Risa, Jun enter list of 'probable winners' - Pulse

MANILA, Philippines -- Two Team PNoy senatorial candidates, Risa Hontiveros and Ramon Magsaysay Jr., made it to the list of 16 "probable winners" if elections were held from April 20 to 22.

That's according to the latest pre-election survey of Pulse Asia.

Hontiveros was previously ranked 16th to 18th while Magsaysay was ranked 13th to 18th.

The nationwide survey had 1,800 respondents with a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percent.

ANC Dateline Philippines, April 30, 2013

DND drops plan to buy used ships, to buy new instead By Alexis Romero (philstar.com) | Updated April 29, 2013 - 6:21pm

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of National Defense (DND) is discarding its earlier plan to acquire used ships and is now planning to buy two brand-new frigates to boost the Navy’s security capabilities.

DND Undersecretary Fernando Manalo said acquiring second-hand ships would be more costly in the long run as these would require repairs and upgrades.

“We realized that it will be expensive in the long run if we are going to buy second hand (ships). As much as possible, if we have budget, we will buy new ones,” he said in a press briefing on Monday.

Manalo said they would spend about P18 billion for the two brand new ships. The government previously allotted P12 billion to buy two used frigates.

Manalo said they are waiting for the Navy to submit a decision package, which contains the technical specifications they need.

He said the two brand new ships would be acquired through public bidding. The procurement process may be completed within the second quarter.

Manalo claimed that companies from South Korea, Spain and Singapore have expressed interest to join the bidding.

The government originally sought to acquire the vessels through government-to-government transactions.

Officials, however, are now eyeing a public bidding reportedly due to the interest of several suppliers to provide equipment to the military.

A government-to-government transaction is usually faster than a public bidding but the DND is optimistic that the acquisition would not be delayed.

Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin previously said a public bidding would ensure transparency and would allow them to compare the ships being offered by potential suppliers.

The DND is fast-tracking the military’s upgrade program amid the recent aggressive actions of China in the West Philippine Sea, the subject of a long-standing territorial row in the region.

Officials, however, claimed that the acquisition of new military assets is not directed against any country.

To beef up its territorial defense capabilities, the Navy acquired two warships from the United States namely the BRP Gregorio del Pilar, which arrived in 2011 and the BRP Ramon Alcaraz, which is expected to be in the country by July

The government spent more than P1 billion to acquire the two ships. - with B. Beltran

PHL suspends importation of live shrimps from Asian neighbors April 30, 2013 1:09pm

The Philippines has stopped the importation of live shrimps to prevent the spread of Early Mortality Syndrome (EMS)—now prevalent in neighboring countries—among local species, the the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) said Tuesday.

BFAR Director Asis Perez said EMS is prevalent Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, China and Indonesia. “We are dealing with a disease unknown to us, all the more that measures must be undertaken,” he said.

An EMS infected shrimp usually dies within the first 30 days of its life, according to the bureau.

It also banned the entry of crabs and lobsters which can carry and transmit the disease. The bureau said it is also monitoring the spread of EMS in Singapore, Myanmar, Brunei and Cambodia.

“The Philippines remains EMS-free as of the moment and BFAR is exhausting all efforts to remain so,” Perez noted. While the the cause of EMS is still unknown, BFAR said infected samples exhibit slow growth, corkscrew swimming and pale coloration. 

With the suspension, BFAR has ordered Fish Health Officers, Quarantine Officers and the Law Enforcement Quick Response Team to monitor, control and implement surveillance protocols at airports and seaports in the country.

Perez noted the situation opens up opportunities for the Philippines to revive its shrimp export industry, saying the bureau is now consulting growers to establish long-term solutions to the problems now facing the industry.

Last month, Agriculture Secretary Processo Alcala said his department is preparing the shrimp industry to again eye the export market. Diseases caused by overcrowding spelled the near-demise of the industry several years ago.

Unsanitary practices in tiger shrimp farms forced many hatcheries to close down starting 1996.

Now the Agriculture Department is studying the potential of mangrove areas in Panay, Leyte, Negros, and Mindoro as strategic production sites, said Alcala.

Bureau of Agricultural Statistics (BAS) data showed tiger prawn output reached 48,196 metric tons (MT) in 2012 from 47,494 MT in 2011 and from 48,161 MT in 2010.

Production was valued at P1.89 billion in 2012 from P1.85 billion in 2011 and from P1.82 billion in 2010. — VS, GMA News

No drop for Chiz in latest Pulse Asia surveys, unlike in other polls

Unlike the surveys conducted by the Social Weather Stations (SWS), the latest Pulse Asia surveys show that Senator Francis Escudero's ranking remains unchanged despite the recent negative press about his love life.

The latest Pulse Asia pre-election national survey, conducted from April 20 to 22, showed thatEscudero remained at second place next to re-electionist Senator Loren Legarda.

His ranking in the Pulse Asia March 16-20 survey was also the same.

This is contrary to the last two SWS surveys which showed him dropping from second place to third to fourth places and then to fifth place.

The parents of Escudero's girlfriend, actress Heart Evangelista, held their first press conference against the senator on March 19.

LP vs UNA

Of the 16 candidates who have a "statistical chance of winning," 11 were  from the Liberal Party-led coalition while five were from UNA, just like in the last survey conducted by the firm in March.

The 11 administration candidates were: re-electionist Senators Loren Legarda (1st-2nd place), Escudero (1st-3rd), former MTRCB chair Grace Poe (3rd-4th), Alan Peter Cayetano (3rd-7th), former Las Pinas Rep. Cynthia Villar (4th-9th), Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV (4th-10th), President Benigno Aquino III's cousin Benigno "Bam" Aquino (4th-10th), Sen. Koko Pimentel (6th-12th), Aurora Rep. Edgardo Angara (8th-14th), former Akbayan Rep. Risa Hontiveros (12-17th), and former Sen. Jun Magsaysay (12-17th).

On the other hand, the five UNA bets were: San Juan Rep. JV Ejercito Estrada (5th-11th), Vice President Jejomar Binay's daughter Nancy (5th-11th), former senator Juan Miguel Zubiri (10th-16th), re-electionist Sen. Gregorio Honasan (11th-16th) , Cagayan Rep. Jack Enrile (11th-16th).

Former Sen. Richard Gordon, who was previously in the list, dropped to 14th-18th places after losing 8.3 points.

Also among those who lost substantial points were, Pimentel (9.0), Honasan (8.9), Cayetano (8.7), Enrile (5.2), and Binay (5.0).

Among the 16, only Poe and Hontiveros gained points. Poe gained 0.3 points while Hontiveros 1.5, allowing her to break into the top 16.

The other candidates ranked in the survey were former Senator Maria Consuelo "Jamby" A. Madrigal (17th-18th), Puerto Princesa Mayor Edward Hagedorn (19th-21st), Zambales Rep. Mitos Magsaysay (19th to 22nd), Bro. Eddie Villanueva (19th-22nd), former Senate President Ernesto Maceda (20th-23rd), former Tarlac Governor Tingting Cojuangco (22nd-24th),, Bayan Muna Rep. Teddy Casino (23rd-24th), Sammy Alcantara (25th-29th), JC De Los Reyes (25th-32nd), Ramon Montaño (25th-32nd), Bro. Lito Yap David (25th-33rd), Grego Belgica (25th-33rd), Bal Falcone (26th-33rd), Ricardo Penson (26th-33rd), Llasos (26th-33rd), and Christian Señeres (28th-33rd). - VVP, GMA News

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.
 

Car repair shop helper killed in brawl at woman’s house in QC By Jeannette I. Andrade Philippine Daily Inquirer

MANILA, Philippines — A neighborly visit to a woman’s house at an ungodly hour proved fatal on Sunday to a 27-year-old automobile repair shop helper who was stabbed dead in a brawl with three other male guests in Quezon City.

Howard Oliver Abina III, a resident of Salanap Compound, Sitio Mendez in Barangay (village) Baesa, was killed instantly while his 37-year-old companion and neighbor Danilo Corpuz was wounded in the melee but survived by bringing himself to the East Avenue Medical Center for treatment.

Corpuz, Quezon City police investigators said, had triggered the brawl with the three men who fled after the knife attack and have become subjects of a hunt.

Senior Police Officer 1 Cristituto Zaldarriaga, of the Quezon City Police District Criminal Investigation and Detection Unit (QCPD-CIDU), said that brawl happened at around 1:30 a.m., inside the house of a Shirley Oliveria at Salanap Compound, Sitio Mendez in Barangay Baesa.

Zaldarriaga said that when Abina and Corpuz arrived at Oliveria’s house, they found three other male guests already seated in the living room.

The case investigator said that Corpuz suddenly asked one of the men, “Why? Is there a problem?” which sparked an argument and subsequently a fist-fight between them. Abina tried to help his companion during the brawl but was stabbed in the right side of the chest by one of the men.

Abina died instantly while Corpuz, who was likewise stabbed, managed to bring himself to the nearest hospital and seek treatment.

‘The Firm’ not so firm: It’s breaking up By Gil C. Cabacungan Philippine Daily Inquirer

The firm is not so firm after all.

Several sources from legal, business and political circles have claimed that the Villaraza Cruz Marcelo & Angangco, or CVC Law office, easily the country’s richest and most powerful law firm, is in turmoil and on the verge of breaking up, with senior partners Avelino “Nonong” Cruz and Simeon Marcelo threatening to leave the 33-year-old law partnership over management and financial differences.

A top government official close to the partners said that 15 partners belonging to the so-called “government bloc” of Cruz and Marcelo were planning to leave CVC Law.  This would leave the rival faction led by chair and CEO F. Arthur “Pancho” Villaraza with only eight partners.

“CVC Law or The Firm has parted ways,” declared the government source, who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak in behalf of the law firm.

No comment

Asked for his reactions on the dispute, CVC Law managing partner Bienvenido I. Somera Jr. replied in a text message that he “can’t comment at the moment.”  Several attempts to reach Villaraza through an intermediary also yielded the same result. Marcelo did not return the Inquirer’s calls.

Cruz served as presidential legal counsel and defense secretary during the term of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who used to be The Firm’s most powerful client, while Marcelo served as solicitor general and ombudsman during the same administration.

A lawyer and fraternity brother of Villaraza at the University of the Philippines law school’s Sigma Rho fraternity said the partners were bickering on how to divide the profits of the company.

Bigger slice of profits

The lawyer, who requested anonymity, said the group of Cruz and Marcelo had claimed that they had brought in more government clients to the company and therefore deserved a bigger slice of the profits.

The lawyer said The Firm’s top brass held several “ill-tempered” meetings over the past few days, and that their separation was just a formality.  Cruz, he said, had even pushed for the immediate sale of the law firm’s multibillion peso headquarters, the 12-story CVC Law Center at the Fort Bonifacio Global City which was completed three years ago.

An insider from The Firm confirmed that the partners held a “tempestuous” meeting last Wednesday where the seniors partners were supposed to start the separation proceedings.

Purely business vs advocacy

Some partners, however, decided to take a few more days to rethink their stand in the hopes that the two sides would soften their stance and agree to a compromise.

But the insider said that the partners were not squabbling over money because the division of properties would only matter after the partnership had been dissolved.   For the past two years, the insider added, the government bloc had been at odds with the Villaraza group’s policy of treating the partnership as a purely business enterprise.

The government bloc had maintained that The Firm could “still do well and do good” by taking on cases primarily for advocacy rather than just for profit, the inside source said.

Another source however said that The Firm is divided into one faction led by Villaraza and Raoul Angangco, with eight partners on its side, including Somera, who acted as The Firm’s chief operating officer, and often served as a bridge to the rival faction led by Cruz and Marcelo.

‘Discontent over treatment’

“Most of the law firm’s partners who had served in government are on [the Cruz-Marcelo] side,” the source said, adding that 15 partners are in this faction.

The source said that the looming dissolution of CVC Law was caused by “discontent” in the Cruz-Marcelo camp over what some partners have described as Villaraza’s “style of treating his other partners.”

Said the source: “The split was caused by fundamental differences in the direction of The Firm and [its] manner of practicing law. The rift has little to do with money matters.”

The source said that the troubles at The Firm and its 23 partners had been brewing for the last few weeks, and that attempts were made to resolve the impasse.  So far, such efforts have failed, the source added.

PR fallout

More recently, both sides have been trying to come to an agreement on how to divide the company, including how to dispose of its headquarters at Bonifacio Global City in Taguig City, while limiting the public relations fallout of the dissolution. But such talks had also failed to break the deadlock.

“It now looks like the breakup would happen soon,” the source said. “This could be fast.”

Rumors of the breakup were fanned by the glaring absence of Cruz, Marcelo and other partners from the “Casa Artusi” series of dinners hosted by The Firm for its blue-chip clients at its ultra-exclusive Rainmakers Lounge at the CVC Law Center’s penthouse.

Guests who asked why only Villaraza and allied partners Augusto A. San Pedro Jr. and Franchette Acosta were around at the event were told that Cruz and Marcelo would be holding separate dinners for their clients.

The Firm was formed in 1980 by Villaraza, Cruz, Tommy Rossel, Romy Barza and current Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonio Carpio.

Falling out with Gloria Arroyo

After its office burned down in 1982, The Firm moved to the LTA Building in Makati owned by the family of former First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo, and stayed there until 2010 even after a falling out with former President Macapagal-Arroyo in 2005 that forced Cruz and Marcelo to quit her administration.

Villaraza and Carpio served as legal counsel for several allies of then President Ferdinand Marcos in the 1980s, but was relatively low-key during the terms of Presidents Corazon Aquino (1986 and 1992) and Joseph Estrada (1998 to 2001).

It was during the term of President Fidel V. Ramos that CVC Law again rose to prominence when Carpio was appointed presidential legal counsel.  The Firm was largely credited with breaking up the decades-old monopoly of Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. during this period. It was also during this time when CVC Law earned the monicker, The Firm, after a bestseller written by American author John Grisham.

Estrada impeachment

The Firm also took part in the impeachment trial of Estrada when Marcelo served as one of the prosecutors.

The law firm’s roster of big-ticket corporate clients include Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp., the Rizal Commercial Banking Corp., several companies under the Lopez group, among them ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corp., Sagittarius Mines Inc. and several high-profile individuals.

CVC Law served as the external counsel of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas in its latest round of legal battles with the shuttered Banco Filipino Savings and Mortgage Bank. It was also part of the successful operation to shut down the P14-billion Legacy scam in 2009.

Last year, The Firm served as advisers during the impeachment trial of former Chief Justice Renato Corona.  With a report from Daxim L. Lucas

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.

UNA candidate sees red over Aquino’s yellow rap

By Leila B. Salaverria

Philippine Daily Inquirer

LEGAZPI CITY—President Aquino should not begrudge other parties from sporting yellow as their campaign color and should not lose his head over such trivialities, an opposition senatorial candidate said here on Monday.

Zambales Rep. Milagros “Mitos” Magsaysay, a senatorial candidate of the opposition United Nationalist Alliance (UNA), said the colors chosen by local parties should not concern the President, as there are far more important matters that demand his attention.

Magsaysay was reacting to reports that the President chided the UNA for having local candidates in General Santos City who were using yellow as their campaign color.

Yellow is the official color of the President’s Liberal Party. It is the signature color of Aquino’s mother, the late President Corazon Aquino, who battled dictator Ferdinand Marcos in a snap presidential election in 1986 wearing yellow dresses to signify the Filipinos’ struggle for freedom.

“I think the President should stop looking at trivialities, as far as the election is concerned. What he should focus on is how to address the problems of the country, not the uniforms of local candidates,” Magsaysay told reporters here.

For instance, criticizing local candidates for wearing yellow despite not being affiliated with Team PNoy will not solve the power shortage in General Santos City, she said.

Magsaysay also said that in the first place, no group owns any color.

“Does Team PNoy have a patent for the color yellow? Have they bought the ‘rights’ to that color?” she said.

In a separate statement, UNA campaign manager Toby Tiangco said the alliance was not trying to mislead the voters.

The UNA’s national campaign color is orange, he said, but its local allies are free to choose any color for their campaign.

Tiangco pointed out that some of the local allies of Team PNoy use colors other than yellow.

Maceda trips, falls but quickly rises

Philippine Daily Inquirer

DATU PAGLAS, Maguindanao—Like the beauty contestant who redeemed herself after tripping onstage, former Senate President Ernesto Maceda promptly stood up after stumbling on the platform during a campaign rally here Sunday afternoon.

Maceda, who is running under the opposition United Nationalist Alliance (UNA), tripped on a microphone wire as he was walking toward the podium.

Sultan Kudarat Mayor Tucao Mastura, the opposition coalition’s gubernatorial candidate, helped the former senator and ambassador get up, then raising the latter’s arms in front of thousands of supporters.

The 78-year-old Maceda was not hurt in the incident.

There was no mention of his fall during his speech. Immediately after regaining his composure, he joined the crowd in chanting “Mabuhay si (Long live) Maceda!”

It was Mastura who surprised the crowd when he publicly declared his support for President Aquino’s candidate for Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) governor, Mujiv Hataman.

“I will support Mujiv Hataman in his quest to become the elected regional governor,” said Mastura of the acting ARMM governor.

“My support is anchored on the acting governor’s peace and development initiatives and I want this pursued until 2016 when the new Bangsamoro political entity shall have been established,” he said.

Mastura claimed to be “an organic Liberal Party man” before joining UNA as a result of the ruling party’s selection criteria based on the “equity of the incumbent.”—Charlie C. Señase and Jeofrey Maitem, Inquirer Mindanao

Read more: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/399077/maceda-trips-falls-but-quickly-rises#ixzz2Rz1VdblS

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She danced while a nation burnt

By Luis H. Francia

2:17 pm | Monday, April 29th, 2013

NEW YORK - Was it Oscar Wilde who quipped that one thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about?

In this regard, Imelda Romualdez Marcos need not worry. The ex-czarina of the Philippines has never been out of the spotlight even after her less than glamorous exit from center stage. Still, the provincial lass-made-good lived very well in Honolulu, though perhaps not as luxuriously as when, with Ferdinand, bringing the country to ruin. When apparently unable to touch her bank accounts while being tried in a US federal court for alleged crimes committed while in office, she was bailed out, literally, by her glam friend Doris Duke—a trial in which she was acquitted, on her birthday no less, leading her to remark that it was Ferdie up in heaven who made it all possible. Of course, I doubt it was from heaven that the dead tyrant pulled strings. Besides, it has always struck me as odd, the implication of that statement, that only a miracle would save her from federal prison, suggesting that if there had been no divine intervention she would have been found guilty.

Former first lady Imelda R. Marcos

David Byrne’s musical Here Lies Love, labeled a “poperetta,” would surely not surprise Imelda, did she care to notice, that her life story has been reclaimed for the stage at the Public Theater, a theatrical mainstay of downtown Manhattan. Would the work please her? She probably would consider that question irrelevant, apropos of Wilde. Byrne has fashioned a piece of musical theater that attempts to depict a psychological portrait of La Imelda within the setting of a discotheque—his and Fatboy Slim’s music, lights, DJ, slide shows, the works—going by the much publicized fact of Imelda’s fancy for discoing.

He with some singers performed the music at a Carnegie Hall concert gig some years back, and was rightly criticized (by myself, among others) for overlooking the much darker side of the woman who would be queen. This time there is more of that side, while still hewing to the pop psychologizing of a poor girl’s need to satisfy her craving for acceptance and respectability by acquiring all the conventional tokens of a high-end lifestyle: jewels, artworks, real estate—not to mention shoes, of which there is blessedly no mention here.

Here Lies Love has catchy, danceable tunes, and, as staged by Alex Timbers, motion, sound, images and lights combine to not just evoke an era but also actually transform the theater into a disco. There are no seats, except for the upper boxes, so most of the audience becomes disco goers, standing and dancing beside moveable platforms where different parts of the poperetta unfold. Ruthie Ann Miles and Jose Llana bring verve and magnetism to their roles as Imelda and Ferdinand, embodying the real-life duo’s view of themselves as the mythical Malakas (Strength) and Maganda (Beauty).

It is a thoroughly enjoyable spectacle. And yet, pop psychology is in the end unsatisfying, simply because it adheres to a rather simplistic intellectual frame. Yes, Imelda was driven by an unflagging insecurity about her humble origins but one’s social genesis is not the only determinant of future behavior. Played with convincing grit by Melody Butiu, Estrella Cumpas—the loyal servant who took care of Imelda and her siblings when they were poor relations of the father’s first family—tells Imelda, in one of the sharper encounters, that there was nothing wrong with growing up poor.

Rather than point to that as a measure of her character, Imelda shied away from this inconvenient bit of reality and deliberately made moral and ethical decisions in her personal and political life (to her, they were inseparable) that stressed appearance above everything else. In Byrne’s telling, she causes the disappearance of Estrella and also warns Ninoy Aquino not to return once he leaves with his family for the United States.

The poperetta stresses Imelda’s penchant for culture and the arts. True enough, but nowhere is there a mention of the huge scandal due to the1981 tragedy that befell workers rushing to complete the Film Palace, as part of the Cultural Center complex, with strict orders from Imelda that they were to do so 24/7 to ready it for her ill-advised Manila International Film Festival. The haste led to a top floor collapsing and burying those underneath it, in quick-drying cement. Attempts were made to suppress the deaths—after all, these bodies belonged to nobodies—but the event was too much of a tragedy to be kept from the news.

Political and social events are sketched that point the way to the 1986 People Power movement that forced the Marcoses to flee. Towards the conclusion, a member of the terrific ensemble starts playing on acoustic guitar songs whose lyrics are based on the actual words of those who had taken part in the 1986 uprising. He is joined shortly by two other drum-playing ensemble members. It is a beautiful, reflective scene, and I initially thought, what a great way to end the night, hearing from the too-often anonymous. I was mistaken, however, for the last number is reserved for Imelda and the ensemble, singing the lead song, “Here Lies Love.”

Good music, wrong notes.

Copyright L.H. Francia 2013

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

PDEA seizes P.4M shabu in buy bust

ABS-CBNnews.com
Posted at 04/27/2013 3:00 PM
Updated as of 04/27/2013 3:00 PM

MANILA, Philippines – Authorities nabbed a suspected member of a notorious drug syndicate during a buy-bust operation in Makati City last Thursday.

The arrest of Antonio Medina de Leon also led to the confiscation of P400,000 worth of shabu, according to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA).

PDEA Director General Undersecretary Arturo G. Cacdac, Jr. said De Leon, alias “Tony”, is a suspected member of the Morales Drug syndicate which operates in the cities of Pasay and Manila.

A poseur-buyer was able to meet De Leon in a pre-arranged transaction along H. Santos Street, Barangay Tejeros.

After the suspect received the buy-bust money in exchange for sachets of shabu, weighing approximately 92 grams, PDEA agents immediately swooped down on De Leon.

De Leon now faces charges for violation of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act.

File SALN before April 30, govt officials, employees reminded April 28, 2013 2:07pm

Malacañang on Sunday issued a last-minute reminder to public servants to file their Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALNs) on or before Tuesday, April 30.

Filing the SALNs on time is the “personal responsibility” of each government employee," she said on government-run dzRB radio.

Also, Valte said that in the case of the Office of the President, employees had been given a deadline of April 15, so a review committee can check how they filed their SALNs.

Review committees set up by individual government agencies and departments will check if the employees complied with the new guidelines of the Civil Service Commission in filing the SALNs.

“Dapat naibigay na sa review committee bago dumating ang deadline para matingnan nila (The employees should submit their SALNs to the review committees before the April 30 deadline),” she said.

Earlier, the Office of the Ombudsman reminded public servants to file their SALNs by April 30.

Government officials and employees are to file SALNs within 30 days after assuming office, and on or before April 30, and within 30 days after their separation from government service.

Failure to do so may carry a suspension of up to six months for the first offense, and dismissal from the service for the second offense. — LBG, GMA News

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

Gordon banks on experience in Senate bid

By Sheila Crisostomo (The Philippine Star) 
Updated April 16, 2013 - 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines - Former senator Richard Gordon is making a political comeback by seeking a seat in the Senate under the United Nationalist Alliance.

Gordon’s history on executive, legislative and humanitarian works spans more than three decades.

A lawyer by profession, Gordon started early in public service. He was in his mid-20s when he became the youngest delegate to the 1971 Constitutional Convention (ConCon).

As mayor of Olongapo City from 1980 to 1986, he made waves by turning Olongapo into a highly urbanized city. He introduced volunteerism, color-coding of vehicles, and proper waste disposal long before they were adopted by other localities.

In 1987, Gordon became governor of the Philippine Red Cross and he is now serving his fourth term as chairman of the humanitarian agency.

He rose to national prominence even more when he got Olongapo City back to its feet after the Mt. Pinatubo eruption and the pullout of American bases in early ‘90s.

Gordon also became secretary of the Department of Tourism from 2001-2004, during which he launched the world-renowned “WOW Philippines” campaign to attract foreign tourists into the country.

This year, Gordon is gunning for a Senate seat on May 13. And he is banking on his accomplishments as a senator from 2004 to 2010 and his long experience in public service.

“I have experienced the Senate... I’ve passed important laws - the automated (election) law, tourism law, international humanitarian law, and the economics,” Gordon said.

“I have the wisdom that comes from being a lawyer; being a ConCon delegate, the youngest at that in 1971; being a mayor, a local government official for 13 years; handling business conglomerates at the SBMA (Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority); being a secretary of tourism and chairman of Red Cross. That experience you cannot get anywhere,” he added.

Gordon promised that if again elected as senator, he would initiate laws that would improve the country’s education system and uplift the lives of teachers who are earning much lower salary compared to their counterparts in Asia.

He also expressed concern over the country’s “weak” defense and its lack of functional air force and navy amid the territorial disputes with other nations.

Gordon admitted that he sometimes longs for the “intelligent discourse” that he had at the Senate.

“It’s not only making laws... You have to make sure, why tourism law is not being enforced. Why is there so little employment despite the high income, despite the Gross Domestic Product going up, why power (program) is not implemented in Mindanao,” he said.

“It’s not talking for the sake of talking. It’s talking for your country. Senators are after all elected to discuss policies... That’s why there are senators who cannot do anything.  They cannot communicate, they don’t attend meetings,” he added.

Gordon lamented that even though Filipinos have elected leaders since 1946, “it seems that every time we elect, we have not really grown like the other countries in Asia.”

“We’ve gone down and everybody has overtaken us. Every time there is an election, we are supposed to improve. There’s been no improvement. It seems we are not voting for the right people,” he observed.