US deploys aircraft carrier to PHL for relief ops in aftermath of Yolanda

 News
Nov 112013
 
US deploys aircraft carrier to PHL for relief ops in aftermath of Yolanda

The United States is sending the aircraft carrier USS George Washington to the Philippines to support disaster relief efforts in the wake of super typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan), a US defense official told Reuters. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, could not immediately provide further details. The aircraft carrier has been on a port visit to Hong Kong. Based in Yokosuka, Japan, the nuclear-powered Washington is the most visible sign of an increased U.S. naval presence across Asia that has been steadily growing for the last five years – a key element in the controversial U.S. “pivot”. The Washington strike group – that often includes destroyers, cruisers and a fast-attack submarine backed by up to 90 aircraft – protects the only one of 10 carriers deployed permanently outside the continental United States. U.S. military forces arrived in the Philippines on Monday to bolster relief efforts, officials said, with military cargo planes transporting food, medical supplies and water for victims. Other U.S. aircraft were positioning to assist the Philippines, with U.S. forces operating out of Villamor Air Base in Manila and in Tacloban.   Deployment of the US George Washington was revealed as rescue workers were trying to reach towns and villages in the Visayas on Tuesday that were cut off by Yolanda in an operation that could reveal the full extent of the loss of life and devastation from the disaster. Officials in Tacloban City, which bore the brunt of one of the strongest storms ever recorded when it slammed Read More …

Phl seeks flexibility on TPP membership

 Economy
Nov 102013
 
Phl seeks flexibility on TPP membership

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines may seek for flexibility from members of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) to be allowed to join the trade pact without having to amend the Constitution. “Our problem is we have a limitation in the Constitution that may not meet standards or ambitions of TPP members. We may have to ask for flexibility at some point, if and when they invite us (to be part of the deal) to be able to comply,” Trade secretary Gregory Domingo said in an interview with reporters. Domingo said the constitution’s limits to foreign ownership in certain sectors may not fit with the TPP. “We cannot promise that we will make changes to the Constitution.” President Aquino has been firm in his stand that there is no need to amend the constitution to achieve economic growth. Domingo said it is in the interest of the country to become a member of the TPP as the trade pact is an avenue to get access to markets, primarily the US. “It (TPP) is something we have to engage in. We have no choice because the US is our second largest trading partner and many of our neighbors will become members of  TPP. If they have duty-free access, for example, in the US and we don’t, it will really handicap the Philippines and affect us in a significant way,” he said. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 The TPP, currently being negotiated by 12 countries, aims to establish a free Read More …

Expressions of sympathy, aid pour in as ‘Yolanda’ exits PH

 News
Nov 092013
 
Expressions of sympathy, aid pour in as ‘Yolanda’ exits PH

A house is engulfed by the storm surge brought about by powerful typhoon Haiyan that hit Legazpi city, Albay province Friday Nov.8, 2013. AP MANILA, Philippines – Citing the country’s strength and resilience at difficult times, the international community conveyed its sympathies to the Philippines on Saturday and expressed readiness to assist the country in recovering from what is likely to be staggering devastation caused by what has been described as one of the planet’s strongest typhoons of record. In a statement from Washington DC, US Secretary of State John Kerry cited the Filipino spirit in overcoming such challenges as he vowed to provide assistance to the Philippines. “Your spirit is strong,” said Kerry, conveying the American people’s “deepest condolences and solidarity” with the country. “Having so recently had my own visit to the Philippines prevented by another powerful storm, I know that these horrific acts of nature are a burden that you have wrestled with and courageously surmounted before,” said the official, who was forced to postpone a planned visit to Manila last month due to a storm. He said the US embassies in the Philippines and Palau were working with the government to see how the US could help. European Union Ambassador Guy Ledoux said the bloc would provide humanitarian aid to those affected by the typhoon as he expressed solidarity with the country. “The Philippines has been severely tested by nature on several occasions this year. As it confronts yet another natural calamity I express my solidarity Read More …

PH verifying report US used Manila as spy hub

 News
Nov 042013
 
PH verifying report US used Manila as spy hub

By Frances MangosingINQUIRER.net 3:42 pm | Monday, November 4th, 2013 Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin INQUIRER FILE PHOTO MANILA, Philippines — The government is verifying among its intelligence communities a report from Australian media that the country has been used as a key “listening post” by the United States’ National Security Agency. “We are checking with our intelligence community. We are discussing if anything’s happening. So far there are no signs,” Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin told reporters at Camp Aguinaldo on Monday. The foreign media report said that Australia is sharing information with NSA, an agency involved with whistleblower Edward Snowden’s leaks. “A secret map released by Snowden revealed the US had also set up surveillance facilities in embassies and consulates, including in Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Phnom Penh, Bangkok, Yangon, Manila, Hong Kong, Taipei, Shanghai and Beijing,” the ABC News said. The ABC News also said that it was the same map that Snowden released to Der Spiegel, a German news magazine. It showed listening posts around the world including Manila. Renato Reyes, Secretary General of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan, said the use of Philippines as a listening post with or without the knowledge of the government, is “a violation of our sovereignty as a nation.” “It opens us to violations of our right to privacy. Even Malacañang could be subject to surveillance. All the affairs of government could be monitored by a foreign entity,” he also said. Reyes also said the new US ambassador should explain to the public the real Read More …

Senator Jinggoy Estrada departs for the US

 News
Nov 022013
 
Senator Jinggoy Estrada departs for the US

Senator Jinggoy Estrada promised the Philippines that, like Gen. Dougls MacArthur shortly after his harrowing escape from Corregidor, “he will return.” This was before the Senator left for the United States on Saturday morning amid the political controversies dogging him, including the P10 billion Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) scandal. Sen. Estrada insisted he would return to the Philippines before the Senate session resumes on November 17 according to a report on GMA’s “Balitanghali” program on Saturday noon. The Senator added that he isn’t avoiding the imminent Senate probe where Janet Lim Napoles, alleged pork barrel scam queen, will be attending and scheduled to be questioned for her involvement in the said scam. Earlier, the Justice Department requested that the Department of Foreign Affairs cancel Estrada’s passport due to the plunder and malversation raps he was facing. But since this was only a complaint and not a charge the “hold departure” order was not implemented. Among some of those also recommended for passport cancellation were Senators Bong Revilla and Juan Ponce Enrile. The Ombudsman filed plunder and malversation of public funds raps on September 16 against Estrada, Revilla, and Enrile, among others. Sen. Estrada left to accompany his wife who sought treatment in the US after discovering a lump on her breast. – KDM, GMA News 

US urged to probe death of OFW who fell off oil rig

 News
Nov 022013
 
US urged to probe death of OFW who fell off oil rig

By Tarra QuismundoPhilippine Daily Inquirer 4:53 pm | Saturday, November 2nd, 2013 Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose Cuisia Jr. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO MANILA, Philippines–The Philippine Embassy in the United States has called on American authorities to investigate the death of a Filipino worker who fell off an oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico a week ago, expressing concern over the safety of Philippine citizens employed in off-shore facilities in the US. Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Cuisia Jr. made the appeal to the US Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) following the death of 38-year-old welder Peter Jorge Voces. “The Philippines expresses its deep concern over the safety of Filipinos working in offshore oil facilities in the US,” Cuisia said through the Philippine Embassy in Washington D.C.’s Twitter account. “Although we hope Mr Voces’ death was not the result of platform safety issues, we expect the BSEE to thoroughly investigate the incident,” he said. Voces was killed Sunday night after an empty storage tank fell and pushed him overboard as he worked with a crew to dismantle a platform in an area called Vermillion Block 200 located some 88.5 kms south of Freshwater Bayou in Louisiana. It was not clear how the tank fell on Voces. US Coast Guard search and rescue crews found him on Tuesday morning pinned underwater just below the platform. Cuisia on Friday also phoned Voces’ widow in the Philippines and assured him of the Philippine government’s assistance Read More …

Why spy on allies? Even good friends keep secrets

 News
Oct 312013
 
Why spy on allies? Even good friends keep secrets

President Barack Obama walks with Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel toward a group photo outside of the Konstantin Palace in St. Petersburg in this September 6, 2013 file photo. AP In geopolitics, even best friends don’t tell each other everything. And everybody’s dying to know what the other guy knows. Revelations that the US has been monitoring the cellphone calls of up to 35 world leaders, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel, have brought into sharp relief the open secret that even close allies keep things from one another — and do all they can to find out what’s being held back. The Israelis recruited US naval analyst Jonathan Pollard to pass along US secrets including satellite photos and data on Soviet weaponry in the 1980s. The British were accused of spying on UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan before the Iraq War. The French, Germans, Japanese, Israelis and South Koreans have been accused of engaging in economic espionage against the United States. But the technology revealed by former National Security Agency analyst Edward Snowden has underscored the incredible reach of the US spy agency. And it is raising the question for some allies: Is this still OK? National Intelligence Director James Clapper testified this week that it is a “basic tenet” of the intelligence business to find out whether the public statements of world leaders go with what’s being said behind closed doors. What might the Americans have wanted to know from Merkel’s private conversations, for example? Topics could include her thinking on Read More …

New report says immigrants fiscally burden Canada

 News
Oct 252013
 
New report says immigrants fiscally burden Canada

Academic Herbert Grubel. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO TORONTO, Canada – A recently released report by the Fraser Institute implied that immigrants are costing Canadian taxpayers Canadian $20 billion a year. It also calls for an end to sponsorships of parents and grandparents of immigrants and that Canadian immigration selection require employment by the private sector rather than the government. At the center of the controversial report is Economics Professor Emeritus at Simon Fraser University Herbert Grubel, who wrote Canada’s Immigration Selection Policies in which he noted that immigrants who arrived since 1986 earned less and paid less taxes than the benefits they received from the government. Unlike the US, Canada’s points system of selecting principal immigrants has remained largely unchanged since the 1960s. Candidates’ work experience, education, language competency and other factors give them higher points and more likely acceptance for immigration to Canada. In 2011 about 30 percent of Canada’s immigrants were selected this way. But with spouses and under-age children coming with them, their number rose to about 63 percent. Grubel recommended stopping the “fiscal drain” by abandoning the points system, replacing it with pre-arranged work contracts as the main criterion to immigrate to Canada. Early this month, Grubel was quoted by The Philippine Reporter: “Instead of relying on university certificates assessed by civil servants who are in turn instructed by politicians, I would like to see accepted as landed (the Canadian term for citizenship status) immigrants only people who have a job offer from a Canadian employer.” But the Read More …

Palace: Obama visit may push through now that US shutdown has ended

 Entertainment
Oct 252013
 
Palace: Obama visit may push through now that US shutdown has ended

President Barack Obama talks on the phone with FBI Director Robert Mueller to receive an update on the explosions that occurred in Boston, in the Oval Office, April 15, 2013. Seated with the President are Lisa Monaco, Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism, and Chief of Staff Denis McDonough. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza) MANILA (Mabuhay) — Now that the partial shutdown of the United States government is over, Malacañang said the visit of US President Barack Obama to the Philippines may now push through. Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said that while there has been no sign for now on when the visit will take place, saying it could be at a “mutually convenient” time for both countries. “(Obama) also committed to push through with his visit at a mutually convenient time for both countries. Kakatapos lang ng domestic issues doon,” she said on government-run dzRB radio. But when asked if there has been any immediate indication of when the visit will be, she said, “Wala pa naman (None as of now).” Earlier, the US announced Obama may not push through with his visit to the Philippines due to the partial shutdown of the government in the US. The partial shutdown had been caused by a deadlocked Congress, but ended after a budget deal was passed. President Benigno Aquino earlier said he understands why Obama canceled his visit to the Philippines amid the partial government shutdown. “(W)e perfectly understand the situation. Stability in their Read More …

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