No gambling on Rizal Day

A 64-year old law banning cockfighting, horse racing and jai-alai on Rizal Day is still in effect, Malacañang reminded the public on Friday.
Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said Republic Act. No 229, which was signed in 1948,  said violators of the law on the prohibition on illegal gambling on Dec. 30 face up to six months imprisonment and a maximum penalty of P200.
If the violator is a local executive or a mayor, he or she shall suffer an additional punishment of suspension from office for one month.
The law also requires the raising of the Philippine flag at half mast in all vessels and at half staff in all government buildings on Dec. 30.
“On December 30, we enjoin Filipinos both at home and abroad to commemorate the anniversary of the martyrdom of Dr. Jose Rizal. Chief among our pantheon of heroes, Dr. Rizal embodies the highest aspirations of Filipinos as a people and as a nation,” Lacierda said.
“Rizal‘s devotion to truth, justice, and the civic virtues impelled him to deplore and expose the abuses of colonialism, resulting in his incarceration and eventual execution. It was through the gift of language and the written word that our national identity was formed,” he added.
This year also marks the 75th anniversary of the proclamation of the National Language by President Manuel Quezon.

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Noy quietly signs RH law

MANILA, Philippines - President Aquino has quietly signed the Reproductive Health (RH) bill into law, although the exact date of the signing is not yet clear.
Sources said there is discussion on whether to hold a ceremonial signing of the bill, but officials are inclined to avoid any fanfare so as not to fire up emotions whipped up by the debates over the issue.
President Aquino had called for national unity after both chambers of Congress ratified the committee report on the measure shortly before they went on their Christmas break.
The measure – now Republic Act 10354 – has been strongly opposed by the Roman Catholic Church.
Asked to confirm the signing, deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said she did not know.
“So far, we have not received any advice from the OES (Office of the Executive Secretary) if it has been signed already,” she told reporters.

On the law’s implementing rules and regulations, Valte said the Department of Health (DOH) is in charge of the matter.

“I would have to ask DOH if they’ve already started on the implementing rules,” she said.
The Catholic Church on Thursday urged the faithful to tie a million red ribbons across the Philippines as a sign of protest against the RH measure.
Lipa Archbishop Ramon Arguelles said lay groups were behind the One Million Red Ribbons for Life and Family Movement launched yesterday as the Church marked the Feast of the Holy Innocents.
Last Sunday, a pastoral letter read in churches accused Malacañang of using all its forces to have the RH bill passed.
“The President has a five-point statement on responsible parenthood. His number one position is he is against abortion,” presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said.
“As to the other actions that the Church is going to take, there is a big democratic space for expression of your own ideas and opinions and we certainly respect their opinion. We will not comment further on that,” he said.
Despite opposition from the Catholic Church and other sectors, the President certified the bill as urgent, emphasizing that the measure is pro-choice and is meant only to teach couples the ways to plan their families.
“I am in favor of giving couples the right to choose how best to manage their families so that in the end, their welfare and that of their children are best served,” the President said in his five-point position on responsible parenthood.
“The state must respect each individual’s right to follow his or her conscience and religious convictions on matters and issues pertaining to the unity of the family and the sacredness of human life, from conception to natural death,” Aquino’s five-point position read.
“In a situation where couples, especially the poor and disadvantaged ones, are in no position to make an informed judgment, the state has the responsibility to so provide; in the range of options and information provided to couples, natural family planning and modern methods shall be presented as equally available,” it added.
Fierce debates preceded the final approval of the RH bill, with some leaders of the Catholic Church even exhorting the faithful to reject politicians who supported the measure. Church leaders believe the RH bill legalizes abortion and will set the stage for the legislation of other “anti-family” measures, particularly divorce.
President Aquino’s decision to certify it as urgent was widely believed to have provided the final push for the passage of the controversial measure.
Sen. Pia Cayetano, principal author of the measure in the Senate, along with her House counterpart, Rep. Edcel Lagman of Albay and Rep. Janette Garin of Iloilo, acknowledged that the President’s certification of the bill was a turning point in their struggle to have the measure approved.
The bill seeks to improve public access to reproductive health services, including natural and artificial family planning options.
It also promotes better maternal care, responsible parenthood, and youth education on sexual and reproductive health issues.
Cayetano said the phrase “safe and satisfying sex life” was retained in the definition of reproductive health in the controversial measure.
“Of course, of course I’ll stand up for it. And yes, the word ‘consensual’ has been added,” she said.
The measure, labeled Bill 2865 in the Senate, defines reproductive health as “the state of complete, physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence or infirmity, in all matters relating to the reproductive system and to its functions and processes.”
“This implies that people are able to have a safe and satisfying sex life, that they have the capability to reproduce and the freedom to decide if, when, and how often to do so. This further implies that women and men attain equal relationships in matters related to sexual relations and reproduction.”

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Philippines hits China plan to fortify Sansha

The Philippines on Wednesday denounced China’s decision to strengthen islands at the center of territorial disputes in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) as a violation of international law.
“Sansha City has been a subject of a Philippine protest as its administrative jurisdiction encompasses Philippine territory and maritime zones in the West Philippine Sea,” the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said, referring to China’s announcement that it would develop Woody Island in the Paracels and other islands in the sea that the Philippines and other Southeast Asian countries are disputing.
“China’s action to fortify Sansha City is an attempt to reinforce its excessive nine-dash claim, which is a violation of international law, especially the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea,” said DFA spokesman Raul Hernandez.
Hernandez said the Philippines would press ahead with its political, legal and diplomatic plans to resolve its dispute with China over Panatag Shoal (Scarborough Shoal) and seven islands in the Spratlys in the West Philippine Sea.
Besides the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam claim parts of the sea that is home to sea-lanes vital to global trade and vast deposits of oil and gas.
Taiwan also claims parts of the sea, nearly all of which China insists is part of its territory.
$1.6-billion investment
In a report on Monday, business and financial news agency Bloomberg quoted the 21st Century Business Herald as saying that China had approved plans to invest at least $1.6 billion to build an airport, pier and other infrastructure on islands involved in territorial disputes with its Southeast Asian neighbors.
The report quoted Jiang Dingzhi, governor of China’s Hainan province, as saying that the plans were intended as “a platform for Sansha’s development in the long term.”
“Sansha’s immediate work is for airports, ports, piers and other important infrastructure, as well as law enforcement vessels, supply ships and other projects to be established,” Jiang was quoted as saying in a statement.
“In the long term, we need to implement a platform for Sansha’s development,” Jiang added.
Garrison town
Sansha is a garrison town on Woody Island, one of the islands, reefs and atolls that Vietnam is claiming in the Paracel archipelago in its part of the area that it calls East Sea.
Bloomberg, still quoting the 21st Century Herald, said the funds for Sansha would also be spent on marine law enforcement and ocean fisheries and that construction of some facilities had already started.
The Philippines and Vietnam have protested China’s creation of Sansha.
China built Sansha in June for the administration of the Paracels and the Spratlys.
The DFA said Sansha’s jurisdiction covered the Kalayaan Island Group in the Spratlys, which “is an integral part of the Philippine territory falling under the municipality of Kalayaan in Palawan province.”
“For this reason, the Philippines does not recognize Sansha City and the extent of its jurisdiction and considers recent measures taken by China as unacceptable,” Hernandez said.
New border rules
In late November, Hainan province announced new maritime rules that would allow its border patrols to board, search and expel foreign ships that enter what it considers its territory in the sea.
The new rules, believed to have approval from Beijing, would come into effect on Jan. 1.
China also issued a new passport on which is stamped a map showing the entire sea as part of its territory.
The Philippines and Vietnam have protested the new maritime rules and the map on the new Chinese passport and refused to stamp visas on it.
Other members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations have expressed fears the new Chinese maritime rules could lead to armed confrontations in disputed parts of the sea.
The United States, which has declared it has a “national interest” in freedom of navigation in the sea, has asked China to clarify the extent and purpose of the new border rules.

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Philippines 17th most generous country in the world

It would appear that Filipinos have taken to heart the words of that classic Christmas carol that goes, “at magmula ngayon, kahit hindi pasko ay magbigayan.”

According to the World Giving Index 2012 by British organization Charities Aid Foundation (CAF), the Philippines is the 17th most generous country out of 146 countries included in the study, with a world giving index score of 45 percent.

The World Giving Index ranked countries based on three "giving behaviors:" donating money to a charity, volunteering time for an organization, and helping strangers.

The Philippines shared the ranking with Finland, who also had a score of 45 percent.,

Meanwhile Australia was ranked the most generous country with a score of 60 percent. Ireland, Canada, New Zealand and the United States rounded out the top five most generous, all ranking high in terms of donating money.

Filipinos, meanwhile, got a relatively low score of only 32 percent when it came to money donations, but ranked fifth overall in terms of volunteering, with a score of 44 percent. This score is the highest of any other country in Southeast Asia. As for helping strangers, Filipinos got a score of 58 percent.

The CAF report said that the country's world giving score has exceeded its five-year average. However, it also said that there was a general decline in charitable acts in recent years, noting a decrease in participation in all three giving behaviors all over the world.

"According to our report, hundreds of millions fewer people have helped others than was the case last year," said CAF Chief Executive John Low in the report's foreword.,

"This has inevitably resulted in a dramatic reduction in charitable support for millions of vulnerable people the world over," he added.

The World Giving Index 2012 was compiled using data collected throughout 2011 and surveyed over 155,000 people. Countries featured in the World Giving Index in previous years that were not surveyed in 2011 do not feature in the 2012 Index.

Fieldwork was conducted by the market research firm, Gallup.

This is the third edition of the World Giving Index. — DVM, GMA News

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The first Christmas tree in the Philippines

Pangasinan is supposed to have gotten its name from its famous gourmet product, a coarse, pinkish sea salt (asin) praised by discriminating cooks all over the world. Pangasinan, depending on your informant, means either “land of salt” or “place where salt is made.”
But it seems that the province also contributes some enduring legends that should rightfully be taken with a grain of salt. First we have Urduja, who is believed to have been a 14th-century, Turkish-speaking amazon princess. Although debunked by historians, her name proudly remains on one of the buildings in the provincial Capitol and elsewhere in the country.
The other legend from Pangasinan is that the first Mass—or, to be specific, the first Christmas Mass—was celebrated somewhere on the coast of Bolinao in 1324! This assertion further complicates the issue of the first Mass or Masses brought by the Magellan expedition in 1521.
An interesting detail in this story is that the Mass was officiated by the Franciscan Odoric of Pordenone (c. 1286-1331), who travelled to Asia in the 14th century, and who also planted the first Christmas tree in the Philippines in 1324! It is not only the first Mass that is at issue here but also the Christmas tree, which became popular in Europe only in the 19th century and was probably brought to the Philippines in the early 20th century by the Americans.
I would like to think that the idea of the Christmas tree was actually brought to the Philippines in 1886 by Jose Rizal. We have two primary-source documents to support this claim: a manuscript containing Hans Christian Andersen tales that Rizal translated into Tagalog to delight his nephews and nieces; and a letter Rizal wrote in Berlin in November 1886 to his eldest sister Neneng (Saturnina) and her husband Maneng (Manuel Hidalgo).
Written in Rizal’s legible hand, “Ang Puno ng Pino,” the sad tale of a little fir tree, is illustrated with two spot drawings of a Christmas tree. In his letter to Neneng, the hero narrated that he attended religious services both in Catholic and Protestant churches. He even visited Jewish synagogues. “Everything that can teach me something interests me,” he said, “so that I can bring to the Philippines the best that I find here.”
In this letter, Rizal mentioned the Christmas traditions he encountered in Spain and Germany. On the Christmas tree he wrote:
“There are some beautiful and good [German] customs, like Christmas, which gives me pleasure to describe here for it is not found in Spain and you have not read about it in Spanish books. On Christmas Eve they bring from the forest a pine tree, and this tree is chosen because, besides being erect, it is the only tree that keeps its leaves during winter—I say it badly; not really leaves, but a kind of needle. It is decorated with tinsel, paper, lights, dolls, candy, fruits, dainties, etc., and at night time, it is shown to the children (who should see the preparation of it), and around this tree the family celebrates Christmas.”
Then Rizal described kissing under the mistletoe:
“They say, and I have also read it, that in England there is another custom which is for older persons. In certain parts of the house is hung a twig of mistletoe or  gui  in French. When a young man and woman find themselves under it and he does not kiss her, he must pay a fine or give her a present. For this reason, many young men stroll in the streets carrying a twig of mistletoe. When they see a pretty girl, they approach her and kiss her. When she looks up and sees the mistletoe held over her head by the mischievous young man, she smiles, keeps quiet, and says nothing. This is very English.”
Rizal concluded by comparing Spanish and German customs to state that Christmas in the Philippines was ruined by too much praying:
“The only custom I have seen in Madrid, which perhaps we have adopted, is eat a fish called  besugo  and roast turkey, which shows that the Spaniards do not indulge in poems for children and young people, or as the vulgar expression goes, they do not beat around the bush. They attend more to the positive, or the stomach. And   Carambas! they would say; let us amuse ourselves and let children and young people seek their own amusement as best they can. They do seek their own diversion, with the result that the children and young people in Spain lack the charming innocence and candor of those in the North [of Europe], without malice, without great preoccupations. A good young woman can walk alone in the streets until 10 or 11 o’clock at night without being molested. A pretty girl, educated and rich, can travel safely for leagues and leagues alone with her handbag and luggage. This is because here [in Germany] they know how to give age its due, unlike in other countries where children are not allowed to be themselves, to make noise or to play. Instead, they are made to recite the rosary and novena until the poor youngsters become very sleepy and understand nothing of what is going on. Consequently, when they reach the age of reason, they pray just as they have prayed when they were children without understanding what they are saying; they fall asleep and think of nonsense. Nothing can destroy a thing more than the abuse of it, and praying can also be abused.”

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THE NEW ARMED FORCES OF THE PHILIPPINES MODERNIZATION ACT SIGNED

HIS Excellency, President Benigno S. Aquino III signed into law Republic Act (RA) 10349, the New Armed Forces of the Philippines Modernization Act, on December 11, 2012, extending for another 15 years the modernization of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and providing P75 billion for the first five years to boost the military’s capability program. It amended RA 7898, the original AFP Modernization Act, signed on February 23, 1995.
The 130,000-strong AFP is divided into three main services: Philippine Army (PA), Philippine Air Force (PAF), and Philippine Navy (PN), composed of the Philippine Fleet and the Philippine Marine Corps. RA 10349 will help the AFP acquire equipment in its Medium-Term (2013-2017) Acquisition List, including jet fighters and 21 helicopters for the PAF; two missile-firing frigates and two anti-submarine helicopters for the PN; and modern protection equipment for the PA.
The AFP identified 39 projects to be covered by the revised modernization plan. Among others, PAF will acquire 21 additional UH-1B multipurpose helicopters to replace its UH-1H (Huey) helicopters and 10 attack helicopters in the next two years. The plan also includes the purchase of three medium-lift aircraft to complement PAF’s C-130 Hercules cargo planes.
RA 10349  exempts from the requirement of public bidding major defense purchases such as aircraft, vessels, tanks, armored vehicles, communication equipment, and high powered firearms. It grants more funding sources from public-private partnerships entered into by the Department of National Defense (DND). It allows multi-year contracts and exempts from value-added tax and customs duties the sale of weapons, equipment, and ammunition to the AFP.
We congratulate the Armed Forces of the Philippines headed by Chief of Staff Gen. Jessie D. Dellosa, Vice Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Noel A. Coballes, Philippine Army Commanding General Lt. Gen. Emmanuel T. Bautista, Philippine Air Force Commanding General Lt. Gen. Lauro Catalino G. dela Cruz, and Philippine Navy Flag Officer-in-Command Vice Admiral Jose Luis M. Alano, all the best and success in their combined efforts to develop and transform the AFP into a multi mission-oriented organization. CONGRATULATIONS AND MABUHAY!

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Philippines typhoon death toll 'likely to hit 1,500'

MANILA, Philippines - The death toll from a typhoon that devastated the Philippines earlier this month will likely hit 1,500, making it the second deadliest since the country began keeping records, the civil defence chief said Saturday, December 22.
Benito Ramos said that so far they had counted 1,067 dead with more than 800 still missing after Tyhoon Bopha hit the southern island of Mindanao on December 4.
"It (the death toll) will go higher. But let us not assume the missing are already dead," he told AFP, estimating fatalities at "about 1,500" but adding that the search for the missing continued.
The toll from Typhoon Bopha is expected to easily exceed the 1,268 confirmed dead after Typhoon Washi struck the southern Philippines in December 2011, he said.
If the toll reaches 1,500 it would make it the second deadliest storm to hit the Philippines since 1947, when the Philippines began keeping records a year after independence.
Typhoon Thelma, which killed at least 5,101 in 1991, remains the deadliest on record, the government statistics bureau said. Typhoon Ike, which claimed 1,363 lives in 1984, is listed as second.
Thousands of people remain homeless after Typhoon Bopha brought flash floods that wiped out whole towns.
However Ramos expressed confidence there would be no rise in health problems as the government had brought enough food and medicine to care for those affected.
"It will be contained. the government presence is felt by the people already," he said.
The Philippines is hit by about 20 major storms or typhoons each year that occur mainly during the rainy season between June and October. - Rappler.com

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PAGASA: Amihan, ITCZ to bring rain to parts of PHL on Christmas Eve

The northeast monsoon and the inter-tropical convergence zone will bring rain to parts of the country on Christmas Eve, state weather forecasters said Sunday afternoon.

In its 5 p.m. bulletin, PAGASA said that while the northeast monsoon is affecting Luzon, the ITCZ is affecting Southern Mindanao.

"Mindanao and Eastern Visayas will have cloudy skies with light to moderate rain showers and thunderstorms. Cagayan Valley, Bicol region and the provinces of Aurora and Quezon will experience cloudy skies with light rain," it said.

Metro Manila and the rest of the country will be partly cloudy with brief rain showers or thunderstorms, it added.

PAGASA also said moderate to strong winds blowing from the northeast will prevail throughout the archipelago and the coastal waters will be moderate to rough.

On the other hand, PAGASA said Davao Oriental and Compostela Valley will be cloudy with occasional light to moderate rain (1-5 mm per hour) Sunday and Monday.

Compostela Valley and Davao Oriental had been hit hard by Tropical Cyclone Pablo earlier this month.

Meanwhile, PAGASA said strong to gale-force winds associated with the northeast monsoon may affect the seaboards of Northern Luzon and the eastern seaboard of Central and Southern Luzon, Eastern Visayas and Eastern Mindanao.

"Fishing boats and other small seacrafts are advised not to venture out into the sea while larger sea vessels are alerted against big waves," it said. — BM, GMA News

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Philippines to exceed its growth forecast for 2012, 2013

MANILA, Philippines (Xinhua) - The Philippine economy is expected to grow by no less than 7 percent this year, which is well above the country's growth forecast of 5-6 percent, according to economic managers here.
In his year-end economic briefing, Economic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said that the growth of country's gross domestic product (GDP) would exceed its high-end target of 6 percent, adding that growth in 2013 would be between 5.5 to 6.5 percent and between 6.5 to 7.5 percent in 2014 and beyond.
Leading multilateral institutions, such as the World Bank and Standard & Poor's (S&P), have also upgraded their growth forecast and credit rating for the Philippines respectively.
The World Bank has raised its growth forecast for the Philippines for this year and the next, crediting prudent economic policies of the administration of President Benigno Aquino coupled with political stability in the country.
For this year, the World Bank said that the Philippine economy would expand by 6 percent, becoming one of the fastest-growing economies in the Asia Pacific Region. It was the third time that the World Bank raised its forecast for Philippine economy growth of 2012.
The World Bank said that in 2013, the Philippines could grow by 6.2 percent.
The adjustments in the World Bank's forecasts came after the government reported a surprising 7.1 percent growth rate in the third quarter, one of the fastest rates in the whole of Asia, next only to that of China.
The Philippine economy grew by 6.5 percent in the first three quarters of the year on the back of higher government spending, increased household consumption, and higher investments by local firms.
In its "East Asia and Pacific Economic Update," the multilateral agency claimed that the developing East Asia region would grow by 5.6 percent in 2012, from 4.4 percent in 2011.
"The rebound in Thailand following the floods in 2011, strong growth in the Philippines, and relatively mild slowdowns in Indonesia and Vietnam contributed to this recovery," the World Bank said.
S&P has upgraded its outlook on the credit rating of the Philippines from "stable" to "positive", prompting Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima to express confidence that the country will finally get an investment grade in 2013.
An investment grade would mean more confidence on the Philippines to attract more foreign direct investments (FDIs) and thus help in jobs generation.
In a statement released Thursday, S&P said the decision to improve the outlook on the rating of the Philippines was based on the assessment of a favorable political situation in the country as evidenced by the ability of the Aquino administration to push for and implement vital reforms.
The S&P announcement came hours after President Aquino signed the so-called "sin tax" bill that would raise excise taxes on tobacco and liquor.
"We revised the outlook to positive to reflect our reappraisal of the political and institutional factors underlying the ratings, " Agost Benard, credit analyst of S&P for the Philippines, said in the statement.
According to Benard, S&P may decide to raise the country's credit rating to investment status next year if favorable indicators are sustained. These include improving revenue collection, declining reliance on borrowings from foreign creditors, and falling debt burden of the government.
Two other economic indicators contributed in boosting the Philippine economy.
One, remittances from overseas Filipino workers reached a record high in October as global demand for Filipino workers remained strong despite the lingering crisis in the United States and Europe.
Filipino-based overseas workers sent home $1.93 billion in cash in October, the highest monthly figure so far on record, rising by 8.5 percent from $1.78 billion in the same month last year, according to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the country's central bank.
This brought total remittances in the first 10 months of the year to $17.5 billion, up by 5.8 percent from $16.53 billion in the same period a year ago.
The World Bank said it is likely that total remittances to the Philippines for this year will hit $24 billion and make the country the third biggest recipient of money from migrant workers, next to India and China.
There are at least 10 million registered overseas-based Filipinos, fueling spending of over 10 percent of households in the country.
The inflow of portfolio investments or "hot money" to the Philippines also surged to $1.01 billion in November, the highest net inflow in about two years. This was also more than double the $490.35 million recorded in the same month last year.
According to the BSP, the inflows came mostly from the United States, the United Kingdom, Singapore, Luxembourg and Switzerland.
Despite this rosy picture of the economy, however, the National Census Office reported early this week that the country's unemployment rate has risen to 6.8 percent.
"Given the latest labor and employment figures, generating employment and ensuring that these are of good quality remain our greatest challenge," Balisacan said.
But next year, according to Balisacan, the job situation could improve with the expected improved electronics industry, which accounts for more than half of the country's exports.

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Philippine president signs sin tax bill into law

“Today, we signed, finally―I repeat, finally―a law that will serve as an early Christmas gift for millions of Filipinos,” Philippine President Benigno Aquino III yesterday said after he affixed his signature to Republic Act No. 10351 (An Act Restructuring the Excise Tax on Alcohol and Tobacco) in the Palace.
The president said he signed the “sin tax” law, projected to generate 33.96 billion pesos (US$825 million) in revenue in the first year of implementation, to help liberate “more Filipinos from the vices of smoking and drinking”.
The law raising taxes on tobacco and alcohol will be implemented starting January 1.
Aquino said the law was a victory against the powerful tobacco lobby and would provide extra funds for better healthcare and facilities.
“The enemy was strong, noisy, organised and had deep pockets… but as I have always said, there is nothing that can stop Filipinos who are marching in the right direction,” the president, himself a smoker, said in a speech at the signing ceremony.
The tobacco lobby included lawmakers representing tobacco-growing regions as well as powerful cigarette companies that enjoyed one of the lowest tobacco taxes in Southeast Asia.
The country has the highest incidence of smoking in the region, with tobacco-related diseases costing the country 177 billion pesos last year, according to the government.
Health Secretary Enrique Ona described the new law as “a game changer” and a “victory for the health of the Filipino people”.
Ona pointed out that the new law would discourage smoking in the country while injecting 146.7 billion pesos into the country’s public health sector.
The president said the increased revenues would benefit more people under the universal healthcare programme and enable Filipinos to avail themselves of new and/or improved clinics and hospitals.
He also delighted in the possibility of more and more Filipinos eventually quitting smoking and binge drinking because of higher excise taxes on cigarettes, distilled spirits and fermented alcohol.
“The fundamental principle of this law is unequivocal: We want health benefits within reach of everyone, rich or poor, because every Filipino’s life is sacred. We will elevate the quality of public health of our nation. This will be the key to the nation robustly benefiting from the opportunities (afforded by an) improving economy,” he said.
Witnessing the signing of RA 10351 were leaders of both chambers of Congress led by Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. and Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, members of the Cabinet, civil society partners and healthcare advocates, industry leaders and members of the business sector, representatives from the World Health Organisation, and officials of the United States Agency for International Development and the World bank.
Level playing field
According to the president, the law will level the playing field for the tobacco industry.
“It’s unjust to have varying taxes slapped on similar products. We are correcting this. In the coming years, there will be unitary taxation which will open the door for a healthier competition in the industry, and avoid monopoly,” Aquino said.
He was referring to the law’s intent to have a gradual shift to unitary taxation to simplify the current multitiered structure for easier tax administration.
Aquino reiterated that tobacco farmers need not worry about the law’s impact on their livelihood.
“The benefits you have received in the past will not disappear,” he said, noting that the government would actually increase the tobacco-producing provinces’ share of the tobacco excise tax.
Expressing his “wholehearted gratitude,” to those who had championed the measure, the President had a roll call of lawmakers, starting with Sen. Franklin Drilon (chairman of the Senate ways and means committee), Belmonte, House Majority Leader Neptali Gonzales, Davao Rep. Isidro Ungab (chair of the House ways and means committee) and members of the Cabinet.
Aquino also thanked Enrile, who was seated beside him at the table, despite his staunch opposition to the law. “You have proved that through continued cooperation between different agencies of government, we will march forward toward a society that is fair, just and progressive,” he said.
Revenue regulation
Internal Revenue Commissioner Kim Henares explained to reporters that although the law would be effective immediately upon publication, there would no adjustment of prices before the new year.
“We will also be coming up with a revenue regulation and it will be published before the end of the year,” she said.
There are different classifications for alcoholic products: distilled spirits, fermented liquors and wine; and, in the wine category, sparkling wines, still (nonsparkling) wines and champagnes.
Henares said all these would have different tax classifications, with prices progressively increasing in the years to come.
For the distilled spirits, in the first two years (2013 and 2014), the specific tax is 20 pesos plus 15 per cent of net retail price per proof.
Come Jan 1, 2015, the specific tax will be 20 pesos per proof litre plus 20 per cent of net retail price. Then, in 2016, the 20 pesos per specific portion will again increase, and so on.
It’s the same thing with beer. “It (tax) will become unitary by Jan 1, 2017, and then it will go up 4 per cent every year thereafter. And (for) the wine, the rate every year will (also) increase by 4 per cent,” said Henares.
Increases ‘ad infinitum’
Asked if the increases would taper off at a certain point in the near future, Henares said, “No, it’s in ad infinitum.”
She said there was no sunset provision for the increase of 4 per cent. “It’s 4 per cent per annum forever, or until the law is amended.”
“So the ad valorem component increases while the price of the product increases. That’s the continued increase of 4 per cent per annum plus the 20 per cent of net retail price,” she added.
For the cigarettes, there will be a specific rate and it will become unitary on Jan 1, 2017. Then, after that, every year it will go up by 4 per cent.
Henares said the new law would not encourage smuggling of sin products, especially cigarettes, because their prices―even with the new excise taxes―would be much cheaper than those in neighbouring countries.
“The other thing is … the law still provided that 15 per cent of whatever excise tax is collected from tobacco products will be given to the tobacco-producing provinces to help the tobacco farmers,” she said.
“(I)f we collect the 33 pesos and a half billion (pesos), it will be around 6 billion pesos more than what they are already receiving now,” which was about 4 billion pesos, she added.
“So, if you look at it, our (tobacco) farmers―there are 50,000 farmers―are supposed to be sharing a pot of 10 billion pesos.”
In a statement, Ona said: “With higher prices, the number of young and poor people smoking and drinking excessively will be reduced significantly, resulting in a lower incidence of smoking-related noncommunicable illnesses such as lung cancer, heart attack, strokes and chronic lung disease as well as diseases associated with excessive drinking such as liver diseases and trauma secondary to drunk driving.”
The health secretary said the additional revenues that government would collect under the law would be used to fund the expansion of PhilHealth “to the second poorest 20 per cent of our population,” which is composed of around 5.6 million families.
He said the additional taxes would also be used to expand health programmes for tobacco and alcohol control, elimination of public health threats such as filariasis, malaria, schistosomiasis and rabies, the expansion of existing immunisation programmes, and additional hiring and deployment of doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals.
With reports from Philip C. Tubeza, Cathy Yamsuan and AFP

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Philippine gov’t starts holiday truce with rebel group

MANILA, Dec. 16 — The Philippine government forces began enforcing on Sunday an 18-day truce with the rebel group New People’s Army (NPA) for celebration of the Christmas season, the military announced.
This year’s Suspension of Offensive Military Operation covered the same dates of last year’s truce, which will allow the rebels and soldiers to be with their families to celebrate Christmas and New Year, said Armed Forces of the Philippines spokesman Arnulfo Marcelo Burgos.
“The only prohibition is the conduct of deliberate offensive such as combat operations to degrade the armed capability or seize NPA encampments through deliberate offensive operations,” he said.
However, the government forces will continue their patrol to protect communities and vital installations during the truce, Burgos said.
The rebel group traditionally declares truce with the government. However, it has yet to announce any date for this year.
The government has a standing truce with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, and negotiation is going on for a peace accord between them.
The government does not declare truce with terrorist organizations like the Abu Sayyaf Group.
The NPA, armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines, has been waging a guerrilla campaign in the countryside for more than four decades. The military estimated the NPA strength at more than 4,000 men scattered in more than 60 guerrilla fronts throughout the country.

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Nonito Donaire knocks out Jorge Arce to retain title

Nonito Donaire made up for his countryman Manny Pacquiao's loss last week with a spectacular knockout of Jorge Arce at 2:59 of the third round Saturday night at the Toyota Center in Houston, and sent Arce into retirement.
Donaire, who has one of the best knockout punches in the sport, knocked Arce down in the second round, then came back at the end of the third round and caught Arce with a powerful left hook to end the fight right there. Donaire retained his WBO super bantamweight title with the victory.
"I went out there and pretty much timed him," Donaire said. "We knew that he was going to open up. He was a tough guy. He actually got me in the body. I caught him with a good straight right hand and that counter hook came in."
Donaire, 30, known as the "Filipino Flash," saw his friend Manny Pacquiao get dropped by Juan Manuel Marquez, ironically at 2:59 of the sixth round last week in a shocking finish. He said he was thinking about that during his fight with Arce.
"There were a lot of fans that said, you got to get him, this is for the Philippines," Donaire (31-1, 20 KOs) said. "But I love Mexico as well. Mexican fighters are tough and I have the best respect for all of them. I'm hoping (the Filipinos) can be proud of what I've done tonight."
Donaire used his left hook for the knockout despite coming into the fight not fully healed from an injured knuckle on his left hand.
"We were kind of nervous coming into this fight," Donaire said. "I never really hit with the left hook, but I knew from the personality I have that I'm going to go out there no matter what."
Arce (61-7-2, 46 KOs) said after the fight it was to be his last. "My career's over. I'm leaving after the best man," Arce, 33, said. "I have my family to take care of and my children and I promised them that if I lost, I would leave."
Donaire said he would like either Abner Mares or Guillermo Rigondeaux next. "Bring em all on. I've done what I need to do this year, I'd like Mares because he's calling me out. But if that doesn't happen, we always have Rigondeaux."

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UN appeals to send aid to Filipino typhoon victims

The United Nations has appealed for $65 million in emergency aid for millions of victims of a typhoon that hit the southern Philippines last week. At least 647 people have been killed with 780 still missing.

The $65 million (50.3 million euros) action plan for recovery from Typhoon Bopha would "deliver urgently needed food, water and emergency shelter and other urgent assistance to 480,000 seriously affected people in the worst-hit areas," the UN's Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said.
The plan would also help rehabilitate the agricultural sector, a key industry among millions in the southern region of Mindanao, where the storm made landfall Tuesday.
"Farmers in Mindanao, one of the poorest areas in the Philippines, have seen their crops devastated," the office said. "In an area highly dependent on subsistence agriculture, thousands are now completely unable to provide for their families."
Luiza Carvalho, UN humanitarian coordinator, who visited the affected areas, said Bopha's impact as "beyond imagination."
She described "areas which have been completely devastated, with only a few damaged buildings still standing. Debris from houses, buildings, landslides and logs. Entire plantations wiped out."
A third of the country's banana harvest was destroyed, leaving tens of thousands of plantation workers without an immediate source of income, according to industry officials.
More than 5 million people were affected by Bopha's onslaught, according to the Philippines' Office of Civil Defense.
The typhoon destroyed 81,000 houses and more than 300,000 survivors face months of sheltering in crowded government gyms and schools as officials look for safe places to build new homes.

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Marquez Knocks Manny Pacquiao Out Cold in Six

MGM Grand, Las Vegas - Juan Manuel Marquez (55-6-1, 40KOs) knocked Manny Pacquiao (54-5-2, 38KOs) out cold in the sixth round of their fourth and likely final battle. Their first fight, in 2004, ended in a twelve round draw, with Pacquiao winning close controversial decisions in 2008 and 2011.

Marquez looked stronger, but Pacquiao was quicker and may have done enough to grab the first round. Pacquiao certainly grabbed the second with quicker, accurate punches.

In the third round, Marquez made the pro-Mexican arena explode when he landed a huge right hand that put Pacquiao down on his back. Pacquiao appeared to recover well and traded punches with Marquez at the bell. It was the first time Pacquiao was "dropped legit" since he was a flyweight.

Pacquiao boxed well in the fourth, but Marquez may have stolen it close at the end with a flurry of shots.

In the fifth we saw a classic. It was Pacquiao who returned the favor with a huge left hand that made Marquez go down due to his glove touching the mat to hold himself up. Following that, Marquez landed a massive right, but Pacquiao took it and kept coming. Pacquiao then hurt Marquez again and went for the finish, and the two boxers stood toe to toe - exchanging huge punches with Pacquiao getting the better of the action.

Marquez's face was falling apart in the sixth round. It appeared that he was getting busted up but then a counter hook to Pacquiao's jaw knocked him out cold in the final ten seconds. Pacquiao fell flat on his face, wasn't moving and the fight was waved off.

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Pacquiao vs Marquez Weigh-In: Where Pac-Man and Dinamita Stand

Manny Pacquiao weighed in at the maximum weight, while Juan Manuel Marquez came in a few pounds less.

A capacity crowd of 5,500 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas watched the two rivals step onto the scale and jump the last hurdle prior to Dec. 8's fourth and final showdown.

Pacquiao, 34, weighed in at 147 pounds and Marquez, 39, weighed in four pounds less, at 143 pounds.

Marquez’s lean and muscular physique has drawn concerns from Freddie Roach, Pacquaio’s trainer.

"I asked Manny to do a drug test for this fight because I believe that Marquez is a much bigger person now—and I'm not sure exactly how he is getting there,'' Roach said, according to Jon Saraceno of USA TODAY Sports.

Roach later retracted those comments on Dec. 7, claiming he was “just joking,” according to Saraceno.
Weight has been a continual issue of dispute for Pacquiao when inking fights.

Before his last bout, Pac-Man tried to get Miguel Cotto to come down to the 147-pound welterweight limit, but the fighter balked and accepted an offer from Floyd Mayweather to fight him instead at a higher limit.
Eventually, Timothy Bradley moved up to Pacquiao's desired weight group and beat the champion by a split decision.

Dinamita and Pac-Man have both been through it all in their careers, as well as against one another. In each of their three previous head-to-head fights, they have fought at different weight limits. Although, their previous bout was fought at the same limit.

Before the pair’s most recent bout on Nov. 11, 2011, Pac-Man weighed in at just 143 pounds, while Marquez came in at 142.
Even though this will be the fourth and final installment of this series, this fight will not definitely result in defining who the better fighter is. That is, unless one of them decisively finishes the fight or knocks out the other.

Any type of doubt or uncertainty as a result of another controversial decision would send Marquez home from Vegas disappointed for a fourth time.

He looks in prime shape, though, and as ready as he will ever be in his final shot at taking down Pacquaio once and for all.

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Pablo' death toll rises to 456

MANILA, Philippines – The official death toll from typhoon "Pablo" (international codename, Bopha) is now at 456, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said on Friday.
The NDRRMC said the figure is expected to rise further with some 533 still missing.
At least 445 people were also reported injured.
More than 200 died in Compostela Valley, whose towns of New Bataan and Monkayo were heavily devastated by flashfloods and mudslides.
Meanwhile, at least 132 were reported dead in Davao Oriental, where the typhoon's eye first landed on Tuesday.
Most of the missing persons were reported in Compostela Valley, particularly in New Bataan, which remains covered in mud after rain water gushed down from the mountains.
Of the total number of fatalities, 110 in New Bataan remain unidentified; 27 in Boston, Davao Oriental; 21 in Compostela, Compostela Valley; 10 in Montevista, Compostela Valley; and 9 in Caraga, Davao Oriental.
The typhoon also affected at least 5.14 million people in 11,862 barangays, with over 306,000 taking shelter in evacuation centers.
'Pablo' too strong
Davao Oriental Governor Corazon Malanyaon said the immense strength of Pablo rendered their preparations useless.
"Talagang intensive ang aming orientation, dissemination [ng information] and all - even up to the last day, even up to the last moment… we re able to identify all the sites for evacuation," she told radio dzMM.
"Kahit ano pa palang preparasyon mo, marami pa rin things that are not within your control. Pablo was so strong for us," she added.
Compostela Valley Governor Arturo Uy, meanwhile, said he may have to ask President Benigno Aquino III for assistance in the province's rebuilding efforts.
Uy also appealed for more aid, particularly food, clean water, shelter and medical provisions.
The NDRRMC pegged the damaged from the typhoon at P4 billion.
So far, 26 municipalities and four provinces have declared a state of calamity.

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TYPHOON “PABLO” UPDATE

At 2:00 p.m. today, 08 December 2012, Typhoon "PABLO" was located at 250 km West of Vigan, Ilocos Sur (17.4°N, 117.9°E).

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Aquino pressed anew to certify RH bill as urgent

MANILA, Philippines — Without being certified as urgent by President Benigno Aquino III, House majority leader Neptali Gonzales II said that it was unlikely that they will be able to approve the Reproductive Health Bill within the week.
“If we want this to be transmitted to the Senate before we adjourn, the best chance is for it to be certified as urgent by the President,” Gonzales told reporters during a media forum on Tuesday, stressing that they have only eight session days left before they go on Christmas break,
More delays were seen as legislators against the Reproductive Health Bill made good on their vow to scrutinize the amendments to the measure line by line, starting on Monday when they began with the process of deliberating on individual amendments. The substitute version has 27 pages and lawmakers have so far tackled line 2 on its second page.
“I believe in my heart that the President should certify this. It will give a boost to have it certified but we leave that to the President,” said Gonzales.
If certified as an urgent measure, the RH Bill can be voted on third reading after it is passed on second reading, disregarding the three-day rule. Measures not certified as urgent cannot be deliberated until three days have passed after its second reading.
Aquino had met with some 170 legislators over lunch on Monday to discuss the fate of the RH Bill, urging them to put the measure to a vote. The President also said that if he were to vote he would vote for the passage of the measure.
Gonzales said that it was up to their members how they would interpret the President’s statement.
Albay Representative Edcel Lagman, the main proponent of the RH Bill, said that the President’s words were unmistakably an endorsement for the bill while for Ifugao Representative Teddy Baguilat Jr. the personal appeal was even stronger than a certification as urgent.
Despite the absence of a certification from the President, Gonzales said they would continue pushing for the RH Bill.
He pointed out that even though the antis were persistent “somebody has to give later on. Hindi ko lang alam sino ang bibigay (I don’t know who will give in).”
Lagman has earlier called on fellow lawmakers not to abuse nominal voting on the RH Bill which the antis insisted on during Monday’s session. Gonzales said, however, that the reason he allowed such method was to find out where they stood on the RH Bill.
The House of Representatives is expected to resume tackling individual amendments to the measure once it resumes session at 4 p.m.
 By Karen Boncocan
INQUIRER.net

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52 dead as typhoon Bopha lashes Philippines

Manila: A typhoon slammed into the southern Philippines on Tuesday, setting off a mudslide that killed 44 people, tearing up trees, causing floods and forcing thousands to flee their homes to emergency shelters.

Typhoon Bopha, the strongest storm to hit the country this year, killed at least 52 people in total after making landfall on the east coast of Mindanao island at dawn, packing winds of 210 kilometres (130 miles) an hour.

A mudslide in a mountainous area near an army patrol base in New Bataan town killed 43 civilians and a soldier, and injured more than two dozen others, local military spokesman Lyndon Paniza told reporters by telephone.
An ABS-CBN television reporter said she counted the bodies laid out in a government building that was converted into a temporary mortuary.

An army truck laden with soldiers and civilians was swept away in a flash flood that hit the town, a local official reported earlier.

The typhoon brought driving rain and strong winds to Mindanao, toppling trees and power lines, causing localised flooding and forcing more than 56,000 to seek refuge in emergency shelters, the civil defence office said.

Winds blew roofs off buildings and residents of coastal and low-lying communities moved into shelters as floods hit, residents and AFP reporters said.

Television footage showed logs being swept down a river, utility workers cutting up fallen trees that were blocking highways, and people lying on mats and cardboard sheets on the concrete floors of gyms turned into shelters.

People living in the path of the storm did what they could to protect their homes and possessions.

"We have taken our pigs and chickens inside our house because their shed might be destroyed," said shopkeeper Marianita Villamor, 46, from the southern farming town of San Fermin.

In Cagayan de Oro city, where giant waves crashed down on the shoreline, mayor Vicente Emano told ABS-CBN that police rounded up all residents in low-lying areas and moved them to government shelters.

In Tagum city, hotel waiter Edgie Atilano, 23, said he and his family hunkered down in their home as Bopha bore down.

"At 3:00 am, we were woken by strong rain and howling winds. Trees and branches started snapping off near the house," said the father-of-two.

"This is my first time to experience a strong typhoon. It was a bit scary."

As well as the 44 killed in New Bataan, officials said there were eight other confirmed deaths, all but one of them occurring on Mindanao, with three of the victims crushed by falling trees.

Four fishermen were also reported missing off Mindanao's east coast, said Freddie Bendulo, planning and development officer of Davao Oriental province.

By early evening the weakened typhoon was streaking across the Sulu Sea, having changed course westward in the afternoon after briefly threatening the central tourist islands of Bohol, Cebu and Negros, the state weather service said.

It was heading toward the north tip of the western island of Palawan and the South China Sea beyond.

A total of 146 flights to and from Mindanao and the central islands had been grounded since Monday night and more than 3,000 ferry passengers were stranded as vessels were ordered to stay in port, according to a civil defence update.

Large parts of Mindanao, which is not normally hit by typhoons, were still without electricity on Tuesday night, it added.

Typhoon Bopha comes after tropical storm Washi hit Mindanao in December last year, killing more than 1,200 and leaving hundreds of thousands homeless. 

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Suzuki Cup: Azkals reach semis, but 'the best is yet to come' says coach Weiss

After the Philippines defeated Myanmar for the first time in their history, they will now meet Singapore in the semifinals, a team they have already beaten twice this year in friendly games. The Philippines finished second in the group, only dropping points to Thailand, who finished as group leaders, while Singapore topped Group B after victories against Laos and hosts Malaysia.

Defeating Myanmar - fitness and organization

Reaching the semifinals was no easy task for the Philippines. Drawn in the ‘Group of Death,’ Group A had the top four ranked South East Asian sides by the time the tournament kicked off. The key to progress in most competitions, though, is preparation, and the Philippines played more friendly matches and had more camps than any of their opponents.

Only eight players survived from the 2010 Suzuki Cup squad, as the rapid development and professionalization of the local league, the UFL, has lifted the quality of the sport in the country. All in all, five UFL clubs have representatives in the 2012 national team.

With the US training camp and the South East Asian and Middle East tours, the players were fit and ready to run for the full ninety minutes. With a deep bench, those few who did tire were replaced by players just as good.

After the game, speaking on behalf of the Myanmar side, assistant coach Tim Mying Aung said that compared to the Philippine side, “We [Myanmar] lacked fitness and football technique....They were tired.”

Indeed, after a fairly even first half, where neither side made any real scoring opportunities, the Azkals dominated the second half, a staple of their Suzuki Cup group stage, where all of the Azkals’ goals came in the second half. Phil Younghusband grabbed his first goal of the Suzuki Cup, controlling a perfectly flighted Jason De Jong pass, though the impact substitute was Angel Guirado, who changed the game after coming in early in the 35th minute, hitting the post before wrapping up the win in injury time.

The Azkals concept

After the game, Azkals coach Hans Weiss first congratulated the team and noted, “We have now worked on good communication within the team and we found a concept of how to break down teams like Myanmar and also Vietnam....With one move [our players] can decide matches.”

Jason De Jong, who provided the assist for the first goal, noted that the team has been built from the defense upwards. “With Rob [Gier] and Juani [Guirado] in the defense they couldn’t get through. And with me cleaning up the second ball where are they going to go?” he said.

Indeed that strong Azkals backline has kept two clean sheets in the three Suzuki Cup games and four clean sheets in the last six matches.

Myanmar could find no way through the defense, trying to work the channels to avoid the strength and height of Gier and Guirado, but there they only found more misery when confronted by Carli De Murga and Dennis Cagara. De Murga put his body on the line more than a few times during the game and Cagara stood out to the point of being this writer’s man of the match. In keeping Myanmar's star player frustrated all game, and starting the Azkals’ attacks with some sublime passing, Cagara not only shut out Myanmar but put the Azkals on the counter attack.

No more long balls

Another key element in the transition of the Azkals has been the shift away from the long ball. Philippine football used to be dependent on hoofing the ball upfield to an attacker on the counter, but over the last two years, the Azkals have started to play some real, quality football.

That work started with the previous coach Simon McMenemy, but Weiss has taken the Philippines to another level in that regard. All their goals in the group stage came from open play. Passes from Patrick Reichelt, Jason De Jong, Carli De Murga, and two from Angel Guirado particularly carved open the opposition’s defense and presented the chance to score for the Azkals’ five goals so far.

The new quality of passing and build-up play has meant that the Azkals have only failed to score three times in their 21 games so far in 2012, those being in goalless draws with Cambodia and Bahrain, and the 2-0 loss to North Korea.

‘The best is yet to come’

Speaking of the transition, Weiss was very happy with the Azkals’ performances but added that there was still more to come from the Philippines. “[We are] very happy because we felt a bit of pressure....But the team mastered this pressure and it shows the [that their] maturity has come a very long way.

"The best is yet to come.”


The German coach was full of praise for his side and their progress since he took over, saying, “We got out of a very strong group....Since I have taken over, we have made a lot of history.”

Sitting next to him at the press conference, Angel Guirado and Phil Younghusband were both full of praise for the progress of the Azkals too.

After opening the scoring for the Azkals, Phil Younghusband spoke of his relief in finding the net, saying that “as a striker you’re judged on goals and get your confidence on goals....I’m just happy to get to the semifinals. I feel recently I’ve been working hard and tracking back and Coach Weiss has really helped me in that respect...eventually it does pay off and on a personal level it does feel good [to score].”

With the core of the side based in the UFL now, training together every week to improve the team chemistry and cohesion, the Philippines has the resources to continue that progress and continue to rewrite history.

On to the semis

The Philippines will host Singapore on December 8, before flying to Singapore for the second leg on the 12th. In the other semifinal match, Group A winners Thailand will face Group B runners-up Malaysia. Their games will be played on the 9th and 13th December, with the aggregate winner facing the winner between the Philippines and Singapore. - RAF / AMD, GMA News

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Philippines braced for Bopha battering

Super Typhoon Bopha is bearing down on the Philippines and the prospect of severe weather is raising fears of a repeat of the devastation wrought by a similar storm which struck almost a year ago.

Bopha lies in the South Pacific well to the eastsoutheast of the Philippines but it gathering strength as it tracks towards the islands at around 20kph.

Bopha is expected to lose its ‘Super Typhoon’ status, when winds are required to be at least 240kph, by the time it makes landfall at around 2100GMT on Monday 3 December. However, it will still be a Category 3 storm with sustained winds of 200kph and gusts of 250kph.

Bopha is then predicted to weaken as it moves across Samar, Nagros and Panay but it will remain a Category 3 storm with sustained winds of 155kph and gusts of 195kph.

The northern half of Mindanao, the central islands and southern parts of Luzon will see anywhere between 150 and 300mm of rain, hence the concerns regarding flooding and landslides.

Typhoons rarely affect the southern Philippines as they lie so close to the equator, they do happen.

As recently as December 2011, Typhoon Washi battered the same region.  Although the winds were nowhere near as strong as those predicted for Bopha (sustained winds were ‘only’ 95kph) the rainfall was torrential.

More than 200mm of rain was reported in some areas where rivers were already swollen by recent rains. Consequently, the rivers rose rapidly, by as much as 3.3 metres in less than one hour.

Torrents of water set off landslides in an area made vulnerable by the presence of large populations living in steep-sided valleys.

There were at least 1,268 deaths and the damage was estimated at over $48 million.

There are fears that similar amounts of rain will hit the same area but Bopha will hit after a spell of relatively dry weather, so river levels should be lower.

Coastal flooding may be more of an issue with Bopha it is predicted that the winds will cause a major storm surge of at least 1.5 metres with a peak expected to reach 2.3 metres at Calaya, an island well to the north of Luzon, at 1900GMT on Tuesday.

Al Jazeera will keep you updated on Bopha’s progress in our weather forecasts throughout the day and our reporters will be in the region to bring you the latest news on its impact.

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Aquino urged to certify FOI bill as urgent

MANILA, Philippines - The advocates of the Freedom of Information (FOI) bill will fight until the end. They call on both houses of Congress to immediately tackle the bill in plenary, and urge President Benigno Aquino III to certify it as urgent.
"Given that time is running out in the 15th Congress, we appeal to the Senate and House leadership, as well as to the Executive, to accord its passage the urgency it deserves," said the Right To Know, Right Now! Coalition in a statement released on Sunday, December 2.
"On the part of the Executive, President Aquino can certify to the necessity of its immediate enactment, as he did with the sin tax bill. This will place the FOI bill on par with the highest priority measures of Congress, and save it the delay from the interval of days needed in passing bills on second and third readings," the group further said.
Congress will take its Christmas break in 3 weeks. With the campaign period coming up, attendance is expected to be a bigger problem when session resumes next year.
The House of Representatives is also expected to focus on the controversial Reproductive Health (RH) bill. President Aquino invited the members of the House to a luncheon on Monday, December 3, to appeal to them to put the bill to a vote.
Certifying the FOI bill as urgent is an unlikely move for President Aquino, who did not include the bill in his priority list.
'Evardone still dribbling FOI'
The advocates of FOI have been upset with House committee on public information chairman Easter Samar Rep Ben Evardone for supposedly dribbling the bill. In spite the support of 117 House members for the bill, the committe failed to immediately schedule a vote.
After a series of postponements, the committee finally approved the bill on first reading last week. But the committee report has not been submitted to the plenary, according to the coalition's monitoring. The plenary cannot tackle the bill without the final committee report.
No to Right of Reply
Some members of the House of Representatives have been pushing to add the "Right of Reply" to the FOI bill.
Right of Reply seeks to impose on media organizations to publish or air the side of politicians who have been put in negative light. What media groups find questionable is it aims to strictly specify how the follow-up story will be treated, which page of the newspaper it will be published, or how much time it will get in the newscast.

"We appeal to the proponents of the Right of Reply to allow the passage of the FOI. We urge them to pursue their Right of Reply advocacy independent of the FOI bill's passage. Constitutional and public policy issues remain unresolved around the Right of Reply, which should be fully deliberated in the separate measures also filed with Rep. Evardone's committee, with all the stakeholders consulted extensively," the Right To Know, Right Now! Coalition said.
Open to other amendments
The coalition also said they are open to other amendments to the FOI bill.
"We will support reasonable amendments to the FOI bill, like the provision on safeguard against abuse proposed by Rep. Bernadette Herrera-Dy. We will likewise support an amendment that will address the concern of the Department of National Defense over the time gap between the repeal of the existing information classification guidelines and the promulgation of the new classification guidelines as provided under the bill," it added.
The coalition's statement was signed by 84 advocates - a mix of members of the academe, media, business community, and civil society groups among others. - Rappler.com

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Azkals book historic win over Myanmar, back into Suzuki Cup semifinals

Phil Younghusband had been uncharacteristically quiet for most of the 2012 AFF Suzuki Cup.
In the Philippine national men’s football team’s final group match against Myanmar, the Azkals star striker finally broke his silence.
Younghusband scored his first goal of the tournament at the 46th minute, as the Azkals booked a 2-0 victory for a berth in the semifinals of the tournament for the second straight time.
Angel Guirado put the icing on the cake late in injury time with a breakaway goal for the final tally.
Younghusband, the team’s top scorer, was aggressive early in the match, testing the Myanmar goalkeeper with an early penalty kick and a long shot. But a feisty Myanmar side kept the match scoreless at halftime, speeding up the match to kept the taller Azkals on their toes.
The Philippines, however, delivered the telling blow right after the break, after excellent effort by midfielder Jason de Jong gave Younghusband the daylight for a shot that found the back of the net.
Myanmar did not go quietly, threatening to tie the game, but its poor finishing coupled with steady goalkeeping by Eduard Sacapaño kept the Azkals sheets clean.
The victory gave the Philippines a total of six points, in second place in Group A behind opening match tormentor Thailand, which finished with nine points. The Azkals will face the first-place finisher in Group B, which still depends on the final pair of matches on Saturday.
Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore are all still in the running to finish in the top two of that group.
The first leg of the home-and-away semifinals is set on December 8 at the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium, which would be the first Suzuki Cup final four match that will be played on Philippine soil. In 2010, the Azkals were forced to play their home leg in Indonesia because of a lack of suitable venues in the Philippines.
The second leg is slated on December 12.

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Freedom of Information measure hurdles House committee

A MEASURE easing access to state information was finally passed yesterday at the committee level in the House of Representatives with congressmen approving a substitute bill without the contentious right of reply (RoR) provision.

"This is a victory for democracy," said Akbayan party-list Rep. Walden F. Bello in a press conference after the hearing.

"The principle of democracy is government for the people, by the people, of the people. You can only do that if you have maximum transparency."

Attempts were made by Nueva Ecija Rep. Rodolfo W. Antonino (4th district) and Occidental Mindoro Rep. Ma. Amelita A. Calimbas-Villarosa to include the RoR in the substitute bill crafted by the technical working group, but the majority opined that this should be tackled in a separate measure. The RoR will ensure that individuals cited in reports will be given the same space in a print material or time in the same radio or TV program within three days.

Mr. Antonino himself filed last year a Freedom of Information (FoI) bill, which included the RoR.

Sought for comment, committee chairman Ben P. Evardone (Eastern Samar), who will sponsor the bill in plenary, vowed to reject a proposed amendment to include the RoR.

"I will not accept it," said Mr. Evardone.

However, the congressmen assured other safeguards will be introduced such as imposing a penalty on media institutions found liable of using information against public morale.

"I will propose it on my own on the floor," he said.

The committee report on the FoI Bill will be submitted to the plenary "next week at the latest," said Mr. Evardone.

For his part, Senator Gregorio B. Honasan II, public information and mass media committee chairman, said he will continue to work on the passage of the Senate’s version of the FoI dubbed as the People’s Ownership of Government Information (POGI) Act of 2012.

"At the Senate, we will continue working with all the members of the chamber to hasten and complete the passage of the People’s Ownership of Government Information Act ," he said in a statement.

Senate Bill No. 3208 or the POGI Act has been pending second reading approval since July. --  

M. J. O. Cantilero with ASOA

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Pyramid scam suspect Rasuman brought to NBI head offices

Shortly after his arrest in Marawi City, Jachob "Coco" Rasuman, a businessman linked to a multimillion-peso pyramid investment scam, was brought to National Bureau of Investigation headquarters in Manila Tuesday night.

 

A flight bearing Rasuman arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 2 at 10:30 p.m. Tuesday, radio dzBB reported Wednesday.

 

From the NAIA, Rasuman was whisked off to NBI headquarters in Manila under heavy guard, the report said.

 

On Tuesday afternoon, Lanao del Sur police head Senior Superintendent Romel Magsalos said the NBI served an arrest warrant on Rasuman past 2 p.m.

 

Magsalos said Rasuman was taken into NBI custody. He did not give further details about the arrest, except that Rasuman was arrested at his house in Marawi City.

 

Also, Magsalos said they remain on full alert despite Rasuman's arrest, according to a report by dzBB's Divine Caraecle.

 

The report quoted Magsalos as saying they are drawing up plans to head off any violent reactions by victims of the scam, should Rasuman fail to reimburse them. — ELR, GMA News

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CBCP warns pro-RH bets of Catholic vote

MANILA, Philippines - An official of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) urged yesterday the faithful to use the “Catholic vote” to choose pro-life candidates in the May 2013 senatorial and local elections.
Lipa Archbishop Ramon Arguelles, former vice chairman of the CBCP-Episcopal Commission on Family and Life, said it is high time that Filipinos exercise their religious beliefs in rejecting candidates who are not following the Church’s teachings. 
“If there is a candidate who does not follow Church teachings, we should reject this candidate. We must use the Catholic vote and show them what the real Catholic is. There are fake Catholics here, they are the ones ruling in our country,” the prelate said in Filipino.
Proponents of the controversial Reproductive Health (RH) bill, including Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago, believe there is no such thing as a “Catholic vote.”
“We can only stop ethnic cleansing, contraceptive mentality, immorality, increasing number of broken families, and promiscuity if we vote for candidates who love life,” Arguelles said.
Arguelles also said the “ethnic cleansing” being promoted by some officials can be countered via a Catholic vote.

“They are doing ethnic cleansing that’s why they are pushing (RH) bill in our country. They want to eliminate us,” the prelate said.
The RH bill, which promotes both the artificial and natural methods of family planning, is still pending in both houses of Congress.
Both the House of Representatives and the Senate are in their respective periods of amendment for the controversial RH bill. The CBCP earlier said it will endorse candidates who are pro-life.
In an interview with dzRB, deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said the State does not meddle in those kinds of things and they are not in a position to comment.
The Catholic Church has maintained a hardline stance to oppose the RH bill.
Last September, CPCP-Episcopal Commission on Family and Life chairman Antipolo Bishop Gabriel Reyes said that the Church remains firm in its stand that all the provisions in both Senate Bill 2865 and HB 4244 or the Reproductive Health and Responsible Parenthood Development bill are against natural moral law.
“We already gave the amendments to the congressman who are agreeing to the position of the Church. The amendments that we are going to give should not include provisions of the Senate bill and the Congress bill that are against natural moral law,” he said.
The Church, Reyes said, will not go into any compromise regarding the provisions.
Reyes said the country should not listen to what the United Nations dictates – which is to legalize abortion and control the country’s population.

A house divided

Arguelles also revealed that opposition to the controversial RH Health bill is the reason why several lawmakers have been skipping plenary sessions in the past days.
“They don’t want to vote against life. They don’t want the RH bill to be rammed down their and our throats, especially by foreign powers out to eliminate our nation and our race,” he said, adding that foreign powers and the rich people want to impose the RH bill to eliminate the poor and the weak.
“They pretend to think of the poor but they are against the poor,” Arguelles said.
“Let us open our eyes. The Philippines does not need this law. The enemies of our country do,” the prelate said.
Arguelles that said instead of allocating funds for RH Bill, the Philippine government should increase investment in the education sector and provide more jobs to Filipinos.
The RH bill has stalled at the House plenary for almost four months after the lower chamber decided to end debates on the proposed measure last August. The Senate has already begun introducing amendments to its version of the RH bill.
The Lower House, however, has failed to tackle amendments due to privilege speeches by lawmakers opposing the measure, and due to the lack of quorum.
Last week, the lower chamber adjourned for three straight days due to lack of quorum.

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BSP issues P50 bills with ASEAN logo

MANILA, Philippines (Xinhua) -- The Philippine central bank has issued for public circulation 50-peso commemorative bills bearing the ASEAN logo to promote greater awareness among the Filipinos as the Southeast Asian bloc prepares for one community in 2015, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said today.
The limited edition bills, numbering only 10 million pieces, commemorate this year's 45th founding anniversary of ASEAN, the department said.
"The issuance of the commemorative bills is a joint project of the DFA-ASEAN and Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas to generate greater public awareness of ASEAN in preparation for the ASEAN Community in 2015," the agency said.
ASEAN or the Association of Southeast Asian Nations is composed of 10 member states, namely, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.
In 1967, the Philippines became one of the five founding members of ASEAN, together with Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand.

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Sin taxes to boost health budget to at least P80B — Drilon

The health sector will get at least P80 billion for its budget next year with the Senate's passage of the sin tax reform bill, Sen. Franklin Drilon announced Wednesday.

"We have earmarked P2.3 billion for the health sector under the sin tax reform bill we approved last night, [so] the health sector will get at least P80 billion in 2013," Drilon said during his sponsorship speech on the proposed P2.006-trillion national budget for 2013.

On Tuesday, the Senate approved on third and final reading the sin tax reform bill, which seeks to generate almost P40 billion for the state on the first year of its implementation.

On Wednesday, Drilon said at least P23.4 billion of the revenue from sin taxes will be added to the P56.8-billion proposed 2013 budget of the Department of Health.

He explained that the P23.4 billion will go to the Universal Health Care Program, which will cover the "PhilHealth premium of workers in the informal sector, health facilities enhancement program, preventive and promotive health programs, and policy and regulation standard."

On Tuesday, the Senate also approved the insertion of provisions in the sin tax bill earmarking the following:

- P10 million to each of the 618 district hospitals operated by local government units for repair and upgrading of facilities and services;

- P100 million to each of the 16 regional hospitals and 22 medical centers for the same operational and physical upgrading;

- P750 million for the unemployment package of workers and farmers who will be displaced; and

- P250 million to job trainings for tobacco and alcohol workers who wish to start anew

The amendments were introduced by Senator Ralph Recto, who was replaced by Drilon as Senate ways and means committee chair.

2013 budget

But on Wednesday, Drilon said that no major amendments were introduced in the House-approved 2013 General Appropriations Bill.

He said the programmed funds will be maintained at the House bill level of P1,250,780,785,000.00 while the unprogrammed funds will also remain the same at P117,548,371,000.00.  He said the total of new appropriations will amount to P1,368,329,156,000.00.

According to Drilon, the biggest share of the budget (34.8 percent) will go to social services; 25.5 percent will go to economic services; 16.6 percent to debt-servicing; 17.3 percent to general public services; and 4.5 percent to defense.

He also said that the Department of Education will remain the agency with the highest budget allocation with P292.7 billion, an increase of 22.6 percent from P238.8 billion this year.

"A P54-billion increase in funding will help address shortages in education resources such as classrooms, teachers and textbooks. It will also support the department's K+12 program," he said.

Following the DepEd are:

Department of Public Works and Highways (DSWD)- P152.9 billion
Department of National Defense (DND) - P121.6 billion
Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) - P121.1 billion
Department of Agriculture (DA) - P74.1 billion
Department of Health (DOH) - P56.8 billion
Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) - P56.2 billion
Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC) - P37.1 billion
Department of Finance (DOF) - P33.2 billion
Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) - P23.7 billion

Budget highlights

Drilon said that incremental funds will specifically be provided to the Bureau of Immigration for the purchase of five passport-reading machines, as well as additional funds for repairs and maintenance of the Anti-Money Laundering Program.

On the other hand, he said P500,000 will be realigned within the Commission on Elections for the purchase of a warehouse for the PCOS machines.

The senator also said that among the highlights of the amendments on the special provisions of the budget are:

- inclusion of “pre-disaster activities” in the utilization of the Quick Response Fund under the DND's Office of the Secretary and the Office of the Civil Defense;

- deletion of the special provision on “Funding Requirements for the filling of Unfilled Positions,” which violates the provision on fiscal autonomy of Constitutional Offices including the Judiciary, all of which are allowed by the Constitution to use their savings in any item of their respective appropriations;

- inclusion of national roads and bridges, as well as school buildings, among the infrastructure projects that may be funded under the hard allocation of the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF);

- insertion of a new special provision earmarking P40 million for research projects on algae research and commercialization, precision farming, and smart agriculture;

- insertion of a new special provision earmarking another P40 million for research projects on disaster science and management, and responsible mining technologies;

- insertion of a new special provision providing P630 million to augment the Project Development and Monitoring Facility; and

- insertion of a new special provision earmarking P50 million for research projects and activities for cloud computing and software-as-a service.

Drilon said that his committee is also supporting the House proposal specifying that authorized deductions from an employee’s salary, emoluments or other benefits shall in no case reduce the employee’s monthly net take home pay to an amount lower than P5,000. — BM, GMA News

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Gov't confident of completing peace pact with MILF by Dec.

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Filipino dead, another missing in US oil rig blast

MANILA, Philippines—The body recovered in the waters near an oil platform that caught fire in the Gulf of Mexico belonged to one of two missing Filipino workers, the Philippine Embassy in Washington D.C. confirmed Sunday.
“We regret to announce that the body that was recovered near the accident scene a few hours ago belongs to one of our two missing kababayans,” Ambassador Jose L. Cuisia, Jr. said as he expressed his condolences to the family of the victim. “We continue to hope and pray that our other kababayan (compatriot) is still alive and would be recovered soon.”
The embassy said the identification was made by Grand Isle Shipyard Inc., the employer of the victim, shortly after the body was brought on shore. It declined to release names and expressed its condolences to the family of the dead worker.

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Aquino appeals for ASEAN cooperation to solve West PHL Sea disputes

President Benigno Aquino III appealed for regional cooperation to address territorial disputes in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) at the 21st Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Cambodia on Sunday.

In his statement during the summit’s plenary session, Aquino urged the ASEAN member-states to implement the body’s six-point principles on the West Philippine Sea, which aim for the “early conclusion” of a regional code of conduct on the disputed region.

“I wish to reiterate the need for maritime security and cooperation in ensuring freedom of navigation, in combating piracy, and in maintaining peace and stability in our region. The ASEAN six-point principles on the South China Sea manifest our collective vision—a vision founded on the principle of centrality,” the President said during the first day of the ASEAN summit.

“My country supports its effective implementation which will highlight the fruits of constructive dialogue, strengthen our resolve and reaffirm our respect for international law such as the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea,” he added.

Earlier this year, Philippine forces engaged in a standoff with China over the disputed Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal in the West Philippine Sea. Both camps eventually pulled their ships out from the territory, but the Philippines lodged a diplomatic protest against China for the incident.

The Philippines and China are also both claiming portions of the Spratly Islands, a string of atolls and islands straddling vital shipping lanes in the West Philippine Sea.

China has been pushing for a bilateral approach to the territorial disputes over the West Philippine Sea, while the Philippines is standing pat on its position to involve its regional partners, such as the ASEAN, in coming up with a multilateral solution to the issue. — BM, GMA News

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