Sabah Standoff: Sultan’s men won’t leave despite deadline

 News
Feb 222013
 
Sabah Standoff: Sultan’s men won’t leave despite deadline

By Nikko DizonPhilippine Daily Inquirer 4:53 pm | Friday, February 22nd, 2013 Sultan of Sulu Jamalul Kiram talks to reporters during a news conference in Alabang, south of Manila, Philippines on Sunday, Feb. 17, 2013. His followers who crossed to the Malaysian state of Sabah this month will not leave and are reclaiming the area as their ancestral territory, the sultan said Sunday, Feb. 17, 2013, amid a tense standoff. AP PHOTO/AARON FAVILA MANILA, Philippines—The followers of Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III holed up in Lahad Datu town in Sabah refused to leave despite the Friday deadline set by Malaysia. Jamalul, his brother Ishmael and wife Princess Fatima Cecilia and some of their followers faced the media on Friday in a press conference at the Blue Mosque in Maharlika Village in Taguig City, saying they will consult their followers regarding their next move. Princess Fatima, who is the sultan’s spokesperson, said the family wants the Sabah issue to be resolved before the International Court of Justice and that they are open to negotiate with Malaysia. She also said that the family was hurt by President Benigno Aquino’s statement that the Sabah issue was “dormant” but she welcomed his directive for his top Cabinet officials to study the Sabah claim issue. 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 Read More …

Philippine papal bet wants people power for Church

 News
Feb 202013
 
Philippine papal bet wants people power for Church

Agence France-Presse 11:45 am | Thursday, February 21st, 2013 Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Tagle. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO MANILA, Philippines—Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle wants to bring the Catholic Church closer to people, a vision his fans say comes from a genuine passion for helping the poor and one that could make him Asia’s first pope. The 55-year-old cardinal from a working-class family close to the Philippine capital is being touted at home and abroad as a genuine chance to succeed Pope Benedict XVI during a historic Vatican vote next month. Tagle has a reputation across the devoutly Catholic Philippines as a humble man with a lifelong commitment to helping the poor, while senior Church figures regard him as a moderate progressive who balances conservative doctrines. Tagle, the archbishop of Manila who was appointed a cardinal in November, has refused to discuss his chances for the papacy since Benedict announced he would resign on February 28 due to poor health. But speaking at a public seminar in Manila last weekend, Tagle elaborated on his well-known views that Church leaders needed to do a better job at reaching out to the people within their communities, particularly the youth. “The young want to be connected,” Tagle said at the forum. “That is the basic of the faith — (to be) connected to God, connected to others, to the Church. We need to go back to that fundamental.” Eloquent and with a soothing voice, Tagle has also made high-profile speeches in recent years calling for Read More …

PH immigration awaits travel papers for 9 Myanmar crew

 News
Feb 202013
 
PH immigration awaits travel papers for 9 Myanmar crew

By Tetch Torres INQUIRER.net 9:11 am | Thursday, February 21st, 2013 Immigration Commissioner Ricardo David Jr. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO MANILA, Philippines — Immigration Commissioner Ricardo David on Thursday said they were waiting for travel documents from the Myanmar embassy for the repatriation of the nine  surviving crewmen of a Myanmar ship that sunk last week off the coast of Bolinao , Pangasinan. David said the nine crewmen were turned over by the BI to the custody of the Myanmar embassy last Monday. They were identified as Kyi Win, Khin Maung Win, Aung Kyaw Khine, Aung Thu Nyein, Win Saw, Win Min Thein, Aung San Win, Thant Zin Moe, and Cho Aye. Theodore Pascual, BI bay service section acting chief, disclosed that until last Monday the Myanmar nationals have been under the custody of immigration officials in Region 1 since the mishap occurred last February 16. Pascual said the crewmen were initially under the custody of the BI field office in Dagupan before they were turned over to the BI office in San Fernando City , La Union. “They were eventually turned over to the Myanmar embassy which is now processing their travel documents which are required to facilitate their repatriation,” Pascual explained. A crew member died while 14 others went missing when the foreigners’ vessel sank Saturday night. The Philippine Coast Guard said the MV Arita Bauxite encountered engine trouble and sank 17 nautical miles (31 km) northwest of Cape Bolinao at about 11:30 p.m. The nine survivors were reportedly Read More …

US lawmakers warn Japan PM on ‘comfort women’

 News
Feb 202013
 
US lawmakers warn Japan PM on ‘comfort women’

Agence France-Presse 8:39 am | Thursday, February 21st, 2013 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe: New “future-oriented” statement on World War II. AP/KYODO NEWS WASHINGTON—Two US lawmakers on Wednesday warned Prime Minister Shinzo Abe not to revise Japan’s apology over sexual enslavement in World War II, saying the move would set back relations between the allies. The lawmakers raised the issue two days before a White House visit by the conservative Japanese premier, whose previous period in office was dogged by historical issues but who is now seen as increasingly pragmatic. Representative Mike Honda, who spearheaded a 2007 House resolution that took Japan to task for holding wartime sex slaves, and Representative Steve Israel voiced “serious concern” about the Abe government’s stance. In a letter, the two Democratic lawmakers wrote that if Japan revises a 1993 apology it “would have grave implications for the US-Japanese relationship and could ignite unnecessary tension and provocation with neighboring countries.” Historians say about 200,000 “comfort women” from Korea, China, the Philippines and elsewhere were drafted into Japanese army brothels. The legacy remains a particular sore point in Japan’s relations with South Korea. In the 1993 statement, Japan offered “sincere apologies” for the “immeasurable pain and suffering” inflicted on comfort women. Two years later, Japan issued a broader apology expressing “deep remorse” for war suffering. Abe, whose grandfather was a World War II cabinet minister, raised controversy during his 2006 to 2007 premiership for his statements on comfort women and after leaving office he called for Read More …

2 Koreans, Filipino arrested for selling ‘carnapped’ vehicles in Cebu

 News
Feb 202013
 
2 Koreans, Filipino arrested for selling ‘carnapped’ vehicles in Cebu

By Chito O. Aragon Inquirer Visayas 6:10 am | Thursday, February 21st, 2013 CEBU CITY, Philippines—The police arrested two Koreans and a Filipino for alleged involvement in carnapping in Metro Cebu and recovered at least seven Hyundai Starex vans. The police identified the suspects as Korean nationals Kim Jae Young, 42, alias Leo Lim/Andy; Hong Seo Yong, 28, alias Luis; and Raphael Montilla, 27, alias Raprap, a registered nurse and a resident of Vista Grande, Barangay (village) Bulacao, Talisay City. Two of the vans were seized from the house of Montilla while five others were recovered along A.S. Fortuna St. and the streets in Maguikay highway and Cabangcalan, all in Mandaue City. Former Philippine Basketball Association player Ramon Fernandez and his wife, Carla, own one of the recovered vans. Chief Supt. Marcelo Garbo, chief of Police Regional Office (PRO-7) said the three allegedly belonged to an organized group operating nationwide. Chief Inspector George Ylanan, chief of Regional Operation Group (RSOG), an operating unit of Regional Intelligence Division (RID), said they first arrested Montilla at his home in Talisay City Tuesday afternoon after they received information that he was selling a Hyundai Starex van for only P40,000. When the RSOG operatives arrived at Montilla’s home, they saw two Starex vans parked there. The police asked for the certificates of registration of the two vehicles, but Montilla could not present any so he was arrested and taken to the RSOG office for questioning. During the investigation, Montilla admitted that two Koreans had Read More …

PH to press UN case on disputed sea despite China rejection

 News
Feb 202013
 
PH to press UN case on disputed sea despite China rejection

By Tarra Quismundo Philippine Daily Inquirer 5:38 am | Thursday, February 21st, 2013 DFA spokesman Assistant Secretary Raul Hernandez: We’ll proceed. INQUIRER.net FILE PHOTO MANILA, Philippines—The arbitration proceedings that the Philippines has initiated before the United Nations (UN) against China to nullify the latter’s “excessive” claims in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) will not stop despite Beijing’s rejection of the legal action, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA). However, the enforcement of any decision of the UN arbitral tribunal, three or four years down the road, will be “another question,” said DFA spokesman Assistant Secretary Raul Hernandez. “The arbitration will proceed under Annex VII of Unclos (UN Convention on the Law of the Sea) and the five-member arbitration panel will be formed with or without China,” Hernandez said. “Even if one party does not join or participate, the process will continue until a decision is made,” he said. Article 9 of Unclos’ Annex VII, which stipulates the mechanics of arbitration, states that the “absence of a party or failure of a party to defend its case shall not constitute a bar to the proceedings.” On Jan. 22, the Philippines went to the UN to challenge Beijing’s claim to most of the South China Sea (which the Philippines refers to as the West Philippine Sea) and compel it to respect the Philippines’ right to its exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and stop Chinese incursions into areas in the disputed waters claimed by the Philippines. The Philippines initiated the Read More …

Trillanes: Make known Sabah policy

 News
Feb 202013
 
Trillanes: Make known Sabah policy

Kirams given till Friday to recall forces By Norman Bordadora Philippine Daily Inquirer 12:02 am | Thursday, February 21st, 2013 Senator Antonio Trillanes IV. INQUIRER.net/Noy Morcoso III CEBU CITY—Reelectionist Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV on Wednesday called on the Aquino administration to make known its policy on the country’s claim to Sabah and on the standoff between Malaysian security forces and a group of armed followers of the sultan of Sulu in the eastern Malaysian territory. The standoff in Tanduao village in Sabah’s Lahad Datu town has entered a second week, with Malaysian authorities saying on Wednesday that the situation is under control and that the Filipinos from Sulu will be deported soon. Emissaries from the Aquino administration are working quietly to convince Sultan Jamalul Kiram to recall his followers from Sabah. According to a highly placed source of the Inquirer in the Cabinet, Jamalul and his other brother, Bantilan Esmail Kiram II, must decide by Friday whether to call their followers home. On Wednesday, Esmail was going to see Jamalul, who is undergoing dialysis in a Manila hospital, to talk to him and make a decision, the source said. It is believed that the Malaysian government has given the sultan’s followers a deadline to leave or be rounded up and deported, but agreed to an extension of the deadline “by a few days” to allow the sultan and his family to reconsider their demand to stay in Sabah. President Aquino’s former backchannel link to Beijing at the height of tensions Read More …

Families look for relief from US immigration bill

 News
Feb 202013
 
Families look for relief from US immigration bill

Associated Press 2:40 pm | Wednesday, February 20th, 2013 Maricris Arce poses for a picture at her home in Anaheim, California Friday. Arce, a native of the Philippines, said she was separated from her husband for five years after coming legally to the US, and he wasn’t present for the birth of their first child. AP WASHINGTON— If America is a nation of immigrants, it’s also a nation of immigrants’ husbands, wives, parents and children — and their brothers, sisters, nieces and nephews too. That could begin to change under legislation being written in the Senate, where the nation’s longstanding emphasis on family-based immigration is coming under scrutiny. Unlike most other industrialized nations, the US awards a much larger proportion of permanent residency status to family members of US citizens and permanent residents than to foreigners with job prospects here. About two-thirds of permanent legal immigration to the US is family-based, compared with about 15 percent that is employment-based, according to the Migration Policy Institute. The remainder is largely humanitarian. It’s a lopsided ratio that may change under a bill being crafted by a Senate bipartisan negotiating group that is aiming to release legislation next month. Several senators involved in the talks said employment-based immigration must increase to help American competitiveness and the US economy. High-tech companies have been pleading for more workers, and some Republicans, in particular, believe the educational backgrounds and employment potential of prospective immigrants should be a bigger part of the calculus in awarding green cards, Read More …

China rejects Philippine UN mediation bid

 News
Feb 202013
 
China rejects Philippine UN mediation bid

Associated Press 2:38 pm | Wednesday, February 20th, 2013 AP FILE PHOTO BEIJING—China said Tuesday it has rejected the Philippines’ attempt to seek international arbitration over conflicting claims to territory in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea). Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said that China’s ambassador to Manila, Ma Keqing, had returned Manila’s formal notification of the move to a Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) official. Hong said the proposal was historically and legally incorrect and contained unacceptable accusations against China. The Philippines informed China last month of its plans to take the countries’ conflicting claims to a tribunal operating under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. It wants the panel to declare Beijing’s moves in the potentially oil-rich waters unlawful. The DFA said in a statement Tuesday that China’s rejection will not interfere with the arbitration process that the Philippines has started. “The Philippines remains committed to arbitration, which is a friendly, peaceful and durable form of dispute settlement that should be welcomed by all,” the statement said. Even if a tribunal ruled against China, Beijing could choose to ignore the ruling. Six governments have overlapping claims in the West Philippine Sea. China claims sovereignty over virtually all of it. Chinese paramilitary ships confronted Philippine vessels last year in a monthslong standoff over a disputed shoal. China has effectively controlled the shoal since June, when Manila withdrew its ships as a typhoon approached. There are fears that territorial conflicts in the region, Read More …

3 Chinese nationals on way to court hearing for drug case ‘abducted’ in Cavite

 News
Feb 192013
 
3 Chinese nationals on way to court hearing for drug case ‘abducted’ in Cavite

By Jamie Marie Elona INQUIRER.net 1:27 pm | Wednesday, February 20th, 2013 MANILA, Philippines–Three Chinese nationals who were being brought by police to court for a hearing on a drug case were allegedly abducted by armed men in Cavite Wednesday morning, police said. Chief Superintendent Benito Estipona, Calabarzon police director, said the three – Li Tian Hua, Wang Li Na and Li Lan Yan – were seized by roughly 20 armed men around 10 a.m. in Trece Martires. The victims’ four security escorts were disarmed, Estipona said, adding that the gunmen escaped with the detainees on a white van with license plate WTT 544, which was later found abandoned in Barangay (village) Aguado in Trece Martires. Police had launched a hot pursuit operation for the possible recovery of the Chinese nationals.

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