Thanks to MSNBC for photoIt’s good that former Marine Capt. Nick Faeldon didn’t push through with his planned voyage Panatag shoal, also known as Scarborough shoal, where an almost one- and- half-month long standoff between the Philippines and China is a subject of informal diplomatic talks.
Faeldon, who was imprisoned for seven years for his participation in the 2003 Oakwood mutiny against Gloria Arroyo, had planned to set sail for Panatag shoal, last Friday together with fishermen from his home province, Batanes and fishermen from Masinloc, who are most affected by the conflict.
A call from the President Aquino Thursday aborted the plan, which would have really further riled the Chinese who are claiming the shoal, more than a thousand nautical miles away from their mainland. (Panatag shoal is 124 nautical miles from Zambales.)
Corona to take the standChief Justice Renato Corona may have accumulated a total of P677 million in unexplained wealth, including “more or less” $10 million, from 2001 to 2012, investigators of the Office of the Ombudsman said in a report.
Corona is scheduled to finally take the witness stand at his trial in the Senate impeachment court on May 22 to answer the allegations against him.
The panel of investigators, formed by Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales to look into complaints that Corona may have accumulated ill-gotten wealth, summed up their findings as follows:
A net increase of P8,970,980 in Corona’s net worth.
Testifying on Corona's dizzying dollar accountsChief Justice Renato Corona has “fresh deposits” amounting to more than $12 million, Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales on Monday told the Senate, sitting as an impeachment court.
“I think my computation which was arrived at with the assistance of a CPA (certified public accountant) lawyer is that fresh deposits, which means they never moved, they remained in that particular (account) amounted to more than 12 million dollars…,” Morales said, based on the report furnished to her by the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC).
Morales gave the statement when Senator Ferdinand “Bong-Bong” Marcos Jr. asked whether the total amount of Corona’s alleged dollar deposits in 82 accounts totaled $10 million.
“It’s even more,” said the Ombudsman in response to Marcos’ query.
In its website, side by side with reports on the peacetalks that the Muslim rebel group is pursuing with the government and the death of its vice chairman for Military Affairs, Aleem Abdul Aziz S. Mimbantas, MILF deputy chairman of the MILF Committee on Information Khaled Musa said they are not taking sides on the ugly incident but commented that Tulfo, “has been given the dose of his own medicine.”
“Hurting is not only when one is attacked but the more stinging it is when the offended party is the whole community like the Moros. I wish he will stop insulting people now that he has been given the dose of his own medicine,” Musa said.
He added: “‘Truth is truth and it is not fair to say Ramon Tulfo or the Santiagos are guilty of starting the brawl. Let the facts of the incident come out soon.”
Luwaran described Tulfo as ,” an incorrigible critic of Moros in Mindanao.”
The news item further said that in his column in the Philippine Inquirer, Tulfo treat the Moros in Mindanao as “made of sub-race.”
Friday the 13th last year, at about 6 p.m., fellow VERA Files writer and trustee, Chit Estella was riding in a taxi for a reunion dinner with high school classmates at UP Ayala TechnoHub .
A rampaging Universal Guiding Star bus rammed the taxi along Commonwealth Avenue. Chit never made it to the dinner.
On Sunday, on the first anniversary of her passing, Chit’s family will hold a Metro-Manila wide Run for Road Safety for all victims of road crashes.
Victim of malicious reporting Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV has issued the following statement regarding the rumor that he owns condo units in Mandaluyong:
“ Last 18 April 2012, Mr. Arnold Clavio alluded to me in his radio program over DZBB as the buyer of two condominium units in Twin Oaks at Shaw Blvd, Mandaluyong City amounting to seven million pesos each. This was the same subject of the column of Mr. Jojo Robles in Manila Standard on the same day and the radio program of Mr. Deo Macalma on 19 April 2012.
“ In response to these obviously well-orchestrated and malicious reports masquerading as blind items, I hereby categorically deny that I have bought a unit or units at the Twin Oaks Condominium, Mandaluyong City. I further state that I do not have any property not declared in my Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net worth (SALN).
Update: Last Wednesday, the House Ways and Means Committee, voting 46-14, passed HB5727. Use money to kill yourself to improve lives of less fortunate.The fact that House Bill 5727 has reached this far at the House Ways and Means Committee bodes well for the legislation that aims to raise sin taxes making it more expensive for Filipinos to ruin their health.
The Ways and means committee, chaired by Davao City (3rd district) Rep. Isidro T. Ungab , tackles a legislations and related matters concerning fiscal, monetary and financial affairs of the national government including tariff, taxation, revenues, borrowing, credit and bonded indebtedness. All revenue- related bills emanate from the House of Representatives.
Lobbying in that committee by alcohol and tobacco manufacturers is known to be intense. That’s why many congressmen want to be in that committee. It’s a lucrative committee. That’s also why bills like HB5727, an Act restructuring the excise tax on alcohol and tobacco products authored by Cavite Rep. Joseph Emilio “Jun” Abaya, is difficult to pass. In Tagalog, we say, kabangga mo ang pader.
VERA Files took snap shots of the state of the country’s greatest resource,Filipino manpower, on Labor Day:
JENNY Tanael, 47, is a wife of a minimum wage earner and mother of a contractual worker.
Her eldest son Juan Paolo keeps on hunting for a job each time his five-month contract in a fast food chain expires. Sometimes it takes him six months to find work at another branch of said restaurant. In between jobs, he relies for support on his father who earns less than P 400 per day as a security guard.
Her son has been unemployed for two months now. Since Juan Paolo is turning 24 he will have to look for another company since his former employer only accepts workers 23 years and below.
If you have not yet signed the manifesto for HB 5727, it’s time you take a look at it.
There’s one in Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=260011474082380
HB 5727, authored by Cavite Rep. Joseph Emilio Abaya, calls for the restructuring of the excise tax on alcohol and tobacco products. The rationale is that, if prices for what we refer to as sin products were to be increased, it would become less affordable to many people, especially the poor. They would then be saved from the ill effects of alcohol and cigarettes. We would then become a healthier nation.
The manifesto explains the financial advantage to the government and to the Filipino of higher taxes for alcohol and cigarettes. It says, “ On the first year of implementation, the government is expected to raise additional revenues worth P60 billion, of which, P30 billion is from cigarettes, P11 from distilled spirits and P19 billion is from beer.”
