Ensure giveaways are lead free, environmental group urged By Chito A. Chavez Published: April 30, 2013

Politicians and other concerned groups planning to give free school supplies were urged by an environment organization based in Quezon City to ensure that their donations are free from hazardous chemicals. 

Aileen Lucero Acting National Coordinator of EcoWaste Coalition suggested that local government units (LGU), non-government organizations (NGO) and private companies secure a formal certification that their donations like school bags to the city’s poor sector are free from lead which experts found to cause brain damage. 

 “We appeal to generous givers from the public and private sectors to offer bags that have undergone lead safety tests to ensure that their gifts would not expose the recipients to lead,” Lucero said. 

“The LGUs and other bag donors can demand a certification from their suppliers that their bags passed the limit for total lead content as analyzed by qualified government-accredited laboratories prior to procuring and giving away the items,” she added. 

By requiring the suppliers to issue the certification, Lucero said that this will ensure that the school supplies are safe and will not contribute to the schoolchildren’s exposure to lead and other dangerous chemicals. 

“As there are other chemicals aside from lead that may adversely affect children’s health, we also suggest that the bags be tested for other priority substances such as phthalates, which are commonly used as plasticizers in polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic,” she added.  

Phthalates are known endocrine disrupting chemicals.

Lucero’s appeal came in the aftermath of her group’s recent investigation that detected lead up to 5,752 parts per million (ppm) in 23 out of 25 kiddie backpacks, way above the 90 ppm limit in US for lead in paint and surface coatings.

Using an X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) analyzer, EcoWaste researchers discovered excessive amounts of lead on the painted portions of some plastic backpacks, particularly on the designs, logos and the main materials of which the bags are made of.

The group said lead exposure can retard the development of a child’s developing central nervous system and permanently damage the brain even at low levels of exposure. 

Lucero said that the effects of chemical absorption are not immediately detected stressing that there are no obvious symptoms until the blood lead level is very high.

Health studies have shown that childhood lead exposure can result to a broad range of serious developmental and behavioral problems, including reading and learning disabilities, inattentiveness, hyperactivity and irritability, lower IQ and poor school performance.

Lead can enter a human body mainly through the inhalation or ingestion of lead particles or dust from chipping or flaking paints in homes, playgrounds and other facilities and other lead-containing products such as toys and other children’s articles.

In his letter to the EcoWaste Coalition in 2011, Health Secretary Enrique Ona said that “clinical toxicologists have indicated that there are no safe levels for lead exposure among children.”

“This fact make banning of substances containing lead an imperative,” Ona said. 

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

‘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

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

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

Palace to NPA: Go ahead make our day

Wednesday, April 24, 2013
By:http://www.sunstar.com.ph/

MANILA -- "You wanna challenge us? Go ahead, make our day."

This was the challenge raised by Malacañang, through presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda, to the communist New People's Army (NPA) who reportedly belittled the capability of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) to enforce President Benigno Aquino III's order to crush the rebels' "checkpoints," which the government calls as roadblocks.

Lacierda said that the government forces have intensified their operations against the illegal activities of the NPA, including the setting up of roadblocks to extort money from local candidates.

Aquino has ordered the dismantling of NPA roadblocks after the rebels' ambush on the convoy of Gingoog Mayor Ruth de Lara Guingona who was hurt in the incident. The mayor's police escort was also injured while her two civilian supporters were killed when her convoy did not stop at the guerrillas’ roadblock in the city.

Lacierda said that the AFP has moved a Marine battalion to Misamis Oriental to pursue the perpetrators in the attack.

He said that the Communist Party of the Philippines-NPA is now considered a bandit group.

"The CPP-NPA was borne out of legitimate grievances in the past. They have now been reduced to a bandit group," he said.

Since it is now election season, he also said that the rebels are now engaged on "attention grabbing," because "this is the time for them to earn money" through the permit to campaign.

Lacierda said that the Aquino administration is always committed to hold peace negotiation with the rebels. But it is the Maoist group which shut its door to pursue the peace process.

"There is no ongoing peace process. We have committed to talk to them, they have refused to talk to us," he said.

Those rebels who just went to the mountains because of the disillusionment on the past administrations could now return to the folds of law because the current government has changed, he said.

"This administration is committed to making --- ensuring that you will have a better life. And so come down from the mountains. Who doesn't want peace?" Lacierda said. (SDR/Sunnex)

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.

Mrs. Binay urges Sandigan to discard contempt charge

FORMER MAKATI City Mayor Elenita S. Binay has asked the Sandiganbayan on Thursday to junk the request of state prosecutors to cite her for contempt of court for traveling abroad without permission from the court.

"The prayer to cite the accused in contempt should accordingly be denied," said the wife of incumbent Vice President Jejomar C. Binay.

This, as Mrs. Binay left the country on Mar. 18 to attend the inaugural mass of Pope Francis in Vatican City, despite the lack of permission from the court’s fifth division where she faces a graft case, said state prosecutors in a "Motion" filed last Apr. 2.

They added that the third division, whose justices are in-charge of signing resolutions of the fifth division justices as they were in Cagayan de Oro City for hearings, granted her travel authority issued only on Mar. 19, making it insignificant as Mrs. Binay was already abroad.

In the said motion, state lawyers also asked the court to hold accountable "officials of the executive branch" who let her fly out of the country amid the court’s hold departure order. The prosecution did not specify any name.

On the other hand, Mrs. Binay told the anti-graft court’s fifth division that the mere request of state lawyers cannot start contempt proceedings against her as court rules require a petition with original supporting documents and paid docket fees.

"...[I]n all cases other than those initiated by the Honorable Court ... contempt proceedings may not be initiated by a mere motion, but through a verified petition with supporting particulars and certified true copies of pertinent documents or papers and full compliance with requirements for filing initiatory pleadings for civil actions," she stated.

"Instead, the motion is anchored on an unverified and unconfirmed news report from an online edition of a national daily," she added.

She also opposed the state lawyers’ request to null her P30,000-travel bond which she has not yet withdrawn.

"With respect to the prosecution’s prayer for the forfeiture of her travel bond, herein accused opposes the same for utter lack of basis."

Mrs. Binay faces a graft case in the fifth division for giving undue advantage to Office Gallery International, Inc. via a rigged bidding, wherein a padded contract worth P72.06 million was awarded to the said firm for the purchase of office furnitures and fixtures for the new Makati City Hall in 1999.

By: http://www.bworldonline.com

Maribago Bluewater's My BlueARTh: Keeping the World Blue

Bluewater Maribago Beach Resort successfully celebrated its second year of creating awareness of the annual Earth Day event last April 21, 2013, the “My BlueARTh” – a festival of arts, food and music. A day of environmental service and awareness.

Families and friends celebrated and witnessed everything eco-fabulous, easy-going and eco-savvy with Bluewater Resorts’ activities such as the Inter-departmental Chime Making Competition, Recycled-To-Wear Fashion Show and Competition.

Many of us also learned new things especially kids and we were all encouraged to be bold and creative to make our lives a little greener and more artistic such as doing craft out of recycled items, Outdoor Art and other Earth day treats. There was also the fabulous ‘Bamboo House of Chimes dubbed Huni sa Hangin’, Humanitree wherein you can write your pledge for the environment, Tibetan Stretch, A Talk on Natural Farming and the ever fantastic cooking demonstration and the food was really delicious!

They also featured the electrifying and relaxing live performances of Cebu local band Bethany , Martina San Diego, Percussion Duo and Pohaku. The ‘My BlueARTh’ festival continues through the day with University of San Carlos-Talamban Campus Fashion Design students who showed off their creative and artistic flair of designing clothes made of recycled materials. Sky lanterns were perfectly released into the night.

Project BLUE (Bluewater Loves the Underwater Environment) Divers also conducted simultaneous SCUBASURERO dives earlier in the morning in the waters of Maribago for a coastal clean-up activity which was in line with the ‘My BlueARTh’ festival joined by Maritime Police 7, BFP divers and by yours truly and my fellow iSTORYAn. As I was following the other divers holding a full bag of garbage from the sea, a thought came to my mind, that it is really important to keep this kind of idea alive and that Bluewater Resorts has it. We can take care of our planet by keeping it clean and by following the rule of ‘REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE’ - doing these things every day, not just every April 22.

My Sunday was filled with fun activities--an experience I'd always be so proud to be a part of. I hope you celebrated Earth Day in your own way as long as your art reflects what really means to you and if you have yet to decide how you are going to celebrate this particular day, get involved, come and join the ‘My BlueARTh’ festival next year because it’s more fun in BLUEWATER RESORTS!

Maan B. Cajipe iSTORYAn League of Writers Lifestyle- Fashion and Events

Muslim extremists kill two soldiers in southern Philippines

Muslim extremists linked to Al Qaeda killed at least two soldiers in an ambush Sunday in the restive southern Philippine province of Basilan.

Regional military spokesman Col. Rodrigo Gregorio said Monday members of Abu Sayyaf militants killed Sgt. Richard Hamin and Private First Class Julieto Tanses in an attacked around 1:00 p.m. in the village of Ubit in Lamitan City.

Gregorio said the two soldiers, both under 32nd Infantry Battalion died of multiple wounds.

"They were heading back to their camp when they were ambushed," he said.

The Abu Sayyaf, active in southern Philippines, was founded in the 1990s and has perpetrated a number of high-profile attacks, including kidnapping, bombing and beheading.

 Xinhua | 2013-4-29 10:54:58  By Agencies

Army to bets: Don't give in to rebel demands

By Editha b. Colmo
Published: April 29, 2013

Capiz - Major Gen. Jose Mabanta,  Jr,  commanding general of the 3rd Infantry division, Philippine Army, is reiterating his call to the political candidates not to give in to the demands of the CPP-NPA through their Permit to Campaign (PTC) scheme and other extortion activities.   

Major Gen  Mabanta  in a press release, said that “We are warning them not to allow the CPP-NPA influence the outcome of this coming election through threats. We have data to support that a handful political contenders are extending financial assistance and giving in to the demands of the CPP-NPA extortionists. We will not allow this and we remind  that their decision to give in will have legal repercussion.” 

Early this year, reports from the Army field units state that some candidates received Permit to Campaign letters from the CPP-NPA, with some PTC letters recovered during the apprehension of CPP-NPA top leaders in the region recently. 

Mabanta stressed that “Giving in to the demands is not a guarantee that the CPP-NPA will not harass the candidates anymore and be given access. There is evidence of politicians who give in to extortion demands of the CPP-NPA and are still continuously harassed. This is because of factious leadership on their (CPP-NPA-NDF) organization. They now lack leaders and have inconsistent chain of command.” 

Series of armed violence and atrocities that indiscriminately violate human rights and the International Humanitarian Law shows that CPP-NPA leadership is not in control and has no grasp of their forces. 

Mabanta further stressed that “At this point, there is infighting among their (CNN) top leadership and this will ripple down to their lower levels.” 

Due to lack of support and confidence in the CNN higher level leadership, their local leaders are starting to come out in the open in order to extort. 

From the start of this year to date, seven (7) CPP-NPA leaders in Western Visayas were apprehended by the joint forces of the AFP and the PNP through the Regional Joint Peace and Security Coordination Center (RJPSCC) and the AFP-PNP COMELEC checkpoint. All of them have warrants of arrest with cases ranging from arson to murder.

“The CPP-NPA has already lost the support of their mass base so  they resort to extort from the people especially the candidates during elections. Candidates who are giving in to their demands are just helping the rebels to regroup and further conduct terroristic activities that victimize innocent people. We will file criminal charges against  candidates who insist.  and let them face the consequence, Mabanta added.

Team PNoy bets bares Labor Day wishes for working class

By Ellson Quismorio
Published: April 29, 2013

LUCBAN, Quezon—More non-wage benefits, diminished cost of living, additional jobs.

These were among the wishes of a handful of Team PNoy senatorial candidates for the labor sector this coming Labor Day even as they individually tackled the rationality of an across the board wage hike for workers. 

Former Akbayan party-list representative Risa Hontiveros told manila-based reporters here that pushing Congress or the executive branch for a legislated wage increase is “worth a try” but offered other measures that could alleviate the burden on Filipino workers. 

“For the next three years, it’s worth a try (wage hike). If it could be worked out within the next three years, at least (give the workers) security of tenure and other non-wage benefits that will basic goods and services accessible to the working people,” said the Senate hopeful. 

Hontiveros stressed that providing workers with security of tenure should be treated as not just a mere benefit but as their right. 

“I know President Noy (Benigno S. Aquino III) isn’t too hot on it (security of tenure) right now but I still want to pursue it if only to protect our workers in this climate of contractualization, which is happening not only in the Philippines but in the whole world.” 

Hontiveros reckoned that workers should also have more bang for their buck as far as basic goods and services are concerned. 

“Let’s raise their non-wage benefits. Their buying power should be enhanced by giving them better access to prices of basic goods and services.” 

Fellow Team PNoy bet, former senator Jamby Madrigal echoed Hontiveros’ sentiments, lamenting that the cost of living in the Philippines is too high compared to other Asian countries. 

“For me, the Philippines has three problems, these are the high costs of electricity, food and water. If you go to Thailand, India or Indonesia, you’ll see that food prices are low, as well as power and at water. All of these drive up our cost of living,” she said. 

While she noted that a wage hike is necessary to improve the people’s quality of living, Madrigal stressed that it is more important to lower the cost of living here to make sure that workers are actually able to save a chunk from their salaries. 

Another former senator on the administration ticket, Ramon Magsaysay Jr., had a simpler wish for Filipinos this Labor Day—more jobs. 

“I wish there’d be more jobs. Of course we need to increase wages, but it would be better to generate more jobs because of sheer number of jobless people,” said Magsaysay, who estimated that around four million out of the country’s labor force are unemployed. 

“So number one, more jobs, more businesses. That’s what the President is doing. Without business, there is no employment. Capital needs to keep pouring in. And that’s exactly what he is doing.” 

When asked about his stand on legislated wage hike, Magsaysay, son of former president Ramon Magsasay, preferred to let the wage boards handle the matter although he said he was in favour of increasing salaries “based on workers’ merits”. He also wanted additional non-wage benefits as well as strengthened social safety nets like Philhealth coverage. 

Re-electionist Senator Koko Pimentel III for his part vowed to work together with the labor sector to come up with what he called a “decent wage”. 

“My commitment to the labor sector is I will continue for decent wages for all workers. Now the question is what is that decent? I’m willing to go through number-crunching to determine what is a decent wage on a per region or city basis if necessary,” he said. 

“I can’t tell what a decent wage is but we will continue to pursue that concept. We’ll meet with a representative from the labor sector and let us compute, let’s do some number-crunching so that we will have a basis once we reach a figure.”

Pimentel said that his fellow Team PNoy candidate Magsaysay’s suggestion of a merit-based wage hike could work hand-in-hand with a legislated wage increase, which he said he was open to.

“It can be both things. There should be a minimum increase plus (another) based on merit on the point of view of the employer—a merit-system of the employers. It’s like a scholarship program. There’s a scholarship for the general population and there’s a scholarship program for the best and the brightest. That’s where the merit comes in, it’s the same thing.”

‘Muscat-Manila flight in 2014’

Muscat: If all goes well, Philippine Airlines (PAL) will fly directly to Oman by early 2014, social news network Rappler.com quoted PAL as announcing.

The Sultanate and the Philippines signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in 2010 to operate direct flights between Muscat and Manila.

When the MoU was signed between the civil aviation authorities of the Sultanate and the Republic of the Philippines, it was decided that at least 19 direct flights would operate between Oman and the Philippines.

The aeronautical authorities of the government of the Sultanate had designated Oman Air as the airline of the Sultanate to operate services along these routes, and the Philippines authorities had designated PAL for this purpose.

Direct flights will not only benefit the 40,000-strong Filipino community in Oman, who are eagerly awaiting a more convenient way to fly back home, but they will also help the Philippines export industry. The country is a major exporter of semiconductors and electronic products, transport equipment, garments, copper products, petroleum products, coconut oil, and fruit. A faster and more efficient way of sending goods would be a boon for Filipino exporters.

PAL last week launched 11 new international destinations in Australia, China, Malaysia, and the Middle East, as well as a new domestic service to Northern Luzon as it continues to expand its route network.

The new destinations include Basco in the Batanes province of the Philippines to be launched on May 1; Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia on May 2; Darwin, Brisbane, and Perth in Australia on June 1; Guangzhou in China on June 2; Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates on October 1; Dubai in the United Arab Emirates on November 1; Doha in Qatar on November 1; and Riyadh, Jeddah, and Dammam in Saudi Arabia on December 1. 

by Times News Service 

No internet but need your files? Google Chrome's offline sync is the answer

Users of Google Drive who may not always have Internet access can now create and edit drawings and have access to their other files stored on the cloud-based service with a new automatic offline sync feature.

In a Google+ post, Google said it may take time for all users of Google Drive to see the changes, which it said are now being rolled out. The feature is available for Google's Chrome browser.

"If you've set up Google Drive offline, you can now create and edit drawings offline. In addition, all of your Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides will now be automatically available offline (space permitting), so you won't have to worry about remembering that specific file before catching your flight!" it said. 

However, Google reiterated only one Google account per Chrome profile can set up offline access to Drive.

"If you are unable to set up offline access because another user has already done so, you can create a new Chrome profile and then follow the above steps to add offline access for your account," it said. 

A separate article on “PC World” added a user must enable offline access for the feature to work.

"Chrome previously allowed offline editing for individual documents, but that meant you had to plan ahead and choose which files to sync. Now, the Drive app for Chrome syncs all files automatically," it added. 

“PC World” also said that if a user edits a document offline on one computer while someone else edits the online version, "Drive will combine the text from both documents once you’re back online."

"You won’t lose any text this way, but you may have to edit down the combined work," it added. – KDM, GMA News 

By:www.gmanetwork.com

Binay 'puzzled' by dip in survey

By JC Bello Ruiz

Though "puzzled" by "divergent" results of surveys on his net satisfaction ratings, the Office of the Vice President (OVP) on Monday said that Vice President Jejomar C. Binay "remains grateful for his high approval ratings and that his work will continue regardless of survey results."

In a statement, Binay's spokesman, Joey Salgado noted that while the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey showed that the net satisfaction ratings of the Vice President were lower than his December 2012 ratings, another survey done by Pulse Asia which covered almost the same survey period, showed different results.

"What is puzzling is that the SWS survey period overlapped with Pulse Asia but produced divergent results. While SWS showed a decline, the Pulse Asia survey showed an increase of 6 points in the Vice President’s performance and trust rating," Salgado said.

The latest SWS survey covering the March 19-22 survey period, found that the net satisfaction ratings of Binay, Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr., and Chief Justice Ma. Lourdes Sereno were lower than their December 2012 ratings.

Seventy-five percent of Filipinos expressed satisfaction in Binay’s work, while 13 percent said otherwise, bringing his net rating to ‘very good’ +62, down from ‘excellent’ +70 (79 percent satisfied, 9 percent dissatisfied) in December 2012.

However, SWS noted that Binay’s rating is still higher than President Benigno S. Aquino III’s +59 (74 percent satisfied, 15 percent dissatisfied).

Meanwhile, the Pulse Asia survey released early April found that Binay and Aquino received the highest trust ratings of 75 percent and 72 percent, respectively.

Likewise, the same nationwide survey conducted from March 16-20 showed that both officials enjoyed majority approval ratings for their work in the past month (76 percent and 72 percent, respectively).

Nonetheless, Salgado said Binay "remains grateful for his high approval ratings."

"Since 2012, the Vice President’s ratings ranged from very good to excellent. His work will continue regardless of survey results," he said.

12 dead in Philippines political ambush ahead of vote

ILIGAN, Philippines: Twelve people were killed in an ambush on a Philippines mayor, officials said Friday, in the deadliest of a string of violent incidents that have marred the campaign for May elections.

Gunmen opened fire on a truck carrying Mayor Abdulmalik Manamparan and his supporters on southern Mindanao island late Thursday, local military commander  Colonel Ricardo Jalad said, adding that several victims were relatives of the  mayor.

“They killed my granddaughter,” Manamparan told AFP from his hospital bed,  where the 62-year-old official was being treated for a shrapnel wound that  grazed his head. Another seven people were injured in the attack.

The ambush on a remote mountain road near Nunungan town, unleashed as the  mayor and his party travelled home from a campaign event, was the latest  episode of political violence in the Philippines which will hold elections on  May 13.

A running police tally lists 30 deaths from 45 other violent incidents reported since the start of the campaign in February.

In November 2009, members of a powerful clan on Mindanao abducted and  murdered 58 people including relatives of a local rival who was planning to  challenge the clan leader in gubernatorial elections the following year.

Manamparan, of the opposition Nationalist People’s Coalition party, is the  mayor of the mainly Muslim town of Nunungan. He told AFP he had a good idea who  was responsible for the attack, but declined to discuss his suspicions.

The predominantly Muslim areas of Mindanao have a reputation for deadly  clan wars, sometimes lasting generations. The island is also wracked by  insurgencies waged by Muslim and communist rebels.

Manamparan is standing for the lower post of vice-mayor, with his son and  namesake running for mayor. The candidate son was not among the casualties.--AFP

Read more: 12 dead in Philippines political ambush ahead of vote - Latest - New Straits Times http://www.nst.com.my/latest/12-dead-in-philippines-political-ambush-ahead-of-vote-1.264801#ixzz2Rb5QMiwb

By: www.nst.com