Month: January 2017

Road Safety fellowship for journalists

Published by Ellen on January 30, 2017

The 2015 World Health Organization’s Global Status Report on Road Safety estimates 10,379 fatalities in the country a year, half of them motorcycle riders, followed by pedestrians.

That’s more than 10,000 families deprived of a father, a mother, a brother, a sister or a member of the family, many of them were breadwinners caused by something that is preventable.

The country’s health system also share considerable burden in the treatment of injuries caused road crashes.
Just think: If the public are more road- safety- conscious, so much misery and pain could have been prevented and government resources could have been spent in other urgent needs. It could free up beds for other patients in crowded public hospitals.

When protectors become tormentors

Published by Ellen on January 28, 2017

Update: SC issues writ of amparo in favor of kin of slain drug suspects
http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/597757/news/nation/sc-issues-writ-of-amparo-in-favor-of-kin-of-slain-drug-suspects

Centerlaw's Romel Bagares files the first suit against Oplan Tokhang before the Supreme Court. — Centerlaw’s Romel Bagares files the first suit against Oplan Tokhang before the Supreme Court.

There’s a part in the narration by the surviving victims of Oplan Tokhang in Payatas in Quezon City last August 21 that sends chills down one’s spine.

In the petition for Writ of Amparo filed by Centerlaw before the Supreme Court last Thursday, it related that a few days after the killings, a television reporter and his crew came to Area B, Group 9, Bgy. Payatas to interview witnesses. “However, no one agreed to speak with him or even come near him because unbeknownst to him, the police escort he took with him to the area is PO3 Allan Formilleza, one of the policemen involved in the killings.All the members of the community were terror-stricken at the sudden appearance of Formilleza that day.”

That was frightening.

Duterte’s puzzling lack of outrage over police role in South Korean killing

Published by Ellen on January 26, 2017

President Duterte at the 55th birthday celebration of PNP Chief Ronal de la Rosa.

On the first day of his presidency, during the turnover of command ceremonies at the Philippine National Police (PNP) headquarters in Camp Crame, Quezon City, President Duterte boasted that he knows the scalawags in the police service.

He issued a strong warning: “I know kung sino ang mga general who are tainted with corruption. You better resign. You have no more future in the police.. I know how you operate.. I will not run this country with a corrupt police.”

In his seven months in office under his relentless drive against illegal drugs, there have been several reports of police abuses. Extra-judicial killings have become a daily occurrence. Impunity by members of the police has reached levels never imagined.

The latest was the killing of a South Korean official of Hanjin Shipping, a South Korean company last October 17 after he was abducted from his residence in Angeles City allegedly by members of the PNP’s Anti-Illegal Drugs Group led by SPO3 Ricky Sta. Isabel.

The difference between Trillanes and Zubiri

Published by Ellen on January 25, 2017

Trillanes vs Zubiri. Photo by Geremy Pintolo of Philippine Star.

The confrontation between Senators Antonio Trillanes IV and Miguel Zubiri at the Senate floor last week refreshed the public’s mind of relevant issues which have been relegated to the sidelines by more horrifying reports like the murder of Korean businessman Ick-joo Jee by police officers inside Camp Crame just a few meters away from the office of Police Chief Ronald de la Rosa.

This is not the first time that Trillanes and Zubiri clashed. Way back in 2007, when Zubiri edged out Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III from the winning circle of senatorial candidates with manufactured votes from Maguindanao, Trillanes, who won while in detention, said “I believe Congressman Zubiri knows deep in his heart that he benefited from cheating. If he is decent enough, he wouldn’t accept victory in the Senate race because that is not something you want your kids to emulate.”

Zubiri called Trillanes “a loose cannon” and “immature” and threatened to sue the Navy officer -turned rebel-turned- senator.

Zubiri occupied the Senate seat that was not his for four years before he gave it up after Pimentel’s election protest prospered.

There’s method in Duterte’s martial law ‘madness’

Published by Ellen on January 20, 2017

“I will not declare martial but …”Pres. Duterte talks about martial law in his keynote message during the 20th Anniversary Celebration of the Premier Medical Center in Cabanatuan City on January 18, 2017. Malacanang photo by Karl Norman Alonzo.

“Just be quiet all of you.”

Spoken like a despot ordering his minions what to do.

President Duterte barked that order during the 20th founding anniversary of the Premiere Medical Center in Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija Wednesday.

He was reacting to negative reactions to his earlier statement about declaring martial law unilaterally without following the process stated in the Constitution.

LP SOCE case being eyed for oust-Leni operation?

Published by Ellen on January 13, 2017

When relations were okay. Vice President Leni Robredo pays courtesy call on President Rodrigo R. Duterte at the Malacañan Palace, July 4, 2016. Malacanang photo by King Rodriguez.

Amid the many items in media not favorable to Vice President Leni Robredo- LeniLeaks, banned from cabinet meetings, dis-invited by Malacanang in New Year vin d’honneur, drop in satisfaction ratings – another one came up the other day.

We were told that the Supreme Court is expected very soon to release its decision on the case concerning the extension of the deadline by the Commission on Elections for the filing of statement of contributions and expenditures (SOCE) for the Liberal Party last June.

“If the High Court decided that there was a breach of the rule by the Comelec, the election of all Liberal Party candidates would be invalidated. That would include the election of Robredo,” a friend told me.

The awesome Meryl Streep

Published by Ellen on January 10, 2017

She captured our hearts with her stirring performances in “Sophie’s Choice” and “Deer Hunter.” She helped us forget our problems with enjoyable performers in “Mamma Mia” and “The Devil Wears Prada.”

She was a joy to watch in last year’s movie, “Florence Foster Jenkins.”

But her acceptance speech for being honored with the Cecil B. DeMille award for lifetime achievement at last Monday’s Golden Globes melted our hearts. She was awesome!

Yasay totally unaware of passport applicants’ woes until last Thursday

Published by Ellen on January 8, 2017

It was only Thursday last week that Foreign Secretary Perfecto Yasay, Jr. knew the agony that Filipinos who are applying for a new or renewing their passport had to go through.

In a post in my Facebook last Friday, Yasay said: “I am hearing for the first time that there are incessant breakdown or interruptions in internet connections which I will address today.”

Thank you, Mr. Secretary.

How the problem that has caused so much stress to many Filipinos finally got to the Secretary underscores the usefulness of Facebook.

Gov’t on ASEAN hosting bid: ‘We rule, our rule’

Published by Ellen on January 5, 2017

Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno brushes aside concerns on the shortcutting of the bidding process for the handling of PH hosting of the 2007 ASEAN meetings.

By Charmaine Deogracias and Ellen Tordesillas
VERA FIles

The Department of Budget and Management denied violating procurement rules when it bidded out the P2.8 billion contract for the hosting of the 2017 ASEAN conferences in the country, saying it has full discretion in determining the rules for such processes.

The DMB-Procurement Service came under fire for classifying the contract as a procurement of goods and not consulting services, and for awarding the contract to the sole bidder, StageCraft International. The DBM insisted StageCraft has already acquired expertise for such projects, having handled the Philippine hosting of the Asia Pacific Economic Conference in 2015, and therefore will supply “goods and services.”

“The procurement was designed to be most advantageous to the government,” the Department of Budget and Management-Procurement Service (DBM-PS) said in a statement on Wednesday, in reaction to allegations the transaction would be “manifestly and grossly disadvantageous to government.”

Diokno: Ignore alleged irregularity in 2017 ASEAN hosting bidding

Published by Ellen on January 4, 2017

Budget Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno said he ordered his office to award the P2.8 billion contract for the 2017 Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) conferences in the Philippines to the lone bidder, despite complaints about alleged irregularities in the bidding.

In a press briefing in Malacanang Tuesday, Diokno insisted that the government complied with the bidding process and said he agreed with Director General Marciano Paynor, Jr. of the ASEAN National Organizing Committee (NOC) that government should talk to just one bidder in the biggest contract in the history of events management in the Philippines.

“(Paynor said) we should just have one bidder, I want to talk to one person. So that’s what happened there,” Diokno said.

He added, “EON is just a small company…. Ignore that EON complaint.”