Malaysia in Borneo standoff with armed intruders

 News
Feb 132013
 
Malaysia in Borneo standoff with armed intruders

Associated Press 9:31 am | Thursday, February 14th, 2013 KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — Malaysian police say an armed group believed to be from the southern Philippines has intruded into Malaysian territory on Borneo island. National police chief Ismail Omar says security forces have surrounded the intruders in the remote coastal district of Lahad Datu in Malaysia’s eastern Sabah state and ordered them to surrender their weapons. Ismail’s statement late Wednesday did not disclose the number of suspects or how they were armed. Sabah is less than an hour by speedboat from the southern Philippines, which has long been wracked by a Muslim separatist insurgency. Ismail said the group landed in Sabah on Tuesday following “troubles in the southern Philippines.” Other police representatives in Kuala Lumpur and Sabah said they could not elaborate beyond the statement.

UAE healthcare firm to fund surgeries of 50 Filipino kids with heart defects

 News
Feb 132013
 
UAE healthcare firm to fund surgeries of 50 Filipino kids with heart defects

By Philip Tubeza Philippine Daily Inquirer 6:07 am | Thursday, February 14th, 2013 MANILA, Philippines—Thankful for the contribution of overseas Filipino workers in the growth of their business, a major healthcare company from the United Arab Emirates launched on Wednesday a P5-million campaign in Manila to save Filipino children with congenital heart defects (CHD) by funding their surgeries and treatment. DM Healthcare LLC, through its charity foundation, launched the Save the Little Hearts Program, which aims to help 50 Filipino children with CHD have their surgery here or in India for free. Annually, 20,000 children with CHD are born in the Philippines and one of out four of these patients die because they do not get medical treatment. “Why come here in Manila? We want to give back to the people who helped us and to the country where they came from,” Padma Shri Dr. Azad Moopen, the founder of DM Healthcare, said during the launch at the Shangri-La Hotel in Makati. “This country and its people are very close to our hearts. Twenty percent of our staff is composed of Filipinos and they have given us excellent service for the past five years,” he said. “As an employer of choice to thousands of Filipino staff at DM Healthcare, we wanted to give back to the community that is integral to our growth, success and quality,” Moopen added. Moopen said the campaign would help children with CHD from the poorest families and those who have been in dire need of Read More …

Intex offers REEs for free

 Economy
Feb 132013
 
Intex offers REEs for free

MANILA, Philippines – Norwegian-based Intex Resources ASA which operates Mindoro Nickel Mining says that it can produce rare earth elements (REEs) to the country for free. The announcement came on the heels of reports that the Philippines is dead set on exploring for REEs to take advantage of China’s move to cut on REEs’ production to the global market. REEs are a group of elements that are used in a wide range of products we use every day, including hard drives, IPods, wind turbines, hybrid cars, fiber optics and energy efficient fluorescent bulbs, among others. Their properties, notably as lightweight magnets, make them key to the on-going miniaturization of electronics and the growth of green technologies. Last year, the country’s plan to produce REEs was stalled after Beijing reneged on earlier commitments to help Manila despite several “reminders” by the MGB. This came amid a dispute between Manila and Beijing over the Panatag Shoal in the West Philippine Sea. Before the dispute, Manila and Beijing were set to sign a deal to jointly explore for rare earth elements. The Philippines is already conducting its own exploration surveys in Nueva Vizcaya and Palawan, where rare earth deposits were found to be close to copper-gold mines. The MGB said that the Aquino government has earmarked P20 million for REEs’ development. The amount is for the entire reconnaissance phase for the two-year preliminary survey. It said that once the three stages of exploration go well, the program may take five years. Business ( Read More …

Phl confident of passing ICAO audit next week

 Economy
Feb 132013
 
Phl confident of passing ICAO audit next week

MANILA, Philippines – The Aquino administration is confident that the Philippines would pass the audit to be conducted by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) scheduled on Monday. Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya told participants of the Philippine Economic Briefing titled “Good Governance is Good Economics: Achieving Investment Grade” that the Philippine government has addressed all the safety concerns raised by ICAO. “We are confident that it (safety concern) has been addressed. Of course there is a certain area whether it has been fully closed or is the auditing merely just checking if we are going in the right direction though not fully accomplished,” Abaya stressed. He pointed that the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) is prepared for the audit to be conducted by ICAO on Feb. 18. “We are continuously preparing for our audit by ICAO on February 18. Monday is a big day for us, we will be audited for the Category 1, Category 2 efforts,” Abaya said during the open forum. In 2008, the safety rating of the Philippines was downgraded by the US Federal Aviation Administration upon the recommendation of the ICAO to Category 2 from Category 1. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Category 2 indicates that the FAA had assessed that the Philippines’ civil aviation authority had failed to comply with ICAO safety standards for the oversight of air carrier operations. While in Category 2, Philippine air carriers are permitted to continue current operations to the US under heightened FAA Read More …

THE BEE AND THE SWEETENING OF A COUNTRY’S CULTURE

 News
Feb 122013
 
THE BEE AND THE SWEETENING OF A COUNTRY’S CULTURE

By Ana Maria Villanueva-Lykes In the US a child’s first words are usually “dada”, “momma”, and “dog”. In the Philippines, it’s “papa”, “mama” and “bee”. And it’s not just any kind of bee. It’s a special yellow and orange bee with a chef’s hat and jacket. No pants. Every toddler in the Philippines knows the sweet taste of the hotdog bits in the spaghetti just as well as Lolo is familiar with the delightful sensation of the Chicken Joy crispy skin on the tongue. Their wide eyes — both Lolo’s and apo’s — shine at the first bite. It is because of these toddlers and their lolos — and every member of the family for that matter — that Jollibee is no longer just a fast food chain but an icon. A mere burger chain has somehow managed to colonize “the youth culture and mass consumption”, as Andréa Picard would put it in her Cinema Scope feature. What is it about Jollibee that makes international film critiques call it a phenomenon and even The New York Times describe it as “strangely addicting”? Jollibee’s success has gone beyond Philippine taste in spite of the fact that others might define its fare as substandard, a taste for the masses. It has conquered the international palate, earning Jollibee the right to call itself the “Filipino Triumph”. Jollibee’s story is not just the tale of Tony Tan Caktiong but the story of the Filipino’s triumph over the red-haired clown and what others might consider Read More …

Binay: Chinese New Year reminder of PHL, China brotherhood

 News
Feb 102013
 
Binay: Chinese New Year reminder of PHL, China brotherhood

Chinese New Year. Seng Guan (信願寺) temple in Manila’s Chinatown district on Sunday was crowded with people mostly wearing red, hoping for good luck and happiness in the Year of the Snake. Klein Sze/ Ang Pahayagang Plaridel The celebration of the Chinese New Year should be a reminder to the peoples of the Philippines and China of their brotherhood amid their seeming differences, Vice President Jejomar Binay said Sunday. In his Chinese New Year message, Binay said the kinship of the Filipinos and Chinese span millennia, and Sunday’s occasion reminds them they can work together harmoniously. “New Year celebrations such as this remind us that China and the Philippines have more similarities than differences, more brotherhood than anything else,” he said in his message posted on his Facebook account. The Philippines and China had been engaged in a territorial dispute over parts of the South China Sea (West Philippine Sea). Last January, the Philippines handed a note verbale to Chinese Ambassador Ma Keqing to notify China of its decision to elevate its complaint to an Arbitral Tribunal. The Arbitral Tribunal is an option provided for by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). China’s nine-dash line overlaps with the territories of its Asian neighbors like the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan. But Binay also pointed out several Filipino customs sprout from Chinese roots. He also said the age-old values of hard work, respect for elders, and sense of duty to our country “are common threads Read More …

DOJ lawyers to start process of Amalilio extradition

 News
Feb 102013
 
DOJ lawyers to start process of Amalilio extradition

By TJ Burgonio Philippine Daily Inquirer 6:28 pm | Sunday, February 10th, 2013 MANUEL AMALILIO Contributed photo MANILA, Philippines – Lawyers from the Department of Justice would fly to Malaysia to formally start the process of extraditing Manuel Amalilio for allegedly swindling 15 million Filipinos of P12 billion in an investment scam, Malacañang said Sunday. Undersecretary Abigail Valte, deputy presidential spokesperson, debunked reports quoting Malaysian officials as saying that Kuala Lumpur would not extradite Amalilio since he is a Malaysian citizen. “That’s inaccurate because first of all our state counsels from the DOJ were about to go [to Malaysia] to formally start the extradition process,’’ Valte said over government-run dzRB. Even though Malaysia has no extradition treaty with the Philippines, Malaysian law allows extradition under “certain processes,’’ Valte pointed out. In a statement in Malaysia’s Star newspaper Saturday, Attorney General Abdul Gani Patail said Malaysia would not extradite Amalilio, aka Mohammad Kamal, because he is a Malaysian citizen holding a valid and active identification card. Gani said that the Attorney General’s Chambers had received a formal request from the Philippines’ Department of Justice to hand over Amalilio to the Philippines under the Asean Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters, and freeze his asset. A team of Philippine law enforcers was about to board a plane to Manila with the fugitive on Jan. 25 when they were stopped by senior Malaysian police officials. Amalilio was returned to police custody and subsequently convicted and sentenced for fraud by a Kota Kinabalu court. Quoting Read More …

US appeals court rejects Filipino WWII Veterans’ lawsuit seeking benefits

 News
Feb 102013
 
US appeals court rejects Filipino WWII Veterans’ lawsuit seeking benefits

By Nimfa U. Rueda Philippine Daily Inquirer 4:56 pm | Sunday, February 10th, 2013 LOS ANGELES — Aging Filipino veterans seeking benefits for their World War II services have decided to take their case to the Supreme Court after a federal appeals court had ruled against them, the veterans’ lawyer said. “The fight continues,” said lawyer Arnedo Valera, who received the decision on Friday (Saturday in Manila). “Sadly, the decision highlights the continued discrimination against our beloved veterans.” The lawsuit filed by the veterans against the US Department of Veterans Affairs said the benefits granted to Filipino veterans were far below those received by US veterans, including pensions and health care. More than 250,000 Filipinos fought for the United States during World War II and were promised equal treatment with American veterans after the war. But in 1946, the US Congress enacted the Rescission Act that took away full recognition of Filipino war veterans and stripped them of their benefits. In 2009, the US Congress approved the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), a stimulus package that included one-time payments of $15,000 to Filipino veterans in the United States and $9,000 to those living in the Philippines. But the lawsuit, filed in the Ninth US Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco in October 2010, said the claims of thousands of other veterans were rejected since records from the Philippines proving their services were not accepted by US authorities. The Department of Veterans Affairs required documentation from a federal registry Read More …

DOJ counsel heading to Malaysia for Amalilio extradition

 News
Feb 092013
 
DOJ counsel heading to Malaysia for Amalilio extradition

(Updated 5:14 p.m.) Philippine government lawyers are heading to Malaysia to start formal efforts for the extradition of Manuel Amalilio, the alleged brains behind a P12-billion investment scam, Malacañang said Sunday. “Kahit wala tayong extradition treaty with Malaysia, Malaysian law allows extradition under certain [circumstances],” deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said on government-run dzRB radio. In a separate interview on Sunday, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima denied reports that Malaysia had turned down the Philippines’ request for Amalilio’s extradition. “It was in fact among the outcomes of the February 6 talks with our counterpart, the Attorney General, that the Philippines can commence the extradition process immediately,” she said. Amalilio’s extradition does not answer the question of his citizenship, de Lima added. “We made a formal request for such freezing of Amalilio’s assets, such as company shares, stocks, land assets, etc., under the ASEAN Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty… and in such a process, we understand that Amalilio’s citizenship is not an issue, and both sides can cooperate,” she said. Amalilio was arrested in Malaysia last January for possession of a fake passport. He pleaded guilty to violating Malaysian passport laws and was sentenced to two years’ jail there. Last weekend, Malaysian authorities said they have ordered Amalilio’s assets frozen. On the other hand, two members of Malaysia’s Parliament visited the Philippines last weekend to gather facts about Amalilio. They also hinted the loot from his scam may be used to finance the campaigns of some politicians running in Malaysia’s coming elections. Read More …

Malaysia says it’s keeping Amalilio

 News
Feb 092013
 
Malaysia says it’s keeping Amalilio

By Jerome Aning Philippine Daily Inquirer 3:03 am | Sunday, February 10th, 2013 MANUEL AMALILIO. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO MANILA, Philippines—Malaysia has no plans to extradite Manuel Karingal Amalilio (aka Mohammad Kamal Sa’ad), who is wanted by Philippine authorities for allegedly swindling 15,000 Filipinos of P12 billion in a fraudulent investment scheme, but who has been sentenced to two years’ imprisonment by a Sabah court for possession of a fake Philippine passport. In a statement reported in Malaysia’s Star newspaper on Saturday, Attorney General Abdul Gani Patail said Malaysia would not extradite “Mohammad Kamal” since he is a Malaysian citizen holding a valid and active identification card. However, relevant authorities have been directed to check and freeze all financial records and assets belonging to Amalilio and his associates, the Star quoted Gani as saying. In the same statement, Gani said the Philippine Embassy in Kuala Lumpur had requested  Amalilio’s extradition. He said Philippine Justice Undersecretary Jose Vincent B. Salazar had also requested that the Malaysian government freeze Amalilio’s assets, savings and investments and those owned by people related to him. He also said that the Attorney General’s Chambers had received a formal request from the Philippines’ Department of Justice to hand over Amalilio to the Philippines under the Asean Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters Act of 2004. Separate court Gani said the request was being handled by the international affairs division of the Attorney General’s Chambers, a separate court for the states of Sabah and Sarawak which deals with civil law matters Read More …

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