held Occupational Safety and Health Center’s Ichikawa Hall in Quezon City on May 30. The DOLE said the Philippines was among the International Labor Organization’s member states that adopted in June 2011 the ILO recommendation on Read More …
Vice President Jejomar Binay leaves for Germany on Sunday to represent the Philippines in the Asia-Pacific Weeks 2013 in Berlin. Binay, whose visit to Germany will last until June 9, is expected to keynote the opening of the event, dzBB reported. Asia-Pacific Weeks is an event that seeks to help developing nations in social urban development. Binay, the presidential adviser on overseas Filipino worker concerns, is expected to meet with German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle and Federal Labor Minister Ursula von der Leyen. He will also meet with key German business leaders, and preside over a presentation on “Makati City as Smart City Portal to Business in the Philippines.” Also, he will meet with Filipino communities in Germany before returning to the Philippines. “I look forward to sustain the momentum created by the earlier exchange of visits between Secretary Albert del Rosario to Germany in 2011 and German Minister Guido Westerwelle to Manila last February,” a report on Bombo Radyo quoted Binay as saying. — LBG, GMA News
By Norman BordadoraPhilippine Daily Inquirer 6:52 am | Sunday, June 2nd, 2013 Senator Pia Cayetano. INQUIRER file photo MANILA, Philippines—An international women’s conference organized by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation last week gave Sen. Pia Cayetano its Rising Star Award for her efforts in the passage of the reproductive health (RH) law in the Philippines. Cayetano was recognized for standing up for women’s health and rights at the 3rd Women Deliver Conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, which focused on promoting women’s well-being. “Senator. Mom. Triathlete. That’s how Sen. Pia Cayetano of the Philippines describes herself on Twitter. There’s one thing missing: Hero,” wrote Gabrielle Fitzgerald, director of Global Program Advocacy at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Youngest senator Fitzgerald wrote on the website of the Gates foundation that Cayetano took on the task of pushing for the RH bill—which had been languishing in the Philippine Congress for five years—when she became the youngest woman senator in 2001. Fitzgerald cited Cayetano’s sponsorship of the Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Act that was eventually passed in 2012. The law “ensures all women and men in the Philippines can freely and responsibly decide the number and spacing of their children, and have the information and means to carry out their decisions.” This is a highlight of the international Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) which is recognized by almost all countries. ‘Agents of death’ “It’s a little hard to imagine, but this bill, which guarantees Read More …
By Nancy C. CarvajalPhilippine Daily Inquirer 1:47 am | Sunday, June 2nd, 2013 Taiwanese investigators rides a rubber boat as they inspect a ship involved in the alleged shooting of a Taiwanese fisherman while they continue their probe in Manila on Tuesday, May 28, 2013. The daughter of the Taiwanese fisherman allegedly killed by Filipino coast guards filed murder charges during joint proceedings held by Taiwanese and Philippine prosecutors in Pingtung County on Tuesday. AP PHOTO/AARON FAVILA MANILA, Philippines—There are no special talks to help Filipinos who are losing their jobs in Taiwan after the killing of a Taiwanese fisherman by Filipino coast guards three weeks ago. Arthur Abiera, Manila Economic and Cultural Office (Meco) representative, told a news conference on Thursday that negotiations with Taiwanese authorities involved general matters for the restoration of good relations between the Philippines and Taiwan. Labor issues are only part of the talks, he said. Taiwan froze new jobs for Filipino migrant workers and Taiwanese employers are not renewing contracts in retaliation for the shooting death of fisherman Hung Shih-chen on May 9. Many of the 87,000 Filipino migrant workers in Taiwan are affected by the retaliatory measure but Abiera said Meco could not do anything about it. “That’s the Taiwanese government’s decision,” Abiera said. “We are trying to address all issues. It’s sad that they will be affected.” Why us? “Why should we suffer for what other Filipinos had done?” asked Maryanne, a Filipino migrant worker in Taiwan who asked that her last Read More …
The correction on the value of the peso against the dollar and a recovering Japanese economy — the Philippines’ largest export market — are seen as boosting the country’s export industry, British bank Barclays said.
INQUIRER.net US Bureau 2:45 am | Saturday, June 1st, 2013 SAN FRANCISCO—Christian relief organization World Vision Philippines will participate in the San Francisco Marathon (26.2 miles) on June 16 to raise funds for out-of-school kids in the Philippines. The group’s “We Run So They Can Go to School” project is seeking sponsors and donations to help send ten children to school as its initial goal. It cites a Philippine Department of Education and National Statistical Coordination Board that one in every six Filipino children is not in schooling because of poverty. Many families in the marginalized sectors cannot afford to send kids to school, and many children can be seen selling newspapers, street foods and even cigarettes to help their families and are at risk of criminal activity. World Vision Philippines “We Run So They Can Go to School” project was “conceptualized to address the increasing statistics of out of school youth in the Philippines,” said the group’s statement. http://werunsotheycangotoschool.com/ 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, for Globe, Smart and Sun subscribers in the Philippines. Tags: education , Fundraising , marathon , street children Factual errors? Contact the Philippine Daily Inquirer’s day desk. Believe this article violates journalistic ethics? Contact the Inquirer’s Reader’s Advocate. Or write The Readers’ Advocate:
The Embassy of the Republic of the Philippines extends its deepest sympathy to the family of Mylene De Leon Scott, a member of the Filipino-American Community, who was shot dead by police officers responding to a reported disturbance inside the Costco Wholesale Store in Sterling, Virginia, on Wednesday, 29 May 2013. The Embassy stands ready […]
Philippine Daily Inquirer 6:29 am | Friday, May 31st, 2013 Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto attends the city’s assembly in Osaka Thursday, May 30, 2013. The mayor of Japan’s second-largest city survived a censure motion at the assembly Thursday despite his inflammatory comments over Japan’s wartime sex slavery, remarks that sparked an international uproar. AP PHOTO/KYODO NEWS TOKYO—A Japanese mayor who caused a storm with his comments on wartime “comfort women” survived a censure motion filed by local politicians on Thursday. Council members in the western city of Osaka rejected the motion against mayor Toru Hashimoto, who is also joint leader of the national Japan Restoration Party, city officials said. Hashimoto prompted outrage at home and abroad by suggesting that battle-stressed soldiers during World War II needed the services of up to 200,000 sex slaves from Korea, China, the Philippines and elsewhere who were forcibly drafted into Japanese brothels. The non-binding motion had earlier been expected to be approved. But the New Komeito Party, which holds the balance of power on the council, reversed its earlier stance and voted against it. Ichiro Matsui, Osaka prefectural governor and a close aide to Hashimoto, earlier hinted that if the motion was passed, Hashimoto would resign to force a mayoral election in which he would seek reelection. On Tuesday Hashimoto canceled a trip to the United States after the US denounced his remarks as “outrageous and offensive.” Seeking to contain the fallout from his comments, the former TV pundit said Monday that Tokyo should Read More …