ellen tordesillas – Page 49 – Making life worth living.

Published by Ellen on April 4, 2016

Mock poll voting for PWDs at Robinsobs Galleria. Photo by Feona Imperial for VERA Files.

When it was reported that voters could cast their votes in shopping malls this coming elections, I thought it was a good idea.

It’s like going to mass in a mall and proceed to the grocery and shopping afterwards.

I was thinking of the Department of Foreign Affairs putting up passport processing services in malls which remarkably made the application and renewal of passports easy.

My election-lawyer friend said transferring polling places is much more complicated than issuance of passports. I now see that voting in malls was not a well-thought- out idea.

Don’t forget ill persons who are not physically disabled

Published by Ellen on March 31, 2016

PWDs special registration. Photo by Mario Ignacio IV for VERA Files.

The law signed by President Aquino March 23 exempting persons with disabilities from the value-added tax is a whiff of balm in the current toxic (Philippines as money laundering center of the $81 million bank heist and the negative vibes of the election campaign) atmosphere.

The law, Republic Act No. 10754, which amends Republic Act No. 7277, otherwise known as the “Magna Carta for Persons with Disability”, exempts PWDs from the 12 percent VAT, on top of the 20 percent discount they are currently entitled to under the Magna Carta.

The discount applies to transportation fees, medical and laboratory charges, cost of medicines, admission fees in cinemas and other leisure and amusement places, and funeral and burial services.

The House bill was sponsored by Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez in the House of Representatives and in the Senate, by Sen. Sonny Angara.
The PWDs now enjoy the same privileges as senior citizens, an attribute of a compassionate society.

Erap endorsement expected to get Mindanao for Poe

Published by Ellen on March 30, 2016

Grace Poe and Col. Ariel Querubin (ret), who she said she will appoint crime czar if she wins presidency.

It was almost midnight when Sen. Grace Poe made it to retired Col. Ariel Querubin’s birthday at the Clubhouse at Camp Aguinaldo last Monday. But she looked happy and energized.

She told the remaining few guests that she came from the proclamation rally of former President Joseph Estrada, who is running for re-election as Manila City mayor, at Plaza Miranda.

She related that Estrada called her up the night before to tell her that he had decided to endorse her.

At the Plaza Miranda rally, Estrada told the cheering crowd, “Mga kasama, mga kaibigan, palakpakan po natin ang aking inaanak, ang susunod na pangulo ng Pilipinas, walang iba kundi si Grace Poe.”

Norman Sison

Published by Ellen on March 27, 2016

Norman in a Philippine revolutionary army uniform. At the Lopez museum

I haven’t bid Norman goodbye properly and I feel bad about it.

Norman is a very good writer and it was a privilege for VERA Files to have him as one of our writers.

When young writers inquire about contributing feature stories for VERA Files, a group that publishes in- depth and feature stories, I always tell them to check out articles by Norman, Pablo Tariman, Babeth Lolarga, and Winnie Velasquez as examples of good writing.

It’s good writing if once you’ve started with the first paragraph, you continue reading until you get to the last sentence. It’s a good article if you learned something new– an information or a perspective of an issue.

Game changers: SC decision on Poe and AMLC report on Binay

Published by Ellen on March 17, 2016

Next week’s surveys should give us a clearer picture of the sentiments of the Filipino voters.

By then, we would know whose campaign is struggling from collapsing and whose campaign is pulling away.

The latest surveys that we got this week (Pulse Asia for ABS-CBN) which put Grace Poe leading (28 percent) with just a few percentage points over Rodrigo Duterte (24 percent), who dislodged Jejomar Binay (21 percent) in the second place and Mar Roxas closely following with 20 percent, was conducted a few days before the Supreme Court declared that Poe is qualified to run for the presidency of the Philippines.

No way can Comelec postpone May 9 elections

Published by Ellen on March 16, 2016

Former Comelec Commissioner Gregorio Larrazabal, who is now consultant of the Nationalist People’s Coalition, said the Commission on Elections cannot postpone the May 9 elections as it is being floated now.

He said there is only one option for Comelec: “To conduct automated elections on May 9, 2016.”

Former Senator Richard Gordon, principal author of the Automated Elections Law who is vying again for a Senate seat under the Ang Partido ng Galing at Puso of Grace Poe, also finds unacceptable the reasons put forward by Comelec officials why they cannot comply with the High Court’s decision. ““Kung gusto, may paraan. Kung ayaw maraming dahilan,” he said.

The idea of postponing the May 9 elections (election lawyer Romulo Makalintal mentioned June 9 as the alternative date) followed the order of Supreme Court last week to the Comelec to “enable the vote verification feature of the vote-counting machines which prints the voter’s choices…”

Gordon to Comelec officials: ‘If you cannot do the job, resign.’

Published by Ellen on March 14, 2016

It’s as simple as that.

Former Senator Richard Gordon who is running again for the Senate slammed officials of the Commission on Elections for painting a doomsday scenario if they were to comply with the Supreme Court decision to have the election machines on May 9 issue receipts of the voter’s vote.

He said postponing the May 9 elections is out of the question. “The Comelec is painting a doomsday scenario so that we will be afraid. It will not happen. What they should paint is they can do it. If they do not want to do it, stop giving excuses, leave your job and give it to somebody who can do the job,” said the principal author of the Election Computerization law and one of the petitioners who asked the High Court to compel the election body to follow the law.

In a vote of 14-0, the High Court last Tuesday ordered the Comelec to “enable the vote verification feature of the vote-counting machines which prints the voter’s choices…”

With SC decision, expect donations to flow into Grace Poe’s campaign

Published by Ellen on March 8, 2016

Grace Poe at International Women's Day in Liwasang Bonifacio — Grace Poe at International Women’s Day in Liwasang Bonifacio

It was an obviously elated Grace Poe that came to the Liwasang Bonifacio to celebrate International Women’s Day organized by the militant women’s group, Gabriela, yesterday.

She had just received word that the Supreme Court, voting 9-6, junked the disqualification decisions of the Commission on Elections on the issues of citizenship and residency and declared that she is qualified to run for the presidency of the Philippines.

Aquino appoints Almendras foreign secretary

Published by Ellen on March 8, 2016

Rene Almendras at the World Economic Forum

With only three months left of his term, President Aquino appointed his cabinet secretary Jose Rene D. Almendras, 56, as foreign secretary.

Press Secretary Herminio Coloma announced tonight that “President Aquino has appointed Jose Rene Almendras as ad interim Secretary of Foreign Affairs, according to Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr. He replaces Secretary Albert del Rosario whose resignation took effect today.”

An ad interim appointment, made while Congress is in recess, allows the appointee to perform the functions and powers of the position until rejected by the Commission on Appointments.

A classmate of Aquino, Almendras first joined the Aquino cabinet in 2010 as energy secretary. He was later brought to Malacañang amid reports of gross inefficiency in Malacanang and the rivalry between the Mar Roxas allies (known as Balay group) and the Samar group,those who went for the Aquino-Binay in the 2010 elections.

China makes sure Jackson Atoll won’t be another Ayungin

Published by Ellen on March 6, 2016

Jackson Atoll, five coral islets surrounding a lagoon

The Chinese have not occupied Jackson Atoll (Philippine name is Quirino and Wufang Jiao in Chinese) in the Spratlys, as erroneously reported in Philippines media.

Not yet.

But the Chinese were there last December as related by the spokesman of the Chinese Foreign Ministry Hong Lei in his regular press briefing last March 2.

Hong said “At the end of the year 2015, a foreign vessel was grounded near Wufang Jiao of China’s Nansha islands. The owner of the vessel tried many times to tow it away but failed. He then decided to abandon the ship and dismantled and took away its main equipment. If the vessel was left aground for a long time, it might cause possible impediment to navigation safety and damage to the marine environment. Therefore, China Rescue and Salvage of Ministry of Transport recently sent salvage ships to tug the grounded vessel out of the shallow water for proper disposal. During the operation, the Chinese side advised fishing boats near the waters to stay away for navigation security and operation safety. The Chinese ships have returned after the operation.”

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