Southeast Asian leaders urge China to discuss rows

 News
Apr 252013
 
Southeast Asian leaders urge China to discuss rows

Agence France-Presse 4:38 pm | Thursday, April 25th, 2013 Leaders of the Association of South-East Asian Nations pose for a group photo section during the 22nd ASEAN Summit in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei, Thursday, April 25, 2013. They are, from left, Philippines President Benigno Aquino III, Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, Brunei Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, Myanmar’s President Thein Sein, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Laotian Prime Minister Thongsing Thammavong and Malaysia’s Senate President Abu Zahar Ujang. AP BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN—Southeast Asian leaders on Thursday called for urgent talks with China to ensure that increasingly tense territorial disputes over the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) did not escalate into violence. The 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) wrapped up a two-day summit in Brunei with a chairman’s statement in which they emphasized the importance of “peace, stability and maritime security in the region”. Brunei’s Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, the host of the talks, told reporters after the summit that the leaders wanted to “urgently work on a code of conduct” with China aimed at defusing tensions in the strategically vital body of water. The other key focus at the summit was pushing forward plans to create a single market for Southeast Asia and its 600 million people — known as the Asean Economic Community — by 2015. However the flashpoint South China Sea issue dominated the meeting, amid growing concern among some Southeast Read More …

PH asks Bahamas to let 1,000 Filipino workers to keep jobs

 News
Apr 242013
 
PH asks Bahamas to let 1,000 Filipino workers to keep jobs

By Tarra QuismundoPhilippine Daily Inquirer 7:45 pm | Wednesday, April 24th, 2013 MANILA, Philippines—The Philippines has requested the Bahamas to allow Filipinos to retain their jobs as the independent British commonwealth starts implementing a new labor policy seeking to cut unemployment rates on the islands by replacing foreign workers with locals. The Embassy dispatched a consular team to the territory just off the US state of Florida earlier this month to make the appeal to the Bahamian government to let Filipino workers keep their jobs despite the pro-local labor initiative. “We presented Manila’s position on behalf of many of the more than 1,000 Filipinos in Bahamas, particularly housekeepers, cooks, hotel employees and medical workers who stand to lose their jobs as a result of the so-called Bahamianization of the local labor force,” said Consul General Ariel Penaranda in a statement. Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose Cuisia, Jr. sent Peñaranda and Labor Attaché Luzviminda Padilla to the Bahamian capital of Nassau this month to convey the request. Officials from the Bahamian side who met with the Filipino team included Bahamas’ foreign affairs and labor ministers and the chief of the Royal Bahamas Police Force, said the Embassy in a statement. During the meeting, Bahamian officials recognized the Filipino community’s contribution to the islands, the Embassy said. Filipinos in the Bahamas are mostly employed as domestic helpers, medical workers, cooks and hotel employees. The Philippine side meanwhile aired its concern about the new labor policy. The Embassy said the officials Read More …

South China Sea: A decades-long source of tension

 News
Apr 242013
 
South China Sea: A decades-long source of tension

Agence France-Presse 6:17 pm | Wednesday, April 24th, 2013 BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN — Competing claims to the South China Sea have for decades been a source of tension in the region. China’s increasing assertiveness in staking its claim in recent years has caused concern for neighboring countries, particularly the Philippines and Vietnam. The South China Sea issue will be a top priority for Association of Southeast Asian (Asean) leaders during their two-day summit in Brunei beginning on Wednesday. Below are key facts on the sea and the competing claims: Geography The South China Sea covers more than 3 million square kilometers (1.16 million square miles) on the western edge of the Pacific, with China and Taiwan to the north, the Philippines to the east, Borneo island to the south, and Vietnam to the west. It contains hundreds of small islands, islets and rocks, most of which are uninhabited. The Paracel and Spratly chains contain the biggest islands. Significance The sea is the main maritime link between the Pacific and Indian oceans, giving it enormous trade and military value. Its shipping lanes connect East Asia with Europe and the Middle East. Major unexploited oil and gas deposits are believed to lie under the seabed. The sea is home to some of world’s biggest coral reefs and, with marine life being depleted close to coasts, it is important as a source of fish to feed growing populations. Claimants China and Taiwan both claim nearly all of the sea, while Vietnam, the Philippines, Read More …

Southeast Asian leaders to talk China, trade

 News
Apr 242013
 
Southeast Asian leaders to talk China, trade

Agence France-Presse 5:25 pm | Wednesday, April 24th, 2013 From left to right, Myanmar’s President Thein Sein, Philippines’ President Benigno Aquino III, Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Thailand’s Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, Vietnam’s Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Sen, pose for a photo during the 21st Asean Summit in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Sunday, Nov. 18, 2012. AP PHOTO/VINCENT THIAN BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN—Southeast Asian leaders will meet in Brunei on Wednesday hoping to heal wounds from infighting over relations with China, while building momentum towards groundbreaking economic partnerships. The annual summit of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) comes after the bloc suffered deep splits last year linked to territorial disputes with China over the resource-rich South China Sea. Asean members Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam, as well as China and Taiwan, claim parts of the sea, which is also home to some of the world’s most important shipping lanes as well as rich fishing grounds. But a push by the Philippines and Vietnam for Asean to send a united message to an increasingly aggressive China crumbled amid resistance from Cambodia, a close Chinese ally that held the rotating chair of the bloc in 2012. Senior Asean figures emphasized ahead of the two-day summit in Brunei’s capital that the group, which for more than four decades has operated by consensus, must work hard to find common ground on the South China Sea issue. Asean leaders will make a united call in an end-of-summit Read More …

DFA exec flies to Saudi to assist undocumented Filipinos in ‘tent city’

 News
Apr 242013
 
DFA exec flies to Saudi to assist undocumented Filipinos in ‘tent city’

By Tarra QuismundoPhilippine Daily Inquirer 5:18 pm | Wednesday, April 24th, 2013 DFA spokesman Assistant Secretary Raul Hernandez. INQUIRER.net FILE PHOTO MANILA, Philippines—The Department of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday sent its top official on migrant workers affairs to meet with Saudi Arabia officials in a bid to expedite repatriation of more than 1,000 undocumented Filipinos still camped outside the Philippine Consulate in Jeddah. The foreign office is also preparing to move the Filipinos into shelters inside the Jeddah consulate and other facilities within the city to provide them with better accommodations while processing their return home, DFA spokesperson Assistant Secretary Raul Hernandez said in a briefing Wednesday. Hernandez said Foreign Undersecretary for Migrant Workers’ Affairs Jesus Yabes flew to Saudi Arabia on Wednesday and is set to meet with Saudi officials to discuss the situation outside the Philippine mission in Jeddah, where undocumented Filipinos have been camping out in tents for the last two weeks for fear of being arrested. The Saudi government recently initiated a campaign against illegal workers, prompting undocumented Filipinos to seek shelter at the Jeddah Consulate. “We have already sent Usec. Yabes to Saudi Arabia to see how we could expedite the repatriation,” said Hernandez. He said the government was “very much committed” to bringing the Filipinos back home but admitted that the situation was “tricky and very challenging,” given the requirements of Saudi law. Before they could be repatriated, the Filipino workers are required to first pay fines for expired residency permits, hence overstaying, settle Read More …

Saudi to retain ban on non-Muslim places of worship

 News
Apr 242013
 
Saudi to retain ban on non-Muslim places of worship

Agence France-Presse 5:11 pm | Wednesday, April 24th, 2013 RIYADH—Ultra-conservative Saudi Arabia will retain its longstanding ban on non-Muslim places of worship, Justice Minister Mohammed al-Issa said in comments reported by the Saudi media on Wednesday. As Saudi Arabia is “home to the Muslim holy places, it does not allow the establishment of non-Muslim places of worship,” the Al-Hayat newspaper quoted Issa as telling European MPs in Brussels. Saudi Arabia, home to the holy Kaaba — the cube-shaped structure at the Grand Mosque in Mecca towards which Muslims worldwide pray — has come in for repeated criticism for its ban on non-Muslim places of worship. Although Saudi Arabia’s citizen population is Muslim, the kingdom is also home to millions of expatriates of various beliefs. Unlike Saudi Arabia, the kingdom’s Gulf Arab neighbors allow the building of churches and the celebration of non-Muslim feasts. 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: Islam , Religion , Saudi Arabia 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:

Lifting of PH air ban in Europe seen

 News
Apr 182013
 
Lifting of PH air ban in Europe seen

By Tarra Quismundo Philippine Daily Inquirer 5:10 am | Friday, April 19th, 2013 EU Ambassador Guy Ledoux: We are on a very positive curve. FILE PHOTO MANILA, Philippines—Negotiations for the lifting of Europe’s blanket air ban against Philippine carriers are “on a very positive curve” as the European Union wants the issue resolved soon in hopes of bolstering trade and tourism with the Philippines, according to the EU ambassador here. The resumption of the European flights of Philippine carriers is of mutual interest as it would facilitate greater business and people-to-people exchanges between the EU and the Philippines, EU Ambassador Guy Ledoux said Thursday. “I think really we are on a very positive curve. I mean the first major achievement was the lifting of the safety concern by Icao (International Civil Aviation Organization) earlier this year,” Ledoux told reporters. “I think what is important is that a very important dialogue has been reestablished,” he said. Two days previously, transport officials from the European Commission met in Brussels with representatives from the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP), Philippine Airlines (PAL) and Cebu Pacific to discuss the remedies that the Philippine side has implemented to bring airline safety measures at par with EU standards. The Philippines passed the Icao’s safety audit in February, ending three years of being listed among the countries deemed of “significant safety concern” by the international aviation regulator. The negative Icao assessment prompted the EU to ban Philippine carriers from flying to Europe in 2010.

HK rejects massacre widow’s plea for protection

 News
Apr 182013
 
HK rejects massacre widow’s plea for protection

By Leila B. Salaverria Philippine Daily Inquirer 5:08 am | Friday, April 19th, 2013 MANILA, Philippines—Hong Kong’s Immigration Department has rejected a bid for protection made by Myrna Reblando, widow of one of the journalists slain in the Maguindanao massacre, saying it did not believe she would be tortured should she return to the Philippines. Reblando fled to Hong Kong in 2011 with her daughter, claiming inadequate security to protect her back home. She also criticized the slow grind of justice in the Philippines. Mother and daughter had asked the Hong Kong Immigration Department to allow them to stay in the Special Administrative Region while awaiting the result of their pending application for asylum with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. They said they faced torture if they returned to the Philippines. The Hong Kong government is prohibited from returning to their country of origin persons claiming risk of torture and other threats to their lives, according to Danilo Reyes, acting deputy director of the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC). Facing deportation But with the Hong Kong Immigration Department’s rejection of Reblando’s torture claim, she and her daughter faced deportation to the Philippines, Reyes said. He said Reblando would appeal the ruling. In her torture claim, Reblando detailed several incidents she said highlighted the dangers she and her daughter faced should they return to the Philippines, including certain death after the Ampatuans reportedly offered her P3 million to stop talking about the case or, should she refuse the money, Read More …

Doomed Filipino in Saudi Arabia gets reprieve

 News
Apr 182013
 
Doomed Filipino in Saudi Arabia gets reprieve

Philippine Daily Inquirer 5:06 am | Friday, April 19th, 2013 MANILA, Philippines—A Filipino construction worker in death row in Saudi Arabia for murder has been given a few more months to pay the 4 million riyals (about P44 million) blood money to the family of his landlord whom he killed in 2009, Malacañang said Thursday. Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said Joselito Zapanta was given until Nov. 3 this year to pay the blood money to the family of his victim, quoting the Department of Foreign Affairs. “This extension [of the deadline from March 12 to Nov. 3] allows the Zapanta family more time to raise the funds required by the victim’s heirs,” Lacierda said. Malacañang thanked Saudi King Abdullah and the Saudi government for interceding on Zapanta’s behalf following requests from President Aquino and Vice President Jejomar Binay. In March, Abdullah ordered the deferment of the execution of prisoners with death sentences in the Arab country, including Zapanta. TJ A. Burgonio

Skyline College Students to stage “Pilipino Cultural Night”

 News
Apr 182013
 
Skyline College Students to stage “Pilipino Cultural Night”

INQUIRER.net U.S. Bureau 5:04 am | Friday, April 19th, 2013 SAN BRUNO, California–Filipino-American students will celebrate Filipino heritage and the Fil-Am experience by staging Skyline College Kababayan Program’s 8th annual Pilipino Cultural Night. This year’s production, “Layunin,” will be performed on Thursday, May 2 and Saturday, May 4, at 7 p.m. in Skyline College’s Main Theatre on 3300 College Drive, San Bruno. Doors will be open one hour before show time. Pilipino Cultural Night (PCN), a student­run event open to the community, celebrates the Filipino­American experience, showcasing traditional dances and music from the Philippines as well as elements of the Filipino American culture. Students of English 104: “Applied English Skills for Cultural Production” wrote, directed, produced and advertised the show. Acted. They sing, dance and serve as stage/technical crew. They were also responsible for prop/set design and the overall stage construction. This year’s action­packed story of love, war and family, “Layunin,” takes place in ancient times, when Palau’an is the land of life. It’s the home of many grand tribes who live in unity and harmony. But peace is then disrupted by a possessed datu from the Palawano tribe and his desire to rule all of Palau’an. When all hope seems lost after many bloody battles and merciless conquest, Agbayani, a young Palawano warrior, testifies and does all he can to bring back the long lost peace to Palau’an, even if he has to clash with his father, the datu. Students in the Kababayan Program and the Filipino Student Union, Read More …

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