CEBU CITY -- To gain headway in the campaign against cybersex, police officials and other authorities will have to hit close to home.
Senior Supt. Anthony Obenza said he received intelligence reports that there are some husbands who pushed their wives to engage in cybersex in three barangays of Lapu-Lapu City.
"The husbands themselves instigated their wives to find chat mates (who are foreigners)," he told reporters in the Talakayan sa Isyung Pulis (Tsip) held Wednesday in the Police Regional Office 7.
Obenza, the city’s police director, said they are monitoring three barangays because they suspect cybersex operations are rampant in those areas.
The Lapu-Lapu City Police Office last week, according to Obenza, conducted a seminar for 60 women who were allegedly involved in the illegal business.
They were reminded that engaging in online pornography violates the law. But the women, according to Obenza, denied they are into online pornography.
Vice Gov. Agnes Magpale said if the husbands themselves pushed their wives to engage in cybersex, they should be charged with violating the laws against trafficking and pornography.
She said the Provincial Women's Commission (PWC), which she co-chairs, is ready to help Lapu-Lapu City create a similar commission that can help the police crackdown on cybercrime and similar offenses.
Obenza said that barangay officials and members of the Barangay Intelligence Network (BIN) were the ones who told him about the problem.
For Central Visayas police director Ager Ontog Jr., fighting cybersex operations is a big challenge, as they lack the equipment, manpower and capability to investigate cybercrimes.
"It is a new phenomenon in our crime incidents," he said. "The surge of information technology…has exploited our women and children."
Out of 7,000 Police Regional Office 7 personnel, only 30 of them are properly trained against cybercrime, he said.
Last Tuesday, the police director said he had a meeting with officers from the Australian Federal Police and asked them to teach the local police the basic skills in investigating and tracking down cybersex.
He said the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) is the only police unit that has the tools and expertise for investigating cybercrimes.
Despite the police's lack of capability, Ontog assured the public that cybersex operations and human trafficking cases in the region are "not alarming." He said most of the persons involved in it are foreigners.
Cebu Provincial Police Office Acting Director Patrocinio Comendador said cybersex in the province is “not prevalent.”
Ontog emphasized the importance of the barangay officials and local government units' cooperation.
"The information starts from them," he said. "Without the information, there will be no investigation."
He said they will coordinate with Vice Governor Magpale to unite their efforts in battling cybersex.
Ontog visited Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia on Wednesday and admitted the police lack the technical knowledge to go against cybercrime more aggressively.
On the other hand, the police force in Cebu City and Mandaue City are continuously inspecting Internet cafes.
Cebu City Police Office Director Melvin Ramon Buenafe said he will suggest to Police Coordinating and Advisory Council (PCAC) not to allow private cubicles in Internet cafes.
Cubicles with see-through glass are acceptable, as long as "the person can be seen outside," Buenafe said.
Supt. James Goforth of Mandaue City Police Office said they are active in implementing the city’s curfew ordinance so they can prevent the minors from falling into the hands of cybersex operators or traffickers.
Apart from cybercrime, an increasing incidence of robbery has raised concern in Lapu-Lapu City.
Reiterating some concerns she mentioned during her State of the City Address (Soca) last week, Mayor Paz Radaza, during her weekly press conference, said robbery incidents in the city are now at an "alarming" rate.
But she expressed confidence the local law enforcement units can handle the challenge.
During her Soca, Radaza had noted that while crimes such as theft, car theft, homicide and physical injuries had gone down, robbery cases went up from 14 percent to 24 percent.
She revealed she has discussed the matter with Obenza and asked the city director to monitor the Barangay Peacekeeping Action Team and the Unified Task Force, for leads from the field. (KAL/RSA/JKV/Sun.Star Cebu
Thursday, July 28, 2011
News Update Tropical storm kills 27 in Philippines
Veering from the path projected by the weather bureau, Tropical Storm "Juaning" dumped heavy rains that caused major flooding and landslides in large areas in Luzon in the Philippines, killing at least 27 people, mostly in the Bicol region.
Albay registered nine fatalities; Camarines Norte, six; Catanduanes, four; Camarines Sur, two, and Quezon, three.
Heavy rains also swelled rivers, claiming the lives of two teenagers in Zambales province.
Fourteen fishermen who were reported missing at sea after strong wind and waves destroyed their motor boat off Balesin Island in Quezon survived the ordeal by swimming to shore and were helped to safety by villagers.
At least 31 people were missing as Juaning (international code name: Nock-ten, a Laotian bird) struck the eastern seaboard of Luzon, authorities said.
More than 645,000 people fled their flooded homes, particularly in Albay and Camarines Sur provinces, Benito Ramos, head of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), said on Wednesday (July 27).
"Those two provinces are underwater," Ramos said.
The severe storm caused power outages in Albay, Catanduanes, Sorsogon, Camarines Norte, Marinduque and Casiguran in Aurora. The water supply service remained intermittent in Legazpi City in Albay.
The NDRRMC said Sorsogon province has had no power since Tuesday 2:40 am Marinduque province was experiencing rotational brownouts af ter strong winds detached some electrical cables.
A state of calamity was declared in Albay and Catanduanes.
"Many of our towns seemed like islands. They were isolated from each other," Albay Governor Joey Salceda said from Legazpi City, where he was overseeing rescue efforts for stranded villagers.
Waist-deep waters
Waist-deep floodwaters swamped the houses of half a million people, or nearly half of Albay's population, after Juaning set off pounding rains overnight and forced many to flee to safer areas, including churches and village halls.
Salceda complained that Albay was hit with heavy rains and strong winds that were inconsistent with the weather bureau's lower storm warning signal raised over the province.
President Aquino vouched for the accuracy of the weather bureau's regular updates, but nevertheless said that he would look into Salceda's complaint.
In response to criticism about Pagasa's supposed delayed forecast for the Bicol region, science undersecretary Graciano Yumul said the weather bureau had been warning about rains in southern Luzon since it monitored the formation of a low pressure area.
He said Pagasa had been putting out regular bulletins when the weather disturbance developed into a tropical depression.
PNR line damaged
Because of a damaged railway section, the Bicol Express will suspend its run from Naga City to Manila and vice versa starting Wednesday.
The Philippine National Railways (PNR) said the ground beneath the rails in Malaguico, Sipocot, Camarines Sur, had been eroded.
Due to bad weather, six domestic flights had been cancelled as of 1:30 pm Wednesday, bringing to 47 the total number of deferred local flights the past two days.
Erratic course
Juaning had initially been expected to pass much closer to Metro Manila and schools were closed across the metropolis on Wednesday as it prepared for heavy rains.
Ramos said Juaning was following an erratic course and that the latest forecast showed Metro Manila and other densely populous areas would be spared the worst of the storm.
"It did not follow its projected track," he said.
Juaning slightly weakened after it made landfall in Aurora on Wednesday and went through northern Luzon's rugged terrain, according to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa).
The storm was expected to pass through Abra, Ifugao and Kalinga provinces and to exit land Wednesday night through Ilocos Sur province. It was forecast to leave the Philippine area of responsibility this afternoon.
Pagasa said rains could still be expected Thursday, although of a lesser intensity. Occasional to frequent rains were expected in northern and central Luzon Thursday morning.
Suspension of classes
The weather bureau was not recommending any suspension of classes except in areas where storm signals had been raised.
As of 5 pm Wednesday, Juaning was 70 km northeast of Baguio City and was moving northwest at 17 km per hour. It packed maximum winds of 85 kph near the center and gusts of up to 100 kph.
By this afternoon, the storm was expected to be 240 km west northwest of Laoag, and 520 km west of Basco, Batanes province, by Friday morning.
Landfall
Juaning, then packing maximum sustained winds of 95 kph, made landfall in Dinalungan, Aurora province, at about 9:30 a.m.
The storm crossed central and northern Luzon on Wednesday and dumped heavy rains that flooded northern Aurora and spawned landslides in that province.
Isolated Aurora towns
Electricity was cut off in Casiguran on Tuesday night when strong winds toppled electric posts and fallen trees hit power lines.
Alex Ocampo, the Aurora provincial administrator, said the towns of Dipaculao, Casiguran and Dilasag were isolated from central Aurora on Wednesday after landslides blocked a section of the Baler-Casiguran Road in Sitio Panindingan, Barangay Dianed, Dipaculao.
Strong winds blew off the roof of a school building in Barangay Lawang in Dilasag, he added.
Ocampo said the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council was not surprised when Juaning changed direction, and differed from the weather bureau's earlier forecast.
"We were advised that Juaning was going to hit southern Aurora (in Dingalan) but it hit northern Aurora instead. It was fortunate that we were able to bring [information on a] severe weather [condition] to all communities on Tuesday," Ocampo said.
Bontoc road closed
In Bontoc, Mt. Province, a section of the Baguio-Bontoc Road was closed to traffic on Wednesday after a boulder blocked the highway in Barangay Gonogon.
A disaster-response official, Raffy Alejandro, said the storm inundated seven towns of Camarines Sur in the province's worst flooding in five years.
Flooding incidents were reported in several barangay in Daraga, Polangui, Ligao City, Oas and Legazpi City all in Albay; and in Nabua, Baao, Bato, Buhi, Pasacao, Pamplona, Iriga City and Naga City, all in Camarines Sur.
Flash floods also hit several barangays in San Francisco, Mulanay and Lopez, all in Quezon province.
Most of the 104,000 people evacuated on Tuesday in Albay returned home. Eight hundred people were still at evacuation centres in Quezon province.
Landslide
Police said a family of five died in a landslide in Jose Panganiban, Camarines Norte, while one perished in a mining tunnel that collapsed in Labo town in the province.
In Quezon, Henry Buzar, a disaster coordinator, said two girls, ages 12 and 13, from Mulanay town and Lucena City, respectively, were swept away by raging rivers.
A fisherman, was found dead in a coastal village in Mogpog, Marinduque. He was one of 21 fishermen from Barangay Dalahican, Lucena, reported missing by their families but 12 had already been rescued while 8 remained missing.
In Guimaras province, an unnamed motorboat was reported to have suffered engine trouble and left at sea by its passengers who have yet to be located.
The MV Star Ferry-4, on the other hand, drifted to shallow waters in Catanduanes while the MV Maria Concepcion, with 17 passengers and crew, ran aground due to strong winds and big waves in Camarines Sur.
Stranded
The Coast Guard in Bicol said the "no-sailing order" remained with 800 passengers still stranded in major ports ports across the region as of Wednesday.
Some 450 passengers remained stranded at the ports of Puerto Real and Dalahican in Quezon and in Batangas City,
Rains triggered a runoff from a hill beside the railway line in Sipocot, eroding the ground and making it unstable, said Constancio Toledano, of the PNR office in Naga City.
Line to reopen
Toledano said the PNR would close the railway line in Sipocot until August 31 to allow for the building of a one-span rail bridge and prevent the ground from being eroded.
The Bicol Express will resume operations on September 1, he said.
Albay registered nine fatalities; Camarines Norte, six; Catanduanes, four; Camarines Sur, two, and Quezon, three.
Heavy rains also swelled rivers, claiming the lives of two teenagers in Zambales province.
Fourteen fishermen who were reported missing at sea after strong wind and waves destroyed their motor boat off Balesin Island in Quezon survived the ordeal by swimming to shore and were helped to safety by villagers.
At least 31 people were missing as Juaning (international code name: Nock-ten, a Laotian bird) struck the eastern seaboard of Luzon, authorities said.
More than 645,000 people fled their flooded homes, particularly in Albay and Camarines Sur provinces, Benito Ramos, head of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), said on Wednesday (July 27).
"Those two provinces are underwater," Ramos said.
The severe storm caused power outages in Albay, Catanduanes, Sorsogon, Camarines Norte, Marinduque and Casiguran in Aurora. The water supply service remained intermittent in Legazpi City in Albay.
The NDRRMC said Sorsogon province has had no power since Tuesday 2:40 am Marinduque province was experiencing rotational brownouts af ter strong winds detached some electrical cables.
A state of calamity was declared in Albay and Catanduanes.
"Many of our towns seemed like islands. They were isolated from each other," Albay Governor Joey Salceda said from Legazpi City, where he was overseeing rescue efforts for stranded villagers.
Waist-deep waters
Waist-deep floodwaters swamped the houses of half a million people, or nearly half of Albay's population, after Juaning set off pounding rains overnight and forced many to flee to safer areas, including churches and village halls.
Salceda complained that Albay was hit with heavy rains and strong winds that were inconsistent with the weather bureau's lower storm warning signal raised over the province.
President Aquino vouched for the accuracy of the weather bureau's regular updates, but nevertheless said that he would look into Salceda's complaint.
In response to criticism about Pagasa's supposed delayed forecast for the Bicol region, science undersecretary Graciano Yumul said the weather bureau had been warning about rains in southern Luzon since it monitored the formation of a low pressure area.
He said Pagasa had been putting out regular bulletins when the weather disturbance developed into a tropical depression.
PNR line damaged
Because of a damaged railway section, the Bicol Express will suspend its run from Naga City to Manila and vice versa starting Wednesday.
The Philippine National Railways (PNR) said the ground beneath the rails in Malaguico, Sipocot, Camarines Sur, had been eroded.
Due to bad weather, six domestic flights had been cancelled as of 1:30 pm Wednesday, bringing to 47 the total number of deferred local flights the past two days.
Erratic course
Juaning had initially been expected to pass much closer to Metro Manila and schools were closed across the metropolis on Wednesday as it prepared for heavy rains.
Ramos said Juaning was following an erratic course and that the latest forecast showed Metro Manila and other densely populous areas would be spared the worst of the storm.
"It did not follow its projected track," he said.
Juaning slightly weakened after it made landfall in Aurora on Wednesday and went through northern Luzon's rugged terrain, according to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa).
The storm was expected to pass through Abra, Ifugao and Kalinga provinces and to exit land Wednesday night through Ilocos Sur province. It was forecast to leave the Philippine area of responsibility this afternoon.
Pagasa said rains could still be expected Thursday, although of a lesser intensity. Occasional to frequent rains were expected in northern and central Luzon Thursday morning.
Suspension of classes
The weather bureau was not recommending any suspension of classes except in areas where storm signals had been raised.
As of 5 pm Wednesday, Juaning was 70 km northeast of Baguio City and was moving northwest at 17 km per hour. It packed maximum winds of 85 kph near the center and gusts of up to 100 kph.
By this afternoon, the storm was expected to be 240 km west northwest of Laoag, and 520 km west of Basco, Batanes province, by Friday morning.
Landfall
Juaning, then packing maximum sustained winds of 95 kph, made landfall in Dinalungan, Aurora province, at about 9:30 a.m.
The storm crossed central and northern Luzon on Wednesday and dumped heavy rains that flooded northern Aurora and spawned landslides in that province.
Isolated Aurora towns
Electricity was cut off in Casiguran on Tuesday night when strong winds toppled electric posts and fallen trees hit power lines.
Alex Ocampo, the Aurora provincial administrator, said the towns of Dipaculao, Casiguran and Dilasag were isolated from central Aurora on Wednesday after landslides blocked a section of the Baler-Casiguran Road in Sitio Panindingan, Barangay Dianed, Dipaculao.
Strong winds blew off the roof of a school building in Barangay Lawang in Dilasag, he added.
Ocampo said the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council was not surprised when Juaning changed direction, and differed from the weather bureau's earlier forecast.
"We were advised that Juaning was going to hit southern Aurora (in Dingalan) but it hit northern Aurora instead. It was fortunate that we were able to bring [information on a] severe weather [condition] to all communities on Tuesday," Ocampo said.
Bontoc road closed
In Bontoc, Mt. Province, a section of the Baguio-Bontoc Road was closed to traffic on Wednesday after a boulder blocked the highway in Barangay Gonogon.
A disaster-response official, Raffy Alejandro, said the storm inundated seven towns of Camarines Sur in the province's worst flooding in five years.
Flooding incidents were reported in several barangay in Daraga, Polangui, Ligao City, Oas and Legazpi City all in Albay; and in Nabua, Baao, Bato, Buhi, Pasacao, Pamplona, Iriga City and Naga City, all in Camarines Sur.
Flash floods also hit several barangays in San Francisco, Mulanay and Lopez, all in Quezon province.
Most of the 104,000 people evacuated on Tuesday in Albay returned home. Eight hundred people were still at evacuation centres in Quezon province.
Landslide
Police said a family of five died in a landslide in Jose Panganiban, Camarines Norte, while one perished in a mining tunnel that collapsed in Labo town in the province.
In Quezon, Henry Buzar, a disaster coordinator, said two girls, ages 12 and 13, from Mulanay town and Lucena City, respectively, were swept away by raging rivers.
A fisherman, was found dead in a coastal village in Mogpog, Marinduque. He was one of 21 fishermen from Barangay Dalahican, Lucena, reported missing by their families but 12 had already been rescued while 8 remained missing.
In Guimaras province, an unnamed motorboat was reported to have suffered engine trouble and left at sea by its passengers who have yet to be located.
The MV Star Ferry-4, on the other hand, drifted to shallow waters in Catanduanes while the MV Maria Concepcion, with 17 passengers and crew, ran aground due to strong winds and big waves in Camarines Sur.
Stranded
The Coast Guard in Bicol said the "no-sailing order" remained with 800 passengers still stranded in major ports ports across the region as of Wednesday.
Some 450 passengers remained stranded at the ports of Puerto Real and Dalahican in Quezon and in Batangas City,
Rains triggered a runoff from a hill beside the railway line in Sipocot, eroding the ground and making it unstable, said Constancio Toledano, of the PNR office in Naga City.
Line to reopen
Toledano said the PNR would close the railway line in Sipocot until August 31 to allow for the building of a one-span rail bridge and prevent the ground from being eroded.
The Bicol Express will resume operations on September 1, he said.
Kopi Talk charity work
MY MOTHER is a good woman. She is wonderful and does good deeds like charity and civic work. But one charity work I don’t exactly approve of is her almost daily contribution to the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO).
This kind of charity, I suppose, must be either infectious or hereditary. My dad and my older brothers support each other in the same altruistic endeavor. It is only me who has not taken after them in this regard. But although I do not support them, there is a part of me that wants them to succeed because their success could be translated into charity work at home. I’m sure I’m going to get a share of any winnings because, as I said, mother is a good person.
My parents have provided us with a beautiful four-bedroom house equipped with all the modern conveniences to keep their grown-up children at home. No doubt they will definitely give us more once either mom or dad wins that huge lotto jackpot.
My mother often talks of giving money to this and that cause, buying us this and that thing, and going to different places should she win the lotto. I listen to her dreams; in fact, I am thrilled that mother can still come up with fairy tale-like scenarios at her age. However, with the excitement I feel when I hear her stories comes the distressing thought that mother might have finally resigned herself to the idea that financial advancement can only be achieved by luck. This thought saddens me more because mother is not the only one who subscribes to this belief. Majority of Filipinos do—just look at the long lines every time the lotto jackpot hits P50 million.
The queues have made the PCSO chairmanship one of the most-coveted government posts nowadays. There is just too much money made in this office, most of them coming from poor Filipinos who shell out at least P10 a day to bet on their favorite number combinations.
I am not sure if the transfer of the PCSO to the Office of the President is a good move. But one thing is for sure: it continues to make money wherever it may be. In its many years of operation, betting in lotto has become a habit for many. Office workers, construction workers and simple folks rush to the betting stations as the cut-off time draws near. The visible outcomes of their constant patronage are the many ambulances parked at the PCSO complex and the assistance that numerous patients get in government hospitals.
To say that the recipients are lucky would not be exactly right. It is either they are indigents or extremely sick. I thank God that I am neither of the two. I do not intend to receive charity under those conditions, although I am certain that help will come in whatever form when the need arises. Filipinos have always been like that.
So, the news about Filipinos being the most charitable in Asia did not come as a surprise to me anymore. I have stopped being surprised at the immense capacity of Filipinos to share their resources. When “Ondoy” happened, there was an outpouring of help everywhere. The typhoons and other calamities before and after that drew the same kind of generosity. What was newsworthy about the survey, however, was that our poor nation was willing to give more than our richer neighbors.
The sight of the poor giving whatever little they have never fails to astonish me. In the school where I work, I see my underprivileged students give out coins from their tattered purses when donations are asked.
When I tried to analyze the matter, I was led to think that it was probably because of our Christian upbringing. Maybe it was, but most, if not all, religions preach charity.
The Catholic church I go to discourages parishioners from giving money to the street children waiting outside the church. Apparently, some people do not heed the priest’s advice. The growing number of street children outside the church indicates that goodwill to mendicants is thriving.
Maybe, this is what fuels charity in our country. For as long as someone is in need, there will always be someone who will give. Or it could be the other way around: for as long as someone is willing to give, there will always be someone who is ready to ask. And who would not accept charity? “Grasya na ’to,” one would say.
Generally, we are a good people. This goodness, whether innate or indoctrinated, is what drives our altruism. Some vicious entrepreneurs take advantage of this goodness to jumpstart their business by sending out hundreds of street minions to seek investments, a.k.a. alms. The good people’s “investment in heaven” turns out to be something else.
The same principle is practiced by many wise individuals or groups who milk people and institutions by coming up with “foundations.” In the process, they shield their precious funds from taxes. I can only hope that the money reaches the supposed beneficiaries.
At this very moment, someone is receiving charity. Before I can even punctuate this sentence, I know someone is giving out charity. Inside a cubicle in Quezon City, Rep. Manny Pacquiao’s staff is still drafting letters to endorse to a third party the many solicitation letters his office is getting.
Before the late night newscast, I wait for my mom’s loud shriek or call to announce that she finally got the winning combination. During those countless evenings that I failed to hear such an announcement, I go to bed and mentally prepare myself for work the next day. Before I fall asleep, I tell the Lord that P2 million will be just fine.
Ralf Roldan, 27, is a teacher in Alabang. Charity
By Ralf Roldan
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 22:43:00 04/15/2011
This kind of charity, I suppose, must be either infectious or hereditary. My dad and my older brothers support each other in the same altruistic endeavor. It is only me who has not taken after them in this regard. But although I do not support them, there is a part of me that wants them to succeed because their success could be translated into charity work at home. I’m sure I’m going to get a share of any winnings because, as I said, mother is a good person.
My parents have provided us with a beautiful four-bedroom house equipped with all the modern conveniences to keep their grown-up children at home. No doubt they will definitely give us more once either mom or dad wins that huge lotto jackpot.
My mother often talks of giving money to this and that cause, buying us this and that thing, and going to different places should she win the lotto. I listen to her dreams; in fact, I am thrilled that mother can still come up with fairy tale-like scenarios at her age. However, with the excitement I feel when I hear her stories comes the distressing thought that mother might have finally resigned herself to the idea that financial advancement can only be achieved by luck. This thought saddens me more because mother is not the only one who subscribes to this belief. Majority of Filipinos do—just look at the long lines every time the lotto jackpot hits P50 million.
The queues have made the PCSO chairmanship one of the most-coveted government posts nowadays. There is just too much money made in this office, most of them coming from poor Filipinos who shell out at least P10 a day to bet on their favorite number combinations.
I am not sure if the transfer of the PCSO to the Office of the President is a good move. But one thing is for sure: it continues to make money wherever it may be. In its many years of operation, betting in lotto has become a habit for many. Office workers, construction workers and simple folks rush to the betting stations as the cut-off time draws near. The visible outcomes of their constant patronage are the many ambulances parked at the PCSO complex and the assistance that numerous patients get in government hospitals.
To say that the recipients are lucky would not be exactly right. It is either they are indigents or extremely sick. I thank God that I am neither of the two. I do not intend to receive charity under those conditions, although I am certain that help will come in whatever form when the need arises. Filipinos have always been like that.
So, the news about Filipinos being the most charitable in Asia did not come as a surprise to me anymore. I have stopped being surprised at the immense capacity of Filipinos to share their resources. When “Ondoy” happened, there was an outpouring of help everywhere. The typhoons and other calamities before and after that drew the same kind of generosity. What was newsworthy about the survey, however, was that our poor nation was willing to give more than our richer neighbors.
The sight of the poor giving whatever little they have never fails to astonish me. In the school where I work, I see my underprivileged students give out coins from their tattered purses when donations are asked.
When I tried to analyze the matter, I was led to think that it was probably because of our Christian upbringing. Maybe it was, but most, if not all, religions preach charity.
The Catholic church I go to discourages parishioners from giving money to the street children waiting outside the church. Apparently, some people do not heed the priest’s advice. The growing number of street children outside the church indicates that goodwill to mendicants is thriving.
Maybe, this is what fuels charity in our country. For as long as someone is in need, there will always be someone who will give. Or it could be the other way around: for as long as someone is willing to give, there will always be someone who is ready to ask. And who would not accept charity? “Grasya na ’to,” one would say.
Generally, we are a good people. This goodness, whether innate or indoctrinated, is what drives our altruism. Some vicious entrepreneurs take advantage of this goodness to jumpstart their business by sending out hundreds of street minions to seek investments, a.k.a. alms. The good people’s “investment in heaven” turns out to be something else.
The same principle is practiced by many wise individuals or groups who milk people and institutions by coming up with “foundations.” In the process, they shield their precious funds from taxes. I can only hope that the money reaches the supposed beneficiaries.
At this very moment, someone is receiving charity. Before I can even punctuate this sentence, I know someone is giving out charity. Inside a cubicle in Quezon City, Rep. Manny Pacquiao’s staff is still drafting letters to endorse to a third party the many solicitation letters his office is getting.
Before the late night newscast, I wait for my mom’s loud shriek or call to announce that she finally got the winning combination. During those countless evenings that I failed to hear such an announcement, I go to bed and mentally prepare myself for work the next day. Before I fall asleep, I tell the Lord that P2 million will be just fine.
Ralf Roldan, 27, is a teacher in Alabang. Charity
By Ralf Roldan
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 22:43:00 04/15/2011
Kopi Talk Solidarity as charity
Manila (Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN) - (Last July 21, the Ateneo de Manila University of the Philippines gave me, together with journalist Marites Danguilan-Vitug, the Ozanam Award for 2011. Not being an Atenean, I had no idea who Ozanam was or what he stood for. Apparently, not many Ateneans did either. I felt a strong need to know, and what I soon found out about this man greatly affected me, and prompted the response I read last Thursday on being conferred the Ozanam medal. Allow me to set aside modesty and share the following abridged version of that meditation.)
I am greatly humbled by this award, and overwhelmed by what it implies. If the award committee did not make a mistake in honoring me with this year's Ozanam, then I have to say I can only receive it not so much as a recognition of what I have done, but as a kindly suggestion of what I need to do to deserve it. A prod to do more, much more: perhaps to match the power of analysis or the anger of advocacy with the tenderness of solidarity. To unconditionally commit oneself to the poor and the needy by simple acts of charity. To be a person for others particularly in the most simple and direct way. For, by this alone do we really get to know them -- the poor who teach us the meaning of God in daily life.
I thank the Ateneo de Manila University for reminding me of this important truth -- for singling me out this year, together with my distinguished colleague in media Marites Vitug, for an award named after an intellectual and scholar who, for all his brilliance and erudition, humbly sought, in his words, "to insure my faith by works of charity."
I did not have the slightest clue about the Blessed Frederic Ozanam before this. Since the Ozanam is the oldest of Ateneo's traditional awards, I had assumed that the Blessed Frederic was a Jesuit. Little did I know that he was not even a priest, but a French layman who lived in the time of the social revolutions that rocked Europe in the first half of the 19th century -- indeed a professor of law and of literature at the Sorbonne, who wrote an outstanding thesis on the Italian poet Dante Alighieri.
Neither was I aware that Ozanam was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1997, or that, when he was barely 20, he became one of the founders of what came to be known later as the Society of St. Vincent de Paul -- one of the largest and most active organizations dedicated to the relief of the poor.
Ozanam was a most unusual man in many other ways. He staunchly defended his faith in a Europe that was rapidly replacing religion with science as a guide to life. At a young age, he wrote a critique of the aristocratic intellectual, Henri Saint-Simon, one of the forerunners of modern sociology, who had called for the establishment of a social order run by an emerging class of technocrats as the ultimate solution to poverty. In the face of the massive changes sparked by the Enlightenment that rolled across Europe, he refused to surrender the power of faith to the rising star of scientific reason. In what seemed like a passionate rebuke of the modern social sciences -- the discipline in which I and my generation of sociologists have been trained -- Ozanam emphatically wrote: "Those who wish no religion introduced into a scientific work accuse me of a lack of independence. But I pride myself on such an accusation.... I do not aspire to an independence, the result of which is to love and to believe nothing."
I have never encountered a more stunning rejection of the conventional (mis)understanding of the value-neutrality thesis in the sciences. To Ozanam, all worthwhile human activity proceeded only from one thing -- love. "The order of society," he wrote, "is based on two virtues: justice and charity. However, justice presupposes a lot of love already, for one needs to love a man a great deal in order to respect his rights, which limit our rights, and his liberty, which hampers our liberty. Justice has its limits whereas charity knows none. Charity is the Samaritan who pours oil on the wounds of the traveler who has been attacked. It is justice's role to prevent the attack."
Many times in our everyday lives, as we ponder the incredible misery and hopelessness to which at least a third of our countrymen have been consigned, we might find ourselves blaming the poor for their short-sightedness, their irresponsibility, and their sometimes desperate viciousness. We must check ourselves. Early in my education as a sociologist, my master C. Wright Mills taught me to focus on the structure of opportunities available in society as the key to understanding poverty. Mills showed me what justice means in our time, in a society sharply divided between the power elite and the oppressed, the rich and the marginalized.
But it is the Blessed Frederic Ozanam who has lately given me the clearest sense of what it means to love, and what our obligations are to the poor among us. "We are not blessed with two separate lives..." he once said, "one for seeking the truth and the other for putting it into practice." His own life was singular, but, alas, also all too short. He died when he was only 40 -- of tuberculosis, as if in a final gesture of solidarity with the poor he so loved. At his funeral, his spiritual guide and mentor, the preacher Father Lacordaire, described Frederic Ozanam as "one of those privileged creatures who came direct from the hand of God in whom God joins tenderness to genius in order to enkindle the world."
I'm afraid I cannot say more of this extraordinary man without feeling even more unworthy of the award that carries his name. But I thank the Ateneo for believing that I am. Thank you.
I am greatly humbled by this award, and overwhelmed by what it implies. If the award committee did not make a mistake in honoring me with this year's Ozanam, then I have to say I can only receive it not so much as a recognition of what I have done, but as a kindly suggestion of what I need to do to deserve it. A prod to do more, much more: perhaps to match the power of analysis or the anger of advocacy with the tenderness of solidarity. To unconditionally commit oneself to the poor and the needy by simple acts of charity. To be a person for others particularly in the most simple and direct way. For, by this alone do we really get to know them -- the poor who teach us the meaning of God in daily life.
I thank the Ateneo de Manila University for reminding me of this important truth -- for singling me out this year, together with my distinguished colleague in media Marites Vitug, for an award named after an intellectual and scholar who, for all his brilliance and erudition, humbly sought, in his words, "to insure my faith by works of charity."
I did not have the slightest clue about the Blessed Frederic Ozanam before this. Since the Ozanam is the oldest of Ateneo's traditional awards, I had assumed that the Blessed Frederic was a Jesuit. Little did I know that he was not even a priest, but a French layman who lived in the time of the social revolutions that rocked Europe in the first half of the 19th century -- indeed a professor of law and of literature at the Sorbonne, who wrote an outstanding thesis on the Italian poet Dante Alighieri.
Neither was I aware that Ozanam was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1997, or that, when he was barely 20, he became one of the founders of what came to be known later as the Society of St. Vincent de Paul -- one of the largest and most active organizations dedicated to the relief of the poor.
Ozanam was a most unusual man in many other ways. He staunchly defended his faith in a Europe that was rapidly replacing religion with science as a guide to life. At a young age, he wrote a critique of the aristocratic intellectual, Henri Saint-Simon, one of the forerunners of modern sociology, who had called for the establishment of a social order run by an emerging class of technocrats as the ultimate solution to poverty. In the face of the massive changes sparked by the Enlightenment that rolled across Europe, he refused to surrender the power of faith to the rising star of scientific reason. In what seemed like a passionate rebuke of the modern social sciences -- the discipline in which I and my generation of sociologists have been trained -- Ozanam emphatically wrote: "Those who wish no religion introduced into a scientific work accuse me of a lack of independence. But I pride myself on such an accusation.... I do not aspire to an independence, the result of which is to love and to believe nothing."
I have never encountered a more stunning rejection of the conventional (mis)understanding of the value-neutrality thesis in the sciences. To Ozanam, all worthwhile human activity proceeded only from one thing -- love. "The order of society," he wrote, "is based on two virtues: justice and charity. However, justice presupposes a lot of love already, for one needs to love a man a great deal in order to respect his rights, which limit our rights, and his liberty, which hampers our liberty. Justice has its limits whereas charity knows none. Charity is the Samaritan who pours oil on the wounds of the traveler who has been attacked. It is justice's role to prevent the attack."
Many times in our everyday lives, as we ponder the incredible misery and hopelessness to which at least a third of our countrymen have been consigned, we might find ourselves blaming the poor for their short-sightedness, their irresponsibility, and their sometimes desperate viciousness. We must check ourselves. Early in my education as a sociologist, my master C. Wright Mills taught me to focus on the structure of opportunities available in society as the key to understanding poverty. Mills showed me what justice means in our time, in a society sharply divided between the power elite and the oppressed, the rich and the marginalized.
But it is the Blessed Frederic Ozanam who has lately given me the clearest sense of what it means to love, and what our obligations are to the poor among us. "We are not blessed with two separate lives..." he once said, "one for seeking the truth and the other for putting it into practice." His own life was singular, but, alas, also all too short. He died when he was only 40 -- of tuberculosis, as if in a final gesture of solidarity with the poor he so loved. At his funeral, his spiritual guide and mentor, the preacher Father Lacordaire, described Frederic Ozanam as "one of those privileged creatures who came direct from the hand of God in whom God joins tenderness to genius in order to enkindle the world."
I'm afraid I cannot say more of this extraordinary man without feeling even more unworthy of the award that carries his name. But I thank the Ateneo for believing that I am. Thank you.
News Update Group renews call for total ban on medical waste incineration
By Marjorie Gorospe
QUEZON CITY, METRO MANILA—A group continues to call for the total banning of medical waste incineration as a simple step to fight climate change.
The Philippines imposed an incineration ban in 2004. The group Health Care Without Harm, meanwhile, are pushing for reforms to amend the Clean Air Act.
“Some want to amend the CAA by re-allowing medical waste incineration and there are ‘incinerators-in-disguise' projects that are being allowed by the government,” said the group's executive director Merci Ferrer.
Ferrer reiterated that the Filipinos should know that wastes - specifically medical wastes - do not disappear after burning.
“Burning medical wastes create problems which are hazardous to our health and to the environment,” she said.
Health Care Without Harm has attracted prominent politicians and celebrities to support its cause including Akbayan's Risa Hontiveros, actor Albert Martinez, actress Say Alonzo, celebrity mom Suzi Abrera, indie-pop band Bad Days for May and indie filmmaker Kidlat Tahimik.
The group's ‘Burn Not' campaign aims to raise awareness on the dangers of medical waste incineration.
Hontiveros also raised the need for city and municipal ordinances to raise awareness among households, especially mothers.
QUEZON CITY, METRO MANILA—A group continues to call for the total banning of medical waste incineration as a simple step to fight climate change.
The Philippines imposed an incineration ban in 2004. The group Health Care Without Harm, meanwhile, are pushing for reforms to amend the Clean Air Act.
“Some want to amend the CAA by re-allowing medical waste incineration and there are ‘incinerators-in-disguise' projects that are being allowed by the government,” said the group's executive director Merci Ferrer.
Ferrer reiterated that the Filipinos should know that wastes - specifically medical wastes - do not disappear after burning.
“Burning medical wastes create problems which are hazardous to our health and to the environment,” she said.
Health Care Without Harm has attracted prominent politicians and celebrities to support its cause including Akbayan's Risa Hontiveros, actor Albert Martinez, actress Say Alonzo, celebrity mom Suzi Abrera, indie-pop band Bad Days for May and indie filmmaker Kidlat Tahimik.
The group's ‘Burn Not' campaign aims to raise awareness on the dangers of medical waste incineration.
Hontiveros also raised the need for city and municipal ordinances to raise awareness among households, especially mothers.
News Update Asia security needs India: Australia minister
Australia's defense minister on Wednesday urged a greater role in Asia for India, calling the world's largest democracy a positive force in a region where attention has long been focused on China.
Defense Minister Stephen Smith made his appeal in Washington one week after US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke along similar lines during a visit to India, which she said had "the potential to positively shape" Asia's future.
In a speech about security in the Asia-Pacific region, Smith reiterated Australia's view that it seeks cooperation with a rising China but pointedly devoted much of his talk to India and new challenges such as cyber-warfare.
"It is in all our interests that India plays the role it could and should as an emerging great power in the security and stability of the region," Smith said at the Brookings Institution think-tank.
"India's significance cannot be under-appreciated," Smith said, saying that the country's democratic credentials helped give it a growing "strategic weight in the world."
"We see in India a country that combines a remarkable pace of domestic development with an active and constructive role on the regional and world stage," Smith said.
Pointing out that Perth is closer to Chennai than Sydney is to Shanghai, Smith said: "Our region needs to look west, as well as east."
The United States and Australia, along with their mutual ally Japan, have boosted defense cooperation with India including through joint military exercises.
China has been rapidly modernizing its military. Tensions have been high on the South China Sea, where Vietnam and the Philippines have accused Beijing of provocations in recent months.
Smith, in response to a question, said it was critical for China and its neighbors to address such friction "in accordance with international law."
"As China's economy grows, it's perfectly entitled on any historical analysis to also grow its military capability and capacity. All we ask of China is that it is transparent when it comes to its strategic intentions," he said.
Smith later held talks with US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, becoming one of his first foreign visitors since he took the helm at the Pentagon this month. The pair discussed a range of issues including the war in Afghanistan, Pentagon spokesman George Little said.
Australia has some 1,500 personnel in Afghanistan, mostly in Uruzgan province, making it the largest contributor outside the NATO alliance which leads the International Security Assistance Force, or ISAF.
Australia plans to maintain its troop levels despite growing public weariness worldwide about the war. President Barack Obama has tripled US troops but is beginning a withdrawal scheduled for completion at the end of 2014.
"It has taken the international community too many years to get to this point, but the NATO/ISAF surge, the surge in Afghan security forces and our Special Forces operations are working," Smith said.
War critics point to civilian casualties and the precarious security in southern Afghanistan, where two top political leaders have been assassinated this month.
Defense Minister Stephen Smith made his appeal in Washington one week after US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke along similar lines during a visit to India, which she said had "the potential to positively shape" Asia's future.
In a speech about security in the Asia-Pacific region, Smith reiterated Australia's view that it seeks cooperation with a rising China but pointedly devoted much of his talk to India and new challenges such as cyber-warfare.
"It is in all our interests that India plays the role it could and should as an emerging great power in the security and stability of the region," Smith said at the Brookings Institution think-tank.
"India's significance cannot be under-appreciated," Smith said, saying that the country's democratic credentials helped give it a growing "strategic weight in the world."
"We see in India a country that combines a remarkable pace of domestic development with an active and constructive role on the regional and world stage," Smith said.
Pointing out that Perth is closer to Chennai than Sydney is to Shanghai, Smith said: "Our region needs to look west, as well as east."
The United States and Australia, along with their mutual ally Japan, have boosted defense cooperation with India including through joint military exercises.
China has been rapidly modernizing its military. Tensions have been high on the South China Sea, where Vietnam and the Philippines have accused Beijing of provocations in recent months.
Smith, in response to a question, said it was critical for China and its neighbors to address such friction "in accordance with international law."
"As China's economy grows, it's perfectly entitled on any historical analysis to also grow its military capability and capacity. All we ask of China is that it is transparent when it comes to its strategic intentions," he said.
Smith later held talks with US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, becoming one of his first foreign visitors since he took the helm at the Pentagon this month. The pair discussed a range of issues including the war in Afghanistan, Pentagon spokesman George Little said.
Australia has some 1,500 personnel in Afghanistan, mostly in Uruzgan province, making it the largest contributor outside the NATO alliance which leads the International Security Assistance Force, or ISAF.
Australia plans to maintain its troop levels despite growing public weariness worldwide about the war. President Barack Obama has tripled US troops but is beginning a withdrawal scheduled for completion at the end of 2014.
"It has taken the international community too many years to get to this point, but the NATO/ISAF surge, the surge in Afghan security forces and our Special Forces operations are working," Smith said.
War critics point to civilian casualties and the precarious security in southern Afghanistan, where two top political leaders have been assassinated this month.
News Update ADB warns inflation still 'major risk' to Asia
Rapidly rising inflation remains a "major risk" in Asia and could trigger a potentially damaging wage-price spiral, the Asian Development Bank warned Thursday.
The Manila-based lender said strong domestic demand and surging commodity prices had pushed inflation above 10-year averages in some East Asian countries and was being exacerbated by speculative money flowing into the region.
Higher interest rates and tighter restrictions on bank lending as well as faster appreciation in exchange rates could help policymakers rein in prices, the ADB said, in an apparent reference to China, which controls its currency.
"Higher-than-expected inflation could lead to wage-price spirals, threatening macroeconomic stability and constraining policy options," the ADB said in its latest Asia Economic Monitor report, released in Beijing.
A wage-price spiral is when rising prices leads to workers demanding higher wages, which drives up production costs and puts further upward pressure on prices.
Inflation around the region was hovering around 3-6 percent but in some places, such as Vietnam, it had hit 20 percent by the end of June, the lender said.
China, the world's second-largest economy and key driver of regional growth, saw inflation reach a three-year high of 6.4 percent in June despite persistent government efforts to bring prices under control.
The ADB forecast that East Asia -- which includes China, South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, Cambodia and Laos -- would grow at 7.9 percent this year.
The predicted growth is higher than its previous forecast, made in December, for 7.3 percent.
It warned the deepening eurozone debt crisis, sluggish growth in the United States and the downturn in Japan triggered by the March earthquake and tsunami could hurt demand for the export-dependent region's overseas shipments.
But policymakers should be careful not to "over-react to the slowdown in advanced economies as regional growth remains resilient and inflation a continuing problem", the ADB said.
The Manila-based lender said strong domestic demand and surging commodity prices had pushed inflation above 10-year averages in some East Asian countries and was being exacerbated by speculative money flowing into the region.
Higher interest rates and tighter restrictions on bank lending as well as faster appreciation in exchange rates could help policymakers rein in prices, the ADB said, in an apparent reference to China, which controls its currency.
"Higher-than-expected inflation could lead to wage-price spirals, threatening macroeconomic stability and constraining policy options," the ADB said in its latest Asia Economic Monitor report, released in Beijing.
A wage-price spiral is when rising prices leads to workers demanding higher wages, which drives up production costs and puts further upward pressure on prices.
Inflation around the region was hovering around 3-6 percent but in some places, such as Vietnam, it had hit 20 percent by the end of June, the lender said.
China, the world's second-largest economy and key driver of regional growth, saw inflation reach a three-year high of 6.4 percent in June despite persistent government efforts to bring prices under control.
The ADB forecast that East Asia -- which includes China, South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, Cambodia and Laos -- would grow at 7.9 percent this year.
The predicted growth is higher than its previous forecast, made in December, for 7.3 percent.
It warned the deepening eurozone debt crisis, sluggish growth in the United States and the downturn in Japan triggered by the March earthquake and tsunami could hurt demand for the export-dependent region's overseas shipments.
But policymakers should be careful not to "over-react to the slowdown in advanced economies as regional growth remains resilient and inflation a continuing problem", the ADB said.
News Update Ignorance deter German firms from investing in PHL
German companies have a tough time when it comes to brand recognition and geographical awareness in relation to the Philippines, which are the main deterrents to foreign investments, the German chamber of commerce said on Wednesday.
"The first challenge is that German companies don't know where the Philippines is," quipped Nadine Fund, business development manager of the German-Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry Inc. (GPCCI).
Fund told GMA News Online that India is the top-of-mind destination for most German companies when it comes to BPO services.
"The Philippines is not really a destination people would think of for business investment," Fund said.
In response to the situation, the GPCCI and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) are ramping up efforts to promote the Philippine brand and its potential among firm in Europe — a largely untapped market for Philippine-based BPO companies.
Fund said the DTI representative in Germany is joining business conventions and exhibitions and pushing the Philippines a business destination for German companies.
With a potential market of $40 billion, according to the Business Processing Association of the Philippines (BPAP), the Philippines has no other recourse but to tap the European market, especially since other BPO countries competing for the Philippines largest market, the US.
In 2008, BPO stakeholders established Team Europe — a multi-agency coalition whose objective is to promote Philippines as a BPO destination for European companies.
Potential for BPO industry
Stephanie Weber, business development manager of Team Europe, wrote in a 2008 BPAP publication that the outsourcing boom in Europe holds a huge potential for the Philippine BPO industry.
"Currently 65 percent of the BPO business in the Philippines deals with the United States, in contrast to only 10 percent with Europe," Weber said.
Team Europe is now trying to help improve the situation by inducing awareness among Europeans about the Philippines, Weber said.
The group is also trying to encourage Filipinos to take up courses in European languages, she added.
GPCCI's Fund said there are several European investors who will visit the Philippine later this year to explore business possibilities and interact with potential partners.
Fund said they are also encouraging German makers of solar panel to look at the partnership of First Philec Solar Corp. and SunPower of US as a potential case study for possible partnerships in renewable energy.
Germany is heavily promoting the use of alternative sources of energy after Berlin made a commitment to shut down all nuclear reactors by 2020.
She added that their upcoming Mabuhay Germany exposition next October is also the chamber's way of showing to businesses back in Germany how other companies have succeeded in growing their investments in the Philippines. — VS
"The first challenge is that German companies don't know where the Philippines is," quipped Nadine Fund, business development manager of the German-Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry Inc. (GPCCI).
Fund told GMA News Online that India is the top-of-mind destination for most German companies when it comes to BPO services.
"The Philippines is not really a destination people would think of for business investment," Fund said.
In response to the situation, the GPCCI and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) are ramping up efforts to promote the Philippine brand and its potential among firm in Europe — a largely untapped market for Philippine-based BPO companies.
Fund said the DTI representative in Germany is joining business conventions and exhibitions and pushing the Philippines a business destination for German companies.
With a potential market of $40 billion, according to the Business Processing Association of the Philippines (BPAP), the Philippines has no other recourse but to tap the European market, especially since other BPO countries competing for the Philippines largest market, the US.
In 2008, BPO stakeholders established Team Europe — a multi-agency coalition whose objective is to promote Philippines as a BPO destination for European companies.
Potential for BPO industry
Stephanie Weber, business development manager of Team Europe, wrote in a 2008 BPAP publication that the outsourcing boom in Europe holds a huge potential for the Philippine BPO industry.
"Currently 65 percent of the BPO business in the Philippines deals with the United States, in contrast to only 10 percent with Europe," Weber said.
Team Europe is now trying to help improve the situation by inducing awareness among Europeans about the Philippines, Weber said.
The group is also trying to encourage Filipinos to take up courses in European languages, she added.
GPCCI's Fund said there are several European investors who will visit the Philippine later this year to explore business possibilities and interact with potential partners.
Fund said they are also encouraging German makers of solar panel to look at the partnership of First Philec Solar Corp. and SunPower of US as a potential case study for possible partnerships in renewable energy.
Germany is heavily promoting the use of alternative sources of energy after Berlin made a commitment to shut down all nuclear reactors by 2020.
She added that their upcoming Mabuhay Germany exposition next October is also the chamber's way of showing to businesses back in Germany how other companies have succeeded in growing their investments in the Philippines. — VS
News Update Senate probe into PNP's chopper purchase starts Thursday
The Senate blue ribbon committee will begin this Thursday an inquiry into alleged misrepresentations in the purchase of "pre-owned" light operational helicopters by the Philippine National Police (PNP) in 2009.
In an advisory sent to the media, the Senate blue ribbon committee said the inquiry will start at 9:00 a.m.
According to the panel, among the resource persons invited to the hearing were PNP chief Raul Bacalzo, retired PNP chief Gen. Jesus Versoza, members of the PNP bids and awards and inspection and acceptance committees, Zest Airways Inc. president and CEO Alfredo Yaon, Lion Air president Archibald Legaspi Po, and representatives of Manila Aerospace Trading Corp. (MAPTRA).
Thursday's probe stemmed from a Senate resolution, filed by Senate blue ribbon committee chairman Sen. Teofisto Guingona III and Sen. Panfilo Lacson, seeking to take a closer look at the acquisition of Light Police Operational Helicopters (LPOHs) from MAPTRA for the PNP Special Action Force (SAF).
The senators explained that on May 8, 2009 the PNP Negotiation Committee started talks with MAPTRA to buy one equipped LPOH and two standard LPOHs for P105 million, even though the PNP-SAF needed three equipped LPOHs.
Then PNP chief Director General Jesus Verzosa approved the supply contract to pay MAPTRA P104.985 million for a Robinson R44 Raven II and two Robinson R44 Raven I helicopters.
Guingona and Lacson, however, said MAPTRA "intentionally misrepresented" the helicopters they were selling as brand new and the PNP accepted the same as true.
They explained that flight logs indicate that the two R44 Raven I choppers sold to the PNP were already "pre-owned" as far back as March 2004.
Lacson later on claimed that the helicopters were previously owned by the family of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. — VS,
In an advisory sent to the media, the Senate blue ribbon committee said the inquiry will start at 9:00 a.m.
According to the panel, among the resource persons invited to the hearing were PNP chief Raul Bacalzo, retired PNP chief Gen. Jesus Versoza, members of the PNP bids and awards and inspection and acceptance committees, Zest Airways Inc. president and CEO Alfredo Yaon, Lion Air president Archibald Legaspi Po, and representatives of Manila Aerospace Trading Corp. (MAPTRA).
Thursday's probe stemmed from a Senate resolution, filed by Senate blue ribbon committee chairman Sen. Teofisto Guingona III and Sen. Panfilo Lacson, seeking to take a closer look at the acquisition of Light Police Operational Helicopters (LPOHs) from MAPTRA for the PNP Special Action Force (SAF).
The senators explained that on May 8, 2009 the PNP Negotiation Committee started talks with MAPTRA to buy one equipped LPOH and two standard LPOHs for P105 million, even though the PNP-SAF needed three equipped LPOHs.
Then PNP chief Director General Jesus Verzosa approved the supply contract to pay MAPTRA P104.985 million for a Robinson R44 Raven II and two Robinson R44 Raven I helicopters.
Guingona and Lacson, however, said MAPTRA "intentionally misrepresented" the helicopters they were selling as brand new and the PNP accepted the same as true.
They explained that flight logs indicate that the two R44 Raven I choppers sold to the PNP were already "pre-owned" as far back as March 2004.
Lacson later on claimed that the helicopters were previously owned by the family of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. — VS,
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
News Update Aquino to China: Filipinos will defend territory
MANILA, Philippines (AP) — President Benigno Aquino III warned China in a major national speech Monday that the Philippines was ready to defend its Spratly Islands claims by acquiring more weapons and would elevate the territorial feuds to a U.N. tribunal.
In his State of the Nation Address to Congress, Aquino also announced a new chief anti-graft prosecutor and said his year-old government plans to file its first major corruption case this year against corrupt officials and their accomplices. He did not name the officials but vowed punishment for the guilty.
"We do not wish to increase tensions with anyone, but we must let the world know that we are ready to protect what is ours," Aquino said, drawing loud applause at the packed House of Representatives. The address also was televised live to the nation.
Aquino's tough rhetoric echoed past criticisms of China over the Spratlys, so may have been meant to project him as a strong leader dealing firmly with an issue about which many Filipinos feel emotional, political analyst Ramon Casiple said.
"He was playing to a domestic audience. It's more of asserting to the people that he's a leader," Casiple said, adding that Aquino's reiterated position was unlikely to surprise China.
Aquino noted the efforts to bolster the military's capability, citing the recent purchase of a U.S. Coast Guard cutter and plans to acquire more patrol vessels, helicopters and weapons in deals he guaranteed would be aboveboard.
Aquino did not name China in his speech but clearly referred to it in laying a clear claim to the South China Sea feature called Recto Bank, also known as the Reed Bank, where the Philippines alleges China has intruded.
"There was a time when we couldn't appropriately respond to threats in our own backyard," Aquino said. "Now, our message to the world is clear: What is ours is ours; setting foot on Recto Bank is no different from setting foot on Recto Avenue."
Recto Avenue is a popular street in downtown Manila. The Philippines has said Chinese forces have repeatedly intruded into Manila-claimed areas in the sea since February, including at the Reed Bank. Filipino officials said two Chinese patrol boats threatened a Filipino oil exploration ship into leaving the Reed Bank, which they said was within its regular territorial waters and not part of the nearby Spratlys.
Two military planes were deployed during the March 2 incident, but the Chinese boats have left by the time the aircraft reached the Reed Bank, about 90 miles (150 kilometers) from the Philippine coast.
Chinese officials have said there were no intrusions because those waters belonged to China.
The chain of barren, largely uninhabited islands, reefs and banks in the South China Sea are claimed entirety or partly by China, Taiwan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Brunei. They are believed to be rich in oil and natural gas and straddle a busy international sea lane.
The Spratlys have long been regarded as Asia's next potential flashpoint for armed conflict.
Washington has said the peaceful resolution of the territorial disputes and ensuring the freedom of navigation there were in the U.S. national interest, a position that irked China.
The Philippines has said it intends to bring the Spratlys disputes before the U.N.'s International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea. China opposed the plan and wants to negotiate bilaterally instead.
Aquino said bringing the case before an international arbiter would ensure that "all involved nations approach the dispute with calm and forbearance."
On government corruption, Aquino did not identify the officials his government would charge this year but he has been under intense pressure to have his predecessor, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, prosecuted for alleged plunder.
Arroyo has steadfastly denied any wrongdoing and criticized Aquino for a lackluster performance. Arroyo and her two children, who are now legislators, attended the morning session of Congress but were absent when Aquino delivered his speech.
Arroyo then traveled to her home province of Pampanga, north of Manila, but later returned to the capital and was confined to a hospital for a still unspecified reason, her spokeswoman, Maite Defensor, said.
More than 6,500 mostly left-wing protesters rallied outside Congress as Aquino spoke, demanding higher wages, farmland and Arroyo's prosecution. They were blocked by riot police from getting near Congress.
___
Associated Press writer Teresa Cerojano contributed to this report.
In his State of the Nation Address to Congress, Aquino also announced a new chief anti-graft prosecutor and said his year-old government plans to file its first major corruption case this year against corrupt officials and their accomplices. He did not name the officials but vowed punishment for the guilty.
"We do not wish to increase tensions with anyone, but we must let the world know that we are ready to protect what is ours," Aquino said, drawing loud applause at the packed House of Representatives. The address also was televised live to the nation.
Aquino's tough rhetoric echoed past criticisms of China over the Spratlys, so may have been meant to project him as a strong leader dealing firmly with an issue about which many Filipinos feel emotional, political analyst Ramon Casiple said.
"He was playing to a domestic audience. It's more of asserting to the people that he's a leader," Casiple said, adding that Aquino's reiterated position was unlikely to surprise China.
Aquino noted the efforts to bolster the military's capability, citing the recent purchase of a U.S. Coast Guard cutter and plans to acquire more patrol vessels, helicopters and weapons in deals he guaranteed would be aboveboard.
Aquino did not name China in his speech but clearly referred to it in laying a clear claim to the South China Sea feature called Recto Bank, also known as the Reed Bank, where the Philippines alleges China has intruded.
"There was a time when we couldn't appropriately respond to threats in our own backyard," Aquino said. "Now, our message to the world is clear: What is ours is ours; setting foot on Recto Bank is no different from setting foot on Recto Avenue."
Recto Avenue is a popular street in downtown Manila. The Philippines has said Chinese forces have repeatedly intruded into Manila-claimed areas in the sea since February, including at the Reed Bank. Filipino officials said two Chinese patrol boats threatened a Filipino oil exploration ship into leaving the Reed Bank, which they said was within its regular territorial waters and not part of the nearby Spratlys.
Two military planes were deployed during the March 2 incident, but the Chinese boats have left by the time the aircraft reached the Reed Bank, about 90 miles (150 kilometers) from the Philippine coast.
Chinese officials have said there were no intrusions because those waters belonged to China.
The chain of barren, largely uninhabited islands, reefs and banks in the South China Sea are claimed entirety or partly by China, Taiwan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Brunei. They are believed to be rich in oil and natural gas and straddle a busy international sea lane.
The Spratlys have long been regarded as Asia's next potential flashpoint for armed conflict.
Washington has said the peaceful resolution of the territorial disputes and ensuring the freedom of navigation there were in the U.S. national interest, a position that irked China.
The Philippines has said it intends to bring the Spratlys disputes before the U.N.'s International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea. China opposed the plan and wants to negotiate bilaterally instead.
Aquino said bringing the case before an international arbiter would ensure that "all involved nations approach the dispute with calm and forbearance."
On government corruption, Aquino did not identify the officials his government would charge this year but he has been under intense pressure to have his predecessor, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, prosecuted for alleged plunder.
Arroyo has steadfastly denied any wrongdoing and criticized Aquino for a lackluster performance. Arroyo and her two children, who are now legislators, attended the morning session of Congress but were absent when Aquino delivered his speech.
Arroyo then traveled to her home province of Pampanga, north of Manila, but later returned to the capital and was confined to a hospital for a still unspecified reason, her spokeswoman, Maite Defensor, said.
More than 6,500 mostly left-wing protesters rallied outside Congress as Aquino spoke, demanding higher wages, farmland and Arroyo's prosecution. They were blocked by riot police from getting near Congress.
___
Associated Press writer Teresa Cerojano contributed to this report.
News Update Aquino to China: Filipinos will defend territory
MANILA, Philippines (AP) — President Benigno Aquino III warned China in a major national speech Monday that the Philippines was ready to defend its Spratly Islands claims by acquiring more weapons and would elevate the territorial feuds to a U.N. tribunal.
In his State of the Nation Address to Congress, Aquino also announced a new chief anti-graft prosecutor and said his year-old government plans to file its first major corruption case this year against corrupt officials and their accomplices. He did not name the officials but vowed punishment for the guilty.
"We do not wish to increase tensions with anyone, but we must let the world know that we are ready to protect what is ours," Aquino said, drawing loud applause at the packed House of Representatives. The address also was televised live to the nation.
Aquino's tough rhetoric echoed past criticisms of China over the Spratlys, so may have been meant to project him as a strong leader dealing firmly with an issue about which many Filipinos feel emotional, political analyst Ramon Casiple said.
"He was playing to a domestic audience. It's more of asserting to the people that he's a leader," Casiple said, adding that Aquino's reiterated position was unlikely to surprise China.
Aquino noted the efforts to bolster the military's capability, citing the recent purchase of a U.S. Coast Guard cutter and plans to acquire more patrol vessels, helicopters and weapons in deals he guaranteed would be aboveboard.
Aquino did not name China in his speech but clearly referred to it in laying a clear claim to the South China Sea feature called Recto Bank, also known as the Reed Bank, where the Philippines alleges China has intruded.
"There was a time when we couldn't appropriately respond to threats in our own backyard," Aquino said. "Now, our message to the world is clear: What is ours is ours; setting foot on Recto Bank is no different from setting foot on Recto Avenue."
Recto Avenue is a popular street in downtown Manila. The Philippines has said Chinese forces have repeatedly intruded into Manila-claimed areas in the sea since February, including at the Reed Bank. Filipino officials said two Chinese patrol boats threatened a Filipino oil exploration ship into leaving the Reed Bank, which they said was within its regular territorial waters and not part of the nearby Spratlys.
Two military planes were deployed during the March 2 incident, but the Chinese boats have left by the time the aircraft reached the Reed Bank, about 90 miles (150 kilometers) from the Philippine coast.
Chinese officials have said there were no intrusions because those waters belonged to China.
The chain of barren, largely uninhabited islands, reefs and banks in the South China Sea are claimed entirety or partly by China, Taiwan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Brunei. They are believed to be rich in oil and natural gas and straddle a busy international sea lane.
The Spratlys have long been regarded as Asia's next potential flashpoint for armed conflict.
Washington has said the peaceful resolution of the territorial disputes and ensuring the freedom of navigation there were in the U.S. national interest, a position that irked China.
The Philippines has said it intends to bring the Spratlys disputes before the U.N.'s International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea. China opposed the plan and wants to negotiate bilaterally instead.
Aquino said bringing the case before an international arbiter would ensure that "all involved nations approach the dispute with calm and forbearance."
On government corruption, Aquino did not identify the officials his government would charge this year but he has been under intense pressure to have his predecessor, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, prosecuted for alleged plunder.
Arroyo has steadfastly denied any wrongdoing and criticized Aquino for a lackluster performance. Arroyo and her two children, who are now legislators, attended the morning session of Congress but were absent when Aquino delivered his speech.
Arroyo then traveled to her home province of Pampanga, north of Manila, but later returned to the capital and was confined to a hospital for a still unspecified reason, her spokeswoman, Maite Defensor, said.
More than 6,500 mostly left-wing protesters rallied outside Congress as Aquino spoke, demanding higher wages, farmland and Arroyo's prosecution. They were blocked by riot police from getting near Congress.
___
Associated Press writer Teresa Cerojano contributed to this report.
In his State of the Nation Address to Congress, Aquino also announced a new chief anti-graft prosecutor and said his year-old government plans to file its first major corruption case this year against corrupt officials and their accomplices. He did not name the officials but vowed punishment for the guilty.
"We do not wish to increase tensions with anyone, but we must let the world know that we are ready to protect what is ours," Aquino said, drawing loud applause at the packed House of Representatives. The address also was televised live to the nation.
Aquino's tough rhetoric echoed past criticisms of China over the Spratlys, so may have been meant to project him as a strong leader dealing firmly with an issue about which many Filipinos feel emotional, political analyst Ramon Casiple said.
"He was playing to a domestic audience. It's more of asserting to the people that he's a leader," Casiple said, adding that Aquino's reiterated position was unlikely to surprise China.
Aquino noted the efforts to bolster the military's capability, citing the recent purchase of a U.S. Coast Guard cutter and plans to acquire more patrol vessels, helicopters and weapons in deals he guaranteed would be aboveboard.
Aquino did not name China in his speech but clearly referred to it in laying a clear claim to the South China Sea feature called Recto Bank, also known as the Reed Bank, where the Philippines alleges China has intruded.
"There was a time when we couldn't appropriately respond to threats in our own backyard," Aquino said. "Now, our message to the world is clear: What is ours is ours; setting foot on Recto Bank is no different from setting foot on Recto Avenue."
Recto Avenue is a popular street in downtown Manila. The Philippines has said Chinese forces have repeatedly intruded into Manila-claimed areas in the sea since February, including at the Reed Bank. Filipino officials said two Chinese patrol boats threatened a Filipino oil exploration ship into leaving the Reed Bank, which they said was within its regular territorial waters and not part of the nearby Spratlys.
Two military planes were deployed during the March 2 incident, but the Chinese boats have left by the time the aircraft reached the Reed Bank, about 90 miles (150 kilometers) from the Philippine coast.
Chinese officials have said there were no intrusions because those waters belonged to China.
The chain of barren, largely uninhabited islands, reefs and banks in the South China Sea are claimed entirety or partly by China, Taiwan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Brunei. They are believed to be rich in oil and natural gas and straddle a busy international sea lane.
The Spratlys have long been regarded as Asia's next potential flashpoint for armed conflict.
Washington has said the peaceful resolution of the territorial disputes and ensuring the freedom of navigation there were in the U.S. national interest, a position that irked China.
The Philippines has said it intends to bring the Spratlys disputes before the U.N.'s International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea. China opposed the plan and wants to negotiate bilaterally instead.
Aquino said bringing the case before an international arbiter would ensure that "all involved nations approach the dispute with calm and forbearance."
On government corruption, Aquino did not identify the officials his government would charge this year but he has been under intense pressure to have his predecessor, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, prosecuted for alleged plunder.
Arroyo has steadfastly denied any wrongdoing and criticized Aquino for a lackluster performance. Arroyo and her two children, who are now legislators, attended the morning session of Congress but were absent when Aquino delivered his speech.
Arroyo then traveled to her home province of Pampanga, north of Manila, but later returned to the capital and was confined to a hospital for a still unspecified reason, her spokeswoman, Maite Defensor, said.
More than 6,500 mostly left-wing protesters rallied outside Congress as Aquino spoke, demanding higher wages, farmland and Arroyo's prosecution. They were blocked by riot police from getting near Congress.
___
Associated Press writer Teresa Cerojano contributed to this report.
News Update Philippines' Aquino says expects to file graft charges this yr
MANILA (Reuters) - Philippine President Benigno Aquino said on Monday his government is expected to file this year corruption charges against officials involved in the misuse of public funds and abuse of power.
Delivering his second State of the Nation address, Aquino promised to submit bills to Congress that would provide adequate pension to soldiers, and compensation to human rights victims under the Marcos dictatorship.
Aquino's net satisfaction rating fell in the second quarter but remains strongly positive, based on the latest opinion poll by the Social Weather Stations last month, amid criticism his administration has been lacklustre in its first year in office.
Aquino, the only son of democracy heroine Cory Aquino, was swept to power last year by an electorate energised by his anti-corruption platform and nostalgia for his mother, who died in August 2009.
(Reporting by Manuel Mogato; Editing by Rosemarie Francisco)
Delivering his second State of the Nation address, Aquino promised to submit bills to Congress that would provide adequate pension to soldiers, and compensation to human rights victims under the Marcos dictatorship.
Aquino's net satisfaction rating fell in the second quarter but remains strongly positive, based on the latest opinion poll by the Social Weather Stations last month, amid criticism his administration has been lacklustre in its first year in office.
Aquino, the only son of democracy heroine Cory Aquino, was swept to power last year by an electorate energised by his anti-corruption platform and nostalgia for his mother, who died in August 2009.
(Reporting by Manuel Mogato; Editing by Rosemarie Francisco)
News Update Plunder complaint filed vs ex-Philippine president
MANILA, Philippines (AP) — A left-wing political party on Tuesday filed a fourth plunder complaint in a year against former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, alleging she benefited from government money.
Prosecutors have not filed charges against Arroyo in the other complaints, but President Benigno Aquino III ratcheted up the pressure Monday by saying in a national address that his government plans to file its first major corruption case this year. He did not identify whom it would target but has long accused his predecessor of corruption and mismanagement.
Arroyo's lawyer Raul Lambino dismissed the latest accusations as "political stunts and gimmickry" at his client's expense.
The new complaint claims that Arroyo and eight other former officials conspired to illegally release 325 million pesos ($7.7 million) from the state-run charity office from 2008 to 2010.
Arroyo was elected to the House of Representatives after nine years as president. She denies any wrongdoing and her supporters say she is used as a scapegoat for what they call Aquino's poor performance.
Former lawmaker Risa Hontiveros, a spokeswoman for the Akbayan party, said she and two anti-corruption advocates who filed the complaint aim to prove Arroyo benefited from the money declared as intelligence funds, using it as campaign funds for the 2010 election.
"They had no accounting, they had no proper disbursing documents," and the charity office budget had no provision for intelligence funds, she said.
The complaint said the only requirement met for the release of the funds was the approval of the president. It said that the disbursed money was not used for intelligence activities, and no report was submitted to the Senate president, the House speaker and the audit committee chairman to account for it.
Plunder is punishable by up to 40 years in prison. The only other former head of state convicted of the economic crime was Arroyo's predecessor, Joseph Estrada, whom she pardoned.
Arroyo was taken to the hospital Monday. Her doctor Juliet Cervantes said Tuesday she was undergoing tests before a risky surgery for pinched nerves on her neck.
The Supreme Court, meanwhile, said on Tuesday that it has invalidated with finality the Truth Commission formed by Aquino to investigate alleged corruption during Arroyo's presidency.
The high court declared the commission unconstitutional last December because it unfairly singled out alleged corruption under Arroyo's presidency. A government appeal has been struck down by the court, court spokesman Midas Marquez said.
Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said the government respects the court decision but will "continue to explore other avenues for the truth to come out."
Lacierda said following the appointment Monday of retired Supreme Court Justice Conchita Carpio Morales as new ombudsman, the government will be filing more corruption cases.
The government hesitated to file cases earlier, he added, because the previous Ombudsman "was not going to prosecute the case in a manner that we felt would be fair."
Former Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez was accused of protecting Arroyo and her family from prosecution for alleged corruption. She was impeached by Congress and resigned in April.
Prosecutors have not filed charges against Arroyo in the other complaints, but President Benigno Aquino III ratcheted up the pressure Monday by saying in a national address that his government plans to file its first major corruption case this year. He did not identify whom it would target but has long accused his predecessor of corruption and mismanagement.
Arroyo's lawyer Raul Lambino dismissed the latest accusations as "political stunts and gimmickry" at his client's expense.
The new complaint claims that Arroyo and eight other former officials conspired to illegally release 325 million pesos ($7.7 million) from the state-run charity office from 2008 to 2010.
Arroyo was elected to the House of Representatives after nine years as president. She denies any wrongdoing and her supporters say she is used as a scapegoat for what they call Aquino's poor performance.
Former lawmaker Risa Hontiveros, a spokeswoman for the Akbayan party, said she and two anti-corruption advocates who filed the complaint aim to prove Arroyo benefited from the money declared as intelligence funds, using it as campaign funds for the 2010 election.
"They had no accounting, they had no proper disbursing documents," and the charity office budget had no provision for intelligence funds, she said.
The complaint said the only requirement met for the release of the funds was the approval of the president. It said that the disbursed money was not used for intelligence activities, and no report was submitted to the Senate president, the House speaker and the audit committee chairman to account for it.
Plunder is punishable by up to 40 years in prison. The only other former head of state convicted of the economic crime was Arroyo's predecessor, Joseph Estrada, whom she pardoned.
Arroyo was taken to the hospital Monday. Her doctor Juliet Cervantes said Tuesday she was undergoing tests before a risky surgery for pinched nerves on her neck.
The Supreme Court, meanwhile, said on Tuesday that it has invalidated with finality the Truth Commission formed by Aquino to investigate alleged corruption during Arroyo's presidency.
The high court declared the commission unconstitutional last December because it unfairly singled out alleged corruption under Arroyo's presidency. A government appeal has been struck down by the court, court spokesman Midas Marquez said.
Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said the government respects the court decision but will "continue to explore other avenues for the truth to come out."
Lacierda said following the appointment Monday of retired Supreme Court Justice Conchita Carpio Morales as new ombudsman, the government will be filing more corruption cases.
The government hesitated to file cases earlier, he added, because the previous Ombudsman "was not going to prosecute the case in a manner that we felt would be fair."
Former Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez was accused of protecting Arroyo and her family from prosecution for alleged corruption. She was impeached by Congress and resigned in April.
News Update 10 dead, 10 missing as storm lashes Philippines
MANILA, Philippines (AP) — A slow-moving storm unleashed massive floods and landslides Tuesday in the northeastern Philippines, killing at least 10 people with 10 missing and several towns isolated.
Gov. Joey Salceda said three children died in a landslide in a mountainside village in his Albay province's Polangui town, while two men were pinned to death by a fallen coconut tree. Two other people died in storm-related accidents in the hard-hit province.
Fourteen fishermen who were reported missing at sea after strong wind and waves destroyed their motor boat off Balesin Island in Quezon province survived the ordeal by swimming to shore and were helped to safety by villagers, said Benito Ramos, administrator of the Office of Civil Defense.
"Many of our towns seemed like islands. They were isolated from each other," Salceda told The Associated Press by telephone from the Albay provincial capital of Legazpi, where he was overseeing rescue efforts for stranded villagers.
Other fatalities included a man electrocuted by a cable from a toppled power post while another drowned in eastern Catanduanes province. A villager suffered a heart attack at the height of the storm in Camarines Sur Province.
Waist-deep floodwaters swamped the houses of about half a million people, or nearly half of Albay's population, after Tropical Storm Nock-ten set off pounding rains overnight and forced many to flee to safer areas, including churches and village halls, Salceda said.
He said that four men were reported missing after the storm flooded and isolated many of Albay's 15 farming towns and three cities.
Six other people were missing in the stormy weather in nearby provinces, officials said.
Salceda said the storm caused power outages and suspended classes. Authorities canceled several domestic flights and ferry operations, stranding passengers.
Forecasters said Nock-ten was packing sustained winds of 47 miles (75 kilometers) per hour and gusts of 56 mph (90 kph) off eastern Camarines Norte province. It dumped heavy rains as it moved slowly toward Luzon's eastern coast.
The storm, which has a 310-mile (500-km) -wide cloud band, was expected to blow into eastern Quezon province early Wednesday then barrel through the provinces of Bulacan and Pampanga just north of the Philippine capital, where grade and high school classes were canceled, said Undersecretary Graciano Yumul of the government weather agency.
Regional disaster-response official Raffy Alejandro said the storm inundated seven towns of Camarines Sur in the province's worst flooding in five years.
Army troops and coast guard personnel planned to bring seven rubber boats to rescue some villagers trapped on roofs but a key highway was blocked by floodwaters and mudflows from Albay's Mayon volcano, Alejandro said.
Alejandro said his typhoon-prone region did not have even one helicopter for rescue operations. The air force pulled out their aircraft from the area for unspecified reasons a few months ago despite his appeal for at least two standby choppers during the typhoon season that started in June, Alejandro said.
Nock-ten, a Laotian word for bird, is the 10th of about 21 typhoons and storms expected to lash the Philippines this year.
Gov. Joey Salceda said three children died in a landslide in a mountainside village in his Albay province's Polangui town, while two men were pinned to death by a fallen coconut tree. Two other people died in storm-related accidents in the hard-hit province.
Fourteen fishermen who were reported missing at sea after strong wind and waves destroyed their motor boat off Balesin Island in Quezon province survived the ordeal by swimming to shore and were helped to safety by villagers, said Benito Ramos, administrator of the Office of Civil Defense.
"Many of our towns seemed like islands. They were isolated from each other," Salceda told The Associated Press by telephone from the Albay provincial capital of Legazpi, where he was overseeing rescue efforts for stranded villagers.
Other fatalities included a man electrocuted by a cable from a toppled power post while another drowned in eastern Catanduanes province. A villager suffered a heart attack at the height of the storm in Camarines Sur Province.
Waist-deep floodwaters swamped the houses of about half a million people, or nearly half of Albay's population, after Tropical Storm Nock-ten set off pounding rains overnight and forced many to flee to safer areas, including churches and village halls, Salceda said.
He said that four men were reported missing after the storm flooded and isolated many of Albay's 15 farming towns and three cities.
Six other people were missing in the stormy weather in nearby provinces, officials said.
Salceda said the storm caused power outages and suspended classes. Authorities canceled several domestic flights and ferry operations, stranding passengers.
Forecasters said Nock-ten was packing sustained winds of 47 miles (75 kilometers) per hour and gusts of 56 mph (90 kph) off eastern Camarines Norte province. It dumped heavy rains as it moved slowly toward Luzon's eastern coast.
The storm, which has a 310-mile (500-km) -wide cloud band, was expected to blow into eastern Quezon province early Wednesday then barrel through the provinces of Bulacan and Pampanga just north of the Philippine capital, where grade and high school classes were canceled, said Undersecretary Graciano Yumul of the government weather agency.
Regional disaster-response official Raffy Alejandro said the storm inundated seven towns of Camarines Sur in the province's worst flooding in five years.
Army troops and coast guard personnel planned to bring seven rubber boats to rescue some villagers trapped on roofs but a key highway was blocked by floodwaters and mudflows from Albay's Mayon volcano, Alejandro said.
Alejandro said his typhoon-prone region did not have even one helicopter for rescue operations. The air force pulled out their aircraft from the area for unspecified reasons a few months ago despite his appeal for at least two standby choppers during the typhoon season that started in June, Alejandro said.
Nock-ten, a Laotian word for bird, is the 10th of about 21 typhoons and storms expected to lash the Philippines this year.
News Update One dead as thousands flee Philippine storm
One person drowned while thousands fled their flooded homes as a tropical storm hit the Philippines, causing heavy rains and rough seas that disrupted aviation and shipping, officials said on Tuesday.
Tropical storm Nock-ten also left two fishermen missing while six others were rescued at sea as it approached the main island of Luzon, said government civil defence administrator Benito Ramos.
Classes were called off in Manila and surrounding provinces and at least a dozen local flights were cancelled as the storm, packing 80 kilometres (50 miles) per hour winds, brushed past Bicol, Luzon's southeast tip, unleashing floods there.
"This storm is dangerous, especially for low-lying and flood-prone areas. The winds are not that powerful but the rains are very strong and they will cause our rivers to overflow," Ramos told AFP.
He said his office, the National Disaster and Risk Reduction and Management Council, had advised local officials to order evacuations of areas deemed at risk in the disaster-prone Bicol peninsula.
The governor of Catanduanes island, Joseph Cua, told ABS-CBN television that one person drowned while trying to swim through a river.
Over 70,000 families had also fled their homes in Albay province in Bicol due to the rising waters, said its governor Joey Salceda.
The government weather service said the storm was moving northwest and was expected to continue to bring heavy rains in Manila and nearby areas as it crosses northern Luzon from Wednesday.
Tropical storm Nock-ten also left two fishermen missing while six others were rescued at sea as it approached the main island of Luzon, said government civil defence administrator Benito Ramos.
Classes were called off in Manila and surrounding provinces and at least a dozen local flights were cancelled as the storm, packing 80 kilometres (50 miles) per hour winds, brushed past Bicol, Luzon's southeast tip, unleashing floods there.
"This storm is dangerous, especially for low-lying and flood-prone areas. The winds are not that powerful but the rains are very strong and they will cause our rivers to overflow," Ramos told AFP.
He said his office, the National Disaster and Risk Reduction and Management Council, had advised local officials to order evacuations of areas deemed at risk in the disaster-prone Bicol peninsula.
The governor of Catanduanes island, Joseph Cua, told ABS-CBN television that one person drowned while trying to swim through a river.
Over 70,000 families had also fled their homes in Albay province in Bicol due to the rising waters, said its governor Joey Salceda.
The government weather service said the storm was moving northwest and was expected to continue to bring heavy rains in Manila and nearby areas as it crosses northern Luzon from Wednesday.
News Update Philippine imports growth slows
Philippine imports grew at their slowest rate in one and a half years in May, largely due to a steep decline in oil and cereal purchases, the government said Tuesday.
Total imports for the month rose 1.6 percent to $4.89 billion compared to a year earlier, the National Statistics Office said in a statement.
It was their slowest year-on-year advance since imports started rising in November 2009 from the slump caused by the global economic crisis, according to National Statistics Office data.
May imports were also down 11.1 percent from the previous month.
Analyst Alvin Arogo of DBP-Daiwa Securities said the weak figures did not necessarily augur well for the Philippine trade balance.
"There's a possibility the trade deficit will worsen. I don't expect a significant improvement (in exports), meaning the deficit won't probably shrink," Arogo told Dow Jones Newswires.
Raw materials and intermediate goods, which are processed or assembled in the Philippines to be sold abroad, accounted for 47.3 percent of all May imports, according to the government data.
Imports of oil products, the second-largest group, plunged 33.5 percent to $686 million.
Cereal product imports dropped 18.8 percent to $190 million, while transport equipment imports slipped 10.8 percent to $217 million.
Meanwhile, manufacturing output, adjusted for inflation, grew just 0.9 percent in May from a year earlier, the government agency said.
Despite the weak data in May, total imports for the five months to May grew 17.4 percent to about $26 billion, and the trade deficit jumped 80.81 percent to $5.37 billion after exports rose 7.5 percent to $20.63 billion, the government said.
Total imports for the month rose 1.6 percent to $4.89 billion compared to a year earlier, the National Statistics Office said in a statement.
It was their slowest year-on-year advance since imports started rising in November 2009 from the slump caused by the global economic crisis, according to National Statistics Office data.
May imports were also down 11.1 percent from the previous month.
Analyst Alvin Arogo of DBP-Daiwa Securities said the weak figures did not necessarily augur well for the Philippine trade balance.
"There's a possibility the trade deficit will worsen. I don't expect a significant improvement (in exports), meaning the deficit won't probably shrink," Arogo told Dow Jones Newswires.
Raw materials and intermediate goods, which are processed or assembled in the Philippines to be sold abroad, accounted for 47.3 percent of all May imports, according to the government data.
Imports of oil products, the second-largest group, plunged 33.5 percent to $686 million.
Cereal product imports dropped 18.8 percent to $190 million, while transport equipment imports slipped 10.8 percent to $217 million.
Meanwhile, manufacturing output, adjusted for inflation, grew just 0.9 percent in May from a year earlier, the government agency said.
Despite the weak data in May, total imports for the five months to May grew 17.4 percent to about $26 billion, and the trade deficit jumped 80.81 percent to $5.37 billion after exports rose 7.5 percent to $20.63 billion, the government said.
News Update 'Juaning' intensifies, classes in all levels suspended in NCR
Tropical storm Juaning has intensified and at the same time started to move at a slower pace, the state weather forecaster said in its 11 p.m. bulletin Tuesday, prompting Malacañang and the Department of Education to suspended all classes in Metro Manila.
Malacañang has suspended tertiary level classes in the National Capital Region for Wednesday upon recommendation of the National Disaster Risk Management Council, of which the PAGASA is part.
PAGASA said on its official Twitter account that they did not recommend the suspension of tertiary classes in Central Luzon and Calabarzon.
The Department of Education also announced that all pre-school to high school classes in the National Capital Region and other parts of Luzon have been suspended ahead of more inclement weather.
The storm will make landfall not in Aurora province as earlier reported but in Polillo Island Wednesday morning, said the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA).
Storm Signal No. 2 was hoisted over Metro Manila, Southern Tagalog and Central Luzon regions, and parts of Bicol. Signal No. 1 was raised over the Mimaropa region, parts of the Ilocos and the southern end of Bicol, including Masbate and Sorsogon.
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PAGASA noted that Juaning is moving at a slower pace of 11 kilometers per hour from 15 kph as earlier observed.
PAGASA also said the storm will enhance the southwest monsoon and bring widespread rains over the Western Visayas and sections of Luzon.
Juaning’s center winds strengthened to 85 kph from 75 kph while gustiness increased to 100 kph from 90 kph.
“Residents in low-lying and mountainous areas under signals are alerted against possible flashfloods and landslides. Likewise, those living in coastal areas are alerted against big waves or storm surges generated by this tropical cyclone," PAGASA said. — PE/VS, GMA
Malacañang has suspended tertiary level classes in the National Capital Region for Wednesday upon recommendation of the National Disaster Risk Management Council, of which the PAGASA is part.
PAGASA said on its official Twitter account that they did not recommend the suspension of tertiary classes in Central Luzon and Calabarzon.
The Department of Education also announced that all pre-school to high school classes in the National Capital Region and other parts of Luzon have been suspended ahead of more inclement weather.
The storm will make landfall not in Aurora province as earlier reported but in Polillo Island Wednesday morning, said the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA).
Storm Signal No. 2 was hoisted over Metro Manila, Southern Tagalog and Central Luzon regions, and parts of Bicol. Signal No. 1 was raised over the Mimaropa region, parts of the Ilocos and the southern end of Bicol, including Masbate and Sorsogon.
This page requires a higher version browser
For the latest Philippine news stories and videos, visit GMANews.TV
PAGASA noted that Juaning is moving at a slower pace of 11 kilometers per hour from 15 kph as earlier observed.
PAGASA also said the storm will enhance the southwest monsoon and bring widespread rains over the Western Visayas and sections of Luzon.
Juaning’s center winds strengthened to 85 kph from 75 kph while gustiness increased to 100 kph from 90 kph.
“Residents in low-lying and mountainous areas under signals are alerted against possible flashfloods and landslides. Likewise, those living in coastal areas are alerted against big waves or storm surges generated by this tropical cyclone," PAGASA said. — PE/VS, GMA
News Update Pinoys unable to access Phivolcs earthquake report
For nearly an hour after an earthquake struck parts of Luzon including Metro Manila at 1:15 a.m. Tuesday, Filipinos had near silence from government about what happend.
Only at 2:15 a.m. was the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) able to send out via its Twitter account the full details of the magnitude 5.9 earthquake with its epicenter off the coast of Iba, Zambales.
The Philippine Institute of Vulcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) first reported at 1:31 a.m. on Tuesday that it was a magnitude 6.2 earthquake that jolted parts of Luzon, including Metro Manila. But the bulletin could not be accessed.
GMA News Online repeatedly tried to access the Phivolcs webpage while much of Luzon was still being jolted by aftershocks, but the attempts kept timing out.
The news desk of GMA’s TV news department was able to reach Phivolcs by phone at 1:35 a.m., and was given only preliminary information about the intensity of the quake as it was felt in Quezon City. No further details were given by Phivolcs.
GMA News tweeted the preliminary word from Phivolcs at 1:35 a.m. Prior to that GMA News also tweeted about the quake at 1:26 a.m. citing the Global Seismic Monitor as the source.
The United States Geological Service (USGS) was the source of nearly all the initial reports about the quake. John Bellini of the USGS said in an email to GMA News Online that they posted a bulletin at 1:35 a.m. (Manila Time) or 20 minutes after the quake struck.
GMA News tweeted the link to the USGS post at 1:37 a.m.
Phivolcs claimed it issued its first bulletin at 1:31 a.m., or 16 minutes after the quake hit. Apparently, even the DOST had difficulty accessing the Phivolcs website as it was able to tweet the link to official government bulletin only at 2:15 a.m.
For the latest Philippine news stories and videos, visit GMANews.TV
GMA News sent via Twitter, the link to the Phivolcs bulletin at 2:18 a.m.
As of this posting, the Phivolcs web team could not be reached for comment.
Filipinos turn to Twitter
While Luzon shook with aftershocks within the hour after the quake struck, Filipinos flooded the Twitterverse with messages filling the void left by Phivolcs and DOST.
[View the story "Twittizens lead reportage of Manila quake" on Storify]
Technical difficulties?
In a telephone interview with GMA News Online late Wednesday, Phivolcs Science Research Specialist Henry Peñarubia confirmed that the first earthquake bulletin came out at 1:31 a.m., roughly 15 minutes after the quake hit, initially reporting a magnitude 6.2 earthquake.
Phivolcs has since updated their report, which is now aligned with the USGS report pinning the magnitude at 5.9.
According to Peñarubia, it takes roughly 5 minutes after an earthquake for Phivolcs to manually plot an earthquake and come up with a bulletin.
Asked why the bulletin was inaccessible on the Phivolcs website for nearly an hour, he said the Phivolcs web team should answer the question.
GMA News Only tried to contact the web team but no one answered anymore.
Once data from stations in the vicinity of the epicenter have been fed into Philvolcs earthquake plotter software, a bulletin is drafted and sent to the director, key personnel and field correspondents of the agency before it is posted on the website, said Peñarubia.
Peñarubia added that Phivolcs receives real-time information from its 65 seismic stations.
However, he explained that recently Phivolcs has been experiencing setbacks because of their transition to a new satellite.
He said that the transition from the old Agila satellite system — which expires this year — to the new Korean system began only last month or early this July and is expected to be completed next October. “[By October], it’s gonna be back to normal," he added.
Currently, only three monitoring stations have been reset to the new satellite system.
Peñarubia, however, said that Phivolcs has back up stations in place should a huge earthquake hit the country or if the main station in Metro Manila goes offline.
“[There are] mirror stations in Tagaytay and Davao that receive the same data the main office gets," he said.
However, the mirror stations’ ability to take over the main station’s role in the event of a disaster or a power outage is unsure. “Testing [of the mirror stations], nangyari na pero not yet in practice," he added. — With a report by Timothy James Dimacali/VS
Only at 2:15 a.m. was the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) able to send out via its Twitter account the full details of the magnitude 5.9 earthquake with its epicenter off the coast of Iba, Zambales.
The Philippine Institute of Vulcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) first reported at 1:31 a.m. on Tuesday that it was a magnitude 6.2 earthquake that jolted parts of Luzon, including Metro Manila. But the bulletin could not be accessed.
GMA News Online repeatedly tried to access the Phivolcs webpage while much of Luzon was still being jolted by aftershocks, but the attempts kept timing out.
The news desk of GMA’s TV news department was able to reach Phivolcs by phone at 1:35 a.m., and was given only preliminary information about the intensity of the quake as it was felt in Quezon City. No further details were given by Phivolcs.
GMA News tweeted the preliminary word from Phivolcs at 1:35 a.m. Prior to that GMA News also tweeted about the quake at 1:26 a.m. citing the Global Seismic Monitor as the source.
The United States Geological Service (USGS) was the source of nearly all the initial reports about the quake. John Bellini of the USGS said in an email to GMA News Online that they posted a bulletin at 1:35 a.m. (Manila Time) or 20 minutes after the quake struck.
GMA News tweeted the link to the USGS post at 1:37 a.m.
Phivolcs claimed it issued its first bulletin at 1:31 a.m., or 16 minutes after the quake hit. Apparently, even the DOST had difficulty accessing the Phivolcs website as it was able to tweet the link to official government bulletin only at 2:15 a.m.
For the latest Philippine news stories and videos, visit GMANews.TV
GMA News sent via Twitter, the link to the Phivolcs bulletin at 2:18 a.m.
As of this posting, the Phivolcs web team could not be reached for comment.
Filipinos turn to Twitter
While Luzon shook with aftershocks within the hour after the quake struck, Filipinos flooded the Twitterverse with messages filling the void left by Phivolcs and DOST.
[View the story "Twittizens lead reportage of Manila quake" on Storify]
Technical difficulties?
In a telephone interview with GMA News Online late Wednesday, Phivolcs Science Research Specialist Henry Peñarubia confirmed that the first earthquake bulletin came out at 1:31 a.m., roughly 15 minutes after the quake hit, initially reporting a magnitude 6.2 earthquake.
Phivolcs has since updated their report, which is now aligned with the USGS report pinning the magnitude at 5.9.
According to Peñarubia, it takes roughly 5 minutes after an earthquake for Phivolcs to manually plot an earthquake and come up with a bulletin.
Asked why the bulletin was inaccessible on the Phivolcs website for nearly an hour, he said the Phivolcs web team should answer the question.
GMA News Only tried to contact the web team but no one answered anymore.
Once data from stations in the vicinity of the epicenter have been fed into Philvolcs earthquake plotter software, a bulletin is drafted and sent to the director, key personnel and field correspondents of the agency before it is posted on the website, said Peñarubia.
Peñarubia added that Phivolcs receives real-time information from its 65 seismic stations.
However, he explained that recently Phivolcs has been experiencing setbacks because of their transition to a new satellite.
He said that the transition from the old Agila satellite system — which expires this year — to the new Korean system began only last month or early this July and is expected to be completed next October. “[By October], it’s gonna be back to normal," he added.
Currently, only three monitoring stations have been reset to the new satellite system.
Peñarubia, however, said that Phivolcs has back up stations in place should a huge earthquake hit the country or if the main station in Metro Manila goes offline.
“[There are] mirror stations in Tagaytay and Davao that receive the same data the main office gets," he said.
However, the mirror stations’ ability to take over the main station’s role in the event of a disaster or a power outage is unsure. “Testing [of the mirror stations], nangyari na pero not yet in practice," he added. — With a report by Timothy James Dimacali/VS
News Update Pinoys unable to access Phivolcs earthquake report
For nearly an hour after an earthquake struck parts of Luzon including Metro Manila at 1:15 a.m. Tuesday, Filipinos had near silence from government about what happend.
Only at 2:15 a.m. was the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) able to send out via its Twitter account the full details of the magnitude 5.9 earthquake with its epicenter off the coast of Iba, Zambales.
The Philippine Institute of Vulcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) first reported at 1:31 a.m. on Tuesday that it was a magnitude 6.2 earthquake that jolted parts of Luzon, including Metro Manila. But the bulletin could not be accessed.
GMA News Online repeatedly tried to access the Phivolcs webpage while much of Luzon was still being jolted by aftershocks, but the attempts kept timing out.
The news desk of GMA’s TV news department was able to reach Phivolcs by phone at 1:35 a.m., and was given only preliminary information about the intensity of the quake as it was felt in Quezon City. No further details were given by Phivolcs.
GMA News tweeted the preliminary word from Phivolcs at 1:35 a.m. Prior to that GMA News also tweeted about the quake at 1:26 a.m. citing the Global Seismic Monitor as the source.
The United States Geological Service (USGS) was the source of nearly all the initial reports about the quake. John Bellini of the USGS said in an email to GMA News Online that they posted a bulletin at 1:35 a.m. (Manila Time) or 20 minutes after the quake struck.
GMA News tweeted the link to the USGS post at 1:37 a.m.
Phivolcs claimed it issued its first bulletin at 1:31 a.m., or 16 minutes after the quake hit. Apparently, even the DOST had difficulty accessing the Phivolcs website as it was able to tweet the link to official government bulletin only at 2:15 a.m.
For the latest Philippine news stories and videos, visit GMANews.TV
GMA News sent via Twitter, the link to the Phivolcs bulletin at 2:18 a.m.
As of this posting, the Phivolcs web team could not be reached for comment.
Filipinos turn to Twitter
While Luzon shook with aftershocks within the hour after the quake struck, Filipinos flooded the Twitterverse with messages filling the void left by Phivolcs and DOST.
[View the story "Twittizens lead reportage of Manila quake" on Storify]
Technical difficulties?
In a telephone interview with GMA News Online late Wednesday, Phivolcs Science Research Specialist Henry Peñarubia confirmed that the first earthquake bulletin came out at 1:31 a.m., roughly 15 minutes after the quake hit, initially reporting a magnitude 6.2 earthquake.
Phivolcs has since updated their report, which is now aligned with the USGS report pinning the magnitude at 5.9.
According to Peñarubia, it takes roughly 5 minutes after an earthquake for Phivolcs to manually plot an earthquake and come up with a bulletin.
Asked why the bulletin was inaccessible on the Phivolcs website for nearly an hour, he said the Phivolcs web team should answer the question.
GMA News Only tried to contact the web team but no one answered anymore.
Once data from stations in the vicinity of the epicenter have been fed into Philvolcs earthquake plotter software, a bulletin is drafted and sent to the director, key personnel and field correspondents of the agency before it is posted on the website, said Peñarubia.
Peñarubia added that Phivolcs receives real-time information from its 65 seismic stations.
However, he explained that recently Phivolcs has been experiencing setbacks because of their transition to a new satellite.
He said that the transition from the old Agila satellite system — which expires this year — to the new Korean system began only last month or early this July and is expected to be completed next October. “[By October], it’s gonna be back to normal," he added.
Currently, only three monitoring stations have been reset to the new satellite system.
Peñarubia, however, said that Phivolcs has back up stations in place should a huge earthquake hit the country or if the main station in Metro Manila goes offline.
“[There are] mirror stations in Tagaytay and Davao that receive the same data the main office gets," he said.
However, the mirror stations’ ability to take over the main station’s role in the event of a disaster or a power outage is unsure. “Testing [of the mirror stations], nangyari na pero not yet in practice," he added. — With a report by Timothy James Dimacali/VS
Only at 2:15 a.m. was the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) able to send out via its Twitter account the full details of the magnitude 5.9 earthquake with its epicenter off the coast of Iba, Zambales.
The Philippine Institute of Vulcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) first reported at 1:31 a.m. on Tuesday that it was a magnitude 6.2 earthquake that jolted parts of Luzon, including Metro Manila. But the bulletin could not be accessed.
GMA News Online repeatedly tried to access the Phivolcs webpage while much of Luzon was still being jolted by aftershocks, but the attempts kept timing out.
The news desk of GMA’s TV news department was able to reach Phivolcs by phone at 1:35 a.m., and was given only preliminary information about the intensity of the quake as it was felt in Quezon City. No further details were given by Phivolcs.
GMA News tweeted the preliminary word from Phivolcs at 1:35 a.m. Prior to that GMA News also tweeted about the quake at 1:26 a.m. citing the Global Seismic Monitor as the source.
The United States Geological Service (USGS) was the source of nearly all the initial reports about the quake. John Bellini of the USGS said in an email to GMA News Online that they posted a bulletin at 1:35 a.m. (Manila Time) or 20 minutes after the quake struck.
GMA News tweeted the link to the USGS post at 1:37 a.m.
Phivolcs claimed it issued its first bulletin at 1:31 a.m., or 16 minutes after the quake hit. Apparently, even the DOST had difficulty accessing the Phivolcs website as it was able to tweet the link to official government bulletin only at 2:15 a.m.
For the latest Philippine news stories and videos, visit GMANews.TV
GMA News sent via Twitter, the link to the Phivolcs bulletin at 2:18 a.m.
As of this posting, the Phivolcs web team could not be reached for comment.
Filipinos turn to Twitter
While Luzon shook with aftershocks within the hour after the quake struck, Filipinos flooded the Twitterverse with messages filling the void left by Phivolcs and DOST.
[View the story "Twittizens lead reportage of Manila quake" on Storify]
Technical difficulties?
In a telephone interview with GMA News Online late Wednesday, Phivolcs Science Research Specialist Henry Peñarubia confirmed that the first earthquake bulletin came out at 1:31 a.m., roughly 15 minutes after the quake hit, initially reporting a magnitude 6.2 earthquake.
Phivolcs has since updated their report, which is now aligned with the USGS report pinning the magnitude at 5.9.
According to Peñarubia, it takes roughly 5 minutes after an earthquake for Phivolcs to manually plot an earthquake and come up with a bulletin.
Asked why the bulletin was inaccessible on the Phivolcs website for nearly an hour, he said the Phivolcs web team should answer the question.
GMA News Only tried to contact the web team but no one answered anymore.
Once data from stations in the vicinity of the epicenter have been fed into Philvolcs earthquake plotter software, a bulletin is drafted and sent to the director, key personnel and field correspondents of the agency before it is posted on the website, said Peñarubia.
Peñarubia added that Phivolcs receives real-time information from its 65 seismic stations.
However, he explained that recently Phivolcs has been experiencing setbacks because of their transition to a new satellite.
He said that the transition from the old Agila satellite system — which expires this year — to the new Korean system began only last month or early this July and is expected to be completed next October. “[By October], it’s gonna be back to normal," he added.
Currently, only three monitoring stations have been reset to the new satellite system.
Peñarubia, however, said that Phivolcs has back up stations in place should a huge earthquake hit the country or if the main station in Metro Manila goes offline.
“[There are] mirror stations in Tagaytay and Davao that receive the same data the main office gets," he said.
However, the mirror stations’ ability to take over the main station’s role in the event of a disaster or a power outage is unsure. “Testing [of the mirror stations], nangyari na pero not yet in practice," he added. — With a report by Timothy James Dimacali/VS
News Update PNoy to critics: If you can’t see govt gains, sorry but…
In his first one-on-one interview after his second State of the Nation Address (SONA), the President on Tuesday defended the employment and hunger statistics in his speech that analysts have described as out of context.
In an exclusive interview aired on GMA News TV’s “State of the Nation" newscast, anchor Jessica Soho asked President Benigno Aquino III about the supposed decrease in unemployment in the Philippines amid what critics say is a rise in underemployment.
Aquino, in response, emphasized the weight of the unemployment figures he cited in his speech – 7.2 percent in April 2011 from 8 percent in the same period last year, amid the rise in the number of unemployed Filipinos after the elections.
“Kung ayaw n’yong makita, ‘di ba, sorry, ‘di ba, wala akong magagawa do’n," the President said.
This page requires a higher version browser
For the latest Philippine news stories and videos, visit GMANews.TV
Speaking to GMA News Online on Monday, IBON Foundation research head Sonny Africa said Aquino failed to mention that the jobs created “were more than offset" by a growing labor force of 1.2 million people and an 829,000-increase in underemployment, which he said indicates an increase in the number of low-quality work opportunities.
Hunger stats
The President also pointed out that the survey that shows his declining popularity, released by pollster Social Weather Stations (SWS), is from the same firm that showed a decline in self-rated hunger in the second quarter of 2011.
“Sa akin lang, hindi ba tayo dapat mag-focus do’n? Sila na mismo ang nagsabi, four million kami noon, three million kami ngayon," Aquino said, referring to the decrease in self-rated hungry Filipinos by one million.
“Tapos, maghahanap ka pa ng babatikusin mo? Masama pa ang loob natin, nabawasan nang one million ang nagsasabing nagugutom sila?" the President added.
On Monday, however, University of the Philippines economics professor Winnie Monsod hit Aquino’s supposed selectiveness in citing statistics, particularly his reference to the second-quarter SWS survey on self-rated hunger.
Monsod noted that Aquino discredited a similar SWS survey in the first quarter of the year, which showed a 20.5-percent rise in the number of self-rated hungry Filipinos.
“All of a sudden, he is quoting the survey without reservations," Monsod said. “If he accepted that hunger went down in the second quarter, then he must accept that hunger went up in the first quarter."
‘Start-up’ govt
Meanwhile, Soho also asked Aquino about the perception “that things aren’t moving so fast" as he progresses in his term.
“Start up pa lang naman kami," Aquino said of his administration that is now on its second year. “Hintay namang ‘pag medyo nakabuwelo-buwelo nang konti na." — ELR/VS
In an exclusive interview aired on GMA News TV’s “State of the Nation" newscast, anchor Jessica Soho asked President Benigno Aquino III about the supposed decrease in unemployment in the Philippines amid what critics say is a rise in underemployment.
Aquino, in response, emphasized the weight of the unemployment figures he cited in his speech – 7.2 percent in April 2011 from 8 percent in the same period last year, amid the rise in the number of unemployed Filipinos after the elections.
“Kung ayaw n’yong makita, ‘di ba, sorry, ‘di ba, wala akong magagawa do’n," the President said.
This page requires a higher version browser
For the latest Philippine news stories and videos, visit GMANews.TV
Speaking to GMA News Online on Monday, IBON Foundation research head Sonny Africa said Aquino failed to mention that the jobs created “were more than offset" by a growing labor force of 1.2 million people and an 829,000-increase in underemployment, which he said indicates an increase in the number of low-quality work opportunities.
Hunger stats
The President also pointed out that the survey that shows his declining popularity, released by pollster Social Weather Stations (SWS), is from the same firm that showed a decline in self-rated hunger in the second quarter of 2011.
“Sa akin lang, hindi ba tayo dapat mag-focus do’n? Sila na mismo ang nagsabi, four million kami noon, three million kami ngayon," Aquino said, referring to the decrease in self-rated hungry Filipinos by one million.
“Tapos, maghahanap ka pa ng babatikusin mo? Masama pa ang loob natin, nabawasan nang one million ang nagsasabing nagugutom sila?" the President added.
On Monday, however, University of the Philippines economics professor Winnie Monsod hit Aquino’s supposed selectiveness in citing statistics, particularly his reference to the second-quarter SWS survey on self-rated hunger.
Monsod noted that Aquino discredited a similar SWS survey in the first quarter of the year, which showed a 20.5-percent rise in the number of self-rated hungry Filipinos.
“All of a sudden, he is quoting the survey without reservations," Monsod said. “If he accepted that hunger went down in the second quarter, then he must accept that hunger went up in the first quarter."
‘Start-up’ govt
Meanwhile, Soho also asked Aquino about the perception “that things aren’t moving so fast" as he progresses in his term.
“Start up pa lang naman kami," Aquino said of his administration that is now on its second year. “Hintay namang ‘pag medyo nakabuwelo-buwelo nang konti na." — ELR/VS
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
kopi talk Solidarity as charity
By Randy David
Manila (Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN) - (Last July 21, the Ateneo de Manila University of the Philippines gave me, together with journalist Marites Danguilan-Vitug, the Ozanam Award for 2011. Not being an Atenean, I had no idea who Ozanam was or what he stood for. Apparently, not many Ateneans did either. I felt a strong need to know, and what I soon found out about this man greatly affected me, and prompted the response I read last Thursday on being conferred the Ozanam medal. Allow me to set aside modesty and share the following abridged version of that meditation.)
I am greatly humbled by this award, and overwhelmed by what it implies. If the award committee did not make a mistake in honoring me with this year's Ozanam, then I have to say I can only receive it not so much as a recognition of what I have done, but as a kindly suggestion of what I need to do to deserve it. A prod to do more, much more: perhaps to match the power of analysis or the anger of advocacy with the tenderness of solidarity. To unconditionally commit oneself to the poor and the needy by simple acts of charity. To be a person for others particularly in the most simple and direct way. For, by this alone do we really get to know them -- the poor who teach us the meaning of God in daily life.
I thank the Ateneo de Manila University for reminding me of this important truth -- for singling me out this year, together with my distinguished colleague in media Marites Vitug, for an award named after an intellectual and scholar who, for all his brilliance and erudition, humbly sought, in his words, "to insure my faith by works of charity."
I did not have the slightest clue about the Blessed Frederic Ozanam before this. Since the Ozanam is the oldest of Ateneo's traditional awards, I had assumed that the Blessed Frederic was a Jesuit. Little did I know that he was not even a priest, but a French layman who lived in the time of the social revolutions that rocked Europe in the first half of the 19th century -- indeed a professor of law and of literature at the Sorbonne, who wrote an outstanding thesis on the Italian poet Dante Alighieri.
Neither was I aware that Ozanam was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1997, or that, when he was barely 20, he became one of the founders of what came to be known later as the Society of St. Vincent de Paul -- one of the largest and most active organizations dedicated to the relief of the poor.
Ozanam was a most unusual man in many other ways. He staunchly defended his faith in a Europe that was rapidly replacing religion with science as a guide to life. At a young age, he wrote a critique of the aristocratic intellectual, Henri Saint-Simon, one of the forerunners of modern sociology, who had called for the establishment of a social order run by an emerging class of technocrats as the ultimate solution to poverty. In the face of the massive changes sparked by the Enlightenment that rolled across Europe, he refused to surrender the power of faith to the rising star of scientific reason. In what seemed like a passionate rebuke of the modern social sciences -- the discipline in which I and my generation of sociologists have been trained -- Ozanam emphatically wrote: "Those who wish no religion introduced into a scientific work accuse me of a lack of independence. But I pride myself on such an accusation.... I do not aspire to an independence, the result of which is to love and to believe nothing."
I have never encountered a more stunning rejection of the conventional (mis)understanding of the value-neutrality thesis in the sciences. To Ozanam, all worthwhile human activity proceeded only from one thing -- love. "The order of society," he wrote, "is based on two virtues: justice and charity. However, justice presupposes a lot of love already, for one needs to love a man a great deal in order to respect his rights, which limit our rights, and his liberty, which hampers our liberty. Justice has its limits whereas charity knows none. Charity is the Samaritan who pours oil on the wounds of the traveler who has been attacked. It is justice's role to prevent the attack."
Many times in our everyday lives, as we ponder the incredible misery and hopelessness to which at least a third of our countrymen have been consigned, we might find ourselves blaming the poor for their short-sightedness, their irresponsibility, and their sometimes desperate viciousness. We must check ourselves. Early in my education as a sociologist, my master C. Wright Mills taught me to focus on the structure of opportunities available in society as the key to understanding poverty. Mills showed me what justice means in our time, in a society sharply divided between the power elite and the oppressed, the rich and the marginalized.
But it is the Blessed Frederic Ozanam who has lately given me the clearest sense of what it means to love, and what our obligations are to the poor among us. "We are not blessed with two separate lives..." he once said, "one for seeking the truth and the other for putting it into practice." His own life was singular, but, alas, also all too short. He died when he was only 40 -- of tuberculosis, as if in a final gesture of solidarity with the poor he so loved. At his funeral, his spiritual guide and mentor, the preacher Father Lacordaire, described Frederic Ozanam as "one of those privileged creatures who came direct from the hand of God in whom God joins tenderness to genius in order to enkindle the world."
I'm afraid I cannot say more of this extraordinary man without feeling even more unworthy of the award that carries his name. But I thank the Ateneo for believing that I am. Thank you.
Manila (Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN) - (Last July 21, the Ateneo de Manila University of the Philippines gave me, together with journalist Marites Danguilan-Vitug, the Ozanam Award for 2011. Not being an Atenean, I had no idea who Ozanam was or what he stood for. Apparently, not many Ateneans did either. I felt a strong need to know, and what I soon found out about this man greatly affected me, and prompted the response I read last Thursday on being conferred the Ozanam medal. Allow me to set aside modesty and share the following abridged version of that meditation.)
I am greatly humbled by this award, and overwhelmed by what it implies. If the award committee did not make a mistake in honoring me with this year's Ozanam, then I have to say I can only receive it not so much as a recognition of what I have done, but as a kindly suggestion of what I need to do to deserve it. A prod to do more, much more: perhaps to match the power of analysis or the anger of advocacy with the tenderness of solidarity. To unconditionally commit oneself to the poor and the needy by simple acts of charity. To be a person for others particularly in the most simple and direct way. For, by this alone do we really get to know them -- the poor who teach us the meaning of God in daily life.
I thank the Ateneo de Manila University for reminding me of this important truth -- for singling me out this year, together with my distinguished colleague in media Marites Vitug, for an award named after an intellectual and scholar who, for all his brilliance and erudition, humbly sought, in his words, "to insure my faith by works of charity."
I did not have the slightest clue about the Blessed Frederic Ozanam before this. Since the Ozanam is the oldest of Ateneo's traditional awards, I had assumed that the Blessed Frederic was a Jesuit. Little did I know that he was not even a priest, but a French layman who lived in the time of the social revolutions that rocked Europe in the first half of the 19th century -- indeed a professor of law and of literature at the Sorbonne, who wrote an outstanding thesis on the Italian poet Dante Alighieri.
Neither was I aware that Ozanam was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1997, or that, when he was barely 20, he became one of the founders of what came to be known later as the Society of St. Vincent de Paul -- one of the largest and most active organizations dedicated to the relief of the poor.
Ozanam was a most unusual man in many other ways. He staunchly defended his faith in a Europe that was rapidly replacing religion with science as a guide to life. At a young age, he wrote a critique of the aristocratic intellectual, Henri Saint-Simon, one of the forerunners of modern sociology, who had called for the establishment of a social order run by an emerging class of technocrats as the ultimate solution to poverty. In the face of the massive changes sparked by the Enlightenment that rolled across Europe, he refused to surrender the power of faith to the rising star of scientific reason. In what seemed like a passionate rebuke of the modern social sciences -- the discipline in which I and my generation of sociologists have been trained -- Ozanam emphatically wrote: "Those who wish no religion introduced into a scientific work accuse me of a lack of independence. But I pride myself on such an accusation.... I do not aspire to an independence, the result of which is to love and to believe nothing."
I have never encountered a more stunning rejection of the conventional (mis)understanding of the value-neutrality thesis in the sciences. To Ozanam, all worthwhile human activity proceeded only from one thing -- love. "The order of society," he wrote, "is based on two virtues: justice and charity. However, justice presupposes a lot of love already, for one needs to love a man a great deal in order to respect his rights, which limit our rights, and his liberty, which hampers our liberty. Justice has its limits whereas charity knows none. Charity is the Samaritan who pours oil on the wounds of the traveler who has been attacked. It is justice's role to prevent the attack."
Many times in our everyday lives, as we ponder the incredible misery and hopelessness to which at least a third of our countrymen have been consigned, we might find ourselves blaming the poor for their short-sightedness, their irresponsibility, and their sometimes desperate viciousness. We must check ourselves. Early in my education as a sociologist, my master C. Wright Mills taught me to focus on the structure of opportunities available in society as the key to understanding poverty. Mills showed me what justice means in our time, in a society sharply divided between the power elite and the oppressed, the rich and the marginalized.
But it is the Blessed Frederic Ozanam who has lately given me the clearest sense of what it means to love, and what our obligations are to the poor among us. "We are not blessed with two separate lives..." he once said, "one for seeking the truth and the other for putting it into practice." His own life was singular, but, alas, also all too short. He died when he was only 40 -- of tuberculosis, as if in a final gesture of solidarity with the poor he so loved. At his funeral, his spiritual guide and mentor, the preacher Father Lacordaire, described Frederic Ozanam as "one of those privileged creatures who came direct from the hand of God in whom God joins tenderness to genius in order to enkindle the world."
I'm afraid I cannot say more of this extraordinary man without feeling even more unworthy of the award that carries his name. But I thank the Ateneo for believing that I am. Thank you.
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