by aimee | Mar 5, 2013 | National News
THE Aquino administration welcomed the move of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) team to recommend the lifting of Significant Safety Concerns (SSCs) issued against the country, a Palace official said on Monday.
“Last month, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) sent a Coordinated Validation Mission to inspect the efforts of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) to comply with international aviation safety standards, and address significant safety concerns identified by the ICAO,” Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Abigail Valte said in a statement during the regular press briefing in Malacanang on Monday.
Valte said the ICAO Coordinated Validation Mission Team had informed the government that it will recommend to the ICAO Headquarters in Montreal, Canada the lifting of the SSCs.
“Before they left, the ICAO team expressed great satisfaction with what they found, and said they would make a recommendation to the ICAO headquarters in Montreal, Canada, that the significant safety concerns previously issued to the Philippines be lifted,” she said.
In a letter to the CAAP dated March 1, the ICAO stated that the SSC Validation Committee “has determined that the corrective actions taken by the Philippines have successfully addressed and resolved” the SSCs.”
“With this positive development, the CAAP will continue to coordinate with the European Union and the Federal Aviation Administration about upgrading the country’s aviation status,” Valte said. (PND)
by aimee | Mar 4, 2013 | National News
MALACAÑANG made an assurance on Saturday that the government is ready to help Filipinos affected by the ongoing standoff in Lahad Datu in Sabah, Malaysia and at the same time called for their unconditional surrender.
In a press conference in Malacanang Saturday, Cabinet Secretary Jose Rene Almendras said the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has dispatched teams that will help Filipinos in need in Sabah.
“We have a medical team, there is food… everything is there. As a matter of fact, DSWD has dispatched even teams to try to seek out the families of those that need to be attended to,” he said.
The teams organized by the DSWD will go in one of the islands near Sabah to try to address those that have been affected, he added.
Asking Malaysia to allow ships from the Philippines to dock in Sabah was one of the diplomatic actions made by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Friday, Almendras said.
The secretary of foreign affairs requested that a ship from the Philippines be allowed to dock but the Malaysians said it will process the request and the Philippine government has to wait.
“We have to respect that they’re in control of the situation there. So the ship is ready, they are in an island,” Almendras said.
Violence erupted in Lahad Datu Friday morning, killing 12 Filipinos and two Malaysian security forces. The Palace said it was saddened by Friday’s event and had asked the Sulu sultanate to persuade its followers in Sabah to surrender.
In a statement Saturday, President Benigno S. Aquino III asked Filipinos still in Sabah to lay down their weapons unconditionally to avoid further bloodshed. (PND)
by aimee | Mar 4, 2013 | Headlines, National News
TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol, Mar. 04 (PIA–Gitataw sa Malakanyang nga wala gibasura ni Presidente Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III ang posibilidad nga pag-angkon sa Sabah sukwahi sa pagtuo sa kadaghanan sa dihang giingnan niini ang Sultan sa Sulu sa pag-surrender na.
Sa usa ka press conference niadtong Sabado, miingon si Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda nga wala gayud talikdi sa Presidente ang hisgotanan kalabot sa Sabah.
“May nag-aaral po ng problema tungkol sa Sabah claim. They are accusing the president of renouncing the claim, that is inconsistent with the statement of the President when he said that he have tasked a group to study the claim,” pasabot ni Lacierda.
Giingong sa tukmang panahon, ibutyag ra sa Presidente ang estado sa maong claim ug kun angay ba kining ipamugos sa Pilipinas sa saktong paagi.
Kusganong gihimakak sa Malakanyang ang pasangil ni Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III nga gi-abandona na sila sa Presidente. (PIA-Bohol/ecb/i-gg)
by aimee | Mar 1, 2013 | National News
THE Government of the Philippines (GPH) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) panels signed late night Wednesday in Kuala Lumpur the first of four Annexes to the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro.
The Annex on Transitional Arrangements and Modalities (TAM) “details the road map towards the creation of the Bangsamoro” region.
According to their joint statement, the parties also signed the Terms of Reference for the Independent Commission on Policing (ICP). The ICP will submit recommendations to the peace panels on the appropriate form, structures and relationships of the police force for the Bangsamoro.
Both panels likewise continued discussions on the Annexes on Wealth-sharing and Power-sharing and resolved most of the remaining issues. Also tackled was the composition of the Third Party Monitoring Team that will review, assess, evaluate and monitor the implementation of the FAB and its Annexes.
The Technical Working Group on Normalization meanwhile continued discussions on the Normalization Annex and took charge of refining the TOR on the policing review body that was drafted by Kristian Herbolzheimer, who sits in the International Contact Group.
GPH panel chair Prof. Miriam Coronel-Ferrer expressed her satisfaction on the results of the recent round of talks. “This has been a very fruitful round, a very happy one, with the signing of the Annex on Transitional Arrangements and Modalities. We actually had a draft as early as December and finally now we are signing it. Resolutions of issues on wealth-sharing also took a long time but here we are – they’ve been solved, we found the language.” (OPPAP)
by aimee | Feb 27, 2013 | National News
THE Aquino government reiterated its commitment to intensified tax collection efforts by running after tax evaders after the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) collected P1.058 trillion in 2012.
Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said during the regular press briefing in Malacanang on Wednesday that the BIR has stepped up the filing of cases against tax evaders as part of the Aquino government’s commitment to tread daang matuwid or the straight and righteous path.
The government has stepped up the filing of cases against tax evaders with 28 new cases filed since November 2012.
According to the Department of Finance (DOF), 11 new cases were filed under the Run after Tax Evaders (RATE) program, while 17 new cases were filed under the Run after the Smugglers (RATS) initiative.
The DOF and its attached agencies are working with the Department of Justice and the judiciary for the swift resolution of the cases.
With the various reforms initiated by the concerned government agencies, the government succeeded in increasing tax revenues last year.
The DOF had reported that the BIR increased its tax revenues by almost 15 percent to P1.058 trillion last year from P924 billion in 2011.
The DOF said the collections from BIR operations amounted to P1.017 trillion last year from P890 billion in 2011, while collections from non-BIR operations amounted to P40.95 billion from P33.65 billion in 2011. (PND)
by aimee | Feb 27, 2013 | Headlines, National News
TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol, Feb. 27 (PIA)–Gipasalig sa Malakanyang nga walay angay ikahadlok ang gatusan ka mga Pinoy nga nagpuyo sa Sabah, Malaysia human sa standoff tali sa mga tagasuporta ni Sultan Jamalul Kiram III ug Malaysian authorities.
Matud pa sa Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), gipasiguro ni Presidente Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III ang kaluwasan sa mga Pinoy didto.
Gawas sa kaluwasan sa mga tagasuporta sa Pamilya Kiram, giingong angay dili kalimtan ang mga Pinoy nga dugay nang nagpuyo didto.
Niadtong Lunes, mibisita didto si DFA Usec. Jose Brillantes aron makiag-alayon sa kagamhanan sa Malaysia alang sa malinawon nga resolusyon sa isyu.
Tua na usab didto ang humanitarian ship nga magamit sa mga residente.
Ni-take over na kagahapon ang National Security Council sa Malaysia aron masulbad ang standoff sa Sabah.
Kini nagpasabot nga dili na basta mga polis ang mogunit sa pakig-negosasyon sa grupo ni Rajah Mudah Agbimuddin Kiram apan mismong gobyerno na sa Malaysia. (PIA-Bohol/ecb/i-sjp)
Legalidad sa kontrata tali sa Comelec ug Smartmatic, gipalig-on sa SC
TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol, Feb. 27 (PIA)–Gipalig-on sa Korte Suprema ang kontrata tali sa Commisison on Elections (Comelec) ug Smartmatic-TIM nga maoy mo-supply og compact flash (CF) cards nga gamiton sa May 2013 midterm elections.
Kini human gibasura sa Korte Suprema ang petisyon sa diskwalipikadong CF card bidder nga LDLA Marketing.
Pasabot sa SC Public Information Office, ubos sa Republic Act (RA) No. 9184 (Government Procurement Act) and its Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) angay unta niduso una og motion for reconsideration ang LDLA sa Bids and Awards Committee ug protesta sa Head of the Procuring Entity (HOPE) kun mabasura ang mosyon.
Human niini, diha lang mahimong modulog sa korte ang bidder. (PIA-Bohol/ecb/i-gg)
