34th William Jones Cup on Saturday, August 18.

SMART-Gilas Pilipinas begins its campaign in the 34th William Jones Cup on Saturday, August 18.

PBA stars Jayson Castro, Ranidel De Ocampo, Larry Fonacier, Sonny Thoss, LA Tenorio, Mac Baracael, Jeff Chan, Gabe Norwood, Enrico Villanueva, Gary David, and Sol Mercado will banner the team alongside naturalized center Marcus Douthit, former San Beda sharpshooter Garvo Lanete, and Filipino-American point guard Matthew Rosser.

Check out the action on AKTV!

    Philippines versus Jordan
    Saturday, August 18, 8 p.m.
    Philippines versus Guanghua (Chinese-Taipei B)
    Sunday, August 19, 3 p.m. LIVE
    South Korea versus USA
    Monday, August 20, 8 p.m.
    Philippines versus South Korea
    Tuesday, August 21, 3 p.m. LIVE
    Japan versus Jordan
    Tuesday, August 21, 5 p.m. LIVE
    Philippines versus Japan
    Wednesday, August 22, 5 p.m. LIVE
    Philippines versus Lebanon
    Thursday, August 23, 8 p.m.
    Philippines versus Iran
    Friday, August 24, 3 p.m. LIVE
    Japan versus South Korea
    Friday, August 24, 5 p.m. LIVE
    Philippines versus Zhonghua (Chinese-Taipei A)
    Saturday, August 25, 10 p.m.
    Philippines versus USA
    Sunday, August 26, 5 p.m. LIVE

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Honasan calls for ‘total war on hazing

MANILA, Philippines – There may be a need for a new law on hazing, this is according to Senator Gregorio Honasan as called for a “total war on hazing” on Wednesday.



Honasan made the statement during the hearing of the Committee on Public Order and Dangerous Drugs joint with the committees on constitutional amendments, revision of codes and laws, and Justice and Human Rights on the implementation of Republic Act No. 8049 or the “Anti-Hazing Law.”



“The direction is towards preservation of life which according to law is principal,” Honasan said.

“We should declare total war on hazing,” he added.



The Senate hearing was initiated following the recent death of another San Beda law student in Cavite due to injuries incurred in a hazing incident during the initiation rites of a fraternity.



During the hearing, former Senator Joey Lina said that the law itself is sufficient but admitted that there are flaws in the existing RA 8049, pointing out that the title itself could be amended.



RA 8049 is entitled “An Act Regulating Hazing and Other Forms of Initiation Rites in Fraternities, Sororities, and Other Organizations Providing Penalties Therefor.”



Lina said that the title only states that it will regulate hazing but the provisions of the law may be interpreted by lawyers that hazing is totally banned.



“Hazing per se is banned if you interpret it and lawyers will interpret it that way,” Lina said. He also noted that the words “hazing” and “initiation” were used interchangeably in parts of the law which could lead to confusion.



Lina furthered that the law may be sufficient but it is only effective if it properly implemented.



He said that the best prevention of this crime is to ensure that the criminal justice system works.



“If the criminal justice works then it will serve as a lesson to anyone that if you violate the law, you will be caught, tried and punished,” he said.



He also urged the committee to address the issue on “lakaran ng kaso” or those high-profile alumni members of the concerned fraternities and sororities influencing the investigation and the decision of the courts on cases of hazing.



Former Senator Rene Saguisag agreed to Lina’s statement.



“It must be the swiftness and certainty of punishment,” Saguisag said.



Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile likewise echoed his colleagues’ statements.



“Laws alone cannot enforce themselves. There must be a system a process that will bring out the truth and will also help facilitate evidence gathering all the way to presentation in court and judgement,” Enrile said.



He also admitted that he was a member of a fraternity but said that no physical harm was done to him during his initiation rites.



For his part, lawyer Julito Vitriolo, executive director of the Commission on Higher Education, recommended that all fraternities, sororities and organizations be registered and those unregistered or underground be penalized. Vitriolo also requested that they be given “legal muscle” to address the issue on hazing within their agency.



Likewise, lawyer Theodore Villanueva, State Prosecutor of the Department of Justice (DOJ) asked that prosecutors be given authority to lead the investigation in cases of hazing.



“Evidence gathering is entirely dependent on law enforcement agencies. We need a law to empower prosecutors to direct the law enforcement agencies,” he said.



Meanwhile, Honasan recommended to the DOJ to conduct an “audit” on the implementation of RA 8049 in previous cases and likewise, he requested the Philippine National Police to submit a report to the Senate Committee on how they have implemented the law.



The Senate hearing was initiated following the recent death of another San Beda law student in Cavite due to injuries incurred in a hazing incident during the initiation rites of a fraternity.

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'Helen' leaves 7 dead, 2 missing

MANILA, Philippines – Tropical storm “Helen” has left at least seven people dead, mostly due to drowning, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said on Wednesday.

The fatalities were identified as:

Jonaphe Pandosen, 50, Baguio City
Ekmer Domines, 42, Baguio City
Fernando Dingayen, 49, Apayao

Savino Mosquite, 44, La Union
Princess Jamon, 1, Ilocos Norte
Armando Borbon, 37, Pangasinan
Andrew Batara, 47, Ilocos Norte

Disaster management officials also said two others, identified as Rodolfo Tayas and Winifredo Tojon of Camarines Norte, remain missing.

The storm battered northern Luzon with heavy winds and rains, triggering floods and landslides in La Union, Isabela, Cagayan and Benguet.

It comes a week after monsoon rains and floods killed more than 100 people in Metro Manila and nearby provinces.

NDRRMC said the storm has affected a total of 5,040 families or 20,807 persons in Regions 1, 3 and CAR.

More than 2,500 families are now taking shelter in 19 evacuation centers.

State weather bureau PAGASA said “Helen” is expected to exit the Philippine Area of Responsibility by Thursday.

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Philippine convict kidnapped, official says

Manila: A Filipino-Chinese jailed for killing a college student in a road rage incident in 1991 has gone missing from prison, with officials claiming he was a victim of kidnap for ransom.

Rolito Go disappeared at 11.30am on Tuesday after he did not return to the National Penitentiary in southern suburban Muntinlupa City, jailors confirmed.

“After Go’s family went to the National Penitentiary yesterday, his family also told me they were able to contact the phone of Rolito Go and his nephew, who, in turn, claimed they were kidnapped and their kidnappers wanted P1 million (Dh83,333) ransom payment,” said Justice Secretary Leila de Lima.

Go was last seen at the premises of Church of Pious Mother inside the national penitentiary, witnesses said in a radio interview.

He works at the church after he became a minimum security inmate (or a live-out prisoner), after having served term of 19 years. He was also diagnosed with colon cancer.

A search for Go is on at hospitals in Metro Manila, aid National Penitentiary director Gaudencio Pangilinan.

Go has been undergoing chemotherapy at the Makati Medical Centre, for his colon cancer, said Pangilinan, but did not mention that the missing inmate could be a kidnap-for-ransom victim.

Personnel at the minimum security compound were also investigated, Pangilinan added.

Go, a rich Filipino-Chinese businessman, was convicted of murder for the death of student Eldon Maguan in a road rage case in 1991.

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Anti-RH forces delay period of amendments

MANILA - Pro-Reproductive Health (RH) bill representatives were disappointed by what they call dilatory tactics by anti-RH congressmen after Tuesday's session was adjourned, delaying the start of the period of amendments on the controversial measure.

Palawan Rep. Dennis Socrates, who is against the RH bill, delayed the proceedings by asking for a nominal voting on whether he can continue with his privilege speech on why the termination of the RH debates were advanced by one day last week, from August 7 to August 6.

Pro-RH bill supporters, with backing from President Aquino, won a key victory last August 6 when the lower House, via a viva voce vote, succeeded in ending plenary debates on the RH bill.

The lower House decided to adjourn Tuesday's session instead of proceeding with the nominal voting since there was no longer a quorum in the House of Representatives. Many congressmen had left the session because of Socrates' long privilege speech.

The House had a quorum with 194 representatives present at the plenary session and 88 absent.

Pro-RH congressmen, led by Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman, Akbayan Rep. Walden Bello, Ifugao Rep. Teddy Baguilat, Pangasinan Rep. Kimi Cojuangco and many others, believe that the House leadership should have a firm resolve to prioritize the period of amendments and address the concerns of those opposed to the RH bill.

They also hope that more congressmen would stay for the debates so that there will always be a quorum when a nominal voting is called. They hope that the period of amendments will push through tomorrow.

With 194 representatives present, the period of amendments for the controversial RH bill was supposed to start tonight.

The proceeding is expected to heat up with anti-RH advocates like Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, Zambales Rep. Mitos Magsaysay and others expected to try to delay and block the passage of the RH bill.

Pro-RH bill advocates, meanwhile, want to get the period of amendments finished as soon as possible so they can vote on the bill on second reading.

Opposed by Catholic church

The RH bill would make it mandatory for the government to provide free contraceptives as well as introducing sex education in schools, which the politically influential Catholic church has rejected.

The church, whose opinion on key issues helps to shape public opinion, led thousands in a rally last August 4 to call on congressmen to junk the bill.

The Senate needs to separately pass the bill before it can effectively become law, and some of its leaders have openly said they would reject it.

In the pas,t opponents of the bill used lengthy debates and long-winded speeches to delay its passage until Congress adjourned, effectively preventing it from being passed.

Women's groups as well as the United Nations have been pushing for the law to be passed, saying it would help to bring down maternal mortality rates in the Philippines, which is one of the highest in the region.

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Relief items sent as Helen crosses Northern Luzon

Tropical storm Helen (international name: Kai-tak) was forecast to hit the northern tip of Luzon, the country’s main island, this morning, then pass over mountainous regions before heading towards Taiwan, the state weather bureau said.

"We are rushing to pre-position relief items to the northern areas ahead of this storm," Social Welfare Secretary Corazon J. Soliman told AFP.

"We wanted to make sure that we have enough supplies there just in case areas get cut off by landslides or floods."

A 3:00 p.m. bulletin showed the howler will be closest to land at 50 kilometers (km) north-northeast of Tuguegarao City, in Cagayan province, and is expected to move to 270km west-southwest of Basco, Batanes tomorrow morning and 550km northwest of Laoag City, Ilocos Norte Friday morning.

Storm warning signal 2 has been raised over Cagayan, Isabela, Kalinga, Batanes Group of Islands, Calayan, Babuyan Group of Islands and Apayao, areas that will experience 61-100 kilometer-per-hour (kph) winds.

Quirino, Aurora, Nueva Vizcaya, Ifugao, Benguet, Mt. Province, Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur and Abra, meanwhile, will have winds of 45-60 kph as the provinces were placed under storm signal 1.

Helen, bringing in winds of 75 kph near its eye and gusts of up to 90 kph, was also forecast to bring heavy rains across the central and southern areas of Luzon, where 334,000 people remain in evacuation centers following flooding last week that in some farming areas remain waist-deep.

The floods, which submerged 80% of Manila, killed 95 people, according to the government.

The government had initially said Helen would start dumping up to 35 millimeters of rain an hour over large areas of Luzon beginning Monday night, triggering warnings of more mass evacuations from officials. But as of noon Tuesday parts of Luzon were only experiencing scattered, light rain showers.

Defense Undersecretary Benito T. Ramos, executive director of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, said authorities had begun releasing water from five dams in the mountain regions of Luzon that were near overflowing in anticipation of more rains.

But the "controlled release" was not expected to swamp already swollen river systems and cause more flooding, he said.

EMERGENCY RESPONSE

An exiting emergency response system, meanwhile, is in place that will help utility firms cope with the impact of tropical storm Helen that is expected to hit extreme Northern Luzon and dump rain over the rest of the island group today, an official said yesterday.

"Electric utilities, even NGCP (National Grid Corporation of the Philippines), are ready for situations like this. We’ve gone through a couple already and certainly all the emergency protocols are in place," Energy Undersecretary Josefina Patricia M. Asirit said on the sidelines of the 6th Wholesale Electricity Spot Market participants’ annual meeting.

The protocols include the provision of updates on the condition of facilities.

"Initially, when you have a typhoon that hits you, NGCP for example, cannot do updates [on transmission lines] while they do line patrolling as part of their emergency response system," Ms. Asirit explained.

"They need to let the strong winds and heavy rains pass then clearing operations also will be under way, same with electric utilities in their distribution areas," she added.

The NGCP, for its part, said systems are in place to minimize the impact of Helen on the Luzon grid’s transmission operation and facilities.

"Preparations include ensuring the reliability of communications equipment, availability of hardware materials and supplies necessary for the repair of damages to facilities, as well as the positioning of line crews in strategic areas, to facilitate immediate restoration work," it said in a statement.

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Envoy: US won't put up bases in Phl

MANILA, Philippines - US Ambassador Harry Thomas on Tuesday said Washington is no longer seeking to establish a new military base in the Philippines.

In an ANC interview, Thomas said the US, as an ally of the Philippines, is ready to help the country in areas of maritime safety as well as maintainin minimum credible defense.

"We are training many countries [on maritime safety] for over a decade now, and we continue to do that. We are sending Filipino officers to US for education and training," Thomas said.

Manila is presently engaged in a territorial row over islands and areas in the West Philippine Sea or South China with Beijing.

Recently, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and other top US military officials have visited the Philippines, assuring the country of Washington's aid and support.

Washington, on the other hand, has been placing greater emphasis on its relations with Asian nations. The territorial row has drawn the attention of Washington, straining relations between the US and China.

Meantime, Thomas also said the US is continuing to forge closer ties with the Philippines.

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