Sep 302016
 
duterte-0913

President Rodrigo Duterte. JOAN BONDOC/INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

Malacañang has broken its silence on the firestorm created by President Rodrigo Duterte’s remarks comparing himself to Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler and that he would “be happy” exterminate 3 million drug addicts like the demagogue’s extermination of Jews.

READ: Duterte ‘happy to slaughter’ drug suspects; cites Hitler

In a brief radio briefing Saturday morning, Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella clarified the President did not in any way praise Hitler as a role model in his remarks that he said were “oblique” or skewed explanations of what he meant.

“The Philippines recognizes the deep significance of the Jewish experience especially their tragic and painful history. We do not wish to diminish the profound loss of 6 million Jews in the holocaust that deep midnight of their story as a people,” said Abella who did not entertain any question during the interview over state-owned DZRB radio.

“The President’s reference to the slaughter was an oblique deflection of the way he has been pictured as a mass murderer, a Hitler, which is a label that he rejects,” said Abella.

Abella, however, stood by the President’s statement that the unresolved killings of drug suspects by police and vigilantes would have a positive effect on the country.

“He likewise draws an oblique conclusion that while the holocaust was an attempt to exterminate the future generation of Jews, the so-called extrajudicial killings, roundly attributed to him, will nevertheless result in the salvation of the next generation of Filipinos,” said Abella.

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Sep 302016
 
Germany: Duterte Hitler remarks ‘unacceptable’

BERLIN, Germany – The German government on Friday told the Philippine ambassador that comments by President Rodrigo Duterte likening his deadly crime war to Hitler’s efforts to exterminate Jews were “unacceptable.” Duterte, 71, won elections in May in a landslide after a campaign dominated by his pledge to eradicate drugs in society by killing tens of thousands of people. In comments Friday, he drew parallels between his campaign to wipe out the drug problem and Adolf Hitler’s genocidal drive. “Hitler massacred three million Jews. Now there are three million drug addicts (in the Philippines). I’d be happy to slaughter them,” Duterte told reporters in his home city of Davao. “At least if Germany had Hitler, the Philippines would have,” he said, then paused. “But you know, my victims, I would like to be (sic) all criminals to finish the problem of my country and save the next generation from perdition.” READ: Heil Digong? Nazi Germany slaughtered some six million Jews by the end of World War II. The German foreign ministry said in a statement that it had asked the Philippine envoy “to come to the ministry for a discussion on this issue”. “Any comparison of the singular atrocities of the Holocaust with anything else is totally unacceptable,” ministry spokesman Martin Schaefer told reporters earlier and reiterated in the statement. Germany, Europe’s top economy, has expressed serious concerns about Duterte’s crackdown, which has left more than 3,000 people dead in three months and threatened a breakdown of the rule of Read More …

Sep 302016
 
Palace clarifies Duterte Hitler reference: PH recognizes Jews’ tragedy

Presidential Spokesman Ernesto Abella. FILE PHOTO The Philippines is not undermining the tragic history of the Jews. Malacañang issued this statement Saturday following the international outcry over President Rodrigo Duterte’s statement where he drew parallel comparisons between the execution of drug addicts in the Philippines and Adolf Hitler’s killing of millions of Jews during the Holocaust. “The Philippines recognizes the deep significance of the Jewish experience especially their tragic and painful history,” Presidential Spokesman Ernesto Abella said in a statement. “We do not wish to diminish the profound loss of 6 million Jews in the Holocaust – that deep midnight of their story as a people,” he added. Abella explained that Duterte was just deflecting comparisons between him and the former German strongman—a label, which the President does not accept. READ: Heil Digong? “Hitler murdered 3 million innocent civilians whereas Duterte was referencing to his “willingness to kill” 3 million criminal drug dealers—to save the future of the next generation and the country.  Those are two entirely different things,” Abella said. Various individuals and organizations including Jewish groups have condemned Duterte’s “disgusting rhetoric.” The Anti-Defamation League, an international Jewish group based in the United States, said, “The comparison of drug users and dealers to Holocaust victims is inappropriate and deeply offensive. It is baffling why any leader would want to model himself after such a monster.” The Philippines was one of the nations which welcomed exiled Jews during the Holocaust. READ: When PH was the only door open to fleeing Read More …

Sep 302016
 
Jones Law Centennial Celebration highlights PHL-US friendship based on shared values

Jones house: The William A. Jones Home in Warsaw, Virginia (PHOTO: US-Philippines Society) WASHINGTON, D.C. — The sixth Annual Historic House Party of the William A. Jones Home in Warsaw, Virginia commemorated on 24 September 2016 the centennial of the Philippine Autonomy Act, otherwise known as the Jones Act for Philippine Independence, which was enacted by the 64th Congress of the United States of America on 29 August 1916. Organized by the Richmond County Museum, the gathering brought together representatives from the Philippine Embassy in Washington, DC; and the Jones Family, as well as members of the local community, including Filipino Americans from as far as Washington, D.C. and northern Virginia. The Jones Law, as it was commonly referred to, laid down the framework for a more autonomous government, preparatory to the grant of independence to the Philippines by the United States. Through this law, the Philippines saw the creation of a bicameral legislature, the introduction of a representative electoral process, and the recognition of the fundamental civil and political rights of persons living within the bounds of the Philippine Islands. Minister JV Chan Gonzaga with the Jones family: Philippine Embassy’s Economic Minister, Jose Victor Chan-Gonzaga (2nd from left) together with the Jones family at the 6th Annual Historic House Party of the William A. Jones Home in Warsaw, Virginia on 24 September 2016. (PHOTO: US-Philippines Society) In the formal program for the afternoon, Minister Jose Victor V. Chan-Gonzaga, representing the Philippine Embassy, and Ms. Elizabeth Hart Jones, representing the Jones Family, Read More …

Sep 302016
 
‘Duterte has sunk to new depths’—Amnesty International

President Rodrigo Duterte. AP FILE PHOTO An international human rights group on Friday criticized President Rodrigo Duterte for his speech where he drew parallel between the executions of drug addicts in the Philippines and the killings of Jews by Adolf Hitler. “With this latest outburst, President Duterte has sunk to new depths. Governments—both in the region and around the world—should speak out immediately and condemn these outrageous statements,” said Josef Benedict, Amnesty International’s (AI) Deputy Director for Southeast Asia and the Pacific in a statement. “They serve no discernible purpose other than to put more lives at risk.” Reacting to his critics who have compared him to Hitler, Duterte on Friday said he was willing to kill millions of drug addicts to solve the country’s problems. READ: Heil Digong? “There are 3 million drug addicts (in the Philippines). I’d be happy to slaughter them,” he said. “If Germany had Hitler, the Philippines would have…,” he said, pausing and pointing to himself. Various individuals and organizations including Jewish groups have condemned Duterte’s “disgusting rhetoric.” AI, which has slammed Duterte for his shoot-to-kill order against officials suspected of being involved in the drug trade, noted the rise in human rights violations since Duterte’s election. READ: Amnesty Int’l hits Duterte’s shoot-to-kill order to curb drugs “Since coming to power, there has been a surge of state-sanctioned violence and unlawful killings across the Philippines. Instead of stopping and condemning these human rights violations, and ensuring those responsible are held to account, he has vowed Read More …

Sep 302016
 
Miriam: One the ‘greatest’

Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago greets supporters during a campaign event at the University if Perpetual Help University in Biñan, Laguna on March 1. Santiago consistently topped a number of student-led election surveys organized in major universities around the country.(MNS photo) MANILA  (Mabuhay) – Senators on Thursday joined in mourning the death of former Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago, with most of them hailing her as one of the greatest public servants. Senate President Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III, a student of Santiago in the UP College of Law, said he owes his legal knowledge to the late senator. “I would always intently listen to her when she would speak in the Senate on constitutional and international law matters. I did not always agree with her position but I always learned from her arguments,” Pimentel said. “I’m saddened by her passing, saddened more by the fact that I wasn’t able to visit her during her last days with us,” he added. In a statement, Senate President Pro-Tempore Franklin Drilon said “there is no senator, past or present, who can match Senator Santiago’s uncommon brilliance and fiery dedication to her principles and beliefs.” “She was an intellectual giant and a legal luminary whose wit and words benefited this nation and its people so many times over. She’s a loss to the country. She will remain an inspiration to all of us,” Drilon said. Drilon and Santiago were classmates in the University of the Philippines-Iloilo College and the UP College of Law, from 1961 to 1969. Read More …

Sep 302016
 
Palace remembers Miriam as ‘shining light’ in PHL politics

COURTESY CALL: Senate President Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III (6th from right), Senator Cynthia Villar (4th from right) and Senator Risa Hontiveros (3rd from right) pose for a souvenir photo with members of parliament of the European Parliamentary Forum (EFP) during a courtesy call at the Senate, Tuesday, August 23. Accompanied by representatives of the Philippine Legislators’ Committee on Population and Development Foundation, Inc., (PLCPD) in the Senate, the delegation is in Manila on a study tour. (MNS photo) MANILA (Mabuhay) — Malacañang on Wednesday condoled with the family and friends of former Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago who passed away earlier in the morning. At a press briefing, presidential spokesperson Ernesto Abella said Santiago was a shining light in Philippine politics. “She was shining light in Philippine political annals for her sharp legal mind, uncompromising stand, and acid humor. She had a profound influence on millennials and the youth, constantly challenging preconceived notions both political and social,” Abella said. “Her passing also signals passing of era of politicians with wide ranging intelligence and courage to express their true conviction,” he added. According to Santiago’s family, the senator died in her sleep at 8:52 a.m. while confined at St. Luke’s Medical Center in Bonifacio Global City. It was in 2014 when the former lawmaker said that she had stage

Sep 302016
 
Poe says feisty but maternal Santiago gave her sleepless nights

Senator Grace Poe talks to the media as she concedes to front runner Rodrigo Duterte in the presidential elections on Monday. Poe said she has accepted the electorate’s decision and greeted Duterte, who is leading the count by more than 5 million votes from the next candidate with over half of the votes tallied.(MNS photo) MANILA  (Mabuhay) – Being a newbie in politics, Senator Grace Poe recalled how she had “sleepless nights” to face feisty constitutionalist, former Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago. Poe was the one who defended the proposed Freedom of Information (FOI) as chair of the Senate committee on public information and mass media during the 16th Congress. And Santiago was among those who interpellated her on the floor. “I was already defending the FOI bill, it was the first bill that I defended on the floor and I was quite scared to be interpellated then by Senator Santiago,” she recalled during the hearing of the committee, which she still chairs this 17th Congress. “I remember having sleepless nights preparing for that particular time when she would actually interpellate me,” said Poe. Before interperelatting her, Poe recalled Santiago telling her that: “Senator Poe, I feel very maternal towards you.” “So instead of actually interpellating me, she lectured me on the importance of having a Freedom of Information bill and I will never forget her for that,” she said. “She stressed that the presidential communications privilege should not be abused by any sitting president and I think that’s a valid point Read More …

Sep 302016
 
Credit after bankruptcy – Yes you can!

After a debtor receives a discharge in bankruptcy, creditors whose debts are discharged are required to report that the account has a zero balance. The fact of the filing itself can remain on the credit report for 10 years from the date it was filed. A debtor interested in re-establishing credit after bankruptcy should obtain credit reports from the 3 largest credit reporting agencies, (Experian, Equifax, and Trans Union) and ensure that the account balances have all been zeroed out. If not, the debtor should contact the credit reporting agencies and ask that the record be corrected Methods of Re-Establishing Credit A debtor seeking to re-establish credit should consider applying for a secured card, usually a Visa or Master Card. This is a credit card issued by a bank to a customer who is required to establish a savings account at the bank, which is used as security or collateral for the card. Typically, the limit on the card is based on the amount of collateral put up in the form of the savings account. Often, the bank will have an annual fee. The benefit of the secured card is that banks will issue them to persons with poor credit reports in the past, but who have the ability to pay the deposit to secure the account. Major store cards are also a good addition to building credit. Once you have a major credit card, even a secured card, it’s usually all that’s required to open an account at a Read More …

Sep 302016
 
Sharon Cuneta laughs off ‘Bilibid’ performance

Sharon Cuneta MANILA, Sept 30 (Mabuhay) — MEGASTAR Sharon Cuneta just laughed off the issue regarding her supposed 2012 show inside the New Bilibid Prison (NBP). Cuneta’s name was dragged during the recent congressional hearing about the alleged proliferation of drugs inside the national penitentiary when Senator Leila de Lima served as Justice Secretary. One of the witnesses named Cuneta as one of showbiz personalities who performed for drug lords and inmates. In an interview with the singer/actress at the press conference of her self-titled concert scheduled on October 15 and 22 at the Theater at Solaire, she said her performance was non-issue. “I’m so apolitical and sometimes I don’t know what these letters (NBP) stand for. You have to tell me the whole thing. Sabi ko, ‘I don’t know what these letters stand for. What are they associating me with?” She recalled that her team visited the NBP for the taping of her former talk show “Kasama Mo Kapatid,” which aired on TV5. The Kapamilya star said it was part of their advocacy and her way of helping RockEd Philippines. “It was organized by Gang Badoy and we were doing shows outside the studio. Nag Pampanga kami, nag Davao, Cebu, kung saan saan kami nakarating.” “If I’m not mistaken, it was the holiday season. When I went there, I actually talked to those na (nakakulong), ‘Kamusta ang buhay ninyo dito? Anong ginagawa ninyo to pass your time?’ Yung tipong because I wanted the show to reinforce positive values and Read More …