Category: Malaya

Why should the burden of truth on MRT-3 be on Czech envoy?

Published by Ellen on July 30, 2013

What if Czech Ambassador Josef Rychtar refuses to cooperate in the investigation of alleged $30 million shakedown by officials of the Department of Transportation and Communication in connection with the Metro Rail Transit expansion project? Is that the end of it?

Under the Vienna Convention, the international treaty that governs diplomatic relations, ambassadors cannot be compelled to appear in any investigation conducted by the host country.

The National Bureau of Investigation under orders of the President is investigating the reported shakedown which even dragged the name of presidential sister Ballsy Cruz and her husband, Eldon.

“I wish to state that the allegations that members of your family were involved with discussions with Inekon on any projects in the Philippines are simply untrue and malicious,” Rychtar said in a letter to the President last June 29.

The Cruz couple visited Prague in 2011 upon the invitation of Rytchar. They reportedly met with Czech businessmen during their visit.

PNoy forgot the law he signed on PWD?

Published by Ellen on July 26, 2013

President Aquino delivering his fourth SONA. Thanks to Interaksyon.

Before we completely forget President Aquino’s forgettable 2013 State of the Nation address, there’s one item there that caught my attention different from the angle that the Chief Executive underscored.

At the beginning of his self-congratulatory address he cited the case of Niño Aguirre:

“Paano ba naman pong hindi lalakas ang aking loob, kung pati ang mga tulad ni Ginoong Niño Aguirre ay nakikihubog sa ating kinabukasan? Isipin po ninyo, hindi na nga makalakad dahil sa kapansanan, pilit pa rin niyang inakyat ang presintong nasa ikaapat na palapag ng gusali, para lang makaboto at makiambag sa tunay na pagbabago ng lipunan. Salamat, Ginoong Aguirre. “

SONA and the noise of democracy

Published by Ellen on July 21, 2013

Scene from a previous SONA rally. Thanks to Bulatlat for photo.

Last week, Social Weather Stations released the results of their survey showing a record-high satisfaction among Filipinos with the way democracy works.

It’s relevant to connect the high satisfaction high satisfaction rating of President Aquino with the public’s satisfaction of the way democracy works. That’s why it’s not surprising that Malacañang officials, of course, didn’t waste time in congratulating themselves and issued the following statement:

“We welcome the results of a survey conducted in March this year by the Social Weather Stations (SWS), on satisfaction with how democracy works at a record level of 74%. It is the highest figure since the polling firm began running the survey in 1991, surpassing the previous record-high of 70% in September 1992 and July 1998. Notably, in the four surveys conducted yearly under the Aquino administration, the figure has not dipped below 64% —the longest period of sustained satisfaction recorded throughout the five administrations since the restoration of democracy in 1986.

Remembering Ruben Cusipag fondly

Published by Ellen on July 14, 2013

Social media is flooded with the report on the death of Glee actor, Cory Monteith, who was found dead in his hotel room (Fairmont Pacific Rim Hotel) in Vancouver Saturday (Sunday, Manila time) due to drug overdose, news reports said.

But there’s another death in Canada we grieve over: that of newsman Ruben Cusipag.

We learned about the passing away of Ruben only yesterday from another friend in Canada and we immediately wrote his wife, Tess, who replied: “I am still devastated because it was so sudden. This morning was his funeral so we gave him a good send off. His Upsilon brods gave him their farewell.”

Ruben was a reporter of the Elizalde-owned Evening News before martial law was imposed on Sept. 21, 1972. He was one of the journalists thrown into prison during the early days of martial law.

In late 1974, Ruben immigrated to Canada and settled in Toronto where he published Balita.

Balita was not the usual community paper that chronicled merely the social activities of the Filipino immigrants. As Balita’s profile states, “ Cusipag’s views evolved over time, from assertive politics to a milder apolitical tone, and Balita lived up to its promise to provide frank, sincere, and honest-to-goodness discussion of the Philippine problem.”

How to keep your sanity when stuck in Metro Manila traffic

Published by Ellen on July 12, 2013

Metro Manilans' daily calvary. Thanks to Inquirer for photo. — Metro Manilan’s daily calvary. Thanks to Inquirer for photo.

Surviving traffic in Metro Manila is a test of patience, an exercise in anger management.

Here are some tips I’d like to share with my fellow sufferers:

1. Text and call.

It’s the time to send text messages or make calls that you should have done earlier but were not able to do because you were attending to some other things.

After an hour,you would have accomplished a lot. Time not wasted.

A triumph for Kinaray-a advocates

Published by Ellen on July 10, 2013

There are issues about the K-12 program being implemented by the Department of Education but the one good thing about it is the use of the mother tongue or native dialect as medium of instruction for the first years in school. That means from Kindergarten to Grades 1 to 3.

In a country, where many equate speaking English, however badly, with intelligence and class, the use of the mother tongue as medium of instruction in early education was a bold step to right a wrong policy.

The new policy was based in various studies that the use of the language spoken at home during early years of schooling produces better and faster learners who can easily adapt to learn a second language (Filipino) and third language (English).

The implementation of this policy is daunting considering that the Philippines has 181 documented languages. Producing learning materials for would require a lot of resources and time.

An Inquirer report said that The DepEd used 12 major languages when it introduced the mother tongue based-multi-lingual education (MTB-MLE) last school year namely Tagalog, Kapampangan, Pangasinense, Iloko, Bikol, Cebuano, Hiligaynon, Waray, Tausug, Maguindanaoan, Maranao and Chabacano.

‘Stupid proposal, stupid reply’

Published by Ellen on July 4, 2013

US Secretary of State Joh Kerry shook hands with his counterparts at this weeks's ARF in Brunei except Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario, whom he embraced. — US Secretary of State Joh Kerry shook hands with his counterparts at this weeks’s ARF in Brunei except Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario, whom he embraced.

Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario is known not to mince words when it comes to China and its behavior in the disputed areas in the West Philippines Sea.

He accused China of “duplicity” and “intimidation” at the 2012 Asean Ministerial Meeting in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. This week, at the 2013 Asean Ministerial Meeting in Brunei, he blasted the neighboring behemoth again saying the “massive presence of Chinese military and paramilitary ships” is destabilizing the region.

Philippine diplomats accompanying him related proudly to reporters how the foreign secretary refuted the accusations of Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi that the Philippines is stirring tension in the South China Sea during last Sunday’s Asean plus three (China, Japan, South Korea) meeting.

What happened to the truckloads of money from Ampatuans’ houses in 2009?

Published by Ellen on June 27, 2013

One of Ampatuans' mansions. Thanks Froilan Gallardo of Mindanews for the photo. — One of Ampatuans’ mansions. Thanks Froilan Gallardo of Mindanews for the photo.

The aborted P50 million each settlement with the relatives of 14 (of the 58) victims of the November 2009 Maguindanao massacre with a certain Jun Chan raised the question,“”Where was that huge sum of money supposed to come from?”

There is no chance to ask Chan the identity of his principal because Mylah Reyes-Roque, in an article for VERA Files, said the settlement was signed third week of February and Chan was killed when his vehicle was ambushed on his way to his farm in General Santos City last March 25.

Although the relatives of the victims met only with Chan accompanied by someone introduced only to them as “Prof”, they were sure that the principal of the two were the former Maguindanao Governor Andal Ampatuan Sr and members of his family who are the primary suspects in the massacre because the deal involved their signing an affidavit of desistance.

Mindboggling, troubling offers for Maguindanao massacre victims

Published by Ellen on June 25, 2013

There are a number of disturbing things in the aborted settlement between the Ampatuans and the relatives of the 14 victims of the Nov 23, 2009 massacre that was considered the deadliest day for journalists (32 of the 58 victims were members of media.

It was aborted because the negotiator, identified in the article of Mylah Reyes-Roque for VERA Files a Jun Chan was killed in an ambush in General Santos city last March 25. The death of Chan underscores the chilling reality that four years after massacre, the killing has not stopped.

Sleep expert’s testimony in Jackson case should alarm call center workers

Published by Ellen on June 25, 2013

Lessons from Michael Jackson as we remember his death four years ago.

The testimony of a sleep expert in the Michael Jackson case about the importance of sleeping at night and the danger of altering that pattern should alarm call center workers and employers and the Department of Labor and Employment.

The hearing on Jackson’s death last week revealed that two months before he died, he was without sleep.

Sixty days without sleep! How can one do that? And how can one survive that!

The information on Jackson being sleepless for 60 days came out because Jackson’s mother and children sued AEG Live, the concert promoter, which hired Dr. Conrad Murray, who was convicted of involuntary manslaughter for administering Jackson’s Propofol treatments, which was blamed for the singer’s death four years ago, June 25, 2009.