US green card limbo: for one Filipino, a long wait by Ivan Couronne, Agence France-Presse

WASHINGTON - Arnulfo Babiera applied for a US green card a decade ago, in the hopes of reuniting with his sister, a naturalized citizen. But at the current rate, his wait could extend until 2027.
Foreigners seeking to immigrate to the United States under a family reunification program may however see changes on the horizon, with a new reform seeking to resolve the four million cases in limbo, like that of Babiera.

"That is my dream, going to the United States of America -- to earn more, to support my family here. My income would be greater than it is here," Babiera told AFP by telephone from his home in Davao, in the southern Philippines.

Babiera, a 58-year-old employee of a recruitment agency, earned the right to come to the United States when his sister Elizabeth filed a green card application on his behalf in 2003.

But US law places a cap on the number of green cards each year granted to a specific country to seven percent of the total. There are so many requests from China, Mexico, India and the Philippines that the wait seems endless.

Applications are handled in the order in which they are received. For Filipino siblings of US citizens, immigration authorities are now processing applications filed in October 1989. Babiera could be waiting another 14 years.

For Mexican brothers and sisters, authorities are looking at cases dating back to 1996. For the unmarried children of US citizens, the backlog dates to April 2006, no matter what the nationality.

"I'll be retired before he comes here, I think!" said 56-year-old Elizabeth Babiera, a nurse who lives in the Washington suburbs.
"I have nobody here. I see the other families, they have all their brothers and sisters here, and I envy them."

The Babiera family green card drama is the unfortunate consequence of a law that no longer corresponds to the reality of the flow of immigrants into the United States.

Madeleine Sumption, an expert at the Migration Policy Institute, notes that between 4.3 million and 4.7 million people have earned the right to live in the United States on a permanent basis, but have been unable to move here.

But a draft immigration reform bill unveiled earlier this month by a bipartisan group of US senators includes a clause that would speed up the processing of the family green card applications.
From late 2014, and by 2021, all pending green card petitions should be handled.

"The backlog is just not an efficient way to run an immigration system, and yet because the law has not changed for so long, it's become the defining characteristic of how the policy functions here," Sumption said.

For backers of immigration reform, it is inconceivable to even think about creating a path to citizenship for the 11 million undocumented migrants in the United States before dealing with those who followed rules and waited at home.

"They are at the back of the line. Everyone who applied before them legally goes first," said Republican Senator Marco Rubio, a co-author of the bill.

Whenever his green card comes through, Babiera will be one of the last foreigners to get one via a brother or sister.

The reform proposal, which will be debated in Congress in the coming months, calls for the sibling green card clause to be abandoned. Only children and spouses of US citizens and permanent residents will qualify.

US lawmakers henceforth want to prioritize immigration on the basis of employment, and not family ties.
 

4 people stabbed at US church – police Associated Press

ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico – Police said a 24-year-old man stabbed four people at a Catholic church in New Mexico as a Sunday mass was nearing its end.

Police spokesman Robert Gibbs said Lawrence Capener jumped over several pews at St. Jude Thaddeus Catholic Church around noon Sunday and walked up to the choir area where he began his attack.

The injuries to the four church-goers weren’t life-threatening. All four were being treated at hospitals.

An off-duty police officer and others at the church subdued Capener and held him down until police arrived.

Some of those who were stabbed were members of the choir.

Gibbs said Capener is now being interviewed by police and is expected to face felony charges.

It’s not yet known whether Capener has an attorney.

Gibbs said investigators didn’t yet know the motive for the stabbings, whether Capener had ties to the victims or whether he regularly attended the church.

Archbishop of Santa Fe Michael Sheehan released a statement saying he was saddened by the attack.

“I pray for all who have been harmed, their families, the parishioners and that nothing like this will ever happen again,” Sheehan said.

The church didn’t immediately return calls seeking comment on Sunday afternoon.

Build middle class, Senator Angara tells UP grads

By Cathy C. Yamsuan
Philippine Daily Inquirer

Like the ilustrados of the 1800s, the middle class is emerging as a potent force in the Philippines’ social transformation.

That’s the role outlined to the Class of 2013 by Sen. Edgardo Angara in an address on Sunday at the University of the Philippines general commencement exercises in Diliman, Quezon City.

The former president of the UP System told the graduates, who he said belonged mostly to this social group, that he expected them to moderate the elite’s “vested interest” as the country was entering a “demographic sweet spot” with more people of working age compared to children and dependent elderly in less than a decade.

Today’s middle class, like the ilustrados of the 1800s, “is our country’s greatest source of talent and potential,” Angara said.

“A strong middle class is the backbone of civil society … (it) is the voice of reason that moderates vested interests, the force of change that compels societies to invest in their own future,” said the outgoing senator.

But he also repeated warnings that the middle class might be a “vanishing” breed unless the gap between rich and poor was narrowed down.

The current crop of college graduates enters the real world just as the Philippines becomes part of an integrated Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Economic Community that merges its 10 members into a single market, said Angara, who served four terms in the Senate.

This bloc, he said, would serve as a production base that would promote the free flow of goods, services, investment, capital and labor.

The Asean community would also have a market of 600 million people and a collective gross domestic product of nearly $2 trillion, he added.

The senator said this regional economy would be “the ninth largest in the world—a force to reckon with in global political, economic, diplomatic and cultural competition.”

But while Filipinos will find it easier to find work in Singapore or Malaysia when the new setup begins in 2015, “so will Indonesians and Vietnamese,” he noted.

Still, the years 2015 to 2050 would coincide with the emergence of a “demographic sweet spot (with) a proportionally large working-age population and fewer children and the elderly dependent on every working Filipino,” Angara said.

He said that taking advantage of this situation would allow the Philippines “to finance our own growth from our people’s own savings, without having to levy new taxes or borrow from other nations’ savings. We can build schools and hospitals, roads and bridges from our own pockets—investments for the people, by the people.”

But Angara warned that the opportunity would “not be unique” to the region.

“From now until 2070, various countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean will also enter their individual demographic windows. This is the developing world’s chance—our chance—to catch up with the developed nations.”

So much depends on this generation of graduates expected to be at the helm by the time this golden age takes place, he said.

“Whether we indeed make that great leap forward—whether we indeed become more competitive in Asean and in the world—depends on whether we build and expand the likes of you, an enlightened middle class.”

Inequalities

Problem is, Angara said, individuals are born into “inequalities” that have “measurable impacts” that eventually determine their future.

Angara quoted the Human Development Report indicating that 15.2 percent of “individual potential is lost because of inequality in life expectancy at birth.”

“From inequality in education, the loss is 13.5 percent; and from inequality in income, the loss is 30 percent,” he added.

Another study, he said, “suggests that a Filipino family’s economic status—more than any other factor—determines, over 90 percent of the time, whether a child gets fair access to primary and secondary education.”

Angara said the situation could be addressed by promoting equal access to development opportunities, providing everyone the opportunity to develop and use talents and skills productively, and fostering broad-based growth that will not only lift people from poverty “but—more importantly—give them lives of meaning and dignity.”

He said the middle class “will, undoubtedly, grow significantly in numbers in coming decades.”

“Whether these new ilustrados will be aware of their identity and conscious of their social role is an entirely different matter,” he said.

Vanishing

Angara echoed warnings that “the Filipino middle class is vanishing.”

Global inequality has been rising for the past 30 years as proven by reports of elite groups in various countries getting richer and enjoying combined incomes equal to those of most other citizens.

In the Philippines, Angara said the wealth of the 40 richest families in 2012 “grew by an amount equivalent to 76.5 percent of the growth in our (gross domestic product). And there are very few of these wealthy families: They number less than one in every 100 of us.”

As the ranks of the Filipino poor reach 80 in every 100 families, Angara said three of the remaining 20 families considered as middle class slide down into poverty every year.

“The absolute number of the middle class may seem enormous, especially in developing Asia—1.9 billion as of 2008. But this number only serves to mask their vulnerability,” he pointed out.

“If you live just above the poverty threshold, a single stroke of fate—one accident, calamity, or crisis can send you falling through the cracks,” the senator warned.

Angara also noted that the middle class had been instrumental in leading protests around the world.

“I tell you these things not to dampen the celebratory mood you have every right to feel. However, I know your eyes are already open to the real world. You will not be deceived by facile encouragement,” he explained.

Angara said the National Statistical Office had defined measurements of the middle class as follows:

– Those with an annual family income of from P282,000 to P2.296 million.

– Families whose heads have a college degree.

– Those who own a house and lot.

– Those whose homes have strong roofing materials.

– Those who own an oven, an air-conditioning unit and a vehicle.

Biazon father and son security aides mar caucus with brawl

 By Jaymee T. Gamil
Philippine Daily Inquirer

MANILA, Philippines—A local Liberal Party campaign caucus in Muntinlupa City was marred on Friday night by a shooting incident triggered by an altercation among supposedly allied security aides.

Muntinlupa chief of police Senior Superintendent Roque de la Vega told the Inquirer that the shooting was triggered by a brawl between a group from the “advance security party” of reelectionist congressman Rodolfo Biazon, and one bodyguard of Biazon’s son, Customs Commissioner Ruffy Biazon.

The brawl broke out at the late-night gathering at the Soldiers Hills subdivision covered court in Barangay Putatan, even as the older Biazon was speaking onstage at around 10:10 p.m., De la Vega said.

The police chief said it was the younger Biazon’s close-in security detail, Cpl.  Nelson Lubrin of the Philippine Marines, who fired the shots.

Sustaining gunshot wounds were Nilo Marollano, his son Victor Marollano, and their friend Oscar Parahili, all residents of the barangay.

De la Vega, quoting Lubrin, said the fight began with the Marollanos picking on him, calling him “suplado” and jostling him. Fisticuffs broke out when Lubrin decided to hit back, but ended up being ganged up on by the three.

The marine claimed he saw that one of the three was about to hit him with a rock and it was at this point he drew his firearm and shot his antagonists.

The elder Marollano was wounded on the left arm and left side of the torso, his son was shot on the right upper arm, while Parahili was shot in  the belly.

The wounded were rushed to the Medical Center Muntinlupa, while Lubrin was turned over by his superiors to the city police.

The wounded were transferred to the Asian Hospital and Medical Center on Saturday for surgery. All were declared in stable condition as of noon Saturday, with Parahili already discharged but the Marollanos remaining confined, De la Vega said.

Though the incident was detailed on the city police blotter, no formal police complaint had been filed against Lubrin as of Saturday, De la Vega said.

Nancy Binay still won’t do debates

By Christian V. Esguerra 

Philippine Daily Inquirer  

DUMAGUETE CITY, Philippines—Those eager to see Nancy Binay in a public debate would have to wait until after the May 13 senatorial elections.

If she wins, the daugher of Vice President Jejomar Binay said, she would be willing to go head-to-head with Team PNoy counterpart Risa Hontiveros on the Senate floor, assuming, of course, that the former Akbayan representative gets into the “Magic 12″ as well.

“I told her it’s okay. If both of us get elected to the Senate, the two of us would be able to debate every day in the Senate,” she told reporters during a campaign sortie here.

But in the meantime, Binay insisted that she would rather focus on the campaign trail with less than three weeks to go before elections.

“It seems there’s no more time for debates because there are still many provinces that I need to visit,” she said in Filipino.

More ground to cover

Binay said she still had more ground to cover because she joined the the senatorial race relatively late. She joined the United Nationalist Alliance ticket after businessman Joey De Venecia backed out.

“Most of [the candidates] had already prepared a year ago because they already had intentions of running,” she said.

Despite her purported reluctance to seek public office, Binay has performed well in surveys of voter preferences in the senatorial elections. She ranked third and fourth in the latest Social Weather Stations survey.

In contrast, Hontiveros, who has been challenging her to a debate, has consistently failed to get into the top 12 of all major surveys so far.

Still, Binay said she would not go easy on her campaign. She noted that in the 2010 vice presidential election, her father, then Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay, had been trailing frontrunner Mar Roxas. The elder Binay eventually won.

“What happened to my father’s opponent, I don’t want that to happen to me,” she said. “To me, surveys are not the true test of who would win or lose in the election.”

Binay added: “My mind-set is I’m not winning."

Gov’t readies nonwage benefits 70 job fairs to highlight Labor Day celebration

Tina G. Santos

The government would unveil “nonwage” benefits on Labor Day, Malacañang said Sunday, as it exhorted Filipinos to seize some 400,000 jobs in job fairs to be held Tuesday across the country.

President Aquino would meet with labor leaders in a breakfast dialogue on Tuesday in Malacañang, but the country’s workforce shouldn’t expect any announcement of wage benefits, deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said.

“Well, the President is going to sit down with them in the usual dialogue with labor and to also help Secretary (Rosalinda) Baldoz appeal to the workers’ sector … to wait for the unveiling of the package. That’s nonwage benefits,” Valte said.

Valte said the public should withhold comment on the package until this is presented.

Before the Palace unveiled the package of nonwage benefits, Partido ng Manggagawa (PM) described the minimum pay in the country as “starvation wages.”

“The minimum wage cannot buy a working class family its daily bread. The Constitution mandates that a worker receive a living wage. Instead, the regional wage boards prescribed a libing (burial) wage,” PM secretary general Judy Miranda said in a statement sent to the Inquirer.

The group said its own study of the cost of living for a family of six in Metro Manila showed that it had already reached P1,217 a day.

“This estimate shows that the gap between the P456 minimum wage in (Metro Manila) and the present cost of living is a yawning P761, or 167 percent of the ordinary wage. Even if both parents work—which is the buy-one, take-one policy of the government—then their combined income will not be enough to feed the entire family,” Miranda said.

The group’s cost of living estimate did not provide for savings and social security, which in the government’s basket of goods and services constitute 10 percent of the cost of living.

Miranda said the study did not include items such as leisure and recreation, and the family budget for health excluded medical expenses.

“If we include such items, and we must in a more accurate survey, then the cost of living will significantly exceed P1,200 per day,” she said.

‘Hopelessly outdated’

She added that “the National Wages and Productivity Council’s cost of living estimate of P917 in 2008 is hopelessly outdated in light of this study and in the face of continuing inflation.”

The militant labor group Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU), which is usually not invited to the breakfast dialogue with the President, is gearing up for Labor Day protest rallies that would include the burning of Aquino’s effigy.

KMU chairman Elmer Labog said the President was condoning increases in power and water rates, in prices of oil and other basic goods, and the privatization of public hospitals.

Jobless growth

“The burden on the Filipino workers and urban poor is getting more and more unbearable because of Aquino’s subservience to the dictates of the United States and of his big capitalists cohorts,” Labog said.

Officials of the moderate Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) vowed to raise unmet labor issues and “jobless growth” on Tuesday’s pre-Labor Day breakfast with Aquino at the Heroes Hall.

“On top of the agenda is this so-called jobless growth. There has been a pronounced improvement in the economy but this growth does not translate to generate opportunities for employment,” TUCP secretary general Gerard Seno said in a statement.

In 2012, the country posted a 6.6-percent gross domestic product growth compared with Thailand’s 6.4 percent, Indonesia’s 6.2 percent, Malaysia’s 5.6 percent, Vietnam’s 5 percent and Singapore’s 1.2 percent.

But citing the National Statistics Office, the TUCP said there were 2.89 million unemployed Filipinos and 7.934 million underemployed Filipinos in January 2013.

The “all-time high” underemployment rate in six years was recorded in July 2012 at 8.55 million, it added.

Poverty incidence

Besides the big number of unemployed and underemployed, poverty incidence in the country has remained unchanged over the past six years despite economic growth.

Poverty incidence in the first semester of 2012 stood at 27.9 percent, “practically unchanged” from 28.6 percent in 2009 and 28.8 percent in 2006, the National Statistical Coordination Board announced on April 23.

The high poverty incidence showed that the benefits of economic growth were not trickling down to the poor.

Valte said that the last time she checked, the unemployment rate was going down. “We see that the trend is going down,” she said.

70 job fairs

As part of Labor Day celebrations, the Department of Labor and Employment would open 70 job fairs in the country’s 16 regions on Tuesday, she said.

“So there are over 400,000 jobs that will be available—both local and overseas job opportunities that will be available in the 70 job fairs. And we encourage everybody to go to those job fairs and see what these have in store for you,” she said.

The TUCP said that high on the agenda of Tuesday’s dialogue with the President were issues such as employment and job creation, contractualization, social protection, right to self-organization and collective bargaining, wage increase, tripartism and social dialogue, and labor dispute settlement.

In a paper submitted to the Tripartite Industry and Peace Council, the Associated Labor Unions-TUCP recommended that the administration:

– Prioritize the creation of “decent” and productive employment.

– Ensure approval of the security of tenure bill.

– Direct labor officials to review outsourcing policies in the banking sector and other industries.

– Set up a commission on industrial policy.

– Craft a clear industrial policy.

Mural, effigy

The KMU said it was preparing a mural and an effigy that would be showcased on May 1. The mural, measuring 15 by 24 feet, depicts Aquino dressed as a clown and hounded by workers, peasants, urban poor and other sectors while hanging on an airplane piloted by US President Barack Obama.

Created by painter and printmaker Orlando Castillo, former president of the Art Association of the Philippines and founding member of the Concerned Artists of the Philippines, the mural will be unveiled at a program in Liwasang Bonifacio in Manila.

Other artworks by various artists will be highlighted on Labor Day, according to Labog.

“They depict suffering and lies being inflicted on the Filipino workers by President Noynoy Aquino,” he added.

Labog said Castillo’s mural “also shows the growing anger of the Filipino people against Aquino’s antipoor policies, betrayal of the people, and puppetry to the US. Anger at Aquino’s propaganda stunts aimed at deceiving the public is intensifying.”

The 10-feet tall effigy being created by artists from UgatLahi Artist Collective depicts Aquino and Obama as two serpents around an electric post.

The concept was inspired by the symbol for universal healthcare, according to KMU.

The effigy would be burned at around 5 p.m. at the Chino Roces bridge (formerly Mendiola) in Manila to mark the closing of this year’s Labor Day protests.

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Rating fall puzzles Binay Veep approval drops 8 points in new SWS poll

“Puzzling” was how the Office of the Vice President (OVP) described the results of the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey in which public satisfaction with Vice President Jejomar Binay slipped, spoiling his “excellent” rating streak that stretched for five quarters.

The net satisfaction ratings of other government officials and institutions also declined in March.

The survey, conducted from March 19 to 22, found Binay’s net satisfaction rating dropping eight points from an “excellent” 70 (79 percent satisfied, 9 percent dissatisfied) in December 2012 to a “very good” 62 (75 percent satisfied, 13 percent dissatisfied) in March.

Results of the survey, first published in BusinessWorld, used 1,200 face-to-face interviews nationwide and had a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

In an earlier report, President Aquino’s net satisfaction rating went up by four points from 55 in December to 59 in March, both within the “very good” category.

In a statement, the OVP on Monday observed that the SWS survey overlapped with that of Pulse Asia but produced divergent results.

“While SWS showed a decline [of eight points], the Pulse Asia survey showed an increase of six points in the Vice President’s performance and trust ratings,” it noted.

Binay’s spokesman, Joey Salgado, said despite that, the Vice President remained grateful for his high approval ratings. “Since 2012, the Vice President’s ratings ranged from very good to excellent,” Salgado said.

Since Binay assumed the vice presidency in June 2010, his net satisfaction ratings ranged from a low of 57 in November 2010 to a high of 76 in August 2012.

Political dynasty

Binay is campaigning for the senatorial slate of the “opposition” United Nationalist Alliance (UNA), which includes his daughter Nancy.

The Binays have been accused of building a political dynasty, as the Vice President’s son is a reelectionist mayor in Makati City while another daughter is running for reelection as representative of the city. The wife of the Vice President, like himself, is a former mayor of Makati.

The Catholic Church is among the groups campaigning against political dynasties in the country.

Backlash

A political analyst is not puzzled at all by the decline in Binay’s satisfaction rating.

Ramon Casiple said Monday night that backlash over the issue of political dynasty was the main reason for the drop in the net satisfaction rating of Binay.

“A turn-off is the charge of political dynasty. There’s no doubt in the minds of the people that he brought in his daughter as a senatorial candidate simply because she is his daughter,” Casiple said by phone.

The perception that Binay was “too eager” to become the country’s next leader also did him in, he said. “He has an image problem. He has come across as too eager for the position. He’s the only one who has announced his candidacy,” he said.

The net satisfaction rating of Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, a stalwart of the UNA like Binay, suffered a 17-point decline from a “good” 47 (63 percent satisfied, 16 percent dissatisfied) in December 2012 to a still “good” 30 [rounded off] (53 percent satisfied, 24 percent dissatisfied) in the latest survey.

As Senate President, Enrile’s satisfaction ratings ranged from a low of 5 in December 2008 to a high of 65 in August 2012.

Slew of controversies

Enrile is campaigning for his son Jack, a senatorial candidate of UNA.

Casiple said a slew of controversies—the grant of bonuses to favored senators, smuggling in Port Irene, in his home province of Cagayan, and his son’s checkered past—pulled down the net satisfaction rating of Enrile.

“That was corruption; unlawful or illegitimate use of public money,” he said of Enrile’s grant of P1.6 million in additional maintenance and other operating expenses to 18 senators last Christmas. Four senators critical of Enrile each received only P250,000.

Belmonte, Sereno slide

Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr.’s net satisfaction rating slid by four points, from 15 in December 2012 to 11 in March. Both numbers are within the “moderate” rating.

Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno registered a five-point decline from a “moderate” 14 in December 2012 to a “neutral” 9 in March.

The SWS classifies a net satisfaction rating of 70 and above as “excellent”; 50 to 69, “very good”; 30 to 49, “good”; 10 to 29, “moderate”; 9 to -9, “neutral”; -10 to -29, “poor”; -30 to -49, “bad”; -50 to -69, “very bad”; and -70 and below, “execrable.”

Institutions

The net satisfaction ratings of major institutions also declined, with the Senate slipping by six percentage points from December 2012’s “very good” 51 (65 percent satisfied, 14 percent dissatisfied) to a “good” 45 (63 percent satisfied, 18 percent dissatisfied) in the latest survey.

Net satisfaction with the Cabinet also fell by three percentage points from 26 (45 percent satisfied, 19 percent dissatisfied) in the previous quarter to 23 (44 percent satisfied, 21 percent dissatisfied).

On the other hand, the Supreme Court and the House of Representatives’ net satisfaction ratings slipped by two percentage points.

The high court’s rating fell from 36 (55 percent satisfied, 18 percent dissatisfied) to 34 (54 percent satisfied, 20 percent dissatisfied) in the latest survey.

The House’s net satisfaction rating declined from 31 (50 percentage satisfied, 20 percentage dissatisfied) in the previous quarter to 29 (49 percent satisfied, 20 percent dissatisfied) in March.—Lawrence de Guzman, Inquirer Research; Jerry E. Esplanada and TJ A. Burgonio

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PH buying 2 brand-new warships

By Marlon Ramos

The Philippines is getting two brand-new frigates as part of the modernization program of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, Defense Undersecretary Fernando Manalo said on Monday.

He told reporters that the Department of National Defense (DND) had earmarked P18 billion for the purchase of the two vessels through a public bidding. He said a number of countries, including South Korea, Spain and Singapore, would participate in the bidding.

Manalo also disclosed that the DND had been negotiating for a government-to-government acquisition of 12 jet fighters from South Korea.

He said the DND had decided to scrap previous plans to acquire refurbished frigates since secondhand vessels would be more costly to maintain. He said the DND had allocated P9 billion for each frigate, or fast warship.

“The purchase of the frigates has been in the pipeline,” Manalo said.  “We are just waiting for the Navy to submit their ‘decision package.’ After that, we will review it and issue an acquisition decision memorandum signed by (Defense) Secretary Voltaire Gazmin,” he said.

Manalo said the process could take a week. “After that, we’ll schedule one or two prebid conferences.”

“We originally wanted to buy secondhand frigates but then we realized that it would be expensive in the long run if we are going to buy secondhand,” he added.

He noted that older ships required more maintenance repairs compared to new vessels. He said the DND had previously approved P6 billion for each refurbished frigate.

The Philippine Navy has only one battleship, the 48-year-old Hamilton-class cutter BRP Gregorio del Pilar, which the Philippines acquired from the United States in 2011.

A second warship, the BRP Ramon Alcaraz, would finally sail to the Philippines in June after undergoing repairs in Charleston, South Carolina.

The Navy earlier said the Alcaraz, a 45-year-old frigate, was expected to arrive this month.

The Hamilton-class cutter was acquired for P450 million by the AFP from the US Coast Guard on May 22, 2012, as part of the US government’s military assistance program for the Philippines.

In his State of the Nation Address last year, President Aquino announced that the Alcaraz would arrive from the United States in January 2013 as part of the much-needed AFP upgrade.

“We are not sending paper boats out to the sea. Now, our 36,000 kilometers of coastline will be patrolled by more modern ships,” the President then said, referring to the decades-old vessel, which the US Coast Guard decommissioned on March 30, 2012.

Formerly known as USCGC Dallas, the AFP’s second frigate was named after the late Commodore Ramon Alcaraz, a World War II hero who commanded the Q-boat Abra, which shot down three Japanese aircraft.

Like its sister ship, the Alcaraz was classified as a high-endurance cutter built in 1968.

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Philippine Campaign Violations you Need to be Aware Of

Bad officials are elected by good citizens who do not vote (and who do not give a damn!). 

As the May 2013 election draws near, more and more campaign violations can be observed along the streetwalk and other campaign venues. 

Here are the set violations by our Commission on Elections: 

Unlawful Campaigning

Campaigning on Maundy Thursday, March 28

Campaigning on Good Friday, March 29

Campaigning on the eve of Election Day, May 12

Campaigning on Election Day, May 13

Foreign Intervention

A foreigner, or foreign entity, aiding a candidate directly or indirectly, or spending for a candidate’s campaign

Prohibited Campaign Propaganda

- Printed materials such as leaflets, exceeding eight and one-half inches (8 ½”) in width and fourteen inches (14”) in length

- Posters made of cloth, paper, cardboard or any other material, whether framed or posted, with an area exceeding two feet (2’) by three feet (3’)

- Streamers exceeding three feet (3’) by eight feet (8’) in size displayed at the site and on the occasion of a public meeting or rally.

- Said streamers displayed more than five (5) days before the date of the meeting or rally or NOT removed within twenty-four (24) hours after said meeting or rally

- Use of hazardous materials in campaign materials; use of plastics in jurisdictions where plastics are banned

-Absence of this information on printed propaganda material: “political advertisement paid for,” followed by the true and correct name and address of the candidate or party for whose benefit the election propaganda was printed or aired; and “political advertisements paid by,” followed by the true and correct name and address of the payor

Source: www.philstar.com

- To print, publish, broadcast or exhibit any such election propaganda donated or given free of charge by any person or publishing firm or broadcast entity to a candidate or party without the written acceptance by the said candidate or party and unless they bear and be identified by the words “printed free of charge,” or “airtime for this broadcast was provided free of charge by”, respectively, followed by the true and correct name and address of the said publishing firm or broadcast entity

-To show, display or exhibit publicly in a theater, television station, or any public forum any movie, cinematography or documentary portraying the life or biography of a candidate, or in which a character is portrayed by an actor or media personality who is himself a candidate

-To post, display or exhibit any election campaign or propaganda material outside of authorized common poster areas, in public places, or in private properties without the consent of the owner thereof.

NB: “Public places” include any of the following:

-Electronic announcement boards, such as LED display boards located along highways and streets, LCD TV displays posted on walls of public buildings, and other similar devices which are owned by local government units, government-owned and controlled corporations, or any agency or instrumentality of the Government;

-Motor vehicles used as patrol cars, ambulances, and other similar purposes that are owned by local government units, government-owned and controlled corporations, and other agencies and instrumentalities of the Government, particularly those bearing red license plates;

-Waiting sheds, sidewalks, street and lamp posts, electric posts and wires, traffic signages and other signboards erected on public property, pedestrian overpasses and underpasses, flyovers and underpasses, bridges, main thoroughfares, center islands of roads and highways;

-Schools, shrines, barangay halls, health centers, public structures and buildings or any edifice thereof;

Public utility vehicles such as buses, jeepneys, trains, taxi cabs, ferries, pedicabs and tricycles, whether motorized or not;

Within the premises of public transport terminals, such as bus terminals, airports, seaports, docks, piers, train stations, and the like.

So what will you do if you see these violations? Report it. COMELEC has a program called ISUMBONG MO which is open to valid reported violations. All submitted reports to COMELEC are treated as CONFIDENTIAL unless the one reporting requests otherwise.

You can call in your valid and detailed report through the COMELEC Cebu hotline: 4169773. Manila hotline numbers are 5275574; 5259345; 5259302

For those more "techie", the COMELEC earlier called on the public to report violations on campaign rules by tweeting the poll body @comelec and using the hashtag #sumbongko. Don't forget to give out your email address and just wait for COMELEC's Direct Message (DM) where they will reply to your report or they can ask further queries regarding your report. 

You can also leave a comment or PCOSdemo fanpage. The same thing, you need to give out your email address and other contact information. 

Visit www.mycomelec.tv for more information.

Or-- you can also leave a valid comment below so we at iSTORYA.NET can also help out in reporting such violations. 

So, what are you waiting for? Be vigilant and let us help each other in having a smooth-flowing campaign period and a successful election day this May! 

And to all registered voters, do not forget to vote!

“Have you ever stopped to ponder the amount of blood spilt, the volume of tears shed, the degree of pain and anguish endured, the number of noble men and women lost in battle so that we as individuals might have a say in governing our country? Honor the lives sacrificed for your freedoms. Vote.” - Richelle Goodrich

Source: www.comelec.gov.ph

Aussie woman raped at knife-point in Bali

BY:BY KARLIS SALNA, 
AAP SOUTH-EAST ASIA CORRESPONDENT 
From: AAP April 29, 2013 5:37PM

AN Australian woman assaulted as a knife was held to her throat during a violent robbery in Bali is believed to be the latest victim of a serial rapist.

The 28-year-old from Perth was attacked in the early hours of Saturday morning after being woken by an intruder who had entered her room at Villa Damais in Kerobokan where she was staying with family.

Details of the horrific assault emerged on Monday with the woman telling police she was first forced to open a safe in her room, before being raped while a knife was held to her throat.

The attack occurred as seven other members of her family, including children, slept in rooms inside the rented villa on the popular holiday island.

"The victim was then threatened with knife by the perpetrator," a spokesman with the North Kuta police, Reinhard Habonaran Nainggolan, told AAP.

"His right hand held the knife while his left hand held a flashlight.

"She was under threat of knife that she could not make a sound."

The woman was treated at a local hospital and returned to Perth with her family on Sunday.

Police said that the woman's description of her attacker matches that of a man believed to have carried out previous rapes.

A number of people were involved in the robbery.

"They entered the villa by jumping on to the wall," Mr Reinhard said.

Three iPads, two mobile phones and about Rp1.5 million ($A150) in cash were stolen.

It is the latest in a spate of violent incidents in an area of Bali popular with tourists, especially Australians.

In March, Mercedes Corby was bashed by a gang in Kuta as she returned home from a party.

The older sister of convicted drug smuggler Schapelle Corby needed minor surgery after suffering a broken nose and bleeding to the cornea during the assault.

NPA rebels torch equipment

By Annabelle L. Ricalde
 Tuesday, April 16, 2013

ABOUT 40 members of the New People’s Army (NPA) burned on Monday the equipment owned by the Department of Labor and Employment (Dole) and the mini-packing house of Agrinanas Development Corporation Inc., police said.

The rebels burned the Dole’s bulldozer and three backhoes used in the proposed banana plantation in sitio Tapon in Barangay Mat-I, Claveria town at 1:30 a.m. on Monday.

At 7:00 a.m. on the same day, the mini-packing house of Agrinanas Development Corp. Inc. in Libona, Bukidnon was also burned by at least 15 NPA rebels wounding an employee identified as Jewersky Revilla after he was reportedly shot.

Police Regional Office-Northern Mindanao (PRO-10) spokesperson Superintendent Ronnie Francis Cariaga said the rebels’ intent of burning the equipment is extortion and harassment to the company affecting agri-workers and employees.

“We could not find any other motives than extortion. That is really their aim and it has nothing to with the environment,” Cariaga told Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro in an interview on Monday.

The Philippine National Police (PNP) condemned the NPA attacks as inhuman and a violation of human rights especially that employees of Agrinanas are non-combatants.

Edgar Nanolan, president of the Employees Union of Agrinanas Development Corp. Inc., has been worried over the burning of the mini-packing house in Libona, because the management has already warned to pull out its business and leave the area if the NPA attempts to attack its plantation.

Nanolan said the NPA rebels burned the equipment after Agrinanas didn’t respond to the demands of the armed group. He said the management informed him of the money the NPA allegedly demanded from the firm.

“The deadline they gave to the management was supposed to be on Sunday, so we were relieved nothing happened on that day, but they staged their attack today (Monday)” he added.

In a radio interview, Jorge ‘Ka Oris’ Madlos, NPA spokesperson, who confirmed that the NPA rebels were responsible for the incident, vowed to continue their operation until the companies stop their banana expansion and leave the area.a

What makes a ‘good senator’, Maceda counts the ways

INQUIRER.net 1:43 pm | Monday, April 29th, 2013

MANILA, Philippines – Intelligence alone does not necessarily make a good senator.

Former senate president Ernesto Maceda believes that it takes years of experience—54 years in public service and 43 government positions, to be specific.

Maceda was a member of the Senate from 1970 to 1998—at one point serving as Senate President— and was Philippine Ambassador to the United States from 1998 to 2001.

“I have delivered 200 exposes, authored and co-authored 600 laws, and I have been in public office for 54 years and held more than anybody else, 43 government positions. I don’t think anybody else can equal my record,” he told INQUIRER.net in a recent interview.

“I have the Maceda Law which provides protection to real estate buyers. For you to have a law named after you and it is being studied in law school is some sort of an exceptional achievement,” he said.

And at 78 years old, the former senator feels that the time is right for him to take his place among fellow lawmakers once more, feeling that the quality of debates in the Senate has been declining.

“The general impression is that if you go farther back, the better, the higher the quality of debates. As you go near the present time, it seems to me that the quality is declining,” said Maceda, a senatorial bet running under the United Nationalist Alliance [UNA].

A good senator would attend as much committee hearings as possible in a day, continue researching and studying laws, and exert the power of check and balance in the government.

But it still boils down to more than five decades in public service for Maceda.

“You must have a lot of experience and knowledge and intelligence to be able to discuss well over… 5,000 to 6,000 bills. If you don’t have an extensive background you probably will be very selective. You cannot be good enough to involve yourself in the debates of all the bills,” he said.

“Almost automatically if you have good senators you have good debates, if you have silent senators you have no debate,” Maceda added.

Usually a member of the opposition, the UNA bet believes that he can “shine more as an expose person, a fiscalizer and an independent senator. That is one thing you have to look for in a senator… hindi pwedeng yes sir ng yes sir sa Presidente.”

If he did not choose to pursue a career in politics, Maceda said that he would have become a doctor.

“In a sense, I am a doctor—a doctor of political diseases,” he said.