by magnolia_eic | Jul 26, 2010 | Headlines, National News
PRESIDENT Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III is on the third draft of his first State of the Nation Address (SONA), but Cabinet members’ numerous inputs are giving him a hard time to keep it short and simple.
Currently, the draft speech’s length is around 15 pages long, which will take him about 25 to 30 minutes to deliver, so the President is trying to shorten his speech, Communications Group official Ricky Carandang told reporters on Thursday.
Aquino’s SONA speech, which he will deliver at the Batasan Pambansa on July 26, will cover key points and relevant findings of the status reports submitted to him by his Cabinet, and his administration’s immediate plans as well.
Cabinet members finished submitting their findings regarding their respective departments on Wednesday night.
Another Communications Group official, Manuel L. Quezon III, who also served as Aquino’s inaugural spokesman, said Aquino is aiming to limit his speech to around 30 minutes.
He said the tone of Aquino’s speech will be “conversational.” (PIA-Bohol)
by magnolia_eic | Jul 26, 2010 | Headlines, National News
Catholic and Muslim educators will launch a series of discussions on the peace problem in Mindanao.
Jesuit-run Ateneo University School of Government and the Institute of Bangsamoro Studies, with the support of the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID), are hosting the talks featuring experts on the issue.
Ateneo School of Government Dean Tony La Vina said the discussions are taking place “outside the peace process” between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) peace negotiators.
In a report of the Union of Catholic Asian News, he expressed hope that some sessions could tackle issues raised during formal negotiations.
IBS is a non-stock, non-profit private institution begun in 2001 to undertake independent and collaborative research on Bangsamoro society, history, education, culture, politics, economic, and contemporary affairs.
IBS Executive Director Abhoud Syed Lingga said the Mindanao conflict stems from the struggle of the Bangsamoro people against “domination” by the Philippine state.
Lingga said peace in Mindanao can be achieved primarily through formal peace negotiations at the national level.
The new administration of President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III is preparing to resume peace talks that broke down in August 2008. (PIA-Bohol)
by magnolia_eic | Jul 22, 2010 | Headlines, National News
LAWMAKERS on Wednesday called for a review of the party-list system law following the controversial Commission on Elections (Comelec) decision allowing former Pampanga Rep. Mikey Arroyo to represent security guards and tricycle drivers in Congress.
Marikina Rep. Romero Federico Quimbo said Arroyo’s victory, at the very least, “is a clarion call for Congress to review the party-list law to ensure that the spirit of the law is indeed served and not circumvented.”
Cavite Rep. Jesus Crispin Remulla and San Juan Rep. JV Ejercito agreed to this.
Bayan Muna Rep. Neri Colmenares said the Comelec decision will only legalize the entry of multi-millionaires into the party-list system, as no genuine party-list group can compete with the powerful organizations in elections.
Arroyo, who survived disqualification cases filed against him, will sit as representative of Ang Galing Pinoy (AGP).
With his re-entry to the House of Representatives, there will now be four Arroyos in Congress: his mother former President and incumbent Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, brother Camarines Sur Rep. Diosdado ‘Dato’ Arroyo, and uncle Negros Occidental Rep. Ignacio Arroyo. (PIA-Bohol)
by magnolia_eic | Jul 22, 2010 | Headlines, National News
MILITANT group Bayan has called for the resignation of Commission on Elections (Comelec) officials after allowing former Pampanga Rep. Mikey Arroyo to sit as representative of the Ang Galing Pinoy party-list.
“These commissioners cannot be trusted to carry out their mandate of ensuring that the laws related to the elections are correctly upheld. They appear incapable of understanding the law. They have lost the trust of the electorate. They must resign,” Bayan secretary general Renato Reyes Jr. said.
The Comelec commissioners who allowed Mikey to represent AGP were: Nicodemo Ferrer, Lucenito Tagle, Armando Velasco and Elias Yusoph. Those who dissented were Commissioners Rene Sarmiento and Gregorio Larrazabal.
The Comelec en banc earlier allowed Arroyo to sit as Ang Galing Pinoy representative as it junked the petition of several groups questioning the legality of the former Pampanga congressman to be a nominee of the party-list.
Reyes also urged the Aquino administration to block Arroyo from sitting as a party-list representative when the 15th Congress opens on July 26. (PIA-Bohol)
by magnolia_eic | Jul 20, 2010 | Headlines, National News, Weather Coverage
RESCUERS retrieved three more bodies from the sea on Sunday, raising the death toll from tropical storm Basyang (international name: Conson) to 68, but more bad weather was hampering search operations.
Damage to farm, infrastructure and private property rose to P188 million on Sunday from P22.3 million last Friday, according to a report released by the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) at 5:00 a.m. Sunday.
Benito T. Ramos, chief of the Office of Civil Defense and executive director of the NDCC said rescuers, including volunteers and troops, continued to scour coastal areas in the country’s southeastern seaboard on Sunday, where the majority of the 84 still missing from a sunken fishing vessel were reported.
However, he said fresh rains brought on by a new weather disturbance east of the main island of Luzon were hampering search and rescue operations. State weather forecasters however said it was unlikely to develop into a full-blown storm.
Basyang slammed into the country on Tuesday, directly hitting the capital Manila as it cut westward into the South China Sea with a ferocity that caught weather forecasters by surprise. (PIA-Bohol)
by magnolia_eic | Jul 20, 2010 | Headlines, National News
The first round of the Judicial and Bar Council’s interviews for those vying for a Supreme Court seat began on Monday.
Scheduled to face the council in the morning are Court of Appeals Associate Justice Hakim Abdulwahid, Court of Tax Appeals Presiding Justice Ernesto Acosta, and Court of Tax Appeals Associate Justice Lovell Bautista.
Court of Appeals Associate Justices Mariflor Castillo and Japar Dimaampao are set to face the JBC in the afternoon.
The Judicial and Bar Council is the constitutionally created body tasked to vet, screen, and nominate to the President appointees to vacant positions in the judiciary.
There are 28 people vying for the vacant Supreme Court post left by Renato Corona when he assumed the Chief Justice post last May 17.
The 1987 Constitution says that a vacancy in the high tribunal must be filled up within 90 days. This means that President Benigno Aquino III has until August 17, or 90 days after Corona’s appointment, to name his first Supreme Court appointee.
Earlier, SC administrator and spokesperson Jose Midas Marquez said the JBC might submit its shortlist of nominees to Mr. Aquino by the first week of August. (PIA-Bohol)
