Unicef: Focus on children, not their disabilities

 News
May 302013
 
Unicef: Focus on children, not their disabilities

Philippine Daily Inquirer 4:12 am | Friday, May 31st, 2013 MANILA, Philippines—Children with disabilities (CWDs) and their communities will both benefit if society focuses on what these children can achieve, rather than on what they cannot do, the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) said in its annual report on the State of the World’s Children. Concentrating on the abilities and potential of CWDs will create benefits for society as a whole, according to the report that Unicef released Thursday. “When you see the disability before the child, it is not only wrong for the child, but it deprives society of all that the child has to offer,” said Unicef executive director Anthony Lake. “Their loss is society’s loss; their gain is society’s gain.” The report lays out how societies can integrate CWDs to allow them to play a full part in society and prevent discrimination against them. It points out how inclusive education broadens the horizons of all children even as it presents opportunities for CWDs to fulfill their ambitions. In the Philippines, census data showed 201,896 CWDs reported in 2002, with about 2.9 percent of the Filipino population having some form of disability. Vision-related disabilities recorded highest at 50 percent, followed by motor-related and mental disabilities (both at 14 percent), and hearing disability (13 percent). The World Health Organization estimates that 4.5 percent of the global population are disabled. The Unicef report said CWDs were the least likely to receive health care or go to school. They were among Read More …

HK turns back pregnant Chinese posing as Filipina

 News
May 302013
 
HK turns back pregnant Chinese posing as Filipina

By Philip C. TubezaPhilippine Daily Inquirer 3:35 am | Friday, May 31st, 2013 Immigration Commissioner Ricardo David Jr. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO MANILA, Philippines—Philippine immigration authorities arrested a couple from China after one of them tried to slip into Hong Kong by pretending to be a Filipino, Immigration Commissioner Ricardo David Jr. said Thursday. David said Fong Waiyan and his wife, Fan Yueying, were arrested at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) on May 11 after Hong Kong immigration sent them back to Manila after discovering that Fan was using a fake Philippine passport. He said Fan wanted to give birth to their second child in Hong Kong to avoid penalties under the mainland’s “one-child” policy. “The couple left Manila using their Chinese passports. But upon arriving at the Hong Kong airport, Fan pretended to be a Filipino by presenting a fraudulent Philippine passport to the immigration officer,” David said. “The woman was denied entry due to a dubious immigration departure stamp on her passport and Fong decided to go back with her to Manila,” he added. David said the couple would be deported to China and blacklisted as soon as the Bureau of Immigration’s (BI) board of commissioners issues the order for their summary deportation. Fan will be deported for knowingly using a spurious travel document with the aid of her husband, who will also be kicked out for harboring and giving comfort to an illegal alien. Uso Dan Salasim, Naia-BI intelligence unit head, said Fan readily confessed to using Read More …

2015 Apec to showcase everything Filipino–DFA

 News
May 302013
 
2015 Apec to showcase everything Filipino–DFA

By Tarra QuismundoPhilippine Daily Inquirer 2:54 am | Friday, May 31st, 2013 MANILA, Philippines—It will be a yearlong showcase of everything Filipino. The Philippines has begun preparations for hosting the annual Asia- Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) forum and related meetings in 2015, the second time the country will be hosting this important global forum that is expected to gather world leaders, top business executives and thousands of other participants. “It’s going to be a one-year celebration,” Laura del Rosario, undersecretary for international economic relations at the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), told a press conference Tuesday on the Apec 2015 preparations. “When people come, we want to make sure they not only get a lot of work done but they enjoy themselves here. It’s really a lot of fun in the Philippines, they know that,” said Guillermo Luz, co-chair of the National Competitiveness Council (NCC), who is also involved in organizing what could be the country’s biggest hosting of an international event this decade. Key cities around the country will be hosting 21 Apec meetings—senior officials’ meetings and ministerial meetings, among them—throughout 2015, culminating in the Apec Leaders’ Summit around October or November, Del Rosario said. The Philippines hosted the 1996 Apec summit in Subic, Zambales province. With each meeting expected to draw between 500 and over 1,000 participants, the event could bring in 13,000 to more than 20,000 participants from Apec’s 21 Pacific Rim member-nations—and the organizers are bent on making the visit memorable for each one. “It’s a Read More …

PH, Taiwan probers finish fact-finding on death of Taiwanese fisherman

 News
May 302013
 
PH, Taiwan probers finish fact-finding on death of Taiwanese fisherman

By Nancy C. CarvajalPhilippine Daily Inquirer 12:56 am | Friday, May 31st, 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. They have completed their investigation into the death of the fisherman off Balintang Island in northern Philippines, with the evidence collected by the National Bureau of Investigation, Yang Wan-Li, head of the delegation, said on Thursday night. AP PHOTO/AARON FAVILA MANILA, Philippines—Taiwanese investigators have completed their investigation into the death of a Taiwanese fisherman off Balintang Island in northern Philippines, with the evidence collected by the National Bureau of Investigation, Yang Wan-Li, head of the delegation, said on Thursday night. In a late night joint press conference with the NBI, the Taiwanese team also expressed satisfaction with the assistance given to them during the entire investigation. The Taiwanese team is returning to Taiwan on Friday and an NBI team that has also done its cooperative investigation in Taiwan is expected to arrive in Manila in the afternoon. NBI director Nonnatus Rojas said they made all evidence they gathered available to the Taiwanese investigators. 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: death of a Taiwanese fisherman , Read More …

US, Canada, UK warn vs travel to Mindanao

 News
May 302013
 
US, Canada, UK warn vs travel to Mindanao

By Tarra Quismundo and Michael Lim UbacPhilippine Daily Inquirer 9:51 pm | Thursday, May 30th, 2013 MANILA, Philippines—Three more countries have issued travel advisories against Mindanao amid the United States’ warning of a “credible kidnap threat” in the Zamboanga Peninsula. This developed as the Philippines said there was “no specific threat” in the area based on monitoring of law enforcement and security officials. In a Palace briefing Thursday, deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said the government “respects the prerogative of any country to issue any precautionary measures that they feel their citizens must take while here in our country.” “In fact, when it comes to our citizens abroad, [other countries] also respect our prerogative to issue this kind of advisory to our countrymen [stationed overseas],” said Valte. She cited the recent terrorist attack in Boston—which killed three people and injured 264 others—where the Philippine government issued a similar message to Filipino citizens who may be in the area. In its travel advisory on Wednesday, the US state department cited a report about the resurgence of kidnapping groups, particularly in Zamboanga, that were targeting foreigners. On Thursday, Australia advised its nationals against traveling to parts of Mindanao, particularly Zamboanga and Sulu, citing a similar warning that the United States had issued its citizens. “We continue to strongly advise you not to travel to central and western Mindanao, including the Zamboanga Peninsula and Sulu Archipelago, due to the very high threat of terrorist attack, kidnapping, violent crime and violent clashes between armed Read More …

PH tells China: Don’t tell us what to do within our territory

 News
May 302013
 
PH tells China: Don’t tell us what to do within our territory

By Tarra QuismundoPhilippine Daily Inquirer 6:33 pm | Thursday, May 30th, 2013 MANILA, Philippines — No other country could tell the Philippines what it can and cannot do within its territory. Its message getting sharper, the Philippines told China, on Thursday, to keep its hands off the country’s sovereign affairs in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) after Chinese Ambassador Ma Keqing expressed concerns that the country might be building more structures in the Ayungin Shoal. The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) also reiterated the country’s ownership of the territory and called on China anew to pull out its government and fishing vessels from around the shoal, where they were deployed nearly a month ago. The Philippines protested the Chinese deployment before its embassy in Manila but the DFA still has yet to receive an official response. “Ayungin shoal is an integral part of the Philippine national territory. China is not in a position to dictate on what the Philippines can do within its maritime domain,” said Assistant Secretary Raul Hernandez, the DFA spokesperson, said. “In the first place, China has no right to be there and because they have no right to be there, they are also not in a position to dictate on whatever we want to do within our maritime domain,” he added. In a brief pull-aside meeting at the national military headquarters in Camp Aguinaldo on Wednesday, Ma had told Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin that her government was concerned that the Philippines could be building Read More …

Timor-Leste PM due for official visit

 News
May 292013
 
Timor-Leste PM due for official visit

By Tarra QuismundoPhilippine Daily Inquirer 5:08 am | Thursday, May 30th, 2013 Timorese Prime Minister Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão: Coming next week for official visit PHOTO FROM TIMOR-LESTE.GOV.TL MANILA, Philippines—Timorese Prime Minister Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão is set to fly to Manila next week on his first official visit to the Philippines, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Wednesday. Gusmão, Timor-Leste’s first president after independence from Indonesia in 2002, will be in the Philippines from June 5 to 9 to firm up cooperation on education, trade and investment, infrastructure and defense, DFA spokesman Assistant Secretary Raul Hernandez said Wednesday. During his five-day stay, Gusmão will deliver a lecture at the University of the Philippines College of Law and visit industrial areas in Subic Bay in Olongapo City and Clark Field in Pampanga to link up with potential investors. Gusmão is currently serving his second five-year term as prime minister and is concurrently Timor-Leste’s minister for defense and security. He was a leader of the resistance movement that campaigned for Timor-Leste’s independence from Indonesia, which occupied the territory after centuries of Portuguese occupation. Timor-Leste is currently campaigning to become a member of the Association of Southest Asian Nations, of which the Philippines is a founding member. 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 Read More …

No Filipinos hurt in Beyonce butt slap incident

 News
May 292013
 
No Filipinos hurt in Beyonce butt slap incident

Outtakes By Rene Ciria-CruzINQUIRER.net 7:27 am | Thursday, May 30th, 2013 But there could have been. Considering we’re now everywhere, why not near the stage in Denmark where an out-of-control fan slapped Beyonce’s behind? And considering further that our news media often run reports like “No Pinoys Hurt in Massive Haiti Quake,” or “No Filipinos Hurt in Devastating Tsunami,” or “No Pinoys Injured in Boston Marathon Bombing,” why not report that none our compatriots was elbowed in the face or whatnot when guards threw out Beyonce’s offending Dane? If Filipinos could be found in Burundi, it’s within the realm of possibility that they’d be found in Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson’s kitchen staff, where they theoretically ran the risk of being beaned by a flying dish had a down-and- dirty fight occurred during the couple’s recent breakup. Just like Nicolas Sarkozy and Carla Bruni’s Filipina nanny stands to be an innocent bystander in any serious domestic quarrel. (Disclosure: I follow TMZ, People, and the Kardashians very closely for purposes of anthropological research.) The curious point is, we do like knowing if Filipinos figured in some tragic event elsewhere, blithely ignoring the fact that thousands of non-compatriots may have sadly perished in one of God’s mysterious ways. We like reading and reporting that no Pinoy died in the Oklahoma twister that flattened an entire town and killed dozens of other residents. Let’s give this behavior a serious thought, shall we? Okay, that’s enough. Some will say the predilection shows our love Read More …

Yanks told: Don’t you go to far Zamboanga

 News
May 292013
 
Yanks told: Don’t you go to far Zamboanga

By Inquirer Mindanao, Julie S. Alipala, Tarra QuismundoPhilippine Daily Inquirer 4:48 am | Thursday, May 30th, 2013 ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines—The United States Embassy on Wednesday warned US citizens against traveling to the Zamboanga Peninsula, saying it had moved its personnel already in the area to a secure location amid a “credible” kidnap-for-ransom threat against foreigners. The emergency message was posted on the embassy website Wednesday, the same day that US Ambassador Harry Thomas was in Zamboanga City to launch three major five-year programs of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). “The embassy advises all American citizens residing in or planning to travel to the Zamboanga area to reevaluate their personal safety situation and consider postponing travel to this area at this time,” it said. But there was no mention of any threat during the US envoy’s visit here on Wednesday. Mayor Celso Lobregat, who had breakfast with Thomas, said the ambassador did not say anything about the US Embassy warning. “Nothing was mentioned about the advisory,” Lobregat said. Senior Supt. Edwin de Ocampo, city police chief, was also surprised by the advisory. “Their ambassador was just here,” De Ocampo said. Thomas, however, canceled his scheduled trips to the military’s Western Mindanao Command headquarters here and to Jolo, Sulu. The ambassador, who alternated between limping and sitting on a wheelchair, said he suffered a “slip while dancing.” He left for Manila at noon. In Zamboanga City, he visited the Ateneo de Zamboanga and the Garden Orchid Hotel. The embassy Read More …

Daughter of dead Taiwanese fisherman files murder case

 News
May 292013
 
Daughter of dead Taiwanese fisherman files murder case

By Nancy C. CarvajalPhilippine Daily Inquirer 3:25 am | Thursday, May 30th, 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 TAIPEI—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. “Hung Tzu-chen, who acts as the spokesperson of the family, filed a murder case in the (National Bureau of Investigation) in accordance with Philippine laws (requiring that) a complaint must be filed before an official investigation is conducted,” said Chih Ming-hsieh, one of two head prosecutors of Pingtung County who is assisting the NBI in its own probe into the May 9 shooting death of 65-year-old fisherman Hung Shih-chen. Chih said no particular person was named in the complaint. “In Taiwan, if you file a complaint, it’s not necessary to identify somebody who did the crime. You just have to indicate that somebody was responsible for the crime,” Chih said. Chih did not disclose the details of Hung Tzu-chen’s complaint. Hung was present during the proceedings. She was accompanied by her lawyer. Crew questioned The NBI team headed by the bureau’s foreign liaison chief, Read More …

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