by magnolia_eic | Mar 3, 2010 | Headlines, National News
Manila, Philippines — Malacanang announced Wednesday the members of the Cabinet who would be replacing those who were deemed resigned as of March 2.
Justice Secretary (formerly Agnes Devanadera)
– Solicitor General Alberto Agra
Agriculture Secretary (formerly Arthur Yap)
– Secretary Ad Interim Bernardino Dizon
Head of Presidential Management Staff (formerly Hermogenes Esperon)
– Maritime Industry Authority head Elena Bautista
Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) – (formerly Augusto Syjuco Jr.)
– Rogelio Juan
Executive Secretary (formerly Eduardo Ermita)
– Leandro Mendoza
Click here for full article from Inquirer.net
by magnolia_eic | Mar 2, 2010 | Headlines, National News, World
The 75 documented Filipinos residing or working in Chile have been accounted for and reported safe, the spokesman of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said on Sunday.
“So far, they do not have any reports of any Filipinos who have been affected or hurt during the earthquake. They have been able to account for almost all of the Filipinos,” DFA spokesman Eduardo Malaya told in an interview on Sunday afternoon, citing information from the Philippine embassy in Chile.
He added that a worker in the embassy had only injured his ankle at the height of the 8.8-magnitude earthquake that jolted the South American country early Saturday morning.
Contrary to earlier reports that there were about 89 Filipinos in Chile, Malaya said there were only 75 Filipinos serving as missionaries, engineers and businessmen or were spouses of Chile nationals.
Malaya also quoted Philippine Ambassador to Argentina Rey Carandang as saying that Filipinos in Argentina, located east of Chile, “were fine.” As of Sunday noon, international media pegged the quake’s death toll to about 214. (PIA-Bohol)
by magnolia_eic | Mar 2, 2010 | Headlines, National News
Smartmatic-TIM has delivered all 82,200 counting machines to be used in the automated elections on May 10, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) announced Sunday.
Comelec Commissioner Gregorio Larrazabal said the final shipment arrived Saturday, a day before the Feb. 28 deadline stipulated in the contract of Smartmatic-TIM with the poll agency.
Had Smartmatic-TIM, the consortium that won the P7.2-billion contract to automate the elections, failed to deliver the machines on time, it would have been fined more than P7 million for each day of delay.
The contractor earlier said it could deliver all the machines by Feb. 21, but did not meet its self-imposed deadline due to delays in shipping.
The firm had also missed earlier schedules in its delivery timetable, prompting lawmakers to demand that the Comelec impose fines. Comelec officials, however, said penalties should be based on failure to deliver on the entire package. (PIA-Bohol)
by magnolia_eic | Mar 2, 2010 | Headlines, National News
THE House energy committee approved on Monday a proposal calling for a special joint session of Congress for the sole purpose of granting President Arroyo additional powers exclusively to address the Mindanao power crisis.
The panel, headed by Lakas-Kampi-CMD Rep. Mikey Arroyo of Pampanga, approved the proposal on the motion of opposition Puwersa ng Masang Pilipino Rep. Rufus Rodriguez of Cagayan de Oro and seconded by Nacionalista Party Rep. Jesus Crispin “Boying” Remulla of Cavite.
Mindanao congressman, led by House Deputy Speaker for Mindanao Simeon Datumanong also supported the proposal.
But Rep. Arroyo is cold to the proposals to grant the President additional powers in addressing the Mindanao power crisis saying that not only are there still enough remedies to resolve the issue, but the situation itself is not grave enough to necessitate such actions.
In pushing for the granting of emergency powers to Arroyo, Rodriguez involved Section 71 of the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (Epira), which states that “upon the determination by the President of the Philippines of an imminent shortage of the supply of electricity, Congress may authorize, through a joint resolution, the establishment of additional generating capacity under such terms and conditions as it may approve.” (PIA)
by magnolia_eic | Mar 2, 2010 | Headlines, National News, Tsunami updates/advisories, World
Honolulu — The devastating tidal wave that the oceanographers predicted for Hawaii never materialized. And by Sunday, authorities have lifted the warning after waves half the predicted size tickled the shores of Hawaii and tourists once again jammed beaches and restaurants.
However, scientists who gave the warning believed they need not apologize for the inacurate information that caused great alarm.
Scientists acknowledge that they overstated the threat but defended their actions, saying they took the proper steps and learned the lessons of the 2004 Indonesian tsunami that killed thousands of people who didn’t get enough warning.
“It’s a key point to remember that we cannot end the warnings. Failure to warn is not an option for us,” said Dai Lin Wang, an oceanographer at the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii.
“We cannot have a situation that we thought was no problem and then it’s devastating. That just cannot happen,” Wang added.
Many residents and tourists in Hawaii though were not bothered by the warnings. They believed that the scientists “did the right thing”.
Click here for full article from Inquirer.net
by magnolia_eic | Mar 1, 2010 | Headlines, National News
A 20-man team from Malaysia who will oversee the implementation of the ceasefire agreement between the government and the separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) will arrive in Cotabato City on Sunday.
The Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) said the Malaysian members of the International Monitoring Team (IMT) will fly directly from Malaysia aboard a C-130 Hercules aircraft.
Maj. Gen. Datuk Baharom Bin Hamzah of the Malaysian Armed Forces is the incoming head of mission of the IMT.
The Malaysian-led IMT is composed of 60 personnel that will come from Brunei, Libya, and Japan. They will have a one-year renewable mandate.
The truce monitors left in 2007 after peace talks bogged down when both sides failed to sign an expanded Muslim homeland agreement that was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.
Also invited to be part of the expanded IMT were the European Union, Qatar, Indonesia, and Norway. There is no formal response yet on whether or not they will join the monitoring team.
The government will host a welcome ceremony for the arriving Malaysian IMT at Estosan Hotel in Cotabato City. (PIA-Bohol)
